Manga the Week of 3/25

SEAN: Oh dear.

First off, it may not be in stores yet, but Kickstarter backers have gotten their two volumes of Tezuka’s Captain Ken from DMP. One of his early 60s shonen series (though, as with most of his series for kids, there are darker undertones), it’s complete in 2 volumes.

Kodansha stuff next. Air Gear 33. Roller blading! Pretty girls! Um…

Genshiken 2nd Season has its 6th volume out. The old cast has been slowly infiltrating the new series, even after graduation. Will this continue to be the Madarame Harem Show?

ASH: I’m a bit behind in this series, but I’ve enjoyed what I’ve read so far.

SEAN: Sankarea comes to an end with its 11th volume. Will all end well, like a good romantic comedy? Or will everything go horribly wrong, like a good horror manga?

And Ken Akamatsu gives us a 4th volume of Negima sorta-sequel UQ Holder.

Ponent Mon has the 5th and final volume of Summit of the Gods, for those who enjoy manly seinen mountain climbing manga. As everyone should.

ASH: I am absolutely thrilled to have this entire series in English.

MJ: This, yes, this!

SEAN: Alice in the Country of Joker’s Nightmare Trilogy comes to an end with, appropriately, Vol. 3. Will Alice and Nightmare find happiness? Can they overcome obstacles? Can they overcome the poor artwork? Will this have half a volume of short stories and Crimson Empire at the end of it? Is Alice in the Country of Hearts the new vampires? Can Heironymus Merkin ever forget Mercy Humppe and find true happiness?

MICHELLE: I would be very proud of myself if I caught this reference, but alas.

SEAN: The rest of this list is Yen, despite us being nowhere near the end. Let’s start with the Yen On imprint, as they have the 3rd Accel World light novel.

MJ: I’ve fallen behind on this, but I’m looking forward to catching up.

SEAN: I tend to forget about all of Yen’s Kingdom Hearts manga releases, but they’re big hits, and now Yen On has Kingdom Hearts: The Novel.

Sword Art Online: Progressive is not just a reboot of the series with an added focus on the world of Aincrad and more POV for heroine Asuna, it’s also huge – this first volume is much longer than Yen On’s other SAO books.

MJ: Yes!

SEAN: Not only do we have the 3rd Accel World novel, but also the 3rd Accel World manga.

Did you like Olympos? Or at least think it was really pretty? The same author’s Angel of Elhamburg is out next week. I do enjoy josei, especially from Shodensha, but I have a feeling this will be a Depressing-O-Rama.

ASH: Pretty and depressing? I’m in.

MJ: Sounds like my cup of tea.

SEAN: Given we’ve had eight volumes of Are You Alice? and it’s still not over, I fear we’re asking the wrong question. Perhaps Why Is Alice? Or How Is Alice? Does Alice Live Here Anymore?

Big Hero 6 is not only an Oscar-winning film, it’s also a manga, with Kodansha putting out the first (only?) volume next week.

Bloody Cross has a 6th volume out as well.

MICHELLE: Already?! Man, time flies.

SEAN: I made fun of Demon From Afar’s first volume for pretending to be something other than a Kaori Yuki manga till the blood-filled cliffhanger when we see no, it is a Kaori Yuki manga. I anticipate Vol. 2 will be darker.

MJ: Aaaaah, hm.

SEAN: Finally… no, just kidding, we’re still nowhere near finally. Next, we have the debut of another light novel/manga combo license, with the manga coming first. The Devil Is A Part-Timer! has Satan working in a fast-food joint,so I suspect ‘lighthearted’ is the order of the day.

ASH: The anime adaptation was actually pretty entertaining; I’m looking forward to checking out the original novels.

SEAN: Just in time for the anime adaptation that starts in April, here’s a 7th volume of The Disappearance of Nagato Yuki-chan. Hope you like heartwarming!

I’ve been mocking the glut of vampire manga lately, so it’s only fair to say I quite enjoyed He’s My Only Vampire, and am looking forward to this 2nd volume.

Karneval is the omnibus release of the week for Yen, covering the first two volumes. It came out from Ichijinsha’s Zero-Sum, which is sort of the GFantasy of their company, i.e. a shonen/shoujo/josei/fantasy blend. It also features circus folks! Ha, bet you thought I’d say vampires.

MJ: You had me at “Zero-Sum.”

ANNA: Oh! This wasn’t on my radar before, but I am interested now!

SEAN: Another light novel/manga license where the manga comes a month early, Log Horizon features a group of MMORPG players startled to find themselves inside the game they’re playing. I would say it sounds like it’s for fans of Sword Art Online, but from what I hear the fandoms actually have a rivalry going on.

MJ: Heh, interesting.

SEAN: A second volume of Love at Fourteen is right up my alley after this influx of fantasy and supernatural titles we’re seeing.

MICHELLE: This is literally the one thing on this list that makes me personally go “Ooh!”

MJ: Yes, yes!

SEAN: If you wanted more from the spinoff Puella Magi Oriko Magica, then Yen has an Extra Story for you.

The end! The final volume of Soul Eater, one of my favorite recent shonen titles. I will miss your surreal art and exciting battles.

Sword Art Online: Fairy Dance has its manga reach its exciting conclusion, but, spoiler, still has the stupid birdcage.

Lastly (really this time), there’s a 9th volume of Triage X, which (checks cover art) is still Triage X.

Does something here excite you? Or are you seeing this pile, throwing up your hands, and going back to bed instead?