Manga Bookshelf

Discussion, Resources, Roundtables, & Reviews

Katherine Dacey

The Manga Review, 4/29/22

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Back in March, Titan Comics announced that it would launching its own manga imprint, Titan Manga, with the publication of a new “director’s cut” of Takashi Okazaki’s Afro-Samurai. This week, Titan announced two more acquisitions: Kamen Rider Kuuga and Atom: The Beginning, both of which will debut in October. This deal is part of a new partnership with StoneBot Comics. In other licensing news, Seven Seas just unveiled several new titles including Malevolent Spirits: Monogatari, Let’s Buy the Land and Cultivate It in a Different World, Anti-Romance, and Night of the Living Cat, a horror-comedy in which “a virus transforms humans into cats.” The mode of transmission? Snuggling with an infected kitty! (Seriously, did my cats write this?!!) All four series are scheduled for a late 2022/early 2023 release.

NEWS AND FEATURES

Young Jump just published the final chapter in Satoru Noda’s bloody revenge saga Golden Kamuy. Not to worry: Noda’s ice-hockey drama Supinamarada! will take its place. [Anime News Network]

CLAMP fans rejoice: the collective will resume work on xxxHolic-rei, though they haven’t announced a date for its official return. [Anime News Network]

Also in the news is Moto Hagio, who is one of this year’s Eisner Hall of Fame nominees. [Comic-Con International]

Kodansha just announced its May digital manga releases. The most promising? When a Cat Faces West, a new series from the creator of Mushishi. [Crunchyroll]

Are you a parent, teacher, or librarian looking for kid-friendly manga recommendations? Brigid Alverson has got you covered with a helpful list of titles that are suitable for pre-teen and young teen readers. [ICv2]

The librarians at No Flying No Tights compile a list of their favorite cute comics, from Umi Sakurai’s A Man and His Cat to Claire Belton’s I Am Pusheen the Cat. (Warning to dog lovers: this list heavily favors kitties.) [No Flying No Tights]

Bill Kartalopoulos files a lengthy report on the 49th Angoulême International Comics Festival. Among the highlights: a special exhibit honoring the legacy of Kitaro creator Shigeru Mizuki. [The Comics Journal]

Kelli Ewing offers a sneak peak at Hen Kai Pan, the latest series from Eldo Yoshimizu (Ryuko). [Panel Patter]

Wondering what to read next? Masha Zhdanova takes a look at this month’s new VIZ Media titles. [Women Write About Comics]

REVIEWS

Over at Anime News Network, Rebecca Silverman declares Sakamoto Days a “fun” series with a “well executed premise,” while Lynzee Loveridge argues that Sensei’s Pious Lie “does a lot of interesting, if uncomfortable, things that make it worth a read.” AiPT’s Eric Alex Cline gives high marks to Island in a Puddle, a new thriller from Kei Sanbe (Erased), while Megan D., host of The Manga Test Drive, takes Kaoru Mori’s Shirley for a spin.

Pick of the Week: Beasts, Zombies, and Aliens

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SEAN: I’ve always regarded Sacrificial Princess and the King of Beasts, aka Fruits Basket for fantasy readers, so I’m going to make its final volume my pick. If you don’t mind “pure-hearted girl fixes everyone around her by virtue of being really swell”, this is a great one.

MICHELLE: I am curious about a few of this week’s debut series, but I’m not confident enough in any of them to fully endorse them as a pick this week. Thus, I’ll be safe and go with Cherry Magic!, since I know I really liked its first volume.

KATE: I was tempted to pick Boys of the Dead–who doesn’t love ZOM-BL?–but I have a feeling the marketing of this title is more clever than the actual manga, so my vote goes to A Galaxy Next Door. I adored Sweetness and Lightning, so I’m board with whatever food-flavored drama Gido Amagakure is dishing out this time around. (Sorry–couldn’t result a terrible pun or three of my own.)

