manga the week of

SEAN: It’s time to bury you in manga releases once more, folks. What do the companies have up their sleeves?

ASH: All right, let’s do this!

Kodansha has the 12th and penultimate volume of My Little Monster. I can’t believe it’s ending so soon.

MICHELLE: I know! Thankfully, Say I Love You. is still ongoing.

SEAN: Noragami has hit double digits, likely to the delight of Kodansha.

ASH: I’m a few volumes behind, but I have been enjoying Noragami.

SEAN: And there’s a 12th volume of The Seven Deadly Sins.

Seven Seas has a bunch of stuff for us. Akuma no Riddle intrigued me more than I was expecting, so I look forward to the second volume.

MICHELLE: I need to investigate this one.

SEAN: Magical Girl Apocalypse does not intrigue me at all, but it has its fans who will enjoy this 6th volume.

And possibly the polar opposite of that title, Non Non Biyori has a 3rd volume.

Lastly, there’s an omnibus Vol. 1 release of the manga Orange, which has been up digitally on Crunchyroll, but Seven Seas now gives us a print release. It originally ran in Betsuma, then moved to Manga Action, showing it can be both shoujo and seinen. I think this is the first half.

ASH: I’ve heard good things and am looking forward to this one!

ANNA: Huh, I think I’m now officially intrigued.

MICHELLE: Me, too!

MJ: I’m always surprised when I’m interested in a Seven Seas release, but here we are!

SEAN: Vertical gives us another omnibus of Chi’s Sweet Home, with Vol. 4-6. Adorable kitties!

MICHELLE: Yay, kitties!

MJ: Chiiiiiii!

SEAN: And now it’s time for the Yen deluge. First up is Yen On. The Isolator was a new series by the author of Sword Art Online and Accel World, new enough so that it’s been a year since the first volume. Vol. 2 should be interesting.

And there’s a third volume of somewhat surreal teenage superpowers novel Kagerou Daze.

Yen Digital has a bunch of new titles coming out, and I’ll just note the complete volumes. Aphorism 2, Crimson Prince 2, Renaissance Eve 2, Scarlet Empire 3, and Sekirei 2. For those who enjoy tablet reading, try one of these series out.

On to actual print manga titles from Yen Press. There’s a 6th Accel World manga, which should be in the middle of one of the angstiest arcs.

Akame Ga KILL! reaches Vol. 5, continuing to try to excite us with capital letters and exclamation points.

Alice in Murderland 3 doesn’t have capital letters or exclamation points, but it has murder. Isn’t that enough?

A Certain Magical Index 4 decides it’s best to skip the boring vampire girl and move right to what readers really want, the sister clones.

The Devil Is A Part-Timer! 4 also adapts the novels for those who prefer exciting artwork with your plotting.

Final Fantasy Type-0 Side Story Volume 3 still remains very difficult to say.

First Love Monster’s 3rd volume will remind its readers of the discomfort they felt while reading Bunny Drop, I suspect.

Horimiya’s first volume was absolutely terrific, and I am delighted to see the 2nd one out next week.

MICHELLE: Me, too! The first volume was a lovely surprise!

ANNA: I’m intrigued again!

MJ: This is the volume I’m looking forward to most this week, I think!

SEAN: How to Raise a Boring Girlfriend (aka Saekano) is based on a light novel Yen doesn’t have the license for. It seems to feature an otaku hero and his collection of eccentric female acquaintances, just like every single other light novel ever.

Kagerou Daze also has a 4th manga volume out.

Log Horizon has a manga spinoff coming out, The West Wind Brigade, focusing on bishonen guild leader Sojirou.

Puella Magi Madoka Magica has a 2nd volume of its manga adaptation of the Rebellion movie.

So I Can’t Play H! has a 4th volume.

Sword Art Online has a 2nd volume of its side story Girls’ Ops, focusing on the female characters who get progressively ignored by the novels.

And it also starts to adapt a new arc, with the first Sword Art Online: Phantom Bullet volume.

MJ: I wish I was more interested in the manga adaptations of SAO, but they haven’t thrilled me.

SEAN: Taboo Tattoo is the other new title from Yen this month, running in my old nemesis, Media Factory’s Comic Alive. I have low expectations, but we shall see.

Triage X has reached Volume 11, despite all the prayers to the gods and curses I’ve attempted to put on it.

There’s a 5th Ubel Blatt omnibus, helpfully called Ubel Blatt 4. You know, if it had a light novel series, which Yen licensed with the same numbering, Amazon might literally explode into shards trying to keep track.

ASH: Ha! (It probably would.)

SEAN: Umineko When They Cry finishes up another arc, and if it helps this is definitely the low ebb of the series. From here out, things can only get better. Well, mostly better. Somewhat better?

And lastly, there’s an 11th omnibus of Until Death Do Us Part. Or its British version, Until Death Us Do Part.

MICHELLE: Aaaand now I have The Kinks in my head!

SEAN: Aside from staring at me blankly for that last obscure joke, what’s everyone doing next week?

SEAN: Next week’s releases really run the gamut of styles and genres. Let’s see what we’ve got.

Kodansha gives us a 2nd volume of Devil Survivor, meaning I am now officially behind.

And a 5th A Silent Voice, which I am definitely caught up on.

ASH: A Silent Voice continues to be a very strong series.

SEAN: And there’s also a 6th Yamada-kun and the Seven Witches. I am also caught up here. Will we see more witches?

ASH: Time will tell!

SEAN: On the Seven Seas end, we have a 2nd volume of Golden Time, from the Toradora! author.

And the debut of The Testament of New Sister Devil, which sounds like it might hit every single current popular fetish out there, and a few more besides. We’ll see if I’m wrong.

Vertical gives us A Girl on the Shore, a complete omnibus of an Inio Asano series from the cult and sadly cancelled Manga Erotics F magazine. It’s Inio Asano, so I expect good, if depressing, things.

MICHELLE: This should be interesting.

ASH: I’m very much looking forward to this release.

MJ: Okay, this. Yes, this.

SEAN: And there’s a 6th volume of My Neighbor Seki, which is possibly the antidote if you’re read too much Inio Asano at once.

ASH: Ha!

SEAN: Viz gives us a 5th Master Keaton volume, having pushed it back from its original December release date.

MICHELLE: I need to resume my catchup efforts!

ASH: As do I!

MJ: Always welcome!

SEAN: And a 7th Monster Perfect Edition.

MICHELLE: Yay, Monster!

ASH: Monster is one of my favorite Urasawa series. I’m so glad to see it back in print!

SEAN: And Terra Formars has reached double digits with Volume 10.

Most of Yen’s stuff is the week after next, but two novels seem to be coming out next week as of this writing. Pandora Hearts has finished its Caucus Race light novels with the third volume, so at least MJcan’t get any further behind.

MJ: Oops?

SEAN: And there’s a 2nd volume of Strike the Blood, which will hopefully feel more genuine and less calculated than the first volume did.

Does something from this list sing to you? Crying out, “read me and be sad yet enriched”? Or perhaps “Read me and get suggestive succubi who say oniichan a lot”?

