Manga Bookshelf

Discussion, Resources, Roundtables, & Reviews

Ash Brown

Manga the Week of 11/30/22

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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?

Pick of the Week: Kaiju, Foxes, and Apocalypses

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MICHELLE: There are a lot of appealing BL or BL-adjacent works out this week. I need to get caught up on I Think Our Son Is Gay and Sasaki and Miyano (so that I can read the spinoff), and The (Pet) Detective Agency looks pretty cute too, but quirky and retro-looking BL will always win out with me in the end, and thus my pick this week is The Gay Who Turned Kaiju.

ASH: The Gay Who Turned Kaiju is certainly one of the highlights for me this week, and I will happily be reading the others Michelle mentioned, too. That being said, I really enjoy Tomihiko Morimi’s work and have been reading a fair number of short stories these days, so I’m actually going to make Fox Tales my official pick.

SEAN: My pick this week is the yuri-ish Touring After the Apocalypse, which really, really REALLY sounds like Girls’ Last Tour.

KATE: Touring After the Apocalypse. I don’t know that I have a particularly thoughtful or well-informed reason for choosing it, but I like the cover’s juxtaposition of two totally normal, cheerful people going about their business in a hellscape. That feels like a pretty accurate reflection of what 2022 has been like for most of us!

MJ: I suppose I am also choosing Touring After the Apocalypse as my pick this week. Even with so many titles coming out, my feelings echo Kate’s this this week!

Pick of the Week: Quality Assortment

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MICHELLE: This may well be too far out of my comfort zone, but I’m still too happy that we’re getting danmei here to refrain from picking The Husky and His White Cat Shizun!

SEAN: I’ll go with the first volume of <i.Futari Escape, which seems to be a fun read for a quiet week.

KATE: I’ve been enjoying Naoki Urasawa’s Asadora!: it’s a period piece featuring a plucky heroine and crusty old pilot who will stop at nothing to save Japan from a Godzilla-like threat. The characters are all drawn in broad strokes, but the artwork is terrific and the story unfurls at such a brisk pace that it’s easy to forgive Urasawa a few narrative missteps. The last volume came out in… (checks notes)… April, so I’m primed and ready for volume six.

MICHELLE: I’ve been meaning to check out Asadora!.

ASH: I was really excited to learn that a rendition of Atsushi Nakajima’s The Moon Over the Mountain was scheduled to be released later this year, not realizing that it was part of a series. Now that I know that it is, I’m really looking forward to reading the series’ debut volume, Hell In a Bottle.

ANNA: Even though I am so far behind, I’m going to pick Requiem for the Rose King.

MJ: There are a number of interesting-sounding options this week, but I’m going with Requiem for the Rose King, too! I can’t resist!

Manga the Week of 11/16/22

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SEAN: It’s the week of Anime NYC, so I think a lot of publishers are preparing for the con instead.

ASH: That’s fair.

SEAN: Airship starts us off with print volumes for I Swear I Won’t Bother You Again! 2 and I’m the Evil Lord of an Intergalactic Empire! 3.

And we get early digital for Accomplishments of the Duke’s Daughter 7, aka Accomplishments of the Duke’s Wife 2.

Ghost Ship has the 5th volume of Do You Like Big Girls?.

J-Novel Club has a few titles. Campfire Cooking in Another World with My Absurd Skill 12 (which is now caught up with Japan), Death’s Daughter and the Ebony Blade 2, Did I Seriously Just Get Reincarnated as My Gag Character?! 2 (the final volume), Formerly, the Fallen Daughter of the Duke 2, Infinite Dendrogram’s 10th manga volume, Magic Knight of the Old Ways 4, Oversummoned, Overpowered, and Over It! 2 (also a final volume), and Rebuild World Volume 1 Part 2.

ASH: That is a few!

SEAN: Kodansha has a print 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). You can probably guess what it’s about from the title, as always. It runs in Magazine Pocket.

Also from Kodansha: An Older Guy’s First VR Love (VR Ojisan no Hatsukoi). This one-volume title from Zero-Sum Online is apparently BL and yuri, probably as it’s a “guy in real life, girl in game” series. It’s also a tragedy.

MICHELLE: Huh.

ASH: Hmmm.

MJ: Well.

SEAN: Hell in a Bottle: Maiden’s Bookshelf is a new series that takes classic short stories and gives them artbook art. This one features the 1928 story Hell in a Bottle by Kyusaku Yumeno.

ASH: I didn’t realize this was going to be a series, but I’m absolutely here for it!

MJ: …for a split second, I read this as “Hell in a Bottle: Manga Bookshelf,” and I worried about what I’ve been missing.

SEAN: And Kodansha’s light novel line debuts with The Dawn of the Witch, the sequel to the very popular (and unlicensed) Grimoire of Zero series. Why not license that, you may ask? Because Grimoire of Zero is a Dengeki Bunko series. In any case, this is theoretically readable without prior knowledge of the first series. A young man with amnesia is recruited by the traditional blonde-haired, immortal girl who nevertheless looks 10 years old.

Also in print, Attack on Titan Omnibus 7, Eden’s Zero 19, Fire Force 29, and Rent-A-(Really-Shy!)-Girlfriend 3.

We don’t know digital titles for next week… or this week. But Kodansha finally announced titles they already released LAST week. We got The Abandoned Reincarnation Sage 7, The God-Tier Guardian and the Love of Six Princesses 3, Kounodori: Dr. Stork 29, and Tying the Knot with an Amagami Sister 5. Kodansha’s main site is still under maintenance.

KUMA has a revised and expanded version of Canis: Dear Mr. Rain.

ASH: Interesting.

SEAN: One Peace Books gives us Hinamatsuri 17.

Seven Seas has a new novel debut in its danmei line: The Husky and His White Cat Shizun: Erha He Ta De Bai Mao Shizun. AKA 2ha. The plot is basically a revenge fantasy with a dollop of “traveling back to my younger self to change the past”, but the BL stops our protagonist in his tracks.

