manga the week of

SEAN: Better wake up, September’s ending.

ASH: Somehow I thought it was both October already and too early for October…

SEAN: No debuts for Yen, but a few “got bumped one week” books. Yen On has The Angel Next Door Spoils Me Rotten 5.5, Defeating the Demon Lord’s a Cinch (If You’ve Got a Ringer) 5, The Girl I Saved on the Train Turned Out to Be My Childhood Friend 4, and Maiden of the Needle 2.

And Yen Press have No Longer Heroine 4, The Princess of Convenient Plot Devices 3, Sasaki and Miyano 9, and Shy 4.

MICHELLE: I should get back to No Longer Heroine.

SEAN: Viz has the Chainsaw Man Box Set, a collection of the first 11 volumes with a color poster.

And almost 15 years after its original release, Viz now have Pluto: Urasawa x Tezuka available digitally.

MICHELLE: Ah, Pluto is so good.

ANNA: Glad it is available digitally!

ASH: This is one of the series that truly hooked me on manga.

SEAN: They’ve also got Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba—Corps Records (a guidebook) and Fist of the North Star 10.

ASH: Always glad to see more Fist of the North Star!

SEAN: Tokyopop has some stuff for us. Confessions of a Shy Baker 3, Sengoku Youko 3, and We Can’t Do Just Plain Love 2.

Steamship debuts I Can’t Refuse S (Watashi wa S ni Sakaraenai). A woman has become mistress of a creditor to pay her father’s debt… but he only likes experienced women, and she’s a virgin. It’s up to the handsome butler to teach her. This runs in Mobafura, a josei magazine for plots that sound exactly like that one.

ANNA: It sounds like quite a conundrum.

ASH: Oh, myyyyy.

SEAN: Seven Seas has some manga debuts. Plus-Sized Elf: Second Helping! (Shin Elf-san wa Yaserarenai) has exactly the same plot as the first series – she hasn’t gotten any better at dieting.

The World’s Fastest Level Up! (Sekai Saisoku no Level Up!) is based on the light novel also released by Seven Seas, and runs in Shonen Ace. It’s another “everyone hates me for my useless talent, but it’s actually SUPER AWESOME!” series.

And Seven Seas has a danmei title, The Husky and His White Cat Shizun: Erha He Ta De Bai Mao Shizun 3.

We also see Even Dogs Go to Other Worlds: Life in Another World with My Beloved Hound 2, The Girl From the Other Side: Siúil, a Rún Deluxe Edition IV (the final volume), Homunculus 3-4, Killing Stalking: Deluxe Edition 4, The Legend of Dororo and Hyakkimaru 6, and Reincarnated as a Dragon Hatchling 4.

ASH: Overall a strong week for Seven Seas series I’m interested in for one reason or another.

SEAN: One Peace Books has a 4th volume of Usotoki Rhetoric.

MICHELLE: Yay! Looking forward to this.

ASH: Yes, indeed!

SEAN: Kodansha has a print debut: I’m Giving the Disgraced Noble Lady I Rescued a Crash Course in Naughtiness (Konyaku Haki Sareta Reijo wo Hirotta Ore ga, Ikenai Koto wo Oshiekomu Oishi Mono wo Tabesasete Oshare wo Sasete, Sekaichi Shiawasena Shojo ni Produce). Based on the light novel released by J-Novel Club, a wrongly accused and abused princess winds up at the home of a powerful but misanthropic sorcerer. Sweet romance ensues. This runs in Comic Pash!.

Also in print: Fire Force Omnibus 6, Go with the Clouds, North-by-Northwest 6, Interviews with Monster Girls 11 (the final volume), and When Will Ayumu Make His Move? 13.

ANNA: I need to read North-by-Northwest! I have volumes stockpiled in my house.

ASH: It’s not always what I expect it to be, but I have been enjoying the series.

SEAN: The digital debut is Drops of God: Mariage (Mariage – Kami no Shizuku Saishuushou), the 26-volume sequel to the 44-volume original Drops of God. No, the Mariage is not about a wedding, it’s about the mariage between good food and good wine. This also ran in Weekly Morning.

ANNA: Woah.

ASH: Nice!

SEAN: Also out digitally: Am I Actually the Strongest? 9, Blade Girl 2, Boss Bride Days 9, A Couple of Cuckoos 13, DAYS 37, Gamaran: Shura 12, The Great Cleric 10, My Home Hero 8, Our Bodies, Entwining, Entwined 6, and That’s My Atypical Girl 10.

Debuting from J-Novel Club is The Retired Demon of the Maxed-Out Village (Kansuto-mura no Goinkyo Demon-san). A powerful knight is sent to a village to slay an evil demon… but she finds the demon is a retired old man. What’s more, everyone else in the village is ludicrously powerful. Why is she even here?

They’ve also got Accidentally in Love: The Witch, the Knight, and the Love Potion Slipup 2, Campfire Cooking in Another World with My Absurd Skill 14, the 3rd A Cave King’s Road to Paradise: Climbing to the Top with My Almighty Mining Skills! manga volume, Full Clearing Another World under a Goddess with Zero Believers 9, An Introvert’s Hookup Hiccups: This Gyaru Is Head Over Heels for Me! 4, A Late-Start Tamer’s Laid-Back Life 7, Monster Tamer 15, Perry Rhodan NEO 15, the 5th Rebuild World manga, You Like Me, Not My Daughter?! 2, and the 4th Young Lady Albert Is Courting Disaster manga volume.

Ghost Ship has Ayakashi Triangle 5 and Might as Well Cheat: I Got Transported to Another World Where I Can Live My Wildest Dreams! 6.

Cross Infinite World debuts Fluffy Paradise (Isekai de Mofumofu Nadenade Suru Tame ni Ganbattemasu), a light novel about another dead office lady who reincarnates in a fantasy world. The cheat God gives her is that everyone OTHER than humans adores her. Good thing this world is filled with beastpeople and powerful animals she can hug and pet.

They also have The Do-Over Damsel Conquers the Dragon Emperor 3, The Drab Princess, the Black Cat, and the Satisfying Break-up 3, and Surviving in Another World as a Villainess Fox Girl! 2 (the final volume?).

In print, Airship gives us Irina: The Vampire Cosmonaut 6 and Raven of the Inner Palace 3.

And in early digital it’s Raven of the Inner Palace 4.

ASH: I really need to catch up with this series.

SEAN: The leaves are falling, as are the shelves overstuffed with manga. What are you buying?

SEAN: It’s Yen Week, but there’s more than that. Everyone’s got stuff.

ASH: Let’s go!

SEAN: We’ll start with Airship, which has a print edition of Trapped in a Dating Sim: The World of Otome Games is Tough for Mobs 10.

There’s a debut in early digital: Modern Dungeon Capture Starting with Broken Skills (Koware Skill de Hajimeru Gendai Dungeon Kōryaku) is, as you can see by the title, one of THOSE series. Dungeon crawls. Guy with awesome skills. Pixie showing her butt to the reader on the cover.

Dark Horse has the first new manga for Emanon in nearly 4 years, with the fourth volume.

ASH: Oh, that’s great news! I’ve really been enjoying this series.

SEAN: From Ghost Ship we get Do You Like Big Girls? 8.

J-Novel Club has three debuts once more. Hell Mode is a title whose light novel J-Novel Club has been releasing for some time. Now we have the manga, which runs in Comic Earth Star Online. Hardcore gamer finds himself in a world where he’s the only one who has to grind ridiculously hard – and he can’t be happier.

I Want to Escape from Princess Lessons (Kisaki Kyōiku kara Nigetai Watashi) is a J-Novel Heart series about a fiancee who’s determined to break off her engagement, and a prince who’s determined to win her back. Very “shoujo manga” vibes from this one, it had some DISCOURSE on forums.

ASH: Heaven forbid! (Though, now I’m tempted to go see what the fuss was about…)

SEAN: My Magical Career at Court: Living the Dream After My Nightmare Boss Fired Me from the Mages’ Guild! (Black Madōgushi Guild o Tsuihō Sareta Watashi, Ōkyū Majutsushi to Shite Hirowareru: White na Kyūtei de, Shiawase na Shinseikatsu o Hajimemasu!) is also a J-Novel Heart title, featuring a guild worker who loves magic but hates her job. Then she’s fired, and blacklisted. What now? Cinderella story? Cinderella story.

MICHELLE: Heh.

SEAN: Also from J-Novel Club: Ascendance of a Bookworm 27, Black Summoner 14, Chillin’ in Another World with Level 2 Super Cheat Powers 11, The Conqueror from a Dying Kingdom 5, D-Genesis: Three Years after the Dungeons Appeared 4, the 6th Doll-Kara manga, Earl and Fairy 3, Fake Saint of the Year: You Wanted the Perfect Saint? Too Bad! 2, Invaders of the Rokujouma!? 42, Isekai Tensei: Recruited to Another World 5, the 7th The Master of Ragnarok & Blesser of Einherjar manga volume, A Pale Moon Reverie 2, Reincarnated Mage with Inferior Eyes: Breezing through the Future as an Oppressed Ex-Hero 4, and Survival Strategies of a Corrupt Aristocrat 2.

ASH: I’m glad that Ascendance of a Bookworm starts with an “A” and therefore is at the beginning of this list.

SEAN: No debuts from Kodansha in print (I triple checked), but we do see The Great Cleric 5, Sailor Moon 4 (Naoko Takeuchi Collection), The Seven Deadly Sins Manga Box Set 5, and Shaman King: Flowers 4.

No digital debuts either, but we do see Doing His Best to Confess 5 (the final volume), Gamaran 13, Issak 2, Medalist 8, Our Fake Marriage 12, Teppu 3, We’re New at This 14, and Ya Boy Kongming! 13.

MICHELLE: I really gotta read more Medalist.

SEAN: One Peace Books has the 21st manga volume of The Rising of the Shield Hero.

No debuts for Seven Seas, but we see CALL TO ADVENTURE! Defeating Dungeons with a Skill Board 6, the 3rd Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation: Mo Dao Zu Shi manhua volume, Headhunted to Another World: From Salaryman to Big Four! 5, Hitomi-chan is Shy With Strangers 6, Kemono Jihen 7, Magika Swordsman and Summoner 16, The Most Notorious “Talker” Runs the World’s Greatest Clan 5, My Sister the Cat 3, and ROLL OVER AND DIE: I Will Fight for an Ordinary Life with My Love and Cursed Sword! 4.

ASH: I’ve been meaning to give the Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation adaptation a try.

SEAN: Square Enix debuts Final Fantasy XIV: Eorzea Academy (Final Fantasy XIV: Shiritsu Eorzea Gakuen), a comedy high school AU of the popular game. It ran in Manga Up!, and is complete in one volume.

They also have Beauty and the Feast 10.

The debut from Viz is #DRCL midnight children, a Grand Jump title (not often we see anything from that magazine) by the artist known for Innocent (which means I am paying attention). It’s a modern-day, but still very goth, take on Dracula.

ASH: This one has my attention, too, for similar reasons.

SEAN: They also have Alice in Borderland 7, Dark Gathering 3, Hayate the Combat Butler 42, Insomniacs After School 3, One-Punch Man 26, and the 2nd and final volume of Until I Love Myself.

ASH: I’ve heard good things about Until I Love Myself.

SEAN: And now it’s Yen Time. Debuting is I May Be a Guild Receptionist, but I’ll Solo Any Boss to Clock Out on Time (Guild no Uketsuke Jō Desu ga, Zangyō wa Iyananode Boss o Solo Tōbatsu Shiyou to Omoimas). A guild receptionist finds herself working overtime because the adventurers can’t get the jobs done. Clearly it’s easier to do them all herself.

ASH: Okay, I find that to be an amusing premise.

SEAN: And Studio Chizu’s BELLE is another title from the creator of The Girl Who Leapt Through Time and Summer Wars, about a girl in the boonies who is dealing with the death of her mother, but finds a new life in the virtual world.

ASH: The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, you say?