SEAN: Traditionally, the first and fourth weeks of the month are the largest, as Week 1 is where Viz releases it’s Jump and Beat titles, and Week 4 is usually Yen Press. Weeks 2 and 3 therefore vie for the remaining attention, containing less spectacular stuff – Viz puts out Sunday imprints in Week 2, but otherwise it can be a hodgepodge. (Week 3, to complete the analysis, is Viz’s Signature stuff.) Is there anything vying for attention in next week’s small batch?

Dark Horse gives us an 11th volume of its Lone Wolf and Cub omnibus.

ASH: I’m finally making a point to get caught up with Lone Wolf and Cub; it’s a really great series.

SEAN: Seven Seas has a trio of releases. Arpeggio of Blue Steel is a cut above the usual ‘girls are ships/planes/whatever’ genre, and I look forward to Vol. 6 next week.

The words “monster girls” may cause the entire Manga Bookshelf team to groan, but the debut of My Monster Secret from Seven Seas is intriguing – people I trust have told me it’s very funny and well-written. It’s from Weekly Shonen Champion, also home to Yowamushi Pedal, which it resembles not at all.

And we have a third Pandora in the Crimson Shell: Ghost Urn, which… yeah, I can’t, really. I do hear it has an anime soon.

SubLime has an 8th volume of His Favorite, whose covers always look great, and has some fans here, I think.

ASH: That it does!

SEAN: Viz gives us 57 varieties of Case Closed, one for each volume it has out to date.

There’s a lot of fun stuff in the first half of the 12th Ranma 1/2 omnibus – including the famous “fishing rod of love” story – but let’s be honest, old-school fans will mostly want to read this for Herb. He shows up in the 2nd half.

Lastly, and thankfully for Manga Bookshelf writers desperate for a Pick of the Week, there’s a 3rd volume of Requiem of the Rose King, which is still in the Henry VI plays but possibly not for much longer.

ASH: Definitely the one volume that I’m most looking forward to this week!

ANNA: This is the ONLY volume I’m looking forward to this week!

MICHELLE: Yup. Same here.

MJ: Okay, this is probably predictable since I actually chose this series as my Pick of the Year, but: ME, me, me me me. Me. Yes, me. Me, too.

SEAN: What whets your appetite for next week?

SEAN: For a first week of the month, this is pretty mild. And by mild I mean there’s still 17 titles due out. But mild by comparison.

Seven Seas gives us a 2nd volume of A Certain Scientific Accelerator, as he deals with a Certain Magical Girl who is messing up his plans to not get involved.

And a 2nd Merman in My Tub, with more wacky anthropomorphism (which would make a great band name).

ASH: That it would!

SEAN: There’s also a 3rd volume of Senran Kagura: Skirting Shadows, which I had forgotten existed, likely as it’s already hit ‘caught up with Japan’. Judging by the cover, breasts are somehow involved. I wonder if someone will trip and fall into them.

The rest is all Viz. There’s a 14th Blue Exorcist, which I admit I always forget about between volumes, but it all comes back to me when I read a new one.

Aya Shouoto continues to be the new Arina Tanemura, as we can’t get enough of her work. This week we have a 3rd Demon Prince of Momochi House, and also an 8th Kiss of the Rose Princess.

ANNA: Not surprisingly, I enjoy these series. These manga are solid shoujo series, even if they aren’t standouts.

MJ: I’ve begun to enjoy them as well!

SEAN: If you like shoujo that’s so sweet as to give you cavities, the first volume of Honey So Sweet may be for you.

MICHELLE: Sometimes I do like that very thing, so I am looking forward to this one.

ANNA: Also not surprisingly this is on my reading list!

MJ: And mine!

SEAN: Kimi ni Todoke is also good at sweet, but has also been putting on the drama a bit lately as we hit Vol. 23.

ANNA: I’ve been avoiding this just because I’m not sure I can deal with all the feels.

SEAN: And it will be hard to top the concentrated sweetness that is My Love Story!!, whose 7th volume is guaranteed to require major dentistry for all its readers.

MICHELLE: Heh. Also on my list.

ASH: Mine as well! Such a wonderfully charming series.

ANNA: Ditto. One of the series I most look forward to reading.

MJ: Wow, what a lovely, shoujo-ish week.

SEAN: Naruto has a one-volume sequel coming out next week, The Seventh Hokage and the Scarlet Spring. Be warned, it’s post-Epilogue.

And there’s a 13th Naruto 3-in-1.

Lastly, if you really want to catch up, Naruto 49-72 are in a giant box. Perfect for figuring out what the fuss was all about and why Sakura fans are so angry.

Natsume’s Book of Friends 19 is the one shoujo out this week that’s more bitter than sweet, but I still love it to bits.

MICHELLE: Me, too. Much as I look forward to the others, this is the one I’m really celebrating about.

SEAN: And a 13th Nisekoi, which will answer the question “will this still sell after the harem has now been sunk in the weekly chapters from Japan?”.

One-Punch Man just gets more and more popular by the week, so I expect big things from the 4th manga volume. And also big punches.

ASH: Still thrilled we’re finally getting this series in print.

ANNA: Why did it take so long? Hooray for punching!

SEAN: Twin Star Exorcists is getting an anime soon, so I think the 3rd volume should do pretty well.

And there’s an 8th volume of World Trigger, one of those Jump series I always despair about falling further behind on.

So what are you ringing in the New Year with?

SEAN: Bargains bargains bargains! It’s the end of the year, and publishers are clearing out! All these titles must go!

MICHELLE: *snerk*

SEAN: Dark Horse has a the 2nd Astro Boy omnibus out next week.

And also the 4th volume of CLAMP-ish supernatural mystery Blood-C.

Lastly, they have another omnibus of Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service, which is an absolute must-read if you haven’t already.

ASH: So glad Dark Horse found a way to keep this in print!

SEAN: Kodansha has a huge pile of things. Starting with the ever popular Attack on Titan, we get the 6th volume of serious-minded Before the Fall.

And if you like your Titans sillier, there’s a 4th omnibus of Attack on Titan Junior High.

ASH: Junior High is ridiculous.

MJ: To be fair, actual junior high is pretty ridiculous, too.

SEAN: A new debut from the creator of Blade of the Immortal, Die Wergelder runs in the magazine Nemesis and is rather violent and adult, I hear.

ASH: Violent and adult, that sounds about right for Samura!

SEAN: Fairy Tail has a new spinoff, Ice Trail, which focuses on Gray. Asd with most spinoffs, it’s by a different artist with plotting from Mashima.

There’s a 4th volume of The Heroic Tale of Arslan, drawn by the creator of Fullmetal Alchemist.

MICHELLE: I bought volume one but haven’t gotten around to actually reading it.

ASH: It’s been pretty solid, so far!

MJ: As a huge fan of Arakawa, I’m ashamed to say I haven’t read this at all, though I admit what I *really* want is a new story actually written by her. The art is only half the draw for me.

SEAN: A seventh and possibly last omnibus of Vinland Saga is also out. Don’t let this series hit the dreaded hiatus wall.

