Anna N

SEAN: June manga, and the temperature is rising as I type this.

ASH: It’s been pretty warm here where I am already; I’m not looking forward to the additional heat.

SEAN: Airship, in print, debuts The Mimosa Confessions (Mimosa no Kokuhaku), an LGBT novel from the creator of The Tunnel to Summer, the Exit of Goodbyes. A young man gradually drifts away from his more popular guy friend. In high school, he meets a cute girl, and falls for her. However, when he walks home one night, he sees his old friend… in a girls’ uniform and crying?

ASH: Now that it’s in print, I may need to check this one out.

SEAN: Also in print: Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear 18 and Yes, No, or Maybe? 3.

The early digital title is Riku Can’t Be a Goddess (Riku-kun wa, Megami ni Narenai). The story of a girl who serves as a dress form for her crush who wants to cross-dress and uses her to see how to be feminine. Then he kisses her and she flees. This apparently is part of an anthology about their high school class and identity in general.

ASH: Hmmm. I am intrigued.

ANNA: Is she a dress form or a fit model? I was picturing sentient headless mannequins for a second.

SEAN: Drawn and Quarterly gives us Second Hand Love, a second collection by the late Yamada Murasaki. They did the author’s Talk to My Back earlier, and this is apparently just as good. A story about adultery that focuses on the ones who are involved in it and the ones that it affects.

ASH: Definitely looking forward to this. Talk to My Back was excellent.

ANNA: This reminds me that I should dig up and read my copy of Talk to My Back.

SEAN: From Ghost Ship we get Parallel Paradise 18.

Three debuts from J-Novel Club. Goodbye, Overtime! This Reincarnated Villainess Is Living for Her New Big Brother (Akuyaku Reijō, Brocon ni Job Change Shimasu) is a villainess title (the title likely told you that). An OL who loves the brother of the villainess in an otome game wakes up as that villainess. Now she has to not only stop her own villainous fate but also save her brother. I hear this leans into the brocon/siscon tropes but does not quite become incest.

There’s also the shoujo manga adaptation of the same title. It ran in Flos Comic.

The Invincible Summoner Who Crawled Up from Level 1: Wrecking Reincarnators with My Hidden Dungeon (Level 1 kara Hajimaru Shoukan Musou: Ore dake Tsukaeru Ura Dungeon de, Subete no Tenseisha wo Bucchigiru) seems to combine a few popular trends. Grinding up from Level 1, protecting a sibling from an abusive parent, and of course being reincarnated in a game world.

ASH: Of course.

SEAN: Also from J-Novel Club: An Archdemon’s Dilemma: How to Love Your Elf Bride 17, Black Summoner 17, Cooking with Wild Game 24, the 9th Cooking with Wild Game manga, Finding Avalon: The Quest of a Chaosbringer 3, and the 8th Rebuild World manga.

Debuting in print for Kodansha is The Fragrant Flower Blooms With Dignity (Kaoru Hana wa Rin to Saku) is an ongoing romcom from Magazine Pocket. A boys’ school with thugs and layabouts is next door to a girls’ school for lovely young maidens. Naturally two of them fall in love.

ASH: I would read this.

ANNA: Me too!

MICHELLE: Its cover is cute, if nothing else.

SEAN: Also in print: As a Reincarnated Aristocrat, I’ll Use My Appraisal Skill to Rise in the World 10, A Condition Called Love 8, Quality Assurance in Another World 8, Tying the Knot with an Amagami Sister 5, WIND BREAKER 6, and Welcome to Demon School, Iruma-kun! 8.

In digital land, we see Chihayafuru 44, I Guess I Became the Mother of the Great Demon King’s 10 Children in Another World 10 (the final volume), Life 15, SHAMAN KING: THE SUPER STAR 8, and Those Snow White Notes 18.

MICHELLE: Really, really, really gotta catch up on Iruma-kun and Chihayafuru!

SEAN: One Peace Books has the 4th volume of It Takes Two Tomorrow, Too.

ASH: I enjoyed the first volume; I should read more.

SEAN: Seven Seas has a debut, and it’s a danmei novel. Ballad of Sword and Wine: Qiang Jin Jiu features the 8th son of a traitorous prince, who (of course) has the entire nation hating him for his father’s deeds… especially the hot young prince who wants him dead.

ASH: Hooray, for danmei!

MICHELLE: Indeed!

SEAN: Also from Seven Seas: The Ideal Sponger Life 16, Kemono Jihen 11, Last Game 5, Lonely Castle in the Mirror 3, A Tale of the Secret Saint 6, and This Is Screwed Up, but I Was Reincarnated as a GIRL in Another World! 12.

Square Enix gives us Cherry Magic! Thirty Years of Virginity Can Make You a Wizard?! 11 and A Man and His Cat 11.

MICHELLE: Looking forward to both of these!

SEAN: Tokyopop has Acid Town 6 and Since I Could Die Tomorrow 3.

Viz’s debut is a shoujo title. Let’s Do It Already! (Hayaku Shitai Futari) is a Margaret title about two high school kids who have the same route to their schools. They’re falling in love, but… he’s from a prestigious family of politicians who don’t want any scandal… and she won’t stop flirting with him!

ANNA: Sounds cute.

MICHELLE: I always love Margaret titles, so…

SEAN: Also from Viz: Blade of the Moon Princess 4, Kaiju No. 8 10, The King’s Beast 13, My Hero Academia 38, Queen’s Quality 19, Rainbow Days 10, Sakamoto Days 12, and Snow White with the Red Hair 26.

ASH: I really need to catch up with Queen’s Quality.

MICHELLE: A lot of good stuff and then also Rainbow Days.

