Ash Brown

SEAN: May day, may day!

ASH: Danger, danger!

SEAN: We start with Airship. In print, they have a 4th volume of There’s No Freaking Way I’ll be Your Lover! Unless…

The digital debut is a one-shot light novel, True Love Fades Away When the Contract Ends – One Star in the Night Sky (Unmei no Koibito wa Kigen Tsuki). This is from the author of Making Jam in the Woods, I’d Rather Have a Cat Than a Harem, and The Apothecary Witch Turned Divorce Agent. A young woman trying to avoid getting married meets a young man with the same goal. Can they solve the problem by pretending to be in a relationship?

ANNA: Can they pretend to be married AND make jam in the woods?

ASH: I don’t see why not!

SEAN: Dark Horse has the 7th volume of its Hellsing re-release.

Ghost Ship has a 12th volume of Peter Grill and the Philosopher’s Time.

From J-Novel Club, we see 8th Loop for the Win! With Seven Lives’ Worth of XP and the Third Princess’s Appraisal Skill, My Behemoth and I Are Unstoppable! 3 (the manga version), Ascendance of a Bookworm Arc 2 Vol. 9 (the manga version), Enough with This Slow Life! I Was Reincarnated as a High Elf and Now I’m Bored 6, Fiancée No More: The Forsaken Lady, the Prince, and Their Make-Believe Love 2, The Invincible Little Lady 6, The Invincible Little Lady 3 (the manga version), Let This Grieving Soul Retire 4, Making Magic: The Sweet Life of a Witch Who Knows an Infinite MP Loophole 7, Nia Liston: The Merciless Maiden 2, Rebuild World 4, Seirei Gensouki: Spirit Chronicles 24, Seventh 7, and You Were Experienced, I Was Not: Our Dating Story 3.

ASH: That sure is a lot of words.

SEAN: One debut in print for Kodansha Manga. I See Your Face, Turned Away (Kimi no Yokogao wo Miteita) is a Betsufure series from the creator of My Sweet Girl. A high school girl enjoys shipping her friend with the hot guy in class. It’s only happening in her head… but what happens when reality starts intruding?

ANNA: Whoops!

MICHELLE: Hate when that happens.

ASH: Right?

SEAN: Also in print: A-DO 2, Anyway, I’m Falling in Love with You 2, The Darwin Incident 5, Drifting Dragons 16, Fire Force Omnibus 10, I’m Giving the Disgraced Noble Lady I Rescued a Crash Course in Naughtiness 5, Medalist 2, The Seven Deadly Sins: Four Knights of the Apocalypse 12, and That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime: Trinity in Tempest 8.

ASH: I need to catch up with Drifting Dragons.

SEAN: Digitally we see Blue Lock 25, Gazing at the Star Next Door 2, How to Grill Our Love 8, Life 14, My Wife is a Little Intimidating 8, Otherworldly Munchkin: Let’s Speedrun the Dungeon with Only 1 HP! 9, Shangri-La Frontier 16, Those Snow White Notes 17, and Tying the Knot with an Amagami Sister 13.

One Peace Books has the 4th volume of The Wrong Way to Use Healing Magic.

Seven Seas debuts Monster Cats, the latest full-color manga from the creator of Yokai Cats and The Evil Secret Society of Cats. It’s complete in one volume, and came from Manga Life Win. Surprisingly, it’s about dogs. (It’s not, it’s about cats. I kid.)

ASH: You almost had me there.

SEAN: Also debuting is True Love Fades Away When the Contract Ends, the manga version of the light novel I mentioned above. It runs in Comic Ride.

From their danmei line they have Stars of Chaos: Sha Po Lang 3.

Also from Seven Seas: 365 Days to the Wedding 3, CANDY AND CIGARETTES 8, Free Life Fantasy Online: Immortal Princess 7, Hitomi-chan is Shy With Strangers 8, I’m in Love with the Villainess 6, My Status as an Assassin Obviously Exceeds the Hero’s 5, What He Who Doesn’t Believe in Fate Says 4, and The White Mage Doesn’t Want to Raise the Hero’s Level 2.

Square Enix debuts Mobsters in Love (Koisuru Gokudou Onii-san), a BL series from Gangan BLiss. A subordinate is hopelessly in love with his boss… who keeps seducing him by accident!

ASH: Whoops!

SEAN: They also have The Great Jahy Will Not Be Defeated! 8.

Steamship has the 3rd volume of I Can’t Refuse S.

Two debuts from Tokyopop. A Beast’s Love Is Like the Moon (Tsuki wa Michikake Kemono no Koi) is from a magazine called Cab. (insert joke here) A city boy goes to the woods to be a caretaker for his family home, and ends up bonding with a hot yokai dude.

ANNA: As one does.

ASH: It is to be expected.

SEAN: This Reincarnated Cross-Dressing Princess Won’t Be Looking for a Fiancé (Tensei Danzou Oujo wa Kekkon Aite o Sagasanai) is a new josei series from the creator of I’ll Never Be Your Crown Princess!. It runs in FK Comics, and is based on an unlicensed light novel. A princess is disguised as a boy to get a fiancé at the academy, till she realizes that this academy is based on a BL game, and everyone is gay! Then she meets the new transfer student. Smut ensues.

ANNA: Ok, I’m curious.

ASH: Likewise, though I would probably be even moreso were “reincarnated” not in the title. But, hooray, for josei!

SEAN: Also from Tokyopop: If My Favorite Pop Idol Made It to the Budokan, I Would Die 6.

Udon Entertainment has Team Phoenix 4.

