Katherine Dacey

KATE: I’d be the first to admit that this week’s haul is light on series I’m actively following, so my vote goes to a newcomer: Smile!, a horror title with a solid premise and evocative artwork. I might be reading this one in broad daylight….

MICHELLE: Given that it was the one title I pre-ordered from this week’s offerings, I’m another vote for Smile!.

ANNA: Sort of a thin selection this week, but I’m going to go with Beatrice since it has been a while since I’ve checked out some manhwa.

SEAN: Smile! is clearly the most interesting title this week, but so not my thing. So I will go for Lilies Blooming in 100 Days, which most assuredly is.

ASH: While both Anna and Sean have solid picks that interest me, it’s Smile! for me, too!

SEAN: It feels like cheating to pick a manga that’s been running for ten years. But this year saw the final volume of My Hero Academia, and it was a rare Jump manga that totally stuck the landing (unless you’re involved in ship wars, but let’s not go there.) Seeing the path Izuku took to becoming a hero, then a teacher, then both was magnificent.

MICHELLE: I didn’t get much reading done this year, of any variety, so perhaps I’ll name two sports manga entries that I was really excited about, namely Mitsuru Adachi’s Short Game short story collection and the newest and long-awaited volume of Real, from Takehiko Inoue. Perhaps 2026 will actually give me a moment in which to read them!

ASH: I think I already called my pick of the year way back in January with the debut of Sanpei Shirato’s monumental series The Legend of Kamui. That prediction turned out to be accurate, but this year has also seen quite a few re-releases which have brought some of my favorite manga (Planetes, Nana, Mushishi) back into print, so I’ve been very excited for those, too.

KATE: This year has been a great one for readers interested in classic series, from Ashita no Joe: Fighting for Tomorrow to The Legend of Kamui, so it’s no surprise that my Pick of the Year is the new edition of Moto Hagio’s They Were 11!. Denpa gave the story the deluxe treatment, with a larger-than-normal trim size that invites the reader to pore over every image. As an added bonus, Denpa also included Hagio’s 1976 sequel,They Were Eleven: Horizon of the East, Eternity of the West, which continues the story of Frol, Tada, and King in the months after their high-stakes training exercise. While the sequel doesn’t quite match the intensity of the original, it’s also an excellent showcase for Hagio’s draftsmanship.

ANNA: I haven’t got a ton of reading done this year either, although I enjoyed picking up and finally reading Go with the Clouds, North by Northwest and I’m closing out the year by rereading Witch Hat AtelierAshita no Joe: Fighting for Tomorrow and They Were 11!. Classic manga in general is my pick.

SEAN: Lots of good stuff for the holidays, but my pick is definitely the 3rd volume of The Guy She Was Interested In Wasn’t a Guy at All.

KATE: Nothing says “Christmas” like an H.P. Lovecraft adaptation, so I’m going to pour myself an eggnog and read The Shadow Out of Time this week.

ANNA: I’m going to pick the latest volume of Kageki Shojo!!, in the hopes that I start making my way through my manga backlog.

MICHELLE: I definitely immediately pre-ordered the new Kageki Shojo!! when I saw there was one, but the same can be said for Silent Reading: Mo Du, and since the former is covered, I’ll make the latter my pick for this week.

ASH: And for yet another delight, I’m going to make The Art of Witch Hat Atelier my pick this week. The artwork in the series has always been remarkable, but this collection looks to be spectacular.

SEAN: This one may be a bit more angsty than I usually like, but I don’t care, I absolutely have to read Love Bullet to see what the buzz is about!

MICHELLE: I find that I’m in the mood for exploring haunted sites, so it’s The Ghostly Darkness of Kanata for me, this week.

ASH: I am definitely interested in both of those series, but I can’t help but add The Magnificent Bastard into the mix, too; I simply can’t miss Tetsuo Hara’s version of Maeda Keiji.

KATE: The Ghostly Darkness of Kanata seems like something I might dig, so that’s my PoTW!

SEAN: I’ve heard very good things about A Curtain Call for You, and as a former drama student it naturally calls out to me. It’s definitely my pick this week.

KATE: Though I’m always down to buy another coffee table book, I only have eyes for one new arrival this week: A Witch’s Life in Mongol. Great artwork, great storytelling, and a great heroine make this series a real standout in a very crowded market.

MICHELLE: I’ve been under the weather this week and what sounds most appealing is actually some pleasant shoujo. I liked the first volume of Tsubaki-chou Lonely Planet, so I will go with that.

ASH: This week I’m most interested in splurging on The Art of Manga, which just so happens to feature some of my favorite creators. (And I’m in the wrong party of the country to be able to actually go see the associated exhibit.)

ANNA: I’m with Ash, I’m very curious about The Art of Manga!

SEAN: I’m not sure if I’ll enjoy it, as this isn’t normally my thing, but making Kingdom my pick this week just because, wow, finally.

KATE: I’m with Sean: I don’t know if Kingdom is for me, but all the cool kids have been pestering VIZ to license it for years. I’m planning to pick up the first volume this week, too.

MICHELLE: Sure! Count me in!

ANNA: I’m not going to deny this emerging consensus!

ASH: I am absolutely here for Kingdom… but I’m also going to give a shout-out to Yokai: Shigeru Mizuki’s Supernatural Parade because I adored the first artbook so much.

SEAN: I mean, Real. Duh.

MICHELLE: Yep. I even hauled all of the other volumes out for a reread.

ANNA: No question!

KATE: I think it’s unanimous!

MICHELLE: Unambiguously!

ASH: Let’s keep it Real.

SEAN: It’s the end of My Hero Academia, so of course that’s my pick this week, even though I know that the final chapter, exclusive to the volume, will no doubt reignite appalling ship wars.

