Ash Brown

Anonymous Noise, Vol. 18 | By Ryoko Fukuyama | VIZ Media – It took a while for me to get into Anonymous Noise, and I still wouldn’t call it a favorite exactly, but it must be said that this final volume made me verklempt on a few occasions. I particularly liked that Nino and Momo getting back together is not the main focus, because that was so not what I was most invested in with this series. Instead, we get Nino telling Yuzu she wants to sing his songs forever, and him realizing that means even more than winning her heart. There are some awesome concert scenes—that full-page image of Yuzu singing!—and a sense of joyous confidence as they contemplate their musical future together. Too, I appreciated that the final appearance of Yuzu and Nino wordlessly confirmed that, yes, he did eventually grow taller than her. I think I might miss this series now that it’s over. – Michelle Smith

Giant Killing, Vol. 18 | By Masaya Tsunamoto and Tsujitomo | Kodansha Comics (digital only) – The second half of the season has begun! Tatsumi’s strategy going forward is to foster bettter communication and flexibility, so he’s been having the players swap positions, giving chances to non-regulars, etc. The best thing about this series is how Tatsumi has truly earned the players’ trust, and now the team feels more cohesive, each player secure in the knowledge that Tatsumi is looking out for them on an individual level and will help them to improve. Well, mostly everyone. Tsubaki is getting frustrated with his “terrible” playing and is pretty much useless after making a poor decision (while playing an unfamiliar defensive role) that leads to an ETU player’s injury. I really like that, even if they lose, they’re not a high school team trying to reach Nationals, so there’s still hope for the season. Have I mentioned lately how much I love Giant Killing? Verily, I do. – Michelle Smith

Haikyu!!, Vol. 36 | By Haruichi Furudate | Viz Media – I think I forgot to review the 35th volume of Haikyu!!. No doubt it was very good and also filled with volleyball. As is this 36th volume. It is a credit to the author that he has kept the games interesting, and I can easily distinguish between the major adversaries, which is more than I can say for some manga. There’s a few more flashbacks, some really killer moves… a lot of people jump high in the air… I may have to wait till the game finishes to review another volume, though, as I just can’t keep typing up “this was really cool volleyball” over and over again without stretching things out like I’m a contestant on Just a Minute. At least the series is ending in Japan in a week or two, so we’ll soon catch up. -Sean Gaffney

Jujutsu Kaisen, Vol. 1 | By Gege Akutami | Viz Media – I forget where I first heard of Jujutsu Kaisen, but the general impression I’ve garnered from others has largely been positive. Now having read the first volume myself, I can honestly say that I enjoyed the manga. However, it’s clear that the series still has some room to grow before it truly distinguishes itself. Jujutsu Kaisen is Akutami’s first long-form work which may partly explain why the series comes across as being so heavily influenced by other manga. But even while its ideas aren’t particularly new and the tropes that are used are well-worn, the specific and sometimes seemingly disparate combination of them in Jujutsu Kaisen has a sort of quirky charm—which is admittedly kind of a strange description for what is essentially a horror manga about demon hunting. There is darkness, seriousness, and drama in Jujutsu Kaisen, but many of the characters tend to be likeable goofballs. – Ash Brown

MabuSasa, Vol. 1 | By Nanase | Kodansha Comics (digital only) – With its cute cover and male lead who looks like a scary delinquent but who is actually kind, I thought MabuSasa was going to be a sweet love story akin to Honey So Sweet. I was very wrong. It’s not advertised as such anywhere that I could find, but this is actually a 4-koma manga. True, there aren’t titles for the strips, but the page layout fits, as does the sensibility. Mabuchi is indeed a sympathetic character, but he’s surrounded by one-note caricatures. Most infuriating is Akira Sasagawa (the Sasa of the title), our fujoshi heroine who absolutely refuses to listen when Mabuchi swears that he’s not in a relationship with his best friend, Sota Ando. She concocts BL scenarios at every opportunity, even when Mabuchi meets and plays with her little brother. All of this is meant to be funny, I’m assuming, but I didn’t smile once. – Michelle Smith