The debut from Viz is Star Wars: Visions: The Manga Anthology, with adaptations from the creator of Witch Hat Atelier, Little Witch Academia, and others.

ANNA: Ooh!

ASH: That could be fun.

SEAN: Also from Viz: Black Clover 35, Blue Box 10, Chainsaw Man 15, The Elusive Samurai 11, In the Name of the Mermaid Princess 2, Like a Butterfly 6, My Special One 6, Star Wars: The Mandalorian: The Manga 2, Wolf Girl and Black Prince 7, and Yona of the Dawn 41.

ANNA: Yes more Yona!!!!!

MICHELLE: *Kermit flailing*

ASH: Huzzah!

SEAN: Lastly, two stragglers from Yen. Yen On has Magical Explorer: Reborn as a Side Character in a Fantasy Dating Sim 7.

And Yen Press has Banished from the Hero’s Party, I Decided to Live a Quiet Life in the Countryside 7.

Maaaaaaaaay!

SEAN: End of April, start of May, it’s all the same to me.

Just one straggler from Yen On: Once Upon a Witch’s Death: The Tale of the One Thousand Tears of Joy (Aru Majo ga Shinu Made: Owari no Kotoba to Hajimari no Namida), a one-shot light novel. A witch apprentice learns she is cursed to die in one year unless she collects one thousand tears of joy.

ASH: I really do appreciate one-shots, these days. Also, i get a kick out of the fact that the basic premise is essentially the opposite of Blade of the Immortal.

SEAN: Tokyopop debuts a new series, Watch Dogs Tokyo. This Kurage Bunch series is based on a game, it takes place in future Tokyo, where a management system has helped everyone’s lives immensely, and is absolutely not secretly evil at all. Time for a team of expert hackers…

Tokyopop also has a 3rd volume of We Can’t Do Just Plain Love.

Steamship has the 5th volume of Outbride: Beauty and the Beasts.

Seven Seas has one debut, My Sister Took My Fiancé and Now I’m Being Courted by a Beastly Prince (Imouto ni Konyakusha wo Toraretara, Juuna Ouji ni Kyuukon saremashita ~Matatabi to Shite Dekiai saretemasu~). It’s based on an unlicensed light novel, and stars a woman whose every suitor has been stolen away by her younger sister. But now she’s being courted by a prince… with the heart of a lion. And possibly other lion aspects as well. It runs in Zero-Sum Online.

ANNA: What is up with this lady’s sister???

ASH: A valid question.

SEAN: Also from Seven Seas: Classroom of the Elite 10, Dance in the Vampire Bund: Age of Scarlet Order 11, Easygoing Territory Defense by the Optimistic Lord: Production Magic Turns a Nameless Village into the Strongest Fortified City 2, The Great Snake’s Bride 3, Happy Kanako’s Killer Life 7, Mushoku Tensei: Roxy Gets Serious 11, My Androgynous Boyfriend 4, and ROLL OVER AND DIE: I Will Fight for an Ordinary Life with My Love and Cursed Sword! 5.

MICHELLE: I did enjoy volume one of My Androgynous Boyfriend. I should probably check back in with it.

ASH: Same!

SEAN: Kodansha Manga has one debut, Fed Up With Being the Spoiled Queen’s Genius Butler, I Ran Away and Built the World’s Strongest Army (Wagamama Oujo ni Tsukaeta Bannoushitsuji, Tonari no Teikoku de Saikyou no Gunjin ni Nariagari Musousuru). Based on an unlicensed light novel, this runs in Suiyoubi no Sirius. A butler grows weary of his lady’s demands, and runs away to the next country, where he can use his butler skills to advance in the military. That said, judging by the cover, I suspect the spoiled queen is not letting him go that easily.

ANNA: I wouldn’t know, but I hear it is hard to find good help. Also, I would like a butler.

SEAN: Also in print: Blue Lock 12, Don’t Toy With Me, Miss Nagatoro 16, EDENS ZERO 28, Gachiakuta 2, The Iceblade Sorcerer Shall Rule the World 9, Seraph of the End: Guren Ichinose: Catastrophe at Sixteen 4, Shangri-La Frontier 11, She’s My Knight 2, and Shonen Note: Boy Soprano 7.

ANNA: Gotta pick up Blue Lock for my kids.

ASH: And I need to catch up on Shonen Note!

SEAN: While digitally we see A Condition Called Love 14, Even Given the Worthless “Appraiser” Class, I’m Actually the Strongest 10, I Want To Hold Aono-kun So Badly I Could Die 11, Issak 7, My Master Has No Tail 11, Sakura’s Dedication 5 (the final volume), and Yamaguchi-kun Isn’t So Bad 8.

No debuts for J-Novel Club, but a pile of light novels. We see DUNGEON DIVE: Aim for the Deepest Level 7, The Greatest Magicmaster’s Retirement Plan 17, I Surrendered My Sword for a New Life as a Mage 6, Knight’s & Magic 3, Magic Stone Gourmet: Eating Magical Power Made Me The Strongest 5, Marriage, Divorce, and Beyond: The White Mage and Black Knight’s Romance Reignited 2, The Oblivious Saint Can’t Contain Her Power: Forget My Sister! Turns Out I Was the Real Saint All Along! 2, Only the Villainous Lord Wields the Power to Level Up 5, Peddler in Another World: I Can Go Back to My World Whenever I Want! 7, Perry Rhodan NEO 18, and Stuck in a Time Loop: When All Else Fails, Be a Villainess 3 (the final volume).

ASH: That was quite the stack.

