Ash Brown

Manga the Week of 10/11/17

October 5, 2017 by Sean Gaffney, Michelle Smith, Ash Brown, Anna N and MJ 1 Comment

SEAN: The fields are full of dancing, full of singing and romancing, cause the manga never stops.

Dark Horse has a 6th omnibus of Oh My Goddess!, the only title to rival Dragon Ball for most re-releases.

J-Novel Club finishes up the 3rd volume of The Faraway Paladin, which was large enough to be split into two books, and this is the second.

ASH: I’m really hoping that Seven Seas might consider teaming up with J-Novel Club for a print release of The Faraway Paladin like they’ve done for other titles.

SEAN: Kodansha Digital is truckin’ like the doo-dah man. We start with a 3rd Aoba-kun’s Confessions.

MICHELLE: I am beginning to sense a trend with these musical references…

SEAN: As the Gods Will’s 2nd Series (the first, which I will always mention, was never license) has a 21st volume.

Chihayafuru’s 5th volume makes me feel guilty I haven’t finished the 4th yet.

MICHELLE: Yay!

ANNA: Double Yay here!

SEAN: Clockwork Planet has a 5th manga volume, and it’s also in print, novelty though that be.

Also in print is a 6th Fire Force.

Back to digital, we have the 2nd Magical Sempai, reminding us that honorific use in translation is still a hot button issue.

And there’s an 8th Real Account.

On to Seven Seas, who have the 3rd print edition of Grimgar of Fantasy and Ash’s light novels, previously released digitally by J-Novel Club.

They also have a 5th Lord Marksman and Vanadis.

The debut next week is Spirit Circle, a new shonen title from the creator of Lucifer and the Biscuit Hammer. It’s a story of ghosts and reincarnation, and ran in Shonen Gahosha’s Young King Ours. It also had a Crunchyroll digital release.

ASH: I’m looking forward to giving this one a try! Lucifer and the Biscuit Hammer was such an odd series, but I rather liked it.

SEAN: SuBLime gives us a 3rd deluxe edition of Finder.

And an 8th World’s Greatest First Love.

Titan has collected a 2nd volume of its Sherlock manga adaptation that runs in Japan. Sherlock: The Blind Banker is out next week.

ANNA: We’ve picked these up at my library, and I think they circulate well.

SEAN: Vertical has a 10th volume of Ajin. Happy double digits!

Case Closed reaches Vol. 64. If we convert to Base 10, it’s reached 100 volumes!

Gangsta has a 3rd volume of its Cursed spinoff.

ASH: I hope to see more of the main series, but the spinoff is likewise compelling and incredibly dark.

ANNA: This reminds me that I bought the first two volumes of this series. Need to get caught up ASAP!

SEAN: Viz is also releasing a novel. Juni Taisen: Zodiac War is written by Nisioisin, creator of the Monogatari and Zaregoto series, and has illustrations by Hikaru Nakamura, creator of Saint Young Men. It also has an anime that just began. Its subtitle is its premise, from what I understand.

ASH: My curiosity is certainly piqued based on the creators involved.

MJ: I have to admit that “Saint Young Men” is the first thing on the list this week that has caught my eye at all. So yes, I’m in for something illustrated by Hikaru Nakamura.

SEAN: And a 26th volume of Magi involves a lot of fighting, I expect.

MICHELLE: At least the flashback is over!

SEAN: Lastly, more double digits boasting, as Monster Hunter: Flash Hunter reached that milestone.

This stack of manga has everything delightful and everything you need. What are you getting from it?

Manga Giveaway: Assassin’s Creed Giveaway Winner

October 4, 2017 by Ash Brown

And the winner of the Assassin’s Creed: Awakening manga giveaway is… Sean Kleefeld!

As the winner, Sean (who does some great writing about comics) will be receiving a copy of the first volume in Takashi Yano and Kenji Oiwa’s Assassin’s Creed: Awakening as published in English by Titan Comics. Since pirates feature very prominently in the series, I wanted to learn about some of the giveaway participant’s favorite pirates from manga. Perhaps unsurprisingly considering the popularity of the series characters from Eiichiro Oda’s One Piece were mentioned several times, but some lesser-known pirates can be found in the giveaway comments, too.

Some of the manga released in English featuring pirates:
Assassin’s Creed: Awakening written by Takashi Yano, illustrated by Kenji Oiwa
Basara by Yumi Tamura
Berserk by Kentaro Miura
Black Lagoon by Rei Hiroe
Bodacious Space Pirates: Abyss of Hyperspace by Chibimaru
Captain Harlock by Leiji Matsumoto
Captain Harlock: Dimensional Voyage written by Leiji Matsumoto, illustrated by Kouiti Shimaboshi
Cirque du Freak by Takahiro Arai
Elemental Gelade by Mayumi Azuma
The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass by Akira Himekawa
One Piece by Eiichiro Oda
Princess Knight by Osamu Tezuka
Queen Emeraldas by Leiji Matsumoto
Stone by Sin-ichi Hiromoto
Vinland Saga by Makoto Yukimura
Wanted by Matsuri Hino
Yona of the Dawn by Mizuho Kusanagi

I’m certain that the above list isn’t comprehensive, but I was a little surprised by how few series I was able to easily come up with that feature pirates! Still, it’s an interesting mix which includes historical pirates, fantasy pirates, space pirates, and more. Thank you to everyone who participated by sharing your personal favorites with me! I hope to see you all again for the next monthly giveaway.

My Week in Manga: September 25-October 1, 2017

October 2, 2017 by Ash Brown

My News and Reviews

September has ended and October has begun, but there’s still a little time left to enter the most recent manga giveaway at Experiments in Manga! The results will be announce on Wednesday, so be sure to get your comments in for a chance to win the first volume (actually, I think it may even be the first half) of Takashi Yano and Kenji Oiwa’s Assassin’s Creed: Awakening. For this giveaway, I’m interested in learning more about everyone’s favorite pirate characters in manga. Otherwise, it was once again a fairly quiet week here at the blog. It’s been a while since I’ve last mentioned any of the Kickstarter’s that have caught my eye, but Matthew Meyer’s campaign to continue his series of illustrated yokai guides launched last week. The Book of the Hakutaku: A Bestiary of Japanese Monsters will be the third volume following The Night Parade of One Hundred Demons: A Field Guide to Japanese Yokai (which I’ve previously reviewed) and The Hour of Meeting Evil Spirits: An Encyclopedia of Mononoke and Magic. I really love these books, and the artwork is fantastic.

Quick Takes

Love & Lies, Volume 1 by Musawo. In general, I don’t tend to gravitate towards high school romances, but I am a sucker for utopian and dystopian fiction, so when those two genres mix I can’t help but want to give the resulting story a try. Love & Lies is set in Japan in the near future. In response to the crisis of an extreme decline in population, the government has implemented a program which assigns marriage partners based on their genetic makeup and social circumstances so that any children born will be healthy, skilled, contributing members of society. Once both partners have turned 16, they receive a notice from the government revealing their identities to each other for the first time. Who they may or may not truly love isn’t really taken into consideration, but it also seems that program may be susceptible to corruption. I find the premise of Love & Lies to be very interesting; it has great potential to explore the nature of love and personal relationships in a dramatic and engaging way. When the entire purpose of marriage has become a government-funded reproduction program, the impact on society and its people will be tremendous. I also especially appreciate that Love & Lies includes at least one character who isn’t heterosexual seeing as a marriage program of this type would have particularly drastic social implications for a person who is queer in some way.