Yowamushi Pedal, Vol. 13 | By Wataru Watanabe | Yen Press – Sheesh, the Inter-High still isn’t over in this volume. It literally takes 300 pages to go 3.5 kilometers! In that time, there are a couple of big matchups. The first is Imaizumi versus Midousuji, where the former is bolstered by the power of friendship while the latter pulls off new and even more nightmarish contortions while scoffing at the notion that friends are anything more than useless. Imaizumi emerges victorious but a crack in his bike’s frame means that Sohoku’s hopes now rest with Onoda, who goes head to head with Manami. Probably my favorite parts were the reactions of the Sohoku third years to the announcement that Onoda is still in the running to take the whole thing. 500 meters remain at the end of the volume. Next time for sure, right? – Michelle Smith

Again!!, Vol. 12 | By Mitsurou Kubo | Kodansha Comics – For better or worse, Again!! has always been unpredictable. I appreciate that it didn’t always follow the expected story beats, but at the same time, the inconsistency has been frustrating. For example, Imamura’s fluctuating dedication to the Ouendan had him proclaim at one point how much he wanted his grandma to see him cheering, and had that occurred it would’ve been a heart-tugging moment. But it didn’t happen. Instead, Imamura returns from another do-over (this time, flashing to a future in which his death inspired the other characters) with an apathetic attitude that eventually prompts him to return to 2014—a future where his grandmother is dead—without apparently a single pang about it. The ending is also kind of abrupt and ambiguous. In the end, I find myself wishing this had been more predictable, ‘cos at least it would’ve been more satisfying. – Michelle Smith

Chihayafuru, Vol. 18 | By Yuki Suetsugu | Kodansha Comics (digital only) – This volume is full of choices for Chihaya. It’s time to complete another career survey, and this time she fills in a more realistic goal than becoming Queen. It’s also less ambitious, however, and thus her karuta advisor comes to see her play at the Yoshino Club Tournament to ask someone with more experience whether Chihaya really has the potential to become Queen. Happily, she’s playing with more precision and focus than ever, but her next opponent is Haruka Inokuma, a 4-time former Queen, so her chances really hinge on how she fares in that match. (I suspect Taichi vs. Arata is in the offing, as well.) Too, the school trip conflicts with the Master/Queen qualifiers, and Chihaya must choose which side of herself she wants to cultivate more. I seriously love this series and am eagerly anticipating the next volume! – Michelle Smith

Dr. STONE, Vol. 9 | By Riichiro Inagaki and Boichi | Viz Media – Perhaps being interesting was too much to ask, but Taiju and Yuzuriha are at least contributing now that they’ve been added to Senku’s team—Taiju by being a literal tank soaking up damage, and Yuzuriha by apparently taking all the statues that Tsukasa smashed and sewing them together, presumably so they can be revived. If this seems farfetched, it’s no more so than finding the hospital where Tsukasa’s terminally ill little sister was located and unstoning her, which apparently also cures her illness. That said, Tsukasa may not be the end boss, as there’s another who’s been waiting for the moment to make his debut as a Big Bad. This continues to be ridiculous but also cool. – Sean Gaffney

Hatsu*Haru, Vol. 10 | By Shizuki Fujisawa | Yen Press – Best Couple get the cover, and I continue to be more interested in them than I am Riko and Kai, who are cute and all but also somewhat predictable. The four of them go to the hot springs, mostly as Riko is too nervous to be alone with Kai, and Takaya learns that Ayumi leaves herself wide open. After a cute but slight Valentine’s chocolate chapter, the best part comes when Ayumi gets a bad cold and Takaya visits, meeting her parents and finding out she’s actually pretty rich and her family are famous film creators. Ayumi is not yet ready to reciprocate Takaya’s feelings, but she does open up to him about wanting to seek her own path. It’s great to see, and we have three volumes left after this, so I’m sure it will work out. – Sean Gaffney

ROADQUEEN: Eternal Roadtrip to Love | By Mira Ong Chua | Seven Seas – While not technically manga, ROADQUEEN will likely still appeal both stylistically and thematically to readers who enjoy Japanese comics. In particular, the volume makes an excellent addition to Seven Seas’ catalog of yuri titles. ROADQUEEN originated as a short online comic, followed up by a much longer multi-chapter sequel. Both of these stories and an additional bonus comic are collected in this volume. Leo, the prince of Princess Andromeda Academy, only has eyes for Bethany—her motorcycle. At least until Vega arrives on the scene and steals Bethany away. Vega promises she’ll give the bike back, but only after Leo proves that she can be a decent lesbian (not to mention human being). ROADQUEEN is deliberately over-the-top, Chua obviously having a lot of fun playing with tropes, but it can actually be very touching, too. With an abundance of humor and a ton of heart, ROADQUEEN is an absolute delight. – Ash Brown

