Melinda Beasi

SEAN: August! Is there any dog manga?

MICHELLE: Guru Guru Pon-chan?

SEAN: Airship has two print debuts of light novels we’ve talked about before when the early digital came out: The Strange Adventure of a Broke Mercenary 1 and Loner Life in Another World 1.

Airship also has, in print, Didn’t I Say to Make My Abilities Average in the Next Life?! 13, Neon Genesis Evangelion ANIMA 5 (the final volume), and ROLL OVER AND DIE: I Will Fight for an Ordinary Life with My Love and Cursed Sword! 4.

Digital-first, the debut is The NPCs in this Village Sim Game Must Be Real! (Murazukuri Game no NPC ga Namami no Ningen to Shika Omoenai), a light novel about a NEET shut-in who gets a game in the mail featuring NPCs he can control and guide as their “god”. Trouble is, these NPCs feel very, very real. This is from the creator of Reborn as a Vending Machine, I Now Wander the Dungeon, so I’m more intrigued than I normally would be.

Also we have Muscles Are Better Than Magic! 3.

Dark Horse has a 3rd deluxe hardcover version of Blade of the Immortal.

Denpa Books has the 4th Pleasure & Corruption.

Ghost Ship debuts JK Haru Is a Sex Worker in Another World (JK Haru wa Isekai de Shoufu ni natta), the manga adaptation of the light novel that J-Novel Club released several years ago. A high schoolgirl and her creepy classmate are killed and reincarnated in another world. He’s an adventurer. She’s… not. Despite the description, if this is as good as the light novel, it should be well worth a read. It runs in Shinchosha’s Ufufu, which is quite a magazine title in itself.

J-Novel Club, for light novels, gives us I Shall Survive Using Potions! 7, My Instant Death Ability Is So Overpowered, No One in This Other World Stands a Chance Against Me! 9, and Slayers 9 – the first previously untranslated volume in the series.

On the manga end, we see Black Summoner 3, I Shall Survive Using Potions! 6, The Magic in This Other World Is Too Far Behind! 7, and Marginal Operation 8.

Kaiten Books has, digitally, a 2nd volume of Gacha Girls Corps.

Kodansha has a print debut that may seem a bit familiar: Battle Angel Alita is coming out with a new translation in paperback. This is the original version from 1990. It also sounds very familiar because I wrote this two weeks ago – it got bumped.

Also in print is Sachi’s Monstrous Appetite 3.

Kodansha’s digital debut is I Was Reincarnated as the 7th Prince so I Can Take My Time Perfecting My Magical Ability (Tensei Shitara dai Nana Ouji dattanode, Kimamani Majutsu o Kiwamemasu), a Magazine Pocket about a magic nerd reincarnated as the 7th prince… meaning he has tons of time to do nothing but research magic.

Also digitally, we see Chihayafuru 27, Drifting Dragons 10, My Dearest Self with Malice Aforethought 7, Shangri-La Frontier 3, With the Sheikh in His Harem 4, and Ya Boy Kongming! 3.

MICHELLE: Yay Chihayafuru!

ANNA: I’m so far behind!!!

SEAN: Seven Seas has three debuts. Happy Kanako’s Killer Life (Shiawase Kanako no Koroshiya Seikatsu) is a long-anticipated title from pixiv about an OL who accidentally finds she’s become a crack assassin… but what are morals when the pay and alcohol are good? I’ve seen some of this, and it’s hysterically funny.

MELINDA: Interesting???

SEAN: Pompo: The Cinéphile (Eiga Daisuki Pompo-san) runs in Media Factory’s Gene Pixiv, and stars a fantastic movie producer… who happens to look like a little girl.

Lastly, Trapped in a Dating Sim: The World of Otome Games is Tough for Mobs is a manga adaptation of the light novel (which we’ve already seen) which runs in Fujimi Shobo’s Dra-Dra-Sharp#.

Seven Seas also has Bite Maker: The King’s Omega 2, Days of Love at Seagull Villa 3 (a final volume), I Swear I Won’t Bother You Again! 2, Rozi in the Labyrinth 2, and Servamp 15.

Tokyopop has the 3rd volume of Laughing under the Clouds.

Viz debuts the start of the 5th arc of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Golden Wind!

That said, the big story is what’s ending this week. We get Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba 23, Haikyu!! 45, and The Promised Neverland 20, all of which are the final volume. That said, Haikyu!! already has an After Story in Japan, and Demon Slayer became such a monstrous hit you know we haven’t seen the last of it. As for The Promised Neverland, I think it stands as a good example of why popular titles can sometimes fail if they run too long.