ASH: Quite a few interesting debuts being released this week! Like Michelle, I’m not sure how some of them will actually play out, but I am intrigued. Two I’m particularly curious about simply because of their creators–A Galaxy Next Door and Blackguard (Ryo Hanada’s evolution as a creator since Good-bye Geist has been interesting to see). However, my pick this week goes to Sensei’s Pious Lie a series that was first brought to my attention a few years ago by Jocelyne Allen’s review.

ANNA: There’s honestly not a ton coming out this week that really appeals to me, so because I sometimes like chaos, I’m going to go with Boys of the Dead just because it sounds plenty wacky.

The Manga Review, 4/22/22

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Cover of Cat and GamerBack in the roaring aughts–when earnest manga fans posted reviews on LiveJournal and Blogger–link posts were a simple, effective way to connect with like-minded readers. The widespread adoption of social media in the 2010s was supposed to make it easier to find interesting content, but the proliferation of apps and platforms has had the opposite effect, turning the search for manga news and reviews into a part-time job. Our solution: an old-fashioned column that highlights some of the most interesting manga content on the web, from creator interviews to breaking news stories and reviews. If you write about manga, we encourage you to let us know so we can keep tabs on your site, podcast, or channel; feel free to leave a comment below or get in touch with us through Twitter. Now on to the links!

NEWS AND FEATURES

The latest Mangasplaining episode landed on Wednesday, and this time Deb Aoki and Christopher Butcher take a closer look at Birds of Shangri-La, a steamy boys’ love series, using it as a jumping off point for exploring censorship in Japanese comics. Word to the wise: this week’s show is definitely NSFW. [Mangasplaining]

For an insightful and entertaining look at how girl gangs have been portrayed in anime and manga, look no further than Erica Friedman’s latest Yuri Studio! video. [Okazu]

Erica Friedman interviews Japanese author inori, creator of the popular series I’m in Love with the Villainess. [Okazu]

Do you have a young reader at home? The crack team of librarians at No Flying No Tights have compiled a helpful list of great manga for the under-twelve set, from literary adaptations of children’s classics to perennial favorites Cardcaptor Sakura and Yotsuba&! [No Flying No Tights]

And file this under Better Late Than Never: NPR celebrates the thirty-year history of Sailor Moon with an in-depth look at why the show’s messages of friendship, love, and empowerment still resonate with viewers (and readers) today. [National Public Radio]

REVIEWS

Over at Anime UK News, Sarah reviews Marimo Nagawa’s influential BL drama New York, New York. While acknowledging that some aspects of the story haven’t aged well, Sarah praises Nagawa’s “striking” art and “thoughtful,” “sensitive” exploration of “the problems faced by its gay protagonists in a society that still had a long way to go to be accepting of LGBT rights.” Yuri Stargirl posts a mixed review of Nagata Kabi’s My Wandering Warrior Existence, noting that it suffers in comparison with My Lesbian Experience with Loneliness. “I’ve felt that each volume since that first one has been one of diminishing returns,” she notes. “That doesn’t mean they haven’t been good, or powerful, but with each one maybe a little bit less so.” And Good Comics for Kids contributor Johanna Draper Carlson posts an early review of the much-anticipated Cat + Gamer, in which a video game enthusiast adopts a stray kitten.

Bookshelf Briefs 4/21/22

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Catch These Hands!, Vol. 1 | By murata | Yen Press – I’ve been enjoying the recent upswing in yuri manga starring actual adults and aimed at adults. That said, just because you’re now old enough to be an adult does not automatically give you a free “you won” pass. A former gang leader at her local high school is seeing all her comrades getting married and having children, while she’s still working whatever job she can find. Her resting bitch face is also probably not helping. Then she runs into her old rival, now working at a clothing store… and gets asked out! What? Weren’t they supposed to be fighting? Now they’re dating? The fun of this series is in seeing Takebe’s baffled reaction to literally everything, and I hope that she continues to grump her way through future books. – Sean Gaffney

