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Discussion, Resources, Roundtables, & Reviews

Ash Brown

Manga the Week of 3/2/22

February 24, 2022 by Sean Gaffney, Michelle Smith, Ash Brown and Anna N 1 Comment

SEAN: Our long nightmare, aka February, is over. What does March bring us?

Yes Press is mostly off this week, but we get two titles: I’m the Villainess, So I’m Taming the Final Boss 3 and To Save the World, Can You Wake Up the Morning After with a Demi-Human? 4.

Two debuts from Viz Media, one for each of their main imprints. Dragon Quest: The Adventure of Dai (Dragon Quest – Dai no Daibouken) is the classic 1989 manga from the pages of Weekly Shonen Jump! It’ll be coming out here in omnibus form, 2-in-1. It’s one of the biggest manga ever. Its authors later did Beet the Vandel Buster. The plot? Boy has adventures.

ASH: Always glad to see more classic manga being released!

ANNA: Nice!

SEAN: The Shojo Beat title is Ima Koi: Now I’m in Love (Ima, Koi Wo Shite Imasu), a Betsuma series that features yet another guy who seems to be scary but is actually really nice. The author is best known for Wolf Girl and Black Prince, which has not been licensed, alas.

MICHELLE: I tend to like those sorts of stories, so I’m down for this.

ASH: Same!

ANNA: Surprising no one, me too.

SEAN: Also from Viz: Mashle: Magic and Muscles 5, My Hero Academia 30, the 14th and final volume (thank God) of Platinum End, Rosen Blood 2, Undead Unluck 6, World Trigger 23, and Yakuza Lover 4.

ASH: I didn’t get very far with Platinum End.

ANNA: I think I lasted for a couple volumes.

SEAN: Seven Seas debuts Classroom of the Elite (Youkoso Jitsuryoku Shijou Shugi no Kyoushitsu e), based on the light novel, which runs in my nemesis, Comic Alive. Kiyotaka is entering a prestigious high school known for educating the children of the future. Unfortunately, he ends up in Class D, which is where the rejects go to get ridiculed and vanish from society forever. Unfortunately for the school, there’s a lot more to Kiyotaka than it seems.

Also from Seven Seas: DUNGEON DIVE: Aim for the Deepest Level 3, I Got Caught Up In a Hero Summons, but the Other World was at Peace! 3, The Invincible Shovel 3, My Lovey-Dovey Wife is a Stone Cold Killer 2, The Saint’s Magic Power is Omnipotent 5, Sorry for My Familiar 9, and A White Rose in Bloom 2.

MICHELLE: I’m looking forward to A White Rose in Bloom.

ASH: As am I. I really love Asumiko Nakamura’s manga.

SEAN: One Peace Books has a 14th volume of Hinamatsuri.

ASH: I’ve fallen behind, but I’ve gotten a kick out of what I’ve read so far.

SEAN: Kodansha, in print, has Beyond the Clouds 4, Chasing After Aoi Koshiba 3, Love and Lies 11, Saint Young Men 8, and Yuri Is My Job! 8.

ASH: I’m still here for Saint Young Men, as usual.

SEAN: Digitally, the debut is… not announced yet, so will have to wait.

Also digitally: A Couple of Cuckoos 6, Girlfriend, Girlfriend 8, Kounodori: Dr. Stork 21, My Master Has No Tail 4, the 22nd and final volume of Smile Down the Runway, and We’re New at This 10.

J-Novel Club debuts Magic Knight of the Old Ways (Furuki Okite no Mahou Kishi), a story of knights and kings that also has to deal with the fact that its leads are named Sid and Alvin, which makes me worry this will become Carry On Magic Knights.

J-Novel Club also has some digital manga releases as we see Bibliophile Princess 5, The Emperor’s Lady-in-Waiting Is Wanted as a Bride 3, Infinite Dendrogram 9, and Marginal Operation 12.

Ghost Ship has new volumes. We get Does a Hot Elf Live Next Door to You? 3 and Might as Well Cheat: I Got Transported to Another World Where I Can Live My Wildest Dreams! 2.

Cross Infinite World debuts So You Want to Live the Slow Life? A Guide to Life in the Beastly Wilds (Shishi Kamori de Slow Life), a bit of a reverse isekai. Our hero stays in Japan, and inherits his grandfather’s estate. Unfortunately, his estate is in the Beastly Wilds, a section of forest off-limits to humans… as it’s filled with beastmen! That said, it’s a slow life book, so don’t expect battles.

ASH: Could possibly be an interesting isekai inversion.

SEAN: In print, Airship has Berserk of Gluttony 5 and The Hidden Dungeon Only I Can Enter 6.

And in early digital, they have a debut: The Most Heretical Last Boss Queen: From Villainess to Savior (Higeki no Genkyou tonaru Saikyou Gedou Rasubosu Joou wa Tami no Tame ni Tsukushimasu). You know the drill. Reincarnated in an otome game as the villainess. Tries to be a good person instead. Does it a little TOO well.

Anything catch your fancy?

Filed Under: FEATURES, manga the week of

Manga the Week of 2/23/22

February 17, 2022 by Sean Gaffney, Ash Brown, Anna N, Michelle Smith and MJ Leave a Comment

SEAN: STUFF! Just a whole ton of it. As always.

ASH: Yes, indeed!

ANNA: I’m always amazed.

SEAN: Airship, in print, has I’m in Love with the Villainess 4 and She Professed Herself Pupil of the Wise Man 3, while we get early digital volumes for The Haunted Bookstore – Gateway to a Parallel Universe 2 and The Saint’s Magic Power is Omnipotent 6.

ASH: Which reminds me that I need to read the first volume of The Haunted Bookstore; it seems like a series tailor-made for me.

SEAN: Dark Horse has a 5th volume of their Blade of the Immortal Deluxe series.

ASH: I am absolutely double-dipping for this edition.

SEAN: Ghost Ship debuts The 100 Girlfriends Who Really, Really, Really, Really, Really Love You (Kimi no Koto ga Dai Dai Dai Dai Daisuki na 100-nin no Kanojo), a Weekly Young Jump series about a guy with horrible romantic karma who now gets 100 soulmates. Unfortunately, he needs to make them ALL happy – or they’ll die!

ASH: I’ve actually heard some pretty good things about this series, so I plan on giving it a try.

SEAN: Ghost Ship also has World’s End Harem: Fantasia 6.

J-Novel Heart has a digital debut, and one I’ve wanted to read (legally) for years. Prison Life is Easy for a Villainess (Konyaku Haki kara Hajimaru Akuyaku Reijou no Kangoku Slow Life) does not involve anyone getting reincarnated into otome games or sent back in time to fix their future. Rachel is perfectly happy with her present, thank you… and happy to sit in prison while she watches her ex-fiance suffer.

ASH: Interesting!

ANNA: This does sound interesting.

SEAN: J-Novel Club also has My Daughter Left the Nest and Returned an S-Rank Adventurer 3, the 8th manga volume of I Shall Survive Using Potions!, and The Master of Ragnarok & Blesser of Einherjar 19.

Kodansha’s print debut is The Best of Attack on Titan: In Color. It is what it is.

ASH: Huh. I can only assume this is aimed at devotees of the series; seems like it could make a rough entry point for a newcomer.

SEAN: Also in print: Bakemonogatari 12, Blood on the Tracks 8, Eden’s Zero 15, Flying Witch 10, Life Lessons with Uramichi Oniisan 3, Real Account 15-17, The Seven Deadly Sins Omnibus 2, Star⇄Crossed!! 4 (the final volume), With a Dog AND a Cat, Every Day is Fun 6, and Yamada-kun and the Seven Witches 25-26. Boat finally make it through the Suez Canal, then?

ASH: Ha!

MICHELLE: This will be the volume I finally check out Star⇄Crossed!!!

SEAN: Digitally our debuut is Sakura’s Dedication (Sakura wa Watashi wo Sukisugiru), a shoujo title that’s been in both Betsufure and Palcy (titles move more easily these days). A girl who just broke up with her cheating boyfriend is suddenly confessed to by an earnest young man. Sadly, he’s not her type. But that’s not stopping him from confessing over… and over… and over again. OK, this is just embarrassing!

MICHELLE: Yeah, not sure what to think about this. That behavior is not great.

SEAN: They’ve also got Back When You Called Us Devils 10, Harem Marriage 14, His Extra-Large, Ever-So-Lovely… 2, Living-Room Matsunaga-san 11 (the final volume), Nina the Starry Bride 6, Saving Sweets for After-Hours 2, Space Brothers 40, and Tesla Note 3.