SEAN: And the only title from Yen Press is No Game No Life Chapter 2: Eastern Union Arc (No Game No Life – Dai-Ni Shou – Toubu Rengou-hen), which adapts the second arc, as you might guess. It runs in my nemesis, Comic Alive.

There’s some great titles in this list. What attracts you?

SEAN: May comes to a close in a quiet, peaceful way… mostly.

We start with Yen Press, which has some stray manga that got delayed from this week. The debut is Bungo Stray Dogs: The Official Comic Anthology, which should speak for itself.

ASH: I’ve not been keeping up with Bungo Stray Dogs like I should, but I do like these sorts of anthology projects.

SEAN: And we have Elden Ring: The Road to the Erdtree 3, Stray Cat & Wolf 3, and Teasing Master Takagi-san 19.

Viz Media has JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Part 6–Stone Ocean 4 and Pokémon: The Complete Pokémon Pocket Guide 2 (the final volume).

ASH: I have some catching up to do with JoJo, too.

SEAN: Udon Entertainment has a 5th volume of Daigo The Beast: Umehara Fighting Gamers!.

The debut from Tokyopop is a one-shot BL title from the magazine & Emo. The Genius Puppeteer Loves the Holy Knight Fiercely (Ningyou Yuugi Roku) is about a knight who, on the verge of execution, is rescued by a sadistic genius who wants to use the knight to create the perfect puppet. For “dark yaoi” fans.

Tokyopop also has the 13th volume of Konohana Kitan.

Square Enix has a 5th volume of the Wandering Witch manga.

Seven Seas also has a one-shot BL title, this one from Rutile. Only the Stars Know (Hoshi Dake ga Shitteru) is about a man who’s lost his job and his girlfriend ends up in the local park, bonding with a stranger… who then kisses him?

ASH: As one does.

SEAN: Also from Seven Seas: Breakfast with My Two-Tailed Cat 2, The Country Without Humans 5 (the final volume), Dungeon Builder: The Demon King’s Labyrinth is a Modern City! 9, I’m the Evil Lord of an Intergalactic Empire! 4, The NPCs in this Village Sim Game Must Be Real! 6 (the final volume), Otaku Elf 7, and She Professed Herself Pupil of the Wise Man 11.

One Peace Books has the 7th volume of Usotoki Rhetoric.

ASH: Yay!

SEAN: The debut for Kodansha Manga in print is Turns Out My Online Friend is My Real-Life Boss! (Online Game Nakama to Sashi Off shitara Shokuba no Onijoushi ga Kita), a BL title that was originally digital-only back in 2021. It’s from Ichijinsha’s Gateau, about a guy who tries to destress after days dealing with his evil boss by talking with a gaming friend online. Then they meet up in real life and… yeah, you guessed it.

ASH: Drama!

SEAN: Also in print: The Blue Wolves of Mibu 2, The Great Cleric 9, Magus of the Library 7, ORIGIN 4, Tsugumi Project 5, Vampire Dormitory 11, Wandance 9, and What Did You Eat Yesterday? 21.

MICHELLE: How on Earth did Wandance get up to volume nine already?! I also gotta catch up with What Did You Eat Yesterday?.

ANNA: Those are both titles I feel like I would be reading if I was better at keeping up on things.

ASH: It feels like it’s been awhile since we’ve seen a new volume of Magus of the Library, too.

SEAN: Digitally we get A Couple of Cuckoos 17, DAYS 41, Gamaran: Shura 20, My Home Hero 16, Teppu 7, and With You and the Rain 6.

J-Novel Club has a debut, as we see A Surprisingly Happy Engagement for the Slime Duke and the Fallen Noble Lady (Slime Taikō to Botsuraku Reijō no Angai Shiawase na Konyaku). Our heroine does not get her engagement broken – her sister’s engagement is the one that is broken. And soon after, a disaster leaves her family penniless. Selling pastries in the slums, she meets a slime, who introduces her to the Slime Duke, and suddenly she’s married? This had better be better than it sounds.

ASH: Dare I ask what a Slime Duke is?

ANNA: I’m afraid to know.

SEAN: Also from J-Novel Club: The 4th manga volume of The Frontier Lord Begins with Zero Subjects, A Late-Start Tamer’s Laid-Back Life 10, the 2nd manga volume of A Livid Lady’s Guide to Getting Even: How I Crushed My Homeland with My Mighty Grimoires, Only I Know That This World Is a Game 4, and Villainess Level 99: I May Be the Hidden Boss but I’m Not the Demon Lord 5.

Hanashi Media has The Dark Guild Master’s Smile Would Fit Best 2 and The Fruit of Evolution: Before I Knew It, My Life Had It Made!.

Four titles from Cross Infinite World, including one debut. By a Twist of Fate, I’m Attending the Royal Academy in Disguise (Wake Atte, Hensou Shite Gakuen ni Sennyuu Shiteimasu) stars a servant who spends her school days pretending to be a noble’s daughter, as she’ll get enough money to live freely when she graduates. Then they go back on her word. Can she get revenge?

Also from Cross Infinite World: The Do-Over Damsel Conquers the Dragon Emperor 4, The Invisible Wallflower Marries an Upstart Aristocrat After Getting Dumped for Her Sister! 2 (the final volume), and Third Loop: The Nameless Princess and the Cruel Emperor 2.

In print, Airship has Didn’t I Say to Make My Abilities Average in the Next Life?! 18 (along with the not-early digital) and Reincarnated as a Dragon Hatchling 6.

And digital-only (no print) is Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation – Recollections, a short story/artbook/interview collection for the famous (infamous?) series.

OK, kind of relaxing? What interests you?

