MICHELLE: There are three Kodansha titles that have been in my Amazon cart for at least a week now: the second volume of Sweetness & Lightning and the debut volumes of The Prince in His Dark Days and Welcome to the Ballroom. I am legitimately excited for all three, particularly the debuts, but given my enduring penchant for sports manga, it’s probably no surprise that it’s Ballroom that really has my curiosity piqued!
SEAN: There’s a pile of things I’m interested in next week. Franken Fran introduces my favorite character, Youth Romantic Comedies go Wrong (as I often appreciate), and there’s a new Umineko to read and grind my teeth at the irritation that is Erika Furudo. But yes, the pick this week has to be Welcome to the Ballroom. It’s won the Manga Taisho award, it’s filled with shonen spirit, but most importantly, it’s a ballroom dancing manga. You had me at that. (Just… no magical weightloss plots like the last dancing manga, OK?)
MJ: Welcome to the Ballroom! Welcome to the Ballroom! Welcome to the Ballroom! And that other stuff sounds interesting, too.
ASH: Kodansha Comics definitely has my eye (and wallet) this week, especially with its trio of debuts. I’m immensely curious about The Prince in His Dark Days, but like everyone else I can’t seem to resist the allure of shonen ballroom dancing. And so Welcome to the Ballroom it is!
ANNA: I didn’t realize that Welcome to the Ballroom is coming out, but now that I have that knowledge it is the only possible pick for me!