Discussion, Resources, Roundtables, & Reviews
I’m getting rid of some of my manga! I have a bunch listed on ebay right now, but I thought I would also do a giveaway as well. So appropriately for the start of the holiday season, I’m going to give away Sweet Rein Volumes 1-3. Just leave a comment on this post and I’ll select a random winner in a week.
This week, Sean, Anna, & Michelle look at recent releases from Kodansha Comics, Viz Media, Yen Press, and Seven Seas.
Attack on Titan Junior High, Vol. 2 | By Saki Nakagawa | Kodansha Comics – A word of warning: as with the first volume, if you think that accurate translation is the most important thing in a North American release, this volume may make you catch fire just by touching it. If, on the other hand, you’re looking for an adaptation bursting with ridiculous humor, you’ve come to the right place. Even when the manga tries briefly to run with a serious plotline, it’s not only filled with multiple gags per page, but it undercuts the serious by talking about how crappy the Naruto manga’s become as it’s ending. There’s Eren being racist, Hange being hyper, Ymir loving (and insulting) Krista, and the introduction of Erwin and Hannes to the series. This is tremendously stupid, in all the best ways. – Sean Gaffney
Black Rose Alice, Vol. 2 | By Setona Mizushiro | Viz Media – I really was not prepared for Black Rose Alice to get more awesome, but that’s exactly what it does in its second volume. The transplanted soul of 28-year-old teacher Azusa Kikukawa awakes in the 16-year-old body that once belonged to a Viennese aristocrat whom vampire Dimitri once loved and learns exactly what’s expected of her in exchange for Dimitri saving her lover’s life. What is expected is pretty dark, but Mizushiro-sensei sort of half-buries this with cuteness, resulting in a volume with a really interesting and inescapable undercurrent. Honestly, reading this manga feels somewhat like reading a novel, so sure-footed is the storytelling and characterization, but with the added benefit of some terrific non-verbal reaction shots, especially from Dimitri and Kai, one of the vampires vying for the chance to propagate with Azusa (now renamed Alice). This is fascinating stuff. Get on board! – Michelle Smith
A Bride’s Story, Vol. 6 | By Kaoru Mori | Yen Press – I think I’m finally starting to be won over in regards to Amir. I had trouble getting a handle on her in the first few volumes, finding her a bit too detached for my tastes. But we return to her after a few volumes’ absence now, and she has a lot to be emotional about – her family has now come to take her back by force, even though some of her brothers may disagree with this; said family is allying with treacherous Russian gun-runners; and Karluk is growing up, and chafing at still being considered a child. This culminates in a magnificent battle, drawn with verve and attention to detail. It looks like we’ll be following a new bride in the next volume, so I appreciate that we saw Amir and company here again – and I like her a lot more now. – Sean Gaffney
Food Wars, Vol. 3 | By Yuto Tsukuda and Shun Saeki – This series is slowly winning me over. I enjoyed the third volume of Food Wars much more than previous volumes. The elite cooking academy goes to a resort, not for a relaxing vacation but for grueling tests with the harshest taskmasters possible – successful graduates of their school. Soma finally meets a rival worthy of his attention when the half-Japanese half-Italian Takumi Aldini shows up and promptly challenges him. Takumi has a tendency to make aggressive pronouncements that then turn out to be very anti-climatic, but his approach to food is similar to Soma’s. Seeing the students of cuisine being pitted against the quirky graduates of their program was amusing, and I’m looking forward to the next volume. – Anna N
Gangsta, Vol. 4 | By Kohske | Viz Media – Between Gangsta and Dorohedoro, it may be that the most violent titles on the manga market at the moment are both being drawn by women, which is awesome. There’s also more of the complex plot, as we find one of the new villains is an old childhood friend of Worick and Nicholas, and that there’s a group – supported it seems by the general populace – who simply want all Twilights wiped out entirely. There’s also Alex, who not only can’t escape her past – she’s still being told prostitute is her best and possibly only option – but also recalls she is searching for her brother, whose appearance at the end of this volume is one of the least shocking plot twists ever. Complex, but also fun to read. – Sean Gaffney
Kokoro Connect, Vol. 2 | By Sadanatsu Anda and CUTEG | Seven Seas – After a first volume establishing the mind-swapping premise, things settle down here into more prosaic matters – a love triangle and teenage angst. In fact, the teenage angst is a particularly good spotlight. as Inaba stresses herself into being sick over worries that, once revealed, turn out to be fairly ordinary. This manga seems to be about secrets that can’t help but be revealed, so it’s nice to see that some of what folks think is a huge secret turns out to be no big deal. (Also, it’s refreshing to see a female character admit they masturbate in a non-porn title.) I suspect Iori’s worries are more complicated and harder to magically fix, and also that Taichi is not the best one to do it. We’ll see what happens. – Sean Gaffney
Phantom Thief Jeanne, Vol. 5 | By Arina Tanemura | Viz Media – Phantom Thief Jeanne comes to an end with this volume, wrapping up in a thoroughly shoujotastic yet satisfying fashion. After resolving the cliffhanger from the end of the last volume, things begin moving quickly. Maron ends up meeting God (depicted as a glowing ball of light), who drafts her to participate in one final fight against the Demon Lord. I wondered how this would work, since Jeanne basically has no powers aside from sealing demons located in paintings, but I should’ve known it would play out in the most magical girl way possible. So, maybe the resolution was a little too easy, but I really can’t argue about any aspect of it. I particularly enjoyed seeing the eventual fate of a couple of supporting characters who are finally able to find happiness together. Definitely recommended. – Michelle Smith
Feeling like a fool.