Taproot: A Comic about a Gardener and a Ghost by Keezy Young. I first encountered Young’s work through the ongoing webcomic Yellow Hearts which joined Sparkler Monthly‘s lineup of online comics relatively recently. Part of what I love about Yellow Hearts is Young’s gorgeous illustrations and use of color as well as the natural inclusion of queer characters in the story. Taproot is Young’s debut graphic novel and it, too, has what I’ve come to love and expect from the creator’s other comics. The graphic novel has a great amount of depth to it, more than the rather simple, straightforward subtitle would seem to imply. Hamal is young man who can see ghosts, an ability which has made it difficult for him to find acceptance from others. At least from those who are living. Many of the ghosts, on the other hand, are drawn to and quite like Hamal; Blue has even fallen in love with him, although being incorporeal presents a few challenges. But there’s an even greater problem that the two of them must face–the very existence of the local ghosts is being threatened by a frighting supernatural disturbance. There is a sense of loneliness and melancholy to be found in Taproot, but the comic is also incredibly heartwarming and endearing. Taproot is a sweet and touching queer romance with beautiful artwork, making it something that’s extremely easy to recommend.

That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime written by Fuse and illustrated by Taiki Kawakami. There seems to be a preponderance of manga series right now with the underlying conceit of a person dying and then being reincarnated in some sort of fantasy world. I have read a few of these series, so I haven’t been completely avoiding them, but I’ve not really been seeking them out, either, having experienced genre-fatigue by proxy. However, That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime still managed to pique my interest simply because it sounded like such a ridiculous spin on what has become such a well-worn story. And I’ll admit, the first volume of the That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime manga is surprisingly entertaining. The protagonist of the series also happens to be a 37-year-old man, which isn’t the most common in translated manga. Of course, as can be safely assumed from the title, he soon dies only to start life again as a slime, one of the lowliest monsters there is. Mikami accepts this turn of fate pretty quickly and focuses his attention on gaining the ability to verbally communicate with the adventurers and other creatures he encounters. What he doesn’t realize is that he’s essentially been leveling up the entire time he’s been trying to find a way to talk and has unintentionally become one of the most powerful monsters in the area, inadvertently gaining a large following in the process.

Notes of a Crocodile by Miaojin Qiu. So far, only two of Qiu’s long-form works have been translated into English. Last Words from Montmarte, originally published posthumously after the author’s suicide at the age of twenty-six, was released in translation in 2014 and the English-language edition of Notes of a Crocodile, described as a cult classic of queer Taiwanese literature, was more recently released in 2017. Notes of a Crocodile is also one of Qiu’s most highly acclaimed and well-known works. The novel is about a small group of lovesick and psychologically troubled queer college students coming of age in Taipei in the late 1980s. The narrative unfolds as a series of notebooks which contain a combination of diary-like entries, letters between friends and lovers, and fragments of a surreal story about crocodiles posing as humans, in part a metaphor for those who have to live hidden lives. The narrator of Notes of a Crocodile is nicknamed Lazi, a young lesbian woman with self-destructive tendencies who is struggling to come to terms with her sexuality. The women she falls obsessively in love with and their doomed romances feature prominently as do the tumultuous and fraught relationships between her and her small group of extremely close friends. Notes of a Crocodile is a beautiful work but it is also filled with pain, desperation, and longing–the novel resonated very strongly with me and I hope to read more of Qiu’s work.

Pick of the Week: Goodbye Kiss

October 2, 2017 by Sean Gaffney, Michelle Smith, Katherine Dacey, Ash Brown and Anna N Leave a Comment

MICHELLE: There’s a healthy dose of sports manga due out this week—Ace of the Diamond, Haikyu!!, and Kuroko’s Basketball—as well as other favorites like Food Wars and Honey So Sweet, but I really have no choice but to avail myself of the final opportunity to pick Kamisama Kiss. This series has been consistently good across 25 volumes, and though a happy ending has been earned, I’ll be sorry to see it so. Sayounara, Kamisama.

SEAN: A lot of old favorites, and the shipper in me wants to pick Assassination Classroom, but I agree, Kamisama Kiss is absolutely the pick this week. I can never resist a wedding pic on the final volume of a shoujo manga!

KATE: At the risk of sounding like Manga Bookshelf’s resident picky eater, this week’s list doesn’t have any stand-out titles for me. There are plenty of decent continuing series — Assassination Classroom, Kurokuro’s Basketball — but nothing that I’m actively following. If I had to choose a title, though, my vote would go to Rave Master, since I missed it the first time around.

ASH: Although there are several manga that I’m looking forward to next week, such as the next installments of Haikyu!! and Yona of the Dawn, the release that I’m most curious about is the first volume of House of Brutes. In particular, I’m interested to see if it’s actually released at all considering the publisher’s current financial troubles. But I’ll be glad to see more of Gengoroh Tagame’s work released in English. (This is definitely different fare than My Brother’s Husband, though!)

ANNA: I’m a little torn, because there’s a ton of great manga coming out this week, with Yona of the Dawn always a highlight. But I’m also going to pick the final volume of Kamisama Kiss. It is such a jewel of a series, and even though all things must come to an end, I’m glad it is getting an appropriate send off with a special limited edition.

Manga the Week of 10/4/17

September 28, 2017 by Sean Gaffney, Michelle Smith, Ash Brown and Anna N 1 Comment

SEAN: Next week is October! Are you ready for your pumpkin-spiced manga?

Technically I’ve no idea when in October this will be out, but Bruno Gmuender has listed House of Brutes 1 on Amazon for ‘Oct 2017’, so let’s stick it here. If you like burly gay men getting tied up, you’ll love this.

ASH: The publisher declared bankruptcy earlier this year, so some of the releases are up in the air or have been moved around in the schedule. But should this actually exist, I’ll definitely be picking it up.

SEAN: We’ve seen a lot of male power fantasies this year, but Arifureta: From Commonplace to World’s Strongest may be the most iconic. The 3rd light novel arrives from J-Novel Club next week.

We also get the 3rd Bluesteel Blasphemer novel, from the creator of Outbreak Company, which J-Novel Club just licensed.

And our monthly dose of Invaders of the Rokujouma!?, Vol. 7 this time.

Kodansha Digital celebrates October with a 14th Pumpkin Scissors, and also a 17th Yozakura Quartet.

ASH: There really is pumpkin manga for October!

SEAN: Speaking of license rescues, they also are releasing ALL of Rave Master digitally next week. I assume these are the Tokyopop editions with the serial numbers filed off, but it’s nice to see them available again.

As for newer digital titles, we have a 5th Ace of the Diamond and a 7th Domestic Girlfriend. No print for Kodansha next week!

MICHELLE: Yay for Ace of the Diamond!

SEAN: Seven Seas has a 6th volume of revenge comedy Masamune-kun’s Revenge, although “revenge angst” might be more appropriate at this point.

