Manga Bookshelf

Discussion, Resources, Roundtables, & Reviews

Anna N

Pick of the Week: You Are Already Picked

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SEAN: Barring an unforeseen crossover between Fist of the North Star and Ooku, I suspect Manga Bookshelf is going to be leaning one way or the other this week. I’m going to go with FotNS, even though I’m not sure I can stay with it for too long, simply because of the sheer influence it had on so many later series.

MICHELLE: I’m in the same boat. That cover art for the first volume basically says, “Michelle, I am not for you,” but I’m just so grateful that VIZ is releasing this that I have to at least check it out. A little trepidatious about those exploding limbs, though. Not gonna lie.

ANNA: “….you’re already dead!!!”

KATE: My inner historian is thrilled to see Fist of the North Star back in print, but my inner reader is more excited about the latest volumes of Maison Ikkoku and Even Though We’re Adults, two series I’m actively enjoying and collecting at the moment. I’ll probably pick up FotNS to satisfy my curiosity, but I won’t lie: I share Michelle’s general reservations about exploding limbs.

ASH: Out of everyone here, I may be the person for whom Fist of the North Star most fully aligns both interest-wise and reading habits-wise. It’s admittedly been a while since I’ve read the incomplete older English edition/s, but I loved those volumes; I am so incredibly excited that this series is finally getting another chance in print in English.

MELINDA: Okay, I know I usually say that Fumi Yoshinaga always wins, but I can’t deny that I’m excited by the prospect of actually reading Fist of the North Star after all this time. It’s gotta be my pick this week.

Manga the Week of 6/16/21

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SEAN: We’re having a heat wave! A manga heat wave!

ASH: I certainly much prefer one of those things over the other.

SEAN: Airship has two debuts. The first we’ve talked about before: I Swear I Won’t Bother You Again! is now out in print. I really enjoyed this look at a villainess who suffers depression.

ASH: Oh, that could be interesting. (I’m paying more attention know that it’s available in print.)

SEAN: The other debut is digital first: Reincarnated As a Dragon Hatchling (Tensei Shitara Dragon no Tamago Datta ~ Saikyou Igai Mezasenee ~). He’s a baby dragon, but he’ll grow up to be… (deep breath) the strongest ever!

Also out next week: Didn’t I Say to Make My Abilities Average in the Next Life?! 13 (early digital), The Hidden Dungeon Only I Can Enter 4 (print) and Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation 11 (print).

Dark Horse has a 3rd Deluxe Edition of Hellsing.

Ghost Ship gives us World’s End Harem 11.

J-Novel Club has two digital debuts. Guide to the Perfect Otaku Girlfriend: Roomies and Romance (Dousei kara Hajimaru Otaku Kanojo no Tsukurikata) has a description that makes it sound like Grooming: The Light Novel, but I suspect is probably pretty tame.

The other debut is Reincarnated as the Piggy Duke: This Time I’m Gonna Tell Her How I Feel! (Buta Koushaku ni Tensei Shitakara, Kondo wa Kimi ni Suki to Iitai). We all know light novel authors love to make their petty noble villains short, ugly, etc. What if he was an anime character, and now our hero was trapped reincarnated as him? Well, maybe he can actually shape up and stop being a villain. Again, this comes highly recommended.

ASH: This one has slipped under my radar up until now.

SEAN: We also see Are You Okay With a Slightly Older Girlfriend? 3, Fushi no Kami: Rebuilding Civilization Starts With a Village 4, The Ideal Sponger Life 3, Mapping: The Trash-Tier Skill That Got Me Into a Top-Tier Party 5, and the 18th and final volume of Outbreak Company.

Kaiten Books has a 3rd print volume of Loner Life in Another World.

In print, Kodansha has Chobits 20th Anniversary Edition 4, Knight of the Ice 6, Perfect World 6, A School Frozen in Time 2, Star⇄Crossed!! 2, and Those Not-So-Sweet Boys 3.

MICHELLE: Lots of good stuff, there!

ANNA: I’m very excited for Knight of the Ice, I’m thoroughly enjoying that series.

ASH: This is a good week for Kodansha in print!

Digitally our debut is Undead Girl Murder Farce, involving a supernatural detective with a very creepy cage. It’s from Shonen Sirius.

Also: Blue Lock 4, A Girl and Her Guard Dog 5, The Honey-Blood Beauty & Her Vampire 3, Medalist 2, We’re New at This 7, and Will It Be the World or Her? 6.

One Piece has the manga edition of The Reprise of the Spear Hero – Vol. 4, to be precise.

Seven Seas has Even Though We’re Adults 2 and Made in Abyss Official Anthology – Layer 2: A Dangerous Hole.

ASH: Somehow, I actually haven’t read the first volume of Even Though We’re Adults yet, but that’s not going to stop me from picking up the second.

SEAN: I don’t even know where to begin with Viz. They’re finally doing a nice, non-Gutsoon version (if you don’t know what Gutsoon was, ask your father) of Fist of the North Star (Hokuto no Ken). If Shonen Jump in the early 1980s was defined by Dragon Ball, this was its other half – an ultra-serious, ultra-violent apocalypse adventure with more exploding limbs than anyone can really handle. It’s in 2-volume omnibuses. It’ll be a treat.

MICHELLE: I’m grateful I finally get the opportunity to check this out!

ANNA: I’m so old, I have a few of the early Viz translated American comic sized issues from way back in the day.

