M.J. Beasi

SEAN: Get ready for a brutal month. Every week in August is huge. Soooo much stuff.

ASH: Let’s go!

SEAN: First of all, hey, remember when I somehow missed that Soul Eater: The Perfect Edition started from Square Enix on 7/28? That was 100% a thing I missed, because I am basically terrible. Soul Eater is fun. Please ignore the boobie ending.

We start with J-Novel Club, which has several print volumes. We see Animeta! 4, How NOT to Summon a Demon Lord 11, the debut of the I Shall Survive Using Potions! light novel, and In Another World with My Smartphone 11.

ASH: I plan on picking up Animeta! out of this group.

SEAN: Digitally, there is Altina the Sword Princess 5, Campfire Cooking in Another World 7, Can Someone Please Explain What’s Going On? 3, Der Werwolf 8, Grimgar of Fantasy and Ash 15 (hey, it finally hit 15), In Another World with My Smartphone 20, and Record of Wortenia War 7.

Kaiten Books has another manga debut: UzaMaid: Our Maid is Way Too Annoying (Uchi no Maid ga Uzasugiru!). This Manga Action title from Futabasha had an anime recently, and I can confirm that its title is not just for show.

Kodansha had to push back its Shaman King rollout, so no debuts this week. In print, we get Boarding School Juliet 12.

Digitally we get Are You Lost? 6, Cells at Work: Bacteria! 2, Chihayafuru 21, Drifting Dragons 8, GTO Paradise Lost 12, Our Fake Marriage 3, Peach Girl NEXT 8 (the final volume), Smile Down the Runway 12, and To Be Next to You 8.

MICHELLE: I will never not be grateful for Chihayafuru!

ANNA: One day I will catch up! One day!!!

SEAN: One Peace has a one-off for us: My Papa’s Persimmon Tree, which is 45 pages long, seemingly based on real-life events, and award winning.

ASH: Interesting! It’s so easy for One Peace’s releases to slip under the radar; I wasn’t previously aware of this one.

MELINDA: Same here!

SEAN: Seven Seas has the print debut of Peter Grill and the Philosopher’s Time, the 2020 award winner for most “humorous” euphemisms for semen in a single manga volume.

MICHELLE: Ew.

ANNA: No thank you!

MELINDA: I hate everything.

SEAN: Also in print: Arifureta Zero’s 3rd light novel, Gal Gohan 3, GIGANT 2, Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid: Elma’s OL Diary 3, and the 10th and final Toradora! light novel.

As for early digital releases, we have the 11th Saint Seiya: Saintia Sho.

Udon has the 2nd Rose of Versailles at last. Cannot wait.

MICHELLE: Huzzah!

ANNA: I have mine, yay!

ASH: Yes!! Still so glad this series is being released.

MELINDA: Okay, I don’t hate EVERYTHING. So excited!!

SEAN: Vertical has a manga debut: The Daily Lives of High School Boys (Danshi Koukousei no Nichijou), an episodic comedy manga from Gangan Online that also became an anime and a film. It’s pretty highly regarded.

And lastly, ALL THE VIZ. The debut is a sequel. Fushigi Yugi: Byakko Senki, a sequel to Fushigi Yugi – Genbu Kaiden, but still a prequel to the main series proper. It runs in Flowers, meaning we finally have another Flowers series from Viz that isn’t Kaze Hikaru. Also, this manga is so old I have to remind myself every time not to use two u’s in Yugi. Because fandom.

MICHELLE: I am all about this.

ANNA: I am so excited for this series. Trying to emotionally prepare myself.

MELINDA: Okay, I absolutely loved Fushigi Yugi – Genbu Kaiden, probably more than the original series, if I’m being honest. So this is a welcome addition to that universe!

SEAN: Naruto has a new light novel (at 136 pages, a very light novel) called Naruto’s Story: Family Day. It shows him bonding with Himawari, and I think was animated.

Shonen Jump? We got you. There’s Black Clover 22, Blue Exorcist 24, Boruto 9, Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba 15, JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure Arc 4 Volume 6, Jujutsu Kaisen 5, the 5th and final My Hero Academia SMASH!, One Piece 94, The Promised Neverland 16, the third Samurai 8, Twin Star Exorcists 19, and We Never Learn 11.

ASH: JoJo! So far, this arc has’t been my favorite, but I’m still getting a huge kick out of it.

SEAN: Shojo Beat? We have you covered as well. Ao Haru Ride 12, Kaze Hikaru 28 (the yearly volume, which means TWO Flowers series on the same day from Viz! Can 7SEEDS be far behind?), Oresama Teacher 27, Shortcake Cake 9, and Yona of the Dawn 25.