SEAN: Yen On also has Associate Professor Akira Takatsuki’s Conjecture 2, Bofuri: I Don’t Want to Get Hurt, so I’ll Max Out My Defense 10, Death March to the Parallel World Rhapsody 19, The Demon Sword Master of Excalibur Academy 9, Hazure Skill: The Guild Member with a Worthless Skill Is Actually a Legendary Assassin 6, Hell Mode: The Hardcore Gamer Dominates in Another World with Garbage Balancing 2 (print for the JNC title), The Hero Laughs While Walking the Path of Vengeance a Second Time 6, King’s Proposal 3, Magical Girl Raising Project 16, My Instant Death Ability Is So Overpowered, No One in This Other World Stands a Chance Against Me! 2 (another print for the JNC title), Reign of the Seven Spellblades 9, The Saga of Tanya the Evil 12, Sugar Apple Fairy Tale 4, Suppose a Kid from the Last Dungeon Boonies Moved to a Starter Town 13, and The Vexations of a Shut-In Vampire Princess 5.

ASH: So many!

SEAN: Debuting from Yen Press we have The Deer King (Shika no Ou: Yuna to Yakusoku no Tabi), the manga adaptation of Yen’s novel release, which runs in Young Ace. A slave finds himself and a young girl the only survivors of a mining disaster, and he now has to figure out how to live… and why he has super strength.

The Do-Over Damsel Conquers the Dragon Emperor (Yarinaoshi Reijou wa Ryuutei Heika wo Kouryakuchuu) is a manga version of the Cross Infinite World light novel, and runs in Comp Ace. A girl goes back in time to try to avoid her horrible death and ends up proposing to exactly the wrong person!

The Ephemeral Scenes of Setsuna’s Journey (Setsuna no Fuukei) is a manga adaptation of a Yen On light novel, and also runs in Comp Ace. An isekai’d hero finds he can’t do anything because his poor health came with him, and is shut up in a tower till they can summon someone else. Then the ghosts of past heroes visit him.

Glitch is a Comic Beam title from the creator of Lost Lad London. Siblings move to a town and find it far weirder than they expected… time to investigate!

MICHELLE: Ooh. Having loved Lost Lad London, I’ll definitely be checking this out.

SEAN: Jungle Juice is a Korean webtoon title about a boy who grows insect wings, then has to hide himself from the world.

Maiden of the Needle (Hariko no Otome) is based on the light novel Yen is also putting out, and runs in Young Ace Up. A reincarnated in a fantasy world girl struggles with family abuse when she apparently fails to inherit magical gifts. Hrm, this story seems familiar…

ASH: It does, doesn’t it?

SEAN: Stray Cat & Wolf (Noraneko to Ookami) runs in The Hana to Yume, and is from the creator of Cheeky Brat. Girl who is running away from a small town ends up in Tokyo, and now is living in a hot guy’s house?

Also coming out from Yen Press: The Abandoned Empress 6, Apparently, Disillusioned Adventurers Will Save the World 3, Assorted Entanglements 3, A Bride’s Story 14, Chained Soldier 5, Chitose Is in the Ramune Bottle 4, Daughter of the Emperor 5, The Devil Is a Part-Timer! 20, The Essence of Being a Muse 2, The Executioner and Her Way of Life 3, The Girl I Saved on the Train Turned Out to Be My Childhood Friend 4, Handyman Saitou in Another World 2, The Holy Grail of Eris 5, The Horizon 2, I Want to Be a Receptionist in This Magical World 2, I’ve Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years and Maxed Out My Level 11, Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? Familia Chronicle Episode Freya 2, Magical Girl Incident 2, Manner of Death 2, Mieruko-chan 8, Monthly Girls’ Nozaki-kun 14, My Dear, Curse-Casting Vampiress 2, No Matter How I Look at It, It’s You Guys’ Fault I’m Not Popular! 21, A Reincarnated Witch Spells Doom 2, The Remarried Empress 4, So What’s Wrong with Getting Reborn as a Goblin? 3, SOTUS 3, Spirits & Cat Ears 11, Sword Art Online Progressive: Scherzo of Deep Night 2, Tomb Raider King 4, and Words Bubble Up Like Soda Pop 2.

MICHELLE: Oh, a new Nozaki-kun buried amongst all the rest!

ASH: Always happy to see a new Nozaki-kun volume released!

SEAN: So tired. Whadya got?

SEAN: Mid-September, and the titles keep rolling in.

There’s just one from Yen, though. Yen On has the 17th and final volume of The Asterisk War. (insert joke mocking Chivalry of a Failed Knight here)

Viz Media debuts Star Wars: The Mandalorian: The Manga. This adaptation of the TV series runs in Big Gangan, and is from the artist behind The Abandoned Reincarnation Sage.

ASH: I’ll have to admit, I’m even more woefully behind with my watching than I am with my reading, but a lot of my friends are really into The Mandalorian.

ANNA: I want to see manga Grogu.

SEAN: Viz also has Animal Crossing: New Horizons 5, Call of the Night 13, Fly Me to the Moon 19, Helck 5, Mao 13, Mashle: Magic and Muscles 13, Pokémon Adventures: X•Y 6, Wolf Girl and Black Prince 3, and Yakuza Lover 10.

SuBLime has a one-shot, Old-Fashioned Cupcake with Cappuccino. This is a sequel to Old-Fashioned Cupcake from a few months back. It runs in ihr HertZ.

ASH: This still looks delightful.

SEAN: And there’s also His Favorite 13. (Catching up with Japan sucks, doesn’t it?)

ASH: Oh, His Favorite! I remember that one.

SEAN: Steamship has a 4th volume of Ladies on Top.

Square Enix debuts a novel that puts other light novel titles to shame. NieR Replicant ver.1.22474487139…: Project Gestalt Recollections–File 01 is presumably based on the game whose guidebook I put on here two weeks ago. I think I’ll wait for ver.2.0 myself.

ASH: Got to get all those bugs worked out.

ANNA: I will wait for the 360 version.

SEAN: From Square Enix we also get Daemons of the Shadow Realm 2, My Happy Marriage 4, and The Strongest Sage with the Weakest Crest 14.

Seven Seas has the debut of Life with an Ordinary Guy Who Reincarnated into a Total Fantasy Knockout (Fantasy Bishoujo Juniku Ojisan to). This series that runs in something called Cycomics has an anime as well. It’s on the comedic end of the spectrum as far as trans issues go, but it does at least vaguely touch on them. The title is the plot.

ASH: Huh.

SEAN: They also give us The Country Without Humans 4, The Duke of Death and His Maid 8, The Eccentric Doctor of the Moon Flower Kingdom 3, Kiruru Kill Me 5, Soloist in a Cage 2, Who Made Me a Princess 2, and Yakuza Reincarnation 7.

And for danmei fans, we also have Heaven Official’s Blessing: Tian Guan Ci Fu 7.

One Peace Books has a 2nd manga volume for The Death Mage.

Kodansha debuted The Darwin Incident (Darwin Jihen) last week, but didn’t update their site till this week, so here it is. It’s an award-winning manga from Afternoon about a half-human, half-chimp becoming involved in terrorism. I beg the Manga Bookshelf team not to pick it as Pick of Last Week and further compound my shame.

No print debuts for Kodansha THIS week, but we do see print volumes of Battle Angel Alita Mars Chronicle 9 (not the final volume, but the series is on hiatus in Japan), Gleipnir 13, Shonen Note: Boy Soprano 5, and Welcome Back, Alice 5.

MICHELLE: I want to read both Shonen Note and Welcome Back, Alice at some point.

ASH: Shonen Note is high on my list, too.

ANNA: Mine too!

SEAN: The digital debut is Cells at Work: Lady. When Cells at Work debuted in 2015, I had no idea it would be the Alice in the Country of Hearts of the 2020s. This runs in Morning Two, and has cells dealing with things like menstruation, pregnancy, and childbirth.

ASH: I’m not sure any of us were expecting that!

ANNA: The world of manga publishing is surprising and amazing.

SEAN: We also get Ace of the Diamond 45, The Fable 18, Gang King 9, Girlfriend, Girlfriend 15, Love, That’s an Understatement 3, Quality Assurance in Another World 9, and The Untouchable Midori-kun 5.

MICHELLE: Ace of the Diamond is almost done! Just two volumes to go. I hope Kodansha releases the sequel.

SEAN: Print from J-Novel Club gives us Ascendance of a Bookworm 20, Marginal Operation 15, Tearmoon Empire 9, and the 9th The Unwanted Undead Adventurer manga volume.

ASH: Woohoo, Bookworm!

SEAN: There are three digital debuts. Back to the Battlefield: The Veteran Heroes Return to the Fray! (Arafō ni Natta Saikyō no Eiyū-tachi, Futatabi Senjō de Musō Suru!!) is a series about a group of heroes who saved the world 25 years ago. Now… they gotta do it again.

The Frontier Lord Begins with Zero Subjects: Tales of Blue Dias and the Onikin Alna (Ryoumin 0-nin Start no Henkyou Ryoushusama) is a manga based on an as-yet unlicensed novel. Our hero is rewarded by the kingdom with land!… which turns out to be empty fields with no one in them. Fortunately, he finds a demon girl. This runs in Comic Earth Star Online.

Lucia and the Loom: Weaving Her Way to Happiness (Fukushokushi Lucia wa Akiramenai: Kyō kara Hajimeru Kōfuku Keikaku) is a spinoff of the Dahlia in Bloom series, featuring Lucia, Dahlia’s friend in the garment factory.

ASH: It seems like there has been a few fabric arts related series of late.

ANNA: Were there knitting manga? Where’s the knitting manga at?

SEAN: There’s also the 7th Cooking with Wild Game manga, I Parry Everything: What Do You Mean I’m the Strongest? I’m Not Even an Adventurer Yet! 3, The Master of Ragnarok & Blesser of Einherjar 24 (the final volume), Private Tutor to the Duke’s Daughter 9, Seirei Gensouki: Spirit Chronicles 23, and Villainess Level 99: I May Be the Hidden Boss but I’m Not the Demon Lord 2.

Ghost Ship has the 6th manga volume of JK Haru is a Sex Worker in Another World.

This is already out, but Denpa has Under Ninja 2.

Airship, in print, has Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear 15.

And for early digital we see Classroom of the Elite: Year 2 7.

If it’s September, why is it still hot? Any manga heating you up?

SEAN: School days, school days, dear old golden rule days. Also, manga.

ASH: Manga is always a welcome distraction from the chaos of a new semester.

SEAN: We start with Airship, which has two print books. There’s No Freaking Way I’ll be Your Lover! Unless… 2 and The Weakest Tamer Began a Journey to Pick Up Trash 4.

And in early digital we see Free Life Fantasy Online: Immortal Princess 4 and Reborn as a Space Mercenary: I Woke Up Piloting the Strongest Starship! 7.

Dark Horse Comics has the 12th volume of Mob Psycho 100.

ASH: I should probably catch up with this series at some point.

SEAN: From Ghost Ship, we get a 7th volume of The 100 Girlfriends Who Really, Really, Really, Really, REALLY Love You.

ASH: This one, too, from what I’ve heard.

SEAN: It’s a quiet week for J-Novel Club, though they are debuting three manga series digitally. An Archdemon’s (Friend’s) Dilemma: How to Babysit a Crybaby Knight (Akuyuu no Ore ga Ponkotsu Kishi wo Miterarenain da ga, Dou Sewa wo Yakya Ii? – Madome Gaiden) is a manga spinoff from the Archdemon’s Dilemma series, focusing on the pathetic not-quite-romance between Barbatos and Chastille. I think it’s in Comic Fire?

The Conqueror from a Dying Kingdom (Horobi no Kuni no Seifukusha – Maou wa Sekai wo Seifuku suru you desu) is based on the light novels also released by J-Novel Club. A Japanese NEET is reincarnated in a kingdom as a commoner boy, but quickly realizes this Kingdom doesn’t have much longer to go. This runs in Comic Gardo.

I’ll Never Set Foot in That House Again! (Nido to Ie ni wa Kaerimasen!) is based on the light novels also released by J-Novel Club. It also runs in Comic Gardo. It’s for people who think My Happy Marriage is too depressing.

ANNA: Who are those people?

SEAN: And they also have the 11th and final volume of Culinary Chronicles of the Court Flower.

Apologies to Kaiten Books, as I missed this last week: Welcome to the Outcast’s Restaurant!’s 3rd manga volume should have been on that list.

