• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Home
  • About Us
    • Privacy Policy
    • Comment Policy
    • Disclosures & Disclaimers
  • Resources
    • Links, Essays & Articles
    • Fandomology!
    • CLAMP Directory
    • BlogRoll
  • Features & Columns
    • 3 Things Thursday
    • Adventures in the Key of Shoujo
    • Bit & Blips (game reviews)
    • BL BOOKRACK
    • Bookshelf Briefs
    • Bringing the Drama
    • Comic Conversion
    • Fanservice Friday
    • Going Digital
    • It Came From the Sinosphere
    • License This!
    • Magazine no Mori
    • My Week in Manga
    • OFF THE SHELF
    • Not By Manga Alone
    • PICK OF THE WEEK
    • Subtitles & Sensibility
    • Weekly Shonen Jump Recaps
  • Manga Moveable Feast
    • MMF Full Archive
    • Yun Kouga
    • CLAMP
    • Shojo Beat
    • Osamu Tezuka
    • Sailor Moon
    • Fruits Basket
    • Takehiko Inoue
    • Wild Adapter
    • One Piece
    • After School Nightmare
    • Karakuri Odette
    • Paradise Kiss
    • The Color Trilogy
    • To Terra…
    • Sexy Voice & Robo
  • Browse by Author
    • Sean Gaffney
    • Anna Neatrour
    • Michelle Smith
    • Katherine Dacey
    • MJ
    • Brigid Alverson
    • Travis Anderson
    • Phillip Anthony
    • Derek Bown
    • Jaci Dahlvang
    • Angela Eastman
    • Erica Friedman
    • Sara K.
    • Megan Purdy
    • Emily Snodgrass
    • Nancy Thistlethwaite
    • Eva Volin
    • David Welsh
  • MB Blogs
    • A Case Suitable For Treatment
    • Experiments in Manga
    • MangaBlog
    • The Manga Critic
    • Manga Report
    • Soliloquy in Blue
    • Manga Curmudgeon (archive)

Manga Bookshelf

Discussion, Resources, Roundtables, & Reviews

Anna N

Pick of the Week: Night Parades and Demon Schools

November 6, 2023 by Sean Gaffney, Michelle Smith, Ash Brown and Anna N Leave a Comment

SEAN: The thing that oddly interests me most this week is Black Night Parade. Hikaru Nakamura specializes for me in series with great ideas that tend to not hold up the longer they go on. But that means her Vol. 1s are always fantastic.

MICHELLE: I suppose I’ll vote for volume four of Welcome to Demon School! Iruma-kun. Maybe this’ll be the time I actually read it!

ASH: It’s a little early in the season for me for a manga that’s at least tangentially if not explicitly related to Christmas, but I do find it difficult to pass up Hikaru Nakamura, so Black Night Parade is my pick, too.

ANNA: Did you know that the sequel to Fourth Wing, Iron Flame is coming out this week too? It is not manga but that’s my pick!

Filed Under: PICK OF THE WEEK

Manga the Week of 11/8/23

November 2, 2023 by Sean Gaffney, Michelle Smith, Anna N and Ash Brown Leave a Comment

SEAN: November is here, and all the manga that comes with it. This and December are always the big ones.

We start with Viz Media, who don’t have any debuts. But they do have Black Clover 33, Blue Box 7, The Elusive Samurai 9, Kubo Won’t Let Me Be Invisible 10, Like a Butterfly 3, My Hero Academia: Team-Up Missions 4, My Special One 4, One Piece 104, and Queen’s Quality 18.

ASH: I had somehow forgotten that One Piece had broken triple digits.

SEAN: Steamship debuts Revenge: Mrs. Wrong (Revenge – Kaedama Kon), which ran in Cheese!. A woman sends her sister out to substitute for her on dates when she can’t be bothered, but that’s going to change soon when the sister decides to get some of her own back.

Seven Seas has two debuts. Black Night Parade (Black Night Parade) is from the creator of Saint Young Men and Arakawa Under the Bridge. A man is kidnapped by a Santa who is in charge of all the naughty children, and now the man must work at his workshop. This runs in Ultra Jump.

ASH: Oh! I had missed that we were getting another Hikaru Nakamura manga! It sounds suitably ridiculous.

SEAN: My Pancreas Broke, But My Life Got Better (Suizou ga Kowaretara, Sukoshi Ikiyasuku Narimashita) is the latest autobiographical title from Nagata Kabi, detailing her attempts to give up alcohol entirely during COVID lockdown.

ASH: Heavy for sure, but likely worth checking out.

SEAN: Seven Seas is also releasing My Lesbian Experience With Loneliness: Special Edition, a deluxe hardcover with new cover art and a bonus chapter.

ASH: Wow!

SEAN: Also from Seven Seas: Classroom of the Elite 8, Let’s Buy the Land and Cultivate It in a Different World 5, Made in Abyss Official Anthology 5, Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid: Fafnir the Recluse 3, My Girlfriend’s Child 3, No Longer Allowed In Another World 4, This Is Screwed Up, but I Was Reincarnated as a GIRL in Another World! 9, and Who Made Me a Princess 3.

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

Kodansha has been listening to my whining a bit, and has fixed their calendar to be more obvious about print/digital releases. The print debut is Virgin Love (Shojo Koi. – Shojo no Shouko-san), a josei series about a 26-year-old virgin woman who moves into an experimental “singles” house to try to do something about that. This runs in the nearly unknown magazine Ar.

ANNA: Alright for josei!

ASH: Yes, indeed!

SEAN: Also in print: Am I Actually the Strongest? 5, The Darwin Incident 2, EDENS ZERO 25, I’m Standing on a Million Lives 16, L♥DK 23-24 (it got bumped), Lovely Muco! 3, The Moon on a Rainy Night 2, Noragami Omnibus 8, Peach Boy Riverside 13, The Seven Deadly Sins: Four Knights of the Apocalypse 10, Shangri-La Frontier 8, and Welcome to Demon School! Iruma-kun 4.

MICHELLE: I’m already so far behind on Iruma-kun!

SEAN: Digitally the debut is He’s Expecting (Hiyama Kentarou no Ninshin), a josei series from Be Love imagining a future where men can also give birth. Needless to say, the prejudices and stereotypes have not magically vanished.

