Manga Bookshelf

Discussion, Resources, Roundtables, & Reviews

Ash Brown

Manga Giveaway: Please Tell Me! Galko-chan Giveaway

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I realize that it’s the end of the month rather than the beginning, and that I’ve probably already said this, but happy new year, everyone! I’d like to help get 2017 off to a good start with a great giveaway at Experiments in Manga. And so, this month you will all have the chance to win the first volume of Kenya Suzuki’s delightful manga series Please Tell Me! Galko-chan as published in English by Seven Seas. As usual, the giveaway is open worldwide!

Please Tell Me! Galko-chan, Volume 1

I really enjoyed the first volume of Please Tell Me! Galko-chan, perhaps even more than I expected that I would. It’s a bright and cheerful manga, in part because it’s artwork is bright and cheerful, too. Please Tell Me! Galko-chan is somewhat unusual in that it’s completely in color. Although it isn’t uncommon for a manga to include a few color pages here or there, relatively few full-color manga have been licensed in English. While I love the monochromatic illustrations typical of most manga, the deliberate but sparing use of color can create a tremendous narrative impact (I’m thinking of a specific scene in Naoki Urasawa’s Pluto) and full-color manga can be very appealing as well.

So, you may be wondering, how can you a copy of Please Tell Me! Galko-chan, Volume 1?

1) In the comments below, tell me a little about a manga with color artwork that you’ve read, whether color was used for an entire volume or only a few pages. (If you haven’t encountered any, you can simply mention that.)
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).

That’s all there is to it. Participants in the giveaway can earn up to two entries and have one week to submit comments. If needed or preferred, comments can also be sent via email to phoenixterran(at)gmail(dot)com and I will then post them here in your name. The giveaway winner will be randomly selected and announced on February 1, 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: Please Tell Me! Galko-chan Giveaway Winner

My Week in Manga: January 16-January 22, 2017

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My News and Reviews

It’s been several months since my last in-depth review, but over the weekend I actually managed to post one delving into the eighth omnibus of Makoto Yukimura’s Vinland Saga. I really love this series so I am thrilled that Kodansha Comics was able to continue publishing it. The eighth omnibus marks the start of an exciting new story arc and introduces some great new characters. On a personal note, it also felt good to actually finish writing a review since it’s been so long. I’d like to continue posting at least one long-form review or feature every month in addition to the usual My Week in Manga, Bookshelf Overload, and Giveaway features. On the surface it seems to be a reasonable goal, so I guess I’ll see how it goes!

Elsewhere online, Sparkler Monthly‘s first issue of 2017 has been released. As can be expected, all of the content is great, but this issue specifically features Denise Schroeder and her delightful lesbian-themed comic Before You Go. I took a look at the first installment of Before You Go as part of my Year of Yuri review project a couple of years ago. It’s a great comic, so I’m glad so see more of it. And if things go well, there should be a collected edition in the near future as well! Also last week, Seven Seas announced its collaboration with J-Novel Club to release Ao Jyumonji’s Grimgar of Fantasy and Ash and Chiyomaru Shikura’s Occultic;Nine in print.

Quick Takes

Dimension W, Volume 2Dimension W, Volumes 1-2 by Yuji Iwahara. Several of Iwahara’s manga series have been released in English. I’ve read and enjoyed both Cat Paradise and King of Thorn, but there’s also Chikyu Misaki and most recently Dimension W. I’ve come to expect a few things from Iwahara’s manga: great artwork and action, large and diverse casts, intriguing settings and premises, and entertaining stories that take numerous twists and turns (and which often end up rather convoluted as a result). So far, it seems as though Dimension W will also follow this pattern and, being Iwahara’s longest series, I suspect that the plot will go in some truly bizarre directions. But even considering that Iwahara seems to be constantly making up and changing the rules when it’s convenient just to make the story work, I’m actually really enjoying Dimension W. In the series, New Tesla is a company that has gained a tremendous amount of political and social influence due to the fact that it monopolizes a nearly limitless source of energy and the technology needed to use it. The power could be dangerous in the wrong hands, and New Tesla may very well be the wrong hands.

Firefighter! Daigo of Fire Company M, Volume 11Firefighter! Daigo of Fire Company M, Volumes 11-20 by Masahito Soda. One of the things about Firefighter! is that once I start reading it, I can’t seem to put it down. It’s a fantastic action series that’s firmly based in reality, although some of the scenarios are so completely over-the-top that they strain believability. Even so, the drama and intensity of Firefighter! is thrilling. With every rescue Soda keeps increasing the stakes, finding ways to make each one even more daring and astonishing than the last. And seeing as the first half of Firefighter! ends with Daigo intentionally crashing a fire engine into a building, that’s a pretty impressive feat. Admittedly, the series can get pretty absurd, but it’s always entertaining as well as engaging. The character development is excellent, too. In the heat of the moment, Daigo has the tendency to make some incredibly dangerous although ultimately life-saving decisions, but afterwards he struggles to come to terms with his actions and underlying motives. Firefighter! is a great series and well-worth a look. The manga is currently out-of-print, but fortunately it is readily available digitally.

Please Tell Me! Galko-chan, Volume 1Please Tell Me! Galko-chan, Volume 1 by Kenya Suzuki. I first learned about the Please Tell Me! Galko-chan manga due to its recent anime adaptation (which I haven’t actually seen yet), but I was still very curious about the original series. What I didn’t realize until I picked up the first volume was that the manga is actually completely illustrated in color; the palette and style that Suzuki uses for the cover illustration is pretty much what is used for the interior artwork as well. Please Tell Me! Galko-chan is a surprisingly sweet, funny, and charming series, especially considering that it frankly deals with issues surrounding puberty, sex, and so on. Some of the subject matter is more innocent, but there’s plenty of  dirty humor and jokes, too. Though the framing of the series is fictional, the largely short and episodic manga of Please Tell Me! Galko-chan do incorporate a fair amount of factual information. What I really appreciate about Please Tell Me! Galko-chan is that while the topics covered often embarrass the characters–frequently they’re discussing breasts, menstruation, and sex in a deliberate attempt to make each other blush–there’s never a sense that they or their bodies are shameful.

Ze, Volumes 10-11 by Yuki Shimizu. Despite at one point being rather fond of Shimizu’s supernatural boys’ love Ze, it’s taken me a while to actually get around to reading the main manga’s last story arc and conclusion. (Granted, that may have also been partly due to the numerous delays and unreliability of Digital Manga’s release schedule.) As a whole Ze tends to be fairly sexually explicit, but these two volumes are for the most part relatively tame and include very little sex at all. The relationships and power dynamics in the series are still pretty intense, though. The final story arc of Ze is almost entirely devoted to revealing the backstory of Waki and his connection to the Mitou family. In an interesting twist, it turns out that Waki has always been an asshole and there was nothing in particular that made him that way; although unfortunate things have certainly happened to him, his depraved personality is completely his own. The Mitou family’s past is certainly a strange and tragic one that has resulted in a great deal of suffering over time, but Shimizu does manage to end the series on a positive and redemptive note.

