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SEAN: The heavy part of January has passed us by, but there’s still lots of titles still to go.

ASH: Woohoo!

SEAN: No print for Airship this week, but we do see a 4th volume of Survival in Another World with My Mistress! in early digital.

Ghost Ship has Into the Deepest, Most Unknowable Dungeon 5.

J-Novel Club has a debut. These Legs Don’t Lie! Harumi’s Legacy as the Strongest Mimic (Bikyaku Mimic, Harumi-san: Tensei Monster Isekai Nariagari Densetsu) stars a young woman who seems to have been reincarnated as… a mimic? One of those treasure chests that’s really a trap? Fortunately, she’s essentially Fantasy Betty Grable.

ASH: Wait, do mimics even have legs?

SEAN: Also from J-Novel Club: Ascendance of a Bookworm 23, Full Clearing Another World under a Goddess with Zero Believers 6, Housekeeping Mage from Another World: Making Your Adventures Feel Like Home! 4, A Late-Start Tamer’s Laid-Back Life 5, and VTuber Legend: How I Went Viral after Forgetting to Turn Off My Stream 3.

ASH: Bookworm!

SEAN: Kaiten Books has a digital volume of Gacha Girls Corps 4.

Kodansha has another print debut of a former digital only title: A Condition Called Love (Hananoi-kun to Koi no Yamai). It’s a Dessert title, about a girl who ends up going out with a popular guy after his messy breakup with someone else. But is she just a rebound, or something more?

MICHELLE: I started this digitally but didn’t get far, so I look forward to the opportunity to pick up with the print edition. This is by Megumi Morino, who also did Wake Up, Sleeping Beauty.

ASH: Oh! I did enjoy what I read of that series.

ANNA: I’m curious!

SEAN: Also in print: Blue Period 12, Noragami Omnibus 3 (Vol. 7-9), Wave, Listen to Me! 9, and the final 27th and 28th volumes of Yamada-kun and the Seven Witches, a series that shows you exactly what happens when the publisher forces an artist to write more and more after it should have ended.

MICHELLE: I’ve really gotta get caught up with Wave, Listen to Me!.

ASH: I’m a couple volumes behind, but look forward to reading them. As for Yamada-kun… I’m going to have to agree with Sean’s assessment. Which is a shame since the earlier part of the series was so good.

SEAN: Digitally we get Burn the House Down 8 (the final volume), A Couple of Cuckoos 9, DAYS 33, The Food Diary of Miss Maid 3, Gamaran: Shura 4, Getting Closer to You 4, Saving Sweets for After-Hours 3, and Tying the Knot with an Amagami Sister 6.

MICHELLE: Burn the House Down looks intriguing. I shall soon undertake a binge!

SEAN: KUMA has a debut: Happy of the End, a BL series from Qpa. A man wakes up lying on garbage with another man hovering over him. Then the memories return… weren’t they in a punch-up fight the day before?

MICHELLE: This one has a very pretty cover!

ASH: I am intrigued!

ANNA: Hmmm….

SEAN: Seven Seas has some debuts. My Secret Affection (Kimi no Koto ga Suki de Ienai) is a shoujo title from Dessert. After a meteorite fall 30 years earlier, everyone now only falls in love with the same sex. Except our heroine! Can she hide the fact that she’s cishet from her childhood friend and crush?

MICHELLE: Definitely going to wait for others’ reviews on this one.

ASH: Hmmm. I could see this premise being handled really well or really, really poorly.

ANNA: Same, I guess it certainly has a unique premise?

SEAN: Sword of the Demon Hunter: Kijin Gentōshō is a supernatural title from Monthly Action and is based on the light novels Seven Seas is also releasing.

ASH: I might have time to read the manga before I have a chance to read the novel!

SEAN: In addition, Polar Bear Café: Collector’s Edition is a re-release of the popular series with additional color pages.

ASH: Nice!

SEAN: On the danmei novel side, we get The Husky and His White Cat Shizun: Erha He Ta De Bai Mao Shizun 2.

ASH: Speaking of novels I haven’t had a chance to read yet…

On the manga side, we see The Dragon Knight’s Beloved 4, DUNGEON DIVE: Aim for the Deepest Level 4, I Got Caught Up In a Hero Summons, but the Other World was at Peace! 5, Let’s Buy the Land and Cultivate It in a Different World 2, MoMo -the blood taker- 3, Thunderbolt Fantasy Omnibus II (the final volume), and Yokai Cats 2.

Square Enix Manga has Beauty and the Feast 6, The Strongest Sage with the Weakest Crest 10, and Suppose a Kid from the Last Dungeon Boonies Moved to a Starter Town 7.

Titan Books gives us Kamen Rider Kuuga 2.

ASH: Good to see Titan Books on the list!

SEAN: Lastly, from Viz Media we get How Do We Relationship? 8 and My Hero Academia: School Briefs 6.

ASH: A small showing from Viz this week, but I’ve really enjoyed what I’ve read of How Do We Relationship? so far.

SEAN: Something for everyone! Something for you? Are you everyone?