Chieko Show | By Momoto Makiru and Fukumimi Noburo | Star Fruit Books – Don’t be fooled by the cover: Chieko Show is not a forgotten shojo masterpiece, but a raunchy comedy in the manner of Mad Magazine or Beavis and Butthead. The central joke of Chieko Show is that its galaxy-eyed heroine loves making salacious comments and gestures that elicit horrified reactions from adults. Adding some extra “ick” to the punchlines is that Chieko often sounds as if she’s propositioning her family members. As someone who’s reading this work in translation, it’s hard to know if this is an affectionate spoof of Yoshiko Nishitani’s work or just a gross-out gag manga, but the author’s strenuous attempts to shock and amuse didn’t work on me. Your mileage may vary. – Katherine Dacey

Delicious in Dungeon, Vol. 10 | By Ryoko Kui| Yen Press – The wonderful thing about Delicious in Dungeon, as everyone who’s become a fan of it knows, is how it can go from the silliest comedy to the most terrifying horror at the drop of a hat, and sometimes over the course of only a page or two. And we even get some drama here, seeing the backstory of our “villain,” who unsurprisingly is not merely evil for the sake of it. And everyone is still trying to save Falin, which I approve of, as every single flashback we see of her shows off what a wonderful person she was. There’s even attention paid to biology, as Laios notes how hungry she must be given her human head vs. her monster body that has to be nourished. Still essential reading, even if it’s yearly now. – Sean Gaffney

Haganai: I Don’t Have Many Friends, Vol. 20 | By Yomi Hirasaka and Itachi | Seven Seas – So it turns out you can only go so far in changing the ending. The author apparently had a falling out with his editors, publishers, and readers, all of whom were reading the book to see who ended up together rather than reading it to see the bonds of friendship between them. So he kicked most everyone to the curb (bar Sena, the only one who is not definitively rejected, though they’re still not a couple) and ends with graduation coming and going and the friendship being the impact. The manga did a good thing in taking out the Yukimura plotline of death, but, with apologies to the author, we WERE reading this for the romance, so it feels unsatisfying. – Sean Gaffney

Kaguya-sama: Love Is War, Vol. 22 | By Aka Akasaka | Viz Media – I knew we were headed towards a climax with these characters, but I didn’t think we would get a literal one in this volume. Things start off extremely silly, with Miyuki and Kaguya’s discussion of boobs and sex being very much “only virgins have these discussions!” But then one thing leads to another, and the two are alone in his new apartment with the rest of his family out for the evening, and, well… it’s actually refreshing to see a series as popular and as funny as this one showing us that yes, teenagers still do have sex. Of course, there is still the overall “Kaguya’s family” problem to solve… as well as the fact that Kaguya has still not told Chika that she and Miyuki are a couple. That may go badly. – Sean Gaffney

Kaiju No. 8, Vol. 1 | By Naoya Matsumoto | VIZ Media – Meet Kafka Nibiro: he belongs to Monster Sweeper, Inc., a dedicated crew of professionals who clean up the streets of Japan in the aftermath of monster rampages. Though Kafka would rather be fighting monsters than disposing of their remains, he’s repeatedly failed the entrance exam for the elite Defense Forces Unit. A freak accident endows Kafka with kaiju-like strength, however, emboldening him to take the test one last time. Up until this moment in Kafka’s journey, Kaiju No. 8 feels like it’s headed somewhere new, but the exam chapters follow an all-too-familiar formula in which an ordinary person discovers his hidden strength through competition with snottier, less principled rivals. The paint-by-numbers quality of these scenes doesn’t bode well for future volumes, as its seems like Naoya Matsumoto is more interested in writing a monster-fighting manga than writing a thoughtful story about a man who unwittingly becomes a monster. – Katherine Dacey

My Wandering Warrior Existence | By Nagata Kabi | Seven Seas – This is probably the easiest to read of Nagata Kabi’s biographical manga essays, but that’s only by a matter of degree—one chapter in here is jaw-droppingly horrible in terms of something that happens to her and the aftermath of how it is dealt with. That said, most of this is the author seeing others fall in love, get married and have children and wondering how she can do this, if she wants to do this, and why would ANYONE do this? The answers do have some humor and heart in them, but they also make excellent points, and I really enjoyed the journey she takes to finding out that this is not necessarily something that has to happen NOW, and also that sometimes buying a fridge is far more fulfilling. – Sean Gaffney