Kodansha’s print debut is The Moon on a Rainy Night (Amayo no Tsuki), a Comic Days series about a deaf high school musician and the girl who gets closer to her despite her best efforts. I have heard VERY good things about this series.

ANNA: OK, this does sound intriguing.

ASH: Oh, my interest is piqued!

SEAN: Kodansha Manga, in print, also has 10 Dance 7, Don’t Toy With Me, Miss Nagatoro 15, Noragami Omnibus 7, and Noragami: Stray God 26.

MICHELLE: Yay for more 10 Dance!

ASH: Yes, indeed!

SEAN: And for digital titles they have Blue Lock 21, How to Grill Our Love 4, Life 7, My Wife is a Little Intimidating 3, Shangri-La Frontier 12, Those Snow White Notes 9, Tying the Knot with an Amagami Sister 10, and Wandance 6.

One Peace Books gives us the 8th volume of Multi-Mind Mayhem.

Seven Seas debuts Soara and the House of Monsters (Soara to Mamono no Ie), a Shonen Sunday S series. A girl who spent her childhood preparing to fight monsters is now at a loss since the kingdom and monsters came to an agreement. Can she find a new career building monster homes?

Seven Seas also has Dinosaur Sanctuary 3, Free Life Fantasy Online: Immortal Princess 5, Magical Angel Creamy Mami and the Spoiled Princess 5, Otaku Elf 6, Tokyo Revengers 13-14, Trapped in a Dating Sim: The World of Otome Games is Tough for Mobs 8, and What He Who Doesn’t Believe in Fate Says 2.

Square Enix has My Clueless First Friend 3.

Tokyopop has a 4th volume of Our Not-So-Lonely Planet Travel Guide.

Udon has a third volume of Record of Lodoss War: The Crown of the Covenant.

The debut from Viz is Blade of the Moon Princess (Gekka Bijin), a Jump Square series from the author of Spy x Family. This was his debut. A bratty young moon princess is sent to Earth in order to avoid a coup on the moon, and must learn to grow up.

There’s also two anime coloring books out from Viz, one for Bleach and one for Naruto Shippuden.

ASH: Is there still the same demand for coloring books that there used to be?

SEAN: We also see Blue Box 6, Dragon Ball Super 19, The Elusive Samurai 8, Ima Koi: Now I’m in Love 7, Kubo Won’t Let Me Be Invisible 9, Like a Butterfly 2, and My Hero Academia 35.

Yen On debuts Liar, Liar. A school where everything depends on your rank has a new top dog, entering the school with the highest academic rank! There’s just one problem… this is all a lie. For fans of light novel covers that look like this one.

ASH: Ha!

SEAN: Yen On also has Your Forma 4.

On the Yen Press side, we see two debuts. Game of Familia (Game of Familia: Kazoku Senki) is from Dragon Age, so you know it’s trash of the highest order. A high school student moves in with his new family, including three stepsisters. But then the entire family is isekai’d!

The Witches’ Marriage (Majo no Kekkon) is a yuri series from Comic Newtype. A witch gets married to another girl in order to gain more power… but finds that the other girl is adorable.

And there is also Tales of Wedding Rings 12 and Trinity Seven 28.

It’s always September somewhere on the mangasphere! What are you buying?

SEAN: As August sinks slowly in the West, what manga is left over?

Yen has a few more leftovers than usual. The debut from Yen On is Looks Are All You Need (Kao Sae Yokereba Ii Kyōshitsu), from the creator of My Friend’s Little Sister Has It In for Me!. A shut-in girl can’t deal with people, so how can she possibly attend the looks-oriented prestigious arts school she wants to get into? By utilizing her VTuber skills.

ASH: Seems like that could work.

SEAN: And there’s also I’m the Villainess, So I’m Taming the Final Boss 6, where Aileen is about to be executed. Again.

In manga, the first debut is Associate Professor Akira Takatsuki’s Conjecture (Junkyouju Takatsuki Akira no Suisatsu), based on the light novel that came out a month or two ago. It runs in Comic Gene.

ASH: I’m still interested in folklore studies and this title; I haven’t managed to find time to read the novel yet, but maybe I’ll have the chance to fit the manga in.

SEAN: I Don’t Need a Happy Ending: A collection of short stories (Mikanuji Tanpenshuu: Happy End wa Iranai) is a yuri collection from the creator of Assorted Entanglements. Expect spiciness.

The Illustrated Guide to Monster Girls (Kaibutsu Shoujo Zukan) is a shoujo manga from Asuka. Monsters are supposed to scare people. Sadly, this manga concerns itself with a group of poor monster students who get scared instead.

And Mieruko-chan Official Comic Anthology is what it sounds like.

Also from Yen: Doomsday with My Dog 3, I’m Quitting Heroing 3, and Pandora Seven 2.

Viz has the digital-only WITCH WATCH 7. I will die on this hill.

Square Enix Manga has Grimoire NieR: Revised Edition, which… is a game guide, so not sure why I have it here.

And they also have SINoALICE 4, which is merely a death game manga.

Seven Seas has a big danmei debut: Guardian: Zhen Hun. A supernatural detective comes across a mysterious professor in his investigations. Is he connected? Are they both really hot? Of all the danmei series I’ve heard about, this is the one I’ve heard about the most.

MICHELLE: *Kermit flail*

ASH: I have heard good things and an looking forward to this one, too.

SEAN: The manga debut is The Knight Captain is the New Princess-to-Be (Himegimi wa Kishi Danchou), a shoujo series from LaLa about the Knight Captain agreeing to pretend to be the Prince’s fiancee for political reasons, but finding being a royal more difficult than she expected.

Also from Seven Seas: Does it Count if You Lose Your Virginity to an Android? 2, Don’t Call it Mystery Omnibus 3-4, How Heavy are the Dumbbells You Lift? 12, This Is Screwed Up, but I Was Reincarnated as a GIRL in Another World! 8, and The Valiant Must Fall 2.

MICHELLE: *further flailing* (for Don’t Call It Mystery, specifically)

ANNA: *joins in on the flailing* for Don’t Call It Mystery

ASH: Didn’t the first volume just come out? I’m behind already!

SEAN: One Peace Books has the 3rd volume of The Death Mage.

From Kodansha Books, we get My Unique Skill Makes Me OP Even at Level 1 3.

From Kodansha Manga, the big news is the 11th volume, and the return, of Nichijou! We haven’t had a volume since the series ended in 2017. Cannot wait.

ASH: Oh, wow!

SEAN: Also in print: Blue Lock 8, EDENS ZERO 24, Go! Go! Loser Ranger! 6, I Was Reincarnated as the 7th Prince so I Can Take My Time Perfecting My Magical Ability 7, Real Account 23-24 (the final volume, at last), the 2nd Saving 80,000 Gold in Another World for My Retirement manga volume, and Shangri-La Frontier 7.

ASH: Real Account lasted longer than I thought it would.

SEAN: The digital debut is Blade Girl (Blade Girl: Kataashi no Runner), a josei manga from Be Love with a familiar premise – it’s the exact same as Run On Your Two Legs. A girl who lost a leg a year ago is frustrated and angry… but what if she finds the answer with prosthetics meant for the paralympics?

ANNA: Yay for josei!

ASH: Oh! Maybe this one will eventually be released in print, too!

SEAN: Also digital: Guilty 12, Wandance 6, and With You and the Rain 5.

J-Novel Club has a new digital light novel debut. Moon Blossom Asura: The Ruthless Reincarnated Mercenary Forms the Ultimate Army (Tsuki Hana no Shōjo Asura: Gokuaku Hidō no Yōhei, Tensei Shite Saikyō no Yōheidan o Tsukuru ) is a dark fantasy about a soldier of fortune who finds herself reincarnated into a fantasy world… so now she’s killing people WITH MAGIC. For those who like evil protagonists.

They’ve also got Cooking with Wild Game 22, the 2nd Dragon Daddy Diaries: A Girl Grows to Greatness manga, Enough with This Slow Life! I Was Reincarnated as a High Elf and Now I’m Bored 3, the 5th Isekai Tensei: Recruited to Another World manga, Lady Rose Just Wants to Be a Commoner! 4, My Quiet Blacksmith Life in Another World 7, and Record of Wortenia War 20.

Ghost Ship has World’s End Harem 15 – After World.

Cross Infinite World has a debut. Rising from Ashes: My Dear Emperor, You’re Putty in My Hands! (Torotoro ni Shite Sashiagemasu, Kōtei Heika. Moto Konyakusha ni Ie o Yakareta Tsuihō Miko wa, Ringoku Kōtei ni Chōai Sarete Sainō o Hanahirakaseru), a novel which has otome game villainess, ex-fiancée finds love in the neighboring kingdom, AND Inner Palace politics all in one. This is the 3rd series by this author licensed by CIW.

They’ve also got The Dragon’s Soulmate is a Mushroom Princess! 3 and Revolutionary Reprise of the Blue Rose Princess 2.

Lastly, no print light novels from Airship, but they do have an early digital: Loner Life in Another World 7.

Sic Transit August. All manga must pass.

SEAN: August is a very long month.

ASH: That way even more releases can be fit in.

SEAN: We start with Airship’s print releases: Loner Life in Another World 6 and The Most Heretical Last Boss Queen: From Villainess to Savior 4.

And for early digital they have Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation 24.

Fantagraphics has Okinawa, a title that explores the history of the island and its military occupation. It’s likely to be fairly grim, but absolutely worth your time. It’s also about 550 pages, so good value for money.

ASH: I’ve been waiting for this release a very long time.

SEAN: From Ghost Ship we see 2.5 Dimensional Seduction 7 and Creature Girls: A Hands-On Field Journal in Another World 8.

Two digital debuts for J-Novel Club. The Greatest Magician’s Ultimate Quest: I Woke from a 300 Year Slumber to a World of Disappointment (Majutsu no Hate o Motomeru Dai Majutsushi: Madō o Kiwameta Ore ga Sanhyakunengo no Gijutsu Kakushin o Kitai Shite Tensei Shitara, Kanashiku Naruhodo Taika Shiteita……) is another wordy title. If you read Reborn to Master the Blade but wished it was grimdark and focused on a guy, this may be for you.

I’m Not the Hero! (Shujinkou ja Nai!) is another isekai, and is for people who read Banished from the Hero’s Party and thought “could I get that but with less sickening romance?”.

Also available next week: the 3rd Endo and Kobayashi Live! The Latest on Tsundere Villainess Lieselotte manga, Haibara’s Teenage New Game+ 4, I’ll Never Set Foot in That House Again! 6, Magic Stone Gourmet: Eating Magical Power Made Me The Strongest 2, Making Magic: The Sweet Life of a Witch Who Knows an Infinite MP Loophole 4, the 2nd Now I’m a Demon Lord! Happily Ever After with Monster Girls in My Dungeon manga, and Otherside Picnic 8. That last one excites me more than all the others put together.

ASH: I’m behind in reading it, but likewise!

SEAN: From Kodansha Manga. If you love Wotakoi and want more of it, good news! There’s an artbook! Wotakoi: Love Is Hard for Otaku Official Art Works is 120 pages of lovely art from this office otaku romcom.

ASH: Oh, nice!

SEAN: Also out in print: BAKEMONOGATARI 19, Blood on the Tracks 14, the 2nd Don’t Toy with Me, Miss Nagatoro Manga Box Set, which has Vol. 7-12, Land of the Lustrous 12, Parasyte Full Color Collection 3, Rent-A-Girlfriend 20, and Something’s Wrong With Us 16.

ASH: Land of the Lustrous is always visually striking; it feels like it’s been a while since the previous volume was released.

SEAN: Digitally we see Boss Bride Days 8, Even Given the Worthless “Appraiser” Class, I’m Actually the Strongest 8, Gamaran: Shura 11, Hozuki’s Coolheadedness 15, Koigakubo-kun Stole My First Time 5, and My Home Hero 7.

One Peace Books has The Wrong Way to Use Healing Magic 3.

Seven Seas’ danmei arm has Thousand Autumns: Qian Qiu 2.