SEAN: Manga is here for you whether it’s far too warm for January or far too cold.

ASH: Far too warm and rainy here, at the moment.

SEAN: No print releases for Airship, but we do get an early digital debut, and it’s a spinoff! I’m in Love with the Villainess: She’s so Cheeky for a Commoner (Watashi no Oshi wa Akuyaku Reijō: Heimin no Kuse ni Namaikina!) retells the events of the main novel series from Claire’s point of view. I can’t wait to dig back into this world.

ASH: Oh! Very nice. (This also serves a reminder that I need to finish reading the main series.)

MICHELLE: So do I. I did enjoy the volume I read.

SEAN: Another debut for Denpa Books. Under Ninja is a Young Magazine title from the creator of I Am A Hero. Our hero is a ninja!… but he’s also a NEET. What happens when he finally gets a mission?

ASH: I’ve been very curious about this one.

SEAN: There is also the 6th and final volume of Pleasure and Corruption.

Ghost Ship gives us The Witches of Adamas 4.

J-Novel Club has some new volumes. We see Campfire Cooking in Another World with My Absurd Skill: Sui’s Great Adventure 2, Chillin’ in Another World with Level 2 Super Cheat Powers 8, Hell Mode 5, My Friend’s Little Sister Has It In for Me! 9, Perry Rhodan NEO 11, Rebuild World’s 2nd manga volume, Seventh 2, and The Unwanted Undead Adventurer 10.

In print, it’s time for Kodansha to roll out Ghost in the Shell once more. The Ghost in the Shell: Fully Compiled is an 832-page hardcover that has Ghost in the Shell 1, 1.5, and 2.

ASH: Dang! That’ll be quite the volume!

ANNA: Woah.

SEAN: Speaking of omnibuses, they also have the first manga omnibus of No. 6. This contains the first three volumes, which first came out almost 10 years ago.

ASH: I’m glad to see this series staying in print. (Also, has it really been a decade??)

SEAN: They’ve also got A Galaxy Next Door 4, Gleipnir 12, Noragami: Stray God 25, The Seven Deadly Sins Manga Box Set 3 (Vols. 15-21), Vinland Saga 13, and When Will Ayumu Make His Move? 9.

ASH: Always glad to see the newest Vinland Saga release!

ANNA: Me too!

SEAN: The digital debut is Gang King, a 37-volume monster that started in Shonen Gahosha’s Young King then jumped companies, and has been in Magazine Special, Bessatsu Shonen Magazine, and finally Evening. It’s a delinquent manga, and it’s quite well known.

Digitally, we also see Ace of the Diamond 41, The Fable 10, My Boyfriend in Orange 13, Police in a Pod 20, The Shadows of Who We Once Were 8 (the final volume), and WIND BREAKER 8.

MICHELLE: I’ve been reading The Shadows of Who We Once Were these past few days, and am glad I won’t have to wait too long to see who survives to the end!

SEAN: One Peace Books has the 11th volume of The New Gate.

Two debuts from Seven Seas. The Knight Blooms Behind Castle Walls (Kishitan wa Jouheki no Naka ni Hanahiraku) is a Comic Gardo title about a girl who dreams of being a knight, which means she’ll need to start out as a squire.

ASH: I like the premise and so am duly intrigued.

ANNA: Oh, I’m curious about this too.

SEAN: Malevolent Spirits: Mononogatari runs in Ultra Jump, and features a man who loathes spirits and wants to send them back to the otherworld. Unfortunately, he’s sent to live with a girl who shares an apartment with a bunch of spirits!

Also from Seven Seas: Chillin’ in Another World with Level 2 Super Cheat Powers 5, Dungeon Toilet 3 (the final volume), Drugstore in Another World: The Slow Life of a Cheat Pharmacist 6, Hunting in Another World With My Elf Wife 2, Machimaho: I Messed Up and Made the Wrong Person Into a Magical Girl! 11, Saint Seiya: Saintia Shō 15, and You Like Me, Not My Daughter?! 2.

Square Enix Manga has the 2nd volume of My Happy Marriage.

SuBLime has Caste Heaven 8 (the final volume) and Given 7.

ASH: I’m behind on Given, but have enjoyed what I’ve read so far.

MICHELLE: Same. I really need to get caught up on it.

ANNA: Unsurprisingly, me too.

SEAN: Viz has a debut from Ura Sunday. Helck is a manga about the competition to become the next demon lord… which is being entered by a human!?

Viz also has Case Closed 85, Dandadan 2, Fly Me to the Moon 15, Kaiju No. 8 5, Mao 9, Mashle: Magic and Muscles 10, Pokémon Adventures: X•Y 4, Skip Beat! 3-in-1 15, and YO-KAI WATCH 20.

That’s it! Man, it’s lonely at the end of the list now. No worries, Yen Press will be back with a vengeance the week after next.

SEAN: 2023! What’s new and exciting?

No debuts for Viz Media, but we do get Blue Box 2, Dr. STONE 24, The Elusive Samurai 4, Kubo Won’t Let Me Be Invisible 5, Moriarty the Patriot 10, My Love Mix-Up! 6, Prince Freya 8, Queen’s Quality 16, and Romantic Killer 2.

