Manga Bookshelf's Weekly Features

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!

SEAN: As always, there’s been so much this year that it’s hard to choose. Honestly, my pick of the year is an anime, and one that ran in 2022 as well: Birdie Wing: Golf Girls Story. The perfect sports anime, the perfect (almost) yuri anime, and totally, one hundred percent gonzo and ridiculous. I hope it gets a series of light novels, manga, and a sequel.

MICHELLE: For various reasons, I haven’t read much of *anything* this year, so instead of picking a title, I will pick a publisher. Seven Seas keeps licensing things I *want* to read, like Guardian and Don’t Call It Mystery, and I couldn’t be more grateful for that.

KATE: My vote goes to the Mangasplainers, both for their awesome podcast and for their publishing efforts. Okinawa was a terrific first project, and bodes well for the other titles they have in the pipeline for 2024.

ASH: Like Michelle, I haven’t had the chance this year to read nearly as much as I would have liked, but I am still very grateful for the variety publishers releasing such a wide range of materials that I will have plenty to keep me busy for a very long time. That being said, I have managed to follow Drawn & Quarterly pretty closely this year and have been very pleased with its 2023 catalog, from the new and improved edition of the previously out-of-print Kitaro anthology, to contemporary indie comics by Woshibai, to alternative works by Japanese women, to classics of avant-garde manga, there’s been so much to appreciate and enjoy.

ANNA: I’m terribly behind in my manga reading as well, but for this year I want to highlight two titles that I thought would never be licensed – Don’t Call it a Mystery and Neighborhood Story. It is great that I can still be pleasantly surprised by licensing decisions! I also want to give a shout out to March comes in Like a Lion which I was eagerly anticipating.

SEAN: As I said in Manga the Week of, I do like a good military fantasy. And with the series I like either about to finish or on hiatus, it’s a good time to grab a new one. The Crown of Rutile Quartz is my pick this week.

MICHELLE: I like food manga and I like cats, so my choice is clear: Breakfast with My Two-Tailed Cat!

ASH: Same! And yokai, too. I somehow hadn’t even heard of Breakfast with My Two-Tailed Cat before Sean mentioned the manga; I immediately placed a pre-order for the first volume.

KATE: A new volume of Insomniacs After School is always cause for celebration!

MICHELLE: Anything by the author of My Love Story!! automatically receives my endorsement, so it’s The Secret of Friendship for me this week!

SEAN: I’m very tempted by Pass the Monster Meat, Milady!, which sounds right up my street. But yeah, of course my pick is going to be the glorious (?) return of the A Certain Magical Index franchise with its second season of light novels.

KATE: This is one of those rare weeks when I can’t limit myself to just one pick! There are new installments of Akane-Banashi, Glitch, and Marmalade Boy AND several intriguing new titles. If I had to narrow down my list to a single title, though, I’d join Michelle in choosing The Secret of Friendship.

ANNA: The Secret of Friendship it is for me!

ASH: I’m leaning towards The Secret of Friendship, too, since I adored My Love Story!!, but I’ll have to admit to being greatly intrigued by the debut of Pass the Monster Meat, Milady!, too.

SEAN: I mean, it’s Neighborhood Story, no question. A mere 21 years after Paradise Kiss came out in North America, we get its predecessor, and even more amazing fashion. Cannot wait.

MICHELLE: Yep. No question.

ANNA: I might pick it a few extra times!

ASH: There’s no doubt about it. Any Ai Yazawa manga is going to be an auto-pick for me, so Neighborhood Story it is!

MICHELLE: It’s 100% My Lovesick Life as a ’90s Otaku for me. So much josei nowadays!

SEAN: I’ll pick the other josei title, then. Not only do I always want to support anything that comes from Flowers, but Gold Kingdom and Water Kingdom looks cute and compact as well.

ANNA: Can I pick both? Why not both!?

ASH: Both it is! I love that josei is becoming more common in translation. (Though I must admit that I’m pretty excited for Stone Ocean, too.)

KATE: At the risk of being the most predictable member of the Battle Robot, I’m going to recommend the 30th edition of Tekkonkinkreet, a weird, glorious, head-trippy manga from Taiyo Matsumoto that’s a little more coherent than No. 5, and a lot less depressing than Sunny. If you’re never read anything by Matsumoto, it’s a great introduction to his unique visual style.

SEAN: There’s a clear 100% pick for me. Dark Horse’s release of Innocent is something I’ve been waiting for since it was announced. That it’s coming in three massive 650-age omnibuses makes it even better. The story of Charles-Henri Sanson is masterfully adapted in this, and the art is amazing.

KATE: I’m curious about Innocent, though the preview I read at The Comics Journal made me wonder if the exposition-heavy dialogue would drive me bananas. (Show don’t tell, people!) My vote goes for Team Phoenix instead; when Sean described it as “a Bessatsu Shonen Champion series that asks the question “what if the most iconic characters in Tezuka’s manga became space pirates?” I immediately pre-ordered a copy.

MICHELLE: I’m intrigued by the space pirates, no doubt, but yes: Innocent all the way.

ASH: Innocent is my pick this week, too. I’ve actually been waiting for it even before it was announced. It was one of those series that regularly popped up on my radar; I would invariably be left wishing that it would be licensed. And now its release is nigh!

ANNA: There’s lots of great manga coming out this week, and I’m very intrigued by the prospect of a new Io Sakisaka series with Sakura, Saku. However I think everyone should be reading A Sign of Affection, so the 7th print volume is my official pick this week.

MICHELLE: I am in complete agreement with Anna!

ASH: I’ll join in with support for these selections, too, but will make Sakura, Saku my official pick since it’s the debut. (And I’ll also be making sure to move A Sign of Affection much higher up on my to-be-read pile!)

SEAN: I’m gonna join in too, A Sign of Affection is the top flight shoujo manga title of the week.

SEAN: The thing that oddly interests me most this week is Black Night Parade. Hikaru Nakamura specializes for me in series with great ideas that tend to not hold up the longer they go on. But that means her Vol. 1s are always fantastic.

MICHELLE: I suppose I’ll vote for volume four of Welcome to Demon School! Iruma-kun. Maybe this’ll be the time I actually read it!

ASH: It’s a little early in the season for me for a manga that’s at least tangentially if not explicitly related to Christmas, but I do find it difficult to pass up Hikaru Nakamura, so Black Night Parade is my pick, too.

ANNA: Did you know that the sequel to Fourth Wing, Iron Flame is coming out this week too? It is not manga but that’s my pick!

MICHELLE: 1000% My Cat Is Such a Weirdo. I mean, how could I not?

SEAN: Still can’t resist a heroine called Princess That, so I’m going with Third Loop: The Nameless Princess and the Cruel Emperor for my pick.

ANNA: My pick is Witch Hat Atelier Kitchen it sounds so amazingly random.

ASH: I’m with Anna this week! As soon as I was reminded that Witch Hat Atelier Kitchen existed, I made sure that I had a pre-order in place.