Anna N

Pick of the Week: Sparkling Series

August 4, 2015 by Sean Gaffney, Michelle Smith, Ash Brown, MJ and Anna N Leave a Comment

SEAN: I was originally going to pick Showa here, but Amazon helpfully moved it to late September at the very last minute. So instead I will pick Haven’t You Heard? I’m Sakamoto, Seven Seas’ new series about the coolest high school student around, and how no one else can hold a candle to him. It’s completely hilarious and I want more immediately.

MICHELLE: Voice Over!: Seiyu Academy may not be a classic, but I have grown to like it very much over its run, and so must pick the twelfth and final volume while I can. I hope for a sugary sweet ending with kitties.

ASH: I was all set to choose Haven’t You Heard? I’m Sakamoto, but then the Sparkler Monthly Kickstarter reached its goal over the weekend. I’m so excited that we’ll be seeing another year of fantastic content, beginning this month!

MJ: I’m pretty much MIA due to my teen opera production which goes up next week, but I had to jump in to add to Ash’s excitement. Yay, Sparkler!! We’re so lucky to be getting more of this magazine!

ANNA: I will go with the third volume of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Phantom Blood. So weird! So manly!

What looks good to you this week?

Bookshelf Briefs 8/3/15

August 3, 2015 by Michelle Smith, Sean Gaffney and Anna N 5 Comments

Sean, Michelle, and Anna check out recent releases from VIZ, Yen Press, and Vertical.

Inu x Boku SS, Vol. 8 | By Cocoa Fujiwara | Yen Press – The timeskip that happened after volume four has always felt a bit awkward, with several characters just feeling wrong, even with the reincarnation aspect. Now we begin to see that maybe this has been the point all along, as in order to stop our villain from screwing up the past, our heroes have to return to stop him. This naturally leads to an almost humorous scene where they all fall over themselves to be the one to sacrifice themselves to a time loop. In the end, though, a time capsule letter seems to be the better option, but we will see—the series still has a few volumes to go. There’s also a lot of side-stories here, in order to get the page count right, which are mostly cute but slight. -Sean Gaffney

Kaze Hikaru, Vol. 23 | By Taeko Watanabe | VIZ Media – Every August, avid fans of Kaze Hikaru like me receive a single volume to savor, and though I am exceedingly grateful that VIZ continues to publish this series, the slow pace is especially painful this time around. Not because Okita has finally acknowledged (to himself) both his love for Sei as well as her maturation as a bushi, but because times are becoming increasingly fraught for the Shinsengumi. Captain Kondo has witnessed first hand the indolence and corruption of the Bakufu, and there’s plenty of ominous hinting about “a dark cloud rolling over” them all. Though I do enjoy the central romance, when Kaze Hikaru focuses on humanizing historical events, its potential to be something truly epic shines. Now to sigh and pine away for another year until the next installment. – Michelle Smith

Maid-sama!, Vols. 1-2 | By Hiro Fujiwara | VIZ Media – I am so conflicted about Maid-sama! On the one hand, I like the smart and strong heroine, Misaki Ayuzawa, who is determined to whip the 80% male population of her high school into shape. It’s her love interest, Takumi Usui, who is the problem. When he’s not taking it upon himself to teach Misaki valuable lessons—including that she shouldn’t try so hard at the sports festival because “You’re a girl, remember?”—he’s saving the day with random prowess in things like cooking and playing chess. He is, frankly, insufferable. What’s worse is that I suspect we’re meant to think he’s cool and dreamy! I did read the eight volumes of this series that TOKYOPOP managed to publish, but I can’t remember whether Usui grew on me or not. Right now that’s seeming highly unlikely, but I’m not willing to give up on this series just yet. – Michelle Smith

My Neighbor Seki, Vol. 3 | By Takuma Morishige | Vertical Comics – Yokoi seems to get in more trouble than usual in this third volume of Seki, or at least more personal humiliation. In addition to the teacher calling her out on several occasions (though she at least manages to inconvenience Seki too in one of these), she is unable to explain Seki’s weirdness to her friends, gets her skirt caught under his seat leg, risks life and limb to save a snow bunny, and even belches in the middle of class after drinking Seki’s fresh tea. This is Yokoi’s manga more than Seki’s—when absent, even her angry spectral presence stops him, and meeting his little sister (who’s an adorable carbon copy of him) doesn’t make things any better. Fight on, Yokoi!. -Sean Gaffney

Nisekoi, Vol. 10 | By Naoshi Komi | VIZ Media – Nisekoi is generally at its best when it’s doing a longer plot or taking itself more seriously. With that in mind, the plotline featuring Shu was definitely the best in this volume, as his laid-back easy-going personality gets a kick in the head on learning that the class teacher is leaving to get married. (This is far more common in Japan than it is here.) It allows Raku to be the one to dispense the good advice—even if it’s just a kick in the pants—and doesn’t descend to the usual teacher/student creepiness. Other than that, cliches abound here, with a ‘must avoid being seen in the baths’ chapter and a cliffhanger with Raku getting amnesia and forgetting everything about his life—including his family business. Always great fun. -Sean Gaffney

Yukarism, Vol. 3 | By Chika Shiomi | VIZ Media- I was surprised that this was only the third volume of this series because Shiomi just manages to pack so much story into each chapter. The characters are all fully fleshed out, and now the reader is able to learn even more about Yukari, Mahoro, and Katsuhiko’s past lives. There are some ominous hints about the eventual fate of Yumurasaki’s eventual fate as she grows sicker and sicker in the past. Abilities and feelings from past lives keep popping up in the present, causing even more complicated emotions in the young trio. I enjoy the way Shiomi switches back and forth with a more ornate style in the past compared to the cleaner brighter panels in the present. This is rapidly becoming one of my favorite current Shojo Beat series. – AN

So Cute it Hurts!! Vol. 2

July 30, 2015 by Anna N

My biggest complaint with the first volume of So Cute it Hurts!! was that I thought it focused a bit too much on boy twin Mitsuru’s adventures cross-dressing as a girl, without as much character development or action for his sister Megumu pretending to be her brother at a school largely populated by juvenile delinquents. I was happy to see that in the second volume Megumu gets a larger chunk of the story.

