Ash Brown

SEAN: Manga the Week of is here for all of your manga needs. All of our contributors are with other customers right now. Please hold.

MICHELLE: Your position in the queue is… 7.

SEAN: We start with Yen Press, who have two stragglers from last week: Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? On the Side: Sword Oratoria 19 and Kowloon Generic Romance 3.

ASH: Only two, eh? I hear Kowloon Generic Romance is a good one!

SEAN: A brief detour to look at academic publisher Wiley. They’re putting out six books in a series called Manga for Success, that are basically corporate help books that use manga to break things down in an easy to follow way. They appear to be based on a set of Japanese books that came out about eight years ago.

ASH: Wow! It’s not often that academic publishers are releasing manga.

SEAN: There’s a new Viz Signature debut, Boy’s Abyss (Shounen no Abyss). It’s a Weekly Young Jump series that’s Boy Meets Girl, but also has the tags ‘psychological’, ‘drama’, and ‘tragedy’, so expect a bit more than high school hijinks. A high school boy with a very dull life finds a pop idol working at his local store one day.

MICHELLE: Hm …

ASH: The cover artwork is striking and I am intrigued.

SEAN: There’s also The Art of Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba (an artbook) and Jujutsu Kaisen: Thorny Road at Dawn (a light novel).

ASH: While I’ve fallen behind the Demon Slayer curve, I am glad the artbook was licensed.

SEAN: Two BL one-shots from Tokyopop. Cut Over Criteria runs in a magazine titled NUUDE, and as you can imagine is a mature title. Office romance between a new recruit and a brooding systems engineer.

There’s also Platinum Blood, also running in the same magazine, about the relationship between a priest and a vampire, and it has like 5 different content warnings on he solicit.

(Yeah, I know, shut up. I swear it said 4/18 on their website last week.)

A debut from Square Enix. Daemons of the Shadow Realm (Yomi no Tsugai) is the latest title from Hiromu Arakawa (Fullmetal Alchemist, Silver Spoon, etc.) and runs in Shonen Gangan. A boy lives a quiet life in his quiet mountain village… until his younger sister is called to work at the local jail. Which also means being confined in the local jail. What’s going on here?

ANNA: OK, I’m curious now!

ASH: Hiromu Arakawa, you say!

SEAN: We also get Otherside Picnic 4 and Suppose a Kid from the Last Dungeon Boonies Moved to a Starter Town 8.

Two debuts from Seven Seas. My Girlfriend’s Child (Ano Ko no Kodomo) is a shoujo series from Betsufure. A young couple in high school have to deal with the fact that she’s now pregnant. This has been nominated for some awards.

MICHELLE: The art on the cover is interesting!

ANNA: Also intrigued.

ASH: Likewise.

SEAN: And there’s a new danmei novel, Remnants of Filth: Yuwu. This is set in the same world as The Husky and His White Cat Shizun. Two commanders in love are torn apart when one betrays their nation. But what’s the real story?

ANNA: I need to read so many other danmei novels.

ASH: I am so glad these are coming out, but I am so far behind.

SEAN: Seven Seas also has Free Life Fantasy Online: Immortal Princess 3, The Girl From the Other Side: Siúil, a Rún Deluxe Edition III, The Haunted Bookstore – Gateway to a Parallel Universe 3, My Lovey-Dovey Wife is a Stone Cold Killer 4, My Status as an Assassin Obviously Exceeds the Hero’s 4, Reincarnated as a Sword 10, Succubus and Hitman 3, and Yakuza Reincarnation 5.

ASH: The deluxe editions of The Girl From the Other Side are so pretty.

SEAN: Kodansha Books has the second volume of Am I Actually the Strongest?.

Kodansha Manga has more. In print: Cardcaptor Sakura: Clear Card 13, EDENS ZERO 22, Fire Force 32, The Heroic Legend of Arslan 17, I Was Reincarnated as the 7th Prince so I Can Take My Time Perfecting My Magical Ability 5, The Iceblade Sorcerer Shall Rule the World 5, Phantom of the Idol 5, and Shangri-La Frontier 5. (That’s a lot of 5s.)

Debuting digitally is Love, That’s an Understatement (Hikaeme ni Itte mo, Kore wa Ai). This is a new Dessert series from the Lovesick Ellie creator. A high school girl saves a delinquent she finds beaten up in the park. She refuses any repayment… but suddenly finds that this guy and his minions are all around her now!

MICHELLE: Having adored Lovesick Ellie, I’m really interested in this one!

ANNA: Oh, as a fan of Lovesick Ellie I am intrigued but I wish it was coming out in print.

SEAN: Other digital titles: Boss Bride Days 4, Even Given the Worthless “Appraiser” Class, I’m Actually the Strongest 7, Gamaran: Shura 7, Girlfriend, Girlfriend 13, Hozuki’s Coolheadedness 13, Koigakubo-kun Stole My First Time 4, Love After World Domination 6 (the final volume), My Home Hero 3, Our Bodies, Entwining, Entwined 5, and Space Brothers 42.

There’s three debuts and one side story debut from J-Novel Club. The side story is Ascendance of a Bookworm: Short Story Collection, which is just what it sounds like, and covers everything from Myne’s early days making paper to Rozemyne’s academy adventures.

ASH: Yay!

SEAN: The Apothecary Witch Turned Divorce Agent (Kusushi no Majo Desu ga, Nazeka Fukugyō de Rikon Daikō Shiteimasu) is sadly not about a crusading woman going after asshole husbands, which is what I thought it would be. Carla’s not a very good witch, which is why she runs the divorce agency. Though… everyone who sees her for a divorce ends up getting back together?