MICHELLE: I would even be super happy if 7SEEDS was digital-only. Heck, if Kaze Hikaru moved in that direction but came out more frequently, that’d be okay too.

ANNA: If only we got 7SEEDS. I’m happy for the annual volume of Kaze Hikaru. . So much great shoujo this week!

ASH: It’s a very good week for shoujo!

MELINDA: That 7SEEDS tease seems cruel, Sean! So much false hope! I weep.

SEAN: As tends to happen in Week Ones, Viz is most fascinating to me (well, that and Rose of Versailles). How about you?

SEAN: July is coming to an end, and there’s still a few things for you.

J-Novel Club has the 3rd Bibliophile Princess novel, Cooking with Wild Game 8, and a 4th manga for How a Realist Hero Rebuilt the Kingdom.

No debuts for Kodansha next week, and the only print book is Yuzu the Pet Vet 2.

ASH: The first volume looked cute, but I haven’t actually read it yet.

MICHELLE: Same. I do hope to rectify that soon.

SEAN: Hey, remember all those Kodansha digital books that were on last week’s Manga the Week of? They seem to have gotten bumped to next week, so add them to this list.

Wait, stop the presses! Kodansha is, in fact, releasing all 35 volumes of Shaman King – including the never-before-in-English ending – digitally. This is a Weekly Shonen Jump series from back in the day, with Kodansha now holding the rights. I assume it will have a new translation. It’s a cult classic.

ASH: Wow, that’s impressive!

SEAN: Besides that, digitally there’s a whole lot (note: this is based on the dates on Kodansha’s website). Altair: A Record of Battles 20, Boarding School Juliet 16 (a final volume), DAYS 19, Farewell My Dear Cramer 11, I Fell in Love After School 6, I Want to Hold Aono-kun So Badly I Could Die 6, Kakafukaka 10, Kiss Me at the Stroke of Midnight 11 (print later), Magus of the Library 4 (print later), Real Account 12-14 (print later), Saint Young Men 7, UQ Holder 20 (print later), Watari-kun’s ****** Is about to Collapse 8, When We Shout for Love 2, and Yuzu the Pet Vet 3 (print later).

(Yes, some of the digital titles like Boarding School Juliet and Saint Young Men are also getting print later, but here I mean “COVID-delayed print edition”.)

ASH: In general, I’ll be waiting for the print edition, even if I have to wait longer considering the circumstances.

MICHELLE: I’ll be reading several of these, most especially the soccer pair.

SEAN: Seven Seas’ debut is Kingdom of Z, a zombie apocalypse romantic comedy that looks to be for fans of High School of the Dead. It runs in Kodansha’s Comic Days.

Seven Seas also gives us BL Metamorphosis 2 (yay!), High Rise Invasion 13-14, King of Fighters: A New Beginning 3, Little Devils 4 (the final volume), Magic User: Reborn in Another World as a Max Level Wizard 2 (print version), Mushoku Tensei 6 (print edition), and My Room Is a Dungeon Rest Stop 3 (digital edition).

ASH: Even though this is only the second volume, BL Metamorphosis is already one of my favorite series being released right now.

MICHELLE: I never got around to reading volume one so this is another one where I’m hoping to get caught up by volume two.

MELINDA: I’ve been slow to pick up volume one, but I need to get on that!

SEAN: Tentai Books has a light novel debut, Welcome to the Diner of the Exiled! (Tsuihousha Shokudou e Youkoso!). Guy betrayed by everyone meets girl betrayed by everyone. Together, they do not fight crime. They open a diner. I smell a slow life title.

Vertical has, digitally, a 14th Witchcraft Works.

Finally, Yen On has Kingdom Hearts III: the Novel 2. Which hopefully is not as confusing as its title.

Short list, mostly because it was mostly two publishers. What interests you?

SEAN: It’s another one of those weeks. Get ready to be buried.

ASH: It’s good to see some things returning to normal!

SEAN: First, some late additions; these are out this week, but the release date was only just confirmed. They’re both Bookwalker titles. The first is Tenpuru, an ecchi harem manga from Kodansha’s Comic Days (I think Tenpuru is meant to be Temple). The second is Why the Hell Are You Here, Teacher?! (Nande koko ni sensei ga!?), an ecchi not-harem title about a guy who can’t stop getting into risque situations with his teacher. It runs in Kodansha’s Young Magazine. Both titles recommended for horny guys.

As for next week, Dark Horse debuts its deluxe edition of Hellsing. The manga was always a lot more… bonkers than the anime, so I’m not sure if I’m going to reread it, but it’s worth checking out.

ASH: If it’s anything like the Berserk deluxe edition, this should be a great release of Hellsing for those interested in the series.

SEAN: J-Novel Club gives us the long-awaited second volume of Tearmoon Empire, as well as the 3rd Teagonia.