SEAN: As May starts to dwindle… oh, wait, it’s Yen week. No dwindling allowed.

But first, Airship. In print, we see Modern Dungeon Capture Starting with Broken Skills 2 and Reincarnated as a Sword 14.

And early digital gives us Reborn as a Space Mercenary: I Woke Up Piloting the Strongest Starship! 9.

Denpa Books has a 4th volume of Vampeerz, retailers say as I type this.

ASH: I want to trust them, I really do.

SEAN: Ghost Ship gives us a 9th volume of Ayakashi Triangle.

Two digital debuts from J-Novel Club, both manga. The Eternal Fool’s Words of Wisdom: A Pawsitively Fantastic Adventure (Yuukyuu no Gusha Asley no, Kenja no Susume) is based on an unlicensed light novel, and runs in Comic Earth Star Online. A failure at the Magic Academy (they all laughed at him) spends 5000 years preparing his revenge, only to realize that everyone who mocked him is long dead. Now what? How about helping people?

MICHELLE: With this title, I was expecting him to turn into a cat or something!

SEAN: His familiar is a dog, I believe.

ASH: That would explain some things.

SEAN: I’m a Noble on the Brink of Ruin, So I Might as Well Try Mastering Magic (Botsuraku Yotei no Kizoku dakedo, Hima datta kara Mahou wo Kiwamete Mita) is based on a licensed light novel, also from J-NC, and runs in Comic Corona. A middle-aged commoner is now in the body of a nobleman, so he can finally learn magic! Sadly, see the “Brink of Ruin” in the title.

ASH: Might as well!

SEAN: Also from J-Novel Club: The Apothecary Diaries 11, Butareba -The Story of a Man Turned into a Pig- 3, Holmes of Kyoto 18, I Don’t Want to Be the Dragon Duke’s Maid! Serving My Ex-Fiancé from My Past Life 2 (the final volume), Record of Wortenia War 24, Taking My Reincarnation One Step at a Time: No One Told Me There Would Be Monsters! 5, the 11th manga volume of The Unwanted Undead Adventurer, and Young Lady Albert Is Courting Disaster 6.

From Kodansha Books we see the 5th volume of My Unique Skill Makes Me OP Even at Level 1.

The print debut for Kodansha Manga is The Yearning Fox Lies in Wait (Machigitsune to Hito no Ko), a one-shot BL title from Gateau. A prodigy arrives at university, but quickly gets lost and suddenly finds himself without money. He’s saved by an eccentric with a secret.

MICHELLE: The title should’ve warned me that the premise on this one is a little icky.

ASH: And here I was hoping from the title that there were yokai involved… maybe that’s the secret.

SEAN: Also in print: BLOOD BLADE 2, Go! Go! Loser Ranger! 10, Magic Knight Rayearth 3, Nina the Starry Bride 4, Sailor Moon Naoko Takeuchi Collection 8, and Witch Hat Atelier 12.

ANNA: Witch Hat!!!!!!!!!!!!! Nina the Starry Bride print edition!!!!!!!!!! I’m reserving most (if not all) of my enthusiasm this week for these titles.

ASH: I’m very excited for Witch Hat Atelier, too.

SEAN: In digital we see Boss Wife 8, Gamaran 21, Getting Closer to You 7, Hozuki’s Coolheadedness 20, I Left my A-Rank Party to Help My Former Students Reach the Dungeon Depths! 4, and Love, That’s an Understatement 4.

One Peace Books has a 5th manga volume of The Death Mage.

Two debuts for Seven Seas. My Girlfriend’s Not Here Today (Kyou wa Kanojo ga Inai Kara) runs in Comic Yuri Hime. A girl who has to hide her relationship with her girlfriend gets into online conversations… that become blackmail.

ASH: Oops.

SEAN: Mysterious Disappearances (Kaii to Otome to Kamikakushi) has an anime coming out at the moment, and the manga runs in Yawaraka Spirits. A novelist and a demon boy go around Tokyo hunting down urban legends.

ASH: Oooh!

SEAN: We also see Headhunted to Another World: From Salaryman to Big Four! 6, Lazy Dungeon Master 8, My Lovey-Dovey Wife is a Stone Cold Killer 6, Skip and Loafer 9, and Though I Am an Inept Villainess: Tale of the Butterfly-Rat Body Swap in the Maiden Court 5.

Square Enix has the 2nd Smoking Behind the Supermarket with You.

Two debuts from Tokyopop, both (contain your surprise) one-shot BL titles. Heat x Beat: A Shut-In Omega Becomes an Idol! (Heat x Beat – Hikikomori Omega ga Idol ni!?) should not be confused with the other Heat x Beat omega as idol book from the same author, which came out in March. OK, not a one-shot. Sequel? It’s one volume, in any case.

MICHELLE: Tokyopop’s got a really specific niche these days, eh?

ANNA: We do live in a world where I don’t feel concerned about people finding extremely specific reading material.

SEAN: The Man Who Shattered My World (Ore no Sekai o Hakai Suru Otoko) is a from RED title about a top who suddenly finds that the bottom he picked up is really a top who loves destroying other tops and turning them into bottoms. Try to imagine this sentence being read aloud in 1951.

ASH: Lol.

SEAN: The Viz Media debut is Hirayasumi, a Big Comic Spirits title about an easygoing man who suddenly finds himself surrounded by troubled companions. It’s award nominated.

MICHELLE: Ooh, this looks interesting.

ANNA: OK, I’m curious!

ASH: Likewise.

SEAN: Also from Viz: Choujin X 6, Dark Gathering 7, Heart Gear 4, One-Punch Man 28, Tokyo These Days 2, Twin Star Exorcists 31, and Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead 14.

