Ash Brown

SEAN: Are you buying manga, or eating the ears off your easter bunnies?

ABLAZE Comics has a Collected Edition of the Space Pirate Captain Harlock comics they released with the artist Jérôme Alquié. It’s a hardcover and comes with extras.

ASH: Oh! I had completely missed this when it was first being serialized. A good time to check it out, it would seem.

SEAN: Airship has but one title, an early digital release of Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation 16.

Cross Infinite World has the 3rd volume of Apocalypse Bringer Mynoghra: World Conquest Starts with the Civilization of Ruin.

Danmei has the 2nd volume of The Scum Villain’s Self-Saving System: Ren Zha Fanpai Zijiu Xitong.

MICHELLE: Alas, I haven’t even finished the first one yet!

ASH: Same, although it is the next one on my list. Better get reading!

ANNA: Me either! Already behind!

SEAN: Ghost Ship has a 2nd volume of 2.5 Dimensional Seduction and also a 2nd of Cat in a Hot Girls’ Dorm.

J-Novel Club has a bunch of print. The debut is The Faraway Paladin, which is getting a hardcover edition. Also in print: By the Grace of the Gods 8, Her Majesty’s Swarm 3, I Shall Survive Using Potions! 7, In Another World With My Smartphone 21, Seirei Gensouki: Spirit Chronicles Omnibus 5, Slayers Omnibus 2 (also a hardcover), and The Unwanted Undead Adventurer 5.

ASH: I have been waiting for the print edition of The Faraway Paladin! Glad to see it finally coming out.

SEAN: Digitally, meanwhile, we see Ascendance of a Bookworm 18, Holmes of Kyoto 9, and John Sinclair: Demon Hunter 6.

Kodansha has a new omnibus edition of Apollo’s Song out next week. From the God of Manga, Osamu Tezuka, this is definitely more on the adult side of his career. Apollo’s Song explores the meaning of love by depressing the hell out of you. It originally ran in Shonen Gahosha’s Shonen King.

ASH: The fact that publishers other than DMP are releasing (or re-releasing) Tezuka manga again can only be a good thing.

ANNA: I agree.

MJ: Yes.

SEAN: Also in print: The Seven Deadly Sins Omnibus 3 and Toppu GP 8.

The digital debut is Irresistible Mistakes (Ano Yoru Kara Kimi ni Koishiteta), a josei title from Comic Tint based on an otome game. A girl flees a hotel room after a one night stand with no memory of the night before. Who did she sleep with?

Also digital: Am I Actually the Strongest? 6, I’ll Be with Them Again Today 2, The Lines that Define Me 4 (the final volume), Medalist 4, Mr. Bride 5, Our Fake Marriage 9, Piano Duo for the Left Hand 2, The Prince’s Romance Gambit 10, and Tesla Note 4. Everyone should read Medalist.

MICHELLE: I really should.

ASH: I have heard very good things.

MJ: Oh? I’ll have to check it out!

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

Seven Seas debuts Magic Artisan Dahlia Wilts No More (Madougushi Dahlia wa Utsumukanai – Dahlia Wilts No More), the manga version of the light novel released here as Dahlia in Bloom: Crafting a Fresh Start with Magical Tools. The manga runs in Mag Garden’s Comic Blade.

ASH: I initially misread “fresh” as “flesh” and that’s an entirely different manga.

SEAN: We also get Bite Maker: The King’s Omega 4, Kageki Shojo!! 5, Magika Swordsman and Summoner 15, My Senpai is Annoying 7, Necromance 3, The Savior’s Book Café Story in Another World 2, Skip and Loafer 4, Tamamo-chan’s a Fox! 5, and Trapped in a Dating Sim: The World of Otome Games is Tough for Mobs 4.

MICHELLE: I also really should read Kageki Shojo!! and Skip and Loafer.

ASH: I likewise have some catching up to do…

ANNA: Me too!

SEAN: Square Enix has The Great Jahy Will Not Be Defeated! 2.

Tokyopop debuts Alice in Kyoto Forest (Kyouraku no Mori no Alice), the 179th title that ends in “no Mori no Alice” that I know of. A girl runs away to Kyoto to try to become a geisha, but finds it’s totally different than what she remembers! This was originally a webcomic, and was picked up by Mag Garden’s MAGKAN.

Also from Tokyopop: Assassin’s Creed Dynasty 2.

Udon Entertainment has Persona 5: Mementos Mission 2.

Viz has the 4th and final volume of No. 5, as well as Asadora! 5 and Record of Ragnarok 2.

ASH: So happy to have the entirety of No. 5 in print this time!

Yen On has two debuts. The Holy Grail of Eris (Eris no Seihai) has a young girl about to be framed for a crime she didn’t commit. She allows the ghost of a former noblewoman to possess her to solve the problem. Unfortunately, the ghost is now out for revenge on the ones who killed her a decade ago, and won’t give up her new body!

ASH: I am intrigued.

MJ: Okay, so am I.

SEAN: The other debut is The Vexations of a Shut-In Vampire Princess (Hikikomari Kyuuketsuki no Monmon) is about, you guessed it, a shut-in vampire princess. Weak and reviled by her peers for not drinking blood, now she has to lead an army of miscreants.

Also from Yen On: Bottom-Tier Character Tomozaki 8, The Devil Is a Part-Timer! 21 (the final volume), and Konosuba: God’s Blessing on This Wonderful World! 16.

Finally, Yen Press has A Bride’s Story 13 (yay!) and Overlord: The Undead King Oh! 7.

