Anna N

SEAN: Ah, the 2nd week of the month, the most common week for the Manga Bookshelf team to look over the releases and think “Wow, am I picking Magi as Pick of the Week again?”

MICHELLE: Heh.

SEAN: Dark Horse has a 2nd volume of Fate/Zero, sure to give us many more heartwarming moments so that it can crush them to bits in later volumes.

Kodansha Comics is likely counting down the days till Air Gear finishes, and they’re close with Vol. 35, but not yet.

And there’s a 5th volume of L♥DK, and I’m sure all is sweetness and light.

ASH: I know people who like the series, but personally I find it infuriating.

MICHELLE: I never went back after volume one.

SEAN: Paradise Residence has a 2nd volume, which is NOT an omnibus, so don’t be surprised at its slim size. There’s also a souped-up car, because Fujishima.

ASH: I’m enjoying Paradise Residence much more than I thought I would!

SEAN: And Kodansha also has a 2nd volume of their Persona Q spinoff, this one on the P4 side.

Seven Seas has a new debut, which seems to be a romantic comedy of sorts? Masamune-kun’s Revenge runs in Comic Ryu, and the premise sounds like it could be a disaster (guy becomes handsome to get revenge on ice queen who rejected him). I guess we will see how much it subverts its premise.

ASH: Hmmm.

SEAN: There’s also a 6th volume of Servamp, which has vamp… yeah, OK, the running gag is old. I will stop.

SubLime gives us a 2nd 2-in-1 omnibus of Don’t Be Cruel. But are their hearts true?

ASH: I haven’t heard much about Don’t Be Cruel, but enough to be curious about the manga.

MJ: I’m a bit curious as well.

MICHELLE: The blackmail plot doesn’t thrill me, but I can’t help but be amused by the fact that the volume numbers appear on tighty whities.

SEAN: And His Favorite has reached Volume 9, and the cover art is still amazing.

ASH: Uh oh! I’m apparently a couple volumes behind.

SEAN: Vertical gives us a 5th omnibus of Tokyo ESP.

MICHELLE: Yay! I believe this is launching a new arc.

SEAN: And yay, it’s a new volume of Magi! 18 volumes from Viz, and we’re still not tired of it.

MICHELLE: Nope!

ANNA: YAY MORE MAGI!!!!!!

SEAN: Viz also has a 2nd volume of Monster Hunter: Flash Hunter. Would a Flash hunter be against every one of us? (Wow, that was obscure.)

MICHELLE: I admit I didn’t get it, but my brain did think the sequel could perhaps be ‘QuickTime Hunter.’

SEAN: Lastly, the re-release of the Evangelion manga comes to an end with the 5th omnibus, containing the last two volumes. I actually quite liked this ending. It’s worth picking up.

Does something this week cry out to you?

SEAN: June is busting out all over, especially in terms of sheer manga volume – this month will be punishing, starting with 25 books out next week.

Dark Horse gives us the 4th – and presumably last for now – omnibus of The Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service. Go get it if you haven’t already.

ASH: I’m really glad this series is getting a second chance. Apparently the omnibuses are doing better than the single volumes did.

SEAN: And the Evangelion spinoff Shinji Ikari Raising Project may be over in Japan, but we still have a couple volumes to go. Here’s Vol. 16.

And a 9th New Lone Wolf and Cub.

This isn’t on Amazon yet, but Diamond has a couple of DMP books out, so let’s list them as well. (Yes, DMP still does print books. On occasion.) Does the Flower Blossom? gets a 2nd volume.

MICHELLE: I’m still holding out hope for volume eleven of Itazura na Kiss!

SEAN: And we also get the 9th volume of The Tyrant Falls in Love.

ASH: The eighth volume made for a pretty solid conclusion to the series, so I’m curious to see where this one goes.

SEAN: Kodansha has a 5th volume of shoujo reverse harem series Kiss Him, Not Me!.

ASH: I find that I am rather enjoying this series.

SEAN: And Say “I Love You” has gotten to Volume 14, and I still insist on using those quotes, because I’m stubborn like that.

MICHELLE: Yay!

ANNA: So far behind on this series, maybe I can do a reading binge over the summer.

SEAN: Seven Seas has the third Mayo Chiki omnibus. Does this finish that up? (Or off?)

And Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation’s third volume continues to prove that sometimes to get sales you have to license the title people already call it.