ANNA: Even more josei!

ASH: Nice.

SEAN: Also digital: Blue Lock 22, Hitorijime My Hero 14, How to Grill Our Love 5, Life 9, Matcha Made in Heaven 7, My Unique Skill Makes Me OP even at Level 1 11, My Wife is a Little Intimidating 5, Piano Duo for the Left Hand 8, and Undead Girl Murder Farce 4.

Sorry, Kaiten Books, missed you last week: they have a digital release of The Bottom-Tier Baron’s Accidental Rise to the Top 3.

J-Novel Club has one digital debut, from the Heart imprint: Marriage, Divorce, and Beyond: The White Mage and Black Knight’s Romance Reignited (Saishō Hosa to Kurokishi no Keiyaku Kekkon to Rikon to Sonogo: Henkyō no Chi de Futari wa Fūfu o Yarinaosu). The Black Knight is the heroine, who has to get married to pass on her awesome Black Knight powers. There is a perfect match for her… but she does NOT want to marry a noble!

And we also see Back to the Battlefield: The Veteran Heroes Return to the Fray! 2, 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 5, the 4th manga volume of Fushi no Kami: Rebuilding Civilization Starts With a Village, The Greatest Magician’s Ultimate Quest: I Woke from a 300 Year Slumber to a World of Disappointment 2, Karate Master Isekai 3, Magic Stone Gourmet: Eating Magical Power Made Me The Strongest 3, The Misfit of Demon King Academy 5, Peddler in Another World: I Can Go Back to My World Whenever I Want! 5, and A Royal Rebound: Forget My Ex-Fiancé, I’m Being Pampered by the Prince! 3 (the final volume).

ASH: Titles have so many words these days, it’s actually hard to tell how long that list actually is (or isn’t).

SEAN: Ghost Ship has an 8th volume of 2.5 Dimensional Seduction.

Dark Horse is bringing back a classic manga: Hellsing! This is a new edition with a different translation and a new design, but still 1-volume paperbacks.

ASH: Interesting.

SEAN: Airship has some print for you. Loner Life in Another World 7 and Reborn as a Space Mercenary: I Woke Up Piloting the Strongest Starship! 7.

And in early digital we get Disciple of the Lich: Or How I Was Cursed by the Gods and Dropped Into the Abyss! 6 and The Most Heretical Last Boss Queen: From Villainess to Savior 5.

Is that enough? There’s more coming soon.

Filed Under: FEATURES, manga the week of

Pick of the Week: Cats, Thats, and Witch Hats

October 30, 2023 by Michelle Smith, Sean Gaffney, Anna N and Ash Brown Leave a Comment

MICHELLE: 1000% My Cat Is Such a Weirdo. I mean, how could I not?

SEAN: Still can’t resist a heroine called Princess That, so I’m going with Third Loop: The Nameless Princess and the Cruel Emperor for my pick.

ANNA: My pick is Witch Hat Atelier Kitchen it sounds so amazingly random.

ASH: I’m with Anna this week! As soon as I was reminded that Witch Hat Atelier Kitchen existed, I made sure that I had a pre-order in place.

Filed Under: PICK OF THE WEEK

Manga the Week of 11/1/23

October 26, 2023 by Sean Gaffney, Michelle Smith, Anna N and Ash Brown Leave a Comment

SEAN: This is that odd “is it October or November?” part of the manga calendar, so expect weirdness.

ASH: I always do.

SEAN: To start, Airship has no early digital releases announced… so far… and the only print title is Reincarnated as a Dragon Hatchling 5.

EDIT: Surprise, they put them up at the very last moment! Early digital for Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear 16 and There’s No Freaking Way I’ll be Your Lover! Unless… 3.

Cross Infinite World debuts three Volume 1s in their light novel line. I Guess This Dragon Who Lost Her Egg to Disaster Is My Mom Now (Saigai de Tamago o Ushinatta Dragon ga Nazeka Ore o Sodate Hajimeta) is a rather bizarre not-quite-reincarnation story, where an adventurer on the verge of death after (sigh) being betrayed by his own party ends up in the nest of a dragon who lost her egg… and suddenly he turns into a young girl to be her new daughter.

ASH: Huh.

SEAN: Making Jam in the Woods: My Relaxing Life Starts in Another World (Mori no Hotori de Jam wo Niru: Isekai de Hajimeru Slow Life) is a slow life isekai, as the Japanese title suggests. Margaret dies and is reincarnated in a new world, where she’s rescued by an elderly noblewoman. Sure, she has a destiny… but she’d much rather just eat.

ANNA: I’m not usually into isekai but I find the idea of a manga devoted to making jam in the woods amusing.

ASH: Same!

SEAN: Third Loop: The Nameless Princess and the Cruel Emperor (Nanashi no Ōjo to Reikoku Kōtei: Shītagerareta Yōjo, Konse de wa Ryū to Mofumofu ni Dekiai Sarete Imasu) stars a girl so abused she doesn’t even has a name – she’s “Princess That”. She also loops back in time and suffers the same abuse again. But this time… suddenly people seem to love her!

Ghost Ship debuts Inside the Tentacle Cave (Inbi na Doukutsu no Sono Oku de). This runs in Comic Vamp, and is about an evolving monster that develops a taste for sexual assault. Whee.

MICHELLE: Um.

ANNA: No thank you.

ASH: Oh, my!

SEAN: They also have the 12th and final volume of SUPER HXEROS and the third and final volume of World’s End Harem: Fantasia Academy.

It’s a very quiet week for J-Novel Club, who have Record of Wortenia War 21 and The Troubles of Miss Nicola the Exorcist 2.

ASH: For a moment there, I inexplicably conflated The Troubles of Miss Nicola the Exorcist with Nicola Traveling Around the Demons’ World, but I’m pretty sure the two are unrelated.

SEAN: Kodansha Books gives us As a Reincarnated Aristocrat, I’ll Use My Appraisal Skill to Rise in the World 3.

Kodansha Manga has the print version of Ogami-san Can’t Keep It In, meaning once again I assumed something was a digital exclusive and was wrong. These lists, man, I dunno, I’m getting depressed. Anyway, see last week for details.