ASH: I cannot adequately express how incredibly excited I am that this series is finally getting a proper English-language print release.

SEAN: There’s also a ton of final volumes. We get 20th Century Boys Perfect Edition 1… erm, 12 (not sure what’s going on there), Blue Flag 8, and RWBY The Official Manga 3.

MICHELLE: I believe this is the final volume of Blue Flag, also.

SEAN: Yes, that’s why I said “ton of final volumes”. :)

MICHELLE: I am inobservant!

ANNA: I need to get caught up on Blue Flag, it is very good.

ASH: That it is.

SEAN: Also coming out: Golden Kamuy 22, Maison Ikkoku Collector’s Edition 4, and Ooku the Inner Chambers 18.

MICHELLE: Ooku!

ANNA: Ooku too!

ASH: Yes, Ooku!

SEAN: Lastly, a trio of titles from Yen Press: The Case Study of Vanitas 8, Dead Mount Death Play 5, and Triage X 21.

Feeling hot hot hot? What manga are you reading?

Pick of the Week: Swooning in June

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MICHELLE: Though I have thus far failed to read Barakamon, I pounced on the debut volume of Yoshi no Zuikara and ended up really liking it. Now, the final volume of the short series is coming out and you can bet that I’ll be pouncing on that too.

SEAN: I’ve heard very good things about Uncle in Another World, but picking isekai right now seems sort of eh. There’s also new Komi and Spy x Family. But it’s been almost a year, so I’m gonna pick the next volume of A Certain Scientific Railgun, because overpowered middle school girls kicking ass.

ASH: I was surprised and delighted by how good the first volume of How Do We Relationship was. And so, I’m looking forward to catching up with the second and now the third volumes of that series!

ANNA: Out of everything coming out this week, I’m probably most excited by Spy x Family, one day I will catch up!

KATE: I’m on Team Kodansha this week, since they’re releasing new installments of two great series: Blood on the Tracks and Blue Period. I’ll also put in a pitch for Those Snow White Notes, both for its educational value and its sudsy drama. Hot guys playing the shamisen? Sign me up!!!!

Manga the Week of 6/9/21

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SEAN: 2nd June 2nd Furious.

MICHELLE: Snerk.

SEAN: Airship has an early digital debut. Reborn as a Space Mercenary: I Woke Up Piloting the Strongest Starship! (Mezametara Saikyou Soubi to Uchuusen Mochidattanode, Ikkodate Mezashite Youhei to Shite Jiyu ni Ikitai) and seems to be a standard isekai harem title, only in space rather than in fantasyland.

ASH: That’s a newer variation, I think!

SEAN: Also, in print, we get the 2nd volume of Failure Frame: I Became the Strongest and Annihilated Everything With Low-Level Spells and, in early digital, we get Berserk of Gluttony 3.

Dark Horse has the 2nd volume of Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken!.

ASH: I still need to check out the first.

SEAN: J-Novel Club has two digital debuts, neither one in their main imprint. On the J-Novel Heart end, we get The Emperor’s Lady-in-Waiting Is Wanted as a Bride (Kouteitsuki Nyokan wa Hanayome Toshite Nozomare Naka), a story of a knight who lost her life protecting the crown prince. She then somehow finds herself in the future with all her memories… and now she’s ENGAGED to a prince? This seems fun.

ASH: It does!

SEAN: Also out next week is the first volume of Perry Rhodan NEO, from the J-Novel Pulp imprint. The adventures of Perry Rhodan have been around forever, and this is the 2011 reboot of the storyline. Space adventures, only probably without the isekai and harem like Reborn as a Space Mercenary.

They’ve also got Black Summoner 2 (manga version), Campfire Cooking in Another World 3 (manga version), the 6th and final volume of I Refuse to Be Your Enemy!, and Sorcerous Stabber Orphen 12.

In print, Kodansha Manga has Blood on the Tracks 6, Blue Period 4, Real Account 12-14 (I assume… I had it on my Manga the Week of July 1, 2020 list as well…), Shaman King’s 2nd omnibus (Vol. 4-6), and Shikimori’s Not Just a Cutie 4.

MICHELLE: Blood on the Tracks is riveting, but I need to be in the right mindset for it.

ASH: It’s true. A fair number of Oshimi’s works tend that direction, actually.

SEAN: The digital debut is Police in a Pod (Hakozume: Koban Joshi no Gyakushuu), a seinen title from Weekly Morning. A disheartened officer who is about to turn in her resignation is stunned at the new woman director who arrives at the station. This has been made into a live-action drama.

And we have The Hero Life of a (Self-Proclaimed) “Mediocre” Demon! 6, Nina the Starry Bride 3, Peach Boy Riverside 8, The Springtime of My Life Began with You 2, and Those Snow White Notes 6.

MICHELLE: Six volumes behind on Those Snow White Notes now.

ANNA: Me too.

SEAN: Seven Seas debuts the manga version of I Swear I Won’t Bother You Again!, whose light novel I have discussed. I found the light novel fantastic, but I’ve heard the manga tells the story quite differently. It runs in Gentosha’s Denshi Birz.

We also get Arpeggio of Blue Steel 18, A Certain Scientific Accelerator 12, and A Certain Scientific Railgun 16.

Square Enix has a 4th volume of My Dress-Up Darling.

ASH: I’m a volume or so behind, but I really liked the first couple.