The Night Beyond the Tricornered Window, Vol. 10 | By Tomoko Yamashita | SuBLime (digital only) – It’s always a little sad when a beloved series comes to its end, but at least The Night Beyond the Tricornered Window does so in very satisfying fashion. In this final volume, Mikado and the others infiltrate the Professor’s compound and work together to bring him down and rescue Hiyakawa. Really, the Big Bad here is hatred, or specifically clinging to hatred and using it as a power source to hurt others. Ultimately, Mikado rather easily unravels the Professor’s hatred while Hiyakawa finally relinquishes his own, confessing that what he really wants is to be with Mikado. There’s not even a smooch, but the fact that they emerge from the compound holding hands speaks volumes. Mikado tears up his contract, symbolizing that he’s Hiyakawa’s partner now rather than his employee, and in the final pages they get back to work, together. Happy sigh. – Michelle Smith

Skip Beat!, Vol. 46 | By Yoshiki Nakamura | VIZ Media – Even though I was extremely eager for Ren and Kyoko to finally admit their feelings for one another, I must say it’s kind of a relief that they agree their relationship shouldn’t change yet, not when they’re still on the way to achieving their ambitions. (Still, “No matter where I am, my heart will always belong to you” is some squeeworthy progress!) The latter half of this volume reminds readers that Kyoko still has no idea about Ren’s troubled past, and it seems more movement on this plot point will be forthcoming. Too, there’s the threat of internet sleuths and what they might find out about Ren and Kyoko. These potential complications are certainly compelling, but what interests me most is seeing Kyoko in costume as Momiji and about to start filming that role. I’m down for a career-focused arc! – Michelle Smith

Pick of the Week: No Skipping Pick Day

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KATE: I only have eyes for one series this week: the delightful Skip and Loafer, a manga that portrays the inner life of a Serious Girl with humor and heart. If I had a thirteen-year-old daughter, this would be required reading in my house, not least because it suggests that being smart, ambitious, and unabashedly nerdy aren’t obstacles to romance, even if those qualities can make that pathway more complicated.

SEAN: Skip and Loafer is terrific, and this is also a week with a new Kageki Shojo!!. That said, it’s A Bride’s Story all the way for me, as Mr. Smith slowly works his way back the way he came so we can see everyone again.

MICHELLE: I really need to read both Skip and Loafer and Kageki Shojo!!, and I’m also happy about a second volume of The Scum Villain’s Self-Saving System, but what appeals to me most at the moment is Medalist. Some fresh new sports manga just sounds perfect.

ASH: There are some great releases this week! In addition to the titles already highlighted, I’d like to mention two more. It took years of waiting, so long that I didn’t expect to actually see either of these in print, but the beginning of The Faraway Paladin and the end of No. 5 will now be available in my preferred format!

ANNA: I’m going to go with Kageki Shojo!!. One day I will read it!!!

MJ: I wasn’t sure what my pick would be this week, but Kate won me over with her praise for Skip and Loafer, so that’s going to be the winner for me! Thanks, Kate, for making my mind up for me!

Pick of the Week: Princesses, Aliens, and Guardian Spirits

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SEAN: Surprising no one, I’m staying on brand for this week’s pick, as The Magical Revolution of the Reincarnated Princess and the Genius Young Lady is hitting a lot of what I want in both a villainess story and a reincarnation story. What if we ignored the guys and started a cottagecore magic industry?

MICHELLE: I admit that I’m mostly going off the cover for this one (plus aliens!) but Nighttime for Just Us Two looks so cute that I can’t resist picking it this week.

KATE: I’m excited to see that Titan Comics will be publishing Eldo Yoshimizu’s latest Hen Kai Pan. Though his debut series Ryuko was a little uneven plot-wise, it had imaginative, eye-popping action sequences and great artwork throughout. Hen Kai Pan looks equally dazzling, with an interesting and timely environmental theme lending some gravity to the proceedings. Count me in!

