Manga Bookshelf's Weekly Features

MICHELLE: I’m pretty intrigued by The Disabled Tyrant’s Beloved Pet Fish, but am gonna choose the fifth and final Marmalade Boy release because I still love this series so much and it’s a classic for good reason!

KATE: This is one of those weeks I’ve been saving up for, as there is SO MUCH good stuff arriving at your local comic shop. I second Michelle’s pick–Marmalade Boy is gloriously silly–but I also plan to buy Akane-banashi, The Fable, Tales of the Tendo Family, and Sketchy, as I NEED a manga about women finding a sense of purpose through skateboarding.

ANNA: There’s a ton of intriguing titles coming out this week, but I’m going to make Tales of the Tendo Family my pick because I’m always here to check out a Ken Saito manga.

SEAN: I’m with Kate this week: Sketchy has such a great sounding premise that even if it doesn’t quite measure up it’s still my pick of the week.

ASH: Lots of good stuff coming out this week, for sure! Everyone’s picks are solid, and I will readily admit to enjoying the first volume of Tales of the Tendo Family, but think I’m going to go with The Fable. (If for no other reason than needing to know more about the pet parrot.)

SEAN: Once again, tempted to just say “Viz”. We get so much good shoujo this week, with a new sequel for Kimi ni Todoke, the next Neighborhood Story, and the first Skip Beat! in 11 months. But my pick is the final volume of Kaguya:sama: Love Is War, a series that was one of the funniest romantic comedies to come along in years, and even had its fair share of drama as well.

MICHELLE: There’s so much good stuff this week that I almost don’t know what to pick! I’ve chosen perennial favorites Skip Beat! and Chihayafuru so many times, though, so instead I’ll opt for Kimi ni Todoke: From Me to You: Soulmate. I loved the original series a great deal.

ANNA: There’s a lot of great stuff coming out this week but Skip Beat! has my heart!

ASH: It’s a great week for Shojo Beat, but the debut that has caught my eye is actually Nagahama to Be, or Not to Be. I’ve enjoyed the creator’s other works, so I suspect I’ll like this one, too.

KATE: The correct answer is Neighborhood Story!

MICHELLE: I am admittedly not terribly enthused about anything, but the first volume of A Man and His Cat was super cute, so I will take a gamble that the tenth volume will be likewise, and make that my pick for this week.

SEAN: Feeling the same, really. But since its anime was a reasonable success, I’ll pick the latest volume of 7th Time Loop: The Villainess Enjoys a Carefree Life Married to Her Worst Enemy!.

ASH: It isn’t manga, but I’m probably most looking forward to Stitches this week. I’ve had good success with J-horror in the past; Junji Ito illustrations are simply a bonus.

SEAN: There’s a pile of stuff, but not too many titles that really leap out and grab me (aside from Medalist, of course). I’ve heard good buzz about Magilumiere Magical Girls Inc., so I think I will make that my pick this week.

MICHELLE: I’m in a similar position. I suppose I’ll go with The Contract Between a Specter and a Servant but it could easily have weird power dynamics I’m not here for.

ASH: Those are the debuts that I’m most curious about this week, too! But as for ongoing series, Delicious In Dungeon is what has most of my attention.

ANNA: I was tempted to pick Medalist again, but I think I will go with something actually coming out this week and pick Honey Lemon Soda because I do plan to get caught up on it someday!

MICHELLE: I really enjoyed *Sweetness & Lightning* and have been meaning to check out *A Galaxy Next Door* since its debut. And now it’s ending, so I had better get a move on!

SEAN: I’ll be picking Management of a Novice Alchemist, because I enjoy peaceful slow life people who reveal they’re secretly incredibly badass. And I can tolerate clumsy dojikkos, which this series also has in spades. They’re not the same person, thankfully.

ASH: Number Call is the debut that particularly caught my attention this week. Wordplay, BL, and complete in one volume, so I might actually be able to find time to read it.

SEAN: Medalist, it’s Medalist, you will read Medalist, go on, get it in print AND digital, look, the logo is slightly different, read Medalist.

MICHELLE: I feel this strange compulsion to pick Medalist…

ANNA: I am also going to pick Medalist!

ASH: Likewise! Now that Medalist is available in print, it’s absolutely my pick. I feel like I maybe heard from someone, or three, or thirty that it was pretty good.