And for Seven Seas proper we see Classroom of the Elite 7, Dance in the Vampire Bund: Age of Scarlet Order 9, The Ideal Sponger Life 14, Magic Artisan Dahlia Wilts No More 5, My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom! 8, My Stepmother and Stepsisters Aren’t Wicked 2, and Sorry For My Familiar 11 (the final volume).

Square Enix Manga has Cherry Magic! Thirty Years of Virginity Can Make You a Wizard?! 8, Otherside Picnic 6 (a double Otherside Picnic week!), and Ragna Crimson 10.

MICHELLE: Yay Cherry Magic!.

SEAN: Viz debuts Cat-Eyed Boy: The Perfect Edition, a bells-and-whistles re-release of the horror title that originally came out in English in 2008.

ASH: Glad to see this manga coming back into print.

SEAN: And there’s also The Art of Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba the Anime, because too much Demon Slayer is never enough.

And we also have JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Part 5–Golden Wind 9.

ASH: I’ve managed to fall behind reading JoJo, but I’m still collecting it.

SEAN: Hooray, we’re done!… oh, wait Yen. We’re barely halfway.

ASH: This is why August must be so long.

SEAN: Yen On debuts Kunon the Sorcerer Can See (Majutsushi Kunon wa Miete Iru), the story of a blind magic-user who wants to use magic to create eyes for himself.

The other debut is Sentenced to Be a Hero: The Prison Records of Penal Hero Unit 9004 (Yuusha-kei ni Shosu – Choubatsu Yuusha 9004-tai Keimu Kiroku). The worst criminals become soldiers battling the demon army, forever getting killed and revived. Can our protagonist change that? The cover artist has been taking lessons from Accel World.

Also from Yen On: Accel World 26 (see?), Bride of the Barrier Master 2, Cross-Dressing Villainess Cecilia Sylvie 5, The Detective Is Already Dead 6, Hollow Regalia 2, I Got a Cheat Skill in Another World and Became Unrivaled in the Real World, Too 3, The Magical Revolution of the Reincarnated Princess and the Genius Young Lady 5, The Princess of Convenient Plot Devices 3, Sasaki and Miyano: Second-Years 2, Spice & Wolf 24, Spy Classroom 6, Sword Art Online 27, and That Time I Got Reincarnated As a Slime 16.

Manga debuts from Yen Press. After We Gazed at the Starry Sky (Hoshizora wo Mitsumeta Sono Ato de) is a BL title from Comic Fleur. The story of a famous photographer and his biggest fan, who meets him by chance at an event, is apparently very sweet, and also has one protagonist who uses a wheelchair, so FYI for those who watch for this.

MICHELLE: Oh this sounds potentially lovely!

ASH: It does!

ANNA: I’m interested.

SEAN: I Don’t Know Which Is Love (Dore ga Koi Ka ga Wakaranai) is a comedic yuri title from Comic Cune. Mei, rejected by the girl she loves in high school, is determined to get a girlfriend in college. Good news: she does! Bad news: there may be too many suitors, in fact…

ASH: Comedic yuri can sometimes be fun.

SEAN: I’ve Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years and Maxed Out My Level Spin-off: The Red Dragon Academy for Girls (Slime Taoshite 300-nen, Shiranai Uchi ni Level Max ni Nattemashita – Spin-off: Red Dragon Jogakuin) is the manga adaptation of the stories that run in the back of the most recent Killing Slimes light novels, showing Laika’s school years before she meets Azusa. It runs in Manga Up!.

Not-Sew-Wicked Stepmom is a webtoon based on a Korean villainess book. Our heroine dies and is reincarnated as the Evil Queen. Will she be able to dote on her adorable daughter, despite everyone thinking she’s evil (because she was until her memories came back)?

ASH: That title has to be a pun, right?

SEAN: Touge Oni: Primal Gods in Ancient Times comes from Enterbrain’s Harta, and fans of manga know this is a good thing. An orphan destined to be sacrificed meets a monk, and her fate is changed.

ASH: Count me curious, for sure!

SEAN: Also from Yen: A Business Proposal 2, A Certain Magical Index 27, The Demon Sword Master of Excalibur Academy 3, Durarara!! RE;DOLLARS Arc 8, Honey Lemon Soda 3, I’m a Behemoth, an S-Ranked Monster, but Mistaken for a Cat, I Live as an Elf Girl’s Pet 7, In the Land of Leadale 4, Interspecies Reviewers 8, Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? On the Side: Sword Oratoria 20, Let This Grieving Soul Retire 6, The Maid I Hired Recently Is Mysterious 6, MonsTABOO 4 (the final volume), [Oshi No Ko] 3, Puella Magi Madoka Magica: The Movie -Rebellion-: The Complete Omnibus Edition, Reign of the Seven Spellblades 6, The Saga of Tanya the Evil 20, Slasher Maidens 8, Solo Leveling 7, Studio Apartment, Good Lighting, Angel Included 3, Sunbeams in the Sky 2, Tsubaki-chou Lonely Planet 4, Villains Are Destined to Die 4, What This World Is Made Of 2, Yokohama Station SF 2, and Yowamushi Pedal 23.

MICHELLE: I need to catch up on Tsubaki-chou and Yowamushi Pedal!

ANNA: Me too!

SEAN: Yup, that was a lot. What are you picking up?

SEAN: Are these dog days? I think they’re dog days.

ASH: Seems like!

SEAN: Viz debuts Heart Gear, a new Signature title that runs in Shonen Jump +. Girl and robot try to survive in a future dystopia, but are beset by evil robot.

ASH: Signature, dystopia, and robots? Sounds like something I would read.

ANNA: I’m curious!

SEAN: Also from Viz: Children of the Whales 22, Choujin X 3, Jujutsu Kaisen 20, Love’s in Sight! 3, Mission: Yozakura Family 6, Rooster Fighter 4, The Way of the Househusband 10, and Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead 11.

ASH: I really need to catch up with The Way of the Househusband.

SEAN: Debuting from Tokyopop is Dead Company. Do you ever wish we brought back those manga where teenagers killed each other while wearing creepy rabbit masks? Good news! This ran in Comic Boost, which may be why it’s Tokyopop and not Yen Press.

MICHELLE: Snerk.

SEAN: Also from Tokyopop: I Was Reincarnated as the Villainess in an Otome Game but the Boys Love Me Anyway! 4, If My Favorite Pop Idol Made It to the Budokan, I Would Die 2, and Ogi’s Summer Break 2.

Square Enix debuts Mr. Villain’s Day Off (Kyuujitsu no Warumono-san), a Gangan Pixiv series. A supervillain turns out to be a totally different person on his day off, going to the zoo or eating ice cream.

Also from Square Enix: The Girl I Like Forgot Her Glasses 5 and The Great Jahy Will Not Be Defeated 6.

No debuts from Seven Seas, but there are new volumes. CANDY AND CIGARETTES 5, How NOT to Summon a Demon Lord 16, I Swear I Won’t Bother You Again! 4, Marmalade Boy: Collector’s Edition 3, and My Wife Has No Emotion 5.

One Peace Books debut Villainess Level 99: I May Be the Hidden Boss But I’m Not the Demon Lord (Akuyaku Reijou Level 99: Watashi wa UraBoss desu ga Maou de wa arimasen), based on the light novel J-Novel Club is releasing already. It runs in B’s Log Comic.

Kodansha Books has a new deluxe Maiden’s Bookshelf release, this time of the classic The Girl Who Became a Fish.

ASH: That one’s for me! I’ve really been liking this series.

SEAN: In print, Kodansha Manga has Medaka Kuroiwa is Impervious to My Charms 2, Orient 16, The Seven Deadly Sins Omnibus 11, The Seven Deadly Sins: Four Knights of the Apocalypse 9, Welcome to Demon School! Iruma-kun 3, and The Yakuza’s Bias 2.

MICHELLE: Yay, Iruma. And the first volume of The Yakuza’s Bias was pretty fun.

ANNA: I meant to read The Yakuza’s Bias, maybe I will wait for Michelle’s assessment of Volume 2.

SEAN: The digital debut is Issak, written by the creator of Yugo the Negotiator and running in Afternoon. Take a Japanese man, give him a gun, and throw him into the Thirty Years War.

Also digital: The Café Terrace and its Goddesses 9, Gamaran 12, I Guess I Became the Mother of the Great Demon King’s 10 Children in Another World 8, Messiah -CODE EDGE- 3, Nina the Starry Bride 10, and Teppu 2.

ANNA: I was thinking that there wouldn’t be much for me to pick from this week until I saw that Nina the Starry Bride was coming out. Yay!!!!!

SEAN: The digital debut from J-Novel Club is another wordy one: I’m Giving the Disgraced Noble Lady I Rescued a Crash Course in Naughtiness: I’ll Spoil Her with Delicacies and Style to Make Her the Happiest Woman in the World! (Konyaku Haki Sareta Reijō o Hirotta Ore ga, Ikenai Koto o Oshiekomu -Oishi Mono o Tabesasete Oshare o Sasete, Sekai Ichi Shiawase na Shōjo ni Produce!-). This has an anime coming out this fall. Despite the “naughtiness” in the title, it’s rather tame – the “I” in the title merely wishes to feed her delicious food.

ASH: So many words, but yay food?

SEAN: They also have DUNGEON DIVE: Aim for the Deepest Level 4, the 10th manga volume of The Faraway Paladin, Housekeeping Mage from Another World: Making Your Adventures Feel Like Home! 6, The Ideal Sponger Life 13, Make It Stop! I’m Not Strong… It’s Just My Sword! 2, and Safe & Sound in the Arms of an Elite Knight 2.

Ghost Ship has PULSE 4 (mature yuri, so I’ll put it here) and Sundome!! Milky Way 7.

Denpa says that Vampeerz 3 should be out around this time, and lacking any other evidence I’ll slot it here.

And Airship, in print, has I’m the Evil Lord of an Intergalactic Empire! 5 and Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation 23.

And in early digital titles we have Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear 15 and Sword of the Demon Hunter: Kijin Gentōshō 3.

No dogs, but no cats, either. What are you reading?

SEAN: Getting geared up for back to school, which manga will you sneakily read behind a textbook… ah hell, it’s all gonna be on tablets now, isn’t it?

ASH: Depending on the students’ acumen, that may actually make things easier!

SEAN: Airship debuts a novel based on a short film, Summer Ghost. It’s a supernatural coming of age story, and you know what that means. Get ready for some dead teenagers.

ASH: That doesn’t seem to be a particularly uncommon theme in manga these days.

Airship also has Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear 14 in print.

There’s also an early digital release of Failure Frame: I Became the Strongest and Annihilated Everything With Low-Level Spells 8.

Fantagraphics has a box set collecting both volumes of Shintaro Kago’s Dementia 21. Recommended for lovers of the weird and disturbing.

ASH: Truly!

ANNA: Alright!

SEAN: And Ghost Ship gives us Rise of the Outlaw Tamer and His S-Rank Cat Girl 2.

It’s print week for J-Novel Club. We see Ascendance of a Bookworm Part 2 Volume 7 (the manga), Infinite Dendrogram 18, and My Friend’s Little Sister Has It In For Me! 8.

The digital debut is the manga version of The Magician Who Rose From Failure (Shikkaku kara Hajimeru Nariagari Madou Shidou!), whose light novel J-Novel Club also releases. It runs in Comic Ride.

J-Novel Club also has Death’s Daughter and the Ebony Blade 5, Full Metal Panic! Short Stories 7, Gushing Over Magical Girls 7, My Daughter Left the Nest and Returned an S-Rank Adventurer 9, Peddler in Another World: I Can Go Back to My World Whenever I Want! 4, and the 2nd manga volume of Peddler in Another World: I Can Go Back to My World Whenever I Want!.

Kaiten Books has a digital release of the 9th manga volume of Loner Life in Another World.

No debuts for Kodansha, but we get some print. Attack on Titan Omnibus 12 (the final volume, until the next repackaging), I’m Standing on a Million Lives 15, Lovesick Ellie 11, Peach Boy Riverside 12, and Quality Assurance in Another World 3.

MICHELLE: Yay Lovesick Ellie!

ASH: I really need to get caught up with that series.

ANNA: Ohh, me too! This is something to look forward to for me.

