Hi, everyone! I’m still trying to work out a posting schedule for The Manga Review. Historically, I’ve published the column on Fridays, but my teaching schedule this semester has made that more challenging. I’m also discovering that fewer sites are publishing regular manga reviews; a lot of that discussion has moved to YouTube, TikTok, and podcasts. As someone who prefers to read about manga, I remain committed to covering websites and blogs. I’m open to exploring other ways to distributing The Manga Review, however, and am considering alternatives (e.g. weekly newsletter). Suggestions welcome!
NEWS AND VIEWS
Good news for Mushishi fans: Kodansha will publish a special collector’s edition this fall. Also on deck is a new edition of Dragon Head, a dark disaster series that’s been out of print for more than a decade. [The Fandom Post]
Brigid Alverson runs down the Circana Bookscan data for January 2025. [ICv2]
Will Junji Ito be inducted into the Eisner Hall of Fame this year? [ICv2]
If you’re a fantasy fan, Kara Dennison has you covered with the low-down on The Brilliant Healer’s New Life in the Shadows, The Beginning After the End, and From Old Country Bumpkin to Master Swordsman. [Otaku USA]
Art lovers, take note: UNIQLO just teamed up with the Louvre to produce a line of Doraemon t-shirts. [Otaku USA]
Kathryn Hemmann reviews Keita Katsushika’s manga Higashi Tōkyō Machi Machi, which they describe as “a leisurely walking tour of East Tokyo.” [Contemporary Japanese Literature]
And last but not least, please congratulate blogger Tony Yao for fifteen years of insightful, interesting reviews! Here’s hoping for fifteen more. [Drop-In to Manga]
REVIEWS
Jackson P. Brown gives high marks to Legs That Won’t Walk, a “compelling, shocking” and “spicy” gangster drama… Erica Friedman reviews a recent issue of Galette… Megan D. checks out the first volume of Yakuza Fiance… and the latest installment of The Reader’s Corner offers succinct reviews of Ako and Bambi, Mujina into the Deep, and Hirayasumi.
New and Noteworthy
- Dopeman, Vol. 1 (Kara Dennison, Otaku USA)
- The Guy She Was Interested In Wasn’t a Guy At All, Vol. 1 (Josh Piedra, The Outerhaven)
- Hauntress (Ian Wolf, Anime UK News)
- Hell Is Dark With No Flowers, Vol. 1 (Danica Davidson, Otaku USA)
- I Want to Love You Till Your Dying Day, Vol. 1 (Eleanor Walker, Okazu)
- Love on the Horizon, Vol. 1 (Lisa De La Cruz, The Wonder of Anime)
- Minecraft: The Manga, Vol. 1 (Kara Dennison, Otaku USA)
- My Secretly Hot Husband, Vol. 1 (Kaley Connell, Yatta-Tachi)
- The Otaku Love Connection, Vol. 1 (Demelza, Anime UK News)
- Otaku Vampire’s Love Bite, Vol. 1 (Lisa De La Cruz, The Wonder of Anime)
- Osamu Dazai’s The Setting Sun: The Manga Edition (Nick Smith, ICv2)
- Run Wild Sa Ye, Vol. 1 (Lisa De La Cruz, The Wonder of Anime)
- Takahashi From the Bike Shop, Vol. 1 (Giovanni Stigliano, Asian Movie Pulse)
- Vagabond: Definitive Edition, Vol. 1 (Kevin McCormack, Anime News Network)
- Wanted! Eiichiro Oda Before One Piece (King Baby Duck, The Boston Bastard Brigade)
Continuing, Complete, and OOP Manga
- Choujin X, Vol. 8 (Josh Piedra, The Outerhaven)
- Dragon and Chameleon, Vol. 2 (Josh Piedra, The Outerhaven)
- Eunuch of the Empire, Vol. 2 (Chris Beveridge, The Fandom Post)
- Fate/Kaleid Liner Prisma Ilya: The Complete Manga Collection (WinterVenom, Behind the Manga)
- Fist of the North Star, Vol. 15 (King Baby Duck, The Boston Bastard Brigade)
- Fly Me to the Moon, Vol. 27 (Josh Piedra, The Outerhaven)
- Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End, Vol. 12 (Josh Piedra, The Outerhaven)
- How to Grill Our Love, Vol. 4 (Johanna Draper Carlson, Comics Worth Reading)
- I Want to End This Love Game, Vol. 5 (Josh Piedra, The Outerhaven)
- In the Clear, Moonlit Dusk, Vol. 7 (Demelza, Anime UK News)
- Initial D: Omnibus Edition, Vol. 4 (Ian Wolf, Anime UK News)
- Jujitsu Kaisen, Vol. 24 (King Baby Duck, The Boston Bastard Brigade)
- Kiss the Scars of the Girls, Vol. 3 (Mark Thomas, The Fandom Post)
- My Noisy Roommate: The Roof Over My Head Comes With Monsters and a Hottie, Vol. 2 (Sarah, Anime UK News)
- Radiant, Vol. 18 (King Baby Duck, The Boston Bastard Brigade)
- Sakura, Sako, Vol. 6 (Josh Piedra, The Outerhaven)
- Sasaki and Miyano, Vol. 10 (Sarah, Anime UK News)
- Tokyo Babylon: CLAMP Premium Edition, Vol. 6 (Ian Wolf, Anime UK News)
- Twilight Out of Focus: Long Take Part 2, Vol. 6 (Sarah, Anime UK News)