Ash Brown

Again!!, Vol. 4 | By Mitsurou Kubo | Kodansha Comics – Just as the ouendan members are beginning to communicate and share ideas for how to set their cheering apart, Imamura falls down the flight of stairs again and finds himself back where he started, temporally speaking. What follows is a neat split timeline, with Imamura in 2014 trying to figure out whether what he experienced was real or a dream, and Fujieda in 2011 watching everyone gradually forget Imamura and his influence in their lives. It’s still not 100% conclusive that it is real, or whether Imamura’s actions will in any way affect the present, but he’s still determined to try. Armed with knowledge of how Usami ends up causing a disaster and dropping out of school, an accidental plummet from a window sends him back again. This was an exciting volume, and a big improvement over the previous one. – Michelle Smith

Arakawa Under the Bridge, Vol. 4 | By Hikaru Nakamura | Vertical Comics – As always, I’m grasping at straws to avoid having every review be simply “this series is really weird but pretty funny,” and this time around it’s noticing that despite living under the bridge mostly involving Rec playing the straight man, it’s actually pretty much been a good thing for him, both in terms of his physical and mental health. Rec was the sort of person who was headed for an early nervous breakdown, and while one can argue that he has about ten of these in this omnibus alone, he’s also maturing in a weird way by being immature. He’s also a good fit with Nino, who gets a rival in a huge Amazon this time around but is otherwise power-faced. Best read in bits, but still great fun. – Sean Gaffney

Chio’s School Road, Vol. 1 | By Tadataka Kawasaki | Yen Press – Although Chio is a high school student who would rather not draw too much attention to herself, somehow the complete opposite always seems to happen. She can’t even make it to school on time without something astonishingly absurd happening first–thus the title and premise of the series. Chio’s School Road can be incredibly funny. The titular heroine repeatedly finds herself in over-the-top situations which she unintentionally makes even more outrageous due to a potent mix of exceptionally creative problem solving, a nearly complete lack of common sense, and an obsessive love of video games. While not as overly-sexualized or fanservice-laden as it could be, Kawasaki’s background as a hentai artist is readily apparent in Chio’s School Road, mostly in how characters’ facial expressions are portrayed during times of intense physical exertion. Some of the humor is a bit lewd or risqué as well, but some elements are more innocent. – Ash Brown

D-Frag!, Vol. 12 | By Tomoya Haruno | Seven Seas – It’s been almost a year and a half since the last volume of D-Frag!, and I’ve honestly forgotten half the cast. But that’s fine, as the reader will quickly get back into the spirit of things, as the premise remains the same—gags happen, and they are funny. Much of the volume involves the main cast going to a festival held at the Girls’ Private Academy they’ve occasionally battled, and no prizes for guessing that they have to play games there. And there’s also many, many jokes about Takao’s breasts, which remain nearly invincible (in fact, the fact that they can come to harm is a gag all to itself.) D-Frag! is never going to have a serious plotline or any character development, but it’s dumb fun. – Sean Gaffney

My Monster Secret, Vol. 12 | By Eiji Masuda | Seven Seas – First off, I get the feeling that the manga really is going to go for the teacher/student relationship with Akari and Sakurada, and I’m not sure how I feel about it, though it would at least stop the old maid jokes. The best part of this volume, though, is Youko and Asahi’s first date, which is absolutely adorable despite a bit of ominous foreshadowing near the end, which seems to imply that Youko’s vampire tendencies may actually be tied to her lust for her boyfriend. We also start a new year, and thus have new freshman, including Asahi’s sister, who I’d forgotten existed, and Momochi, an over-the-top ninja who seems to fall in love at the drop of a hat. Dragging on a bit, but still good. – Sean Gaffney

Yowamushi Pedal, Vol. 9 | By Wataru Watanabe | Yen Press – Day two of the inter-high continues! The teams from Hakone and Sohoku make their triumphant return to the head of the pack, much to the consternation of a hothead on the Kyoto-Fushimi team. Midousuji insists all is within the scope of his simulations, however, and employs various tactics to ensure his victory. It’s initially satisfying watching Midousuji be thrown off by just how strong Fukutomi and Kinjou really are—I was particularly amused when he called them “sewer gnats!!”—but once he gets a tragic backstory, I felt a little less gleeful about it. Fukutomi and Kinjou have a very healthy rivalry born of mutual respect that leads to greater heights, whereas Midousuji has nothing like that. Watanabe-sensei, I can’t believe you made me feel bad for Midousuji. Well done! – Michelle Smith