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One of the things that I’ve enjoyed in Ikeyamada’s series so far is that the plot moves fairly fast. Developments that might take at least a two volumes to be explored in another series are quickly resolved, only for even more complications to pop up. Also, many of the issues that the characters have are so ridiculous, I find it extremely entertaining. Megumu pretending to be her brother grows closer and closer to head one-eyed delinquent Aoi Sanada, who turns out to have a deadly Achilles heel involving female company. If he so much as touches a girl, he immediately feels faint and sick. It is to Megumu’s credit that as soon as she finds this out after indulging in fantasies about revealing her true gender and confessing her love to Aoi, she vows to just remain at his side as a male because she doesn’t want to burden him by making him deal with her as a girl.

In the first volume there’s a hint that the deaf girl that Mitsuru likes, Shino and Aoi know each other. This is promptly explored in the second volume, continuing with the plot moving along quickly. Most of this volume will be very familiar to Hana Kimi fans, as Megumu’s natural cuteness shines through her boyish disguise, causing her classmates and Aoi in particular to experience odd feelings. Even though the romances in So Cute it Hurts!! are absolutely silly, there are a few sweet moments where it is clear that twins really do care about the objects of their affection. Overall, I was happy to see the additional character development I was hoping for and while So Cute it Hurts!! is not in any way profound, it is a nice brain candy type manga series.

Manga the Week of 8/5

July 30, 2015 by Sean Gaffney, Ash Brown, Michelle Smith and Anna N 2 Comments

SEAN: As the thermometer creeps towards triple digits, we can turn only to manga for comfort. Luckily, there’s a pile of it next week.

I think I mentioned this title before, as it’s gotten moved back a few times, but Bruno Gmuender has a new gay manga volume coming out, Dr. Makumakuran and Other Stories.

ASH: You have mentioned it before, but I think it’s really coming out this time!

SEAN: Dark Horse has an artbook, which I normally don’t cover, but this is The Art of Satoshi Kon, so yeah, let’s mention that.

Drawn and Quarterly’s amazing series Showa by Shigeru Mizuki comes to a close with the final omnibus, covering the years 1953-1989. This series has just been jaw-dropping, and everyone who loves manga at all – or even wants to know Japanese history – should be reading it.

MICHELLE: I has a shame.

ANNA: Me too.

SEAN: Kodansha gives us a 9th volume of The Seven Deadly Sins.

Seven Seas has a new Devils and Realist, the 6th volume. It also has a 7th volume of Dragonar Academy.

But I don’t care about either of those, because YAY! I always love it when a license request of mine is picked out, and this one is particularly awesome. Haven’t You Heard? I’m Sakamoto is a trippy comedy that fans of My Neighbor Seki will thoroughly understand, about a high school student who is super cool in everything he does – preternaturally so. I will be hammering on folks to read this.

ASH: I’m really looking forward to giving this one a read!

ANNA: This does sound funny.

SEAN: Viz has its usual giant pile of Jump and Beat stuff. Assassination Classroom has hit five volumes, and he’s not dead yet. Thank goodness.

ANNA: I can’t believe I am so far behind on this series. It needs to stop coming out so fast.

SEAN: Black Rose Alice also has its fifth volume, though be warned, we’re coming up on the series’ hiatus in Japan. Perhaps the author ran out of spiders?

MICHELLE: This is one of those cases where I’m both happy and sad to see a new volume.

ASH: Same.

ANNA: This is such a great, surreal series. Totally worth reading even if it is on hiatus.

SEAN: Bleach is in no danger of running out of volumes with its twelfth 3-in-1.

Food Wars! has a 7th volume. Will the demand for amazing curry take out half the class? I’m hoping at least Soma and Megumi make it past the first round.

JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure brings its first arc to a close with the 3rd omnibus of Phantom Blood. Happy ending? Sad ending? I can’t say, but I can guarantee it will be over the top.

ASH: Guaranteed.

ANNA: This series is so weirdly wonderful.

SEAN: It’s August, and you know what that means! It’s time for our yearly release of Kaze Hikaru, with Vol. 23. I am delighted that Viz has not given up on this shoujo title.

ANNA: If there was justice in the world, this would rocket up the manga best seller lists. Just a great, thoroughly researched gender bending romance series.

SEAN: Maid-sama! was a very popular series with Tokyopop back in the day – popular enough to get a license rescue, as the first two volumes come out (with brand new translation) as an omnibus from Viz. I do have vague worry, though – I suspect Usui’s behavior will go over a lot less well than it did in 2009.

MICHELLE: Yeah, I wonder how I’ll react to Maid-sama! this time around. It took a few volumes for me to warm up to it before, and even that was fairly begrudging, since it’s one of those shoujo that features random beach volleyball tournament chapters. Now I am even older and more crotchety.

ASH: I never read it the first time around, but I know quite a few people who were happy about its rescue.

ANNA: I read the first several volumes of the old release and it’ll be interesting to revisit it.

SEAN: The big Shonen Jump debut this week is My Hero Academia. In a world where the majority of people have superpowers, how does someone who doesn’t have any fit in? If your answer is ‘bullied’, congrats, you know your manga.