And a 2nd Tales of Zestiria, which I think I may have mentioned in a prior post – did its date slip?

Vertical, Inc. has the Anime Supremacy! novel, which I know nothing about but looks pretty cool.

ASH: I’ve heard it described as a prose version of the Shirobako anime, which I know has more than a few fans.

SEAN: And also the 9th Devil’s Line from Vertical Comics.

Viz has a pile of titles, as always. The 6th 7th Garden seems numerically off somehow.

Assassination Classroom 18 features that most popular holiday, Valentine’s Day! Will anyone hook up?

The Demon Prince of Momochi House reaches double digits with Vol. 10.

ASH: I’ve fallen a little behind in the series; it’s probably about time I catch up!

ANNA: I enjoy it a lot. It surprises me sometimes!

SEAN: And Food Wars! has gotten to Vol. 20.

Haikyu!! is at sweet sixteen – will it still be popular now that we have a woman’s volleyball title as well? (Hint: yes.)

MICHELLE: There’s definitely room in my heart for both of them.

ANNA: One day I will wrestle the volumes of this series away from my kids and get caught up.

SEAN: We have a lot of final volumes next week, starting with the 8th and final Honey So Sweet!. My guess is it will live up to its name as always.

MICHELLE: It does.

ANNA: Aww, I think Shojo Beat needs another super cute series to fill the void left by Honey So Sweet and My Love Story!!.

SEAN: Kamisama Kiss comes to an end with its 25th and final volume. There’s also a limited edition with extra content – you may want to get that.

MICHELLE: So many shoujo conclusions recently!

ANNA: Glad it is getting a nice sendoff with a special edition.

SEAN: Back to series not ending anytime soon, Kuroko’s Basketball’s 8th 2-in-1 shows the end of the big game – well, the big game of the moment.

MICHELLE: Woot. I still haven’t read the seventh omnibus, so I will have fun tackling four volumes’ worth of sportsy goodness at once.

ANNA: Will Kuroko be invisible AGAIN!?

SEAN: Naruto has a 20th 3-in-1.

More omnibuses! Rurouni Kenshin’s 4th 3-in-1.

Another series ending, with the 15th and final volume of So Cute It Hurts!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!. And my last attempt to make that lame joke as well.

Twin Star Exorcists also joins the double digits club with Vol. 10.

The Water Dragon’s Bride as a 3rd volume.

MICHELLE: This series has grown on me—not surprising since I really liked Dawn of the Arcana—and I find I’m looking forward to volume three quite a bit.

ANNA: I love this series. Everyone should be reading this!

SEAN: And we have a 17th World Trigger, which hopefully will resume in Japan soon.

Lastly, there’s an 8th Yona of the Dawn, always guaranteed to put a smile on the face of the Manga Bookshelf crowd.

MICHELLE: The closest thing to Basara coming out currently, I will always be on board for this.

ASH: Same here!

ANNA: EEEEE!!! for Yona of the Dawn!!!!

SEAN: So what’s your preferred title?

Manga Giveaway: Assassin’s Creed Giveaway

September 27, 2017 by Ash Brown

The month of September brings a number of things along with it, such as the autumnal equinox (for us in the Northern Hemisphere, at least) and yet another manga giveaway at Experiments in Manga. For some, other September delights include International Talk Like a Pirate Day. As such, a manga about pirates would seem to be thematically appropriate for a giveaway, and so this month you all have a chance to win the first trade volume of Takashi Yano and Kenji Oiwa’s Assassin’s Creed: Awakening as published in English by Titan Comics. As usual, the giveaway is open worldwide!

Pirates, noble or otherwise, are a fairly popular character type in all sorts of media. The presence of pirates in a story generally brings along with it a promise of action, adventure, and sometimes even a bit of romance. Often their portrayal in fiction tends to be fairly glamorized when compared with historical and modern-day realities although there are certainly some stories that favor a more gritty approach. When it comes to manga, there’s one particularly successful series that most people probably immediately think of when considering pirates (Eiichiro Oda’s One Piece), but there are plenty of other, lesser-known manga that feature pirates of one ilk or another as well. Part of Assasin’s Creed: Awakening, for example, takes place on the high seas during the early eighteenth century and, yes, there are most certainly pirates to be found.

So, you may be wondering, how can you win a copy of Assassin’s Creed: Awakening, Volume 1?

1) In the comments below, tell me a little about your favorite pirate from a manga. (If you don’t have a favorite, or haven’t read any, simply mention that instead.)
2) If you’re on Twitter, you can earn a bonus entry by tweeting, or retweeting, about the contest. Make sure to include a link to this post and @PhoenixTerran (that’s me).

And there you have it! Anyone participating in the giveaway has one week to submit comments and can earn up to two entries. Comments can also be sent to me directly at phoenixterran(at)gmail(dot)com if either needed or preferred. Those comments will then be posted here in your name. The giveaway winner will be randomly selected and announced on October 4, 2017. Good luck!

VERY IMPORTANT: Include some way that I can contact you. This can be an e-mail address in the comment form, a link to your website, Twitter username, or whatever. If I can’t figure out how to get a hold of you and you win, I’ll just draw another name.

Contest winner announced–Manga Giveaway: Assassin’s Creed Giveaway Winner

My Week in Manga: September 18-September 24, 2017

September 25, 2017 by Ash Brown

My News and Reviews

I was running a little behind my intended schedule last week (and today for that matter–this seems to be somewhat par for the course lately), but over the weekend I was finally able to post my review of the ninth omnibus of Vinland Saga, an award-winning historical manga by Makoto Yukimura which has become one of my favorite series currently being released in English. Last week I also attend a talk by Hiroshi Yoshioka, a professor at Kyoto University’s Kokoro Research Center, called Hiroshima, Fukushima, and Beyond: Borders and Transgressions in Nuclear Imagination. Yoshioka’s research addresses the portrayal of nuclear power within popular culture, whether that be manga like Keiji Nakazawa’s Barefoot Gen, Sunao Katabuchi’s In This Corner of the World anime adaptation, other visual arts, or even Giant Baba’s “atomic drop” in professional wrestling. I won’t be doing a full write-up of the talk (although perhaps I should), but I did find it to be fascinating. A couple of other interesting things that I’ve come across recently include Ryan Holmberg’s two part article “Yokoyama Yuichi and Audiovisual Abstraction in Comics” as well as an edited version of a talk by Tyran Grillo, the translator working on the Legend of the Galactic Heroes novels, about the series and its author Yoshiki Tanaka.

Quick Takes

Frau Faust, Volume 1 by Kore Yamazaki. The German legend of Faust, a scholar who sells his soul to the Devil in order to gain great knowledge and worldly delights, has had numerous interpretations over the centuries. (Considering my background in music, I’m personally most familiar with the various operatic and symphonic renditions of the tale.) Faust being the subject of a manga would be enough for me to take an immediate interest, but the fact that Frau Faust is by Yamazaki, the creator of The Ancient Magus’ Bride which I greatly enjoy, made it a series that I absolutely knew I needed to read. One volume in, not only am I intrigued, I am completely on board with Yamazaki’s reimagining of the classic tale. As can be gathered from the title, Faust in this case is a woman. Johanna is strikingly enigmatic, the complexity of her true nature slowly revealed over the course of the first volume of the manga. The pacing of Frau Faust is excellent. Plenty of mystery remains by the first volume’s end, but rather than the story feeling like it’s being unnecessarily drawn out, it simply makes me want to read more. The only real complaint I have about the manga, and it’s a relatively minor one at that, is Johanna’s eyeglasses which tend to inexplicably appear and disappear from one panel to the next and I can’t tell if it’s meant to be intentional or not.