Saki the Succubus Hungers Tonight, Vol. 1 | By Mikokuno Homare and studio HIP-CATs | Ghost Ship – I will admit that for a title that’s coming out via the Ghost Ship label, which means “borderline porn,” this is pretty cute. Saki is a fairly new, still virginal succubus who has been thrown out of her family home as she’s old enough to be finding men to “feed” on, but she’s honestly a bit too shy for all that. She is thus near starvation when found by Renta, an adult salaryman who is also a virgin. They clearly fall for each other pretty fast, but are also both innocent and clueless, so nothing happens… well, OK, something happens, she manages to “feed,” but the plot is still “will they ever actually do anything” and the answer is likely “no.” Still, for tease, this is relatively cute and sweet. – Sean Gaffney

Snow White with the Red Hair, Vol. 5 | By Sorata Akiduki | Viz Media – Welp, despite what I thought, the series does not end just because the main couple confessed. Indeed, most of the volume involves separating the two—not by design, but simply as Shirayuki has been invited to another country for a get together… her old country, where Prince Raj is. Indeed, after having it out with her a couple of volumes ago, Raj is seemingly turning over a new leaf, but that doesn’t mean he’s comfortable around her at all—he never expected she’d accept the invitation. Her bodyguard for this journey is Obi, and I note that this series is very good at having a bunch of guys in it who are not immediately in love with the heroine. Whether that’s true of the new villain introduced here, who knows? – Sean Gaffney

Teasing Master Takagi-san, Vol. 7 | By Soichiro Yamamoto | Yen Press – Having established that our leads will end up married with a child in the future, the series can now slowly move forward in increments, culminating in the final chapter here, where Nishikata, of his own volition, asks Takagi to the summer festival. But we’re also looking back, as we get to see how the two of them first met, and how Nishikata’s two basic qualities—a nice guy with great faces when he’s embarrassed or upset—inspire Takagi almost immediately. I’m not sure this is exactly when she falls for him, but she certainly has by the end of this book, which gives us another nice blushing reaction from her. Oh yes, and there’s still plenty of teasing. You expected something else? – Sean Gaffney

The Way of the Househusband, Vol. 2 | By Kousuke Oono | VIZ Media – This was another fun volume of The Way of the Househusband, in which Tatsu tries aerobics and yoga, intimidates a yakuza by offering him kitchen gadgets, eradicates stubborn stains in Masa’s laundry, plays volleyball with housewives, and more. I really appreciate that we saw more of Miku, his wife, this time around, and probably my favorite chapter is the final one, in which her parents drop by for a visit. Even though the fish-out-of-water setup in this series reminds me of the premise of Saint Young Men, The Way of the Househusband is not only visually superior (better art, great pacing to jokes), but has more heart, especially the bonus chapter in which we see Miku’s dad practicing for the moment when he asks Tatsu if he wants to go outside and play catch. I stop short of calling the manga sweet, but it’s wholly endearing. Highly recommended. – Michelle Smith

Yowamushi Pedal, Vol. 13 | By Wataru Watanabe | Yen Press – Yowamushi Pedal, Vol. 13 | By Wataru Watanabe | Yen Press – OK, I was probably foolish to think the race would end in this volume. We’re gonna have to wait for fourteen. But in return, we get so much shonen sports at its best. Midousuji does his best, but then crashes and burns. Instead, it’s Manami who gets the bulk of this book, where we discover that he enjoys shifting gears higher when he should be doing the opposite, just to make things even more fun. That said, he shouldn’t dismiss our hero, Onoda, who has his pedaling and his Pretty Princess song to keep him going forever. (Oh yes, and his mother shows up—apparently at rando, as he never told her about the race? This was the funniest part of the book.) Things should end next volume… well, at least this race. – Sean Gaffney

