Ash Brown

SEAN: 2023! What’s new and exciting?

No debuts for Viz Media, but we do get Blue Box 2, Dr. STONE 24, The Elusive Samurai 4, Kubo Won’t Let Me Be Invisible 5, Moriarty the Patriot 10, My Love Mix-Up! 6, Prince Freya 8, Queen’s Quality 16, and Romantic Killer 2.

MICHELLE: I’m looking forward to more Blue Box and My Love Mix-Up!.

ASH: Same! And throwing Queen’s Quality into the mix, since I’ve been enjoying (but still falling behind with) that one, too.

ANNA: Lots of things I need to get caught up on, maybe that will be my New Year’s resolution.

SEAN: Seven Seas debuts three titles. I’m Kinda Chubby and I’m Your Hero (Saenai Boku wa Kimi no Hero) is a BL title from Comic Qurie. An aspiring young actor worries that his weight is getting in the way of his career… but finds he has a fanboy in a young baker!

MICHELLE: This looks fun. I hope it is.

ASH: Me, too; looking forward to giving it a try!

SEAN: Seven Seas continues to put out cat manga. We see the debut of My Sister, The Cat (Imouto wa Neko), a MAGXiv title about a young man whose mother passed away, so another family adopts him… except they’re human-sized cats.

ASH: There does seem to be a renaissance of cat manga.

SEAN: And a third debut, with no cats. No Longer Allowed In Another World (Isekai Shikkaku) runs in Shogakukan’s Yawaraka Spirits, and asks the important question “what if the protagonist of the No Longer Human novel wound up in an isekai with cute girls and awesome powers?”. The answer: he’s not happy.

ASH: Wait, what? That is a question I never thought to ask!

SEAN: Also from Seven Seas: Dragon Goes House-Hunting 8, How NOT to Summon a Demon Lord 15, Lazy Dungeon Master 2, My Senpai is Annoying 9, Night of the Living Cat 2, PULSE 2, Succubus and Hitman 3, and The Titan’s Bride 2.

MICHELLE: I forgot Dragon Goes House-Hunting exists.

SEAN: Kodansha’s release calendar is back, hooray! In print we see the debut of Am I Actually the Strongest?, whose ebook came out in 2020. There’s also The Iceblade Sorcerer Shall Rule the World 3.

Digitally there may be a last minute announcement, but it ain’t here yet, so we get Kounodori: Dr. Stork 31, The God-Tier Guardian and the Love of Six Princesses 3, Matcha Made in Heaven 3, Raised by the Demon Kings! 4, Shangri-La Frontier 9, and The Shape-Shifting Witch’s Kiss 2.

ASH: Matcha Made in Heaven is still a delightful title.

ANNA: I read the first volume and really liked it, as usual I am behind.

SEAN: And Kodansha Books reminds us they exist with the debut of Am I Actually the Strongest? (Jitsu wa Ore, Saikyou deshita?), not to be confused with the print debut of the manga also coming out next week. Thought to be weak but actually strong, abusive parents, etc. Kodansha knows what’s popular these days.

Two debuts for J-Novel Club, and they’re both manga. Lady Rose Just Wants to Be a Commoner! (Lady Rose wa Heimin ni Naritai) is from Kadokawa’s Flos Comic, and features our heroine reincarnated as the villainess of an otome game… AFTER the bad end. Oops.

ASH: Oops, indeed.

SEAN: The Coppersmith’s Bride (Cuprum no Hanayome) runs in Harta (yay!) and features a college student who is happy to be dating a guy who’s nuts about smithing. But when he proposes to her, she has a bit of a freak out.

ASH: But will there be forging fun facts?

SEAN: Also from J-Novel Club: DUNGEON DIVE: Aim for the Deepest Level 2, Marginal Operation 16 (the final volume), Slayers 17, Tearmoon Empire 9, and To Another World… with Land Mines! 5. Slayers 17 isn’t the “final” volume per se, but it’s the last one published to date.

ASH: That’s an important distinction to make.

SEAN: Ghost Ship has Parallel Paradise 12 and Who Wants to Marry a Billionaire? 4.

Digital Manga Publishing, who I tend to forget exists, has a debut with Pure Love’s Sexy Time (Ero Ki), a BL series that was part of the DMG digital group. I’ve haerd this is for BL fans who like dumbasses.

MICHELLE: I’m glad DMP is still releasing stuff!

ASH: I’ll admit to being conflicted, but I do like a fair number of the publisher’s books.

SEAN: DMP also has Twittering Birds Never Fly 7.

Denpa Books gives us Rakuda Laughs! (Rakuda ga Warau), a Comic Ryu title about a yakuza triggerman’s chaotic life.

ASH: I’ve been waiting for this one; Katsuya Terada has had very few works released in English.