ANNA: I wish it was about encouraging divorce, that sounds much more interesting.

SEAN: A Cave King’s Road to Paradise: Climbing to the Top with My Almighty Mining Skills! (Dōkutsu Ō kara Hajimeru Rakuen Life: Bannō no Saikutsu Skill de Saikyō ni!?) is one of those “I have a power everyone thinks is useless, so suddenly I am hated, exiled, and left to die series. Spoiler, it’s not useless.

There’s also A Royal Rebound: Forget My Ex-Fiancé, I’m Being Pampered by the Prince! (Konyakusha ga Uwakiaite to Kakeochi Shimashita. Ōji Denka ni Dekiaisarete Shiawase nanode, Ima sara Modoritai to Iwarete mo Komarimasu). A young woman is happily engaged and studying to be a mage… but when she gets to the academy, suddenly her fiance is shunning her? What’s going on here?

And we get I Surrendered My Sword for a New Life as a Mage 2, Monster Tamer 13, Reincarnated as the Piggy Duke: This Time I’m Gonna Tell Her How I Feel! 10 (the final volume), and The Tales of Marielle Clarac’s 6th manga volume.

From Ghost Ship we get Ayakashi Triangle 3, JK Haru is a Sex Worker in Another World 5, SUPER HXEROS 10, and Wicked Trapper: Hunter of Heroes 2.

Two debuts from Cross Infinite World. Lovestruck Prince! I’ll Fight the Heroine for My Villainess Fiancée! (Betabore no Kon’yakusha ga Akuyaku Reijou ni Sare sou na no de Heroine-gawa ni wa Sore Souou no Mukui wo Ukete Morau) is both a “someone is trying to make a non-evil girl into a villainess” book as well as a rare villainess book with a male protagonist.

The Reincarnated Villainess Won’t Seek Revenge (Tensei Shita Akuyaku Reijou wa Fukushuu wo Nozomanai) is also a Villainess book, of course. A young noble is hanged for a crime she didn’t commit. Now reincarnated, all her new self wants to do is live a quiet life away from politics. Sadly, she’s not the only one reincarnated, and everyone ELSE around her wants to get her revenge for her.

Airship gives us 7th Time Loop: The Villainess Enjoys a Carefree Life Married to Her Worst Enemy! 3, Didn’t I Say to Make My Abilities Average in the Next Life?! 15, and I’m the Evil Lord of an Intergalactic Empire! 4.

And in early digital, they have Disciple of the Lich: Or How I Was Cursed by the Gods and Dropped Into the Abyss! 5 and The Haunted Bookstore – Gateway to a Parallel Universe 5.

Thank you for holding, how may we assist you?

SEAN: April continues apace!

ASH: That it does!

SEAN: We start with Yen On finally getting a trailing aspidistra of a release, the 4th volume of Magical Explorer: Reborn as a Side Character in a Fantasy Dating Sim.

From Viz Media we see Case Closed 86, Dandadan 3, The Hunters Guild: Red Hood 3 (the final volume), Kaiju No. 8 6, Komi Can’t Communicate 24, The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess 11 (the final volume), Pokémon: Sword & Shield 6, Sakamoto Days 7, and Sleepy Princess in the Demon Castle 20.

ASH: I need to catch up on quite a few of these! Most likely starting with Twilight Princess.

SEAN: Udon debuts Persona 4 Arena, a Dengeki Maoh series for all you folks who wished Persona 4 were a fighting game. This is, in fact, an adaptation of a video game. (It got bumped. Again. I will keep doing this over and over, I warn them.)

ASH: (It’s only fair.)

SEAN: They also have a 5th volume of Daigo The Beast: Umehara Fighting Gamers! (which also got bumped).

Some interesting debuts from Tokyopop, which is now Stu Levy-free. My Coworker Has a Secret (Wakeari Danjo no Secret Days) is a josei title from Comic Qurie. A young woman works in a bookstore and tries to hide her huge otaku secret. Then her coworker finds out… but he also has a secret.

MICHELLE: Hm. The cover is kind of cute and it is josei…

ANNA: Ok, this might break my vow to ignore Tokyopop releases…..

ASH: I am cautiously curious, for sure.

SEAN: There’s also Sengoku Youko, an older shonen title by the creator of The Lucifer and Biscuit Hammer and Spirit Circle. It ran in Comic Blade, and features two demon siblings trying to right wrongs.

MICHELLE: This cover is the TOKYOPOPiest thing I have seen in years.

ASH: Ha!

SEAN: Lastly, the inevitable BL title from Canna, another one-shot, Snow Fairy (Yuki no Yousei). A photographer trying to photograph fairies ends up stranded in the snow, and is taken in by a country farm boy.

Titan Manga has the 4th volume of ATOM: The Beginning.

From SuBLime we get the 6th volume of Black or White and the 11th volume of Don’t Be Cruel.

Square Enix Manga gives us My Dress-Up Darling 8 and My Isekai Life 6.

ASH: My Dress-Up Darling is another series I need to catch up on; I rather enjoyed its earlier volumes.

SEAN: Two debuts from Seven Seas. First we have My New Life as a Cat (Neko, Hajimemashita: Nyantomo Ki ni Naru Nyao). It’s reincarnation isekai (high school student hit by a car), but he’s a cat. It runs in Ciao Deluxe, so is probably written for tween girls. (His owner is a girl.)

ASH: I guess this technically counts as a cat manga?