ASH: Yay, indeed!

ANNA: Woo!!!

SEAN: Easter is here and A Bride’s Story has risen from its hiatus! What are you buying?

SEAN: Spring has sprung, the grass has ris’, I wonder where the manga is?

MICHELLE: Wings?

SEAN: Yen On has only one title, but it’s a debut. The Magical Revolution of the Reincarnated Princess and the Genius Young Lady (Tensei Oujo to Tensai Reijou no Mahou Kakumei) is a title whose wordplay sadly gets lost in English. Our heroine is useless at normal magic, but can use magic when she adds ideas from her past life. Then one day her brother dumps a noble who has “evil villainess” written all over her. Our heroine has a suggestion, though… the two of them should move in and research magic together! For fans of Maria and Katarina pairings.

Viz Media has Call of the Night 7, Case Closed 82, Fullmetal Alchemist: The Valley of White Petals (another light novel that is a reissue from 2006), Komi Can’t Communicate 18, Pokémon: Sword & Shield 3, Sleepy Princess in the Demon Castle 17, and Splatoon 14.

ASH: I really need to catch up with Sleepy Princess; the volumes I’ve read so far have been delightful.

ANNA: Me too!

SEAN: Tokyopop has the 2nd and final volume of Alice in Bishounen-Land.

SuBLime has two debuts. Links is a single-volume collection of four stories about handsome young men and their half-baked lovers. The creator is famous for her Haikyu!! and Kuroko’s Basketball doujinshi. This title ran in Be x Boy Gold.

MICHELLE: Sounds potentially interesting!

ASH: That it does!

ANNA: I agree!

MJ: Ahhhh okay!

SEAN: Scattering His Virgin Bloom (Takane no Hana wa Chirasaretai) is nothing like that OTHER Takane and Hana. We’re back in the Omegaverse here, where an alpha who works at a cafe with a regular who also SEEMS to be an alpha… but is actually an omega! And a virgin! This ran in Dear+.

MICHELLE: Aaaaand definitely not.

ANNA: No thank you!

MJ: …

SEAN: Square Enix has a 5th volume of Ragna Crimson.

Seven Seas has two debuts. The Idaten Deities Know Only Peace (Heion Sedai no Idatentachi) is a manga adaptation of a popular webcomic, and runs in Young Animal. The artist of the manga version is best known for Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid. The author is well known (infamous?) for Interspecies Reviewers. Some gods who’ve had 800 years of peace have to fight… but they’ve forgotten how!

ASH: I find the premise intriguing, at least.

SEAN: My Brain is Different: Stories of ADHD and Other Developmental Disorders (Hattatsu Shōgai to Issho ni Otona ni Natta Watashi-tachi) is oa one-volume anthology from Takeshobo about the everyday struggles of people with developmental disorders. Based on true stories, including one from the artist.

ASH: I’m rather curious about this one!

SEAN: Also from Seven Seas, Akashic Records of Bastard Magic Instructor 14, Arifureta: From Commonplace to World’s Strongest 8, CALL TO ADVENTURE! Defeating Dungeons with a Skill Board 4, The Case Files of Jeweler Richard 2, The Demon Girl Next Door 5, GIGANT 7, Harukana Receive 10 (the final volume), Level 1 Demon Lord and One Room Hero 4, No Matter What You Say, Furi-san is Scary! 4, and The Strange Adventure of a Broke Mercenary 3.

ASH: I still need to read the first volume, but I’m glad to see more of The Case Files of Jeweler Richard out so soon.

SEAN: One Peace Books has the 3rd volume of Multi-Mind Mayhem.

Kodansha has no print debuts, but we do get Attack on Titan Omnibus 4, Don’t Toy With Me, Miss Nagatoro 10, Knight of the Ice 10, Rent-A-Girlfriend 12, and The Seven Deadly Sins Manga Box Set 2.

Digitally there are three debuts, but you’ve seen one before if you’re an older manga fan. The Wallflower (Yamato Nadeshiko Shichihenge) came out in print starting in 2004. Now you can get Volume 1-36 – the entire series – digitally. Enjoy this shoujo title about four super hot guys trying to transform a girl into a perfect young lady… if only she can stop being drawn in chibi style!

ASH: Glad to see this series becoming more readily available again.

ANNA: Nice, I think I lasted 11 volumes or so but I enjoyed it.

SEAN: Also debuting: The Fable is a Young Magazine title about a hitman who’s told he has to lay low for a while… and that’s hard! This has won awards, and seems like very Manly Manga.

Nighttime for Just Us Two (Yoru no Shita de Machiawase) is a Betsufure series from the author of My Boy in Blue. Our drab heroine is rather surprised to find the hottest boy in school wants to be her friend! Then he explains he’s an alien.

MICHELLE: My Boy in Blue didn’t seem especially distinctive, but this one looks really neat! Very much looking forward to checking it out.

ANNA: Aliens!!!!

MJ: I don’t know if this actually sounds good to me, or if I just like Sean’s, “Then he explains he’s an alien.” But in any case, count me in!

SEAN: Other digital releases from Kodansha: Apple Children of Aeon 2, Giant Killing 30, A Kiss with a Cat 2, Medaka Kuroiwa is Impervious to My Charms 2, Police in a Pod 11, Saint Young Men 17, Tokyo Revengers 25, and We Must Never Fall in Love! 9 (the final volume).

MICHELLE: Giant Killing is another Kodansha sports series due a marathon catch-up read, always a delightful prospect.