Kiss of the Rose Princess, Volumes 1-2 by Aya Shouoto. Since I’ve been enjoying The Demon Prince of Momochi House I’ve been making a point to try some of the other manga by Shouoto available in English. Sadly, I haven’t been nearly as taken with Kiss of the Rose Princess, one of Shouoto’s earlier series. I think that part of my lack of interest in the series stems from the fact that there’s not much of a plot even hinted at until the second volume. It’s almost as if the first volume, and much of the second, is devoted to a side quest before really getting to the meat of the story. Anise is a high school student who quite unexpectedly finds herself in command of a quartet of knights (who are also her classmates) that she can magically summon, a situation that hasn’t been fully explained. More than anything else, the setup comes across as a convenient excuse for the series’ heroine have a number of young men who are in some way bound to her if not vying for her attention. There’s nothing inherently wrong with that, but at this point most of the characters come across as “types” and any convincing romantic tension is nearly nonexistent. Everyone is very prettily drawn, however. Shouoto seems to be favoring silliness over seriousness in Kiss of the Rose Princess, which again isn’t necessarily bad, but a satisfying balance between the tones hasn’t been reached yet.

Queen Emeraldas, Volume 2 by Leiji Matsumoto. In addition to being a classic manga, which I’m always happy to see more of in translation, I found the first half of Queen Emeraldas to be wonderfully engrossing, so I was looking forward to reading the conclusion of the series. One of the things that particularly appeals to me about the Queen Emeraldas is the mood that Matsumoto is able to create–the melancholic atmosphere of the manga as well as the portrayal of the great expanse and loneliness of the universe. (I also adore Matsumoto’s illustrations of space.) Emeraldas is a woman traveling the stars, her ship her only constant companion. However, her destiny still frequently crosses paths with those of others. Hiroshi Umino repeatedly finds himself drawn into her orbit as he tries to establish a life of freedom in space. The chapters of Queen Emeraldas are loosely-connected stories with the presence of Emeraldas as the uniting factor. She herself is frequently the narrator of the tales, but the focus is often on the follies and arrogance of the men she meets. I was actually hoping to learn more about Emeraldas and her personal story, but by the end of the series very little has been explicitly stated about her past. Even so, Emeraldas is a marvelously charismatic character, capable of great empathy and compassion but dedicated to justice.

Pick of the Week: Girl Fight Tonight!

September 25, 2017 by Sean Gaffney, Katherine Dacey, Michelle Smith, Anna N and Ash Brown Leave a Comment

SEAN: Until a couple of days ago, this was an easy pick, as Frau Faust was greatly enjoyable. But a rival appears, and I’m afraid that it’s won me over… or should, I haven’t read it yet. Yes, my pick of the week is Shojo Fight!, which I’ve wanted licensed here for a while now. It’s digital only, but we can’t have everything. Also, potential Haikyu!! crossover fics?

KATE: I second Sean’s pick: more volleyball manga is a good thing, especially since Crimson Hero is out of print. I’m also curious about All Out!!, another digital-only sports title from Kodansha. I can’t claim to be a rugby fan, but my younger sister played on the Stanford women’s team and has fond memories of — and a few scars from — the experience. So as an act of sisterly loyalty, I’m also casting a vote for All-Out!!.

MICHELLE: Yep, it’s gotta be Shojo Fight! for me, too, though I am definitely looking forward to All-Out!! as well.

ANNA: Shojo Fight! is also my pick. Have we had an all sports manga pick of the week recently? It certainly sounds like an excuse to celebrate!

ASH: Well, were I a digital reader, I’m sure I would be joining you all in picking Shojo Fight!. Alas, I am still devoted to my print volumes. Happily, though this week is relatively light on physical releases, there is one manga in particular that has caught my eye–the debut of Frau Faust.

Vinland Saga, Vol. 9

September 24, 2017 by Ash Brown

Creator: Makoto Yukimura
Translator: Stephen Paul
U.S. publisher: Kodansha
ISBN: 9781632364456
Released: June 2017
Original release: 2016
Awards: Japan Media Arts Award, Kodansha Manga Award

Having read and greatly enjoyed Makoto Yukimura’s near-future science fiction series Planetes, I was very curious to see how he would apply his character-driven approach to Vinland Saga, a manga with a historical setting. The resulting work is phenomenal–in addition to earning multiple awards, including a Japan Media Arts Award and a Kodansha Manga Award, Vinland Saga quickly became and remains one of my favorite manga series currently being released in English. The ninth hardcover omnibus of Vinland Saga was published in 2017 by Kodansha Comics with a translation by Stephen Paul. It collects the seventeenth and eighteenth volumes of the original Japanese series, both of which were released in 2016, in addition to the continuation of “Ask Yukimura,” a section of questions and answers providing further insight into the series and its creation which is exclusive to the English-language edition of Vinland Saga. “Ask Yukimura” was absent from the eighth omnibus, so I was very happy to see its return.

Hild, a skilled hunter, may have saved Thorfinn’s life as he and his companions were accosted by a man-eating bear, but now that she knows exactly who he is, she is determined to take that life from him. Thorfinn has killed countless people during his time employed as a mercenary in pursuit of his own revenge, drastically altering the lives of the victims’ surviving family members and loved ones. It’s a past that continues to haunt him and Hild isn’t the only person to have come to harm due to his actions or who he will have to confront once again. Thorfinn hopes to atone for the death, violence, and destruction he has helped to bring down upon others by establishing a new nation of peace away from the wars, conflict, and struggles for power that plague Europe. But it is a very difficult thing to try to put a stop to a cycle of systemic retribution condoned by society. Thorfinn has convinced others of the worthiness of his cause, but now he must convince Hild who has every right to want him dead.

All-consuming revenge is one of the major themes of Vinland Saga. Yukimura explores how such a single-minded pursuit can dramatically change a person, impacting them on a deep, psychological level, and examines how that internalized violence is reflected in and perpetuated by the world at large. Much of Vinland Saga up until this point has been devoted to Thorfinn’s private struggles and growth as he has tried to come to terms with the irrevocable damage that he has wrought not only upon others but upon himself. With the introduction of Hild, Vinalnd Saga turns its focus outward, delving into the long-lasting and increasingly far-reaching effects of Thorfinn’s past misdeeds. Although this isn’t the first time that the series has shown this sort of tragedy, never before has it been made so cuttingly personal in the manga. Hild isn’t some nameless character met passing; Yukimura shows the entirety of Hild’s story–her life before her family was killed in front of her eyes and how she grew to become the fierce opponent who Thorfinn has no option but to face.