ASH: This series is incredible; I really hope we’ll get to see more.

SEAN: And a 5th volume of shonen romance Your Lie in April.

ASH: I’ll admit, I’ve fallen a bit behind on this one.

SEAN: Seven Seas also has a couple of new titles. There’s a 4th volume of smutty yuri soap opera Citrus.

And also a 7th volume of genuinely funny school comedy D-Frag!.

Yen Digital also has a large number of releases, including several debuts. Aoharu x Machinegun is a GFantasy series, but I’m afraid that doesn’t make up for it being in the survival game genre. Still, could be good.

Baccano! may not have its light novels coming out till April, but Yen is able to serialize its new prequel manga that began in Young Gangan this fall. The first three chapters are out next week. I adore Baccano!.

Black Detective is a Shonen Gangan series that looks to be a mystery, as you might gather from the title.

MICHELLE: With a sadistic lead and masochistic assistant, apparently.

SEAN: Corpse Princess has a 2nd volume.

Of all of Yen’s ‘digital only’ announcements, Saki was probably the one that generated the most excitement and annoyance – excitement over the release, annoyance over the lack of print. Given that it’s a seinen mahjong series with a bunch of busty female leads, though, I think we’re pretty lucky to see it at all. I can’t wait for it myself, I’ve heard a lot of good things about this series.

MICHELLE: Ooh! I’m in!

ASH: Mahjong manga!!!

MICHELLE: I’ll even forgive boinging bosoms for that!

MJ: Same.

SEAN: And there’s 2 more volumes of workplace 4-koma Servant x Service.

Lastly, a 2nd volume of Unknown.

Are you getting any of this with your Christmas gift cards?

SEAN: Last month I believed Dark Horse rather than Diamond, and got burned for it. This time I’m believing Diamond, so no Dark Horse next week. That leaves…

Ninja Slayer Kills 2 and Noragami 9, both from Kodansha.

MICHELLE: Hm… Well, someone is probably happy about these, I guess.

ASH: Wow, only two manga releases?! Personally, I’ll be passing on Ninja Slayer Kills, but Noragami has been developing nicely.

ANNA: It is weird to have only two new releases! It is probably not so weird that I have nothing to say about them.

MJ: I, too, am here to say basically that I have nothing to say. But there’s a lot to catch up on from last week, at least!

SEAN: Thoughts?

SEAN: There are 39 titles due out next week. Thirty-nine. Let’s take a look. Try not to get lost in the deluge.

Attack on Titan’s 17th volume has a Special Edition with a DVD of Ilse’s Notebook, the side story from the 5th volume.

ASH: It’s really interesting to see special editions like this starting to come out!

SEAN: Fairy Tail has a 51st volume.

Kiss Him, Not Me! and L♥DK both have their second volumes which may interest shoujo fans.

MICHELLE: I suppose I will check out the second volume of L♥DK just to see whether it improves, but I don’t have high hopes.

SEAN: And Say “I Love You” has an 11th volume that is a must for shoujo fans.

MICHELLE: A definite must.

ANNA: I am way behind on this series! Maybe I will binge read during an upcoming vacation.

SEAN: Tsubasa has finally climbed out of its Reservoir and is ready to take on the world with the debut of Tsubasa World Chronicle 1. I am trying to contain my enthusiasm. See? :|

MICHELLE: I didn’t even know this existed!

ANNA: You know, I used to be a major CLAMP fan, and now I have CLAMP fatigue.

MICHELLE: Yeah, I think that has afflicted me, too. I never finished xxxHOLiC or the first Tsubasa series, despite owning them all, and now they both have sequels I haven’t touched. And then there’s that Gate 7 series, which utterly failed to make an impression with me.

ANNA: Most of my remaining feelings of affection for CLAMP are tied up in nostalgia for X/1999. So much angst and feathers!

MICHELLE: I have an enduring fondness for CLAMP Campus Detectives, but more so the anime than the manga. Oh, and Cardcaptor Sakura!

SEAN: It is rather sad that Man of Many Faces is still in my top 5 CLAMP works, given it was their first. (It’s out digitally next week as well, by the way! Rescued by Viz.)

ANNA: Cardcaptor Sakura is also great! Actually, I’m interested in reading Man of Many Faces, and I didn’t realize that it was out digitally.

MJ: I’m probably the only person here unlikely to succumb to CLAMP fatigue, I suppose, and while a Tsubasa sequel is not high on the list of what I’d really like to see most from them, I’ll surely check it out. Their artwork will always be a draw for me, and they have a knack for creating characters I can’t get enough of. Even when they write themselves into a hole (as they’ve occasionally done), I’ll stick around to the end.

SEAN: One Peace has a 5th (final?) volume of Aquarion Evol.

ANNA: I have some volumes of Aquarion I need to read.

SEAN: If you’ve somehow not read the brilliant and evocative A Distant Neighborhood books from Ponent Mon, they’ve got a Complete Edition out next week to correct that.

MICHELLE: I really liked A Distant Neighborhood.

ASH: Very glad to see this coming back into print!

ANNA: I haven’t read this, but I know it is wonderful, and I am also glad it is coming back into print.

MJ: It really *is* wonderful, and I’m so glad to see it coming back!

SEAN: And Seven Seas also has an omnibus of Mayo Chiki starting next week, whose audience is possibly a bit different from that of A Distant Neighborhood.

Vertical debuts a novel that will be of great interest to anime fans: Kizumonogatari: Wound Tale, the first (chronologically) of the popular Monogatari series from Nisioisin (author of Medaka Box and Zaregoto). I am VERY excited for its release, even though it has vampires – possibly that only adds to the excitement!

ANNA: Vampires are always exciting!

MEILNDA: I’m always willing to try something from Vertical, even if vampires are involved.

SEAN: Vertical also has the 12th and final volume of Mobile Suit Gundam the Origin. It’s a labor of love, and I’m sure that the Manga Bookshelf team, particularly Ash, are ready to congratulate them on its completion.

ASH: It’s true! This has been a fantastic release. Congrats, Vertical!

ANNA: Vertical deserves some sort of award for this lovely edition.

SEAN: And if Gundam is too realistic for you, try the second Ninja Slayer, also from Vertical.

Afterschool Charisma is a series I keep forgetting is still running, but here’s the 11th volume.

ANNA: I’m way behind on this, but I like it!

SEAN: And here is the 17th Dorohedoro, which I could never forget. Are these two the last remnants of SigIKKI?

MICHELLE: I believe so.

ASH: I love Dorohedoro so much.

SEAN: Master Keaton has a 5th volume already. I’ve fallen behind on this series.

MICHELLE: Me, too. I did start, but got bogged down somewhere in volume two.

ANNA: I am happy to report that this is one series I am not behind on! I enjoy Master Keaton.

SEAN: And a 4th volume of the insanely popular Tokyo Ghoul, which will war with Attack on Titan 17 for the top of the bestseller charts.

Yen On has five light novels out for the holidays. The 2nd Black Bullet will, I suspect, be as grim as the debut was.