MICHELLE: I’ll finish The Promised Neverland, but of course my heart here belongs to Haikyu!!.

ANNA: There are many Haikyu!! fans in my household.

SEAN: Also from Viz: Black Clover 26, Chainsaw Man 6, Jujutsu Kaisen 11, Kaguya-sama: Love Is War 20, Kaze Hikaru 29 (!!), The King’s Beast 3, Snow White with the Red Hair 14, We Never Learn 17, and Yona of the Dawn 31.

MICHELLE: Oh, it’s Kaze Hikaru time again!

ANNA: Kaze Hikaru time is the best time of the year! I’m also excited for <Snow White with the Red Hair and of course Yona of the Dawn.

SEAN: Lastly, Yen Press has the 2nd Uncle from Another World.

Oof. Any highlights?

SEAN: Now that July 4th has come and gone and terrified all our dogs, what manga do we have to soothe us?

MICHELLE: My big tabby is also not a fan.

MELINDA: My cats are fine, but I’m traumatized.

SEAN: Airship, in print, has Hello World, a sci-fi one shot with a “fix your past to stop a tragic death” plot. Given Seven Seas also published orange, there’s a lot of this going around.

ASH: I did like orange, so I’m far from opposed to this particular premise.

ANNA: Somewhere I have the first volume of orange, unread.

SEAN: Also in print, Airship has Berserk of Gluttony 3.

Digitally, we get the 12th volume of Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation.

Denpa lists a debut on its website for next week: Lil’ Leo (Reo-kun). This one-shot cat manga is by Moto Hagio, famous for They Were Eleven, The Poe Clan, Otherworld Barbara, etc. This is about a cat who decides to go to school one day like the neighbor kid, then subsequently finds there’s nothing he can’t do. It ran in Flowers.

MICHELLE: Oooh.

ASH: I’m really looking forward to this one.

ANNA: Cool.

MELINDA: Moto Hagio and cats. What’s not to love?

SEAN: It’s a quiet week for J-Novel Club, as we have only Black Summoner 5 and Seirei Gensouki: Spirit Chronicles 15.

In print, Kodansha has Cardcaptor Sakura: Clear Card 9, Heaven’s Design Team 5, Toppu GP 5, and Yuri Is My Job! 7.

The digital debut is In the Clear Moonlit Dusk (Uruwashi no Yoi no Tsuki), a Dessert series from the creator of Daytime Shooting Star. The cover reminds me a bit of I Hate You More than Anyone!, and is about a “school prince” – female – meeting the other “school prince” – male.

MICHELLE: Looks fun!

ASH: It really could be!

ANNA: I really liked Daytime Shooting Star. so I’m curious about this.

MELINDA: Interested…

SEAN: We also get Ace of the Diamond 33, ASHIDAKA – The Iron Hero 3, Cells at Work: Baby! 3, The Dawn of the Witch 3, Giant Killing 24, Police in a Pod 2, Shaman King: Marcos 2, The Springtime of My Life Began with You 3, Tokyo Revengers 21, and the 6th and final volume of Vampire Dormitory.

MICHELLE: I really have to get caught up on Ace of the Diamond and Giant Killing. I like both a lot.

SEAN: Two debuts for Seven Seas. The Invincible Shovel (Scoop Musou: “Scoop Hadouhou!” (｀・ω・´)♂〓〓〓〓★(゜Д゜ ;;) .:∴DOGOoo) is the manga adaptation of the comedy light novel, and features shovels. So many shovels.

ASH: That title is kind of amazing.

ANNA: I don’t know what to think about anything anymore.

SEAN: The other is Mars Red, a manga from Comic Garden that had an anime recently, about a young reporter who meets a friend of hers who a) died years ago, and b) is now part of a vampire A-Team.

Also from Seven Seas: Gal Gohan 8 and The Hidden Dungeon Only I Can Enter 3.

Square Enix has a 4th volume of Soul Eater: The Perfect Edition.

SuBLime has a debut. Bad Boys, Happy Home (Dousei Yankee Akamatsu Seven) ran in Akita Shoten’s Kachi Comi, and features a high school punk who regularly picks fights with a homeless man… then, when the homeless man is kicked from where he normally sleeps, the punk offers up his own home!

ASH: I’ll admit, I’m curious.

SEAN: Viz Media gives us, at long last, the final 40th volume of RIN-NE. I admit I long since stopped reading this, but I hope everything works out for the dumb guy and the somewhat stoic girl who (presumably) loves him.

MICHELLE: I didn’t hate RIN-NE, but it’s true that nothing of consequence ever seems to happen.

