Ash Brown

SEAN: Mid-May, and will it be a quiet week?

ASH: Is that something that exists anymore?

SEAN: From Airship, we see new volumes! The Most Notorious “Talker” Runs the World’s Greatest Clan 4 and Reincarnated as a Sword 12.

And for early digital there is Classroom of the Elite: Year 2 5 and Vivy Prototype 4 (the final volume).

Ghost Ship gives us a 6th book of 2.5 Dimensional Seduction and a 7th volume of Creature Girls: A Hands-On Field Journal in Another World.

J-Novel Club blesses us with print titles! We see An Archdemon’s Dilemma: How to Love Your Elf Bride 14, Ascendance of a Bookworm 18, and the 3rd Seirei Gensouki: Spirit Chronicles manga.

ASH: Bookworm! In print!

SEAN: Digitally there are two debuts. Accidentally in Love: The Witch, the Knight, and the Love Potion Slipup (Koisuru Majo wa Elite Kishi ni Horegusuri o Nomasete Shimaimashita: Itsuwari kara Hajimaru Watashi no Dekiai Seikatsu) is in the Heart line, as you can imagine. A girl trying to hide that she’s a witch meets the man of her dreams… but she didn’t mean to drug him, honest! I think Cross Infinite World had a series with a similar premise.

ASH: Whoops!

ANNA: An easy mistake to make, I’m sure.

SEAN: There’s also Only the Villainous Lord Wields the Power to Level Up (Ore dake Level ga Agaru Sekai de Akutoku Ryōshu ni Natteita). This is a villainess book… but since it’s a male villain, it means he needs to be trapped in an RPG world as well. There are rules, after all.

ASH: That there are.

SEAN: There’s also new volumes: Death’s Daughter and the Ebony Blade 5, Der Werwolf: The Annals of Veight -Origins- 9, Haibara’s Teenage New Game+ 3, and The White Cat’s Revenge as Plotted from the Dragon King’s Lap 7.

Debuting in print from Kodansha is The Yakuza’s Bias (Yakuza no Oshigoto). This runs in Ichijinsha’s Comic Pool, but was also a popular webcomic. A yakuza hitman is also a huge K-pop stan! Hijinx no doubt ensue.

MICHELLE: This sounds potentially fun.

ASH: It really could be!

ANNA: It does sound fun.

SEAN: Also in print: Bakemonogatari 16, NO. 6 Manga Omnibus 3 (the final volume), Peach Boy Riverside 11, The Seven Deadly Sins: Four Knights of the Apocalypse 8, SHAMAN KING: FLOWERS 2, and When Will Ayumu Make His Move? 11.

ASH: Still glad to see NO. 6 staying in print. (And still living in hope that one day the novels will be translated, too…)

SEAN: The digital debut is Small Nozomi and Big Yume (Chiisai Nozomi to Ooki na Yume), which runs in Morning Two. A high school girl wakes up one day to find she’s lost her memories… and is also about five inches tall. Fearing being eaten by a cat, she takes refuge in the apartment of a drunken NEET and must convince her that she’s not hallucinating a tiny girl.

Also digitally: Blue Lock 19, Gamaran 9, We’re New at This 13 and Ya Boy Kongming! 11.

One Peace Books has a light novel, the 2nd volume of The Wrong Way to Use Healing Magic.

Three debuts from Seven Seas. Last Game is old-school shoujo from LaLa. A young man who is a winner at life (and also rich) arrives at high school and finds… a girl has beaten him! A commoner girl! At study! At sports! There’s just one thing to do: he has to make her fall for him! For those who love goofy but problematic old-school shoujo titles.

MICHELLE: It definitely gives S.A vibes.

SEAN: Shibanban: Super Cute Doggies is a spinoff manga based on the popular LINE sticker set of Shiba Inu dogs.

ASH: They really can make a manga out of anything!

ANNA: I’m amazed.

SEAN: Who Made Me a Princess is a manwha series that ran on the usual manwha online places. A girl finds herself in the story of her favorite novel… as the princess who gets executed! Still, she’s a baby, so has time to change her fate. Right?

ASH: Time will tell!

