Manga Bookshelf

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Anna N

Pick of the Week: Unanimity

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roseking3MICHELLE: Well, Sean predicted it. My pick of the week is Requiem of the Rose King. While I’m linking to what my compatriots have said, go see why MJnamed this series her Pick of 2015.

SEAN: Unlike the rest of the team, I’m reading several things this week. But yeah, the one that’s clearly head and shoulders above the rest is Requiem of the Rose King. It’s an obvious Pick.

ANNA: I agree, Requiem of the Rose King is such a standout series it is my Pick as well!

ASH: Like Sean, there are actually several releases that I’m looking forward to this week, including Lone Wolf & Cub and His Favorite, but by and far the one that I’m most excited about is the third volume of Requiem of the Rose King. I’m adoring the series.

MJ: Since Requiem of the Rose King was my Pick of the Year, it can’t be a huge surprise that I’m in agreement with everyone else. That’s the Pick for me!

Manga the Week of 1/13

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SEAN: Traditionally, the first and fourth weeks of the month are the largest, as Week 1 is where Viz releases it’s Jump and Beat titles, and Week 4 is usually Yen Press. Weeks 2 and 3 therefore vie for the remaining attention, containing less spectacular stuff – Viz puts out Sunday imprints in Week 2, but otherwise it can be a hodgepodge. (Week 3, to complete the analysis, is Viz’s Signature stuff.) Is there anything vying for attention in next week’s small batch?

Dark Horse gives us an 11th volume of its Lone Wolf and Cub omnibus.

ASH: I’m finally making a point to get caught up with Lone Wolf and Cub; it’s a really great series.

SEAN: Seven Seas has a trio of releases. Arpeggio of Blue Steel is a cut above the usual ‘girls are ships/planes/whatever’ genre, and I look forward to Vol. 6 next week.

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The words “monster girls” may cause the entire Manga Bookshelf team to groan, but the debut of My Monster Secret from Seven Seas is intriguing – people I trust have told me it’s very funny and well-written. It’s from Weekly Shonen Champion, also home to Yowamushi Pedal, which it resembles not at all.

And we have a third Pandora in the Crimson Shell: Ghost Urn, which… yeah, I can’t, really. I do hear it has an anime soon.

SubLime has an 8th volume of His Favorite, whose covers always look great, and has some fans here, I think.

ASH: That it does!

SEAN: Viz gives us 57 varieties of Case Closed, one for each volume it has out to date.

There’s a lot of fun stuff in the first half of the 12th Ranma 1/2 omnibus – including the famous “fishing rod of love” story – but let’s be honest, old-school fans will mostly want to read this for Herb. He shows up in the 2nd half.

Lastly, and thankfully for Manga Bookshelf writers desperate for a Pick of the Week, there’s a 3rd volume of Requiem of the Rose King, which is still in the Henry VI plays but possibly not for much longer.

ASH: Definitely the one volume that I’m most looking forward to this week!

ANNA: This is the ONLY volume I’m looking forward to this week!

MICHELLE: Yup. Same here.

MJ: Okay, this is probably predictable since I actually chose this series as my Pick of the Year, but: ME, me, me me me. Me. Yes, me. Me, too.

SEAN: What whets your appetite for next week?

Bookshelf Briefs 1/5/16

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Happy new briefs!

dfrag7D-Frag!, Vol. 7 | By Tomoya Haruno | Seven Seas – The setting may have changed to an island beach, but that doesn’t mean that the cast are taking it easy in this new D-Frag! And no, I don’t mean they’re amping up their harem qualities or having thrilling adventures. I mean they’re all being the best bokes ever, to the point where Kenji and his sister spend half the volume collapsed in exhaustion from the constant tsukkomis that are needed. Plot and characterization are mostly irrelevant here. We do get another girl added to the pile, this one from a different school. She seems to be able to eat people’s unhappiness. If you can put up with near-constant gags and comebacks, D-Frag! remains terrific. It can be a bit exhausting, though, and I recommend taking a break after each chapter. – Sean Gaffney

haruhichan10The Melancholy of Suzumiya Haruhi-chan, Vol. 10 | By Puyo and Nagaru Tanigawa | Yen Press – This gag manga has always tried to handle the actual canon with care, particularly when it comes to the later books. As an example, we have Yasumi present and correct in the club, as in books 9-11, but she doesn’t speak or do much of anything that might reveal what she really is. Mostly as that would detract from what this series is, a bunch of comedic riffs using the Haruhi cast and its own built-up silliness as a springboard for anything. In fact, its world is getting increasingly flexible—Asakura is big-size again for the sake of one storyline, because Kuyou is playing the ‘SD mode’ foil. Anything goes when it comes to this series, and if you enjoy Haruhi and don’t care much about canon, it’s still great fun. – Sean Gaffney

mylovestory7My Love Story!! Vol 7 | By Kazune Kawahara and Aruko | Viz Media – I was looking forward to a Sunakawa-focused volume, and this fulfilled my expectations, with a bit of a plot twist. Takeo discovers that a girl named Yukika Amani has been in love with Sunakawa for years, sending him chocolate every year for Valentine’s day and observing him from afar. Determined to help the course of true love, Takeo and Yamato join forces to help Amani. While things don’t turn out in a typical shoujo manga fashion, Sunakawa’s quiet kindness is highlighted throughout this volume. My Love Story!! continues to be one of the best currently running shoujo series. – Anna N