MICHELLE: I’ve heard good things about this. And smutty things.

ANNA: I mean, I think that BL would often stop protagonists in their tracks.

ASH: I’ve been looking forward to giving thus series a try.

MJ: I mean, hasn’t the BL stopped all of us in our tracks at some point or another?

SEAN: The other debut is Futari Escape, a Comic Yuri Hime series about an adult couple trying to avoid responsibilities any way they can. I still am not tired of yuri couples who aren’t in school.

ASH: Neither am I!

SEAN: Also from Seven Seas: Akashic Records of Bastard Magic Instructor 15, Arifureta: From Commonplace to World’s Strongest ZERO 7, The Dungeon of Black Company 8, Even Though We’re Adults 5, Failed Princesses 6 (the final volume), The Tale of the Outcasts 6, This Is Screwed Up, but I Was Reincarnated as a GIRL in Another World! 4, Trapped in a Dating Sim: The World of Otome Games is Tough for Mobs 6, and The Weakest Tamer Began a Journey to Pick Up Trash 2.

MICHELLE: I really need to read Even Though We’re Adults.

ASH: I’ve been collecting the series, but haven’t actually read it yet…

SEAN: Square Enix gives us By the Grace of the Gods 6.

Lastly, Viz Media has Asadora! 6, BEASTARS 21, Mashle: Magic and Muscles 9, Requiem of the Rose King 16, Rooster Fighter 2, and Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead 8.

MICHELLE: Ooh, more Rose King.

ANNA: Yay for angst!

ASH: Always!

MJ: All of the above!

SEAN: Told you it was a short week. Don’t worry, we’ll make up for it the week after next.

Pick of the Week: Spilling the Tea

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SEAN: My pick this week is the final volume of light novel series Torture Princess: Fremd Torturchen. There really is an AWFUL lot of torture and gore in it, so it’s all the more impressive that the writer managed to get me addicted to it anyway. Though I admit that I’m expecting it will end with the death of everyone in the world. But gorgeously written.

MICHELLE: There wasn’t a whole lot that appealed to me this week, but Matcha Made in Heaven looks cute enough that I’ll go out on a limb and pick that!

ASH: I’ll admit, Matcha Made in Heaven is the debut that caught my attention this week, too! Which is entirely on the other end of the spectrum from my other top pick, Berserk…

ANNA: Matcha Made in Heaven does sound cute, that’s my pick too.

Bookshelf Briefs 11/4/22

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Artist | By Yeong-shin Ma | Drawn & Quarterly – Two years after Yeong-shin Ma’s critically acclaimed manhwa Moms was released in English comes a second major work, Artist. Instead of focusing on mothers in their fifties, the hefty, largely full-color volume revolves around three men in their forties—a painter, a musician, and an author. Ostensibly these three artists are friends, but as the story progresses they fall in and out of favor with one another (and everyone else) as their personal creative successes and failures further complicate their already fraught relationships. The realism of the main characters and their interactions with others is one of the most remarkable elements of the work. Admittedly, it can occasionally be an uncomfortable read as Ma doesn’t shy away from unflattering portrayals of people and their sometimes despicable behaviour. However, another aspect of Artist that I particularly appreciate is how Ma utilizes a variety of illustration styles in service of its narrative. – Ash Brown

Imaginary, Vol. 1 | By Niiro Ikuhana | Seven Seas – I picked this up as I tend to love stories from the magazine that it runs in, Rakuen de Paradis. So far, the magazine hasn’t let me down. The overt plot of this title is just ordinary—two childhood friends who never quite got together despite obvious feelings try awkwardly and indirectly to convey them once they’re reunited—but the execution is fantastic, with flights of fancy turning the art into anything it needs to be. One character hangs out with his past and future selves, the other has a group of girlfriends all of whom are interesting in their own right. My favorite is the really tall girl. Definitely recommended if you like imagination. – Sean Gaffney

Komi Can’t Communicate, Vol. 21 | By Tomohito Oda | Viz Media – Given how many different high school series have trips to Kyoto so everyone can walk around the historical sites, it’s rather startling to see where Komi’s class ends up going on their school trip—New York City! This, of course, allows for plane gags, foreigners-in-a-foreign-land gags, and a whole new group of strangers dazzled by how amazingly beautiful Komi is. And, of course, the love triangle between Komi, Manbagi, and Tadano, which is not going to go OT3 no matter how much I cross my fingers. The best chapter here may be Komi and her friend Rei (see volume twelve) each trying to one-up each other about how well they know their best friends (who are standing next to them as this goes on). Fun as always. – Sean Gaffney

My Hero Academia, Vol. 32 | By Kohei Horikoshi | Viz Media – This volume is essentially the “Deku Alone” arc of the series, as our erstwhile protagonist has left UA for their own good, or at least that’s what he says, and is going around helping other top heroes to try to deal with what Shigaraki hath wrought. Sometimes this means that we get old “favorites” back, like Muscular, who is still a terrible human being. And sometimes we get Lady Nagant, whose backstory probably deserves more room to breathe than it gets here, and who is summarily written out if not killed off once she’s served her purpose. This series has not gone off the rails yet, but the rail cars are shaking. – Sean Gaffney

Romantic Killer, Vol. 1 | By Wataru Momose | Viz Media – I am an old-school shoujo reader, and sometimes fall into old-school shoujo reader habits. As such, I found this first volume of Romantic Killer hilarious. It’s got a great reaction face almost every page, comedic violence towards what amounts to a Kyubey knockoff, and a strong, spunky heroine. That said… the plot of this book is about a girl who is not explicitly said to be asexual, but everything about her life implies she is, and trapping her in a dating sim world until she gets together with another guy. As the recent anime version has shown, this is a big NO SALE to a lot of folks. I do think this is enjoyable and fun… but I’d read it in a early 2000s mode, not a 2020s one. – Sean Gaffney

The Summer You Were There, Vol. 1 | By Yuama | Seven Seas – Sometimes a title feels like it’s trying too hard. This is a yuri story about an introverted girl who secretly writes novels, and the extroverted and tiny girl who finds out… and suggests that she get more material by dating over the summer. Part of the problem is that this is in the genre of “extrovert batters down introvert’s walls till they give in,” which is not really what people these days want to read. The other problem is that it rapidly becomes very clear why Kaori is suggesting this, and it’s not “I really want to see Shizuku get better as an author.” It’s trying to be indirect, but it’s about as subtle as a truck. Still, if you like yuri you’ll probably want to pick this up. – Sean Gaffney

Pick of the Week: More Sports Manga? In This Economy?