Two new series from Seven Seas. I’m a Wolf, but My Boss is a Sheep! (Ookami Buka-kun to Hitsuji Joushi-san), a Comic Bunch title about a mattress company consisting of all sheep employees… and one lone wolf. He tries to keep to himself, but his boss is so adorable! Gonna be honest, this looks cute.

ASH: It really does.

SEAN: We also get Monologue Woven For You (Kimi ni Tsumugu Bouhaku), a yuri title from Takeshobo about two drama majors whose paths cross. It’s in full color!

ASH: Oh, ho!

ANNA: Is full color manga now a thing?

SEAN: Also from Seven Seas, Creepy Cat 2, Hitomi-chan is Shy With Strangers 3, Kiruru Kill Me 2, The Masterful Cat Is Depressed Again Today 3, and semelparous 2.

ASH: A good week for curious cat manga, then.

SEAN: Square Enix has Soul Eater Perfect Edition 6.

Tokyopop has the 2nd volume of Our Not-So-Lonely Planet Travel Guide.

Generally I tend to skip Viz’s digital-only Jump releases, which come out at the end of the month. But the debut this month is one of my favorite current series, WITCH WATCH. The creator did comedy Sket Dance for years, and also Astra: Lost in Space. This new series has a teenage witch move into the house of her childhood friend and ogre, in the hopes of making him her familiar… and perhaps more? It’s hilarious.

ASH: That’s a solid recommendation.

ANNA: I enjoy witchy manga.

SEAN: Yen On has 86–EIGHTY-SIX 9, Banished from the Hero’s Party, I Decided to Live a Quiet Life in the Countryside 5, The Demon Sword Master of Excalibur Academy 5, I’m the Villainess, So I’m Taming the Final Boss 2, Re:ZERO -Starting Life in Another World- 18, and The World’s Finest Assassin Gets Reincarnated in Another World as an Aristocrat 4.

The debut from Yen Press is From the Red Fog (Akai Kiri no Naka kara), a GFantasy title (attn: MJ) that can best be described as ‘historical horror’. A young boy who has been kept in a basement for years grows up, leaves and moves into a nursing home. Except… bad things keep trailing after him. And honestly, given that cover art, he looks OK with that.

ASH: I am likewise intrigued!

MJ: You called? Oooooohhhhh, you DID call. Okay. Yes. YESSSSSSSSSSSSS. I NEED IT.

Yen also have Cheeky Brat 2, Cirque Du Freak: The Manga Omnibus 5, Love at Fourteen 11, Love of Kill 6, Mama Akuma 2, Puella Magi Madoka Magica: Wraith Arc 2, the 6th and final volume of RaW Hero, Reign of the Seven Spellblades 2, and Spirits & Cat Ears 10.

What manga would you read in prison?

Filed Under: FEATURES, manga the week of

Pick of the Week: Mirrors, Blessings and Restarts

February 14, 2022 by Michelle Smith, Sean Gaffney, Katherine Dacey, Anna N, MJ and Ash Brown Leave a Comment

MICHELLE: I already devoted a pick to danmei, so although I’m definitely happy to see the second volume of Heaven’s Official Blessing, I’ll pick Restart After Growing Hungry because the synopsis just sounds wonderful. ” Mitsuomi and Yamato fell for each other beneath the endless, unchanging countryside sky. Now, as the days go by in the small town where Mitsuomi was born and raised, and the foundling Yamato made his home, the two men are searching for the shape of their own happiness.”

SEAN: My pick this week is the Rumiko Takahashi collection Came the Mirror & Other Tales. The fact that she has so many 30+ volume series doesn’t mean she can’t write fantastic short one-chapter manga as well, as fans of Rumic World and Rumic Theater know. This should be good.

KATE: I second Sean’s recommendation! As much as I love Takahashi’s long-form series, I feel like her artistry shines brighter in her short stories. Here’s hoping that brisk sales of Came the Mirror inspires VIZ to reissue some of her older short story anthologies for a new generation of readers.

ANNA: I’m also curious about Came the Mirror, but I’m wrapping up the first volume of Heaven Official’s Blessing and enjoying it, so I’ll go ahead with the second volume as my pick!

MJ: I will admit I’ve always been kind of hit or miss with Rumiko Takahashi. In the hopes that this may be one of those hit moments for me, I’ll take a chance on Came the Mirror & Other Tales!

ASH: Came the Mirror is the debut that I am most interested in, for sure! I find that I don’t always have the time that I once did for long series, so I’m glad to see that collections of short manga are being licensed these days, too.

Filed Under: PICK OF THE WEEK

Bookshelf Briefs 2/11/22

February 11, 2022 by Ash Brown and Sean Gaffney Leave a Comment

Boy Meets Maria | By PEYO | Seven Seas – Taiga is a high school student who falls in love at first sight with a fellow drama club member. Initially he assumes the person is a girl, but is later told his new crush is a boy. Delightfully, he promptly decides it doesn’t matter to him one way or another. It should be noted, however, that at least some of his classmate’s complicated relationship with gender is deeply rooted in psychological abuse and sexual assault, and these are things that are shown and not just hinted at in the manga. Ultimately though, Boy Meets Maria focuses on hope and love while acknowledging past traumas. What really makes the manga work so well is its cast, but Taiga in particular. He has a sort of ridiculous personality and an oblivious nature, allowing him to be inherently honest with and open to others, which in turn allows them to be free. – Ash Brown

Kageki Shojo!!, Vol. 3 | By Kumiko Saiki | Seven Seas – Having spent a while introducing us to the two leads, we now get to flesh out the rest of the cast of Kageki Shojo!! in this volume, starting with the twins, who are, needless to say, dealing with twin issues. Which is to say that Chiaki is feeling down about being unable to get into the school on the first try like her sister, and her sister then gets mistaken for her, and… it’s a mess, but you can probably guess how it goes. There’s also some friction among the second years, as Sarasa’s flakiness is starting to upset the others, who are taking it out on her mentor for not disciplining her more. Basically, it’s a big Takarazuka soap opera, and that’s exactly what we signed up for, so I’m happy. – Sean Gaffney

Murcielago, Vol. 17 | By Yoshimurakana | Yen Press – I forgot to review this when it came out, only noticing when eighteen was released. The dangers of getting everything digital thanks to COVID now. In any case, my favorite part of this volume is probably the relationship between Chiyo and Kuroko. It looked a bit questionable at the start of the series, but as we’ve gotten to know both of them (OK, mostly Kuroko) we see that Chiyo is a bit different from her usual bedmates. Most of this volume revolves around a yakuza ally of Chiyo’s who is out of prison… and another man from a rival gang who now wants to fight him. It uses Kuroko more as a spice, which works very well. This is still filled with sex and violence, but I still enjoy it. – Sean Gaffney

The Savior’s Book Cafe Story in Another World, Vol. 1 | By Kyouka Izumi, Oumiya, and Reiko Sakurada | Seven Seas There’s not much in this we haven’t seen in other shoujo isekai series: a woman gets chosen by God to save the world, is given awesome powers… and uses them to open a book cafe in the middle of nowhere, because she’s thirty years old, not sixteen. Meanwhile, the other savior chosen is busy being an absolute nightmare in the palace, but has the ear of the prince. Which means much as I’d love for us to stay at the cafe and watch Tsukina clean the shelves using incredibly powerful magic, I think she’s going to get dragged into things. That said, overall the vibe to this book is peaceful and relaxing, and I recommend it to fans of the genre. – Sean Gaffney

A Sign of Affection, Vol. 5 | By Suu Morishita | Kodansha Comics (digital) – Just as readers are here pretty much for the cute and adorable romance between our two leads, any love rivals that may be on the table are also flummoxed by them. Sure, there’s worry, and jealousy, and a lot of “why is that not me?,” but honestly I think they simply run into the fact that the couple is so wonderful together that trying to intervene would be like kicking a puppy. And, again I love the way the lettering is handled here, with the grey text and the occasional backwards phrase showing Yuki’s hearing loss in a way that’s very comprehensible to us all. It really is one of my favorite shoujo series, and I always make time for it when a new volume comes out. – Sean Gaffney

Sleepy Princess in the Demon Castle, Vol. 16 | By Kagiji Kumanomata | Viz Media The bulk of this volume is devoted to Princess Syalis and the Cursed Musician/pastry chef accidentally being sent back in time via grimoire… only to find, after Syalis steals a down comforter that is legendary for helping with sleep, that the world is now totally different… and the demons are a lot more competent. This is terrible news for Syalis, who might actually start to get treated like a prisoner. That said, the message is pretty clear, and I too prefer my demons goofy and a bit hapless. In other news, Syalis gets a massage… though not a sexy massage, this is not that kind of series. But if it’s comedy you like, with a dash of heartwarming, it’s hard to go wrong with this. – Sean Gaffney

Filed Under: Bookshelf Briefs

Manga the Week of 2/16/22

February 10, 2022 by Sean Gaffney, Ash Brown, Michelle Smith, Anna N and MJ Leave a Comment

SEAN: Valentine’s Day has gone, so what manga did you get? Chocolate manga? Is it food? Can you eat it?