SEAN: Dark Horse gives us an 11th omnibus of GANTZ.

Airship has the print debut of The World’s Fastest Level Up, and also print volumes for Irina: The Vampire Cosmonaut 3 and The Weakest Tamer Began a Journey to Pick Up Trash 2.

In early digital, we get Raven of the Inner Palace (Koukyuu no Karasu), which just had an anime recently. A mysterious concubine, who may be old, may be young, but definitely uses magic, is called before the Emperor.

ASH: This one seems promising to me.

SEAN: And we also see Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear 13.

Is this 2023 enough for you? Do you want 2022 back?

MICHELLE: Absolutely not.

ASH: Nah, that’s okay.

ANNA: No thank you.

SEAN: It’s the last Manga the Week of for 2022. Let’s make it a good one.

ASH: Yes, let’s!

SEAN: Airship has a bunch of print titles. We see Accomplishments of the Duke’s Daughter 7, Reincarnated as a Sword 11, She Professed Herself Pupil of the Wise Man 5, and A Tale of the Secret Saint 4.

While we get early digital for Classroom of the Elite: Year 2 4 and Trapped in a Dating Sim: The World of Otome Games is Tough for Mobs 8.

Bookwalker has She’s Adopted a High School Boy! 13 (the final volume – if you’re wondering about the previous 12 volumes, this seems to have been exclusive to Bookwalker, so I kept missing it).

ASH: I don’t know that anyone can keep up with all of the digital manga that are legitimately available these days!

SEAN: Cross Infinite World has a 2nd volume of The Dragon’s Soulmate is a Mushroom Princess!.

Ghost Ship has Survival in Another World with My Mistress! 3 and Yuuna and the Haunted Hot Springs 22.

The debut from J-Novel Club is a manga this time around. Young Lady Albert Is Courting Disaster (Albert-ke no Reijou wa Botsuraku wo Goshomou desu) is a reincarnated villainess story based on a light novel that isn’t licensed. This one flips the script a bit – on hearing that she’s the villainess in an otome game, Mary Albert goes ALL IN in trying to be as evil as can be! Why… why doesn’t the heroine think she’s evil? It runs in B’s-LOG COMIC.

ASH: That could be a fun variation.

SEAN: We also see Grimgar of Fantasy and Ash 19, Lazy Dungeon Master 17, My Quiet Blacksmith Life in Another World 5, and the 3rd Tearmoon Empire manga volume.

Kodansha’s print titles: Blood on the Tracks 12, EDENS ZERO 20, I Was Reincarnated as the 7th Prince so I Can Take My Time Perfecting My Magical Ability 3, Shangri-La Frontier 3, and What Did You Eat Yesterday? 19.

MICHELLE: I need to get caught up on What Did You Eat Yesterday?!

ASH: Still so very happy we’re getting this series.

SEAN: Digitally we see Beauty and the Beast of Paradise Lost 5 (the final volume), Burn the House Down 7, Even Given the Worthless “Appraiser” Class, I’m Actually the Strongest 6, The Food Diary of Miss Maid 2, The Full-Time Wife Escapist 10 (!!!), A Galaxy Next Door 4, Gamaran: Shura 3, and The Rokudo Rounds 4.

MICHELLE: !!!! This is twice in recent memory when a series that had been advertised as over—and yes, I checked the “final volume” blurbs for both Fruits Basket Another and Full-Time Wife Escapist—has returned from the dead.

ASH: Oh, ho!

SEAN: Two debuts for Seven Seas. 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 (Shinjiteita Nakama-tachi ni Dungeon Okuchi de Korosarekaketa ga Gift “Mugen Gacha” de Level 9999 no Nakama-tachi wo Te ni Irete Moto Party Member to Sekai ni Fukushuu & “Zamaa!” Shimasu!) is an adaptation of the light novel J-Novel Club is putting out, and the manga runs in Magazine Pocket. That’s all I have to say about it. Moving on.

ASH: The title already says most of it.

SEAN: Entangled with You: The Garden of 100 Grasses (Hyakusou no Uraniwa) is a one-shot BL title from Printemps Shuppan that’s a fantasy about a boy who makes a promise with a horned man to save his sister. Will that promise lead to death… or friendship?

MICHELLE: I like the fairy tale look and feel of this cover!

ASH: Same! I’m curious about this one, for sure.

SEAN: Also from Seven Seas: Berserk of Gluttony 7, The Country Without Humans 3, Dance in the Vampire Bund: Age of Scarlet Order 7, GIGANT 10 (the final volume), Magical Angel Creamy Mami and the Spoiled Princess 4, Reborn as a Barrier Master 3, She Professed Herself Pupil of the Wise Man 7, Sorry For My Familiar 10, Toradora! 10, and The Two of Them Are Pretty Much Like This 2. By the way, the first manga volume of Toradora! came out in North America OVER 10 YEARS AGO. This is a slow-moving series in Japan.

