Manga Bookshelf

Discussion, Resources, Roundtables, & Reviews

Anna N

Pick of the Week: Princesses, Riceballs, and Lost Girls

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jellyfish2SEAN: Going for Fruits Basket seems like cheating somehow, given it’s a re-release, though it’s obviously the title I’m most excited about this week. That said, I will give my pick instead of Attack on Titan: Lost Girls, the new novel from Vertical focusing on two of the most seemingly stoic of the cast.

MICHELLE: Maybe I will follow suit, registering my Furuba enthusiasm while choosing something new! In this case, that would be volume two of Princess Jellyfish!

ANNA: I am with Michelle, as I’m enthusiastic about both Fruits Basket and Princess Jellyfish. I find Princess Jellyfish delightful, so that gets my pick too!

ASH: Likewise! While I’m delighted that Fruits Basket will once again be available in English, my heart undoubtedly lies with Princess Jellyfish.

MJ: Okay, well then, I’ll be the one to go all in for Fruits Basket. FURUBA 4EVAH. Or something like that.

Manga the Week of 6/29

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SEAN: The word for next week is “spinoff”, boys and girls. Can you say spinoff? I knew you could!

OK, let’s try to plow through. Dark Horse first, as always. Astro Boy Omnibus 4. Everyone loves Astro Boy.

Kodansha gives us the 2nd and final volume of Fairy Tail’s Gray-related spinoff (can you say that, boys and girls?) Ice Trail.

And a 4th Inuyashiki, with far less skintight leather than Gantz had but just as disturbing.

Livingstone has a 3rd volume. I’ve heard it called “quirky”.

And there’s a 3rd Maga-Tsuki as well, for more romantic comedy shenanigans.

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Lastly, and most importantly to the Manga Bookshelf team, Kodansha has a 2nd omnibus of Princess Jellyfish. Remember when getting this license was an impossible dream?

MICHELLE: Yay! I’m looking forward to this a lot.

ASH: Dream the impossible dream! Reach the unreachable star! (And then go buy Princess Jellyfish because it is wonderful.)

MJ: Good news!

ANNA: Still thrilled this is coming out here.

SEAN: One Peace picked up, almost without anyone realizing it, the license to Maria Holic and are re-releasing it in omnibuses. Fans of fake yuri and traps are sure to want to get it.

MICHELLE: If only it had been Maria-sama ga Miteru instead!

SEAN: Seven Seas gives us an 11th volume of A Certain Scientific Railgun, the spinoff (can you say that, boys and girls?) to Index. It’s just finished a serious arc, so I suspect that things will be a lot wackier this time around.

And there’s also a 4th volume of Magika Swordsman and Summoner, which some people clearly enjoy.

Udon has a 3rd volume of Persona 4, the manga spinoff (can you say that, boys and girls?) of the game.

ASH: I liked the first volume, but I’ve already fallen behind. I should correct that.

SEAN: Vertical has a spinoff (can you say that, boys and girls?) novel that I know some people have been waiting for. Attack on Titan: Lost Girls gives focus to two of the most seemingly stoic of the cast, Mikasa and Annie.

They also have a 5th volume of the “totally created by Americans, honest” series Ninja Slayer.

Yen Press has a number of digital releases. New volumes for Aoharu x Machinegun, Black Detective, and Corpse Princess. The final volume of Grim Reaper and Four Girlfriends and Little Witches’ Collier. And a 4th volume of Saki, for the Manga Bookshelf folks.

MICHELLE: Hm. The fanservice was starting to get to me, but I do still have some interest in Saki.

ASH: Saki! Speaking of impossible dreams, I’d still love to see a print release.

MJ: Same here!

SEAN: Yen On releases the 7th volume of A Certain Magical Index. Did you want more Roman Catholics in your Index? More nuns? What about a murderous military nun corps? Have I got good news for you!

Yen proper starts off with the 2nd volume of Akame Ga KILL! ZERO, another spinoff (can you say that, boys and girls?).

And Kaori Yuki shows us beautiful, beautiful death once more with a 4th Alice in Murderland.

Ani-Imo’s bizarre shoujo incestuous mind game antics come to an end with its 7th volume.

Barakamon has an 11th volume. Is Handa really going to have an arranged marriage? Signs point to no.

Black Bullet has a 4th manga volume of child killers and glorious depression.

It seemed like Bloody Cross announced it was ending several years ago, but it continues onward with its 11th volume.

We have a 4th Devil Is A Part Timer! High School!!, with 3 exclamation marks worth of fun. It’s a spinoff (can you say that, boys and girls?).