pandora23Pandora Hearts, Vol. 23 | By Jun Mochizuki | Yen Press – It had been a while since I’d read a volume of Pandora Hearts, and after enjoying a small binge to get caught up, I can say that the series certainly reads better in chunks. Unfortunately, after the significant losses sustained at the end of recent volumes, I just can’t feel as deeply about the character who breathes their last in this volume, no matter how much it affects Oz. Otherwise, most of this volume seems to be devoted to convincing Vincent to stick around while neither Glen nor Oz makes much progress. At least we have a few scenes of Reim being great, though. I’m pleasantly surprised by the important role he’s playing here at the end. In any case, given how not devastating this particular volume was, I have a feeling I should keep tissues handy for the big finale. Gilbert had better make it out alive! – Michelle Smith

secretsakuraThe Secret Sakura Shares | By Akira Hagio | Yen Press – I will say one thing about this one-and-done omnibus shoujo series—for once we have a ‘you will become my pet’ relationship that doesn’t end up being physically abusive, as Kei really does spoil Aoi as you would a pet. That said, I’d still call it abusive, as it causes her a lot of emotional turmoil due to feeling ‘useless’ and unable to do anything productive. Rich-kids-school shoujo generally features either an imported poor heroine or a former rich girl down on her luck, and this is the latter. Sadly, there simply isn’t all that much to say about it—I normally like short LaLa DX series, but I was ready for this to end before it was even halfway done. There’s better manga about imbalanced power relationships out there. – Sean Gaffney

sakivol1Saki, Vol. 1 | By Ritz Kobayashi | Yen Press (digital only) – Bookworm Saki Miyanaga has perfected the art of neither winning nor losing mahjong with no idea of how difficult that is. Once she gets dragged to a club meeting and encouraged to win, she becomes eager to improve and progress to nationals, where she might be able to (I am not making this up) get her feelings across to her estranged sister (also a talented player) through mahjong. The volume starts a bit slow, but eventually terms like “prefectural qualifier” and “training camp” ignited my sports manga squee and I was eager for more. Unfortunately, Yen doesn’t have release dates for any more volumes listed yet! Also, I was a bit worried about fanservice in this title, but there’s hardly any. There’s a keen attention to boob size, which is a bit creepy, but I’ve seen much worse. Heartily recommended! – Michelle Smith

sayiloveyou11Say I Love You., Vol. 11 | By Kanae Hazuki | Kodansha Comics – Hazuki-sensei has a special knack for taking shoujo scenarios we’ve all seen before and turning them into something that feels fresh. Heck, she even repeats the “use new school year to introduce romantic rival” trick she employed to introduce Kai to bring in siblings Len and Rin Aoi. And with Mei and friends starting their third year of high school, they’re soon absorbed in career decision angst. It’s certainly very far from a bad volume, but it is mainly occupied with introducing new characters and worries, so doesn’t delve very much into Mei and Yamato’s relationship. I do love that Hazuki resisted ending the series right after her leads had sex for the first time, as if that were the culmination of Mei’s growth and development, and also appreciate that she seems to be drawing Mei’s kitty more often. I always look forward to new volumes most eagerly. – Michelle Smith

Pick of the Week: A Shot Of Shoujo

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natsume19SEAN: There’s a bevy of choices, including some of my favorite shoujo series. From those favorites, I will cast my vote to Natsume’s Book of Friends, which has been gradually working an ongoing plot into its yokai-oriented story. You never know if you’ll get dangerous adventure or melancholy memories with this one. It’s fantastic.

MICHELLE: I agree with Sean 100%. Natsume is my official pick, too, but I really am excited about Honey So Sweet, too. Not to mention more of My Love Story!! and Kimi ni Todoke. If only there were some Skip Beat! coming out this week, I’d be in shoujo heaven!

ANNA: I can’t think of a better way to kick off the new year than with a new shoujo series! So Honey So Sweet is my pick of the week. This story about a slightly traumatized girl who finds herself dating a juvenile delinquent who is secretly sweet has a lo-fi charm that reminds me of some of the late, lamented manga series published by CMX. I was also reminded of Banri Hidaka while reading this, and that’s a very good thing.

ASH: Looks like it really is a shoujo sort of week! I’ve been meaning to catch up on Natsume’s Book of Friends, and I’m glad to see some new series debut, too, but I’m most looking forward to reading the seventh volume of My Love Story!!. I was afraid that the premise of the manga would grow old, but the series continues to make me incredibly happy every time I read it.

Honey So Sweet, Vol. 1

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Honey So Sweet Volume 1 by Amu Meguro

I always look forward to checking out new Shojo Beat series, but I was wondering before I picked up this title if it would be a bit TOO sweet. Once the characters and backstory got set up, I enjoyed this volume.

The volume opens up with a flashback scene of Nao Kogure walking away from a boy recovering from a beating in the rain, saying that people might consider her helpless, but she doesn’t want to get involved with delinquents. The delinquent in question is Taiga Onise, nicknamed Oni at his school. He promptly announces to Nao that they need to talk, and when she follows him he presents her with a bouquet of roses and asks her if she’ll “date him with marriage in mind.” Nao is so intimidated by her suitor that she accepts immediately because she’s afraid of retaliation.

Nao discusses the situation at home with her guardian, her Uncle Sou. He points out that judging Onise by his outward appearance is unfair and she should get to know him first. The next day at school she sees Onise doing chores, helping teachers, and he makes an incredibly cute bento for them to share at lunch. One of the most annoying thing about this manga in the early chapters was Nao’s fear of Onise, long after the point where it should be clear to everybody that dyed hair and random piercings aside, he’s an absolute sweetheart. The other thing that has Nao hesitating about getting involved with her first boyfriend is that she’s decided she’s in love with her Uncle.

Nao and Onise continue their friendship, and one of the things I enjoyed very much about this series were cute details that showcase their personalities, like Onise’s tendency to write elaborately formal text messages when he’s nervous. Nao has her own trauma to deal with due to being an orphan, and she finds it difficult to get close to people. Much of the plot centers around some typical shoujo set pieces like a class trip, but Nao and Onise gradually start collecting a small group of misfit friends, and the series is so genuinely warm-hearted, it is hard to resist.