Square Enix has a 3rd volume of the Otherside Picnic manga.

From Viz Media we get Fist of the North Star 7, Jujutsu Kaisen: Summer of Ashes, Autumn of Dust (a light novel), Maison Ikkoku Collector’s Edition 10 (the final volume), and Thus Spoke Rohan Kishibe 2.

ASH: It’s a good Viz week for me, at least!

SEAN: And that’s it! Should auld manga be forgot and never brought to mind?

MICHELLE: My auld manga gathers dust.

SEAN: We’re in the last few days before Christmas, who’s coming down the chimney?

Yen On has an 11th volume of The Saga of Tanya the Evil.

I missed two Viz titles last week because they insist on alphabetizing ‘The’. So we got the print debut of The Hunters Guild: Red Hood, a Shonen Jump title about werewolf hunters, as well as Yakuza Lover 7.

ASH: Those leading articles will get ya every time.

For titles actually coming out next week, we get Alice in Borderland 4, Jujutsu Kaisen 18, Mission: Yozakura Family 2, No Guns Life 13 (the final volume), One Piece Color Walk Compendium: New World to Wano (the latest artbook), and Yashahime: Princess Half-Demon 2.

Udon Entertainment has Devil May Cry 5: Official Artworks. Which is a $55 hardcover. I suppose it would be cheaper if you were guaranteed the devil crying.

ASH: Udon does tend to have pretty good production values, fortunately.

SEAN: Tokyopop gives us Futaribeya: A Room for Two 9 and On or Off 2.

From Square Enix we see the debut of The Girl I Like Forgot Her Glasses (Suki na Ko ga Megane wo Wasureta), another in the hot new genre of “adorably sweet school romance” that runs in Gangan Joker.

They also have The Apothecary Diaries 7 and My Isekai Life: I Gained a Second Character Class and Became the Strongest Sage in the World! 4.

ASH: I really need to get caught up on The Apothecary Diaries.

SEAN: Seven Seas does not know the meaning of the words “Christmas break”. They have the debut of LES MISÉRABLES in an omnibus edition (the first two volumes), which ran in Shogakukan’s Gessan. It is, as you can imagine, an adaptation of the Hugo novel. The artist is better known here for the Cirque du Freak manga.

The other debut is My Cute Little Kitten, the latest yuri title from the creator of Girl Friends, Morinaga Milk. Two roommates have to deal with budding feelings, obliviousness, and a cute kitten.

ASH: Oh! That should be an enjoyable combination!

MJ: Agreed!

SEAN: Also from Seven Seas: Bite Maker: The King’s Omega 6, A Certain Scientific Railgun 17, COLORLESS 3, The Duke of Death and His Maid 4, Failure Frame: I Became the Strongest and Annihilated Everything With Low-Level Spells 5, The Girl From the Other Side: Siúil, a Rún – [dear.] Side Stories (the 12th and final volume), Hello, Melancholic! 3 (the final volume) (it got bumped), The Hidden Dungeon Only I Can Enter 7, Kageki Shojo!! 7, The Masterful Cat Is Depressed Again Today 5, Mushoku Tensei: Roxy Gets Serious 8, Plus-Sized Elf 8 (the final volume), School Zone Girls 4, Slow Life In Another World (I Wish!) 4, and Wonder Cat Kyuu-chan 7.

MICHELLE: I never actually finished The Girl from the Other Side. Seems like now’s the time!

ASH: I’ve started recollecting the series in the lovely hardcover edition, but I will probably go ahead and pick this volume up, too.

ANNA: I so need to get caught up too. Also need to get caught up on Kageki Shojo!!.

SEAN: And on the Danmei end we see Heaven Official’s Blessing: Tian Guan Ci Fu 5.

One Peace has I Belong to the Baddest Girl at School 6.

Kodansha Comics debuts Run Away With Me, Girl (Kakeochi Girl), a josei yuri series from Hatsu Kiss. Two girls date in high school but one breaks up with the other at graduation. Now, 10 years later, she’s engaged to be married… but everything about her relationship looks bad. Can her old lover do anything to help?

MICHELLE: This sounds promising!

ASH: I agree!

ANNA: I’m curious!

MJ: So here for this.

SEAN: They also have a box set of the first 6 volumes of Sweat and Soap. If you haven’t read this yet, I urge you to give it a try, it’s wonderful.

ASH: It really, really is.

SEAN: Also in print, we get Blue Lock 4, Die Wergelder 3, Fire Force 30, Rent-a-Girlfriend 16, Shikimori’s Not Just a Cutie 11, Something’s Wrong with Us 12, and Toppu GP 10.

