Michelle Smith

SEAN: December is here, and so is Whamageddon. Good luck to all!

ASH: Ha!

SEAN: No print light novels for Airship, but we do see an early digital release for I’m the Heroic Knight of an Intergalactic Empire! 2.

Dark Horse has the 3rd and final omnibus volume of Innocent, containing Vol. 7-9.

ASH: I’ll be picking this one up, eventually.

SEAN: Ghost Ship has the 9th and final volume of Call Girl in Another World.

And Seven Seas has a mature debut, No Spicy Romance Allowed! (Unmei demo Netsuai wa Yurushimasen!). This one shot from LiQuile is an omegaverse book about an alpha fashion model and his omega manager.

Also mature is the 7th volume of The Husky and His White Cat Shizun: Erha He Ta De Bai Mao Shizun.

Three debuts for J-Novel Club, all manga. From Villainess to Healer: I Know the Cheat to Change My Fate (Kaifukushoku no Akuyaku Reijou) is a manga adaptation of a light novel J-Novel Club has licensed but has not released yet, and it runs in Flos Comic. Our protagonist is dumped for having evil dark magic rather than good healing magic, so she goes to another country, changes her class to healer, and vows to forget all about him.

ASH: Wishing her luck on her new endeavors.

SEAN: Jeanette the Genius: Defying My Evil Stepmother by Starting a Business with My Ride-or-Die Fiancé! (Kakure Saijo wa Zenzen Megenai – Gibo to Gimai ni Ie wo Oidasareta no de Konyaku Haki shite Moraou to Omottara, Shinshi Datta Konyakusha ga Hageshiku Dekiai shite kuru you ni narimashita!?) is a manga version of the light novel also licensed by J-Novel Club, and it runs in Drecomics.

A Pale Moon Reverie (Tsuki no Shirosa wo Shirite Madoromu) is also a manga version of the light novel also licensed by J-Novel Club, and it also runs in Drecomics.

ASH: I do appreciate that we often see both the originals and the adaptations licensed these days.

SEAN: J-Novel Club also has The Blessing of Liefe: Leave This Magical Letdown Alone! 2, Cooking with Wild Game 26, DUNGEON DIVE: Aim for the Deepest Level 9, The Eternal Fool’s Words of Wisdom: A Pawsitively Fantastic Adventure 3, Magic Stone Gourmet: Eating Magical Power Made Me The Strongest 7, My Daughter Left the Nest and Returned an S-Rank Adventurer: Short Story Collection, The Mythical Hero’s Otherworld Chronicles 9, and the 2nd and final volume of The Troubles of Miss Nicola the Exorcist manga.

ASH: That’s a decent amount.

SEAN: No debuts for Kodansha. In print they have Fire Force Manga Box Set 2 (Vol. 7-11), The Fragrant Flower Blooms With Dignity 4, Initial D Omnibus 4 (Vol. 7-8), Mobile Suit Gundam Cucuruz Doan’s Island 2, Tsugumi Project 6, and Welcome to Demon School! Iruma-kun 11.

And digitally we see Chihayafuru 47, Sayabito: Swords of Destiny 5, Shangri-La Frontier 18, and Those Snow White Notes 23.

MICHELLE: Must. Read. Iruma and Chihayafuru.

SEAN: One Peace Books has a 2nd volume of I Was Sold Dirt Cheap, but My Power Level Is off the Charts.

Debuting from Seven Seas is Hoteri Hotette First Kiss, an anthology of shoujo short stories that ran in Dessert from author Coco Uzuki, whose first long-form manga is coming out from Kodansha next year.

MICHELLE: Hm. The cover’s kinda cute.

ASH: I like anthologies!

ANNA: I think we don’t get many shoujo anthologies, I might check this out.

SEAN: Also from Seven Seas: The Condemned Villainess Goes Back in Time and Aims to Become the Ultimate Villain 3, Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation: Mo Dao Zu Shi – The Comic 8, Last Game 7, Lout of Count’s Family 2, and My Stepmother and Stepsisters Aren’t Wicked 5.

Square Enix has The Ice Guy and the Cool Girl 8.

ASH: I should read more of this series.

ANNA: It is pretty cute, the couple of volumes that I’ve read.

SEAN: Tokyopop is shoving everything for December out next week. Comic Party Wonder Love is a BL comedy manga from Lynx. Two male BL authors are each other’s opposites, but find themselves drawn to each other.