ASH: Boo, for bad metadata! Hooray, for print! (At least in general, I don’t actually know much about this particular series.)

SEAN: Also debuting in print is Witch Hat Atelier Kitchen (Tongari Boushi no Kitchen), a Morning Two series for everyone who wanted the hot guys in WHA to cook things.

ANNA: Really???? This sounds amazing.

ASH: Aaah!! I had somehow totally forgotten about this!

SEAN: Also in print: As a Reincarnated Aristocrat, I’ll Use My Appraisal Skill to Rise in the World 7, I Was Reincarnated as the 7th Prince so I Can Take My Time Perfecting My Magical Ability 8, Quality Assurance in Another World 4, Saving 80,000 Gold in Another World for My Retirement 3, and The Iceblade Sorcerer Shall Rule the World 7.

Digitally (at least, it looks exclusively digital), we debut Rocopon. Running in Young Magazine Web, this comedy tells the story of an alien hired by Earth as an assassin who’s getting a bit too blase and half-assed, so he’s getting a partner.

Also digital: Having an Idol-Loving Boyfriend is the Best! 4, Hozuki’s Coolheadedness 16, SHAMAN KING: THE SUPER STAR 7, and Saint Cecilia and Pastor Lawrence 12.

Seven Seas says it’s been at least 3 or 4 weeks since they last debuted a cat book, so we get My Cat is Such a Weirdo (Uchi no Neko ga Mata Hen na Koto Shiteru). This biographical series runs in Comic Essay Gekijou, so is technically josei, but, I mean, it’s ‘cat’. The genre is ‘cat’. It’s in full color, and is about how cats are weird.

MICHELLE: Looks cute!

ASH: Gotta love a good cat manga.

SEAN: Seven Seas also has The Ancient Magus’ Bride: Wizard’s Blue 7, Bite Maker: The King’s Omega 9, CANDY AND CIGARETTES 6, Crossplay Love: Otaku x Punk 6, The Great Snake’s Bride 2, His Majesty the Demon King’s Housekeeper 5, Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear 7, Re:Monster 7, Sheeply Horned Witch Romi 2, and Yokai Cats 6.

ASH: Speaking of cats. And yokai! (At least I’m always speaking of yokai.)

SEAN: Square Enix has the 10th volume of My Dress-Up Darling.

ASH: I really need to catch up with this series; I greatly enjoyed the earlier volumes I read.

SEAN: Udon Entertainment theoretically has Robotics;Notes debuting, though don’t be surprised if, like Denpa titles, the release date on Amazon is wrong. This is from the creators of Chaos;Head, Steins;Gate, and other punctuational franchises. It ran in Mag Garden, and is about a girl who loves robots and a boy who loves video games.

Viz Media has one release: Fullmetal Alchemist 20th Anniversary Book. This hardcover contains the author’s companion manga she drew as she did the series, and the thoughts of everyone involved in the franchise.

ASH: Oh! It’ll be nice for the companion manga to be collected in one place.

SEAN: Yen On has a light novel debut: A Misanthrope Teaches a Class for Demi-Humans (Jingai Kyoushitsu no Ningengirai Kyoushi). A young man traumatized by his past just wants a quiet life teaching in the mountains… but his students are all mermaids, werewolf, and rabbit girls. The copy goes out of the way to say this is NOT a fantasy or an isekai. I’m hoping it’s a bit like Interviews with Monster Girls.

ASH: I’m impressed that it’s become important enough to explicitly note something isn’t isekai.

SEAN: Yen Press debuts I May Be a Guild Receptionist, but I’ll Solo Any Boss to Clock Out on Time (Guild no Uketsukejou desu ga, Zangyou wa Iya na node Boss wo Solo Tobatsu shiyou to Omoimasu). The light novel came out from Yen last month, and proved too difficult for Amazon’s algorithms. Guild girl wants to avoid overtime, so clears all the dungeons herself. The manga runs in Dengeki Daioh.

And they’ve also got Me and My Beast Boss 2 and The Villainess Stans the Heroes: Playing the Antagonist to Support Her Faves! 2.

For a 5th week of the month this was a lot. Anything for you?

Filed Under: FEATURES, manga the week of

Pick of the Week: Starry Brides and Yuri Landlords

October 23, 2023 by Sean Gaffney, Michelle Smith, Anna N and Ash Brown Leave a Comment

SEAN: “Yuri with actual adults” never gets old, so my pick this week will be just that, with Monthly in the Garden with My Landlord.

MICHELLE: There isn’t a whole lot that appeals to me personally, so I will celebrate the print release of Nina the Starry Bride, which I’ve been meaning to check out.

ANNA: I’m very happy that Nina the Starry Bride is getting a print release, it deserves it!

ASH: Monthly in the Garden with My Landlord is definitely of interest to me, but then so is Nina the Starry Bride, especially now that it is in print!

Filed Under: PICK OF THE WEEK

Manga the Week of 10/25/23

October 19, 2023 by Sean Gaffney, Anna N, Ash Brown and Michelle Smith Leave a Comment

SEAN: We’re close to Halloween, so I’ve declared manga to be candy.

ASH: Oh! Maybe I should try giving out manga this year… but that could be dangerous.

SEAN: Yen divided its October pretty evenly this time around, so there’s a lot this week as well. This includes three light novel debuts. From Yen On we see Days with My Stepsister (Gimai Seikatsu), another light novel series from the creator of My Friend’s Little Sister Has It In for Me! and Looks Are All You Need. As you can imagine, this is a “I’m now living with the hottest girl in school” title, but apparently trauma from their parents’ respective divorces and remarriages has them both being very distant with each other.

Only I Know the Ghoul Saved the World (Ghoul ga Sekai o Sukutta Koto o Watashi Dake ga Shitteiru) is also by a known quantity, the creator of The Greatest Demon Lord Is Reborn as a Typical Nobody. The world’s most famous ghoul hunter… is also a ghoul, so everyone hates him. But one girl sees past the ghoul in him and wants to be his disciple.

And from the JNC imprint comes a print release for Reborn to Master the Blade: From Hero-King to Extraordinary Squire, released digitally by J-Novel Club.