ASH: It seem like it’s been a long time since the last volume of Die Wergelder came out… goodness, it’s been almost four years!

SEAN: Digitally, we see the debut of Beast #6, a Weekly Shonen Magazine series about an agent who’s assigned to a backwater town. How can she destroy supernatural monsters here? Good news, it’s not only a hotbed of activity, but has a Boy With A Secret (TM)…

We also get The Café Terrace and its Goddesses 3, Gamaran 4, Golden Gold 7, GTO Paradise Lost 19, Nina the Starry Bride 8, Piano Duo for the Left Hand 6, Sakura’s Dedication 3, and She, Her Camera, and Her Seasons 5 (the final volume).

MICHELLE: Dang, over already.

ANNA: I’m really enjoying Nina the Starry Bride.

SEAN: Two digital light novel debuts for J-Novel Club. Haibara’s Teenage New Game+ (Haibara-kun no Tsuyokute Seishun New Game) is a high school romcom about a college senior, regretting all his choices, suddenly finding himself traveling back to the start of high school. Can he really get a do-over?

The other debut is The Invincible Little Lady (Dōyara Watashi no Karada wa Kanzen Muteki no Yō Desu ne), which seems to be the inverse of Make My Abilities Average… a sickly young girl, on her deathbed, wishes to be strong in her next life… and ends up getting something FAR beyond what she meant!

Also from J-Novel Club: Black Summoner 11, I’ll Never Set Foot in That House Again! 5, My Stepmom’s Daughter Is My Ex 5, Redefining the META at VRMMO Academy 6 (the final volume), The Saga of Lioncourt 3, Seirei Gensouki: Spirit Chronicles 21, Sorcerous Stabber Orphen: The Wayward Journey 20 (the final volume), and When Supernatural Battles Became Commonplace 5.

Ghost Ship has 2.5 Dimensional Seduction 4 and World’s End Harem 13, which begins the After World arc.

Cross Infinite World has The Drab Princess, the Black Cat, and the Satisfying Break-up 2.

ASH: How satisfying is it?

MJ: I guess it’s satisfying times 2.

SEAN: Airship, in print, has How a Realist Hero Rebuilt the Kingdom 15.

And there are early digital volumes. Adachi and Shimamura 10, Irina: The Vampire Cosmonaut 3, and Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation 20.

Happy Holidays from Manga the Week of!

SEAN: Another juggernaut of a week, as publishers try to get everything out before Christmas.

Airship has two print debuts. Qualia the Purple (Murasakiiro no Qualia) is a one-shot light novel that comes from over ten years ago, about a girl who can analyze people as if they were robots, and the one other person who accepts her for it.

ASH: The publisher describes it as a “romantic science fiction thriller with a yuri core,” which does sound like something I would enjoy.

SEAN: Sword of the Demon Hunter: Kijin Gentōshō is a historical drama from 2015, 11+ volumes so far. It’s about a swordsman who must hunt a demon… through TIME!

ASH: As does this one, if I’m being honest.

ANNA: I enjoy demon hunting swordsmen.

SEAN: Also in print: Drugstore in Another World: The Slow Life of a Cheat Pharmacist 6 and Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear 12.

And we get early digital releases for Loner Life in Another World 4 and The Weakest Tamer Began a Journey to Pick Up Trash 2.

Ghost Ship gives us Booty Royale: Never Go Down Without a Fight! 9-10.

J-Novel Club has some print titles. Ascendance of a Bookworm’s 12th manga volume, By the Grace of the Gods 11, How a Realist Hero Rebuilt the Kingdom Manga Omnibus, 4, Marginal Operation 12, Slayers Vol. 7-9 (a hardcover), and Tearmoon Empire 7.

ASH: I really should catch up with some of these.

SEAN: No digital debuts, but we do see the 9th manga volume of Black Summoner, The Conqueror from a Dying Kingdom 2, Culinary Chronicles of the Court Flower 8, Der Werwolf: The Annals of Veight 15 (now caught up with Japan), the third manga volume of Housekeeping Mage from Another World: Making Your Adventures Feel Like Home!, the third manga volume of Oversummoned, Overpowered, and Over It!, Re:RE — Reincarnator Executioner 2 (a final volume?), and Reborn to Master the Blade: From Hero-King to Extraordinary Squire 7.

Kodansha hunting time. Print books: Attack on Titan Omnibus 8, Go! Go! Loser Ranger 2, Lovesick Ellie 7, Orient 12, and Sayonara Football 14.

ANNA: Always happy to see more Lovesick Ellie, I need to get caught up.

SEAN: Digitally, there is A Condition Called Love 11, Giant Killing 34, Girlfriend, Girlfriend 11, My Maid, Miss Kishi 6 (the final volume), Police in a Pod 19, Tokyo Revengers 28, and Yamaguchi-kun Isn’t So Bad 7.

