Anna N

SEAN: Better wake up, September’s ending.

ASH: Somehow I thought it was both October already and too early for October…

SEAN: No debuts for Yen, but a few “got bumped one week” books. Yen On has The Angel Next Door Spoils Me Rotten 5.5, Defeating the Demon Lord’s a Cinch (If You’ve Got a Ringer) 5, The Girl I Saved on the Train Turned Out to Be My Childhood Friend 4, and Maiden of the Needle 2.

And Yen Press have No Longer Heroine 4, The Princess of Convenient Plot Devices 3, Sasaki and Miyano 9, and Shy 4.

MICHELLE: I should get back to No Longer Heroine.

SEAN: Viz has the Chainsaw Man Box Set, a collection of the first 11 volumes with a color poster.

And almost 15 years after its original release, Viz now have Pluto: Urasawa x Tezuka available digitally.

MICHELLE: Ah, Pluto is so good.

ANNA: Glad it is available digitally!

ASH: This is one of the series that truly hooked me on manga.

SEAN: They’ve also got Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba—Corps Records (a guidebook) and Fist of the North Star 10.

ASH: Always glad to see more Fist of the North Star!

SEAN: Tokyopop has some stuff for us. Confessions of a Shy Baker 3, Sengoku Youko 3, and We Can’t Do Just Plain Love 2.

Steamship debuts I Can’t Refuse S (Watashi wa S ni Sakaraenai). A woman has become mistress of a creditor to pay her father’s debt… but he only likes experienced women, and she’s a virgin. It’s up to the handsome butler to teach her. This runs in Mobafura, a josei magazine for plots that sound exactly like that one.

ANNA: It sounds like quite a conundrum.

ASH: Oh, myyyyy.

SEAN: Seven Seas has some manga debuts. Plus-Sized Elf: Second Helping! (Shin Elf-san wa Yaserarenai) has exactly the same plot as the first series – she hasn’t gotten any better at dieting.

The World’s Fastest Level Up! (Sekai Saisoku no Level Up!) is based on the light novel also released by Seven Seas, and runs in Shonen Ace. It’s another “everyone hates me for my useless talent, but it’s actually SUPER AWESOME!” series.

And Seven Seas has a danmei title, The Husky and His White Cat Shizun: Erha He Ta De Bai Mao Shizun 3.

We also see Even Dogs Go to Other Worlds: Life in Another World with My Beloved Hound 2, The Girl From the Other Side: Siúil, a Rún Deluxe Edition IV (the final volume), Homunculus 3-4, Killing Stalking: Deluxe Edition 4, The Legend of Dororo and Hyakkimaru 6, and Reincarnated as a Dragon Hatchling 4.

ASH: Overall a strong week for Seven Seas series I’m interested in for one reason or another.

SEAN: One Peace Books has a 4th volume of Usotoki Rhetoric.

MICHELLE: Yay! Looking forward to this.

ASH: Yes, indeed!

SEAN: Kodansha has a print debut: I’m Giving the Disgraced Noble Lady I Rescued a Crash Course in Naughtiness (Konyaku Haki Sareta Reijo wo Hirotta Ore ga, Ikenai Koto wo Oshiekomu Oishi Mono wo Tabesasete Oshare wo Sasete, Sekaichi Shiawasena Shojo ni Produce). Based on the light novel released by J-Novel Club, a wrongly accused and abused princess winds up at the home of a powerful but misanthropic sorcerer. Sweet romance ensues. This runs in Comic Pash!.

Also in print: Fire Force Omnibus 6, Go with the Clouds, North-by-Northwest 6, Interviews with Monster Girls 11 (the final volume), and When Will Ayumu Make His Move? 13.

ANNA: I need to read North-by-Northwest! I have volumes stockpiled in my house.

ASH: It’s not always what I expect it to be, but I have been enjoying the series.

SEAN: The digital debut is Drops of God: Mariage (Mariage – Kami no Shizuku Saishuushou), the 26-volume sequel to the 44-volume original Drops of God. No, the Mariage is not about a wedding, it’s about the mariage between good food and good wine. This also ran in Weekly Morning.

ANNA: Woah.

ASH: Nice!

SEAN: Also out digitally: Am I Actually the Strongest? 9, Blade Girl 2, Boss Bride Days 9, A Couple of Cuckoos 13, DAYS 37, Gamaran: Shura 12, The Great Cleric 10, My Home Hero 8, Our Bodies, Entwining, Entwined 6, and That’s My Atypical Girl 10.

Debuting from J-Novel Club is The Retired Demon of the Maxed-Out Village (Kansuto-mura no Goinkyo Demon-san). A powerful knight is sent to a village to slay an evil demon… but she finds the demon is a retired old man. What’s more, everyone else in the village is ludicrously powerful. Why is she even here?

They’ve also got Accidentally in Love: The Witch, the Knight, and the Love Potion Slipup 2, Campfire Cooking in Another World with My Absurd Skill 14, the 3rd A Cave King’s Road to Paradise: Climbing to the Top with My Almighty Mining Skills! manga volume, Full Clearing Another World under a Goddess with Zero Believers 9, An Introvert’s Hookup Hiccups: This Gyaru Is Head Over Heels for Me! 4, A Late-Start Tamer’s Laid-Back Life 7, Monster Tamer 15, Perry Rhodan NEO 15, the 5th Rebuild World manga, You Like Me, Not My Daughter?! 2, and the 4th Young Lady Albert Is Courting Disaster manga volume.

