Anna N

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?

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?

SEAN: I think Yen Press has set a record for most volumes released in a single week. (At least for that publisher… I suspect Viz has it beat overall there.) Let’s start with what isn’t Yen, though.

Blade of the Immortal is perilously close to finishing, and it also hits its 30th volume this week from Dark Horse. Wasn’t it the last series still published in 32-page floppies to give in and go volume-only?

ASH: I’m not certain, but I think that’s true. Either way, I’m very happy that Dark Horse continued to release the series. Nearly two decades later, this is the penultimate volume in English!

ANNA: That’s pretty epic! I loved the artwork in the first few volumes of this series, but I didn’t really stick with it for the long haul. No question that this is a big achievement.

SEAN: Attack on Titan: No Regrets has its 2nd and final volume, in which Levi’s two childhood friends survive and go set up a nice house somewhere, no doubt. Wait, no, this is Attack on Titan.

ASH: I rather enjoyed the first volume of this spinoff, so I’ll be picking up the second volume, too.

SEAN: I’ve gotten too far behind on Fairy Tail to make jokes about its plot, so hey! Fairy Tail 43!

There’s a double dose of Alice this week, from two different publishers. Seven Seas gives us the 6th volume of my favorite spinoff of the series, Alice in the Country of Joker: Circus and Liar’s Game.

Vertical has The Garden of Words, one of the more optimistic works by Makoto Shinkai. That’s not saying much, of course. I reviewed it here.

MJ: As a Shinkai fan, I’m a pretty interested in this. I’ve enjoyed manga adaptations of his films in the past, including 5 Centimeters Per Second. So, yeah. I’m on board.

ASH: Me, too! (Though, I’ll admit I haven’t actually gotten around to watching the anime, yet…)

SEAN: In case you missed the digital release of Another, the horror novel Yen put out last year, we now have an omnibus print edition under the Yen On label.

MJ: This looks interesting to me as well!

SEAN: Alice in the Country of Diamonds ~Wonderful Wonder World~ is part artbook, part guide to the PSP game, and part fan thing, with interviews, manga, etc. If you like Alice, it’s all here.

Barakamon is an anticipated new series from Yen, about a calligrapher who is sent to a remote island after losing his temper; the plot is basically “fish out of water”, but it’s apparently quite well done.

MJ: Again, I’m interested. This actually is turning out to be a pretty intriguing week!

MICHELLE: I was just reading the description for this on Yen’s site the other day. It definitely looks appealing!

ASH: This is one of the series from Yen that I’ve been most looking forward to reading.

ANNA: This does sound really intriguing.

SEAN: Black Butler hits its 18th volume, and I’ll bet you two to one that Ciel and Sebastian are investigating something-or-other.

Bloody Brat gives us a 2nd volume of wacky antics with the cast of Blood Lad, to contrast with the wacky antics already present in the main series.

MJ: Always up for more wacky antics in this universe.

MICHELLE: Me, too. It just suits my humor. I actually found that the main series is funnier than the spinoff, at least in the first volume, but I’ll actually be reading volume two this evening for… reasons.

SEAN: A Bride’s Story is now an annual release, but that’s more ‘caught up with Japan’ than anything else. It’s still a terrific title everyone should read.

MJ: It’s been a while, indeed. This can’t come too soon.

ASH: Anything by Kaoru Mori is always a must for me. (Also, Yen is bringing back Emma!)

ANNA: I need to get caught up on this series. I agree that anything by Kaoru Mori is a must have.

SEAN: Doujinshi Anthologies (non-porn) are a staple of popular Japanese franchises, but we rarely see them over here. Yen has made a few exceptions, and after seeing The Misfortune of Kyon and Koizumi a while back, we now have The Celebration of Haruhi Suzumiya, which binds together three similar volumes into one big omnibus.

Inu x Boku SS had quite a plot twist last time, one that leaves the series seemingly with no one left to carry on. Where it goes from here will be the big reason to read this 5th volume.

Given the author drew the Time-Killing Arc, one of my favorite Higurashi arcs, I wish I liked Judge better than I do. Survival Game is just not my favorite genre. Here’s the penultimate volume.

Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days has its fourth volume, and yeah, I got nothing.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – the gag manga The Melancholy of Suzumiya Haruhi-chan, whose 8th volume ships this week, is a better adaptation of the source than the main manga. Not more accurate. But better.

