Blue Lock, Vol. 1 | By Muneyuki Kaneshiro and Yusuke Nomura | Kodansha Comics – I had initially assumed Blue Lock would be another heartwarming story about a high school sports team striving together through rounds of tournament play. I was dead wrong—this is the absolute antithesis of that kind of manga. Yoichi Isagi is devastated when his team fails to progress to nationals, but his spirits are buoyed when the Japanese Football Union selects him for a special training program. Blue Lock is both a facility and an experiment in which 300 high school forwards live and train together under extreme conditions with the goal to be the last one standing. Because what Japanese soccer really needs, apparently, is one egotistical, world-class striker to finally lead the country to a World Cup victory. While I do adore more traditional sports manga, I also appreciate series that do something different. This was a lot of fun and I will most definitely be back for more. – Michelle Smith
Go For It Again, Nakamura! | By Syundei | Seven Seas –Go For It Again, Nakamura! is almost, but not quite, as charming as its predecessor. Since establishing that he and Hirose are friends at the end of the first book, Nakamura hasn’t managed to have a real conversation with him again and is now resorting to doing creepy things like sniffing Hirose’s gym clothes. (I’m also troubled by the amount of time Otogiri-sensei spends with Hirose and desperately hope this series doesn’t go somewhere icky in potential future installments.) The best part of the volume is when Hirose gets a girlfriend. Nakamura is upset at first, but after hearing Hirose claim him as a friend, he decides to be fiercely protective of Hirose’s happiness instead. When Hirose gets dumped, it’s Nakamura he confides in. I appreciate seeing their friendship grow at a realistic pace and hope very much that their story will continue. – Michelle Smith
My Hero Academia, Vol. 31 | By Kohei Horikoshi | Viz Media – The arc that wouldn’t end has finally ended, though not without cost. Yes, OK, only one hero that we actually cared about died, but it devastates a lot of people. Also dying is Endeavor’s reputation, although after a nice family chat he’s at least ready to get up and try to repent harder. I do appreciate that the author is not making “redemption” at all easy for him, or even likely. In the meantime, things are bad. Heroes are quitting left and right, Deku’s in a coma (which admittedly allows him to have a long chat with the vestiges), and All for One stages a massive prison breakout of a lot of crazed-looking prisoners and one sensible-looking woman who I bet will be important later. New arc next time! – Sean Gaffney
Phantom of the Idol, Vol. 1 | By Hijiki Isoflavone | Kodansha Comics – Yuya Niyodo “has the look.” Based on hotness alone, he was scouted by a talent agency and paired up with Kazuki Yoshino as the idol duo Zings. Niyodo only signed on because he thought it would be easy money—“No one said anything about making an effort”—and doesn’t care at all about doing the job well. When he meets the ghost of former female idol Asahi Mogami, whose only wish is to still be an idol, they work out an arrangement where she possesses him and takes his place. This is a pretty wacky manga, and something about its comedic sensibilities makes me think of One-Punch Man. Niyodo is a complete oddball who happens to be gorgeous, and I especially appreciated seeing the perspective of the Zings fangirls as they try to help their beloved duo attain greater success. It’s fun and kooky and I’ll keep reading. – Michelle Smith
Snow White with the Red Hair, Vol. 19 | By Sorata Akiduki | Viz Media – While it’s up in the air whether Shirayuki, Zen and Obito are doing anything romantically together, this volume puts a definite full stop on all the Mitsuhide/Kiki shipping, as she confesses to him and he rejects her—TWICE—because, essentially, guarding Zen is more important to him. That said, honestly, I’m not sure whether Mitsuhide is definitely ace, but I’d say he’s at least ace-adjacent, and far more content to keep the relationship they have now. This is good news for that other guy, whose name I suppose I will now have to remember, as Kiki still very much needs to get married soon. This is solid shoujo, and something all fans of the genre should be reading. – Sean Gaffney
Such a Treacherous Piano Sonata, Vol. 1 | By Hal Osaka | Kodansha Manga (digital only) – This is good old meat-and-potatoes josei, a series about a young music manager who is assigned to a troublesome composer. Kanna is a virgin who’s dated men but they always break up with her as she never really feels strongly about them. Then she sees her new client play Rachmaninoff, and suddenly she’s feeling a LOT. Unfortunately, he has a similar problem—he’s losing piano work as his playing is considered too cold and unfeeling, though technically brilliant. Oh, and he upset his patron’s daughter. Can she get him work, navigate a handsome rival and a change of composer, and possibly also finally find love? This is apparently three volumes, which seems about right. Not bad. – Sean Gaffney