SEAN: And there’s also The Kingdoms of Ruin 6, Marmalade Boy: Collector’s Edition 2, The Most Notorious “Talker” Runs the World’s Greatest Clan 4, Re: Monster 6, Reincarnated as a Sword: Another Wish 4, The Savior’s Book Café Story in Another World 5 (the final volume), and The Weakest Tamer Began a Journey to Pick Up Trash 3.

MICHELLE: Speaking of old-school shoujo titles, looking forward to continuing my Marmalade Boy reread!

SEAN: From Square Enix we get The Girl I Like Forgot Her Glasses 3.

Tokyopop has three debuts. A Complicated Omega’s Second Love (Kojirase Omega no Nidome no Koi) ran in Gentosha’s Lynx, and is complete in one volume. An omega who hates alphas and has resolved to never be mated wakes up one morning… mated with his colleague.

Ogi’s Summer Break (Ogi-kun no Natsuyasumi) is a slightly less sexual BL title from Studio C.I.’s Haruto magazine. It’s a college romance between a boy who falls hard for another boy, who is blind.

And We Can’t Do Just Plain Love (Tada no Renai Nanka de Kikkonai – Kojirase Joushi to Fechina Buka) is josei, from Taiseisha’s Love Coffre. A new office worker discovers that her boss can’t be around women without getting aroused. Fortunately for him, she has a solution… if he’ll help her with her scent fetish.

The big title from Udon Entertainment is an artbook. Hidetaka Tenjin’s Artistry of Macross: From Flash Back 2012 to Macross Frontier is a deluxe 144-page hardcover that should please any fan who hates Carl Macek.

They also have Persona 4 Arena 2.

Viz debuts another horror title, but hey, it’s not by Junji Ito. Dark Gathering runs in Jump Square, and features a young man who is trying to avoid the supernatural (he can see spirits) tutoring a young girl who is trying to find the spirit who took her mother.

ASH: Ooooh, a horror manga, you say?

SEAN: Viz also gives us Choujin X 2, Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba: The Official Coloring Book 2, Twin Star Exorcists 28, and Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead 10.

And there’s one single title from Yen Press next week, and it’s a debut. The manga adaptation of a beloved light novel classic, requested by many over the years. Yes, it’s Reborn as a Vending Machine, I Now Wander the Dungeon (Jidou Hanbaiki ni Umarekawatta Ore wa Meikyuu wo Samayou). This runs in Dengeki Daioh, and features a young man reborn as a vending machine, though the “wander” part is mostly incorrect. I Now Get Carried Around The Dungeon By My Ludicrously Strong Beastgirl Friend is more accurate.

ASH: Wow!

ANNA: What will they think of next???????

SEAN: Assuming you have not been reborn as a villainess or a vending machine, what are you buying next week?

SEAN: Hopefully you are keeping your manga as dry as possible in these wet times.

We begin with Viz, who debut a new Shojo Beat title, Wolf Girl and Black Prince (Ookami Shoujo to Kuroouji). This Betsuma title is from the creator of Ima Koi: Now I’m in Love, but is actually one of their earlier stories. A girl who made up a fake boyfriend is on the verge of being called out for it. A handsome guy agrees to be her fake boyfriend. Unfortunately, he’s a sadistic type! For fans of sadistic types.

MICHELLE: Pass.

ANNA: Yes, as much as I enjoy new Shojo Beat titles this seems like Not My Thing. More time to get caught up on Ima Koi: Now I’m in Love!

SEAN: Also debuting is The Art of Haikyu!!, an artbook featuring art from Slam Dunk… no, just kidding, it’s from Haikyu!!.

ANNA: I mean, I like Haikyu!! but Slam Dunk is on a whole other level.

ASH: I am likewise an ardent supporter of both series. (And so am looking forward to this even if it isn’t Slam Dunk.)

SEAN: Viz also has Fly Me to the Moon 17, Helck 3, Mao 11, My Hero Academia: Vigilantes 14, Pokémon Adventures: X•Y 5, and YO-KAI WATCH 21.

From Udon Entertainment we get a debut, Record of Lodoss War: The Crown of the Covenant (Lodoss Tousenki: Seiyaku no Houkan) is a spinoff of the legendary light novel series, and ran in Shonen Ace. When a kingdom is in trouble, will Deedlit come to their aid?

