Anna N

SEAN: The start of November, and hopefully we’ve hit the temperatures going down a bit.

ASH: Ours just went up again today; it was very weird.

SEAN: Airship has the print debut of the light novel version of The Villainess and the Demon Knight, which they seem to have rated as Older Teen, which, um, whatever. You do you. Our reincarnated otome game villainess has been put in a brothel, and the man purchasing her for an entire night is her childhood friend. Can her life be saved by the power of amazing sex?

ASH: Oh, my!

SEAN: In early digital releases, Airship has Classroom of the Elite: Year 2 9.5 and A Tale of the Secret Saint 7.

Dark Horse Comics debuts Cthulhu Cat (Neko no Cthulhu), an Engterbrain title from the author who gave us Yokai Cats. This time it’s Lovecraft Cats.

ASH: I will admit to being curious as this should be ridiculous in a good way.

SEAN: There’s a debut from Ghost Ship: The Cursed Sword Master’s Harem Life: By the Sword, For the Sword (Makenshi no Maken Niyoru Maken no Tame no Harem Life). This runs in Web Comic Gamma Plus, and stars a young man transported to another world with only his two samurai swords for company. Who can talk. And transform into hot girls.

ASH: That’s quite the curse there.

SEAN: There’s also a mature Seven Seas BL title, Leave the Sacrifice at the Gate (Ikenie Monzenbarai), which runs in Byō de Wakaru BL. A boy who is doomed to be a sacrifice is rather unnerved when he finds that the god who’s supposed to eat him just wants to take it easy instead.

ASH: Okay, I’m intrigued by this one, too.

SEAN: Apologies to Hanashi Media, who I missed last week. They had The Fruit of Evolution: Before I Knew It, My Life Had It Made! 10.

No debuts for J-Novel Club, but we get The Death of the Skeleton Swordsman: Dominating as a Cursed Saint 2, the 13th The Faraway Paladin manga volume, From Old Country Bumpkin to Master Swordsman: My Hotshot Disciples Are All Grown Up Now, and They Won’t Leave Me Alone 4, the 2nd I’m a Noble on the Brink of Ruin, So I Might as Well Try Mastering Magic manga volume, the 5th The Invincible Little Lady manga volume, and The Otome Heroine’s Fight for Survival 3.

Two debuts from Kodansha. Snow & Ink (Yuki to Sumi) runs in Comic Days. A woman about to lose in her battle from the throne buys a man accused of murdering 50 people. Can they understand each other when no one else will? This one’s dark, folks.

ASH: Sounds like!

SEAN: Thunder 3 is a Weekly Shonen Magazine title that looks like it’s from 1965 but is in reality from 2022. A boy and his two buddies must journey to another world when his little sister watches a DVD that kidnaps her!

ASH: I love seeing these callbacks to older styles!

SEAN: Also in print: The Fable Omnibus 4, Medalist 5, The Seven Deadly Sins: Four Knights of the Apocalypse 14, and Vinland Saga Deluxe 5.

ASH: I still haven’t decided whether or not to upgrade my Vinland Saga collection, but these deluxe editions are SO NICE.

No digital debuts, but we see Blue Lock 28, How to Grill Our Love 11, Life 20 (the final volume), Love, That’s an Understatement 5, Matcha Made in Heaven 10, Those Snow White Notes 22, and Tying the Knot with an Amagami Sister 15.

MICHELLE: I really should get around to reading Love, That’s an Understatement, considering how much I loved Lovesick Ellie.

ANNA: I need to read more Lovesick Ellie.

SEAN: One Peace has a 2nd volume of Nukozuke!.

Seven Seas debuts the manhua adaptation of Dinghai Fusheng Records, based on the danmei novel Seven Seas will be releasing next year. Two men fated to be together, magic, exorcism, the whole nine yards.

MICHELLE: Woo! (Though, probably, I will wait for the novel.)

ASH: I do like that we’re seeing manhua translated more frequently these days.

SEAN: For actual danmei novels, we have Peerless 2.

Also out from Seven Seas: The Duke of Death and His Maid 15, His Majesty the Demon King’s Housekeeper 8, Killer Shark in Another World 2, Nightfall Travelers: Leave Only Footprints 2, Plus-Sized Elf: Second Helping! 3, and The Weakest Tamer Began a Journey to Pick Up Trash 6.

From Square Enix we see Demons of the Shadow Realm 6 and Otherside Picnic 11.

Tokyopop debuts A Tail’s Tale (Okashiratsuki), a seinen title from Comic Zenon. A girl who struggles to fit in at her sports club as she doesn’t tan meets a boy with a tail!

Also from Tokyopop: If My Favorite Pop Idol Made It to the Budokan, I Would Die 9 and Sweet for Sweets and Foreigners 2.

Two debuts from Viz Media. Colette Decides to Die (Colette wa Shinu Koto ni Shita) is a shoujo manga from Hana to Yume. An exhausted apothecary jumps into a well, but finds herself in hell caring for Hades, who’s sick! Now she’s going back and forth between the two worlds. This was 20 volumes in Japan, so Viz is doing the omnibus route, this has the first two volumes.

MICHELLE: Huh.

ANNA: I’m intrigued!

ASH: Likewise! And I’ve heard some good things.

SEAN: Kagurabachi is a Weekly Shonen Jump title about a boy whose father is murdered trying to get revenge on the men who killed him. (That said, it’s in Weekly Jump, so shouldn’t get TOO dark.)

ASH: A story of revenge, you say? You have my attention.

SEAN: Also from Viz: Dark Gathering 10, The Elusive Samurai 13, In the Name of the Mermaid Princess 4, Like a Butterfly 9, My Special One 8, Natsume’s Book of Friends 30, One-Punch Man 29, Queen’s Quality 20, Sakamoto Days 14, Wolf Girl and Black Prince 10, and You and I Are Polar Opposites 3.

MICHELLE: Will now be the time I finally catch up on Natsume?!