Viz Media has the one-shot Came the Mirror & Other Tales from Rumiko Takahashi, which seems to be along the lines of her Rumic Theater collections of yore. Five short stories, all “magical realist” in nature. Plus, a rare appearance in a Viz title from Mitsura Adachi, as Takahashi discusses her friendship with him.

ASH: I’m excited for this one, but had missed that there was an Adachi connection, too!

MICHELLE: I will definitely have to check this out!

ANNA: This sounds cool.

MJ: Oh, interesting!

SEAN: Viz also has Golden Kamuy 25, Mobile Suit Gundam Thunderbolt 17, No Guns Life 12, Urusei Yatsura 13, and Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead 5.

ASH: I really need to catch up with Golden Kamuy.

SEAN: Tokyopop has I’m Looking for Serious Love! (Tadareta Koi ni wa Itashimasen!), a one-shot BL title from Overlap’s LiQulle (Overlap does non-isekai stories?). Naive country boy meets suave city boy. Coitus ensues.

MICHELLE: *snerk*

MJ: *appreciates Michelle’s snerk*

SEAN: Two debuts from Seven Seas. I Can’t Believe I Slept With You! (Ichido Dake Demo, Koukai Shitemasu) is a yuri title from Dengeki Daioh about a young woman who is jobless and hasn’t paid her rent. The landlady will let it slide… if the two of them sleep together. They do, and somehow it becomes an ongoing thing. But can friendship arise from this?

MJ: W. tf.

SEAN: Restart After Growing Hungry is technically a sequel to Restart After Coming Back Home, showing us the further adventures of Mitsuomi and Yamato. It ran in Canna, and is also one volume.

Also from Seven Seas: the 2nd Heaven Official’s Blessing novel, Kageki Shojo!! 4, Kase-san and Yamada 2, Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation 14, Reincarnated as a Dragon Hatchling 2, She Professed Herself Pupil of the Wise Man 4, and A Tale of the Secret Saint 2.

ASH: Still very happy to see Heaven Official’s Blessing being translated.

MICHELLE: I need to catch up on both Restart and Heaven Official’s Blessing.

ANNA: I’m in the middle of the first book! Need to finish up.

SEAN: One Peace has the 17th manga volume of The Rising of the Shield Hero.

SEAN: In print, Kodansha has The Summer With You, sequel to My Summer Of You.

The digital debut is The Transcendent One-Sided Love of Yoshida the Catch (Chouzetsu Kataomoi High Spec Yoshida), a shoujo title from Palcy. A hot guy who is also great at his job has a secret: he’s in love with a disaster of a manga artist! He’s her assistant, but… she doesn’t know he’s in love with her! This seems amusing.

ASH: Manga-related manga has a pretty good track record with me.

MICHELLE: It’s worth a try.

ANNA: It sounds cute.

MJ: It had me at “disaster.” Count me in!

SEAN: There’s also Defying Kurosaki-kun 18, The Lines that Define Me 2, Our Fake Marriage 8, and Shaman King Marcos 3.

There’s a lot from J-Novel Club. First some print titles, as we see By the Grace of the Gods 7, Full Metal Panic! Volumes 7-9 Collector’s Edition, Her Majesty’s Swarm 2, I Shall Survive Using Potions! manga volume 6, Seirei Gensouki: Spirit Chronicles Omnibus 4, and The Unwanted Undead Adventurer’s 3rd manga volume.

J-Novel Club debuts FOUR new light novel series this week. We start with My Quiet Blacksmith Life in Another World (Kajiya de Hajimeru Isekai Slow Life), a classic slow life title. Guy dies, is reincarnated as a quiet, normal profession… but things keep happening to him.

My Stepmom’s Daughter Is My Ex (Mamahaha no Tsurego ga Motokano datta) is a romcom title about… well. They dated in middle school. They broke up. Now, in high school, they’re stepsiblings. Can they really get along even after breaking up? This has an anime coming soon.

To Another World… with Land Mines! (Isekai Teni, Jirai Tsuki) has an entire class get killed off and sent to another world. There’s a god offering them cool powers… but why is everyone taking this at face value except our hero?

When Supernatural Battles Became Commonplace (Inō-Batoru wa Nichijō-kei no Naka de) already had an anime… in 2014. Another class gets cool powers, and they don’t even have to die! Our hero knows what’s coming next: they’ll have to save the world. Except… why is life carrying on as normal?

Also from J-Novel Club: Ascendance of a Bookworm 17, Full Clearing Another World under a Goddess with Zero Believers 2, Holmes of Kyoto 8, Perry Rhodan NEO 6, and Record of Wortenia War 14.

ASH: I say this almost every time, but hooray Bookworm!

SEAN: Ghost Ship debuts The Witches of Adamas (Adamasu no Majotachi), from Weekly Young Magazine, about… oh Christ, skip it. Not even gonna.

ASH: I had to look it up and just… wow.

SEAN: They also have Yuuna and the Haunted Hot Springs 18.

And Airship has, in print, Adachi and Shimamura 8 and Planet of the Orcs 2.

And in digital-first we have Classroom of the Elite 10 and Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation 15.

What Valentine’s gifts did you get? Please tell me it wasn’t The Witches of Adamas.

Filed Under: FEATURES, manga the week of

Manga the Week of 2/9/22

February 3, 2022 by Sean Gaffney, Michelle Smith, Ash Brown and Anna N Leave a Comment

SEAN: February still exists, despite all our best efforts. What manga is there next week?

ASH: It still does, doesn’t it?

SEAN: We start off with Airship, which has early digital editions for The Hidden Dungeon Only I Can Enter 6 and The Strange Adventure of a Broke Mercenary 4.

Ghost Ship debuts 2.5 Dimensional Seduction (2.5 Jigen no Yuuwaku), which runs in Shonen Jump +. The manga club president is only into fictional girls. But wait… what if real-life girls cosplay AS fictional girls? This comes with a recommendation from the creator of One Piece, well known for his realistic body designs on women.

ASH: With the right creator that could be a cute premise.

SEAN: Ghost Ship also has Peter Grill and the Philosopher’s Time 7 and SUPER HXEROS 5.

Two light novel debuts for J-Novel Club. Fantasy Inbound (Isekai, Shuurai) is an MF Bunko J title, and this time around, the fantasy world is crossing over to Japan… to invade it! With the world in chaos and destroyed, can one man stand a chance to save it?

The other title is Saint? No! I’m Just a Passing Beast Tamer! (Seijo-sama? Iie, Toorisugari no Mamono Tsukai desu!), a Kadokawa Books series about a girl who SHOULD be the Saint who will help to guide the Church… but will that get her cute animals to snuggle? Will it get her fluff? No. Ergo, she must change jobs!

ASH: I can follow that logic.

SEAN: Other light novels are The Greatest Magicmaster’s Retirement Plan 12, A Late-Start Tamer’s Laid-Back Life 2, and The Tales of Marielle Clarac 8.

On the manga side, they have Der Werwolf: The Annals of Veight -Origins- 5 and My Instant Death Ability Is So Overpowered, No One in This Other World Stands a Chance Against Me! —AΩ— 3.

ASH: It took me a moment to fully parse how many titles you just listed there.

SEAN: Kodansha has some print books. Cells At Work: Baby! 3, The Hero Life of a (Self-Proclaimed) “Mediocre” Demon! 2, I’m Standing on a Million Lives 11, Lovesick Ellie 2, Perfect World 10, Shaman King Omnibus 7, Toppu GP 7, and The Witch and the Beast 8.

ASH: Seems like the first print volume of Lovesick Ellie was just released not too long ago; I need to pick that up!

ANNA: It is really good! I didn’t realize the second volume was coming out so fast.

SEAN: Two digital debuts. Falling Drowning (Ochite Oborete) is a Dessert series about a high school love triangle. (Sorry, sometimes they just sound like that.)

MICHELLE: I will probably be checking this out.

ANNA: It sounds like my kind of thing, but I’m terrible at reading digital manga.

SEAN: Fungus and Iron (Kin to Tetsu) is a sci-fi shonen series that comes from Bessatsu Shonen Magazine. A young man risks it all for love… but the risks involve mushrooms!

ASH: Okay, I’m curious.

