Manga the Week of 7/28/21

SEAN: The end of July should be quiet, right? Everyone’s on vacation, right? Right?

ASH: I actually will be on (a very much needed) vacation!

ANNA: Me too!

SEAN: Airship has the print edition of Reincarnated as a Dragon Hatchling 1, and an early digital for Accomplishments of the Duke’s Daughter 2.

Cross Infinite World has the 2nd volume of Mia and the Forbidden Medicine Report.

Denpa Books has a 2nd volume of Heavenly Delusion.

ASH: Nice to see this one finally coming out; it encountered some delays.

SEAN: Ghost Ship debuts Booty Royale: Never Go Down Without a Fight! (Hagure Idol Jigokuhen), which is coming out in 2-volume omnibuses and runs in Nihon Bungeisha’s Bessatsu Manga Goraku. A wannabe idol and karate expert is tricked into the adult entertainment industry, and forced to fight the sex equivalent of a death match game.

MICHELLE: …

ASH: Huh.

ANNA: Erm.

SEAN: J-Novel Club gives us The Faraway Paladin’s 5th manga volume, John Sinclair: Demon Hunter 3, Monster Tamer 5, Perry Rhodan NEO 2, and the 4th Sweet Reincarnation manga.

Kodansha’s print titles include the debut of Pretty Boy Detective Club (Bishounen Tanteidan). They’ve released the first three novels for this already, now we’re getting the manga, which has run in Aria, Palcy, AND Shonen Magazine Edge, so is sui generis. It’s about a middle schooler who gets caught up in a very strange club.

MICHELLE: The first novel didn’t thrill me, but that was largely because of the narrative style. Could be that I would enjoy it more as manga.

ASH: I’ve found that to be true of some of NISIOISIN’s other work as well; at times the stories seem better suited for manga (or anime) rather than prose.

SEAN: Also in print: Boys Run the Riot 2, CITY 12, I’m Standing on a Million Lives 10, Sweat and Soap 7, and Yuzu the Pet Vet 6.

ASH: Boys Run the Riot is high on my list. And this is a good reminder for me to give Sweat and Soap a try.

SEAN: Digitally we see two debuts. My Darling Next Door (Tonari no Otona-kun) is a Betsufure series about a high school girl who falls for an older salaryman who’s just moved next door. Hrm…

ONIMAI: I’m Now Your Sister! (Onii-chan wa Oshimai) runs in Ichijinsha’s Comic Rex, and is about a young man who is turned into a woman due to his mad scientist Little Sister. No comment.

We also see And Yet, You Are So Sweet 4, Back When You Called Us Devils 3, Harem Marriage 7, I’m Standing on a Million Lives 11 (print has nearly caught up), Quality Assurance in Another World 2, Saint Cecelia and Pastor Lawrence 2, Saint Young Men 12, She’s My Knight 2, The Slime Diaries: That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime 5, and the 10th volume of When We’re in Love, which is not a final volume but the series has gone on hiatus after this.

MICHELLE: Cue lamentations about being so far behind on everything.

SEAN: Seven Seas has a few debuts. I’m in Love with the Villainess is based on the light novel, and the digital version has been out for some time, but the print edition of the manga is now released.

ASH: Excellent.

SEAN: Seaside Stranger (Umibe no Étranger) is a BL story from Shodensha’s On Blue, about two men who bond with each other at a seaside town… only one of them isn’t staying long. Can they reconnect?

MICHELLE: I’m definitely looking forward to this one!

ASH: Same! I’ve heard good things.

ANNA: Sounds good.

SEAN: The Strange Adventure of a Broke Mercenary (Kuitsume Youhei no Gensou Kitan) runs in Hobby Japan’s Comic Fire, and is based on the light novel that Airship is releasing. A cynical merc finds it hard to change careers and become an adventurer.

Also from Seven Seas, Berserk of Gluttony 3, Blue Giant 5-6, My Senpai Is Annoying 5, the 5th and final volume of the PENGUINDRUM manga, and The Demon Girl Next Door 3.

ASH: For the most part, I’ve been enjoying what I’ve read of Blue Giant.

ANNA: I have yet to read the first volume, but I have it!

SEAN: Square Enix debuts The Great Jahy Will Not Be Defeated! (Jahy-sama wa Kujikenai!), the story of a demon lord whose mana crystal is shattered and who ends up powerless in the human world. Can she regain her power despite being small, weak and somewhat pathetic? This has an anime coming out this summer, and is, sigh, from the same writer as Breasts Are My Favorite Things in the World! and The Maid I Hired Recently Is Mysterious.

They’ve also got The Strongest Sage with the Weakest Crest 4.

Tentai Books gives us How to Melt the Ice Queen’s Heart (Koori no Reijou no Tokashi Kata), a light novel which seems to be a sweet high-school romance series.

Tokyopop has a 4th volume of Ossan Idol!.

Viz has a formerly print-only release now released to digital – all 19 omnibuses of it! If you haven’t heard of Ranma 1/2, I’m sorry, I don’t know what to tell you.

ASH: Ha!

ANNA: What an obscure title!

SEAN: They’ve also got a digital release of Jump title Ayakashi Triangle, a series so ecchi it can’t appear on the normal Jump app. It’s from the To-Love-Ru creator, natch.

Yen On gives us Combatants Will Be Dispatched! 6, The Executioner and Her Way of Life 2, Goblin Slayer 12, In the Land of Leadale 3, Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? 16, Rascal Does Not Dream of a Sister Home Alone (the 5th in the series), and Reign of the Seven Spellblades 3.

Yen Press debut? We’ve got it. Captivated, by You (Muchuu sa, Kimi ni) is a one-shot short story collection from Enterbrain’s Comic Beam about strange high school kids, and has won some awards. It’s also a hardcover release. Anyone seeing the words “Comic Beam” should have already added this to their buy list.

ASH: Ooooh, this does look good.

ANNA: Sign me up!

SEAN: Yen also has Cirque Du Freak: The Manga’s 3rd Omnibus re-release, Cocoon Entwined 3 (hair), IM: Great Priest Imhotep 10, Karneval 12, and RaW Hero 5.

Hey, that’s not quiet at all! What suits your tastes?