The Person I Loved Asked Me to Die in My Sister’s Stead (Koishita Hito wa, Imouto no Kawari ni Shindekure to Itta. – Imouto to Kekkon shita Kataomoi Aite ga Naze Imasara Watashi no Moto ni? to Omottara @COMIC) is an adaptation of an as-yet unlicensed light novel. A noble lady is asked by her fiance to sacrifice herself and watch over the evil Predawn Realm in place of her little sister. Heartbroken, she does what he asks, and twenty years pass. Now his son arrives in the realm, asking her for the sentient sword she wields. Is she gonna finally snap?

Tokyopop also has Double 5, If My Favorite Pop Idol Made It to the Budokan, I Would Die 10, My Hateful Man 2, SANCTIFY 2, Wails of the Bound: Beta 2, and World’s End Blue Bird 2.

Udon Entertainment has Ottoman: Henshin Hero Husband 2 (the final volume). Boy, that series came and went fast… or Amazon is screwing up small publisher release dates again. One of those is more likely than the other.

ASH: Yeah.

SEAN: Some debuts from Viz. First a spinoff. JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Shining Diamond’s Demonic Heartbreak (JoJo no Kimyou na Bouken: Crazy Diamond no Akuryou-teki Shitsuren) is a manga adaptation of the as-yet unlicensed light novel, and it ran in Ultra Jump. Hol Horse searches for a missing parrot, but this is JoJo’s, you know it won’t be as simple as that.

ASH: I’ll admit to being curious!

SEAN: Next, another spinoff. Kaiju No. 8: Exclusive on the Third Division is a light novel detailing, well, the Third Division.

There’s also Disney Twisted-Wonderland: The Official Art Book, which is what it says.

ASH: I have a couple of friends I should get this for.

SEAN: And there is Studio Ghibli: Architecture in Animation, an artbook covering the studio.

Also from Viz: Blue Box 13, Blue Exorcist 30, Demon Slayer: Kimetsu Academy 4, Dragon Ball Super 22, The King’s Beast 14, Let’s Do It Already! 3, Mashle: Magic and Muscles 18 (the final volume), Neighborhood Story 4 (the final volume), and Rainbow Days 13.

MICHELLE: Dang, Neighborhood Story reached its end quickly, too! I guess that’s an omnibus release for ya.

ANNA: It did seem to fly by.

SEAN: Lastly, Yen Press has one manga volume, Banished from the Hero’s Party, I Decided to Live a Quiet Life in the Countryside 9.

Gotta be thinking of presents by now, right?

SEAN: Let’s all give thanks for manga!

ASH: Thanks!

SEAN: No debuts for Yen On, but we do see Astrea Record: Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? Tales of Heroes 3 (the final volume), The Detective Is Already Dead 9, The Magical Revolution of the Reincarnated Princess and the Genius Young Lady 8, and Re:ZERO -Starting Life in Another World- 26.

Yen Press has one new title. April Showers Bring May Flowers (Busu ni Hanataba wo) is a seinen romance from Young Ace. An unpopular girl is caught one day by the class hottie when she’s in the classroom by herself “pretending to be a heroine”. Now he’s promising to support her with everything he’s got?

ASH: Sounds like it could be cute!

SEAN: Also from Yen Press: Adults’ Picture Book: New Edition 3 (the final volume), Aria of the Beech Forest 2, Bocchi the Rock! 5, Bofuri: I Don’t Want to Get Hurt, so I’ll Max Out My Defense 8, CLAMP Premium Collection Tokyo Babylon 5, GOGOGOGO-GO-GHOST! 2, If the Villainess and Villain Met and Fell in Love 2, In Another World with My Smartphone 13, Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? Familia Chronicle Episode Freya 4, She Likes Gays, but Not Me 3 (the final volume), and A Sinner of the Deep Sea 2.

ASH: A good reminder that I should read the first volume…

SEAN: Viz Media has JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Part 6–Stone Ocean 7 and a huge 584-page hardcover omnibus, Kiki’s Delivery Service Film Comic: All-in-One Edition.

ASH: That is rather large!

SEAN: From Tokyopop we get Boys Gilding the Lily Shall Die!? 2, Lullaby of the Dawn 2, and My Beautiful Man 2.

Square Enix debuts Always a Catch!: How I Punched My Way into Marrying a Prince (Nigashita Sakana wa Ookikatta ga, Tsuriageta Sakana ga Ookisugita Ken). Based on an as-yet unlicensed light novel, it’s about a girl who spent her childhood learning martial arts now finding that all the bachelors are taken. Can a different kingdom help her find her true love?… wait, broken engagement? Huh? This runs in Manga Up!.