SEAN: Also digital: Are You Lost? 9, Giant Killing 29, I Was Reincarnated with OP Invincibility, so I’ll Beat ’em Up My Way as an Action-Adventurer 2, In the Clear Moonlit Dusk 3, It’s That Reincarnated-as-a-Virus Story 2, Police in a Pod 9, The Springtime of My Life Began with You 5 (the final volume), and Tokyo Revengers 24.

MICHELLE: I really must catch up on Giant Killing.

SEAN: Seven Seas has Seaside Stranger 2 and Skip and Loafer 3.

SuBLime debuts Change World, a Dear+ title that is a sequel to Sayonara Game.

They’ve also got the special limited edition of Yarichin Bitch Club 4.

Tokyopop debuts Alice in Bishonen-Land (Shinkyou Alice to bishounen to bishounen to bishounen to bishounen to bishounen ~Otome Game Royale~), a shoujo series that seems to combine idols with trapped in a game survival stuff. Our heroine is a manager?

Viz debuts Deadpool: Samurai, a series which runs in Shonen Jump + but stars everyone’s favorite Marvel headcase. Will Deadpool meet the stars of Shonen Jump? I wouldn’t put it past him…

ASH: That could be fun.

ANNA: Truly, there is no way to escape Deadpool.

SEAN: Viz also has Call of the Night 6, Fullmetal Alchemist: Fullmetal Edition 16, the light novel Fullmetal Alchemist: The Abducted Alchemist, Hayate the Combat Butler 39, How Do We Relationship? 5, and Komi Can’t Communicate 17.

Yen On has three ‘delayed from January’ books: Baccano! 18, The Genius Prince’s Guide to Raising a Nation Out of Debt (Hey, How About Treason?) 8, and High School DxD 6.

And Yen Press gives us Combatants Will Be Dispatched! 6, Days on Fes 4, and In Another World with My Smartphone 4.

Can you make February go away with your MIND? Or with manga?

Filed Under: FEATURES, manga the week of

Pick of the Week: My Melancholy Baby

January 31, 2022 by Michelle Smith, Katherine Dacey, Sean Gaffney, Anna N, Ash Brown and MJ Leave a Comment

MICHELLE: Although I’m excited about catching up on Yona of the Dawn, the cover of Hello, Melancholic! is just too dang cute for me to not pick it this week.

KATE: You had me at “tall but shy trombone players,” so I’m going to join Michelle and name Hello, Melancholic! as my Manga of the Week.

SEAN: Short of a Jack Teagarden manga series, this may be the closest we get to trombone supremacy. I too will go with Hello, Melancholic!

ANNA: I’m also excited for more Yona and Hello, Melancholic! sounds delightful. However I’m not going to pass up the chance to pick Knight of the Ice two weeks in a row, such is strength of my devotion!

ASH: While I’ve been enjoying both Knight of the Ice and Yona of the Dawn, my pick of the week goes to Hello, Melancholic!, as well. To be fair, I’ll give just about any music-related manga a try, but this series honestly seems like it should be great.

MJ: I’m going to have to go with the crowd this week and choose Hello, Melancholic! Trombone supremacy, indeed!

Filed Under: PICK OF THE WEEK

Manga the Week of 2/2/22

January 27, 2022 by Sean Gaffney, Michelle Smith, Ash Brown, Anna N and MJ 1 Comment

SEAN: Traditionally, February is the most depressing month of the year. Let’s find some manga to cheer you up.

ASH: Sounds good to me!

SEAN: Yen Press has Interspecies Reviewers 6.

Viz has a stack of Jump and Beat for you. We get Black Clover 28, Chainsaw Man 9, Dr. STONE 20, JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Part 5–Golden Wind 3, Jujutsu Kaisen 14, Seraph of the End 23, The King’s Beast 5, We Never Learn 20 and Yona of the Dawn 34. (Psst. Read Yona.)

MICHELLE: I need to get caught back up on Yona!

ASH: It’s such a great series! I’m happy to get my hands on more of JoJo’s, too.

ANNA: Always love to see Yona on the release list.
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SEAN: Tokyopop gives us the 6th and final volume of Laughing Under the Clouds, though there are prequels and sequels as yet unlicensed.

MICHELLE: Hey, they finished something!

MJ: lol

SEAN: Two debuts from Seven Seas. 5 Seconds Before a Witch Falls in Love (Majo ga Koi suru 5 Byou Mae) is a one-shot from Comic Yuri Hime. Witch vs. Witch-Hunter. Will sparks fly?

Also in a yuri vein is Hello, Melancholic!, also from Ichijinsha. Tall but shy trombone players. It’s already won me over just with that.

MICHELLE: The cover for this is super cute!

ASH: I am so here for this one.

MJ: Oh my god, yes.

SEAN: And we get Dance in the Vampire Bund: Age of Scarlet Order 5, I’m in Love with the Villainess 2, Muscles are Better Than Magic! 4 (a final volume), Reborn as a Barrier Master 2, and THIGH HIGH: Reiwa Hanamaru Academy 3 (also a final volume).

ASH: I’ve been meaning to give Thigh High a try.

SEAN: One Peace has the 7th The Reprise of the Spear Hero manga.

Kodansha has the, um, 9th volume of Knight of the Ice a week after the 8th. Huh. It also debuts The Seven Deadly Sins in omnibus format, with Vol. 1-3. And we get Orient 7, Peach Boy Riverside 5, and Vampire Dormitory 3.

ASH: Supply chain issues do funny things to release dates.

ANNA: Looking forward to binging on Knight of the Ice.

SEAN: Digitally we get a huge re-release of an old favorite, especially with Kodansha’s Japanese arm, which keep hoping it will get popular again. GTO, aka Great Teacher Onizuka, is back. All 25 volumes of the original series, and the 9 volumes of semi-sequel 14 Days in Shonan are available digitally. Yes, only digitally, come on, I know Attack on Titan sells well, but not well enough to justify so much print. I loved Onizuka back in the day, though I suspect he may be a bit less fun these days. Also, looking at the preview, this looks to just be a straight-up scan of the old Tokyopop version.

ASH: I largely enjoyed it back in the day, too. Glad to see it available again in some fashion!

ANNA: Yes, always great to see older series have better availability.

MJ: Oh, this is great!

SEAN: The new digital debut is Lightning and Romance (Inazuma to Romance), a Betsufure series from the creator of Kiss Me at the Stroke of Midnight. Girl wants a high school romance, but her new seatmate is… 20 years old?

Also debuting digitally is Tying the Knot with an Amagami Sister (Amagami-san Chi no Enmusubi). It is a Weekly Shonen Magazine title from one of the assistants of The Quintessential Quintuplets… and sounding a lot like it. A guy trying to get into medical school is allowed to stay at a shrine… provided he marries one of the beautiful daughters that live there.

Also out digitally: the 4th and final volume of Ashidaka: The Iron Hero, Chihayafuru 30, A Condition Called Love 9, Kounodori: Dr. Stork 20, My Darling, the Company President 3, My Idol Sits the Next Desk Over! 2, and My Master Has No Tail 3.

MICHELLE: I’m looking forward to a nice Chihayafuru binge.

ANNA: I’m so far behind on Chihayafuru, but vow that one day I will catch up.

SEAN: In print, J-Novel Club has My Friend’s Little Sister Has It In For Me! 2, Tearmoon Empire 3, and The White Cat’s Revenge as Plotted from the Dragon King’s Lap 2.

A rare manga-only week for J-Novel Club’s digital side. Campfire Cooking in Another World with My Absurd Skill 6, I Shall Survive Using Potions! 8, Sorcerous Stabber Orphen: The Reckless Journey 5, and Villainess: Reloaded! Blowing Away Bad Ends with Modern Weapons 3.

Airship has print releases for Disciple of the Lich: Or How I Was Cursed by the Gods and Dropped Into the Abyss! 2, Grimgar of Fantasy and Ash 17, and The NPCs in this Village Sim Game Must Be Real! 2.

Digitally, Airship has early digital for I’m the Evil Lord of an Intergalactic Empire! 2 and Reincarnated as a Sword 10.

That’s actually pretty thin? Well, that’s February for you…

Filed Under: FEATURES, manga the week of

Pick of the Week: Double Vision

January 24, 2022 by Sean Gaffney, Michelle Smith, Anna N, Katherine Dacey and Ash Brown Leave a Comment

SEAN: I realize that it’s offering comfort to the enemy, but I have to admit, the title that attracts me most this week is Double, from Tokyopop, those who betrayed us all so long ago. It just looks cool and interesting.

MICHELLE: It does, damn it. However, I find I’m most keen to get caught up on heartwarming feline fare. A Man and HIs Cat for me this time.

ANNA: If Knight of the Ice is on offer, that’s always going to be my pick. Hilarious josei romantic antics AND figure skating for the win!