Anonymous Noise, Vol. 18 | By Ryoko Fukuyama | Viz Media – Welp, I was wrong. Romantically, the final pairing is not what I expected. That said, romance, as always in this series, takes a back seat to the music, and musically the pairing is exactly what I expected. It’s actually quite interesting to see the basic “final volume” beats of a shoujo manga framed in terms of career and musical partner, while the heroine actually ends up with someone else. It’s quite a choice. Elsewhere, the book wraps up the one remaining unresolved pairing. But most of all for me, it goes back to its roots and shows what I loved most about it—Nino screaming the songs like they’re primal. I’ll miss this series, and am interested in what the author is going to do next. – Sean Gaffney

Bakemonogatari, Vol. 2 | By NISIOISIN and Oh!great | Vertical Comics – One thing about the artwork in this manga adaptation, particularly of its lead character, is that it does not shy away from how relentlessly creepy and sexually harassing Araragi can be. The novels made you question how much of it was a narrative device, the anime framed it as so over the top it was almost parody, but the manga makes you squirm at seeing Araragi’s face as he simultaneously beats up and pervs on a little girl. This second volume finishes Hitagi Crab and gets almost halfway through Mayoi Snail, and does a good job at making itself distinct—here the park is a normal park, not the grandiose wonder as seen in the anime. Provided you can tolerate Araragi, an excellent adaptation. – Sean Gaffney

Daytime Shooting Star, Vol. 4 | By Mika Yamamori | VIZ Media – Believing that Shishio has gotten back together with his ex, Suzume tries to see it as an opportunity to forget him. It’s not true, though, and after her friends arrange for them to have an aquarium date, Shishio starts acting different around her. I certainly don’t want him to return her feelings, but it’s also pretty shitty that he treats her like she’s special and gives her false hope when he has already rejected her. At least he’s aware of this. There’s a great sequence where they both stop themselves from calling out to the other in the hallway, trying to avoid falling into their typical patterns, but by the end he’s rushing to rescue her from overbearing upperclassmen and falling pots. I really, really am enjoying this series, but continue to hope that she’s eventually going to get over him once and for all. – Michelle Smith

Dirty Pair | By Haruka Takachiho and Hisao Tamaki| Seven Seas – I was both looking forward to this and also dreading it, and in the end the dread won out. I suppose every generation gets the Lovely Angels it deserves. It’s not as if the original novels did not have Kei and Yuri walking around in Bikini tops and short shorts and cracking wise, and they do here as well. And the novels did indeed have the “we are psychically bonded and get hints about solving crimes that way” jazz as well. But this manga adaptation takes the fanservice to eleven, with the Angels making out and getting orgasm faces as they use their psychic powers. The plot of these is essentially very similar to the originals, and the basic “they solve the mystery, but everything is destroyed” premise is still there and valid. That said, the fanservice makes me recommend this only to hardcore fans of the Lovely Angels. – Sean Gaffney

Haikyu!!, Vol. 36 | By Haruichi Furudate | VIZ Media – After losing the first set to Nekoma, Karasuno wins the second. As Furudate-sensei elegantly shows through a series of panels comparing past scoreboards to the current one, this is the first time that has ever happened. Indeed, throughout the volume, Furudate excels at conveying the significance of things, particularly when the most reserved players on each team experience a moment in which they recognize how much fun volleyball can be. Tsukishima actually smiles when he’s finally able to score a point against his rival/mentor Kuroo while Kenma, whose predictions are usually correct, is happy when Hinata is able to surprise him with a trick shot. And, in turn, Kuroo is happy that the friend who’s been indulging him all these years is finally enjoying himself. It’s all about appreciating the people who get you and who challenge you. I love this series so much. – Michelle Smith

Himouto! Umaru-chan, Vol. 8 | By Sankakuhead | Seven Seas – I always enjoy the way that there is slow, methodical character development for Umaru in these books. She may still be incapable of taking care of herself without her brother around, but she’s beginning to grow up and demonstrate she might be able to function in society. Of course, there is also the usual Umaru humor, particularly when dealing with Hikari, who not only looks and acts like Umaru but is trying to occupy the same place in her brother’s life. (Speaking of which, we also get more shots of Kanau, Hikari’s older sister and Taihei’s boss, who also might have a thing for him, though I suspect if there’s any romance in this series at all it will be with Ebina, who’s had longer to develop.) Cute, cute, cute. – Sean Gaffney