SEAN: Two light novel volumes from Hanashi Media: The Dark Guild Master’s Smile Would Fit Best 2 and The Fruit of Evolution: Before I Knew It, My Life Had It Made! 9.

Ghost Ship has a 4th and final volume of Wicked Trapper: Hunter of Heroes.

Listed as coming out next week from Denpa Books is Fish Society (Sakana Shakai), an interconnected short story collection from the creator of Invitation fro0m a Crab. In fact, it’s a semi-sequel, asking the question “what if we let fish take over the selling of fish at the fish market?”. It ran in Rakuen Le Paradis.

ANNA: Glad to see more stuff coming out from Denpa!

ASH: Really looking forward to this one.

SEAN: Dark Horse Comics has the 2nd Innocent omnibus, with Volumes 4 through 6.

ASH: A good reminder that I should finish reading the first.

SEAN: No debuts for Cross Infinite World, but they have four ongoing books: Fluffy Paradise 4, I Reincarnated As Evil Alice, So the Only Thing I’m Courting Is Death! 3, Making Jam in the Woods: My Relaxing Life Starts in Another World 3, and Rising from Ashes: My Dear Emperor, You’re Putty in My Hands! 2.

In print, Airship has 7th Time Loop: The Villainess Enjoys a Carefree Life Married to Her Worst Enemy! 5 and How a Realist Hero Rebuilt the Kingdom 18.

And in early digital there is the 7th and final volume of Disciple of the Lich: Or How I Was Cursed by the Gods and Dropped Into the Abyss!.

A fairly quiet week. Taking a break? Or buying more?

SEAN: April is lurching towards its conclusion. What can we find?

ASH: Hopefully my mind; try as I might, it’s convinced that March comes next.

SEAN: There’s a lot of print Airship titles, as we see Free Life Fantasy Online: Immortal Princess 6, The Most Heretical Last Boss Queen: From Villainess to Savior 6, She Professed Herself Pupil of the Wise Man 10, and The Weakest Tamer Began a Journey to Pick Up Trash 6.

In early digital we see The Mimosa Confessions (Mimosa no Kokuhaku), an LGBT novel from the creator of The Tunnel to Summer, the Exit of Goodbyes. A young man gradually drifts away from his more popular guy friend. In high school, he meets a cute girl, and falls for her. However, when he walks home one night, he sees his old friend… in a girls’ uniform and crying?

MICHELLE: Ooh.

ASH: Curiosity piqued!

ANNA: Hmm!

SEAN: And there is also the third volume of Yes, No, or Maybe?.

Ghost Ship has Into the Deepest, Most Unknowable Dungeon 8 and World’s End Harem 17.

And in mature non-GS titles, we get The Husky and His White Cat Shizun: Erha He Ta De Bai Mao Shizun 5 and Killing Stalking: Deluxe Edition 6.

ASH: I really do need to give Killing Stalking a try before I get too much further behind.

SEAN: J-Novel Club has two debuts. A Livid Lady’s Guide to Getting Even: How I Crushed My Homeland with My Mighty Grimoires (Buchigire Reijō wa Hōfuku wo Chikaimashita. Madōsho no Chikara de Sokoku wo Tataki Tsubushimasu) is another “our heroine is publicly shamed and dumped” books. Oh, and she’s thrown in prison. This causes her to snap and get revenge. That said, I wonder how revengey this will be – I’ve seen this sort of thing before.

ASH: Bonus points for the use of “grimoires” in the title.

ANNA: I appreciate grimoires as well!

SEAN: Zilbagias the Demon Prince: How the Seventh Prince Brought Down the Kingdom (Dainana Maōji Zilbagias no Maō Keikokuki) has a hero and his party get ready for the final battle against the demon king… and they’re all killed. Oops. Then he’s reincarnated… as the demon king’s son!

ASH: Awkward!

ANNA: What if he was reincarnated as the demon king’s son’s cat??

SEAN: Also from J-Novel Club: the 15th Black Summoner manga volume, the 4th Dragon Daddy Diaries: A Girl Grows to Greatness manga volume, The Exiled Noble Rises as the Holy King: Befriending Fluffy Beasts and a Holy Maiden with My Ultimate Cheat Skill! 2, Haibara’s Teenage New Game+ 6, Infinite Dendrogram 21, Jeanette the Genius: Defying My Evil Stepmother by Starting a Business with My Ride-or-Die Fiancé! 2, the 3rd The Magician Who Rose From Failure manga volume, Tearmoon Empire 12, and This Art Club Has a Problem! 3.

Kodansha Books has the 4th (really the 5th) volume of Saving 80,000 Gold in Another World for my Retirement.

Kodansha Manga debuts in print A Brief Moment of Ichika, a shoujo title from Palcy. A 16-year-old girl who was given two years left to live three years ago has made her peace with it… till she meets her teacher who vanished a while ago. Expect tears with this one.

ASH: Hmmm.

ANNA: I don’t know about this.

SEAN: Also in print: Blood on the Tracks 16, Ogami-san Can’t Keep It In 4, Phantom of the Idol 7, Vinland Saga Deluxe 2, Witch Hat Atelier Kitchen 3, and Yuri is My Job! 12.

MICHELLE: Shamefully, I had forgotten Phantom of the Idol existed.

ANNA: I forgot Witch Hat Atelier Kitchen existed.

SEAN: Digitally we see And Yet, You Are So Sweet 9, The Café Terrace and its Goddesses 12, Drops of God: Mariage 6, EDENS ZERO 28, Gamaran: Shura 19, The Iceblade Sorcerer Shall Rule the World 9, My Home Hero 15, and That’s My Atypical Girl 12 (the final volume).