Pick of the Week: Catch the Wave

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SEAN: As always, there’s a ton of stuff I’d like to pick this week. The new digital volumes from Kodansha, the Nisioisin novel, new Horimiya and Furuba… that said, I will have my pick be the final volume of Umineko When They Cry: Dawn of the Golden Witch, if only as I’m not sure when the next arc will be coming out and I’d like to recommend it one last time. Even if it can be aggravating.

MICHELLE: I’ll definitely be picking up a few things from Yen Press this week, but I am officially picking Wave, Listen to Me! this week. Not only am I interested in radio stations, I also admire Samura-sensei’s artwork, so it’s the obvious choice for me.

ASH: I’m not usually one for digital manga but like Michelle the release I’m most interested in this week is Wave, Listen to Me! Samura’s Blade of the Immortal was actually one of the first manga that I ever read, so I’m always happy for the chance to read more of his work. I definitely hope there will be a print edition in the future, though!

MJ: I, too, will be jumping on the Wave, Listen to Me! bandwagon this week! Though I was never a big fan of Blade of the Immortal, I’m very interested in the premise of Wave. It’s the kind of story that, on the face of it, you’d expect to be written by someone like Moyoco Anno. I gotta check it out.

KATE: At the risk of sounding like a skipping record, I’m also going to surf the Wave. (Sorry–not sorry.) I liked Samura’s Ohikkoshi and Emerald — more than Blade of the Immortal, if I’m being honest — so I’m pretty sure Wave will be in my wheelhouse.

ANNA: No surprise, I’m also most interested in Wave, Listen to Me!. I have very fond memories of Samura’s non-Blade of the Immortal Work so I’m also very intrigued by this new title from him.

Vinland Saga, Vol. 8

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Vinland Saga, Omnibus 8Creator: Makoto Yukimura
Translator: Stephen Paul
U.S. publisher: Kodansha
ISBN: 9781682335406
Released: December 2016
Original release: 2014-2015
Awards: Japan Media Arts Award, Kodansha Manga Award

For a time it seemed as though the fate of the English-language edition of Makoto Yukimura’s epic award-winning manga series Vinland Saga was in question. Happily though, Kodansha Comics has been able to continue releasing the series. While the seventh omnibus reached a satisfying conclusion to one of the series’ major story arcs, it was still obvious that Yukimura had more to tell. I honestly believe that Vinland Saga is one of the strongest manga currently being released in English. It is also a personal favorite of mine, so I was thrilled when the eighth hardcover omnibus was finally released in 2016, collecting the fifteenth and sixteenth volumes of the original Japanese edition published between 2014 and 2015. Unlike the past few omnibuses of Vinland Saga, there is no additional content directly relating to the series (I was sad not to see the continuation of the “Ask Yukimura” section), but it does include an extensive preview of Kazuhiro Fujita’s The Ghost and the Lady, another historically-inspired manga available from Kodansha.

Finally free from his life of slavery but still bound by the violence of his past, Thorfinn travels back to Iceland in order to briefly reunite with his family before setting into motion his plans for the future. Accompanied by Einar, Leif, and “Bug-Eyes,” Thorfinn intends to colonize Vinland in an attempt to create a peaceful settlement far removed from the wars and violence seemingly inherent to the Norse way of life. But before that they must first secure the resources and supplies needed for the venture and support from others will be hard to come by–Thorfinn has very little to offer a potential investor except for ideals and his own life. Initially it seemed that they could secure the aid of Halfdan, a wealthy landowner who was already planning to become a relative of Leif’s by marrying his son to the widow of Lief’s brother, but then the wedding doesn’t go quite as planned. Thorfinn and the others may very well have gained themselves a few new enemies when they flee Iceland with Gudrid, the runaway bride.

Vinland Saga, Omnibus 8, page 50From the beginning, many of the women in Vinland Saga have been strong, memorable characters (Thorfinn’s sister and mother in particular are marvelous), but for the most part the focus of the series has been on the stories of the men. However, with the eighth omnibus there is a notable change in the manga with he introduction of Gudrid who becomes one of the main characters of Vinland Saga. In fact, a great deal of the plot currently directly revolves around her. I absolutely adore Gudrid. Like Thorfinn, she is struggling against the constraints of what is considered acceptable by the culture and traditions of their society. She has absolutely no interest in marriage or in behaving like a “proper” woman; her heart has always been set on exploring the world around her and expanding her horizons. Gudrid repeatedly proves that her worth is equal to or even greater than that of a man. Eventually, her persistence and brashness pays off although the circumstances surrounding her becoming a sailor are admittedly less than ideal.

Gudrid isn’t the only great female character to be introduced in the eighth Vinland Saga omnibus. Among others, there is also Astrid, Halfdan’s wife, and Hild, a young woman who proves once more that Thorfinn can never truly escape his past misdeeds. While many of the previous omnibuses have been battle-oriented, the eight omnibus tends to pay more attention to the characters themselves and their relationships. However, there are still a few excellent action sequences and Yukimura’s artwork continues to be dynamic and dramatic even when physical violence is not as prominent. For example, Halfdan exudes an aura of intensity and power–the way he is drawn and visually framed is frequently reminiscent of the way King Canute was portrayed, emphasizing his status and influence. This, of course, makes it even more satisfying when Astrid calmly, quietly, and fearlessly puts her husband in his place. (I really hope to see more of Astrid in the future.) Vinland Saga remains an incredibly well-done manga. With a growing cast of fantastic, complex characters, an engrossing story exploring themes of freedom and violence, and excellent artwork, I can’t wait to read more.

Manga the Week of 1/25/17

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SEAN: For a Yen week, this is actually pretty reasonable. Mostly as Yen moved a bunch of titles to the week after next, but hey.

Kodansha first, though. They’ve recently announced several new titles as digital releases. Deathtopia debuts next week, from the creator of Cage of Eden. This is a seinen title from Evening Magazine, and we’ll see if it’s as fanservice-laden as its shonen predecessor. It’s a thriller.

Wave, Listen to Me! gets the award for best title of the week. It’s an Afternoon manga from the creator of Blade of the Immortal. Fans of that series will be happy to hear this new one takes place… at a radio station?

ASH: I just found out about this series and I am incredibly curious about it.

MICHELLE: Oooooh! I especially like that the Kodansha site mentions “the beginning of an aggressive ramp-up in new digital manga series!”

KATE: Count me in for Wave, Listen to Me!, too. I’m a little biased — I teach a class on radio and television history — but I’m delighted to see a few grown-up options in the mix.

MJ: Oh, interesting.

