SEAN: As the leaves start to change and Sean longs for the end of poison ivy season, what does next week bring us for manga?
23rd Street Books, who may be First Second under a new name, are reprinting Shuna’s Journey (Shuna no Tabi), the manga Hayao Miyazaki drew right before he founded Ghibli. A prince goes on a journey to help his people.
ASH: Oh! I had totally missed that First Second had spun off an imprint for adults.
ANNA: Interesting!!
SEAN: Airship has one print book, The Strange Adventure of a Broke Mercenary 15.
And in early digital they have Adachi and Shimamura 13 and I’m the Heroic Knight of an Intergalactic Empire! 5.
Ghost Ship debuts My Useless “Cuddle” Skill Awakened, and Now I’m Building the Ultimate Harem! (Hazure Skill “Soine” ga Kakuseishi, Boku ga Saikyou Harem o Kizuku made: Micchaku Soine de Ganbou Kaihou!? Yuuwaku Saremakkutte Komattemasu!!), which runs in Gaugau Monster. A guy finds that anyone who sleeps next to him recovers all health. Naturally, girls want to sleep next to him… among other things.
ASH: That is quite the talent.
SEAN: They also have The Cursed Sword Master’s Harem Life: By the Sword, For the Sword 7 and Virgin Knight: I Became the Frontier Lord in a World Ruled by Women 3.
Hanashi Media debuts The Side Character Who Thought He Was the Protagonist Mistook the Real Hero for a Side Character and Accidentally Won Everything (Jibun no Koto o Shujinkou da to Shinjite Yamanai Fumidai ga, Shujinkou o Fumidai da to Kanchigai Shite, Yuushou Shite Shimau Ohanashi desu). The title is the plot.
Inklore has the third and final volume of King’s Maker.
No debuts for Ize Press, but they do have Jungle Juice 8, Marriage of Convenience 5, Men of the Harem 7, Murderous Lewellyn’s Candlelit Dinner 6 (the final volume), and Villains Are Destined to Die (the novel) 4.
J-Novel Club has a debut. I’ll Become an Elegant Villainess! Time to Enjoy My Second Life to the Fullest (Karei naru Akujo ni Naritai wa! ~Aisare Tensei Shoujo wa, Tanoshii Nidome no Jinsei o Okurimasu~) has a plot you may be able to guess. Yes, she’s reincarnated, she only knows household magic, but she has no Patience whatsoever.
Also in light novels: Backstabbed in a Backwater Dungeon 13, Butareba -The Story of a Man Turned into a Pig- 9 (the final volume), D-Genesis: Three Years after the Dungeons Appeared 10, The Diary of a Middle-Aged Sage’s Carefree Life in Another World 11, Imperial Reincarnation: I Came, I Saw, I Survived 7, The Invincible Little Lady 8 (the final volume), The Petty Villain Plays by the Rules: Rewriting This Otome Game with Honest Work! 3, The Reincarnated Mastermind: Sundering Fate with Magic Swords 2, and The Water Magician Arc 1 7.
Kana has Cat’s Eye Omnibus 4.
ASH: I need to catch up with this and the other series from Kana.
SEAN: Kodansha is looking out for your kids next week, as they debut Cells at Work! Picture Book, an edutainment manga dedicated to laying out the human body for the little munchkin in your life.
ASH: I truly appreciate the range of Cells at Work!; no matter your age, there’s something to learn.
ANNA: I’m always surprised by the greater Cells at Work! universe!
SEAN: Also in print: Dead Rock 5, How to Treat a Lady Knight Right 5, Kaijin Fugeki: Kindled Spirits 5, Love, That’s an Understatement 7, Mars 30th Anniversary Edition 2, MF Ghost 7, Sheltering Eaves 5, Snow & Ink 6, and Wistoria: Wand and Sword 13.
MICHELLE: I need to get caught up on Sheltering Eaves!
SEAN: Digitally they have Blue Lock 39 and Ya Boy Kongming! 25.
One Peace Books has a manga debut. The Villainess Who Came to Marry Into the Frontier Noble’s Household Is an Exceptionally Capable Wife, Isn’t She? (Henkyo Mob Kizoku no Uchi ni Totsuidekita Akuyaku Reijo ga, Mechakucha Dekiru Yoi Yome nanda ga?) is an adaptation of an as-yet unlicensed light novel. it runs in Dra Dra Flat ♭. An isekai’d guy finds his new wife is the villainess of the otome game, but she’s actually a sweetie… right now. He has to stop events turning her evil.