ASH: And shall I join you?!?

SEAN: Lastly, some Yen stragglers. Yen On has a 4th volume of I May Be a Guild Receptionist, but I’ll Solo Any Boss to Clock Out on Time.

And Yen Press debuts 86–EIGHTY-SIX: Operation High School, which is the traditional High School AU these sort of dark “everyone dies” series tend to get. It ran in my nemesis, Comic Alive.

At last, a relatively short list. What are you picking up?

SEAN: Halloween is here! BOO!

Yen On’s October debuts all got delayed to next week, so here they are. In My Seventh Life, I Met a Monster Princess (Boku wa Nanadome no Jinsei de, Kaibutsuhime wo Te ni Ireta) is a one-shot. A man who keeps getting killed wants revenge, and after getting killed for the 6th time he meets a monster princess who might be able to help.

Kusunoki’s Garden of Gods (Kami no Niwatsuki Kusunoki-tei) stars a man who lives in a remote house filled with evil spirits… at least, until the house is purified by the man’s amazing skills. Now gods are drawn to the residence instead.

ASH: I am intrigued.

SEAN: Love Is Dark (Koi wa Ankoku) is a twisted love story. A boy who has a normal high school life moonlights as an assassin. Things get awkward when the school idol asks him out. Things get more awkward when she shows up at his latest job. This is from the creator of Grimgar of Fantasy and Ash.

ASH: That does seem like that would be rather awkward.

SEAN: Reign of the Seven Spellblades: Side of Fire (Nanatsu no Maken ga Shihai Suru: Side of Fire – Rengoku no Ki) is a prequel to the main series set five years earlier, focusing on Alvin Godfrey.

The World Bows Down Before My Flames (Waga Homura ni Hirefuse Sekai) stars a girl who really, really, really wants to set things on fire, and has the power to do it. Now she has to defeat the demon lord… but will she go overboard? Signs point to yes.

ASH: Sometimes you just really need to set things on fire.

SEAN: Also from Yen On: Demon’s Crest 2, I Got a Cheat Skill in Another World and Became Unrivaled in the Real World, Too 6, Playing Death Games to Put Food on the Table 2, and The Vexations of a Shut-In Vampire Princess 8.

The one manga debut is Lycoris Recoil, a manga adaptation of the popular anime series. Why are assassins all cute high school girls? Read on to find out! Actually, likely this is meant for those who’ve already watched the anime…

There’s also the 2nd manga volume of No Game No Life Chapter 2: Eastern Union Arc.

The one release from Viz is JoJo A-Go!Go!, an artbook about JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, now available as a standalone hardcover.

ASH: Very nice; I’ve had my eye on this one even before it was released outside of Japan.

SEAN: Tokyopop has the 3rd volume of FANGS.

Two debuts for Seven Seas: The Lady Knight and the Beast-Eared Child (Onna Kishi to Kemomimi no Ko) about a lady knight who, well, adopts a beast-eared child as her apprentice. He teaches her how to appreciate life’s quieter moments, she teaches him that the world they live in is pretty murderous.

ASH: Sounds promising to me.

SEAN: Tiger and Dragon is a shoujo manga from Margaret. A girl had a crush on her friend when they were tots, but then he moved away. Now, ten years later, she’s ready to move on with her other childhood friend… but guess who’s back?

MICHELLE: Margaret, you say?

ANNA: Is there something from Margaret!? This is the rumor I’ve been hearing.

ASH: That does seem to be the case.

SEAN: Also from Seven Seas: Drugstore in Another World: The Slow Life of a Cheat Pharmacist 9, Even Though We’re Adults 9, Monster Cats 2, and Reincarnated as a Sword 13.

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

ASH: I need to catch up, too.

SEAN: One Peace Books gives us Hero Without a Class: Who Even Needs Skills?! 2.

Apologies to KUMA, who I left out of last week’s list (like Denpa, KUMA’s release dates are fluid, so it can get difficult). They have the debut of Yata-Momo, a BL title from Qpa. It’s from the author of The Song of Yoru and Asa and Happy Crappy Life, and is about a relationship between a slovenly mess and a straight-laced reliable guy.

MICHELLE: The blurb for this actually contains the word “himbo.” I am… kind of intrigued!

ANNA: Who isn’t intrigued by himbos?

ASH: I’m in.

SEAN: Debuting in print for Kodansha Manga is Ajin: Demi-Human Complete, an omnibus collection. This has the first three volumes.

Also in print: Blue Lock 15, Gachiakuta 4, Nina the Starry Bride 7 (watch the anime!), Seraph of the End: Guren Ichinose: Catastrophe at Sixteen 6 (the final volume, as it’s been an omnibus), and Shangri-La Frontier 14.

ANNA: Woo, Nina the Starry Bride!

SEAN: And digitally we get The God-Tier Guardian and the Love of Six Princesses 14, Mermaid Melody Pichi Pichi Pitch: Aqua 4, and TenPuru -No One Can Live on Loneliness- 11.

In print, J-Novel Club has a 3rd volume of the Black Summoner light novel.

J-Novel Club has one debut. The Dorky NPC Mercenary Knows His Place (Kimo Ota Mob Yōhei wa, Mi no Hodo o Wakimaeru) is a “space opera” comedy about a short, plain mercenary who just tries to keep his head down and be a side character… but gorgeous women keep trying to get close to him!… possibly as he’s the best pilot in the galaxy.

ASH: These things happen sometimes.

Also out next week: the 4th The Conqueror from a Dying Kingdom manga volume, The Diary of a Middle-Aged Sage’s Carefree Life in Another World 4, Earl and Fairy 8, The Fake Hero Crashes the Party 2, the 6th The Frontier Lord Begins with Zero Subjects manga volume, the 6th My Daughter Left the Nest and Returned an S-Rank Adventurer manga volume, the 8th Now I’m a Demon Lord! Happily Ever After with Monster Girls in My Dungeon manga volume, The Oblivious Saint Can’t Contain Her Power: Forget My Sister! Turns Out I Was the Real Saint All Along! 4 (the final volume), A Pale Moon Reverie 3 (the final volume), Record of Wortenia War 26, and, most importantly, The Magic in this Other World is Too Far Behind! 10, the first new volume in almost 5 years.