ASH: Okay, this is exactly the sort of ridiculous premise I can get behind.

SEAN: Seven Seas debuts a manga whose light novel came out digitally just last week. Heroine? Saint? No, I’m an All-Works Maid (And Proud Of It)! (Heroine? Seijo? Iie, All Works Maid desu (ko)! @COMIC) is a Comic Corona title adapting the comedy OP maid novel.

Todai Revengers is a parody spinoff of Tokyo Revengers which runs in Magazine Pocket.

The third debut is Wild Roses and Pretenders (Nobara to Pretender), a BL title from Magazine Be x Boy. A man, trying to support his sickly mother, becomes a manservant to a Lord. Unfortunately, the Lord wants to avoid getting married, so demands his new manservant pose as his male lover!

ASH: That always goes well.

SEAN: Also from Seven Seas: 7th Time Loop: The Villainess Enjoys a Carefree Life Married to Her Worst Enemy! 6, Black Night Parade 5, CANDY AND CIGARETTES 10, Chillin’ in Another World with Level 2 Super Cheat Powers 9, The Dungeon of Black Company 11, Headhunted to Another World: From Salaryman to Big Four! 7, I Think I Turned My Childhood Friend Into a Girl 7, I’m the Evil Lord of an Intergalactic Empire! 5, Let’s Buy the Land and Cultivate It in a Different World 6, and Otonari Complex 2.

MICHELLE: I need to get on the Otonari Complex train before it leaves me behind.

SEAN: One Peace Books has a 10th manga volume of The Reprise of the Spear Hero.

Kodansha Books debuts Shimazaki in the Land of Peace (Heiwa no Kuni no Shimazaki e), a Weekly Morning title about a boy who was kidnapped and forced to join a revolutionary army. Now, thirty years later, he’s free and returns to Japan… can he really go back to an ordinary life? Despite sounding like Full Metal Panic!, this is apparently quite serious.

ANNA: Interesting.

SEAN: Also from Kodansha: The Boy I Loved Became the Jaded Emperor 2 (the final volume), EDENS ZERO 30, The Heroic Legend of Arslan 20, I Cross-Dressed for the IRL Meetup 2, I’m Standing on a Million Lives 18, and Ninja Vs. Gokudo 4.

ASH: Oh, I had somehow forgotten about Arslan.

SEAN: Digitally we see The Café Terrace and Its Goddesses 15, A Couple of Cuckoos 20, and Gamaran: Shura 26.

J-Novel Club has one debut. Lady Bumpkin and Her Lord Villain (Imokusa Reijou desu ga Akuyaku Reisoku wo Tasuketara Kiniiraremashita) is about a noble girl who is ridiculed for her outdated fashion and heavy makeup. But she’s really sweet. She goes to a ball in a last ditch attempt to get a man, and meets the fiance of the princess… right before the princess breaks off her engagement, branding him a villain! Nice reversal.

They’ve also got the 2nd The 100th Time’s the Charm: She Was Executed 99 Times, So How Did She Unlock “Super Love” Mode?! manga volume, Black Summoner 19, the 4th Butareba -The Story of a Man Turned into a Pig- manga volume, the 5th D-Genesis: Three Years after the Dungeons Appeared manga volume, the 4th Duchess in the Attic manga volume, Heavenly Swords of the Twin Stars 4, I Parry Everything 7, In Another World With My Smartphone 30, Management of a Novice Alchemist 3, and the 3rd My Quiet Blacksmith Life in Another World manga volume.

Hanashi Media has the 4th volume of Tsukimichi: Moonlit Fantasy.

Ghost Ship gives us Ayakashi Triangle 12 and The Witches of Adamas 9.

And for mature Seven Seas titles, we see Hate Me, but Let Me Stay 2 and You’ve Got Mail: The Perils of Pigeon Post – Fei Ge Jiao You Xu Jin Shen 2.

ASH: Speaking of ridiculous premises, really do need to give that one a try at some point.

SEAN: Cross Infinite World debuts How I Became King by Eating Monsters (Monster no Niku wo Kutteitara Oui ni Tsuita Ken). A young prince is at constant risk of assassination… mostly from the prime minister… and so goes out to hunt his own food. There he meets an eccentric swordswoman who tells him that eating monsters makes you stronger!

ASH: Makes sense!

SEAN: Also from CIW: The Former Assassin Who Got Reincarnated as a Noble Girl 2, Soup Forest: The Story of the Woman Who Speaks with Animals and the Former Mercenary 2, and Third Loop: The Nameless Princess and the Cruel Emperor 3.