Other light novels from Yen On: Combatants Will Be Dispatched! 7, Date A Live 10, The Ephemeral Scenes of Setsuna’s Journey 2, The Holy Grail of Eris 4, I Kept Pressing the 100-Million-Year Button and Came Out on Top 6, and Re:ZERO -Starting Life in Another World- 23.

Some Yen Press debuts as well. 7FATES: CHAKHO is listed as ‘comic’ rather than manga, so I assume it’s a Korean webtoon. An amnesiac young man wakes to find he’s suddenly the center of a bunch of murders, a bunch of monsters, and 7 people with the same fate.

ASH: I had to look this one up and, indeed, it is a Korean webtoon. With a BTS connection, too.

SEAN: Cheerful Amnesia (Bright and Cheery Amnesia) is a yuri series from Comic Cune. When her girlfriend loses all her memories of the last three years – including their relationship – Mari assumes they’re through. Little does she know that now Arisa can fall in love with her all over again!

ASH: That does sound cheerful.

SEAN: Honey Trap Shared House is… oh God… from Dragon Age, so we know what we’re getting. A spy starts a shared house to seduce enemy agents. Little does he know his first target is his former childhood friend!

ASH: Uh-oh!

SEAN: Monthly in the Garden with My Landlord (Maitsuki Niwa Tsuki Ooya Tsuki) is from Comic Newtype, and is also a yuri manga. A manga editor, trying to get over her ex-girlfriend, finds the perfect new place to live! One problem… she’ll need to live with the landlord.

ASH: I still love that were getting more yuri featuring adults these days.

SEAN: Overgeared is also a Korean webtoon series. Um… VR game… legendary class… strongest skill… yeah, OK, anyway, there’s this.

Also from Yen Press: The Boxer 4, The Dark History of the Reincarnated Villainess 8, The Hero Is Overpowered But Overly Cautious 6, Higurashi When They Cry: GOU 2, Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? II 4, Konosuba: God’s Blessing on This Wonderful World! 16, My Gently Raised Beast 4, Our Last Crusade or the Rise of a New World 7, Plunderer 11 (the final volume), and Uncle from Another World 8.

Viz Media debuts another Junji Ito collection, Mimi’s Tales of Terror (Mimi no Kaidan). This collection of urban legends ran in Comic Flapper.

ANNA: Good for spooky season!

ASH: It is!

SEAN: They’ve also got My Hero Academia: The Official Easy Illustration Guide, a guide to drawing your favorite characters.

And we also get The Promised Neverland Complete Box Set. If you want a great example of how an incredible shonen manga can leap off a cliff in its last few volumes, definitely check this out.

ANNA: Oh, I’m glad I only read the first couple volumes and never tried to get caught up then!

ASH: There was a lot to like in those early volumes.

MICHELLE: I never managed to finish this. I didn’t know it was as bad as leaping off a cliff!

SEAN: Two debuts from Tokyopop. Sating the Wolf (Boku de Mitashite) manages to combine BL, alpha/omega stuff, and beast men in one package. It ran in from RED, and is complete in one volume.

UNDEAD: Finding Love in the Zombie Apocalypse is also BL, and comes from the magazine Cab. Two childhood friends try to find love in a deadly post-apocalyptic world.

From Square Enix we get Otherside Picnic 7 and Soul Eater: The Perfect Edition 12.

No debuts from Seven Seas, but we do see Arifureta: From Commonplace to World’s Strongest 11, I’m in Love with the Villainess 5, Kemono Jihen 8, My Lovey-Dovey Wife is a Stone Cold Killer 5, Skeleton Knight in Another World 11, Skip and Loafer 8, and Yakuza Fiancé: Raise wa Tanin ga Ii 5.

ASH: Still behind with Skip and Loafer; I need to change that!

SEAN: Kodansha’s print debut is one they’ve been putting out digitally again, as we see print for Nina the Starry Bride.

ANNA: This is one of the few series that I read digitally, and I’m happy it is also coming out in print. Great if you are longing for some fantasy shoujo.

ASH: Oh! I may need to check it out then.

SEAN: Also in print: Go! Go! Loser Ranger! 7, L♥DK 21-22, Rent-A-Girlfriend 21, Seraph of the End: Guren Ichinose: Catastrophe at Sixteen 2, Something’s Wrong With Us 17, Tsugumi Project 3, and Twilight Out of Focus 3.

The digital debut is Ogami-san Can’t Keep It In (Ogami-san, Dadamore desu), an Afternoon series about a young girl who has perverse fantasies that she tries to keep to herself… till she meets the man of her dreams!

Also digital: As a Reincarnated Aristocrat, I’ll Use My Appraisal Skill to Rise in the World 7, Blade Girl 3 (the final volume), Boss Bride Days 10, Drops of God: Mariage 2, Fungus and Iron 4, Gamaran: Shura 13, My Home Hero 9, and The Iceblade Sorcerer Shall Rule the World 7.

No debuts for J-Novel Club, but plenty of stuff. The 13th Black Summoner manga volume, Demon Lord, Retry! R 7, The Game Master Has Logged In to Another World 4, Gushing over Magical Girls 8, In Another World With My Smartphone 28, The Invincible Little Lady 4, La Ragazza: Living with Francesca 2, Monster and Parent 2, My Daughter Left the Nest and Returned an S-Rank Adventurer 10, Only the Villainous Lord Wields the Power to Level Up 3, Seventh 5, and Stuck in a Time Loop: When All Else Fails, Be a Villainess 2.

Ghost Ship gives us a 15th volume of Parallel Paradise.

Airship has one print release, the 13th and final volume of Arifureta: From Commonplace to World’s Strongest.

And in early digital we get Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation 25 and Though I Am an Inept Villainess: Tale of the Butterfly-Rat Body Swap in the Maiden Court 5.

Did you get huge candy bar manga? Or did you get circus peanuts?

