SEAN: Is it September? Or October? Who can say?
ASH: There’s what I believe to be true and what I know to be true. Unfortunately, they’re not always in agreement.
SEAN: Yen Press has a 12th volume of Final Fantasy: Lost Stranger and the 2nd volume of Kindergarten Wars.
Viz Media gives us The Art of Rumiko Takahashi: Colors 1978–2024, a 400-page hardcover artbook devoted to her entire career, from UY and MI through R1/2 and IY, and other series not so easily abbreviated!
ASH: Oh, dang! I didn’t know this was coming out until now. That should be a fantastic volume.
ANNA: Oh cool!!!!
SEAN: Titan Manga debut Gran Familia, a Weekly Shonen Champion series that combines vampires and gangsters.
ASH: I feel like I’ve seen that combination before, but can’t quite place where.
ANNA: Potentially a good combo!
SEAN: Steamship has a third volume of I’ll Never Be Your Crown Princess! – Betrothed.
Somehow we’ve hit a week with no debuts for Seven Seas. We do see The Dangerous Convenience Store 6 (the final volume), Dinosaur Sanctuary 7, Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation: Mo Dao Zu Shi (manhua version) 11, HIKARI-MAN 5-6, Himegasaki Sakurako Is a Hot Mess 2, I’ll Forget You Starting Today, Senpai! 2 (the final volume), Karate Survivor in Another World 8, The Kingdoms of Ruin 11, Night of the Living Cat 6, Precarious Woman Executive Miss Black General 12, Reincarnated as a Dragon Hatchling 8, The Saint’s Magic Power is Omnipotent 10, Succubus and Hitman 9, The Weakest Tamer Began a Journey to Pick Up Trash 7, and Young Ladies Don’t Play Fighting Games 8.
And danmei gives us Case File Compendium: Bing An Ben 6.
Retailers say KUMA is releasing Director Akasaka’s Princely Training Course (Akasaka Buchou no Prince Boy Ikusei Keikaku), a one-shot from Qpa. A successful handsome guy can’t find a good partner, so decides to build one from among his workforce. They’d better be ready…
ASH: Uh, oh.
SEAN: Kodama debut (what IS it with Raijin titles returning from the dead lately?) Baki the Grappler (Grappler Baki), coming out from the beginning, the 1991 Weekly Shonen Champion series, in 2-volume omnibuses. He will be the strongest fighter. That’s the plot. Fighting and fighting. It’s pretty great if you love that, mind you.
MICHELLE: Hm. I normally like sports manga but I don’t know if I like fighting and fighting. :)
ASH: Oh, did Raijin have this one, too? Yet another reason I should probably pick this one up. Martial arts manga is an interest of mine and the artwork in Baki is also striking. (See what I did there?)
ANNA: Glad to see more classic titles coming out!
SEAN: No debuts for Kodansha either, but we see The Ayakashi Hunter’s Tainted Bride 4, A Condition Called Love 15, EDENS ZERO 33 (the final volume), GAEA-TIMA the Gigantis 3, Honeko Akabane’s Bodyguards 5, Snow & Ink 4, The Spellbook Library 3, and Tsugumi Project 7.
J-Novel Club has one light novel debut, the latest title from the author of Reincarnated As a Sword and A Late Start Tamer’s Laid Back Life. The Accursed Chef and His Pair of Furry Foodies (Noroware Ryourinin wa Meikyuu de Mofumimi Shoujo-tachi wo Sodatemasu) has a lot of popular tropes. Guy who dies saving a child gets reincarnated with cool powers – in this case, he can cook monsters. Sadly, his new life is awful. On the bright side, he seems to like beast people like most other isekai’d folks do.
ASH: I’ll admit, I was not expecting “eating monsters” to become its own subgenre.
SEAN: Other light novels: Demon Lord, Retry! 10, Pens Down, Swords Up 3, and To Another World… with Land Mines! 11.
And for manga: Death’s Daughter and the Ebony Blade 6, The Oblivious Saint Can’t Contain Her Power 5, and Record of Wortenia War 11.
Hanashi Media has Tsukimichi: Moonlit Fantasy 8.5.
Ghost Ship gives us Ero Ninja Scrolls 9.
Dark Horse Comics has an omnibus of all 3 volumes of Gantz G, the spinoff from Gantz.
ASH: I don’t think I got that far reading Gantz.
SEAN: Cross Infinite World has a new one-shot, Ayakashi Moving Service (Kochira, Ayakashi Ijuu Tenshoku Service desu: Fukuoka Tenjin 400-nen Okitsune Shachou to Watashi no Koi), which is another Makino Maebaru title. A woman who just wants to be normal is searching for a job… but the job she finds is anything but!
ASH: This could be fun.
ANNA: I’m intrigued.
SEAN: Also from CIW: The Do-Over Damsel Conquers the Dragon Emperor: Operation Records (a short story volume) and Expedition Cooking with the Enoch Royal Knights 7 (the final volume).
Airship has print for Reborn as a Space Mercenary 13.
Airship has an early digital debut. The Misdeeds of an Extremely Arrogant Villain Aristocrat (Kiwamete Gouman Taru Akuyaku Kizoku no Shogyou) is a male version of the villainess plot, as our hero tries to change his fate by being the most handsome, charismatic and strongest person around. I suspect fate will try to off him anyway, it’s that kind of series.
Also for early digital: The Devil Princess 2 and The Strange Adventure of a Broke Mercenary 13.
And finally, ABLAZE has the 5th volume of Gannibal.
What a tiny week! Anything appealing?