SEAN: Viz also has Case Closed 79, Fly Me to the Moon 6, and Splatoon: Squid Kids Comedy Show 4.

Yen On has Goblin Slayer Side Story II: Dai Katana 2. They’ve also got a paperback reissue of The Miracles of the Namiya General Store.

ASH: I’m still happy that The Miracles of the Namiya General Store was translated.

SEAN: Yen Press debuts The Maid I Hired Recently Is Mysterious (Saikin Yatotta Maid ga Ayashii), a Gangan Joker title about a maid that teases the young boy who is her charge. Gonna be honest, this is by the author of Breasts Are My Favorite Things in the World!, and I hated that, so…

MELINDA: Yen Press staying on brand, I see.

SEAN: Also from Yen Press next week: Bungo Stray Dogs 19, Days on Fes 2, The Hero Is Overpowered But Overly Cautious 3, Horimiya 15, In Another World with My Smartphone 2, Interspecies Reviewers 5, Love and Heart 2, No Matter How I Look at It, It’s You Guys’ Fault I’m Not Popular! 18, Slasher Maidens 3, A Terrified Teacher at Ghoul School 10, To Save the World, Can You Wake Up the Morning After with a Demi-Human? 3, and The Vampire and His Pleasant Companions 3.

What manga makes you calm and tranquil?

SEAN: July! Manga! Too hot to be glib!

ASH: So, so hot in so, so many places.

SEAN: Airship, in print, has the debut of Accomplishments of the Duke’s Daughter. There’s also the 3rd volume of I’m in Love with the Villainess.

MICHELLE: I managed to read the first volume of I’m in Love with the Villainess recently! Definitely the best light novel I’ve tried so far.

ASH: I really need to get around to finally reading it myself; I’ve heard nothing but good things.

SEAN: Airship also has an early digital debut of a title we’ve seen the manga for already: My Status as an Assassin Obviously Exceeds the Hero’s. Take a wild guess at the premise. They’ve also got Trapped in a Dating Sim: The World of Otome Games is Tough for Mobs in early digital.

Ghost Ship debuts Devilish Darlings Portal Fantasy (Isekai Seikatsu no Susume), which ran in Takeshobo’s Kissca and is a one-shot. It’s basically an isekai with more nudity, though I hear it’s cuter than it sounds.

In print, J-Novel Club gives us Slayers, Vol. 1-3, a nice hardcover omnibus of the first three volumes of the classic series.

ASH: I know quite a few people who are looking forward to this release.

MELINDA: I didn’t know this was coming, but now I’m excited!

SEAN: They’ve also got Ascendance of a Bookworm’s 6th manga volume, How NOT to Summon a Demon Lord 13, I Shall Survive Using Potions!‘s 4th manga volume, Infinite Dendrogram 13, My Next Life As a Villainess 8, and a 2nd omnibus of Seirei Gensouki: Spirit Chronicles.

Digitally, we get not only Ascendance of a Bookworm’s 8th manga, but also the first volume of the Ascendance of a Bookworm fanbook. See illustrations, Q&A from the author, and a new short story! We also see Altina the Sword Princess 9, Culinary Chronicles of the Court Flower 2, Grimgar of Fantasy and Ash 17, My Friend’s Little Sister Has It In for Me! 3, and Record of Wortenia War 11.

ASH: It makes me happy that Ascendance of a Bookworm is doing well enough that we’re getting material beyond the main series.

SEAN: Kodansha, for print releases, has the 7th APOSIMZ, Fire Force 23, Orient 3, and Shaman King’s 3rd omnibus.

Digitally we get 2 debuts. Fate/Grand Order -Epic of Remnant- Pseudo-Singularity III: The Stage of Carnage, Shimousa – Seven Duels of Swordmasters exhausts me just to type out. It runs in Kodansha’s Magazine Pocket. The plot… is FGO.

ASH: That is quite the title.

SEAN: That’s My Atypical Girl (Asper Kanojo) is a seinen manga from Comic Days, and thanks for avoiding that Japanese title, I approve. A manga artist gets a visit from a fan who’s just a bit different.

Also out digitally: The final 7th volume of 1122: For a Happy Marriage, Bakemonogatari 9 (the print came out two weeks ago), Girlfriend, Girlfriend 4, Guilty 8, Living-Room Matsunaga-san 9, My Dearest Self with Malice Aforethought 6, Shaman King: The Super Star 5, Shikimori’s Not Just a Cutie 5, Smile Down the Runway 19, Those Snow-White Notes 8, With the Sheikh in His Harem 3, and Ya Boy Kongming! 2.