ASH: He better be helping out with keeping the household, then.
SEAN: Seven Seas has a danmei debut, Panguan: The Twelfth Gate. This is in the same world as Copper Coins and Three Hundred Years of Longing. There’s cultivation. There’s homoerotic longing. There’s… actually, I think that’s all danmei needs.
MICHELLE: Pretty much!
ASH: It’s certainly a solid start.
SEAN: And in not-danmei-but-nearly, we see Lout of Count’s Family 9.
Two manga debuts. Gilded Seven is a seinen manga from Comic Zenon. What if the Wild West was riding high, but Lincoln was never assassinated? This action series seems to ask that question.
ASH: It does seem like at least a few things would have been different.
ANNA: Is Lincoln also a vampire hunter????
SEAN: I Like Cat Butts (Neko no Oshiri ga Suki Nan Desu) is the story of a cat owner and her chaotic cat and his chaotic butt. It ran in Comic Ruelle. And yes, OK, fine: I like cat butts and I cannot lie, you other owners can’t deny, that when a kitty walks in with an itty bitty… OK, that’s enough.
MICHELLE: Snerk.
ASH: That is immediately where my brain went.
SEAN: Also from Seven Seas: Chainsmoker Cat 4, Exotic Animal Doctor 2, Fluffy Café in Another World 3, Hope You’re Happy, Lemon 4, I’m in Love with the Villainess 11, The Lady and Her Butler 6, Time Stop Hero 15, Wolf’s Daughter: A Werewolf’s Tale 4, and A Yuri Love Story That Begins with Getting Dumped in a Dream 3.
Square Enix debuts My Ex-Boyfriend Loves Boys’ Love (Motokare ga Fudanshi ni Natte Orimashite), which ran in Gangan Pixiv. A girl looking for manga discovers her old high school boyfriend… in the BL section! But he wasn’t interested in BL in high school! What happened?
ASH: I love when fudanshi get a chance to shine.
SEAN: They’ve also got Holoearth Chronicles Side:E Yamato Phantasia 3, A Starlit Darkness 2, and The Strongest Sage with the Weakest Crest 32.
Takumigraphics are trying to make sure Gary Groth isn’t a liar by trying again with Wandering Son (Hourou Musuko), and this time it’s coming out in two-volume paperback omnibuses and a digital version. The story may be a bit less cutting edge than it was twenty years ago, but it’s still really good stuff.
MICHELLE: Ooh! Somehow, this was not on my radar!
ASH: I hope we might be able to get the rest of the series with this release, too.
ANNA: Good, glad it is being released again.
SEAN: Titan Manga debut The Assassin Laughs at Twilight (Ansatsusha wa Tasogare ni Warau), a manga based on an as-yet-unlicensed light novel, this ran in Comic Gardo. A doctor killed in an earthquake while operating on his sister finds himself in a fantasy world… where he’s a killer.
ASH: That was somewhat unexpected.
SEAN: Titan Manga also have a second volume of Strange Pictures and a third of Villain Actor.
Three debuts for Viz. And Then There Were None (Soshite Dare mo Inakunatta) is a manga based on the famous Agatha Christie novel, and ran in HayaComic, which seems to be devoted to manga adaptations of novels. The cover features a handsome young man, a pretty woman, and eight background folks. Some are more None than others.
MICHELLE: Huh! I have read the novel, so might have to see how this compares.
SEAN: Nobuo Uematsu: On the Record is a biography of the famous Final Fantasy composer.
ASH: Oooooooh, very nice.
SEAN: Sound of a Blink (Mabataki no Oto) is the latest from Shuzo Oshimi, and it runs in Big Comic Superior. A young man seems to have it all, till his younger brother is diagnosed with a brain tumor and he finds you can’t escape family.
Viz also has Choujin X 13, Fool Night 10, Haikyu!! 3-in-1 10, Kingdom 11, Mobile Suit Gundam Thunderbolt 26, Not So Shoujo Love Story 4, One-Punch Man 34, Sakamoto Days 23, and Taika’s Reason 2.
Some pretty damn good titles in there. What are you buying?