Bloom Into You, Vol. 5 | By Nakatani Nio | Seven Seas – Yuu works with Kanou to get the ending of the student council play rewritten so that the character Touko’s playing won’t disregard the her of the present to pretend to be the her of the past. When Touko sees the new script, especially the requirement that she now say a line about how her choices have been wrong, she’s rather put out and expects Sayaka to support her, but instead, Sayaka is with Yuu on this one. Finally, though, Yuu seems to be getting through to her with an impassioned speech about, “You’ve been you all this time!” I do think Touko probably needs to be in therapy, but it seems like her love for Yuu, something her sister never had, might be showing her the path to her real self, and that’s kind of neat. I’ll keep reading! – Michelle Smith

Giant Killing, Vol. 13 | By Masaya Tsunamoto and Tsujitomo | Kodansha Comics (digital only) – There are twenty minutes left in ETU’s game against Tokyo Victory and their early one-point lead is in jeopardy as Victory’s previously injured ace, Mochida, takes the field. It’s probably too early in the series for ETU to achieve an outright victory over the league champions, but they at least hold them to a draw, with Tsubaki playing with a lot more confidence than in their prior matchup. It’s awesome to see how much he’s grown. Next, over midseason break, some of the players have been drafted for an exhibition game between the league’s Japanese all-stars and its foreign players, with ETU management hoping an MVP recognition might appease their sponsors, particularly the son of a wealty donor who is not as enamored of the club as his father is. Basically: this is grown-up sports manga and it’s great. – Michelle Smith

Hakumei & Mikochi: Tiny Little Life in the Woods, Vol. 1 | By Takuto Kashiki | Yen Press – It’s the manga’s subtitle that reveals the conceit that separates Hakumei & Mikochi from any number of other slice-of-life series currently being released. The two titular characters, like everyone else in the manga, are tiny. Like, using-beetles-as-a-mode-of-transportation small. Overall the tone of the manga is calming and optimistic although it’s not without its moments of danger and drama as the story follows Hakumei and Mikochi through their day-to-day lives. Mikochi is the more quiet and reserved of the two while Hakumei is more energetic and outgoing. The two young women live with, support, and look out for each other. The artwork of the series is detailed, with particular attention given to creating a well-realized setting and portraying the beauty of nature. At this point there’s no evidence whatsoever of humans encroaching upon the surprisingly gentle world of Hakumei & Mikochi, and I suspect that will be the case for the entire series. – Ash Brown

Lovesick Ellie, Vol. 6 | By Fujimomo | Kodansha Comics (digital only) – The drama in this volume mostly hinges on communication fails and I’m sorry to say that it’s getting old. Some of it is pretty good, like when Sara’s feelings get hurt when she realizes that Ellie never told her when she and Akira officially started going out. But it’s frustrating when Ellie irrationally decides that Akira does not actually care about receiving the Valentine’s Day chocolates she made for him. It’s just so stupid because it’s obvious that it means a lot to him! The cuteness of the resulting smoochy times just can’t make up for such a dumb moment. To top it all off, the friendless boy with whom Ellie sympathizes, despite Akira’s jealousy, is now poised to be a rival for her affections. Whee, a love triangle. My favorite. I hope I can continue to enjoy this series going forward, but I’m not so sure. – Michelle Smith

Scum’s Wish, Vol. 8 | By Mengo Yokoyari | Yen Press – The final volume of Scum’s Wish ends as it began, with the horrible pangs of unrequited teenage love. Neither Hanabi nor Mugi gets what they want, and while it would be really easy for them to take comfort in each other, they can’t bring themselves to do it. They just don’t have those feelings. It’s well-portrayed. Slightly less so is Akane, who seems to end up with Narumi because of his acceptance and love of who she is, including the awful bits—it’s fine if she cheats on him, he says with a smile. This leads her to the revelation that she really does want to marry him, but it feels, like most of Scum’s Wish, a bit more sordid than I’d like. There’s a sequel, but I suspect this may be it for the title over here. It was good, but painful. – Sean Gaffney

Stupid Love Comedy | By Syusyusyu Sakurai | Yen Press – For a manga with “love comedy” in the title, Stupid Love Comedy has surprisingly little romance in it. Suzu Sakura is a manga creator described as a natural genius but who requires quite a bit of oversight from her editors in order to keep her on schedule. Stupid Love Comedy opens with her being assigned a new editor, Osamu Hasegawa, who is less inclined to put up with her antics and excuses. Feelings of love aren’t completely absent from the story, and in some ways the series is set up like a reverse harem (every guy Sakura works with is incredibly attractive), but for the most part the true love of the various characters is the creation of manga. The stories and characters of Stupid Love Comedy are based on real-life people and experiences, the series providing a humorous, entertaining, and at times outrageous behind-the-scenes look at the manga industry. – Ash Brown