The Devil Is A Part-Timer! has proven to be very likeable, and I hope the third volume continues the trend.

I remain surprised at how addictive Is It Wrong To Try To Pick Up Girls In a Dungeon? has become, particularly with that title. The 4th volume is also highly anticipated.

We’ve nearly come to the end of the long running Spice & Wolf novel series, with Vol. 16 being the 2nd to last.

And Sword Art Online’s 6th novel wraps up another arc, as Kirito and Sinon try to figure out the secret behind the Gun Gale Online game and those using it to kill players in real life.

MJ: I think I’m one of the few folks here who is pretty into SAO… how did that happen? In any case, I’m always ready for more!

SEAN: Yen Press has a number of debuts next week, beginning with Aldnoah Zero, which (like Rose Guns Days) gets a Season One appended to it. It runs in Manga Time Kirara Forward, but don’t expect it to be a 4-koma: this is a serious sci-fi title based on an anime created at the same time.

ASH: I haven’t seen the anime yet, but I am rather curious about the Aldnoah Zero manga.

MJ: I’m interested as well.

SEAN: There’s an 8th Barakamon, which I do recommend if you’re missing Yotsuba&!, even though the two titles have a somewhat different feel.

MICHELLE: I have a big stack of Barakamon that I really need to get around to reading.

MJ: I haven’t given this title its due, but I really should pay more attention to it!

SEAN: For those who don’t like prose, there’s the 2nd volume of the Black Bullet manga.

A ninth volume of Bloody Cross no doubt sees the series headed towards its endgame.

And there’s a third volume of eccentric fantasy Chaika the Coffin Princess.

Demon from Afar is up to Vol. 5, and no doubt continues to look very pretty and destroy all our hopes and dreams.

The third Emma omnibus also will look very pretty, but likely has 100% fewer corpses.

MICHELLE: *snerk*

MJ: I’m still excited every time one of these shows up, since I missed this series the first time around!

SEAN: And we get a 5th volume of He’s My Only Vampire. One of a large number of vampire manga out there, it’s trying to be our steady and doing a pretty good job.

MICHELLE: Definitely my favorite of the vampire gang.

ANNA: Is it odd that I haven’t read this yet? Probably.

MJ: I think that’s very odd indeed!

SEAN: Maximum Ride is not technically a manga, but it certainly sells well enough, so let’s mention the 9th volume here.

The Melancholy of Suzumiya Haruhi-chan is now at double digits, and I suspect will run till the author (Puyo, not the author of the original source) decides it is over.

Of the Red, the Light and the Ayakashi is based on a visual novel, and runs in Media Factory’s sorta-kinda-shoujo magazine Comic Gene. Expect prettiness.

MICHELLE: I’ve started reading this and it’s giving me some Natsume’s Book of Friends vibes, which is definitely a compliment.

ASH: Oooh, that’s good to hear! And the cover art is pretty, too!

ANNA: I’m always up for pretty sorta-kinda-shoujo.

MJ: I’m up for this, definitely, especially after reading Michelle’s comment above.

SEAN: Pandora Hearts has a 23rd volume, and it’s the first to come out in over a year, so I’ll let Michelle and MJtake over from here.

MICHELLE: I’ve fallen somewhat behind, so I am going to have a nice big marathon and it’ll be awesome. And then I’ll wait in desperation for the 24th and final volume to come out.

MJ: I have *not* fallen behind, as you might imagine, and have been anticipating this rather anxiously! My love for this series has not waned!

SEAN: Puella Magi Madoka Magica: The Movie has a first volume, and is sure to appeal to fans of Homura who couldn’t get enough of the movie—ow, I think I cut myself on my sarcasm there.

MJ: I haven’t been able to maintain any interest in this series beyond the original anime. So many books. So little interest.

SEAN: There’s also a 2nd volume of Puella Magi Suzune Magica.

Rose Guns Days Season One gets a 2nd volume, as we learn more about this strange occupied Japan and the eccentrics populating it.

The Secret Sakura Shares is a done-in-1 omnibus that ran in Hakusensha’s LaLa and LaLa DX magazines, and I love that we’re seeing Hakusensha titles get additional publisher availability. That said, I suspect many readers will have trouble getting past the premise.

MICHELLE: Yeah, I don’t know about this one, but I’m gonna read it anyway.

ANNA: Hmmmmmm.

MJ: I just read the premise, and I agree I may have trouble getting past it. I guess we’ll see.

SEAN: Sunshine Sketch 8 finally bids farewell to its two gayest… sorry, oldest characters, as Sae and Hiro are graduating. But the series continues, and we gain some new students in the process.

Lastly, we have the first Yowamushi Pedal omnibus, as an incredibly popular shonen cycling series finally gets a chance in the West, despite a huge number of volumes extant. There are, I hear, one or two male fans. Somewhere. But for the most part, YowaPeda is known for its BL fandom, though the manga itself is not BL.

MICHELLE: I’m looking forward to this one a lot. Not for the BL but for its presumed sports manga-y aspects.

ASH: I’m certainly excited to see publishers giving sports manga another chance!

ANNA: I am always wishing for more sports manga, so I’m glad this is coming out.

MJ: Yay sports manga! Yay BL fandom! I’m ready for it all!

SEAN: That’s it. Finally. What are you getting?

SEAN: A relatively quiet week, possibly as everyone’s saving up for the week after this, which may be the biggest week I’ve seen in manga ever. But for now, things are peaceful.

Dark Horse has the first Planetes Omnibus, and if you have not read this series before (Tokyopop released it a while back), get it. Even if you have, get it. It’s supposed to be spiffed up. Planetes is one of the really good ones that every manga owner should have.

MICHELLE: Ooh, I forgot this was being rereleased. I never actually finished the TOKYOPOP volumes. Bad me.

ASH: I love this series! (The anime was well done, as well.) I’m very happy to see the manga coming back bigger and better than ever.

ANNA: I also love this series, and have saved the old Tokyopop volumes. I’m glad that more people will get a chance to read this manga, it really is something special.

MJ: I’m so excited about this. I missed out on the original release, and this is something I’ve wanted to read for a long, long time.

SEAN: I do note that I use Diamond Comics release dates for Dark Horse titles in this list, as that’s their primary distributor. Same with Udon. Other retailers may get in in a week or two later.

Seven Seas has a 3rd omnibus for Freezing, a very Seven Seas-ey title.

And a 4th volume of Servamp, which is not quite as Seven Seas-ey, but it does try hard.

Vertical has a 2nd omnibus for Tokyo ESP, whose first volume I enjoyed more than I expected to.

MICHELLE: Same here. I’m looking forward to volume two.

ANNA: I haven’t tried this yet but it sounds like I should look into it!

MJ: I’m in!

SEAN: And an 8th volume of Witchcraft Works, which I think is almost caught up with Japan?

ASH: If so, that’ll give me time to get caught up, too; I’m behind.

SEAN: Viz has a digital-only debut released next week, Crown of Thorns. This is a Betsuma series by Youko Kamio, creator of Boys Over Flowers. That alone should be enough to make people check it out.