Filed Under: FEATURES, manga the week of

The Ice Guy and the Cool Girl, Vol 1

October 16, 2023 by Anna N

The Ice Guy and the Cool Girl, Volume 1 by Miyuki Tonogaya

I was curious about this manga, because I’ve heard good things about the anime, which I have not watched yet. The premise of a man descended from snow spirits and his evolving relationship with his work colleague sounded amusing. This series started off being serialized online, and that definitely shows in the episodic nature of the early chapters and the same humorous situation being repeated multiple times. Fortunately, I enjoy scenes of people being overcome with emotions over and over again. I think pacing out reading the first volume over a period of a few days would make for a less repetitive reading experience, and it certainly was pleasant to dip in and out of this manga.

Ice Guy and the Cool Girl

Himuro is the decedent of a snow spirit, and his heritage causes him to have incidents where he inadvertently chills or freezes things in his environment. Fuyutsuki is pretty self-contained, but she does notice Himuro’s challenges and tries to come up with ways to make his life easier. She brings in straw that he can use to insulate the flowers he likes so they won’t freeze over, and brings him cat whiskers as a good luck charm when she realizes that he can’t pet a real cat. Fuyutsuki’s deadpan expression and lack of awareness about her emerging crush provide a contrast to Himuro’s over the top realizations of his feelings for her, which usually involve being overcome with emotion and causing a blizzard in his immediate vicinity. Tonogaya’s art is expressive and the contrast between Himuro’s over the top reactions and Fuyutsuki’s self-contained demeanor is funny. I really liked the bonus story at the end, because it gave a bit more insight into Fuyutsuki’s internal thoughts. Overall, this is a pleasant manga to keep on the reading pile, flipping through a few pages now and then for a bit of cute romantic comedy whenever it is needed.

Filed Under: Manga Reviews, REVIEWS Tagged With: ice guy and his cool female colleague, ice guy and the cool girl, square enix

Pick of the Week: Searching for My Perfect Manga

October 16, 2023 by Ash Brown, Sean Gaffney, Michelle Smith and Anna N Leave a Comment

ASH: Blade of the Immortal certainly isn’t a new series, the deluxe edition being at least the fourth time it’s been released in English, but this is probably(?) the last time I’ll be able to make it my pick, and so I will! One of the first manga I ever read and made a point to start collecting (and then recollecting), the series continues to hold significant meaning for me.

SEAN: I wasn’t able to watch the anime of Bocchi the Rock! because Bocchi’s social anxiety was a bit too much for me with sound and motion. I’m hoping that on paper it will be more tolerable, so Bocchi is my pick this week.

MICHELLE: I’m a little iffy on the premise of Searching for My Perfect Brother, but it *is* josei and I like the cover, so I suppose it can have my (admittedly tentative) endorsement this week.

ANNA: I have similar feelings as Michelle about Searching for My Perfect Brother, but I am a little curious to check it out.

Filed Under: PICK OF THE WEEK

Manga the Week of 10/18/23

October 12, 2023 by Sean Gaffney, Michelle Smith, Anna N and Ash Brown Leave a Comment

SEAN: At last, it’s finally getting chilly in the mornings again.

ASH: Finally!

SEAN: We start with Airship, which has 3 print titles: Failure Frame: I Became the Strongest and Annihilated Everything With Low-Level Spells 8, Monster Girl Doctor 10 (the final volume), and Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation 24.

There’s also an early digital release for A Tale of the Secret Saint 4.

Dark Horse has the 10th volume of Blade of the Immortal: Deluxe Edition. It’s the final volume.

ASH: I’ve been gladly double-dipping to upgrade to the deluxe version. (My wallet will appreciate the break, though!)

SEAN: Ghost Ship has Who Wants to Marry a Billionaire? 6 and Wicked Trapper: Hunter of Heroes 3. And in Ghost Ship-adjacent mature titles, we also see Love is an Illusion! 4 and Succubus and Hitman 5.

One debut from J-Novel Club, in their Heart line. Fiancée No More: The Forsaken Lady, the Prince, and Their Make-Believe Love (Konyaku Haki no Sono Saki ni: Suterare Reijō, Ōji-sama ni Dekiai (Engi) Sareru) It’s another Cinderella story, with the heroine’s ability to read people’s emotions causing her issues, especially since the Prince is trying to pretend he’s madly in love with her.

ASH: Uh oh. Awkward!

SEAN: Also out: the 9th Campfire Cooking in Another World with My Absurd Skill manga volume, The Coppersmith’s Bride 3, Death’s Daughter and the Ebony Blade 6, Formerly, the Fallen Daughter of the Duke 4, I Surrendered My Sword for a New Life as a Mage 4, Now I’m a Demon Lord! Happily Ever After with Monster Girls in My Dungeon 6, Only I Know That This World Is a Game 2, the 3rd Peddler in Another World: I Can Go Back to My World Whenever I Want manga volume, VTuber Legend: How I Went Viral after Forgetting to Turn Off My Stream 6, and When Supernatural Battles Became Commonplace 8.

ANNA: I imagined that this block of text was one manga with a really, really, long title.

ASH: All in good time.

SEAN: Kodansha Books has the 4th volume of The Dawn of the Witch.

Kodansha Manga has a print debut for a book they’ve been releasing digitally: Tying the Knot with an Amagami Sister (Amagami-san Chi no Enmusubi), a Weekly Shonen Magazine romcom, features a guy trying to get into medical school who’s offered a place to stay at a shrine… provided he marry one of the three hot shrine maidens who live there.

Also in print: Blue Lock 9, Parasyte Full Color Collection 4, and The Seven Deadly Sins Omnibus 12.

ANNA: Going to remember to pick up Blue Lock for the fans in my house.

SEAN: Digitally the debut is Searching for My Perfect Brother (Watashi no Tadashii Onii-chan), a josei title from Be Love. A college student who was separated from her brother by divorce has been searching for him… he used to help her sleep, and she’s been suffering from insomnia. She gets closer to a co-worker at her part-time job, who reminds her of her brother… but he has a very big secret.

MICHELLE: Hm.

ANNA: Yeah, I dunno, but I also am always curious about new josei.

ASH: Likewise.

SEAN: We also see Boss Wife 7, Gamaran 14, Issak 3, and Mr. Bride 9.

There’s a new manga from One Peace Books. It Takes Two Tomorrow, Too (Futari Ashitamo Sorenarini) is a seinen title from Kurage Bunch. It’s one of those ‘watch the sweet couple’ titles, as we see them having lived together for two months.