Naruto is almost over! Except for the sequel manga and the countless spinoff novels. But here’s Vol. 71, which is just straight-up Naruto.

One Piece is at Vol. 75, but is not even close to being over.

MICHELLE: Thank goodness!

SEAN: So Cute It Hurts!! has a second volume. Will her story become as exciting as his story? Or is it the other way around?

ANNA: I just read this and it does focus more on her story, which is what I was hoping after reading the first volume. Also, wacky hijinks.

SEAN: Spell of Desire comes to an end with its fifth volume. I admit I didn’t find this as compelling as Midnight Secretary, but I know Anna liked it.

ANNA: I did like it! But I think I will generally like any josei disguised as shoujo, because that’s how I roll.

SEAN: Toriko’s 29th volume will I suspect bring an end to this particular round of fights, but likely not an end to the current battle.

Voice Over! Seiyu Academy comes to an end with its 12th volume, but fear not, a new Maki Minami series debuts next month.

MICHELLE: I have been hoarding volume 11 of Voice Over! so I could read it and the final volume back-to-back. I hope there are kitties and a happy ending, and suspect that isn’t too far off-base.

SEAN: And there’s a 3rd omnibus of the original Yu-Gi-Oh!.

There has to be something here for everyone. What about you?

Pick of the Week: A Broad Spectrum

July 27, 2015 by Michelle Smith, Ash Brown, Sean Gaffney and Anna N 2 Comments

MICHELLE: If you missed out on the single volumes of Chi’s Sweet Home as they came out, now’s your chance to get caught up with a new omnibus collecting the first three volumes. Honestly, I think I will probably hang on to my originals and this larger-trim edition, as this has been a very popular series in my personal lending library. If you like kitties, or know a kitty-loving young person, you should check it out!

ASH: Chi is indeed a tough kitty to beat, but my pick this week is the second volume of A Silent Voice. Admittedly, the first volume was a bit of a tough read due to the series’ subject matter. The manga is heartbreaking in many ways, but it is an incredibly well-crafted story.

SEAN: I agree with the pick of A Silent Voice. This manga really has something to say, and I want to hear what it is, no matter how uncomfortable it (deliberately) makes me.

ANNA: I will have to go with the Chi’s Sweet Home omnibus, out of all the manga about to be released that sounds the most appealing to me.

What looks good to you this week?

Manga the Week of 7/29

July 23, 2015 by Sean Gaffney, Anna N, Michelle Smith, Ash Brown and MJ Leave a Comment

SEAN: It’s become almost musical, the way manga comes out. Huge week… quiet week. Huge week… quiet week. The occasional 5th week trips up the manga dancer with the brief shift into 5/4 time. How is our quick-quick-slow week?

Dark Horse is doing it again, folks. Here is the first omnibus volume of a seinen manga series called Oh My Goddess!, about a young man who calls the wrong number and gets a goddess as his girlfriend. Perhaps you’ve heard of it when it was released by Dark Horse before. And before that. And before that. And before that. This will have the first three volumes, for those who have been curious but never tried it before. All three of you.

Kodansha has a 49th volume of Fairy Tail, which I’m surprised isn’t getting omnibus volumes as well, frankly.

ANNA: Fairy Tail is not on my radar, but I am stunned it is up to 49 volumes. Wow.

SEAN: There’s also a 2nd volume of A Silent Voice. Volume 1 was excellent writing but very hard to actually read, being filled with realistically flawed and terrible kids (and teachers). Will the second volume give us some glimpses of light amongst the darkness?

ANNA: This sounded a bit too grim for my tastes, which is why I haven’t read the first volume yet.

MICHELLE: Yeah. I am glad something like that exists but I still am in the “I read manga ‘cos it’s fun” camp.

ASH: The first volume was incredibly well done and one of the best things that I’ve read this year, but yeah, not the happiest of stories.

MJ: I suspect I would like this.

SEAN: And a third volume of Yamada-kun and the Seven Witches. Will we actually get witches this time?

ASH: We shall see!

SEAN: Seven Seas has a fourth volume of Magical Girl Apocalypse, for those who thought Madoka Magica wasn’t violent or cynical enough.

Lastly, Vertical is giving readers who missed earlier Chi’s Sweet Home volumes a chance to catch up with an omnibus of the first 3 volumes. As they’ve only released this once before, I’ll give them a pass here.

ANNA: Actually, I have not read Chi’s Sweet Home before, and I know it is both very good and popular, so I might finally check out this series!

MICHELLE: You should!

ASH: You really should! Plus, the omnibus has a larger trim size and some additional content, too.

MJ: Yes, yes!!

SEAN: I can’t tell a waltz from a tango, but can you tell what you’re buying this week?

Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure, Part 1: Phantom Blood, Vol 2

July 19, 2015 by Anna N

JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Part 1, Phantom Blood, Volume 2 by Hirohiko Araki

I enjoyed the first volume of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, and I was looking forward to see if the second volume continued with the unrelenting manliness and general crazy action. I wasn’t disappointed.

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The second volume continues with the battle between Jonathan Joestar and Dio, who has completely been taken over by the evil stone mask. Dio can suck the life force out of people to heal his wounds, and the corpses become zombies, which can certainly be a problem for anyone trying to take Dio down. Jonathan is determined to destroy the monster who killed his father, and fights back through impossible odds, burning down his own mansion and fighting through the pain as Dio breaks both his arms. I continue to be delighted by the character of Robert Edward O. Speedwagon, mostly because I find it amusing when Jonathan yells “Get out of the way Speedwagon!” during battle. Also, Speedwagon’s tendency to stay on the sidelines while injured allows him to provide running commentary on all the battles.