MICHELLE: I’m looking forward to more Blue Box and My Love Mix-Up!.

ASH: Same! And throwing Queen’s Quality into the mix, since I’ve been enjoying (but still falling behind with) that one, too.

ANNA: Lots of things I need to get caught up on, maybe that will be my New Year’s resolution.

SEAN: Seven Seas debuts three titles. I’m Kinda Chubby and I’m Your Hero (Saenai Boku wa Kimi no Hero) is a BL title from Comic Qurie. An aspiring young actor worries that his weight is getting in the way of his career… but finds he has a fanboy in a young baker!

MICHELLE: This looks fun. I hope it is.

ASH: Me, too; looking forward to giving it a try!

SEAN: Seven Seas continues to put out cat manga. We see the debut of My Sister, The Cat (Imouto wa Neko), a MAGXiv title about a young man whose mother passed away, so another family adopts him… except they’re human-sized cats.

ASH: There does seem to be a renaissance of cat manga.

SEAN: And a third debut, with no cats. No Longer Allowed In Another World (Isekai Shikkaku) runs in Shogakukan’s Yawaraka Spirits, and asks the important question “what if the protagonist of the No Longer Human novel wound up in an isekai with cute girls and awesome powers?”. The answer: he’s not happy.

ASH: Wait, what? That is a question I never thought to ask!

SEAN: Also from Seven Seas: Dragon Goes House-Hunting 8, How NOT to Summon a Demon Lord 15, Lazy Dungeon Master 2, My Senpai is Annoying 9, Night of the Living Cat 2, PULSE 2, Succubus and Hitman 3, and The Titan’s Bride 2.

MICHELLE: I forgot Dragon Goes House-Hunting exists.

SEAN: Kodansha’s release calendar is back, hooray! In print we see the debut of Am I Actually the Strongest?, whose ebook came out in 2020. There’s also The Iceblade Sorcerer Shall Rule the World 3.

Digitally there may be a last minute announcement, but it ain’t here yet, so we get Kounodori: Dr. Stork 31, The God-Tier Guardian and the Love of Six Princesses 3, Matcha Made in Heaven 3, Raised by the Demon Kings! 4, Shangri-La Frontier 9, and The Shape-Shifting Witch’s Kiss 2.

ASH: Matcha Made in Heaven is still a delightful title.

ANNA: I read the first volume and really liked it, as usual I am behind.

SEAN: And Kodansha Books reminds us they exist with the debut of Am I Actually the Strongest? (Jitsu wa Ore, Saikyou deshita?), not to be confused with the print debut of the manga also coming out next week. Thought to be weak but actually strong, abusive parents, etc. Kodansha knows what’s popular these days.

Two debuts for J-Novel Club, and they’re both manga. Lady Rose Just Wants to Be a Commoner! (Lady Rose wa Heimin ni Naritai) is from Kadokawa’s Flos Comic, and features our heroine reincarnated as the villainess of an otome game… AFTER the bad end. Oops.

ASH: Oops, indeed.

SEAN: The Coppersmith’s Bride (Cuprum no Hanayome) runs in Harta (yay!) and features a college student who is happy to be dating a guy who’s nuts about smithing. But when he proposes to her, she has a bit of a freak out.

ASH: But will there be forging fun facts?

SEAN: Also from J-Novel Club: DUNGEON DIVE: Aim for the Deepest Level 2, Marginal Operation 16 (the final volume), Slayers 17, Tearmoon Empire 9, and To Another World… with Land Mines! 5. Slayers 17 isn’t the “final” volume per se, but it’s the last one published to date.

ASH: That’s an important distinction to make.

SEAN: Ghost Ship has Parallel Paradise 12 and Who Wants to Marry a Billionaire? 4.

Digital Manga Publishing, who I tend to forget exists, has a debut with Pure Love’s Sexy Time (Ero Ki), a BL series that was part of the DMG digital group. I’ve haerd this is for BL fans who like dumbasses.

MICHELLE: I’m glad DMP is still releasing stuff!

ASH: I’ll admit to being conflicted, but I do like a fair number of the publisher’s books.

SEAN: DMP also has Twittering Birds Never Fly 7.

Denpa Books gives us Rakuda Laughs! (Rakuda ga Warau), a Comic Ryu title about a yakuza triggerman’s chaotic life.

ASH: I’ve been waiting for this one; Katsuya Terada has had very few works released in English.

SEAN: Dark Horse gives us an 11th omnibus of GANTZ.

Airship has the print debut of The World’s Fastest Level Up, and also print volumes for Irina: The Vampire Cosmonaut 3 and The Weakest Tamer Began a Journey to Pick Up Trash 2.

In early digital, we get Raven of the Inner Palace (Koukyuu no Karasu), which just had an anime recently. A mysterious concubine, who may be old, may be young, but definitely uses magic, is called before the Emperor.

ASH: This one seems promising to me.

SEAN: And we also see Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear 13.

Is this 2023 enough for you? Do you want 2022 back?

