Gabriel Dropout, Vol. 10 | By Ukami | Yen Press – Possibly the best chapters in this volume of Gabriel Dropout are the ones dealing with hypnosis, as (to no one’s surprise) Satanya is very vulnerable to it. That said, what happens is more like the Looney Tune where Elmer is hypnotized by Bugs Bunny—all of a sudden it’s Raphael who has to be the boke in order to get her back to normal, and the results are hilarious mostly as it’s so rare to see her as the victim in all of this. In fact, Raphael has a bad volume in general, as we also meet her butler back in heaven, who is, well, a bit of a perverted stalker. hat said, Satanya does not escape being the buttmonkey all volume… though, as we see in the back half, her parents are not really that much better. Still funny. – Sean Gaffney
Interviews with Monster Girls, Vol. 9 | By Petos | Kodansha Comics – Sorry, everyone, still no major focus on the teachers and why they are not banging each other like drums, though at least we get the date. Instead the focus is on Hikari and her sister Himari, as we finally get their backstory here and it’s a lot more serious than you’d expect. Indeed, Hikari is out of character the whole book, being in a depressive funk as she tries to (somewhat) fight against her vampire heritage, not really accepting that drinking blood is gonna have to be like other people taking a daily pill—something she can’t get away from. As always, the writing is sensitive and caring, with the monster girl as metaphor coming across strongly. I just hope we don’t wait another sixteen months for the next book. – Sean Gaffney
Komi Can’t Communicate, Vol. 15 | By Tomohito Oda | Viz Media – The majority of this volume is devoted to Isagi, a girl running for student council president despite the fact that (like most of the cast in this series) she has terrible communication skills, and comes off as brusque and rude. Fortunately, Komi needs friends, dammit, and she’s not going to let rejection get in her way. She also has Ase, her closest friend, who gives the best anti-campaign speech ever, and (as with a lot in this manga) it turns really heartwarming. And of course we continue to crawl towards drama as Manbagi gets closer to admitting she likes Tadano. If you saw the anime and thought twice about buying the manga, Yamai’s barely in the series anymore. Give it another shot. – Sean Gaffney
Never Open It: The Taboo Trilogy | By Ken Niimura | Yen Press – Having greatly enjoyed Niimura’s previous work, including but not limited to Henshin, I was thrilled to find out about Never Open It. The volume collects three distinct stories of varying lengths, Niimura retelling and reimagining three traditional Japanese folk tales: “Urashima Taro,” “Ikkyu-san,” and “The Crane Wife.” While the tales are independent from one another, they do all share a central plot element in which the characters are instructed to never open something—a chest, a pot, a door. Niimura’s artwork and narratives meld European, American, and Japanese influences in beautifully expressive ways. The illustrations are primarily black and white, but Niimura uses red as a spot color to spectacular effect. Red is the color of blood and fate in these comics, heightening the drama and impact of Niimura’s visual storytelling. Never Open It is a marvelous collection; Niimura’s talent for creating engaging and striking comics is clear. – Ash Brown
No Matter What You Say, Furi-san Is Scary!, Vol. 1 | By Seiichi Kinoue | Seven Seas – If you like Komi Can’t Communicate, this has a very similar premise, though the personalities are not the same. Furi-san has a harsh, “yanki girl” face but is really a sweet girl who has to take care of her siblings a lot. She has a crush on her seatmate… but all he sees is her looking terrifying! “Misunderstandings happen” is literally the entire plot, but it’s cute enough, and it opens up a bit more when Furi actually makes a friend who realizes that she isn’t really as scary as all that. There’s a plethora of this sort of manga around lately, so only read it if you like the genre, but it’s good if you do. Plus, who can resist those blushing faces? – Sean Gaffney
Sex Ed 120%, Vol. 2 | By Kikiki Tataki and Hotomura | Yen Press – This continues to be much better than expected, and gives some excellent advice throughout. This is not only advice that reminds you that real life is not like porn fanfics, but also how to deal with pick-up artists (and define them) and long discussion of how to negotiate consent and how it’s not as easy as yes or no. The main cast continues to be small but varied, with a teen lesbian couple (who get a chapter to themselves explaining how they got together), an adult lesbian tease couple (the two teachers, who also get a chapter to themselves, though it’s just one-sided for now), an asexual student, and… well, and the BL fan, who seems to be the default goofy one. Give it a try, much better than you’d expect. – Sean Gaffney
We’re New at This, Vol. 9 | By Ren Kawahara | Kodansha Comics (digital only) – There’s a clever resolution to the cliffhanger from last time, as it turns out that everyone is right and everyone is wrong—Ikuma’s coworker is ready for a more serious relationship, but he’s NOT ready for cohabitation. It’s handled quite well. Other than that, we get more of what we read this series for—these two being absolutely syrupy sweet. There’s a costume party where Ikuma is easily able to identify his wife despite their best attempts to disguise it, and memories of holidays past, with Sumika being somewhat envious of Ikuma’s loud and boisterous yet loving family. We’ve caught up to this series so it’s not out as often, but it’s still a great read. – Sean Gaffney
Young Ladies Don’t Play Fighting Games, Vol. 1 | By Eri Ejima | Seven Seas – The school and uniforms reminded me a lot of Maria-sama Ga Miteru, and that’s not by accident—this is definitely a yuri manga. The gorgeous queen of the school turns out to be a game addict, and the commoner girl trying to start over and be an “upright young lady” discovers this… but she’s a former game addict herself. The trouble is, games are very, very banned at this boarding school. As the two of them try to find a way to play each other while also hiding from THE LAW (aka house mothers), will they also realize that they’re also really attracted to each other? Another one of those “better than it sounds” yuri titles, this one relies on excellent pacing and two great leads. – Sean Gaffney