With the Joestar mansion being burned down, and Dio both impaled on a statue and crushed beneath a pillar, one might think that Jonathan’s battle was done, but this is not the case. He meets his long-lost love Erina again as she tends his wounds, and once he is somewhat healed he meets a strange mentor named Baron Zeppeli, who decides to teach Jonathan the ways of mastering Hamon energy to become even more powerful.

In the meantime, Dio has pulled himself out of the wreckage and continue to grow more and more powerful, aided by some additional evil allies. Jonathan and Zeppeli go to confront Dio, but will his vampirific power overcome their new martial arts discipline?

It is a bit unusual for me to be truly surprised by action scenes in a manga, but JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure really does deliver on this front, with surprising plot twists and innovative ways for everybody to power up. The stakes grow higher and the battles grow more impressive as both Jonathan and Dio gain power. The art is still a bit on the crude side, but undeniably energetic. Some of the fights take place against the backdrop of a low-hanging moon, which just makes everything look even more epic. What random character named after a rock band will appear next? I’m looking forward to the third volume to find out.

Manga the Week of 7/22

July 16, 2015 by Sean Gaffney, Ash Brown, Michelle Smith and Anna N Leave a Comment

SEAN: Oooooh man, here we go again. Let’s just buckle down.

We’re aaaaaalmost done with Dark Horse’s release of Gantz, but not quite. Vol. 36.

ASH: So close!

SEAN: Kodansha has a 9th My Little Monster, which hopefully will continue the development the 8th volume had.

MICHELLE: Yay!!!

SEAN: Seven Seas gives us a 5th volume of SF action series Arpeggio of Blue Steel, my favorite of the ‘young girls and military’ licenses.

Viz has another volume of its Monster Perfect Edition, the 5th. Expect happiness and rainbows.

ASH: This is the volume with the epic library scene, isn’t it? And who doesn’t love libraries?

ANNA: Honestly this is the one title this week that I’m happy about, because I do want to tackle reading Monster at some point. Sometime after I read all my stockpiled volumes of 20th Century Boys.

SEAN: And a 5th Resident Evil, with puppies and kittens.

Lastly, Terra Formars 7, with love and peace for all. Please do not try to read all three Viz releases at once this week. You will die.

ASH: That is a distinct possibility.

SEAN: And now Yen. Light novels first. The 4th Accel World should resolve the cliffhanger from the last one. Will Chiyuri be a traitor? I highly doubt it.

The debut this week is the highly anticipated Durarara!!. Yen has had the manga for some time now, but the novels are also excellent.

MICHELLE: Hm! I liked the manga more than I thought I would, but drifted away when the Saika Arc started.

ASH: I really should give at least one of the versions of Durarara!! a try at some point.

SEAN: Log Horizon’s 2nd volume will hopefully give us the hinted plot from Vol. 1 about the twins, if the cover doesn’t lie.

And there’s a 2nd No Game No Life, which I hope will have less naked 11-year-olds and more awesome mind games.

On the manga side, we have the 4th Accel World manga, still not the novel.

A third Akame Ga KILL! will live up to its name, if the previous two are any indicator.

Black Butler hits a new milestone with Vol. 20. It’s sad when a series catches up with Japan, isn’t it?

MICHELLE: I continue to read this, even though I am not madly in love with it.

ANNA: I stopped after the first couple volumes.

SEAN: A Certain Magical Index’s manga will continue to adapt Novel 1 with Vol. 2. Really, we need graphs and charts.

The Devil Is A Part-Timer! joins the growing list of manga adaptations of light novels also coming out, with Vol. 2 of the main manga. Wait till next month, it gets more confusing.

ASH: Heh. That it will.

SEAN: And now we get DRRR’s manga, which has a 3rd volume of the Yellow Scarves arc. At least that novel won’t be out till 2016.

Final Fantasy Type-0 Side Story, Vol. 1: The Ice Reaper is one of those manga whose title pretty much sums it up. I think the Main Story manga came out with the English release of the game.

First Love Monster is another one of those Aria shoujo titles, which means we’ve no idea what we’re going to get. The artist has done some Book Girl manga adaptations.

MICHELLE: It looks sort of kooky, but that might be fun!

ANNA: I will wait to see if Michelle likes it before reading it!

SEAN: Inu x Boku SS has an 8th volume – will it reset again? Or just give us more yokai action?

More manga adaptations of light novels, as we get a 2nd Kagerou Daze, which finishes adapting the first LN and starts the 2nd.

Karneval oddly ended up on the worst manga of the year list at SDCC, though I found the first omnibus more… diffuse than anything else. Vol. 2 will have more focus, maybe?

ASH: More focus would be good.

ANNA: I was curious about the first volume, but now I’m sort of glad I skipped it.

SEAN: Another Puella Magi Madoka Magica spinoff begins, with Homura’s Revenge. Can’t be a depressing manga with a title like that!

Prison School is a much anticipated omnibus that many said was too ecchi to actually get a North American release. But no, here it is. I wonder what it’s about?

ASH: B-but it’s by the creator of Me and the Devil Blues! (I’ll admit, I’m curious about this one.)

So I Can’t Play H! has a 2nd volume, and gloriously no light novel license yet, meaning I only have to worry about this for the moment.

Lastly, we get the final – I checked this time – volume of Soul Eater NOT!, bringing the Soul Eater franchise as a whole to a close.

Is there something in this giant list that catches your eye?

Pick of the Week: Pick of a Future Week?

July 16, 2015 by Michelle Smith, Anna N, Sean Gaffney and Ash Brown 1 Comment

MICHELLE: I’m feeling in the mood for some Takahashi, so I reckon my pick of the week is going to be RIN-NE. That said, my real affection this week is directed towards Udon Entertainment for licensing The Rose of Versailles!