SEAN: SuBLime has a 6th Caste Heaven.

Viz has two debuts. The first is Kirby Manga Mania, a collection of manga starring the game character. The other is World Piece, a Viz Original graphic novel about a boy who accidentally shrinks Earth to the size of a basketball.

ASH: Oh! I had forgotten about the Viz Original line!

SEAN: Other titles include Call of the Night 2, How Do We Relationship? 3, Komi Can’t Communicate 13, One Piece Omnibus 31, Pokemon Adventures Collector’s Edition 8, and Spy x Family 5.

MICHELLE: I need to check back in with How Do We Relationship?. I enjoyed the first volume.

ANNA: I need to check back in on Spy x Family.

ASH: I’ve been enjoying what I’ve read of both of those series!

SEAN: Yen On has the 19th The Devil Is a Part-Timer!.

Yen Press debuts Uncle from Another World (Isekai Ojisan), the story of a man who’s been in a coma for 17 years… then wakes to tell his nephew he’s been in another world! Despite the isekai, I’ve heard this is better than it sounds.

Yen also has For the Kid I Saw in My Dreams 6, Hinowa Ga CRUSH! 5, Kakegurui – Compulsive Gambler 13, Phantom Tales of the Night 7, The Saga of Tanya the Evil 14, Sword Art Online: Girls’ Ops 7, Tales of Wedding Rings 9, and the 3rd and final volume of Yoshi no Zuikara.

MICHELLE: I really liked the first volume of Yoshi no Zuikara. I’m excited for the conclusion.

SEAN: What manga gets you racing?

Yakuza Lover, Vol 1

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Yakuza Lover Volume 1 by Nozomi Mino

I’m glad that Shojo Beat remains committed to bringing out one mature title at a time, so with An Incurable Case of Love ending, Yakuza Lover rotates in. Yuri is a 20 year old college student who capably fends off the overtures of sketchy men, loudly proclaiming “I want a guy who loves me for me!” Her desire for a boyfriend takes an unconventional turn when she ends up in the wrong party room and needs to defend herself from some criminals through the application of a handy side table and her previous experience as a high school athlete. Local yakuza boss Toshiomi Oya comes in to check up on her and gives her his coat as well as his business card, which he says can be used as a shield if she ever finds herself in a similar situation.

Yakuza Lover Volume 1

While Oya says farewell, Yuri can’t stop thinking about him and seeks him out to return his coat. Oya promptly confesses his feelings of affection for Yuri and she’s fascinated by him. They start dating, but each time Oya leaves he references his criminal lifestyle, saying “I’ll call you again if I’m still alive.” Like a Mayu Shinjo hero, Oya’s main personality trait is extreme possessiveness. However, he is happy to indulge Yuri’s whims, like dressing up in traditional clothing while playing tourist. Yuri is still trying to find a better part-time job and not all that invested in material things, although it remains to be seen if some of the complications of dating a crime lord are going to test the relationship.

This first volume was over the top and entertaining, and I enjoyed the elements of dark humor like Oya repeatedly referring to the potential of his impending death. As much as I enjoy a good shoujo trope, I do sometimes want to read a series that doesn’t feature school festivals and sports days all the time, and it seems like dodging bullets and dealing with rival crime lords will be plenty entertaining in Yakuza Lover.

Daytime Shooting Star, Vols 11 and 12

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Daytime Shooting Star Volumes 11 and 12 by Mika Yamamori

There are so many Shojo Beat series wrapping up! I’m trying to catch up on my reading and get myself psyched for new series. Daytime Shooting Star is by far the most anxiety-provoking Shojo Beat series for me, just due to the situation where Suzume falls in love with her teacher Mr. Shishio. From the first volume, the thing I was most dreading was a “10 years later” epilogue ending where Suzume is out of college, meets Shishio again and they live happily ever after. In this case my worry was unfounded and my expectations built on years of shoujo plot tropes might have made me worry needlessly. It is a testament to Yamamori’s storytelling abilities that this series was regularly on the top of my to-read pile and I was so invested in the story that I kept reading despite my worries.

Daytime Shoting Star 11

I’ve been on team Mamura all along, and it was great seeing Suzume and Mamura actually start tentatively dating. Of course Shishio has an incredibly immature reaction to Suzume moving along is to reel her back in with a confession of his feelings. One of the reasons why I’m so invested in the Mamura/Suzume relationship is that Mamura is unusually insightful, and willing call out Suzume a bit when she’s pretending that everything is ok when something is clearly bothering her. Mamura is putting her peace of mind in getting some sort of resolution over his own desire to move ahead with their relationship. There’s a great and touching scene where Suzume just leans her head into Mamura’s chest to calm herself, thinking “I feel like he’s putting my heart back where it belongs”. What follows is a sports day full of emotional confrontation and drama, as Mamura and Shishio compete in a relay race, Suzume gets injured in her dogged pursuit of bread, and she and Shishio have another emotionally charged talk.

Daytime Shooting Star 12

As the final volume opens, Suzume and Mamura go on a trip to Okinawa with friends, but he pushes her to resolve her feelings for Mr. Shishio. Shishio’s evolution from charming but slightly sketchy to selfish and incredibly immature over the twelve volumes has been something fascinating to see. Yamamori manages to make all her characters charming no matter what emotional issues they’re dealing with, and by the time I finished this volume I was convinced that all the teenage characters were exhibiting a maturity of character and psychological insight that far outpaced any of their adult counterparts in this manga. Suzume has been a charming and irrepressible heroine who has been plagued by self-doubt as she struggled to make sense of her emotions. By the end of this volume, she has clarity and is truly happy, which was wonderful to see. Daytime Shooting Star featured some great humor, stylish character design, and characters who grew and changed, becoming more secure in themselves as the series concluded. Daytime Shooting Star was an extremely satisfying series to read.