MICHELLE: !!!!!!!! I had no idea! I am so there.

ANNA: EEEEEEEEE! I am excited!!!!!!!!!!!!!

MJ: Mostly I’m just excited because they are. Who can resist such squee?

SEAN: We’re almost at the end of Deadman Wonderland, with Vol. 12. Are they still in prison?

Whereas even at volume 16, Itsuwaribito still has a ways to go.

Lastly, there’s a 15th volume of Magi, which, being a Shonen Sunday title, no doubt needs more love. Certainly I love it.

MICHELLE: Me, too!

ASH: One of these days I’ll actually follow through and give the series a try. And probably my love.

MICHELLE: Do eet.

ANNA: I just ordered some volumes to fill in my collection, and am going to start getting caught up. I enjoyed the first few volumes of the series very much. It also has my love!

SEAN: Are you picking any of these up next week?

SEAN: The last month of the year is upon us next week, and manga companies are here to make sure it’s filled with STUFF. What have we got this time around?

Dark Horse gives us a 7th volume of not-so-new-anymore New Lone Wolf & Cub.

Kodansha figures we like Noragami so much that we’ll pick up a volume of Stray Stories. They’re probably right.

ASH: They probably are.

SEAN: Seven Seas has a 3rd volume of the sweet fantasy series The Ancient Magus’ Bride.

ASH: I’m greatly enjoying this series; looking forward to more!

SEAN: And also a 3rd volume of Clay Lord: Master of Golems.

Udon has a 2nd volume of punctuationally challenged Stein;s Gate.

Viz has a slightly smaller giant pile for this December. We get a 7th volume of Assassination Classroom, the most heartwarming kill-your-teacher manga out there.

ANNA: I’m so far behind with this series, but I do enjoy it!

SEAN: Bloody Mary is the debut this month, from the Shojo Beat line, and with a title like that, I’ll give you two guesses what supernatural element it features. Give up? Vampires! ZOMG!

MICHELLE: *snerk* Still, I will probably check this one out.

ANNA: Woo hoo!

ASH: And not just vampires, but beautiful vampires with a hint of BL!

MJ: Well, of course.

SEAN: Dragon Ball must be running out of omnibuses soon, but not yet with this 11th 3-in-1.

Do you like curry? Then read Food Wars! 9.

MICHELLE: Yay! I have been holding onto volume eight so I could have a little mini-marathon.

ANNA: I enjoy both Food Wars! and curry!

ASH: Same!

SEAN: Komomo Confiserie has a 2nd volume of twisted personalities and delicious desserts.

MICHELLE: Somehow it seems like it has taken forever for volume two to come out.

ANNA: I liked the first volume, looking forward to reading this.

SEAN: One Piece has a 14th 3-in-1, containing possibly my favorite volume in the entire series.

Seraph of the End is up to Volume 7.

ANNA: Shonen vampires! Tortured orphans! Weapons possessed by demons! Evil machinations!

SEAN: And So Cute It Hurts!! has two more volumes than it does exclamation marks.

ANNA: One of those super cute but not very deep shoujo series. Still fun to read.

SEAN: Toriko’s Vol. 31 starts a new story arc, I believe.

And lastly, an 11th volume of Stan Lee’s collaboration with Japan, Ultimo.

Are you picking up anything next week?

SEAN: Dark Horse are starting to irritate me with sliding release dates lately. Kodansha do it too, but at least they give a week’s notice or so. In any case, Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service’s second omnibus is NOT coming out this week, sorry. (And let’s not even talk about what’s happening with Diamond Comics.) As for next week, let’s take a look.

Theoretically, the 2nd Oh My Goddess! omnibus is hitting comic shops next week. But see above.

Kodansha has a giant pile of stuff out next week (well, comparatively, we’re not talking Viz or Yen piles here). The 2nd Inuyashiki seems to feature our young villain on the cover.

The Seven Deadly Sins is doing really really well in Japan, so you know will not be ending with next week’s Volume 11.

A Silent Voice has another volume, and I wonder if our leads will get closer or if events will conspire to destroy their lives again. Or both!

ASH: So far, I’ve been pretty impressed with this series.

SEAN: Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle reaches its 6th omnibus, and I think we’re nearing peak crossover here.

UQ Holder also has a 6th volume coming out. I enjoy it, but can’t find much to say about it.

The final omnibus of Lucifer and the Biscuit Hammer is out, with the 9th and 10th volumes. It’s such a great series, and it has a great ending as well. Buy it.

Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation is next week’s debut from Seven Seas. A NEET with a somewhat aimless life dies saving someone from a speeding car, and ends up reincarnated in a world of sword and sorcery, determined to make his life better. I know very little about this.

MJ: I’d be completely intrigued if “Seven Seas” didn’t make me suspicious about the content being… not for me.

SEAN: And there’s the penultimate volume of The Sacred Blacksmith.

And a new Witch Buster omnibus, with Vol. 15-16.

Vertical has a 5th volume of adorable comedy My Neighbor Seki. (Well, adorable unless you’re Yokoi.)

ASH: I continue to be utterly delighted by My Neighbor Seki.

MJ: Yes.

SEAN: Yen has moved their digital releases to a week after their print ones, possibly to save our Manga the Week of column the aggravation. I appreciate it. A lot of debuts, starting with Aphorism, which is a survival manga, meaning I don’t care. It’s a long-running series, though…

Crimson Prince is also a long-running series, and is a comedic supernatural fantasy, which means it definitely has an audience here.

ANNA: Is this shojo or shonen? Inquiring minds want to know!

SEAN: It runs in Shonen Gangan, but remember Square Enix doesn’t have a shoujo magazine. Many readers call it shoujo.

ANNA: Yay!

MJ: Ooooooh.

SEAN: There’s a second volume of Demon King Ena-sama Goes to a Manga School, which let’s face it is not the sort of title you’d see licensed here 15 years ago.

ANNA: Probably not!!!!

SEAN: Renaissance Eve’s description also makes it sound a bit like a survival manga, but it also says “blood” a lot, so maybe it has vampires as well?

Scarlet Empire gets two volumes released, and seems to be a sort of Edo period samurai manga with time travel. Which sounds awesome, frankly.

ANNA: This does sound awesome! I am officially intrigued.

SEAN: This runs in GFantasy, so you can definitely assume it’s as close to shoujo as they get.

ANNA: Double yay!!!!

ASH: Well, now. That does sound intriguing!

MJ: I will basically try anything from GFantasy. In case you didn’t know that already.

MICHELLE: It’s always nice when things that weren’t on one’s radar before suddenly attain “must investigate” status.

SEAN: Sekirei is a harem manga with piles and piles of fanservice, and here is Vol. 1. At least with a digital release you can read it on a bus without showing everyone the cover art.

ASH: Heh.

SEAN: Lastly is Servant x Service, a comedic office worker comedy which has its first two volumes out digitally this month, and gets a print omnibus in April. It’s from the creator of Working!.

Does this list make you give thanks?

SEAN: Next week sees the release of Monthly Girls’ Nozaki-kun from Yen Press. And some other books, I guess.