Airship, in print, gives us the debut of Mushoku Tensei: Redundant Reincarnation (Mushoku Tensei: Dasoku-hen), the “after story” to the main series.

And they have Sword of the Demon Hunter: Kijin Gentōshō 7.

And the early digital debut is A Tale of the Secret Saint ZERO (Tenseishita Daiseijo wa, Seijo de Aru Koto wo Hitakakusu Zero), the story of Princess Serafina’s adventures 300 years before being reincarnated as Fia.

Hope none of these mangas are turkeys!

SEAN: November continues to be Almost Christmas.

ASH: So close and yet so far away.

SEAN: Airship has a print bonanza, as we see The Case Files of Jeweler Richard 9, The Condemned Villainess Goes Back in Time and Aims to Become the Ultimate Villain 3, Loner Life in Another World 10, Survival in Another World with My Mistress! 7, and Too Many Losing Heroines! 2.

ASH: Always love a plethora of print.

SEAN: And the early digital releases are Reincarnated Into a Game as the Hero’s Friend: Running the Kingdom Behind the Scenes 3 and The Weakest Tamer Began a Journey to Pick Up Trash 8.

I missed this last week, so already out is The Complete Poe Clan: The ’70s from Fantagraphics, a repackaging of the two hardcover releases in a nice box. Highly recommended for any student of manga.

ASH: Oh! I had missed that, too! I love that this series is available in English.

ANNA: Ooh, I think I got the first volume but not the second.

SEAN: Ghost Ship gives us 2.5 Dimensional Seduction 12 and Ero Ninja Scrolls 7

For mature Seven Seas titles, there’s a debut, The Second Alpha (2ban-me no Alpha), a BL title from Be x Boy Omegaverse. (Should I classify Omegaverse as BL, or is it a separate genre by now?) A man finds his destined omega, and they have sex after said omega goes into heat. Unfortunately, said omega is also married?

ASH: It’s definitely its own sub-genre at the very least.

SEAN: We also see Remnants of Filth: Yuwu 5.

J-Novel Club has 3 print titles: Hell Mode: The Hardcore Gamer Dominates in Another World with Garbage Balancing 6, My Instant Death Ability Is So Overpowered, No One in This Other World Stands a Chance Against Me! 6, and Reborn to Master the Blade: From Hero-King to Extraordinary Squire 4.

Debuting digitally from J-Novel Club is Dimension Wave, from the creator of Shield Hero but apparently far less emo. A young man’s sisters win a ticket to the debut of a popular VRMMO, and give one to him. But he’s been tricked – his character is a girl! Oh well – it’s time to fish and enjoy the slow life.

J-Novel Club also gives us Butareba -The Story of a Man Turned into a Pig 5, Dagashi-ya Yahagi: Setting Up a Sweets Shop in Another World 2, From Desk Job to Death Beam: In Another World with My Almighty Lasers 2, From Two-Bit Baddie to Total Heartthrob: This Villainess Will Cross-Dress to Impress! 2, Haibara’s Teenage New Game+ 7, I’m a Noble on the Brink of Ruin, So I Might as Well Try Mastering Magic 4, Peddler in Another World: I Can Go Back to My World Whenever I Want! 9, the 3rd The Reincarnation of the Strongest Exorcist in Another World manga volume, and Zilbagias the Demon Prince: How the Seventh Prince Brought Down the Kingdom 3.

ASH: That’s a decent amount.

SEAN: Kaiten Books has a digital volume, Loner Life in Another World 11.

No debuts for Kodansha. In print, we see Grand Blue Dreaming 20, Suzume 2, To Your Eternity 21, and Vampire Dormitory 12.

ASH: I’ve been collecting To Your Eternity but need to make the point to actually catch up on reading it.

SEAN: Digitally we see And Yet, You Are So Sweet 10, Hozuki’s Coolheadedness 23, Lightning and Romance 6, Parasyte Reversi 2, and You’re My Cutie 9.

From One Peace Books we see Parallel World Pharmacy 6.

Seven Seas debuts a manhua based on a danmei novel, but for once it doesn’t seem to be supernatural. I Ship My Rival x Me stars two actors who find that A03 is doing some RL shipping of them! (OK, it’s probably not explicitly AO3.) Are the shippers onto something?

ASH: Could be!

SEAN: We also see Yes, No, or Maybe? (Yes ka No ka Hanbun ka), the manga adaptation of the BL light novel also released by Seven Seas. It runs in Dear+.

ASH: I feel like I read that one; did I read that one?