KATE: Double reminds me of the kind of WTF?! gems that Tokyopop used to publish by the truckload–the kind of manga that sounded absolutely preposterous when you tried to explain the plot to someone, but were wildly entertaining. I agree with Sean that Tokyopop has an abominable track record of finishing series, but I’m throwing caution to the wind this week and making Double my pick as well.

ASH: Kodansha seems to have most of the series I’m interested in on the same release schedule this week, so I’ll cheat a little and just wave my hands in their general direction. In addition to the already mentioned Knight of the Ice, there’s also Wave, Listen to Me!, To Your Eternity, and Saint Young Men that I’m looking forward to reading.

Filed Under: PICK OF THE WEEK

Manga the Week of 1/26/22

January 20, 2022 by Sean Gaffney, Michelle Smith, Anna N, Ash Brown and MJ Leave a Comment

The last week of January brings us no manga whatsoever!… OK, I lie, there’s a lot.

ASH: You almost had me there!

SEAN: Airship, in print, has the 8th volume of Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear.

And in early digital we see Berserk of Gluttony 5 and She Professed Herself Pupil of the Wise Man 3.

Dark Horse has the 3rd volume of Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken!.

ASH: Which reminds me that I still need to read the first two, but I suspect that it’s a series that I’ll enjoy.

SEAN: J-Novel Club has two debuts. The light novel debut is Forget Being the Villainess, I Want to Be an Adventurer! (Tensei Reijou wa Boukensha wo Kokorozasu). You can likely guess how this one goes.

ASH: I do find it fascinating to see how these trends evolve over time.

SEAN: The manga debut is Full Clearing Another World under a Goddess with Zero Believers (Shinja Zero no Megami-sama to Hajimeru Isekai Kouryaku), based on the light novel J-Novel Club also puts out. This runs in Comic Gardo.

We also see the 7th An Archdemon’s Dilemma manga, the 5th Black Summoner manga, By the Grace of the Gods 10, The Ideal Sponger Life 6, My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom! 11, the 2nd Reborn to Master the Blade manga, the 6th Record of Wortenia War manga, and Sweet Reincarnation 6.

Kaiten Books has a digital 3rd volume of The Yakuza’s Guide to Babysitting.

Kodansha debuts in print a new boxset holding the first 7 volumes of The Quintessential Quintuplets. Go read the part of the manga that everyone loved because they were sure their girl would win.

ASH: Haha!

SEAN: Also debuting in print is The Seven Deadly Sins: Four Knights of the Apocalypse (Mokushiroku no Yonkishi), a prequel to The Seven Deadly Sins that runs in Weekly Shonen Magazine.

There’s also the 13th and final CITY, If I Could Reach You 6, the 12th and final Kiss Me at the Stroke of Midnight, Knight of the Ice 8, Saint Young Men omnibus 7, To Your Eternity 16, Wave, Listen to Me! 8, and Yuzu the Pet Vet 7, the last volume before the timeskip.

MICHELLE: I need to catch up on Knight of the Ice and Wave, Listen to Me!.

ANNA: Knight of the Ice is one of the rare series that I’m actually caught up on because it is just that good!

ASH: This is a good Kodansha week for me! In addition to those two series, I’m particularly interested in Saint Young Men and To Your Eternity.

SEAN: Digitally the debut is Zatsuki: Make Me a Star (Zatsuki ~Watashi o Sutaa Nishi Nasai~), a shoujo title from Palcy. Two teenage stars whose careers are going in opposite directions meet at high school.

MICHELLE: I’m at least moderately interested in this.

ANNA: Me too.

MJ: This sounds very enjoyable!

SEAN: Also digital: Back When You Called Us Devils 9, Even Given the Worthless “Appraiser” Class, I’m Actually the Strongest 3, Harem Marriage 13, I’m Standing on a Million Lives 12, The Iceblade Sorcerer Shall Rule the World 3, ONIMAI: I’m Now Your Sister! 4, Saint Cecilia and Pastor Lawrence 8, Tesla Note 2, Those Not-So-Sweet Boys 5, and What I Love About You 8.

Seven Seas debuts The Girl I Want is So Handsome! (Ikemen Sugidesu Shiki-senpai!), a done-in-one omnibus from Comic Yuri Hime. Shiki falls for an older girl at her school. She’s so handsome, and so cool… and so oblivious!

ASH: Count me as curious.

MJ: Same.

SEAN: Also from Seven Seas: the 10th and final Gal Gohan, Happy Kanako’s Killer Life 3, Harukana Receive 9. Tamamo-chan’s a Fox! 4, Trapped in a Dating Sim: The World of Otome Games is Tough for Mobs 3, and Wonder Cat Kyuu-chan 4.

Square Enix has A Man and His Cat 5.

MICHELLE: Yay!

MJ: I, too, say “yay!”

SEAN: Tokyopop debuts Double, a manga from a magazine called Flat Heroes. Two friends are actors in the same theater troupe. One is asked to “double” the other, even as his career takes him in a new direction. Somehow this turns into a seinen thriller? Gonna be honest, this sounds fascinating.

MICHELLE: Hm.

ANNA: You still won’t trick me, Tokyopop!

ASH: Exactly so.

MJ: Ugh, the nerve of them releasing something that sounds interesting. I mean that with complete sincerity.

MICHELLE: Yeah, I’m certainly trepidatious. Speaking of hurts I shall never forgive, I have taken to requesting Silver Diamond on all of Seven Seas’ monthly license-request surveys. It’s BL and isekai-adjacent, so maybe? I figure it’s at least worth a shot!

SEAN: They’ve also got The Fox & Little Tanuki 4.

Viz has another massive One Piece box set that has Vol. 71-90 of the series.

Yen On has a 2nd volume of Spy Classroom.

Two debuts for Yen Press. The Abandoned Empress is a Korean webcomic that is one of those “spurned noble ends up going back in time to try to fix things” stories.

ASH: I like that Korean comics haven’t been forgotten by publishers these days!

MJ: Ah! Agreed!

SEAN: Spy Classroom is an adaptation of the light novel – see two lines up. It runs in my nemesis, Comic Alive.

Also from Yen Press: Breasts Are My Favorite Things in the World! 4, Cocoon Entwined 4, The Dark History of the Reincarnated Villainess 4, High School Prodigies Have It Easy Even in Another World! 11, I Cannot Reach You 3, I’m the Hero, but the Demon Lord’s Also Me 3, Kaiju Girl Caramelise 5, The Maid I Hired Recently Is Mysterious 2, My Youth Romantic Comedy Is Wrong As I Expected 17, Sword Art Online Alternative Gun Gale Online 4, The World’s Strongest Rearguard: Labyrinth Country’s Novice Seeker 4, and Yowamushi Pedal 19.

MICHELLE: I need to catch up on I Cannot Reach You and Cocoon Entwined and, most especially, Yowamushi Pedal! I reckon the Inter High has gotta be finished by now!

ANNA: One of these days I need to read Yowamushi Pedal. My kids read it though so I just need to figure out where it is in my house.

ASH: I’m slowly catching up, myself. Hime Hime!

SEAN: See what I mean? Barely any manga at all. What are you getting?

Filed Under: FEATURES, manga the week of

Manga the Week of 1/19/22

January 13, 2022 by Sean Gaffney, Michelle Smith, Ash Brown, Anna N and MJ Leave a Comment

SEAN: The third week of January brings many and varied things to help warm us up in these cold nights.

Yen On has three debuts. Dragon and Ceremony (Ryu to Sairei) stars a wandmaker who has to repair a wand within a time limit. The trouble is, it needs the heart of a dragon… which haven’t been seen for centuries!

ASH: Wait, is that a non-isekai fantasy novel?

SEAN: The second debut is My Happy Marriage (Watashi no Shiawase na Kekkon). A noble who has endured abuse from her family most of her life is married off to a cold, uncaring soldier. But will this turn out to be a wonderful pairing after all? I’ve heard good things about this.

MICHELLE: I might check this one out.

ANNA: It sounds intriguing!

MJ: Hmmm, maybe?

SEAN: The third title is Sabikui Bisco, which was briefly Rust-Eater Bisco until it was decided to keep the Japanese. Our heroes try to find a miracle cure in the middle of a post-apocalyptic desert. This sounds very, very Shonen Jump, and was very popular in Japan when it first came out.

ASH: And another!

SEAN: We also see Bofuri: I Don’t Want to Get Hurt, so I’ll Max Out My Defense 4, Bungo Stray Dogs 7, The The Irregular at Magic High School 18 (I will die on this running gag hill), I’ve Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years and Maxed Out My Level 11, Magical Girl Raising Project 12, The Saga of Tanya the Evil 9, So I’m a Spider, So What? 13, Sword Art Online Progressive 7, and You Call That Service? 5.