No Matter How I Look At It, It’s You Guys’ Fault I’m Not Popular! has its 5th volume ship, and the only thing that makes me more uncomfortable than reading it is having to type out its full title. Still good, just cringe inducing.

ASH: Yeah, it can be a bit hard to read, but it is a good series.

SEAN: Hey, remember Oninagi? Had 3 volumes out about 5 years ago from Yen? Not very good? Ever wonder where that final fourth volume ever got to? Well, wonder no more. Here ‘tis.

ASH: Oh, wow, I’m not familiar with this series at all! It’s still great to see it being completed in English, though.

ANNA: I’m going to sit in the corner and whimper for all the unfinished series I’d like to see completed in English.

SEAN: Another Madoka Magica tie-in also wraps up, this being A Different Story.

I was surprised to see the dark fantasy series Ubel Blatt licensed, but unsurprised to hear it will be coming out in omnibus form, given its length. This first one collects Vol. 0 (a special prologue) and 1, but is labeled 0 to confuse everyone.

MJ: I’m cautiously interested. “Dark fantasy” can go either way for me.

MICHELLE: Same here. I must say, too, I’m kind of relieved that series I don’t follow about are wrapping up; I always feel guilty when I’ve nothing to say about them.

SEAN: Lastly (at long last), there the 2nd omnibus of Umineko When They Cry: Alliance of the Golden Witch. We’re getting closer than ever to defining what magic is, which in turn will help us to understand Beatrice. And by we, I mean the reader. Not Battler, he’s still useless.

Despite all these titles, is there nothing here that can satisfy you? And if so, why? Look at them all.

SEAN: Another week, another pile. Here we go.

I may not really enjoy Gantz, but it certainly sells in comic shops, and is popular enough that the author’s new title was just announced at NYCC. We’re still a few volumes from the end over here.

Animal Land, an underrated Kodansha title, has reached Vol. 10. I always mean to go back and check this out, but never do.

MICHELLE: I honestly had no idea this was still going.

SEAN: If you still haven’t gotten the first four Attack on Titan volumes, Kodansha has a nice box set of them for you.

No. 6 has hit Vol. 9, and there are many Manga Bookshelf peeps excited about that.

ASH: I’m looking forward to it! (I just hope the manga’s ending is handled better than the anime adaptation’s was.)

SEAN: Sankarea has also hit Volume 9, and has pretty much ceased to be a fanservice-filled romantic comedy entirely. At this point you wonder who will remain alive at the end.

In case manga was not enough Alice for you, Seven Seas has the light novel Alice in the Country of Diamonds: Bet on My Heart. Blood is the love interest du jour, I believe.

ANNA: I wonder if this series will ever run out of card suits and have to incorporate an additional organizational system drawn from other games like Jenga or Yatzee.

Arpeggio of Blue Steel impressed me more than I expected, and I am eager to see if the second volume can keep it up.

Thought you’d read all of Dance in the Vampire Bund, had you? Never! There are still the… Secret Chronicles. (makes scary woooo gestures with fingers)

Haganai 9 won’t get you many friends, but it should still provide a lot of laughs and some heart as well.

Seven Seas debuts the manga version of No Game, No Life. With the light novel out next year, this series is getting a lot of push. It looks pretty fanservice-heavy, but hey.

Vertical also has a new debut with Vol. 1 of Witchcraft Works. I reviewed it over here.

ASH: I’m rather curious about Witchcraft Works.

SEAN: Viz is releasing an 18-volume Black Bird Box Set, which… why? I thought we were done! (weeps)

MJ: NO… no… nooooooo…

MICHELLE: I know what I’m getting MJfor Christmas!

MJ: *stare of death*

MICHELLE: Dude. That’s harsh.

MJ: It was the mildest response I could come up with.

ANNA: Not a fan of Black Bird but hey, at least we have a series to point people to if they really enjoy wound licking.

SEAN: And Monster gets a 2nd omnibus Perfect Edition.

MICHELLE: I have fond memories of Monster

ANNA: I might buy these omnibus editions for myself as a holiday present!

SEAN: For Hayao Miyazaki fans, Princess Mononoke: The First Story is a must buy, being the original early 80s idea he had for the eventual movie to come.