No Ghost Ship releases, but two mature Seven Seas titles, both BL webtoon titles. debuting is Checkmate, about a man who’s drifting through life till he sees his old high school rival, who he could never beat, enmired in scandal. Now he has a new goal… to destroy him! Enemies to Lovers, do I hear you calling?

There’s also The Dangerous Convenience Store 4.

Denpa Books has Mobile Suit Gundam: Char’s Counterattack 3 and Under Ninja 4.

Dark Horse Comics has a 6th volume of Cat + Gamer.

ASH: This is another series I should really give a try at some point.

SEAN: Two debuts from Cross Infinite World. The Frugal Priestess Becomes a Saint (Isekai kara Seijo wo Yobe to Muchaburisareta Shinkan wa, Cost Performance no Tsugou de Seijo ni Naru) features our heroine, who is a member of the clergy, preparing to isekai someone to be the next saint whose magic power is omnipotent. Unfortunately, summoning dying from overwork Japanese women is really, really expensive. And… our heroine has black hair. Maybe she can pretend to be the Saint? It will save the country so much money!… wait, why is the prince obsessed with her now?

ASH: Whoops!

SEAN: How I Swapped Places with the Villainess, Beat Up Her Fiancé, and Found True Love (Danzai Sareteiru Akuyaku Reijou to Irekawatte Konyakusha-tachi wo Buttobashitara, Dekiai ga Matteimashita) is a more traditional villainess work. Our heroine, surprise surprise, dies and wakes up as a villainess getting condemned by her fiance. Snapping, she beats up the fiance… then she finds herself in the past? Yes, it’s an otome game villainess AND a fix the timeline book.

CIW also has Expedition Cooking with the Enoch Royal Knights 5.

No print releases for Airship next week, but we get a digital debut. Mushoku Tensei: Redundant Reincarnation (Mushoku Tensei – Dasoku Hen) is basically an “After Story” for the main series.

Also out in early digital: Sword of the Demon Hunter: Kijin Gentōshō 7.

Is there, perhaps, too much manga? Is it like Halloween candy?

ASH: Only if you don’t have the stomach for it!

SEAN: Psst. Halloween’s behind you. Creeping ever closer. Step by step.

ASH: Wait, behind me? What month is it??

SEAN: Airship has print releases for Easygoing Territory Defense by the Optimistic Lord: Production Magic Turns a Nameless Village into the Strongest Fortified City 3, Failure Frame: I Became the Strongest and Annihilated Everything With Low-Level Spells 11, Modern Villainess: It’s Not Easy Building a Corporate Empire Before the Crash 5, and Raven of the Inner Palace 7 (the final volume).

And for early digital we have The Case Files of Jeweler Richard 9 and Survival in Another World with My Mistress! 7.

Ghost Ship has Booty Royale: Never Go Down Without a Fight! 15-16, Peter Grill and the Philosopher’s Time 13 and Welcome to Succubus High! 6

And in mature Seven Seas titles, we see Case File Compendium: Bing An Ben 3 and The Titan’s Bride 5.

J-Novel Club graces us with FIVE new debuts. The Boy Who Ruled the Monsters (Kaibutsu-tachi o Suberu Mono) is a “banished from the party” story, though at least this time two of the party join him. This is because (try to contain your shock) his ability is great after all! Now he’s going to make his own party of monsters. (Taking a wild guess that the monsters look like hot girls.)

EXP is Golden: The Queen of Destruction Speedruns Her Ascension (Ōgon no Keikenchi) looks like the dark counterpart to A Late-Start Tamer’s Laid-Back Life. Leah is eager to play the hot new MMORPG… and finds she can take powerful NPCs and use their EXP as her own! And she’s a powerful enchantress! And is building a dark army!… wait, isn’t this the path to being evil? Well, whatever.

I Only Have Six Months to Live, So I’m Gonna Break the Curse with Light Magic or Die Trying (Yomei Hantoshi to Senkokusareta no de, Shinuki de “Hikari Mahou” wo Oboete Noroi wo Hodokou to Omoimasu. – Noroware Ouji no Yarinaoshi) is the manga adaptation of the light novel J-NC also puts out. It runs in Drecomics.

Private Tutor to the Duke’s Daughter (Kōjo Denka no Kateikyōshi) is the manga adaptation of the light novel J-NC also puts out. It runs in Shonen Ace plus.

The Reincarnator and the Goblin Maiden’s Happily Ever After: Using a Past Life to Keep a Joyful Wife (Goblin Reijō to Tensei Kizoku ga Shiawase ni Naru Made: Konyakusha no Tame no Zense Chishiki no Jōzu na Tsukaikata) is a light novel about a reincarnated man who wants to do anything to find a happy marriage. In his previous life, he was single for almost a century due to his looks. Now he’s handsome, and gets a proposal offer for a Duke’s Daughter… whose appearance looks like a goblin! It’s OK, though, he knows what she’s going through. This looks really sweet.

ASH: Okay, out of the five, this is the one that interests me the most.

SEAN: Also from J-Novel Club: The Banished Former Hero Lives as He Pleases 3, D-Genesis: Three Years after the Dungeons Appeared 7, Enough with This Slow Life! I Was Reincarnated as a High Elf and Now I’m Bored 8 (the final volume), the 13th The Faraway Paladin manga volume, Full Clearing Another World under a Goddess with Zero Believers 12, the 2nd I’m a Noble on the Brink of Ruin, So I Might as Well Try Mastering Magic manga volume, Through the Viewport: Child of a Ruined World 3 (the final volume), the 2nd To Another World… with Land Mines! manga volume, and You Were Experienced, I Was Not: Our Dating Story 5.