SEAN: There’s a really obvious pick for me this week, as I already mentioned in my Manga the Week of. I’m a sucker for stories where groups of delinquents and misfits are given reasons to fight back and find worth in themselves, and if it’s an alien smiley-face teacher who’s also a bit of a pervert, so much the better. Assassination Classroom is a long awaited addition to the Jump line, and I can’t wait to dig into it.
MICHELLE: I was all set to pick Yukarism here, and I really do look forward to that one, but Sean, you really got me with the description of delinquents/misfits finding worth in themselves. I love stories where kids like that find somewhere they belong, or a passion that they can excel in. It’s a huge reason that I love Slam Dunk so much. And so, I guess I’m picking Assassination Classroom, too!
ASH: Assasination Classroom is one of the manga I’m most curious about this week, too, but since it already has such strong support, I’m going to go ahead and pick the debut of Yukarism. I haven’t read any of the mangaka’s previous works, but the art looks beautiful and I’m intrigued by the story’s premise.
ANNA: I join with Ash in also being intrigued by Assasination Classroom, but as someone who has read all of Chika Shiomi’s other works, I have to pick Yukarism as the manga I am most looking forward to this week.
MJ: Oh dear, oh dear. Well. Though I am feeling the same torment as everyone else here, I will also side with Yukarism in the end. My love for Rasetsu coupled with the rather adorable nature of the title compels me. Yes, indeed it does. Yukarism FTW!
SEAN: December begins, and that can only mean one thing: More piles of manga.
Dark Horse has the 3rd volume of the New Lone Wolf and Cub, with whitewall tires and everything.
Who said DC Comics doesn’t release manga anymore? The Jiro Kuwata Bat-Manga is 350 pages of 60s shonen Bat-goodness, and looks to be amazing.
ASH: This is a really interesting bit of manga history. I was really surprised (and happy) to see DC pick it up!
MJ: Oh, wow, I had no idea this was in the works. Count me in!
ANNA: This sounds great. Really looking forward to it.
SEAN: Sankarea is almost finished, with the penultimate volume shipping next week. Will more main cast members die before this zombie romantic comedy staggers to its conclusion?
We get the 2nd volume of the Nightmare Trilogy from the Alice in the… series.
Is the harem complete in Knights of Sidonia 12? Or are more women waiting in the wings? Oh yes, and science fiction mecha battle horror manga as well.
MICHELLE: I am ashamed to admit that I have failed to catch up on Sidonia. I’m still buying it, though. That counts for something!
ASH: I like saving up a few volumes to read at a time; I’m about ready for another binge.
MJ: More Sidonia is always welcome!
ANNA: My Thanksgiving plans include a bit of a marathon read of Sidonia to get more caught up.
SEAN: On the Viz side, we have the manga they said couldn’t be released! No, the Jump editors had literally said this could not be released in North America. But times have changed, there’s an anime on the way, and here we are. Assassination Classroom may have a scary name, but at heart it’s a classic ‘teacher gets class full of misfits and teaches them how to band together’ sort of title. Kind of like GTO, if Onizuka were an alien with a smiley face for a head. I cannot wait for this.
MICHELLE: Huh, interesting! I am intrigued.
ASH: Looking forward to it!
MJ: Same!
ANNA: Really, I would buy the first volume for the title alone. I want to check this out.
SEAN: Dragon Ball gets its 7th 3-in-1 omnibus.
I enjoyed the second volume of Food Wars! and I think have gotten over its appalling first few pages. So let’s have more exciting shonen foodie manga with Vol. 3.
MICHELLE: I really am enjoying this one.
ASH: As am I.
ANNA: I’m a bit more on the fence about this title, but it does have an interesting premise and storyline to balance out the fanservice.
SEAN: Another penultimate volume (look, I just like saying penultimate, OK?), as Happy Marriage?! 9 inches closer to answering the question mark in its title.
ASH: Penultimate is a great word. I… like saying it, too.
ANNA: I feel like this series has fallen off in quality a bit, but I still enjoy reading it.
SEAN: The second Honey Blood is apparently the last of the main series, though there’s a side volume due out in February. Short shoujo supernatural goodness.
MICHELLE: Or not-so-goodness, as the case may be.
MJ: Heh.
ANNA: Aww, that’s too bad. I usually do enjoy shoujo supernatural titles. I think I will check it out though.
SEAN: Kimi ni Todoke… I feel kind of churlish for saying this, but does it feel we’re dragging our feet a little as the series hits Vol. 20? I do still like it, but wish the end was in sight.
MICHELLE: There is always something very satisfying when long, beloved manga series end. I still love Kimi ni Todoke, but I know what you mean, too.
ANNA: Nothing wrong with a consistently good long running shoujo title.
SEAN: Millennium Snow comes to an end with its 4th volume, and will hopefully manage to resolve the whole “impending death” thing once and for all.
ANNA: I want to go back and reread the first two volumes, then read the new releases. I did enjoy it when it first came out.
SEAN: Naruto may have finished in chapter format, but the collected volumes live on! Here’s the 68th.
Nura: Rise of the Yokai Clan is still marching towards its ending with the 24th volume.
There is also the 3rd Seraph of the End.