Ghost Ship has Ayakashi Triangle 5 and Might as Well Cheat: I Got Transported to Another World Where I Can Live My Wildest Dreams! 6.

Cross Infinite World debuts Fluffy Paradise (Isekai de Mofumofu Nadenade Suru Tame ni Ganbattemasu), a light novel about another dead office lady who reincarnates in a fantasy world. The cheat God gives her is that everyone OTHER than humans adores her. Good thing this world is filled with beastpeople and powerful animals she can hug and pet.

They also have The Do-Over Damsel Conquers the Dragon Emperor 3, The Drab Princess, the Black Cat, and the Satisfying Break-up 3, and Surviving in Another World as a Villainess Fox Girl! 2 (the final volume?).

In print, Airship gives us Irina: The Vampire Cosmonaut 6 and Raven of the Inner Palace 3.

And in early digital it’s Raven of the Inner Palace 4.

ASH: I really need to catch up with this series.

SEAN: The leaves are falling, as are the shelves overstuffed with manga. What are you buying?

SEAN: Mid-September, and the titles keep rolling in.

There’s just one from Yen, though. Yen On has the 17th and final volume of The Asterisk War. (insert joke mocking Chivalry of a Failed Knight here)

Viz Media debuts Star Wars: The Mandalorian: The Manga. This adaptation of the TV series runs in Big Gangan, and is from the artist behind The Abandoned Reincarnation Sage.

ASH: I’ll have to admit, I’m even more woefully behind with my watching than I am with my reading, but a lot of my friends are really into The Mandalorian.

ANNA: I want to see manga Grogu.

SEAN: Viz also has Animal Crossing: New Horizons 5, Call of the Night 13, Fly Me to the Moon 19, Helck 5, Mao 13, Mashle: Magic and Muscles 13, Pokémon Adventures: X•Y 6, Wolf Girl and Black Prince 3, and Yakuza Lover 10.

SuBLime has a one-shot, Old-Fashioned Cupcake with Cappuccino. This is a sequel to Old-Fashioned Cupcake from a few months back. It runs in ihr HertZ.

ASH: This still looks delightful.

SEAN: And there’s also His Favorite 13. (Catching up with Japan sucks, doesn’t it?)

ASH: Oh, His Favorite! I remember that one.

SEAN: Steamship has a 4th volume of Ladies on Top.

Square Enix debuts a novel that puts other light novel titles to shame. NieR Replicant ver.1.22474487139…: Project Gestalt Recollections–File 01 is presumably based on the game whose guidebook I put on here two weeks ago. I think I’ll wait for ver.2.0 myself.

ASH: Got to get all those bugs worked out.

ANNA: I will wait for the 360 version.

SEAN: From Square Enix we also get Daemons of the Shadow Realm 2, My Happy Marriage 4, and The Strongest Sage with the Weakest Crest 14.

Seven Seas has the debut of Life with an Ordinary Guy Who Reincarnated into a Total Fantasy Knockout (Fantasy Bishoujo Juniku Ojisan to). This series that runs in something called Cycomics has an anime as well. It’s on the comedic end of the spectrum as far as trans issues go, but it does at least vaguely touch on them. The title is the plot.

ASH: Huh.

SEAN: They also give us The Country Without Humans 4, The Duke of Death and His Maid 8, The Eccentric Doctor of the Moon Flower Kingdom 3, Kiruru Kill Me 5, Soloist in a Cage 2, Who Made Me a Princess 2, and Yakuza Reincarnation 7.

And for danmei fans, we also have Heaven Official’s Blessing: Tian Guan Ci Fu 7.

One Peace Books has a 2nd manga volume for The Death Mage.

Kodansha debuted The Darwin Incident (Darwin Jihen) last week, but didn’t update their site till this week, so here it is. It’s an award-winning manga from Afternoon about a half-human, half-chimp becoming involved in terrorism. I beg the Manga Bookshelf team not to pick it as Pick of Last Week and further compound my shame.

No print debuts for Kodansha THIS week, but we do see print volumes of Battle Angel Alita Mars Chronicle 9 (not the final volume, but the series is on hiatus in Japan), Gleipnir 13, Shonen Note: Boy Soprano 5, and Welcome Back, Alice 5.

MICHELLE: I want to read both Shonen Note and Welcome Back, Alice at some point.

ASH: Shonen Note is high on my list, too.

ANNA: Mine too!

SEAN: The digital debut is Cells at Work: Lady. When Cells at Work debuted in 2015, I had no idea it would be the Alice in the Country of Hearts of the 2020s. This runs in Morning Two, and has cells dealing with things like menstruation, pregnancy, and childbirth.

ASH: I’m not sure any of us were expecting that!

ANNA: The world of manga publishing is surprising and amazing.

SEAN: We also get Ace of the Diamond 45, The Fable 18, Gang King 9, Girlfriend, Girlfriend 15, Love, That’s an Understatement 3, Quality Assurance in Another World 9, and The Untouchable Midori-kun 5.

MICHELLE: Ace of the Diamond is almost done! Just two volumes to go. I hope Kodansha releases the sequel.

SEAN: Print from J-Novel Club gives us Ascendance of a Bookworm 20, Marginal Operation 15, Tearmoon Empire 9, and the 9th The Unwanted Undead Adventurer manga volume.