The parallels between Hild and Thorfinn’s individual quests for revenge are numerous although there are still significant differences and Thorfinn is much further along on his personal journey–while he’s chosen a path of peace, it remains to be seen what choices Hild will ultimately make fore herself. But even though Thorfinn is pursuing pacifism, he continues to be drawn into violent confrontations. A large part of why I find Vinland Saga such a tremendous series is due to the compelling character development that it exhibits, but another reason the manga is so incredibly engaging is the result of Yukimura’s spectacular action and fight sequences. They are exciting as well as meaningful, serving not only to move the plot along but frequently to provide an external expression of the characters’ internal struggles. How they fight and what they are willing to risk goes far to reveal who they truly are and what they value most. Vinland Saga continues to greatly impress me; I’m so glad that it’s being translated and look forward to future volumes with immense anticipation.

Manga the Week of 9/27/17

September 21, 2017 by Sean Gaffney, Ash Brown, Anna N, MJ and Michelle Smith 3 Comments

SEAN: Another final week of the month with far more than we’d come to expect for a final week of the month. Mainly thanks to our friends at Kodansha (yeah, sorry Ash, it’s all digital again).

ASH: They may be digital, but at least there’s some really great manga being released!

ANNA: It is true, but it also makes me a little wary, having seen plenty of digital manga efforts go under in the past.

SEAN: Starting with their weekly Del Rey rescue, Princess Resurrection 18.

The first digital debut this week is All-Out!, which is a rugby manga. I’ll repeat that: a rugby manga has been licensed for North America. It runs in Kodansha’s experimental seinen magazine Morning Two, and is, I’ll repeat once more, a RUGBY MANGA. Must buy.

MICHELLE: Ooooooh. I have really appreciated the seinen difference in Giant Killing, so I’m obviously all over this one.

ASH: Yup. This one has caught my eye, too.

ANNA: This sounds interesting.

SEAN: Altair: A Record of Battles has a 4th volume digitally.

And there’s a 2nd Black Panther and Sweet 16, for shoujo fans. Also digital.

DAYS 5 reminds you that it’s not just rugby manga out there this week.

MICHELLE: Woot.

SEAN: DEATHTOPIA has a 4th volume as well.

Elegant Yokai Apartment Life has a 2nd volume of, my guess is, yokai living in apartments. Elegantly. (Though not as elegantly as Michiru Kaioh.)

MICHELLE: No one could ever be as elegant.

MJ: I am intrigued by the title alone.

SEAN: Print at last, and the debut of Frau Faust, a josei (ish) title that runs in Itan, from the creator of The Ancient Magus’ Bride. It’s a genderbent take on the classic tale, and I greatly enjoyed the first volume.

MICHELLE: I’m looking forward to this one!

ASH: I’m very excited for this release, too! I’m really enjoying The Ancient Magus’ Bride and, well, Faust is another tale I’m quite familiar with.

MJ: This sounds great!

ANNA: I didn’t totally connect with The Ancient Magus’ Bride but I am intrigued.

SEAN: Genshiken 2nd Season has its 11th volume – we’re almost near the end, but not quite there yet. Expect more Madarame stuff.

ASH: I happen to like Madarame, but I wasn’t expecting the series to end up focusing on him as much as it does.

SEAN: Giant Killing says that it too is a digital sports manga with its 6th volume.

MICHELLE: And this!

SEAN: In/Spectre comes to an end with its 6th volume. I will miss its heroine especially. and hope things end well.

Princess Jellyfish has a 6th omnibus, and it too is apparently nearing its climax. Will the apartments be saved?

MICHELLE: I love this series so much. I love the realism as they come to appreciate the enormity of what they’re attempting, but gosh darnit, I want them to succeed!

ASH: I’m so happy this series is being released! The anime adaptation was delightful, but I’m glad to finally be able to get the entire story.

ANNA: Me too! I need to go on a Jellyfish binge.

SEAN: Real Girl has a 3rd volume, and I keep meaning to catch up with it but haven’t yet.

Shojo Fight is the other big digital debut that I can’t quite believe is out over here. Women’s volleyball! It runs in Evening magazine, and is filled with kickass women. Buy this AND the rugby manga. Splurge.

MICHELLE: I literally have geekbumps right now.

ANNA: Sounds good! Crimson Hero was not enough volleyball manga!

MICHELLE: And those final six volumes will probably never be released here. :(

SEAN: Lastly for Kodansha, we have a 3rd Tsuredure Children, whose anime just wrapped up.

SEAN: One Peace has an 11th volume of Maria Holic, which I still dislike but its fans are happy.

Seven Seas has several titles, starting with a 5th 12 Beast.

Otome Mania!! has its 2nd and final volume, as we see if this game can get released.

Re: Monster has a 3rd volume of male power fantasy.

And Species Domain has a 3rd volume of quirky fantasy slice-of-life school manga.

Lastly, just when you thought the fanservice was gone, it’s back bigger than ever: The Testament of Sister New Devil STORM! debuts.

ASH: Hmmm, usually there’s at least one Seven Seas release I’m reading, but haven’t been following any of these.

SEAN: Udon has a debut as well with Infini-T Force, a Shogakukan title from Hero’s magazine (yes, that’s how they spell it) that’s essentially a giant superhero crossover.

Vertical has a 3rd Flying Witch, which continued to be cute and weird, in that order.

MICHELLE: It’s a low-key charmer.

SEAN: And we have some Yen runoff, starting with their digital titles, new 12th volumes for Aphorism, Crimson Prince and Sekirei.

In print, we have the 7th How to Raise a Boring Girlfriend.

And the 8th Of the Red, the Light, and the Ayakashi, which will no doubt entertain and confuse me, not in that order.

ASH: I need to catch up on this series, but I’ve been liking it!

SEAN: It’s a digital world, folks. Sorry again, Ash. What are you getting this week?

ASH: It’s okay, at least there’s some great print releases, too!

My Week in Manga: September 11-September 17, 2017

September 18, 2017 by Ash Brown

My News and Reviews

Last week at Experiments in Manga I posted August’s Bookshelf Overload which lists the manga, comics, and other media that found their way into my home last month. Otherwise, it was fairly quiet here at the blog, but I did come across some great interviews elsewhere online: Paul Semel interviewed author Kazuki Sakuraba whose novel A Small Charred Face will be released in translation this week. (I actually recently reviewed the book; it’s well-worth picking up.) Susannah Greenblatt interviewed Motoyuki Shibata, one of the cofounders of the Monkey Business literary magazine, discussing translation and Japanese literature among other things. (I’ve previously reviewed some of the early issues of Monkey Business.) And for something a little more manga-centric, Brigid Alverson interviewed manga editor Yumi Sukimune who works with Akiko Higashimura on Princess Jellyfish (which I greatly enjoy) in addition to other series.