Seven Seas’ debut is The Other Side of Secret, which is from Media Factory’s Comic Alive, and I suspect will involve harem romance and possibly large breasts.

And now we have Viz, starting with Assassination Classroom getting to double digits.

Viz debuts a new Jump series, Black Clover. The premise looks to me like One Piece only with magic instead of pirates, but we’ll see how fun it is.

And there’s a 3rd Bloody Mary volume. Vampires!

ANNA: Yay! This series is goofy, but I enjoy all the angst.

SEAN: Dragon Ball’s 3-in-1 has hit lucky Vol. 13.

Yay, another Josei Beat series debuts! Everyone’s Getting Married comes from the pages of Petit Comic, and I’ve generally been very fond of these types of series. Romance between non-high schoolers!

MICHELLE: I am looking forward to this debut!

ASH: As am I!

ANNA: I’m EXTRA looking forward to it!

MJ: I’m… skeptical, but hopeful? Viz’s josei series tend to be full of landmines for me.

SEAN: Food Wars! has a dozen volumes now, and it still makes me hungry.

Kamisama Kiss is up to Vol. 21, and the romance seems to finally be heating up, maybe? As much as Hana to Yume romance ever does?

Komomo Confiserie’s 4th volume continues to try to charm me despite its lack of loud, dense heroines.

MICHELLE: I continue to follow all of these.

ANNA: They are all good series, but Kamisama Kiss is a standout.

SEAN: One Piece has its 16th 3-in-1, which I think begins Thriller Bark?

QQ Sweeper doesn’t come out often enough for my tastes, but I am very happy Volume 3 is here.

MICHELLE: Me, too, though this is the end. Unless VIZ has also licensed the sequel!

ANNA: Aieee, I didn’t realize it was so short. I will cherish the three volumes even more.

MJ: This, this, this!! But is it really the end? Nooooo.

SEAN: And School Judgment ends with its third volume.

MJ: I with I’d liked this more.

MICHELLE: Me, too.

SEAN: Seraph of the End reaches Volume 9. Vampires!

So Cute It Hurts!! has Volume 7, and I will assume has kept its cuteness promises to the reader.

MICHELLE: I have never found it cute, to be honest.

ANNA: I have found it somewhat cute, but I enjoy eye patches and cross dressing in manga.

SEAN: It’s been nine months since a Tegami Bachi volume, so Vol. 19 is heavily anticipated by the fandom.

Lastly, we have a 34th volume of Toriko, which doesn’t make me as hungry as Food Wars!, but has more punching.

ASH: True!

SEAN: Are you picking up any of this deluge?

SEAN: It’s a 5th week in may this June 1st, but unlike most 5th weeks there’s a lot coming out.

Drawn and Quarterly begins its series devoted to Shigeru Mizuki’s most iconic creation, Kitaro. They released a sampler a few years back, but this is a new multi-volume series that gives us the best Kitaro stories ever, as chosen by D&Q and approved by Mizuki himself before his death. I’ve reviewed it already, and it’s a must-read. Kid-friendly too, provided they’re OK with horror.

MICHELLE: Hmm…

ASH: I am thrilled we are getting more of Kitaro! The yokai activities in the back of the book are great, too.

SEAN: Two series from Kodansha wrap up. The first is the busily titled Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth Side P3, with its 2nd and final volume.

The second is one I care about more, the 7th and final volume of A Silent Voice. Will our two leads reconcile with their friends? Will there finally be romance, or does that even matter? And how do you live on after seemingly destroying everything? Find out here.

ASH: This series has impressed me from the very beginning, I’m very curious to see how it ends.

SEAN: Yamada-kun and the Seven Witches now has more volumes than witches with Vol. 8.

Seven Seas has several new releases, starting with the third volume of A Certain Scientific Accelerator, which has another Misaka clone needing to be rescued. They tend to get kidnapped a lot.

Franken Fran has its 2nd omnibus, featuring more humor, more horror, and more skeevy covers putting off North American readers from enjoying the humor and horror. But honestly, doing new covers and upsetting the hardcore otaku would also put readers off. No win?

MICHELLE: You know you’ve been thinking too much about Neko Atsume when you accidentally read this title as ‘Sassy Fran.’

SEAN: Non Non Biyori’s 4th volume continues to show us how, in a small country village, nothing ever, ever happens.