Three debuts from Yen On. Brunhild the Dragonslayer (Ryū-goroshi no Brunhild) is a fantasy novel about a girl raised by a powerful dragon… who now has to decide whether to get revenge on humanity after that dragon is murdered.

ASH: I am admittedly intrigued.

SEAN: Guillotine Bride: I’m Just a Dragon Girl Who’ll Destroy the World (Dantōdai no Hanayome: Sekai o Horobosu Futsutsukana Tatsuki Desu ga) features a dragon princess about to be executed who ends up meeting a young man… and attempting to romance him hard, because she needs to be kept in check to avoid the death of all humanity.

ASH: Lots of dragons and havoc in store this coming week, it would seem.

SEAN: The God of Nishi-Yuigahama Station (Nishi Yuigahama-eki no Kami-sama) is a novel about a deadly train accident, and a ghost that can supposedly send loved ones back to the day it happened to make peace with those they’ve lost.

ASH: Hmmm.

SEAN: Also from Yen On: Astrea Record: Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? Tales of Heroes 2, Banished from the Hero’s Party, I Decided to Live a Quiet Life in the Countryside 11, A Certain Magical Index NT 2, Death March to the Parallel World Rhapsody 21, The Demon Sword Master of Excalibur Academy 10, Durarara!! Side Stories?!, The Girl I Saved on the Train Turned Out to Be My Childhood Friend 6, Hell Mode: The Hardcore Gamer Dominates in Another World with Garbage Balancing 4 (print version of the JN-C title), The Irregular at Magic High School 22, My Instant Death Ability Is So Overpowered, No One in This Other World Stands a Chance Against Me! 4 (print version of the JN-C title), The Princess of Convenient Plot Devices 5, Reign of the Seven Spellblades 11, Spy Classroom 7, and Wolf & Parchment: New Theory Spice & Wolf 8.

And now on to Yen Press debuts. Friday at the Atelier (Kinyoubi wa Atelier de) is a Harta title about an artist who falls in love with his nude model. Unfortunately, she’s depressed and he’s a tsundere.

ASH: Well, that complicates things.

SEAN: Goblin Slayer: A Day in the Life is a manga that collects the episodic short stories in the 12th light novel that the main manga skipped. It runs in Big Gangan.

The Kept Man of the Princess Knight (Hime Kishi-sama no Himo) is the manga adaptation of the light novel Yen is also releasing. It runs in Comic Walker.

She Likes Gays, but Not Me (Kanojo ga Suki na Mono wa Homo deatte Boku de wa nai) is a title from Comic Bridge about a closeted gay man who wants a “normal” life and family but isn’t attracted to women, and the BL fangirl he meets one day. This is based on a novel, and there’s also a live-action series.

ASH: I thought it sounded vaguely familiar.

SEAN: Sword Art Online Re:Aincrad asks the important question “what if we just redid the first manga adaptation?”.

Also from Yen Press (deep breath): After We Gazed at the Starry Sky 2, Angels of Death Episode.0 7 (the final volume), Apparently, Disillusioned Adventurers Will Save the World 5, Bocchi the Rock! 3, Cheeky Brat 10, CLAMP Premium Collection Tokyo Babylon 3, Cocoon Entwined 6 (the final volume), The Girl I Saved on the Train Turned Out to Be My Childhood Friend 6, Glitch 3, God Bless the Mistaken 2, Handyman Saitou in Another World 4, Higurashi When They Cry: MEGURI 2, The Holy Grail of Eris 7, Honey Trap Shared House 3, I’m a Behemoth, an S-Ranked Monster, but Mistaken for a Cat, I Live as an Elf Girl’s Pet 9, Maiden of the Needle 3, Mint Chocolate 11, My Youth Romantic Comedy Is Wrong, As I Expected @ comic 21, [Oshi No Ko] 6, A Reincarnated Witch Spells Doom 4, She Loves to Cook, and She Loves to Eat 4, Trinity Seven 29, Witch Life in a Micro Room 2, and Yowamushi Pedal 25.

ASH: That is quite the list.

SEAN: As I pause to beg Yen Press to stop releasing light novels *and* manga of the same title with the same volume number on the same week, what are you buying?

SEAN: Mid-May, and the summer is on the horizon but not yet here.

Yen Press has a 3rd volume of Kaoru Mori’s Scribbles sketchbook.

ASH: These have been delightful.

SEAN: Viz has a debut this week that I, um, missed. Sorry. You and I Are Polar Opposites (Seihantai na Kimi to Boku) is a Shonen Jump + series about an energetic girl and quiet boy who are drawn to each other. It’s been award-nominated.

ANNA: Sounds cute!

ASH: I’d read it.

SEAN: In Viz titles actually out next week, there is Dragon Ball Super 21, Fly Me to the Moon 23, Helck 9, I Want to End This Love Game 2, Pokémon Adventures: Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire 2, and Sakura, Saku 3.

From SuBLime we get Therapy Game Restart 4 and The World’s Greatest First Love 17.

MICHELLE: I’m always here for more Therapy Game!

SEAN: Steamship has the 6th and final volume of Ladies on Top.

ASH: Which reminds me that I have but still need to read the first volume.

SEAN: Square Enix Manga has Mr. Villain’s Day Off 4, Ragna Crimson 12, and The Strongest Sage with the Weakest Crest 18.

Seven Seas debuts a BL anthology, BL First Crush Anthology: Five Seconds Before We Fall in Love (Bokura ga Koisuru 5 Byou Mae ~Ubu Koi BL Anthology~), which features several artists who have other Seven Seas titles out, and is, well, about BL first crushes, in all their myriad forms.