And then there’s the licensing news from last week. Udon Entertainment, for example has plans to release Yuztan’s Dragon’s Crown manga adaptation. Most of last week’s manga and light novel licensing announcements came from another Seven Seas’ sprees, though: Accomplishments of the Duke’s Daughter manga by Reia and Suki Umemiya; two companion volumes to Kore Yamazaki’s The Ancient Magus’ Bride (which I’ll definitely be picking up); Arifureta: From Commonplace to World’s Strongest manga by Ryou Hakumai and RoGa; the original Cutie Honey manga by Go Nagai; The Dungeon of Black Company manga by Youhei Yasumura; Didn’t I Say to Make My Abilities Average in the Next Life?! light novels and manga by FUNA, Itsuki Akata, and Neko Mint; Go For It, Nakamura! manga by Syundei (probably the one I’m personally most excited about); Himouto! Umaru-chan manga by Sankaku Head; How Not to Summon a Demon Lord manga by Yukiya Murasaki and Naoto Fukuda; How to Treat Magical Beasts manga by Kajiya; Hungry For You: Endo Yasuko Stalks the Night manga by Flowerchild; If It’s for My Daughter, I’d Even Defeat a Demon Lord manga by CHIROLU and Hota; Little Devils manga by Uuumi; Mushroom Girls in Love, a one-volume manga by Kei Murayama; Precarious Woman Executive Miss Black General by Jin; Satan’s Secretary manga by Kamotsu Kamonabe; The Voynich Hotel manga by Seiman Doumanv. It’s an interesting mix!

Quick Takes

Delicious in Dungeon, Volume 2 by Ryoko Kui. I absolutely loved the first volume of Delicious in Dungeon and after reading the second volume my opinion of the series hasn’t changed–I still find it tremendously entertaining. The conceit of Delicious in Dungeon is fairly simple and straightforward. Basically, Kui has taken a dungeon-crawling adventure and turned it into a food manga. It’s a brilliant combination of subgenres with endless possibilities when it comes to the sheer variety monsters that could end up as a meal for the manga’s protagonists. While this alone could carry the series a fair distance (especially considering the immense creativity Kui exhibits in how fantasy creatures might be used to either directly or indirectly support an adventurer’s diet), Delicious in Dungeon also benefits from having a main cast that largely consists of a bunch of endearing goofballs. Kui has also started to expand on the actual worldbuilding of the series, too. While the manga still relies fairly heavily on the well-established tropes of fantasy role-playing games, small details are being introduced that make the setting of Delicious in Dungeon a little less generic. Of course, part of the series’ humor and charm is firmly based on Kui taking familiar fantasy elements and twisting them just a bit. It’s all great fun.

Sweetness & Lightning, Volumes 6-7 by Gido Amagakure. Although I love food manga, I never generally read a particular title thinking that I’ll actually make any of the recipes that might be contained within it. If I ever did, though, Sweetness & Lightning is probably the series that I would turn to. Since the main characters are in the process of learning to cook (and one of them is a preschooler about to start kindergarten), the dishes that they tackle typically tend to be within the reach of a beginner and aren’t usually overly-complicated. The fact that Sweetness & Lightning is a food manga is what initially brought the series to my attention, but at this point it’s really the characters which keep me coming back for more. I’m particularly impressed by the portrayal of the father-daughter relationship between Inuzuka and Tsumugi. Amagakure is also incredibly successful in depicting little kids in a convincing way. Sweetness & Lightning is in turns adorable and bittersweet, and these two volumes have some especially poignant and heartbreaking moments. Since Tsumugi is so young she still doesn’t entirely understand the death of her mother and Inuzuka still grieves the loss of his wife. But the sixth and seventh volumes also introduce more members of their extended family which was lovely.

What Did You Eat Yesterday?, Volume 12 by Fumi Yoshinaga. The English-language edition of What Did You Eat Yesterday? has essentially caught up with the original Japanese release so the individual aren’t published as frequently as they once were, but I’m always very happy to get my hands on the latest installment in the series. The food in What Did You Eat Yesterday? is beautifully illustrated from start to finish. The individual ingredients, the techniques used, and the resulting dishes are wonderfully and realistically rendered. Visually, the people in What Did You Eat Yesterday? aren’t nearly as detailed as the food they are eating, but the believably complex and nuanced characterizations in the series is exceptional. The characters certainly have their personal flaws and Yoshinaga isn’t afraid to reveal them; rather than portraying some sort of romanticized ideal, Yoshinaga captures the messiness of real-life relationships in the series. It’s an approach that I particularly appreciate. What Did You Eat Yesterday? follows the day-to-day lives of two adult men who are in a committed, long-term relationship with each other which of course is something that I also greatly value. At times the food aspects of What Did You Eat Yesterday? seem tangential to everything else going on, but it’s still a great series.

Pick of the Week: Flower Girls

September 18, 2017 by Sean Gaffney, Katherine Dacey, Michelle Smith, Ash Brown, Anna N and MJ Leave a Comment

KATE: This week’s manga haul has something for everyone: new installments of digital-only releases like Tokyo Tarareba Girls, new volumes of perennial favorites like Nichijou and Master Keaton, and a handful of debuts like Kiss Me at the Stroke of Midnight and Sweet Blue Flowers. And while I’m intrigued by Sweet Blue Flowers, my vote goes to volume nine of A Bride’s Story, Kaoru Mori’s gorgeously illustrated chronicle of life on the Silk Road. What say the rest of the MB gang?

MICHELLE: Despite the handful of Seven Seas titles that I’m genuinely looking forward to, I really can only choose Sweet Blue Flowers. I’ve been looking forced to reading this series in English for years! (I even bought the Japanese volumes for a while!) Thanks, VIZ!

SEAN: It’s light novel week, so you know I want to say Baccano!. And there’s a bunch of other titles I want in this monster week. But as with Michelle, my choice goes to Sweet Blue Flowers finally getting the treatment it deserves. Can’t wait.

ASH: Like Kate, I’m certainly looking forward to the next installment of A Bride’s Story, and there are plenty of other manga being released this week that I’ll definitely be picking up (such as Descending Stories), but I’ll be joining Michelle and Sean in choosing Sweet Blue Flowers as my official pick. Shimura’s Wandering Son was an incredibly important series for me personally, so I am thrilled that more of her work is be released in print.

ANNA: There are quite a few great series coming out this this week! I’m going to have to go with the last volume of Master Keaton. Urasawa is always at the top of his game, and I’m going to miss all the insurance investigation shenanigans.

MJ: I find myself echoing what others have said so far regarding Takako Shimura’s Sweet Blue Flowers. A real release of this series has been a long time coming, and I’m thrilled to see it finally hitting the shelves. I can’t wait to read it.

Bookshelf Overload: August 2017

September 16, 2017 by Ash Brown

Over the last few months my manga buying habits have been slowly changing. In general I’m preordering less (which is rather unfortunate as that’s one of the best ways to support the manga industry), opting to wait to catch up on series until there’s a good sale of some sort. And so, in August I ended up finally picking up more of Akane Shimizu’s delightfully entertaining and educational Cells at Work! and Haruichi Furudate’s upbeat sports manga Haikyu!! among other things. As for older series that are new to me, I discovered that Izumi Tsubaki’s Oresama Teacher has a mix of humor and heart that I find irresistible. However, there were a few August releases that I was particularly looking forward to, like Delicious in Dungeon, Volume 2 by Ryoko Kui, Otherworld Barbara, Omnibus 2 by Moto Hagio, and the comic Fantasy Sports, Volume 3 by Sam Bosma. I also decided to give the anime Rampo Kitan: Game of Laplace directed by Seiji Kishi a try, mostly because I came across a set for a great price and because I have an affinity for all things even tangentially related to Edogawa Rampo.