SEAN: A quiet week for J-Novel Club. We see The Great Cleric 7, Hell Mode 3, My Friend’s Little Sister Has It In for Me! 6, Reborn to Master the Blade: From Hero-King to Extraordinary Squire ♀ 4, and the 7th Record of Wortenia War manga.

Ghost Ship has the 2nd volume of better-than-it-sounds The 100 Girlfriends Who Really, Really, Really, Really, REALLY Love You.

ASH: I’ve been meaning to give this series a try.

SEAN: Airship has, in print, My Status as an Assassin Obviously Exceeds the Hero’s 4, The NPCs in this Village Sim Game Must Be Real! 3 (the final volume), and A Tale of the Secret Saint 2.

And Airship also has early digital. Reincarnated as a Dragon Hatchling 3 and Survival in Another World with My Mistress! 2.

Deceptively small, but don’t forget The Wallflower is 36 volumes at once. Will you re-read it all?

SEAN: April, the most important month of the year! What manga could be coming out?

MICHELLE: In which two particular manga reviewers just happened to be born!

SEAN: Airship, in print, has I Am Blue, in Pain, and Fragile, which we discussed last week, as well as Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation 16.

ASH: I much more likely to read I Am Blue, in Pain, and Fragile now that it’ll be in print. (That was a pretty quick turnaround!)

SEAN: For early digital editions, they have Berserk of Gluttony 6 and Classroom of the Elite 11.

From Ghost Ship we have a new debut. DARLING in the FRANXX ran in Shonen Jump + and is coming out here in two-volume omnibuses. Post-apocalypse children pilot giant robots. It has an anime. And it’s by the artist of To-Love-Ru.

ASH: I’ll admit I wasn’t paying very close attention, but don’t think I realized this was a Ghost Ship title until now.

SEAN: We also get Into the Deepest, Most Unknowable Dungeon 2 and Who Wants to Marry a Billionaire? 2.

Some digital stuff from J-Novel Club. We see Black Summoner 8, the 7th manga volume of Campfire Cooking in Another World with My Absurd Skill, The Emperor’s Lady-in-Waiting Is Wanted as a Bride 4 (the final volume), Infinite Dendrogram 17, Min-Maxing My TRPG Build in Another World 3, Perry Rhodan NEO 7, The Reincarnated Princess Spends Another Day Skipping Story Routes 3, Slayers 13, A Wild Last Boss Appeared! 8, and The World’s Least Interesting Master Swordsman 8.

Lotsa print volumes for Kodansha. We see In/Spectre 15, Lovesick Ellie 3, Orient 8, Peach Boy Riverside 6, Penguin & House 2, Shaman King Omnibus 8, Shikimori’s Not Just a Cutie 9, Those Not-So-Sweet Boys 6, and Vampire Dormitory 4.

MICHELLE: Jeez, how did Those Not-So-Sweet Boys get up to volume 6 already!

ASH: Gotta love it when the print runs converge!

SEAN: There are two digital debuts. The Abandoned Reincarnation Sage (Suterareta Tensei Kenja – Mamono no Mori de Saikyou no Daima Teikoku o Tsukuriageru) is a sensibly shortened title, and also a manga that runs in Magazine Pocket. Powerful sage reincarnates… and is promptly abandoned, as a baby. Fortunately, he’s found by a nearby tribe… of goblins!

The Angel, the Devil, and Me (Otonari wa Tenshi to Akuma) is a single volume shoujo title from The Dessert. Girl meets her new neighbors… and of crap, they’re hot! Should she make a move on them… or should she SHIP them? This is from the creator of Boss Wife.

ANNA: Ok, this sounds amusing.

SEAN: Also digital: Chihayafuru 31, The Decagon House Murders 4, I Was Reincarnated as the 7th Prince so I Can Take My Time Perfecting My Magical Ability 5, Kounodori: Dr. Stork 22, My Darling, the Company President 5, and My Idol Sits the Next Desk Over! 4.

MICHELLE: I need to have a Chihayafuru marathon.

ANNA: Me too. I regard it as an indication that I’m a failure as a person.

SEAN: One Peace has the 9th volume of The New Gate.

Debuting from Seven Seas is The Most Heretical Last Boss Queen: From Villainess to Savior (Higeki no Genkyou to naru Saikyou Gedou Rasubosu Joou wa Min no tame ni Tsukushimasu), the manga version of the light novel which Seven Seas also puts out. It runs in Comic Zero-Sum.

Seven Seas also has Failed Princesses 5, Berserk of Gluttony 5, Even Though We’re Adults 4, Haganai: I Don’t Have Many Friends 20 (the final volume), Machimaho: I Messed Up and Made the Wrong Person Into a Magical Girl! 9, and Rozi in the Labyrinth 3 (also the final volume).

ASH: I really need to read more of Even Though We’re Adults.

SEAN: Viz has a debut next week, coming from Shonen Jump. It’s Sakamoto Days, the story of a legendary assassin who fell in love, got married, got older, and put on weight. But does he still have the old skills? Signs point to yes.

ANNA: I will usually read at least one volume of an assassination manga.

ASH: Same, really.

SEAN: Also from Viz: Chainsaw Man 10, Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba: The Official Coloring Book, Jujutsu Kaisen 15, Kaguya-sama: Love Is War 22, Kaiju No. 8 2, Moriarty the Patriot 7, My Hero Academia: Vigilantes 12, My Love Mix-Up! 3, Queen’s Quality 14, Skip Beat! 46, Snow White with the Red Hair 18, Spy x Family 7, and Yona of the Dawn 35. Wow. I am getting a LOT of that.