ANNA: I am officially intrigued.

SEAN: And this isn’t out in volume form yet, but a new series from the creator of A Silent Voice debuts next week with 10 individual chapters, which catches us up with Weekly Shonen Magazine. Called To Your Eternity (Fumetsu no Anata e), it’s more supernaturally tinged than A Silent Voice but apparently just as depressing.

Kodansha also has an 8th print volume of Forget Me Not.

Seven Seas surprisingly only has one title out this week, given how much they’ve been piling on the books lately. It’s the 5th volume of Nurse Hitomi’s Monster Infirmary.

Vertical Inc. has the first volume of Nisioisin’s popular Zaregoto series, Decapitation: Kubikiri Cycle, though they emphasize they’ve only licensed this one volume, to tie in with the current Japanese OAV adaptation. It was actually released by Del Rey years ago; this is a re-edited version, and hopefully now that Bakemonogatari is popular it should see more readers.

Vertical Comics also gives us a third Immortal Hounds.

And the rest is Yen Press. First off, a 9th volume of capital letter and punctuation loving Akame Ga KILL!.

The 8th manga volume of A Certain Magical Index wraps up the adaptation of the 6th novel.

Death March to the Parallel World Rhapsody is the runner-up for best title of the week. As for the content, it’s a story where a guy finds himself transported to another world, gaining impressive powers, and surrounded by beautiful… wait, why are you running away? “Transported to another world” is this year’s vampires! This is the manga, the novel is out one week later.

First Love Monster has a 6th volume.

Fruits’ Basket Collector’s Edition reached Vol. 9, and get ready, because this is the one with THAT spoiler which shattered Furuba fandom forever.

MICHELLE: I continue to boggle that we’re up to this point already. But I also love that we’re still maintaining the secrecy of that spoiler.

SEAN: Horimiya has a 6th volume, and we’ll see if things advance on the romance front.

ASH: I’ve been enjoying Horimiya a great deal.

MICHELLE: Woot!

SEAN: I’ve enjoyed the light novel The Isolator, dark as it’s been, and so am pleased to see the manga adaptation is now coming out over here.

And there’s a 3rd volume of fantasy Liselotte & Witch’s Forest.

MICHELLE: I’ll be picking up this one, too.

SEAN: Murciélago also debuts this month from Yen Press. It’s a Young Gangan title that is apparently SUPER violent, and has humor so black it causes you to redefine “funny”. And it also has a lesbian lead, though this isn’t your cute high school girls sort of lesbian. I’ve heard good things about it (it has the Erica Friedman seal of approval), but with lots of “it’s pretty sick” warnings.

ASH: I’ve heard good things, too, but it definitely won’t be a series for everybody.

MJ: I would describe myself as interested, but skeptical.

SEAN: Rokka: Brave of the Six Flowers also has its manga adaptation debut (the novel arrives in April). It’s a fantasy series with strong word of mouth – real fantasy, rather than light novel fantasy. This adaptation ran in Shueisha’s now defunct Super Dash & Go!.

ANNA: Huh, I am always up for more fantasy manga.

SEAN: I was pleasantly surprised at how good I found the first volume of Scum’s Wish, though ‘pleasant’ is perhaps the wrong word for what’s going on with these kids. I look forward to the second volume.

MICHELLE: Same. Dark and complex, but not ecchi like the cover of volume one might suggest.

SEAN: Taboo Tattoo has a 5th volume, and is very Monthly Comic Alive.

Today’s Cerberus sees a 2nd print volume, and is still cute and silly.

You can’t have a long list of manga without at least one survival game title, and there is is: the 2nd volume of Tohyo Game.

Lastly, we wrap up the 6th Umineko arc with the 3rd and final omnibus of Dawn of the Golden Witch. I’m not sure when the 7th arc will begin – Yen hasn’t scheduled it – but this volume at least resolves Erika Furudo’s role in the series… at least for the time being.

A lot of new stuff this week. What appeals to you most?

Pick of the Week: Outside the Box

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ASH: It’s a relatively small week for new manga releases but, unsurprisingly, there are still a few things that I’m interested in. Apparently I’m in the mood for quirky horror since both Franken Fran and Dorohedoro are high on that list. My official pick goes to Dorohedoro though as I can’t seem to resist it’s bizarrely charming characters and humor.

KATE: I didn’t find much in this week’s new manga arrivals, so I’m going off-list for my recommendation: Snow Blind, a TPB that collects all four issues of a limited-run series by Ollie Masters and Tyler Jenkins. The artwork is moody and gorgeous — who knew Alaska was such a good setting for noir? — and the plotting is skillful. Heck, even Warren Ellis seems to like it, so there’s that, too.

SEAN: Like Ash, it’s pretty much a choice between Franken Fran and Dorohedoro this week, and, like Ash, I will be picking the latter. Still one of the more surprising Viz licenses, especially without an anime, I am so pleased that this has gotten to Volume 20. Even if I will no doubt find it confusing again.

MICHELLE: I’m sure I would enjoy Dorohedoro if I actually got around to reading it, but since I haven’t, I’d feel weird recommending it. So, instead, I will recommend two series that I actually have finally gotten around to reading, after seeing both recommended multiple times on Manga Bookshelf: One-Punch Man and A Silent Voice. I am enjoying both quite a lot and can now add my voice to the chorus of praise.

ANNA: There isn’t really anything that appeals to me this week, but I’ve recently been trying to get caught up on The Demon Prince of Momochi House, which incorporates lovely art into a story exploring the relationship between human guardians living in a nexus between the human and spiritual world. That’s my pick!

MJ: I’m not particularly excited about anything on this week’s list, but I have a considerable backlog to get through, so that’s not necessarily a bad thing. First on my docket, I think, is the SuBLime series, Ten Count by Rihito Takarai. I have the first two volumes sitting here, with volume three on its way next month. I’m a little nervous about what looks to be a problematic relationship (therapist and patient), but considering how common that is in BL, I can at least take heart that the characters are adults, and that there isn’t a terrified uke on the cover. So I’m feeling optimistic.

My Week in Manga: January 9-January 15, 2017

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My News and Reviews

Last week at Experiments in Manga I posted the Bookshelf Overload for December. It includes a pretty big list of things, in part due to massive holiday sales, so hopefully future months won’t be quite as ridiculous. Another thing that happened last week that was kind of cool was related to a post that I wrote back in 2014. My Spotlight on Masaichi Mukaide is probably one of the most noteworthy things that I’ve ever written and it actually got quite a bit of attention when I posted it. Well, Masaichi Mukaide himself apparently came across it recently and even left a comment.