And we get the 2nd and final volume of orange, whose adaptation starts this summer I greatly enjoyed the first volume, and can’t wait to see how it turns out. Will history be changed?

MICHELLE: I have been waiting for this for so long!

ASH: As have I! The first orange omnibus is one of my favorite releases of the year, I’m hoping the second won’t disappoint.

ANNA: I can see I should actually read the first volume of orange!

MJ: I have heard from everyone that I need to be reading this. So I need to be reading this.

MICHELLE: Forsooth!

SEAN: Vertical has the 2nd Seraph of the End novel.

And Yen Digital has several series getting new volumes. The final volume of Renaissance Eve, and new volumes for Aphorism, Crimson Prince, Grim Reaper and Four Girlfriends, Little Witch’s Collier, and Sekirei.

Lotsa interesting stuff here. What’s for you?

SEAN: Does it say something that having only 25 titles out the week of a Yen Press release dump is rather mild now? I keep thinking “it could be worse!”. I think it’s the new normal.

There are other publishers, of course. Kodansha Comics gives us a 2nd volume of Real Account, a title with good buzz despite being a survival game series.

ASH: I was surprised; it has the potential to become really interesting.

SEAN: There’s also an 8th Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle omnibus, and I believe this is about the time when I started to actively mock the series.

MJ: Poor Tsubasa. So much abuse.

SEAN: Vertical has a new series debuting again, this one called Devils’ Line. It is also a dark fantasy series, just like last week’s To the Abandoned Sacred Beasts, and features vampires. It runs in Kodansha’s Morning Two.

ASH: Not particularly interested in vampires, but I do tend to like dark fantasy.

SEAN: OK, that’s it for other publishers. On to Yen Press, starting with its novel line. Another was a under-the-radar horror novel that was released a while back digitally, and did well enough to get a hardcover release later on. Now it’s done well enough to get a sequel licensed, Another Episode S/0.

ASH: I’m looking forward to reading this! The volume includes the manga as well as the novel, too.

SEAN: Baccano! is easily one of my most awaited novel releases in the history of ever, and it’s finally here. From the creator of Durarara!!, this actually came first, and shows us the story of a group of Mafia (cough) sorry, Camorra gangs in 1930s New York City and their run in with a mysterious elixir. Read this. It’s in hardcover and digital.

The other big novel (also in hardcover and digital) this month is Overlord, whose description sounds like it’s another SAO/Log Horizon knockoff, but I’ve been assured that that’s not actually true, and that this is a fantasy series that goes to a lot of interesting places as it examines what it’s like to be a monstrous creation in an RPG. Looking forward to seeing what the fuss is here.

MJ: Well, hm.

SEAN: Lastly, there’s a 3rd Strike the Blood, a title that has underperformed for me previously, but maybe the third time is the charm.

Yen Digital seems to be the week after this, so let’s dig right into Yen proper, starting with a third volume of Aldnoah Zero Season One, which is still not Gundam.

Anne Happy: Unhappy Go Lucky! is a new debut that falls somewhere between shonen and seinen, as it runs in Manga Time Kirara Forward, also home of Aldnoah Zero and School-Live!. It’s about a high school class made up of those with natural bad luck, and their struggles to overcome it.

Black Butler has a 22nd volume, and the butler is still buttling onward, while also, yes, being a hot and sexy demon.

Corpse Party: Blood Covered is the first in a series of omnibuses (2 volumes per book) based on a game that came out in 2008. A group of kids find themselves in an alternate dimension that is haunted by the ghosts of some murdered schoolchildren. If you liked Higurashi’s mystery and gore, you should like this.

There’s a second Dimension W.

And a third Dragons Rioting. I need a title I care about stat.

Ah, here we go! Inu x Boku SS wraps up with its 11th volume, and I hear it’s a good ending despite the unfortunate death of its creator right around when it was written. I have enjoyed this series far more than I expected, and am sad to see it go.

Is It Wrong to Try To Pick Up Girls In A Dungeon? has a 5th manga volume, and I suspect will start coming out slower, as we’ve caught up to Japan.

There’s a third Monthly Girls’ Nozaki-kun, hooray! The cover features Kashima and Hori, who may be the series’ most popular fan pairing.

ASH: This series is so great. I love it.

MICHELLE: Yay, I’m looking forward to this!