MICHELLE: Holy cow, that’s a ton of great stuff. My heart, as ever, belongs to Skip Beat!, though.

ANNA: Me too! A new volume of Skip Beat! is always cause for celebration.

ASH: A very good Viz week!

SEAN: Plenty of light novels from Yen On. We see Date a Live 5, Death March to the Parallel World Rhapsody 16, The Detective Is Already Dead 3, I Kept Pressing the 100-Million-Year Button and Came Out on Top 2, The Otherworlder, Exploring the Dungeon 2, Solo Leveling 4, and That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime 13. Strangely, given my usual reading, I am getting none of these.

ASH: I’ve been meaning to give one version or another of Solo Leveling a try, but I simply haven’t got around to it yet.

SEAN: As for Yen Press, the debut is Banished from the Hero’s Party, I Decided to Live a Quiet Life in the Countryside (Shin no Nakama Janai to Yuusha no Party o Oidasareta node, Henkyou de Slow Life Suru Koto ni Shimashita). We’ve had the light novel, we’ve had the anime, now let’s have the manga. It runs in Comic Walker.

And we also get the 4th and final volume of Little Miss P.

Come on, come on. Decide! Pick a favorite!

ANNA: SKIP BEAT!

SEAN: The end of March, and manga is presumably going out like a lamb.

ASH: I’m not so sure about that…

SEAN: From Yen On we get the one-shot Josee, the Tiger and the Fish (Joze to Tora to Sakanatachi), a short story collection which includes the title story, which has been made into a movie. For fans of Yen’s other one-shot novels that can be summed up as “beautiful but sad”.

ASH: I’ve heard good things about this one.

SEAN: Also from Yen On: Konosuba: God’s Blessing on This Wonderful World! TRPG, which turns the world of KonoSuba into a tabletop role playing game, and features the authors of KonoSuba and Re: Zero doing a playthrough of it.

And we get The Greatest Demon Lord Is Reborn as a Typical Nobody 7.

From Yen Press, we see the debut of Cross-Dressing Villainess Cecilia Sylvie (Akuyaku Reijou, Cecilia Sylvie wa Shinitakunai node Dansou suru Koto ni Shita), the manga version of the light novel also published by Yen. It runs in Comic Flos.

Yen also gives us If the RPG World Had Social Media… 2 (the final volume), Let This Grieving Soul Retire 2, Overlord: The Complete Anime Artbook 2, Phantom Tales of the Night 8, Teasing Master Takagi-san 14, and Uncle from Another World 4.

ASH: I really need to catch up with Phantom Tales of the Night.

SEAN: Udon Entertainment has Steins;Gate: The Complete Manga (it got bumped) and Otherworldly Izakaya Nobu 10.

Tokyopop gives us the 2nd volume of I Was Reincarnated as the Villainess in an Otome Game but the Boys Love Me Anyway!.

Seven Seas has two debuts. Sheeply Horned Witch Romi (Youkaku no Majo Romi) is from Young Dragon Age, a manga where everyone in the world has fallen asleep except: 1) sheep; 2) a witch with sheep horns, and 3) the sempai with a crush on her!

MICHELLE: Here’s the lamb content we’ve been waiting for.

ASH: Ha!

MJ: Wait, wait, I’m HERE for the sheep.

SEAN: Yakuza Reincarnation (Ninkyou Tensei: Isekai no Yakuzahime) is a Sunday GX title. A yakuza badass is killed and reincarnated in another world… as a beautiful girl! This will not stop her from kicking ass.

ASH: As reluctant as I am to admit it, I am intrigued by this isekai variant.

ANNA: This does sound amusing.

SEAN: We also get The Ancient Magus’ Bride: Jack Flash and the Faerie Case Files 4, Chronicles of an Aristocrat Reborn in Another World 4, The Dragon Knight’s Beloved 2, THE EXO-DRIVE REINCARNATION GAMES: All-Japan Isekai Battle Tournament! 2, I Am a Cat Barista 2, My Next Life as a Villainess Side Story: On the Verge of Doom! 2, Reincarnated as a Sword: Another Wish 2, and Unicorns Aren’t Horny 2 (the final volume).

ASH: I need to catch up with the various Ancient Magus’ Bride spinoffs, too.

SEAN: No print debuts for Kodansha, but we do see The Hero Life of a (Self-Proclaimed) “Mediocre” Demon! 3, Something’s Wrong With Us 7, and UQ HOLDER! 25.

Two digital debuts. Bootsleg is a Shonen Sirius series from the artist best known for Yozakura Quartet and the Durarara!! novels. A young man whose family – and limb – were taken from him by a seeming serial killer meets up with the one person who might be able to stop them.

HIRAETH -The End of the Journey- (Hiraeth wa Tabiji no Hate) is from the creator of Our Dreams at Dusk, and runs in Morning Two. A woman despairing over the death of her best friend attempts suicide… and finds herself in another world! This is apparently great, though also dark – Kodansha’s blurb comes with a content warning for suicide ideation.

MICHELLE: Hm. The Our Dreams at Dusk link is very compelling.

ASH: That it is.

ANNA: This sounds exactly like the type of critically acclaimed work that I think I will read but don’t get around to because I’m not in the mood for despair right now.

MJ: Oh, this sounds perfect for my mood.

SEAN: Also digital: Elegant Yokai Apartment Life 23, The Great Cleric 8, Stellar Witch LIP☆S 5 (the final volume), Tying the Knot with an Amagami Sister 2, and Zatsuki: Make Me a Star 2.