ASH: Woo!

SEAN: We’ll start with the 2nd omnibus of Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service from Dark Horse, which if you haven’t read the series yet, and aren’t already getting Nozaki-kun, is well worth your time.

ASH: Definitely. Kurosagi is a delightfully quirky horror manga.

SEAN: Shigeru Mizuki’s examination of the Showa years was fascinating but a bit low on actual Hitler himself, so now we get a one-volume manga from Drawn & Quarterly tackling that exact subject, Shigeru Mizuki’s Hitler.

Cage of Eden 19 from Kodansha is close to the end, and hasn’t had anyone die horribly in a while, so may get a bit serious here, possibly.

My Little Monster 11 will also likely be series as it deals with fallout from the last volume.

MICHELLE: Painful, yet wonderful. I love this series.

SEAN: Noragami has its 8th volume, and has gotten quite popular, the sort of popularity that Nozaki-kun will soon have.

Yamada-kun and the Seven Witches has a 5th volume of comedy, supernatural abilities, and teasing of bisexuality that is unlikely to ever deliver.

ASH: But one can hope!

SEAN: From One Peace, we have the first volume of the manga adaptation Rise of the Shield Hero, whose novel OP released earlier. It runs in Comic Flapper, always a good thing in my book.

MJ: I need to give this a look.

SEAN: Seven Seas gives us a 7th volume of Devils and Realist, which is I assume still battling over hell.

Evergreen gives us a 3rd volume of angst, teens with wasting illnesses, and “are they siblings or lovers?” back and forth.

Haven’t You Heard? I’m Sakamoto gives us a 2nd volume of Sakamoto being awesome. If you like this sort of series, go get Nozaki-kun as well.

ASH: Yes and yes.

SEAN: I am very angry at Viz for releasing the 11th volume of Ooku next week, as it means that I likely won’t have a unanimous Pick of the Week for Monthly Girls’ Nozaki-kun.

MICHELLE: And this is the final volume of Ooku, as well, I believe.

MJ: I’m pretty psyched about this.

ASH: I think it might still be ongoing! (Or at least I hope.)

MICHELLE: Well, I’ll be! You’re right! Volume 12 just came out in Japan last week.

SEAN: Luckily, the 9th Terra Formars will not have that problem.

And a 2nd Ultraman volume is out as well.

ASH: The first volume ended with a pretty great hook; the series has definite potential.

SEAN: Yen On has 4 novels (Monthly Girls’ Nozaki-kun is not based on a light novel, in case you were wondering). Accel World 5 will hopefully be a bit lighter in tine after the first few leaning heavily on teen drama.

A Certain Magical Index’s 5th volume gives us an attempt to rehabilitate its previous horrible villain, as well as an adorable loli. But don’t worry, Touma and Misaka are in it as well.

Durarara!! has a 2nd volume, which focuses on a serial slasher who is making life chaotic in Ikebukuro… so situation normal for this series.

Log Horizon gives us a 3rd volume, which is I think the first of a two-parter. Will it continue to lean on politics, or will we get more battles?

You’d think Yen Press would release Monthly Girls’ Nozaki-kun by itself this week, but no, they also have 19 other releases. To start off, a 5th volume of creepy shoujo manga Ani-Imo.

Are You Alice? is up to double digits and has perhaps answered that by now. It’s headed for an ending, but not there yet.

Black Butler gives us Vol. 21. You can also now enjoy the individual chapters if you want instant gratification.

It’s time for our annual release of A Bride’s Story with Vol. 7. It will no doubt be excellent no matter what, but who will it focus on?

MICHELLE: I really need to get caught up on this but now I’m so far behind it’s daunting.

MJ: This is always a treat!

ASH: I love A Bride’s Story so much!

SEAN: BTOOOM! is at Volume 12 and shows no sign of stopping. I would say this proves there is no God, but the existence of Monthly Girls’ Nozaki-kun makes me reconsider that.

MICHELLE: Meanwhile, I have no desire to get caught up on this.

SEAN: I wasn’t impressed with The Devil Is A Part-Timer! High School!!, but perhaps a 2nd volume will try to do more with the high school AU premise.

The Disappearance of Nagato Yuki-chan looks like it might wrap up its love story in this volume, and the cover certainly looks like a final one. It is final? Nope.

A new series from Yen. No, not Nozaki-kun, that will be coming. Instead it is Dragons Rioting, a series that features a boy with an illness that kills him if he gets aroused, lots of big-breasted fighting women in high school, and runs in Dragon Age. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

MICHELLE: Ugh.

MJ: Just reading the premise makes me want to die.

SEAN: Final Fantasy Type-0 Side Story Vol. 2 is the sort of series that exhausts me just typing it out.

High School DxD has a 7th volume, in case BTOOOM! and Dragons Rioting weren’t enough for you.

The Honor Student at Magic High School is a spinoff of a novel Yen licensed but had to delay, so once again we get the spinoff first. Hopefully I won’t get too spoiled.

Inu x Boku SS is rapidly heading to a climax with its 9th volume.

Is It Wrong To Try To Pick Up Girls In A Dungeon? has its 3rd manga volume, for those who avoid novels.

And there’s a 3rd omnibus of Karneval, which reminds me I still need to read the 2nd.

At last! the moment we’ve all been waiting for! The debut of Izumi Tsubaki’s Monthly Girls’ Nozaki-kun! You’ll laugh! You’ll cry! You’ll grow as a person. Well, no, you’ll only laugh. but that’s enough. BUY THIS.

ANNA: I am excited about this! I am going to buy it! Have I mentioned that I’m excited about this? I really really am!!!!

MICHELLE: Me, too! Especially after volume 19 of Oresama Teacher was so good! I’m in a Tsubaki state of mind!

MJ: After all the hype, how can I possible turn away?

ASH: You can’t! You must become one of us!

SEAN: It feels like an anticlimax to discuss books after Nozaki-kun, but here they are. A 2nd Prison School omnibus will continue to be the Prison School-iest manga ever.

ASH: Definitely not a series for everyone, but I’ll be reading more of it.

SEAN: Puella Magi Tart Magica is not over with Vol. 2, I hear, but still stars Jeanne D’Arc, so I can’t expect happy things.

School-Live! just had an anime air this past summer (Gakkou Gurashi in case you wondered), and this is the manga source, from Manga Time Kirara Forward. It’s supposedly a cute Kirara school club series… but let’s just say, expect zombies.

Secret has a 3rd volume, and yes, they’re still wearing animal masks.

Lastly, I could say something about the third Trinity Seven volume, but I will instead remind you to pick up Monthly Girls’ Nozaki-kun.

Besides that, what else are you getting next week?

SEAN: Good news! Every week in November has an absurd amount of manga coming out – except next week! Bad news – the Manga Bookshelf team is going to be finding pick of the week very hard, I suspect.

Kodansha has a spinoff of Fairy Tail called Fairy Girls, which, as you may have guessed, is about the girls in Fairy Tail. It has a different author, though, and looks to be even more cutesy and fanservice-oriented than the main series – which is saying something.