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MICHELLE: Oh, man. I’m forced to choose between perennial fave Skip Beat! and a promising new sports manga. I reckon I’ve gone on record enough about the former at this point, so I’ll pick Blue Box this week.

SEAN: What Michelle said. Blue Box is my pick.

ASH: I’m definitely interested in Blue Box and am glad to see more than one series being brought back into print this week, but my official pick goes to Berserk. It may not technically be the end of the series, but it’s certainly an end of an era.

ANNA: I’m sorry I’m not going to deny my pick for Skip Beat! even with the temptation of a promising sports manga!

KATE: Blue Box for me as well–it looks like fun, and I can’t resist a good basketball manga.

Manga the Week of 11/2/22

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SEAN: Is it Halloween yet? Oh my God, it’s already past! You fools! You absolute fools!

ASH: The time! How it flies!

SEAN: We start with Airship’s print releases, as they’ve got Modern Villainess: It’s Not Easy Building a Corporate Empire Before the Crash 2, Reborn as a Space Mercenary: I Woke Up Piloting the Strongest Starship! 5, and Though I Am an Inept Villainess: Tale of the Butterfly-Rat Body Swap in the Maiden Court 2.

And we get an early digital release for Failure Frame: I Became the Strongest and Annihilated Everything With Low-Level Spells 6.

Cross Infinite World has a new light novel, The Strongest Knight is Actually a Cross-Dressing Noblewoman?! (Hyōgetsu no Kishi wa Dansō Reijō: Naze ka Dekiai Sarete Imasu). A young woman has to disguise herself as a man in order to become a knight… and possibly lead the way to an order of female knights!

ASH: Okay, that could be good.

ANNA: I enjoy cross dressing female knights!

SEAN: Dark Horse has the 41st volume of Berserk, the last one drawn by Kentaro Miura before his tragic death.

ASH: This series is a touchstone for me; Miura is missed by so many.

SEAN: Ghost Ship debuts Ayakashi Triangle, the series that broke the online manga apps. From the creator of To-Love-Ru, it is a “gender-bending romance”, but let’s face it, you know this author, it’s T&A and more T&A.

Also from Ghost Ship: I’m Not Meat 2, It’s Just Not My Night! – Tale of a Fallen Vampire Queen 2, and Yuuna and the Haunted Hot Springs 21.

Some print from J-Novel Club. We get Ascendance of a Bookworm 15 and An Archdemon’s Dilemma: How to Love Your Elf Bride 13.

ASH: Obligatory, “Yay, Bookworm!”

SEAN: Digitally we see the debut of the Rebuild World manga. J-Novel Club already put out the light novel version. This runs in Dengeki Maoh.

And we also get Doll-Kara 3, Full Clearing Another World under a Goddess with Zero Believers 5, Invaders of the Rokujouma!? 40, and Now I’m a Demon Lord! Happily Ever After with Monster Girls in My Dungeon 2.

Kaiten Books has a new digital release: The Bottom-Tier Baron’s Accidental Rise to the Top (Teihen Ryoushu no Kanchigai Eiyuutan). This Comic Gardo series honestly sounds like The Genius Prince’s Guide to Raising a Nation Out of Debt on hard mode.

Kodansha is offering the Complete Edition of No Longer Human that Usamaru Furuya did a while back. Definitely more for Furuya fans than Osamu Dazai fans, I’d say.

ASH: That’s a fair assessment. I’m really glad to see this coming back into print, though.

SEAN: And we also get a complete edition of The Ghost in the Shell. Minus that one page, y’know.

Also in print: Attack on Titan The Final Season Part 2 Box Set, which comes with a new ending that isn’t godawful (OK, I lie, it doesn’t), Don’t Toy with Me, Miss Nagatoro 13, A Galaxy Next Door 3, The Iceblade Sorcerer Shall Rule the World 2, and Orient 10.

I don’t know what’s coming out digitally due to the way Kodansha updates its site after its end-of-month announcements. Sorry!

Another pile of Seven Seas debuts. Ex-Yakuza and Stray Kitten (Hiroware Koneko to Moto Yakuza) is from Mag Garden’s MAGxiv, and means we get another week in a row of adorable cat manga.

ASH: So many ex-yakuza and cat manga these days! It was only a matter of time before we’d get this particular combo.

SEAN: I’m a Terminal Cancer Patient, but I’m Fine (Mikkigan demo Genki desu 38-sai) is a biographical manga about, well, the artist’s life with colon cancer. It ran in Flex Comic’s Comic Polaris.

ASH: I do like that Seven Seas continues to release biographical manga.

SEAN: Let’s Buy the Land and Cultivate It in a Different World (Isekai de Tochi wo Katte Noujou wo Tsukurou) runs in Gentosha’s Comic Boost. Do you like Farming Life in Another World and wish there was a version with more mermaids? This is it.

Also from Seven Seas: The 4th and final volume of The Scum Villain’s Self-Saving System: Ren Zha Fanpai Zijiu Xitong, which has short stories set around the main action and after it. This also has a special edition and a Barnes and Noble special edition.

ASH: Oh!

SEAN: And there is The Demon Girl Next Door 6 and The Savior’s Book Café Story in Another World 4.

Viz Media debuts a new Shonen Jump manga, Blue Box (Ao no Hako). A guy on the boy’s badminton team falls for a girl on the girl’s basketball team. Can their love survive being a non-BL-tinged sports manga in Shonen Jump? Seriously, though, I’ve heard this is excellent.