Pick of the Week: Far Too Much Good Stuff

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SEAN: There’s a ludicrous amount of stuff I’m getting this week. The final Beelzebub and a new Takagi-san from Yen, Viz’s new shoujo title Yakuza Lover and Yona of the Dawn, Sweat and Soap from Kodansha, The Apothecary Diaries from J-Novel Club… that said, I have to pick SOMETHING, so after listing all those I will pick the early digital edition of I’m in Love with the Villainess 3. Because OMG, the first two were so good.

MICHELLE: I’ve recently started reading the first I’m in Love with the Villainess novel, and am enjoying it! Still, despite that and the heaps of great stuff from VIZ in particular, this week I’m going with the debut of My Summer of You. I love these sort of low-key, slice-of-life BL stories.

ASH: It is a very good week for manga and light novels! Most of the titles already mentioned are high on my list to read, but I’ll go ahead and add two more: ongoing series-wise, Monthly Girls’ Nozaki-kun is always a favorite of mine while another debut that I’m particularly curious about is The Tale of the Outcasts.

KATE: I’m hopelessly behind in my reading, but I always appreciate a series about a grown-ass woman getting her act together, so the latest installment of Wave, Listen to Me! is my top pick.

ANNA: I’m also hopelessly behind in my reading, but one series I’m not behind on is Yona of the Dawn. While I’m very much looking forward to that, I’m going to take the opportunity to highlight some spicy shoujo and make Yakuza Lover my pick.

Manga the Week of 6/2/21

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SEAN: June’s busting manga out all over. Let’s see what’s fallen in front of us.

Airship has two print releases: Adachi and Shimamura 5 and ROLL OVER AND DIE: I Will Fight for an Ordinary Life with My Love and Cursed Sword! 3. They also have an early digital release of I’m in Love with the Villainess 3.

ASH: Oh, that means I still have some time to catch up before it’s released in print!

SEAN: Cross Infinite World has a new novel, Romance of the Imperial Capital Kotogami: A Tale of Living Alongside Spirits (Teito Kotogami Romantan Kinrо̄ Otome to Oshikake Jūsha), about a young woman living as a caretaker to a bunch of handsome yokai. This certainly sounds like a couple of recent Viz shoujo manga titles…

MICHELLE: Definitely conjures some Demon Prince of Momochi House vibes.

ASH: That it does, and thus intrigues me.

SEAN: J-Novel Club has several new digital releases, as we get The Apothecary Diaries 2, Discommunication’s 7th manga volume, Girls Kingdom 3, Marginal Operation’s 7th manga volume, My Instant Death Ability is So Overpowered, No One in This Other World Stands a Chance Against Me! 5, and The World’s Least Interesting Master Swordsman 6.

J-Novel Club also has print titles. We’ll see By the Grace of the Gods 4, How a Realist Hero Rebuilt the Kingdom’s 2nd manga omnibus, In Another World with My Smartphone 16, and Marginal Operation 6.

Kodansha sees the print debut of The Summer of You (Kimi wa Natsu no Naka), a BL story about two teenagers loving to hang out and watch movies, and the love that develops between them. The author is also known for The Two Lions, just licensed by Seven Seas, and about 70 billion Gintama doujinshi.

MICHELLE: I’ve been looking forward to this one!

ASH: I wasn’t previously aware of this series, but now that I am, so am I!

SEAN: Also out in print: Chi’s Sweet Adventures 4, The Heroic Legend of Arslan 14, Hitorijime My Hero 10, Rent-a-Girlfriend 6, Sweat and Soap 6, Wave, Listen to Me! 6, Weathering with You 3 (the final volume), and With a Dog AND a Cat, Every Day is Fun 4.

MICHELLE: I need to catch up on Wave, Listen to Me! and With a Dog AND a Cat, Every Day Is Fun; I enjoyed both a lot for very different reasons.

ASH: I’m definitely here for Wave Listen to Me! . I’ve been meaning to give Sweat and Soap a try, too.

SEAN: Kodansha’s digital debut is Ya Boy Kongming (Papiri Koumei), a shonen title from Comic Days about a Three Kingdoms general reborn into modern Japan.

We also get Chihayafuru 26, Girlfriend Girlfriend 3, GTO Paradise Lost 14, My Dearest Self with Malice Aforethought 5, and With the Sheikh in His Harem 2.

MICHELLE: Insert traditional “yay!” for Chihayafuru.

ANNA: Yay! Also I’m so far behind!

SEAN: Seven Seas debuts The Tale of the Outcasts (Nokemono-tachi no Yoru), which ran in Weekly Shonen Sunday. This tale of a young orphan girl and a beast immortal should appeal to fans of Girl from the Other Side and similar titles.

ASH: Oooh, you have my attention.

SEAN: Seven Seas also has New Game! 11, Peter Grill and the Philosopher’s Time 5, Reincarnated As a Sword 6, and the 15th and final volume of Shomin Sample.