ASH: I’ll be giving this one a closer look soon.

SEAN: Two debuts from Seven Seas. Dungeon Friends Forever (Dungeon no Osananajimi) is a Romcom from my nemesis’ spinoff, Comic Alive+. As you can likely tell, it combines a dungeon crawl and the childhood friend romance genre.

A Stepmother’s ‏Märchen, aka The Fantasie of a Stepmother, is another Tapas webtoon put out in full color. A beleaguered mother, whose stepchildren grew distant and cold with her after their father died, finds herself back in time to the day her husband was buried. Can she try to mend the relationship with her stepchildren?

Also from Seven Seas: Dragon Goes House-Hunting 9, Gap Papa: Daddy at Work and at Home 3, Hunting in Another World With My Elf Wife 4, I Think I Turned My Childhood Friend Into a Girl 4, Kageki Shojo!! 10, My Deer Friend Nokotan 4, Reincarnated as a Sword 11, Servamp 19, and Versailles of the Dead 5 (the final volume).

ASH: Oh! I should catch up with Versailles of the Dead.

SEAN: No debuts for Viz, but we do see Asadora! 7, Boy’s Abyss 3, Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End 9, Golden Kamuy 30, Love’s in Sight! 4, Mission: Yozakura Family 7, Record of Ragnarok 8, Spy x Family 10, Twin Star Exorcists 29, and Undead Unluck 13.

Yen On has two debuts. If the Villainess and Villain Met and Fell in Love (Akuyaku Reijō to Akuyaku Reisoku ga, Deatte Koi ni Ochitanara: Nanashi no Seirei to Keiyaku Shite Oidasareta Reijō wa, Kyō mo Reisoku to Kisoiatte Iru Yō Desu) combines so many current trends. Weak-to-strong, magic academy, villainess, broken engagements, etc.

The other one, The Lawyer in Shizukuishi Sleeps with a Wolf (Shizuku-ishi-chou no Horitsuka wa Ookami to Nemuru) looks like it’s BL but isn’t. It’s about two brothers, one of whom turns into a wolf for mysterious reasons, and their struggles with justice (the brother who does not turn into a wolf is a cop). I’ve heard this is pretty good. I think it’s a one shot.

ANNA: OK, I’m a little curious about this.

ASH: I could be pretty easily convinced to give it a try.

SEAN: We also get Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russian 4, High School Prodigies Have It Easy Even in Another World! 9, My Happy Marriage 5, and Sasaki and Peeps 5.

The big debut for Yen Press is Bocchi the Rock!, a 4-koma that spawned a cult hit anime in fall of last year! Hitori wants to be a popular rock guitarist. She’s got the skills, but she also has terrible social anxiety, and that’s where the comedy comes in. It runs in Manga Time Kirara Max.

ASH: I shouldn’t be surprised, but I somehow missed that it started as a 4-koma.

SEAN: Yen Press is also releasing a new, fancy, awesome edition, CLAMP Premium Collection Tokyo Babylon. That said, I’m not reading this again. It ran in Wings, meaning I can resurrect my ancient joke of calling its genre “whatever Wings is”.

MICHELLE: I do love it, and am happy new readers might discover it, but I already own it twice over.

ANNA: Every time a new edition of a CLAMP title comes out, an angel with black wings sheds a tear for X/1999 being unfinished.

ASH: Alas, it’s true.

SEAN: Minato’s Laundromat (Minato Shouji Coin Laundry) is a BL title from Gene Pixiv. A man who runs a laundromat finds that one of the high school kids who frequents the place is gay.

Sasaki and Miyano Official Comic Anthology is what it sounds like.

Also from Yen Press: Angels of Death Episode.0 6, Breasts Are My Favorite Things in the World! 7, The Case Study of Vanitas 10, Cheeky Brat 8, Coffee Moon 4, Dead Mount Death Play 10, For the Kid I Saw in My Dreams 11 (the final volume), From the Red Fog 5 (also a final volume), Goblin Slayer Side Story II: Dai Katana 5, Hi, I’m a Witch, and My Crush Wants Me to Make a Love Potion 3, In Another World with My Smartphone 10, Kowloon Generic Romance 5, Laid-Back Camp 14, Magia Record: Puella Magi Madoka Magica Side Story 6, Mint Chocolate 9, Murciélago 22, She Loves to Cook, and She Loves to Eat 3, So I’m a Spider, So What? The Daily Lives of the Kumoko Sisters 6 (also also a final volume), The Summer Hikaru Died 2, Triage X 26, and a 3rd artbook for Yana Toboso Artworks Black Butler.

MICHELLE: I still need to read Kowloon Generic Romance and The Summer Hikaru Died!

ASH: Same! And I’ve heard such good things about both of them.

SEAN: So much manga, I’m starting to feel like Bocchi. What manga makes you anxious?

Filed Under: FEATURES, manga the week of

Pick of the Week: Ice Guys and Sentai Guys

October 10, 2023 by Sean Gaffney, Michelle Smith, Ash Brown and Anna N Leave a Comment

SEAN: It’s a new season of anime, and several of my favorites are finally getting a chance to shine. As such, my dual pick of the week is the 9th volume of The Apothecary Diaries and the 2nd manga volume of Tearmoon Empire. Go watch the anime, please.

MICHELLE: Super Morning Star looks like fun, so that gets my vote this week!

ASH: Had I not completely misremembered its release date, Nejishiki would have definitely been my pick last week seeing that it collects some important and influential alternative manga touchstones. But if I am to limit myself to this week’s releases, I’ll have to admit that I am rather curious about The Ice Guy and the Cool Girl.

ANNA: I’m also intrigued by The Ice Guy and the Cool Girl, so I’ll make that my pick as well.

Filed Under: PICK OF THE WEEK

Manga the Week of 10/11/23

October 5, 2023 by Sean Gaffney, Michelle Smith, Anna N and Ash Brown Leave a Comment

SEAN: It’s Indigenous Peoples Day next week! Any manga that might apply? Probably not, but we shall see.