Three debuts for Kodansha Manga, though only one is a debut per se. Blue Lock Season 1 Part 1 is a box set with the first six volumes of the series.

ASH: Perhaps the perfect time to finally get around to actually reading it.

SEAN: Your Lie in April Omnibus 1 contains the first three volumes of this tear-jerker.

ASH: That takes me back.

SEAN: The actual debut is The Spellbook Library, the new title from Uta Isaki, creator of Sayabito: Swords of Destiny, Generation Witch, and Is Love the Answer? (wow, one of those titles is not like the other). This book is being published in English first via KManga. As for the plot… if you read Magus of the Library and thought “I want something just like this”, I have good news!

ASH: Oh!

SEAN: Also in print: Blue Period 15, The Iceblade Sorcerer Shall Rule the World 11, Kaina of the Great Snow Sea 3, Kusunoki’s Flunking Her High School Glow-Up 2, Parasyte Full Color Collection 8 (the final volume), Rent-A-Girlfriend 27, A Sign of Affection 10 (whose print and digital are now released at the same time), and Witch Hat Atelier Kitchen 5.

MICHELLE: I know I really need to read A Sign of Affection.

ASH: Same, actually.

ANNA: It is so good! I think I’m three volumes behind now.

SEAN: Digitally we see Am I Actually the Strongest? 12, Gamaran: Shura 25, Issak 10, and Undead Girl Murder Farce 7.

One Peace Books has a 4th volume of Tales of the Tendo Family.

ASH: I should check in with this series again; the first volume intrigued me.

SEAN: Seven Seas has a couple of debuts. Diary of a Female Lead: Shujinkou Nikki is, amazingly, a shoujo series from Betsucomi. Our heroine has low self-esteem. Her brother is a popular athlete. Her mother is a famous shoujo mangaka. All she wants is friendship. Real friendship. Her brother disagrees, though, and brings home impossibly cool Sena to show her what she really needs to come out of her shell is love. This is “critically acclaimed”, apparently, which might make up for a premise that seems a bit ergh.

MICHELLE: Hm.

ASH: Huh.

ANNA: OK, maybe…..

SEAN: My Boyfriend is a Dog (Inukei no Kareshi) is a BL title from Monthly Action. Two co-workers are falling for each other. One is a human, and one is an anthropomorphic dog, which is to say a handsome guy in a suit, just with the face of an Akita.

ASH: Huh!

SEAN: Nakamura-san, the Uninvited Gyaru (Oshikake Gal no Nakamura-san) runs in Manga Town. A gyaru and an otaku work together, but are polar opposites. Surely they can’t become a couple! But what if I told you she was really a shy, blushing girl pretending to be a flashy gyaru? NOW how much would you pay?

MICHELLE: Hee.

ANNA: Amazing.

SEAN: Also from Seven Seas: The Dangers in My Heart 9, Even Dogs Go to Other Worlds: Life in Another World with My Beloved Hound 4, I’m in Love with the Villainess 7, The Idaten Deities Know Only Peace 6, Kageki Shojo!! 11, Level 1 Demon Lord and One Room Hero 6, Night of the Living Cat 5, Royal Tailor: Clothier to the Crown 2, Skip and Loafer 10, Slow Life In Another World (I Wish!) 7, Stay By My Side After the Rain 2, There’s No Freaking Way I’ll be Your Lover! Unless… 6, Throw Away the Suit Together 2, What He Who Doesn’t Believe in Fate Says 5, and World End Solte 3.

MICHELLE: I should also be reading Kageki Shojo!!.

ASH: I enjoyed the early volumes and really need to catch up!

SEAN: Square Enix gives us My Dress-Up Darling 12, Soul Eater NOT!: The Perfect Edition 2, and Suppose a Kid from the Last Dungeon Boonies Moved to a Starter Town 12 (the final volume).

ASH: I’m so far behind with My Dress-Up Darling, but I’ve greatly enjoyed what I’ve read.

SEAN: There’s a debut from Steamship. A Suitable Fetish (Suits ni Seiheki) comes from Betsucomi Flower, aka “SPICY Betsucomi”. Two office workers discover that they’re far less buttoned-down outside the office, and decide to explore their fetishes.

ASH: Oh, my!

SEAN: From Tokyopop, we get two debuts. The Gardener’s Favorite Poisonous Flower (Jarudinie no Aishita Doku Hana) is a BL title from Canna. An itinerant is hired as a gardener for a male brothel, where he finds the employees are “furless” – human-looking but treated as animals. This is complete in one volume, and that summary doesn’t even come close to explaining how weird it is.

Wails of the Bound: Beta (Kurui Naku no wa Boku no Ban ;β) is a sequel to Walls of the Bound, clearly. It’s more angsty omegaverse shenanigans.

And we also see A Gentle Noble’s Vacation Recommendation 9.

Viz Media has Boy’s Abyss 7, My Name Is Shingo: The Perfect Edition 3, and Vampire Knight Complete Box Set, a 3800-page (!!) box with a day planner and an artbook to boot.

ASH: Whoa!

ANNA: That’s a whole lot of Vampire Knight.

SEAN: Yen On has two light novels out next week: Banished from the Hero’s Party, I Decided to Live a Quiet Life in the Countryside 12 and Wandering Witch: The Journey of Elaina 14.

And two debuts for Yen Press. Days with My Stepsister (Gimai Seikatsu) is the manga adaptation of the light novel Yen also puts out. It runs in Shone Ace plus.

The Guy She Was Interested In Wasn’t a Guy at All (Ki ni Natteru Hito ga Otoko Janakatta) is a yuri title from Kadokawa, based on the serialized manga from Twitter. It has gotten absolutely amazing buzz, and Yen and Kadokawa have been pushing it hard here, as you know if you saw the booth at Anime NYC. Aya has a huge crush on the guy who works at the music store she goes to… not realizing the guy is a girl, Mitsuki, who sits next to her at school.