I found myself enjoying Meguro’s art style very much. So much shoujo manga art tends to be overly polished, but Meguro uses thin whispy lines that make the illustrations in Honey So Sweet seem delicate and not overworked. The storylines centered on friendship, combined with Nao’s psychological issues reminded me a bit of some of the old Banri Hidaka series published by CMX. This first volume was mostly set-up, so I’m curious to find out what happens next in this series.

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Manga the Week of 1/6

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SEAN: For a first week of the month, this is pretty mild. And by mild I mean there’s still 17 titles due out. But mild by comparison.

Seven Seas gives us a 2nd volume of A Certain Scientific Accelerator, as he deals with a Certain Magical Girl who is messing up his plans to not get involved.

And a 2nd Merman in My Tub, with more wacky anthropomorphism (which would make a great band name).

ASH: That it would!

SEAN: There’s also a 3rd volume of Senran Kagura: Skirting Shadows, which I had forgotten existed, likely as it’s already hit ‘caught up with Japan’. Judging by the cover, breasts are somehow involved. I wonder if someone will trip and fall into them.

The rest is all Viz. There’s a 14th Blue Exorcist, which I admit I always forget about between volumes, but it all comes back to me when I read a new one.

Aya Shouoto continues to be the new Arina Tanemura, as we can’t get enough of her work. This week we have a 3rd Demon Prince of Momochi House, and also an 8th Kiss of the Rose Princess.

ANNA: Not surprisingly, I enjoy these series. These manga are solid shoujo series, even if they aren’t standouts.

MJ: I’ve begun to enjoy them as well!

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SEAN: If you like shoujo that’s so sweet as to give you cavities, the first volume of Honey So Sweet may be for you.

MICHELLE: Sometimes I do like that very thing, so I am looking forward to this one.

ANNA: Also not surprisingly this is on my reading list!

MJ: And mine!

SEAN: Kimi ni Todoke is also good at sweet, but has also been putting on the drama a bit lately as we hit Vol. 23.

ANNA: I’ve been avoiding this just because I’m not sure I can deal with all the feels.

SEAN: And it will be hard to top the concentrated sweetness that is My Love Story!!, whose 7th volume is guaranteed to require major dentistry for all its readers.

MICHELLE: Heh. Also on my list.

ASH: Mine as well! Such a wonderfully charming series.

ANNA: Ditto. One of the series I most look forward to reading.

MJ: Wow, what a lovely, shoujo-ish week.

SEAN: Naruto has a one-volume sequel coming out next week, The Seventh Hokage and the Scarlet Spring. Be warned, it’s post-Epilogue.

And there’s a 13th Naruto 3-in-1.

Lastly, if you really want to catch up, Naruto 49-72 are in a giant box. Perfect for figuring out what the fuss was all about and why Sakura fans are so angry.

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Natsume’s Book of Friends 19 is the one shoujo out this week that’s more bitter than sweet, but I still love it to bits.

MICHELLE: Me, too. Much as I look forward to the others, this is the one I’m really celebrating about.

SEAN: And a 13th Nisekoi, which will answer the question “will this still sell after the harem has now been sunk in the weekly chapters from Japan?”.

One-Punch Man just gets more and more popular by the week, so I expect big things from the 4th manga volume. And also big punches.

ASH: Still thrilled we’re finally getting this series in print.

ANNA: Why did it take so long? Hooray for punching!

SEAN: Twin Star Exorcists is getting an anime soon, so I think the 3rd volume should do pretty well.

And there’s an 8th volume of World Trigger, one of those Jump series I always despair about falling further behind on.

So what are you ringing in the New Year with?

Bookshelf Briefs 12/29/15

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Sean, Anna, and Michelle present the final briefs column of 2015!

aldnoah1Aldnoah Zero, Vol. 1 | By Olympus Knights and Pinakes | Yen Press – A manga tie-in based on a popular mecha anime, Aldnoah Zero seems designed to give the fans what they want. There’s really not much here in terms of innovation, to the point where I wouldn’t be surprised if the manga called itself Gendom. We meet a bunch of high school kids training to be mecha pilots, an idealistic princess who avoids getting killed off in this first volume but I’m sure it’s only a matter of time, several cynical soldiers whose desire is war and conquest, and even a snotty, arrogant pilot who kills off supposed allies and mercilessly tries to crush young children for the lulz. It reads smoothly, and the action sequences are fine, but if you want a manga like this, read Gundam. It’s better. – Sean Gaffney

barakamon8Barakamon, Vol. 8 | By Satsuki Yoshino| Yen Press – This volume seems to be divided into two halves. The first half is the more lighthearted, showing Miwa and Tama’s class going on a class trip, and proving to the reader that it’s not just Handa they act up around. We also see Handa attempting to deal with the village some more, and as you’d expect he gets run ragged. Things quiet down for the second half, when a sudden passing means we get a wake and funeral, and Handa tries to awkwardly help as best he can, proving that despite his awkwardness he’s really a nice, kind person. We again get a suggestion, but no confirmation, that Naru is an orphan, but she seems content with that, and admits the reason she doesn’t like funerals is everyone cries. This is a really sweet series. – Sean Gaffney

demonprince3The Demon Prince of Momochi House, Vol. 3 | By Aya Shouoto | Viz Media – The action and stakes pick up a bit in volume three. The first story centers on a mystery, as Himari learns that one of her new friends that she’s invited back to Momochi House is dead. A new antagonist suddenly appears, as Kasha, a ayakashi with the power of black flames decides to stir things up. A longer, more involved story shows Aoi as the Nue taking Himari to an annual ritual, showing the difficult cost of Aoi serving as the guardian of Momochi House. Overall, this volume had a good mix of action, backstory, and a little bit of character development. I think the series is getting better as it progresses. – Anna N

onlyvamp5He’s My Only Vampire, Vol. 5 | By Aya Shouoto | Yen Press – After giving us a lot of backstory in the first volume, this series seemed content to coast for a bit. Well, enjoyable as that was, it ends here, as we amp up the plotline with lots of new characters, troubling revelations, and threats against our heroine. Sadly, the last one means we get the least Kana we’ve had to date, as she’s kidnapped—again—but this is made up for with her childhood flashback self, who has the standard tragic and horribly friendless backstory. I was less impressed with the main fight/confrontation, mostly as it can sometimes be hard to keep track of all the pretty boys, and things got a bit chaotic. Still, this is the halfway point of the series, and I’m still keeping up and ready for the next volume. – Sean Gaffney