MICHELLE: Absolutely not.

ASH: Nah, that’s okay.

ANNA: No thank you.

SEAN: We’re in the last few days before Christmas, who’s coming down the chimney?

Yen On has an 11th volume of The Saga of Tanya the Evil.

I missed two Viz titles last week because they insist on alphabetizing ‘The’. So we got the print debut of The Hunters Guild: Red Hood, a Shonen Jump title about werewolf hunters, as well as Yakuza Lover 7.

ASH: Those leading articles will get ya every time.

For titles actually coming out next week, we get Alice in Borderland 4, Jujutsu Kaisen 18, Mission: Yozakura Family 2, No Guns Life 13 (the final volume), One Piece Color Walk Compendium: New World to Wano (the latest artbook), and Yashahime: Princess Half-Demon 2.

Udon Entertainment has Devil May Cry 5: Official Artworks. Which is a $55 hardcover. I suppose it would be cheaper if you were guaranteed the devil crying.

ASH: Udon does tend to have pretty good production values, fortunately.

SEAN: Tokyopop gives us Futaribeya: A Room for Two 9 and On or Off 2.

From Square Enix we see the debut of The Girl I Like Forgot Her Glasses (Suki na Ko ga Megane wo Wasureta), another in the hot new genre of “adorably sweet school romance” that runs in Gangan Joker.

They also have The Apothecary Diaries 7 and My Isekai Life: I Gained a Second Character Class and Became the Strongest Sage in the World! 4.

ASH: I really need to get caught up on The Apothecary Diaries.

SEAN: Seven Seas does not know the meaning of the words “Christmas break”. They have the debut of LES MISÉRABLES in an omnibus edition (the first two volumes), which ran in Shogakukan’s Gessan. It is, as you can imagine, an adaptation of the Hugo novel. The artist is better known here for the Cirque du Freak manga.

The other debut is My Cute Little Kitten, the latest yuri title from the creator of Girl Friends, Morinaga Milk. Two roommates have to deal with budding feelings, obliviousness, and a cute kitten.

ASH: Oh! That should be an enjoyable combination!

MJ: Agreed!

SEAN: Also from Seven Seas: Bite Maker: The King’s Omega 6, A Certain Scientific Railgun 17, COLORLESS 3, The Duke of Death and His Maid 4, Failure Frame: I Became the Strongest and Annihilated Everything With Low-Level Spells 5, The Girl From the Other Side: Siúil, a Rún – [dear.] Side Stories (the 12th and final volume), Hello, Melancholic! 3 (the final volume) (it got bumped), The Hidden Dungeon Only I Can Enter 7, Kageki Shojo!! 7, The Masterful Cat Is Depressed Again Today 5, Mushoku Tensei: Roxy Gets Serious 8, Plus-Sized Elf 8 (the final volume), School Zone Girls 4, Slow Life In Another World (I Wish!) 4, and Wonder Cat Kyuu-chan 7.

MICHELLE: I never actually finished The Girl from the Other Side. Seems like now’s the time!

ASH: I’ve started recollecting the series in the lovely hardcover edition, but I will probably go ahead and pick this volume up, too.

ANNA: I so need to get caught up too. Also need to get caught up on Kageki Shojo!!.

SEAN: And on the Danmei end we see Heaven Official’s Blessing: Tian Guan Ci Fu 5.

One Peace has I Belong to the Baddest Girl at School 6.

Kodansha Comics debuts Run Away With Me, Girl (Kakeochi Girl), a josei yuri series from Hatsu Kiss. Two girls date in high school but one breaks up with the other at graduation. Now, 10 years later, she’s engaged to be married… but everything about her relationship looks bad. Can her old lover do anything to help?

MICHELLE: This sounds promising!

ASH: I agree!

ANNA: I’m curious!

MJ: So here for this.

SEAN: They also have a box set of the first 6 volumes of Sweat and Soap. If you haven’t read this yet, I urge you to give it a try, it’s wonderful.

ASH: It really, really is.

SEAN: Also in print, we get Blue Lock 4, Die Wergelder 3, Fire Force 30, Rent-a-Girlfriend 16, Shikimori’s Not Just a Cutie 11, Something’s Wrong with Us 12, and Toppu GP 10.

ASH: It seem like it’s been a long time since the last volume of Die Wergelder came out… goodness, it’s been almost four years!

SEAN: Digitally, we see the debut of Beast #6, a Weekly Shonen Magazine series about an agent who’s assigned to a backwater town. How can she destroy supernatural monsters here? Good news, it’s not only a hotbed of activity, but has a Boy With A Secret (TM)…

We also get The Café Terrace and its Goddesses 3, Gamaran 4, Golden Gold 7, GTO Paradise Lost 19, Nina the Starry Bride 8, Piano Duo for the Left Hand 6, Sakura’s Dedication 3, and She, Her Camera, and Her Seasons 5 (the final volume).

MICHELLE: Dang, over already.

ANNA: I’m really enjoying Nina the Starry Bride.