MICHELLE: Hooray for more Giant Killing!

SEAN: One Peace has the debut of Captain Corinth: The Galactic Navy Officer Becomes an Adventurer (Kochuu Gunshikan, Boukensha ni Naru), a fantasy AND SF title from Dengeki Playstation. A spaceship captain lands on a fantasy planet.

ASH: Gotta love a good genre mash-up!

SEAN: Debuting for Seven Seas is a Mature title that is apparently too gay for Ghost Ship, however. Asumi-chan is Interested in Lesbian Brothels! (Asumi-chan wa Les Fuuzoku ni Kyoumi ga Arimasu!) is from Comic Yuri Hime, and is about a girl searching for her childhood friend… in said brothels.

ASH: Well then!

SEAN: There’s also I’m the Evil Lord of an Intergalactic Empire! (OreAku, Ore wa Seikan Kokka no Akutoku Ryoushu!), the manga adaptation of the light novel SS already releases. It runs in Comic Gardo.

On the danmei side we get Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation: Mo Dao Zu Shi 4.

ASH: Yay! This one’s still my favorite from the author.

SEAN: For manga: 7th Time Loop: The Villainess Enjoys a Carefree Life Married to Her Worst Enemy! 2, CANDY AND CIGARETTES 2, Dungeon People 2, Kemono Jihen 3, Killing Stalking: Deluxe Edition 2, The Kingdoms of Ruin 5, Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid: Elma’s Office Lady Diary 6, The Summer You Were There 2, Uzaki-chan Wants to Hang Out! 8, Wonder Cat Kyuu-chan 7, and Yakuza Reincarnation 4.

MICHELLE: I look forward to reading more Kemono Jihen.

SEAN: Square Enix has YoRHa: Pearl Harbor Descent Record – A NieR:Automata Story (YoRHa: Shinjuwan Kouka Sakusen Kiroku), which should speak for itself. It runs in Manga Up!.

SuBLime debuts Midnight Rain, a one-shot BL title from b-Boy P!. Two men struggling with life find each other.

MICHELLE: This sounds like my sort of BL.

ASH: I do enjoy this particular sort, too.

SEAN: And there’s also Coyote 4.

Viz Media gives us Call of the Night 10, Komi Can’t Communicate 22, Orochi: The Perfect Edition 3, Pokémon: Sword & Shield 5, and Sakamoto Days 5.

ASH: Still glad to see Orochi being released, even if I still need to read the volumes I already have.

SEAN: Yen On has two debuts. Even If This Love Disappears Tonight (Kon’ya, Sekai kara Kono Koi ga Kiete mo) is another in the “one-shot depressing teenage romance” books.

ASH: There are a few of those, to be sure.

ANNA: Not sure if I’m in the mood for that right now.

SEAN: The Princess of Convenient Plot Devices (Watashi wa Gotsugou Shugi na Kaiketsu Tantou no Oujo de aru) has a BL lover reincarnated into a world where her brother is in a romance with another man. But this means no heirs, so it’s a political marriage for her. Can she find true love despite this?

ASH: That’s a pretty great title if nothing else.

SEAN: Also from Yen On: Another 2001 (the third in the Another series), The Demon Sword Master of Excalibur Academy 7, The Hero Laughs While Walking the Path of Vengeance a Second Time 4, High School Prodigies Have It Easy Even in Another World! 7, In the Land of Leadale 7, The Magical Revolution of the Reincarnated Princess and the Genius Young Lady 3, Orc Eroica 3, Rascal Does Not Dream of a Knapsack Kid (the 9th in the series), Reign of the Seven Spellblades 7, Solo Leveling 6, and The Vexations of a Shut-In Vampire Princess 3.

Yen Press has a new omnibus edition of K-On!. This collects the four main books in the series (but not the college book).

ASH: That takes me back!

SEAN: There’s also Konosuba: God’s Blessing on This Wonderful World! Memorial Fan Book, a guide to the series.

And Puella Magi Oriko Magica: The Complete Omnibus Edition, which is what it says.

Shy is a new shonen series from Weekly Shonen Champion. A young girl named Shy is the superhero who’s there to protect Japan. Unfortunately, shy is also her personality.