KATE: I suppose I could be a total contrarian and pick one of the many isekai titles on this week’s list, but in the spirit of solidarity with the rest of the Battle Robot, I’m throwing my weight behind Medalist.

KATE: This week’s list has several tempting titles! In particular, I’m curious about two debuts: Nude Model and Other Stories and The Blue Wolves of Mibu, both of which look like the kind of grown-up fare I’ve been craving. I’ll also be picking up the fourth volume of Cat + Gamer—cute kitties for the win!—and My Name is Shingo, from the one and only Kazuo Umezz.

MICHELLE: I also think The Blue Wolves of Mibu looks interesting, but this week I am actually all about horror. My Name Is Shingo for me!

ANNA: The Blue Wolves of Mibu for me!

SEAN: I normally would not touch Kazuo Umezz with a ten-foot pole, as it’s the sort of horror that scares me, but I have had many, many people telling me to read this, so My Name Is Shingo is my pick this week.

ASH: It’s My Name Is Shingo for me, too! I will likewise admit to being curious about The Blue Wolves of Mibu and Nude Model and Other Stories, but I simply can’t pass up psychological horror robot manga.

SEAN: I didn’t realize till I was writing up Manga the Week of post that Ako and Bambi is from the creator of Horimiya. That definitely pushes it into the “I should really check this out” territory, so it’s my pick this week.

MICHELLE: I Think Our Son Is Gay is coming to an end, so I’ll take my last chance to pick it this week!

ASH: I’m definitely tempted to make I Think Our Son Is Gay my pick this week, too, considering how delightful the series has been. As for debuts, though, Yen Press does have my attention with Taking Care of God and Whoever Steals This Book, among others.

ANNA: I’m going to renew my commitment to getting caught up on Tsubaki-chou Lonely Planet and make that my pick!

KATE: It’s a rare week when I’m planning to buy more than one new title (if that!), but this week I’ll be shelling out for three—count ’em—new arrivals: the debut volume of Ako and Bambi, the sixth volume of Kowloon Generic Romance, and the done-in-one Taking Care of God.

MICHELLE: There are several interesting releases this week about boys in love. I honestly kind of wish I could pick Case File Compendium: Bing An Ben, because a “modern dark SF take” on danmei sounds intriguing, but it had the misfortune to be up against the third volume of Therapy Game Restart, to whom my heart steadfastly belongs.

SEAN: I feel like a nice romcom, so my pick this week will be I Have a Crush at Work, which wins out over I Want to End This Love Game by being about adults.

ASH: If I Have a Crush at Work ever ends up being released in print, I definitely want to give it a try; it looks delightful. In the meantime, I’ll still pick a Kodansha offering and go with The White and Blue Between Us. (As Michelle already pointed out, there’s more than one promising BL title this week!)

ANNA: I guess I’m going to go with Sleepy Princess in the Demon Castle in the hopes that one day I will get caught up on it!

KATE: I only have eyes for one title this week: Akane-banashi, a manga that proves the Shonen Jump formula can be applied to *any* human endeavor from cooking to inline skating to rakugo.

SEAN: There’s a lot going on this week. Lots of great shoujo, some josei from Tokyopop (Stu’s left, it’s OK to buy them again), but I am who I am, so my pick is absolutely RVing My Way into Exile with My Beloved Cat: This Villainess Is Trippin’, which combines the trend in villainess stories with the trend in camping isekais, and I’m all for it.

MICHELLE: I am also who I am, which happens to be a woman on the cusp of turning 50, so Since I Could Die Tomorrow gets my vote!

ASH: Well, if we’re going with the manga one might most likely expect us to choose, The Tree of Death: Yomotsuhegui is a good candidate for my pick this week. Revenge, supernatural horror, and immortality are all story elements that regularly capture my attention.

ANNA: I will go along with this trend and make In the Name of the Mermaid Princess my pick, because I think you can’t get much more shoujo than mermaid princesses.

KATE: I hate the title but like the concept, so my pick goes to Since I Could Die Tomorrow, an honest look at menopause and middle age.

KATE: This week’s list is uninspiring, to say the least. My recommendation? Go pick up the first volume of Tokyo These Days and be reminded why Taiyō Matsumoto is one of the best artists working in comics, well… these days.

MICHELLE: Yeah, I am admittedly at a loss here. I’m just not the target demographic for a lot of this stuff.