He’s My Only Vampire, Vol. 5 | By Aya Shouoto | Yen Press – The first half of this volume is deceptive. It starts off feeling very much like a stock shoujo episode wherein the heroine and her bishounen pals go to a hot spring and hey, everyone they know is there! It’s not amusing, despite a few gags (including a cliffhanger where Jin mistakenly climbs into Kana’s futon), and just when I was beginning to grumble about the series spinning its wheels, suddenly the revelations start pouring out. Kana initially has only fragmented memories of her past, but once she gets spirited away by the head of the Tsubakiin family, the details begin to emerge. Not all of these details make sense yet, especially what will happen to Aki once he finishes collecting the scattered stigma, but this series got darker and more interesting in a hurry. I’m definitely in ’til the end with this one. – Michelle Smith

komomo2Komomo Confiserie , Vol. 2 | By Maki Minami | Viz Media – So far, this seems like the Maki Minami series that I’m going to stick with. I’m enjoying the combination of psychotic pastry chef protectiveness in Natsu and Komomo’s odd approach to friendship and slowly becoming a real girl. Komomo goes on an ill-fated double date with new friend Rise, but Komomo is able to quickly perceive when Rise’s boyfriend is actually using her for her money. Another suitor appears in the form of an apprentice shoemaker from a rich family, and it will be interesting to see now Natstu deals with a potential rival for Komomo’s friendship. Looking forward to the next volume. – Anna N

sayiloveyou11Say “I Love You,” Vol. 11 | By Kanae Hazuki | Kodansha Comics – The author says that lots of people thought she would end the series after Yamato and Mei made love at the end of the last volume, and she’s pushing back against that a bit. Which is fine, as there’s more to a shoujo manga than just who ends up with who, but you can hear the wheels screeching a bit as they turn in this volume. We see Mei beginning to worry a bit about her future, as she’s still not quite sure what to do with her life. We also see her worrying about her weight, not uncommon for a young girl just starting a sexual relationship. This introduces us to two new characters, who I suspect will take over on plot contrivances for a little longer. Still, if there’s a series I’m happy to see dragged out, it’s this one. – Sean Gaffney

yowapeda1Yowamushi Pedal, Vol. 1 | By Wataru Watanabe | Yen Press – Sakamichi Onoda is a friendless, fervent otaku whose desire for capsule toys has compelled him to make weekly 90 km round trips (by bicycle) to Akihabara since the third grade. He doesn’t realize that this is exceptional until he enrolls at at high school with a skilled bicycle racing club and makes friends who recognize his natural ability and get him fired up for the world of racing. Some of the early art is a bit wonky—especially faces—but it improves over the course of the volume, and the race sequences are absorbing. Yowamushi Pedal also has a few attributes that remind me of Slam Dunk, including a brash redhead clashing against a calmer rival and a girl whose love of bicycles is inspired by her older brother. That not a complaint, though. Just an observation. I’m really looking forward to the next volume! – Michelle Smith

Pick of the Year, 2015 Edition

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asv1SEAN: It’s been a big year for manga in 2015, as the market continues to recover and companies are pumping out more titles than ever. Seven Seas, who were seemingly near death 4 years ago, are pushing all the monster girls you could possibly want. Yen On is putting out so many light novels that my own website is seemingly now only half manga, as I can’t really squeeze a novel into a Bookshelf Brief. Vertical continues to choose wisely and well. Viz is, well, Viz. That said, when I was pondering what my manga of the year would be I kept coming back to only one choice, a Kodansha release starting in April that has really taken off beyond the usual market: A Silent Voice, by Yoshitoki Oima. Though its realistic take on bullying, abuse and disabilities can be hard to take sometimes, that’s not due to lack of quality but sheer emotional rawness. It’s also not afraid to show the cruelty of children, and then turn around and explain exactly why they’re being cruel. It’s my 2015 must read.

Runners up: Viz’s release of the first JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure series; My Neighbor Seki/Haven’t You Heard, I’m Sakamoto? and the return of gag manga; Shigeru Mizuki’s continued releases; Sword Art Online: Progressive.

Worst moment of 2015: Wandering Son going ‘on hiatus’ at Fantagraphics due to poor sales.

MICHELLE: I’ve been thinking hard about my pick of the year this week. My initial instinct was to say “the publishers,” because man have there been a lot of fabulous licensing announcements recently! Kodansha and Princess Jellyfish, Udon and The Rose of Versailles, Yen Press and Twinkle Stars, VIZ and Kuroko’s Basketball, Vertical and FukuFuku: Kitten Tales… Everyone has something I’m really looking forward to for 2016!

As for 2015, I think I am ultimately going to have to pick Yukarism by Chika Shiomi (VIZ). I wasn’t quite on board after its first volume (a 2014 release), but in 2015, the series fully won me over. Emotional, tense, woefully short but thankfully devoid of filler, with fascinating character revelations and a satisfactory conclusion… I’m going with Yukarism this year!