And if you missed Fairy Tail to begin with, why not try the new 1000-page omnibus of the first five volumes? This is a ‘Colossal Edition’ style release.

ASH: That is a lot of manga in one volume! The Master’s Edition, indeed.

ANNA: That sounds crazy!

SEAN: Seven Seas has the second and final volume of Bodacious Space Pirates: Abyss of Hyperspace, which has female pirates in outer space, and I think that no other words are needed.

And for those who like dragons and nudity (I suspect the core fanbase reverses the order), there’s an 8th volume of Dragonar Academy.

SubLime has a 4th volume of Love Stage!!!!, which I’ve decided to add a ! to for each new volume.

ASH: I’ll admit: I’ve been collecting this series, but I actually haven’t read any of it yet.

MICHELLE: It’s fairly cute. Very fluffy, with very little stage, but not bad!

ANNA: Huh, I think I have a few volumes, I should read them!

MJ: I admit I would like more stage.

SEAN: The 11th omnibus of Ranma 1/2 ups the stakes for both Ranma and his father, as it sees the debut of Nodoka Saotome, Ranma’s mother who has certain ideas about what constitutes a “man among men”, and sex changes are probably not in that list.

The 19th volume of Rin-Ne I expect has no real premise-altering developments like that, but I bet it has a lot of ghosts who are secretly (or not so secretly) jerks.

Lastly, there is an 8th volume of superhero BL tease with Tiger & Bunny.

MICHELLE: I seldom rave about RIN-NE and Tiger & Bunny, but I do like both of them in a low-key kind of way.

SEAN: Taking a breather? Or getting something from the above list?

SEAN: I’ve gone on lately about how much manga is coming out lately, but November is really going to try a wallet’s soul. Let’s start with a huge first week, mostly from Viz.

Kodansha debuts a new series, Livingstone, that ran in the seinen magazine Morning. The artist is better known for Deadman Wonderland. It’s about two guys who try to find … well, living stones. No sign of Stanley, in case you wondered.

ASH: I’m rather curious about this one.

ANNA: This sounds odd, and I’m usually up for trying at least one volume of odd.

MJ: I’m interested in this, for sure.

SEAN: Say “I Love You” reaches double digits. Unlike other soap opera series I follow from Kodansha, I actually like the characters in this one. Read it if you haven’t.

ASH: It’s such a consistently good series!

MICHELLE: Very much looking forward to this!

ANNA: I so need to get caught up and binge read this series.

SEAN: Seven Seas has a 7th volume of oddball slice-of-fantasy-life series A Centaur’s Life.

I believe that Volume 12 is the final volume of Chi’s Sweet Home from Vertical, a series that has introduced a huge number of people to the adorable and quirky qualities of cat manga. I’ll miss it.

ASH: Hooray for Chi!

MICHELLE: It has been such a great manga to lend to coworkers’ kids, too.

ANNA: Nice. I think I’ll finally be reading this in the omnibus editions.

MJ: More Chi is always welcome!

SEAN: Let’s get on to Viz now. The 6th Black Rose Alice volume catches up with Japan, I believe, so enjoy your gorgeous yet spider-filled people while you can.

ASH: Alas, now we must suffer the wait with the rest of the world!

MICHELLE: Yeah, the double-eged sword. Thanks, VIZ, for exposing us to the awesome and the agony of Black Rose Alice.

ANNA: This series is so surreal. Even though it is painful that it is on hiatus, I still greatly appreciate the gorgeous spider-filled people.

MJ: Yes, yes, YES.

SEAN: Bleach, at Vol. 65, is in no danger of going on hiatus, or indeed finishing this arc, supposedly the final one, which started in 1883. Or feels like that.

MJ: Heh.

SEAN: That 13th Bleach 3-in-1 is also an option, and honestly the series reads better that way.

And I think D.Gray-Man may be mostly caught up on omnibuses with this, it’s 8th.

I’ve really been looking forward to this debut. Arina Tanemura’s new shoujo title is Idol Dreams, which runs in Hakusensha’s Melody and features a 31-year-old woman regretting her life who finds herself getting a do-over.

MICHELLE: I’m not historically much of a Tanemura fan, but I am really curious about this one!

ANNA: I am an unapologetic Tanemura fan and I am quivering with anticipation. Quivering!

MJ: I’m with Michelle on this one! Curious, but not quivering.

SEAN: JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure begins its 2nd arc with Battle Tendency, which leaps forward in time to focus on Joseph Joestar. Will it be as ludicrous as the first arc? My guess is yes.

ASH: This is gonna be good!

ANNA: When I think about how horrible humanity can be, then I think about JoJo and appreciate the fact that the human race has produced this ridiculous and transcendent manga. I’m serious.

SEAN: Kiss of the Rose Princess enters the home stretch with its 7th volume.

ANNA: Yay! I hope that an evil rose person shows up to throw an obstacle in the way of the heroine and her handsome knights.

SEAN: Maid-sama! has a 2nd omnibus. Teeth grinders beware, Usui is still in it.

ASH: But so is Misaki! Who is the best.

MICHELLE: I will keep reading, at least for the time being.

ANNA: Yeargh, if it wasn’t for the relationship dynamics I would enjoy this series so much more.

SEAN: My Hero Academia had a promising first volume, now let’s see where it goes with the second.

Naruto may be over, but its spinoffs live on, first with a nice-looking artbook, and secondly with the first of several post-series spinoff novels, the first being Kakashi’s Story.

Nisekoi gives us more mostly balanced harem antics with Vol. 12.

One Piece is still battling Doflamingo, but I think we’re edging closer to a conclusion with this 76th volume.

MICHELLE: Woo.

SEAN: One-Punch Man could only dream of having 10-volume long fighting arcs – sadly, Vol. 3 shows his fights end all too quickly.

ANNA: Because of the punching!!!!!!!!

SEAN: There are two Izumi Tsubaki series out this month! This week we have the one folks have seen for a while, with the 19th volume of Oresama Teacher.

MICHELLE: I’m glad for more Oresama, but really looking forward to the other one!

ANNA: Oresama is delightful. Looking forward to the new series very much too.

SEAN: Giant manga box sets are a great way to get newbies to read your favorite obsession – you can threaten top bludgeon them with the set if they don’t. Here’s one for Rosario + Vampire.

Yu-Gi-Oh gets a 4th omnibus 3-in-1. Collect ‘em all!

Lastly, there’s a 4th and I believe final volume of Yukarism.

MICHELLE: I’m really, really looking forward to this one!

ANNA: Yay! Why is it final at 4 volumes? I want more!!!!!

MJ: More! More! *whimper* More.

SEAN: Are you prepared for November 2015? Can you handle it? What are you getting next week?

SEAN: Bad news. There’s 31 titles shipping next week. Good news: I’m not getting too many of them, so it’s not crippling for me. What’s happening next week, anyway?

I haven’t seen an 801 Media title in forever, but Amazon lists Magical Warriors: Chocolat & Pudding as coming out next week. Which sounds like a cute magical girl title, but I’m going to hazard a guess isn’t.