ASH: Oooh! I have a soft spot for anthologies, BL and otherwise.

SEAN: Seven Seas also gives us Black Night Parade 3, A Cat from Our World and the Forgotten Witch 2, Chillin’ in Another World with Level 2 Super Cheat Powers 8, The Duke of Death and His Maid 8, Reborn as a Barrier Master 6, and The Weakest Tamer Began a Journey to Pick Up Trash 5.

One Peace has a 6th manga volume of The Wrong Way to Use Healing Magic.

Kodansha has two print debuts. Kei X Yaku: Bound By Law (Kei x Yaku: Abunai Aibou) is a BL title, but it runs in Palcy, so it’s more shoujo BL than the norm. A cop and a yakuza are trying to solve the same cold case, and must pretend to be lovers to continue.

MICHELLE: Hm. Maybe.

ASH: I could be convinced.

SEAN: The other debut is an omnibus of the first three volumes of A Sign of Affection. If you don’t have this yet, go get it.

ANNA: I’ve been buying in digital but might be tempted to double dip for omnibus editions!

ASH: I really need to catch up on this series; omnibus editions will certainly make that easier.

SEAN: Also in print: A Galaxy Next Door 6 (the final volume), Gazing at the Star Next Door 2, My Lovesick Life as a ’90s Otaku 3, A Sign of Affection 8, That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime 24, To The Abandoned Sacred Beasts 15 (the final volume), and Virgin Love 3.

Debuting digitally is The Beast Player (Kemono no Souja), a Shonen Sirius title from the creator of Seirei no Moribito, and based on her novel. A girl who adores her mother is cast adrift when her mother is blamed for a mysterious illness affecting their clan’s giant serpent mounts. This is from 2008, so is, of course, ancient, but it still looks really cool.

ANNA: Glad some ancient manga is being released!

ASH: I loved the novels, so am looking forward to the adaptation.

SEAN: Also digital: Because I, the True Saint, was Banished, that Country is Done For! 3, Gang King 17, Nina the Starry Bride 12, TenPuru -No One Can Live on Loneliness- 10, We’re New at This 16, and You Must Be This Tall to Propose! 2.

ANNA: Always happy for some Nina the Starry Bride!

SEAN: In print, J-Novel Club gives us Ascendance of a Bookworm 24, The Faraway Paladin Omnibus 5, and Tearmoon Empire’s 4th manga.

ASH: That’s a good J-Novel week for me.

SEAN: Still no new titles from J-Novel Club (they tend to release Vol. 1s in clumps.) But we get Ascendance of a Bookworm 31, Backstabbed in a Backwater Dungeon: My Trusted Companions Tried to Kill Me, But Thanks to the Gift of an Unlimited Gacha I Got LVL 9999 Friends and Am Out For Revenge on My Former Party Members and the World 7, Butareba -The Story of a Man Turned into a Pig- manga volume 2, By the Grace of the Gods 14, Duchess in the Attic 2, From Old Country Bumpkin to Master Swordsman: My Hotshot Disciples Are All Grown Up Now, and They Won’t Leave Me Alone 3, The Frontier Lord Begins with Zero Subjects 3, Invaders of the Rokujouma!? 44, Isekai Tensei: Recruited to Another World 7, My Daughter Left the Nest and Returned an S-Rank Adventurer manga volume 4, and Private Tutor to the Duke’s Daughter 12.

Hanashi Media has a 2nd volume of My Pet is a Saintess.

Ghost Ship has a 10th volume of 2.5 Dimensional Seduction.

Cross Infinite World confounds us all by releasing a title before the final day of the month, with the 2nd volume of I Guess This Dragon Who Lost Her Egg to Disaster Is My Mom Now. (They say it’s because it’s Mother’s Day. That’s sweet.)

In print, Airship has Easygoing Territory Defense by the Optimistic Lord: Production Magic Turns a Nameless Village into the Strongest Fortified City 2 and Sword of the Demon Hunter: Kijin Gentōshō 5.

And in early digital, there is The Condemned Villainess Goes Back in Time and Aims to Become the Ultimate Villain 2 and Failure Frame: I Became the Strongest and Annihilated Everything With Low-Level Spells 10.

Some good stuff coming out! What’s for you?

SEAN: May day, may day!

ASH: Danger, danger!

SEAN: We start with Airship. In print, they have a 4th volume of There’s No Freaking Way I’ll be Your Lover! Unless…

The digital debut is a one-shot light novel, True Love Fades Away When the Contract Ends – One Star in the Night Sky (Unmei no Koibito wa Kigen Tsuki). This is from the author of Making Jam in the Woods, I’d Rather Have a Cat Than a Harem, and The Apothecary Witch Turned Divorce Agent. A young woman trying to avoid getting married meets a young man with the same goal. Can they solve the problem by pretending to be in a relationship?

ANNA: Can they pretend to be married AND make jam in the woods?

ASH: I don’t see why not!

SEAN: Dark Horse has the 7th volume of its Hellsing re-release.

Ghost Ship has a 12th volume of Peter Grill and the Philosopher’s Time.

From J-Novel Club, we see 8th Loop for the Win! With Seven Lives’ Worth of XP and the Third Princess’s Appraisal Skill, My Behemoth and I Are Unstoppable! 3 (the manga version), Ascendance of a Bookworm Arc 2 Vol. 9 (the manga version), Enough with This Slow Life! I Was Reincarnated as a High Elf and Now I’m Bored 6, Fiancée No More: The Forsaken Lady, the Prince, and Their Make-Believe Love 2, The Invincible Little Lady 6, The Invincible Little Lady 3 (the manga version), Let This Grieving Soul Retire 4, Making Magic: The Sweet Life of a Witch Who Knows an Infinite MP Loophole 7, Nia Liston: The Merciless Maiden 2, Rebuild World 4, Seirei Gensouki: Spirit Chronicles 24, Seventh 7, and You Were Experienced, I Was Not: Our Dating Story 3.