ASH: Woohoo, Bookworm!

SEAN: There are three digital debuts. Back to the Battlefield: The Veteran Heroes Return to the Fray! (Arafō ni Natta Saikyō no Eiyū-tachi, Futatabi Senjō de Musō Suru!!) is a series about a group of heroes who saved the world 25 years ago. Now… they gotta do it again.

The Frontier Lord Begins with Zero Subjects: Tales of Blue Dias and the Onikin Alna (Ryoumin 0-nin Start no Henkyou Ryoushusama) is a manga based on an as-yet unlicensed novel. Our hero is rewarded by the kingdom with land!… which turns out to be empty fields with no one in them. Fortunately, he finds a demon girl. This runs in Comic Earth Star Online.

Lucia and the Loom: Weaving Her Way to Happiness (Fukushokushi Lucia wa Akiramenai: Kyō kara Hajimeru Kōfuku Keikaku) is a spinoff of the Dahlia in Bloom series, featuring Lucia, Dahlia’s friend in the garment factory.

ASH: It seems like there has been a few fabric arts related series of late.

ANNA: Were there knitting manga? Where’s the knitting manga at?

SEAN: There’s also the 7th Cooking with Wild Game manga, I Parry Everything: What Do You Mean I’m the Strongest? I’m Not Even an Adventurer Yet! 3, The Master of Ragnarok & Blesser of Einherjar 24 (the final volume), Private Tutor to the Duke’s Daughter 9, Seirei Gensouki: Spirit Chronicles 23, and Villainess Level 99: I May Be the Hidden Boss but I’m Not the Demon Lord 2.

Ghost Ship has the 6th manga volume of JK Haru is a Sex Worker in Another World.

This is already out, but Denpa has Under Ninja 2.

Airship, in print, has Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear 15.

And for early digital we see Classroom of the Elite: Year 2 7.

If it’s September, why is it still hot? Any manga heating you up?

SEAN: School days, school days, dear old golden rule days. Also, manga.

ASH: Manga is always a welcome distraction from the chaos of a new semester.

SEAN: We start with Airship, which has two print books. There’s No Freaking Way I’ll be Your Lover! Unless… 2 and The Weakest Tamer Began a Journey to Pick Up Trash 4.

And in early digital we see Free Life Fantasy Online: Immortal Princess 4 and Reborn as a Space Mercenary: I Woke Up Piloting the Strongest Starship! 7.

Dark Horse Comics has the 12th volume of Mob Psycho 100.

ASH: I should probably catch up with this series at some point.

SEAN: From Ghost Ship, we get a 7th volume of The 100 Girlfriends Who Really, Really, Really, Really, REALLY Love You.

ASH: This one, too, from what I’ve heard.

SEAN: It’s a quiet week for J-Novel Club, though they are debuting three manga series digitally. An Archdemon’s (Friend’s) Dilemma: How to Babysit a Crybaby Knight (Akuyuu no Ore ga Ponkotsu Kishi wo Miterarenain da ga, Dou Sewa wo Yakya Ii? – Madome Gaiden) is a manga spinoff from the Archdemon’s Dilemma series, focusing on the pathetic not-quite-romance between Barbatos and Chastille. I think it’s in Comic Fire?

The Conqueror from a Dying Kingdom (Horobi no Kuni no Seifukusha – Maou wa Sekai wo Seifuku suru you desu) is based on the light novels also released by J-Novel Club. A Japanese NEET is reincarnated in a kingdom as a commoner boy, but quickly realizes this Kingdom doesn’t have much longer to go. This runs in Comic Gardo.

I’ll Never Set Foot in That House Again! (Nido to Ie ni wa Kaerimasen!) is based on the light novels also released by J-Novel Club. It also runs in Comic Gardo. It’s for people who think My Happy Marriage is too depressing.

ANNA: Who are those people?

SEAN: And they also have the 11th and final volume of Culinary Chronicles of the Court Flower.

Apologies to Kaiten Books, as I missed this last week: Welcome to the Outcast’s Restaurant!’s 3rd manga volume should have been on that list.

Kodansha’s print debut is The Moon on a Rainy Night (Amayo no Tsuki), a Comic Days series about a deaf high school musician and the girl who gets closer to her despite her best efforts. I have heard VERY good things about this series.

ANNA: OK, this does sound intriguing.

ASH: Oh, my interest is piqued!

SEAN: Kodansha Manga, in print, also has 10 Dance 7, Don’t Toy With Me, Miss Nagatoro 15, Noragami Omnibus 7, and Noragami: Stray God 26.

MICHELLE: Yay for more 10 Dance!

ASH: Yes, indeed!

SEAN: And for digital titles they have Blue Lock 21, How to Grill Our Love 4, Life 7, My Wife is a Little Intimidating 3, Shangri-La Frontier 12, Those Snow White Notes 9, Tying the Knot with an Amagami Sister 10, and Wandance 6.

One Peace Books gives us the 8th volume of Multi-Mind Mayhem.

Seven Seas debuts Soara and the House of Monsters (Soara to Mamono no Ie), a Shonen Sunday S series. A girl who spent her childhood preparing to fight monsters is now at a loss since the kingdom and monsters came to an agreement. Can she find a new career building monster homes?