Tales of Wedding Rings, Vol. 3 | By Maybe | Yen Press – Last time I said the series was avoiding the obvious harem fantasy tropes, and while I enjoyed this volume as well, I can’t say that here. From catgirls to “my future husband must defeat me in combat,” it’s all present and correct. What’s more, Wife #1 Hime is starting to feel a bit jealous, and also somewhat inadequate compared to the powerhouses Satou is picking up. Still, she’s first among equals, and I think that fans of harem romances will… well, OK, fans of harem romances will be upset there was no nookie here either—Souma explicitly wants to wait till he’s back home in Japan. Next time we’ll get a new princess, no doubt, but I think the series works best when it’s focused on Satou and Hime. – Sean Gaffney

Toppu GP, Vol. 3 | By Kosuke Fujishima | Kodansha Comics – Everyone loves Myne, the Belldandy of this series, though she doesn’t really seem to have her eye on anyone. Which is good, as the romance would get in the way of the bike-racing and bike-training. The majority of this is basically watching awesome motocross racing and giving advice to newbies on how to get better, which includes things like “don’t ride when you are frustrated or you’ll injure yourself.” Toppu is a lot more young and teenage than the Keiichi ever was—actually, to be honest, he resembles the Keiichi at the start of Oh My Goddess!, before he became sexless by design. This comes out once in a blue moon, but it’s still a good title for Fujishima or biking fans. – Sean Gaffney

Yowamushi Pedal, Vol. 9 | By Wataru Watanabe | Yen Press – Day Two is over, and it will come as no surprise to anyone to learn that Midousuji’s way of biking is not going to come out on top. He gets a tragic backstory that makes things more understandable, but at the end of the day I still sort of hate him. Fortunately, this volume is far more balanced between the three teams, giving everyone a chance to show off, be really shonen, and demonstrate to the reader how cool, powerful, and exhausting this all is. The book reads as fast as the race, as you find yourself pulled along by the lineart. So with two days down and one to go, I expect some downtime in the next book. However, I still can’t wait to read it. Addicting. – Sean Gaffney

Arpeggio of Blue Steel, Vol. 13 | By Ark Performance | Seven Seas – Well, that escalated quickly. The end of this volume notes that this is the end of “Chapter One” of this series, and it’s certainly taking things in a different direction. It helps when you write out the main character, to be fair: Gunzou isn’t quite killed, but it seems pretty clear that he’s at least being written off the stage for a while. In his place we have Iona, who is forced to abandon him in order to save everyone else. And so now the entire cast seems to be shifting over to… I can’t believe I’m writing this… a school series, complete with cute school uniforms. It actually seems to be a Naval Academy, but I dunno. Are we really exchanging epic naval battles for this? I’m not really sure where this is going from here. – Sean Gaffney

In/Spectre, Vol. 8 | By Kyo Shirodaira and Chashiba Katase | Kodansha Comics – This is a second volume of short stories for this series, though it’s implied we’ll get a longer arc next time. The first story takes up most of it, and serves up a nice balance of mystery and horror, which is what we’ve come to expect from In/Spectre. Well, that and Kotoko going on and on about getting into Kuro’s pants. This time instead of the third wheel being Kuro’s ex-girlfriend, it’s a Cool Old Lady (TM),who helps the two of them deal with a wooden doll that is killing all the fish at a local seaport. The second story is lighter in tone, being about a tofu yokai who’s trying to get Kotoko to praise his tofu—this was actually interesting more for the discussion of taste than any mystery. Still enjoying this. Sean Gaffney

Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic, Vol. 31 | By Shinobu Ohtaka | VIZ Media – Aladdin and Alibaba haven’t had their reunion yet, but the day is drawing near. First, though, Aladdin must evade the clutches of Gyokuen, who isn’t dead and who is working along with Sinbad to try to take control of the world. Sinbad has convinced himself that only he can see the flow of fate and create a peaceful world, which of course Aladdin disagrees with. Meanwhile, Alibaba is hustling on behalf of the Kou Empire, making headway in their new business ventures before being torpedoed by Sinbad and coming back even stronger. It was hinted pretty heavily along the way that Sinbad would turn out to be the big bad of the series, and we’re starting to see that play out, even though neither Aladdin nor Alibaba thinks he’s a wholly terrible person. Six volumes left in this impressive shounen series! – Michelle Smith