Yen Press has new volumes! Bofuri: I Don’t Want to Get Hurt, so I’ll Max Out My Defense 3, Carole and Tuesday 3 (the final volume), Golden Japanesque: A Splendid Yokohama Romance 4, Murcielago 18, Overlord 14, Slasher Maidens 4, Teasing Master Takagi-san 13, Toilet-Bound Hanako-kun 12, and Val x Love 11.

ASH: It’s a good week for Yen readers!

SEAN: Viz debuts Record of Ragnarok (Shuumatsu no Walküre), which runs in Comic Zenon. Do you like muscles? Do you like martial arts? Do you like tournament arcs? This is the manga for you.

ASH: I will admit to being curious.

ANNA: OK!

MJ: Another maybe for me!

SEAN: We also see Assassin’s Creed: Blade of Shao Jun 3, BEASTARS 16, Hell’s Paradise: Jigokuraku 12, No. 5 3, The Way of the Househusband 7, and Ultraman 16.

MICHELLE: I need to get caught up on The Way of the Househusband.

ASH: Same. I’ve loved what I’ve read so far, though!

ANNA: It is so great.

SEAN: Udon Entertainment has the 3rd and final omnibus of Steins;Gate 0.

Tokyopop has Her Royal Highness Seems to be Angry 3.

Square Enix Manga gives us Soul Eater: The Perfect Edition 5.

Seven Seas has a spinoff debuting: Reincarnated as a Sword: Another Wish (Tensei Shitara Ken Deshita Another Wish). I’m… not sure how it differs from the main series, but hey.

They also have a rare Mature title that isn’t Ghost Ship: Succubus and Hitman. It runs in… oh dear. It runs in Champion Red, and is about a succubus who forces a college student to murder the wicked. The lack of sex keeps this on the main label, I think.

Also from Seven Seas: Bloom Into You Anthology 2, The Ideal Sponger Life 10, Love Me for Who I Am 5 (the final volume), Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid: Kanna’s Daily Life 9, Monster Guild: The Dark Lord’s (No-Good) Comeback! 2, No Matter What You Say, Furi-san is Scary! 2, The NPCs in this Village Sim Game Must Be Real! 2, Slow Life In Another World (I Wish!) 2, and Species Domain 12 (also a final volume).

In print, Kodansha has 10 Dance 6, APOSIMZ 8, Sachi’s Monstrous Appetite 6 (the final volume), Toppu GP 6, and When Will Ayumu Make His Move? 3.

MICHELLE: At last, more 10 Dance!

ASH: Yes!

MJ: I am depressed to be so far behind in 10 Dance, but I guess I need to fix that!

SEAN: Kodansha did one of their “let’s announce the day before release to screw Sean up” announcements. Out already is MF Ghost, which focuses on the MFG racing circuit, and is from the creator of Initial D. No, the MF is not what you’re thinking. It runs in Young Magazine, and 10 volumes are now available.

MJ: I wish more things with “ghost” in the title were actually about ghosts. I like ghosts.

SEAN: The digital debut for next week is The Lines that Define Me (Sen wa, Boku wo Egaku), a Weekly Shonen Magazine title about the joys of India-ink painting. The mere fact that a title like this can get licensed these days is a joy.

ASH: It really is.

ANNA: Wow.

SEAN: Also digital: And Yet, You Are So Sweet 5, Blue Lock 11, Hozuki’s Coolheadedness 6, My Darling Next Door 4, Saint Young Men 15, and Yozakura Quartet 28, which Kodansha says is the final volume, though I can’t verify that. Remember when Yozakura Quartet 1 came out? From Del Rey?

MICHELLE: I sure do.

ANNA: Me too.

SEAN: J-Novel Club has Altina the Sword Princess 12, Can Someone Please Explain What’s Going On?! 8, Endo and Kobayashi Live! The Latest on Tsundere Villainess Lieselotte 2 (the final volume), The Great Cleric 6, How a Realist Hero Rebuilt the Kingdom 15, Maddrax 2, Slayers 12, and The White Cat’s Revenge as Plotted from the Dragon King’s Lap 6 (which is a surprise to me, as I was sure 5 was the last).

Ghost Ship has a 2nd volume of Desire Pandora.

And Airship has 4 new light novel volumes in print. Drugstore in Another World: The Slow Life of a Cheat Pharmacist 4, Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation 14, Reborn as a Space Mercenary: I Woke Up Piloting the Strongest Starship! 3, and The Strange Adventure of a Broke Mercenary 3.

While digitally we get Accomplishments of the Duke’s Daughter 4 and Trapped in a Dating Sim: The World of Otome Games is Tough for Mobs 5.

Don’t burn manga for warmth! Read them!

Filed Under: FEATURES, manga the week of

Manga the Week of 1/12/22

January 6, 2022 by Sean Gaffney, Michelle Smith, Ash Brown, Anna N and MJ 1 Comment

SEAN: 2022 is only just beginning and already the manga feels like it’s getting away from me.

ASH: While I delight in the amount of manga being released, you are not alone in that feeling.

SEAN: Airship has some print light novels. The Most Notorious “Talker” Runs the World’s Greatest Clan 2, My Status as an Assassin Obviously Exceeds the Hero’s 3, and The Saint’s Magic Power is Omnipotent 5.

Digitally, we get early releases for Adachi and Shimamura 8 and I’m in Love with the Villainess 4.

ASH: I’m in line for the print personally, but still, hooray!

SEAN: Cross Infinite World debuts a new light novel series, I’d Rather Have a Cat than a Harem! Reincarnated into the World of an Otome Game as a Cat-loving Villainess (Sonna Koto yori, Neko ga Kaitai ~ Otome Game no Sekai ni Tensei Shimashita ~). On the plus side, our reincarnated villainess has her old family as her reincarnated family in this world as well. On the down side, she’s still a villainess. How to solve this? …who cares? KITTY!

ASH: That was not a isekai variation I was expecting!

SEAN: Ghost Ship debuts Might as Well Cheat: I Got Transported to Another World Where I Can Live My Wildest Dreams! (Sekkaku Cheat wo Moratte Isekai ni Teni shita n dakara, Suki na you ni Ikitemitai), a Comic Ride title that adapts an unlicensed light novel. Our reincarnated hero may be able to make fantastic healing potions, but he’s not here to adventure – he’s here to check out the local sex workers!

J-Novel Club has some print stuff. We get Ascendance of a Bookworm manga 8 (aka Part 2 Volume 1), How a Realist Hero Rebuilt the Kingdom manga omnibus 3, In Another World With My Smartphone 19, Marginal Operation 8, and The Unwanted Undead Adventurer 3.

ASH: Yay, Bookworm!

SEAN: Digitally we have Chillin’ in Another World with Level 2 Super Cheat Powers 3, In Another World with My Smartphone 24, The Magician Who Rose from Failure 4, My Friend’s Little Sister Has It In for Me! 5, My Instant Death Ability Is So Overpowered, No One in This Other World Stands a Chance Against Me! 8, and Reincarnated as the Piggy Duke: This Time I’m Gonna Tell Her How I Feel! 4.

Kodansha has the 4th and final volume of Boys Run the Riot in print, as well as the 11th and final Sweat and Soap. They’ve also got Living-Room Matsunaga-san 9, the print debut of Lovesick Ellie (which has been released previously digitally), Rent-A-(Really Shy!)-Girlfriend 2, Shikimori’s Not Just a Cutie 8, and A Sign of Affection 4.

MICHELLE: I didn’t realize Boys Run the Riot was so short. Hooray for Lovesick Ellie in print!

ASH: I somehow hadn’t realized that, either! Also, I finally got around to starting Sweat and Soap and it’s great. Really looking forward to reading the rest of the series.

SEAN: Digitally we have two debuts. I Was Reincarnated with OP Invincibility, so I’ll Beat ’em Up My Way as an Action-Adventurer (Zettai ni Damage wo Ukenai Skill wo Moratta node, Boukensha to shite Musou shite miru) is a Suiyoubi no Sirius title that sounds like it will melt the skin off anyone who reads it.

It’s That Reincarnated-as-a-Virus Story (Virus Tensei kara Isekai Kansen Monogatari) is… well, a villainess story, sort of? It is also from Suiyoubi no Sirius, and yes, the protagonist is a virus that can cause a pandemic. Timely!

ASH: Quite.

ANNA: Maybe too timely for me.

SEAN: Also digital: Cells at Work! White Brigade 2, The Hero Life of a (Self-Proclaimed) “Mediocre” Demon! 7, My Roomie Is a Dino 6, Police in a Pod 8, SHAMAN KING & a garden 2, and Shangri-La Frontier 5.