One Peace Books has a print version of Parallel World Pharmacy 4.

No debuts for Seven Seas, but we see The Ancient Magus’ Bride: Wizard’s Blue 8, The Dangers in My Heart 8, Don’t Call it Mystery 7-8, Made in Abyss 12, My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom! 9, and Reincarnated as a Sword 12.

MICHELLE: Yumi Tamura FTW!

ASH: Always!

ANNA: AIEE, I am already far behind!

SEAN: Square Enix has Otherside Picnic 9 and Soul Eater: The Perfect Edition 14.

Viz gives us Jujutsu Kaisen: The Official Character Guide, a guidebook to the popular Jump manga.

They’ve also got Pokémon: The Complete Pokémon Pocket Guide, the first of a two-parter. And given this volume is 560 pages, that’s a lot of Pokedexing.

ASH: Gonna need a big pocket for that!

SEAN: And for more sinister Jump manga, there is Boy’s Abyss 5.

Yen On has some runoff from last week, including a debut. Riviere and the Land of Prayer (Inori no Kuni no Riviere) is a title from the creator of Wandering Witch. On an island where magic is sealed into items, Riverie is there to ensure those items don’t cause trouble. I hear the Wandering Witch shows up in this one herself, which means I will not be reading it.

Yen On also has Chitose Is in the Ramune Bottle 6, Our Last Crusade or the Rise of a New World: Secret File 2, and (sigh) Wandering Witch: The Journey of Elaina 13.

And from Yen Press we see The Do-Over Damsel Conquers the Dragon Emperor 3.

Still a lot of April. Does anything interest you?

SEAN: Yen Press is here to bury us in titles once more.

Yen has slid some releases at the last minute, so their calendar hasn’t quite caught up yet. I believe the only debut for Yen On this week is You Can’t See the Snow (Kimi wa Yuki o Miru Koto ga Dekinai), a one-shot about a college couple who meet in the summer, but she breaks up with him in the autumn – as she has an illness that causes her to sleep half the year. This has “tearjerker” written all over it.

ASH: I could use half a year’s worth of sleep.

ANNA: I would also look forward to sleeping.

SEAN: Also from Yen On: Apparently, Disillusioned Adventurers Will Save the World 4, Bofuri: I Don’t Want to Get Hurt, so I’ll Max Out My Defense 12, Goblin Slayer Side Story: Year One 3, High School DxD 13, Hollow Regalia 4, I Kept Pressing the 100-Million-Year Button and Came Out on Top 7, I’m the Villainess, So I’m Taming the Final Boss 8, The Misfit of Demon King Academy 3 (the print version of the JNC light novel), Sabikui Bisco 7, Secrets of the Silent Witch 4.5, and That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime 18.

Debuting for Yen Press is Fox-Colored Jealousy (Yakimochi wa Kitsuneiro), a one-shot BL title from Bloom. A cute boy who sometimes sprouts fox ears and a tail is saved from a groper on the train by a guy who loves to cuddle.

ASH: Awww.

ANNA: That sounds cute.

SEAN: If the Villainess and Villain Met and Fell in Love (Akuyaku Reijou to Akuyaku Reisoku ga, Deatte Koi ni Ochitanara) is the manga version of the novel Yen put out several months ago. It runs in GA Comic.

My Gemini (Boku no Gemini) is a one-shot shoujo title that ran in Asuka. Twins at a school are inseparable, and frequently swap identities. When one twin is killed, it’s up to our protagonist to figure out which one.

MICHELLE: Possibly interesting!

ASH: Indeed!

SEAN: Trinity Seven Revision is – surprise – a spinoff of the Trinity Seven manga. It ran in Dragon Age.

Also from Yen Press: 15 Minutes Before We Really Date 2, Associate Professor Akira Takatsuki’s Conjecture 3, Bungo Stray Dogs: Wan! 7, Call the Name of the Night 4, Chained Soldier 7, The Demon Sword Master of Excalibur Academy 5, Goblin Slayer 14, I Kept Pressing the 100-Million-Year Button and Came Out on Top 5, I’m Quitting Heroing 5, The Illustrated Guide to Monster Girls 3, Kiss the Scars of the Girls 2, Lord Hades’s Ruthless Marriage 2, Mieruko-chan 9, My Instant Death Ability Is So Overpowered, No One in This Other World Stands a Chance Against Me! ―AO― 4 (the print version of the JNC manga), My Mate Is a Feline Gentleman 3, My Poison Princess Is Still Cute 2, No Longer Heroine 6, The Reformation of the World as Overseen by a Realist Demon King 3, Saint? No! I’m Just a Passing Beast Tamer! 3, SHY 6, So What’s Wrong with Getting Reborn as a Goblin? 5, Studio Apartment, Good Lighting, Angel Included 5, The Summer Hikaru Died 3, Touge Oni: Primal Gods in Ancient Times 3, and When I Became a Commoner, They Broke Off Our Engagement! 2.

ASH: I need to read more of The Summer Hikaru Died.

SEAN: Two debuts for Viz Media. Gokurakugai is a Jump Square series that is a “two cool guys kill terrible things” sort of series.

Snowball Earth is from Gekkan! Spirits, and stars a boy who went off to fight galactic monsters. When he returns to Earth… it’s frozen! When did an ice age happen? And can he find his friend?

Also from Viz: Jujutsu Kaisen 22, Mission: Yozakura Family 10, Record of Ragnarok 10, Steel of the Celestial Shadows 2, and Undead Unluck 15.