ANNA: I like this series! Not only due to the vampires, but because the light novel origins of the series ensures that there will actually be a decent amount of worldbuilding and backstory for the characters.
SEAN: If Food Wars! seems to mild and sedate for you, Toriko is always ready to take it one level higher, and its 25th volume drops next week.
In case you already miss Vampire Knight, Fleeting Dreams is a short story collection based on the series.
Voice Over! has come to the 8th volume, and is romance finally starting to stroll leisurely towards the reader?
MICHELLE: I find that I would kind of love for that to happen.
MJ: Sometimes the stroll is a bit too leisurely.
ANNA: I liked the first volume of this more than I expected to, but I don’t think I’ll be investing in reading more of the series. I think it might be good for younger teens though, and series like that are always welcome.
SEAN: Three volumes of World Trigger means I’m 3 volumes behind. Need to check this series out.
ANNA: I was lukewarm about the first couple volumes, but I can certainly see how someone else might enjoy the series.
SEAN: And a new shoujo series from Betsuhana, as we get the first volume of Yukarism. If you enjoyed Yurara, this is by the same creator.
MICHELLE: I’m really curious about this one! I haven’t read nearly as much Chika Shiomi as I should’ve. (But I bought all her stuff! That counts for something, right?)
ASH: I’m actually very excited for this one! Gender-bending, time travel, historical romance… this should be good.
MJ: I am so on board for this. I actually never read Yurara, but I loved Rasetsu, which stood better on its own than I ever expected.
ANNA: I REALLY like Chika Shiomi series. The art is great, and often there are some darker themes in her paranormal romance series that are quite intriguing. My favorite of her series so far is Night of the Beasts that was released by Go!Comi back in the day.
SEAN: What appeals to you in this rather large list?
Black Rose Alice Volume 2 by Setona Mizushiro
If you had asked me where Black Rose Alice was headed after reading the first volume, I would not have replied “slice of life reverse harem story about vampires running a cafe” and yet that was what ended up happening in the second volume. I thought that after establishing Dimitri’s past and the troubled present lives of the teacher Azusa and her doomed relationship with her student Koya, I was expecting a bit more fallout after Azusa agreed to trade her soul to Dimitri in exchange for Koya’s life. There are a few hints of Azusa’s past feelings in the second volume, but the bulk of the story is spent establishing her new existence inhabiting Agnieszka’s body and what exactly happens when she wakes up as the object of affection for four vampires that all want to continue their species. Azusa takes on the name Alice in her new incarnation.
Dimitri has surrounded himself with vampire companions. There’s the twins Reiji and Kai, who are a bit young (for vampires) and naive. Leo, who is more sophisticated dedicates himself to waging a calculated campaign for Alice’s affections. In an interesting twist on the reverse harem scenario, Alice is going to be the only way for the young vampires to extend the life of their line, but it is up to her to make a choice about who she wants to end up with. Dimitri is determined to hold himself aloof from the new soul inhabiting Agnieeszka’s body, but he finds himself drawn to Alice despite himself.
While the first volume had more of a tumult of emotions, this second volume was much more even in tone and had some vampire-centric slice of life moments as Alice slowly gets used to her new identity. Alice has an imperious streak that comes out from her former habits of managing a classroom. There are still a few moments of the surreal body horror that made the first volume more distinctive, but not nearly as many random tarantulas spewing from a given vampire’s mouth. It isn’t often that I put down the second volume of manga feeling genuinely surprised about the direction and tone, but I finished up this volume feeling more intrigued than I did after reading the first. This series seems to be shaping up to be quite quirky and unique, which is just the type of thing that I’m currently most interested in reading.
SEAN: The last week of the month is usually a nice breather after the deluge of the previous three weeks, giving us a chance to catch up on the piles of manga still out there. But there are still a few tasty bits of manga for (American) Thanksgiving.
We’ll start with the tastiest, the long-awaited release from Dark Horse of Satoshi Kon’s Opus. It’s an omnibus of the original 2-volume Japanese release, and also apparently fairly metatextual. It’s also by Satoshi Kon, which is reason enough to buy it.
ASH: Oh! I knew this one was in the works, but hadn’t realized it was being released so soon!
MJ: Wow, this snuck up on me!
ANNA: This does sound interesting.
SEAN: From the sublime to the ridiculous, as Kodansha has the 2nd omnibus release of Attack on Titan Junior High. A lot of fans of the regular Titan series I think found this humor a bit too broad for their tastes, but I loved it, and appreciated the focus it gave to some of the minor characters from the main series. For anyone who likes comedy gag manga.
ASH: I agree. The first omnibus was surprisingly entertaining.
SEAN: Fairy Tail has its 44th volume, and we’re only 4 months behind Japan now!
There’s also the 2nd volume of xxxHOLIC Rei, where I keep hoping they’ll ignore that something is clearly wrong with this universe and keep giving me wonderful short unconnected supernatural stories.
MJ: I’m totally on board with whatever is wrong with this universe, and definitely looking forward to this volume! Hurray!
SEAN: If Syaoran shows up, I’m blaming you.
ANNA: I never thought the day would come when I would be very ambivalent about a CLAMP book, but here we are.
MICHELLE: I’m not exactly ambivalent about it, but I never finished the first xxxHOLiC, so Rei is sort of putting the cart before the horse for me.
SEAN: Cardfight!! Vanguard has its fourth volume come out from Vertical Comics. I hear the manga and anime are quite different.