ANNA: I think I’m just going to pick Rose of Versailles every week for the next few months.

SEAN: Sticking with Takahashi, I’m picking the new Ranma 1/2 omnibus, mostly as I love Nabiki Tendo. You may assume I am over the moon about Rose of Versailles as well.

ASH: I am beyond thrilled that Udon was able to license Rose of Versailles, but this week I’ll happily (and appropriately) be distracting myself from the wait for its release with the utterly charming and delightful My Neighbor Seki.

What looks good to you this week (or in future months)?

Bookshelf Briefs 7/9/15

July 9, 2015 by Sean Gaffney, Michelle Smith and Anna N 1 Comment

After a bit of a break, Sean, Michelle, and Anna offer up a hefty serving of briefs, including recent releases from Seven Seas, Viz Media, Yen Press, and Kodansha Comics.

Alice in the Country of Hearts: Junk Box Stories | By QuinRose and Mamenosuke Fujimaru | Seven Seas – In general, the stories done by Fujimaru, the ‘default’ Alice artist, have a higher quality to them than the other spinoffs, even in a grab bag collection of short stories like this. There’s a little bit for everyone here (except Julius, my own favorite – sigh), and if you don’t like the Twins as an Alice pairing – which I don’t – wait 10 minutes and we’ll have moved on. The best story in the collection involves Gray, Nightmare’s right-hand man, attempting to get Alice to realize he likes her despite his maturity and her own self-image issues. I feel like I know Gray better now than I did with the Lizard series. Alice fans who want more content should enjoy this. – Sean Gaffney

Assassination Classroom, Vol. 4 | By Yusei Matsui | Viz Media – To defeat a culture of bullying – and let’s face it, the entire school in Assassination Classroom is based around “Bullying is good for you” – requires that the class develop strong bonds between each other and with their teacher. They need to learn to take pride in themselves – which they do at the end of one arc here, insisting that they won’t let an outsider kill Koro-sensei, they have to be the ones to do it. And of course they gain skills through assassination training, which by its very nature also teaches you about everything under the sun. Even Irina is becoming part of the group. This must be worrying the school principal – the cliffhanger seems to say he’s going to make sure this class Knows Their Place. Fantastic as always. – Sean Gaffney

Blue Exorcist, Vol. 13 | By Kazue Kato | Viz Media – right from the beginning, this manga has reminded us that it’s darker than the usual Jump fare and that people are going to die. Right at the start of this volume we see one of the bad guys, moved by Izumo’s plight, try to help her escape… and she’s horribly murdered for her trouble. Our heroes have arrived at last, but are split up and attacked by ghouls – or is it zombies? Far too many of those coming out from Viz Media this month in any case. And of course there’s Renzo, our double-triple-quadruple agent, who we still aren’t sure about. Killing off Izumo’s familiars is not going to win him friends, though. If there’s one big drawback to this series, it’s that it comes out far too slowly. It should move to Weekly Jump. – Sean Gaffney

Food Wars!, Vol. 6 | By Yuto Tsukuda and Shun Saeki | Viz Media – In case anyone was wondering how Soma got the drive to always succeed that we’ve seen in these first few volumes, we’re introduced to his father, the top chef of his own class (though he never did graduate), who promptly creams Soma in a breakfast competition.. and it’s revealed has creamed Soma almost 500 times over the course of his life. Suddenly a schoolwide curry competition seems less taxing. Even though ‘curry’ is pretty broad a topic. I could have done without another teacher who looks like a teenager but is really far older, but in any case most of this is clearly setup for what’s likely to be an amazing set of cooking shonen drama in the next volume. Yum. – Sean Gaffney

Haganai: I Don’t Have Many Friends, Vol. 11 | By Yomi Hirasaka and Itachi | Seven Seas – She may be very hard to like, but there’s no denying that Yozora remains the most fascinating part of Haganai, and the best reason to keep reading. Most of the Friends Club are at least occasionally making the effort to reach out to each other, but Yozora created this club for her and Kodaka, and is still incredibly resentful that it’s hijacked. She’s also trapped in the past, something Sena rightfully calls her out on here, and later on Kodaka does the same thing. This is a shame, as she’s already shown when she applies herself she can do great things – her play here impresses everyone, even Sena. But of all the cast struggling to move forward, I think Yozora will be the last to do so, and the final part of this still ongoing series. – Sean Gaffney

Kamisama Kiss, Vol. 18 | By Julietta Suzuki | Viz Media – This series is now three times as long as Karakuri Odette – remember that? – and after a long and intense arc in Tomoe’s past, is trying to get back to basics with Nanami dealing with school, and the fact that her grades are absolutely awful. But after all this time, she just can’t quite get away from life-threatening crises, or indeed sacrificing herself in order to save even her enemies, which has always been Nanami’s greatest strength and greatest weakness. And rescuing her friends, even if they’ve been turned into dolphins at the behest of a cruel and noble mermaid. I do wonder if Aimi will remember what happens to her, or if we’ll get a convenient memory erasure soon. In any case, still good. – Sean Gaffney

Love at Fourteen, Vol. 3 | By Fuka Mizutani | Yen Press – The title is important in this series. We’ve gotten so used to shoujo romance involving young teenage students that the fact that the leads are fourteen-year-olds is more likely to have a reader say “Yes, and?”. But they’re all still maturing, and insecure, and at a very impressionable period in their lives. So we see Kanata and Kazuki deal with their first fight, which starts indirectly and continues simply as they misunderstand each other’s absences. We see Nagai, seemingly betrayed by Hinohara, lashing out in pain and regret, even as he tries to protect her from any consequences. As for Hinohara herself, she’s still the one aspect of this manga that makes me worry. We’ll see what happens next time. – Sean Gaffney