SEAN: The other debut is There’s No Freaking Way I’ll be Your Lover! Unless… (Watashi ga Koibito ni Nareru Wake Naijan, Muri Muri! (*Muri Janakatta!?)), the manga adaptation of a light novel Seven Seas will be releasing in a couple months. A gloomy girl is trying to reinvent herself in high school… with limited success. She then forms a friendship with the school idol. Then things go pear-shaped when the idol confesses to her! This runs in Dash x Comic.

Also from Seven Seas: Chronicles of an Aristocrat Reborn in Another World 6, Dungeon Builder: The Demon King’s Labyrinth is a Modern City! 7, The Ideal Sponger Life 13, Kingdom of Z 6 (the final volume), Malevolent Spirits: Mononogatari 2, MoMo -the blood taker- 4, No Longer Allowed In Another World 2, This Is Screwed Up, but I Was Reincarnated as a GIRL in Another World! 6, and Trapped in a Dating Sim: The World of Otome Games is Tough for Mobs 7.

From One Peace Books we see Multi-Mind Mayhem 7.

Kodansha Books has some print titles. We get Am I Actually the Strongest? 2, Don’t Toy With Me, Miss Nagatoro 14, I’m Standing on a Million Lives 13, Orient 14, Real Account 21-22, Shonen Note: Boy Soprano 3, Shikimori’s Not Just a Cutie 12, To Your Eternity 18, and the 17th and final volume of Witchcraft Works.

MICHELLE: I really need to read Shonen Note.

ASH: A good Kodansha print week!

SEAN: Digitally, we see The Fable 13, Fairy Tail: 100 Years Quest 12, Gang King 4, Giant Killing 36, Girlfriend, Girlfriend 13, Life 2: Giver/Taker 2, Police in a Pod 22, Space Brothers 42, and Tokyo Revengers 30.

We have some debuts from J-Novel Club. Reincarnated Mage with Inferior Eyes: Breezing through the Future as an Oppressed Ex-Hero (Rettougan no Tensei Majutsushi – Shiitagerareta Moto Yuusha wa Mirai no Sekai o Yoyuu de Ikinuku). A strong and powerful mage is hated and feared by everyone around him because his eyes show just how powerful he is. He sends himself into the future in hopes there won’t be the same prejudice. This is J-Novel Club’s first novel license from Shueisha, which is the only reason I’ll be trying it.

Survival Strategies of a Corrupt Aristocrat (Akutoku Kizoku no Seizon Senryaku) is a relatively new title from their partner Drecom. A guy burying himself in games after his wife betrayed him ends up inside the game as Jack… whose life is far, far worse. Fortunately, our hero knows how the game turns out, and also knows the strongest support character. Can he turn his life around? I’ll be honest, I decided not to read this when I saw the word betrayed.

Also from J-Novel Club: Chillin’ in Another World with Level 2 Super Cheat Powers 9, The Game Master Has Logged In to Another World 2, The Invincible Little Lady 2, Rebuild World’s 3rd manga volume, The Reincarnated Princess Spends Another Day Skipping Story Routes 7, and Seventh 3.

Ghost Ship has several titles next week. Call Girl in Another World 6, GUNBURED × SISTERS 4 (the final volume), Parallel Paradise 13, World’s End Harem Vol. 14 – After World, World’s End Harem: Fantasia 8, and Yuuna and the Haunted Hot Springs 23.

Denpa has said this should be available next week, so here we go. March Comes in Like a Lion (Sangatsu no Lion) is a legendary manga from the creator of Honey and Clover. It’s about a teenage boy with a very troubled life, and it’s also about shogi. It runs in Young Animal.

MICHELLE: Fingers crossed!

ANNA: Yay!!!

ASH: Here for it whenever it’s here!

SEAN: In print from Airship, we see Free Life Fantasy Online: Immortal Princess 2, She Professed Herself Pupil of the Wise Man 6, Skeleton Knight in Another World 10, and The Strange Adventure of a Broke Mercenary 7.

And for early digital we get Raven of the Inner Palace 2, Reborn as a Space Mercenary: I Woke Up Piloting the Strongest Starship! 6, and Survival in Another World with My Mistress! 5.

That’s a whole lot. I’m exhausted, how about you?

ASH: Utterly.

SEAN: It’s April! The best month! Let’s see what’s coming out next week.

ASH: Let’s!

SEAN: We start with Airship, which has some print releases. There’s Irina: The Vampire Cosmonaut 4 and The Weakest Tamer Began a Journey to Pick Up Trash 3.

And for early digital, we see The World’s Fastest Level Up 3.

Per Denpa’s twitter, they say that they should have Gambling Apocalypse Kaiji 4 and Heavenly Delusion 5 out next week, so we’ll go with that.

ASH: Oh! I’m reading both of those series.

SEAN: Ghost Ship debuts Please Go Home, Miss Akutsu! (Kaette Kudasai! Akutsu-san), a Young Ace Up! title that is another in the genre of “girl teases the guy she likes”. This one takes place at his apartment, though, and is apparently pretty sweet – the Ghost Ship imprint is more for nudity than actual sex, I think.

ASH: There is definitely a range when it comes to Ghost Ship titles.

SEAN: Also from Ghost Ship: Might as Well Cheat: I Got Transported to Another World Where I Can Live My Wildest Dreams! 5.

No debuts for J-Novel Club, but we do have a large number of ongoing series. Ascendance of a Bookworm 24, Bibliophile Princess 6, Black Summoner 12, Holmes of Kyoto 14, The Ideal Sponger Life 11, The Master of Ragnarok & Blesser of Einherjar 22, The Misfit of Demon Academy 4 Part 1, Private Tutor to the Duke’s Daughter 7, The Saga of Lioncourt 4, and To Another World… with Land Mines! 6.