Lastly, we have a digital only release (the physical volume is out in February), but it’s one we have been waiting almost 20 years for. The final volume of Neon Genesis Evangelion drops next week, and fans keep wondering if its finale will be slightly less apocalyptic and bleak than the anime or movies. We’ll find out soon.
Anything whet your appetite as you wait for all that turkey?
SEAN: This may be the last chance I get to do it, so I apologize to all the other worthy series out this week. But my pick of the week is Higurashi: When They Cry: Dice-Killing Arc. An epilogue that delves further into the psychology of Rika Furude, it’s a lot darker than you’d expect, and while some of its motivations don’t make sense to me, it’s a fitting conclusion to the series (barring other side-stories that might get licensed in future). Also, Rika’s mom!
ASH: So many great manga are being released this week that it’s difficult to pick just one. But then I realized that the most recent volume of Takehiko Inoue’s Real was an option and that I couldn’t choose anything else. Real is a fantastic series and, in my opinion, one of the best comics currently being released in English.
MICHELLE: It is no exaggeration to say that I literally make a noise of delight upon realizing that another volume of Real is due for release, so I am going to have to go with Ash on this one.
ANNA: I knew there would be a lot of love for Real this week, which it certainly deserves. I’m going to make my pick the fourth volume of Gangsta though. This stylish seinen manga alternates between being gritty and heartwarming, and I’m looking forward to the further adventures of Worick and Nik as they navigate issues with the local mafia, the city of Ergastulum, and their own traumatic pasts.
MJ: Okay, wow, there are so many things here for me to choose from, I honestly do not know what to do. I’m always thrilled to see new volumes of Ooku and Real. They accumulate so slowly, I feel that I must carefully savor each new volume. And with both a new volume of Pandora Hearts *and* the art book Pandora Hearts Odds & Ends, I’m running the risk of fangirl overload this week. But the cover art alone has persuaded me to go with Yen Press’ new manhwa series, Milkyway Hitchhiking. I had a lot of love for the author’s earlier series One Fine Day (and I still maintain that if people aren’t actively ‘shipping No-Ah/Aileru, I don’t know what they’ve been doing with their time). The more I think about a new series from Sirial, the giddier I become. Gimme, gimme. Like. Now.
What looks good to you this week?
SEAN: So. Many. Books.
ASH: Woo!
SEAN: Kodansha has the 5th volume of shoujo romance My Little Monster, which is still dealing with social ineptness in the best way.
MJ: I feel like I’m really missing out by not reading this. I probably have to fix that.
MICHELLE: I do honestly think that you would like it.
ASH: You should!
ANNA: Now I feel like I should be reading this! But I have far far too much manga to get caught up on.
SEAN: And the 2nd volume of Noragami, which I’m hoping kicks things into gear now that we have a 3rd cast member.
ASH: By the end, I rather enjoyed the first volume. Looking forward to seeing how the series develops.
SEAN: Seven Seas has another Devils and Realist, which I’m hoping keeps the denial in addition to all its handsome devils.
ASH: This series has actually really started to grow on me.
ANNA: I liked the first volume well enough but haven’t picked up the others for whatever reason.
SEAN: Dragonar Academy 4 has dragons and fanservice, possibly not in that order.
Kokoro Connect was surprisingly serious about its body swapping, even if at times the exposition felt a bit stilted. I look forward to seeing where the second volume goes.
Monster Musume 5 has monsters and fanservice, possibly not in that order.
ASH: Since both things are fairly constant, I’m not sure there can be much of an order…
SEAN: Prophecy is our first new title, a seinen title involving a masked man who predicts crimes… which then happen. This looks pretty grim, but is supposed to be a real page-turner.
MJ: Oooo, I like the sound of that.
MICHELLE: Me, too! Something just got added to my shopping list!
ASH: I’ll be checking it out!
ANNA: I’m intrigued but am reserving judgement until you guys check it out.
SEAN: Viz, as always in the 3rd week of the month, has its ‘Signature’ series titles. We have another volume of Gangsta, which I’m starting to like even more than Black Lagoon, its spiritual predecessor.
ASH: I think I do, too, actually.
SEAN: Ooku hasn’t come out in ages, so a 10th volume is very welcome.
MJ: Yay, yay, yay! And more yay!
MICHELLE: What she said.
ASH: And another yay for good measure!
ANNA: Yet another yay for Ooku!
SEAN: And I know the Manga Bookshelf crew will be ecstatic with a 13th volume of Real.
MJ: Truth.
MICHELLE: I am performing the Baby Groot dance as we speak.
ASH: Real is a phenomenal series. If you’re not already reading it, give it a try!
ANNA: It is really great.
SEAN: I’ve never played the games, but one can’t deny the overwhelming popularity of the Resident Evil franchise, and here we have the first volume of a manga adaptation called The Marwha Desire, which ran in Akita Shoten’s Weekly Shonen Champion.
Terra Formars 3 is also coming out.
Yen On has a 2nd volume of the light novel Accel World, whose first volume I enjoyed, and whose protagonist is intriguing, so I will see where it goes from here.
MJ: I’m on board for this, definitely!
SEAN: The big light novel out next week, though, is even more well-known in the anime and manga fandom. A Certain Magical Index has become a giant franchise, whose anime is already out over here, and whose manga spinoff, A Certain Scientific Railgun, has sold quite well indeed. Now see where it all began, with this first volume.