ASH: I’m pretty sure that’s actually a Project-H title…

SEAN: Gantz comes to an end with Vol. 37, which is good because I ran out of things to say about it 30 volumes ago. I wish HEN was licensed.

Kodansha gives us more terrifying Junji Ito!… wait, no. This is Junji Ito’s Cat Diary: Yon & Mu, and I expect it will be adorable and strange.

ASH: I am looking forward to this so much!

MICHELLE: Me, too!

ANNA: This sounds like a winner.

SEAN: There’s also an 11th volume of guilty pleasure Missions of Love.

And a 4th volume of “she’s not a manic pixie dream girl, honest” series Your Lie in April.

Seven Seas is debuting three new titles. Akuma no Riddle has yuri and takes place at a girls’ private school, but given it’s all about assassins, I’m hoping it’s less moe than the usual.

ASH: Yun Kouga is involved with the series, so I’m doubly intrigued.

MJ: You had me at “Yun Kouga.” How was this not on my radar? I need to fix my radar.

MICHELLE: So do I!

ANNA: Huh. I am also intrigued.

SEAN: A Certain Scientific Accelerator is based off of a certain well-known franchise, and stars a certain popular antihero, as you will already have guessed.

And Golden Time is based on a light novel by the author of Toradora!, and I hope is just as heartwarming and enjoyable as that title is.

Udon gives us the first volume of Steins;Gate, a title I remember more for the aggravating punctuation than anything else.

MJ: This, this, THIS. I adored this as an anime series, so I’m very optimistic.

SEAN: Viz Select gives us a 2nd digital volume of Chocolate Cosmos. Teacher-student relationships, whee!

MICHELLE: The debut volume wasn’t bad, so I will probably check out volume two, as well.

ANNA: I meant to check this out earlier!

SEAN: Yen Digital has a giant pile of releases, as this is the first month of the “official” rollout, with chapter releases and everything. I’ll just cover volumes here, starting with Corpse Princess, which is probably what it sounds like.

There’s also new volumes for Handa-kun, The Royal Tutor, and Today’s Cerberus.

ASH: Handa-kun will be coming out in print later, so I’m hoping that more of the digital titles will, too.

SEAN: Unknown is an actual title for a new manga about supernatural powers and the people who police them.

MJ: I’ll pretty much always check out a series with supernatural powers.

SEAN: And we get all 3 volumes of When a Magician’s Pupil Smiles, about an emotionless boy and his run-in with magic. This actually looks like a MJ/Michelle sort of title.

MJ: Why, it certainly does.

SEAN: Yen On has a third No Game No Life, where we see whether Sora will somehow manage to return from being erased from existence.

And a third Sword Art Online Progressive, where we reach a new level of Aincrad and prepare for a lot of water travel.

MJ: I’ve fallen behind in my SAO reading, but I must rectify that soon.

SEAN: Yen Press proper, meanwhile, has its usual pile. Accel World has a 5th manga, not to be confused with the 5th novel, out next month. (At least they aren’t the same date anymore.)

Akame Ga KILL! sure is popular, and has a 4th volume out as well.

Alice in Murderland proved to be as attractive to me as most other Kaori Yuki manga are, but a 2nd volume is out for her fans anyway.

Barakamon has a 7th volume, and I suspect we’ll have a lot more country life to make up for all the Tokyo in Vol. 6.

There’s a Black Butler artbook coming out with many pretty color illustrations of people draped over each other, I expect.

ASH: Yen does a nice job with its artbooks from what I’ve seen, so this should be good.

MJ: Agreed. I’m not a fan of the series, but I expect this will be a nice release.

SEAN: A Certain Magical Index’s 3rd manga volume decides to skip the not-all-that-good 2nd novel entirely and go straight to adapting the third.

And The Devil Is a Part-Timer! also has a 3rd manga volume out.

First Love Monster’s first volume balanced sweet and kind of skeevy very well. We’ll see if it can keep it up with Vol. 2.

Horimiya is Yen’s debut this month, a manga adaptation of a webcomic that seems like your standard cute shoujo romance, but runs in GFantasy so I’m sure it has to be weird in some way.

ASH: I like weird!

MJ: GFantasy, it’s like a drug.

MICHELLE: I’m looking forward to this one a lot!

SEAN: A third Kagerou Daze will likely be adapting the 2nd novel, which I liked but see not reason to read a manga adaptation of.

In case you didn’t think Homura had had enough revenge yet, there’s a 2nd volume of Puella Magi Madoka Magica: Homura’s Revenge. (Look, I’m sorry, it’s the end of a long list.)

So I Can’t Play H! continues to give us ecchi situations with no payoff in its 3rd volume.

Lastly, the debut of the manga adaptation of Strike the Blood, whose first light novel I found reasonably good last month.

Does this list make you happy? Or merely ill at the pile of titles?

SEAN: Even though this is the quietest week of a big month… it’s still fairly big.

Dark Horse has a third volume of Oreimo: Kuroneko, for those who wanted a better ending than the canonical one, i.e. everyone.

Kodansha has the debut of a new shoujo series, L♥DK. It’s the sort I describe as a ‘potboiler’, and I think it will do well with those who love soap opera situations.

MICHELLE: I will be checking this one out. If it’s cracktastic, I hope it’s in a good way!

ASH: Soap opera situations? I am intrigued.

MJ: Who doesn’t love a good soap opera?

ANNA: I know I do!

SEAN: One Peace has a 2nd light novel for Rise of the Shield Hero.

Seven Seas caters to its fanbase with a second volume of Magika Swordsman and Summoner.

And also has a 3rd volume of Nurse Hitomi’s Monster Infirmary, which has monster girls and more ecchi antics.

And we round off our trio of otaku titles with Pandora in the Crimson Shell: Ghost Urn 2, which is drawn by Rikdo Koshi as if he never left the world of hentai doujinshi, and is written by Masamune Shirow as if he didn’t either.

Udon gives us the first volume of the Kill La Kill manga, which, if even one-tenth of the folks who gush about the anime on the internet purchase it, will sell like hotcakes.

ASH: I hope it does! Udon always does an excellent job with its manga; I’d like to see the publisher offer more.

SEAN: Vertical has the first of the Ninja Slayer manga (not to be confused with the Kodansha-licensed spinoff Ninja Slayer Kills) by the possibly imaginary American team of Bradley Bond and Philip “Ninj@” Morzez.

ASH: I wasn’t enamored with the spinoff, but I do plan on giving this series a try.

SEAN: If you always wanted to read Claymore but were waiting for a way to get all 27 volumes in one box set, Viz is the answer to your prayers.

MJ: Ooooooh, nice!

SEAN: And there’s also a 6th volume of the Special Edition of Monster, possibly with added depressing bits.

MICHELLE: I didn’t realize that these special editions had bonus material!

ASH: Do they?!

SEAN: They don’t, I was being silly. :)

MICHELLE: Oh, good!

SEAN: Lastly, there’s 3rd volume of runaway zombie hit Tokyo Ghoul.

Which of these varied titles most appeals to you?