One Peace has Farming Life in Another World 4, Multi-Mind Mayhem 2, and The New Gate 8.

Seven Seas has two debuts. Daily Report About My Witch Senpai (Majo-senpai Nichijou) is a shoujo Akita Shoten title from Manga Cross. An office worker’s senpai is a witch, as the title might suggest – and she’s overworking herself! Can he help?

The Dragon Knight’s Beloved (Ryukishi no Okiniiri) is a josei series from Comic ZERO-SUM, based on a webcomic. A young maid, who loves caring for the dragons at the castle, gets a startling request from a knight when she comes of age – pretend to be his lover!

ASH: You had me at dragons and josei.

ANNA: Woooo!

MJ: Oh!

SEAN: Seven Seas also has Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear manga 6, Level 1 Demon Lord and One Room Hero 3, and Reincarnated as a Sword 8.

Square Enix has the 4th manga volume for By the Grace of the Gods.

SuBLime has the 3rd and final volume of Bad Boys, Happy Home and The World’s Greatest First Love 15.

ASH: I liked the first volume of Bad Boys, Happy Home, so I should probably give the last two a read, too.

SEAN: Tokyopop debuts Assassin’s Creed Dynasty, which seems to be based on, besides the AC franchise, a Chinese webcomic.

As one series begins, another must end. So it is with Viz, which sees the debut of Pokémon Adventures: X•Y and the final volume of Pokémon: Sun & Moon. What are they about? Come on. They’re Pokémon manga.

Viz also has Star Wars: Tribute to Star Wars, an artbook with works from lots of Japanese creators, such as the creators of the Zelda manga, Witch Hat Atelier, and Tekkonkinkreet!

ASH: Oh! That should be pretty good, then!

SEAN: We also get Case Closed 81, Fly Me to the Moon 9, Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End 2, Mao 3, and Persona 5 8.

MICHELLE: I still need to check out Frieren and Mao.

ASH: Same, I’ll have to admit.

ANNA: Me too, although I think the first volume of Frieren is at least somewhere in my house.

SEAN: Lastly, Yen On has Bottom-Tier Character Tomozaki 7, Date A Live 4, Suppose a Kid from the Last Dungeon Boonies Moved to a Starter Town 8, and Torture Princess 7.5.

What manga are you being reincarnated as?

Filed Under: FEATURES, manga the week of

Bookshelf Briefs 1/4/22

January 4, 2022 by Ash Brown, Sean Gaffney and Michelle Smith Leave a Comment

F | By Imai Arata | Glacier Bay Books – Japan’s triple disaster of 2011 has understandably influenced the creative output of the country’s artists, both directly and indirectly, but I haven’t encountered anything quite like the underground manga F before. Originally self-published under the title I Am John Cantlie, Imai portrays a Japan in which the devastated Tōhoku region has declared its independence but struggles to maintain it amidst increasing violence and terrorist influences. The story follows a war photographer who gains entry to the area using a fake passport and is ultimately taken hostage. The horror of what he witnesses and is subjected to is chilling, especially knowing that Imai is drawing upon the reality of actual events. Accompanying the manga is an extensive essay by the volume’s translator Ryan Holmberg which places it within larger historical and political contexts, examining the underlying sources and development of Imai’s F. It’s an intense and astonishing work, thought-provoking and impactful. – Ash Brown

In/Spectre, Vol. 14 | By Kyo Shirodaira and Chashiba Katase | Kodansha Comics – The promise shown by the previous book, which ended with Kotoko and Rikka having to team up on a murder case. This sees a lot of Kotoko suggesting a very plausible way that the crime could have happened, and then kicking her castle down and saying no, that’s not how it went after all. The actual crime turns out to be rather prosaic—and the killer thoroughly unlikable—but Rikka has a point when she says that Kotoko is playing at being a detective—or, more accurately, playing at being a human. Something which none of the main cast are anymore. Despite that, I can’t see In/Spectre stop being a detective manga—that’s its bread and butter, after all. – Sean Gaffney

Kaguya-sama: Love Is War, Vol. 21 | By Aka Akasaka | Viz Media – This book very much shows us the end of one section and the start of the next. The end comes between Tsubame and Ishigami, who finally gets why getting rejected by the woman you love hurts so much. The start of a new arc comes both from Kaguya, who informs Shirogane that she will NOT be going to Stanford with him but staying to fight her family, and the school itself, who have put every single major character—even Shindo!—in the same class. And yes, this includes a new transfer, Maki’s twin brother and Shirogane’s nemesis. Again, there’s still great comedy here, mostly from Fujiwara (who will never get a serious arc), but the drama is still not going away anytime soon. – Sean Gaffney

Magus of the Library, Vol. 5 | By Mitsu Izumi | Kodansha Comics – Last time I said that we met about 25 new characters, but would not have to remember them all at once. I was wrong. We do, and I am struggling. For all that folks yell at My Hero Academia or Negima for not using all its cast, there’s a reason classes of 20-30 don’t have 20-30 main characters. Especially as we see another character introduced in this volume as well, along with their minder. Fortunately, Magus of the Library is the sort of story where, even if I can’t remember a lick about the plot or the characters, it will get by anyway entirely on art and coolness. Which is probably a good thing, because I can’t remember jack, especially with nine months between volumes. Needs a reread. – Sean Gaffney

Medalist, Vols. 3 | By Tsurumaikada | Kodansha Comics (digital only) – Given that I recently had this as my pick for 2021, you can imagine how I felt about this third volume, which builds on the first two and becomes truly fantastic. The first reason to get it is still the artwork, which looks fast and furious, just like the ice skating that it’s depicting. It has an energy that propels you forward. The other reason to read it is if you’re a fan of sports manga, which this absolutely is, despite—in fact, it’s even better because—the main character is a ten-year-old girl rather than a sixteen-year-old boy. Seeing each of the competitors do their routines and get judged, each surpassing the next, was so good I forgive the artist for the “whoops, I forgot my skates, have to run to get them” bit. This needs print. – Sean Gaffney

Natsume’s Book of Friends, Vol. 26 | By Yuki Midorikawa | Viz Media – The first half of this volume sees the resolution of the very long arc involving the multiple cat statues, which ties into the horror aspect of the title and shows off our favorite antiheroes being antiheroic. After this the second half moves more towards mystery, as a retired expert Natsume has met before is going to visit the house of a late friend that he lost touch with. The trouble is that his friend is supposed to have two daughters… so why are there three there? This is a quieter, more moody piece about words that are not said, and I felt it was stronger. That said, this series has basically become an anthology—when is the last time we saw Natsume using the Book of Friends anyway? – Sean Gaffney

Queen’s Quality, Vol. 13 | By Kyousuke Motomi | Viz Media – As with Magus of the Library, I’ve sort of given up on trying to remember who is who or what is actually happening with all of the factions and snakes. Fortunately, as with Magus of the Library, the series is able to get by anyway on sheer moxie. We sort of resolve the arc from last time, though we get a new villainess in this one who reminds me a bit of similar types I’ve seen in Black Clover and Negima. The other recurring plotline is the fact that our two leads are very horny for each other, but something keeps interrupting them before coitus can ensue. Given that I think that something is “the editor,” I suspect they may have to wait till the end of the series, but it’s amusing and also sexy to see them try. – Sean Gaffney

Sweat and Soap, Vol. 11 | By Kintetsu Yamada | Kodansha Comics – The final volume of this series does not, in fact, feature any crisis management at all, mostly as our leads are too competent to really screw much up. The only thing Asako forgets is to shave her back before the wedding, but that just leads to a sexy scene. The rest of the book is mostly a victory lap/epilogue, though there is a very interesting section where we see the POV of Kotaro’s mother, which is basically a bunch of blurs, but is still rather sweet. After the wedding we see a few scenes showing Asako getting pregnant and the two of them raising their daughter. From a manga that started with a premise that made me go “ew,” this has become one of my favorite adult romance manga ever. I’ll miss it. – Sean Gaffney

Takane & Hana, Vol. 18 | By Yuki Shiwasu | VIZ Media – With the major conflict of the series having wrapped up (rather anticlimactically) in the previous volume, this one is basically one more dose of cute for the road. The Chairman gifts Takane and Hana with a condo and instructs them to move in together and deepen their bond. Takane doesn’t want being married to interfere with Hana’s high school life or studying for entrance exams, but she enjoys doing wifely things when she has the time. Hana gets into college. They eventually announce their marriage to the Takaba family and hold a wedding ceremony. The limited edition version comes with a pamphlet of bonus stories, including one that shows where everyone is seven years later. It’s a very satisfying conclusion for a series I’ve loved a lot, and I’ll miss these characters very much. Mostly, though, I think I’ll miss Takane’s facial expressions. – Michelle Smith

Filed Under: Bookshelf Briefs

Pick of the Week: Easy Rider

January 3, 2022 by Katherine Dacey, Sean Gaffney, Michelle Smith, Anna N and Ash Brown Leave a Comment

KATE: One of the things I appreciate about Seven Seas is how much they’ve diversified their catalog. Yes, they still publish things like Trapped In Another Dimension with a Ridiculously Hot Girl: Have You Seen My Three-Hit Attacks?, but they’ve also made a commitment to publishing older series, offering North American readers an opportunity to read foundational texts such as Claudine, Cutie Honey, Captain Harlock, and Devilman. I’m excited to see what they’ve done with Shotaro Ishinomori’s Kamen Rider, which, as my colleague Sean pointed out, is “the inspiration for most anything you’ve ever loved.” Sold!