Species Domain, Vol. 5 | By Shunsuke Noro | Seven Seas – I’m wondering if the series is wrapping up soon, as we get a lot more emphasis on who is going to pair up with whom in this volume. The most interesting, even if it goes nowhere for the moment, is Hanei and Mikasagi, which ends up being a very shonen sort of relationship—I love him and can admit it to myself, but want to wait till he knows he loves me too. As for Dowa and Tanaka, they may be insisting they aren’t a couple but Dowa’s family and the narrative is sure treating them as one, jokes about Tanaka dying aside. Still, the closest relationship may be between Kazamori and Ohki—sadly, this time around it’s the girl who’s oblivious. This is still an excellent “monster girl” series that’s not perverse and deft with the comedy. – Sean Gaffney

A Strange & Mystifying Story, Vol. 4 | By Tsuta Suzuki | SuBLime – A year has passed since Master Kurayori agreed to accept Tsumugi as his bride. In this time, Tsumugi has fallen in love with Kurayori, and his teenaged boy hormones lead him to plant a kiss on Kurayori when the latter doesn’t seem to understand his feelings, though at least Tsumugi is immediately mortified about what he did. In some ways, despite the fact that one of these characters is a supernatural being who was a sixty-year-old human spellcaster before becoming said supernatural being, this is basically your standard burgeoning romance boys’ love story. It’s got a pleasant atmosphere, and I enjoyed seeing a favorite couple from the previous volume. Perhaps the best part, though, was a very brief appearance by a mysterious couple in a bookstore. Could there be a darker subplot on the horizon? – Michelle Smith

That Blue Sky Feeling, Vol. 1 | By Okura and Coma Hashii | Viz Media – Very few manga by openly gay creators have made their way into English translation. Most recently is That Blue Sky Feeling, an ongoing manga series illustrated by Coma Hashii based on a webcomic by Okura. Outgoing, earnest, and kindhearted by nature, high school transfer student Noshiro can’t stand by when he notices that his classmate Sanada generally keeps to himself and that most of the other students avoid him. The reason for that is a rumor going around that Sanada is gay–a rumor that turns out to be true. The characterization and personal development of both Sanada and Noshiro are highlights of That Blue Sky Feeling. There are some discomforting elements as well (such as the age difference between Sanada and his ex-boyfriend, who essentially becomes the manga’s adult role model), but overall it’s a sweet, thoughtful, and charming if somewhat subdued series about friendship and first love. – Ash Brown

UQ Holder, Vol. 14 | By Ken Akamatsu | Kodansha Comics – A lot of UQ Holder is about history repeating itself from Negima, and so therefore it comes as no surprise that the Nodoka-alike gets shoved aside for Kuromaru, Setsuna’s expy, and then Kuromaru gets set aside for Kirie, who looks and acts like the loli-Chisame from the first series. Well, that’s not quite true—Chisame was never quite this over-the-top in terms of trying to deny her feelings. Kirie has to deal with being stuck in a body that’s too young for her mental state, as well as, well, being a massive tsundere. It is Ken Akamatsu after all. The first half of this series works better, because Ken has always been better at action than he has been at harem antics. But when will the series start using its new Japanese subtitle: Negima 2? – Sean Gaffney

What Did You Eat Yesterday?, Vol. 13 | By Fumi Yoshinaga | Vertical, Inc. – There’s hardly any drama in this volume, and what there is is decidedly adjacent to Shiro and Kenji. The boss of Kenji’s salon is oblivious to the fact that his wife is planning to divorce him, Shiro’s college classmate dies and he realizes that he’s old enough to have grandchildren, etc. Even seeing Mr. Kohinata again after he made a pass at Shiro goes smoothly. As ever, the best part here is the tasty food. Shiro seems to be getting a little more adventurous, incorporating more international dishes and modern ingredients into his cooking, while also making traditional hot pot and spring rolls, the latter of which look exceedingly tasty. This series will always be an immediate read for me whenever a new volume comes out. – Michelle Smith

Black Clover, Vol. 12 | By Yuki Tabata | Viz Media – Boy, that wrapped up fast, didn’t it? This is very much a breather volume of Black Clover, and some of the conflict resolution is laughable–the Queen of Witches basically just walks away, and there’s even time to cure Kahono and Kiato (which is good, as Kahono works 100% better as a teasing (and talking)) girl who ships Asta/Noelle. More importantly, the Black Bulls are now the second-most-powerful guild. This… displeases some of the other guilds, and leads to a hot spring on top of a mountain of lava–something that only those with magic can climb. Sucks to be Asta, but guess what? He finds a way anyway. Black Clover is highly enjoyable given its negative originality, and I’m glad I still read it. – Sean Gaffney