Kaiten Books debuts a new digital manga license, My Dad’s the Queen of All VTubers?! (Oyaji ga Bishoujo ni Natteta Hanashi). It’s a Manga Action series from Futabasha, seems to be a comedy. Title is likely the plot, as we see a lot these days.

Kodansha’s latest digital debut, Cells at Work: Baby!, is not about Red Blood Cell and White Blood Cell finally getting their groove on, alas. It’s about the newest cells and what their job is. It runs, believe it or not, in Kodansha’s Morning magazine.

ASH: I hadn’t realized just how many spinoffs of Cells at Work there already were!

SEAN: Also debuting is Sue and Tai-chan, which was delayed from a previous Manga the Week of, so let me go copy and paste. It’s another cat manga from the creator of Chi’s Sweet Home. This one runs in Be Love magazine, so seems more for housewives than kids. But… I mean, it’s still a cute cat manga.

MELINDA: I love Chi, so I’d always take more cat manga from this creator!

SEAN: In print? Living-Room Matsunaga-san 3, Something’s Wrong with Us 2, and The Seven Deadly Sins 38.

Digitally, we get Abe-kun’s Got Me Now! 2, Dolly Kill Kill 4, GE: Good Ending 7, Gleipnir 7, Kakushigoto 5, MabuSasa 4, Something’s Wrong with Us 3, That Blue Summer 7 and The Seven Deadly Sins 39.

One Peace has a 9th volume of Hinamatsuri.

Seven Seas debuts, in print, Buck Naked in Another World, a light novel that does not live up to its title.

ASH: Ha!

MELINDA: Also got a laugh out of this.

SEAN: Also out in print: Classroom of the Elite 5, Dragon Goes House-Hunting 5, Goodbye My Rose Garden 2, Himouto Umaru-chan! 10, Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid: Kanna’s Daily Life 7, My Status as an Assassin Obviously Exceeds the Hero’s 2, Our Wonderful Days 3, and Primitive Boyfriend 2.

ASH: I’ve been meaning to give Goodbye My Rose Garden a try; better get on that before I get too far behind!

SEAN: There’s also an early digital release for Classroom of the Elite 6.

Sol Press has a 3rd digital volume for the light novel Why Can’t a Detestable Demon Lord Fall in Love?.

Tokyopop has a new print BL title: There Are Things I Can’t Tell You (Kimi ni Ienai Koto ga Aru). It’s from the publisher Printemps Shuppan, runs in their magazine Canna, and is about childhood friends growing up and realizing they love each other.

MELINDA: I have to admit this sounds like my kind of title.

SEAN: Vertical, in print, has the 6th Knights of Sidonia Master Edition.

They also have digital editions of Bakemonogatari 5 and CITY 9.

The big debut from Viz is Mujirushi: The Sign of Dreams. This is complete in one volume, ran in Shogakukan’s Big Comic Original, and is a father/daughter psychological drama.

ASH: Not only that, it’s by Naoki Urasawa, one of the creators who solidified my love of manga. I’ll definitely be checking this one out.

ANNA: Oh! This might be the one thing I’m interested in this week.

MELINDA: Oooooo.

SEAN: Viz also gave us a series of RWBY anthologies before, but now we have RWBY: The Official Manga. This is a prequel to the animated series, and ran in Shonen Jump’s online app.

Also from Viz: Beastars 7, Children of the Whales 15, Hell’s Paradise Jigokuraku 3, Levius/est 5, Mobile Suit Gundam Thunderbolt 14, and No Guns Life 6.

ASH: Beastars and Hell’s Paradise Jigokuraku are my priorities out of this bunch.

SEAN: Yen On has three different light novel debuts. High School Prodigies Have It Easy Even in Another World! (Choujin Koukousei-tachi wa Isekai demo Yoyuu de Ikinuku you desu!) is one where we’ve seen the manga before, and it’s had an anime as well. This is the isekai you get when only geniuses are summoned.

I’m a Behemoth, an S-Ranked Monster, but Mistaken for a Cat, I Live as an Elf Girl’s Pet (S-Rank Monster no Behemoth Dakedo, Neko to Machigawarete Erufu Musume no Kishi (Pet) Toshite Kurashitemasu) is what it sounds like, but it’s also notable for being the first Yen On light novel to have a Parental Advisory warning. From what I hear, it’s simply because of the constant mention of boobs in the series. Sigh.

ASH: Huh. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen an advisory warning on a novel before.

SEAN: May These Leaden Battlegrounds Leave No Trace (Uchinukareta Senjou wa, Soko de Kieteiro) is a more serious, war-torn drama type of story, along the lines of 86.