We start with Yen Press, which has one title, and it’s a debut. The Red Thread is a BL manga adaptation of a Thai novel, and runs in Asuka Ciel. A boy at college who’s always felt that he’s destined to meet someone gets to college and… meets someone. Could it be destiny?

ASH: I’m interested in this if for no other reason than its transnational lineage.

SEAN: Viz Media has an anthology, Betwixt: A Horror Manga Anthology. This features both Japanese and Western creators, all of them trying to scare us to death.

ASH: Definitely interested in this one, too! Horror manga and comic for the win.

SEAN: Viz also has Akane-banashi 2, Case Closed 88, Dandadan 5, Jujutsu Kaisen: The Official Anime Guide: Season 1, Kaiju No. 8 8, Komi Can’t Communicate 27, My Hero Academia: Vigilantes 15 (the final volume), and Rosen Blood 5 (also the final volume).

From Tokyopop we see the debut of The Black Cat & the Vampire (Kishukusha no Kuroneko wa Yoru wo Shiranai), a BL title that ran in Chara. A young man tries to get through his days at boarding school and fend off the attentions of the head boy. Then vampires arrive.

We also get Acid Town 2, If My Favorite Pop Idol Made It to the Budokan, I Would Die 3, and Ossan Idol! 7.

SuBLime has two titles. We get Black or White 7 and Given 8.

MICHELLE: Haven’t had a new volume of Given in quite a while!

ANNA: Yet another thing I need to get caught up on!

ASH: I’m behind, but looking forward to it.

SEAN: Square Enix debuts The Ice Guy and the Cool Girl (Koori Zokusei Danshi to Cool na Douryo Joshi), a Gangan Online series that also had an anime recently. A handsome office worker is a descendant of the legendary Snow Woman… but what really causes him to freeze up is talking to women!

ANNA: I’ve been looking forward to this!

ASH: This totally counts as being yokai-related, right?

SEAN: They also have The Girl I Like Forgot Her Glasses 6 and My Isekai Life: I Gained a Second Character Class and Became the Strongest Sage in the World! 9.

The debut from Seven Seas is The Villainess Who Has Been Killed 108 Times: She Remembers Everything! (108-kai Korosareta Akuyaku Reijou: Subete wo Omoidashita no de, Otome wa Ruby de Kiseki shimasu). This Dengeki Daioh title is exactly what you think it is.

They have a danmei title next week, Remnants of Filth: Yuwu 2.

Also from Seven Seas: Classroom of the Elite: Horikita 2 (the final volume), The Dungeon of Black Company 9, and My New Life as a Cat 3.

One Peace Books has Captain Corinth: The Galactic Navy Officer Becomes an Adventurer 4.

Kodansha Manga debuts Super Morning Star (Oko-sama Star). This BL title from Gateau is about a guy who discovers his scary yakuza classmates is actually… a sentai performer?

MICHELLE: I cannot resist this premise.

ANNA: Haha!

ASH: Right??

SEAN: Also in print: FAIRY TAIL: 100 Years Quest 14, Orient 17, and Shikimori’s Not Just a Cutie 14.

And digitally we see Cells at Work! Lady 2, DAYS 37, The Fable 19, Gang King 10, Giant Killing 39, Medaka Kuroiwa is Impervious to My Charms 8, and WIND BREAKER 12.

We get print from J-Novel Club. Ascendance of a Bookworm: Fanbook 3, Seirei Gensouki: Spirit Chronicles Omnibus 10, the 5th Seirei Gensouki: Spirit Chronicles manga volume, the 2nd Tearmoon Empire manga volume, and The Unwanted Undead Adventurer 10.

ASH: Yay, print Bookworm!

SEAN: Digitally the debut is Knight’s & Magic. Apostrophe not mine. A mecha otaku is reborn into a fantasy world… which has magical giant robots. He’s fine.

They’ve also got The Apothecary Diaries 9, Ascendance of a Bookworm (manga version) Arc 3 Part 2, By the Grace of the Gods 13, Full Metal Panic! Short Stories 8, Infinite Dendrogram 20, Min-Maxing My TRPG Build in Another World 7, The Mythical Hero’s Otherworld Chronicles 5, The Sorcerer’s Receptionist 4, Sweet Reincarnation 8, and Young Lady Albert Is Courting Disaster 3.

Ghost Ship features Please Go Home, Miss Akutsu! 3 and The Witches of Adamas 6.

Because Amazon has made it impossible to use Advanced Search any more, I keep missing the prestige publishers doing their semi-yearly manga releases. This is especially annoying as they’re inevitably Ash’s picks of the week – on the wrong week. In any case, Drawn & Quarterly put out Nejishiki, the third in its collection of Yoshiharu Tsuge works, last week. Sorry, D&Q. Blame Amazon.

ASH: Oh, yes, indeed! I’ll have a Bookshelf Brief for this one in the near future.

SEAN: Dark Horse Comics has Cat + Gamer 3.

There we go! Not as many as usual!

Filed Under: FEATURES, manga the week of

Manga the Week of 10/4/23

September 28, 2023 by Sean Gaffney, Michelle Smith, Ash Brown and Anna N Leave a Comment

SEAN: It’s the start of October, let the Halloween manga commence.

ASH: Boo! (As in what a ghost would say; I’m not in the habit of booing manga, Halloween or otherwise.)

SEAN: Airship has one print release, Classroom of the Elite: Year 2 6.

And for early digital we get Adachi and Shimamura 11 and Reincarnated as a Dragon Hatchling 5.

Denpa Books said Today’s Menu for the Emiya Family 5 should be out about now. Rider’s on the cover. Delicious recipes are within.

Two debuts from J-Novel Club. The one with the light novel title is 8th Loop for the Win! With Seven Lives’ Worth of XP and the Third Princess’s Appraisal Skill, My Behemoth and I Are Unstoppable! (Loop 8-shūme wa Shiawasena Jinsei o: 7-shūbun no Keiken-chi to Dai San Ōjo no “Kantei” de Kakusei Shita ore wa, Aibō no Behemoth to Tomo ni Musō Suru). An adventurer who keeps getting betrayed and killed by his friends has finally, in his 8th life, decided enough is enough. Can he change his fate with the help of the princess?