Magi, Vol. 12 | By Shinobu Ohtaka | Viz Media – The core trio of Aladdin, Alibaba and Morgiana is fun to watch and heartwarming to see develop, but it’s become increasingly clear that Alibaba relies on it more than the other two. So the latter half of this volume, where both Aladdin and Morgiana realize they need to go on their own journeys in order to become stronger, devastates him. Sadly, his acting like a whiny, pathetic young teenager is also very in character, and I hope that he learns a valuable lesson soon. Elsewhere, Sinbad shows off why he’s not the hero of this tale, as his character development has mostly already happened. He easily takes out the volume’s villain, and his seduction techniques are so good they’re made fun of in the extras. Magi is a ton of fun. – Sean Gaffney

My Little Monster, Vol. 8 | By Robico | Kodansha Comics – This series is an interesting blend of familiar shoujo scenarios—like the start of the gang’s second year bringing with it a quirky new first-year character who immediately falls in love with Haru—and a distinctly different vibe that actually makes it seem possible that the two leads will not actually end up together. Granted, Haru and Shizuku do finally become an official couple in this volume, and there are plenty of sweet, significant moments between them, but there are also some missed connections, and the occasional insight into just how broken Haru is that makes their long-term prognosis as a couple less assured than many others I could name. It was lovely to have a small stockpile of volumes to consume over a weekend, and now I’m kind of bummed that volume nine is a whole cruel month away. – Michelle Smith

My Love Story!!, Vol. 5 | By Kazune Kawahara and Aruko | Viz Media – I hope at some point we get a Suna-centric side story, because in this volume he’s at his watchful and sympathetic best as he observes Saijo developing a crush on Takeo, despite the fact that Takeo and Yamato have such a strong relationship. Saijo eventually confesses her feelings, and Suna helps her deal with the aftermath, as Takeo nicely turns her down and reaffirms his commitment to his girlfriend. Takeo and Yamato also celebrate a birthday and learn some important lessons about matchmaking. This manga continues to be unusual in the refreshing lack of drama in each volume, and the smaller more heartwarming moments that continue to drive the love story forwards. Always a great read. – Anna N

Natsume’s Book of Friends, Vol. 18 | By Yuki Midorikawa | Viz Media – The first story in this volume is cute and fun, and the last one is sweet but melancholy. But it’s the met of this book that most folks will be talking about, as Natori ends up overhearing about the Book of Friends, something that Natsume has been trying to keep a secret from him for a long, long time. Like most subplots in this series, we’re unlikely to see the consequences of this play out immediately. But it continues the motif of Natsume learning to open up and trust people even as the yokai that he deals with every day show the dark side of trusting humans. There’s a very good reasons that yokai and humans are of two worlds, and Natsume’s precarious balance between them is what makes this manga so addictive. – Sean Gaffney

Nurse Hitomi’s Monster Infirmary, Vol. 2 | By Shake-O | Seven Seas – There are some more students with teenage problems introduced here – a winged girl who.hates rules and confinement, a boy who finds growing breasts shows him how women deal with things, and a girl who will eat absolutely anything. But honestly, I suspect most of the audience for this title will only be interested in Kaminaga-sensei, who is the prettiest teacher in school, can control and manipulate her extremely long hair, and is, as one student puts it, “a great big lesbo!” This falls directly in ‘comedy lesbian’ territory, complete with lots of sexual assault of Hitomi, her object of affection. Still, this is a light fluffy comedy series, so that only makes sense. Enjoyable if you don’t take it remotely seriously. – Sean Gaffney

Say I Love You., Vol. 8 | By Kanae Hazuki | Kodansha Comics – After a couple of intensely character-driven volumes—particularly focusing on teen model Megumi—we come to a slightly lighter (though not insignificant) story about a school idol contest that Mei ends up entering in an attempt to prevent anyone else from winning the grand prize of a date with the male winner, who is sure to be Yamato. I suppose it was predictable that Mei would end up surprising the audience with a stunning transformation, but the way the contest ultimately plays out should have some interesting repercussions for Mei and Yamato’s relationship. I also quite like that Mei is definitely thinking about going all the way with Yamato, but doesn’t want to do it for the wrong reasons. I’m starting to believe we’ll actually see them take this next step, which is pretty rare for a high school romance manga. – Michelle Smith

Pick of the Week: Plenty of Shoujo

July 9, 2015 by Sean Gaffney, Michelle Smith, Anna N, Ash Brown and MJ Leave a Comment

SEAN: There’s some nice Viz stuff out this week, both new and old, as well as a few choice titles from other publishers. I suspect the MB team will be warring between What Did You Eat Yesterday? and Sunny. I will be picking My Love Story!!, because it’s still the most adorable shoujo out there.

MICHELLE: Actually, although What Did You Eat Yesterday? was indeed my initial impulse, especially since I won’t be able to pick it again for who knows how long, I’m going to vote for Yukarism because volume two really won me over and I’m excited to check out volume three.

ANNA: There’s a ton of great manga coming out this week. Since Michelle already picked Yukarism, I’m going to swing my vote over to The Demon Prince of Momochi House because I am shallow and enjoy manga about handsome spirits.

ASH: Well, so as not to completely disappoint Sean, I’ll throw my pick to the most recent volume of What Did You Eat Yesterday?. Actually, I was going to pick that anyway. Or, was I?! My Love Story!! is an excellent choice, as is Sunny. It’s a great week for great manga!

MJ: I’m pretty torn here, but I don’t really have anything original so I’ll simply echo Ash’s sentiment! I choose What Did You Eat Yesterday? as my official pick, but that won’t stop me from picking up the rest as well! Sorry, Sunny, for leaving you in the cold. Yoshinaga always wins.