MICHELLE: I am here for it.

ASH: Same!

ANNA: One of my kids really likes this.

MJ: I may miss the BL fanservice, but girl’s basketball more than makes up for it.

SEAN: We also see The Elusive Samurai 3, The King’s Beast 8, Kubo Won’t Let Me Be Invisible 4, Natsume’s Book of Friends 27, One-Punch Man 24, and Skip Beat! 47.

MICHELLE: Insert Skip Beat! squee here. I also look forward to getting caught up on Natsume.

ASH: Excellent series, both.

ANNA: Extra Yay! for Skip Beat!.

SEAN: Lastly, Yen Press has Thermae Romae: The Complete Omnibus (it apparently weighs almost 7 pounds) and The Detective Is Already Dead 3.

ASH: Thermae Romae provided me with such delight when it was first released; so glad to see it available again.

SEAN: Since you didn’t get any candy, what manga are you getting?

Pick of the Week: Magi, Skyscrapers, and Titans

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SEAN: Nothing really leaps out at me this week, so I’ll go with a known solid series and pick the new volume of The Ancient Magus’ Bride.

MICHELLE: The potential mystery aspect of Skygrazer is appealing, but I think I will also go with the tried and true and seasonally appropriate The Ancient Magus’ Bride.

KATE: Based solely on the cover design–OK, and the fact that Halloween is just a week away–I’m voting for Junji Ito’s Black Paradox.

ANNA: I’ll pick Skygrazer, it might not be as spooky as some of the other titles coming out this week, but I always enjoy reading mysteries in the fall.

ASH: I am absolutely interested in everything that’s been mentioned thus far, but I’m going to add one more to the list. While I don’t have as much time to spend on novels these days as I would like, I feel that I may need to make an exception for TITAN, so that’ll be my pick this week.

Bookshelf Briefs 10/20/22

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Anti-Romance, Vol. 1 | By Shoko Hidaka | Seven Seas – I was a big fan of Shoko Hidaka’s series Blue Morning. She excels at depicting complicated relationships where obstacles and conflict come not from external sources but from within the people involved. Happily, the same skillful characterization is on display in Anti-Romance. Ryou Kakitani and Hiroki Suou were childhood friends and classmates and now they’ve been roommates for six years. Nothing has happened between them, though Ryou has, on a couple of occasions, made it obvious that his feelings for Suou go beyond mere friendship. Suou prefers to run away from this knowledge so that things can remain comfortably as they are. Urged on by a meddling coworker, Ryou finally issues an ultimatum: “Do we face each other and move forward? Or do I go ahead and move out?” This is the sort of BL where some chaste smoochies are really big progress, and I’m so here for it. – Michelle Smith

Dinosaur Sanctuary, Vol. 1 | By Itaru Kinoshita | Seven Seas – The premise of this series is a bit high-concept: once upon a time, there were popular zoos for dinosaurs, just like Jurassic Park. But now a few years later, and a few disasters onward, our heroes are at a run-down, ramshackle zoo trying to get people interested in their dinos. Fortunately, they have a plucky young new girl, whose dad is said to have ties to this whole project, as well as a grumpy young man who clearly loves the dinosaurs more than any humans he comes across (he’s clearly her love interest, but this really isn’t a manga that will ever put that front and center). What this mostly is is a love letter to dinosaurs behaving cutely, and if you’re a fan of the species this is worth a read. – Sean Gaffney

Laid-Back Camp, Vol. 12 | By Afro | Yen Press – This volume shows us what the other three members of the club were doing while Rin and Nadeshiko are having their suspension-bridge camping adventures. That said, what it really is is an excuse for the author to simply go bananas, as the “flashback” to what actually happened is immediately filled with lies, additions, and a constantly commenting Nadeshiko, who leans in and out of a panel box meant to indicate the non-flashback portion of the narrative. Things get so surreal that the entire narrative breaks down and turns anarchic, much to the horror of Chiaki, who is trying to keep this volume vaguely sane. The closest they get there is a discussion of the best ways to chop firewood. A bizarre side step, but hilarious. – Sean Gaffney

My Love Mix-Up!, Vol. 5 | By Aruko and Wataru Hinekure | VIZ Media – In this volume, Aoki starts cram school and ends up teaching his instructor a valuable lesson about prejudice. Then it’s Valentine’s Day and Hashimoto makes cupcakes for Akkun and there’s a big misunderstanding with an eventual sweet resolution. Then Aoki gets a part-time job and Ida feels left out. Meanwhile, Aoki’s tsundere coworker seems to fancy him. Yes, My Love Mix-Up! has become somewhat more typical shoujo as it has gone along, but I still really enjoy the main characters and their interactions. I’m most impressed by how much Akkun has developed as a character—initially I couldn’t fathom at all why Hashimoto might fancy him, but he’s turned out to be pretty interesting. There are only four more volumes of this, which feels about right. – Michelle Smith

Snow White with the Red Hair, Vol. 21 | By Sorata Akiduki | Viz Media – I get the sense that the author is aware that no one really wanted what happened in the last three volumes, but she is stubbornly sticking to it and shoving it in our faces some more, as Kiki and Hisame get engaged. There’s a distinct lack of love on her part, and this is very much a political marriage. That said, hopefully we can finally put it on the back burner. More to the point, Snow White with the Red Hair is going on the road, as the King quietly (very quietly) orders Shirayuki and Obi to travel from town to town trying to sell people on the cure they’ve come up with which is unusual and will require some explanation. I think that, rather than angsty romance, is the foreseeable future. Still good. – Sean Gaffney

Tales of Wedding Rings, Vol. 11 | By Maybe | Yen Press – Last time I said “more battles, less sex.” There is slightly less sex here, I admit, mostly as it’s very difficult to get your rocks off when your other ring-bearing fiancees are within listening distance. They do all get a very nice “yes, I really am in love with you, and can’t wait till I get my turn” scene. As for battles, it’s mostly just walking slowly towards the battlefield here, with a slight diversion by Amber in order to get a bit more of her backstory. This volume does not really do anything wrong, but I get the sense that the author was told to shoot for a certain volume number, and ended up short of material, because it’s astonishing how little happens here. Perhaps more battles NEXT time? – Sean Gaffney

