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Manga Bookshelf

Discussion, Resources, Roundtables, & Reviews

Latest Picks

May 26, 2026

Pick of the Week: Yotsuba, Of Course

May 18, 2026

Pick of the Week: New Manga and New to Digital Manga

LATEST FEATURES, ESSAYS, COLUMNS, ROUNDTABLES, & REVIEWS

May 28, 2026 By Sean Gaffney

Sister Mafioso: O God, Let This Lie Stand

By Adachi and Kyozip. Released in Japan as “Gisou Shi Shita Moto Mafia Reijou, Nidome no Jinsei wa Zettai ni Ikinobimasu ~Kamisama, Douka Kono Uso dake wa Minogashite Kudasai~” by Dre Novels. Released in North America by J-Novel Heart. Translated by Emily Hemphill. It’s been a while since we’ve had a straight up thriller light novel. Oh sure, this is in the Heart imprint, and the romance is there, but the romance is not why you read this. You read this worrying that our heroine is about to die, and you do so for almost 300 pages. There’s lots of lies and deception, there’s a truly horrible family that does some truly horrible things (woe to the woman who poses as our heroine, you don’t want to know how she…

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May 28, 2026 By Sean Gaffney, Michelle Smith, Ash Brown and Anna N

Manga the Week of 6/3/26

SEAN: It’s June, and a young man’s fancy lightly turns to thoughts of what manga is coming out next week, because young men are idiots like that. MICHELLE: Snerk. ASH: I mean… SEAN: Yen Press have one straggler from May, the 5th volume of Is the Order a Rabbit?. Two debuts for Viz Media. I’m No Angel (Tenshi Nanka ja Nai) is an ancient shoujo manga from the early 90s written by someone named… oh, right, Ai Yazawa. It’s even earlier than Neighborhood Story, and ran in Ribon. Viz is releasing it in omnibus format. A girl runs for student council when she hears her crush is also doing so, but once they’re on the council she discovers he likes… their teacher? This is very Ai Yazawa. MICHELLE: Ooh. ASH:…

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May 28, 2026 By Sean Gaffney

The Too-Perfect Saint: Tossed Aside by My Fiancé and Sold to Another Kingdom, Vol. 6

By Fuyutsuki Koki and Masami. Released in Japan as “Kanpeki Sugite Kawaige ga Nai to Konyaku Haki Sareta Seijo wa Ringoku ni Urareru” by Overlap Novels f. Released in North America by Airship. Translated by Amelia Mason. Adapted by Shaenon K. Garrity. I suppose if you’re going to have a romantic age-gap romance, you might as well lean right away into the fact that it’s very problematic. From the moment that Philia hears about Lena’s engagement to the knight Elmhardt, an engagement that was arranged right after Lena was born, and when Elmhardt was already a young man, her reaction is essentially the reader’s: what the heck? As it turns out, the engagement mostly comes down to a whole heaping helping of guilt from almost all parties – even Lena,…

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May 26, 2026 By Sean Gaffney

In Another World with Household Spells, Vol. 5

By Rika and HIROKAZU. Released in Japan as “Isekai ni Kita kedo, Seikatsu Mahou shika Tsukaemasen” by Mag Garden Novels. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by sachi salehi. For once, Patience ends up having a really good volume with minimal chaos. Sure, her summer vacation keeps getting interrupted with visits to every single noble family around, but as is pointed out to her, this is what noble girls her age are supposed to be doing, in preparation for her coming out party in a couple of years. It’s all about connections, and while she has made many connections with the eccentric nerd population of the school, her female friends pretty much consist of Princess Margaret and her relatives. What’s more, given this is one of those noble…

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May 26, 2026 By Sean Gaffney

Tearmoon Empire: Short Story Collection, Vol. 1

By Nozomu Mochitsuki and Gilse. Released in Japan as “Tearmoon Teikoku Monogatari” by TO Books. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Madeleine Willette. It’s honestly rather surprising that we haven’t had one of these yet for Tearmoon Empire. Other light novel series are very fond of their .5 volumes or added bonus story collections – hell, Spy Classroom almost has more short story collections than regular volumes. But Tearmoon Empire has pretty much been too busy with Mia trying to save history and make it so she’s not guillotined, poisoned, or does not otherwise live to see her grandchild grow up. As a result, we not only have this collection, which seems to go up to about the 9th or 10th book in the series in terms…

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May 25, 2026 By Sean Gaffney

Royal Spirits Are a Royal Pain! Give Me a Regular Romance, Vol. 3

By Rei Kazama and Fujiazuki. Released in Japan as “Tensei Reijō wa Seirei ni Aisarete Saikyō Desu…… Dakedo Futsū ni Koi Shitai)” by TO Books. Released in North America by J-Novel Heart. Translated by okaykei. It continues to be entertaining watching Deirdre wondering why everyone in the cast considers her to be less of a human and more of a monster – or worse, a bomb. It’s especially amusing watching Chris and Alan doing it, because of course those two are also considered to be not quite the same as normal humans in their peer group. In this book full of nobles and their politics,l this is definitely a top-down series – the crown prince, dukes, and marquises are heavily involved, as are their children, and it tends to be…