Viz debuts Yakuza Lover (Koi to Dangan – Dangerous Lover), a shoujo title from Cheese! spinoff Premium Cheese!. College girl meets yakuza boy, and despite trying to avoid “bad boys” she’s irresistibly drawn to him. Given it’s Cheese!, I suppose this is more in the “shousei” genre – expect a spicy story.

ANNA: I’m stoked for this and Cheese! spinoffs.

SEAN: There’s also a pile of other Viz. Chainsaw Man 5, Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba 22, Dragon Ball Super 13, Jujutsu Kaisen 10, My Hero Academia 28, One-Punch Man 22, Seraph of the End 21, Takane & Hana 17, Twin Star Exorcists 22, Vampire Knight: Memories 6, We Never Learn 16, and Yona of the Dawn 30.

MICHELLE: So much good stuff.

ANNA: Indeed.

ASH: A very good Viz week.

SEAN: Yen On has some May remainder titles that got bumped to June: the 10th Haruhi Suzumiya novel in paperback (it’s actually Books 10 and 11 in one big book), High School Prodigies Have It Easy Even in Another World! 4, Overlord 13, and Strike the Blood 18.

Yen Press likewise has a LOT of “this used to be May” titles. We get As Miss Beelzebub Likes 12 (the final volume), Eniale & Dewiela 3 (also a final volume), Happy Sugar Life 9, If Witch, Then Which? 2, IM: Great Priest Imhotep 9, Love of Kill 2, Monthly Girls’ Nozaki-kun 12, Overlord 13, Shibuya Goldfish 9, Teasing Master Takagi-san 11, The White Cat’s Revenge as Plotted from the Dragon King’s Lap 3, and A Witch’s Love at the End of the World 3 (another final volume).

ASH: Wait, did you say Monthly Girls’ Nozaki-kun?! Hooray!

SEAN: There’s a lot of series in this list I love to bits. What are you getting?

Pick of the Week: We Pick the Riot

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MICHELLE: I mean, it’s gotta be Boys Run the Riot. Bonus points for a new volume of What Did You Eat Yesterday, though!

SEAN: First of all, an honorary pick of the week goes to Berserk. It wasn’t my cup of tea, but what I read of it shows that the late Kentaro Muira was a master of his craft, and you can see why his death has led to an outpouring of grief from Japanese manga artists. But yes, as Michelle said, my actual pick for this specific week is Boys Run the Riot.

KATE: Who runs the riot? Boys! (Or so I’ve heard.) Looking forward to checking this one out…

ASH: It is supposed to be great! I’m really happy that Boys Run the Riot is being released. Transmasculine characters are a rarity in manga licensed for translation, and the manga’s creator is trans, too, so I’m excited for the series. It’s my official pick but, like Sean, I’d like to honor Berserk this week, too. The series is an important touchstone for me and Kentaro Miura will be greatly missed.

ANNA: I’m also looking forward to Boys Run the Riot, and while Berserk wasn’t for me there’s no denying Miura’s achievement with the series.

Manga the Week of 5/26/21

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SEAN: The end of May brings us a few more books to check out. And by a few I mean a lot.

ASH: So many books! I love it.

SEAN: Airship has an early digital debut (the print is out in July): Accomplishments of the Duke’s Daughter (Koushaku Reijou no Tashinami). We’ve already seen several volumes of the manga over here… in fact, it was one of the first “oh no, I’m reincarnated as a villainess in an otome game” titles seen here. Let’s hope folks won’t think it’s old hat by now.

ASH: While I liked the manga, I think I might enjoy the novels more.

SEAN: Also out early digitally: Classroom of the Elite 8 and Skeleton Knight in Another World 9.

In print, we see the 6th Reincarnated As a Sword.

Ghost Ship has two titles: World’s End Harem Fantasia 4 and Yuuna and the Haunted Hot Springs 14.

J-Novel Club has no debuts, but we do see By the Grace of the Gods 7, Dungeon Busters 2, Holmes of Kyoto 5, Lazy Dungeon Master 14, Monster Tamer 4, and Slayers 8. Note Slayers 8 is the final novel that Tokyopop released back in the day, so from Vol. 9 on it’s new to English.

ASH: Nice! I love seeing these license rescues making progress.

ANNA: Where’s Demon Sacred!!!!???

MICHELLE: And Silver Diamond! Now that we’ve successfully had Rose of Versailles, someone rescuing Silver Diamond is my dearest licensing wish.

SEAN: Well, Slayers is a light novel, which is more J-Novel Club’s ballpark.

Kodansha’s debut in print (and digital) is highly anticipated. Boys Run the Riot is a story about fashion and gender identity, and is a must-read for LGBTQ readers. It originally ran in Weekly Young Magazine, then moved online.

MICHELLE: I’m very excited for this one!

ASH: Absolutely! Me, too! I’ve heard very good things.

ANNA: Sounds good!

MELINDA: Yes, this!!

SEAN: Also in print: CITY 11, Fairy Tail’s 4th manga box, which has Vol. 34-43, and What Did You Eat Yesterday? 15.

MICHELLE: Also looking forward to this.

ASH: Any week that brings more Fumi Yoshinaga manga is a good week.

MELINDA: What Ash said.

SEAN: Debuting digitally is Back When You Called Us Devils (Kimi ga Bokura wo Akuma to Yonda Koro), a Magazine Pocket series about a young man who can’t remember six months of his life running into people who certainly do remember it… and say that he was a monster. More psychological thrillers, yay?