Runners up: Fumi Yoshinaga awesomeness in the form of What Did You Eat Yesterday? and Ooku: The Inner Chambers, the over-the-top ridiculous fun of Food Wars!, and Kodansha’s Dessert titles My Little Monster and Say I Love You.

Worst moment of 2015: Two too many shoujo manga about overweight girls who suddenly lose the weight and become thin, gorgeous, and newly desirable.

magus1ASH: For the last two years I’ve cheated a little bit by picking a publisher rather than a specific manga, so I’ll keep with that tradition. This year it was Seven Seas that particularly caught my attention as it continued to increase and expand its catalog at a remarkable rate. I’m not especially interested in most of Seven Seas’ fanservicey titles, but I am grateful for their success as it has allowed the publisher to pursue some more unusual series. I count some of those atypical manga, like The Ancient Magus’ Bride and Haven’t You Heard? I’m Sakamoto, among my favorites of 2015. I’m curious to see what other hidden gems Seven Seas will present us with in the coming year.

Runners up: If I had to chose just one series, it would likely be A Silent Voice for all of the reasons that Sean has already described. The dark and dramatic historical fantasy Requiem of the Rose King is another personal favorite that just gets better with each volume and Chromatic Press/Sparkler Monthly continues to find amazing creators to work with.

Worst moment of 2015: Echoing Sean here again, but I will be absolutely heartbroken if the eighth volume of Wandering Son is the last to be published in English. Likewise, Vinland Saga, another incredible series, may be in trouble, too.

ANNA: I agree that a worst moment of 2015 is Vinland Saga going on hiatus. Highlights of 2015 for me include the print edition of One-Punch Man and the start of Requiem of the Rose King. When I think about the standout releases of 2015, my thoughts turn to lavish hardcover editions. Vertical deserves kudos for wrapping up the great release of Gundam: The Origin. But the manga that left the deepest impression on me in 2015 has plenty of random rock band references, punching, and almost too much manliness to fit within the confines of a book. It might seem a bit odd from such a staunch shoujo fan, but my pick of the year is JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Part 1 — Phantom Blood.

MJ: I’m on board with so many of my colleagues’ picks here, and even though I haven’t been on top of as many series’ as in previous years, the ones I’ve followed closely have been a real treat. I rather wish I could give this year’s nod to Sirial’s incredibly charming Milkyway Hitchhiking, one of my first picks this year, and still the owner of a major chunk of my soul. Alas, though I read the first volume in 2015, it was released near the end of the year before. On the other hand, that gives me room to shine some glory on Aya Kanno’s Requiem of the Rose King. It may not be the greatest masterpiece released in 2015, but it’s won my heart completely, with its heady mix of creative history, gender confusion, and beautiful artwork. My one regret over Kanno’s Otomen was that in all its gloriousness, it never really went anywhere, but that can’t be said at all about Requiem of the Rose King. It’s Richard III meets After School Nightmare, and has got me hooked only like such a strange marriage ever could. Aya Kanno and Viz have found the key to my heart.

Runners up: the totally charming My Neighbor Seki; Yukarism, for all the reasons Michelle has highlighted above; the re-release of the incomparable JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure; and hey, I’ll jump on the Fumi Yoshinaga bandwagon as well, as both What Did You Eat Yesterday? and Ooku have remained strong in my heart; also, Pandora Hearts, my love never dies, even with a year between releases.

Lastly, I’ll join the crowd in mourning the hiatus of Wandering Son, a favorite of mine and of the Battle Robot in general. That’s a difficult blow to take, both for readers and for Fantagraphics.

Pick of the Week: Gangsters, Vikings and Mahjong

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sakivol1MICHELLE: There’s really only one manga on my mind for next week, and that’s Saki, a digital-only debut for a series about mahjong. And, okay, yes, it features impossibly buxom girls, too, but if I can see past the fanservice to enjoy Food Wars!, I’m hoping I can do it again with Saki.

SEAN: I am greatly looking forward to Saki as well, which apparently also has a large yuri fandom. My pick of the week is actually for 3 chapters, though, as Baccano! has a prequel manga running in Japan, and Yen Press is starting it digitally this week with the initial parts. This takes place in 1927, three years prior to the first novel due out in April, and will no doubt focus on Firo, the hero of that first novel. I am very excited for it.

MJ: I’m with Michelle, here, I have to go with Saki! My husband and I enjoyed the anime series when it debuted on Crunchyroll way back in 2009, and though the fanservice level was high, it could not eclipse the true awesomeness of near-magical mahjong tournaments. If you thought Hotta and Obata snazzed up Go, Saki takes the super-sportsification of table games to a whole new level. I’m totally psyched.

MICHELLE: That is super encouraging news!

ANNA: Saki sounds interesting, but my vote this week goes for the 7th volume of Vinland Saga. I hope we see more volumes of this series, it is wonderful.

ASH: Oh, lots of good stuff this week! If Saki was being released in print, it would be a strong contender for my pick. (That being said, it will probably be one of the few digital manga that I’ll actually buy.) And as a longtime Samura fan, I’m definitely looking forward to the debut of Die Wergelder, but my official pick of the week goes to the seventh omnibus of Vinland Saga. I join Anna in hoping this won’t be the last we see of the series; it’s an incredible manga.

Manga the Week of 12/23

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ng9SEAN: Last month I believed Dark Horse rather than Diamond, and got burned for it. This time I’m believing Diamond, so no Dark Horse next week. That leaves…

Ninja Slayer Kills 2 and Noragami 9, both from Kodansha.

MICHELLE: Hm… Well, someone is probably happy about these, I guess.

ASH: Wow, only two manga releases?! Personally, I’ll be passing on Ninja Slayer Kills, but Noragami has been developing nicely.

ANNA: It is weird to have only two new releases! It is probably not so weird that I have nothing to say about them.