Probably the biggest manga news from last week was the slew of licenses and other announcements made by Seven Seas. Here’s the list of manga:

Absolute Duo by Takumi Hiiragiboshi and Shinichirou Nariie
Alice & Zouroku by Tetsuya Imai
Captain Harlock: Dimensional Voyage by Leiji Matsumoto and Kouichi Shimahoshi
The Count of Monte Cristo by Moriyama Ena
Cutie Honey a Go Go! by Hideaki Anno and Shinpei Itou
Devilman G by Go Nagai and Rui Takatou
Dragon Half by Ryusuke Mita
Hatsune Miku: Bad End Night by Hitoshizuku-P x Yama and Tsubata Nozaki
Hatsune Miku Presents: Hachune Miku’s Everyday Vocaloid Paradise by Ontama
Magical Girl Special Ops Asuka by Makoto Fukami and Seigo Tokiya
Sleeping Beauty by Yumi Unita
Spirit Circle by Satoshi Mizukami
The Testament of Sister New Devil Storm by Tetsuto Uesu and Fumihiro Kiso
Unmagical Girl by Ryuichi Yokoyama and Manmaru Kamitsuki
Wadanohara and the Great Blue Sea by Mogeko

Seven Seas is getting back into translating novels and has a deluxe edition of Ryo Mizuno’s Record of the Lodoss War: The Grey Witch with illustrations by illustrations by Yutaka Izubuchi in the works, too. Also announced was a full-color edition of Madeleine Rosca’s Hollow Fields and five more illustrated literary classics. (I found Seven Seas release of Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass to be quite enjoyable.)

It’s a pretty interesting group of announcements with a fairly wide range of titles to choose from. There’s even a manga from the late ’80s (Dragon Half), and not many of those are licensed any more. I’m particularly curious about Moriyama Ena’s adaptation of The Count of Monte Cristo (the cover art is gorgeous), the josei manga Sleeping Beauty by Yumi Unita (whose Bunny Drop left me with extremely conflicted feelings), as well as the number of titles which are part of classic franchises.

Quick Takes

Devils' Line, Volume 1Devils’ Line, Volumes 1-2 by Ryo Hanada. I actually didn’t realize it at first, but Devils’ Line is the second work by Hanada to be released in English. The first was the doujinshi Good-bye Geist which overall I enjoyed. However, Devils’ Line is Hanada’s first professional series. In general, I’m liking it, too, except that the artwork is terribly inconsistent. At times it’s absolutely spectacular (the cover illustrations are especially great) but within a few panels it may have lost all sense of scale an anatomy. I can’t quite tell if this is mean to be deliberate or not; if so, the execution is unconvincing. The story isn’t as tight as it could be, but it does have a nice blend of genres, including romance, horror, action, crime, and thriller. And, like Good-bye Geist, the series has a marvelously ominous atmosphere. The plot centers around Tsukasa, who unfortunately seems to be a magnet for both vampires (or “devils”) and sexual assault, and Anzai, a half-vampire working for the police in a unit specializing in devil-related incidents. Vampirism in Devils’ Line has an intensely sexual component to it; the eroticism often associated with vampires in other stories is in this case incredibly dark and violent.

The Ghost and the Lady, Volume 2The Ghost and the Lady, Volume 2 by Kazuhiro Fujita. Admittedly, The Ghost and the Lady is kind of a strange manga series. In part historical fiction and in part supernatural drama, the manga’s disparate elements don’t always perfectly mesh, but I still enjoyed the series a great deal. In The Ghost and the Lady, Fujita mixes together historical facts and legends, reimagining the life of Florence Nightingale and her accomplishments during the Crimean War with a distinctly supernatural flair. It’s clear that Fujita has done a tremendous amount of research for the series; and as the afterword by the series’ translator Zack Davisson points out, more or less every named character in the manga has a historical counterpart. There’s Nightingale herself as well as the people she knew, Grey is based on a famous ghost of the Drury Lane theater, and even historical figures like the Chevalier d’Éon have prominent roles to play. (Speaking of whom, I really need to find a good biography of d’Éon to read.) Despite the presence of the ghosts, the supernatural aspects of The Ghost and the Lady seem to come and go; I do wish that the eidolons had been utilized a little more in the series’ second half because it’s great when they are.

Holy Corpse Rising, Volume 1Holy Corpse Rising, Volume 1 by Hosana Tanaka. As can be safely assumed by provocative cover art, Holy Corpse Rising is a manga series that includes a fair amount of nudity and scantily clad women. However, despite the occasional ridiculousness, the fanservice is largely keeping with the style and tone of the series as a whole, so it doesn’t feel out-of-place; a significant portion of Holy Corpse Rising is intended to be titillating. In general, Tanaka’s artwork is quite attractive, though the women in the series are the most beautiful. They’re also by far the most powerful characters, both in ability and status. The first volume of Holy Corpse Rising serves as an introduction to the war between the Credic Church and the witches. Nikola, a monk who is a specialist in witch lore, is charged with securing the aid of the coven of first witches in the Church’s fight against their descendants. But first Nikola must resurrect them and in the process manages to put himself in some rather compromising situations. So far the first witches each seem to gain their power from a different bodily fluid (tears, blood). And since there are twelve of them, Holy Corpse Rising has the potential to enter some pretty kinky territory.

The One Hundred Nights of HeroThe One Hundred Nights of Hero by Isabel Greenberg. I don’t recall exactly what it was that brought The One Hundred Nights of Hero to my attention, but I’m so glad that I read it because it is marvelous; I loved the comic. Greenberg takes inspiration from existing stories and even provides retelling of folktales over the course of the graphic novel. The framework is deliberately similar to that of One Thousand and One Nights and there are stories within stories within stories. In fact, The One Hundred Nights of Hero is about the power of stories and storytellers. It’s also about love and “brave women who don’t take shit from anyone.” At the center of the comic is Cherry and her maid Hero, two women who love each other dearly. Night after night, Hero spins tale after tale in an effort to save their lives. The world of The One Hundred Nights of Hero is an incredibly misogynistic one. While different from our own, in some ways it is also tragically reminiscent. The One Hundred Nights of Hero isn’t always particularly subtle and can at times feel somewhat heavy-handed, but it’s a wonderfully powerful and unabashedly feminist work. I definitely plan on seeking out more of Greenberg’s comics.

Moshi MoshiMoshi Moshi by Banana Yoshimoto. Despite being an extremely prolific author and one of the most well-known Japanese novelists translated in English, I haven’t actually read any of Yoshimoto’s works until now. The story of Moshi Moshi is told from the first-person perspective of Yoshie, a young woman whose father has recently died. A successful musician, the circumstances surrounding his death are somewhat unclear, but it’s believed that he committed double suicide with a woman who neither she or her mother knows. The novel follows Yoshie as she tries to come to terms with the unexpected loss of her father by reinventing her life in the chic neighborhood of Shimokitazawa. Her mother joins her there, feeling that the ghost of her husband is haunting the family home, and Yoshie herself is plagued with recurring dreams in which her father appears, searching for his phone. Though Moshi Moshi does tend to drag a little in places, I really liked how Yoshimoto handles the themes of love, loss, and the inevitability of change in the novel. I suspect that Moshi Moshi likely isn’t the best introduction to Yoshimoto’s work, but for the most part I did appreciate it.