SEAN: Two digital light novel debuts for J-Novel Club. Haibara’s Teenage New Game+ (Haibara-kun no Tsuyokute Seishun New Game) is a high school romcom about a college senior, regretting all his choices, suddenly finding himself traveling back to the start of high school. Can he really get a do-over?

The other debut is The Invincible Little Lady (Dōyara Watashi no Karada wa Kanzen Muteki no Yō Desu ne), which seems to be the inverse of Make My Abilities Average… a sickly young girl, on her deathbed, wishes to be strong in her next life… and ends up getting something FAR beyond what she meant!

Also from J-Novel Club: Black Summoner 11, I’ll Never Set Foot in That House Again! 5, My Stepmom’s Daughter Is My Ex 5, Redefining the META at VRMMO Academy 6 (the final volume), The Saga of Lioncourt 3, Seirei Gensouki: Spirit Chronicles 21, Sorcerous Stabber Orphen: The Wayward Journey 20 (the final volume), and When Supernatural Battles Became Commonplace 5.

Ghost Ship has 2.5 Dimensional Seduction 4 and World’s End Harem 13, which begins the After World arc.

Cross Infinite World has The Drab Princess, the Black Cat, and the Satisfying Break-up 2.

ASH: How satisfying is it?

MJ: I guess it’s satisfying times 2.

SEAN: Airship, in print, has How a Realist Hero Rebuilt the Kingdom 15.

And there are early digital volumes. Adachi and Shimamura 10, Irina: The Vampire Cosmonaut 3, and Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation 20.

Happy Holidays from Manga the Week of!

SEAN: Another juggernaut of a week, as publishers try to get everything out before Christmas.

Airship has two print debuts. Qualia the Purple (Murasakiiro no Qualia) is a one-shot light novel that comes from over ten years ago, about a girl who can analyze people as if they were robots, and the one other person who accepts her for it.

ASH: The publisher describes it as a “romantic science fiction thriller with a yuri core,” which does sound like something I would enjoy.

SEAN: Sword of the Demon Hunter: Kijin Gentōshō is a historical drama from 2015, 11+ volumes so far. It’s about a swordsman who must hunt a demon… through TIME!

ASH: As does this one, if I’m being honest.

ANNA: I enjoy demon hunting swordsmen.

SEAN: Also in print: Drugstore in Another World: The Slow Life of a Cheat Pharmacist 6 and Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear 12.

And we get early digital releases for Loner Life in Another World 4 and The Weakest Tamer Began a Journey to Pick Up Trash 2.

Ghost Ship gives us Booty Royale: Never Go Down Without a Fight! 9-10.

J-Novel Club has some print titles. Ascendance of a Bookworm’s 12th manga volume, By the Grace of the Gods 11, How a Realist Hero Rebuilt the Kingdom Manga Omnibus, 4, Marginal Operation 12, Slayers Vol. 7-9 (a hardcover), and Tearmoon Empire 7.

ASH: I really should catch up with some of these.

SEAN: No digital debuts, but we do see the 9th manga volume of Black Summoner, The Conqueror from a Dying Kingdom 2, Culinary Chronicles of the Court Flower 8, Der Werwolf: The Annals of Veight 15 (now caught up with Japan), the third manga volume of Housekeeping Mage from Another World: Making Your Adventures Feel Like Home!, the third manga volume of Oversummoned, Overpowered, and Over It!, Re:RE — Reincarnator Executioner 2 (a final volume?), and Reborn to Master the Blade: From Hero-King to Extraordinary Squire 7.

Kodansha hunting time. Print books: Attack on Titan Omnibus 8, Go! Go! Loser Ranger 2, Lovesick Ellie 7, Orient 12, and Sayonara Football 14.

ANNA: Always happy to see more Lovesick Ellie, I need to get caught up.

SEAN: Digitally, there is A Condition Called Love 11, Giant Killing 34, Girlfriend, Girlfriend 11, My Maid, Miss Kishi 6 (the final volume), Police in a Pod 19, Tokyo Revengers 28, and Yamaguchi-kun Isn’t So Bad 7.

MICHELLE: Hooray for more Giant Killing!

SEAN: One Peace has the debut of Captain Corinth: The Galactic Navy Officer Becomes an Adventurer (Kochuu Gunshikan, Boukensha ni Naru), a fantasy AND SF title from Dengeki Playstation. A spaceship captain lands on a fantasy planet.

ASH: Gotta love a good genre mash-up!

SEAN: Debuting for Seven Seas is a Mature title that is apparently too gay for Ghost Ship, however. Asumi-chan is Interested in Lesbian Brothels! (Asumi-chan wa Les Fuuzoku ni Kyoumi ga Arimasu!) is from Comic Yuri Hime, and is about a girl searching for her childhood friend… in said brothels.

ASH: Well then!

SEAN: There’s also I’m the Evil Lord of an Intergalactic Empire! (OreAku, Ore wa Seikan Kokka no Akutoku Ryoushu!), the manga adaptation of the light novel SS already releases. It runs in Comic Gardo.

On the danmei side we get Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation: Mo Dao Zu Shi 4.

ASH: Yay! This one’s still my favorite from the author.