Ani-Imo is a shoujo title from Aria, a magazine known for odd shoujo titles. Do you like bodyswapping? Do you like suggestions of incest? Then you’ll love this title, whose creator has been doing ‘saucy’ shoujo for years.
MJ: I was right there… until “incest.” Just. No.
MICHELLE: That’s an odd shoujo title for sure. Even the cover art looks like it’s meant for some other demographic.
ANNA: Yeah, I don’t think so.
SEAN: Anything I could have said about BTOOOM! I got out with the previous 7 volumes, so… 8.
Durarara!! continues adapting the third novel with the 2nd volume of the Yellow Scarves arc. (That can be confusing. Welcome to light novel adaptations, here’s your accordion.)
Another debut with Gou-dere Sora Nagihara, which ran in Hakusensha’s Young Animal Arashi. It’s pretty ecchi, and involves an otaku’s 2D fantasy girl coming to life and not being quite the shy, demure girl he was expecting.
Speaking of ecchi, another volume of High School DxD is here.
Higurashi: When They Cry ended last year, and Rika finally got her happy ending, provided she doesn’t do anything foolish like bike in front of a truck. (cough) Please enjoy Higurashi’s “epilogue”, the Dice-Killing Arc.
Jack Frost has reached its final, 11th volume! No more head-raising antics!
The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya also has its 20th and final volume, though the spinoffs are still running. Forever doomed to be in the shadow of the novels and anime, it’s probably for the best it ends here as it runs out of novel to adapt.
Milkyway Hitchhiking is a new manwha from the creator of One Fine Day, and is also in full color. It seems to be episodic tales connected by a time-space cat.
MJ: Wahoo! I loved One Fine Day, so I am very enthusiastic about this.
MICHELLE: Oh! I forgot this was coming out. It looks like very much my sort of thing.
ASH: Space-time kitty!
ANNA: This does sound quite appealing.
SEAN: Pandora Hearts 22… MJ?
MJ: You know me so well. I will be eating this up with a spoon.
SEAN: As well as the Pandora Hearts artbook, Odds & Ends… MJ?
MJ: It’s beautiful! Truly. Really, truly. And I offer proof (thanks to Sean).
SEAN: Soul Eater’s covers are still nearly black, which tells me things are still not looking good for our heroes as we head towards the story’s climax.
And there’s also the 4th volume of Soul Eater NOT!, which I believe is also a final volume. Who will Tsugumi choose as her girlfr… um, partner?
Everyone’s least favorite arc of Sword Art Online, Fairy Dance, has its 2nd manga volume ship.
MJ: Heh, I haven’t enjoyed the manga as much as the novels (or the anime), but I’ll take it.
SEAN: Lastly, Triage X marches on, with its 8th volume out next week.
That’s not too much. Surely you can buy all of that in one week, right?
MJ: There are a number of really great choices coming our way this week, but since I’m guessing the juiciest of them will be chosen by others, I’ll allow myself the pleasure of picking the final omnibus volume of Hiromu Arakawa’s Fullmetal Alchemist. This is not only one of my favorite shounen series of all time, but also one of my favorite manga series, full stop. I’m thrilled that new readers may finally just be getting to the series’ glorious final chapters. I’m reliving my own experience vicariously through them—in my imagination at least.
ASH: Technically, the All You Need Is Kill omnibus was released last week, but because we initially forgot to mention it I’ll make a special point to pick it this week. I really enjoyed Hiroshi Sakurazaka’s original novel and I’ve been looking forward to reading the manga adaptation ever since I first learned that Takeshi Obata would be working on it.
ANNA: I know the fact that I’m so behind on 07-Ghost is a running joke, but I am really interested in finishing the series! So the latest volume is my pick of the week.
MICHELLE: I’m actually going to side with MJ on this one—Fullmetal Alchemist should be read by all manga fans!
SEAN: I kind of gave this away in my Manga the Week of post, but my pick is absolutely Showa: 1944-1953, Shigeru Mizuki’s story of WWII and its aftermath, how it impacted Japan, and how it impacted his own life. Go read this volume.
What looks good to you this week?
SEAN: After the deluge of the last two weeks, I am relieved to say that next week is at least a LITTLE quieter. Unless you’re Kodansha.
Speaking of which, apologies to Kodansha and Viz– I missed two of their titles that are out this week. The 2nd Heroic Legend of Arslan is already out! Go get it, it’s good! And Viz has All You Need Is Kill, the manga based off of the novel (as opposed to the earlier comic based off the novel).
ASH: I really enjoyed the original All You Need Is Kill novel, so I was happy to get my hands on the manga omnibus. I haven’t finished reading it yet, but am already very confident in recommending it over the graphic novel adaptation.
MJ: I can’t believe I haven’t picked this up yet, considering the artist. What have I been doing with my time??
ANNA: I feel guilty I haven’t started reading the Heroic Legend of Arslan yet.
SEAN: On to next week. Dark Horse has its second omnibus of Samurai Executioner, which pretty much lives up to its name.
Drawn & Quarterly has the 3rd big volume of Shigeru Mizuki’s Showa, this one covering the years 1944-1953. It is an absolute must read.
ASH: Agreed.
MJ: Oh, yes.
SEAN: Kodansha time, and they have a lot. Air Gear does not have QUITE the same gravitas as Showa, but at Vol. 32 I don’t think it has anything to prove, really.