MICHELLE: I’m with Sean. I’m not as enamored of this series as I once was, but I still would like to finish it, so I shall soon be embarking upon a marathon.

KATE: NANA! There’s a whole generation of readers who haven’t had the pleasure of reading this fervid paean to female friendship. Buy a copy for your favorite Young Person today!

ANNA: I’m with Kate, bring on the angst in NANA!!

ASH: Likewise! The re-release of NANA is where it’s at for me. It really is such a great series; I’m very glad it’s getting attention again.

SEAN: It’s always hard to get anything new out of the isekai premise, so I will give Isekai Metaller a lot of credit and make it my pick this week. (Also, Judas Priest > Iron Maiden.)

MICHELLE: I’m not super excited by anything, really, but Sensei’s Mail-Order Food looks potentially cute, so I will go with that, this week.

ASH: I’m vaguely curious about Isekai Metaller, but I’m actually really looking forward to reading Sensei’s Mail-Order Food. I simply can’t pass up the combination of Asumiko Nakamura, BL, and food manga!

KATE: The end times must be coming because Sean and I are once again choosing the same title. Heavy metal isekai for me, please!

MICHELLE: I’ve been looking forward to Our Dining Table: Seconds, Please! since I learned it had been licensed, so that is absolutely my pick this week!

SEAN: The author and I have had mixed success to say the least, but I will give them another shot, and make my pick this week The Lying Bride and the Same-Sex Marriage Debate.

ASH: I’m definitely interested in both of those titles, but the release I’m most excited about this week is Kamudo. Ever since meeting Akira Himekawa at TCAF ages ago, I’ve wanted to read some of their original work. I’m so glad to finally have the chance!

ANNA: I’m going to go for the latest volume of Otaku Vampire’s Love Bite as a reminder for me to get caught up!

KATE: I second Ash’s pick; Kamudo has a knock-out cover! I’ll also mention Moan: Junji Ito Story Collection for anyone who wants a head start on Halloween.

ASH: The last few years have been somewhat astonishing with the number of seemingly unlicensable manga being licensed. Baki the Grappler is one of the most recent… although I guess it’s technically a license rescue? Either way, I’m eager to give this series of absolute martial arts mayhem a try.

SEAN: I don’t know where I’ll find the room for another big artbook, but The Art of Rumiko Takahashi: Colors 1978–2024 is hard to resist.

ANNA: I’m always happy to see a license rescue, Baki the Grappler for me!

KATE: I second Sean’s pick; Takahashi was my introduction to manga, so I feel a moral obligation to buy this book!

MICHELLE: I struggle to decide between the two Tsukasa Hojo debuts, but a trio of sisters in unitards (with scarves for unnecessary belts) is really serving up ’80s nostalgia for me, so Cat’s Eye it is!

SEAN: I am very familiar with the City Hunter manga, as I got the original Japanese volumes years ago so I could look at the art and wonder what they were saying. As such, I too will pick Cat’s Eye, which I am far less familiar with. Sexy girls, I hear!

ANNA: I can’t decide! I’m picking both Cat’s Eye AND City Hunter.

KATE: I might just have to come out of semi-retirement; it’s rare that we get TWO eighties classics in a single week! I second Anna’s picks.

ASH: Who am I to go against the trend? I am absolutely here for City Hunter and will definitely be reading Cat’s Eye, too. It’s an exciting week!

SEAN: I didn’t even know it existed till two weeks ago, but Miss Ruki is absolutely my pick this week. It’s wonderful to see titles like this come out over here.

ANNA: I agree, I was similarly unaware, but have preordered this and am looking forward to reading it!

MICHELLE: I agree 100%.

KATE: Add me to the Miss Ruki fan club—I just ordered myself a copy!

ASH: I actually did know about Miss Ruki—mostly because New York Review Comics releases some really interesting things, so I make a point to keep an eye out for them—but there’s no way I’m going to miss out on 1980s josei regardless of the publisher.

MICHELLE: I’m very intrigued by Adabana, but I can’t pass up the yearly opportunity to pick Kaze Hikaru!

ASH: Kaze Hikaru is always a worthy pick! But I’ll go ahead and make the debut of Adabana my official selection this week. I haven’t read the creator’s other work, but I have heard good things about this one. (I also happen to really like the cover.)

ANNA: I cannot resist the opportunity to celebrate the annual release of Kaze Hikaru!

SEAN: I admit I am about 30 volumes beyond on Kaze Hikaru, but I am in agreement with it being the pick.

KATE: I only have eyes for Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear this week… NOT! (Remember that annoying tic from the 90s?) Like everyone else, I’m naming the latest volume of Kaze Hikaru as my official POTW, but I’m also delighted to see that there’s a new installment of Skip & Loafer.

SEAN: Generally my Villainess novels tend to be on the Japanese end – Chinese villainesses tend to be villains, and thus danmei. Less familiar with Korean villainesses, so I will enjoy a rare light novel from Ize Press, Villains Are Destined to Die as my pick this week.

MICHELLE: I am all about Farewell, Daisy. Sometimes my heart just wants sparkly retro-style shoujo, and this book appears poised to deliver on that.

KATE: My pick is the final volume of Leviathan, which comes out this week as well. It’s a great sci-fi/horror story that shamelessly borrows elements of Memories, They Were 11! and The Drifting Classroom, but manages to breathe new life into the haunted spaceship genre. Best of all: it’s short—just three volumes—making it perfect for commitment-phobes.

ANNA: I’m going to go with the latest volume of Nina the Starry Bride, because I’m always up for fantasy shoujo!

ASH: Well, based on Kate’s recommendation, I should apparently read Leviathan! As for debuts, I actually am curious about Futari Switch, though I’m not sure a have a lot of confidence in that pick being the right one.