Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End, Vol. 5 | By Kanehito Yamada and Tsukasa Abe| Viz Media – This is a series that is prepared to get pretty dark—some of the examinees in this volume are killed off—but not too dark—none of the characters we’re actually introduced to are among the dead people. I also enjoyed seeing some other powerful mages, such as the girl who’s weak as heck through most of the competition because there’s a protective dome over the area, but when the dome is shattered (by Frieren, natch) and rain comes down, her power shines. We’re also getting some more of Frieren’s backstory, and showing off why her kind of magic was not what others were looking for back in the day. This is a fascinating fantasy series. – Sean Gaffney
In/Spectre, Vol. 16 | By Kyo Shirodaira and Chashiba Katase | Kodansha Comics – All the cards are laid out on the table here, after we spend 3/4 of the volume resolving the ghost giraffe case. Rikka has what turn out to be very good reasons for why she’s constantly trying to break Kotoko, and they’re related to her own powers and those of her cousin. This actually causes Kotoko to have possibly the biggest emotional breakdown we’ve seen in this manga to date, though it’s fairly mild by the standards of anyone else. It’s not something Kotoko can easily refute. As a result, they have to team up for a bit longer. As for what Kuro thinks of all this, alas, we have to wait till the next volume because sometimes the arcs don’t end the way you want for a collected book. – Sean Gaffney
Kemono Jihen, Vol. 1 | By Sho Aimoto | Seven Seas – Kohachi Inugami is a detective specializing in the occult. He’s summoned to a remote village to investigate some mysterious animal deaths and ends up befriending an ostracized boy who’s being called Dorotabo by the villagers. Long story short, Dorotabo’s real name is Kabane and he’s not entirely human. Good thing Inugami isn’t either! He brings Kabane back to Tokyo with him where he meets a couple of other wayward boys the detective has taken in. I liked how Inugami insists that Kabane wasn’t abandoned by his parents and loved that he shows Kabane that he can use his unnerving abilities to help people. The overall vibe of the story is really neat and I and very much look forward to continuing! – Michelle Smith
Knight of the Ice, Vol. 11 | By Yayoi Ogawa | Kodansha Comics – I’d fallen quite behind on Knight of the Ice, and so spent a very enjoyable ten days or so catching up to the eleventh and final volume. I could nitpick a few things—some obstacles to Kokoro and Chitose’s relationship are resolved rather abruptly, for instance—but overall the series strikes a great balance between sports manga and josei romance. In this final volume, Kokoro has made it to the Olympics and gives an amazing performance. For the first time since he was a kid, he actually has fun. That part made me a bit sniffly, but the rest of it does kind of go by in a flash, and I’m left with some unanswered questions about Kokoro’s career that bug me a little bit. Ultimately, though, this series is a lot of fun and is one I could see myself rereading someday. – Michelle Smith
Kubo Won’t Let Me Be Invisible, Vol. 2 | By Nene Yukimori | Viz Media – Love can sometimes be inexplicable, and this makes it difficult when your friends look at the guy you’re crushing hard on, a guy who is so nondescript that people literally have trouble seeing him, and wonder why YOU see him like that. And, to be fair to the friends, so far this series is pretty one-sided in its love. Shiraishi is not a friendly, normal guy like Tadano in Komi Can’t Communicate, or a strong personality like Nishikata in Teasing Master Takagi-san. The joy of the series is seeing just how much Kubo is crushing on him, and how hard she’s trying to get him to ask her out. The problem is that we need to be able to care about HIM as well, and I’m not quite there yet. – Sean Gaffney
Minami Nanami Wants to Shine, Vol. 2 | By Bana Yoshida and Yuki Yaku | Yen Press – This series has a goal, and it’s to put Minami’s quiet but intense self-deprecation under the microscope. We see it throughout this volume, where she disparages herself for not being as fashion-conscious or as social-media-savvy as her friends (read: Aoi). She enjoys modeling, but when she tries to say so it always comes out ambivalently or as a question—she’s not sure she’s ALLOWED to enjoy modeling. Is that really OK for someone like her? Meeting a real model and being blown away by how cool they are doesn’t help. Fortunately, as in the novels she has Tomozaki to help, even if it’s not for an election. Will she possibly get to be a romantic lead in this spin-off? I want to know. – Sean Gaffney
Skip and Loafer, Vol. 5 | By Misaki Takamatsu | Seven Seas – Teenage love rarely runs as smoothly as shoujo manga would have you believe, and, given that our lead couple is still only just beginning to realize that they’re in love with each other, that means that it’s up to someone else to try their best but not quite succeed. Makoto has a crush on her sempai in the literature club. With the help of Yuzu (who, having experienced past problems with being “the popular girl,” is perfectly content to live vicariously through others) getting her all dolled up. Sadly, a lack of courage and a lack of understanding on the guy’s part are the result of this date. There’s also some terrific backstory on Nao, explaining why she doesn’t want to go home and why that may change soon. Great. – Sean Gaffney
Tearmoon Empire, Vol. 1 | By Mizu Morino and Nozomu Mochitsuki | J-Novel Club – One of the biggest draws that the Tearmoon Empire light novel has is its snarky, unforgiving narrator, who constantly explains that Princess Mia’s “selfless actions” are anything but. The manga version has that as well, but simply can’t use it to its fullest extent in this medium. As such, we’re left with more of Mia’s thoughts, deeds, and hilarious facial expressions. This has the added value of making Mia seem far more sympathetic in this first volume, more like the Mia of later in the LN series, and shows off the times that she really is acting selflessly (such as everything to do with Anne, the one servant who was kind to her in prison in her past life). If you enjoyed the LN, you’ll enjoy this too. – Sean Gaffney