ASH: Hmmm, I am intrigued.

SEAN: Also out digitally: Am I Actually the Strongest? 4, And Yet You Are So Sweet 2, Harem Marriage 5, Saint Young Men 11, Those Snow White Notes 5 (yeah, I give up, sorry), What I Love About You 6, and When We’re in Love 8.

MICHELLE: I feel like this is my last chance to catch up on Those Snow White Notes before it completely gets away from me.

SEAN: One Peace has a 5th volume of The New Gate.

Seven Seas has one debut. Bite Maker: The King’s Omega (Bite Maker -Ousama no Omega-). Yes, A/B/O Dynamics is not just an AO3 tag anymore. Our hero is an Alpha, admired and adored by Betas, but seems unsatisfied… till he meets the Omega of his dreams. This is a Shogakukan shoujo title, running in Flowers’ online magazine &Flowers, and its author is known for pushing at boundaries.

MICHELLE: Yeah, no thanks.

ANNA: I will pass on this one.

MELINDA: “Pushing at boundaries.” Yeah, no.

SEAN: There’s also Berserk of Gluttony 2, GIGANT 5, Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid: Elma’s Office Lady Diary 4, Saint Seiya: Saintia Sho 13, and Species Domain 10.

Square Enix has Cherry Magic! Thirty Years of Virginity Can Make You a Wizard?! 3 and Ragna Crimson 2.

ASH: I’ve been enjoying Cherry Magic!.

SEAN: Tokyopop debuts Like Two Peas in a Pod (Nitamonodoushi no), a BL one-shot from Mag Garden. Two boys in school are very alike – they’re even both named Tanaka! But when both take an interest in the same girl, are they jealous of each other, or of the girl?

And A Gentle Noble’s Vacation Recommendation 3.

Yen On has a debut that’s actually a sequel. Durarara!! SH takes place 18 months after the end of the main series, and features three new protagonists. (The SH stands for Snake Hands. Don’t ask.)

And there is Bungo Stray Dogs 6, Date a Live 2, The Demon Sword Master of Excalibur Academy 3, Do You Love Your Mom and Her Two-Hit Multi-Target Attacks? 9, a paperback reprint of Haruhi Suzumiya 9, My Youth Romantic Comedy Is Wrong As I Expected 11, and Wandering Witch 5.

Yen Press has one debut and one finale. The debut is Hard-Boiled Stories from the Cat Bar (Sake to Namida to Otoko to Nyanko), a one-shot from Kadokawa’s Young Ace Up. If you love dark grimy noir stories, but also love cats, this is the title for you.

MICHELLE: Hm. Maybe!

ASH: I’m looking forward to giving it a try.

ANNA: I’m curious about this.

MELINDA: Same here!

SEAN: Ending at 18 volumes (and honestly I forgot it was still coming out, it’s digital-only) is Crimson Prince. The author fell ill several years ago, and so 17 (which came out last month) and 18 had a long delay. It was a good shonen supernatural romance.

Any May flowers you’re picking?

Pick of the Week: Medalists and Househusbands

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SEAN: There’s several titles I’m interested in… a new “Peggy Sue Villainess” story, a new We’re New at This sex comedy story, and (of course) a new Urusei Yatsura omnibus. But yeah, the debut of Medalist certainly has “Pick of the Week” written all over it, doesn’t it?

MICHELLE: Yeah, there’s absolutely no scenario in which I don’t pick the seinen sports manga! Medalist stands atop my personal podium!

ANNA: I agree, I’m all in for Medalist!

KATE: This week is a veritable feast! I don’t think I can pick just one, since three of my current favorites are on this week’s list: Blue Period, Drifting Dragons, and The Way of the Househusband, a comedy that still hasn’t run out of gas in spite of its one-joke premise.

MELINDA: It’s absolutely Medalist for me, this week! Skating will always win!

ASH: If Medalist was being released in print this week it would surely be my pick. Alas, it is currently only available digitally. So! I will happily join Kate in highlighting The Way of the Househusband, which continues to delight me, and Drifting Dragons, which continues to be incredibly engaging (and illustrated).

Manga the Week of 5/19/21

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SEAN: As the days get warmer, why not try some manga to cool you off?

Airship debuts a new release, out next week digitally and in print next month. I Swear I Won’t Bother You Again! (Kondo wa Zettai ni Jamashimasen!) features a somewhat familiar plot – a villainess who is in prison for the crimes she has committed ends up in her past self, and is determined to do things right this time. As with many of these stories, I suspect bothering will, in fact, occur.

ASH: Ha!

SEAN: There’s also an early digital for Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear 6.

In print, we debut I Have a Secret, from the author of I Want to Eat Your Pancreas. There’s also the 2nd volume of Trapped in a Dating Sim: The World of Otome Games Is Tough for Mobs.

MICHELLE: I still need to read my digital copy of I Have a Secret. Soon.

ASH: I’ll probably be picking it up in print, myself.

SEAN: Dark Horse has the 3rd and final volume of Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair.

J-Novel Club debuts its Pulp imprint, showing us that German novels can be just as bonkers as Japanese ones. The first of these is John Sinclair: Demon Hunter (Geisterjäger John Sinclair). Scotland Yard in the 1970s hunts demons. Imagine The Sweeney but less violent.

ASH: I’m curious to see how this imprint develops!