Manga the Week of 1/18

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SEAN: Mid-month, and it’s a mostly quiet time in manga land. Some series end, but others carry on regardless. What’ve we got this time around?

ASH: Wow! It’s been a while since we’ve had a week this quiet.

SEAN: Kodansha has a 2nd volume of Interviews with Monster Girls, whose first volume I found pretty good. It’s more on the ‘cute’ than ‘sexy’ end of the spectrum.

ASH: Hopefully the recent anime adaptation will encourage people to try the manga, too.

SEAN: And there’s an 18th volume of The Seven Deadly Sins.

One Peace gives us an 8th volume of yuri trap manga Maria Holic.

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Seven Seas has one of my favorite horrible guilty pleasure series come to an end with the 4th and final omnibus of Franken Fran. I understand it wasn’t a big seller, which is a shame, but its over-the-top horrible horror and humor always tickled my funny bone. Or made my jaw drop.

ASH: I’ve been thoroughly enjoying Franken Fran. It’s sad to hear it hasn’t done especially well, but I’m glad to have it on my shelves.

SEAN: How to Build a Dungeon also made my jaw drop, but not in a good way. Vol. 2 is out. Buyer beware.

My Girlfriend Is a T-Rex also has a 2nd volume, and I found the first, like Interviews with Monster Girls, cute and ‘pretty good’. This is a mild recommendation.

And Non Non Biyori’s 6th volume, a series that takes slice of life to such extremes you may fall asleep just reading the synopsis.

Vertical gives us a 7th volume of Ninja Slayer, which has ninjas, who possibly slay.

Viz has the 20th volume of Dorohedoro, and I could not be more delighted. I look forward to this series every time a new volume comes out.

ASH: Yes! I love Dorohedoro.

SEAN: And there is a 16th Terra Formars as well.

Lastly, Tokyo Ghoul has a 2nd novel based on the popular series, this one called Void.

MANGA? It’s what’s happening. What are you getting?

MICHELLE: Uhhh… nothing, apparently.

KATE: That makes two of us, Michelle! There’s a whole lotta “Whoa!” and “No!” in this week’s shipments as far as I’m concerned.

MJ: Same! Is it sad that I’m somewhat relieved to finally have disembarked the Seven Seas train? Sorry, Seven Seas.

ANNA: There is nothing that appeals to me this week, which is good because I can hopefully get caught up reading other things!

Bookshelf Overload: December 2016

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Well, December happened, as I knew it would. I took advantage of a large number of holiday and end of year sales and made good use of coupons and gift cards, so my wallet is happier than it would have been otherwise, but I still managed to pick up an absurd number of things. This includes an unusual amount of anime for me, such as the Amazon-exclusive limited edition of Cowboy Bebop which was on super sale at one point. (This will replace the bootleg copy I unintentionally bought when I was much younger and didn’t know any better or how to tell the difference.) Probably the manga release I was most excited for in December was the return of Makoto Yukimura’s Vinland Saga. (I’ll hopefully have a review of the eighth and most recent omnibus to share in the near future.) I’m also especially happy to have the deluxe edition of Junji Ito’s Tomie and the conclusion of The Ghost and the Lady by Kazuhiro Fujita on my shelves. And, of course, more of Inio Asano’s Goodnight Punpun, Haruichi Furudate’s Haikyu!!, and Izumi Tsubaki’s Monthly Girls’ Nozaki-kun are always welcome. Fans of Mentaiko Itto will also want to be aware of the poster collection recently released by Bruno Gmünder. It’s labeled as “1,” so there may very well be more to come. (Ahem.) As for comics, Reindeer Boy by Cassandra Jean is a lot of fun and I recently read and highly recommend The One Hundred Nights of Hero by Isabel Greenberg.

Manga!
Aoharu X Machinegun, Volume 1 by Naoe
Blood Blockade Battlefront, Volumes 1-7 by Yasuhiro Nightow
Bungo Stray Dogs, Volume 1 written by Kafka Asagiri, illustrated by Sango Harukawa
Dragon Voice, Volumes 1-10 by Yuriko Nishiyama
Fruits Basket, Omnibus 1 by Natsuki Takaya
Gangsta: Cursed, Volume 1 written by Kohske, illustrated by Syuhei Kamo
The Ghost and the Lady, Volume 2 by Kazuhiro Fujita
Giganto Maxia by Kentaro Miura
Goodnight Punpun, Omnibus 4 by Inio Asano
Haikyu!!, Volume 7 by Haruichi Furudate
Happiness, Volume 2 by Shuzo Oshimi
He’s My Only Vampire, Volumes 1-3 by Aya Shouoto
Holy Corpse Rising, Volume 1 by Hosana Tanaka
Hunter x Hunter, Volumes 1-8 by Yoshihiro Togashi
Kiss of the Rose Princess, Volumes 1-2 by Aya Shouoto
Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic, Volumes 1-2 by Shinobu Ohtaka
Monthly Girls’ Nozaki-kun, Volume 5 by Izumi Tsubaki
New Lone Wolf and Cub, Volume 6 written by Kazuo Koike, illustrated by Hideki Mori
One-Punch Man, Volume 10 written by One, illustrated by Yusuke Murata
Ōoku: The Inner Chambers, Volumes 11-12 by Fumi Yoshinaga
Pandora Hearts, Volumes 20-22 by Jun Mochizuki
Persona 4, Volumes 4-5 by Shuji Sogabe
The Prince and His Dark Days, Volume 2 by Hico Yamanaka
Seven Princes of the Thousand Year Labyrinth, Volume 1 by Yu Aikawa
Sweetness and Lightning, Volume 3 by Gido Amagakure
Tomie by Junji Ito
Vinland Saga, Omnibus 8 by Makoto Yukimura
Welcome to the Ballroom, Volume 2 by Tomo Takeuchi

Comics!
Babybel Wax Bodysuit by Eric Kostiuk Williams
Battles by Jenn Woodall
Canopy by Karine Bernadou
Centralia 2050, Chapters 1-2 by Michelle Stanford
A City Inside by Tillie Walden
Diesel Ignition by Tyson Hesse
Dirty Diamonds, Issue 7: Imagination edited by Claire Folkman and Kelly Phillips
The End of Summer by Tillie Walden
Forest Dew by Heldrad
Hot Dog Taste Test by Lisa Hanawalt
I Love This Part by Tillie Walden
Little Kinano by Yeehun
Mondo by Ted McKeever
Oath: An Anthology of New (Queer) Heroes edited by Audre Redpath
The One Hundred Nights of Hero by Isabel Greenberg
Panther by Brecht Evens
RAV, Volume 2 by Mickey Zacchilli
Reindeer Boy by Cassandra Jean
Rosalie Lightning by Tom Hart
Small Town Witch written by Alex Singer, illustrated by Jayd Aït-Kaci
Somthing Terrible by Dean Trippe
Spidersilk, Volume 1 by Pamela Kotila
SuperCakes by Kate Leyh
That Which Wills: Virgo Rising, Book 1 written by Alex Singer, illustrated by Jayd Aït-Kaci