MJ: I, too, am here to say basically that I have nothing to say. But there’s a lot to catch up on from last week, at least!

SEAN: Thoughts?

Boys Over Flowers: Season 2

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Boys Over Flowers Season 2 by Yoko Kamio

Boys Over Flowers Season 2 is available for free on a chapter by chapter basis on the Viz Manga app, Comixology, and on the Kindle.

I was a little hesitant about starting this series, which is a bit odd, because I absolutely adore Boys Over Flowers. I’ve collected the manga, and watched many of the tv adaptations of the property. I was worried that a return to Eitoku Academy would feel a bit stale. While this series doesn’t exactly feel fresh and new, Kamino is such an assured creator, it mostly won me over.

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The social gap that was caused by the departure of the F4 has been filled by a new gang of students – the Correct 5. They are but a pale imitation of the F4, and they are lead by Haruto, a short boy with a penchant for superstition and ordering random quack objects out of the back of magazines. Haruto is joined in his misadventures by his right hand man Kaito, who seems reasonable and sane. There are two other male members, Sugimaru (the strong one), and Issa (mostly invisible). The Correct 5 is rounded out by Airi, a girl who you can tell is evil due to her curly pigtails.

The not-Tsukushi main female character is Oto, who is attending Eitoku while working a variety of side jobs. She used to be rich, but her family has fallen on hard times. She’s keeping up the pretense that she can actually afford to go to Eitoku, but the Correct 5 are determined to drive any poor students out of school, in order to try to better its standing. It seems like when the F4 left, much of the glamour that attracted students went too, and the school is struggling especially when compared to upstart Momonozono Academy.

Oto and Haruto meet when he isn’t able to send his butler in to the convenience store where she works to pick up his bizarre mail order packages. Haruto is worried about his secret being uncovered, and Oto isn’t afraid to try to blackmail him in order to keep her status as a student. One of the things I appreciated about Oto was her guarded personality. The first Boys Over Flowers was a bit more dynamic because Tsukushi was always so vocal, but Oto is doing her best to stay under the radar, to the point where she’s actually repressing her impulses.

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Haruto is an absolute idiot, but he’s somewhat adorable in his lavish lifestyle, slavish devotion to the memory of Tsukasa, and bumbling reactions to Oto as he begins to realize that he has a crush on her. One of the things that I didn’t like much about the chapters that have been released so far, is that the rest of the Correct 5 haven’t really had their personalities filled in yet. I thought that the first Boys Over Flowers did a better job balancing out and introducing the cast of characters and giving everyone a chance to develop. To be fair, Kamino does realize this, there’s a side story about Issa making the point that he never actually shows up in the manga, so I’m hoping that there will be more plot development later on.

Kamio’s art is great – she has a facility with facial expressions that make the funny scenes teeter on the edge of caricature while still seeming fully human. Really, my main quibble with this series is that it does suffer in comparison with the original. It was a bit telling that one of the most exciting moments in this series was when one of the original members of the F4 popped back for a very brief cameo. There are cliffhangers at the end of every chapter, and it did want to keep reading once I got going. I appreciate that Viz is experimenting with a free, digital release for Boys Over Flowers Season 2 and I hope it leads to more digital shoujo!

Pick of the Week: Overabundance

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kizuSEAN: There’s about a dozen titles I could pick here, including any number of debuts from Yen, or final volumes from Vertical, or even fantastic shoujo from Kodansha and seinen from Viz. But my pick of the week will be Kizumonogatari, the novel by Nisioisin that is the introduction to the popular Monogatari universe, showing how our hero got to be what he is today. I’ve loved this author’s work ever since I read the first Zaregoto back in 2008, and can’t wait to bury myself in it.

ASH: Sean’s right, there are plenty of great releases to choose from this week, including some of my personal favorites like Dorohedoro. However, I’m especially excited for the debut of Yowamushi Pedal. I’m very happy to see sports manga being released in English again and I don’t at all mind the series’ BL undertones, whether they be real or imagined.

ANNA: I’m also going to throw my vote to Yowamushi Pedal. Sports manga comes out so rarely here, I feel like every new title should be celebrated.

MICHELLE: My pick goes to volume one of Of The Red, the Light, and the Ayakashi. The art and the emphasis on the supernatural remind me of Natsume’s Book of Friends, which is one of my favorite series, but there are quite a few active mysteries and questions in this new series that presumably relate to its visual novel origins. Check it out!

MJ: There’s a lot to be happy about this week, including all my colleagues’ picks, so I’ll do my duty here and keep banging the drum for my beloved Pandora Hearts! We’ve been waiting a long time for this volume, and there is so much hanging in the balance! You can be sure this is at the top of my list this week.

Black Rose Alice, Vol 6

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Black Rose Alice Volume 6 by Setona Mizushiro

I was disappointed when I realized a couple volumes in to this series that it was on hiatus in Japan. But by that time I was thoroughly won over by Mizushiro’s surreal and unique take on vampires and the tragic tone of the manga in general. It turns out that I shouldn’t have been worried too much, because while this volume doesn’t wrap up all the possible loose ends in the series, it does provide a satisfying conclusion.

Dimitri is away, and Alice and the twins are living in the house, dealing with the aftermath of Leo’s death. The twins’ backstory is told through flashbacks, and it is just as dark as one might expect from this series. Neither twin seemed like particularly great humans, but Kai’s actions are particularly despicable, making his current more winning personalty stand out in contrast to his past actions. There’s a moment of levity injected into the household when Dimitri returns home with a human woman who he once saved from a horrible assault, promising to make her his vampire bride. Now Akari is all grown up, and determined to experience the most cliched date possible with Dimitri by her side. This prompts feelings of jealousy in Alice, and an emotional confrontation.