SEAN: There’s also The Magician Who Rose from Failure 2 and Welcome to Japan, Ms. Elf! 6.

No print debuts for Kodansha, but we do see Blue Period 3, Cells at Work: CODE BLACK 7, Drifting Dragons 8, Fairy Tail: 100 Years Quest 7, Living-Room Matsunaga-san 6, A Sign of Affection 2, Something’s Wrong with Us 6, and Those Not-So-Sweet Boys 2.

MICHELLE: The shoujo titles beckon to me.

ASH: Indeed! I’ve also been enjoying Drifting Dragons.

SEAN: The digital debut is Medalist, a figure skating manga from Kodansha’s Afternoon that is much acclaimed.

MICHELLE: Sports + seinen = yes.

ANNA: Oooh, I’m intrigued.

MELINDA: I need it.

SEAN: Also digital: Blue Lock 3, A Girl and Her Guard Dog 4, The Honey-Blonde Beauty & Her Vampire 2, Hop Step Sing! 3 (the final volume), We’re New at This 6, and Will it Be the World or Her? 5.

Seven Seas’ debut is the comedy Dungeon Toilet (Isekai no Toire de Dai o Suru), an Akita Shoten title from Young Champion Retsu, and if, like me, you flee in terror when you see the words “Young Champion”, you may have already stopped reading. It’s about a reincarnated kid in search of the perfect toilet in a fantasy world. Laffs no doubt ensue.

ANNA: No thank you!

MELINDA: Oh no.

SEAN: Also from Seven Seas: Didn’t I Say to Make My Abilities Average in the Next Life?! Everyday Misadventures! 2, How NOT to Summon a Demon Lord 11, The King of Fighters: A New Beginning 5, and Wonder Cat Kyuu-chan 2.

No debuts from Viz, but we do get BEASTARS 12, Hell’s Paradise Jigokuraku 8, Levius/est 8, No Guns Life 10, Urusei Yatsura 10, The Way of the Househusband 5, and Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead 2.

MICHELLE: I look forward to getting caught up on The Way of the Househusband!

ANNA: I’m actually not behind on that series!

ASH: It’s one of my favorites at the moment.

SEAN: Yen On has been doing so much shuffling of release dates lately that it’s hard to get a handle on what is due out next week, especially as the print and digital dates differ. We should definitely have the 3rd Banished from the Hero’s Party, I Decided to Live a Quiet Life in the Countryside and the 2nd Interspecies Reviewers.

Yen Press has similar release date blues, but definitely debuting next week is I’m the Hero, but the Demon Lord’s Also Me (Boku ga Yuusha de Maou mo Boku de), a title from Media Factory’s Comic Alive, my old nemesis. A young man is approached by a beautiful woman to be the Hero… and another beautiful woman to be the Demon Lord. Turns out it could go either way. Hard to get past that boob-laden cover, though.

Also debuting is Sex Ed 120% (Seikyouiku 120%), which runs on ASCII Mediaworks’ @Vitamin site. This seems to combine comedy and actual sex ed, as a teacher who thinks she can teach sex ed better than the modern sex ed texts tries to teach her class about various subjects. I’ve actually heard this is pretty good.

ASH: Same!

SEAN: Does this list cool you off or warm you up?

Pick of the Week: Two Strong Titles

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MICHELLE: I’m pleased about quite a few things this week. I need to get caught up on Ace of the Diamond and Those Snow White Notes, The Springtime of My Life Began with You looks potentially cute, and I’m intrigued by Ride Your Wave. Still, it’s gotta be the debut of I Think Our Son Is Gay for me this week.

SEAN: I am assuming that I Think Our Son Is Gay will deservedly get a lot of love this week from others, so allow me to highly recommend My Alcoholic Escape from Reality, the latest of Nagata Kabi’s compelling, if painful, memoirs. Also, go watch her panel at Virtual TCAF this Wednesday night!

KATE: I Think Our Son Is Gay tops my list for this week’s must-read manga!

ANNA: I Think Our Son Is Gay has my attention too!

ASH: Perhaps unsurprisingly, I Think Our Son Is Gayis my top pick this week, too. But I’d also like to join Sean in highlighting My Alcoholic Escape from Reality. I expect both of them to be potent, albeit in entirely different ways.

MELINDA: I’m with the majority of the group here, in that my top pick for the week is I Think Our Son Is Gay. It looks sweet and adorable, and that’s what I’m in the mood for right now!

Manga the Week of 5/12/21

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SEAN: Happy Mother’s Day! Let’s look for some manga that you can safely show to Mom.

Airship has two early digital releases, Adachi & Shimamura 5 and Failure Frame 2.

Debuting in print is Drugstore in Another World: The Slow Life of a Cheat Pharmacist. And we get the 2nd Muscles Are Better Than Magic as well.

ASH: I didn’t pick it up digitally, but am still vaguely intrigued by Drugstore in Another World.

MELINDA: I’m intrigued by the title alone.

SEAN: Dark Horse has a 6th omnibus volume for Gantz.

J-Novel Club has a few digital manga titles that I missed last time that are out this week. Apologies to An Archdemon’s Dilemma 5, Bibliophile Princess 2, and Record of Wortenia War 2. This is the danger of not adding “LLC” to your searches.

ASH: It can make a difference.

SEAN: As for this week, in terms of manga we have Ascendance of a Bookworm 7 and Mapping 2.