What looks good to you this week?

Manga the Week of 7/15

July 8, 2015 by Sean Gaffney, Michelle Smith, Ash Brown, MJ and Anna N Leave a Comment

SEAN: Mid-July is a good-sized week, but not completely overwhelming like the first/third weeks tend to be. Let’s see what’s happening.

Dark Horse has the second volume of Oreimo spinoff Kuroneko, marketed to the six remaining Oreimo fans who didn’t scream in anger at the end of the main series.

Kokoro Connect has proven to be a fast favorite of mine, and so I am very happy to see the fourth volume from Seven Seas.

Magika Swordsman and Summoner is the new series debut of the week. It’s fantasy, it has a magical school, our hero is bullied by the students for his status, he amasses a crew of girls who like him, *and* it runs in Comic Alive. If ever a series screamed “License me, Seven Seas!”, this is it. And so they did.

The Sacred Blacksmith also has a new volume, its eighth.

For BL fans, there is the second volume of Love Stage!! from SubLime.

MICHELLE: I wasn’t entirely sold on volume one, but I’m at least willing to check out the second.

ASH: I actually still need to read the first volume…

MJ: Same here.

SEAN: And also a 2nd volume of The World’s Greatest First Love.

I’m loving Vertical’s My Neighbor Seki as much as I thought I would, and the arrival of a third volume fills me with glee.

ASH: My Neighbor Seki is an incredibly delightful series!

ANNA: I haven’t read this yet and I feel guilty.

MJ: I second the glee!

SEAN: The rest is Viz. I believe that Vol. 17 is the final volume of 07-GHOST, though Anna can likely confirm that. Bye, 07-GHOST! You were a good license rescue that I fell so far behind on I may never catch up.

MICHELLE: I still intend to read it, one of these days!

ANNA: I also have not caught up on this series and feel even more guilty, because I liked the first few volumes.

SEAN: Case Closed has Vol. 55, which is not the final volume, or even close to the final volume. It’s a long series is what I’m saying.

The 9th Ranma 1/2 omnibus has one of my favorite arcs of the series, where Akane gets so mad she declares that Nabiki can be Ranma’s fiancee instead, and the fallout that happens is magical. Oh, and we’ll also meet Pantyhose Taro, who… I will not spoil.

There is an 18th volume of RIN-NE, where the plot finally comes into focus and nothing will be the same anymore… OK, I can’t even type that with a straight face.

MICHELLE: I still like RIN-NE, though, particularly when I’m in the mood for something not mentally challenging.

SEAN: Lastly, a 7th volume of superhero manga with BL tease Tiger & Bunny.

Is there a favorite here for you?

The Demon Prince of Momochi House Vol. 1

July 5, 2015 by Anna N

The Demon Prince of Momochi House Volume 1 by Aya Shouoto

I enjoy Shouoto’s other series, Kiss of the Rose Princess, so I was interested in trying out The Demon Prince of Momochi House. When I read the description and looked at the front cover, I was also curious to see how similar it might be to another Shojo Beat series featuring yokai, Kamisama Kiss.

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Himari Momochi is a plucky orphan who inherits a house that has been in her family for years. She decides to journey to Momochi House and claim her inheritance, despite some dire warnings along the way that the house she’s traveling to is haunted. When she arrives at the house, the inside is trashed and shadowy figures keep brushing past her as she explores the interior. One of the shadowy figures ends up being a naked young man named Aoi, who is quickly admonished to put clothes on by a couple of other men. They accuse Himari of being a burglar, and she quickly produces the legal document that proclaims she’s the owner of the house. Himari is determined to stay, and the horrible cleaning jobs that await her and the mysterious implosion of her smartphone, and presence of male squatters do nothing to change her attachment to her new home. Mysterious animal yokai appear, and Himari is introduced to the supernatural elements that occupy her house. Aoi is serving as the guardian spirit, and the other young men are his helper spirits Yukari and Ise.

When Aoi switches from his human to Omamoiri form, he admonishes Himari not to look at him in his beguiling fox spirit guise. Himari thinks the relationship between Aoi and his helpers is very much like a family, which makes her wistful. She’s also pragmatic despite the new element of the supernatural in her life, deciding that she needs to charger her three freeloaders rent and thinking about investigating enrolling in a local school. Aoi and Himari are clearly attracted to each other, and Aoi seems to be operating under an imperative that he protect her at all costs from the haunted elements that still exist in her ancestral home.

Demon Prince of Momochi House is a much less silly series than Kiss of the Rose Princess. I think the art is stronger and a bit more distinctive than Rose Princess too. Sometimes drawing spirits brings out the best in a manga-ka! Some aspects of this series did remind me of Kamisama Kiss, but I also feel as though Kamisama Kiss is such a standout series in terms of quality that other manga are going to suffer in comparison automatically. I wish there had been a bit more character development, because so far the characters seem more like types than fully realized individuals. I found myself liking Kiss of the Rose Princess more as the series progressed, and I’m expecting that to happen with The Demon Prince of Momochi House too. It could be that I’m just a sucker for series featuring handsome spirits, but I enjoyed this first volume much more than the first volume of Kiss of the Rose Princess too. I’m hoping for more character development in the next volume.

Manga the Week of 7/8

July 2, 2015 by Sean Gaffney, Ash Brown, Michelle Smith, MJ and Anna N 5 Comments

SEAN: It’s a new fiscal year, and that brings a new pile of books, mostly from Viz. What have we got?

DMP print release dates give me a migraine. Twittering Birds Never Fly 2? I guess?

ASH: I can never tell when something will actually be released by DMP anymore.

MICHELLE: Me, neither. I’ll perk up when Itazura Na Kiss 11 gets here.