SEAN: Also from Seven Seas: Citrus+ 6, Gravitation: Collector’s Edition 3, The Ideal Sponger Life 17, The Lady and Her Butler 2, Re-Living My Life with a Boyfriend Who Doesn’t Remember Me 2, and Reborn as a Barrier Master 7.

Square Enix debuts Dragon and Chameleon (Ryuu to Cameleon), a Gangan Joker title. A veteran manga artist ends up switching bodies with a bitter, untalented rookie. Now he’s got to work his way back up to the summit.

ASH: Hate when that happens.

ANNA: It sounds complicated!

SEAN: Also from Square Enix: Just Like Mona Lisa 3 and The Villainess’s Guide to (Not) Falling in Love 3.

Steamship has a 2nd volume of Alpha Wolfgirl x Omega Wolfboy.

Tokyopop debuts a villainess light novel that spawned the manga they’ve already been releasing, Her Royal Highness Seems to Be Angry (Oujo Denka wa Oikari no You desu). A talented young woman, after losing her family to war, takes her own life… and wakes up a thousand years later in the body of a pathetic villainess type who’s being cheated on. What’s worse, the magic 1000 years later is TERRIBLE.

There’s also an award-winning one shot, A Smart and Courageous Child (Kashikokute Yuuki Aru Kodomo), which ran in Torch. A young couple are happily awaiting their child, when suddenly, days from birth, the mother hears about the assassination attempt of Malala Yousafzai and goes into shock. Can her husband be there for her? This is an experimental manga with rave reviews.

ASH: A well-received experimental manga, you say?

ANNA: Alright!

SEAN: This Reincarnated Countess Is Trying to Escape From Her Prince (Tensei Hakushaku Reijo wa Oji-sama kara Nigedashitai) is a manga based on an as yet unlicensed light novel. A princess awakens to her past Japanese memories, and realizes she’s got a horribly tragic and awful life ahead if she marries the prince. Solution: Don’t marry the prince. HOWEVER…

They’ve also got Let’s Eat Together, Aki and Haru 2.

Debuting from Udon is Ottoman: Henshin Hero Husband, a Weekly Young Jump title. A salaryman is infected by an alien… but that’s OK, as his wife is in danger from the forces of evil! He and the alien will have to join forces to win.

Udon also has My Stepmom’s Daughter Is My Ex 2.

Viz Media debuts After God, an Ura Sunday title about a young woman who gets caught up in the God-Killing Institute’s machinations. (Note: Gods are evil aliens here, think Titans and the like.)

ASH: I’m curious about this one. That cover is very striking.

SEAN: Also from Viz: Asadora! 8, Battle Royale: Enforcers 2, Gokurakugai 3, Hirayasumi 3, Mobile Suit Gundam Thunderbolt 22, Trillion Game 2, and Twin Star Exorcists 32.

Two debuts from Yen On. Festival of Heresies is a book that I can find almost no information about. It’s a one-shot, but is also the first in the “Sasaki Agency” series. It seems to be horror. A young woman can’t tell the living from the dead, and thus has trouble keeping a job. Her worried brother turns to a mysterious agency…

ASH: Speaking of striking covers; I could pretty easily be convinced to read this.

SEAN: In a World of Lies, I Fell into an Unforgettable Love (which I also can find little about) is from the author of Even If This Love Disappears Tonight. It’s one of those “I’m dying, so let me have one last bittersweet teenage love” stories.

Also from Yen On: Classroom for Heroes 3, The Contract Between a Specter and a Servant 3, Days with My Stepsister 4, I’ve Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years and Maxed Out My Level 15, Ishura 8, Liar Liar 5, Sugar Apple Fairy Tale 7, The Trials of Chiyodaku 2, The Unimplemented Overlords Have Joined the Party! 3, and You Are My Regret 3.

And Yen Press has a pile. Agents of the Four Seasons: Dance of Spring (Shunkashuutou Daikousha – Haru no Mai) is the manga adaptation of the light novel already released by Yen. It runs in LaLa.

MICHELLE: This is the first thing on the list that really made me perk up my ears.

ANNA: Agreed!

SEAN: All or Nothing (Ichika, Bachika) is a one-shot BL title from B’s-LOVEY. Two boys come out and reveal they’re now a couple. And now the other two boys in their friend group are looking at each other and going “hrm”.

Brunhild the Dragonslayer (Ryuugoroshi no Brunhild) is the manga adaptation of the light novel already released by Yen. It runs in Shonen Ace.