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The big release this week is a re-release, as Yen is putting out Fruits Basket in omnibus editions. The first two, covering Vol. 1-4, are due out next week. I absolutely cannot wait to read this all over again. Who’s your favorite Souma? I’m partial to Shigure and his black, black heart.

MICHELLE: I am excite, despite already owning most of the series in Japanese and all of it from TOKYOPOP. I love the entire “Mabudachi Trio” very much, but have the warmest, proudest love for Yuki.

ASH: Glad to see this coming back, and in such a nice edition, too. I’m also rather partial to Shigure myself, but there are so many fascinating characters in the series.

MJ: These are absolutely beautiful, and I’m so excited to see them! I checked back into an old 3 Things Thursday to see what I said back then, and apparently I chose Momiji! I’ll stand by that! Looking forward to an epic re-read.

ANNA: Yay! I’m pretty resistant to buying series all over again, but I am so glad that Fruits Basket is back, this series deserves a wide audience, and I’m sure there are people who missed it the first time around.

SEAN: There’s a 3rd Handa-kun, which is the spinoff (can you say that, boys and girls?) to Barakamon.

He’s My Only Vampire is starting to lose me a bit, but I know it ends in a few volumes or so. Here’s Vol. 7.

MICHELLE: Yeah. I’m going to soldier on to the end, though. Hopefully it’ll make more sense than Kiss of the Rose Princess.

SEAN: And a 3rd volume of Irregular at Magic High School spinoff (can you say that, boys and girls?) The Honor Student at Magic High School.

Third volumes galore! Here’s a 3rd for Of the Red, the Light and the Ayakashi.

MICHELLE: I’m looking forward to this one!

SEAN: If you enjoyed the Overlord light novel, why not try the manga (does this count as a spinoff)? The first volume is out next week.

And Rose Guns Days ends its Season One with its 4th volume, although future seasons are coming.

Servant x Service has a 2nd omnibus which wraps up that series. It proved to be a lot more character-focused than I expected for a fluffy workplace 4-koma.

The other debut this week is Space Dandy, which was originally an anime but now has this manga spinoff (can you say that, boys and girls?). If you enjoyed Cowboy Bebop and Samurai Champloo, this is in the same vein.

Lastly, a 2nd volume of Sword Art Online, Mother’s Rosary, which adapts the 7th light novel.

And with that, my running gag has come to an end. What are you getting this week?

QQ Sweeper, Vol 3

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QQ Sweeper, Volume 3 by Kyousuke Motomi

I hadn’t realized that this series was so short, followed by a rebooted sequel series. So this concluding volume isn’t so much of an ending as it is wrapping up one stage of the series and signaling a new one. Still, with Motomi behind things, QQ Sweeper still manages to be a pretty satisfying non-concluding three volume series, and I hope Queen’s Quality also gets licensed.

As the volume opens, Kyutaro knows that Fumi is his long-lost childhood friend, but her peculiar amnesia prevents her from remembering any elements of her previous life. He’s content to be near her, even if she doesn’t regain her memories. While there is a little bit of school drama, most of the conflict in this volume comes from Fumi being signaled out by a new enemy, Ataru, pretending to be a boy with fortunetelling skills. Ataru shows up for group karaoke dates but then manipulates everyone around him by intoning dark prophecies. One of Fumi’s friends is particularly susceptible to this type of plotting, and Fumi soon finds herself gossiped about as being cursed yet again. Fortunately some of her closest friends don’t fall into this trap, and QQ Sweeper shows that there’s plenty of possibility for redemption in humanity after all.

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All along in Fumi’s efforts to become a sweeper and clean up bad supernatural messes, there have been hints of a larger destiny for her. As Fumi and Kyutaro confront Ataru, he references Fumi’s potential to become a Queen, and she exhibits a greater degree of confidence and control in bring back her friend’s lost soul. Motomi series always have an endearing quirkiness about them, that when combined with the themes of friendship and found family result in manga with a unique feel. QQ Sweeper‘s juxtaposition of random domestic cleaning with violent supernatural confrontation with some humor here and there made me wish that this wasn’t the last volume. I hope to see these characters again in Queen’s Quality if Viz decides to bring out that series too!

Pick of the Week: Complexities

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complexage1MICHELLE: Well, I don’t know about you guys, but my pick of the week is pretty darn clear. Complex Age all the way!

SEAN: Tempting as it is to be the LN fanboy I am and pick Psycome, I expect I’d regret that. So I too will pick Complex Age, which is a good deal of fun and more nuanced than I’d anticipated.