SuBLime has a 2nd volume of Megumi & Tsugumi.

ASH: I’m not especially invested in Omegaverse fiction, buy I do like a good delinquent BL…

SEAN: The folks at Square Enix bring us By the Grace of the Gods 8, My Happy Marriage 3, and Tokyo Aliens 3.

One debut from Seven Seas. Soloist in a Cage (Ori no Naka no Soloist), a Shonen Jump + series, is in the “dystopian tragedy” genre. A girl born in a prison has only her younger brother to keep her going. Then she’s helped to break out… but has to leave her brother behind!

Seven Seas also has COLORLESS 4, The Hidden Dungeon Only I Can Enter 8, My Secret Affection 2 (the final volume), Skip and Loafer 7, and Slow Life In Another World (I Wish!) 5.

ASH: I really need to get caught up with Skip and Loafer.

SEAN: One Peace Books debuts The Death Mage (Yondome wa Iyana Shi Zokusei Majutsushi), whose light novel they’ve already been releasing. This is the manga version, serialized online on Comic Walker. A guy with terrible luck dies horribly, is reincarnated, dies even more horribly, and is now reincarnated again in hopes he’ll just kill himself rather than go through this again. But he now has… DEATH MAGIC!

ASH: That’s a twist!

SEAN: Kodansha Comics has titles, which unfortunately their new website makes impossible to find. In print, the debut is Twilight Out of Focus (Tasogare Outfocus), a BL title from Honey Milk magazine. Two roommates have rules that they say should not be broken. Who wants to bet these rules won’t last the book?

ASH: I’d say that’s a pretty good bet.

SEAN: We also get Chasing After Aoi Koshiba 4 (the final volume) and PTSD Radio Omnibus 3.

The digital debut is Tsugumi Project, which runs in Young Magazine. Another post-apocalyptic action series, a group of convicts are tasked with retrieving a weapon from a ruined city. But the city is less dead than anyone thought.

And we also see Ace of the Diamond 43, The Dawn of the Witch 6, The Fable 14, Fungus and Iron 3, Gang King 5, and Life 2: Giver/Taker 3.

MICHELLE: We’re rapidly approaching the end of Ace of the Diamond! I hope Kodansha plans to release the sequel, too.

SEAN: Two debuts from J-Novel Club. The big light novel one is Earl and Fairy (Hakushaku to Yousei), a long-running light novel fantasy series circa twenty years ago that spawned a short-running manga version Viz licensed ages ago. A young Victorian woman with an interest in fairies teams up with a noble in a quest to retrieve a treasured sword. Get this, it’s really, really good fantasy.

ANNA: I’m intrigued and I usually don’t go in for light novels.

ASH: Wow, Earl and Fairy, that takes me back!

SEAN: The manga debut is Now I’m a Demon Lord! Happily Ever After with Monster Girls in My Dungeon (Maou ni Natta node, Dungeon Tsukutte Jingai Musume to Honobono suru), the manga version of the light novel J-Novel Club also releases. It runs in Dra-Dra-Dragon Age, Japan’s greatest love machine. (Sorry.) (That really is the magazine title, I promise.)

And we also get Housekeeping Mage from Another World: Making Your Adventures Feel Like Home! 5, A Late-Start Tamer’s Laid-Back Life 6, My Daughter Left the Nest and Returned an S-Rank Adventurer 8, Peddler in Another World: I Can Go Back to My World Whenever I Want! 3, Perry Rhodan NEO 13, and Saint? No! I’m Just a Passing Beast Tamer! 3.

Ghost Ship has new volumes of The 100 Girlfriends Who Really, Really, Really, Really, REALLY Love You 6, I’m Not a Succubus! 3, and Sundome!! Milky Way 6.

Dark Horse Comics gives us Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken! 5.

ASH: Another reminder that I am behind on both my manga reading and my anime watching.

SEAN: Airship, in print, has new releases for The Case Files of Jeweler Richard 4, Classroom of the Elite: Year 2 4.5, and I Swear I Won’t Bother You Again! 3.

And for early digital releases, there is Loner Life in Another World 5, Monster Girl Doctor 10 (the final volume), and She Professed Herself Pupil of the Wise Man 7.

Sounds good! What manga of yours is getting rained on?

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?