MICHELLE: Interesting!

ASH: I am very curious about this one!

ANNA: Ooh.

SEAN: Also from Yen Press: Ako and Bambi 3 and Horimiya 17 – Special Edition: A Piece of Memories (the final volume – I think).

ASH: I didn’t realize Horimiya was still going…

SEAN: You know, for a week light on Yen Press, this was a bit ridiculous. What appeals to you?

SEAN: The leaves are all colors here, and everything is magical. (Note: some leaves may not be available outside New England.)

ASH: I am so happy for fall; it’s my favorite.

SEAN: We start off with Yen On, which had its debuts delayed to later in the month. But we do get Babel 2, Bofuri: I Don’t Want to Get Hurt, so I’ll Max Out My Defense 14, Death March to the Parallel World Rhapsody 22, Demon Lord 2099 3, The Kept Man of the Princess Knight 3, Orc Eroica 5, and Secrets of the Silent Witch 5.

ASH: Soon every week will be a Yen week.

SEAN: Yen Press does have debuts. Blade & Bastard is the manga adaptation of the light novels being released by J-Novel Club. It’s by the author of Goblin Slayer, and runs in Drecomics. Also, Garbage looks much cuter on that manga cover than she ever does in the LN.

Is the Order a Rabbit? (Gochuumon wa Usagi Desu ka?) is a title that would have sold like gangbusters if it were licensed in 2013, but it is late 2024, so hey. This runs in Manga Time Kirara Max, and spawned a popular anime. It’s a cute girls run a cafe story.

ASH: The timing does seem a bit off, doesn’t it.

SEAN: I’ll Become a Villainess Who Goes Down in History: It Seems Turning Into a High-Born Baddie Makes the Prince All the More Lovestruck (Rekishi ni Nokoru Akujo ni Naru zo – Akuyaku Reijou ni Naru Hodo Ouji no Dekiai wa Kasoku Suru you desu!) is based off a light novel that Yen will release next year, and has an anime airing as we speak. This is another “villainess as the good person, heroine is subsequently awful” story. It runs in B’s-Log Comic.

Lethal Dose of Love (Koi no Chishiryou) is a one-shot BL title from the magazine B’s-Lovey Recottia. A young man confessed to our protagonist, then ran off. Now, years later, he’s back… with another man at his side!

ASH: Uh-oh!

SEAN: The Small-Animallike Lady Is Adored by the Ice Prince (Shoudoubutsu-kei Reijou wa Koori no Ouji ni Dekiai Sareru) is a manga adaptation of an as yet unlicensed light novel. Our heroine, a shy fluffy sort of girl, is engaged to the cold, forbidding prince. She’s got to break off the engagement, royalty isn’t for her. Wait, he’s starting to dote on her? This runs in Flos Comic.

Also out next week: 15 Minutes Before We Really Date 4 (the final volume), Assorted Entanglements 6, Bungo Stray Dogs: Wan! 9, A Certain Magical Index 29, Chained Soldier 9, The Demon Sword Master of Excalibur Academy 7, Elden Ring: The Road to the Erdtree 4, Final Fantasy Lost Stranger 10, holoX MEETing! 2 (the final volume), Honey Lemon Soda 7, Honey Trap Shared House 4, I’m a Behemoth, an S-Ranked Monster, but Mistaken for a Cat, I Live as an Elf Girl’s Pet 10, Interspecies Reviewers 9, Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? On the Side: Sword Oratoria 24, Kakegurui Twin 14, Laid-Back Camp 15, Mint Chocolate 12, No Matter How I Look at It, It’s You Guys’ Fault I’m Not Popular! 24, Overlord 19, Please Put Them On, Takamine-san 8, The Saga of Tanya the Evil 24, Shy 8, Slasher Maidens 11, Sword Art Online: Kiss and Fly 2, Toilet-bound Hanako-kun: Second Stall (a box set of Vol. 11-20), Trinity Seven 30, Whoever Steals This Book 3 (the final volume, and The Witch and the Knight Will Survive 3 (the final volume).

ASH: So. Many. Words. But I did see Toilet-bound Hanako-kun! Those box sets look really nice.

SEAN: Viz has two debuts, though only one is new. We’re getting a 3-in-1 omnibus release of Red River (Sora wa Akai Kawa no Hotori), the classic shoujo manga that ran in Sho-Comi. If you missed the Viz release of this title (checks dates)… two decades ago, or the digital-only release in 2013, it’s a perfect time to get it again.

ANNA: RED RIVER! Red River has everything – modern girls from Japan sent back to the Hittite Empire. Evil Stepmothers! Evil Water! Warriors! Clashes of armies! Horseback riding! Archery! People thrown into prison! Evil Water! Eclipses! Assassins! Romance! Dark Magic!

SEAN: Is there Good Water to balance out the Evil Water?

ANNA: I mean, there’s some normal water, but a lot of wells or pools of water that end up being Evil!

MICHELLE: I never did finish Red River, but I own all of the original release!

ASH: I’ve been meaning to read this one for what seems like ages! And now I will have no excuse.

SEAN: The other debut is Uncanny: The Origins of Fear, Junji Ito’s memoir where he discusses his history with horror.

ASH: Definitely interested in this one.

SEAN: And we also get Dandadan 9, Magilumiere Magical Girls Inc. 4, Mission: Yozakura Family 13, Record of Ragnarok 12, Snowball Earth 3, Steel of the Celestial Shadows 4, and Undead Unluck 17.

Square Enix Manga has A Man and His Cat 12.

The debut from Seven Seas is The Barbarian’s Bride (Hime Kishi wa Barbaroi no Yome) is from Bessatsu Shonen Magazine, and stars a knight who is told to capture the barbaric tribes of the East… and then, when she fails, is married off to their leader!

ASH: Goodness!

SEAN: Also from Seven Seas: Lonely Castle in the Mirror 4, Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid: Kanna’s Daily Life 12, My New Life as a Cat 7, and Mysterious Disappearances 3.