ASH: Not much new is really calling to me this week, either, so maybe I’ll take the opportunity to catch up on some long overdue reading. Next up for me is probably Kafka, a collection of Nishioka Kyodai’s manga which was released by Pushkin Press back in October.

ANNA: You know what’s a good manga? Swan by Kyoko Ariyoshi. That’s my pick!

SEAN: I feel as if I owe it to the poor list of this week’s titles, beaten down by everyone else, to choose something from it. So I’ll avoid a hairy problem (sorry) by choosing the newest Cocoon Entwined.

SEAN: Sometimes I’m surprised how much I enjoy a series, and that’s certainly been the case with the My Daughter Left the Nest and Returned an S-Rank Adventurer light novels. The 11th book is the final one, so that’s my pick this week. Enjoy a daddy & daughter series that was (for once) wholesome!

MICHELLE: There’s not a whole lot that appeals to me this week, but I really enjoy what I’ve read of Usotoki Rhetoric so far and look forward to catching up on the series.

KATE: Party like it’s 1990! The second volume of Tokyo Bablyon arrives in stores with a new minimalist cover but the same old story that Tokyopop and Dark Horse have offered North American readers before. I have a feeling this series hasn’t aged well, but I may still buy a copy out of sheer nostalgia: Tokyo Babylon was one of the first manga I ever read.

ASH: None of the debut releases this week have managed to capture my attention, but if My Daughter Left the Nest and Returned an S-Rank Adventurer managed to remain wholesome to the end, I really might need to give it a look!

ANNA: Not much appeals to me either, I’m going to take a moment of silence for the ending of X/1999 that no one will ever see.

KATE: There is SO MUCH GOOD MANGA coming out this week, y’all, I don’t know where to begin! VIZ is unveiling two new series with grown-up appeal—Steel of the Celestial Shadow and Tokyo These Days—and bringing the long-running Golden Kamuy to a bloody close. Another strong contender for Pick of the Week is King in Limbo, a new series from Ai Tanaka, the creator of Apple Children of Aeon. The cover isn’t really doing it for me—one of the characters looks like Jason Statham’s second cousin—but the premise is intriguing and the early buzz is strong.

SEAN: It wasn’t on my radar at all, but man, that cover to Steel of the Celestial Shadow is amazing enough that I’m going to check it out. That one is my pick.

MICHELLE: I’m going to throw my support behind King in Limbo. I’m totally a fan of josei romance, but *non*-romance josei is enough of a rarity that it makes me very excited we’re getting some!

ANNA: I join with Michelle on being intrigued by King in Limbo!

ASH: I’m totally on board for everything above! It’s definitely going to be a good week for reading manga, but not such a good week for my wallet…

SEAN: Without an exciting debut, my eye always goes towards the series I’m most excited to see more of. And since I last read Ascendance of a Bookworm two months ago, I’ll go for the new A Certain Scientific Railgun, which I last read twelve months ago.

MICHELLE: It’s the Ace of the Diamond finale for me, all the way! Please appreciate that I resisted making a pun about it being a home run.

KATE: There a few short series that are ending this week, which seems like an optimal time to give them a try! In particular, I’m interested in Soloist in a Cage and That Time the Manga Editor Started a New Life in the Countryside. I’m also curious about WIND BREAKER, which got an enthusiastic write-up at SportsBaka, one of my new favorite manga blogs.

ASH: The beginning of a final arc sort of counts as a debut, right? Either way, I’ll go ahead and officially name Ascendance of a Bookworm as my pick for this week. I’ve definitely fallen behind, but I’m enjoying the series a great deal.

ANNA: Nina the Starry Bride is my pick, it is such an enjoyable fantasy series.

KATE: This week, I only have eyes for one series: A Cat from Our World and the Forgotten Witch, which is giving me some serious Miyazaki vibes with its appealing artwork and its rueful premise.

SEAN: I’ve had mixed results with Shonen Jump Plus titles, but Marriage Toxin has a premise that intrigues me and a striking cover, so I’m going to make it my pick.

MICHELLE: Mostly I’m playing catch-up this week, but most look forward to doing so with Tamon’s B-side!

ASH: I’m with Sean this week; Marriage Toxin is the debut that I am most curious about. Even if the story ends up being lackluster, at least it’s got a great cover!