SEAN: When a manga meets a manga, coming through the rye…
ASH: None, they say, have I. (And they would be very wrong.)
SEAN: Yen On gives us So I’m a Spider, So What? 14 and The World’s Finest Assassin Gets Reincarnated in Another World as an Aristocrat 5.
Yen Press debuts a new artbook highlighting its bestseller: Sword Art Online abec Artworks Wanderers.
They also have Bungo Stray Dogs 21, Puella Magi Madoka Magica: Wraith Arc 3 (the final volume), and Spy Classroom 2.
Viz debuts To Strip the Flesh (Tooda Oto Tanpenshuu: Niku wo Hagu), a collection of stories about Chiaki Ogawa, whose mother, on her deathbed, says to be a good daughter. But… that’s not who he is. This LGBT series is apparently a very good read for transgender folks, ran in Shonen Jump +, and is complete in one volume.
ASH: Extraordinarily curious about this release; I’ve heard very good things.
ANNA: Sounds interesting.
SEAN: Viz also has an artbook highlighting a bestseller: The Promised Neverland: Art Book World.
ASH: I do like seeing all these artbooks being licensed.
SEAN: And they’re also debuting Yashahime: Princess Half-Demon, the sequel to Inu Yasha written and drawn by the creator of Zettai Karen Children. It runs in Shonen Sunday S, and should appeal to Inu Yasha fans.
And we get Alice in Borderland 2, Assassin’s Creed: Blade of Shao Jun 4 (the final volume), Jujutsu Kaisen 16, Seraph of the End 24, and Twin Star Exorcists 25.
Tokyopop gives us Ossan Idol! 6.
Seven Seas has two (well, three) one-shot debuts. The Muscle Girl Next Door (Tonari no Kinniku Joshi) stars a guy who feels scrawny, and his crush on the incredibly buff woman who lives next door to him. It ran in Media Factory’s Gene Pixiv.
ASH: I am intrigued.
SEAN: We also get both the novel and the manga of Until I Meet My Husband (Boku ga Otto ni Deau made), the story of a young gay activist and his search for love. It’s an autobiographical book, and I’ve heard is excellent. The manga ran on Bungei Shunjuu’s online manga site.
ASH: I have likewise heard these are excellent.
SEAN: Also from Seven Seas: Chronicles of an Aristocrat Reborn in Another World 5, Creepy Cat 3, GIGANT 8, I Got Caught Up In a Hero Summons, but the Other World was at Peace! 4, The Ideal Sponger Life 11, Kageki Shojo!! 6, The Most Heretical Last Boss Queen: From Villainess to Savior 2, and Reborn as a Space Mercenary: I Woke Up Piloting the Strongest Starship! 3.
One Peace has Farming Life in Another World 6 and The New Gate 10.
Kodansha has a print debut for soccer manga Blue Lock. We’ve already discussed its digital release, but look at that intense cover.
MICHELLE: I enjoy going from being far behind on the digital release to having the opportunity to be timely with the print release! I plan to finally check this one out.
ASH: Oh! New sports manga in print? I’m game!
ANNA: Woo!
SEAN: Also in print: If I Could Reach You 7 (the final volume), Perfect World 11, Saint Young Men Omnibus 9, The Seven Deadly Sins Omnibus 5, and Witch Hat Atelier 9, the most important of these.
MICHELLE: I liked the first volume of If I Could Reach You. I should go back and see how it resolves.
ASH: This is a great Kodansha week.
ANNA: Looking forward to more Witch Hat Atelier for sure.
SEAN: The first digital debut is A Nico-Colored Canvas (Nikoiro no Canvas), a josei series from Be Love about a free-spirited artist and her adventures at college in Osaka.
MICHELLE: This sounds so fun!
ANNA: So much digital josei, I can’t keep track of it!
SEAN: The other debut is A Serenade for Pretend Lovers (Renai Gokko Sayokyoku), the story of a worker at a TV station trying to make a documentary about a musician while dealing with the fact she just saw her boyfriend cheating on her. It ran in Comic Tint, and thus this is a double-josei debut week.
MICHELLE: So much josei these days!
ASH: Love to see it.
ANNA: Even more!!!!
SEAN: Also digital: Defying Kurosaki-kun 19 (the final volume), A Girl and Her Guard Dog 7, The Girl, the Shovel and the Evil Eye 3, Hozuki’s Coolheadedness 8, I’ll Be with Them Again Today 3, Irresistible Mistakes 3, Piano Duo for the Left Hand 4, The Rokudo Rounds 2, and When a Cat Faces West 2.
MICHELLE: Still gotta check out When a Cat Faces West.
SEAN: Kaiten Books has Loner Life in Another World’s 5th manga volume in print, and The Yakuza’s Guide to Babysitting 4 digitally.
J-Novel Club’s digital debut is a manga, Sometimes Even Reality Is a Lie! (Real mo Tamaniwa wo Tsuku). A guy who games as a girl is finally meeting his gamer buddy… only it turns out she’s a girl who games as a guy! What’s worse, she told her overprotective parents she was bringing another girl over. Only cross-dressing can save us now. This was originally a webcomic on Pixiv, and was picked up by Kadokawa.
ASH: Okay, that has the potential to be fun (or really not so good).
SEAN: Also from J-Novel Club: Arifureta: From Commonplace to World’s Strongest 12, Black Summoner 9, Campfire Cooking in Another World with My Absurd Skill’s 8th manga volume, and Holmes of Kyoto 10.
Ghost Ship gives us Does a Hot Elf Live Next Door to You? 4.
And Airship, in print, debuts Modern Villainess: It’s Not Easy Building a Corporate Empire Before the Crash, which we discussed when its digital came out. They also have The Haunted Bookstore – Gateway to a Parallel Universe 4 and She Professed Herself Pupil of the Wise Man 4.
In early digital, we get a debut. Irina: The Vampire Cosmonaut (Tsuki to Laika to Nosferatu) is here to ask the important question: what if we shot vampires into space? This also got an anime last year.
ASH: I’ve seen space vampires before, but it’s certainly not a common combination.
SEAN: And we also see Accomplishments of the Duke’s Daughter 6, which is more accurately Accomplishments of the Duke’s Wife, as it’s a prequel looking at Iris’ mother.
If a manga kiss a manga, need a manga cry? What manga are you making cry next week?