ASH: As always, yay, Bookworm!

SEAN: Kaiten Books has a 3rd print volume for Gacha Girls Corps.

Kodansha has a print debut of a formerly released digital title, Quality Assurance in Another World (Kono Sekai wa Fukanzen Sugiru). It’s a Comic Days title about a young girl who meets a “Seeker”, someone who tries to fix problems in their world. But… just what *is* their world, anyway?

ASH: I am glad to see more of Kodansha’s digital titles released in print.

SEAN: Also in print: Attack on Titan Omnibus 10, Lovesick Ellie 9, and Sweat and Soap Manga Box Set 2 (which comes with a free thing of soap).

ASH: Ha! Hopefully it’s a good as the series itself.

SEAN: The digital debut for Kodansha is Lovely Muco! (Itoshi no Muco), the story of a dimwit Akita dog and their glass-blower owner. It comes from Evening magazine, and is based on a real dog.

We also get Chihiro-kun Only Has Eyes for Me 8, Chihayafuru 37, The God-Tier Guardian and the Love of Six Princesses 7, Life 2, Medaka Kuroiwa is Impervious to My Charms 6, MF Ghost 12, Phantom of the Idol 5, Raised by the Demon Kings! 7, and Watari-kun’s ****** Is about to Collapse 13.

Seven Seas has one new debut. Cinderella Closet is a shoujo title from Betsuma about a plain jane girl who gets transformed by her office coworker with the power of makeup! But that same coworker has a secret…

MICHELLE: Hm…

ANNA: OK, I’m a bit intrigued.

MJ: Is the makeup… magic? I must know.

SEAN: Also from Seven Seas: Bite Maker: The King’s Omega 7, The Knight Blooms Behind Castle Walls 2, Let’s Buy the Land and Cultivate It in a Different World 3, My Sister, The Cat 2, She Professed Herself Pupil of the Wise Man 8, and World End Solte 2.

Steamship gives us GAME: Between the Suits 3.

Udon Entertainment has a 5th volume of Daigo The Beast: Umehara Fighting Gamers!.

Viz Media debut Tista, a title from the creator of Spy x Family, it ran in Jump Square back in 2007. A young, church-going girl turns out, in the evenings, to have a job as a deadly assassin! Spy x Family fans will recognize the subplot.

ASH: Oh, ho!

ANNA: Nice!

MJ: Here for this.

SEAN: Also from Viz: Dr. STONE 25, Kaguya-sama: Love Is War 25, Moriarty the Patriot 11, My Love Mix-Up! 7, One Piece 102, Rainbow Days 3, Romantic Killer 3, and Snow White with the Red Hair 24.

MICHELLE: I look forward to catching up on My Love Mix-Up!.

ASH: Likewise! I have some reading to do.

ANNA: Oh man, I’m quite a bit behind.

SEAN: Actually relatively short for the first week of the month. Any good stuff here for you?

SEAN: March is going out like a lamb, but is the manga we’ve been waiting for actually coming out? Sorry, it got bumped to May. Meanwhile…

Yen Press has one title which is Visions 2022__Illustrators Book. This is, as you might guess, a sequel to Visions 2021__Illustrators Book, and is basically the finest pixiv artbook that you can reproduce without asking copyright holders’ permission.

Viz Media has Tombs: Junji Ito Story Collection (Bohyou no Machi), which is, well, another Junji Ito story collection. These are from the mid-90s, and mostly ran in Monthly Halloween, a shoujo horror magazine, and then its sister publication, Nemuki, after Monthly Halloween folded.

ASH: So much Junji Ito manga these days! But that won’t stop me from reading it.

SEAN: Also from Viz: Fist of the North Star 8 and Naruto’s Story—Uzumaki Naruto and the Spiral Destiny, a light novel.

ASH: Any week with Fist of the North Star is a good week.

SEAN: Udon debuts Persona 4 Arena, a Dengeki Maoh series for all you folks who wished Persona 4 were a fighting game. This is, in fact, an adaptation of a video game. (It got bumped.)

ASH: So many things do.

SEAN: From Tokyopop we have a one-shot, Welcome Back, Aureole (Okaeri Aureole), another Canna title (Tokyopop clearly has found another publisher who will speak to them and is milking it for all it’s worth) about two boys falling in love in high school.

They also have Konohana Kitan 12 and On or Off 3.

A new title from Steamship, The Villainess and the Demon Knight (Akuyaku Reijou to Kichiku Kishi). This Zero-Sum Online title has the heroine remember she’s a villainess in an otome game… a little too late. She’s disgraced, disowned, and is now a sex worker. Then her first customer is her childhood friend, who is a knight… who takes her as his fiancee.

ASH: That’s quite the character arc!

SEAN: From Square Enix Manga we see Beauty and the Feast 7, Soul Eater: The Perfect Edition 10, and The Strongest Sage with the Weakest Crest 11.

Seven Seas debuts The Valiant Must Fall (Yuukiarumono Yori Chire). This runs in Young Animal, and is from the creator of Gunslinger Girl. A suicidal samurai ends up being saved by a young woman with healing powers, and he wants to see what her deal is.

ASH: Hmmm.

SEAN: Also from Seven Seas: Dai Dark 5, and LES MISÉRABLES Omnibus 2.

ASH: I really need to catch up with Dai Dark.

SEAN: For those watching the anime and wishing there was more sex, One Peace Books has Farming Life in Another World 8.

Kodansha, in print, has Fire Force Omnibus 3, No. 6 Manga Omnibus 2, Sayonara, Football 16 (the final volume), The Seven Deadly Sins Manga Box Set 4, That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime 21, When Will Ayumu Make His Move? 10, and Wistoria: Wand and Sword 3.