Yen Press also has Bungo Stray Dogs: Another Story 2, The Fiancee Chosen by the Ring 3, For the Kid I Saw in My Dreams 9, From the Red Fog 3, Fruits Basket Another 4 (the final volume), Heterogenia Linguistico 4, I Cannot Reach You 5, Interspecies Reviewers 7, Kakegurui Twin 12, Konosuba: God’s Blessing on This Wonderful World! 14, Kowloon Generic Romance 2, Let This Grieving Soul Retire! 4, Love and Heart 6, Love at Fourteen 12 (the final volume), Lust Geass 6, The Magical Revolution of the Reincarnated Princess and the Genius Young Lady 3, Mint Chocolate 6, Our Last Crusade or the Rise of a New World 4, Phantom Tales of the Night 10, Plunderer 10 (the final volume? The omnibuses make it unclear), Run on Your New Legs 3, The Splendid Work of a Monster Maid 4, Tales of the Kingdom 2, Teasing Master Takagi-san 16, A Terrified Teacher at Ghoul School 12, Val x Love 13, and Your Turn to Die: Majority Vote Death Game 3.

MICHELLE: Huh. I thought Fruits Basket Another was already over!

ASH: Wow, that’s a lot from Yen!

SEAN: Any presents among these volumes?

SEAN: It’s the most wonderful time of the year! What manga is giving us good cheer?

We start with Viz Media. Rainbow Days (Nijiiro Days) is a new Shojo Beat title from Betsuma. The timing on this seems off, as the anime aired in 2016. And it’s a 16-volume series, so get ready to invest. It’s about four boys, all with different ideas about romance.

MICHELLE: Huh. Somehow this one had totally escaped my notice.

ASH: I’d missed it, too!

SEAN: Also from Viz: Black Clover 31, Dragon Ball Super 17, Ghost Reaper Girl 3, Ima Koi: Now I’m in Love 4, Kaguya-sama: Love Is War 24, One Piece 101, and Snow White with the Red Hair 22.

ASH: I really ought to catch up with Snow White with the Red Hair.

SEAN: Tokyopop debuts Love Circus, a single volume BL title from Canna. A man who has tried to help a sex worker, and only ended up in debt, tries to kill himself… and wakes up at a sex establishment that caters to gay men.

Tokyopop also has the 2nd manga of Formerly, the Fallen Daughter of the Duke.

(Yes, yes. They were bumped.)

Titan debuts Kamen Rider Kuuga, a new manga updating the classic title to the 21st century. It runs in Shogakukan’s HEROS.

ASH: Titan doesn’t license that many manga, so it’s interesting what’s released.

SEAN: Steamship has a 2nd volume of GAME: Between the Suits.

Seven Seas got its books back from the printers again. Our Torsos Align: Human x Monster Love (Toruso no Bokura) is from Libre’s Kurofune Zero, which seems to be its “shoujo but not quite BL” magazine. These are romance stories starring “monsters” – birdmen, mermaids, aliens, etc.

ASH: Seems to be a burgeoning sub-genre these days.

SEAN: Thunderbolt Fantasy is an omnibus of Vol. 1-2, and originally ran in Weekly Morning. Based on a wuxia show, it features a woman trying to protect a sword from evil men, and the strangers who help her.

ASH: The show was fantastic. I’m looking forward to giving the manga a try.

SEAN: Yakuza Fiancé: Raise wa Tanin ga Ii runs in Afternoon. A yakuza daughter with a resting bitch face is married off to a rival leader’s son to preserve the peace… but his son is a sadist! Now she has to give as good as she gets.

Also from Seven Seas: Arifureta: From Commonplace to World’s Strongest 9, The Case Files of Jeweler Richard 4, Citrus+ 4, The Dangers in My Heart 5, Hello, Melancholic! 3 (the final volume), His Majesty the Demon King’s Housekeeper 2, I’m a Wolf, but My Boss is a Sheep! 2, Reborn as a Space Mercenary: I Woke Up Piloting the Strongest Starship! 4, Seaside Stranger 5, and SPRIGGAN: Deluxe Edition 2.

MICHELLE: Looking forward to more Hello, Melancholic!.

SEAN: One Peace has the 6th volume of Higehiro: After Being Rejected, I Shaved and Took in a High School Runaway.

Kodansha’s calendar is still broken, so let’s go hunting. In print, the debut is Studio Ghibli: The Complete Works, an artbook/reference book that looks at all 26 of the studio’s films.

ASH: Oh! That should be nice.

SEAN: In addition, we see The Quintessential Quintuplets Part 2 Box Set (which has Vols. 8-14, the rest of the series), The Seven Deadly Sins Omnibus 7, Vampire Dormitory 8, and Whisper Me a Love Song 6.

Kodansha has a digital debut. The Shape-Shifting Witch’s Kiss (Toshi to Mahou wa Kiss Shidai) is a shonen title from Magazine Pocket, and involves a boy who seems to have been taken straight from Kubo Won’t Let Me Be Invisible, a witch, and daily kisses.

We also see The Abandoned Reincarnation Sage 8 (the final volume), Changes of Heart 8, Chihayafuru 35, The God-Tier Guardian and the Love of Six Princesses 4, Kounodori: Dr. Stork 30, Matcha Made in Heaven 2, My Master Has No Tail 8, and Raised by the Demon Kings! 3.