ASH: Oh! Thanks for that reminder, Kate! I’d forgotten that another work by Yoshimizu was being released. The artwork in Ryuko was very striking. That being said, my pick this week goes to My Brain is Different; I like seeing the variety of biographical and autobiographical manga being released these days.

ANNA: I’m going to go with Nighttime for Just Us Two just because of the whole alien angle.

Pick of the Week: Spies, Assassins and Skip Beat!

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MICHELLE: There is soooo much good stuff coming out this week and there’s really only one thing that beats Yona of the Dawn with such ease, and that is the latest installment of Skip Beat!. I sometimes feel like I should pick something else for the sake of not repeating myself, but this truly vaults to the top of my to-read stack every single time.

SEAN: Man. New Kaguya-sama, Queen’s Quality, Skip Beat!, Snow White with the Red Hair, Spy x Family, AND Yona of the Dawn. I am tempted to simply make my pick “Viz”. But in honor of the start of the anime this week, I will pick Spy x Family.

KATE: As a certifiable Middle-Aged Person, I am 100% rooting for the protagonist of Sakamoto Days, even if he’s “legendary hitman.”

ASH: It really is a Viz sort of week, isn’t it? As the debut, I’ll join Kate in picking Sakamoto Days, but I’m actively reading just about everything that Sean mentioned, too.

ANNA: I’m with Michelle this week, my heart belongs to Skip Beat!!

Bookshelf Briefs 4/4/22

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Falling Drowning, Vol. 1 | By Yuko Inari | Kodansha Comics (digital only) – On the surface, Falling Drowning looks like cookie-cutter shoujo. Our protagonist, a high school student named Honatsu, is part of a love triangle with her protective childhood friend Toma and the surly new transfer student, Shun. There’s even a scene where Honatsu and Shun get stuck in a storeroom! However, there’s an element of mystery to this title that’s quite appealing. Six years ago, Honatsu lost her father in an accident (or was it an accident?) along with eleven years of memories. Now, she’s trying to learn as much as possible and become independent. She feels at ease around Toma, and it’s clear he likes her, but what he offers is the promise of safety. Shun, on the other hand, instinctively understands her desire to challenge herself. I enjoyed this first volume quite a bit and look forward to seeing how it develops from here. – Michelle Smith

Haganai: I Don’t Have Many Friends, Vol. 19 | By Yomi Hirasaka and Itachi | Seven Seas – At last, we get the answer to the question that every Haganai fan who despised the light novel ending has been asking: will the manga be different? Well, I’m not sure the actual ending will differ (he’s still avoiding all romance), but it’s definitely different on the Yukimura end, as he shoots her down here. Indeed, she’s not the only one he shoots down, as he admits to Yozora, who finally confesses, that he sees her only as a friend. I can’t wait to see how this ends when it comes out in… erm, what? I forgot to read this volume? The final volume is already out? Whoopsie! Well, in any case, even if it ends with him picking no one, it avoided the biggest hate sink of the novels, so that’s a plus. – Sean Gaffney

Love at Fourteen, Vol. 11 | By Fuka Mizutani | Yen Press – Remember when I said I liked the sad lesbian helping out her sad high-school equivalent? Well, the author did, and they then pulled the rug right out from under us. That said, it feels a lot like “I am pretending to be a terrible person for your own good” than “I was secretly evil all along,” so it would fit right in with the rest of this somewhat cursed manga, which is all about not acting on relationships that might be considered taboo in one way or another. As for Kanata and Kazuki, well, the ending is a sort of “lady or the tiger” cliffhanger, where we’re given an indirect answer to the question of “did these two finally go all the way.” Likely will be another six months till we get it confirmed. Sketchy soap opera. – Sean Gaffney

My Hero Academia, Vol. 30 | By Kohei Horikoshi | Viz Media – Whoops, it’s not just Haganai. I forgot this came out a month ago as well. Still, at least we’ve finally reached the end of the Paranormal Liberation War arc…. what’s that? We haven’t? It’s still going on? Well then. We do get some setup for villain-saving for both Shigaraki and Toga, though both seem to be of the “but we won’t actually be saved” variety. And we finally get all of Dabi’s tragic backstory, which might be a bit more tragic if it did not also feature liberal applications of “I am laughing like a madman.” In the end, I agree with Uraraka: if you want a chance at redemption, perhaps do a bit less murder when asking for it. It should end next time? Right? – Sean Gaffney