Candy: Shou Harusono Art Collection is an artbook from the Sasaki and Miyano creator.

Dracula’s on the Night Shift (Dracula Yakin!) is a one-shot manga that ran in my nemesis, Comic Alive. A vampire who works the graveyard shift at a convenience store comes across a blonde vampire hunter… and now they’re living together?

ANNA: What would happen if Sean’s nemesis Comic Alive was a person, and then they were living together?????

SEAN: …please do not ship me with Comic Alive. This is not Hark! A Vagrant.

mono is a manga from the creator of Laid-Back Camp, and it runs in Manga Time Kirara Carat. Two clubs in danger of shutting down join into one club, and go around taking exciting photographs.

Oshi No Ko also gets an artbook, 1st Illustration Collection: Glare x Sparkle.

Praise Me When I’m a Good Boy (Ii Ko ni Dekitara Hometekure) is a one-shot BL manga from B’s-Lovey Recottia. A submissive teacher whose fiancee just left him tries a dating app, and finds his male dom… is a former student?

The Teen Exorcist (Shounen Onmyouji) is based on an as-yet-unlicensed light novel, and runs in Young Ace. It’s ancient Japan, and our hero, the grandson of Abe no Seimei, wants to surpass him!

The War of Greedy Witches: 32 of the Wickedest Women Duel to the Death (Majo Taisen: 32-nin no Isai no Majo wa Koroshiau) is from the creator of Kakegurui, and runs in Comic Zenon. Do you want a death game tournament battle featuring hot evil women? Starring Jeanne D’Arc? Great news.

Also from Yen: The Abandoned Empress 9 (the final volume), Apocalypse Bringer Mynoghra 2, Associate Professor Akira Takatsuki’s Conjecture 5, Bungo Stray Dogs: The Official Comic Anthology 2, Cheeky Brat 12, Cross-Dressing Villainess Cecilia Sylvie 6, Game of Familia 5, I Cannot Reach You 8, I Want a Gal Gamer to Praise Me 3, I’m Quitting Heroing 7, I’m the Villainess, So I’m Taming the Final Boss 4, In the Land of Leadale 6, K-ON! Shuffle 2, Oshi no Ko 8, What’s Wrong with Secretary Kim? 6 (the final volume), and Why Raeliana Ended Up at the Duke’s Mansion 8.

ASH: Is it a Yen week? It doesn’t seem to be enough for a Yen week.

SEAN: It’s a lot! Are you drowning? Did you bother to read to the end?

SEAN: So. Manga.

The debut from Viz Media is Wanted! Eiichiro Oda Before One Piece. It is what it sounds like, a collection of stories Oda wrote before One Piece, including the series’ ‘pilot’.

ASH: Interesting!

They’ve also got a re-release of X-Men: The Manga, the classic late 90s Marvel manga adaptation that is now available in a big 500-page volume to start with.

ANNA: Alright!

SEAN: Also from Viz: Fly Me to the Moon 26, Hayate the Combat Butler 44, Helck 12 (the final volume), I Want to End This Love Game 4, I’m the Grim Reaper 2, One Piece 107, Radiant 18, Sakura, Saku 5, and Seraph of the End 31.

Two debuts for Tokyopop. I Was Reincarnated as the Heroine on the Verge of a Bad Ending, and I’m Determined to Fall in Love! (Bad End Mokuzen no Heroine ni Tensei shita Watashi, Konse de wa Renai suru Tsumori ga Cheat na Ani ga Hanashite kuremasen!? @COMIC) is based on an as-yet unlicensed light novel. The Japanese title seems to mention incest subtext the English one is not. Hopefully it’s just the usual overprotective brother thing. It runs in Comic Corona.

The other debut is Sanctify, a BL title from Placebo. An exorcist whose past lives have been tragic has to investigate a cult with the help of a mysterious cop. A mysterious hot cop.

MICHELLE: Hm. I do like BL with supernatural elements…

ANNA: Mysterious hotness sounds promising.

SEAN: SuBLime debuts Someday I’ll Fall for You (Itsuka Koi ni Naru Made), a BL title from moment. Two childhood friends discover the wonders of “helping each other out” at night, but then one of them gets a girlfriend. Given this is a BL title, I don’t see this ending well for her.

ANNA: Maybe she’s just not that helpful.

ASH: *snerk*

SEAN: They also have the 9th volume of Black or White.