Digitally, we get Bootsleg 3, Boss Bride Days 3, Cells at Work! White Brigade 4 (the final volume), A Couple of Cuckoos 10, DAYS 34, Gamaran: Shura 6, My Home Hero 2, and That’s My Atypical Girl 8.

Kaiten Books has The Yakuza’s Guide to Babysitting 6.

One debut from J-Novel Club, and it’s a manga version of a light novel that came out last month. I Parry Everything: What Do You Mean I’m the Strongest? I’m Not Even an Adventurer Yet! (Ore wa Subete o “Parry” Suru: Gyaku Kanchigai no Sekai Saikyou wa Boukensha ni Naritai) runs in Comic Earth Star Online.

And they’ve also got Campfire Cooking in Another World with My Absurd Skill: Sui’s Great Adventure 3, Full Metal Panic Short Stories 5, Seirei Gensouki: Spirit Chronicles 22, and VTuber Legend: How I Went Viral after Forgetting to Turn Off My Stream 4.

TECHNICALLY Ghost Ship has no new releases. In reality, I’m putting two titles here as being a bit too mature for Seven Seas’ list. Why Don’t You Eat Me, My Dear Wolf? (Tabenai no? Ookami-san) is a done-in-one volume from Rutile, and is a BL take on the Red Riding Hood story.

ASH: Oh, my!

SEAN: There’s also a 2nd volume of Asumi-chan is Interested in Lesbian Brothels!.

Cross Infinite World has two new debuts. The Do-Over Damsel Conquers the Dragon Emperor (Yarinaoshi Reijou wa Ryuutei Heika wo Kouryakuchuu) is another series from the creator of I’m the Villainess, So I’m Taming the Final Boss, and is in the increasingly popular villainess subgenre of “time rewind”. Sentenced to death by her fiance, our heroine suddenly finds herself six years in the past, right when she’s about to get engaged. She thus proposes to “random guy next to her”. Bad idea.

ASH: That does seem to be a questionable tactic.

SEAN: There’s also Revolutionary Reprise of the Blue Rose Princess (Aobarahime no Yarinaoshi Kakumeiki). “Yarinaoshi” is the Japanese for the Time Rewind genre, in case you’re interested. After getting stabbed to death, our heroine goes back ten years to try again.

We also get Return from Death: I Kicked the Bucket and Now I’m Back at Square One With a Girlfriend Who Doesn’t Remember Me, the 2nd novel in the series, but note the subtitle has changed.

In print, Airship has Arifureta: From Commonplace to World’s Strongest 12.

And in early digital: Classroom of the Elite: Year 2 4.5 and Trapped in a Dating Sim: The World of Otome Games is Tough for Mobs 8.

Any manga lamb chops for you?

SEAN: March marches on!

We start with Viz, who give us new volumes! Animal Crossing: New Horizons 4, Call of the Night 11, Fly Me to the Moon 16, Helck 2, Mao 10, Mashle: Magic and Muscles 11, My Hero Academia: Team-Up Missions 3, and Yakuza Lover 8.

MICHELLE: How did Mao get up to volume ten already?! Sheesh.

SEAN: Tokyopop has a one-shot, Be My Love, My Lord (Ban ni Natte, Goshujin-sama), which runs in Overlaps’s BL magazine LiQulle. A nobleman has always had a beastman servant… but now those feelings turn to love. And lust.

Titan Comics has Sherlock: A Scandal in Belgravia 2.

ASH: I haven’t really been following the manga very closely, but I did like previous Sherlock volumes.

SEAN: Tentai Books has a 2nd digital volume of How to Melt the Ice Queen’s Heart, which came out last week, but hey.

SuBLime debuts The Dragon’s Betrothed (Kamisama no Uroko), a new title from the creator of Therapy Game. Ever see those shoujo titles where a young girl goes to a shrine and meets a hot god? Here it’s a young man who does that.

MICHELLE: This premise doesn’t thrill me, but I really, really like Therapy Game, so I’ll give it a shot.

ASH: I’ve enjoyed the creator’s past work, too.

SEAN: They also have Golden Sparkle, a one-shot from Homesha’s Mellow Kiss. A sheltered young man has never been told about sex and is having puberty issues. Fortunately (?), he has a caring new friend from school to teach him. If you like this author, good news, it’s not their only appearance on this week’s list.

ASH: I don’t know if I do yet, but I suspect I might!

SEAN: From Square Enix we get Ragna Crimson 8 and YoRHa: Pearl Harbor Descent Record – A NieR:Automata Story 2.

Seven Seas debuts a BL oneshot, I Didn’t Mean to Fall in Love (Koi wo Suru Tsumori wa Nakatta). It runs in Homesha’s Mellow Kiss, and is from the same author as Golden Sparkle. It stars a 30-year-old salaryman with no romantic experience who runs into a young college student at a bar. They hit it off well. VERY well.

MICHELLE: Oh! I read and reviewed this back when it was on Futekiya. It’s very good!

ASH: Oh! I really should check this one out, then!

SEAN: Also debuting is a new danmei novel, Thousand Autumns: Qian Qiu. A very talented jerk takes a paragon of virtue under his wing, hoping to teach him about how much life sucks.

ANNA: That sounds like a promising dynamic.

MICHELLE: I’m a sucker for jerks and paragons of virtue.

ASH: You are certainly not the only one.

SEAN: Seven Seas also brings us Dinosaur Sanctuary 2, Ex-Yakuza and Stray Kitten 2, I Get the Feeling That Nobukuni-san Likes Me 2, Kageki Shojo!! 8, and Kiruru Kill Me 4.