SEAN: While digitally we see The Fable 17, Gang King 8, Giant Killing 38, Life 2: Giver/Taker 6 (the final volume), Orient 16, The Seven Deadly Sins: Four Knights of the Apocalypse 9, and WIND BREAKER 11.

MICHELLE: Yay Giant Killing!

SEAN: One Peace Books has the 8th volume of the Higehiro manga.

Two debuts from Seven Seas. Delinquent Daddy and Tender Teacher (Motoyan Papa to Hitsuji-sensei) is a BL title from Comic Fleur. A teacher who never manages to confess to the boy he liked in high school now finds that boy is a single father of one of his students.

ASH: Drama!

ANNA: LOL

SEAN: And Summer Ghost: The Complete Manga Collection is the manga version of the short film/novel, I mentioned above. It ran in Tonari no Young Jump.

Also from Seven Seas: Chronicles of an Aristocrat Reborn in Another World 7, The Hidden Dungeon Only I Can Enter 8, The Invisible Man and His Soon-to-Be Wife 2, Last Game 2, Lazy Dungeon Master 5, Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation 17, Yokai Cats 5, and Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou: Deluxe Edition 3.

ASH: Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou is definitely something I’m looking forward to reading.

SEAN: Square Enix has the 9th manga volume of The Apothecary Diaries, the 9th manga volume of By the Grace of the Gods, My Isekai Life 8, and Tokyo Aliens 4.

Steamship has a second volume of The Villainess and the Demon Knight.

From SuBLime we see Megumi & Tsugumi 3 and Yarichin Bitch Club 5.

Viz has the debut of the week with Akane-banashi, a Shonen Jump series about a girl who wants to become a rakugo star, and it’s one of the breakout hits of the last year.

MICHELLE: Interesting!

ASH: This looks really good and I’ve heard great things.

ANNA: Huh, this wasn’t on my radar before, but it sounds interesting.

SEAN: And they also have Komi Can’t Communicate 26, Pokémon: Sword & Shield 7, Show-ha Shoten! 3, and Sleepy Princess in the Demon Castle 21.

ANNA: Reminder to myself to read more Sleepy Princess.

ASH: Same! It’s such a fun series.

SEAN: Apologies to Yen Press, because I missed two of their titles last week. The Reformation of the World as Overseen by a Realist Demon King (Realist Maou Niyoru Seiiki Naki Isekai Kaikaku) is a manga based on an unlicensed light novel about a new demon king who decides to win the day by using every dirty trick in the book. It runs in Dengeki Maoh.

And The Misfit of Demon King Academy is one of their “print version of a J-Novel Club light novel” titles.

In titles actually out next week, we see A Certain Magical Index: The Old Testament Omnibus Edition, collecting all 22 of the original Index novels into one 1,664-page book. The “Old Testament” part excited fans, who anticipated a license of the sequel. I would make a joke here, but Yen actually did just license the sequel, so well done!

ASH: That will be quite the tome!

SEAN: And there’s the light novel debut of You Can Have My Back, a BL take on the reincarnation fantasy. A young man recalls his past life (not in Japan, for once) where he was killed by a traitor. Worse, that traitor is still around.

Amazon’s Advanced Search is still broken, so apologies to everything on this I get wrong. What are you getting?

ASH: I remember the days when the advanced search largely worked; I miss them.

ANNA: Alas, boolean logic and advanced filtering options.

SEAN: When the 1st of the month falls on a Tuesday.. STRANGE things happen.

We’ll start with Viz Media. No new titles, but it is August, and that means it’s time for the annual volume! Kaze Hikaru 31 is out. Hang in there kids, just 14 more years to go.

MICHELLE: I can’t believe I actually forgot about this!

ANNA: Yay! Always happy for August when new Kaze Hikaru comes out.

ASH: Same!

SEAN: Viz also has Ayashimon 3, Boruto: Naruto Next Generations 17, Kaguya-sama: Love Is War 26, My Special One 3, Prince Freya 9, Rainbow Days 5, Sakamoto Days 9, World Trigger 25, and Yona of the Dawn 39.

MICHELLE: I desperately need to catch up on Yona.

ANNA: I’m not too far behind on Yona, but need to catch up on Freya.

ASH: I’ve been enjoying both series, but have some catching up to do, too.

SEAN: From Udon we get Persona 4 Arena Ultimax, which is, I’m guessing, a sequel to Persona 4 Arena. It ran in Dengeki Maoh.

Steamship gives us GAME: Between the Suits 4.

Seven Seas has an OEL debut, Amongst Us. No, not that. This LGBT title is a spinoff from a webcomic called Carciphona, and is apparently a modern day AU.

ASH: Oh, I actually have another edition of this one! (Though I haven’t actually read it yet.) Carciphona was a splurge purchase for me at TCAF one year and I enjoyed it, so I’ve been keeping an eye out for the creator’s work.

SEAN: Also from Seven Seas: Backstabbed in a Backwater Dungeon: My Party Tried to Kill Me, But Thanks to an Infinite Gacha I Got LVL 9999 Friends and Am Out For Revenge 2, Crossplay Love: Otaku x Punk 4, The Idaten Deities Know Only Peace 5, The Knight Blooms Behind Castle Walls 3 (the final volume), Lupin III: Thick as Thieves – The Classic Manga Collection (a second “greatest hits” release), Wonder Cat Kyuu-chan 8, and Yakuza Fiancé: Raise wa Tanin ga Ii 4.

ASH: Still glad to see the new edition of Lupin III being released.

SEAN: Two print debuts for Kodansha Manga. Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug & Cat Noir is a Shonen Sirius adaptation of the French/Japanese cartoon.

And WIND BREAKER is a print release of the series that’s already coming out digitally.

ASH: Delinquent manga in print!

SEAN: Also in print: As a Reincarnated Aristocrat, I’ll Use My Appraisal Skill to Rise in the World 6, The Heroic Legend of Arslan 18, The Iceblade Sorcerer Shall Rule the World 6, and Tsugumi Project 2. (I swear they’re pushing the print release back a week right after I make these lists, just to make me seem dumb.)

The digital debut is The World is Dancing, a seinen manga from Morning magazine. It’s a semi-fictionalized account of the founder of Noh theater. It looks fantastic, to be honest.

ASH: It may be digital (which I don’t read much of), but this certainly interests me.

SEAN: And we also see Abe-kun’s Got Me Now! 11, Chihayafuru 39, The God-Tier Guardian and the Love of Six Princesses 10, I’m Standing on a Million Lives 15, Life 6, MF Ghost 16, and My Wife is a Little Intimidating 2.

Debuting digitally from J-Novel Club are several titles. La Ragazza: Living with Francesca (Italia-jin no Onnanoko ga Isourou Suru Koto ni Natta) is a manga series from Comic Walker. An illustrator suddenly finds an Italian girl staying… and mooching… at his house.

Only I Know That This World Is a Game (Kono Sekai ga Game dato Ore dake ga Shitte Iru) is a manga based on a (not yet licensed) light novel, and it’s also from Comic Walker. If you like Sword Art Online but thought “I need more of the exact same plot”, good news.

Taking My Reincarnation One Step at a Time: No One Told Me There Would Be Monsters! (Tensei Shōjo wa Mazu Ippo kara Hajimetai: Mamono ga Iru toka Kiitenai!) is a light novel series. A woman who has spent her entire life with an unexplained fatigue is transported to another world by a goddess, in the body of a 10-year-old. Now that she actually has energy and drive, what will she do?

ASH: Huh! I’ve asked myself similar questions…

SEAN: The Troubles of Miss Nicola the Exorcist (Haraiya Reijō Nicola no Komarigoto) is a light novel about a reincarnated young sorcerer girl and her attempts to not get dragged into the life of her annoying childhood friend.

There’s also Backstabbed in a Backwater Dungeon: My Trusted Companions Tried to Kill Me, But Thanks to the Gift of an Unlimited Gacha I Got LVL 9999 Friends and Am Out For Revenge on My Former Party Members and the World 4, Hell Mode 6, Monster Tamer 14, My Friend’s Little Sister Has It In for Me! 10, Perry Rhodan NEO 14, and When Supernatural Battles Became Commonplace 7.

Cross Infinite World debuts I’ll Use This Do-over to Become the Ideal Lady’s Maid! (Yarinaoseru Mitai nano de, Kondo Koso Akogare no Jijo wo Mezashimasu!), which is from the writer of Formerly, the Fallen Daughter of the Duke. Yes, we’ve got another girl who’s sent back in time because of her tragic death, and she’s determined to live a different life… as a maid?

ASH: Personally, that wouldn’t be my first choice of careers.

SEAN: Also out from CIW: Expedition Cooking with the Enoch Royal Knights 3, Lovestruck Prince! I’ll Fight the Heroine for My Villainess Fiancée! 2, and The Reincarnated Villainess Won’t Seek Revenge 2.

Airship gives us print editions for 7th Time Loop: The Villainess Enjoys a Carefree Life Married to Her Worst Enemy! 4 and The Case Files of Jeweler Richard 5.

And we get early digital of Irina: The Vampire Cosmonaut 6 and Raven of the Inner Palace 3.

July? Or August? You decide!

ASH: I can’t tell what day it is these days, let alone month…

SEAN: As July sinks slowly in the West, we are faced with its hotter cousin: August.

ASH: How has it already come to this?

SEAN: Airship has a bunch of print light novels. We get Didn’t I Say to Make My Abilities Average in the Next Life?! 16, Modern Villainess: It’s Not Easy Building a Corporate Empire Before the Crash 3, She Professed Herself Pupil of the Wise Man 8, and Sword of the Demon Hunter: Kijin Gentōshō 2.

ASH: A good reminder that I’ve been meaning to give the first volume of Sword of the Demon Hunter a try.

SEAN: And there’s early digital for There’s No Freaking Way I’ll be Your Lover! Unless… 2 and The Weakest Tamer Began a Journey to Pick Up Trash 4.

Denpa Books has the 2nd volume of Baby Bear’s Bakery.

Not Ghost Ship, but probably should be, we get Asumi-chan is Interested in Lesbian Brothels! 3. Ayakashi Triangle 4 and SUPER HXEROS 11 definitely ARE Ghost Ship.

ASH: I would not have been surprised to find Asumi-chan is Interested in Lesbian Brothels! in the Ghost Ship catalog.

SEAN: One digital light novel debut from J-Novel Club: You Like Me, Not My Daughter?! (Musume Janakute, Watashi ga Suki Nano!?) is from the creator of When Supernatural Battles Become Commonplace. A young single mother raising the child of her late sister finds that, now that he’s in college, her daughter’s childhood friend has feelings. Wait, for HER?! For lovers of age-gap romance in a comedic vein.

And there’s Ascendance of a Bookworm 26, I Surrendered My Sword for a New Life as a Mage 3, The Invincible Little Lady 3, The Mythical Hero’s Otherworld Chronicles 4, Only the Villainous Lord Wields the Power to Level Up 2, Reincarnated Mage with Inferior Eyes: Breezing through the Future as an Oppressed Ex-Hero 3, and the 9th manga volume of Seirei Gensouki: Spirit Chronicles.

ASH: Obligatory cry of “Bookworm!”

SEAN: Kodansha Books has the 3rd volume of Am I Actually the Strongest?, whose anime is currently delighting hard-core isekai fans.

Kodansha Manga debuts Seraph of the End: Guren Ichinose: Catastrophe at Sixteen (Owari no Seraph: Ichinose Guren, 16-sai no Catastrophe), an adaptation from Weekly Shonen Magazine of the light novel that was put out by Vertical, which is a prequel to the original manga, which runs in Jump Square. This manga’s past is kudzu. It’s also an omnibus of the first two volumes.

Also in print: Am I Actually the Strongest? 4, Fire Force Omnibus 5, In the Clear Moonlit Dusk 5, That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime 22, and What Did You Eat Yesterday? 20.

MICHELLE: I’m always here for more What Did You Eat Yesterday?.

ASH: Same!

SEAN: For digital releases, we get Am I Actually the Strongest? 8, And Yet, You Are So Sweet 8, As a Reincarnated Aristocrat, I’ll Use My Appraisal Skill to Rise in the World 6, Boss Bride Days 7, A Couple of Cuckoos 12, DAYS 36, Elegant Yokai Apartment Life 26, Gamaran: Shura 10, The Heroic Legend of Arslan 18, The Iceblade Sorcerer Shall Rule the World 6, My Home Hero 6, ONIMAI: I’m Now Your Sister! 7, and Saint Cecilia and Pastor Lawrence 11.