SEAN: For manga: 7th Time Loop: The Villainess Enjoys a Carefree Life Married to Her Worst Enemy! 2, CANDY AND CIGARETTES 2, Dungeon People 2, Kemono Jihen 3, Killing Stalking: Deluxe Edition 2, The Kingdoms of Ruin 5, Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid: Elma’s Office Lady Diary 6, The Summer You Were There 2, Uzaki-chan Wants to Hang Out! 8, Wonder Cat Kyuu-chan 7, and Yakuza Reincarnation 4.

MICHELLE: I look forward to reading more Kemono Jihen.

SEAN: Square Enix has YoRHa: Pearl Harbor Descent Record – A NieR:Automata Story (YoRHa: Shinjuwan Kouka Sakusen Kiroku), which should speak for itself. It runs in Manga Up!.

SuBLime debuts Midnight Rain, a one-shot BL title from b-Boy P!. Two men struggling with life find each other.

MICHELLE: This sounds like my sort of BL.

ASH: I do enjoy this particular sort, too.

SEAN: And there’s also Coyote 4.

Viz Media gives us Call of the Night 10, Komi Can’t Communicate 22, Orochi: The Perfect Edition 3, Pokémon: Sword & Shield 5, and Sakamoto Days 5.

ASH: Still glad to see Orochi being released, even if I still need to read the volumes I already have.

SEAN: Yen On has two debuts. Even If This Love Disappears Tonight (Kon’ya, Sekai kara Kono Koi ga Kiete mo) is another in the “one-shot depressing teenage romance” books.

ASH: There are a few of those, to be sure.

ANNA: Not sure if I’m in the mood for that right now.

SEAN: The Princess of Convenient Plot Devices (Watashi wa Gotsugou Shugi na Kaiketsu Tantou no Oujo de aru) has a BL lover reincarnated into a world where her brother is in a romance with another man. But this means no heirs, so it’s a political marriage for her. Can she find true love despite this?

ASH: That’s a pretty great title if nothing else.

SEAN: Also from Yen On: Another 2001 (the third in the Another series), The Demon Sword Master of Excalibur Academy 7, The Hero Laughs While Walking the Path of Vengeance a Second Time 4, High School Prodigies Have It Easy Even in Another World! 7, In the Land of Leadale 7, The Magical Revolution of the Reincarnated Princess and the Genius Young Lady 3, Orc Eroica 3, Rascal Does Not Dream of a Knapsack Kid (the 9th in the series), Reign of the Seven Spellblades 7, Solo Leveling 6, and The Vexations of a Shut-In Vampire Princess 3.

Yen Press has a new omnibus edition of K-On!. This collects the four main books in the series (but not the college book).

ASH: That takes me back!

SEAN: There’s also Konosuba: God’s Blessing on This Wonderful World! Memorial Fan Book, a guide to the series.

And Puella Magi Oriko Magica: The Complete Omnibus Edition, which is what it says.

Shy is a new shonen series from Weekly Shonen Champion. A young girl named Shy is the superhero who’s there to protect Japan. Unfortunately, shy is also her personality.

Yen Press also has Bungo Stray Dogs: Another Story 2, The Fiancee Chosen by the Ring 3, For the Kid I Saw in My Dreams 9, From the Red Fog 3, Fruits Basket Another 4 (the final volume), Heterogenia Linguistico 4, I Cannot Reach You 5, Interspecies Reviewers 7, Kakegurui Twin 12, Konosuba: God’s Blessing on This Wonderful World! 14, Kowloon Generic Romance 2, Let This Grieving Soul Retire! 4, Love and Heart 6, Love at Fourteen 12 (the final volume), Lust Geass 6, The Magical Revolution of the Reincarnated Princess and the Genius Young Lady 3, Mint Chocolate 6, Our Last Crusade or the Rise of a New World 4, Phantom Tales of the Night 10, Plunderer 10 (the final volume? The omnibuses make it unclear), Run on Your New Legs 3, The Splendid Work of a Monster Maid 4, Tales of the Kingdom 2, Teasing Master Takagi-san 16, A Terrified Teacher at Ghoul School 12, Val x Love 13, and Your Turn to Die: Majority Vote Death Game 3.

MICHELLE: Huh. I thought Fruits Basket Another was already over!

ASH: Wow, that’s a lot from Yen!

SEAN: Any presents among these volumes?

SEAN: It’s the week of Anime NYC, so I think a lot of publishers are preparing for the con instead.

ASH: That’s fair.

SEAN: Airship starts us off with print volumes for I Swear I Won’t Bother You Again! 2 and I’m the Evil Lord of an Intergalactic Empire! 3.

And we get early digital for Accomplishments of the Duke’s Daughter 7, aka Accomplishments of the Duke’s Wife 2.

Ghost Ship has the 5th volume of Do You Like Big Girls?.