Seven Seas also has Dinosaur Sanctuary 3, Free Life Fantasy Online: Immortal Princess 5, Magical Angel Creamy Mami and the Spoiled Princess 5, Otaku Elf 6, Tokyo Revengers 13-14, Trapped in a Dating Sim: The World of Otome Games is Tough for Mobs 8, and What He Who Doesn’t Believe in Fate Says 2.

Square Enix has My Clueless First Friend 3.

Tokyopop has a 4th volume of Our Not-So-Lonely Planet Travel Guide.

Udon has a third volume of Record of Lodoss War: The Crown of the Covenant.

The debut from Viz is Blade of the Moon Princess (Gekka Bijin), a Jump Square series from the author of Spy x Family. This was his debut. A bratty young moon princess is sent to Earth in order to avoid a coup on the moon, and must learn to grow up.

There’s also two anime coloring books out from Viz, one for Bleach and one for Naruto Shippuden.

ASH: Is there still the same demand for coloring books that there used to be?

SEAN: We also see Blue Box 6, Dragon Ball Super 19, The Elusive Samurai 8, Ima Koi: Now I’m in Love 7, Kubo Won’t Let Me Be Invisible 9, Like a Butterfly 2, and My Hero Academia 35.

Yen On debuts Liar, Liar. A school where everything depends on your rank has a new top dog, entering the school with the highest academic rank! There’s just one problem… this is all a lie. For fans of light novel covers that look like this one.

ASH: Ha!

SEAN: Yen On also has Your Forma 4.

On the Yen Press side, we see two debuts. Game of Familia (Game of Familia: Kazoku Senki) is from Dragon Age, so you know it’s trash of the highest order. A high school student moves in with his new family, including three stepsisters. But then the entire family is isekai’d!

The Witches’ Marriage (Majo no Kekkon) is a yuri series from Comic Newtype. A witch gets married to another girl in order to gain more power… but finds that the other girl is adorable.

And there is also Tales of Wedding Rings 12 and Trinity Seven 28.

It’s always September somewhere on the mangasphere! What are you buying?

SEAN: As August sinks slowly in the West, what manga is left over?

Yen has a few more leftovers than usual. The debut from Yen On is Looks Are All You Need (Kao Sae Yokereba Ii Kyōshitsu), from the creator of My Friend’s Little Sister Has It In for Me!. A shut-in girl can’t deal with people, so how can she possibly attend the looks-oriented prestigious arts school she wants to get into? By utilizing her VTuber skills.

ASH: Seems like that could work.

SEAN: And there’s also I’m the Villainess, So I’m Taming the Final Boss 6, where Aileen is about to be executed. Again.

In manga, the first debut is Associate Professor Akira Takatsuki’s Conjecture (Junkyouju Takatsuki Akira no Suisatsu), based on the light novel that came out a month or two ago. It runs in Comic Gene.

ASH: I’m still interested in folklore studies and this title; I haven’t managed to find time to read the novel yet, but maybe I’ll have the chance to fit the manga in.

SEAN: I Don’t Need a Happy Ending: A collection of short stories (Mikanuji Tanpenshuu: Happy End wa Iranai) is a yuri collection from the creator of Assorted Entanglements. Expect spiciness.

The Illustrated Guide to Monster Girls (Kaibutsu Shoujo Zukan) is a shoujo manga from Asuka. Monsters are supposed to scare people. Sadly, this manga concerns itself with a group of poor monster students who get scared instead.

And Mieruko-chan Official Comic Anthology is what it sounds like.

Also from Yen: Doomsday with My Dog 3, I’m Quitting Heroing 3, and Pandora Seven 2.

Viz has the digital-only WITCH WATCH 7. I will die on this hill.

Square Enix Manga has Grimoire NieR: Revised Edition, which… is a game guide, so not sure why I have it here.

And they also have SINoALICE 4, which is merely a death game manga.

Seven Seas has a big danmei debut: Guardian: Zhen Hun. A supernatural detective comes across a mysterious professor in his investigations. Is he connected? Are they both really hot? Of all the danmei series I’ve heard about, this is the one I’ve heard about the most.

MICHELLE: *Kermit flail*

ASH: I have heard good things and an looking forward to this one, too.

SEAN: The manga debut is The Knight Captain is the New Princess-to-Be (Himegimi wa Kishi Danchou), a shoujo series from LaLa about the Knight Captain agreeing to pretend to be the Prince’s fiancee for political reasons, but finding being a royal more difficult than she expected.

Also from Seven Seas: Does it Count if You Lose Your Virginity to an Android? 2, Don’t Call it Mystery Omnibus 3-4, How Heavy are the Dumbbells You Lift? 12, This Is Screwed Up, but I Was Reincarnated as a GIRL in Another World! 8, and The Valiant Must Fall 2.

MICHELLE: *further flailing* (for Don’t Call It Mystery, specifically)

ANNA: *joins in on the flailing* for Don’t Call It Mystery

ASH: Didn’t the first volume just come out? I’m behind already!

SEAN: One Peace Books has the 3rd volume of The Death Mage.

From Kodansha Books, we get My Unique Skill Makes Me OP Even at Level 1 3.

From Kodansha Manga, the big news is the 11th volume, and the return, of Nichijou! We haven’t had a volume since the series ended in 2017. Cannot wait.

ASH: Oh, wow!