MJ: I obviously need to start reading this, looking at my colleagues’ comments.

ANNA: I’m also very much looking forward to this.

SEAN: Its novel may have gotten delayed to September, but the manga is still here, as we get the debut of My Youth Romantic Comedy Is Wrong As I Expected (just call it OreGairu, everyone else does). The story may sound familiar – a pair of misfits end up in the school Service Club trying to help others despite horrible personalities. It does, however, have one very important quality – there are no fantasy elements to it.

Another Madoka spinoff bites the dust, with the final volume of Puella Magi Suzune Magica.

School-Live! gets a third volume of heartwarming friendship and terrifying zombies.

Strike the Blood gets a third manga volume. Don’t confuse it with the third Strike the Blood light novel, out the same day. Yes, we’re still doing that.

Trinity Seven has hit volume 5, and I believe will be getting that Blake’s Seven crossover any minute now.

We also get the 6th Ubel Blatt omnibus, Ubel Blatt Vol. 5. Yes, we’re still doing that as well.

Umineko: When They Cry begins a new arc, despite Beatrice being, y’know, dead. But that hardly stops anyone in this series. Dawn of the Golden Witch is here! We’ll meet more weird “furniture”, and see how murders happen when it’s Battler that’s writing it. Oh yes, and Erika is there too. The artist also did the Higurashi: Massacre Arc manga.

I believe the 12th Until Death Do Us Part omnibus catches us up with Japan, so it’s a perfect time to go read the 2500 or so pages you may have missed.

Lastly, yay! A lucky Volume 13 of Yotsuba&!, the first new volume since 2013! (It was on hiatus in Japan as well.) Are you ready to see Koiwai’s mother? Yotsuba sure is!

ASH: I am so far behind in reading Yotsuba&!, but it is an absolutely delightful manga.

MICHELLE: Yay!!!!

MJ: Finally! I feel like Yen has largely moved towards series that are just not going to be my cup of tea, but this is a reminder that it hasn’t always been so!

SEAN: Aside from Baccano!… yes, OK, and Yotsuba&!… what are you getting this week?

SEAN: Glory be! A small week at last! Write this week down in your diary, folks.

ASH: Astonishing!

MICHELLE: “Glory be” is gonna make me have “The Night Chicago Died” in my head all day! :)

SEAN: We start off with Kodansha’s 14th volume of The Seven Deadly Sins, which is at least seven too many sins. Are they just repeating sins now?

For those going to TCAF, you may be aware that Rokudenashiko will be appearing and discussing her genitalia-related art. A manga-style memoir discussing the whole thing, called What is Obscenity?: The Story of a Good For Nothing Artist and her Pussy, will be out next week from Koyama Press.

ASH: It’s a serious topic and an important manga, but it’s also strikingly funny and charming. Highly recommended.

SEAN: And Jiro Taniguchi fans will be delighted to hear about the hardcover Guardians of the Louvre coming out from NBM Publishing.

ASH: Looking forward to reading this! I enjoy Taniguchi’s work, and it’s a part of the series that brought us Hirohiko Araki’s Rohan at the Louvre as well.

MICHELLE: Ooh, I had no idea about this.

MJ: Oh… yes!

SEAN: SubLime has a 5th volume of Love Stage!!.

Vertical has somehow reached double digits with What Did You Eat Yesterday’s 10th volume. That’s a lot of food.

ASH: And a delectable series.

MICHELLE: Yay! I treasure each new release of this series.

MJ: I’m so excited! I always want more of this series.

SEAN: Ranma 1/2 has a 14th omnibus, as we get to see Hinako fall for Soun Tendo, every Ryouga/Ukyou fan’s favorite story (they won’t enjoy the manga version), and Ryu Kumon, possibly the most sympathetic antagonist in all of Ranma.

And Requiem of the Rose King has a 4th volume, as I begin to wonder how closely we’ll be sticking to Shakespeare’s timeline. Is Henry VI not long for this world?

ASH: I still adore this series. The atmosphere! The drama!

MICHELLE: I’m enjoying this one, too.

MJ: I’m head-over-heels for this series! Figures, the first small week in ages, and it’s the one with the most for me!

ANNA: I agree, this is one of my current favorites!

SEAN: Are you going for the arty manga, or the more traditional fare? Or both?