ASH: I picked up the first volume of Steel of the Celestial Shadows. I, uh, haven’t actually read it yet, though.

SEAN: Debuting from Tokyopop is A Beast’s Descent Into Love (Kuroki Kemono wa ai ni Otsu) is a BL one-shot that ran in from RED. Cat boys, slaves, going into heat… all the latest BL fetishes are yours to enjoy here.

MICHELLE: Pass!

ANNA: No thank you!

SEAN: Scarlet Secret (Hime Muko) is (contain your shock) a BL one-shot that ran in from RED. A childhood friend who is supposedly killed is actually inheriting a dangerous power. Can our hero save him?

Tokyopop also has Lullaby of the Dawn 3 and the 8th and final volume of Ossan Idol!.

Steamship debuts a done-in-one omnibus, I Want You To Make Me Beautiful! (Kimi no Te de Kawaiku Naritai! ~Genderless Danshi to no H na Gisou Renai~), which ran in a magazine called Lovebites. A woman has just found out her boyfriend is cheating on her, and he also insults her looks. At a low ebb, she runs into a hot androgynous ex-classmate. He’ll give her a makeover if she pretends to date him.

ASH: Hmmm.

ANNA: OK!

SEAN: Steamship also has Revenge: Mrs. Wrong 2.

From Square Enix we see The Girl I Like Forgot Her Glasses 9, and My Dress-Up Darling 11.

No debuts for Seven Seas, but we see Backstabbed in a Backwater Dungeon: My Party Tried to Kill Me, But Thanks to an Infinite Gacha I Got LVL 9999 Friends and Am Out For Revenge 5, Gap Papa: Daddy at Work and at Home 4, How NOT to Summon a Demon Lord 18, Kase-san and Yamada 3, My Cat is Such a Weirdo 3, My New Life as a Cat 5, and Obey Me! The Comic 2.

One Peace Books has Captain Corinth: The Galactic Navy Officer Becomes an Adventurer 6.

Kodansha Manga also has no debuts. But in print, we get BAKEMONOGATARI 21, FAIRY TAIL: 100 Years Quest 15, I Was Reincarnated as the 7th Prince so I Can Take My Time Perfecting My Magical Ability 11, King in Limbo Omnibus 2, Orient 19, Parasyte Full Color Collection 6, Rent-A-Girlfriend 24, Saving 80,000 Gold in Another World for My Retirement 6, and When Will Ayumu Make His Move? 15.

And in early digital we see Don’t Tempt Me, VP! 5 (the final volume), Gamaran 20, The God-Tier Guardian and the Love of Six Princesses 12, How to Treat a Lady Knight Right 4, Undead Girl Murder Farce 5, and the 16th and final volume of Watari-kun’s ****** Is about to Collapse.

It’s another quiet week for J-Novel Club. We see the 6th Endo and Kobayashi Live! The Latest on Tsundere Villainess Lieselotte manga volume, The Mythical Hero’s Otherworld Chronicles 7, the 5th Now I’m a Demon Lord! Happily Ever After with Monster Girls in My Dungeon manga volume, Safe & Sound in the Arms of an Elite Knight 3 (the final volume), and the 2nd The Water Magician manga volume.

And Airship, in print, debuts The Evil Queen’s Beautiful Principles (Akutoku Joō no Kokoroe), from the creative team behind Accomplishments of the Duke’s Daughter. A crown princess has been locked up for years, docile as a doll. Now she’s free… and suddenly her parents are murdered. This seems on the “serious” side of the genre.

Also in print: Classroom of the Elite: Year 2 8.

And there are early digital volumes of Modern Dungeon Capture Starting with Broken Skills 2 and Sword of the Demon Hunter: Kijin Gentōshō 5.

(air raid siren) Warning: manga approaching! What are you picking?

SEAN: Spring is here, tra-la, tra-la. It’s raining every day. Just like winter, actually.

ASH: Life is skittles!

SEAN: We start with Airship’s print releases, as they have the 2nd volume of I’m in Love with the Villainess: She’s so Cheeky for a Commoner.

And for early digital it’s Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear 18.

Dark Horse Comics has the 6th volume of their Hellsing re-release.

J-Novel Club has some print. We get the first volume of the third arc of Ascendance of a Bookworm: The Manga, where Myne is dead but Rozemyne lives on. As with all the manga adaptations, this runs in Comic Corona.

ASH: I should maybe give the adaptation a try at some point.

SEAN: There’s also An Archdemon’s Dilemma: How to Love Your Elf Bride 16 and The Unwanted Undead Adventurer 11.

In digital, things are very quiet on the JN-C front, but we do get two debuts, both manga. Death’s Daughter and the Ebony Blade (Shinigami ni Sodaterareta Shoujo wa Shikkoku no Tsurugi wo Mune ni Idaku) is the manga adaptation of the light novels also released, and it runs in Dengeki Daioh.

The Banished Former Hero Lives as He Pleases (Dekisokonai to Yobareta Moto Eiyuu wa, Jikka kara Tsuihou sareta no de Suki Katte ni Ikiru koto ni shita) is also a manga adaptations of the light novels also released, and the anime debuted this week. The manga runs in Comic Corona.

There’s also Monster and Parent 4 (the final volume) and Sword Saint Adel’s Second Chance 2.

Kodansha Manga has some print titles. Debuting is The Fable Omnibus 1, a collection of the first two volumes of this yakuza series that will soon have an anime. It ran in Young Magazine.

ASH: Okay, I’m intrigued; the pet parrot seals the deal.