ASH: Probably, but even if not, “behemoth” is a great word.

SEAN: There’s also a manga debut, This Art Club Has a Problem! (Kono Bijutsu-bu ni wa Mondai ga Aru!). This had an anime come out about 8 years ago, so I guess we can call it a classic retro manga release. That said, it’s still running in Dengeki Maoh. A straight woman finds herself in an art club filled with one-note comic characters, and reacts accordingly.

ASH: I thought that title sounded familiar!

SEAN: Also getting a release: My Stepmom’s Daughter Is My Ex 8, Rebuild World 3 Part 1, Taking My Reincarnation One Step at a Time: No One Told Me There Would Be Monsters! 2, and Tearmoon Empire 10.

No print debuts for Kodansha, but we do get Fire Force 34 (the final volume), Lovesick Ellie 12 (the final volume), Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug & Cat Noir 2, WIND BREAKER 2, Wistoria: Wand & Sword 6, and Witch Hat Atelier 11.

MICHELLE: I never managed to finish Lovesick Ellie when reading the digital releases, but I will definitely do it this time!

ANNA: I also need to get caught up!

ASH: You’re certainly farther along than I am! And it’s always a good week when there’s a new volume of Witch Hat Atelier.

ANNA: Agreed!

SEAN: Digitally the debut is That Time the Manga Editor Started a New Life in the Countryside (Manga Henshuusha ga Kaisha wo Yamete Inakagurashi wo Shitara Isekai Datta Ken). This seinen title from Evening is… well, its title. Guy decides to take his wife, move to the boonies, and start a farm. Then realizes he’s not isekai’d, so it’s a lot harder than it sounds.

ASH: Lol! It’s the not isekai’d part that makes it work for me. It may not be Solver Spoon, but I am intrigued.

SEAN: And then there’s Chihayafuru 40, Life 8, MF Ghost 17, My Master Has No Tail 10, My Wife is a Little Intimidating 4, Piano Duo for the Left Hand 7, Those Snow White Notes 10, and The World is Dancing 2.

MICHELLE: It’s crazy to think we’re coming up to the final stretch of Chihayafuru!

SEAN: One Peace has the 9th manga volume of The Reprise of the Spear Hero.

Seven Seas gives us a bunch of stuff. Cinderella Closet 3, Citrus+ 5, The Dangers in My Heart 7, The Dragon King’s Imperial Wrath: Falling in Love with the Bookish Princess of the Rat Clan 2, Malevolent Spirits: Mononogatari 4, MoMo -the blood taker- 6, Night of the Living Cat 3, Polar Bear Café: Collector’s Edition 3, PULSE 5, Sword of the Demon Hunter: Kijin Gentōshō 3, A Tale of the Secret Saint 4, and There’s No Freaking Way I’ll be Your Lover! Unless… 3.

ASH: That is a bunch.

SEAN: Square Enix gives us Suppose a Kid from the Last Dungeon Boonies Moved to a Starter Town 10.

Udon Entertainment has the 2nd volume of Persona 4 Arena Ultimax.

Viz Media debuts Tamon’s B-Side (Tamon-kun Ima Docchi!?). This Hana to Yume title is about a housekeeper who finds herself at the home of her favorite pop idol… only in real life, he’s an insecure mess who wants to quit. Can she help the boy she stans? This is by the author of Takane & Hana.

MICHELLE: I don’t love the premise, but will read anything by this mangaka.

ASH: I feel like I read a manhwa with a similar-ish sort of premise, but now I can’t remember what it was…

ANNA: Alright, interested in this for sure.

SEAN: Viz also gives us Chainsaw Man 12, Hunter x Hunter 37, The King’s Beast 11, Moriarty the Patriot 13, My Love Mix-Up! 9 (the final volume), Rainbow Days 6, and Spy x Family: The Official Guide—Eyes Only, a guidebook to the series.

MICHELLE: I didn’t realize My Love Mix-Up! was ending already! Two shoujo faves ending the same week.

ASH: I really need to catch up with that one!

SEAN: Yen On has one debut, The Deer King (Shika no Ou). A slave toiling in the mines finds that infected dogs have killed everyone but him and one young girl. Now they have to survive, somehow, even as the infection spreads.

ASH: Oh, this had a recent anime adaptation that I admittedly haven’t watched yet but looked promising!

SEAN: And Yen Press has Goblin Slayer Side Story: Year One 9 and The Witch and the Knight Will Survive 2.

No scary manga yet, but the month is still young. What are you buying?

Filed Under: FEATURES, manga the week of

Pick of the Week: It’s 2009 at Manga Bookshelf

September 25, 2023 by Sean Gaffney, Anna N, Michelle Smith, Ash Brown and Katherine Dacey Leave a Comment

SEAN: Can we pick something that came out over 10 years ago? Because honestly it’s the new digital edition of Pluto: Urasawa x Tezuka that’s most interesting to me this week.

ANNA: Same! Glad that this title is more accessible.

MICHELLE: I am always willing to endorse Pluto!

ASH: Pluto is such an important touchstone series for me and is absolutely my top choice this week, too. (Plus, I didn’t have the opportunity to pick it the first time around…)

KATE: I’m making a plug for volume six of Go with the Clouds, North by Northwest, a shambolic, gorgeous, and sometimes suspenseful mystery set in Iceland. New volumes come out about as frequently as new installments of A Bride’s Story, but the wait is always worth it.

Filed Under: PICK OF THE WEEK

Manga the Week of 9/27/23

September 21, 2023 by Sean Gaffney, Michelle Smith, Anna N and Ash Brown Leave a Comment

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?

Filed Under: FEATURES, manga the week of

Manga the Week of 9/13/23

September 7, 2023 by Sean Gaffney, Michelle Smith, Ash Brown and Anna N Leave a Comment

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?

Filed Under: FEATURES, manga the week of

  • « Go to Previous Page
  • Page 1
  • Interim pages omitted …
  • Page 14
  • Page 15
  • Page 16
  • Page 17
  • Page 18
  • Interim pages omitted …
  • Page 125
  • Go to Next Page »
 | Log in
Copyright © 2010 Manga Bookshelf | Powered by WordPress & the Genesis Framework