MICHELLE: *insert obligatory text about getting caught up on Kageki Shojo!! one of these days*

ASH: Indeed. I’ve been collecting the volumes, but I haven’t had the chance to actually read all of them.

SEAN: One Peace Books has a second volume of The Death Mage.

Two light novels from Kodansha Books. We get a debut, As a Reincarnated Aristocrat, I’ll Use My Appraisal Skill to Rise in the World (Tensei Kizoku Kantei Sukiru de Nariagaru – Jakushou Ryouchi o Uketsuidanode, Yuushuuna Jinzai o Fuyashite Itara, Saikyou Ryouchi ni Natteta). Its title is its plot.

And we get The Dawn of the Witch 2.

Kodansha Manga has The Great Cleric 2 in print.

Digitally, one week after Life, they debut Life 2: Giver/Taker. This spinoff ran in the seinen magazine Afternoon, and features a cop whose little sister’s death years ago led her to become someone devoted to preventing tragedies.

ASH: No time wasted there!

SEAN: There’s also Ace of the Diamond 42, The Fable 12, Gang King 3, JOY 2, Matcha Made in Heaven 5, Quality Assurance in Another World 7, Shaman King: The Super Star 6, WIND BREAKER 9, and When Will Ayumu Make His Move? 10.

ANNA: I’m very excited for more Matcha Made in Heaven.

ASH: I still love that title.

MICHELLE: I am actively getting caught up with Ace of the Diamond. It’s only got five volumes left, so I hope we see an announcement soon about Kodansha putting out the sequel.

SEAN: J-Novel Club has some print titles. We see Ascendance of a Bookworm 17, Marginal Operation 13, Seirei Gensouki: Spirit Chronicles 2nd manga volume, and Tearmoon Empire 8.

Most of J-Novels’ digital titles this week are manga. With two debuts. Karate Master Isekai (Karate Baka Isekai) comes from Dujimi Shobo’s Comic Hu, and features our hero refusing any cheat skills, as he has karate.

ANNA: I also have karate (no I don’t).

MICHELLE: *snerk*

SEAN: The other debut is the manga version of Peddler in Another World: I Can Go Back to My World Whenever I Want (Itsudemo Jitaku ni Kaerareru Ore wa, Isekai de Gyoushounin o Hajimemashita), whose novel is also published by J-Novel Club. It runs in Hobby Japan’s Comic Fire.

Also from J-Novel Club: the 9th manga volume of How a Realist Hero Rebuilt the Kingdom, My Stepmom’s Daughter Is My Ex 6, Perry Rhodan NEO 12, the 9th manga volume of Record of Wortenia War, and the 2nd manga volume of Young Lady Albert Is Courting Disaster.

Digital Manga Publishing has the 3rd and final volume of Only the Flower Knows.

ASH: I’ve been meaning to give that series a try; better get on it.

SEAN: Denpa Books has a 4th volume of The Girl with the Sanpaku Eyes.

In print, Airship gives us Arifureta: From Commonplace to World’s Strongest ZERO 6 (the final volume), The Most Heretical Last Boss Queen: From Villainess to Savior 3, and Trapped in a Dating Sim: The World of Otome Games is Tough for Mobs 8.

WHOOPS! Airship dropped an early digital edition of Didn’t I Say To Make My Abilities Average in My Next Life 15 on me this week, and I therefore missed it for last week’s list.

And early digital this week gives us Irina: The Vampire Cosmonaut 4 and The Weakest Tamer Began a Journey to Pick Up Trash 3.

Manga manga manga!

SEAN: It’s March, and to celebrate New England is finally getting a bit of snow. But what manga are we getting?

Airship has no print releases, but they do have an early digital one: Reincarnated as a Sword 12.

Dark Horse gives us a 13th volume of Berserk Deluxe Edition.

ASH: I’ll be picking this one up, surprising no one at this point.

SEAN: Denpa Books has a second omnibus volume of Nana & Kaoru.

There’s a debut from Ghost Ship. Rise of the Outlaw Tamer and His Wild S-Rank Cat Girl (Dappou Tamer no Nariagari Boukentan ~S Rank Bishoujo Boukensha ga Ore no Juuma ni Natteimasu~) is a Comic Ride series. A low-ranked tamer is asked by a high-ranking catgirl to “tame” her in hopes she’ll evolve. In reality, it’ll probably just lead to horniness.

ASH: Sounds about right.

SEAN: Also from Ghost Ship: World’s End Harem: Fantasia Academy 2.

J-Novel Club has a debut, but it’s one of the Sol Press rescues: Let This Grieving Soul Retire (Nageki no Bourei wa Intai Shitai – Saijaku Hunter ni Yoru Saikyou Party Ikuseijutsu). Our hero’s friends have cool powers. He does not. But for some reason they keep expecting things from him.

Also from J-Novel Club: Culinary Chronicles of the Court Flower 9, D-Genesis: Three Years after the Dungeons Appeared 3, An Introvert’s Hookup Hiccups: This Gyaru Is Head Over Heels for Me! 2, Invaders of the Rokujouma!? 41, Reborn to Master the Blade: From Hero-King to Extraordinary Squire 8, the 4th manga volume of Tearmoon Empire, and the 7th manga volume of Welcome to Japan, Ms. Elf!.

Kodansha, in print, gives us Am I Actually the Strongest?, which has been out in digital since 2020, but I think is either getting or just got an anime.