Also out in light novels: Bungo Stray Dogs 4, The Greatest Demon Lord Is Reborn As a Typical Nobody 3, The Hero Is Overpowered But Overly Cautious 4, Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon: Sword Oratoria 12, the second volume of Kingdom Hearts III: The Novel, the third and final volume of KonoSuba: An Explosion on this Wonderful World! (don’t worry, there’s a sequel to this side story in a couple of months), Magical Girl Raising Project 9, Re: Zero 13, and the WorldEnd EX side novel.

Yen’s manga side has two debuts, and the first is… oh dear. To Save the World, Can You Wake Up the Morning After with a Demi-Human? (Sekai wo Sukuu Tame ni Ajin to Asa-chun Dekimasenka?) is the latest in a series of not-quite-porn-but-pretty-close licenses Yen has picked up, this one runs in Young Dragon Age (which, judging by its title, is for series TOO RACY for Dragon Age, a terrifying thought). The plot involves… well, I can probably guess.

MELINDA: Why, Yen, WHYYYYYYYY?

SEAN: The second is a spinoff. That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime: The Ways of the Monster Nation. It runs in Micro Magazine’s Comic Ride.

Yen also has some less appalling titles. Barakamon 18 + 1 is a welcome return to that series. There’s also The Case Study of Vanitas 7, For the Kid I Saw in My Dreams 5, Goblin Slayer Side Story: Year One 5, The Hero Is Overpowered but Overly Cautious 2 (the manga version), Horimiya 14, I’m a Behemoth, an S-Ranked Monster, but Mistaken for a Cat, I Live as an Elf Girl’s Pet 2 (the manga version), Monster Wrestling: Interspecies Combat Girls 3, No Matter How I Look at It, It’s You Guys’ Fault I’m Not Popular! 16, RaW Hero 2, Sacrificial Princess and the King of Beasts 10, and the 4th print volume of Toilet-Bound Hanako-kun.

ASH: I’m mostly here for Toilet-Bound Hanako-kun, which I’m thoroughly enjoying.

MELINDA: Has anyone kept up with The Case Study of Vanitas? I was such a big fan of Pandora Hearts, but the beginning of this series wasn’t as strong as I hoped. Has it gotten better?

SEAN: Yen’s release schedule always seems to exhaust me. Are you picking anything up?

SEAN: It’s still hot, there’s still manga.

ASH: I’m glad for one of those things.

SEAN: Apologies to Kaiten Books, who I forgot to add last week. They had Loner Life in Another World 2 come out digitally.

Denpa has the second volume of Pleasure and Corruption.

J-Novel Club’s debut is A Wild Last Boss Appeared! (Yasei no Rasubosu ga Arawareta!), a fantasy series where the Overlord has returned after being defeated years ago in a game world. A guy playing the game now finds himself in the Overlord’s body, and has to deal with her return after 200 years. Yes, her. This could be fun or awful, not sure which.

They also have the 2nd volume of The Extraordinary, the Ordinary and SOAP!; Lazy Dungeon Master 11; and Sorcerous Stabber Orphen 7.

Kodansha’s digital debut is Cells at Work again: Platelets! (Hataraku Kesshouban-chan). This runs in Shonen Sirius, and is basically “adorable grade schoolers” in the Cells at Work vein.

ASH: The platelets were pretty cute to begin with in the original manga.

SEAN: In print, we get The Quintessential Quintuplets 9. In digital, we get The Quintessential Quintuplets 13, the second to last volume, and find out once and for all which Quint is the winner.

Also out digitally: Ace of the Diamond 27, Giant Killing 21, Grand Blue Dreaming 11, Hitorijime My Hero 8, I’m Standing on a Million Lives 9, Sailor Moon Eternal Edition 8, The Hero Life of a (Self-Proclaimed) “Mediocre” Demon! 4, and Tokyo Revengers 16. Some of those will get print later, some will not.

MICHELLE: I’m a few volumes behind on Giant Killing. I expect catching up to be a great deal of fun.

ASH: I would pick this series up in a heartbeat if it ever gets a print release; I enjoyed the anime adaptation a great deal.

SEAN: One Peace has the 17th volume of The Rising of the Shield Hero.

Seven Seas has the print debut of Adachi and Shimamura, the popular yuri light novel series.

Also debuting in print is Love on the Other Side, a short story collection from the author of The Girl from the Other Side, which promises to be heartwarming and creepy in about equal measure.

MICHELLE: Woot!

ASH: Very excited for this volume!

ANNA: Nice, me too!

MELINDA: This sounds great!

SEAN: There is also Blank Canvas 5, A Certain Scientific Railgun: Astral Buddy 3, Dance in the Vampire Bund: Age of Scarlet Order 2, Grimgar of Fantasy and Ash 13, and Uzaki-chan Wants to Hang Out! 3. Most of those we discussed when the digital version came out.