MICHELLE: I need to check out some of these.

SEAN: J-Novel Club has some more print editions. We see Ascendance of a Bookworm Part 2 Vol. 2 (manga), Infinite Dendrogram Omnibus 4, Marginal Operation 9, My Friend’s Little Sister Has It In For Me! 3, and Tearmoon Empire 4.

Speaking of Tearmoon Empire, the 7th volume is out digitally next week. We also see Culinary Chronicles of the Court Flower 5, Dahlia in Bloom: Crafting a Fresh Start with Magical Tools 3, Forget Being the Villainess, I Want to Be an Adventurer! 2, and Invaders of the Rokujouma!? 39.

Ghost Ship gives us Booty Royale: Never Go Down Without a Fight! 5-6.

A new light novel from Cross Infinite World: Even Dogs Go to Other Worlds: Life in Another World with My Beloved Hound (Isekai Teni Shitara Aiken ga Saikyou ni narimashita – Silver Fenrir to Ore ga Isekai Kurashi wo Hajimetara). Dead salaryman. Huge overpowered wolf. Relaxed slow life. Fluffy headpats. This book knows what the audience these days wants.

Lastly, Airship debuts I am Blue, in Pain, and Fragile (Aokute Itakute Moroi), another tearjerker from the author of I Want to Eat Your Pancreas. This is the early digital release.

ASH: Glad to see Yoru Sumino’s work is still being translated. (Though, like so many things, I need to catch up…)

SEAN: Also out ahead of print: Disciple of the Lich: Or How I Was Cursed by the Gods and Dropped Into the Abyss! 3, Drugstore in Another World: The Slow Life of a Cheat Pharmacist 5, and The Haunted Bookstore – Gateway to a Parallel Universe 3.

What manga makes you want to go out like a lamb? Or a sheep… lots of sheep manga lately.

SEAN: As we head towards the second half of March, what brand new titles get our attention?

Airship has a lot of new print titles. We get Arifureta: From Commonplace to World’s Strongest ZERO 5, The Haunted Bookstore – Gateway to a Parallel Universe 2, The Saint’s Magic Power is Omnipotent 6, and The Strange Adventure of a Broke Mercenary 4.

ASH: Another reminder to self to move The Haunted Bookstore up on my reading list.

SEAN: There’s also early digital releases for My Status as an Assassin Obviously Exceeds the Hero’s 4 and Reborn as a Space Mercenary: I Woke Up Piloting the Strongest Starship! 4.

Denpa Books has a 3rd volume of Heavenly Delusion.

ASH: Glad to see! I’ve been liking this series.

SEAN: Ghost Ship has a debut this week with GUNBURED × SISTERS. It’s a Sunday GX series, and if you want a ecchi vampire yuri-tinged action series, this is certainly one of them.

Also from Ghost Ship: SUPER HXEROS 6.

From J-Novel Club, we see Altina the Sword Princess 13, Chillin’ in Another World with Level 2 Super Cheat Powers 4, Cooking with Wild Game 16, the 2nd manga volume of Full Clearing Another World under a Goddess with Zero Believers, Guide to the Perfect Otaku Girlfriend: Roomies and Romance 5 (the final volume), and Reincarnated as the Piggy Duke: This Time I’m Gonna Tell Her How I Feel! 5.

ASH: That’s a fair bit.

SEAN: Kodansha has a double dose of Attack on Titan in print next week, with Omnibus 4-6 and Omnibus 7-9. There’s also Blue Period 6, Fire Force 26, I’m Standing on a Million Lives 12, and Living-Room Matsunaga-san 10.

Two digital debuts. Getting Closer to You (Natsume-senpai ni Semarareru Hibi) is a new shoujo series from the creator of Four Kisses, in Secret, and it runs in Dessert Blue, the spinoff of Dessert for Miles Davis fans. A girl who loves muscles thinks she’s found her ideal man… but he’s going to make her manage the basketball team first.

MICHELLE: I think this is their second series about a girl who loves muscles!

ANNA: Some girls do love muscles.

SEAN: Also shoujo, from Betsufure, is I’ll Be with Them Again Today (Kyou mo, Karera no Otonari de), about a girl, Nao, whose next-door neighbors are now two brothers – one hot and friendly, the other unapproachable and scary. And now they’re going to school with her too! Nao-chan pinch!

Also digital: Back When You Called Us Devils 11 (the final volume), DAYS 28, Harem Marriage 15, ONIMAI: I’m Now Your Sister! 5, and That’s My Atypical Girl 4.

KUMA books has a debut, The Song of Yoru & Asa (Yoru to Asa no Uta). This oneshot BL title ran in Takeshobo’s Qpa, and features a band whose vocalist seems to be, well, a bit of a jerk. If you like your BL dark, this may be for you.

MICHELLE: Depends on how dark, but maybe!

ASH: I honestly never thought we would see Harada’s work licensed in English (at least in print). It can be pretty dark, but I’ve been hoping for something to be released for years.

ANNA: Interesting.

MJ: Oh, hmmmm… this is a strong maybe for me.

SEAN: Seven Seas has the 5th and final Blue Giant omnibus (maybe that’s why I made the Miles Davis joke earlier), The Country Without Humans 2, Magical Girl Spec-Ops Asuka 13, and MARS RED 2.

MICHELLE: One of these days I’ll actually read Blue Giant.

ASH: I need to catch up, but have largely enjoyed it so far!

ANNA: Me too, I have the first volume somewhere in my house.