Also in print: As a Reincarnated Aristocrat, I’ll Use My Appraisal Skill to Rise in the World 4, I Was Reincarnated as the 7th Prince so I Can Take My Time Perfecting My Magical Ability 4, Magus of the Library 6 (!!!), and SHAMAN KING Omnibus 12 (the final volume).

ASH: Ooh! Magus of the Library!

SEAN: The digital debut will be familiar to old school Tokyopop fans. Life is a shoujo manga from Betsufure, and TP published 9 volumes of it before cancelling it. Now Kodansha is doing a digital version, which hopefully will go the distance. This is an award-winning manga, but be warned, it’s a tough one: our heroine starts cutting herself in the first book.

MICHELLE: Amazon shows I purchased the first volume back in 2006, but I don’t think I ever actually read it, so now’s my chance!

ANNA: Maybe this is an indication (Silver Diamond) of other (Demon Sacred) Tokyopop (Immortal Rain) series getting picked up.

ASH: I live in perpetual hope!

MELINDA: My well of hope runs dry, but… maybe?

SEAN: Digitally we see Abe-kun’s Got Me Now! 10, Doing His Best to Confess 4, I Guess I Became the Mother of the Great Demon King’s 10 Children in Another World 7, MF Ghost 11, Raised by the Demon Kings! 6, Shangri-La Frontier 10, The Shape-Shifting Witch’s Kiss 4 (the final volume), and Tying the Knot with an Amagami Sister 7.

MICHELLE: Doing His Best to Confess looks cute. I’ve been meaning to try it out.

SEAN: From Seven Seas, we see Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation: Mo Dao Zu Shi The Comic, the webtoon adaptation of the popular danmei series, in full color.

ASH: Looking forward to giving this one a try!

SEAN: We also see orange -to you, dear one-, the final epilogue to the orange series, which tells the story of the rest of the main cast in this new future.

MICHELLE: So excite.

ANNA: I still have the first volume of orange lurking around my house, unread!

MICHELLE: It’s so good!

ASH: It really is. Very glad to see the epilogues being released.

MELINDA: !!

SEAN: Seven Seas also has The Ancient Magus’ Bride 17, The Girl in the Arcade 3, Level 1 Demon Lord and One Room Hero 5, Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation 16, and Yokai Cats 3.

MICHELLE: It’s been 84 years since I read any of The Ancient Magus’ Bride. I’ve really been missing it.

ASH: I’m somehow behind in my reading, but I enjoy this series so much.

SEAN: Square Enix debuts My Clueless First Friend (Jijou o Shiranai Tenkousei ga Guigui Kuru), a Gangan Joker series which is getting an anime. A bullied elementary school girl is startled when a new transfer student arrives and finds that all the things people bully her for are, to him, cool!

From Steamship, we get Ladies on Top 2.

ASH: Which reminds me I still need to read the first volume.

Udon debuts Persona 4 Arena, a Dengeki Maoh series for all you folks who wished Persona 4 were a fighting game. This is, in fact, an adaptation of a video game.

Viz Media debuts Ayashimon, a Shonen Jump series from the creator of Hell’s Paradise: Jigokuraku. A guy who wanted to grow up to be strong like a manga hero does his job a bit TOO well.

ASH: I am intrigued.

SEAN: Also from Viz: Black Clover 32, Blue Box 3, The Elusive Samurai 5, Ghost Reaper Girl 4, Ima Koi: Now I’m in Love 5, Kakuriyo: Bed & Breakfast for Spirits 8, Kubo Won’t Let Me Be Invisible 6, and Yona of the Dawn 38.

MICHELLE: Must have a Yona binge soon!

ANNA: Need to get caught up on Ima Koi and always excited for new Yona!

SEAN: That’s it! What will you read if you’re snowed in?

SEAN: Technically March, but it’s still February for most of our list.

Yen On’s sole release next week is Tezcatlipoca, a crime novel featuring a Mexican drug lord and his Japanese boy protege getting involved in organ donation. It is award-winning, and also not for the squeamish.

ASH: I am very curious about this one (but probably not in the mood to read it right this moment).

SEAN: And from Yen Press we see The Beginning After the End 2, Hazure Skill: The Guild Member with a Worthless Skill Is Actually a Legendary Assassin 5, and The Hero Is Overpowered But Overly Cautious 5.

Viz Media has a 2nd Demon Slayer light novel, One-Winged Butterfly. There’s also JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Part 5–Golden Wind 7, the 17th and final omnibus of Urusei Yatsura, and WITCH WATCH 5 digitally. Thank you, Viz, for finally releasing all of UY for its fans.

ASH: It really is great to see these longer classic series being released.

SEAN: Square Enix has By the Grace of the Gods 7 and The Girl I Like Forgot Her Glasses 2.

Seven Seas had been quiet the last couple of weeks. That ends now. There’s so much. That said, there’s only one debut, The Invisible Man and His Soon-to-Be Wife (Toumei Otoko to Ningen Onna: Sonouchi Fuufu ni Naru Futari), a Futabasha series about an invisible man and a blind woman who find love while running a detective agency. Gotta say, this sounds fantastic. The author also wrote The Country Without Humans.

MICHELLE: I’m looking forward to this very much!

ANNA: OK, this sounds cool.

ASH: It does seem worth a look!