SEAN: Kodansha gives us a 5th volume of Ken Akamatsu’s immortals fighting each other manga UQ Holder.

Seven Seas has a trio of books. The second volume of 12 Beast is minimally interesting to me, but may interest those who like fantasy and harems.

ASH: It should at least hopefully be a hit with the Monster Musume crowd.

SEAN: Oddball slice-of-fantasy-life manga A Centaur’s Life is up to Volume 6.

Pandora in the Crimson Shell combines one of my favorite authors with one of my favorite artists, but I have heard the result is… well. We shall see. I expect I will not love this as much as Excel Saga.

MJ: I dunno, the title just makes me feel like I should be reading something by Jun Mochizuki.

SEAN: The ninth volume of What Did You Eat Yesterday? will, I suspect, have far less fanservice than Pandora in the Crimson Shell, unless you count food as fanservice.

ASH: The food definitely counts as fanservice.

MICHELLE: Oh, I had forgotten this was coming out so soon! Yay!

ANNA: Woo hoo!

MJ: This, this, this this, THIS.

SEAN: The rest is Viz, starting with Vol. 64 of Bleach. Bleach has gone from one of the big 3 shonen series to a series where even fans are screaming “Just die already!”, but it seems to still sell well.

ANNA: That is certainly many, many volumes. I did enjoy the first 13 volumes of Bleach.

MJ: Every once in a while I think it might be fun to check out what’s happening in Bleach these days. And then I don’t.

SEAN: So well that we are getting another giant Bleach box set, with Vol. 22 through Vol. 48. Use it as a very short pole vault!

D.Gray-Man has its 7th 3-in-1 omnibus as well.

As if two series weren’t enough, there’s more Aya Shouoto starting next week, with The Demon Prince of Momochi House. Like Kiss of the Rose Princess, this ran in Kadokawa’s Asuka magazine.

ASH: The cover is pretty, and there are yokai!

MICHELLE: That looks like Tomoe from Kamisama Kiss!

ANNA: Is there a shoujo series featuring yokai? SIGN ME UP!

MJ: Okay, yes.

SEAN: And Kiss of the Rose Princess is exactly like Kiss of the Rose Princess, unsurprisingly. Here’s the 5th volume.

ANNA: I like it. I will not claim it is profound, but it is a good manga to read when I do not feel like thinking very hard.

SEAN: My Love Story!! has shot up in popularity thanks to its anime, and the 5th volume hopefully translates into even more manga sales.

ASH: It wasn’t popular before?! It should be. Still loving this series.

MICHELLE: Yay, again! I had no idea there was an anime.

ANNA: Such a great series! I hope the anime inspires more people to check out the manga.

MJ: Same here!

SEAN: Naruto also has a giant box out next week, with Vol. 28-48.

Nisekoi, one of my favorite modern harem comedies, hits double digits.

And with the 11th 3-in-1 of Skip Beat!, I think we’ve caught up with the single volumes.

MICHELLE: Just about. Volume 34 came out in April.

SEAN: We’ve just heard that Sunny will be ending in Japan soon, but in the meantime, enjoy its 5th volume. (Lotta 5th volumes next week.)

ASH: Viz has been doing a really lovely job with this series.

MICHELLE: I need to get caught up on Sunny.

ANNA: I’m glad VIz still breaks out the impressive packaging and design for series like this that totally deserve it.

MJ: This is such a beautiful series.

SEAN: Twin Star Exorcists is the newest Jump Square series, from the author of popular yet unlicensed Binbougami-ga!. I’ll let you guess what it’s about.

World Trigger is up to Volume 6, meaning it’s passed the 2-3 volume ‘culling’ stage of many Jump series.

Lastly, get in touch with your past life with the 3rd Yukarism.

MICHELLE: Yay, yet again. I wasn’t sold on this series after the first volume, but enjoyed the second a great deal.

ANNA: I like anything by Chika Shiomi and this series is no exception.

MJ: I’m with Anna here.

SEAN: Do you have manga for your summer vacation?

Meteor Prince Vol. 2

June 30, 2015 by Anna N

Meteor Prince Volume 2 by Meca Tanaka

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I enjoyed the first volume of Meteor Prince very much, and after reading the second, I’ve found it to be a great, self-contained two volume series. Sometimes shorter series suffer a bit from having an unfinished feeling, with an abrupt final chapter, but Meteor Prince pulls off the trick of telling a short, self-contained story with a satisfying conclusion. After the perpetually enthusiastic alien prince Io and earth girl with bad luck Hako got together in the first volume, it is time for some additional obstacles to be thrown in their path.

Io’s intended alien fiancee abruptly appears on earth to claim her man, and she is not happy that Io has pledged himself to a human. Tania’s flowing hair and imperious attitude, combined with her tendencies to transform into a giant ape-like creature makes her a formidable opponent. Tania’s relentless approach to winning Io back doesn’t fare well when faced with the strength of the couple’s bond, and she ends up reduced to lurking in the background and plotting slightly more quietly.

The next trial for Io and Hako is when he meets her parents and her extremely protective younger brother. There’s plenty of cuteness and comedy when Io makes some over the top attempts to be extremely polite to his future wife’s parents. The family issues don’t stop there, as Io’s younger brother Yuro decides that the best way of getting his older brother back is to come to earth and disintegrate everything.

Tanaka’s facility with art portraying both wacky alien landscapes and blushing high school students in the first stages of romance ensures that Meteor Prince is whimsical without being overly wacky or too sweet. She balances heartwarming moments with humor, making this a great feel-good short series. I would have been happy to read several more volumes of Io and Hako’s adventures, but the last volume wrap up the storyline nicely. Highly recommended for people who enjoy their shoujo with a bit of humor.