We’re New at This, Vol. 10 | By Ren Kawahara | Kodansha Comics (digital only) – In this volume of sweetness and light, the closest we get to conflict is Sumika having to face up to the fact that Ikuma can be attracted to other women who aren’t her (he doesn’t remotely act on it; it’s a TV show host), Ikuma’s mom dealing with the melancholy of her family having finally all moved out… and the despair when all three daughters end up moving back, and a fake tropical vacation (in their living room) that leads to oily massages and oily sex. The author really has done a good job of making this a series where the leads have a very active love life, that we see, but also making them a wonderful couple whose lives other than sex we also want to see. Sweat and Soap fans might try this one. – Sean Gaffney

When Pink Rain Falls | By Youyi | Star Fruit Books – In the opening pages of When Pink Rain Falls, twenty-something Hanao flees the church where his best friend (and longtime crush) is getting married. As luck would have it, Hanao bumps into Touma, a sensitive but hunky florist who just so happens to need an apprentice. But do they share more than just a passion for flower arrangement, or is their budding relationship strictly professional? This delightful one-shot is only 37 pages, but Star Fruit Books has given it the deluxe treatment with oversize trim (7” x 10”), glossy covers, and high-quality paper—a smart decision, I think, since it allows the reader to appreciate how much of the story is told through glances, gestures, and artfully designed bouquets. Though the plot hits familiar beats, the sincerity and simplicity with which Touma and Hanao’s romance unfolds more than compensates for a few cliché moments. – Katherine Dacey

WITCH WATCH, Vol. 1 | By Kenta Shinohara| Viz Media (digital only) – The author of this new Shonen Jump series is best known in North America for Astra: Lost in Space, but reading the first volume of WITCH WATCH tells you this is more like a return to his breakout hit (never licensed here), Sket Dance. Morihito is a sullen young man with fighting skills far too powerful for his own good. He’s somewhat horrified by the return of his ditzy childhood friend Nico, a witch-in-training who needs a bodyguard. Fortunately, Morihito (aka Moi) is an ogre, which is why he’s so strong. That said… this is a wonderful manga, but the plot is pointless. It’s an excuse for comedy, and the author does some very good comedy. Read this if you love laughs in your Weekly Jump. – Sean Gaffney

Young, Alive, In Love, Vol. 1 | By Daisuke Nishijima | Star Fruit Books – This minimalist comic focuses on two teenagers: Makoto, a teen who owns a Geiger counter, and Mana, a teen who sees spirits. After a meet-cute that’s anything but cute—Mana pukes on Makoto—the two become inseparable as they try to solve the mystery of the enormous power plant that looms over their town. My summary sounds relatively straightforward, but the story unfolds in a circular, sometimes cryptic manner that raises more questions than it answers. Contributing to the aura of mystery is the artwork, which borders on the abstract; the characters and their environment have a kind of studied naïveté that makes them look more like stick figures than people, an impression compounded by the elliptical dialogue. I can’t say that that this was My Thing, but I have a feeling that someone will find the unique rhythms of this story right up their alley. – Katherine Dacey

Pick of the Week: Journeys and Windows

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SEAN: While I realize it may be too bleak for me to actually read, I can’t help but make HIRAETH -The End of the Journey- my pick this week. If nothing else, I’m sure its depression will be GORGEOUS.

MICHELLE: I’ve just learned that the tenth and final volume of The Night Beyond the Tricornered Window came out last Tuesday so obviously I must make that my pick this week. I love BL with lots of non-romantic plot and boy, does this qualify. In fact, there hasn’t really been any romance at all. I’d be surprised if that changes, as this final volume will presumably be fraught with curses and cult leaders.