MICHELLE: I’ll be reading several of these digital releases.

SEAN: Seven Seas has two debuts. Great Pretender is a manga based on the Netflix anime, and runs in MAGCOMI. It’s not quite Leverage: The Manga but close.

The other debut we’ve technically seen before. Kageki Shoujo! ran for two years with Shueisha, and we saw that omnibus come out last year. Then it jumped ship to Hakusensha, where it runs in their josei magazine Melody. And this is the start of that run! Takarazuka fans will love this.

MICHELLE: Oh! I didn’t realize there was more coming. Nice.

ASH: Looking forward to reading more of this series!

MELINDA: Oh, hello!

ANNA: I need to read it!

SEAN: Also from Seven Seas: Dai Dark 2, Muscles Are Better Than Magic 2, Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation 13, The Saint’s Magic Power Is Omnipotent 3, and SUPER HxEROS 3.

ASH: I somehow actually haven’t managed to read the first volume yet, but hooray for more Dai Dark!

SEAN: Tokyopop has three titles: Her Royal Highness Seems to be Angry (Oujo Denka wa Oikari no You Desu) is the debut. The digital version came out a while back, and it runs in Overlap’s Comic Gardo. It’s sort of a reincarnation story AND a villainess story.

We also get Laughing Under the Clouds 2 and Futaribeya: A Room for Two 8.

No debuts for Viz, but we do get the final volume of Oresama Teacher. I know Nozaki-kun gets all the love, and rightly so, but this is also awesome, and I will miss it, even if it does end up going the teacher/childhood friend/sadist route.

MICHELLE: I admit I prefer Nozaki-kun, but I do intend to finish Oresama Teacher, too.

ASH: I need to catch up on Oresama Teacher, but I’ve greatly enjoyed what I’ve read so far.

ANNA: I also need to get caught up, but I have many stockpiled volumes.

SEAN: Also from Viz: D.Gray-Man 27, Dr. STONE 17, Idol Dreams 7, Love Me, Love Me Not 9, Moriarty the Patriot 4, My Hero Academia Vigilantes 10, Platinum End 13, Queen’s Quality 12, and Undead Unluck 2.

ASH: I’m behind but I’ve got my eyes on a few of these, too!

ANNA: I’m stoked for my very occasional volume of Idol Dreams especially!

SEAN: That’s it! Seems like less than usual? Have I gotten used to it?

SEAN: The end of the fiscal year! What books are just barely part of their publisher’s 20-21 financials?

Airship has an early digital title: Loner Life in Another World (Hitoribocchi no Isekai Kouryaku ~ Cheat Skill wa Urikiredatta ~), a title that may sound familiar as Kaiten Books has been putting out the manga. The premise is exactly what you’d expect, but I am actually giving this one a try, as I’ve heard the original Japanese is so impenetrable that even hardcore readers have trouble figuring it out. I want to see how the translators do.

ASH: It does sound as though they may be doing some heavy lifting!

SEAN: Airship also has Drugstore in Another World 2 (early digital) and Grimgar of Fantasy and Ash 15 (print).

Cross Infinite World has Apocalypse Bringer Mynoghra: World Conquest Starts with the Civilization of Ruin (Isekai Mokushiroku Mynoghra: Hametsu no Bunmei de Hajimeru Sekai Seifuku), a title that… does not sound like their usual sort of book. Our hero is an ill young man who ends up reincarnated… as an evil God. Overlord fans might enjoy this.

Two digital debuts for J-Novel Club. Reborn to Master the Blade: From Hero-King to Extraordinary Squire ♀ (Eiyu-oh, Bu wo Kiwameru tame Tensei su. Soshite, Sekai Saikyou no Minarai Kisi ♀) is the story of a hero-king who wants to live his next life as a warrior. He’s reincarnated… but as a noble daughter who’s ineligible to be a knight. What now?

ASH: Hmmm, that might have some potential?

MELINDA: This might be interesting.

SEAN: The other title is The Sidekick Never Gets the Girl, Let Alone the Protag’s Sister! (Shinyuu Mob no Ore ni Shujinkou no Imouto ga Horeru Wake ga Nai), the story of a former hero in a fantasy world reincarnated as a normal Japanese high school kid. He wants to be dull and normal, and let his handsome popular friend be the protagonist… then he meets said friend’s little sister.

Also out next week: Ascendance of a Bookworm 13, The Great Cleric 3, My Next Life As a Villainess 9, and A Wild Last Boss Appeared! 5.

ASH: Hooray, Bookworm!

A print debut for Kodansha with Peach Boy Riverside, which we’ve seen in digital-only format. A retelling of the Momotaro legend in fantasy world format.