SEAN: Also debuting is Sketchy, the story of a woman who works in a movie rental store and is pretty burned out… till she sees girls skateboarding. It reignites the fire in her life! This ran in Young Magazine the 3rd. I am here for a womens’ skateboarding manga, even if it’s not the one that became a meme.

MICHELLE: Interesting!

ANNA: Indeed!

ASH: Oh!

SEAN: Also in print: Immortal Hounds 7 (the final volume), Medaka Kuroiwa is Impervious to My Charms 6, Pass the Monster Meat, Milady! 3, Quality Assurance in Another World 7, Shikimori’s Not Just a Cutie 16, and WIND BREAKER 5.

The digital debut is You Must Be This Tall to Propose! (Ookiku Nattara Kekkon suru!), which ran in Young Magazine. A boy has a crush on his neighbor, who’s two years older than he is. She says propose to her once he gets taller than her. Unfortunately, he had no idea how tall she was going to get!

Also in digital: Because I, the True Saint, was Banished, that Country is Done For! 2, Gang King 16, Giant Killing 42, Medaka Kuroiwa is Impervious to My Charms 11, and WIND BREAKER 14.

A shoujo debut from One Peace Books is Tales of the Tendo Family (Tendou-ke Monogatari), which is by Ken Saito, the creator of The Name of the Flower and Oh My Brother! from the old CMX label. This is a long-running LaLa title about a woman who is supposed to marry into the Tendo family… which has a reputation for people dying! So she runs, and replaces herself with a fake, who is determined to do her best! This gets an Anna and Michelle alert.

MICHELLE: I never managed to finish either of those CMX series (well, they didn’t finish Oh! My Brother, either) but am still somewhat intrigued.

ANNA: I liked both these series, so I’m definitely interested.

ASH: I just wrote a little about the first volume! So far, I’m liking it.

SEAN: We’ll start Seven Seas with a new danmei debut. The Disabled Tyrant’s Beloved Pet Fish: Canji Baojun De Zhangxin Yu Chong. This comedy series is about a man who falls asleep reading a webnovel about a ruthless tyrant who falls for his male concubine. Then our hero wakes up… as the tyrant’s pet carp. Now he has to somehow stop the tyrant becoming a tyrant in order to become human again.

MICHELLE: Could be fun, I suppose!

ASH: Sometimes these sorts of ridiculous premises actually work.

SEAN: The manga debut is The Condemned Villainess Goes Back in Time and Aims to Become the Ultimate Villain (Danzaisareta Akuyaku Reijou wa, Gyakkou shite Kanpeki na Akujo wo Mezasu @COMIC), the manga adaptation of the light novel also released by Seven Seas. It runs in Comic Corona.

Also from Seven Seas: Chronicles of an Aristocrat Reborn in Another World 9, Crossplay Love: Otaku x Punk 8, Dinosaur Sanctuary 4, The Dungeon of Black Company 10, I Married My Female Friend 2, Life with an Ordinary Guy Who Reincarnated into a Total Fantasy Knockout 3, Magika Swordsman and Summoner 17, Marmalade Boy: Collector’s Edition 5 (the final volume), My Girlfriend’s Child 4, Time Stop Hero 9, and We Started a Threesome!! 2.

MICHELLE: Yay Marmalade Boy.

ANNA: Woo!

SEAN: From Square Enix we see Daemons of the Shadow Realm 4, The Ice Guy and the Cool Girl 4, and My Isekai Life: I Gained a Second Character Class and Became the Strongest Sage in the World! 12.

ANNA: I do enjoy some Ice Guy and Cool Girl.

ASH: Likewise!

SEAN: From SuBLime, we see the debut of Engage, the latest title from Yuu Minaduki, and the latest in the connected series that includes Sayonara Game, Change World, and Love Nest. A chef who only sees a customer once a year is determined to confess.

ASH: Ooooh, BL that seems to be at least tangentially related to food? That’s a subgenre I usually enjoy.

SEAN: And there is also Black or White 8.

The debut for Viz is Splatoon 3: Splatlands (Splatoon Bankara!), for fans of the game franchise. It runs in Monthly Corocoro Comic.

Also from Viz: Akane-banashi 5, Case Closed 90, Dandadan 7, Demon Slayer: Kimetsu Academy 2, Kakuriyo: Bed & Breakfast for Spirits 9, Komi Can’t Communicate 29, and Pokémon: Sword & Shield 9.

MICHELLE: I should probably read Akane-banashi.

ASH: Ack! I need to catch up, too!

SEAN: And nothing from Yen Press, but wait till the week after next. What entices you?

SEAN: It’s time for April manga! The best month!

MICHELLE: All the cool people were born in it!

SEAN: We start off with Viz Media, who have a spinoff to debut. Sequel? One of those. Kimi ni Todoke: From Me to You: Soulmate (Kimi ni Todoke Bangai-hen – Unmei no hito) takes place after the main series, and focuses on Kurumi. It apparently also ties into Crazy for You by the same author. It ran in Betsuma.

ANNA: I should actually finish Kimi ni Todoke before I read a sequel.

MICHELLE: Ooooh.

SEAN: Also from Viz: Boruto: Naruto Next Generations 19, Kaguya-sama: Love Is War 28 (the final volume), Marriage Toxin 2, Moriarty the Patriot 15, Neighborhood Story 2, Rainbow Days 9, Sakamoto Days 11, Skip Beat! 49, and Tamon’s B-Side 3.

ANNA: Skip Beat!!!!!!!! Yay!!!!!!!

MICHELLE: And more Neighborhood Story! This is a good week!

ASH: It really is!