Steamship has an early digital debut. The Obsessed Mage and His Beloved Statue Bride: She Cannot Resist His Seductive Voice (Yandere Mahoutsukai wa Sekizou no Otome shika Aisenai: Majo wa Manadeshi no Atsui Kuchizuke de Tokeru) is along the lines of the last LN Steamship released, at least in terms of the male love interest. Our heroine, to save the country, turns herself to stone for twenty years. Now her cute teenage assistant is an older, sexier man, and still totally in love with her.

ASH: Oh, my.

SEAN: It also gives us the 5th volume of Fire in His Fingertips: A Flirty Fireman Ravishes Me with His Smoldering Gaze.

Square Enix gives us By the Grace of the Gods 11 and The Strongest Sage with the Weakest Crest 21.

Seven Seas has some new stuff. My Kitten is a Picky Eater (Neko ni wa Neko no Neko Gohan) is a josei title from Manga Mee. A man picks up a dying cat and tries to nurse it back to health… but the cat hates store-bought food!

MICHELLE: Just this synopsis stresses me out!

ANNA: Some josei, do you say?

ASH: Josei cat manga, even! (But, yeah, that’s a potentially stressful scenario.)

SEAN: Yonoi Tsukihiko’s Happy Hell (Yonoi Tsukihiko no Shiawase na Jigoku) is a josei title from Petit Comic (!). A woman is forced into an arranged marriage to save the family farm. Unfortunately, she’s already in love. Also unfortunately, her new fiance doesn’t believe in love at all. Opposites attract!

ANNA: Always glad for even more josei!

ASH: More! And in the same week, too!

SEAN: Also from Seven Seas: 365 Days to the Wedding 5, Classroom of the Elite 12 (the final volume), Crossplay Love: Otaku x Punk 10, Dance in the Vampire Bund: Age of Scarlet Order 12, Delinquent Daddy and Tender Teacher 5, DUNGEON DIVE: Aim for the Deepest Level 6, No Longer Allowed In Another World 7, Sheep Princess in Wolf’s Clothing 4, Tokyo Revengers 25-26, Tokyo Revengers: A Letter from Keisuke Baji 2, and The Tree of Death: Yomotsuhegui 3 (the final volume).

One Peace Books has a 2nd volume of Kurokiya-san Wants to Lead Him Around by the Nose.

Debuting in print from Kodansha is Home Office Romance (Telework Yotabanashi). This Weekly Morning title from the creator of Sweat & Soap has an office worker at a brutal job welcome the pandemic as it means he can work from home… and also get to know the pretty grad student next door! It’s complete in one volume.

ASH: Sweat & Soap was great; I’ll need to check this one out.

SEAN: There’s also Sailor Moon (Naoko Takeuchi Collection) Manga Box Set 1, which has 6 volumes, posters, a holographic box… it’s fancy schmancy.

Sheltering Eaves (Koboreru Yoru ni) is a Josei title from Kiss. (Kiss *and* Petit Comic in the same week?) It’s from the creator of Perfect World, and features a girl sent to an orphanage due to her mother’s abuse. Now, four years later, she’s going to have to move out… but she has feelings for her fellow orphan who… well, sheltered her. See the title.

MICHELLE: Interesting! Josei is, to my delight, fairly common nowadays!

ANNA: Amazing, what a week!

ASH: I was not expecting that! (Also, what I read of Perfect World was rather good.)

SEAN: Also in print: A-DO 5, Hitorijime My Hero Manga Box Set 2, I See Your Face, Turned Away 3, Medaka Kuroiwa is Impervious to My Charms 9, ORIGIN 7, Sue & Tai-chan 5, and Wandance 11.

There’s also a digital debut. Did you enjoy As the Gods Will: The Second Series when it came out about 8 years ago? Well, now it’s time to read the original. (I do hear the 2nd series is more of a reboot.) In any case, this Bessatsu Shonen Magazine title is a death game series.

Also digital: Because I, the True Saint, was Banished, that Country is Done For! 6, Drops of God: Mariage 9, Gang King 23, Her Majesty’s Swarm 3 (the final volume), Manchuria Opium Squad 3, Otherworldly Munchkin: Let’s Speedrun the Dungeon with Only 1 HP! 10, and Tokyo Tarareba Girls Returns 2 4.

In print from J-Novel Club: Ascendance of a Bookworm 27 and the 8th Seirei Gensouki: Spirit Chronicles manga volume.

ASH: Bookworm!

SEAN: Digitally the debut is From Villainess to Healer: I Know the Cheat to Change My Fate (Kaifukushoku no Akuyaku Reijou) is a manga adaptation of an as yet unlicensed light novel. The manga runs in Flos Comic. Otome game, broken engagement, doomed, flee and become something else, etc.