Artbooks!
BLKBT by C Lijewski
Burl & Furl edited by Irene Koh, Ricardo Bessa, Paul Reinwand, and Kevin Jay Stanton
Poster Book 1 by Mentaiko Itto

Novels!
The Borrowed by Chan Ho-Kei
Memoirs of a Polar Bear by Yoko Tawada
Moshi Moshi by Banana Yoshimoto
Orochi no Yaiba written by Itoshi, illustrated by Aldaria
Outlet by Randy Taguchi

Anime!
Cowboy Bebop directed by Shinichirō Watanabe
Detroit Metal City directed by Hiroshi Nagahama
My Love Story directed by Morio Asaka
Natsume’s Book of Friends, Seasons 3-4 directed by Takahiro Omori
The Perfect Insider directed by Mamoru Kanbe
Persona 4: The Animation directed by Seiji Kishi
Terror in Resonance directed by Shinichirō Watanabe
Yurikuma Arashi directed by Kunihiko Ikuhara
Young Black Jack directed by Mitsuko Kase

Pick of the Week: Manga from the Other Side

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SEAN: There’s a significant amount of stuff I’m getting this week, but I’m going to go with Seven Seas again, as my pick is for The Girl From the Other Side: Siúil, A Rún, because it’s winter and I therefore want more moody fantasy.

MICHELLE: This week, that Wolf-boy will be mine!

KATE: I second Sean’s pick: The Girl From the Other Side looks like the kind of Seven Seas title that a grown woman could read in public without raising too many eyebrows. That cover is swoon-worthy! The Midtown Comics website indicates that we can expect 4″ – 8″ of new VIZ product on Wednesday, so there’s temptation in that pile, too. I liked the first two volumes of Bisco Hatori’s Behind the Scenes!! enough to pick up the third. I’m also still enjoying One-Punch Man–miraculously, it hasn’t gotten stale–so I’ll probably pick up volume ten.

ANNA: There are some great manga coming out this week, but The Girl From the Other Side seems most interesting to me. I don’t normally pick up many Seven Seas titles, but I am very intrigued.

ASH: The Girl From the Other Side is easily my pick this week as well. The series has been on my radar ever since it was reviewed at Brain Vs. Book, so I’m thrilled to finally be able to read its English-language debut.

MJ: Am I really picking a Seven Seas title for the second week in a row? Wow, I really am. The Girl From the Other Side is by far the most interesting of this week’s prospects to me. Well played, Seven Seas, well played.

MICHELLE: Ash, that link of yours has convinced me to defect! To the Other Side!

My Week in Manga: January 2-January 8, 2017

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My News and Reviews

Last week at Experiments in Manga the winner of the Kuroko’s Basketball giveaway was announced. The post also includes a list of some of the tournament and competition manga that has been licensed in English. As per usual these days, there wasn’t much else from me, but there is some other very exciting Manga Bookshelf news: The Manga Critic is back! Be on the lookout for some great content from Kate Dacey. Last week I also read Makoto Yukimura’s eighth Vinland Saga omnibus which was, as expected, excellent. (I highly recommend the series as a whole.) However, you won’t find a quick take of it below because I’m going to try to write up a full-length review of it instead. We’ll see how it goes!

Elsewhere online, The OASG has started a new series called How Fans Can Help the Anime & Manga Industries Grow in which industry folk share their experiences an thoughts on the subject. So far, the responses from Charlene Ingram, Viz Media’s senior manager of marketing, and Charis Messier, lead translator at Cross Infinite World, have been shared. Another interesting read courtesy of Sakuga Blog is a translation of a roundtable with three manga editors (Tatsuya Kusunoki, Katsuyuki Sasaki, and Ryouji Takamatsu) discussing the growth of the yuri genre. As for boys’ love, Khursten at Otaku Champloo takes a closer look at the Dangerous BL Manga list for 2017.

Quick Takes

Firefighter! Daigo of Fire Company M, Volume 2Firefighter! Daigo of Fire Company M, Volumes 2-10 by Masahito Soda. I enjoyed the first volume of Firefighter! well enough to seek out the rest of the manga (while the entire series is now available digitally, most of the individual volumes are well out-of-print) and I am so incredibly glad that I did. I’m only halfway through, but Firefighter! is fantastic. It has exciting action, compelling drama, and engaging characters. The titular Daigo is a rookie firefighter who, although he seems to have good instincts, has a lot to learn. Each rescue he’s a part of is more audacious than the last and he frequently ends up in the hospital as a result. Daigo hasn’t lost anyone yet, but his unorthodox ways, disregard for direct orders, and tendency to go overboard puts his own life and the lives of other rescue workers at risk. It seems like it’s only a matter of time before tragedy will strike, but no one can deny that he has saved people who would have otherwise died. Firefighter! is intense and thrilling, but it actually has a fair amount of humor as well. (For all his bravery, Daigo is kind of a goofball.) I’m definitely looking forward to reading the series’ second half.

Horimiya, Volumes 2-4 written by Hero, illustrated by Daisuke Hagiwara. While I wasn’t quite as taken with these few volumes as I was with the first, I am still enjoying Horimiya a great deal. After accidentally discovering each other’s secrets, Miyamura and Hori have developed a close friendship which is slowly evolving into something more. It takes some time, but eventually they’re able to recognize their feelings and actually act on them. In large part, Horimiya is a manga about relationships of all types. Friendship and family are just as important, and are sometimes even more important, than the series’ romance. It’s also a manga which excels in depicting the characters’ multifaceted natures, showing how they behave differently depending on who is present. As more characters are introduced (including Hori’s father and some of Miyamura’s friends from middle school), the social dynamics in the series naturally change. Horimiya isn’t a manga that has me on edge desperate to know what will happen next, but the characters are tremendously endearing and I do want to see things work out for all of them.

Warning! Whispers of LoveWarning! Whispers of Love by Puku Okuyama. So far, only two of Okuyama’s boys’ love manga have been released in print. I had previously read and wasn’t overly impressed by the more recent Caramel despite liking some of the manga’s individual elements (in fact, overall I can’t really say that I enjoyed it much) but I already had a copy of Warning! so I figured I should at least give it a try. I’m happy to say that I enjoyed Warning! much more than I did Caramel. It’s a collection of rather silly boys’ love stories ranging from the subtly amusing to the overtly goofy. They tend to be fairly cute as well and generally any physical intimacy that is shown is limited to a few kisses and chaste embraces. Most of Warning! is devoted to the story of Hajime, a first year at an all-boys school, and the incredibly awkward relationship that develops between him and an upperclassman who seems to want nothing more than to clean the wax from Hajime’s ears. It’s easily the most ridiculous setup in the entire volume but it can be legitimately funny–all the boys’ love tropes and jokes that would typically be applied to sex are applied to ear cleaning instead and it’s surprisingly effective.