Kaguya-sama: Love Is War, Vol. 12 | By Aka Akasaka | Viz Media – I get the sense that the author has figured out how many volumes he wants this series to be now, as the pacing seems to have become more rapid. Not in terms of the gags, but in terms of the plot—Shirogane’s desire to resolve his relationship with Kaguya by the Culture Festival seems to mean it will happen next volume or the one after, and for once he seems quietly determined—I think committing to Stanford lit a fire in him. Elsewhere, Chika once again tries to cheat her way to victory and is punished, and also tries to teach Shirogane something easy and is punished. And there’s a chapter advertising the We Want to Talk About Kaguya spin-off, which… we’re not getting here. A lot of fun as usual. – Sean Gaffney

To Be Next to You, Vol. 1 | By Atsuko Namba | Kodansha Comics (digital only) – Nina Uemura is in love with her next-door neighbor, Kyosuke Tachibana, who has just started his first year of high school. She ends up witnessing the moment when one of his new classmates, Yuiko Asou, kisses him. This ultimately spurs Nina to confess, but when he goes in to kiss her, she freaks out. Meanwhile, Kyosuke and Asou seem to be getting closer. Because Asou is written so sympathetically (she’s genuinely a good person, and her once-kind boyfriend has become a jerk) and Nina comes across as quite immature comparatively, this manga so far reads like she’s the interloper onto Kyosuke’s love story. He’s moving ahead and she’s desperate to stay by his side, even if he’s entering a world that she’s not yet prepared for. It’s good stuff! I look forward to volume two. – Michelle Smith

Vinland Saga, Vol. 11 | By Makoto Yukimura | Kodansha Comics – It’s been a year and a half since the last omnibus volume of Vinland Saga was released. Somehow in that amount of time I had forgotten just how much humor Yukimura incorporates into what is otherwise an incredibly serious narrative. It helps keep the manga from becoming overwhelmingly bleak, but the balance of between the comedy and tragedy in the eleventh omnibus feels a little off—the jokes and occasional pop culture references (while entertaining) at times lessen the impact of the surrounding scenes. Even so, Vinland Saga remains an intensely compelling and powerful work. These volumes bring to a close the battle at Jomsborg. Throughout the conflict, Thorfinn repeatedly comes up against his decision to live without taking the lives of others. His resolve is severely tested when he confronts the man behind his father’s death and the warriors who likewise seek the deaths of Thorfinn and his companions. – Ash Brown

Dead Dead Demon’s Dededede Destruction, Vol. 7 | By Inio Asano | Viz Media – Every time a new volume of this fantastic series comes out I avoid reading it, possibly as I still expect it to end with everyone depressed or dead, because Asano. Despite that, things trundle along in this volume. Oran’s starting to have ominous feelings that she’s seen some of this before, and even the main cast heading to the beach, with lots of silly beach comedy, can’t quite stop you thinking things aren’t going to be the same anymore, especially after that cliffhanger. Makoto is on the cover, and gets a fair number of scenes as well, something you can’t always say about the covers. Most of all, this continues to examine the nature of conspiracies and media frenzies. Great stuff. – Sean Gaffney

My Hero Academia, Vol. 22 | By Kohei Horikoshi | Viz Media – What I remember about this volume’s chapters when they came out weekly was the fandom going ballistic attacking Momo after her loss. Possibly because the main cast praised her abilities regardless, possibly as she lost another fight and Jump fans are all secret wrestling fans complaining about “Jobbers.” It’s an excellent battle, though. The other fights are good as well. You’d expect Todoroki to clean up, but that battle too does not go as expected. Bakugo shows off that he can be kind and heroic while STILL being a loud asshole, and Izuku shows that the fact that he’s trying to learn his powers on the fly is leading to bad things. Fortunately, Uraraka and Shinso are there. Excellent. – Sean Gaffney