Tsubaki-chou Lonely Planet, Vol. 1 | By Mika Yamamori | Yen Press – This manga has many familiar ingredients. Fumi is a plucky high school student forced to take a job as a housekeeper for a mysterious novelist. Kibikino is the mysterious novelist who ends up being young and having a tendency to collapse close to Fumi. Add in a new cranky student at Fumi’s school who bears a grudge for her beating him at a tiny tikes race ten years ago and you have a ready-made love triangle. Yamamori’s art is winsome, and Fumi’s earnest dedication to couponing is hilarious, but I wish there had been something a little more unexpected about this first volume. I’ll likely hang in there or another volume or so to see if I end up being pleasantly surprised. – Anna N.

Usotoki Rhetoric, Vol. 1 | By Ritsu Miyako | One Peace Books – Urabe Kanoko has the ability to detect lies by the sound of a person’s voice. A useful skill, it would seem, but a talent that has left her and her family ostracized in their hometown. And so she leaves, determined to hide her ability and start life anew. But things aren’t easy for a young woman on her own at the dawn of the Shōwa era. Fortunately, Urabe eventually meets Iwai Soma, a remarkably perceptive private detective who is convinced her talent can be used for good. The first volume of Usotoki Rhetoric is a strong start to a delightful series. There has already been some great character development and the leads are charming. Urabe and Iwai’s respective talents support and complement one another in entertaining and satisfying ways—while Urabe’s lie-detecting ability is helpful, Iwai’s understanding of people is just as important. I’m really looking forward to reading more. – Ash Brown

Manga the Week of 10/26/22

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SEAN: Is it Halloween yet? Still no.

Yen On has The Angel Next Door Spoilers Me Rotten 4 and Baccano! 20.

And Yen Press’s sole release is I’m a Behemoth, an S-Ranked Monster, but Mistaken for a Cat, I Live as an Elf Girl’s Pet 5.

Viz Media’s debut is a one-shot horror manga from Junji Ito, Black Paradox. It ran in Big Comic Spirits. Four suicidal people meet up and have strange things befall them.

MICHELLE: It is the perfect season for some Junji Ito!

ASH: That it is!

ANNA: Sounds quite spooky and depressing.

SEAN: Viz also has a light novel, Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba — The Flower of Happiness. It actually looks to be a short story collection.

And we get a 7th volume of everyone’s favorite yuri trainwreck, How Do We Relationship?.

MICHELLE: I’m so far behind on this!

ASH: I am, too, but I’ve really enjoyed what I’ve read.

SEAN: Tokyopop has a 3rd volume of I Was Reincarnated as the Villainess in an Otome Game but the Boys Love Me Anyway!.

Steamship has the 2nd volume of Outbride: Beauty and the Beasts.

Square Enix Manga gives us A Man and His Cat 7.

MICHELLE: Also so far behind on this!

SEAN: Seven Seas wraps up its month of cat manga debuts with Yokai Cats (Neko Youkai). This Takeshobo series is from the creator of The Evil Secret Society of Cats, which debuted… erm, last week. The plot is the title.

ASH: Oh, more cats! And yokai, too? I should probably give it a try, then.

SEAN: Also from Seven Seas: The Ancient Magus’ Bride 16, MoMo -the blood taker- 2, the 5th and final volume of Necromance, Reincarnated as a Sword 9, Sakurai-san Wants to Be Noticed 2, and Servamp 17.

MICHELLE: It’s also the perfect season for The Ancient Magus’ Bride!

ASH: It’s true!

SEAN: One Peace Books has Multi-Mind Mayhem 5.

Kodansha has a print debut: Skygrazer (Getenrou). This one-shot ran in Kodansha’s Mephisto, and is from the creator of Heavenly Delusion. A detective is investigating a series of inter-linked cases (and indeed inter-linked short story chapters) at a weird apartment.

MICHELLE: This sounds like it could be my sort of thing!

ASH: Count me curious, too.

ANNA: All these things sound interesting.

SEAN: Also in print: Love and Lies 12, which comes in two variations: The Lilina Ending and The Misaki Ending. Is this a new trend in harem comedies to avoid fans sending death threats to the author? We Never Learn did it as well. At least Quintuplets made a choice.

ASH: Huh, that is a rather interesting trend.

SEAN: And also also in print: Shangri-La Frontier 2, Wandance 3, and Welcome to the Ballroom 11.

MICHELLE: I really enjoyed the first volume of Wandance. I read the first eight volumes of Welcome to the Ballroom, but after releases spread out exponentially, I sort of drifted away. Perhaps it’s time to return.

SEAN: Digitally, Kodansha gives us Burn the House Down 5, Koigakubo-kun Stole My First Time 3, Lightning and Romance 3, the 4th and final volume of My Tentative Name, My Wonderful World 4, the 3rd and final volume of Nighttime for Just Us Two, Oh, Those Hanazono Twins 6, and ONIMAI: I’m Now Your Sister! 6.

MICHELLE: Must read Burn the House Down and Nighttime for Just Us Two in the near future!

SEAN: From J-Novel Club we see the 4th Full Clearing Another World under a Goddess with Zero Believers manga volume, Min-Maxing My TRPG Build in Another World 4 Canto II, Private Tutor to the Duke’s Daughter 5, and Slayers 16.

Ghost Ship has a 3rd volume of The Witches of Adamas.

Denpa Books debuts Nana & Kaoru, a Young Animal title that will take you right back to the horny, horny days of your teenage years. This omnibus contains the first three volumes. The premise is basically “what if BDSM play made you a better person?”.

Also from Denpa: Heavenly Delusion 4. Which was actually last week, my bad. Denpa’s calendar can be hard to divine at times.