SEAN: Also in print: Blue Lock 8, EDENS ZERO 24, Go! Go! Loser Ranger! 6, I Was Reincarnated as the 7th Prince so I Can Take My Time Perfecting My Magical Ability 7, Real Account 23-24 (the final volume, at last), the 2nd Saving 80,000 Gold in Another World for My Retirement manga volume, and Shangri-La Frontier 7.

ASH: Real Account lasted longer than I thought it would.

SEAN: The digital debut is Blade Girl (Blade Girl: Kataashi no Runner), a josei manga from Be Love with a familiar premise – it’s the exact same as Run On Your Two Legs. A girl who lost a leg a year ago is frustrated and angry… but what if she finds the answer with prosthetics meant for the paralympics?

ANNA: Yay for josei!

ASH: Oh! Maybe this one will eventually be released in print, too!

SEAN: Also digital: Guilty 12, Wandance 6, and With You and the Rain 5.

J-Novel Club has a new digital light novel debut. Moon Blossom Asura: The Ruthless Reincarnated Mercenary Forms the Ultimate Army (Tsuki Hana no Shōjo Asura: Gokuaku Hidō no Yōhei, Tensei Shite Saikyō no Yōheidan o Tsukuru ) is a dark fantasy about a soldier of fortune who finds herself reincarnated into a fantasy world… so now she’s killing people WITH MAGIC. For those who like evil protagonists.

They’ve also got Cooking with Wild Game 22, the 2nd Dragon Daddy Diaries: A Girl Grows to Greatness manga, Enough with This Slow Life! I Was Reincarnated as a High Elf and Now I’m Bored 3, the 5th Isekai Tensei: Recruited to Another World manga, Lady Rose Just Wants to Be a Commoner! 4, My Quiet Blacksmith Life in Another World 7, and Record of Wortenia War 20.

Ghost Ship has World’s End Harem 15 – After World.

Cross Infinite World has a debut. Rising from Ashes: My Dear Emperor, You’re Putty in My Hands! (Torotoro ni Shite Sashiagemasu, Kōtei Heika. Moto Konyakusha ni Ie o Yakareta Tsuihō Miko wa, Ringoku Kōtei ni Chōai Sarete Sainō o Hanahirakaseru), a novel which has otome game villainess, ex-fiancée finds love in the neighboring kingdom, AND Inner Palace politics all in one. This is the 3rd series by this author licensed by CIW.

They’ve also got The Dragon’s Soulmate is a Mushroom Princess! 3 and Revolutionary Reprise of the Blue Rose Princess 2.

Lastly, no print light novels from Airship, but they do have an early digital: Loner Life in Another World 7.

Sic Transit August. All manga must pass.

SEAN: August is a very long month.

ASH: That way even more releases can be fit in.

SEAN: We start with Airship’s print releases: Loner Life in Another World 6 and The Most Heretical Last Boss Queen: From Villainess to Savior 4.

And for early digital they have Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation 24.

Fantagraphics has Okinawa, a title that explores the history of the island and its military occupation. It’s likely to be fairly grim, but absolutely worth your time. It’s also about 550 pages, so good value for money.

ASH: I’ve been waiting for this release a very long time.

SEAN: From Ghost Ship we see 2.5 Dimensional Seduction 7 and Creature Girls: A Hands-On Field Journal in Another World 8.

Two digital debuts for J-Novel Club. The Greatest Magician’s Ultimate Quest: I Woke from a 300 Year Slumber to a World of Disappointment (Majutsu no Hate o Motomeru Dai Majutsushi: Madō o Kiwameta Ore ga Sanhyakunengo no Gijutsu Kakushin o Kitai Shite Tensei Shitara, Kanashiku Naruhodo Taika Shiteita……) is another wordy title. If you read Reborn to Master the Blade but wished it was grimdark and focused on a guy, this may be for you.

I’m Not the Hero! (Shujinkou ja Nai!) is another isekai, and is for people who read Banished from the Hero’s Party and thought “could I get that but with less sickening romance?”.

Also available next week: the 3rd Endo and Kobayashi Live! The Latest on Tsundere Villainess Lieselotte manga, Haibara’s Teenage New Game+ 4, I’ll Never Set Foot in That House Again! 6, Magic Stone Gourmet: Eating Magical Power Made Me The Strongest 2, Making Magic: The Sweet Life of a Witch Who Knows an Infinite MP Loophole 4, the 2nd Now I’m a Demon Lord! Happily Ever After with Monster Girls in My Dungeon manga, and Otherside Picnic 8. That last one excites me more than all the others put together.

ASH: I’m behind in reading it, but likewise!

SEAN: From Kodansha Manga. If you love Wotakoi and want more of it, good news! There’s an artbook! Wotakoi: Love Is Hard for Otaku Official Art Works is 120 pages of lovely art from this office otaku romcom.

ASH: Oh, nice!

SEAN: Also out in print: BAKEMONOGATARI 19, Blood on the Tracks 14, the 2nd Don’t Toy with Me, Miss Nagatoro Manga Box Set, which has Vol. 7-12, Land of the Lustrous 12, Parasyte Full Color Collection 3, Rent-A-Girlfriend 20, and Something’s Wrong With Us 16.

ASH: Land of the Lustrous is always visually striking; it feels like it’s been a while since the previous volume was released.

SEAN: Digitally we see Boss Bride Days 8, Even Given the Worthless “Appraiser” Class, I’m Actually the Strongest 8, Gamaran: Shura 11, Hozuki’s Coolheadedness 15, Koigakubo-kun Stole My First Time 5, and My Home Hero 7.