ASH: I had momentarily forgotten about The Heroic Legend of Arslan despite enjoying earlier volumes.

SEAN: One Peace Books has the third volume of Captain Corinth.

Seven Seas debuts a new danmei novel, Stars of Chaos: Sha Po Lang. Steampunk BL! A young man living in an impoverished village finds his whole life has been a lie! This is from the creator of Guardian, also due out soon.

MICHELLE: Definitely into this but Guardian more so, admittedly.

ASH: Adding them both to my TBR list!

SEAN: Also from Seven Seas: Drugstore in Another World: The Slow Life of a Cheat Pharmacist 7, The Duke of Death and His Maid 7, I’m a Wolf, but My Boss is a Sheep! 3, LES MISÉRABLES Omnibus 3, and Precarious Woman Executive Miss Black General 9.

From Square Enix we see Beauty and the Feast 9, Soul Eater: The Perfect Edition 11, and Suppose a Kid from the Last Dungeon Boonies Moved to a Starter Town 9.

Tokyopop has Formerly, the Fallen Daughter of the Duke 4, The Fox & Little Tanuki 6 and the 2nd and final volume of My Dear Agent.

From Viz: Chainsaw Man: Buddy Stories is a prose short story collection based on the popular manga.

Soichi: Junji Ito Story Collection (Souichi no Katte na Noroi) is another series of horror stories that ran in Nemuki about 20 years ago.

ASH: I recently mentioned that I was glad we were getting more horror manga beyond Ito’s oeuvre, but I’m not going to say no to more Ito, either.

SEAN: The Way of the Househusband: The Gangster’s Guide to Housekeeping is a guidebook that gives you recipes, helpful hints, etc. Seems to be by Western writers with the blessing of the manga artist.

ASH: Oh, that’s interesting.

SEAN: And Viz also has How Do We Relationship? 9.

ASH: I really need to get caught up with this series.

SEAN: And some stragglers from Yen to close us out. Yen On has Banished from the Hero’s Party, I Decided to Live a Quiet Life in the Countryside 9 and Secrets of the Silent Witch 4.

And from Yen Press, the 13th and final volume of High School Prodigies Have It Easy Even in Another World!.

Definitely less manga than the week before last! What are you getting?

SEAN: Warning: Yen Press week.

ASH: The heads up is appreciated.

SEAN: In fact, we start with Yen On. They have several debuts… well, and sort-of debuts. Konosuba: God’s Blessing on This Wonderful World! Fantastic Days (Kono Subarashii Sekai ni Shukufuku o! Fantastic Days!), a spinoff written by the author of Reborn As a Vending Machine, who has done several KonoSuba spinoff LNs, all unlicensed. This is licensed, probably as it’s based on a game also coming out in the West soon. It’s… well, a standard KonoSuba story.

Our Last Crusade or the Rise of a New World: Secret File (Kimi to Boku no Saigo no Senjō, Arui wa Sekai ga Hajimaru Seisen Secret File) is a short story spinoff of the main series, with 100% more wacky and 100% less weird cliffhangers.

The Samurai and the Prisoner (Kokurōjō) is a novel, rather than a light novel, written by an author best known for Hyouka, and this new book has won awards. It’s a historical mystery novel revolving around a real-life person, Kuroda Kanbei.

MICHELLE: Potentially interesting!

ANNA: Hmm, this does sound interesting.

ASH: Oh! Yes, it does!

SEAN: Words Bubble Up Like Soda Pop (Cider no Yō ni Kotoba ga Wakiagaru) is based on a movie, and we also saw the manga last month. It’s the same plot as every other Japanese anime movie ever since Your Name came out.

ASH: I thought it sounded familiar.

SEAN: They also have The Genius Prince’s Guide to Raising a Nation Out of Debt (Hey, How About Treason?) 10, Higehiro: After Being Rejected, I Shaved and Took in a High School Runaway 4, Ishura 4, Magical Explorer: Reborn as a Side Character in a Fantasy Dating Sim 5, Overlord 16, Sabikui Bisco 5, Solo Leveling 8, Wandering Witch: The Journey of Elaina 11, and The World’s Finest Assassin Gets Reincarnated in Another World as an Aristocrat 7.

Debuting from Yen Press is I Want to Be a Receptionist in This Magical World (Mahousekai no Uketsukejou ni Naritai desu!), a shoujo manga from Flos Comic based on a light novel that J-Novel Club released here as The Sorcerer’s Receptionist. Nunnally is a first-rate mage, but she’s going to be a receptionist who helps others. There’s just one problem… the annoying guy in class is always better than her at everything!

Imitation is a manwha, but not based on a webcomic or webnovel, which means it’s not on the Ize Press imprint. An idol humiliates herself on a talk show… and now a member of the top male idol group is angry with her!

ANNA: Oh no!

SEAN: My Mate Is a Feline Gentleman (Boku no Tsugai wa Neko Shinshi) is an A/B/O title (should that be a separate genre from BL?) about an omega hired by a beastman, who turns out to be appalled at the way omegas are treated in Japan. Is our hero finally going to have people be nice while having sex with him?

Saint? No! I’m Just a Passing Beast Tamer!: The Invincible Saint and the Quest for Fluff (Seijo-sama? Iie, Toorisugari no Mamono Tsukai desu! – Zettai Muteki no Seijo wa Mofumofu to Tabi wo suru), which is another manga based on a light novel J-Novel Club is already putting out. This runs in Comic Walker, and is about a girl who is determined to NOT be the Saint that will save the world.

Secrets of the Silent Witch (Silent Witch – Chinmoku no Majo no Kakushigoto) is the manga adaptation of a light novel that Yen puts out themselves. It’s from B’s Log Comic, and is about an introverted but extremely powerful witch forced to be the secret bodyguard to a prince.

The Devil Is a Part-Timer! Official Comic Anthology is a collection by various artists of short manga based around the popular series.

ASH: It’s been a while since I’ve thought of that franchise, but I had fun with it.

SEAN: The Summer Hikaru Died (Hikaru ga Shinda Natsu) is a BL-ish manga that runs in Young Ace Up. Two boys have always been best friends… but one day one of them comes back from the mountainside… and he’s DIFFERENT. I am not sure if The Summer Hikaru Died is the same time as The Night Chicago Died. Probably not.

MICHELLE: Glory be!

ASH: I’ve heard very good things about this one.

SEAN: Also from Yen Press: Banished from the Hero’s Party, I Decided to Live a Quiet Life in the Countryside 5, The Beginning After the End 3, Black Butler 32, The Boxer 3, Bungo Stray Dogs Wan! 5, Call the Name of the Night 2, Can’t Stop Cursing You 4 (the final volume), Cheeky Brat 7, Coffee Moon 3, Dead Mount Death Play 9, The Eminence in Shadow 7, Final Fantasy Lost Stranger 9, Goblin Slayer 12, Hinowa Ga CRUSH! 8 (the final volume), Hirano and Kagiura 3, Horimiya Memorial Book Page. 100 (an art book), I Kept Pressing the 100-Million-Year Button and Came Out on Top 3, In Another World with My Smartphone 9, Kakegurui Twin 13, Kowloon Generic Romance 4, Love and Heart 8, Love of Kill 12, Mint Chocolate 8, My Gently Raised Beast 3, Please Put Them On, Takamine-san 6, Run on Your New Legs 5 (the final volume), Shadows House 4, Shy 3, A Terrified Teacher at Ghoul School! 13, Toilet-Bound Hanako-kun 18, Touring After the Apocalypse 3, What’s Wrong with Secretary Kim? 2, Why Raeliana Ended Up at the Duke’s Mansion 4, and The World After the Fall 3.

MICHELLE: I continually forget Black Butler is still going.

ANNA: 32 volumes is something!

SEAN: It’s OK, you can come out now, Yen is done. On to Viz. Continuing their partnership with Marvel, we get Marvel Comics: A Manga Tribute, an artbook featuring several famous Japanese artists drawing Marvel characters.

ASH: I’ll have to see who all contributed to this one.

SEAN: Viz also has Boy’s Abyss 2, Dark Gathering 2, Record of Ragnarok 7, Seraph of the End 27, and Undead Unluck 12.

Udon Entertainment has Record of Lodoss War: The Crown of the Covenant 2.

Square Enix Manga has The Girl I Like Forgot Her Glasses 4 and My Dress-Up Darling 9.

Seven Seas debuts The Great Snake’s Bride (Daija ni Totsuida Musume), a horror manga from Comic Marche. This has won awards, and is apparently very dark and filled with interesting themes, but I will just say that it is about a marriage between a woman and a giant snake.

ASH: I’ll readily admit that I’m intrigued.

SEAN: There’s also Bite Maker: The King’s Omega 8, The Dangers in My Heart 6, The Evil Secret Society of Cats 3, Ex-Yakuza and Stray Kitten 3, My Senpai is Annoying 10, Namekawa-san Won’t Take a Licking! 4 (the final volume), The Skull Dragon’s Precious Daughter 2, and She Professed Herself Pupil of the Wise Man 9.

Kodansha Books has Saving 80,000 Gold in Another World for my Retirement 2, the third volume in the series. (The first was an omnibus of the first two Japanese novels because it was a license rescue, so this will not be going away.)

Kodansha Manga has no debuts, but has some print. We get Attack on Titan Omnibus 11, A Condition Called Love 4, FAIRY TAIL: 100 Years Quest 13, The Great Cleric 4, Phantom of the Idol 6 (look, Kodansha is now putting out ebooks 1-2 weeks before print, and it’s confusing), When Will Ayumu Make His Move? 12, and Wistoria: Wand and Sword 5.

Digitally they’ve got Anyway, I’m Falling in Love with You 6, Blue Lock 20, Gamaran 11, Medalist 7, Messiah -CODE EDGE- 2, Small Nozomi and Big Yume 3 (the final volume), Ya Boy Kongming! 12, and You’re My Cutie 6.

MICHELLE: I need to get caught up with Blue Lock and Medalist. I enjoyed what I’ve read of both very much.

ANNA: I need to order Blue Lock for one of my kids, I’m likely going to start collecting Medalist in print.

SEAN: The debut from J-Novel Club is Stuck in a Time Loop: When All Else Fails, Be a Villainess (Loop kara Nukedasenai Akuyaku Reijō wa, Akiramete Sukikatte Ikirukoto ni Kimemashita). For once, we have a nice girl who, after being killed over and over for not having the RIGHT power, decides to give up and be a villainess. That’ll go well.

ASH: It usually does.

SEAN: There’s also A Cave King’s Road to Paradise: Climbing to the Top with My Almighty Mining Skills! 2, The Game Master Has Logged In to Another World 3, Holmes of Kyoto 15, I’m Capped at Level 1?! Thus Begins My Journey to Become the World’s Strongest Badass! 2, Now I’m a Demon Lord! Happily Ever After with Monster Girls in My Dungeon 5, Reborn to Master the Blade: From Hero-King to Extraordinary Squire 9, and Seventh 4.

Ghost Ship has Desire Pandora 4 and Peter Grill and the Philosopher’s Time 10.

And Airship, in print, has The Saint’s Magic Power is Omnipotent 8 and Survival in Another World with My Mistress! 6.

While in early digital, if they can get the retailer links up in time, we should see Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear 14 and Modern Villainess: It’s Not Easy Building a Corporate Empire Before the Crash 3.

Tired. Manga? Buy?

SEAN: (bad white blues singer voice) Well I woke up this morning, with some manga near my bed…

Airship has lots of print. Classroom of the Elite: Year 2 5, Grimgar of Fantasy and Ash 19, The Haunted Bookstore – Gateway to a Parallel Universe 6, and Though I Am an Inept Villainess: Tale of the Butterfly-Rat Body Swap in the Maiden Court 4.

ASH: Always a fan of print!

SEAN: And there’s an early digital release for Loner Life in Another World 6.

Ghost Ship gives us Parallel Paradise 14.