Wandering SonWandering Son directed by Ei Aoki. Takako Shimura’s manga Wandering Son is an incredibly important series to me personally, so I was greatly saddened when Fantagraphics stopped releasing it in English. Initially I wanted to read the entire manga before watching the anime adaptation but, seeing as the rest likely won’t be available any time soon, I finally gave in. The Wandering Son anime is a lovely series. It’s not an exact adaptation of the manga, but it is faithful to the original story and characters. In general, the narrative style of the anime tends to be a little more linear than that of the manga. However, both series provide an empathetic exploration of gender identity, following a group of middle school students who are learning who they are. It’s a fairly realistic portrayal, meaning that society isn’t always the most accepting which can be absolutely heartbreaking. However, seeing the characters become more confident in their selves even when that goes against what is expected of them is exceptionally validating. The anime only adapts a portion of the manga and doesn’t provide much of a resolution (though it does go beyond where Fantagraphics left off), but it is still very well done and well-worth watching.

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Manga the Week of 1/11

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SEAN: The holidays are over and it’s back to the grind, but we have some manga here to help you along.

Dark Horse is not only putting out Shinji Ikari Raising Project omnibuses, but also the actual series. Vol. 17 is the 2nd to last. Love those Evangelion AUs.

Kodansha has a few books. I was very pleased with the first volume of In/Spectre, whose female lead basically ticks many marks I look for in female leads. I am very excited for Vol. 2.

ASH: I’m very curious to see how this series unfolds!

SEAN: And we also get a 3rd volume of That Wolf-Boy Is Mine!, though the wolf boy himself may say otherwise.

MICHELLE: I really enjoyed the first two volumes and am looking forward to the third!

SEAN: Meanwhile, the 12th Yamada-kun and the Seven Witches starts to show us how it intends to move on after for all intents and purposes ending last volume.

ASH: The series seems to have done this a few times now.

SEAN: The big publisher this week is Seven Seas, with five titles. First we have a 9th volume of techno thriller Arpeggio of Blue Steel.

And a 3rd volume of Zero Sum-tastic action series Battle Rabbits.

The debut this week is The Girl From the Other Side: Siúil, A Rún, which is a mouthful but I have high hopes. Also known as Totsukuni no Shoujo, it’s a Mag Garden title from Comic Blade. We haven’t seen much of them since the old Tokyopop days. It seems to be along the lines of Ancient Magus’ Bride and similar titles.

ASH: I am looking forward to this one immensely; possibly one of my most anticipated debuts of the year.

ANNA: This sounds interesting to me.

MJ: Oh, this. I’m definitely interested in this!

SEAN: Golden Time’s 6th volume continues to show us that law school students can have just as many angsty romantic triangles as high school students.

And the always gloriously silly My Monster Secret has a 5th volume.

Speaking of silly, or at least just plain weird, there’s a 6th volume of Nichijou from Vertical Comics.

Viz closes things out. First we have a 61st volume of Case Closed, which continues to feature lots of mysteries and lots of pointing.

The Legend of Zelda: Legendary Edition’s first volume was a huge bestseller, and I suspect the second, which will have Oracle of Seasons and Oracle of Ages, should do equally well.

Lastly, Ranma 1/2 has its second to last omnibus, which means that at least one of its many hanging subplots will get wrapped up. No, really, it will. But not any of the romantic ones, fear not.

ASH: Still glad Ranma is getting a re-release!

SEAN: There’s some really good titles here. What interests you?

MICHELLE: Apparently only wolf boys!

Manga Giveaway: Kuroko’s Basketball Giveaway Winner

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Kuroko's Basketball, Omnibus 1And the winner of the Kuroko’s Basketball manga giveaway is… Coco!

As the winner, Coco will be receiving a copy of the first Kuroko’s Basketball omnibus, created by Tadatoshi Fujimaki and published in English by Viz Media. Tournaments often play a large part in sports manga like Kuroko’s Basketball but they can also be incorporated into other genres in interesting ways, too. For this giveaway, I asked that participants tell me a little about their favorite tournament manga. I’ve collected some of the responses in the list below (combined with some additional titles), but be sure to check out the giveaway comments for all of the detailed replies.

Some of the tournament and competition manga licensed in English:
Air Gear by Oh!Great
Angelic Layer by CLAMP
Battle Angel Alita: Last Order by Yukito Kishiro
Crimson Hero by Mitsuba Takanashi
Cross Game by Mitsuru Adachi
Dragon Ball by Akira Toriyama
Eyeshield 21 written by Riichiro Inagaki, illustrated by Yusuke Murata
Fairy Tail by Hiro Mashima
Food Wars!: Shokugeki no Soma written by Yuto Tsukuda, illustrated by Shun Saeki
Haikyu!! by Haruichi Furudate
Hikaru no Go written by Yumi Hotta, illustrated by Takeshi Obata
Hunter x Hunter by Yoshihiro Togashi
King of Cards by Makoto Tateno
Kuroko’s Basketball by Tadatoshi Fujimaki
Let’s Dance a Waltz by Natsumi Ando
My Hero Academia by Kohei Horikoshi
The Prince of Tennis by Takeshi Konomi
Real by Takehiko Inoue
Reborn! by Akira Amano
Revolutionary Girl Utena by Chiho Saito
Shaman King by Hiroyuki Takei
Slam Dunk by Takehiko Inoue
Toriko by Mitsutoshi Shimabukuro
Welcome to the Ballroom by Tomo Takeuchi
Yakitate!! Japan by Takashi Hashiguchi
Your Lie in April by Naoshi Arakawa
Yowamushi Pedal by Wataru Watanabe
YuYu Hakusho by Yoshihiro Togashi
Yu-Gi-Oh! by Kazuki Takahashi

The above list is not by any means comprehensive, but it’s not a bad place to start looking for some tournament manga to read. Perhaps unsurprisingly, sports manga seems to predominate but there are a few other interesting titles in there as well. As always, thank you to everyone who took the time to participate in the giveaway and share your favorite manga tournaments with me! I hope to see you again for the next giveaway. (Oh, and happy new year!)

Pick of the Week: Bloom Into 2017

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MICHELLE: I adore Haikyu!! and Honey So Sweet and undoubtedly will be acquiring the new volumes, but I am very intrigued by Bloom Into You, particularly after reading Sean’s review, so that is my official pick for this week.