One Peace Books has the 9th volume of Usotoki Rhetoric.

ASH: I’m behind, but enjoying this series.

SEAN: Kodansha Books has the 6th (really the 7th) volume of Saving 80,000 Gold in Another World for my Retirement.

ANNA: I did not realize there was a multi-volume series about retirement planning, but maybe being in Another World and saving gold is the solution to the horrors of capitalism.

SEAN: I am sorry to say that this series is vigorously pro-capitalism (and pro-gun, for that matter). But it’s fun in a “please turn your brain off” sort of way.

Kodansha Manga debuts Blue Lock: Episode Nagi, a spinoff manga showing the Blue Lock series from Nagi’s POV.

Also debuting is Versus, from the creator of One-Punch Man. The demons are taking over the world. 47 heroes resolve to fight and defeat them. But in order to do so, they will have to go down a bad path. This runs in Shonen Sirius.

ASH: I’m curious, mainly due to One’s involvement.

SEAN: Also in print: The Fragrant Flower Blooms With Dignity 3, Ninja Vs. Gokudo 3, Pass the Monster Meat, Milady! 6, Sketchy 4, and When Will Ayumu Make His Move? 17 (the final volume.

For digital we see Manchuria Opium Squad 2, My Unique Skill Makes Me OP even at Level 1 14, and WIND BREAKER 17.

J-Novel Club has, for print, My Instant Death Ability Is So Overpowered, No One in This Other World Stands a Chance Against Me! —AO— 6.

And digitally, we see The Apothecary Diaries 12, the 7th Full Clearing Another World under a Goddess with Zero Believers manga volume, The Invincible Summoner Who Crawled Up from Level 1: Wrecking Reincarnators with My Hidden Dungeon 3, The Poison King: Now that I’ve Gained Ultimate Power, the Bewitching Beauties in My Harem Can’t Get Enough of Me 2, and Seventh 9.

Ghost Ship debuts The Hungry Succubus Wants to Consume Him (Harapeko Succubus wa Ikasetai no ni!), which runs in Young Magazine Web. A succubus who’s had almost 1000 men finds she’s met her match when she can’t seduce a monk-in-training. But she’ll keep trying!

ANNA: I guess it is good to be persistent about things like this.

SEAN: Also in “mature” titles, we see Succubus and Hitman 7.

From Dark Horse, we get H.P. Lovecraft’s The Call of Cthulhu (Cthulhu no Yobigoe – Lovecraft Kessakushuu), another in the series of Lovecraft adaptations by Gou Tanabe. This ran in Comic Beam.

ASH: Tanabe’s adaptations have been excellent, so far.

SEAN: Airship, in print, has Reborn as a Space Mercenary: I Woke Up Piloting the Strongest Starship! 10.

And for early digital we see The Condemned Villainess Goes Back in Time and Aims to Become the Ultimate Villain 3, Loner Life in Another World 10, and Too Many Losing Heroines! 2.

Do you ever color in the black and white pages in your manga? Also, what are you getting?

ANNA: RED RIVER! (I already have it in multiple formats!)

SEAN: As we creep closer to Halloween, what manner of manga awaits us? (Await us?)

Airship has a print debut for Witch and Mercenary (Majo to Yōhei). Everyone knows witches are evil. Witches should be dead. Everyone but the witch, who’s wondering why everyone seems to hate her. So she hires a mercenary to go with her on adventures.

ASH: I mean, that’s fair.

SEAN: And they also have the 2nd volume of The Mimosa Confessions.

While early digital has the 15th volume of Reincarnated as a Sword.

Dark Horse has the first of the deluxe hardcover editions for Trigun Maximum. This has the first 3 volumes.

Debuting from Ghost Ship is Monster Marriage Shop (Monster no Konkatsuya-san), a Monthly Action title. A matchmaking advisor not only handles humans, but also vampires, succubi, and all kinds of monsters!

ASH: Oh, my!

SEAN: Ghost Ship also debuts Yandere Dark Elf: She Chased Me All the Way From Another World! (Chotto Dake Ai ga Omoi Dark Elf ga Isekai Kara Oikakete Kita), which runs in Web Comic Gamma Plus. A high school boy is isekai’d to another world, becomes a hero, defeats the demon lord, then returns to Japan. Unfortunately, there’s a woman who just can’t give him up.

Ghost Ship has the 3rd and final volume of Cat in a Hot Girls’ Dorm, How to Build a Dungeon: Book of the Demon King 9, and Parallel Paradise 19.

And in non-Ghost Ship but mature-rated titles, we see How My Daddies Became Mates (Shima-chan Chi no Tsugai Jijou), an omegaverse BL title from Be x Boy Omegaverse where two married guys explain to their cute daughter how they started off hating each other.

ASH: Well, then.

SEAN: And there’s a one-shot BL title as well, How to Repair a Broken Cup (Wareta Cup wo Modosu ni wa), which ran in Byō de Wakaru BL. A couple are still having trouble communicating, even after being together for a decade. Then one day they wake up to find their partner replaced with his ten-year-younger self…

MICHELLE: Huh.

ANNA: I’m not sure what to think about this.

ASH: Ummm…

SEAN: In print, J-Novel Club has the 5th omnibus of How a Realist Hero Rebuilt the Kingdom’s manga, as well as Infinite Dendrogram 20 and The Unwanted Undead Adventurer 12.

J-Novel Club has one light novel debut, The Legendary Witch Is Reborn as an Oppressed Princess (Shiitagerareta Tsuhō Ōjo wa, Tensei Shita Densetsu no Majo deshita). When a young girl is pushed out a window by her uncle one day (you know, like normal families), she recalls her past life as a powerful witch! And she can use that power… except it makes her sleepy. Better get a reliable minion.