ASH: A reimagining of Momotaro, you say? That completely slipped by me when it was released digitally.

SEAN: Also out in print: That Time I Got Reincarnated As a Slime 16 and UQ Holder 22.

Debuting digitally is Quality Assurance in Another World (Kono Sekai wa Fukanzen Sugiru), a Comic Days title about a young girl who meets a “Seeker”, someone who tries to fix problems in their world. But… just what *is* their world, anyway?

Also out is the 6th and final volume of Atsumori-kun’s Bride to Be, A Couple of Cuckoos 4, Heaven’s Design Team 6, I Fell in Love After School 8 (also a final volume), Seven Shakespeares 16, and Shojo FIGHT! 17.

MICHELLE: I have really enjoyed Atsumori-kun’s Bride to Be, and look forward to completing it. I liked I Fell in Love After School too, but haven’t read as much of that one.

SEAN: Seven Seas has If It’s for My Daughter, I’d Even Defeat a Demon Lord 6 (this is the manga), Magical Girl Site 15 and the 8th and final volume of Merman in My Tub.

ASH: Wow, it’s been a long time (a few years) since we last saw a new volume Merman in My Tub!

SEAN: Sol Press has the 4th and final volume of Why Shouldn’t a Detestable Demon Lord Fall in Love?!.

Yen On debuts The Detective Is Already Dead (Tantei wa Mou, Shinde Iru), the story of the sidekick to a famous detective. After said detective died, he theoretically returns to normal life… but then a girl shows up who looks an awful lot like the dead detective. This is supposedly excellent.

MICHELLE: Hm. I’m intrigued.

ANNA: I am as well!

ASH: Same!

MELINDA: And I!

SEAN: There’s also Bofuri: I Don’t Want to Get Hurt So I’ll Max Out My Defense 2, A Sister’s All You Need 10, and Suppose a Kid from the Last Dungeon Boonies Moved to a Starter Town 6.

The debut for Yen Press is Farewell to My Alter: Nio Nakatani Short Story Collection, which is what it says. By the creator of Bloom Into You.

Yen also gives us After School Bitchcraft 2, A Certain Magical Index 23, the 2nd and final Dear NOMAN, Heterogenia Linguistico 3, High School Prodigies Have It Easy Even in Another World! 10, the 11th and final The Honor Student at Magic High School, I Cannot Reach You 2, Kakegurui Twin 10, Love at Fourteen 10, Mieruko-chan 3, My Youth Romantic Comedy Is Wrong As I Expected 15, Play It Cool, Guys 2, Sacrificial Princess and the King of Beasts 13, the 3rd and final Strawberry Fields Once Again, Sword Art Online: Project Alicization 3, and Trinity Seven 23.

ASH: That’s quite the list!

SEAN: To balance your books, you need to buy more manga! What are you getting?

SEAN: The end of May brings us a few more books to check out. And by a few I mean a lot.

ASH: So many books! I love it.

SEAN: Airship has an early digital debut (the print is out in July): Accomplishments of the Duke’s Daughter (Koushaku Reijou no Tashinami). We’ve already seen several volumes of the manga over here… in fact, it was one of the first “oh no, I’m reincarnated as a villainess in an otome game” titles seen here. Let’s hope folks won’t think it’s old hat by now.

ASH: While I liked the manga, I think I might enjoy the novels more.

SEAN: Also out early digitally: Classroom of the Elite 8 and Skeleton Knight in Another World 9.

In print, we see the 6th Reincarnated As a Sword.

Ghost Ship has two titles: World’s End Harem Fantasia 4 and Yuuna and the Haunted Hot Springs 14.

J-Novel Club has no debuts, but we do see By the Grace of the Gods 7, Dungeon Busters 2, Holmes of Kyoto 5, Lazy Dungeon Master 14, Monster Tamer 4, and Slayers 8. Note Slayers 8 is the final novel that Tokyopop released back in the day, so from Vol. 9 on it’s new to English.

ASH: Nice! I love seeing these license rescues making progress.

ANNA: Where’s Demon Sacred!!!!???

MICHELLE: And Silver Diamond! Now that we’ve successfully had Rose of Versailles, someone rescuing Silver Diamond is my dearest licensing wish.

SEAN: Well, Slayers is a light novel, which is more J-Novel Club’s ballpark.

Kodansha’s debut in print (and digital) is highly anticipated. Boys Run the Riot is a story about fashion and gender identity, and is a must-read for LGBTQ readers. It originally ran in Weekly Young Magazine, then moved online.

MICHELLE: I’m very excited for this one!

