BL Metamorphosis, Vol. 3 | By Kaori Tsurutani | Seven Seas – This third volume might even be stronger than the first two. Urara wants to invite Ichinoi to the winter Comiket, but after realizing just how hellishly long the line and walk would be in that season she bails on it… and indeed drops contact for a while, which makes her feel terrible. Then, when studying for college is taking too much toll on her, she reconnects, but this only reminds her that even after growing up and living your best life, you too will eventually have to sort it all into things to keep and things to throw away. The narrative doesn’t hammer this into the reader, it’s subtle and lovely. Something to cherish. – Sean Gaffney
Gabriel Dropout, Vol. 9 | By Ukami |Yen Press – There’s no major new characters introduced here or any plotlines that are not “excuses for character-based humor,” but that’s fine, because character-based humor is what Gabriel Dropout does best. That said, there are also a few heartwarming moments here as well, particularly in the festival arc, as everyone gets separated. Gabriel is, as always, weak to physical exertion, but will still come through in a pinch. Raphael finally meets someone she can’t seem to tease in the form of Mei, and almost forms a motherly bond with her. And as for Satania and Tapris… well, no, that’s not heartwarming, but it is hilarious. This series probably has nowhere new to go, but I don’t seem to mind at all. – Sean Gaffney
My Hero Academia, Vol. 26 | By Kohei Horikoshi | Viz Media – Most of this book is taken up with Endeavor showing our three male leads the ropes, which actually goes pretty well, and also having his daughter invite everyone over to their place for dinner, which goes a lot less well. Even if you leave out the fact that Natsuo ends up getting kidnapped by a villain with what might be the oddest quirk we’ve seen to date, the dinner itself is even more awkward than you might have imagined, and hammers home to Endeavor how much he can’t make up for the abusive father he’d been most of their lives. He needs a distraction, and we’re about to get one—Izuku’s ominous narration implies that a horrific event is coming soon. Still must-read shonen manga. – Sean Gaffney
Sweat and Soap, Vol. 5 | By Kintetsu Yamada | Kodansha Comics – This remains one of the best titles currently being released for fans of sweet romance, and I urge everyone to try to get past the “he likes to smell her sweat” premise. We get to meet the parents here—hers, at least—and discover that Asako seems to get her heavy sweating from her dad, who also seems to have her perpetually worried disposition. Fortunately, Kotaro is able to make a good impression. Then we get more of them trying to move to a place of their own, which comes with a lot of good advice for young couples trying to do this, as well as “how to look over a potential home for possible huge flaws.” And, well, the manga is still more than a little horny too, but also in a nice way. Highly recommended. – Sean Gaffney
Tono Monogatari | By Shigeru Mizuki | Drawn & Quarterly – In 1910, folklorist Kunio Yanagita published Tono Monogatari, a collection of legends from Japan’s Tono region as conveyed to him by a local storyteller, Kizen Sasaki. Nearly a hundred years later, many of the stories found in this pivotal work were adapted as short manga by Shigeru Mizuki. A folklorist in his own right, there couldn’t have been a more perfect match between creator and subject matter—Mizuki’s love for these supernatural tales and their place of origin is readily apparent from his pages. Similarly, another scholar of Japanese folklore, Zack Davisson, has now translated Mizuki’s Tono Monogatari into English, writing additional supplementary material and essays to accompany it. The volume is a treasure. Mizuki’s beautifully detailed landscapes establish Tono as the real place that it is even while the stories themselves focus on the uncanny. Reaching through time, the chilling tales are often short fragments, but effective in their brevity. – Ash Brown