Also from JNC: the 5th I’ll Never Set Foot in That House Again! manga, Lucia and the Loom: Weaving Her Way to Happiness 2, Nia Liston: The Merciless Maiden 4, the 3rd A Wild Last Boss Appeared! manga, and Young Lady Albert Is Courting Disaster 8 (the final volume).

Kodansha has some print out next week. We see A Brief Moment of Ichika 3 (the final volume), The Fable Omnibus 4, Pupposites Attract 2, Quality Assurance in Another World 10, Shikimori’s Not Just a Cutie 18, Tying the Knot with an Amagami Sister 7, and Welcome to Demon School! Iruma-kun 10.

The digital debut is Parasyte Reversi, a “parallel story” to the main Parasyte manga from the creator of Teppu. This ran in Comic Days.

ASH: Interesting. The original Parasyte is still one of my favorites.

SEAN: Also digital: Bootsleg 4, Gang King 22, Giant Killing 45, He’s Expecting 4 (the final volume), I Have a Crush at Work 6, and Medaka Kuroiwa is Impervious to My Charms 14.

One Peace Books has a debut, as they give us I Was Sold Dirt Cheap, But My Power Level Is Off the Charts (Class Saiyasune de Urareta Ore wa, Jitsu wa Saikyou Parameter), a manga based on an as-yet unlicensed light novel. It runs in Young ace Up. The plot… sigh… our hero and his class are isekai’d, they all have cool powers, he seemingly has none, so he’s sold as a slave. BUT WAIT.

ANNA: Is there an amazing twist where his power levels are off the charts????????

ASH: Anna! Spoilers!

SEAN: The debut from Seven Seas is My Dear Detective: Mitsuko’s Case Files (Kimi wa Nazotoki no Ma Cherie), a Manga Action title about Japan’s first female detective, who fights against sexism and tries to solve crimes, in that order.

ANNA: I enjoy detectives and fights against sexism.

ASH: I’m here for it.

SEAN: Also from Seven Seas: Cinderella Closet 7, Hitomi-chan is Shy With Strangers 9, How Do I Turn My Best Friend Into My Girlfriend? 2, I’m a Wolf, but My Boss is a Sheep! 5 (the final volume), Kemono Jihen 13, and A Tale of the Secret Saint 7.

Square Enix Books has The Ice Guy and the Cool Girl 7 and My Isekai Life: I Gained a Second Character Class and Became the Strongest Sage in the World! 15.

ANNA: Need to check in on Ice Guy, it is cute.

ASH: It really is.

SEAN: SuBLime has a BL title called Stigmata: Love Bites (Stigmata – Aikon), which runs in Bloom. It honestly sounds more like a dark police procedural, as our protagonists can sense the lingering thoughts of the dead.

MICHELLE: I am kind of into BL that sounds like a dark police procedural!

ASH: I could be convinced to read it pretty easily.

SEAN: And they also have My Dearest Patrolman 2.

Two debuts from Tokyopop. Bite Marks and Fluorite (Kamiato to Fluorite) is a BL oneshot from Chara Selection. A young man is bitten by a vampire, but his own transformation will take time, so he’s determined to live as a human till that happens.

Wails of the Bound (Kurui Naku no wa Boku no Ban) is an omegaverse series that runs in Ameiro. An alpha who can’t stand omegas moves to a new office… you’ll never guess what his new boss is like.

ANNA: Could he be…..an OMEGA??????

SEAN: Viz also has debuts! We get Destroy All Humans. They Can’t Be Regenerated. A Magic: The Gathering Manga (Subete no Jinrui o Hakai suru. Sorera wa Saisei dekinai), which, well, is a manga based on a MTG card. It runs in Shonen Ace, and is 15 volumes and counting, which seems a bit ridiculous given its source is a CARD, but whatever.

ANNA: That’s amazing.

ASH: I’m duly impressed.

SEAN: Koyoharu Gotouge Before Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba is a short-story collection from the creator of the famous (infamous?) manga. They’re mostly unrelated, but one is basically a pilot for the Demon Slayer series.

Spider-Man: Octo-Girl is a Shonen Jump Plus title from the creators of My Hero Academia: Vigilantes. Anyone who read Vigilantes knows the creators *really* wanted to write Spider-Man instead, and now they can.

Also from Viz: Akane-banashi 8, Case Closed 92, I Wanna Do Bad Things with You 2, Komi Can’t Communicate 31, Naruto: Konoha’s Story—The Steam Ninja Scrolls: The Manga 2 (the final volume), Sleepy Princess in the Demon Castle 26, and Spy x Family: The Official Coloring Book.

ASH: I really need to read more of Sleepy Princess in the Demon Castle. And actually start reading Akane-banashi.

SEAN: Debuting from Yen Press is When the Villainess Seduces the Main Heroine (Akuyaku Reijou ga Sei Heroine o Kudoki Otosu Hanashi), a manga based on a popular Pixiv title about a villainess who, when dumped by her fiance for the heroine, points out how awful he is in bed, and that the heroine would be much better off with a woman who knows how to have sex. This is a deeply silly title.

ANNA: I mean, it sounds like a reasonable argument.

ASH: It really does.

SEAN: Also from Yen Press: Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? II 5.

There are no small weeks anymore. What are you buying?

SEAN: The end of September drifts into the start of October, which means it’s SPOOKY TIME.

MICHELLE: THE BEST TIME!

ANNA: Here for it!

ASH: Woohoo!

SEAN: We start with Yen On, which gives us Wolf & Parchment: New Theory Spice & Wolf 9 and You Can Have My Back 3 (the final volume).

And Yen Press has Combatants Will Be Dispatched! 10, A Terrified Teacher at Ghoul School! 15, Triage X 27, Uncle from Another World 10, and Yowamushi Pedal 26.

ANNA: Yowamushi Pedal is a favorite in my house.

ASH: I am so far behind, but I’ve been enjoying it.

SEAN: The debut for Viz Media is Otaku Vampire’s Love Bite (Oshi ni Amagami), a shoujo title from Hana to Yume, and from the creator of Kamisama Kiss. A vampire girl is a massive otaku, and has come to Japan to fuel her habits. Then she finds her next door neighbor looks just like her anime crush!