ASH: Absolutely! Me, too! I’ve heard very good things.

ANNA: Sounds good!

MELINDA: Yes, this!!

SEAN: Also in print: CITY 11, Fairy Tail’s 4th manga box, which has Vol. 34-43, and What Did You Eat Yesterday? 15.

MICHELLE: Also looking forward to this.

ASH: Any week that brings more Fumi Yoshinaga manga is a good week.

MELINDA: What Ash said.

SEAN: Debuting digitally is Back When You Called Us Devils (Kimi ga Bokura wo Akuma to Yonda Koro), a Magazine Pocket series about a young man who can’t remember six months of his life running into people who certainly do remember it… and say that he was a monster. More psychological thrillers, yay?

ASH: Hmmm, I am intrigued.

SEAN: Also out digitally: Am I Actually the Strongest? 4, And Yet You Are So Sweet 2, Harem Marriage 5, Saint Young Men 11, Those Snow White Notes 5 (yeah, I give up, sorry), What I Love About You 6, and When We’re in Love 8.

MICHELLE: I feel like this is my last chance to catch up on Those Snow White Notes before it completely gets away from me.

SEAN: One Peace has a 5th volume of The New Gate.

Seven Seas has one debut. Bite Maker: The King’s Omega (Bite Maker -Ousama no Omega-). Yes, A/B/O Dynamics is not just an AO3 tag anymore. Our hero is an Alpha, admired and adored by Betas, but seems unsatisfied… till he meets the Omega of his dreams. This is a Shogakukan shoujo title, running in Flowers’ online magazine &Flowers, and its author is known for pushing at boundaries.

MICHELLE: Yeah, no thanks.

ANNA: I will pass on this one.

MELINDA: “Pushing at boundaries.” Yeah, no.

SEAN: There’s also Berserk of Gluttony 2, GIGANT 5, Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid: Elma’s Office Lady Diary 4, Saint Seiya: Saintia Sho 13, and Species Domain 10.

Square Enix has Cherry Magic! Thirty Years of Virginity Can Make You a Wizard?! 3 and Ragna Crimson 2.

ASH: I’ve been enjoying Cherry Magic!.

SEAN: Tokyopop debuts Like Two Peas in a Pod (Nitamonodoushi no), a BL one-shot from Mag Garden. Two boys in school are very alike – they’re even both named Tanaka! But when both take an interest in the same girl, are they jealous of each other, or of the girl?

And A Gentle Noble’s Vacation Recommendation 3.

Yen On has a debut that’s actually a sequel. Durarara!! SH takes place 18 months after the end of the main series, and features three new protagonists. (The SH stands for Snake Hands. Don’t ask.)

And there is Bungo Stray Dogs 6, Date a Live 2, The Demon Sword Master of Excalibur Academy 3, Do You Love Your Mom and Her Two-Hit Multi-Target Attacks? 9, a paperback reprint of Haruhi Suzumiya 9, My Youth Romantic Comedy Is Wrong As I Expected 11, and Wandering Witch 5.

Yen Press has one debut and one finale. The debut is Hard-Boiled Stories from the Cat Bar (Sake to Namida to Otoko to Nyanko), a one-shot from Kadokawa’s Young Ace Up. If you love dark grimy noir stories, but also love cats, this is the title for you.

MICHELLE: Hm. Maybe!

ASH: I’m looking forward to giving it a try.

ANNA: I’m curious about this.

MELINDA: Same here!

SEAN: Ending at 18 volumes (and honestly I forgot it was still coming out, it’s digital-only) is Crimson Prince. The author fell ill several years ago, and so 17 (which came out last month) and 18 had a long delay. It was a good shonen supernatural romance.

Any May flowers you’re picking?

SEAN: As the days get warmer, why not try some manga to cool you off?

Airship debuts a new release, out next week digitally and in print next month. I Swear I Won’t Bother You Again! (Kondo wa Zettai ni Jamashimasen!) features a somewhat familiar plot – a villainess who is in prison for the crimes she has committed ends up in her past self, and is determined to do things right this time. As with many of these stories, I suspect bothering will, in fact, occur.

ASH: Ha!

SEAN: There’s also an early digital for Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear 6.

In print, we debut I Have a Secret, from the author of I Want to Eat Your Pancreas. There’s also the 2nd volume of Trapped in a Dating Sim: The World of Otome Games Is Tough for Mobs.

MICHELLE: I still need to read my digital copy of I Have a Secret. Soon.

ASH: I’ll probably be picking it up in print, myself.

SEAN: Dark Horse has the 3rd and final volume of Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair.