And for alt-manga fans, you can’t go wrong with a new volume of Sunny.

ASH: That’s true!

MJ: Finally, something for me to get excited about this week!

MICHELLE: Same here! I was beginning to despair.

ANNA: Alt-manga isn’t my favorite thing, but Sunny is great.

SEAN: Lastly, there’s a new Vagabond, still trundling along even after 3 dozen books.

ASH: I’ve really been meaning to catch up with Vagabond; Inoue does some fantastic work.

ANNA: I love the 3 in 1 Vagabond editions.

SEAN: Is there a book here that’s right for you?

MICHELLE: Just one, apparently!

SEAN: With only ten new volumes, this is the lightest week of the month. Let’s all enjoy it.

First off, one I missed from last week, mostly as Amazon just announced they were shipping it early a few days ago. The second Whispered Words omnibus, containing Vols. 4-6, is out this week. If you like a well-written yuri story with lots of fun and angst and romance, this is the book for you.

ASH: The story is great! And it has karate, too! (I just hope the copy editing has improved with this volume…)

MICHELLE: Me, too. It was seriously bad.

SEAN: Now for next week. We’ll start with Dark Horse, who have the 16th Bride of the Water God volume, which is on my list of “I always forget this exists” titles.

MICHELLE: I actually forgot Whispered Words existed, so don’t feel bad.

MJ: I’d almost forgotten both, and that makes me sad!

ANNA: I didn’t know anything about Whispered Words, but if more high quality yuri is being translated into English, that can only be a good thing.

SEAN: Kodansha releases the quotation mark challenged Say “I Love You”, so I will put them back in. This is Volume 4.

ANNA: I really enjoyed the first two volumes of this. Time to get caught up!

ASH: I’m enjoying this series as well.

SEAN: SubLime has a new Blue Morning volume, a series that I believe our Manga Bookshelf team has enjoyed in the past.

MICHELLE: I really enjoy both of these series, and will be reviewing both of these in brief form in the coming weeks.

MJ: Blue Morning is definitely on my list for the week.

SEAN: Vertical has a new series debut with Volume 1 of Ajin. You can also see this on Crunchyroll’s manga site. It’s from Kodansha’s good! Afternoon magazine, and seems to be quite dark. I suspect this is more in the Wolfsmund vein than the Chi’s Sweet Home one. One of the creators also has High-Rise Invasion coming out via Manga Box.

MJ: Interesting!

ASH: I’m very curious about Ajin and am looking forward to giving it a try.

SEAN: And we also have the 11th and final Flowers of Evil, which proved to be a lot more popular than anyone had expected, I think, though never an easy, friendly read.

MJ: I fell out of this a while back, but I kind of miss it.

ASH: I’ve been saving up all of the volumes of the final arc to read all at once, and here it is, the series end. I’m preparing to be devastated in one way or another.

SEAN: With the 52nd volume of Case Closed, you now have one volume for each week of the year if you want to do a reread.

Deadman Wonderland has a 5th volume, and I suspect the plot has really begun to pick up by now. (Look, sometimes these are generic. I can’t read everything.)

I do read Magi though, and love it to bits. Buy Volume 8. If not for me, then for Viz, who needs another big Shonen Sunday title.

MICHELLE: Magi is excellent, with capable storytelling and character development. I think MJ, in particular, should read this one! :)

ANNA: I have a couple stray volumes of this sitting around my house, and need to fill in a bit before starting to read this series. I’ve only heard good things though, and I look forward to reading it!

SEAN: Lastly, we have another big series ending, as the 19th volume of Vampire Knight is so important that Viz released it apart from the other Shojo Beat titles. It also comes in regular and deluxe versions, with a mini-artbook for the latter. I enjoyed this a lot more than I expected to, but I’m glad it’s ending, as it was running out of plot.

MICHELLE: I think the last volume I read was 13, but I think I’ll make a push and finally finish this one up. For the sake of completeness, if nothing else.

ANNA: It might seem odd to people who are familiar with my love of vampire-based shoujo manga, but I haven’t read this complete series. I started reading it, got about 5 volumes in, stopped, and have been piling up sporadic volumes here and there with the intention of doing a big series read at some point. One day, this will happen!

SEAN: Anything strike your fancy here?