SEAN: Kamen Rider would absolutely be my pick if I had any confidence I’d finish it. Since I do not, I’ll go with something more in my wheelhouse: the first volume of Cross-Dressing Villainess Cecilia Sylvie. Combining villainess novels with Hana-Kimi seems like a great idea.

MICHELLE: I think it’s very cool that Kamen Rider is coming out and I will certainly give it a try. If I’m honest, though, my heart belongs to My Love Mix-Up!.

ANNA: I’m going to go with the final volume of Love Me, Love Me Not. Shojo Beat has really been bringing some great, heartfelt series recently and I’m looking forward to seeing how this wraps up.

ASH: It’s Kamen Rider for me this week! I’m very happy to see more of Shotaro Ishinomori’s work translated, and especially such an influential series. This omnibus is huge in more ways than one!

Filed Under: PICK OF THE WEEK

Manga the Week of 1/5/22

December 30, 2021 by Sean Gaffney, Michelle Smith, Ash Brown, Anna N and MJ Leave a Comment

SEAN: Welcome to 2022, a year unlike any other (and hopefully nothing like 2020 or 2021). What manga do we have?

Well, we start with light novels, as Yen On debuts Cross-Dressing Villainess Cecilia Sylvie (Akuyaku Reijou, Cecilia Sylvie wa Shinitakunai no de Dansou Suru Koto ni Shita). It’s an otome game villainess story, but this time our heroine, instead of changing the way she lives her life, decides to completely disguise herself… as a boy!

We also see Unnamed Memory 4.

Yen Press has just one title, and it’s an artbook. Visions 2021__Illustrators Book covers 170 artists from Pixiv, showing off their stunning artwork.

ASH: Other artbooks from Yen have been nicely done, so this definitely has potential.

SEAN: No debuts for Viz Media, but we do see the final volume of Love Me, Love Me Not.

MICHELLE: Man, already?!

ANNA: I’ve been collecting this series, but am several volumes behind. Looking forward to binge reading the rest of it.

SEAN: We do get a new side story, but as it’s one volume it’s more of a one-shot. Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba–Stories of Water and Flame is a short story manga volume based on the super popular manga.

ASH: I’m far behind on Demon Slayer, but am still curious about this one.

SEAN: Also from Viz: Boruto: Naruto Next Generations 13, Dragon Ball Super 15, Kakuriyo: Bed & Breakfast for Spirits 7, Mashle: Magic and Muscles 4, Moriarty the Patriot 6, My Hero Academia: Team-Up Missions 2, My Love Mix-Up! 2, Snow White with the Red Hair 17, Twin Star Exorcists 24, and Undead Unluck 5.

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

ASH: Same!

ANNA: Me too!

SEAN: Tentai Books slipped out a release this week while I wasn’t looking. From Toxic Classmate to Girlfriend Goals (Yatarato Sasshi no Ii Ore wa, Dokuzetsu Kuudere Bishoujo no Chiisana Dere mo Minogasazu ni Guigui Iku) is another in what is almost becoming a genre, the “girl sitting next to me has a bad reputation but is really just covering up her embarrassment” genre.

ASH: I’ll admit to liking this particular subgenre.

SEAN: Square Enix Manga debuts My Isekai Life 01: I Gained a Second Character Class and Became the Strongest Sage in the World! (Tensei Kenja no Isekai Life – Daini no Shokugyou o Ete, Sekai Saikyou ni Narimashita) has as its one thing different from all other books in the genre that our hero is not coming from Japan, but from a fantasy world where he already had a class. Just a weak one. Now he has two! And is strong!

We also see The Apothecary Diaries’ 4th manga and Ragna Crimson 4.

ASH: Looking forward to reading more of Apothecary Diaries.

MJ: I haven’t even started Apothecary Diaries but I admit to being very drawn to it for the title alone.

SEAN: Only one debut for Seven Seas, but it’s a biggie: Kamen Rider: the Classic Manga Collection. This 850-page omnibus has all 4 volumes of the original 1971 manga in hardcover format. This was the inspiration for most anything you’ve ever loved.

ASH: That’s a pretty easy sale for me.

SEAN: Also from Seven Seas: Akashic Records of Bastard Magic Instructor 13, Blue Giant 7-8, Chronicles of an Aristocrat Reborn in Another World 3, How NOT to Summon a Demon Lord 13, Magaimono: Super Magic Action Entertainment 2 (the final volume), Manly Appetites: Minegishi Loves Otsu 3 (also a final volume), The Tale of the Outcasts 4, and Time Stop Hero 3.

MICHELLE: I’ve been meaning to check out Blue Giant and Manly Appetites.

ASH: Manly Appetites has been a delight.

SEAN: Kodansha Manga has print books! Including the debut of The Hero Life of a (Self-Proclaimed) “Mediocre” Demon!, which came out digitally last year.

We also see Battle Angel Alita 4 and Eden’s Zero 14.

Debuting digitally is My Idol Sits the Next Desk Over! (Oshi ga Tonari de Jugyou ni Shuuchuu Dekinai!), also in the ‘sweet romance with the girl sitting next to me’ genre, only this time our protagonist is also a girl.

ASH: I don’t mind that twist.

MJ: Here for it.

SEAN: ANN also reports that Kodansha has Hiraeth: The End of the Journey (Hiraeth wa Tabiji no Hate), a Morning Two title from the creator of Our Dreams at Dusk. It’s already an award winner, and starts off dark, as a woman who wants to see her friend who has died tries to kill herself. She’s stopped by two travelers who take her on a journey.

ASH: Oh!

MJ: This sounds potentially great.

SEAN: There’s also Girlfriend, Girlfriend 7, I Was Reincarnated as the 7th Prince so I Can Take My Time Perfecting My Magical Ability 4, Kounodori: Dr. Stork 19, My Darling, the Company President 2, My Master Has No Tail 2, and Princess Resurrection Nightmare 7 (the final volume).

Kaiten Books has three new print titles for books they’ve previously released digitally. We get Loner Life in Another World 4 (manga), My Dad’s the Queen of All VTubers?! 2, and Welcome to the Outcast’s Restaurant! 1 (manga).

Quite a bit from J-Novel Club. The Apothecary Diaries 4, Black Summoner 7, Guide to the Perfect Otaku Girlfriend: Roomies and Romance 4, Hell Mode 2, How a Realist Hero Rebuilt the Kingdom 7 (manga), I’ll Never Set Foot in That House Again! 3, Jessica Bannister and the Family Secrets (4th in the series), Marginal Operation 11, Monster Tamer 7, The Reincarnated Princess Spends Another Day Skipping Story Routes 2, Sorcerous Stabber Orphen: The Wayward Journey 15, and A Wild Last Boss Appeared! 7.

ASH: That is quite a bit!

SEAN: There’s also more than usual for Ghost Ship. The debut is Into the Deepest, Most Unknowable Dungeon (Fukafuka Dungeon Kouryakuki: Ore no Isekai Tensei Boukentan), which runs in Mag Garden’s Comic Blade. There’s a dungeon that has repelled even the strongest armies. But our recently dead and reincarnated from Japan hero knows how to take them on: with a group of hot and powerful women.

ASH: Obviously.

SEAN: Ghost Ship also has Ero Ninja Scrolls 2, JK Haru is a Sex Worker in Another World 2 (manga), Parallel Paradise 8, and Yuuna and the Haunted Hot Springs 17.

Speaking of publishers sneaking out volumes without telling me, I’m TWO weeks late in noting that Inside Mari 8 is out from Denpa Books!

Dark Horse has the 8th Gantz omnibus.

Airship, in print, has Trapped in a Dating Sim: The World of Otome Games is Tough for Mobs 4.

And digitally they give us Planet of the Orcs 2.

Which of these titles gives you a Rider Kick?

Filed Under: FEATURES, manga the week of

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