MICHELLE: I will never not be glad to see Chihayafuru continuing to plug along.

SEAN: Kaiten Books has a print edition of the 6th Loner Life in Another World manga.

J-Novel Club Has three debuts, including one title that they just announced last week! BLADE & BASTARD: Warm ash, Dusky dungeon is based on the Wizardry RPG game, is by the writer of Goblin Slayer, is by the illustrator of Overlord, and is coming out the same day as the Japanese release. Impressive!

ASH: That’s a quick turnaround!

SEAN: An Introvert’s Hookup Hiccups: This Gyaru Is Head Over Heels for Me! (Inkya no Boku ni Batsu Game ni Kokuhaku Shitekita Hazu no Gyaru ga, Doumitemo Boku ni Betahore Desu) is another in the “super sweet love story” genre.

Peddler in Another World: I Can Go Back to My World Whenever I Want! (Itsudemo Jitaku ni Kaereru Ore wa, Isekai de Gyoushounin wo Hajimemashita) is another in the “slow life by selling Japanese things in isekai land” genre.

We also see Der Werwolf: The Annals of Veight -Origins- 8, My Daughter Left the Nest and Returned an S-Rank Adventurer 6, Record of Wortenia War 17, Reincarnated as the Piggy Duke: This Time I’m Gonna Tell Her How I Feel! 8, and the 9th manga volume for The Unwanted Undead Adventurer.

From HarperVia comes The Tatami Galaxy, possibly the most famous of Tomihiko Morimi’s novels, and now finally available in English! Starring a loser college student (I know, in a Morimi novel, contain your shock), it’s actually about parallel universes.

ASH: I’ve been waiting for this one.

SEAN: Ghost Ship has DARLING in the FRANXX 7-8 (the final volume) and SUPER HXEROS 9.

Floating World Comics gives us Boat Life (Fune ni Sumu), a loose autobiography from the creator of Trash Market and Slum Wolf. This series screams “READ MEEEEEE!” to Ash.

ASH: Sean, you know me so well! This is absolutely on my to-read list.

SEAN: From Denpa Books we see Guyabano Holiday, the new travelogue title by the author of Invitation from a Crab.

ASH: It feels like it’s been a long time coming; glad to see it finally released!

SEAN: They also have Inside Mari 9 (the final volume) and Vampeerz 2.

Airship, in print, debuts Free Life Fantasy Online: Immortal Princess. We discussed this when the digital came out. ZOMBIE GAMER.

Also in print: 7th Time Loop: The Villainess Enjoys a Carefree Life Married to Her Worst Enemy! 2, The Case Files of Jeweler Richard 2, The Saint’s Magic Power is Omnipotent 7, Trapped in a Dating Sim: The World of Otome Games is Tough for Mobs 7, and Vivy Prototype 2.

Happy manga holidays! There’s at least two more festive Manga the Week ofs coming.

SEAN: Thanksgiving is over, you can’t move, come read some manga instead.

ASH: That’s a good response to many a different situation.

SEAN: Airship has a couple of ongoing print series. Disciple of the Lich: Or How I Was Cursed by the Gods and Dropped Into the Abyss! 4 and Irina: The Vampire Cosmonaut 2.

And in early digital we see A Tale of the Secret Saint 4 and The World’s Fastest Level Up 2.

A double dose of Cross Infinite World gives us Apocalypse Bringer Mynoghra: World Conquest Starts with the Civilization of Ruin 4 and So You Want to Live the Slow Life? A Guide to Life in the Beastly Wilds 2.

Ghost Ship has Creature Girls: A Hands-On Field Journal in Another World 6 and Peter Grill and the Philosopher’s Time 9.

J-Novel Club has some debuts. The Mythical Hero’s Otherworld Chronicles (Shinwa Densetsu no Eiyū Isekai Tan) is a long series from Overlap, 13 volumes. A legendary hero wants nothing more than to be reincarnated into the peaceful life that he fought so hard to earn. Sadly, he’s reincarnated a thousand years later, and the peace is almost shattered! Can he get his warrior mojo back?

On a sillier note, Reincarnated as an Apple: This Forbidden Fruit Is Forever Unblemished! (Ringo Tensei: Kindan no Kajitsu wa Kyō mo Korokoro to Musō Suru) features a guy who dies when he’s hit by a truck full of apples. But he gets to reincarnate with 4 great OP cheats! … and one curse. You can guess the curse.

MICHELLE: Huh. Well, that’s different, I guess.

ASH: Different enough that it caught my attention, too.