Manga!
Assassin’s Creed: Awakening, Volume 1 written by Takashi Yano, illustrated by Kenji Oiwa
Blame!, Omnibus 4 by Tsutomu Nihei
Cells at Work!, Volumes 2-3 by Akane Shimizu
The Crater by Osamu Tezuka
Delicious in Dungeon, Volume 2 by Ryoko Kui
Drifters, Volume 4 by Kohta Hirano
Fruits Basket, Omnibus 3 by Natsuki Takaya
Girls’ Last Tour, Volume 2 Tsukumizu
Goodnight Punpun, Volume 7 by Inio Asano
Haikyu!!, Volumes 13-15 by Haruichi Furudate
Iceland by Yuichi Yokoyama
I Am a Hero, Omnibus 4 by Kengo Hanazawa
JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, Part 3: Stardust Crusaders, Volume 4 by Hirohiko Araki
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time by Akira Himekawa
Love and Lies, Volume 1 by Musawo
Nirvana, Volume 1 by Jin and Sayuki
Melody of Iron and Other Short Stories by Osamu Tezuka
Murciélago, Volume 3 by Yoshimurakana
My Love Story!!, Volume 13 written by Kazune Kawahara, illustrated by Aruko
Of the Red, the Light, and the Ayakashi, Volumes 6 by Nanao
Oresama Teacher, Volumes 2-13 by Izumi Tsubaki
Otherworld Barbara, Omnibus 2 by Moto Hagio
Queen Emeraldas, Volume 2 by Leiji Matsumoto
Record of the Glass Castle by Osamu Tezuka
She and Her Cat written by Makoto Shinkai, illustrated by Tsubasa Yamaguchi
Sweetness and Lightning, Volumes 6-7 by Gido Amagakure
Survival in the Office, Volume 1 by Risu Akizuki
Under the Air by Osamu Tezuka
What Did You Eat Yesterday?, Volume 12 by Fumi Yoshinaga
Wolfsmund, Volume 8 by Mitsuhisa Kuji
Yona of the Dawn, Volume 7 by Mizuho Kusanagi
Yowamushi Pedal, Omnibus 6 by Wataru Watanabe

Comics!
Always Raining Here, Volume 2 by Hazel and Bell
By Chance or Providence by Becky Cloonan, colors by Lee Loughridge
Dates, Volume 2 edited by Zora Gilbert and Cat Parra
Fantasy Sports, Volume 3: The Green King by Sam Bosma
Fallen, Volumes 1-2 by Burukku Ogawa
How to Be Alive by Tara Booth
Mirror Mirror, Volume 2 edited by Julia Gfrörer and Sean T. Collins
Monster Pop!, Volumes 1-2 by Maya Kern
Moonshot, Volumes 1-2 edited by Hope Nicholson
Short Gay Stories by Hanna-Pirita Lehkonen
Sound of Snow Falling by Maggie Umber
Starfighter, Chapter 4 by HamletMachine
Titty-Time, Volume 2 by Amanda Lafrenais

Novels!
The Book of the Dead by Shinobu Origuchi

Anime!
JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Phantom Blood & Battle Tendency directed by Naokatsu Tsuda and Ken’ichi Suzuki
Rampo Kitan: Game of Laplace directed by Seiji Kishi

Manga the Week of 9/20/17

September 14, 2017 by Sean Gaffney, Michelle Smith, Ash Brown and Anna N 1 Comment

SEAN: They did it again, so let’s talk Kodansha Comics. I love their digital line, even if I can’t keep up with it. I love it, but the short turnaround time on solicits/announcements means that I can never get it into Manga the Week of on time. And Amazon is also frequently very late with solicits (or absent with them), so sometimes I miss even more. So let’s start with what’s already out digitally.

Magical Sempai (Tejina Sempai) is a gag manga about a magician’s club that runs in Young Magazine.

And Grand Blue Dreaming is a title from good! Afternoon which combines the writer of Bakas, Tests and Summoned Beasts with the artist of the Amagi Brilliant Park manga. It’s about scuba diving (and romance, and ecchi situations – come on, look at the creators).

Now onto next week’s titles. J-Novel Club has the 5th volume of I Saved Too Many Girls and Caused the Apocalypse, which is not as good as it once was, but let’s see if more girls can solve that.

As the Gods Will 2nd Series is another one of those titles that have been sneakily getting digital all along but which Amazon only recently started listing. Vol. 20 is out next week. And no, the first series was not licensed.

Descending Stories gets a 3rd volume, and will no doubt have a great story to relate.

ASH: I’m still so glad this series is being translated!

SEAN: Hotaru’s Way gets a 3rd digital volume, House of the Sun gets a 7th, and Kasane gets a 5th. (Sorry, have to streamline, too much stuff this week).

Kiss Me at the Stroke of Midnight (Gozen 0-ji, Kiss Shi ni Kite yo) is a shoujo debut for Kodansha, from the Betsufure magazine. It is a “comedy romance”, and the creator also does Love’s Reach, which Kodansha is putting out digitally.

MICHELLE: I was kind of looking forward to this one ’til you mentioned Love Reach, which I didn’t enjoy too much. Oh well. I’ll give it a shot, at least.

ANNA: Huh, I’m usually good for at least the first volume of a new shoujo series.

SEAN: More digital. Peach Heaven 6 and Tokyo Tarareba Girls 7. Enjoy getting further behind!

MICHELLE: At least Tarareba has gotten less depressing!

ANNA: ARRGH, still need to read the first two volumes!

SEAN: And some print, with the 22nd Seven Deadly Sins, as well as the 7th Welcome to the Ballroom. Two titles unlikely to get a gimmicky crossover with each other anytime soon.

ASH: That’s probably true.

SEAN: Seven Seas has a quartet of titles, mostly for their female readers (yes, Seven Seas has female readers). There’s a 3rd Bloom into You for yuri drama, a 3rd Dreamin’ Sun for cishet drama, a 2nd High School Life of a Fudanshi for not-really-BL comedy, and a 2nd Plum Crazy for KITTY! fans.

MICHELLE: I’ll be picking up three of the four!

ASH: That’s pretty good odds! I still need to give Plum Crazy a try. I like High School Life of a Fudanshi more in concept than execution but largely enjoyed the beginnings of both Bloom into You and Dreamin’ Sun.

SEAN: We have reached the final volume of Nichijou with Vol. 10, surely one of the more bizarre comedies to get licensed over here. But fear not, its spinoff, Helvetica Standard, is coming soon, also from Vertical Comics!

The second volume of Golden Kamuy is out from Viz, and I understand it’s slowly transitioning to a cooking manga.

ASH: I think at heart it was always a cooking manga. (And of course I’ll be picking it up.)

ANNA: Really??

SEAN: Goodnight Punpun has its 7th and final volume out next week. A gripping and well-told narrative that I found myself absolutely unable to read, but that doesn’t negate its power.