As far as endings go, this volume concludes with one that is about as happy as it is possible to get, considering that everyone is doomed. Black Rose Alice is such a delightfully odd series, one that doesn’t turn aside from the darkness in human (or vampire) nature. It is a more mature, and quirky addition to the Shojo Beat family. I highly recommend it. This is one of those series that I’ll take down from the bookshelf and reread every few years.

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Manga the Week of 12/16

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SEAN: There are 39 titles due out next week. Thirty-nine. Let’s take a look. Try not to get lost in the deluge.

Attack on Titan’s 17th volume has a Special Edition with a DVD of Ilse’s Notebook, the side story from the 5th volume.

ASH: It’s really interesting to see special editions like this starting to come out!

SEAN: Fairy Tail has a 51st volume.

Kiss Him, Not Me! and L♥DK both have their second volumes which may interest shoujo fans.

MICHELLE: I suppose I will check out the second volume of L♥DK just to see whether it improves, but I don’t have high hopes.

SEAN: And Say “I Love You” has an 11th volume that is a must for shoujo fans.

MICHELLE: A definite must.

ANNA: I am way behind on this series! Maybe I will binge read during an upcoming vacation.

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SEAN: Tsubasa has finally climbed out of its Reservoir and is ready to take on the world with the debut of Tsubasa World Chronicle 1. I am trying to contain my enthusiasm. See? :|

MICHELLE: I didn’t even know this existed!

ANNA: You know, I used to be a major CLAMP fan, and now I have CLAMP fatigue.

MICHELLE: Yeah, I think that has afflicted me, too. I never finished xxxHOLiC or the first Tsubasa series, despite owning them all, and now they both have sequels I haven’t touched. And then there’s that Gate 7 series, which utterly failed to make an impression with me.

ANNA: Most of my remaining feelings of affection for CLAMP are tied up in nostalgia for X/1999. So much angst and feathers!

MICHELLE: I have an enduring fondness for CLAMP Campus Detectives, but more so the anime than the manga. Oh, and Cardcaptor Sakura!

SEAN: It is rather sad that Man of Many Faces is still in my top 5 CLAMP works, given it was their first. (It’s out digitally next week as well, by the way! Rescued by Viz.)

ANNA: Cardcaptor Sakura is also great! Actually, I’m interested in reading Man of Many Faces, and I didn’t realize that it was out digitally.

MJ: I’m probably the only person here unlikely to succumb to CLAMP fatigue, I suppose, and while a Tsubasa sequel is not high on the list of what I’d really like to see most from them, I’ll surely check it out. Their artwork will always be a draw for me, and they have a knack for creating characters I can’t get enough of. Even when they write themselves into a hole (as they’ve occasionally done), I’ll stick around to the end.

SEAN: One Peace has a 5th (final?) volume of Aquarion Evol.

ANNA: I have some volumes of Aquarion I need to read.

SEAN: If you’ve somehow not read the brilliant and evocative A Distant Neighborhood books from Ponent Mon, they’ve got a Complete Edition out next week to correct that.

MICHELLE: I really liked A Distant Neighborhood.

ASH: Very glad to see this coming back into print!

ANNA: I haven’t read this, but I know it is wonderful, and I am also glad it is coming back into print.

MJ: It really *is* wonderful, and I’m so glad to see it coming back!

SEAN: And Seven Seas also has an omnibus of Mayo Chiki starting next week, whose audience is possibly a bit different from that of A Distant Neighborhood.

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Vertical debuts a novel that will be of great interest to anime fans: Kizumonogatari: Wound Tale, the first (chronologically) of the popular Monogatari series from Nisioisin (author of Medaka Box and Zaregoto). I am VERY excited for its release, even though it has vampires – possibly that only adds to the excitement!

ANNA: Vampires are always exciting!

MEILNDA: I’m always willing to try something from Vertical, even if vampires are involved.

SEAN: Vertical also has the 12th and final volume of Mobile Suit Gundam the Origin. It’s a labor of love, and I’m sure that the Manga Bookshelf team, particularly Ash, are ready to congratulate them on its completion.

ASH: It’s true! This has been a fantastic release. Congrats, Vertical!

ANNA: Vertical deserves some sort of award for this lovely edition.

SEAN: And if Gundam is too realistic for you, try the second Ninja Slayer, also from Vertical.

Afterschool Charisma is a series I keep forgetting is still running, but here’s the 11th volume.

ANNA: I’m way behind on this, but I like it!

SEAN: And here is the 17th Dorohedoro, which I could never forget. Are these two the last remnants of SigIKKI?

MICHELLE: I believe so.

ASH: I love Dorohedoro so much.

SEAN: Master Keaton has a 5th volume already. I’ve fallen behind on this series.

MICHELLE: Me, too. I did start, but got bogged down somewhere in volume two.

ANNA: I am happy to report that this is one series I am not behind on! I enjoy Master Keaton.

SEAN: And a 4th volume of the insanely popular Tokyo Ghoul, which will war with Attack on Titan 17 for the top of the bestseller charts.

Yen On has five light novels out for the holidays. The 2nd Black Bullet will, I suspect, be as grim as the debut was.

The Devil Is A Part-Timer! has proven to be very likeable, and I hope the third volume continues the trend.

I remain surprised at how addictive Is It Wrong To Try To Pick Up Girls In a Dungeon? has become, particularly with that title. The 4th volume is also highly anticipated.

We’ve nearly come to the end of the long running Spice & Wolf novel series, with Vol. 16 being the 2nd to last.

And Sword Art Online’s 6th novel wraps up another arc, as Kirito and Sinon try to figure out the secret behind the Gun Gale Online game and those using it to kill players in real life.

MJ: I think I’m one of the few folks here who is pretty into SAO… how did that happen? In any case, I’m always ready for more!