And there’s also the 4th Air Gear omnibus.
Cage of Eden is down to its final quarter, and I suspect we will start getting answers soon, or at least fewer baffling questions. And more naked bathing as well, of course.
After reading Ubel Blatt, seeing the more mild and cute fanservice from The Seven Deadly Sins seems like a relief. The 5th volume arrives next week.
Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle has a 2nd omnibus. Will you be caught up in time for its new sequel starting up next year?
MICHELLE: Eh? I was totally ignorant of that. I never did finish the first one!
MJ: Hurray!
SEAN: UQ Holder offers more Akamatsu goodness. Will there be more Negima teases in Vol. 3?
SubLime gives us the 2nd volume of False Memories, which would appear to involve a Burger King crown of some sort.
Viz has 07-GHOST 13. Buy it or it will be unlucky! You don’t want bad luck, do you?
MICHELLE: I believe Anna vowed to get caught up with this series last time there was a new volume. Did you fulfill your pledge, Anna?
ANNA: I’m also feeling guilty for not fulfilling my pledge! But I did buy the missing volume 5 that was preventing me from getting caught up, and I started reading it only to get distracted (as usual) by shoujo manga from Viz. Maybe I will fulfill my pledge this month. It could happen!
SEAN: I believe that the 9th volume of the Fullmetal Alchemist omnibus is the final one, in which case it contains one of the best endings in shonen manga. But you should know this already.
MICHELLE: Yep.
ASH: Such a great series.
MJ: I can’t believe just how happy it makes me to consider new readers finishing this series for the first time.
SEAN: Lastly, Rin-Ne keeps chugging along with its 16th volume.
MICHELLE: I wish I could be excited about RIN-NE, but it’s always pleasant, at least.
SEAN: Which manga cries out for you to buy it?
Kiss of the Rose Princess Volume 1 by Aya Shouoto
I’m always happy to check out a new reverse harem manga. Kiss of the Rose Princess seems a little bit on the wacky and comedic side like Ouran High School Host Club, except it has random paranormal elements, is less ridiculous, and does not feature twins. So actually, not very like Ouran at all. The heroine of the story is Anise Yamamoto, a girl who is cursed with wearing the same rose necklace to school every day in flagrant violation of the dress code, because her father told her that she would be cursed if she ever took the necklace off.
Of course, only a few pages into the manga, Anise’s necklace falls off and she soon finds herself assigned mystical knights who she can summon to do her bidding by kissing cards imprinted with different colored roses. By day they are Kaede the slightly cranky yet typically handsome shoujo hero, Tenjo the secretly freaky student council president, the gothically morose Mutsuki, and the tiny but cute Asagi. Random events at school cause Anise to need help, and as she mystically summons her knights to her side she begins to learn a bit more about their personalities. There are plenty of amusing scenes in Kiss of the Rose Princess, even though it doesn’t approach the manic humor of a series like Ouran High School Host Club or Oresama Teacher.
The art is attractive, but fairly conventional. It doesn’t have much of a distinct style to it, and I tend to enjoy reading manga a bit more if the artist has some recognizable unique takes on character design, backgrounds, or paneling. I found myself picking up and putting down this volume a bit, which might have been a function of me being crazy busy recently, but the story didn’t really capture all of my attention. That being said, Kiss of the Rose Princess was enjoyable to read, as a good example of super light and fluffy manga. I’m hoping that the humor and the relationships between the characters develops a bit more in the second volume.
SEAN: There’s another giant pile of stuff that I’m interested in, but I’ll take the first omnibus of Lucifer and the Biscuit Hammer from Seven Seas. I’ve reviewed the first volume digitally before, but am very pleased to see it in print: it’s rare to see a manga in the superheroes genre (as opposed to sentai or “group of fighters”), and there’s a lot of highly disturbing backstory to make this more edgy than most. Also, lizard. Can’t forget the lizard.
ASH: It is another great week for manga! Both What Did You Eat Yesterday? and Black Rose Alice are at the top of my list. But, seeing as I have yet to master the skill of simultaneously reading two manga at once, I’ll be reading Black Rose Alice first and so will make it my pick of the week. I absolutely loved the first volume of the series and can’t wait to read the second.
ANNA: There’s a lot of great manga coming out this week, and if Ash hadn’t picked Black Rose Alice that would have been my pick. I feel like I have an extra chance to highlight some great manga, and the finale of Phantom Thief Jeanne is not to be missed. I’m not sure if any other manga has an ending quite as unique as this one, but it’ll be on my top 5 of crazy manga endings, for sure.
MJ: While I’m decidedly interested in everything that’s been mentioned, but I’ll be the one to go for volume five of Fumi Yoshinaga’s What Did You Eat Yesterday? I really don’t think I’ll ever be able to get enough of this series (or Yoshinaga in general, frankly). The food is scrumptious, and she’s got a way with dialogue that is truly unmatched. More, please!
What looks good to you this week?
This week, Sean and Anna look at recent releases from Seven Seas, Viz Media, and Vertical Comics.