MICHELLE: I was just thinking fondly of Kamisama Kiss the other day. I’ll definitely be checking this out.

ANNA: OOOH, me too!

SEAN: Also from Viz: Blade of the Moon Princess 5 (the final volume), Blue Box 12, Kaiju No. 8 11, Kimi ni Todoke: From Me to You: Soulmate 3 (the final volume), Marriage Toxin 4, Moriarty the Patriot 17, My Hero Academia 39, Rainbow Days 12, Tamon’s B-Side 5, and Vampire Knight: Memories 9.

MICHELLE: I am so in the mood for more Tamon’s B-Side. And I may be in the minority, but I’ve been enjoying Kimi ni Todoke: From Me to You: Soulmate, as well.

SEAN: Udon Entertainment has a biography. Manga Biographies: Charles M. Schulz The Creator of Snoopy and Peanuts (Kadokawa Manga Gakushuu Series: Manga Jinbutsu-den Charles Schulz Snoopy no Umi no Oya). The biography series has, in the past, done Thomas Edison, Helen Keller, Florence Nightingale, etc. None of those came out over here, but Sparky is different, and this is his (manga) life!

ASH: Interesting!

SEAN: Steamship has a 5th volume of GAME: Between the Suits and a 6th volume of Outbride: Beauty and the Beasts.

Square Enix gives us The Great Jahy Will Not Be Defeated! 10 and Victoria’s Electric Coffin 3 (the final volume).

Seven Seas debuts Magical Buffs: The Support Caster is Stronger Than He Realized! (Zatsuyou Fuyojutsushi ga Jibun no Saikyou ni Kidzuku made), a manga based on an as-yet unlicensed light novel, that runs in Futabasha’s Gaugau Monster. Let’s face it, you can guess the plot of this one.

ASH: That’s probably true.

SEAN: Also from Seven Seas: Does it Count if You Lose Your Virginity to an Android? 4, Dungeon Friends Forever 3, Free Life Fantasy Online: Immortal Princess 8, The Great Snake’s Bride 4, I Get the Feeling That Nobukuni-san Likes Me 4, Imaginary 2, The Legend of Dororo and Hyakkimaru 8, Magic Artisan Dahlia Wilts No More 6, Malevolent Spirits: Mononogatari 8, My [Repair] Skill Became a Versatile Cheat, So I Think I’ll Open a Weapon Shop 5, My Wife Has No Emotion 7, Time Stop Hero 10, and The Valiant Must Fall 3.

ASH: I really should catch up with The Legend of Dororo and Hyakkimaru.

Kodansha Manga has one print debut. Mobile Suit Gundam Cucuruz Doan’s Island (Kidou Senshi Gundam The Origin – Cucuruz Doan no Shima) ran in Gundam Ace, and is an examination of the Cucuruz Doan’s Island events from the Zeon Soldier perspective.

Also in print: Bless 3, A Condition Called Love 10, and WIND BREAKER 8.

Digitally, we see Chihayafuru 46, Life 19, That Beauty Is a Tramp 3, and Those Snow White Notes 21.

MICHELLE: Just a few volumes left of Chihayafuru!

ANNA: I can’t believe it.

SEAN: I’ve been saying that Yen Press took over J-NC’s print release distribution, but that’s not quite true. Hachette, Yen’s parent company, took over distribution. So I’ll put them back with the other JNC titles. We get a print release for Reborn to Master the Blade: From Hero-King to Extraordinary Squire 4 (the manga version).

ASH: Ooooooh, okay. That makes sense.

SEAN: Also from J-Novel Club: the 4th D-Genesis: Three Years after the Dungeons Appeared manga volume, The Frontier Lord Begins with Zero Subjects 5, and An Introvert’s Hookup Hiccups: This Gyaru Is Head Over Heels for Me! 8.

From Hanashi Media we see Tsukimichi: Moonlit Fantasy 3.

No Ghost Ship next week, but we get a mature Seven Seas title. KinnPorsche is a Thai novel that inspired a live-action series, and, as you likely guessed, it’s BL. A college student gets caught up with a crime family.

MICHELLE: Intriguing!

ASH: A Thai novel! That’s not something you see everyday.

SEAN: From Denpa Books we see Under Ninja 4.

Cross Infinite World’s debut, Ayakashi and the Fairy Tales We Tell Ourselves, is another book from the pen of Kosuzu Kobato, author of Making Jam in the Woods, Apothecary Witch Turned Divorce Agent, etc. Our heroine meets a young man who can see ayakashi.

ASH: I like the sound of the title, at least.

SEAN: Also from CIW: The Do-Over Damsel Conquers the Dragon Emperor 6, The Dragon’s Soulmate is a Mushroom Princess! 4, and Fluffy Paradise 5.

In print, for Airship, we see the debut of I Abandoned My Engagement Because My Sister is a Tragic Heroine, but Somehow I Became Entangled with a Righteous Prince (Higeki no Heroine Buru Imouto no Sei de Konyaku Hakishita no desu ga, Naze ka Seigikan no Tsuyoi Outaishi ni Karamareru you ni narimashita). A saint is rather stunned when her little sister says she’s being bullied by her sister, and even more stunned when this means her fiance breaks off the engagement to her. And now the Crown Prince is investigating her? Isn’t this all about her sister being a spoiled brat!?!

Also in print: I’m in Love with the Villainess: She’s so Cheeky for a Commoner 3 (the final volume) and A Tale of the Secret Saint 6.

The early digital debut is a one-shot light novel spinoff of the popular manga: The 100 Girlfriends Who Really, Really, Really, Really, Really Love You: Secret Love Story is a short story collection that hopefully is as bonkers as the main series.

Also in early digital: Reincarnated as a Dragon Hatchling 8.

It’s fall, so the manga pages are turning colors! What are you buying?