One Peace Books has The Wrong Way to Use Healing Magic 3.

Seven Seas’ danmei arm has Thousand Autumns: Qian Qiu 2.

And for Seven Seas proper we see Classroom of the Elite 7, Dance in the Vampire Bund: Age of Scarlet Order 9, The Ideal Sponger Life 14, Magic Artisan Dahlia Wilts No More 5, My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom! 8, My Stepmother and Stepsisters Aren’t Wicked 2, and Sorry For My Familiar 11 (the final volume).

Square Enix Manga has Cherry Magic! Thirty Years of Virginity Can Make You a Wizard?! 8, Otherside Picnic 6 (a double Otherside Picnic week!), and Ragna Crimson 10.

MICHELLE: Yay Cherry Magic!.

SEAN: Viz debuts Cat-Eyed Boy: The Perfect Edition, a bells-and-whistles re-release of the horror title that originally came out in English in 2008.

ASH: Glad to see this manga coming back into print.

SEAN: And there’s also The Art of Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba the Anime, because too much Demon Slayer is never enough.

And we also have JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Part 5–Golden Wind 9.

ASH: I’ve managed to fall behind reading JoJo, but I’m still collecting it.

SEAN: Hooray, we’re done!… oh, wait Yen. We’re barely halfway.

ASH: This is why August must be so long.

SEAN: Yen On debuts Kunon the Sorcerer Can See (Majutsushi Kunon wa Miete Iru), the story of a blind magic-user who wants to use magic to create eyes for himself.

The other debut is Sentenced to Be a Hero: The Prison Records of Penal Hero Unit 9004 (Yuusha-kei ni Shosu – Choubatsu Yuusha 9004-tai Keimu Kiroku). The worst criminals become soldiers battling the demon army, forever getting killed and revived. Can our protagonist change that? The cover artist has been taking lessons from Accel World.

Also from Yen On: Accel World 26 (see?), Bride of the Barrier Master 2, Cross-Dressing Villainess Cecilia Sylvie 5, The Detective Is Already Dead 6, Hollow Regalia 2, I Got a Cheat Skill in Another World and Became Unrivaled in the Real World, Too 3, The Magical Revolution of the Reincarnated Princess and the Genius Young Lady 5, The Princess of Convenient Plot Devices 3, Sasaki and Miyano: Second-Years 2, Spice & Wolf 24, Spy Classroom 6, Sword Art Online 27, and That Time I Got Reincarnated As a Slime 16.

Manga debuts from Yen Press. After We Gazed at the Starry Sky (Hoshizora wo Mitsumeta Sono Ato de) is a BL title from Comic Fleur. The story of a famous photographer and his biggest fan, who meets him by chance at an event, is apparently very sweet, and also has one protagonist who uses a wheelchair, so FYI for those who watch for this.

MICHELLE: Oh this sounds potentially lovely!

ASH: It does!

ANNA: I’m interested.

SEAN: I Don’t Know Which Is Love (Dore ga Koi Ka ga Wakaranai) is a comedic yuri title from Comic Cune. Mei, rejected by the girl she loves in high school, is determined to get a girlfriend in college. Good news: she does! Bad news: there may be too many suitors, in fact…

ASH: Comedic yuri can sometimes be fun.

SEAN: I’ve Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years and Maxed Out My Level Spin-off: The Red Dragon Academy for Girls (Slime Taoshite 300-nen, Shiranai Uchi ni Level Max ni Nattemashita – Spin-off: Red Dragon Jogakuin) is the manga adaptation of the stories that run in the back of the most recent Killing Slimes light novels, showing Laika’s school years before she meets Azusa. It runs in Manga Up!.

Not-Sew-Wicked Stepmom is a webtoon based on a Korean villainess book. Our heroine dies and is reincarnated as the Evil Queen. Will she be able to dote on her adorable daughter, despite everyone thinking she’s evil (because she was until her memories came back)?

ASH: That title has to be a pun, right?

SEAN: Touge Oni: Primal Gods in Ancient Times comes from Enterbrain’s Harta, and fans of manga know this is a good thing. An orphan destined to be sacrificed meets a monk, and her fate is changed.

ASH: Count me curious, for sure!

SEAN: Also from Yen: A Business Proposal 2, A Certain Magical Index 27, The Demon Sword Master of Excalibur Academy 3, Durarara!! RE;DOLLARS Arc 8, Honey Lemon Soda 3, I’m a Behemoth, an S-Ranked Monster, but Mistaken for a Cat, I Live as an Elf Girl’s Pet 7, In the Land of Leadale 4, Interspecies Reviewers 8, Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? On the Side: Sword Oratoria 20, Let This Grieving Soul Retire 6, The Maid I Hired Recently Is Mysterious 6, MonsTABOO 4 (the final volume), [Oshi No Ko] 3, Puella Magi Madoka Magica: The Movie -Rebellion-: The Complete Omnibus Edition, Reign of the Seven Spellblades 6, The Saga of Tanya the Evil 20, Slasher Maidens 8, Solo Leveling 7, Studio Apartment, Good Lighting, Angel Included 3, Sunbeams in the Sky 2, Tsubaki-chou Lonely Planet 4, Villains Are Destined to Die 4, What This World Is Made Of 2, Yokohama Station SF 2, and Yowamushi Pedal 23.