KATE: I think Anna said it best when she described HIRAETH -The End of the Journey as “the type of critically acclaimed work that I think I will read but don’t get around to because I’m not in the mood for despair right now.” That sounds about right–I certainly want to support the author of Our Dreams at Dusk, but I’m not sure if I handle anything more serious than The Way of the Househusband at the moment.

ASH: HIRAETH is definitely something I’ll be keeping an eye out for if it ends up being released in print. Meanwhile, I’ll make Josee, the Tiger and the Fish my pick this week, though it sounds like another volume that you might need to be in the right mood to read.

ANNA: My pick for this week is my stack of unread manga!

Pick of the Week: Caught Hands and New Legs

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MICHELLE: I’m not wildly enthusiastic about anything this week, but I did enjoy This Wonderful Season with You enough to make Deko-boko Bittersweet Days my pick of the week. Even if it is TOKYOPOP.

SEAN: I have heard so much good buzz about Catch These Hands! that it’s definitely my pick this week. I will punch the yuri into you!

KATE: My pick: the final volume of Blue Giant, an entertaining series about a self-taught saxophonist who honks, squawks, and improvises his way to jazz greatness. If you haven’t tried it, now’s a great time to pick it up, both for the terrific cartooning and for the author’s impressive knowledge of music; Blue Giant is one of the only music manga that didn’t make my inner musician cringe. Now that’s saying something!

ASH: Blue Giant is a solid choice, for sure! However, my pick this week actually goes to The Song of Yoru & Asa, another manga that’s at least tangentially related to music, but that comes with far more content warnings. That being said, I’m also really looking forward to giving Catch These Hands and Run on Your New Legs a try, too!

ANNA: I do enjoy sports manga, and for that reason Run on Your New Legs is my pick!

MJ: It’s a tough choice for me this week, because I’m tentatively interested in a lot of stuff, but not overwhelmingly obsessed with anything. Still, Catch These Hands sounds too cute to pass up, so I think I’ll be going along with Sean this week!

Pick of the Week: Farewell to the Inner Chambers

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SEAN: We have a wealth of choices this week. I could pick the much requested Chitose Is in the Ramune Bottle, as the resident light novel person. There’s My Wandering Warrior Existence, the latest from Nagata Kabi. But I think I’ll pick something away from my tastes with Orochi: The Perfect Edition, which is from 1969 (a rarity in licenses these days) and was licensed pre-,manga boom and dropped, but is now being released again (also a rarity). It looks scary as hell.

MICHELLE: I’m taking my final chance to pick Fumi Yoshinaga’s epic Ōoku: The Inner Chambers. Though it’s been repeatedly heartbreaking to fall in love with various characters along the way, only to have them meet their cruel fate one way or another, it’s also been wholly fascinating and I look forward to seeing how she wraps it all up.

KATE: Gotta go with Sean on this one: classic horror FTW!

ANNA: Since this is my last opportunity to pick Ōoku: The Inner Chambers. I’m going to join with Michelle for her pick.

ASH: Echoing everyone else here, but I have to join in with giving Ōoku: The Inner Chambers a shout out for its final volume and a cheer for the debut of Orochi.

Pick of the Week: It’s Up to You

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KATE: I suspect everyone on the Manga Bookshelf crew will give a shout-out to New York, New York–I mean, Manga Bookshelf’s most beloved feature was our Banana Fish roundtable–so I’ll plug Apple Children of Aeon, which sounds like just the kind of blend of history, folklore, and drama that appeals to all of us.

SEAN: Yeah, I can’t deny that the obvious pick of the week to me is New York, New York, a psychological tragedy that ran in the mainstream shoujo magazine Hana to Yume, a magazine that even just five years later would not really do this sort of thing. It’s coming out in two omnibuses, and looks luxurious.

MICHELLE: There’s no way that I could resist BL + psychological tragedy! New York, New York all the way.

ANNA: I’m for sure interested in i>New York, New York, but we still get so little josei released here I’m going to team up with Kate to pick Apple Children of Aeon.