SEAN: There’s plenty of Viz this week to enjoy, but Seven Seas is where my focus is, with a new volume of The Ancient Magus’ Bride and a new series, Bloom Into You. I’ll make that my pick, as it starts off looking just like many other derivative yuri series, but its new take on an old genre is refreshing and intriguing.

ASH: It’s Bloom Into You for me as well! I’ve been looking forward to the series ever since the license was announced. I’ll definitely be picking up Haikyu!! and The Ancient Magus’ Bride, too, though.

MJ: I’m absolutely on board with the group, here! It’s Bloom Into You for me! A Seven Seas pick is a rarity for me, so that’s an especially strong statement.

ANNA: I’ll be the outlier here and pick the latest volume of Honey So Sweet. This cute but not cloying manga is a great read to kick off the new year.

My Week in Manga: December 26, 2016-January 1, 2017

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My News and Reviews

Happy New Year, everyone! 2016 may now be over, but there’s still a little time left to enter Experiments in Manga’s December giveaway. Tell me a little about your favorite tournament manga or tournament story arc by Wednesday for a chance to win the first omnibus of Tadatoshi Fujimaki’s Kuroko’s Basketball. Also posted at Experiments in Manga last week were my random musings about some of the notable manga, comics, and other books that debuted in 2016. Despite there being three posts last week (which hasn’t happened in a very long time!) I actually wasn’t online much at all. As a result, I probably missed out on some interesting reading and announcements, so do let me know if there was anything particularly cool. One thing that I did see though was an interview with Kabi Nagata, creator of My Lesbian Experience with Loneliness which is scheduled to be released in English by Seven Seas later this year (and which I’m really looking forward to).

Quick Takes
Bungo Stray Dogs, Volume 1Bungo Stray Dogs, Volume 1 written by Kafka Asagiri and illustrated by Sango Harukawa. The Armed Detective Agency specializes in the dangerous cases that the Japanese police and military either won’t or can’t handle. It’s a team of uniquely skilled individuals who have abilities that seem to come right out of fiction, but the “good guys” aren’t the only ones with formidable powers. While there are names that a more casual reader might recognize—Osamu Dazai, Edogawa Rampo, Junichiro Tanazaki, Ryunosuke Akutagawa, and so on—others, like the lead Atsushi Nakajima, are less well-known in English. (I actually happen to be a pretty big fan of Nakajima’s work.) Their supernatural talents and personality quirks are all based on their namesakes. For example, Dazai’s power is named No Longer Human and he has a penchant for attempting suicide. It’s off to an intriguing start, but I’m not sure if Bungo Stray Dogs will appeal quite as much to someone not as familiar with the literary references being made. It’s not necessary to understand them to enjoy the manga, though. So far, I am getting a kick out of the series and look forward to seeing how it develops.

Hunter x Hunter, Volume 1Hunter x Hunter, Volumes 1-8 by Yoshihiro Togashi. I’ve been somewhat reluctant to start reading Hunter x Hunter (it might have something to do with the manga already being over thirty volumes long), but I’ve seen so much excitement and fan art for the series recently that I finally gave in. And I’ll admit, there’s a tremendous amount that I found appealing about the beginning of Hunter x Hunter. The setting is interesting, too, especially the concept of Hunters. These are people who, after putting their lives at risk to pass a grueling series of tests, are granted access to resources and information that others can only dream of. The manga largely follows Gon, a boy who wants to become a Hunter in order to find his father Ging, himself a hunter of great renown, as well as the friends and enemies Gon makes along the way. I really enjoyed the first story arc in which the candidates are trying to pass the Hunter exam. The second arc, while it serves an important purpose, I found to be a bit tedious as some of the world’s metaphysics are overexplained. However, the series quickly recovers its momentum again with clever action, intriguing characters, and drama.

Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid, Volume 1Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid, Volume 1 by Coolkyousinnjya. Out of Seven Seas more recent monster girl manga, Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid is the one that I was most interested in. For one, I happen to really like dragons. It also doesn’t hurt that the series is yuri-esque and that the titular Miss Kobayashi is an adult woman working as a systems engineer. Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid features some nudity and bawdiness but for the most part it doesn’t tend to be overly-sexualized which is also refreshing. The manga can actually be surprisingly cute,  charming, and sweet. Hotaru is a dragon who has taken it upon herself to act as Kobayashi’s maid after Kobayashi saves her life. For her part, Kobayashi thought it was all an alcohol-induced dream and so is very surprised to discover that a dragon girl has made herself at home in her apartment. Why a maid specifically? It turns out that Kobayashi is a bit of a maid otaku (which becomes very clear when she goes off on drunken rants on the subject). Hotaru, who loves Kobayashi dearly, wants to do anything to make Kobayashi happy even if her efforts are somewhat awkward and frequently miss the mark.

Reindeer BoyReindeer Boy by Cassandra Jean. I am a fan of Jean’s illustration work, and so I was very excited to learn that an original graphic novel was in the making. Reindeer Boy is based on a series of character drawings that Jean has been creating (and that I’ve been following) since 2013. The comic follows Quincy, a young woman whose life takes an unexpected turn when a group of students, all of whom have antlers, transfer into her high school. They seem to take particular interest in her, especially the flirtatious Cupid who claims they are Santa’s reindeer. Quincy’s not sure what to make of it all, but the more she gets to know them the more she likes them. Admittedly, the story of Reindeer Boy does feel like it was made to fit the characters rather than the other way around. It’s kind of a strange comic, but it’s fun, goofy fluff with a bit of romance, delightful characters, and beautiful, sensual artwork. Reindeer Boy, while telling a complete story, does seem to end rather abruptly. I’m not sure if there are plans to release any additional reindeer comics, but I’d love the opportunity to spend more time with the characters and learn more about the mythology that Jean has created.

Yuri!!! on IceYuri!!! on Ice directed by Sayo Yamamoto. It’s been a long while since I’ve had the time and opportunity to marathon an entire anime series, but I knew that once I started Yuri!!! on Ice that I wouldn’t want to stop. And I was right; I love this series so much and hope that there will be a nice physical release that I can purchase in the future. The underlying story is fairly straightforward and simple: After a miserable performance at the Grand Prix, the career of Japanese figure skater Yuri Katsuki is falling apart when his idol Victor Nikiforov unexpectedly quits competing to become his coach. Yuri!!! on Ice is a series about love, passion, and inspiration in many forms. It’s also about people struggling against their selves, fighting through failure and realizing their self-worth. Yuri!!! on Ice is a tightly written and immensely satisfying show, but I do think it would have been even better if there were just a few more episodes to allow the characters and story more room to breathe. That being said, there is still some impressive character development with the series’ short span and the psychological elements are handled particularly well. Understandably, the leads receive the most attention, but I’d really like to know more about the supporting cast, too.