In terms of digital light novels, we get The Greatest Magicmaster’s Retirement Plan 9 and In Another World with My Smartphone 22.

Kodansha has a few print volumes next week. We get Don’t Toy with me, Miss Nagatoro 7, Sachi’s Monstrous Appetite 2, and Yuzu the Pet Vet 5.

MICHELLE: I still need to check out Yuzu.

ASH: I’ll have to admit the same.

MELINDA: And I.

SEAN: Digitally the debut is The Springtime of My Life Began with You (Kimi to Aoi Haru no Hajimari), a shoujo title from Dessert. The author’s had a lot of titles out over here, some from Kodansha (The Dorm of Love and Secrets, The Prince’s Romance Gambit) and some via Media Do’s many and varied company names (Heart Break Club). A popular guy is forced, as a punishment game, to ask out the quiet, shy girl in front of the whole class. The trouble is… he insists he really likes her!

ANNA: Those popular guys and their shenanigans!

MICHELLE: I know this concept is not the greatest, but I think the cover is pretty and enjoyed The Dorm of Love and Secrets, so I’ll be giving this a shot.

SEAN: We also get Ace of the Diamond 32, My Roomie Is a Dino 5, Nina the Starry Bride 2, Peach Boy Riverside 7, Saint Young Men 12, and Those Snow White Notes 4, voted “series most likely to get behind on” by Manga Bookshelf.

ANNA: I haven’t read the first volume so I’m sure I’m behind.

MICHELLE: Gah, so behind. It’s coming out especially quickly for some reason! I’m also in need of a mini-marathon on Ace of the Diamond.

SEAN: One Peace has the 2nd volume of isekai harem title Farming Life in Another World.

Seven Seas has FOUR debuts next week. We’ll start with My Alcoholic Escape from Reality (Genjitsu Touhi Shitetara Boroboro ni Natta Hanashi), the latest biographical manga from the creator of My Lesbian Experience with Loneliness, which promises to be as riveting as the previous book’s she’s given us. It ran in Matogrosso, put out by small publisher East Press.

ANNA: Oh wow.

ASH: They’re good but hard-hitting manga.

SEAN: Ride Your Wave (Kimi to, Nami ni Noretara) is a one-volume manga adaptation of the movie of the same name, and ran in Shogakukan’s Deluxe Betsucomi.

MICHELLE: Hm. It’s sports-adjacent, seems like.

SEAN: School Zone Girls is a title from Mag Garden’s MagComi about two troublemaking girls who’ve been together forever, but are they more than just friends? This seems to emphasize the comedy over the yuri.

Lastly, we get Thigh High: Reiwa Hanamaru Academy (Reiwa Hanamaru Gakuen), a Kodansha title from good! Afternoon, and is about an all-girls school… populated entirely by gorgeous crossdressing men. This one also seems to emphasize the comedy.

ASH: This could be hilariously good or hilariously bad – I’m not sure that I can resist finding out which.

MELINDA: I really don’t know what to expect from this.

SEAN: Also out: Dungeon Builder 4 and Uzaki-chan Wants to Hang Out! 5.

Square Enix debuts I Think Our Son Is Gay (Uchi no Musuko wa Tabun Gay), a Gangan Pixiv title about a mom who has realized that her son is keeping a secret. This is supposed to be very good.

ANNA: I’m curious.

MICHELLE: Same.

ASH: Really looking forward to this one.

MELINDA: I’m excited to read this one!

SEAN: They also have By the Grace of the Gods’ 2nd manga volume.

SuBLime wins the title of the week competition with the debut of Dick Fight Island (8nin no Senshi), a long-running title from Libre Shuppan’s Be x Boy Gold. The synopsis… is pretty much not work safe, but can probably be guessed from the title.

ANNA: I don’t think anyone could buy that manga and be confused about what they’re getting.

MICHELLE: Snerk.

ASH: I likewise suspect that it is unlikely.

MELINDA: I mean. Well.

SEAN: They also have Vol. 2 of Don’t Be Cruel: plus+.

Speaking of BL, Tokyopop has a one-shot title, The Treasure of the King and the Cat (Ou to Neko no Himitsu), about a king investigating a series of disappearances who gets caught up in magic.

They also have Ossan Idol 3.

No debuts for Viz, but we get Fly Me to the Moon 5, Fullmetal Alchemist: Fullmetal Edition 13, Pokemon Sun & Moon 10, Rin-Ne 39, Splatoon 12, A Tropical Fish Yearns for Snow 7, and Yo-Kai Watch 17.

ASH: Some great ongoing series in that list!

SEAN: That’s it. See anything maternal? I Think Our Son Is Gay looks like the best choice. I’d avoid Dick Fight Island. Unless your mom loves BL.

Pick of the Week: It Must Have Been the Roses

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SEAN: Come on. We all know what it is. This is the last time we can pick it, so it HAS to be the 5th and final volume of The Rose of Versailles. It’s just that good.

MICHELLE: Forsooth. And we’re all so grateful the whole thing actually got released!

ANNA: Me too, it is amazing!

ASH: I agree, the pick really can’t be anything other than The Rose of Versailles. The series is absolutely one of the gems of my bookshelf. I’m so, so glad we got such a nice release.

KATE: C’mon… what did you think I would pick: Skeleton Knight in Another World?!!! I’m also on Team Oscar this week. I gotta see how it all ends!

MELINDA: I mean, obviously. It’s The Rose of Versailles.