MICHELLE: I need to catch up on Tsubaki-chou and Yowamushi Pedal!

ANNA: Me too!

SEAN: Yup, that was a lot. What are you picking up?

SEAN: Are these dog days? I think they’re dog days.

ASH: Seems like!

SEAN: Viz debuts Heart Gear, a new Signature title that runs in Shonen Jump +. Girl and robot try to survive in a future dystopia, but are beset by evil robot.

ASH: Signature, dystopia, and robots? Sounds like something I would read.

ANNA: I’m curious!

SEAN: Also from Viz: Children of the Whales 22, Choujin X 3, Jujutsu Kaisen 20, Love’s in Sight! 3, Mission: Yozakura Family 6, Rooster Fighter 4, The Way of the Househusband 10, and Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead 11.

ASH: I really need to catch up with The Way of the Househusband.

SEAN: Debuting from Tokyopop is Dead Company. Do you ever wish we brought back those manga where teenagers killed each other while wearing creepy rabbit masks? Good news! This ran in Comic Boost, which may be why it’s Tokyopop and not Yen Press.

MICHELLE: Snerk.

SEAN: Also from Tokyopop: I Was Reincarnated as the Villainess in an Otome Game but the Boys Love Me Anyway! 4, If My Favorite Pop Idol Made It to the Budokan, I Would Die 2, and Ogi’s Summer Break 2.

Square Enix debuts Mr. Villain’s Day Off (Kyuujitsu no Warumono-san), a Gangan Pixiv series. A supervillain turns out to be a totally different person on his day off, going to the zoo or eating ice cream.

Also from Square Enix: The Girl I Like Forgot Her Glasses 5 and The Great Jahy Will Not Be Defeated 6.

No debuts from Seven Seas, but there are new volumes. CANDY AND CIGARETTES 5, How NOT to Summon a Demon Lord 16, I Swear I Won’t Bother You Again! 4, Marmalade Boy: Collector’s Edition 3, and My Wife Has No Emotion 5.

One Peace Books debut Villainess Level 99: I May Be the Hidden Boss But I’m Not the Demon Lord (Akuyaku Reijou Level 99: Watashi wa UraBoss desu ga Maou de wa arimasen), based on the light novel J-Novel Club is releasing already. It runs in B’s Log Comic.

Kodansha Books has a new deluxe Maiden’s Bookshelf release, this time of the classic The Girl Who Became a Fish.

ASH: That one’s for me! I’ve really been liking this series.

SEAN: In print, Kodansha Manga has Medaka Kuroiwa is Impervious to My Charms 2, Orient 16, The Seven Deadly Sins Omnibus 11, The Seven Deadly Sins: Four Knights of the Apocalypse 9, Welcome to Demon School! Iruma-kun 3, and The Yakuza’s Bias 2.

MICHELLE: Yay, Iruma. And the first volume of The Yakuza’s Bias was pretty fun.

ANNA: I meant to read The Yakuza’s Bias, maybe I will wait for Michelle’s assessment of Volume 2.

SEAN: The digital debut is Issak, written by the creator of Yugo the Negotiator and running in Afternoon. Take a Japanese man, give him a gun, and throw him into the Thirty Years War.

Also digital: The Café Terrace and its Goddesses 9, Gamaran 12, I Guess I Became the Mother of the Great Demon King’s 10 Children in Another World 8, Messiah -CODE EDGE- 3, Nina the Starry Bride 10, and Teppu 2.

ANNA: I was thinking that there wouldn’t be much for me to pick from this week until I saw that Nina the Starry Bride was coming out. Yay!!!!!

SEAN: The digital debut from J-Novel Club is another wordy one: I’m Giving the Disgraced Noble Lady I Rescued a Crash Course in Naughtiness: I’ll Spoil Her with Delicacies and Style to Make Her the Happiest Woman in the World! (Konyaku Haki Sareta Reijō o Hirotta Ore ga, Ikenai Koto o Oshiekomu -Oishi Mono o Tabesasete Oshare o Sasete, Sekai Ichi Shiawase na Shōjo ni Produce!-). This has an anime coming out this fall. Despite the “naughtiness” in the title, it’s rather tame – the “I” in the title merely wishes to feed her delicious food.

ASH: So many words, but yay food?

SEAN: They also have DUNGEON DIVE: Aim for the Deepest Level 4, the 10th manga volume of The Faraway Paladin, Housekeeping Mage from Another World: Making Your Adventures Feel Like Home! 6, The Ideal Sponger Life 13, Make It Stop! I’m Not Strong… It’s Just My Sword! 2, and Safe & Sound in the Arms of an Elite Knight 2.

Ghost Ship has PULSE 4 (mature yuri, so I’ll put it here) and Sundome!! Milky Way 7.

Denpa says that Vampeerz 3 should be out around this time, and lacking any other evidence I’ll slot it here.

And Airship, in print, has I’m the Evil Lord of an Intergalactic Empire! 5 and Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation 23.

And in early digital titles we have Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear 15 and Sword of the Demon Hunter: Kijin Gentōshō 3.

No dogs, but no cats, either. What are you reading?

SEAN: Getting geared up for back to school, which manga will you sneakily read behind a textbook… ah hell, it’s all gonna be on tablets now, isn’t it?

ASH: Depending on the students’ acumen, that may actually make things easier!