J-Novel Club debuts its Pulp imprint, showing us that German novels can be just as bonkers as Japanese ones. The first of these is John Sinclair: Demon Hunter (Geisterjäger John Sinclair). Scotland Yard in the 1970s hunts demons. Imagine The Sweeney but less violent.

ASH: I’m curious to see how this imprint develops!

SEAN: There’s also The Magician Who Rose from Failure 2 and Welcome to Japan, Ms. Elf! 6.

No print debuts for Kodansha, but we do see Blue Period 3, Cells at Work: CODE BLACK 7, Drifting Dragons 8, Fairy Tail: 100 Years Quest 7, Living-Room Matsunaga-san 6, A Sign of Affection 2, Something’s Wrong with Us 6, and Those Not-So-Sweet Boys 2.

MICHELLE: The shoujo titles beckon to me.

ASH: Indeed! I’ve also been enjoying Drifting Dragons.

SEAN: The digital debut is Medalist, a figure skating manga from Kodansha’s Afternoon that is much acclaimed.

MICHELLE: Sports + seinen = yes.

ANNA: Oooh, I’m intrigued.

MELINDA: I need it.

SEAN: Also digital: Blue Lock 3, A Girl and Her Guard Dog 4, The Honey-Blonde Beauty & Her Vampire 2, Hop Step Sing! 3 (the final volume), We’re New at This 6, and Will it Be the World or Her? 5.

Seven Seas’ debut is the comedy Dungeon Toilet (Isekai no Toire de Dai o Suru), an Akita Shoten title from Young Champion Retsu, and if, like me, you flee in terror when you see the words “Young Champion”, you may have already stopped reading. It’s about a reincarnated kid in search of the perfect toilet in a fantasy world. Laffs no doubt ensue.

ANNA: No thank you!

MELINDA: Oh no.

SEAN: Also from Seven Seas: Didn’t I Say to Make My Abilities Average in the Next Life?! Everyday Misadventures! 2, How NOT to Summon a Demon Lord 11, The King of Fighters: A New Beginning 5, and Wonder Cat Kyuu-chan 2.

No debuts from Viz, but we do get BEASTARS 12, Hell’s Paradise Jigokuraku 8, Levius/est 8, No Guns Life 10, Urusei Yatsura 10, The Way of the Househusband 5, and Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead 2.

MICHELLE: I look forward to getting caught up on The Way of the Househusband!

ANNA: I’m actually not behind on that series!

ASH: It’s one of my favorites at the moment.

SEAN: Yen On has been doing so much shuffling of release dates lately that it’s hard to get a handle on what is due out next week, especially as the print and digital dates differ. We should definitely have the 3rd Banished from the Hero’s Party, I Decided to Live a Quiet Life in the Countryside and the 2nd Interspecies Reviewers.

Yen Press has similar release date blues, but definitely debuting next week is I’m the Hero, but the Demon Lord’s Also Me (Boku ga Yuusha de Maou mo Boku de), a title from Media Factory’s Comic Alive, my old nemesis. A young man is approached by a beautiful woman to be the Hero… and another beautiful woman to be the Demon Lord. Turns out it could go either way. Hard to get past that boob-laden cover, though.

Also debuting is Sex Ed 120% (Seikyouiku 120%), which runs on ASCII Mediaworks’ @Vitamin site. This seems to combine comedy and actual sex ed, as a teacher who thinks she can teach sex ed better than the modern sex ed texts tries to teach her class about various subjects. I’ve actually heard this is pretty good.

ASH: Same!

SEAN: Does this list cool you off or warm you up?

SEAN: Happy Mother’s Day! Let’s look for some manga that you can safely show to Mom.

Airship has two early digital releases, Adachi & Shimamura 5 and Failure Frame 2.

Debuting in print is Drugstore in Another World: The Slow Life of a Cheat Pharmacist. And we get the 2nd Muscles Are Better Than Magic as well.

ASH: I didn’t pick it up digitally, but am still vaguely intrigued by Drugstore in Another World.

MELINDA: I’m intrigued by the title alone.

SEAN: Dark Horse has a 6th omnibus volume for Gantz.

J-Novel Club has a few digital manga titles that I missed last time that are out this week. Apologies to An Archdemon’s Dilemma 5, Bibliophile Princess 2, and Record of Wortenia War 2. This is the danger of not adding “LLC” to your searches.

ASH: It can make a difference.

SEAN: As for this week, in terms of manga we have Ascendance of a Bookworm 7 and Mapping 2.

In terms of digital light novels, we get The Greatest Magicmaster’s Retirement Plan 9 and In Another World with My Smartphone 22.