J-Novel Club has a few titles. Campfire Cooking in Another World with My Absurd Skill 12 (which is now caught up with Japan), Death’s Daughter and the Ebony Blade 2, Did I Seriously Just Get Reincarnated as My Gag Character?! 2 (the final volume), Formerly, the Fallen Daughter of the Duke 2, Infinite Dendrogram’s 10th manga volume, Magic Knight of the Old Ways 4, Oversummoned, Overpowered, and Over It! 2 (also a final volume), and Rebuild World Volume 1 Part 2.

ASH: That is a few!

SEAN: Kodansha has a print debut, As a Reincarnated Aristocrat, I’ll Use My Appraisal Skill to Rise in the World (Tensei Kizoku Kantei Sukiru de Nariagaru – Jakushou Ryouchi o Uketsuidanode, Yuushuuna Jinzai o Fuyashite Itara, Saikyou Ryouchi ni Natteta). You can probably guess what it’s about from the title, as always. It runs in Magazine Pocket.

Also from Kodansha: An Older Guy’s First VR Love (VR Ojisan no Hatsukoi). This one-volume title from Zero-Sum Online is apparently BL and yuri, probably as it’s a “guy in real life, girl in game” series. It’s also a tragedy.

MICHELLE: Huh.

ASH: Hmmm.

MJ: Well.

SEAN: Hell in a Bottle: Maiden’s Bookshelf is a new series that takes classic short stories and gives them artbook art. This one features the 1928 story Hell in a Bottle by Kyusaku Yumeno.

ASH: I didn’t realize this was going to be a series, but I’m absolutely here for it!

MJ: …for a split second, I read this as “Hell in a Bottle: Manga Bookshelf,” and I worried about what I’ve been missing.

SEAN: And Kodansha’s light novel line debuts with The Dawn of the Witch, the sequel to the very popular (and unlicensed) Grimoire of Zero series. Why not license that, you may ask? Because Grimoire of Zero is a Dengeki Bunko series. In any case, this is theoretically readable without prior knowledge of the first series. A young man with amnesia is recruited by the traditional blonde-haired, immortal girl who nevertheless looks 10 years old.

Also in print, Attack on Titan Omnibus 7, Eden’s Zero 19, Fire Force 29, and Rent-A-(Really-Shy!)-Girlfriend 3.

We don’t know digital titles for next week… or this week. But Kodansha finally announced titles they already released LAST week. We got The Abandoned Reincarnation Sage 7, The God-Tier Guardian and the Love of Six Princesses 3, Kounodori: Dr. Stork 29, and Tying the Knot with an Amagami Sister 5. Kodansha’s main site is still under maintenance.

KUMA has a revised and expanded version of Canis: Dear Mr. Rain.

ASH: Interesting.

SEAN: One Peace Books gives us Hinamatsuri 17.

Seven Seas has a new novel debut in its danmei line: The Husky and His White Cat Shizun: Erha He Ta De Bai Mao Shizun. AKA 2ha. The plot is basically a revenge fantasy with a dollop of “traveling back to my younger self to change the past”, but the BL stops our protagonist in his tracks.

MICHELLE: I’ve heard good things about this. And smutty things.

ANNA: I mean, I think that BL would often stop protagonists in their tracks.

ASH: I’ve been looking forward to giving thus series a try.

MJ: I mean, hasn’t the BL stopped all of us in our tracks at some point or another?

SEAN: The other debut is Futari Escape, a Comic Yuri Hime series about an adult couple trying to avoid responsibilities any way they can. I still am not tired of yuri couples who aren’t in school.

ASH: Neither am I!

SEAN: Also from Seven Seas: Akashic Records of Bastard Magic Instructor 15, Arifureta: From Commonplace to World’s Strongest ZERO 7, The Dungeon of Black Company 8, Even Though We’re Adults 5, Failed Princesses 6 (the final volume), The Tale of the Outcasts 6, This Is Screwed Up, but I Was Reincarnated as a GIRL in Another World! 4, Trapped in a Dating Sim: The World of Otome Games is Tough for Mobs 6, and The Weakest Tamer Began a Journey to Pick Up Trash 2.

MICHELLE: I really need to read Even Though We’re Adults.

ASH: I’ve been collecting the series, but haven’t actually read it yet…

SEAN: Square Enix gives us By the Grace of the Gods 6.

Lastly, Viz Media has Asadora! 6, BEASTARS 21, Mashle: Magic and Muscles 9, Requiem of the Rose King 16, Rooster Fighter 2, and Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead 8.

MICHELLE: Ooh, more Rose King.

ANNA: Yay for angst!

ASH: Always!

MJ: All of the above!

SEAN: Told you it was a short week. Don’t worry, we’ll make up for it the week after next.

SEAN: Is it Halloween yet? Oh my God, it’s already past! You fools! You absolute fools!

ASH: The time! How it flies!

SEAN: We start with Airship’s print releases, as they’ve got Modern Villainess: It’s Not Easy Building a Corporate Empire Before the Crash 2, Reborn as a Space Mercenary: I Woke Up Piloting the Strongest Starship! 5, and Though I Am an Inept Villainess: Tale of the Butterfly-Rat Body Swap in the Maiden Court 2.

And we get an early digital release for Failure Frame: I Became the Strongest and Annihilated Everything With Low-Level Spells 6.