ASH: Once I’m feeling brave enough, I’ll read the sixth and seventh volume together. It’s a tremendous series, but not at all an easy read.

SEAN: Master Keaton also reaches an end with its 12th volume. Will we ever get more insurance investigator manga?

MICHELLE: Someday, I really will read this.

ASH: And someday I will finally finish reading it!

ANNA: It is so good!

SEAN: Sweet Blue Flowers had a sort of aborted digital release from DMP a while back, but this omnibus edition from Viz is the real deal, and in print. It’s a great story and I can’t wait to read it.

MICHELLE: Yay!!!

ASH: One of my most anticipated releases this year!

SEAN: Yen On has a series of light novels, several of which I have dropped from my reading list. So fans of things that are really dark/evil will have to enjoy Black Bullet 7 and Overlord 5 without me, and fans of isekai-by-numbers will need to read Death March to the Parallel World Rhapsody’s 3rd volume.

As for series I am still reading, Accel World’s 11th volume will kick off a new arc. Baccano! surprises readers by jumping forward about 70 years (don’t worry, it’ll be back to the 1930s soon enough). Is It Wrong To Try To Pick Up Girls In A Dungeon? has a 9th volume that sees if Bell Cranel really can do something to piss off the entire cast.

There’s also the 3rd My Youth Romantic Comedy Is Wrong As I Expected, which refreshingly was not delayed. And a 7th Strike the Blood, which remains generic but highly readable.

As for Yen proper, let’s start with adaptations of light novels. We have a 5th Asterisk War, a 10th Devil Is a Part-Timer!, a 6th OreGairu (which is shorthand to avoid having to type out My Youth Romantic Comedy Is Wrong As I Epxected again), a 2nd of the No Game No Life Please! spinoff, an 8th Strike the Blood, and Vol. 3s of SAO titles Mother’s Rosary and Phantom Bullet.

There are non light novel adaptations as well, believe it or not. Alice in Murderland gives us a 7th volume of Kaori Yuki at her Kaori Yuki-est.

Barakamon has a 14th volume, and if you want to read the prequel, now’s your last chance, as we also have the 7th and final Handa-kun out in print.

MICHELLE: I watched some of the Barakamon anime recently, which convinced me I will love the manga when I finally get around to reading it.

ASH: I think you’ll like it!

SEAN: Big Order’s 3rd omnibus brings us closer to world domination, maybe?

A Bride’s Story may come out once a year here and in Japan, but it’s always welcome, and I will definitely want to read its 9th volume, even if I still find its main female lead a bit dull.

ASH: I really love this series. Mori’s artwork is stunningly beautiful in it.

ANNA: The art really is such a standout on this title.

SEAN: In titles I have nothing to say about, there’s a 4th Bungo Stray Dogs, an 8th Dragons Rioting, the 2nd Kakegurui – Compulsive Gambler (now in print), a 4th Kiniro Mosaic, a 3rd Royal Tutor (now in print), the 8th School-Live!, and a 5th Today’s Cerberus (now in print).

ASH: I need to catch up on Bungo Stray Dogs for the sake of all its J-Lit references if nothing else.

SEAN: Madoka Magica continues to push out spinoffs, with the 3rd Homura Tamura and the 4th Tart Magica.

Lastly, Rose Guns Days begins its 3rd Season, which presumably will feature a new main character to interact with Rose and her brothel of eccentrics.

Sorry for the compressing, but come on, look at all those titles. I have to save space. What’re you getting next week?

My Week in Manga: September 4-September 10, 2017

September 11, 2017 by Ash Brown

My News and Reviews

Last week I took a short family vacation so I wasn’t really online much, but I did announce the winner of the Vertical Comics giveaway before disappearing to the land of limited Internet. The post also includes a list of the manga that have been released (or will soon be released) by Vertical’s manga- and anime-related imprint, Vertical Comics. I’ve been pretty busy over the last few weeks, so I’m sure that I’ve missed out on plenty of news and announcements. Do let me know if there’s something that I should really be paying attention to or need to catch up on!

Quick Takes

Kigurumi Guardians, Volume 1 by Lily Hoshino. I actually haven’t read very many of Hoshino’s manga despite a fair number of them having been translated into English. Hoshino is probably best known as a creator of boys’ love manga, although she was also notably the character designer for Manwaru Penguindrum and her seinen series Otome Yokai Zakuro received and anime adaptation in 2010. Kigurumi Guardians is Hoshino’s most recent series, a prettily drawn but rather strange shoujo manga when it comes down to its story. Hakka Sasakura is a pure-hearted middle school student who, along with two of her schoolmates, has been paired off with a living, breathing, giant stuffed animal which transforms into a beautifully handsome man and back when kissed. This, of course, is all in order to save, or at least protect, the world from creatures from another dimension which steal the hearts of humans. The charm of Kigurumi Guardians is largely derived from the fact that the series’ doesn’t take itself or its weird humor very seriously at all. On the other hand, it doesn’t seem to have much depth to it either. Or at least not yet. The ending scene of the first volume would seem to imply that there’s much more going on than might be initially assumed from the series’ inherent and deliberate goofiness.

Oresama Teacher, Volumes 1-6 by Izumi Tsubaki. I absolutely adore Monthly Girls’ Nozaki-kun, so while waiting for new volumes in that series to be released I figured it was about time that I finally gave another of Tsubaki’s manga a try. And because as far as I know Tsubaki only has three series (all of which are available in translation), my choices came down to The Magic Touch and Oresama Teacher. Although I’ll probably still read The Magic Touch at some point, ultimately I decided to pursue Oresama Teacher first, mostly because I have a huge soft spot for delinquents in Japanese popular culture. I really should have picked up the series much sooner; I’m loving the manga and its tremendous heart. I find Tsubaki’s sense of humor in Oresama Teacher to be similar to that in Monthly Girls’ Nozaki-kun–played fairly straight while still being completely ridiculous with a cast filled with incredibly endearing characters. Granted, some of them can be pretty asshole-ish at times, too. The plot wanders around a fair bit, mostly for comedy’s sake, but the series generally follows Mafuyu Kurosaki, an ex-gang leader who is attempting to clean up her act by transferring schools and trying to become a “normal” high school girl. This proves to be rather difficult when her homeroom teacher and newfound friends all have pasts as troublemakers, too.

Manga in America: Transnational Book Publishing and the Domestication of Japanese Comics by Casey Brienza. Relatively few academic writings have been specifically devoted to the North American manga industry; so far, Manga in America is both the first and only book-length work to tackle the subject. Although it was published in 2016, Manga in America was originally written in 2012. There have been some significant changes and developments in the United States manga industry since then, but the book is still an informative and valuable ethnographic study. A significant portion of the volume and Brienza’s research was informed by a series of confidential, in-depth interviews that were conducted with seventy people who had experience working within the industry. Manga in America is undoubtedly the most comprehensive look at the North American manga industry that I’ve seen in a single volume, providing insight into all aspects of what Brienza terms the “domestication” of manga. Licensing, translation, editing, sales, design, and more are all addressed as is the historical context of the industry and possible future developments. Overall, Manga in America is accessible to a general audience although some sections will likely be more interesting or meaningful to readers with some familiarity with sociology.