SEAN: Also from Seven Seas: A Chinese Fantasy: Law of the Fox (the 2nd in this series), The Idaten Deities Know Only Peace 4, Karate Survivor in Another World 4, Magic Artisan Dahlia Wilts No More 4, Monster Guild: The Dark Lord’s (No-Good) Comeback! 4, My Deer Friend Nokotan 3, My Wife Has No Emotion 4, Otaku Elf 5, Pompo: The Cinéphile 3, Ramen Wolf and Curry Tiger 2, ROLL OVER AND DIE: I Will Fight for an Ordinary Life with My Love and Cursed Sword! 3, The Saint’s Magic Power is Omnipotent 7, SPRIGGAN: Deluxe Edition 3, This Is Screwed Up, but I Was Reincarnated as a GIRL in Another World! 5, and Versailles of the Dead 3.

ASH: You weren’t kidding! That is quite a bit. It’s been literal years since the last volume of Versailles of the Dead was released, but I do vaguely recollect getting a kick out of it.

SEAN: KUMA debuts A Home Far Away (Haruka Tooki Ie), a one-shot from Canna about a directionless young man looking for a purpose, and his encounter with a young cook.

MICHELLE: Judging purely by the cover, this looks good!

ANNA: Sounds interesting.

SEAN: Kodansha Books has another digital release of an old Vertical crime drama from the 00s, this one Kenzo Kitakata’s Winter Sleep.

ASH: Another one I haven’t managed to read yet, but am glad is being made more broadly available.

SEAN: In print, Kodansha Manga gives us BAKEMONOGATARI 17, Don’t Toy with Me, Miss Nagatoro Manga Box Set 1 (the first six volumes), EDENS ZERO 21, Hitorijime My Hero 13, Peach Boy Riverside 10, Rent-A-Girlfriend 17, The Seven Deadly Sins: Four Knights of the Apocalypse 7, Shonen Note: Boy Soprano 2, Something’s Wrong with Us 13, and The Witch and the Beast 10.

MICHELLE: I need to get started on Shonen Note.

ASH: As do I, I’ll have to admit.

SEAN: The digital debut is My Home Hero, a drama about a salaryman who finds himself embroiled in crime syndicates and murder. It runs in Young Magazine.

Also digital: Am I Actually the Strongest? 7, Boss Bride Days 2, Elegant Yokai Apartment Life 25, The Food Diary of Miss Maid 4, Gamaran: Shura 5, Heaven’s Design Team 8, Hozuki’s Coolheadedness 12, My Idol Sits the Next Desk Over! 6, The Prince’s Romance Gambit 12 (the final volume), The Slime Diaries: That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime 6, We’re New at This 12, and With You and the Rain 4.

Kaiten Books has a print volume of My Dad’s the Queen of All VTubers?! 3.

J-Novel Club have some digital debuts. Enough with This Slow Life! I Was Reincarnated as a High Elf and Now I’m Bored (Tensei Shite High Elf ni Narimashitaga, Slow Life wa 120-nen de Akimashita) is one of those reincarnation books. Sadly, the life of an elf involves staying put and being a vegetarian… and also living for a thousand years! After a century of this, our hero decides to go on a journey.

Grand Sumo Villainess (Ouzumou Reijou ~Seijo ni Hirateuchi wo Kuratta Shunkan Sumō Budatta Zense wo Omoidashita Akuyaku Reijō no Watashi wa sute Neko Ōji ni Chanko wo Furumaitai Haadosukoidosukoi~) is a “reincarnated as a villainess in an otome game” book, and our heroine is already at her doom. Fortunately, she knows sumo!

ASH: That’s a new twist to the genre I wasn’t expecting!

SEAN: I Parry Everything: What Do You Mean I’m the Strongest? I’m Not Even an Adventurer Yet! (Ore wa Subete o “Parry” Suru: Gyaku Kanchigai no Sekai Saikyou wa Boukensha ni Naritai) is one of those books about an OP hero who doesn’t realize he’s OP, in the style of Last Dungeon Kid.

And one manga digital debut, I’m Capped at Level 1?! Thus Begins My Journey to Become the World’s Strongest Badass! (Genkai Level 1 kara no Nariagari: Saijaku Level no Ore ga Isekai Saikyou ni Naru made) is a Comic Walker title. It begins with our hero being summoned, given powers, condemned for having weak powers, and sentenced to death. So, one of those series.

Also from J-Novel Club: The Apothecary Diaries 7, An Archdemon’s Dilemma: How to Love Your Elf Bride 15, Cooking with Wild Game 20, Dahlia in Bloom: Crafting a Fresh Start with Magical Tools 6, Doll-Kara 4, John Sinclair: Demon Hunter 9, Maddrax 5, Making Magic: The Sweet Life of a Witch Who Knows an Infinite MP Loophole 2, the 4th manga volume of Oversummoned, Overpowered, and Over It!, and Rebuild World 2 Part 1.

Ghost Ship gives us The 100 Girlfriends Who Really, Really, Really, Really, REALLY Love You 5 and Manga Diary of a Male Porn Star 3.

Cross Infinite World debuts The Inconvenient Life of an Arousing Priestess (Kon’yaku Hakida, Hatsujou Seijou). A hardworking young woman is engaged to a prince and working as a priestess! Unfortunately, her powers have a bad side effect. As a result, you guessed it, broken engagement, ruined reputation, shunned, etc. Fortunately, the next country over needs her powers!

They also have Onmyoji and Tengu Eyes: Hide and Seek in the Wintry Mountains 2 and the 5th and final volume of Reincarnated as the Last of my Kind.

Airship has the print debut of I’m in Love with the Villainess: She’s so Cheeky for a Commoner, the spinoff series giving us Claire’s POV.

Also in print: The Case Files of Jeweler Richard 3, Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear 13, and Survival in Another World with My Mistress! 4.

And in early digital we see Failure Frame: I Became the Strongest and Annihilated Everything With Low-Level Spells 7.

What interests you? What arouses you? What appalls you?