Colette Decides to Die, Vol. 7 | By Alto Yukimura | Viz Media – We still had a couple of gods that we hadn’t seen yet, and so it’s no surprise to see Aphrodite show up, finally. Thankfully, Colette and Hades are already together, and Hades is in the Underworld, so any wacky god antics don’t involve them as a couple, but things like Aphrodite’s tendency towards nudity and promiscuity, as well as her quite good relationship advice, particularly “do not stay with a man who hits you.” And of course there’s also her husband, who… well, OK, he doesn’t hit her per se, but let’s just say she should take her own advice. In the meantime, Colette and Hades continue to get closer. Though I’m not sure this is the sort of series to end with a wedding. – Sean Gaffney
The Credits Roll into the Sea, Vol. 1 | By John Tarachine | Dark Horse Comics If there’s anything better that watching a great movie with the one you love, it’s making a movie. Unfortunately for our protagonist, her husband has passed away. Since she’s a senior, starting a new career seems like a pipe dream. And yet, after she goes to the movies for the first time in ages, she meets a young man who likes the way she looks at movies. He’s in a film school, trying to create his own vision despite pushback from others. So she decides, after checking out the school, to join it herself. This has some terrific artwork, and strikes just the right tone of nostalgia and forward thinking, with the focus entirely on the crafting of film rather than any romantic endeavors. It was nominated for an American Manga Award, and you can see why. – Sean Gaffney
The Death Defying Princess Creates a Yuri Harem to Survive, Vol. 1 | By Aoi Akashiro, Moromi Kouji, Shinya Murata, and Nobuhiko Yanai | Seven Seas – We’ve seen “I keep reliving my own death” titles before, most famously with Tearmoon Empire, but I don’t think we’ve met a heroine quite as gleefully terrible as Marie here, who keeps getting guillotined. At first we think it’s because she’s, well, the arrogant, letting-poor-people-starve sort. Which she is. But even after fixing that a bit she still dies… and it turns out to be due to her long-suffering aide. So she seduces the aide… then she has to seduce two loyal (?) maids… and then instead of the guillotine, she’s beheaded by her supposed best friend. All of this is done for the sake of comedy, and you will never laugh so hard at a head flying off. Not to mention the revelation that being a lesbian is a talent. – Sean Gaffney
The Mortifying Ordeal of Being Seen, Vol. 2 | By mmk | Viz Media – Now that our lead couple are good friends and have acknowledged that they’re into each other, all that’s left is to dial the sexual tension up to 500, which is what this volume does. This takes place almost entirely at the school, and indeed the school festival, where thanks to an unfortunate live mic, not only does the entire school now know about the two of them, but Ikezawa gets in… well, frankly, he could have been suspended, so I guess he lucked out with being the only guy in charge of all the cleanup. As for Eguchi, she may in fact be falling harder than he is, and her expressions near the end of this are amazing. In any case, this is horny and heartwarming. – Sean Gaffney
Ruridragon, Vol. 3 | By Masaoki Shindo | Viz Media – I somehow forgot to get this volume when it came out. It was worth the wait. I love how Ruri’s dragonness is not only intrinsic to her high school life, but her high school life is intrinsic to her being a dragon. She’s essentially going through puberty nightmares all at once (this volume it’s barfing up venom, which fortunately is not toxic to others), but she’s also able to use her massive powers to save the day by literally altering the weather. Keeping everything low-key is what makes this charming, though it’s also a big issue for Ruri—her not really caring about others is still a big problem, though she’s gotten a lot better since the start. Book four soon. – Sean Gaffney
Skip and Loafer, Vol. 12 | By Misaki Takamatsu | Seven Seas – For those who wished that this series had more of Shima, great news, as this book manages to feature him heavily. He’s playing Frankenstein’s monster in the school play, and naturally is riveting. What’s more, both his parents show up, and we start to see the first steps being taken—by his mother, as they had to be—for reconciliation. (We also see flashbacks showing why they had such a break in the first place.) As for Mizuki, this volume is mostly to show off how together she is compared to the start of the manga—when her sister gets lost, Mizuki is able to find where she is immediately by just a few half-hearted “I’m standing near this” hints. All this plus Yuzuki as a ghost in the obligatory haunted house. I adore this series. – Sean Gaffney
Snow White with the Red Hair, Vol. 27 | By Sorata Akiduki | Viz Media – Last time I whined that it had been a year between volumes, and I had forgotten everything. How will I handle this two-year gap? Pretty much as I always do, as this is one of the easiest manga to read I’ve come across in a while. Shirayuki is asked to become herbalist to a household where the local lord is thought to be “impossible.” We get some of that here, he tries to get rid of Zen, with some success, and Obi, with far less success. As for Shirayuki, it looks like she has a complicated logic puzzle-style thing to solve, and we don’t get to see how she does so here. But this is still delightful to see, and I can read about these characters doing not a lot for as long as the author needs. – Sean Gaffney