ASH: I am very interested in both New York, New York and Apple Children of Aeon, but I’m actually going to throw one more josei title out there for consideration. I suspect that I may enjoy the original novels even more, but I’ve really been looking forward to the debut of the manga adaptation of The Case Files of Jeweler Richard, too.

MJ: Okay, all the picks so far are excellent, but we all know where I’m going with this, right? New York, New York, I must have it. I simply must.

Pick of the Week: Mirrors, Blessings and Restarts

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MICHELLE: I already devoted a pick to danmei, so although I’m definitely happy to see the second volume of Heaven’s Official Blessing, I’ll pick Restart After Growing Hungry because the synopsis just sounds wonderful. ” Mitsuomi and Yamato fell for each other beneath the endless, unchanging countryside sky. Now, as the days go by in the small town where Mitsuomi was born and raised, and the foundling Yamato made his home, the two men are searching for the shape of their own happiness.”

SEAN: My pick this week is the Rumiko Takahashi collection Came the Mirror & Other Tales. The fact that she has so many 30+ volume series doesn’t mean she can’t write fantastic short one-chapter manga as well, as fans of Rumic World and Rumic Theater know. This should be good.

KATE: I second Sean’s recommendation! As much as I love Takahashi’s long-form series, I feel like her artistry shines brighter in her short stories. Here’s hoping that brisk sales of Came the Mirror inspires VIZ to reissue some of her older short story anthologies for a new generation of readers.

ANNA: I’m also curious about Came the Mirror, but I’m wrapping up the first volume of Heaven Official’s Blessing and enjoying it, so I’ll go ahead with the second volume as my pick!

MJ: I will admit I’ve always been kind of hit or miss with Rumiko Takahashi. In the hopes that this may be one of those hit moments for me, I’ll take a chance on Came the Mirror & Other Tales!

ASH: Came the Mirror is the debut that I am most interested in, for sure! I find that I don’t always have the time that I once did for long series, so I’m glad to see that collections of short manga are being licensed these days, too.

Pick of the Week: My Melancholy Baby

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MICHELLE: Although I’m excited about catching up on Yona of the Dawn, the cover of Hello, Melancholic! is just too dang cute for me to not pick it this week.

KATE: You had me at “tall but shy trombone players,” so I’m going to join Michelle and name Hello, Melancholic! as my Manga of the Week.

SEAN: Short of a Jack Teagarden manga series, this may be the closest we get to trombone supremacy. I too will go with Hello, Melancholic!

ANNA: I’m also excited for more Yona and Hello, Melancholic! sounds delightful. However I’m not going to pass up the chance to pick Knight of the Ice two weeks in a row, such is strength of my devotion!

ASH: While I’ve been enjoying both Knight of the Ice and Yona of the Dawn, my pick of the week goes to Hello, Melancholic!, as well. To be fair, I’ll give just about any music-related manga a try, but this series honestly seems like it should be great.

MJ: I’m going to have to go with the crowd this week and choose Hello, Melancholic! Trombone supremacy, indeed!

Pick of the Week: Double Vision

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SEAN: I realize that it’s offering comfort to the enemy, but I have to admit, the title that attracts me most this week is Double, from Tokyopop, those who betrayed us all so long ago. It just looks cool and interesting.

MICHELLE: It does, damn it. However, I find I’m most keen to get caught up on heartwarming feline fare. A Man and HIs Cat for me this time.

ANNA: If Knight of the Ice is on offer, that’s always going to be my pick. Hilarious josei romantic antics AND figure skating for the win!

KATE: Double reminds me of the kind of WTF?! gems that Tokyopop used to publish by the truckload–the kind of manga that sounded absolutely preposterous when you tried to explain the plot to someone, but were wildly entertaining. I agree with Sean that Tokyopop has an abominable track record of finishing series, but I’m throwing caution to the wind this week and making Double my pick as well.

ASH: Kodansha seems to have most of the series I’m interested in on the same release schedule this week, so I’ll cheat a little and just wave my hands in their general direction. In addition to the already mentioned Knight of the Ice, there’s also Wave, Listen to Me!, To Your Eternity, and Saint Young Men that I’m looking forward to reading.