SEAN: Still not Halloween, but this list says otherwise.
ASH: I won’t complain too much.
SEAN: Debuting from Viz in a 2-in-1 omnibus is The Apothecary Diaries: Maomao’s Notes on the Inner Palace (Kusuriya no Hitorigoto: Maomao no Koukyuu Nazotoki Techou). Apothecary Diaries has two manga series, one in Big Gangan (the one Square Enix is putting out), and this one from Sunday GX. This one has been called “too straightforward”, the Gangan one supposedly omits some stuff. Why not get both? Also, does this count as a cat manga?
ASH: You know, it just might.
SEAN: Viz Media also debuts two Horror Picture Books, 32-page books starring children but not for them, this is more teen. Is It There Or Not? is from the creator of The Summer of the Ubume, and Looking at Me has art by Junji Ito.
ASH: Well, this both seem to be for me to read.
SEAN: Speaking of horror, Viz has Witching Hour (Ushimitsu Gao), from Champion Cross. A wife finds her husband unimpressive in bed, but fortunately a ghost can give her just what she’s looking for. This one has an explicit content warning, and not for the horror.
ASH: Oh, my!
SEAN: Lastly, have you not been reading Yona of the Dawn (Akatsuki no Yona)? Christ, why not? Get the new 3-in-1 out this week.
MICHELLE: I am so far behind!
ANNA: I’m behind too, contemplating starting over again from the first volume.
ASH: Always worth a re-read.
SEAN: Also from Viz: The Climber 7, Kingdom 12, Magilumiere Magical Girls Inc. 15, Record of Ragnarök 20, Red River 4-in-1 9 (the final volume), Ultraman 22, and Undead Unluck 27 (the final volume).
ASH: I really need to get around to reading The Climber.
Tokyopop has another deluxe hardcover. Touch Within the Abyss Deluxe Edition (Kimi no Yoru ni Fureru) is another from RED title. An assassin’s failure to kill his target leads to tragedy. Years later, can he recover?
Tokyopop also has a 5th volume of Eternal Covenant and a 2nd omnibus of A Gentle Noble’s Vacation Recommendation, with Vol. 4-6.
Steamship debuts Flirting with my Bear-like Boyfriend (Ichaicha Shiyou yo, Kumakei Kareshi-kun). It’s a josei manga from TL Screamo, the het version of BL Screamo. A small girl and a big guy. Big in every sense of the word, as she makes sure to tell us. This has 2 volumes in 1.
ASH: It’s bigger that way.
SEAN: Square Enix Manga gives us My Dress-Up Darling XOXO!, a comedy oneshot that is basically “what if we took this manga but made it WACKIER?”.
ASH: I really enjoyed what I read of the original series.
SEAN: They’ve also got Dragon Quest: The Mark of Erdrick 5, Otherside Picnic 15, and Wash It All Away 10.
Seven Seas danmei, we get Three Hundred Years of Longing: Bu Jian Shang Xian San Bai Nian 4 (the final volume) and Thrice Married to a Salted Fish 4 (also the final volume).
One debut from Seven Seas. Crow Hill: Don’t Be Shy!! – The Complete BL Manga Collection (Karasugaoka Don’t be shy!!) is a 2-in-1 omnibus about two gang leaders who theoretically are arch-enemies, but note the BL. It ran In Kachi Comi.
ASH: This sounds like one I would enjoy.
SEAN: Also from Seven Seas: 100 Ghost Stories That Will Lead to My Own Death 6, Ghost and Witch 3, Gladiator Battle Life 2 (the final volume), How NOT to Summon a Demon Lord 25, No Longer Allowed In Another World 12, and Reincarnated as a Dragon Hatchling 9.
One Peace Books has a third volume of The Ossan Newbie Adventurer, Trained to Death by the Most Powerful Party, Became Invincible.
Kodansha Manga has a print debut, Fan/Girl X Call/Boy (Deriwo no Oshigoto), a seinen manga from Morning Two. A shut-in otaku woman hires a male sex worker, but when she accidentally shows the erotic game she was playing when he’s there, she finds he’s a fan of the same game! Maybe instead of a sexual encounter she’s not ready for anyway, they could bond?
ASH: And that sounds like it could be potentially endearing?
SEAN: Also in print: Blue Lock 35, The Darwin Incident 10, Drifting Dragons 18, How to Grill Our Love 2, MF Ghost 9, Senpai Is an Otokonoko: My Crossdressing Classmate 8, That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime: Trinity in Tempest 12, and Wave, Listen to Me! 12.
MICHELLE: Ooh, a new Wave!
ANNA: One day I will read Wave!, I have a few volumes stockpiled.
ASH: Same!
SEAN: Digitally we have A Couple of Cuckoos 31 and Medaka Kuroiwa is Impervious to My Charms 24.
A quiet week for J-Novel Club. For light novels they have The Bladesmith’s Enchanted Weapons 6 and Disowned but Not Disheartened! Life Is Good with Overpowered Magic 4.
And for manga there is The Accursed Chef and His Pair of Furry Foodies 2, Ascendance of a Bookworm Arc 2 12, and Safe & Sound in the Arms of an Elite Knight 7.
Ize Press debut Reunion. Seven years ago a young man impersonated a dead girl to fool a man on his deathbed. Another man attempted to expose him. Seven years later, they reunite. This is the Korean version of BL whose word I don’t know.
ASH: That is quite the premise!
SEAN: Also from Ize Press: Finding Camellia 9. I Tamed My Ex-Husband’s Mad Dog 8, Not-Sew-Wicked Stepmom 10, Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint 12, The Remarried Empress 11, Semantic Error (the novel) 3, Solo Leveling: Ragnarok 2, Tomb Raider King 16, and The World After the Fall 15. Some of those are probably final volumes, but it’s almost impossible to tell with webtoon releases.
Inklore has a 4th volume of Wet Sand.
Hanashi Media has one debut. I Was Reborn as a Refugee Girl, So I’m Working Toward Citizenship from Scratch (Tensei Nanmin Shoujo wa Shiminken wo 0 kara Mezashite Hatarakimasu!) is another “reincarnated into a terrible, terrible life” sort of book, but I’m sure it gets better.
ASH: One would hope! That sounds rough.
SEAN: Ghost Ship has an 11th volume of Please Go Home, Miss Akutsu!.
Dark Horse Manga give us Lone Wolf and Cub Deluxe Edition 3.
ASH: An excellent edition of an excellent manga.
SEAN: Airship has new print volumes. Easygoing Territory Defense by the Optimistic Lord: Production Magic Turns a Nameless Village into the Strongest Fortified City 8 and Loner Life in Another World 15.
And digitally we see History of the Kingdom of Orcsen: How the Barbarian Orcish Nation Came to Burn Down the Peaceful Elfland 2, I Like Villains, so I Reincarnated as One 3, and Magic Maker: How to Create Magic in Another World 3 (the final volume).
The calm before the storm. What manga are you getting?