SEAN: Square Enix gives us a 7th volume of The Strongest Sage with the Weakest Crest.

Tentai Books once again flummoxed me with a last minute scheduling. Already released digitally as you read this is the light novel I Kissed My Girlfriend’s Little Sister (Kanojo no Imouto to Kiss wo shita). Just your typical guy dating a girl and then the girl’s identical twin who was living with the other parent moves in story.

Tokyopop’s debut is Dekoboko Bittersweet Days, the sequel to Dekoboko Sugar Days. It sounds less sweet, and it ran in Gentosha’s LOVE xxx BOYS Pixiv. It’s also complete in one volume.

MICHELLE: I enjoyed This Wonderful Season with You by the same mangaka, so I’m looking forward to this one.

ANNA: Tokyopop is still not going to trick me.

MJ: Same. I realize it’s a one-shot, but even so…

SEAN: Tokyopop also has the 2nd volume of Double.

Yen On has some new light novels. We get Durarara!! SH 3, Strike the Blood 20, Wolf & Parchment: New Theory Spice & Wolf 6, and The World’s Strongest Rearguard: Labyrinth Country’s Novice Seeker 6.

Lastly, there’s a pile from Yen Press, including four debuts. Bungo Stray Dogs: Wan! is a Young Ace Up title that is essentially Ten Little Bungo Stray Dogs. (Scramble Wars Stray Dogs?) Anyway, they’re chibis.

ASH: Goodness!

SEAN: Catch These Hands! (Watashi no Kobushi wo Uketomete!) is a yuri title from Young Ace Up. A former delinquent trying to straighten up now that she’s an adult runs into her old rival… who wants a fight! And if the rival wins… a date!

ASH: Okay, I’m intrigued.

ANNA: It sounds cute.

MJ: Oh, it really does!

SEAN: Minami Nanami Wants to Shine (Nanami Minami wa Kagayakitai) is a spinoff of light novel Bottom Tier Character Tomozaki focusing on our favorite runner-up. It runs in Sunday GX.

Run on Your New Legs (Atarashii Ashi de Kakenukero) is a Big Comic Spirits title about a soccer player whose career ends with the loss of his leg. But with a new prosthetic leg, can he become a paralympics track star?

MICHELLE: REAL but soccer!

ASH: Oooooh!

ANNA: Cool. Will be checking this out for sure.

SEAN: There’s also Breasts Are My Favorite Things in the World! 5, The Eminence in Shadow 3, I’m a Behemoth, an S-Ranked Monster, but Mistaken for a Cat, I Live as an Elf Girl’s Pet 4, Interspecies Reviewers Comic Anthology 2, Lust Geass 5, Mint Chocolate 5, Monster Wrestling: Interspecies Combat Girls 4 (the final volume), Smokin’ Parade 9, The Splendid Work of a Monster Maid 2, Sword Art Online: Project Alicization 4, Woof Woof Story: I Told You to Turn Me Into a Pampered Pooch, Not Fenrir! 3, The World’s Finest Assassin Gets Reincarnated in Another World as an Aristocrat 2.

ASH: That’s a fair bit, too.

SEAN: That last part exhausted me to type out. What about you?

SEAN: Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day in the traditional Irish way… with some Japanese manga!

ASH: I can do that.

SEAN: There’s a pile of Yen On, most of it stuff moved from February (or January) that got bumped. Two debuts. Chitose Is in the Ramune Bottle (Chitose-kun wa Ramune Bin no Naka) is a high school romance that asks the question: what if the most popular boy in school was actually the main character in the light novel, rather than the sullen sarcastic loner? This one has been long awaited.

ASH: I’m so used to titles outlining the plot these days; that description’s not at all what I was expecting.

SEAN: We also have Demon Lord 2099 (Maou 2099), a light novel where the demon lord resurrects and… does NOT go to a magical academy, praise the Lord. Instead he finds himself in a futuristic cyberpunk world! What will he do? Whatever he wants.

ASH: Plot twist!

SEAN: Also out next week: Bond and Book 2, Hazure Skill: The Guild Member with a Worthless Skill Is Actually a Legendary Assassin 3, My Youth Romantic Comedy Is Wrong, As I Expected 13, Our Last Crusade or the Rise of a New World 8, and Wandering Witch: The Journey of Elaina 7.

No debuts from Yen Press, but we do see Goblin Slayer Side Story: Year One 6, Kakegurui – Compulsive Gambler – 14, Sex Ed 120% 3 (the final volume), So I’m a Spider, So What? The Daily Lives of the Kumoko Sisters 2, and Triage X 22.

Two debuts from Viz. Alice in Borderland (Imawa no Kuni no Alice), from Shonen Sunday S. It was made into an anime, and it’s apparently really good psychological horror. But: Survival game. I’ll see myself out.

MICHELLE: Oh man, for the first time in years I actually remembered BTOOOM! exists. That said, I might check this out.

SEAN: I long every day for the time when I can forget BTOOOM! exists.

ASH: I suspect Alice in Borderland may be more up my alley.

MJ: I somehow truly believed BTOOOM! had ceased to exist, and I think I’ll just keep pretending that’s the case. I really enjoyed the Alice in Borderland live action series, though, so I’m ready!

SEAN: The other is Orochi: The Perfect Edition. This Kazuo Umezu series, which originally ran in Weekly Shonen Sunday way back in 1969, was licensed by Viz in 2002… and only one volume came out. They’re trying again with this updated version, which should please fans of the author or horror in general.

ASH: Looking forward to this one for sure!