ASH: That sure is a lot of words.

SEAN: One debut in print for Kodansha Manga. I See Your Face, Turned Away (Kimi no Yokogao wo Miteita) is a Betsufure series from the creator of My Sweet Girl. A high school girl enjoys shipping her friend with the hot guy in class. It’s only happening in her head… but what happens when reality starts intruding?

ANNA: Whoops!

MICHELLE: Hate when that happens.

ASH: Right?

SEAN: Also in print: A-DO 2, Anyway, I’m Falling in Love with You 2, The Darwin Incident 5, Drifting Dragons 16, Fire Force Omnibus 10, I’m Giving the Disgraced Noble Lady I Rescued a Crash Course in Naughtiness 5, Medalist 2, The Seven Deadly Sins: Four Knights of the Apocalypse 12, and That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime: Trinity in Tempest 8.

ASH: I need to catch up with Drifting Dragons.

SEAN: Digitally we see Blue Lock 25, Gazing at the Star Next Door 2, How to Grill Our Love 8, Life 14, My Wife is a Little Intimidating 8, Otherworldly Munchkin: Let’s Speedrun the Dungeon with Only 1 HP! 9, Shangri-La Frontier 16, Those Snow White Notes 17, and Tying the Knot with an Amagami Sister 13.

One Peace Books has the 4th volume of The Wrong Way to Use Healing Magic.

Seven Seas debuts Monster Cats, the latest full-color manga from the creator of Yokai Cats and The Evil Secret Society of Cats. It’s complete in one volume, and came from Manga Life Win. Surprisingly, it’s about dogs. (It’s not, it’s about cats. I kid.)

ASH: You almost had me there.

SEAN: Also debuting is True Love Fades Away When the Contract Ends, the manga version of the light novel I mentioned above. It runs in Comic Ride.

From their danmei line they have Stars of Chaos: Sha Po Lang 3.

Also from Seven Seas: 365 Days to the Wedding 3, CANDY AND CIGARETTES 8, Free Life Fantasy Online: Immortal Princess 7, Hitomi-chan is Shy With Strangers 8, I’m in Love with the Villainess 6, My Status as an Assassin Obviously Exceeds the Hero’s 5, What He Who Doesn’t Believe in Fate Says 4, and The White Mage Doesn’t Want to Raise the Hero’s Level 2.

Square Enix debuts Mobsters in Love (Koisuru Gokudou Onii-san), a BL series from Gangan BLiss. A subordinate is hopelessly in love with his boss… who keeps seducing him by accident!

ASH: Whoops!

SEAN: They also have The Great Jahy Will Not Be Defeated! 8.

Steamship has the 3rd volume of I Can’t Refuse S.

Two debuts from Tokyopop. A Beast’s Love Is Like the Moon (Tsuki wa Michikake Kemono no Koi) is from a magazine called Cab. (insert joke here) A city boy goes to the woods to be a caretaker for his family home, and ends up bonding with a hot yokai dude.

ANNA: As one does.

ASH: It is to be expected.

SEAN: This Reincarnated Cross-Dressing Princess Won’t Be Looking for a Fiancé (Tensei Danzou Oujo wa Kekkon Aite o Sagasanai) is a new josei series from the creator of I’ll Never Be Your Crown Princess!. It runs in FK Comics, and is based on an unlicensed light novel. A princess is disguised as a boy to get a fiancé at the academy, till she realizes that this academy is based on a BL game, and everyone is gay! Then she meets the new transfer student. Smut ensues.

ANNA: Ok, I’m curious.

ASH: Likewise, though I would probably be even moreso were “reincarnated” not in the title. But, hooray, for josei!

SEAN: Also from Tokyopop: If My Favorite Pop Idol Made It to the Budokan, I Would Die 6.

Udon Entertainment has Team Phoenix 4.

The debut from Viz is Star Wars: Visions: The Manga Anthology, with adaptations from the creator of Witch Hat Atelier, Little Witch Academia, and others.

ANNA: Ooh!

ASH: That could be fun.

SEAN: Also from Viz: Black Clover 35, Blue Box 10, Chainsaw Man 15, The Elusive Samurai 11, In the Name of the Mermaid Princess 2, Like a Butterfly 6, My Special One 6, Star Wars: The Mandalorian: The Manga 2, Wolf Girl and Black Prince 7, and Yona of the Dawn 41.

ANNA: Yes more Yona!!!!!

MICHELLE: *Kermit flailing*

ASH: Huzzah!

SEAN: Lastly, two stragglers from Yen. Yen On has Magical Explorer: Reborn as a Side Character in a Fantasy Dating Sim 7.

And Yen Press has Banished from the Hero’s Party, I Decided to Live a Quiet Life in the Countryside 7.

Maaaaaaaaay!

SEAN: End of April, start of May, it’s all the same to me.

Just one straggler from Yen On: Once Upon a Witch’s Death: The Tale of the One Thousand Tears of Joy (Aru Majo ga Shinu Made: Owari no Kotoba to Hajimari no Namida), a one-shot light novel. A witch apprentice learns she is cursed to die in one year unless she collects one thousand tears of joy.

ASH: I really do appreciate one-shots, these days. Also, i get a kick out of the fact that the basic premise is essentially the opposite of Blade of the Immortal.