SEAN: Tokyopop has Acid Town 5, Is This the Kind of Love I Want? 2 (the final volume), and Since I Could Die Tomorrow 2.

Square Enix debuts Victoria’s Electric Coffin, a Shonen-ish title from GFantasy (hence the -ish). A prisoner on Death Row meets Victoria Frankenstein, a 13-year-old genius, who wants him to become her new experiment.

ANNA: OK, the concept for this sounds amusing to me.

SEAN: They also have By the Grace of the Gods 10.

Debuting from Seven Seas is Nagahama to Be, or Not to Be, a BL title from Cheri + (and yes, it uses the English in the Japanese title). Complete in one volume, it’s from the creator of Jackass!, Two boys bond over fish and possibly being gay.

ANNA: It sounds like that’s a strong possibility.

MICHELLE: The cover is cute!

ASH: I really enjoyed Jackass!, if I recall correctly, so I have hopes for this one, too.

SEAN: Also from Seven Seas: Cinderella Closet 5, How Heavy are the Dumbbells You Lift? 14, The Kingdoms of Ruin 8, Malevolent Spirits: Mononogatari 6, MoMo -the blood taker- 8, Tokyo Revengers 19-20, and Yakuza Fiancé: Raise wa Tanin ga Ii 2.

One Peace Books gives us It Takes Two Tomorrow, Too 3.

ASH: Did we skip over, It Takes Two Tomorrow, Too Two? I feel like I would have remembered that. Regardless, the first volume was enjoyable.

SEAN: Kodansha Manga has a print debut. Bless is a fairly new series from Shonen Magazine Edge, and features a hot model who really wants to be a makeup artist, and the girl he discovers, who tends to hunch and has freckles, but with his help can be a fantastic model. This sounds great, to be honest.

ANNA: Hmmmmm.

MICHELLE: I like the synopsis!

ASH: It does sound like it could be intriguing.

SEAN: And more series getting omnibuses, this time it’s That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime Omnibus. The first 3 books are out in one volume.

Also in print: Fairy Tail Omnibus 3, How I Met My Soulmate 2, Tying the Knot with an Amagami Sister 4, and Welcome to Demon School! Iruma-kun 7.

SEAN: Digitally, we see Chihayafuru 43, Those Snow White Notes 16, and The World is Dancing 5.

MICHELLE: So, let me get this straight. April 2nd has a Kimi ni Todoke sequel, Neighborhood Story, Skip Beat!, Iruma, *and* Chihayfuru?!?! It’s like a birthday present to meeeeee.

ASH: A happy birthday, indeed!

SEAN: Two debuts for J-Novel Club. I’m a Noble on the Brink of Ruin, So I Might as Well Try Mastering Magic (Botsuraku Yotei no Kizoku dakedo, Hima datta kara Mahō wo Kiwamete Mita) is the light novel, and has a middle-aged commoner suddenly waking up in the body of a child noble. Sadly, his family is filled with pathetic people, and his house is about to fall.

The manga debut is The Otome Heroine’s Fight for Survival (Otome Game no Heroine de Saikyou Survival @COMIC), an adaptation of the light novel JNC already put out. It runs in Comic Corona.

They’ve also got Campfire Cooking in Another World with My Absurd Skill: Sui’s Great Adventure 6, the 2nd D-Genesis: Three Years after the Dungeons Appeared manga, Lady Rose Just Wants to Be a Commoner! 6 (the final volume), Reborn to Master the Blade: From Hero-King to Extraordinary Squire 10, When Supernatural Battles Became Commonplace 10, and You Like Me, Not My Daughter?! 5.

Ghost Ship has Please Go Home, Miss Akutsu! 5, Sundome!! Milky Way 9, and World’s End Harem: Fantasia 11.

And Airship, in print, has the debut of Trapped in a Dating Sim: Otome Games Are Tough For Us, Too! (Ano Otome Game wa Ore-tachi ni Kibishii Sekai Desu) is an “alternate route” story featuring Marie.

And they also have Raven of the Inner Palace 5.

ASH: Still need to get around to reading that!

SEAN: In early digital Airship has Easygoing Territory Defense by the Optimistic Lord: Production Magic Turns a Nameless Village into the Strongest Fortified City 2 and There’s No Freaking Way I’ll be Your Lover! Unless… 4.

Some tasty manga there!

SEAN: As March ends, we should all sit back and take stock. Did we March enough this year?

ASH: How is it that it seems like March went by faster than February?

SEAN: Airship has no print releases next week, but they do have early digital releases for 7th Time Loop: The Villainess Enjoys a Carefree Life Married to Her Worst Enemy! 5 and The Weakest Tamer Began a Journey to Pick Up Trash 6.

Cross Infinite World has new volumes. We get Apocalypse Bringer Mynoghra: World Conquest Starts with the Civilization of Ruin 6, Reincarnated as the Last of my Kind 6, and A Young Lady Finds Her True Calling Living with the Enemy 2 (the final volume).

Dark Horse Comics has the 7th omnibus edition of Oh My Goddess!.

ASH: I had forgotten these were coming out.

SEAN: Denpa’s twitter account says March Comes In Like a Lion 2 should be out next week.

MICHELLE: Cautiously optimistic?

ASH: March goes out like a lion?

SEAN: Ghost Ship has an 8th volume of How to Build a Dungeon: Book of the Demon King.

Hanashi Media debuts Tsukimichi: Moonlit Fantasy (Tsuki ga Michibiku Isekai Douchuu), a long-running isekai light novel that also has an anime out. A guy is thrown into another world by his parents, but he’s too ugly to get cheats, then he tries to form bonds but only finds two perverts. I know this is popular.