MICHELLE: I really, really need to read Blank Canvas.

ASH: It is so, so good.

MELINDA: I also need to get around to this.

SEAN: Out early digitally is the 2nd Buck Naked in Another World, and let’s just leave that there.

Square Enix has, in print, the 2nd A Man and His Cat and the debut of the Wandering Witch manga.

MICHELLE: I am so there for A Man and His Cat.

ASH: I really enjoyed the first volume.

MELINDA: I need to catch up!

SEAN: Debuting digitally first for Square Enix is The Strongest Sage with the Weakest Crest (Shikkaku Mon no Saikyou Kenja – Sekai Saikyou no Kenja ga Sara ni Tsuyokunaru Tame ni Tensei Shimashita). Fantasy, harem, magic academy, strong guy who is supposedly weak, etc.

SuBLime has a debut called Jealousy, from Scarlet Beriko, the author of Jackass!. It’s a yakuza BL title, and looks pretty serious.

ASH: I’ll expect that I be checking this one out at some point. I liked Jackass!, though this manga sounds to be in quite a different vein.

MELINDA: I’ll cautiously consider.

SEAN: Vertical gives us the 6th volume of My Boy.

Viz’s debut is a spinoff, Splatoon: Squid Kids’ Comedy Show. I have no idea, really.

They also have Case Closed 75 (good lord), the 3rd Persona 5, Radiant 12, Record of Grancest War 7, and RIN-NE 34.

What manga cools you off?

SEAN: Well, while things are not yet back to normal in the world around us, they’re back to normal in regards to manga. Which means there’s a LOT next week.

ASH: Woohoo, manga!

SEAN: Drawn and Quarterly have a collection of stories by feminist manga pioneer Kuniko Tsurita, called The Sky Is Blue with a Single Cloud. A single-volume collection of her best works, this sounds absolutely amazing.

ASH: It really does; I’ll definitely be checking it out.

MELINDA: Wow, yes, this sounds fantastic.

SEAN: J-Novel Club has a number of print releases coming out. We get An Archdemon’s Dilemma 6; the 9th and final volume of If It’s for My Daughter, I’d Even Defeat a Demon Lord; the 7th Infinite Dendrogram; the 3rd Marginal Operation manga; and the 2nd My Next Life As a Villainess.

In digital releases we see Arifureta Zero 4, the 4th Discommunication manga, I Refuse to Be Your Enemy! 2, Infinite Dendrogram 12, Seirei Gensouki 10, and the 3rd manga volume for The Unwanted Undead Adventurer.

Kodansha has one print title out next week, the 2nd volume of Knight of the Ice.

ANNA: I am extremely excited about this!

ASH: Looking forward to it, especially after all of the delays!

SEAN: The digital debut is Cells at Work: Bacteria! (Hataraku Saikin), another in a long line of spinoffs. This one runs in Nakayoshi, though, and so is a shoujo manga about good bacteria battling bad bacteria. It’s already got 6 volumes.

ASH: Some of the spinoffs can be hit-or-miss, but I liked the original and I like the sound of this one.

SEAN: Also out digitally… (deep breath)… All-Rounder Meguru 15, A Condition Called Love 5, Knight of the Ice 3, My Boss’s Kitten 5, Orient 4, Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Eternal Edition 7, Pumpkin Scissors 23, Saint Young Men 5 & 6, A Sign of Affection 2, Smile Down the Runway 11, To Be Next to You 7, and Wotakoi: Love Is Hard for Otaku 4. (Yes, we mentioned the last one before – it got bumped.)

MICHELLE: I’ll be reading quite a few of those!

SEAN: Seven Seas has a large number of titles that are coming out in print. The 8th Arifureta light novel, A Certain Scientific Railgun 15, the debut of the Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear light novels, the debut of the PENGUINDRUM light novels, I Had That Same Dream Again – the novel AND the manga, My Senpai Is Annoying 1, The Legend of Dororo and Hyakkimaru 1, and the 9th Didn’t I Say To Make My Abilities Average?!. We’ve discussed the debuts when they came out digitally, but it’s nice to see them in print.

ASH: That it is! I’m particularly looking forward to giving The Legend of Dororo and Hyakkimaru and PENGUINDRUM a try.

SEAN: Digital-first, there is a new debut light novel: Yes, No or Maybe? (Yes ka No ka Hanbun ka). This is a done-in-one BL title, and it’s about a news anchorman and a stop-motion animator. It’s gotten great buzz, and is getting an anime.

ASH: Oh, I had missed the anime news, but I am interested.

MICHELLE: I don’t read many light novels, but this sounds kind of fun.

MELINDA: Huh, interesting.

SEAN: Also digital first is the 7th Mushoku Tensei novel.