SEAN: Tokyopop debuts a new series, Watch Dogs Tokyo. This Kurage Bunch series is based on a game, it takes place in future Tokyo, where a management system has helped everyone’s lives immensely, and is absolutely not secretly evil at all. Time for a team of expert hackers…

Tokyopop also has a 3rd volume of We Can’t Do Just Plain Love.

Steamship has the 5th volume of Outbride: Beauty and the Beasts.

Seven Seas has one debut, My Sister Took My Fiancé and Now I’m Being Courted by a Beastly Prince (Imouto ni Konyakusha wo Toraretara, Juuna Ouji ni Kyuukon saremashita ~Matatabi to Shite Dekiai saretemasu~). It’s based on an unlicensed light novel, and stars a woman whose every suitor has been stolen away by her younger sister. But now she’s being courted by a prince… with the heart of a lion. And possibly other lion aspects as well. It runs in Zero-Sum Online.

ANNA: What is up with this lady’s sister???

ASH: A valid question.

SEAN: Also from Seven Seas: Classroom of the Elite 10, Dance in the Vampire Bund: Age of Scarlet Order 11, Easygoing Territory Defense by the Optimistic Lord: Production Magic Turns a Nameless Village into the Strongest Fortified City 2, The Great Snake’s Bride 3, Happy Kanako’s Killer Life 7, Mushoku Tensei: Roxy Gets Serious 11, My Androgynous Boyfriend 4, and ROLL OVER AND DIE: I Will Fight for an Ordinary Life with My Love and Cursed Sword! 5.

MICHELLE: I did enjoy volume one of My Androgynous Boyfriend. I should probably check back in with it.

ASH: Same!

SEAN: Kodansha Manga has one debut, Fed Up With Being the Spoiled Queen’s Genius Butler, I Ran Away and Built the World’s Strongest Army (Wagamama Oujo ni Tsukaeta Bannoushitsuji, Tonari no Teikoku de Saikyou no Gunjin ni Nariagari Musousuru). Based on an unlicensed light novel, this runs in Suiyoubi no Sirius. A butler grows weary of his lady’s demands, and runs away to the next country, where he can use his butler skills to advance in the military. That said, judging by the cover, I suspect the spoiled queen is not letting him go that easily.

ANNA: I wouldn’t know, but I hear it is hard to find good help. Also, I would like a butler.

SEAN: Also in print: Blue Lock 12, Don’t Toy With Me, Miss Nagatoro 16, EDENS ZERO 28, Gachiakuta 2, The Iceblade Sorcerer Shall Rule the World 9, Seraph of the End: Guren Ichinose: Catastrophe at Sixteen 4, Shangri-La Frontier 11, She’s My Knight 2, and Shonen Note: Boy Soprano 7.

ANNA: Gotta pick up Blue Lock for my kids.

ASH: And I need to catch up on Shonen Note!

SEAN: While digitally we see A Condition Called Love 14, Even Given the Worthless “Appraiser” Class, I’m Actually the Strongest 10, I Want To Hold Aono-kun So Badly I Could Die 11, Issak 7, My Master Has No Tail 11, Sakura’s Dedication 5 (the final volume), and Yamaguchi-kun Isn’t So Bad 8.

No debuts for J-Novel Club, but a pile of light novels. We see DUNGEON DIVE: Aim for the Deepest Level 7, The Greatest Magicmaster’s Retirement Plan 17, I Surrendered My Sword for a New Life as a Mage 6, Knight’s & Magic 3, Magic Stone Gourmet: Eating Magical Power Made Me The Strongest 5, Marriage, Divorce, and Beyond: The White Mage and Black Knight’s Romance Reignited 2, The Oblivious Saint Can’t Contain Her Power: Forget My Sister! Turns Out I Was the Real Saint All Along! 2, Only the Villainous Lord Wields the Power to Level Up 5, Peddler in Another World: I Can Go Back to My World Whenever I Want! 7, Perry Rhodan NEO 18, and Stuck in a Time Loop: When All Else Fails, Be a Villainess 3 (the final volume).

ASH: That was quite the stack.

SEAN: Two light novel volumes from Hanashi Media: The Dark Guild Master’s Smile Would Fit Best 2 and The Fruit of Evolution: Before I Knew It, My Life Had It Made! 9.

Ghost Ship has a 4th and final volume of Wicked Trapper: Hunter of Heroes.

Listed as coming out next week from Denpa Books is Fish Society (Sakana Shakai), an interconnected short story collection from the creator of Invitation fro0m a Crab. In fact, it’s a semi-sequel, asking the question “what if we let fish take over the selling of fish at the fish market?”. It ran in Rakuen Le Paradis.

ANNA: Glad to see more stuff coming out from Denpa!

ASH: Really looking forward to this one.

SEAN: Dark Horse Comics has the 2nd Innocent omnibus, with Volumes 4 through 6.

ASH: A good reminder that I should finish reading the first.

SEAN: No debuts for Cross Infinite World, but they have four ongoing books: Fluffy Paradise 4, I Reincarnated As Evil Alice, So the Only Thing I’m Courting Is Death! 3, Making Jam in the Woods: My Relaxing Life Starts in Another World 3, and Rising from Ashes: My Dear Emperor, You’re Putty in My Hands! 2.

In print, Airship has 7th Time Loop: The Villainess Enjoys a Carefree Life Married to Her Worst Enemy! 5 and How a Realist Hero Rebuilt the Kingdom 18.

And in early digital there is the 7th and final volume of Disciple of the Lich: Or How I Was Cursed by the Gods and Dropped Into the Abyss!.

A fairly quiet week. Taking a break? Or buying more?