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May 23, 2026 By Sean Gaffney

My Next Life As a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom!, Vol. 15

By Satoru Yamaguchi and Nami Hidaka. Released in Japan as “Otome Game no Hametsu Flag Shika Nai Akuyaku Reijou ni Tensei Shite Shimatta…” by Ichijinsha Bunko Iris. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Joshua Douglass-Molloy. While it’s still a disappointment to the Western fandom who still wishes it were a lot more gay, there’s no doubt that recent volumes of Bakarina have been much better than the doldrums of the single digits where the author was asked to write more but didn’t really have much of a plan. This now reads like it’s traveling to a destination, at least in terms of the dark magic plotline and the state of the country. In terms of the romance, things are still pretty much at 1) Jeord, 2) Maria,…

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May 22, 2026 By Sean Gaffney

Fired? But I Maintain All the Software!, Vol. 1

By Yuki Kashirome and icchi. Released in Japan as “E, Shanai System Subete One Operation Shite Iru Watashi o Kaiko desu ka?” by PASH! Books. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Minna Lin. Content warning: This review will be discussing a book that deals with multiple companies that use AI, and it discusses AI throughout the book, usually in a positive way (though it does emphasize AI without humans making decisions is a disaster). Reader discretion is advised. It’s always an event when a book gets licensed in a genre that no one really dabbles in much. We’ve seen a lot of bad companies, overworked office staff, and overtime from hell in light novels, but usually that’s as a setup to killing them off and setting them…

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May 21, 2026 By Sean Gaffney

Return of the Corpse King: Reining in My Cringe Secret Society, Vol. 1

By Sty and Tsumeki. Released in Japan as “Shiou no Kikan: Moto Yuusha no Ore, Jibun ga Soshikishita Chuuni Himitsukessha wo Tomeru Tame ni Futatabi Isekai ni Shoukansareteshimau” by MF Books. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Roy Nukia. Occasionally there are series where I’ll buy it for one reason, usually because it’s advertised as something that intrigues me, only to end up enjoying the book for a completely different reason. This was one of those. The book seems to have been pitched (and judging by that cover, it was pitched in Japan that way as well) as being very much “for fans of The Eminence in Shadow”. There’s a guy prone to making over the top statements, there’s a society of evil made up of extremely…

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LATEST POSTS – SITEWIDE

  • Sister Mafioso: O God, Let This Lie Stand
  • Manga the Week of 6/3/26
  • The Too-Perfect Saint: Tossed Aside by My Fiancé and Sold to Another Kingdom, Vol. 6
  • In Another World with Household Spells, Vol. 5
  • Tearmoon Empire: Short Story Collection, Vol. 1
  • Pick of the Week: Yotsuba, Of Course
  • Royal Spirits Are a Royal Pain! Give Me a Regular Romance, Vol. 3
  • My Next Life As a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom!, Vol. 15
  • Fired? But I Maintain All the Software!, Vol. 1
  • Return of the Corpse King: Reining in My Cringe Secret Society, Vol. 1

From the Archives

September 28, 2017 By Sean Gaffney 1 Comment

Manga the Week of 10/4/17

SEAN: Next week is October! Are you ready for your pumpkin-spiced manga? Technically I’ve ...

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August 18, 2016 By Sean Gaffney Leave a Comment

Manga the Week of 8/24

SEAN: The dog days of August are really dragging in my opinion, and there isn’t much coming out ...

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April 6, 2017 By Sean Gaffney 1 Comment

Manga the Week of 4/12

SEAN: Unlike Viz and Yen, Kodansha doesn’t usually pile it all on in one week. That said, hope you ...

[Read More...]

February 19, 2009 By MJ 13 Comments

Idle thoughts in no particular order

I'm enjoying a much-needed idle evening here at home. I have reviews I probably should be working ...

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April 27, 2017 By Sean Gaffney Leave a Comment

Manga the Week of 5/3/17

SEAN: It’s May, and a young man’s thoughts turn to … well, hopefully things other than manga. But ...

[Read More...]

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FROM THE BLOGS – UNSHELVED

Anime NYC 2025, Sunday

It's always striking how calm Sunday is compared to the previous two days. You'd think it would be ...

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More Unshelved

LATEST FEATURES, ESSAYS, COLUMNS, ROUNDTABLES, & REVIEWS

By Sean Gaffney

Sister Mafioso: O God, Let This Lie Stand

By Adachi and Kyozip. Released in Japan as “Gisou Shi Shita Moto Mafia Reijou, Nidome no Jinsei wa Zettai ni Ikinobimasu ~Kamisama, Douka Kono Uso dake wa Minogashite Kudasai~” by Dre Novels. Released ...

[Read More...]

By Sean Gaffney, Michelle Smith, Ash Brown and Anna N

Manga the Week of 6/3/26

SEAN: It's June, and a young man's fancy lightly turns to thoughts of what manga is coming out next week, because young men are idiots like that. MICHELLE: Snerk. ASH: I mean... SEAN: Yen ...

[Read More...]

MORE FEATURES, ESSAYS, COLUMNS, ROUNDTABLES, & REVIEWS

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