MICHELLE: Of this week’s offerings, HIrayasumi looks the most interesting to me, but I’m also pleased to see another volume of Tokyo These Days coming out. Now if I could only find time to read it!
SEAN: My eyes, as always, are drawn to a Harta title. As such, my pick this week is Friday at the Atelier, which looks more interesting than the synopsis I gave it.
ANNA: I gotta go with Nina the Starry Bride due to my general love of fantasy shoujo. Also it is very pretty.
ASH: It’s a novel rather than a manga, but this week I’m most curious about The God of Nishi-Yuigahama Station. Seeing as it deals with death and grief, I don’t anticipate it being a light read; the premise sounds like the book could be rather compelling, though.
KATE: You know me: my pick of the week is almost always (a) animal-oriented (b) old-school and slightly trashy or (c) Eisner bait. Tokyo These Days falls squarely into the third category, but don’t let that deter you from picking it up. It’s haunting, funny, weird, and joyful, offering a glimpse of what it’s like to work in the manga industry behind the scenes. Oh, and it has some of the best artwork in any Japanese comic being translated for the US market. And if I *still* haven’t persuaded you to buy it, I have one more ace up my sleeve: at three volumes, it’s easy to jump on the Tokyo train right now and be fully caught up by the time the final installment is published later this year.