ASH: I’ll apparently be picking up a copy of almost everything being released this week…

SEAN: Let’s face it, there are no light weeks anymore. There’s 21 titles next week, and that’s our new normal. We just have to accept it, manga is popular again.

ASH: All right!

MICHELLE: Yay! Now, can we have back some of those series that disappeared in less prosperous times? Like Silver Diamond? Please?

MJ: I’ll second Michelle on this. :)

ANNA: Silver Diamond, Demon Sacred, I could go on!

SEAN: Dark Horse gives us a 5th volume of Oreimo: Kuroneko, showing that non-canon love interests are always more popular than canon ones, especially when they aren’t related.

Seven Seas gives us a 7th volume of underrated techno-thriller Arpeggio of Blue Steel.

Shomin Sample is a harem comedy based on a light novel, whose title I am abbreviating as it’s too long, and I think that says it all. Vol. 1 comes out from Seven Seas next week.

And there’s a second Testament of Sister New Devil, whose title I actually got wrong in my review of the first volume, it’s that hard for me to keep straight.

Vertical has a 2nd volume of Nichijou, whose first volume I was delighted to see was a big hit. Keep it up!

MICHELLE: I will soon be catching up on Nichijou!

SEAN: There’s a Takeshi Obata artbook coming out, blanc et noir, whose title is very e.e. cummings. MJwill, I’m sure, have more to say.

ASH: My copy arrived early, and it’s gorgeous. The volume includes a fair amount of art from Death Note, but also from Hikaru no Go and some of Obata’s other works, too.

MJ: I haven’t seen this, but you can bet I’ll be picking it up. Whatever I have thought about some of his collaborations, I’ve always loved his artwork. This is a must-buy.

SEAN: Relive those days when everything was Aizen with the 15th Bleach 3-in-1 omnibus.

Blue Exorcist also has a 15th volume, and finally wraps up the Izumo arc, I believe.

Dragon Ball Full Color adds Freeza Arc to its title, in case people had forgotten which edition they were re-re-re-rebuying.

The Heiress and the Chauffeur is Viz’s debut this month, and give it’s a LaLa DX series I am contractually obligated to love it. It’s also only 2 volumes, so not a huge investment. Also, Taisho era!

MICHELLE: I’m looking forward to this one, though preemptively sad that it’s so short.

MJ: Same here!

ANNA: Not surprisingly I am too!

SEAN: JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure has been given the go-ahead for hardcovers of the previously released 3rd arc, which is great news. First though, it’s back to Joseph for the 3rd volume of Battle Tendency.

ASH: I’ve really been enjoying these releases. I hope Viz will pick up the later arcs, too!

ANNA: I need to get caught up!

SEAN: Kimi ni Todoke has seemingly finished with its Ayane angst, and so I suspect the 24th volume will give a bit more focus to the other two major couples.

With its 4th volume of omnibuses, Maid-sama! has finally caught up with the Tokyopop releases, and so will feature all new material next time.

MICHELLE: As problematic as this series is, I still wanna see what happens in the volumes we never saw before. Hey, you know what else could get rescued as a 2-in-1 omnibus? Silver Diamond!

MJ: Heh.

SEAN: My Hero Academia 4 has more to tell us about superheroes.

The new Naruto novel is technically called Sakura’s Story, but I’ve heard that Sakura fans are going to be disappointed. Still, it’s Naruto, you have to get all 6 novels to complete the set.

Nisekoi has reached 15 volumes, and it’s still trying to balance its high-wire harem act.

One Piece. 78 volumes. Still in Dressrosa.

One-Punch Man is at its 6th volume. Sadly, this volume has no punching… I kid. There’s always punching.

ASH: I’m still greatly enjoying One-Punch Man.

MICHELLE: I am starting to feel like maybe I would like this.

MJ: You would.

ANNA: I feel like One-Punch Man should be universally beloved.

SEAN: Oresama Teacher reached the big 2-0! Have we learned all of Hayasaka’s secrets? And what of poor, neglected Super Bun?

ANNA: Where is Super Bun? The world wants to know!!!

SEAN: And World Trigger is up to double digits, increasing exponentially the likelihood that I will never succeed in catching up to it.

Lastly, Yu-Gi-Oh has a 6th 3-in-1. Collect ‘em all!

Which of these manga titles makes you cry out in ecstasy and rapture?