SEAN: And there is BEASTARS 17, Children of the Whales 19, Fist of the North Star 4, Hell’s Paradise: Jigokuraku 13 (the final volume), Maison Ikkoku Collector’s Edition 7, the Uzumaki Coloring Book (good God), and the 19th and final volume of Ôoku: The Inner Chambers.

MICHELLE: I knew that a nineteenth volume was coming soon, but not that it was the last!

ANNA: Yikes, another great series that I need to get caught up on!

ASH: This is a really great week for Viz!

MJ: Oh my, Ôoku! Wow, I hadn’t realized this was the last volume either.

SEAN: Udon Entertainment has Steins;Gate: The Complete Manga. This 522-page book, as its title suggests, collects the manga based on the visual novel that ran in my nemesis, Comic Alive.

Three debuts from Seven Seas. The Haunted Bookstore – Gateway to a Parallel Universe (Wagaya wa Kakuriyo no Kashi Honya-san) is the manga adaptation of the novel that Seven Seas also has. It runs in, I am not kidding, Micro Magazine’s Comic Elmo.

ASH: I still need to read the novel, but I expect I’ll enjoy it along with its adaptation.

SEAN: My Deer Friend Nokotan (Shikanoko Nokonoko Koshitantan) is a Shonen Magazine Edge series about a top student with a secret or two to hide who is blindsided by the new transfer student – a deer girl who can sniff out those secrets! This sounds like yuri but is more comedy, I believe.

My Wandering Warrior Existence (Meisou Senshi Nagata Kabi) is the latest biographical memoir from the author of My Lesbian Experience with Loneliness, as we see her trying to get into dating once more – actually, get into dating for the first time.

ASH: The books are really well done, but they can be devastating, too.

SEAN: Also from Seven Seas: Chillin’ in Another World with Level 2 Super Cheat Powers 3, The Hidden Dungeon Only I Can Enter 5, Karate Survivor in Another World 3, Necromance 2, and New Game! 12.

One Peace gives us I Belong to the Baddest Girl at School 3.

ASH: I really liked the first volume, but apparently I already need to catch up.

SEAN: Two print debuts from Kodansha Manga. Island in a Puddle (Mizutamari ni Ukabu Shima) ran in Evening, which alone is cause for me to be interested. A young boy cares for his younger sister more than his frequently absent mother. Then one day Mom takes them to an amusement park… and strands them on a ferris wheel. Which then gets struck by lightning. What happens then? Read the book!

ASH: Intriguing!

MJ: That does sound interesting.

SEAN: The other debut is Penguin & House (Pen to House), which runs in D Morning, Morning Magazine’s mobile app. He is a penguin living with a human, and I feel these two desperately need to meet Gal and Dinosaur.

MJ: This sounds adorable.

SEAN: Also in print: Battle Angel Alita 5, Beauty and the Beast of Paradise Lost 4, Rent-A-Girlfriend 11, and The Seven Deadly Sins: Four Knights of the Apocalypse 2.

Digitally our first debut is A Kiss with a Cat (Neko to Kiss). This Betsufure series is about a cat-loving girl and her classmate, an antisocial guy who always wears a mask. But he has a secret…

ANNA: Is his secret that he’s a catboy? I want to know!

ASH: Haha!

MJ: Oh my.

SEAN: The other digital debut is Piano Duo for the Left Hand (Hidarite no tame no Nijuusou), which runs in Shonen Magazine Edge. A young man meets a piano prodigy… and then tragedy strikes. Now he tries to live for both of them… but wait, what’s with his left hand? This is a supernatural drama.

ASH: Also intriguing.

MJ: Okay, you’re always going to get me with pianists…

SEAN: There’s also Blue Lock 12, Chihiro-kun Only Has Eyes for Me 6, The Dawn of the Witch 4, Hozuki’s Coolheadedness 7, The Lines that Define Me 3, My Idol Sits the Next Desk Over! 3, My Unique Skill Makes Me OP even at Level 1 7, and You’re My Cutie 3.

J-Novel Club has a LOT of print books out next week. We see Ascendance of a Bookworm 11, The Faraway Paladin’s 2nd manga omnibus, In Another World With My Smartphone 20, Invaders of the Rokujouma!? Collector’s Edition 11 (with Vol. 32-35), My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom! 9, The Unwanted Undead Adventurer 4 (light novel), The Unwanted Undead Adventurer 4 (manga).

ASH: That is a fair bit! Love to see it.

SEAN: No debuts digitally, but J-Novel Club does have Ascendance of a Bookworm Part 2 Volume 4 (manga), The Faraway Paladin 8 (manga), Monster Tamer 8, My Instant Death Ability Is So Overpowered, No One in This Other World Stands a Chance Against Me! 9, Seirei Gensouki: Spirit Chronicles 18, Sorcerous Stabber Orphen: The Reckless Journey 6 (the manga, and a final volume), and Sorcerous Stabber Orphen: The Wayward Journey 16 (the light novel, and not a final volume).

And finally, we see Airship, who has Classroom of the Elite 10 in print.

As well as early digital versions of A Tale of the Secret Saint 2 and Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear 9.

That ended up being a lot. Anything catch your eye?

SEAN: We’re hitting March proper now, so watch out for winds.

ASH: Sound advice.

SEAN: We start with Airship, which has print releases for Accomplishments of the Duke’s Daughter 4 and Trapped in a Dating Sim: The World of Otome Games is Tough for Mobs 5.