Lots of print debuts for Airship that we discussed when they got an early digital release. The one that isn’t is TITAN, a novel from the creator of Hello World. The premise is basically “what if the AI that controls the world needs therapy”?

ASH: This is most definitely within a subgenre I tend to read.

ANNA: What if we ALL need therapy?

SEAN: And we also see debuts in print for Vivy Prototype and The Weakest Tamer Began a Journey to Pick Up Trash.

As well as Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation 18, Loner Life in Another World 3, and The Strange Adventure of a Broke Mercenary 6.

Digitally, there’s Disciple of the Lich: Or How I Was Cursed by the Gods and Dropped Into the Abyss! 4 and The Saint’s Magic Power is Omnipotent 7.

No candy yet. Have some manga instead.

Pick of the Week: A Bevy of Riches

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SEAN: This is a ridiculously stacked week for manga fans. Viz has a hot new Jump series in Dandadan, Seven Seas gives yuri fans what they’ve always wanted (women beating the shit out of each other) in Black and White: Tough Love at the Office, and Kodansha has both Last Gender *and* Shonen Note: Boy Soprano in the same week. That said, I’ll throw in with One Peace Books this week and Usotoki Rhetoric, because I love a good 1920s shoujo.

MICHELLE: Perhaps I’ll be disappointed by the mystery aspects of Usotoki Rhetoric, but it still looks so much my sort of thing that I have to pick it. Definitely honorable mention to Shonen Note, however.

KATE: I’m glad to see Drawn & Quarterly is keeping Shigeru Mizuki’s works in print, so my pick is Onwards Towards Our Nobel Deaths.

ASH: Usotoki Rhetoric has certainly caught my attention, too, but Shonen Note has been on my radar longer. I’ve been looking forward to it for awhile now, so I’ll make it my official pick (though I’ll be making a point to read both series!).

ANNA: Usotoki Rhetoric does look interesting, I shall make it my pick!

Manga the Week of 10/12/22

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SEAN: Manga the Week of is brought to you this week by Weetabix.

MICHELLE: I will never not associate Weetabix with Spike and Giles.

ASH: Now that you mention it!

SEAN: We start with Yen On, which gives us In the Land of Leadale 6, Magistellus Bad Trip 2, and Sasaki and Peeps 2.

While Yen Press has The Hero Laughs While Walking the Path of Vengeance a Second Time 2 and Kaiju Girl Caramelise 6.

ASH: Oh, I somehow didn’t realize that Kaiju Girl Caramelise was an ongoing series.

SEAN: Viz Media debuts Dandadan, a Shonen Jump + title. A boy believes in aliens, but thinks ghosts are the bunk. A girl in his school believes the exact opposite. Together they will discover… that aliens and ghosts are too spicy for Shonen Jump’s app, I can tell you that.

ASH: Ha!

Also from Viz: Case Closed 84, Kaiju No. 8 4, Komi Can’t Communicate 21, Sakamoto Days 4, and Splatoon 15.

Tokyopop has a shoujo debut, Formerly, the Fallen Daughter of the Duke (Moto, Ochikobore Koushaku Reijou desu). J-Novel Club releases the light novel of this. The manga runs in MAGCOMI. It’s essentially a Villainess story, even if the lead isn’t evil in the original.

They also have a new one-shot, Hyperventilation. This BL manwha features two guys who meet again at a high school reunion and rekindle things.

Titan Books debut Atom – The Beginning, which runs in Shogakukan’s Heros magazine. It is, as you may have guessed, a prequel to Tezuka’s Astro Boy.

ASH: I am intrigued.

SEAN: SuBLime has Black or White 5 and Moon & Sun 2 (the final volume).

ASH: Which reminds me that I’ve been meaning to read the first volume.

SEAN: Square Enix Manga gives us Beauty and the Feast 4, Hi Score Girl 9, and My Isekai Life 3.

Seven Seas once again has a number of debuts. Black and White: Tough Love at the Office (Shiro to Kuro) probably has that subtitle to set it apart from other manga with similar titles. Two women at the same office who can’t seem to stop a) beating the shit out of each other or b) having sex with each other have to team up to solve a mystery. It runs in Comic Ruelle.

ASH: Not the type of yuri series we often see.

SEAN: Hunting in Another World With My Elf Wife (Hokkaidou no Geneki Hunter ga Isekai ni Hourikoma Rete Mita – Elf Yome to Meguru Isekai Shuryou Life) is a MAGCOMI title. A hunter gets killed by a bear and ends up in a fantasy world… but he still has his shotgun!

SHWD is also from Comic Ruelle. It stands for Special Hazardous Waste Disposal, and has been described as “yuri buddy cop story meets horror”.

ASH: Another atypical combination!

SEAN: Seven Seas also has Cat Massage Therapy 3, Creepy Cat 4 (the final volume), The Duke of Death and His Maid 3, The Girl From the Other Side: Siúil, a Rún Deluxe Edition II, Kemono Jihen 2, Magic Artisan Dahlia Wilts No More 3, The Saint’s Magic Power is Omnipotent 6, and This Is Screwed Up, but I Was Reincarnated as a GIRL in Another World! 3.

MICHELLE: I enjoyed the first volume of Kemono Jihen so look forward to the second.

ASH: I’m buying The Girl From the Other Side again; the deluxe edition is lovely.

SEAN: One Peace Books debuts Usotoki Rhetoric, a Bessatsu Hana to Yume title (!) about a girl who can hear lies teaming up with a detective in the mid-1920s.

MICHELLE: Ooooh. This sounds potentially fun!

ASH: It does!

SEAN: They’ve also got I Belong to the Baddest Girl at School 5.

Kodansha debuts Last Gender (Last Gender: Nanimono demo nai Watashitachi), an LGBT title about a hidden bar where people can explore different sides of themselves. It ran in Evening Magazine.

ASH: My curiosity is piqued.