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SEAN: Yen Press has a number of debuts next week, beginning with Aldnoah Zero, which (like Rose Guns Days) gets a Season One appended to it. It runs in Manga Time Kirara Forward, but don’t expect it to be a 4-koma: this is a serious sci-fi title based on an anime created at the same time.

ASH: I haven’t seen the anime yet, but I am rather curious about the Aldnoah Zero manga.

MJ: I’m interested as well.

SEAN: There’s an 8th Barakamon, which I do recommend if you’re missing Yotsuba&!, even though the two titles have a somewhat different feel.

MICHELLE: I have a big stack of Barakamon that I really need to get around to reading.

MJ: I haven’t given this title its due, but I really should pay more attention to it!

SEAN: For those who don’t like prose, there’s the 2nd volume of the Black Bullet manga.

A ninth volume of Bloody Cross no doubt sees the series headed towards its endgame.

And there’s a third volume of eccentric fantasy Chaika the Coffin Princess.

Demon from Afar is up to Vol. 5, and no doubt continues to look very pretty and destroy all our hopes and dreams.

The third Emma omnibus also will look very pretty, but likely has 100% fewer corpses.

MICHELLE: *snerk*

MJ: I’m still excited every time one of these shows up, since I missed this series the first time around!

SEAN: And we get a 5th volume of He’s My Only Vampire. One of a large number of vampire manga out there, it’s trying to be our steady and doing a pretty good job.

MICHELLE: Definitely my favorite of the vampire gang.

ANNA: Is it odd that I haven’t read this yet? Probably.

MJ: I think that’s very odd indeed!

SEAN: Maximum Ride is not technically a manga, but it certainly sells well enough, so let’s mention the 9th volume here.

The Melancholy of Suzumiya Haruhi-chan is now at double digits, and I suspect will run till the author (Puyo, not the author of the original source) decides it is over.

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Of the Red, the Light and the Ayakashi is based on a visual novel, and runs in Media Factory’s sorta-kinda-shoujo magazine Comic Gene. Expect prettiness.

MICHELLE: I’ve started reading this and it’s giving me some Natsume’s Book of Friends vibes, which is definitely a compliment.

ASH: Oooh, that’s good to hear! And the cover art is pretty, too!

ANNA: I’m always up for pretty sorta-kinda-shoujo.

MJ: I’m up for this, definitely, especially after reading Michelle’s comment above.

SEAN: Pandora Hearts has a 23rd volume, and it’s the first to come out in over a year, so I’ll let Michelle and MJtake over from here.

MICHELLE: I’ve fallen somewhat behind, so I am going to have a nice big marathon and it’ll be awesome. And then I’ll wait in desperation for the 24th and final volume to come out.

MJ: I have *not* fallen behind, as you might imagine, and have been anticipating this rather anxiously! My love for this series has not waned!

SEAN: Puella Magi Madoka Magica: The Movie has a first volume, and is sure to appeal to fans of Homura who couldn’t get enough of the movie—ow, I think I cut myself on my sarcasm there.

MJ: I haven’t been able to maintain any interest in this series beyond the original anime. So many books. So little interest.

SEAN: There’s also a 2nd volume of Puella Magi Suzune Magica.

Rose Guns Days Season One gets a 2nd volume, as we learn more about this strange occupied Japan and the eccentrics populating it.

The Secret Sakura Shares is a done-in-1 omnibus that ran in Hakusensha’s LaLa and LaLa DX magazines, and I love that we’re seeing Hakusensha titles get additional publisher availability. That said, I suspect many readers will have trouble getting past the premise.

MICHELLE: Yeah, I don’t know about this one, but I’m gonna read it anyway.

ANNA: Hmmmmmm.

MJ: I just read the premise, and I agree I may have trouble getting past it. I guess we’ll see.

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SEAN: Sunshine Sketch 8 finally bids farewell to its two gayest… sorry, oldest characters, as Sae and Hiro are graduating. But the series continues, and we gain some new students in the process.

Lastly, we have the first Yowamushi Pedal omnibus, as an incredibly popular shonen cycling series finally gets a chance in the West, despite a huge number of volumes extant. There are, I hear, one or two male fans. Somewhere. But for the most part, YowaPeda is known for its BL fandom, though the manga itself is not BL.

MICHELLE: I’m looking forward to this one a lot. Not for the BL but for its presumed sports manga-y aspects.

ASH: I’m certainly excited to see publishers giving sports manga another chance!

ANNA: I am always wishing for more sports manga, so I’m glad this is coming out.

MJ: Yay sports manga! Yay BL fandom! I’m ready for it all!

SEAN: That’s it. Finally. What are you getting?

Pick of the Week: Two Titles

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thorns1MICHELLE: Secure in the knowledge that someone else is going to pick Planetes, and despite genuinely looking forward to the second volume of Tokyo ESP, I am going to have to go with my squeeing fangirl heart this week and pick the digital-only debut of Crown of Thorns, a Yoko Kamio manga that was totally not on my radar before but which I now desperately need to read.

SEAN: It’s definitely Planetes for me. If you told someone to read a manga about space garbagemen, they’d likely ignore you. But they’d be very, very wrong.

ASH: It’s Planetes for me, too. I already have the entire series sitting on my shelf from when Tokyopop released it, but I’m sorely tempted to upgrade to Dark Horse’s edition.

ANNA: Usually with Pick of the Week, my choice is clear, but I’m genuinely torn between celebrating the return of a series I loved or the lure of the new. Since other folks have picked Planetes, I’m going to give in to the side of me that greets new shoujo series with glee and cast my vote for Crown of Thorns.

MJ: I’m going to join the majority of the pack here and go with Planetes. I missed this the first time around, and I am so thrilled to have another chance at it. This is something I’ve been eagerly anticipating for quite a while, so there’s really no other choice for me.