Alice in the Country of Joker: Circus and Liar’s Game, Vol. 6 | By QuinRose and Mamenosuke Fujimaru | Seven Seas – The artist here is the ‘default’ one for the Alice books, and you can see why they were called in here – this continues to be the best of the many Alice spinoffs. In this new volume, Alice may have finally admitted her feelings for Blood, and gotten ready to tell everyone else, but it’s her attachment to Lorina – still “imprisoned” in the Joker’s cells – that drive the plot, and lead to one of the more dramatic climaxes we’ve had, as Vivaldi goes back to Carroll’s original plot and demands that Alice have her head cut off. An execution is unlikely, but I do find myself wondering if this might be the only Alice manga series with a ‘bad end’. – Sean Gaffney
Arpeggio of Blue Steel, Vol. 2 | By Ark Performance| Seven Seas – I will admit I am a little worried that the storyline is going to follow the path of ‘ship goes up against our heroes, discovers the awesomeness of Gunzou, and decides to switch sides, as we see suggested with Takao in this volume. Luckily, the manga seems more concerned with plot and action battles than harem antics, and on that front it does quite well. Gunzou is perhaps a bit more calm and implacable than I’d like, but hey. The naval sequences have just enough ridiculousness to them to be fun, but not enough to suspend disbelief. And there’s multiple sides, with no one entirely being trustworthy except for our heroes. Still a pleasant surprise, and I look forward to more. – Sean Gaffney
Happy Marriage, Vol. 8 | By Maki Enjoji | Viz Media – This series is winding down, and while I am on board to enjoy any josei that gets translated into English, I’m not sure if I’ll be rereading this series soon. One thing I did like about this volume is some actual progress towards emotional maturity, as Hokuto decides to take a calculated risk to establish his position in his family for once and for all. While there are the usual misunderstandings between Hokuto and Chiwa, there’s a bit more maturity in how they approach their relationship, as they actually work on talking things out a bit faster than the reader would expect based on the earlier volumes. As this series heads into the final two volumes, I’m wondering if Chiwa will manage to go for one volume without doing something to endanger herself. One can only hope! – Anna N
Knights of Sidonia, Vol. 11 | By Tsutomu Nihei | Vertical Comics – After getting over my devastation at realizing that Ms. Hiyama is not a real bear (this was apparently mentioned earlier, but I had long forgotten), I was able to enjoy what, for all its dering do and near misses, was a more light-hearted volume of Sidonia. Much of it is devoted to adding a new member to Tanikaze’s increasingly outlandish harem, this time an artificial life form who adds a lot more tsun to the mostly dere cast. We also get to see Tanikaze show off his totally ludicrous battle side as well, and show off various shocked facial expression. Yes, expression without the plural – faces aren’t Nihei’s strength. I marvel once more at the direction this title has taken, but I expect next time will be more serious. – Sean Gaffney
Magi, Vol. 8 | By Shinobu Ohtaka | Viz Media – As you might guess by the cover, our three leads are together again, but that doesn’t mean everything gets wrapped up here in a neat little bow. The revelation of some sort of evil council manipulating events behind the scenes makes sense given that this is the kind of manga we are reading, and they do a good job of putting Alibaba’s kingdom right up to the very brink. But in the end, this volume is about the tragedy of Alibaba and Cassim, and how their inability to see what the other one had led only to repressed jealousies. The end chapters seem a lot more lighthearted, and I look forward to a new arc next time Also, Morgiana gets in a number of great kicks and rescues, for those who only read the title for her. – Sean Gaffney
Oresama Teacher, Vol. 17 | By Izumi Tsubaki | Viz Media – This manga has a sprawling cast and wacky humor that often depends on goofy juvenile delinquent violence. But one of the reasons why I find it so consistently entertaining from one volume to the next is the way Tsubaki will suddenly focus on one cast member and turn in a funny yet touching story. This volume starts out with the third member of the public morals club, erstwhile ninja Yui, being forced to confront the reality of his undercover mission to destroy the people who have actually become his friends. Seeing him struggle looking over photos of all their adventures was surprisingly touching, and Hayasaka and Mafuyu deal with Yui’s crisis with the warmth and humor that I’d expect from such a consistently good manga. – Anna N
SEAN: November does not have quite as many books as October, but that’s only due to Thanksgiving week providing a minor break. The other three weeks try harder to drown us in books.
Dark Horse finishes off its Trigun re-release with the 5th Trigun Maximum omnibus, depriving me of additional attempts to mock Nightow’s art style, at least until the next Blood Blockade Battlefront comes along.
Attack on Titan 14 focuses more on Levi and Hange, for fans of those two (no, it doesn’t have any shipping fuel).
ASH: I found the thirteenth volume of Attack on Titan to be particularly good, so I’m looking forward to reading the fourteenth.
SEAN: The third and final volume of Alice in the Country of Clover: Knight’s Knowledge will no doubt see if Alice and Ace can resolve their respective psychoses and find peaceful happiness. God, I hope not. They’re far less interesting that way.
Seven Seas has been hyping their print release of Lucifer and the Biscuit Hammer, and with good reason: it’s an excellent series, with a nice take on ‘what if the superheroes who had to save the world wanted to destroy it instead?’ It’s come out digitally twice, but get it in print, it’s worth it.
ASH: I plan on checking this series out!
ANNA: Huh, this wasn’t on my radar before, but this sounds interesting!
MJ: What Anna said!
SEAN: The Sacred Blacksmith lost me with Vol. 5, so I have no further jokes to spend on Vol. 6.
And the penultimate volume of Zero’s Familiar Chevalier, which will hopefully be able to wrap things up nicely by the final volume, as the author has passed away, making more series unlikely.
Vertical has the 5th volume of seinen foodie manga What Did You Eat Yesterday?.
MICHELLE: Yay!