SEAN: Also from J-Novel Club: Ascendance of a Bookworm 22 (which begins the books’ final arc), Cooking with Wild Game 19, the 4th Demon Lord, Retry! manga, The Great Cleric 10, Gushing Over Magical Girls 4, the 2nd Isekai Tensei: Recruited to Another World manga, The Magician Who Rose from Failure 5, My Instant Death Ability Is So Overpowered, No One in This Other World Stands a Chance Against Me! 12, and My Instant Death Ability Is So Overpowered, No One in This Other World Stands a Chance Against Me! —AΩ— 6 (the manga).

ASH: I’m a bit behind in my reading of Ascendance of a Bookworn, but I’ve enjoyed what I’ve read so far.

SEAN: Kaiten Books has The Yakuza’s Guide to Babysitting 4 in print.

Kodansha’s site, per their Anime NYC panel, may be broken for some time, so we continue to try to guess.

MICHELLE: Poor Sean.

SEAN: In print, the first debut is In the Clear Moonlit Dusk (Uruwashi no Yoi no Tsuki), a shoujo title from Dessert. The plot reminds me a LOT of I Hate You More Than Anyone!, and so therefore I am intrigued.

MICHELLE: Me, too! I meant to read this when it came out digitally, so now is a good time to jump on board.

ASH: Oh! I am likewise intrigued.

SEAN: We also see the debut of NOiSE, the prequel to BLAME!, which means we’re back in Tsutomu Nihei territory. This is a Tokyopop license rescue, and is complete in one volume.

MICHELLE: I own the TOKYOPOP version, but I do love BLAME!.

ASH: I really dig Nihei’s artwork.

SEAN: This is a big one: Parasyte Full Color Collection. The original “what the actual F?” manga is back, and in full color. Each volume is 300 pages, and it’s a hardcover.

ASH: I adore Parasyte, but I’ll admit I wasn’t overly impressed by the samples of the color work I saw. Hardcover appeals, though.

SEAN: Wistoria: Wand and Sword (Tsue to Tsurugi no Wistoria) is from Bessatsu Shonen Magazine, and its writer is better known for Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon?. A guy enters a magical academy… but can’t use magic! It’s OK. He has a sword.

We’re also starting an omnibus edition of Fire Force, with the first 3 volumes.

Also in print: UQ Holder! 27 is already out, as I missed it. Witch Hat Atelier 10 is already out, as I missed it. And there’s Attack on Titan: Colossal Edition 7, Blue Period 11, Drifting Dragons 11, I Was Reincarnated as the 7th Prince so I Can Take My Time Perfecting My Magical Ability 2, Peach Boy Riverside 9, Phantom of the Idol 3, Rent-a-Girlfriend 15, and The Seven Deadly Sins Omnibus 6.

ASH: Just picked up my copy of Witch Hat Atelier 10!

SEAN: We don’t have to guess the digital debut, as they told us at the panel. The Food Diary of Miss Maid (Maid-san wa Taberu Dake) is a Comic Days series about a Japanese maid in an English manor who is now back in Japan… but it’s really a foodie sort of title.

ASH: I do like foodie manga.

SEAN: Other digital titles include The Decagon House Murders 5 (the final volume), Desert Eagle 5 (the final volume), I’ll Be with Them Again Today 4 (the final volume), It’s That Reincarnated-as-a-Virus Story 3, My Wonderful World 5 (the final volume), Oh, Those Hanazono Twins 7 (the final volume), Our Bodies, Entwining, Entwined 4, Our Fake Marriage: Rosé 2, Yozakura Quartet 29, and Zatsuki: Make Me a Star 3 (the final volume). So many final volumes!

MICHELLE: Indeed! After being burned so many times by unfinished series, I always feel some satisfaction when we actually get the final volume of something, even if I’m bummed it’s over. (Seven Seas, please rescue Silver Diamond!)

SEAN: Seven Seas debuts I Get the Feeling That Nobukuni-san Likes Me (Tonari no Nobukuni-san wa Ore no Koto ga Suki na Ki ga Suru), a seinen title from Young Animal, about a high school girl who’s fallen in love but has no idea what to do next. Can a mascot character help her?

Also from Seven Seas: Classmates 6 (which has the “Blanc” stories) and Skip and Loafer 6.

MICHELLE: I really do want to read these!

ASH: Same!

SEAN: Square Enix Manga has SINoALICE 2 and Soul Eater: The Perfect Edition 9.

Tokyopop debuts Love Circus, a single volume BL title from Canna. A man who has tried to help a sex worker, and only ended up in debt, tries to kill himself… and wakes up at a sex establishment that caters to gay men.

Tokyopop also has the 2nd manga of Formerly, the Fallen Daughter of the Duke.

And that’s it! Yep, 5th week of the month, so no Viz, no Yen. What’s your turkey coma manga?