For early digital, they debut Survival in Another World with My Mistress! (Goshujin-sama to Yuku Isekai Survival!). A young man wakes up in a dark forest, finds he can gain resources via a video game menu only he can access, and ends up being protected by a dark elf who says he’s her property. Oof.

We also see the 3rd and final volume of The NPCs in this Village Sim Game Must Be Real!.

Cross Infinite World has another light novel debut with Reflection of Another World (Yugami no Kuni Monogatari). A girl is pulled through a magic mirror into a fantasy world where her plain jane looks are admired and the handsome man she meets is seen as abhorrent.

Dark Horse has a 10th deluxe hardcover for Berserk.

ASH: Glad to see these being released so regularly.

SEAN: Ghost Ship gives us Do You Like Big Girls? 3, Parallel Paradise 9, and Sundome!! Milky Way 3.

J-Novel Club has a light novel debut with Housekeeping Mage from Another World: Making Your Adventures Feel Like Home! (Kasei Madoushi no Isekai Seikatsu: Boukenchuu no Kasei Fugyou Uketamawarimasu!). We’ve got another Japanese OL who finds herself teleported to a fantasy world. 4 years later, she’s a ‘housekeeping mage’ – and a top adventurer! But can she find romance?

And they also have Dragon Daddy Diaries: A Girl Grows to Greatness 3, Goodbye Otherworld, See You Tomorrow 2 and Private Tutor to the Duke’s Daughter 2.

Kodansha, in print, gives us Grand Blue Dreaming 15 and When Will Ayumu Make His Move? 4.

ASH: I’ve fallen far behind on the former, but I’m more interested in starting the latter.

SEAN: Kodansha didn’t announce March digital releases till this week, so I missed being able to tell you about two titles already out: Having an Idol-Loving Boyfriend Is the Best! (Otatomo ga Kareshi ni Nattara Saikou Kamo Shirenai) is the first. This shoujo series from Palcy is about a girl who loves to fangirl about idols with her best male friend. Then… said friend confesses to her! The author also did Yen Press’s School of Horns.

They’ve also got, already out, Twilight Out of Focus (Tasogare Outfocus), a BL title from Honey Milk about two roommates who have rules not to fall for each other or get in the way of each other’s dalliances… but can that hold up?

MICHELLE: This one looks like it could be good.

SEAN: Kodansha’s first digital debut next week is Medaka Kuroiwa Is Impervious to My Charms (Kuroiwa Medaka ni Watashi no Kawaii ga Tsuujinai), a Weekly Shonen Magazine series about a monk-in-training who can’t have a relationship with anyone… but that’s not stopping the school’s top girl from trying!

They also have Apple Children of Aeon (Sennen Mannen Ringo no Ko), a josei title from Itan which may be of most interest to the Manga Bookshelf crew. A man who marries an apple farmer and moves to her town sees a mysterious apple one day that changes his life. This has won awards.

ANNA: I’m curious about this for sure.

ASH: Yup! Same.

SEAN: Also digital next week: Abe-kun’s Got Me Now! 8, Ace of the Diamond 36, Guilty 9, Lightning and Romance 2, My Darling, the Company President 4, Peach Boy Riverside 10, Police in a Pod 10, and Vampire Dormitory 8.

MICHELLE: I really, really need to get caught up with Ace of the Diamond.

SEAN: Seven Seas has two debuts. The Case Files of Jeweler Richard (Housekishou Richard-Shi no Nazo Kantei), a josei title from Comic Zero-Sum, a mystery series based on a just-licensed novel that got an anime recently. A college student rescues a man who turns out to be a jeweler. Adventures ensue.

MICHELLE: I’m looking forward to this one!

ANNA: Me too!

ASH: I’ve heard great things; I’m excited to read it.

SEAN: The other debut is The Girl in the Arcade (Gesen no Kanojo), a Shonen Ace Plus series about a nebbish guy who works at an arcade and the hot girl who needs his help to beat one of the games… and also asks him out?

We also see Drugstore in Another World: The Slow Life of a Cheat Pharmacist 4, The Kingdoms of Ruin 4, and Pandora in the Crimson Shell: Ghost Urn 15.

SuBLime has Black or White 2, but more importantly they have Dick Fight Island 2!

ASH: The first volume of Dick Fight Island was absolutely ridiculous, but in a good way, actually?

SEAN: Viz Media has Animal Crossing: New Horizons 2, Fly Me to the Moon 10, Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End 3, Kirby Manga Mania 4, MAO 4, and Pokémon Journeys 2. That’s a weird tie-ins to normal manga ratio.

Yen On has King of the Labyrinth 3.

Lastly, Yen Press debuts New York, New York, a BL manga from Hana to Yume back in the pre-Fruits Basket days when it was a lot darker and gayer. A police officer keeps the fact that he’s gay very well hidden… but when he falls in love with a man with a troubled past, will he be able to keep things at arm’s length? This is an omnibus of the first two volumes.

MICHELLE: Looking forward to this, as well! A good week.

ANNA: I’m intrigued.

ASH: I’ve got my eyes out for this one, for sure.

SEAN: And Yen Press has Delicious in Dungeon 10, Hakumei & Mikochi: Tiny Little Life in the Woods 9, Re:ZERO -Starting Life in Another World-, Chapter 4: The Sanctuary and the Witch of Greed 3, and Toilet-bound Hanako-kun 0 (the volume number is deliberate).

ASH: Huzzah, more Delicious in Dungeon! And more Toilet-bound Hanako-kun, even if I still have a backlog.

SEAN: There’s actually quite a variety there. What are you interested in?