Sol Press has a digital release of the 4th Chivalry of a Failed Knight.

And then there’s Viz, who have a full slate of releases. The debut is act-age, a Weekly Shonen Jump title that seeks to do for acting what One Piece did for pirates. Unfortunately, its star, Kei, is all about method acting. This is 11+ volumes to date, so it’s a proven winner by Jump standards. Still… method acting. Ugh. The drama major in me rears back and hisses.

ANNA: Ha, I have to admit I am curious about this based on the description.

MICHELLE: The music major in me hasn’t got a lot of opinions about method acting, so I’m looking forward to this. :)

MELINDA: Agree on method acting, but also, I’m gonna have to read this.

SEAN: Also debuting in Bleach: Can’t Fear Your Own World, the first of a 3-volume light novel sequel to the popular/controversial Jump title written by Ryohgo Narita, the creator of Baccano! and Durarara!!. Given that pedigree, he knows how to handle huge casts, but Bleach may be a bigger challenge. This stars Hisagi, aka “that guy with 69 tattooed on his cheek’.

There’s also Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba 14, Dr. STONE 12, Haikyu!! 39, Kaguya-sama: Love Is War 15, One-Punch Man 20, and Seraph of the End 19.

ASH: I’m behind with Haikyu!!, but I have been dutifully collecting volumes in preparation for a marathon read.

MICHELLE: I’m a couple of volumes behind, so I can have a mini-marathon, which will probably be extremely enjoyable.

SEAN: On the Shojo Beat tip, we have Daytime Shooting Star 7, An Incurable Case of Love 4, Love Me Love Me Not 3, Prince Freya 2, Snow White with the Red Hair 8, and Takane and Hana 15.

ANNA: Yay, it is a WEEK FOR ANNA!

ASH: Despite some of the pacing issues of the first volume, I am curious to see how Prince Freya continues to develop.

MICHELLE: Yeah, it didn’t really live up to the awesomeness of its cover, but I’m not ready to give up on it just yet. I’m actually reading everything in that Shojo Beat list except for the one of them that is not actually shojo.

SEAN: Something for everyone here. What’s for you?

SEAN: It’s the first of July! Or the last day of June, technically, as most books ship Tuesdays. As a result, this July 1st is more of a grab bag than most weeks.

Bookwalker has a 12th volume of shogi light novel series The Ryuo’s Work Is Never Done!.

Cross Infinite World debuts another shoujo light novel. Hello, I Am a Witch and My Crush Wants Me to Make a Love Potion! should serve as the perfect description, really.

MICHELLE: Yep.

ASH: Haha, it does!

ANNA: There is great clarity as to the contents of that book.

SEAN: Dark Horse has the 5th Berserk Deluxe Edition.

ASH: I’ll be picking this up. The deluxe edition of Berserk is quite an upgrade from the original release.

SEAN: Ghost Ship has, digital-first, Vol. 16 of To-Love-Ru Darkness.

J-Novel Club has two manga and two light novels. The manga are Infinite Dendrogram 4 and The Magic in This Other World Is Too Far Behind!! 5.

The novels are Full Metal Panic! 7 and My Next Life As a Villainess 6, which I have been reliably informed does actually get the story moving once more.

Kodansha has a couple of debuts, some with print coming later, some not. Clover is a title CLAMP fans should be familiar with, and it’s getting a Hardcover Collector’s Edition release… but for now, enjoy it digitally.

MICHELLE: I don’t think I ever finished this one.

ASH: Clover is one of my favorites from CLAMP. (And is another example of one of the group’s manga that ended earlier than originally intended.) I have the Dark Horse omnibus edition, but I’m tempted to pick this one up, too.

ANNA: I’ve got the old Tokyopop paperbacks!

MELINDA: I also have the Dark Horse omnibus, but this is tempting!

SEAN: When We Shout for Love (Bokura ga Ai wo Sakebu Toki) is a 3-volume shoujo manga series from Betsufure, and is about a boy and girl who find themselves growing closer because of their mutual love of AKB48… (cough) pardon me, KBF47.

ASH: That sounds like it could be fun!

SEAN: Digital first titles include Kiss Me at the Stroke of Midnight 11, Real Account 12-14 (a three volume omnibus), and Sweat and Soap 3.

Digital-only titles next week include Fairy Tail: City Hero 3, Farewell My Dear Cramer 10, The Great Cleric 5, and Love Massage: Melting Beauty Treatment 5.

MICHELLE: I need to get caught back up on Farewell My Dear Cramer.

SEAN: Seven Seas, in print, has the debut of Love Me for Who I Am. We talked about this when it came out digitally, but it deserves to be talked about again, because the first volume impressed me greatly. A must for LGBTQ fans.

ASH: I was waiting for the print release to read it; I’m looking forward to the manga.