Bloom Into You, Vol. 5 | By Nakatani Nio | Seven Seas – I love it when series get better with each volume, as Bloom Into You is doing. The cover image shows the adorable aquarium date that Yuu and Touko go on towards the start of the book, and it’s pure cute and adorable. But Yuu’s also trying to change the ending of the play so that Touko stops seeing herself in it, and Touko doesn’t like that. What’s worse, she’s lost her biggest ally in Sayaka, who agrees with Yuu (and is not petty enough to stop it merely to torpedo Yuu’s relationship with Touko). This all culminates in a big confrontation on the roof, when Yuu says that she doesn’t want Touko to kiss her “to prove she exists.” The cliffhanger is the debut of the play–how will it go? I absolutely can’t wait. – Sean Gaffney

Food Wars!: Shokugeki no Soma, Vol. 25 | By Yuto Tsukuda and Shun Saeki | Viz Media – There’s two matches that take up the entirety of this volume, and they’re both excellent. The soba battle between Soma and Nene is something where you learn the difference between doing what you’re taught and thinking on the fly, as they’re in a fairly cold stadium and need to take ambient temperature into account. Meanwhile, Isshiki’s opponent is an arrogant Italian specialist (sort of an evil Takumi) who makes the mistake of insulting not just Isshiki (he doesn’t care about that) but the rest of the Polaris dorm. And so Isshiki absolutely destroys him, using things the rest of the dorm residents were experimenting with. This reads better in volumes than as weekly chapters. Good stuff. – Sean Gaffney

Kaze Hikaru, Vol. 26 | By Taeko Watanabe | VIZ Media – The majority of this latest installment of Kaze Hikaru revolves around Kondo’s proud new mistress, Miyuki, and the schemes she employs to avoid sleeping with him after her freedom has been bought. She’s actually got a rather interesting backstory, and her arrangement with Kondo comes to an end in a bittersweet way, so it made for diverting, light reading. I can’t say nobody died in this volume, but nobody we cared about, at least. Also, Sei didn’t do anything stupid, and Okita came a little closer to admitting that he thinks she’s cute. I suppose if they were all this slice-of-lifey, the annual releases would get old fast, but in terms of a pleasant visit with some likeable characters, this was a good one. See ya next year, Shinsengumi! – Michelle Smith

Kuroko’s Basketball, Vol. 25-26 | By Tadatoshi Fujimaki | Viz Media – The flashback ends, and it’s as depressing as you’d expect. The “miracle generation” are so good that it’s actually damaging them–and what’s more, Akashi levels up so hard that it turns him into a completely different person. Kuroko can’t play in the final game, loses his friend because of the rest of his team, and even brushes off Momoi. That said, I enjoyed seeing that the rest of the team brushed this off and reminded Kuroko of what he has now. That said, Kuroko winning the last game may actually have done some damage, as Akashi points out–he’s no longer standing in the shadows. Can he still play his kind of basketball if he gets noticed? We’ve got two more omnibuses to find out. – Sean Gaffney

The Promised Neverland, Vol. 5 | By Kaiu Shirai and Posuka Demizu | VIZ Media – The Promised Neverland never ceases to surprise me. That said, if you want to be surprised, skip ahead now because there will be some spoilers. I won’t go into specifics, but the escape happens and it’s as riveting as you’d expect. I did not expect my heart to be broken by a brave four-year-old or for Mom’s backstory to render her, if not sympathetic exactly, then at least more nuanced. My favorite aspect going forward is how much emphasis there is on how this would’ve been impossible without Emma. She actually feels a bit like a shoujo heroine, in the Sarasa or Yona vein, and the terrain the kids now find themselves in makes me think of 7SEEDS. It was exciting before and now it’s even more so. What a great series. – Michelle Smith

Vinland Saga, Vol. 10 | By Makoto Yukimura | Kodansha Comics – With its engrossing story, compelling characters, and superb artwork, Vinland Saga somehow impresses me more and more with every passing volume. The manga is easily one of my favorite series currently being released in English. Thorfinn wants nothing more than to leave his violent past behind–not to forget it, but to atone for it–which is proving to be increasingly difficult. Numerous people want him dead or to enter into battle for a variety of reasons, some thinking nothing at all of using hostages to try to force Thorfinn’s hand. Yukimura continues to up the ante in this volume by introducing new characters, in particular Garm, an exceptionally skilled spearman who is determined to fight Thorfinn. Vinland Saga can be an incredibly violent series, but Yukimura skillfully balances that intensity with humor. The seriousness of the story isn’t diminished, but the comedic moments help keep the manga from becoming overwhelmingly oppressive. – Ash Brown