Manga the Week of 8/5

SEAN: As the thermometer creeps towards triple digits, we can turn only to manga for comfort. Luckily, there’s a pile of it next week.

I think I mentioned this title before, as it’s gotten moved back a few times, but Bruno Gmuender has a new gay manga volume coming out, Dr. Makumakuran and Other Stories.

ASH: You have mentioned it before, but I think it’s really coming out this time!

SEAN: Dark Horse has an artbook, which I normally don’t cover, but this is The Art of Satoshi Kon, so yeah, let’s mention that.

Drawn and Quarterly’s amazing series Showa by Shigeru Mizuki comes to a close with the final omnibus, covering the years 1953-1989. This series has just been jaw-dropping, and everyone who loves manga at all – or even wants to know Japanese history – should be reading it.

MICHELLE: I has a shame.

ANNA: Me too.

SEAN: Kodansha gives us a 9th volume of The Seven Deadly Sins.

Seven Seas has a new Devils and Realist, the 6th volume. It also has a 7th volume of Dragonar Academy.

But I don’t care about either of those, because YAY! I always love it when a license request of mine is picked out, and this one is particularly awesome. Haven’t You Heard? I’m Sakamoto is a trippy comedy that fans of My Neighbor Seki will thoroughly understand, about a high school student who is super cool in everything he does – preternaturally so. I will be hammering on folks to read this.

ASH: I’m really looking forward to giving this one a read!

ANNA: This does sound funny.

SEAN: Viz has its usual giant pile of Jump and Beat stuff. Assassination Classroom has hit five volumes, and he’s not dead yet. Thank goodness.

ANNA: I can’t believe I am so far behind on this series. It needs to stop coming out so fast.

SEAN: Black Rose Alice also has its fifth volume, though be warned, we’re coming up on the series’ hiatus in Japan. Perhaps the author ran out of spiders?

MICHELLE: This is one of those cases where I’m both happy and sad to see a new volume.

ASH: Same.

ANNA: This is such a great, surreal series. Totally worth reading even if it is on hiatus.

SEAN: Bleach is in no danger of running out of volumes with its twelfth 3-in-1.

Food Wars! has a 7th volume. Will the demand for amazing curry take out half the class? I’m hoping at least Soma and Megumi make it past the first round.

JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure brings its first arc to a close with the 3rd omnibus of Phantom Blood. Happy ending? Sad ending? I can’t say, but I can guarantee it will be over the top.

ASH: Guaranteed.

ANNA: This series is so weirdly wonderful.

SEAN: It’s August, and you know what that means! It’s time for our yearly release of Kaze Hikaru, with Vol. 23. I am delighted that Viz has not given up on this shoujo title.

ANNA: If there was justice in the world, this would rocket up the manga best seller lists. Just a great, thoroughly researched gender bending romance series.

SEAN: Maid-sama! was a very popular series with Tokyopop back in the day – popular enough to get a license rescue, as the first two volumes come out (with brand new translation) as an omnibus from Viz. I do have vague worry, though – I suspect Usui’s behavior will go over a lot less well than it did in 2009.

MICHELLE: Yeah, I wonder how I’ll react to Maid-sama! this time around. It took a few volumes for me to warm up to it before, and even that was fairly begrudging, since it’s one of those shoujo that features random beach volleyball tournament chapters. Now I am even older and more crotchety.

ASH: I never read it the first time around, but I know quite a few people who were happy about its rescue.

ANNA: I read the first several volumes of the old release and it’ll be interesting to revisit it.

SEAN: The big Shonen Jump debut this week is My Hero Academia. In a world where the majority of people have superpowers, how does someone who doesn’t have any fit in? If your answer is ‘bullied’, congrats, you know your manga.

Naruto is almost over! Except for the sequel manga and the countless spinoff novels. But here’s Vol. 71, which is just straight-up Naruto.

One Piece is at Vol. 75, but is not even close to being over.

MICHELLE: Thank goodness!

SEAN: So Cute It Hurts!! has a second volume. Will her story become as exciting as his story? Or is it the other way around?

ANNA: I just read this and it does focus more on her story, which is what I was hoping after reading the first volume. Also, wacky hijinks.

SEAN: Spell of Desire comes to an end with its fifth volume. I admit I didn’t find this as compelling as Midnight Secretary, but I know Anna liked it.

ANNA: I did like it! But I think I will generally like any josei disguised as shoujo, because that’s how I roll.

SEAN: Toriko’s 29th volume will I suspect bring an end to this particular round of fights, but likely not an end to the current battle.

Voice Over! Seiyu Academy comes to an end with its 12th volume, but fear not, a new Maki Minami series debuts next month.

MICHELLE: I have been hoarding volume 11 of Voice Over! so I could read it and the final volume back-to-back. I hope there are kitties and a happy ending, and suspect that isn’t too far off-base.

SEAN: And there’s a 3rd omnibus of the original Yu-Gi-Oh!.

There has to be something here for everyone. What about you?