ASH: Huh.

SEAN: Three debuts from J-Novel Club. After-School Dungeon Diver: Level Grinding in Another World (Hōkago no Dungeon Diver: Nihon to Isekai o Ikiki Dekiru Yō ni Natta Boku wa Level Up ni Isoshimimasu) is from the creator of The Magic in This Other World Is Too Far Behind!, which, to be honest, is the one reason I’m not ignoring it. A guy finds he can travel between worlds and back again, so goes isekai adventuring on the side when he’s free.

Heavenly Swords of the Twin Stars (Sōsei no Tenken Tsukai) is from the creator of Private Tutor to the Duke’s Daughter, which, to be honest, is the one reason I’m not ignoring it. Our hero keeps trying to have a nice reincarnated slow life. Sadly, literally everything stops him from doing so. Guess he’s gotta save the world. Again.

ASH: Unfortunate job security is a thing.

SEAN: A Wild Last Boss Appeared! (Yasei no Last Boss ga Arawareta!) is a manga based on the light novel J-Novel Club has already released. It runs in Comic Earth Star Online.

Also from J-Novel Club: Chillin’ in Another World with Level 2 Super Cheat Powers 13, I Parry Everything: What Do You Mean I’m the Strongest? I’m Not Even an Adventurer Yet! 5, An Introvert’s Hookup Hiccups: This Gyaru Is Head Over Heels for Me! 6, the 7th manga volume of Isekai Tensei: Recruited to Another World, My Magical Career at Court: Living the Dream After My Nightmare Boss Fired Me from the Mages’ Guild! 3, and Now I’m a Demon Lord! Happily Ever After with Monster Girls in My Dungeon 8.

Kodansha has a debut, with I Got Reincarnated in a (BL) World of Big (Man) Boobs (Kyonyuu Suki nanoni BL Kai ni Tensei Shimashita), which runs in Shonen Magazine Edge. A man obsessed with breasts is reincarnated in a BL world. He looks for boobs… but all he sees are huge pecs. This is a comedy, but it is by the author of Adekan, a popular BL manga that ran in Wings but was never licensed in English.

MICHELLE: What a premise (and title).

ASH: Right?? We don’t get a ton of BL-related comedy; I am intrigued.

SEAN: Also in print: Am I Actually the Strongest? 6, Blue Period 14, A Condition Called Love 7, Flying Witch 12, The Great Cleric 8, The Moon on a Rainy Night 4, Super Morning Star 3, and Whisper Me a Love Song 8.

No digital debuts, but we do see Boss Bride Days 15 (the final volume), A Couple of Cuckoos 16, DAYS 40, Gamaran: Shura 18, and My Home Hero 14.

One Peace Books has a 10th volume of the Higehiro manga.

Seven Seas has Arifureta: From Commonplace to World’s Strongest 12, I’m a Wolf, but My Boss is a Sheep! 4, Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid 14, Skeleton Knight in Another World 12, and Seaside Stranger: Harukaze no Étranger 6.

They also have the 2nd volume of Guardian: Zhen Hun.

ASH: I need to try to get around to reading the first volume sooner rather than later.

SEAN: From Square Enix we see A Man and His Cat 10.

MICHELLE: I really need to catch up on this.

SEAN: Two debuts for Steamship. Before You Discard Me, I Shall Have My Way With You (Douse Suterareru no nara, Saigo ni Suki ni Sasete Itadakimasu) is a josei title from Zero Sum Online, based on a web novel. As you might guess, we have a noblewoman whose engagement has been broken off so the prince can marry a sweet young thing. Our heroine decides to fight back… in bed!

Healer for the Shadow Hero (Kage no Eiyuu no Chiyugakari) is also a josei title from Zero Sum Online, based on a web novel. A servant girl has been hiding a big secret: she has amazing healing powers, but they only activate when her virginity is taken. Now that her secret is exposed, she’s sent to a war hero with an incurable disease.

ASH: Smutty josei for the win!

SEAN: Tokyopop has another one-shot BL title, All You Want, Whenever You Want (Hoshii Toki Dake, Suki na Dake), which ran in LiQuille. Two coworkers who share a dorm get off on the wrong foot. That changes quickly.

MICHELLE: And now they just get off.

ASH: LOL!

SEAN: Udon Entertainment debuts Atelier Ryza: The Manga: Ever Darkness & the Secret Hideout (Atelier Ryza: Tokoyami no Joō to Himitsu no Kakurega), a manga adaptation of the game that ran in Famitsu. I believe it’s complete in one volume.

Debuting from Viz is Stitches, a horror short-story collection which has internal illustrations by Junji Ito. The author is an ex-Ghibli writer, who worked on Castle in the Sky and Kiki’s Delivery Service. This, um, does not seem like those two titles.

ASH: I’m looking forward to this one!

SEAN: Viz Media also gives us Fist of the North Star 12 and JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Part 6–Stone Ocean 3.

ASH: Excellent.

SEAN: Finally, Yen has some stragglers. Yen On has The Executioner and Her Way of Life 7, High School Prodigies Have It Easy Even in Another World! 10 (the final volume), Ishura 6, and Orc Eroica 4.

And from Yen Press, one debut. The Alchemist Who Survived Now Dreams of a Quiet City Life (Ikinokori Renkinjutsushi wa Machi de Shizuka ni Kurashitai) is the 2nd adaptation of the light novel we’ve seen here. This one runs in B’s-LOG Comic.

ASH: You don’t see that happening so often!

SEAN: Are your purchases a march? Or a slow foxtrot?