Kodansha has a few print volumes next week. We get Don’t Toy with me, Miss Nagatoro 7, Sachi’s Monstrous Appetite 2, and Yuzu the Pet Vet 5.

MICHELLE: I still need to check out Yuzu.

ASH: I’ll have to admit the same.

MELINDA: And I.

SEAN: Digitally the debut is The Springtime of My Life Began with You (Kimi to Aoi Haru no Hajimari), a shoujo title from Dessert. The author’s had a lot of titles out over here, some from Kodansha (The Dorm of Love and Secrets, The Prince’s Romance Gambit) and some via Media Do’s many and varied company names (Heart Break Club). A popular guy is forced, as a punishment game, to ask out the quiet, shy girl in front of the whole class. The trouble is… he insists he really likes her!

ANNA: Those popular guys and their shenanigans!

MICHELLE: I know this concept is not the greatest, but I think the cover is pretty and enjoyed The Dorm of Love and Secrets, so I’ll be giving this a shot.

SEAN: We also get Ace of the Diamond 32, My Roomie Is a Dino 5, Nina the Starry Bride 2, Peach Boy Riverside 7, Saint Young Men 12, and Those Snow White Notes 4, voted “series most likely to get behind on” by Manga Bookshelf.

ANNA: I haven’t read the first volume so I’m sure I’m behind.

MICHELLE: Gah, so behind. It’s coming out especially quickly for some reason! I’m also in need of a mini-marathon on Ace of the Diamond.

SEAN: One Peace has the 2nd volume of isekai harem title Farming Life in Another World.

Seven Seas has FOUR debuts next week. We’ll start with My Alcoholic Escape from Reality (Genjitsu Touhi Shitetara Boroboro ni Natta Hanashi), the latest biographical manga from the creator of My Lesbian Experience with Loneliness, which promises to be as riveting as the previous book’s she’s given us. It ran in Matogrosso, put out by small publisher East Press.

ANNA: Oh wow.

ASH: They’re good but hard-hitting manga.

SEAN: Ride Your Wave (Kimi to, Nami ni Noretara) is a one-volume manga adaptation of the movie of the same name, and ran in Shogakukan’s Deluxe Betsucomi.

MICHELLE: Hm. It’s sports-adjacent, seems like.

SEAN: School Zone Girls is a title from Mag Garden’s MagComi about two troublemaking girls who’ve been together forever, but are they more than just friends? This seems to emphasize the comedy over the yuri.

Lastly, we get Thigh High: Reiwa Hanamaru Academy (Reiwa Hanamaru Gakuen), a Kodansha title from good! Afternoon, and is about an all-girls school… populated entirely by gorgeous crossdressing men. This one also seems to emphasize the comedy.

ASH: This could be hilariously good or hilariously bad – I’m not sure that I can resist finding out which.

MELINDA: I really don’t know what to expect from this.

SEAN: Also out: Dungeon Builder 4 and Uzaki-chan Wants to Hang Out! 5.

Square Enix debuts I Think Our Son Is Gay (Uchi no Musuko wa Tabun Gay), a Gangan Pixiv title about a mom who has realized that her son is keeping a secret. This is supposed to be very good.

ANNA: I’m curious.

MICHELLE: Same.

ASH: Really looking forward to this one.

MELINDA: I’m excited to read this one!

SEAN: They also have By the Grace of the Gods’ 2nd manga volume.

SuBLime wins the title of the week competition with the debut of Dick Fight Island (8nin no Senshi), a long-running title from Libre Shuppan’s Be x Boy Gold. The synopsis… is pretty much not work safe, but can probably be guessed from the title.

ANNA: I don’t think anyone could buy that manga and be confused about what they’re getting.

MICHELLE: Snerk.

ASH: I likewise suspect that it is unlikely.

MELINDA: I mean. Well.

SEAN: They also have Vol. 2 of Don’t Be Cruel: plus+.

Speaking of BL, Tokyopop has a one-shot title, The Treasure of the King and the Cat (Ou to Neko no Himitsu), about a king investigating a series of disappearances who gets caught up in magic.

They also have Ossan Idol 3.

No debuts for Viz, but we get Fly Me to the Moon 5, Fullmetal Alchemist: Fullmetal Edition 13, Pokemon Sun & Moon 10, Rin-Ne 39, Splatoon 12, A Tropical Fish Yearns for Snow 7, and Yo-Kai Watch 17.

ASH: Some great ongoing series in that list!

SEAN: That’s it. See anything maternal? I Think Our Son Is Gay looks like the best choice. I’d avoid Dick Fight Island. Unless your mom loves BL.