SEAN: Airship debuts a novel based on a short film, Summer Ghost. It’s a supernatural coming of age story, and you know what that means. Get ready for some dead teenagers.

ASH: That doesn’t seem to be a particularly uncommon theme in manga these days.

Airship also has Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear 14 in print.

There’s also an early digital release of Failure Frame: I Became the Strongest and Annihilated Everything With Low-Level Spells 8.

Fantagraphics has a box set collecting both volumes of Shintaro Kago’s Dementia 21. Recommended for lovers of the weird and disturbing.

ASH: Truly!

ANNA: Alright!

SEAN: And Ghost Ship gives us Rise of the Outlaw Tamer and His S-Rank Cat Girl 2.

It’s print week for J-Novel Club. We see Ascendance of a Bookworm Part 2 Volume 7 (the manga), Infinite Dendrogram 18, and My Friend’s Little Sister Has It In For Me! 8.

The digital debut is the manga version of The Magician Who Rose From Failure (Shikkaku kara Hajimeru Nariagari Madou Shidou!), whose light novel J-Novel Club also releases. It runs in Comic Ride.

J-Novel Club also has Death’s Daughter and the Ebony Blade 5, Full Metal Panic! Short Stories 7, Gushing Over Magical Girls 7, My Daughter Left the Nest and Returned an S-Rank Adventurer 9, Peddler in Another World: I Can Go Back to My World Whenever I Want! 4, and the 2nd manga volume of Peddler in Another World: I Can Go Back to My World Whenever I Want!.

Kaiten Books has a digital release of the 9th manga volume of Loner Life in Another World.

No debuts for Kodansha, but we get some print. Attack on Titan Omnibus 12 (the final volume, until the next repackaging), I’m Standing on a Million Lives 15, Lovesick Ellie 11, Peach Boy Riverside 12, and Quality Assurance in Another World 3.

MICHELLE: Yay Lovesick Ellie!

ASH: I really need to get caught up with that series.

ANNA: Ohh, me too! This is something to look forward to for me.

SEAN: While digitally we see The Fable 17, Gang King 8, Giant Killing 38, Life 2: Giver/Taker 6 (the final volume), Orient 16, The Seven Deadly Sins: Four Knights of the Apocalypse 9, and WIND BREAKER 11.

MICHELLE: Yay Giant Killing!

SEAN: One Peace Books has the 8th volume of the Higehiro manga.

Two debuts from Seven Seas. Delinquent Daddy and Tender Teacher (Motoyan Papa to Hitsuji-sensei) is a BL title from Comic Fleur. A teacher who never manages to confess to the boy he liked in high school now finds that boy is a single father of one of his students.

ASH: Drama!

ANNA: LOL

SEAN: And Summer Ghost: The Complete Manga Collection is the manga version of the short film/novel, I mentioned above. It ran in Tonari no Young Jump.

Also from Seven Seas: Chronicles of an Aristocrat Reborn in Another World 7, The Hidden Dungeon Only I Can Enter 8, The Invisible Man and His Soon-to-Be Wife 2, Last Game 2, Lazy Dungeon Master 5, Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation 17, Yokai Cats 5, and Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou: Deluxe Edition 3.

ASH: Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou is definitely something I’m looking forward to reading.

SEAN: Square Enix has the 9th manga volume of The Apothecary Diaries, the 9th manga volume of By the Grace of the Gods, My Isekai Life 8, and Tokyo Aliens 4.

Steamship has a second volume of The Villainess and the Demon Knight.

From SuBLime we see Megumi & Tsugumi 3 and Yarichin Bitch Club 5.

Viz has the debut of the week with Akane-banashi, a Shonen Jump series about a girl who wants to become a rakugo star, and it’s one of the breakout hits of the last year.

MICHELLE: Interesting!

ASH: This looks really good and I’ve heard great things.

ANNA: Huh, this wasn’t on my radar before, but it sounds interesting.

SEAN: And they also have Komi Can’t Communicate 26, Pokémon: Sword & Shield 7, Show-ha Shoten! 3, and Sleepy Princess in the Demon Castle 21.

ANNA: Reminder to myself to read more Sleepy Princess.

ASH: Same! It’s such a fun series.

SEAN: Apologies to Yen Press, because I missed two of their titles last week. The Reformation of the World as Overseen by a Realist Demon King (Realist Maou Niyoru Seiiki Naki Isekai Kaikaku) is a manga based on an unlicensed light novel about a new demon king who decides to win the day by using every dirty trick in the book. It runs in Dengeki Maoh.

And The Misfit of Demon King Academy is one of their “print version of a J-Novel Club light novel” titles.

In titles actually out next week, we see A Certain Magical Index: The Old Testament Omnibus Edition, collecting all 22 of the original Index novels into one 1,664-page book. The “Old Testament” part excited fans, who anticipated a license of the sequel. I would make a joke here, but Yen actually did just license the sequel, so well done!

ASH: That will be quite the tome!

SEAN: And there’s the light novel debut of You Can Have My Back, a BL take on the reincarnation fantasy. A young man recalls his past life (not in Japan, for once) where he was killed by a traitor. Worse, that traitor is still around.

Amazon’s Advanced Search is still broken, so apologies to everything on this I get wrong. What are you getting?

ASH: I remember the days when the advanced search largely worked; I miss them.

ANNA: Alas, boolean logic and advanced filtering options.