ASH: Complex Age is indeed an excellent choice, but my pick is the second omnibus of Goodnight Punpun. The first omnibus was incredibly surreal, emotionally wrenching, and one of the manga that’s left the greatest impression on me so far this year.

ANNA: Complex Age is by far the series I’m most interested in this week. Looking forward to reading it!

MJ: I’m with the Complex Age crowd this week. It’s definitely the title that intrigues me most!

Manga the Week of 6/22

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SEAN: Third weeks of the month: almost like second weeks, but they seem different, mostly as Viz tends to put out its blogger-friendly titles here. What’s happening next week?

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Kodansha debuts a new seinen series that ran in Morning magazine, which means I am already well-disposed to it. Complex Age features a cosplay fanatic who is being forced to acknowledge reality, which is that she’s now an adult with adult concerns, and can’t pull off the 14-year-old magical girl look anymore. This should be good.

MICHELLE: Definitely looking forward to this one!

ASH: I actually just reviewed this! It is indeed good.

MJ: That actually does sound good.

ANNA: I’m intrigued.

SEAN: And Fairy Tail has reached 54 volumes, meaning I think it has achieved its goal of being the Kodansha version of One Piece quite well.

And speaking of juggernaut franchises trying to catch up with Japan, here’s the 15th volume of Noragami. (I think it catches up by next month.)

ASH: I’ve got some catching up to do, but I have been enjoying Noragami.

SEAN: Seven Seas gives us two more volumes of fighting and fanservice manga Freezing, with Vol. 9 and 10 in one omnibus.

And there’s also a second volume of Survival Game virtual reality manga Not Lives.

Vertical gives us a 2nd omnibus of quirky romantic comedy Mysterious Girlfriend X.

MICHELLE: It’s a salivaganza!

SEAN: Viz has a second omnibus of Goodnight Punpun, which reminds me to start feel guilty about being not even halfway through the first, even though its quality is obvious.

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ASH: The first omnibus was extraordinary, heartbreaking and surreal.

ANNA: I feel guilty I haven’t read the first volume yet too.
SEAN: Insurance madness continues with the 7th Master Keaton collection.

MICHELLE: I am woefully behind on this one.

ANNA: Me too!

SEAN: And there’s a 7th volume of amazingly popular Tokyo Ghoul.

Lastly, Yen On debuts a new series, Psycome. This is short for ‘Psycho Love Comedy’, and it comes from Enterbrain. Our hero is sent to prison for killing a dozen people (he’s actually innocent), and ends up in a prison filled with girls, all of whom are killers and all of whom proceed to obsess on him. This could be funny or dire, honestly. To be fair, it is a Yen On title that doesn’t involve fantasy worlds or gaming, though the prison itself seems like a fantasy. To be fairer, it’s only 6 volumes long, making it the rare Yen On license that isn’t ongoing in Japan.

Buy these manga or I’LL KILL YOU… nah, yandere doesn’t work when it’s me. What are you getting?

Pick of the Week: Potpourri

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eva14-15SEAN: Tempted as I am to go with Magi, which is a wonderful default, I will throw my Pick of the Week over to the last omnibus of Neon Genesis Evangelion. A series that seemed for years like it would never end finally has, and as readers of the individual volumes know, this is an excellent conclusion. Go buy it, there’s color pages!

ASH: Though there are plenty of manga being released this week that I’m interested in, I’m actually going to go off list for my pick. Breakdown Press, a small comics publisher in the UK, recently published Red Red Rock and Other Stories, a collection of over a dozen short manga spanning the career of alternative manga creator Seiichi Hayashi. I just got my hands on a copy of the volume and am looking forward to reading it a great deal.

MICHELLE: I, too, am giving Magi a break this time and going with something else. I really enjoyed the first few volumes of Tokyo ESP, and now we’re starting up a new phase of the story. I’m interested to see what happens!

ANNA: If everyone else is giving Magi a break, I feel compelled to pick it, even though I am a gazillion volume behind in this series.

Manga the Week of 6/15

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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.

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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?

Everyone’s Getting Married, Vol. 1

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Everyone’s Getting Married Volume 1 by Izumi Miyazono

As far as I’m concerned, Shojo Beat’s recent practice of releasing the occasional josei title is one of the best things ever. Manga featuring non-highschoolers is still not so easy to find, so I was looking forward to Everyone’s Getting Married. At the same time, just based on the title I was a bit concerned that this would be a josei version of The Rules or something that would involve trapping a man into marriage. I was really happy to discover that I enjoyed the personalities and relationship dynamic between the main couple in this manga.