SEAN: And they also have Shonen Note: Boy Soprano, a Morning Two title from the creator of Shimanami Tasogare. A middle school student with a wonderful soprano voice runs into issues growing up. This has been nominated for awards.

MICHELLE: I’ll definitely be checking this out.

ASH: I’ve really been looking forward to this one, too.

SEAN: And they have this weird poster book/artbook/massive thing, AKIRA: Art of Wall.

Also in print: The Ghost in the Shell: The Human Algorithm 3, Island in a Puddle 4, Lovesick Ellie 6, The Seven Deadly Sins: Four Knights of the Apocalypse 5, and Something’s Wrong With Us 11.

Digitally, we see The Fable 7, Giant Killing 33, Girlfriend, Girlfriend 10, Medaka Kuroiwa is Impervious to My Charms 4, My Maid, Miss Kishi 4, Police in a Pod 17, Quality Assurance in Another World 6, The Shadows of Who We Once Were 5, Tokyo Revengers 27, and Vampire Dormitory 7.

MICHELLE: One day I really will succeed in getting caught up on Giant Killing.

SEAN: J-Novel Club has a light novel debut. Yuri Tama: From Third Wheel to Trifecta (Yuri no Ma ni Hasamareta Watashi ga, Ikioi de Futamata Shite Shimatta) features a girl who is best friends with her school’s yuri power couple. Sadly, that means everyone else hates her. She doesn’t like herself much either. Then… both of her friends, separately, ask her out. And she says yes. To both of them.

ASH: Oh, my!

SEAN: Also digital: The Apothecary Diaries 6, the 8th manga volume of An Archdemon’s Dilemma: How to Love Your Elf Bride, Full Metal Panic! Short Stories 2, In Another World With My Smartphone 26, My Quiet Blacksmith Life in Another World 4, and The Reincarnated Princess Spends Another Day Skipping Story Routes 5.

Drawn and Quarterly are reissuing all four volumes of Shigeru Mizuki’s Showa: A History of Japan, with new cover art, as well as single volume Onward Towards Our Noble Deaths.

ASH: Very glad to see Mizuki’s work staying in print.

SEAN: And now we jump to Airship, which has some print light novels. We see the print debut of The Case Files of Jeweler Richard. There’s also Berserk of Gluttony 7, Failure Frame: I Became the Strongest and Annihilated Everything With Low-Level Spells 5, and I’m in Love with the Villainess 5 (the final volume).

ASH: I’ve been waiting for The Case Files of Jeweler Richard.

SEAN: And in early digital we see I Swear I Won’t Bother You Again! 2, I’m the Evil Lord of an Intergalactic Empire! 3, and Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear 12.

Please enjoy this delicious manga made from whole grains. What are you eating next week?

Pick of the Week: Viz Favorites and Horror Classics

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MICHELLE: There’s so much good stuff coming out this week. I find that what I find most appealing is the prospect of a nice big Yona of the Dawn binge to get caught up, so that’ll be my pick this week.

SEAN: I’ll be going with “comfort manga” as well, as my pick is the new My Hero Academia.

ASH: Both solid choices! As for me this week, I’m particularly interested in Be Very Afraid of Kanako Inuki! Shojo horror manga is one of my favorites and this is just in time for spooky season.

ANNA: Did someone say Yona of the Dawn, I shall say it too!

KATE: Gotta go with Ash’s pick, as I’m a big Kanako Inuki fan!

Manga the Week of 10/5/22

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SEAN: It’s October, so all your manga tastes like pumpkin spice. Go one, try a page.

MICHELLE: Why, it’s positively delightful!

SEAN: Airship first. After a long wait, mostly as the series switched publishers in Japan and new contracts needed to be written, we have the 14th volume of Didn’t I Say to Make My Abilities Average in the Next Life?!. This is print AND digital, so no early stuff here.

There is an early digital debut, though, with The Weakest Tamer Began a Journey to Pick Up Trash (Saijaku Tamer wa Gomihiroi no Tabi wo Hajimemashita). The premise sounds very similar to A Late Start Tamer’s Laid-Back Life, but we’ll see how this “my seemingly weak class and skills get me abused but they’re actually REALLY STRONG” series goes.

And we also have an early version of Survival in Another World with My Mistress! 3.

Cross Infinite World has a 2nd volume of I’d Rather Have a Cat than a Harem! Reincarnated into the World of an Otome Game as a Cat-loving Villainess.

Dark Horse Comics gives us Blade of the Immortal Deluxe Edition 7.

ASH: Like Dark Horse’s other deluxe editions, these are hefty but beautiful volumes. I’m happily upgrading my collection.

Ghost Ship has a 5th volume of Sundome!! Milky Way.

A bunch of print for J-Novel Club. We see Ascendance of a Bookworm’s 11th manga volume, By the Grace of the Gods 10, The Faraway Paladin’s 4th manga omnibus, In Another World With My Smartphone 24, Seirei Gensouki: Spirit Chronicles Omnibus 7, The Unwanted Undead Adventurer 8, and The White Cat’s Revenge as Plotted from the Dragon King’s Lap 5.

The debut from J-Novel Club is Seventh. It’s the story of a noble who ends up cast from their family after being publicly disgraced, forced to try to find a way to survive. The catch is that this isn’t a villainess series, the lead character is a Duke. And not a villain. Then again, that younger sister of his looks suspiciously like an otome game heroine…

ASH: Hmmm…

SEAN: Also digital: Ascendance of a Bookworm 21, Holmes of Kyoto 11, A Late-Start Tamer’s Laid-Back Life 4, My Friend’s Little Sister Has It In for Me! 8, My Stepmom’s Daughter Is My Ex 4, Sweet Reincarnation 7, Tearmoon Empire’s 2nd manga volume, and When Supernatural Battles Became Commonplace 4.

Kodansha’s print debut is Be Very Afraid of Kanako Inuki! (Inuki Kanako no Daikyoufu!), a horror one-shot from the “queen of horror manga”. This has several of her most famous short stories, designed to terrify young girls. They ran in various magazines.