It’s print week for J-Novel Club! Debuting is the manga version of Tearmoon Empire, which is just as good as the novels. It runs in Comic Corona.

ASH: I should give this a look.

SEAN: We also see Ascendance of a Bookworm 19, the 5th Infinite Dendrogram manga omnibus, and the 4th Seirei Gensouki: Spirit Chronicles manga omnibus.

ASH: I’ve got some catching up to do with Ascendance of a Bookworm, but I do really enjoy the series.

SEAN: Digitally J-Novel Club has Black Summoner 13, Campfire Cooking in Another World with My Absurd Skill: Sui’s Great Adventure 4, Earl and Fairy 2, The Skull Dragon’s Precious Daughter 3, VTuber Legend: How I Went Viral after Forgetting to Turn Off My Stream 5, Young Lady Albert Is Courting Disaster 2, and Yuri Tama: From Third Wheel to Trifecta 3.

Kodansha has no debuts, but we do see print volumes for A Galaxy Next Door 5, SHAMAN KING: FLOWERS 3, Shikimori’s Not Just a Cutie 3, and Twilight Out of Focus 2.

The digital debut is one that made anime fandom very happy when it quietly appeared on bookstore sites. Teppu ran in good! Afternoon about 15 years ago, and is about mixed martial arts, which means it’s filled with very well-drawn hot teenagers beating the hell out of each other. That said, I hear this is more character-driven than, say, Baki the Grappler is.

MICHELLE: I’m always willing to give a new sports manga series a chance!

ANNA: Hmmmm…..

ASH: Count me curious!

SEAN: And also digitally we have Ace of the Diamond 44, The Fable 16, Gang King 7, Girlfriend, Girlfriend 14, A Kiss with a Cat 6 (the final volume), Life 2: Giver/Taker 5, Medaka Kuroiwa is Impervious to My Charms 7, Phantom of the Idol 6, and Watari-kun’s ****** Is About to Collapse 14.

One Peace Books has the 8th manga volume of The Reprise of the Spear Hero.

From Seven Seas we get BARBARITIES III, Cinderella Closet 2, Failure Frame: I Became the Strongest and Annihilated Everything With Low-Level Spells 6, I Get the Feeling That Nobukuni-san Likes Me 3, Malevolent Spirits: Mononogatari 3, MoMo -the blood taker- 5, My Girlfriend’s Child 2, My New Life as a Cat 2, My [Repair] Skill Became a Versatile Cheat, So I Think I’ll Open a Weapon Shop 4, and No Longer Allowed In Another World 3.

Square Enix Manga has The Apothecary Diaries 8 and The Strongest Sage with the Weakest Crest 13.

ASH: The Apothecary Diaries is another series I enjoy but need to catch up on.

SEAN: SuBLime has Finder Deluxe Edition 12 and The World’s Greatest First Love 16.

ASH: I’ll admit, I’d forgotten that both of these series were ongoing.

SEAN: Tokyopop gives us a 2nd volume of Sengoku Youko.

Udon Entertainment has Persona 4 Arena 3 (the final volume).

Viz debuts Disney Twisted-Wonderland, based on the Japanese game, and running in GFantasy. Yu is at a magical academy… despite having no magic. And no way to leave campus.

Also from Viz: Case Closed 87, Dandadan 4, Devil’s Candy 3, Fly Me to the Moon 18, Helck 4, Kaiju No. 8 7, Kirby Manga Mania 6, Mao 12, and Wolf Girl and Black Prince 2.

(bad white blues singer voice) I was asking what you were buying… and then a demon slayer from another world with a harem of catgirls cut me dead.

MICHELLE: *tosses a buck in Sean’s guitar case*

SEAN: Hot hot heat. Must be July.

Viz gives us a debut, Like a Butterfly (Hibi Chouchou) is the latest from the author of A Sign of Affection and Short Cake Cake… except it’s not, it actually came out before both of those. A gorgeous high school girl is also shy and doesn’t like attention… so promptly falls for the boy who refuses to look at her. This looks sweet.

MICHELLE: I’m here for it.

ANNA: Surprising no one, so am I!

ASH: Likewise interested.

SEAN: Also from Viz: Blue Box 5, Dr. STONE 26, The Elusive Samurai 7, Kubo Won’t Let Me Be Invisible 8, Moriarty the Patriot 12, My Love Mix-Up! 8, One Piece 103, Romantic Killer 4 (the final volume), Tista 2 (the final volume), and Vampire Knight: Memories 8.

Square Enix has A Man and His Cat 8.

ASH: I should probably catch up with this series; I did enjoy what I have managed to read.

SEAN: Seven Seas debuts Classroom of the Elite: Horikita (Youkoso Jitsuryoku Shijou Shugi no Kyoushitsu e √Horkita), a spinoff AU series that focuses on Horikita, which may surprise anime fans who thought the series already focused too much on her. It ran in my nemesis, Comic Alive.

They’ve also got The Ancient Magus’ Bride 18, Berserk of Gluttony 8, Gap Papa: Daddy at Work and at Home 2, Kemono Jihen 6, Let’s Buy the Land and Cultivate It in a Different World 4, Made in Abyss 11, Pandora in the Crimson Shell: Ghost Urn 16, and Versailles of the Dead 4.

MICHELLE: I didn’t realize volume 18 of The Ancient Magus’ Bride was coming out so soon; I’ve been working my way to getting caught up to 17!

ASH: Always glad to see a new volume of The Ancient Magus’ Bride!

SEAN: There’s some print from Kodansha. Drifting Dragons 14, EDENS ZERO 23, In/Spectre 18, Lovely Muco! 2, Noragami Omnibus 6, To The Abandoned Sacred Beasts 14, and Yuri is My Job! 11.

ASH: Drifting Dragons is another series that I’ve been enjoying but need to catch up on.

SEAN: The digital debut is My Wife is a Little Intimidating (Boku no Oku-san wa Chotto Kowai), a Comic Days series based on a Twitter comic. The description reminds me a bit of We’re New at This if the wife were… well… intimidating, rather than stoic.

And there’s digital for The God-Tier Guardian and the Love of Six Princesses 9, How to Grill Our Love 3, Life 5, MF Ghost 15, Matcha Made in Heaven 6, Mermaid Melody Pichi Pichi Pitch: Aqua 2, Sakura’s Dedication 4, The Transcendent One-Sided Love of Yoshida the Catch 3, and Tying the Knot with an Amagami Sister 9.

ANNA: I’ve been eagerly awaiting the next Matcha Made in Heaven!

ASH: I haven’t read the first volume yet, but I still love the series’ title.

SEAN: No new series for J-Novel Club, but a whole lot of ongoing ones. The 100th Time’s the Charm: She Was Executed 99 Times, So How Did She Unlock “Super Love” Mode?! 2, The Apothecary Witch Turned Divorce Agent 2, An Archdemon’s Dilemma: How to Love Your Elf Bride 16, the 2nd manga volume of A Cave King’s Road to Paradise: Climbing to the Top with My Almighty Mining Skills!, Endo and Kobayashi Live! The Latest on Tsundere Villainess Lieselotte Disc EX (the final volume), Full Clearing Another World under a Goddess with Zero Believers 8, the 5th manga volume of Full Clearing Another World under a Goddess with Zero Believers, Let This Grieving Soul Retire 2, Magic Knight of the Old Ways 5 (the final volume), The Misfit of Demon King Academy 4 Part 2, My Stepmom’s Daughter Is My Ex 7, the 4th manga volume of Rebuild World, A Royal Rebound: Forget My Ex-Fiancé, I’m Being Pampered by the Prince! 2, and To Another World… with Land Mines! 7.

ASH: Wow! That is a whole lot!

SEAN: Ghost Ship has Love is an Illusion! 3 (OK, not technically Ghost Ship), Please Go Home, Miss Akutsu! 2, and World’s End Harem: Fantasia 9.

Apologies, missed this last week. Fantagraphics has a one-shot, Minami’s Lover (Minami-kun no Koibito), a Garo manga from 1986 about a high school couple who struggle with everything when she becomes six inches tall!

ASH: Oh, yes! I just got my hands on that one!

SEAN: Dark Horse has the 9th Blade of the Immortal Deluxe Edition. (It got bumped.)

ASH: I’ll be picking it up whenever it’s actually released.

SEAN: And Airship, in print, gives us Free Life Fantasy Online: Immortal Princess 3 and Irina: The Vampire Cosmonaut 5.

We also get early digital for The Case Files of Jeweler Richard 5 and Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation 23.

That’s it? Not too bad!

SEAN: June is almost over, so let’s get those last books out before the fiscal year ends.

ASH: I am unfortunately very aware of these deadlines.

SEAN: Airship has one print light novel: Failure Frame: I Became the Strongest and Annihilated Everything With Low-Level Spells 7.

We also see early digital releases of I’m the Evil Lord of an Intergalactic Empire! 5 and Sword of the Demon Hunter: Kijin Gentōshō 2.

No debuts from Cross Infinite World, but we get two ongoing series: Apocalypse Bringer Mynoghra: World Conquest Starts with the Civilization of Ruin 5 and The Do-Over Damsel Conquers the Dragon Emperor 2.

Denpa says this should be sold at AX, so I’ll stick it here, though I’m sure it will retail later. Fate/Grand Order: Chaldea Scrapbook (Fate/Grand Order Caldeas Clap) ran in Type-Moon Comic Ace, and is a series of shorts dealing with the FGO cast, including Mash’s backstory!

Ghost Ship brings us Call Girl in Another World 7.

No debuts from J-Novel Club, but lots of ongoing titles. We get Campfire Cooking in Another World with My Absurd Skill 13, Chillin’ in Another World with Level 2 Super Cheat Powers 10, Grand Sumo Villainess Z (the final volume?), The Greatest Magicmaster’s Retirement Plan 16, the 5th Housekeeping Mage from Another World: Making Your Adventures Feel Like Home! manga volume, I Only Have Six Months to Live, So I’m Gonna Break the Curse with Light Magic or Die Trying 2, The Reincarnated Princess Spends Another Day Skipping Story Routes 8 (the final volume), and When Supernatural Battles Became Commonplace 6.

Kodansha Books has a 2nd volume of As a Reincarnated Aristocrat, I’ll Use My Appraisal Skill to Rise in the World.

Kodansha Manga has a one-shot debut from Kyoko Okazaki, author of Helter Skelter. River’s Edge is a dark tale showing us the lives of six emotionally stunted students, and it ran in CUTIE.

ANNA: Alright, I’m likely going to check this out.

ASH: Absolutely! I am very much looking forward to this release. Okazaki’s work is tremendous.

SEAN: Also in print: Blue Lock 7, I Was Reincarnated as the 7th Prince so I Can Take My Time Perfecting My Magical Ability 6, Saint Young Men Omnibus 10, Shangri-La Frontier 6, and Shonen Note: Boy Soprano 4.

ANNA: Need to remember to pick up Blue Lock for one of my kids.

ASH: I’m still here for Saint Young Men!

SEAN: And we get digital volumes of Boss Bride Days 6, Gamaran: Shura 9, Getting Closer to You 5, Hozuki’s Coolheadedness 14, I Want To Hold Aono-kun So Badly I Could Die 10, Lightning and Romance 4, My Home Hero 5, Saint Young Men 20, That’s My Atypical Girl 9, and The World of Summoning 2.

KUMA is here for the same reason Denpa is: this should be available at AX. Eiji and Shiro: From Zeroes to Heroes (Mobyama Aji to Mobtani Crou no Kareinaru Nichijou e no Chousen) is a BL title from Takeshobo’s Reijin! about two “background characters” trying to change their destiny of being “those two guys”.

MICHELLE: This might be silly fun.

ASH: It does look that way!

SEAN: And they should also have Happy of the End 2.

One Peace Books has a 3rd volume of The Wrong Way to Use Healing Magic (the manga version).

Seven Seas debuts Homunculus, which inspired a Netflix series. Coming out as an oversized omnibus of the first two volumes, it’s by the creator of Ichi the Killer. It’s part psychological suspense and part just plain horror, and it ran in Big Comic Spirits. A homeless man is offered money to be the subject of a mysterious experiment…

MICHELLE: “Psychological suspense” is up my alley.

ASH: Same. And I’ve heard good things about this one.