Asuka Takahashi is a successful real estate agent, but her main ambition in life is to get married and become a homemaker. Asuka takes the idea of being a housewife very seriously, mainly due to the fact that she has strong childhood memories of the type of home her mother provided for her as a child. She’s thwarted in her goal in the first chapter when her long term boyfriend breaks up with her. Asuka has a brief encounter with Ryu Nanami when she’s attending a wedding. He’s a newscaster who is determined to never settle down. Asuka and Ryu have an unusually frank exchange about their incompatible goals in life and then part, fully expecting to never see each other again. He tells her “You seem like a great woman, but it would never work out between us,” and she thinks “This man…is not at all what I am looking for.”

Of course, they get thrown together over and over again, because Ryu is the roommate of Asuka’s co-worker Ono. Ryu and Asuka start getting to know each other better, unconstrained by the possibility of a romantic relationship since they’ve mutually ruled each other out. Asuka sees that Ryu is much more of an ordinary person than he appears to be based on his TV persona. He sees that she’s genuinely kind, and he respects the work that goes into keeping a household running even though he has no desire for a wife. They both begin to fall a little in love with each other, but their goals in life for a family and future remain absolutely different. Miyazono’s art is pretty to look at and easy to follow, even though her style isn’t particularly unique.

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Asuka and Ryu end up both being sympathetic and quirky enough to make me wonder which way this story is going to go, even though I’m totally expecting a happy ending. They’re also balanced out a bit by secondary couple Ono and Rio, who have the opposite relationship dynamic where Ono wants to settle down and Rio is determined to keep dating. Overall, this first volume seems like a great addition to the under the radar josei titles coming out under the Shojo Beat line.

Pick of the Week: Sweepers, Corpses, and Josei Debuts

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qqsweeper3MICHELLE: There are quite a few titles that I will be picking up this week, but I shall award my pick to the third and final volume of QQ Sweeper. I’ve enjoyed this series a lot so far and I hope VIZ licenses the sequel!

SEAN: I have a love/hate relationship with Viz’s josei titles, as I love the fact that they deal with adults having adult issues, but frequently find that they tend towards the same “bastard boyfriend” tropes that also plague some of Viz’s shoujo titles. But I keep coming back for more, and that’s why the title I most want to see this week is Everyone’s Getting Married, another Petit Comic extravaganza.

ASH: With so many manga releases this week I’m having a little trouble narrowing it down to just one title, but in the end I would like to draw attention to the latest omnibus of Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service. It’s such a great series, mixing humor and horror in surprisingly effective ways. I’m glad that Dark Horse is giving the manga a new life in English!

MJ: I’m with Michelle, this week. Though there are a number of titles I’m interested in this week, the one dearest to my heart is the third volume of QQ Sweeper. This series is so perfectly my cup of tea. I was terribly sad to learn that this is the end, and echo Michelle’s hopes that Viz will be offering us its sequel!

ANNA: I love QQ Sweeper! But I’m very easily distracted by new series. So for that reason, I’m going to have to go with the new josei series Everyone’s Getting Married. Yay for more josei!

Manga the Week of 6/8

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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.

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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.

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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?

Kamisama Kiss, Vol 20

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Kamisama Kiss Volume 20 by Julietta Suzuki

This volume starts dealing more with the issues that inevitably arise when a human and an immortal start developing romantic feelings for each other. It starts out with a conclusion of the class trip storyline, as Tomoe is able to observe what Nanami is like when hanging out with other human girls. When he goes on an errand to an island where he met a human kami many years before, he gets a vivid reminder of how short Nanami’s lifespan is.

Tomoe decides that he has to become human, and he wants that transformation to happen immediately. Nanami thinks that it is good that Tomoe is trying to get closer to humanity through some excessive studying, but she thinks that it won’t happen for several more years. When Tomoe gets his hands on some medicine that might have the power to transform him, she’s worried that he’ll die in a normal human lifespan, but he doesn’t want to remain immortal and watch her age and die. They fight a bit about this, and Tomoe goes off with his usual impulsive nature and takes the medicine, only to turn into a fox instead of a human.

This funny and sad situation brought on by mystical forces is the type of plot that Kamisama Kiss excels at, because it is hilarious to see Tomoe’s body language and cranky attitude manifest while in the form of an adorable fox, but it is also quite distressing that Nanami and Tomoe are being kept apart again. The appearance of Kirihito towards the end of the volume points out that there are going to be even more struggles ahead for the couple.