SEAN: April is lurching towards its conclusion. What can we find?

ASH: Hopefully my mind; try as I might, it’s convinced that March comes next.

SEAN: There’s a lot of print Airship titles, as we see Free Life Fantasy Online: Immortal Princess 6, The Most Heretical Last Boss Queen: From Villainess to Savior 6, She Professed Herself Pupil of the Wise Man 10, and The Weakest Tamer Began a Journey to Pick Up Trash 6.

In early digital we see The Mimosa Confessions (Mimosa no Kokuhaku), an LGBT novel from the creator of The Tunnel to Summer, the Exit of Goodbyes. A young man gradually drifts away from his more popular guy friend. In high school, he meets a cute girl, and falls for her. However, when he walks home one night, he sees his old friend… in a girls’ uniform and crying?

MICHELLE: Ooh.

ASH: Curiosity piqued!

ANNA: Hmm!

SEAN: And there is also the third volume of Yes, No, or Maybe?.

Ghost Ship has Into the Deepest, Most Unknowable Dungeon 8 and World’s End Harem 17.

And in mature non-GS titles, we get The Husky and His White Cat Shizun: Erha He Ta De Bai Mao Shizun 5 and Killing Stalking: Deluxe Edition 6.

ASH: I really do need to give Killing Stalking a try before I get too much further behind.

SEAN: J-Novel Club has two debuts. A Livid Lady’s Guide to Getting Even: How I Crushed My Homeland with My Mighty Grimoires (Buchigire Reijō wa Hōfuku wo Chikaimashita. Madōsho no Chikara de Sokoku wo Tataki Tsubushimasu) is another “our heroine is publicly shamed and dumped” books. Oh, and she’s thrown in prison. This causes her to snap and get revenge. That said, I wonder how revengey this will be – I’ve seen this sort of thing before.

ASH: Bonus points for the use of “grimoires” in the title.

ANNA: I appreciate grimoires as well!

SEAN: Zilbagias the Demon Prince: How the Seventh Prince Brought Down the Kingdom (Dainana Maōji Zilbagias no Maō Keikokuki) has a hero and his party get ready for the final battle against the demon king… and they’re all killed. Oops. Then he’s reincarnated… as the demon king’s son!

ASH: Awkward!

ANNA: What if he was reincarnated as the demon king’s son’s cat??

SEAN: Also from J-Novel Club: the 15th Black Summoner manga volume, the 4th Dragon Daddy Diaries: A Girl Grows to Greatness manga volume, The Exiled Noble Rises as the Holy King: Befriending Fluffy Beasts and a Holy Maiden with My Ultimate Cheat Skill! 2, Haibara’s Teenage New Game+ 6, Infinite Dendrogram 21, Jeanette the Genius: Defying My Evil Stepmother by Starting a Business with My Ride-or-Die Fiancé! 2, the 3rd The Magician Who Rose From Failure manga volume, Tearmoon Empire 12, and This Art Club Has a Problem! 3.

Kodansha Books has the 4th (really the 5th) volume of Saving 80,000 Gold in Another World for my Retirement.

Kodansha Manga debuts in print A Brief Moment of Ichika, a shoujo title from Palcy. A 16-year-old girl who was given two years left to live three years ago has made her peace with it… till she meets her teacher who vanished a while ago. Expect tears with this one.

ASH: Hmmm.

ANNA: I don’t know about this.

SEAN: Also in print: Blood on the Tracks 16, Ogami-san Can’t Keep It In 4, Phantom of the Idol 7, Vinland Saga Deluxe 2, Witch Hat Atelier Kitchen 3, and Yuri is My Job! 12.

MICHELLE: Shamefully, I had forgotten Phantom of the Idol existed.

ANNA: I forgot Witch Hat Atelier Kitchen existed.

SEAN: Digitally we see And Yet, You Are So Sweet 9, The Café Terrace and its Goddesses 12, Drops of God: Mariage 6, EDENS ZERO 28, Gamaran: Shura 19, The Iceblade Sorcerer Shall Rule the World 9, My Home Hero 15, and That’s My Atypical Girl 12 (the final volume).

One Peace Books has a print version of Parallel World Pharmacy 4.

No debuts for Seven Seas, but we see The Ancient Magus’ Bride: Wizard’s Blue 8, The Dangers in My Heart 8, Don’t Call it Mystery 7-8, Made in Abyss 12, My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom! 9, and Reincarnated as a Sword 12.

MICHELLE: Yumi Tamura FTW!

ASH: Always!

ANNA: AIEE, I am already far behind!

SEAN: Square Enix has Otherside Picnic 9 and Soul Eater: The Perfect Edition 14.

Viz gives us Jujutsu Kaisen: The Official Character Guide, a guidebook to the popular Jump manga.

They’ve also got Pokémon: The Complete Pokémon Pocket Guide, the first of a two-parter. And given this volume is 560 pages, that’s a lot of Pokedexing.

ASH: Gonna need a big pocket for that!

SEAN: And for more sinister Jump manga, there is Boy’s Abyss 5.

Yen On has some runoff from last week, including a debut. Riviere and the Land of Prayer (Inori no Kuni no Riviere) is a title from the creator of Wandering Witch. On an island where magic is sealed into items, Riverie is there to ensure those items don’t cause trouble. I hear the Wandering Witch shows up in this one herself, which means I will not be reading it.

Yen On also has Chitose Is in the Ramune Bottle 6, Our Last Crusade or the Rise of a New World: Secret File 2, and (sigh) Wandering Witch: The Journey of Elaina 13.

And from Yen Press we see The Do-Over Damsel Conquers the Dragon Emperor 3.

Still a lot of April. Does anything interest you?