ASH: Yay, indeed!
ANNA: Triple yay!
MJ: There cannot possibly be enough YAY!
SEAN: The rest is all Viz. Black Rose Alice was pretty dark in its first volume. Will this second one lighten things up a bit, or continue on its gothic pace?
MICHELLE: I found this quite a unique take on vampire mythology, so I’m looking forward to volume two.
ASH: Although I was sad to see the story leave Vienna so soon, I loved the first volume of Black Rose Alice and am very curious to see how it continues to develop.
ANNA: I enjoyed the first volume too. It has an interesting take on vampires, which is quite tricky to pull off. Also the thematic tone of this series sets it apart from other supernatural manga.
MJ: I’m so happy to be reading this series, and I can’t wait to dig into the second volume!
SEAN: Bleach hits Vol. 62, and I think a person is fighting with another person somewhere in it. At points they brag about how they can’t be defeated, I’m guessing.
MICHELLE: Ha!
SEAN: Blue Exorcist looks like it was getting ready to head into a darker arc last time, and I think that’s what we’ll get here. Can’t wait, this is always good.
There’s also a 5th D.Gray-Man 3-in-1, speaking of shonen series with a high female readership. In fact, in North America I’d argue D.Gray-Man has an almost exclusively female readership…
Dengeki Daisy is almost over! Waaaah! Here’s the 15th, penultimate volume.
MICHELLE: I haven’t always loved this one, but I’ll miss it when it’s gone.
ASH: I’ll miss it, too.
ANNA: I love this series. This is one of those manga that’s going to have a permanent place on my bookshelves.
SEAN: High School Debut has its 4th 3-in-1 as well.
MICHELLE: Getting closer to the one with new material!
ANNA: There’s a volume coming out with new material? I am excited!
MJ: Wait, what? New material? Ooh.
MICHELLE: Yep! The fifth omnibus will contain volumes 14 and 15, which I believe will contain short stories published after the series officially ended.
SEAN: Kiss of the Rose Princess is this month’s new series, from Shojo Beat. It’s an Asuka series, so I expect it’s most likely fantasy, and also probably reverse harem. Am I right?
MICHELLE: I don’t know yet, but I’ll check it out.
ANNA: Surprising no one, so will I.
MJ: Surprising… also no one. Me too.
SEAN: And for non-reversed harems, here’s the 6th volume of romantic comedy Nisekoi.
Did you not pick up One Piece? Shame on you. Here’s a 2nd giant Box Set so you can catch up all at once. Now. I’ll wait here all night if necessary.
The 5th and final volume of Phantom Thief Jeanne should wrap everything up, though I’m not sure if it will be happy or bittersweet.
ANNA: The ending of Phantom Thief Jeanne is bonkers in the best possible way.
SEAN: The 5th Ranma 1/2 omnibus introduces Ukyou Kuonji, who is another character who invites controversy. Well, they all do, really. It’s that kind of fandom.
Have you had enough 3-in-1 omnibuses yet? No? Good, here’s Skip Beat! with its 9th.
Spell of Desire’s first volume was solid but didn’t wow me. I’m hoping for more wow in this second one.
MICHELLE: And more kittens!
ANNA: I’ve read this already and I continue to enjoy this series.
MJ: I talked about this a bit in Monday’s Off the Shelf. I’m not exactly *wowed*, but optimistic about this series.
SEAN: Tegami Bachi, you’ve hit Volume 17. As ever, I have no idea what to say about you. You seem to have caught up with Japan now.
Ultimo hits double digits even as it’s been announced it’s ending soon.
Lastly, if the One Piece box set wasn’t enough for you, here’s one for Vampire Knight.
If you were expecting the manga deluge to end, more fool you. What suits you from this tsunami of manga?
ASH: So many great manga are being released this week that it’s difficult to choose just one. There are debuting series, like Barakamon, that I’m intensely curious about. There are continuing series, like A Bride’s Story, that I will definitely be picking up. But if I have to choose just one manga this week, I must go with the penultimate volume of Blade of the Immortal. The series has been one heck of a ride, and there’s no way I’m going to miss finishing it.
MICHELLE: Although I had fun reading the latest volume of Bloody Brat, it kind of feels too insubstantial to be a pick of the week. Instead, I’ll go for Barakamon. I don’t know much about it, but it seems like it has potential to be my sort of thing.
ANNA: I’m a bit torn between A Bride’s Story and Barakamon, and I think I’ll have to go with Barakamon because new series are always exciting! The idea of a manga focusing on a fish out of water calligrapher sounds interesting to me.
SEAN: I’m getting far too much this week, but as for the pick, let’s make it one of my old favorites, Umineko When They Cry. These omnibuses are good value for money, and the story is getting clearer even as it also gets much darker. Always an excellent read, provided you don’t mind the omnipresent bullying and child abuse the title is throwing a light on.
MJ: I’m pretty much equal parts excited about Barakamon and the latest A Bride’s Story, but to satisfy my love of all things Makoto Shinkai, I’ll go for the manga adaptation of The Garden of Words, out this week from Vertical. I’ve enjoyed the manga adaptations of both Voices of a Distant Star and (especially) 5 Centimeters Per Second, so this release is a no-brainer for me. There is something about Shinkai’s inner world that always, always draws me in, and so far, I’ve had the same experience with manga adaptations of his work. Let’s hope my luck holds this time around!
What looks good to you this week?