MELINDA: I never did pick up the digital version, so this is my chance!

SEAN: In early-digital releases, we also have a debut light novel. The Hidden Dungeon Only I Can Enter (Ore Dake Haireru Kakushi Dungeon: Kossori Kitaete Sekai Saikyou) is about a boy with minimal talents and, well, a dungeon that’s all for him. Seems very light novel-ey. Also he’s named Noir, so I hope he quickly gains companions named Madlax and El Cazador.

There’s also Haganai: I Don’t Have Many Friends 18, Magical Girl Spec-Ops Asuka 9, and the 3rd Neon Evangelion ANIMA light novel, where we see once more how many times they can use the phrase ‘pillar of salt’.

Tokyopop has a debut. Koimonogatari: Love Stories is not, sad to say, starring Hitagi Senjogahara. It’s a BL series from Gentosha’s Rutile, and actually looks quite sweet.

Tokyopop also has an 8th volume of yuri fox girl series Konohana Kitan.

Finally, Udon gives us a 7th Otherworldly Izakaya Nobu, which always leaves me hungry (admittedly, most foodies manga/novels do these days).

ASH: I read some of the early volumes, so I’ve some catching up to do.

SEAN: Anything catch your eye?

SEAN: Look out, folks. The danger of COVID-19 may still be here, but the dam has broken. There are SO MANY BOOKS next week.

ASH: Woo!

SEAN: We’ll start with Dark Horse, who have a 5th volume of Mob Psycho 100.

ASH: I’ll be picking this up.

SEAN: J-Novel Club’s debut is Deathbound Duke’s Daughter, which is another in the “I’ve been reincarnated as a villainess in an otome game” genre. Really nice artwork for this novel series. It’s from Futabasha’s M Novels.

Also from J-Novel Club: An Archdemon’s Dilemma 10, Ascendance of a Bookworm 7 (which finishes the 2nd arc, the one currently being animated), the 2nd Sorcerous Stabber Orphen manga, and a 4th Welcome to Japan, Ms. Elf!

Kodansha has a lot. Debuts? We have three. One even is in print: the first volume of The Ghost in the Shell: Human Algorithm, a spinoff of the legendary manga/anime franchise.

ASH: It’s always interesting to see how various creators envision Ghost in the Shell.

SEAN: A new digital-only title is Abe-kun’s Got Me Now! (Abe-kun ni Nerawaretemasu), a shoujo title from the online replacement for Aria, Palcy. A comedy manga about a girl who finds the school’s karate champ confessing to her… and he’s not going to take no for an answer.

Also digital (at least for now) is Sue & Tai-chan, another cat manga from the creator of Chi’s Sweet Home. This one runs in Be Love magazine, so seems more for housewives than kids. But… I mean, it’s still a cute cat manga.

MICHELLE: I’m looking forward to it!

SEAN: Scheduled (at the moment) for Digital next week and print later, we see Cardcaptor Sakura Collector’s Edition 5 (along with 3 and 4, whose print are out already), Fire Force 19, Love and Lies 9, O Maidens in Your Savage Season 7, and Yuri Is My Job! 6.

ASH: As usual, I’ll be waiting for the print release, but O Maidens in Your Savage Season is really good.

SEAN: Digital-only titles out next week? Altair: A Record of Battles 19 (I swear this is now weekly), Asahi-sempai’s Favorite 7 (the final volume), Hotaru’s Way 14, I Fell in Love After School 5, Kounodori: Dr. Stork 15, and Watari-kun’s ****** Is about to Collapse 7 (which also feels like it’s out every week).

MICHELLE: Of these, I’m only currently reading I Fell in Love After School, but I do enjoy it.

SEAN: KUMA has a digital-first, print later debut: Canis: Dear Mr. Rain. This BL title originally ran in Opera a few years back, but is now in Takeshobo’s Reijin. It’s about picking up a stray on the side of the road, only this is a human, not a dog.

MELINDA: Maybe?

SEAN: One Peace has a 13th Rising of the Shield Hero (manga version).

Seven Seas, in print, has New Game! 9.

Seven Seas, digitally, has a bit more. We have two debuts. Peter Grill and the Philosopher’s Time (Peter Grill to Kenja no Jikan) runs in Futabasha’s Manga Action, which means it can’t be full-on porn, but it sounds like it. Peter Grill has a lovely fiancee and has just won a tournament pronouncing him the World’s Strongest. Unfortunately, this means all the women in the world – elves, ogres – want to bone him. Poor guy, can he escape his horrible fate?

MELINDA: …wow.

SEAN: The other digital debut is Syrup, another yuri anthology of short stories – this one from Futabasha – and featuring the creators of I Married My Best Friend to Shut My Parents Up and Kisses, Sighs and Cherry Blossom Pink.