ANNA: OK, stories designed to terrify young girls sound interesting.

ASH: I’m looking forward to giving this one a try. Always game for new horror manga.

SEAN: I forgot to mention, the author of these stories also did School Zone, a horror manga Dark Horse put out long, long ago which was reviewed by our own Kate Dacey. http://mangacritic.mangabookshelf.com/2010/10/24/my-10-favorite-spooky-manga/

ASH: Oh, that’s a manga in good company!

SEAN: Also in print: Grand Blue Dreaming 17, Orient 10, Peach Boy Riverside 8, Rent-a-Girlfriend 14, Sailor Moon Naoko Takeuchi Collection 4, That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime 20, and Wandance 2.

MICHELLE: The first volume of Wandance was a lot of fun.

SEAN: As for digital… keeping in mind I am working from secondary sources… the debut is Raised by the Demon Kings! (Sodatechi Maou!). If you can imagine Three Men and a Baby but with rival demon kings, you’ve got this one. It ran in Magazine Special.

Also digital: The Abandoned Reincarnation Sage 6, Changes of Heart 6, Chihayafuru 34, Desert Eagle 4, A Galaxy Next Door 3, The God-Tier Guardian and the Love of Six Princesses 2, I’ll Never Send a Selfie Again! 5, Kounodori: Dr. Stork 28, My Boyfriend in Orange 12, and Our Love Doesn’t Need a Happy Ending 3 (the final volume)

Some more debuts from Seven Seas. Free Life Fantasy Online: Immortal Princess (Jingai Hime-sama, Hajimemashita – Free Life Fantasy Online) is the manga version of a series that just had its light novel also licensed by Seven Seas. A newbie gamer gets a new VR game from her younger sister… but her character build is horrible! Now she’s a zombie.

Imaginary is a josei title from Rakuen Le Paradis. A young man reconnects with a childhood friend he never confessed to. Can he manage to bond with her anew?

MICHELLE: This looks potentially interesting!

ANNA: Yay for josei!

ASH: Yes, indeed!

SEAN: Night of the Living Cat runs in Comic Garden, and the premise is horrifyingly adorable. Instead of zombies, humans who pet cats become cats themselves!

ASH: Goodness!

SEAN: The Summer You Were There (Kimi to Tsuzuru Utakata) is a Comic Yuri Hine series from the creator of The Girl I Want is So Handsome!. A shy girl is a romance writer, but when her classmate gets her hands on a manuscript, she suggests more writing experience… by the two of them dating!

Tentai Books theoretically has print releases for some of their recent digital-only light novels. We see From Toxic Classmate to Girlfriend Goals 1, I Kissed my Girlfriend’s Little Sister?! 1, There’s No Way a Side Character Like Me Could Be Popular Right? 3, and You Like Me, Don’t You? So, Wanna Go Out With Me? 1.

Tokyopop has the 11th volume of Konohana Kitan.

Viz debuts Romantic Killer, a Shojo Beat romance series from Shonen Jump +. (There was a HUGE fight about this online, but look, it’s shoujo, get over where it ran. I can’t believe I’M the one saying that, but…) A girl who’s not all that interested in guys is moved to a virtual reality where there’s nothing BUT hot guys. I’ve heard this is quite fun.

ANNA: Wow, it must be difficult for her to be surrounded by so many hot guys.

SEAN: Also out next week: Boruto: Naruto Next Generations 15, Dr. STONE 23, Moriarty the Patriot 9, My Hero Academia 32, My Love Mix-Up! 5, Snow White with the Red Hair 21, and Yona of the Dawn 37.

MICHELLE: Gotta get caught up on the Shojo Beat titles!

ANNA: Me too! Always glad to see a new volume of Yona.

ASH: Same!

SEAN: Yen On debuts Sugar Apple Fairy Tale, a fantasy romance novel series from the creator of Culinary Chronicles of the Court Flower. The story of a candy crafter trying to become a Silver Sugar Master seems sweet as pie, but the “I’m purchasing a fairy, as they are treated like property in this world” will be a bar it’s going to have to clear.

ASH: The candy crafting side of things has potential, but… yeah.

SEAN: We also get Bottom-Tier Character Tomozaki 8.5, The Detective Is Already Dead 4, A Sister’s All You Need 13, Suppose a Kid from the Last Dungeon Boonies Moved to a Starter Town 10, and Wandering Witch: The Journey of Elaina 9.

Three debuts for Yen Press. Gahi-chan! runs in Comic Dengeki Daioh “g”, and has its sights firmly aimed at 14-year-old boys who love unrealistic body types. A manga artist finds his heroine has shown up on his door! She’s actually a yokai… who can eat his art and transform it into a suit of skin, which she then wears. Despite sounding like a horror premise, it’s an ecchi comedy.

ASH: The yokai part of that description caught my attention, but I’m not sure about the rest of it.

SEAN: Tsubaki-chou Lonely Planet is a shoujo title from Margaret, from the creator of Daytime Shooting Star. A girl whose father has put their family in debt finds a job as a housekeeper to a surly novelist. What’s worse, she has to live there.

MICHELLE: Interesting that Yen is picking up these Margaret titles. This is the second one, after No Longer Heroine.

ANNA: Cool, I’m curious about this.

SEAN: And Unnamed Memory is the manga adaptation of the wonderful light novel series. It runs in Comic Dengeki Daioh.

Also from Yen: Angels of Death Episode.0 4, Bungo Stray Dogs: Wan! 3, Chained Soldier 2, 86–EIGHTY-SIX 3, The Eminence in Shadow 5, The Fiancee Chosen by the Ring 2, Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? On the Side: Sword Oratoria 18, So I’m a Spider, So What? The Daily Lives of the Kumoko Sisters 4, Toilet-bound Hanako-kun 16, and Yowamushi Pedal 21.

ASH: I’m finally close to being caught up with Yowamushi Pedal and have been enjoying the ride.

SEAN: I guess EVERYONE finally got their manga back from the printers. What are you getting?