Cross Infinite World has a new light novel, The Strongest Knight is Actually a Cross-Dressing Noblewoman?! (Hyōgetsu no Kishi wa Dansō Reijō: Naze ka Dekiai Sarete Imasu). A young woman has to disguise herself as a man in order to become a knight… and possibly lead the way to an order of female knights!

ASH: Okay, that could be good.

ANNA: I enjoy cross dressing female knights!

SEAN: Dark Horse has the 41st volume of Berserk, the last one drawn by Kentaro Miura before his tragic death.

ASH: This series is a touchstone for me; Miura is missed by so many.

SEAN: Ghost Ship debuts Ayakashi Triangle, the series that broke the online manga apps. From the creator of To-Love-Ru, it is a “gender-bending romance”, but let’s face it, you know this author, it’s T&A and more T&A.

Also from Ghost Ship: I’m Not Meat 2, It’s Just Not My Night! – Tale of a Fallen Vampire Queen 2, and Yuuna and the Haunted Hot Springs 21.

Some print from J-Novel Club. We get Ascendance of a Bookworm 15 and An Archdemon’s Dilemma: How to Love Your Elf Bride 13.

ASH: Obligatory, “Yay, Bookworm!”

SEAN: Digitally we see the debut of the Rebuild World manga. J-Novel Club already put out the light novel version. This runs in Dengeki Maoh.

And we also get Doll-Kara 3, Full Clearing Another World under a Goddess with Zero Believers 5, Invaders of the Rokujouma!? 40, and Now I’m a Demon Lord! Happily Ever After with Monster Girls in My Dungeon 2.

Kaiten Books has a new digital release: The Bottom-Tier Baron’s Accidental Rise to the Top (Teihen Ryoushu no Kanchigai Eiyuutan). This Comic Gardo series honestly sounds like The Genius Prince’s Guide to Raising a Nation Out of Debt on hard mode.

Kodansha is offering the Complete Edition of No Longer Human that Usamaru Furuya did a while back. Definitely more for Furuya fans than Osamu Dazai fans, I’d say.

ASH: That’s a fair assessment. I’m really glad to see this coming back into print, though.

SEAN: And we also get a complete edition of The Ghost in the Shell. Minus that one page, y’know.

Also in print: Attack on Titan The Final Season Part 2 Box Set, which comes with a new ending that isn’t godawful (OK, I lie, it doesn’t), Don’t Toy with Me, Miss Nagatoro 13, A Galaxy Next Door 3, The Iceblade Sorcerer Shall Rule the World 2, and Orient 10.

I don’t know what’s coming out digitally due to the way Kodansha updates its site after its end-of-month announcements. Sorry!

Another pile of Seven Seas debuts. Ex-Yakuza and Stray Kitten (Hiroware Koneko to Moto Yakuza) is from Mag Garden’s MAGxiv, and means we get another week in a row of adorable cat manga.

ASH: So many ex-yakuza and cat manga these days! It was only a matter of time before we’d get this particular combo.

SEAN: I’m a Terminal Cancer Patient, but I’m Fine (Mikkigan demo Genki desu 38-sai) is a biographical manga about, well, the artist’s life with colon cancer. It ran in Flex Comic’s Comic Polaris.

ASH: I do like that Seven Seas continues to release biographical manga.

SEAN: Let’s Buy the Land and Cultivate It in a Different World (Isekai de Tochi wo Katte Noujou wo Tsukurou) runs in Gentosha’s Comic Boost. Do you like Farming Life in Another World and wish there was a version with more mermaids? This is it.

Also from Seven Seas: The 4th and final volume of The Scum Villain’s Self-Saving System: Ren Zha Fanpai Zijiu Xitong, which has short stories set around the main action and after it. This also has a special edition and a Barnes and Noble special edition.

ASH: Oh!

SEAN: And there is The Demon Girl Next Door 6 and The Savior’s Book Café Story in Another World 4.

Viz Media debuts a new Shonen Jump manga, Blue Box (Ao no Hako). A guy on the boy’s badminton team falls for a girl on the girl’s basketball team. Can their love survive being a non-BL-tinged sports manga in Shonen Jump? Seriously, though, I’ve heard this is excellent.

MICHELLE: I am here for it.

ASH: Same!

ANNA: One of my kids really likes this.

MJ: I may miss the BL fanservice, but girl’s basketball more than makes up for it.

SEAN: We also see The Elusive Samurai 3, The King’s Beast 8, Kubo Won’t Let Me Be Invisible 4, Natsume’s Book of Friends 27, One-Punch Man 24, and Skip Beat! 47.

MICHELLE: Insert Skip Beat! squee here. I also look forward to getting caught up on Natsume.

ASH: Excellent series, both.

ANNA: Extra Yay! for Skip Beat!.

SEAN: Lastly, Yen Press has Thermae Romae: The Complete Omnibus (it apparently weighs almost 7 pounds) and The Detective Is Already Dead 3.

ASH: Thermae Romae provided me with such delight when it was first released; so glad to see it available again.

SEAN: Since you didn’t get any candy, what manga are you getting?