SEAN: Also debuting is Obnoxious Hero-kun: The Complete Collection. This is a BL webtoon collection, which we’ve seen an awful lot of lately. Hope you like bondage!

ASH: There seem to be a few bondage-related manga out these days.

SEAN: There’s also 7th Time Loop: The Villainess Enjoys a Carefree Life Married to Her Worst Enemy! 3, The Case Files of Jeweler Richard 5, Failed Princesses 6.5 (a 50-page digital only extra with a couple bonus chapters), I Think I Turned My Childhood Friend Into a Girl 3, Killing Stalking: Deluxe Edition 3, The NPCs in this Village Sim Game Must Be Real! 4, Reborn as a Space Mercenary: I Woke Up Piloting the Strongest Starship! 5, SPRIGGAN: Deluxe Edition 4 (the final volume), Superwomen in Love! Honey Trap and Rapid Rabbit 5 (the final volume), There’s No Freaking Way I’ll be Your Lover! Unless… 2, and Tokyo Revengers 11-12.

ASH: Need to catch up on (or start) some of these.

SEAN: Square Enix Manga gives us Otherside Picnic 5 and Ragna Crimson 9.

Steamship has Outbride: Beauty and the Beasts 4.

Tokyopop debuts Delivery for You! (Kime e Otodoke), a BL oneshot about a guy who collects figures falling in love with his deliveryman. It ran in Chara.

They’ve also got On or Off 4 (the final volume).

Viz debuts Goodbye, Eri, from the creator of Chainsaw Man. This one-shot about a filmmaker and how he deals with grief was beloved by everyone I know when it appeared digitally.

ANNA: OK, I’m curious.

Also they also have Wolverine: Snikt!, a 136-page Marvel collaboration I would normally ignore except it’s by the creator of Knights of Sidonia.

MICHELLE: Huh.

ANNA: ….still curious.

ASH: Oh!

SEAN: They’ve also got a second Demon Slayer novel, Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba — Signs From the Wind. And Fist of the North Star 9.

ASH: Still very happy to be able to collect more of Fist of the North Star.

Lastly, Yen Press has a couple stragglers, as we see Phantom Tales of the Night 11, Re:ZERO -Starting Life in Another World-, Chapter 4: The Sanctuary and the Witch of Greed 6, and Triage X 25.

That’s a lot more “end of June” than I was expecting. Anything for you?

SEAN: Manga the Week of is happy to celebrate Juneteenth, and hopes the day off lets you read more manga.

It’s Yen week, so there’s plenty of it. Starting with Yen On. There are two debuts. The Ephemeral Scenes of Setsuna’s Journey (Setsuna no Fūkei) is one of those “summoned as a hero” books that tries to take a long look at what that sort of thing would do to the psyche of a person. The description makes it almost sound like Frieren.

Yami-hara is a one-shot novel. The author is famous for her mysteries, but this seems more horror than anything. The plot description… does not really reveal anything.

MICHELLE: Indeed not!

ASH: Oh, I am intrigued, though! (And had somehow missed that another of Mizuki Tsujimura’s novels was being translated…)

SEAN: We’ve also got Apparently, Disillusioned Adventurers Will Save the World 3, Bottom-Tier Character Tomozaki 10, Chitose Is in the Ramune Bottle 4, Date a Live 9, Gods’ Games We Play 2, My Happy Marriage 4, Rascal Does Not Dream of a Nightingale (11th in the series), Re:ZERO -Starting Life in Another World- 22, So I’m a Spider, So What? 16 (the final volume), Sword Art Online Alternative: Gun Gale Online 12, and The World’s Strongest Rearguard: Labyrinth Country’s Novice Seeker 8.

Yen Press has a bunch of new series as well. Appare-Ranman! is a 3-in-1 omnibus, and thus done-in-one. It ran in Young Ace, and is based on an anime of the same name. A young man decides to do a cross-country race to earn money so he can go to the moon.

ASH: This seems like it could be fun.

SEAN: Bloody Sweet is a Korean title based off a webcomic (is that the word? Those “read as a long strip on your phone” comics), about a bullied shaman’s daughter who gets rescued by an ancient vampire.

The Essence of Being a Muse (Muse no Shinzui) is a Comic Beam title. A girl who’s always stuck to the path that her mother has laid out for her as an artist finally snaps, runs away from home, and resolves to try to find her own way of doing things.

ASH: My curiosity has been piqued; I often find artist stories interesting.

SEAN: Handyman Saito in Another World (Benriya Saitou-san, Isekai ni Iku) runs on Comic Walker, and was adapted into an anime recently. A jack-of-all-trades who finds himself underappreciated in Japan ends up in a fantasy world, and realizes that jack-of-all-trades is an awesome power!

ASH: Never underappreciate a jack-of-all-trades.

SEAN: Higurashi When They Cry: GOU was framed initially as a reboot of the series, but by now everyone has been spoiled that it’s a pure sequel. Who can possibly completely destroy our heroes’ lives now? This ran in Young Ace Up, and is an omnibus of the first two books in the series.

Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? Memoria Freese (Dungeon ni Deai o Motomeru no wa Machigatte Iru Darou ka ~ Memoria Frese) runs on Manga Up!, and seems to be an adaptation of the mobile game.

My Instant Death Ability Is So Overpowered, No One in This Other World Stands a Chance Against Me! —AO— (Sokushi Cheat ga Saikyou Sugite, Isekai no Yatsura ga Marude Aite ni Naranai n desu ga) is the print edition of J-Novel Club’s manga.

A Reincarnated Witch Spells Doom (Tensei Majo wa Horobi wo Tsugeru) features the ever-popular Truck-kun, who kills our heroine and sends her to the next world. Sadly, she’s a witch there, so everyone hates and fears her. This runs in shoujo magazine Flos Comic.

MICHELLE: Truck-kun, why must you be this way?!

SEAN: Scribbles is a collection of sketches by Kaoru Mori, and as such is must-buy.

ANNA: Cool!

ASH: Very excited for this one!

Sword Art Online Progressive: Scherzo of Deep Night (Sword Art Online: Progressive – Kuraki Yuuyami no Scherzo) starts the new arc of the Progressive manga.

Words Bubble Up Like Soda Pop (Cider no you ni Kotoba ga Wakiagaru) is a Comic Alive (my nemesis!) title based on the feature film. It’s also an omnibus. She was a streamer girl, he was a haiku boy, could I make it any more obvious?

ASH: Haiku! I apparently need to catch up on my film watching.

SEAN: Yen Press has non-debuts as well! We get Apparently, Disillusioned Adventurers Will Save the World 2, Assorted Entanglements 2, Chained Soldier 4, Cross-Dressing Villainess Cecilia Sylvie 4, Death March to the Parallel World Rhapsody 14, Gahi-chan! 2, The Holy Grail of Eris 4, The Magical Revolution of the Reincarnated Princess and the Genius Young Lady 4, Monster and the Beast 4 (the final volume), No Longer Heroine 3, The Otherworlder, Exploring the Dungeon 2, Our Last Crusade or the Rise of a New World 6, Overlord: The Undead King Oh! 10, The Princess of Convenient Plot Devices 2, So I’m a Spider, So What? 12, SOTUS 2, The Splendid Work of a Monster Maid 5 (the final volume), Uncle from Another World 7, Unnamed Memory 3, Val x Love 14, and The World’s Strongest Rearguard: Labyrinth Country’s Novice Seeker 6.

ASH: I enjoyed the earlier volumes of Monster and the Beast, so I guess I should finish out the series!

SEAN: Viz has a new Signature title, Until I Love Myself (Jibun no Karada wo Yurusu made). It’s an autobiographical manga about coming to terms with being nonbinary. It ran in seinen magazine Yawaraka Spirits.

ASH: Signature titles are always a good bet and I am particularly interested in this subject matter.

SEAN: Also from Viz: Alice in Borderland 6, Beast Complex 3, Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End 8, Golden Kamuy 29, Insomniacs After School 2, Love’s in Sight! 2, Mission: Yozakura Family 5, Persona 5 10, and Requiem of the Rose King 17 (the final volume).

MICHELLE: Very excited to see how Requiem of the Rose King ends.

SEAN: Technically we’ve known how it ends since the 16th century.

MICHELLE: Snerk. Valid point, though I expect Bosworth Field with a twist.

ANNA: I need to catch up.

ASH: I am absolutely here for the finale of Requiem of the Rose King.

SEAN: From Square Enix we see Cherry Magic! Thirty Years of Virginity Can Make You a Wizard?! 7 and Wandering Witch 4. Not sure what happened there, I could swear these were last week.

MICHELLE: I thought so, too.

ASH: Hmmm…

SEAN: Seven Seas has one debut. What He Who Doesn’t Believe in Fate Says (Unmei wo Shinjinai Kare ga Iu ni wa) runs in pixiv Sylph, and is a story of college students and the “red strings of fate” that determine love.

MICHELLE: Apparently, the red strings will occasionally be printed in color!

ASH: That is very cool.

SEAN: There is also The Dragon Knight’s Beloved 5, This Is Screwed Up, but I Was Reincarnated as a GIRL in Another World! 7, Though I Am an Inept Villainess: Tale of the Butterfly-Rat Body Swap in the Maiden Court 3, Time Stop Hero 7, and Uzaki-chan Wants to Hang Out! 9.

Kodansha Books has a 3rd volume of The Dawn of the Witch.

Kodansha Manga has a print debut of a title they’ve been putting out digitally, Medaka Kuroiwa is Impervious to My Charms (Kuroiwa Medaka ni Watashi no Kawaii ga Tsuujinai), a Weekly Shonen Magazine story about a girl trying to get a monk in training to fall for her.

Also in print: Drifting Dragons 13, Fire Force 33, Go! Go! Loser Ranger! 5, Something’s Wrong With Us 15 (the final volume, though I think there’s after stories), and That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime: Trinity in Tempest 7.

ASH: I need to catch up with Drifting Dragons; I was really enjoying that series but got distracted by other things.

SEAN: And in digital the debut is Messiah -CODE EDGE-. This runs in Aria, and is based on another project that I know nothing about. Basically, it’s spies, in pairs, with romance. And they’re all guys, so I guess it’s BL romance?

MICHELLE: The blurb says, “Mysterious, handsome young men working as spy-pairs for a secret agency, the Church, are forbidden to love anyone but their partners.” So… yeah. :)

ANNA: Heh.

SEAN: There’s also The Café Terrace and its Goddesses 8, The Dawn of the Witch 3, Gamaran 10, Mr. Bride 8, Small Nozomi and Big Yume 2, This Vampire Won’t Give Up! 5 (the final volume – I guess they gave up), and Vampire Dormitory 10.

MICHELLE: LOL. Maybe they moved into the dormitory.

ASH: Ha!

SEAN: Kaiten Books has a 5th volume of Gacha Girls Corps digitally.

J-Novel Club has a debut in its Heart line. Safe & Sound in the Arms of an Elite Knight (Doinaka no Hakugai Reijо̄ wa О̄to Elite Kishi ni Dekiai Sareru). Not isekai’d or reincarnated, but the heroine is still abused by her family. When she runs away and is rescued by a knight, will things improve?

ASH: I’m still delighted that the Heart line exists.

SEAN: We also see By the Grace of the Gods 12, The Conqueror from a Dying Kingdom 4, Doll-Kara 5, An Introvert’s Hookup Hiccups: This Gyaru Is Head Over Heels for Me! 3, the 4th Isekai Tensei: Recruited to Another World manga volume, The Master of Ragnarok & Blesser of Einherjar 23, Private Tutor to the Duke’s Daughter 8, Sometimes Even Reality Is a Lie! 3, The Unwanted Undead Adventurer 11, Welcome to Japan, Ms. Elf! 8, and the 3rd Young Lady Albert Is Courting Disaster manga.

From Ghost Ship we have Into the Deepest, Most Unknowable Dungeon 6 and Survival in Another World with My Mistress! 4.

Airship has just one print title, the 5th volume of Loner Life in Another World.

And for early digital we see She Professed Herself Pupil of the Wise Man 8 and Survival in Another World with My Mistress! 4.

I know, you likely stopped halfway through Yen Press. But what are you getting regardless?