The Fed-Up Office Lady Wants to Serve the Villainess, Vol. 1 | By Nekotarou | Seven Seas – I’ll be honest, these days when a yuri series is licensed I expect it to be a lot less subtle than this one. You might even think it was just pure shoujo. After getting laid off from her job, our protagonist is briefly depressed, before she is suddenly transported to the world of her favorite otome game. The villainess, Lapis, has summoned someone, and it turns out to be her. Now she has to pretend to be a familiar who can make predictions by using her game knowledge. Lapis apparently despises commoners, but I have a feeling there’s more behind that. This was fun, and made me imagine My Next Life As a Villainess if the main character had been reincarnated as Anne rather than Katarina. As for the yuri, right now I think the heroine is more into girls than the villainess. For genre fans, whatever that genre is. – Sean Gaffney
I Don’t Know Which Is Love, Vol. 3 | By Tamamushi Oku | Yen Press – I was not prepared for there to be a year-and-a-half wait between volumes, so as you’d expect I’ve forgotten who everyone is. Though Mei is the important one. She’s still bouncing from girl to girl, and in this book she ends up making out with each of them, including French kissing, which (as her love interests note) she’s pretty good at. She also may be good at acting, as she has to identify with the rejected love from her past to get into the head of a character. That said, the series’ most notable trait is just how absolutely horny everyone in the cast is. This is not an old-school yuri where things end by holding hands. The girls all desperately want to screw Mei, and when staring at her teacher’s revealing outfit Mei thinks “Holy tits!” For connoisseurs. – Sean Gaffney
Monthly Girls’ Nozaki-kun, Vol. 16 | By Sorata Akiduki | Yen Press – I’m going to be honest, the most exciting part of the volume may be the final chapter, where we see a Nozaki who is half-asleep talk about the fact that speaking (over the phone) to Sakura is exciting. This is a series that tends to live and die on its facial reactions, and hers is something else. Another highlight was the “you can act in a play” event, which showed us Sakura’s devotion to Nozaki at peak levels, to the point where, when Hori imitates Nozaki (badly) performing, she can spot exactly what he’s doing. Best of all is Sakura’s iguana pose, which defies description, so I won’t even try. There’s no forward plot development in a series like this, but Sakura is definitely the winner when it comes to laughs this time around. – Sean Gaffney
The 100 Girlfriends Who Really, Really, Really, Really, REALLY Love You, Vol. 15 | By Rikito Nakamura and Yukiko Nozawa | Ghost Ship – There’s another new girlfriend, whose gimmick “obsessed with numbers” is merely OK when she’s bouncing off Rentaro himself, who has to work harder to gain her affection as she’s literally uninterested in any thing that is not a number. (For all that diagnosing characters as autistic is overdone, if you’re going to pick one of this cast to diagnose, new girl is the one.) But it gets better when she meets the rest of the girls, and I enjoyed her bonding with Ahko, whose relaxed but sincere attitude helps draw her in. There’s still plenty of horny here, but I also really love the series when it focuses on how everyone tries their best to think of their partner and what their wants and needs are. Great stuff. – Sean Gaffney
Reincarnated in a Mafia Dating Sim: A Yakuza Heiress Becomes the Top-Ranked Villain’s Romantic Target!, Volume 1 | By Sora Goto and Touko Amekawa | LoveLove – Based only on the first volume, I’m not yet convinced that the conceit of being reborn in a video game contributes much to Reincarnated in a Mafia Dating Sim beyond added amusement, but the manga adaptation is nevertheless a fun and enjoyable read. This is in large part due to how incredibly likeable and competent the lead heroine is—a young woman who wants nothing more than to lead a “normal” life, something that proves to be difficult when your family is yakuza. After dying, she is reincarnated as Francesca Calvino, the protagonist of a dating sim that was popular at her school. She’s familiar with the plot of the game so theoretically knows all of the actions she needs to take to finally leave the underworld behind, but the personal characteristics that allow her to do this also make the role of mafia daughter a perfect fit for her. – Ash Brown
Skip and Loafer, Vol. 11 | By Misaki Takamatsu | Seven Seas – Most of this book is devoted to the class trip. The most touching scene in the volume doesn’t involve Shima, but Yuzuki, who admits to the others that she’s thinking of going to college in Hokkaido, and reminds them (and the reader, who is likely seeing their YuzuMako hopes die a bit) that high school cannot last forever. Also great is the ongoing interaction between the bright and shiny Mitsumi and the deeply cynical (but smart) Yasaka, who simply cannot get over Mitsumi’s overthinking going out with Shima, or the fact that because she rejected him, that’s it forever. Yasaka is not likeable, but she’s a great foil, and I love it when she shows up And then there’s poor Shima, who may idolize Mitsumi more than want to date her. Terrific. – Sean Gaffney
Suzuki-kun’s Mindful Life, Vol. 1 | By Yuhki Fujimoto | Yen Press – There’s a mini-genre of “I’m not a bad person, I just have resting bitch face” in Japan, and it applies equally to guys and girls. Suzuki-kun looks like he’s glaring and ready to kill you, but that’s just how he looks—in reality he loves to bake and is devoted to being a great big brother. His middle school life was terrible, and high school appears to be going the same way, till he meets Haruna, a pretty boy who is very outgoing and positive, and their friendship means Suzuki is dragged slowly towards everyone getting “oh, that’s not what he’s like after all.” I am less impressed with Suzuki’s crush on his sister’s teacher, though at least the series is not playing it up too much, and she also fits the theme of “I am not what I look like” as well. For fans of manga with sweet guys. – Sean Gaffney
Tamon’s B-Side, Vol. 8 | By Yuki Shiwasu | Viz Media – I’m still enjoying this series, but I get the sense that its popularity, and the upcoming anime, has meant that plots that were going to be resolved relatively quickly are now not all that resolved. Basically, if you’re expecting any romance between Tamon and Utage, keep waiting. The bulk of this book continues to deal with Rintaro’s home life, and the real reason for his quitting the band. We’re also introduced to his younger sister, who is acting up in the best younger sister tradition. Utage, for all her fangirl insanity, is one of the few people in this title with a sensible head on her shoulders, and as with Tamon, most of what she does in it amounts to emotional counseling. Recommended for readers who enjoy being a parent rather than a love interest. – Sean Gaffney
365 Days to the Wedding, Vol. 8 | By Tamiki Wakaki | Seven Seas – As it turns out, Takuya is not ready to bring up what his dad asks about to Rika, and the fallout from that leads both of them into a spiral of “I’m doing something wrong.” This leads Rika, after they get back, to immediately go back to see Takuya’s parents—by herself, she asks he not contact her. There she learns a bit more about what life in the country is like. As for Takuya, he gets waylaid by Rika’s mother, who is ludicrously over-controlling but makes it sound like good advice. I am not a fan of Takuya’s new look at all, and I blame her for this. Still, I don’t think she was prepared for her self-help advice to work too well, as she doesn’t get a chance to reject him as a partner for her daughter before she gets caught up in his going to find Rika. This was chaotic, but still good. – Sean Gaffney