ASH: Oh! That sounds like it has promise!

MELINDA: This might be good!

SEAN: There’s also the 3rd Arifureta manga, Gal Gohan 3, GIGANT 2, a 2nd Magic User: Reborn in Another World as a Max Level Wizard light novel, Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid: Elma’s Office Lady Diary 3, Non Non Biyori 13, the 3rd Reincarnated As a Sword manga, and the 10th and final Toradora! light novel. (Yes, I know there are short story volumes. No, they aren’t. No, it’s unlikely they will be.)

Square Enix has – digital first – the 3nd Hi Score Girl manga and the 2nd Suppose a Kid from the Last Dungeon Boonies Moved to a Starter Town manga.

Tokyopop has two new series. Don’t Call Me Daddy (Daddy Darlin’) is a BL manga, sequel to Don’t Call Me Dirty.

The other is No Vampire, No Happy Ending (Ringo to Bara to Kyuuketsuki (Kari)), a goofy Mag Garden comedy about a vampire enthusiast who finally meets one and discovers they’re not up to snuff.

MELINDA: This actually sounds fun, maybe in a What We Do in the Shadows kind of way, but …Tokyopop. Not sure I’m ready.

Vertical has (digitally) Bakemonogatari’s 4th manga, APOSIMZ 5, and Kino’s Journey 6.

MELINDA: I’ve been kind of out of it and have lost touch with the Kino’s Journey manga adaptation. I should try to fix that.

SEAN: That’s it! We’re done! Wait… (giant pile of Yen Press falls on Sean) Riiiiiight. Yen’s back in town.

ASH: Whoa! Hang on for the ride!

SEAN: All of the light novel debuts got moved to July. But there’s still a lot of Yen On. We get The Genius Prince’s Guide to Raising a Nation Out of Debt (Hey, How About Treason?) 3, I’ve Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years and Maxed Out My Level 7, Last Round Arthurs 2, My Youth Romantic Comedy Is Wrong As I Expected 6.5 (yes, the numbering is deliberate), Overlord 12, The Saga of Tanya the Evil 7, A Sister’s All You Need 7, That Time I Got Reincarnated As a Slime 8, Wandering Witch: The Journey of Elaina 2, Woof Woof Story 4, and World’s Strongest Rearguard: Labyrinth Country’s Novice Seeker 3. Guh. So many books, so many long titles.

ASH: For sure!

SEAN: Manga? Well, there we have a few debuts. Bestia is a fantasy series about magical beasts, looks cute, and runs in Kadokawa’s Shonen Ace.

Breasts Are My Favorite Things in the World (Sekai de Ichiban Oppai Ga Suki!) is sort of Knight of the Ice if the knight was a girl and instead of wanting to hear magical girl songs she had to fondle huge breasts in order to do well in competitions. It looks… a bit over the top. This runs in Media Factory’s Comic Cune.

MELINDA: What is happening??

SEAN: Lust Geass is from the creator of Evangelion spinoff The Shinji Ikari Raising Project, runs in Kadokawa’s Young Ace, and seems to be Death Note only with sex instead of death.

MELINDA: Yen Press is really losing me lately.

SEAN: And there’s Restaurant in Another World, the manga version of the light novel. Old-school Crunchyroll manga readers may recall this title.

ASH: Oh, I may need to check this one out.

SEAN: Lastly, Sekiro Side Story: Hanbei the Undying seems to be a side story to something I don’t know (it’s certainly not Sekirei), and I guess is based off a game.

Ongoing titles? Well, Umineko: When They Cry comes to an end with the 3rd and final omnibus of Twilight of the Golden Witch. We’ve figured out by now that most everyone in the cast is really, genuinely dead. But did ANYONE other than Ange survive? Read to find out.

And… Bungo Stray Dogs 15, Chio’s School Road 9, Dead Mount Death Play 4, Divine Raiment Magical Girl Howling Moon 2, Do You Love Your Mom (and Her Two-Hit, Multi-Target Attacks?) 3 (manga version), Eclair Bleau (another yuri anthology volume) Goblin Slayer 8 (manga version), KonoSuba Explosion 5 (manga version, technically a final volume but there’s a sequel), Little Miss P: The Second Day, Phantom Tales of the Night 4, The Saga of Tanya the Evil 10 (manga version), and A Witch’s Printing Office 3.

MICHELLE: So many paragraphs of things I’m not reading, with the probable exception of Eclair Bleue.

ANNA: I’m going to have a hard time doing pick of the week this week, despite this deluge of manga.

ASH: I’m glad to see publishers getting their books out there, but that is certainly a lot all at once!

MELINDA: A lot of… what?

SEAN: Stay masked even though all the manga is back! What are you getting?