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One of the things I like most about this series are the quiet moments of character interactions, when Tomoe contrasts his memories the human kami he met as a little girl with the old woman she’s become, she mentions that the day she spent with him was one of her fondest memories. Nanami can’t help herself from hugging Tomoe when he’s in fox form, but she’s struck by his body language showing that he’s incredibly unhappy with his unexpected transformation. These types of moments give Kamisama Kiss more depth than the typical shoujo series, and have me happily reading every volume.

Pick of the Week: Orange Supreme

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orange2SEAN: Amidst what I suspect will be a sea of orange, I’m going to once again praise Shigeru Mizuki and recommend The Birth of Kitaro as my pick of the week. Like most Kitaro readers, I read this for Nezumi Otoko, who is amazingly awful in the best way. You too will believe a smelly yokai in a cloak will bilk rich frail men out of their life savings.

MICHELLE: I’m super grateful for the Kitaro, but honestly, my heart belongs to orange all the way. I’ve been waiting for this volume fairly desperately.

ASH: Wow, this is a tough week for me to choose just one release! The two manga I’ve narrowed it down to have both already been mentioned, as well—The Birth of Kitaro and orange. In the end, though, I think I’m going to have to go with Sean and pick the debut of the new Kitaro series in English. I was impressed by the first orange omnibus but am uncertain which direction the rest of the series might take while I already know that I love Kitaro.

ANNA: I’m going to go with orange too, even though I haven’t read the first volume yet, I’m sure future me would travel back in time to tell me to go with the second volume for pick of the week.

MJ: Like Anna, though I haven’t yet read the first volume of orange, I feel confident, based on the amount of chiding I’ve received for this failure, that it would absolutely be my pick. So I’m going with it.

Manga the Week of 6/1

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

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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?

Requiem of the Rose King, Vol. 4

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Requiem of the Rose King Volume 4 by Aya Kanno

This series continues to impress me, as with each volume Kanno capably delivers a larger cast of characters and more intricate plots centered around the succession to the English throne. While many of the earlier volumes served to establish the motivations of many of the characters, this volume moved into more political plotting, especially as the Earl of Warwick decides to play kingmaker.

I found myself struck by all the ways that Kanno’s art signals character in elegant ways. Richard has a vision of his father as an avenging angel with dark wings, and the swooping black feathers bordering the panels serve to show how isolated Richard is in his inner world. Warwick is often drawn with areas of his face shown in stark shadow, which suits his manipulative personality.

This volume focuses on the fall of Edward, his manipulative wife, and the possible rise of middle brother George. Richard is still an object of desire to Edward, who willingly travels to meet Anne to explore a possible engagement once he knows that Richard is also visiting. For a brief time Richard is able to deepen his friendship with Anne, and he finds some solace in a new friend who lets him be completely himself. This being a tragedy, Richard’s brief period of peace is quickly destroyed, and he has to head back into battle again where he thinks he’s going to find a different kind of escape.

As Warwick’s plots fall into place, Buckingham is determined to provide a different king for the nation and goes off in search of Richard. There are too many kings and would-be kings wandering around England! But it is clear that while they all may be trying to gain the throne, so much of the real power is in the hands of the nobles trying to manipulate all the political uncertainty.

Requiem of the Rose King continues to be a favorite series. The art is absolutely top notch, and the combination of Richard’s surreal visions and complicated inner life against the backdrop of the political struggles for the English crown makes it incredibly compelling.

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Pick of the Week: A Fistful of Yen

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yotsuba13MICHELLE: I’m sorry everything else coming out this week, but I only have eyes for Yotsuba&! volume thirteen. It’s been so long!

SEAN: I know I’m alone this week, but oh well. It’s Baccano! all the way for me. I’d get this for Isaac and Miria alone, but they’re just the tip of the iceberg. It does not have vampires, but it does have immortals!

ASH: I’m joining in with Sean this week by picking a novel, but in my case it’s Another Episode S/0. Although, the volume does include the prequel manga as well, so I guess I’m covered either way. Despite feeling a little cheated by the original novel Another, overall I enjoyed it and am looking forward to reading more of the story.

ANNA: My pick is the third volume of Monthly Girls’ Nozaki-kun. I’m in the mood for something funny, and this series is hilarious.

MJ: Though I suspect I’d love Monthly Girls’ Nozaki-kun (and I’m about to try it out), I’m with Michelle this week. I’ve missed Yotsuba&!, and I’m happy to see it back again!