Queen Bee, Vol. 3 | By Shizuru Seino | Kodansha Comics (digital only) – In Queen Bee’s second volume, Toma realized he had feelings for Hirata while on a forest field trip, during which she displayed extreme competence (and fought off a bear). Now, they’ve become an official couple, but Hirata’s insecurity, coupled with the reveal of a junior high ex-girlfriend that Toma might still have feelings for, makes her worry that he’s just trying to make himself love her. Ordinarily, the emergence of a love rival in the latter half of the final volume of a short series would irritate me a great deal, but I actually liked that it gave Hirata one more opportunity to show that Toma’s happiness is her top priority. She may look scary, but she’s pure and valiant, and in the end, this series kind of gave me gender-flipped My Love Story!! feels. Truly delightful. – Michelle Smith

Queen’s Quality, Vol. 8 | By Kyousuke Motomi | Viz Media – Answers are here, with extended flashbacks showing us what actually happened years ago, and who Fumi is. It’s helpful to have Kyutaro’s late mother explaining things to them, admittedly, and she’s super cool—I’d be OK with more adventures of her. Meanwhile, as Fumi tries to take this all in, Kyutaro adds to things by confessing to her, something which is perhaps not timely but is at least heartfelt. That said, it may be relatively irrelevant, as the cliffhanger suggests that we may be seeing some memory loss/destruction of alternate selves going on. Still, as far as dream-laden fantasy shoujo with comedic undertones go, QQ is tops. And love that they still have Dengeki Daisy cameos in them. – Sean Gaffney

Saint Young Men, Vol. 1 | By Hikaru Nakamura | Kodansha Comics – The premise of Saint Young Men is both simple and kooky. Jesus and Buddha have rented an apartment in Japan to enjoy some well-earned time off, where they enter into a sort of odd-couple existence, with Buddha being the serious guy who does all the chores and Jesus being the carefree guy who has a popular TV review blog. The situations are pretty fun—the guys go to an amusement park and ride a roller coaster, they experience a packed commuter train, Jesus buys a Shinsengumi costume to wear as pajamas, Buddha wins a statue of himself while trying to win a trip to Okinawa…—but I’m sad to report that I never actually laughed at anything. Perhaps that will change with later volumes, as I did think this one got more amusing as it went along. We shall see! – Michelle Smith

Species Domain, Vol. 7 | By Shunsuke Noro | Seven Seas – The bulk of this volume is based around the school athletics festival, which gives us a chance to revisit several ongoing issues: Kazamori trying to live up to the “elf” standard everyone sees in her, ship tease between Hanei and Mikasagi, and the usual athletic festival cliches. The most interesting part of the book was showing us that Mizuno, who is frustrated at the mermaid classmate who’s going to put the swimming competition out of reach, also is a mermaid. That said, the reason they’ve been hiding it is fascinating, getting into both monster cliches and the sort of thing that LGBTQ people deal with daily, and I thought the reaction of the class was great. All in all, another solid volume. – Sean Gaffney

Sword Art Online: Hollow Realization, Vol. 5 | By Tomo Hirokawa, based on the story by Reki Kawahara | Yen Press – Despite Genesis being a clear bad guy, one who’s even taking drugs to enhance his gaming “performance,” he’s still able to make a huge impression on Tia. Sadly, when he is then “killed,” that proves the impetus for her to pick up where he left off, and she’s now out to remove humans from this MMORPG. As always with SAO lately, there’s some good discussion of what constitutes an NPC, and Premiere also goes through some emotional crises, especially given Tia is her dark twin. The next volume is the final one, so we’ll see if Kirito and the cast of every other video game spinoff can help. Despite the high entry level of this series, it’s pretty decent. – Sean Gaffney

The Trial of Kitaro | By Shigeru Mizuki | Drawn & Quarterly – Collecting five short manga originally published in shonen magazines between 1968 and 1971, The Trial of Kitaro brings to a close Drawn & Quarterly’s delightful seven-volume compilation of selections from Mizuki’s influential series GeGeGe no Kitaro. Combining creepiness with comedy (including some literal potty humor—beware haunted mountainside toilets), the stories in this volume are tremendous fun. As with previous installments, the episodic chapters were in part chosen specifically to be kid-friendly, so there’s a certain amount of grossness and just plain strangeness to them. But, regardless of intended audience, I’m enamored with these yokai tales of horror. I love how Mizuki has taken traditional Japanese folklore and incorporated his own ideas and even some Western legends to create something truly special. Along with the other volumes, I will treasure The Trial of Kitaro. I am sad that this is the series’ end, but I am so incredibly happy that these stories were translated. – Ash Brown