Also from J-Novel Club: Ascendance of a Bookworm: Fanbook 5, The Hero and the Sage, Reincarnated and Engaged 2, the 3rd A Late-Start Tamer’s Laid-Back Life manga volume, The Reincarnation of the Strongest Exorcist in Another World 2, and A Surprisingly Happy Engagement for the Slime Duke and the Fallen Noble Lady 3 (the final volume).

One release from Ghost Ship, Becoming a Princess Knight and Working at a Yuri Brothel 3.

Lots of Mature Seven Seas stuff, though. Mostly BL, mostly webtoon. I never know how to talk about webtoon stuff. It makes me feel old, these vertically scrolling newfangled things. In any case, The Big Apple is a BL webtoon about a CIA assassin and his trying to quit… even though you can never quite being an assassin.

ASH: That often seems to be the case.

SEAN: That Time I Got Stuck to the Guy I Hate (Kirai na Yatsu to Kuttsuku Mahou ni Kakaru Hanashi) is a oneshot BL manga from Magazine Be x Boy (now that’s more like what I’m used to). Two roommates who don’t get along one day find they literally can’t pull themselves apart from each other.

MICHELLE: That… is kind of a flimsy premise.

ANNA: Usually these premises are filled with nuance and depth.

ASH: I will admit to being amused.

SEAN: And there’s a 4th volume of ENNEAD.

Dark Horse Comics have the 2nd Trigun Maximum Deluxe Omnibus, featuring Vol. 4-6.

Airship has the print debut of The 100 Girlfriends Who Really, Really, Really, Really, Really Love You: Secret Love Story, which is a short story collection that is as bonkers as the main manga series.

ASH: I should really get around to reading the manga (and short stories) at some point.

SEAN: Also in print: Reincarnated as a Dragon Hatchling 8 and Reincarnated as a Sword 15.

For early digital, there is a debut. Heroine? Saint? No, I’m an All-Works Maid (And Proud of It)! (Heroine? Seijo? Iie, All Works Maid desu (Hokori)!). A former Japanese farm girl is reincarnated and becomes a maid to a poor noble family. Except… she seems to have holy magic? And men are flocking to her? Is she a heroine? Meh. Who cares? She’s a maid!

Pretty big list. We’re heading towards Christmas, that won’t change. Anything for you?

SEAN: The start of November, and hopefully we’ve hit the temperatures going down a bit.

ASH: Ours just went up again today; it was very weird.

SEAN: Airship has the print debut of the light novel version of The Villainess and the Demon Knight, which they seem to have rated as Older Teen, which, um, whatever. You do you. Our reincarnated otome game villainess has been put in a brothel, and the man purchasing her for an entire night is her childhood friend. Can her life be saved by the power of amazing sex?

ASH: Oh, my!

SEAN: In early digital releases, Airship has Classroom of the Elite: Year 2 9.5 and A Tale of the Secret Saint 7.

Dark Horse Comics debuts Cthulhu Cat (Neko no Cthulhu), an Engterbrain title from the author who gave us Yokai Cats. This time it’s Lovecraft Cats.

ASH: I will admit to being curious as this should be ridiculous in a good way.

SEAN: There’s a debut from Ghost Ship: The Cursed Sword Master’s Harem Life: By the Sword, For the Sword (Makenshi no Maken Niyoru Maken no Tame no Harem Life). This runs in Web Comic Gamma Plus, and stars a young man transported to another world with only his two samurai swords for company. Who can talk. And transform into hot girls.

ASH: That’s quite the curse there.

SEAN: There’s also a mature Seven Seas BL title, Leave the Sacrifice at the Gate (Ikenie Monzenbarai), which runs in Byō de Wakaru BL. A boy who is doomed to be a sacrifice is rather unnerved when he finds that the god who’s supposed to eat him just wants to take it easy instead.

ASH: Okay, I’m intrigued by this one, too.

SEAN: Apologies to Hanashi Media, who I missed last week. They had The Fruit of Evolution: Before I Knew It, My Life Had It Made! 10.

No debuts for J-Novel Club, but we get The Death of the Skeleton Swordsman: Dominating as a Cursed Saint 2, the 13th The Faraway Paladin manga volume, From Old Country Bumpkin to Master Swordsman: My Hotshot Disciples Are All Grown Up Now, and They Won’t Leave Me Alone 4, the 2nd I’m a Noble on the Brink of Ruin, So I Might as Well Try Mastering Magic manga volume, the 5th The Invincible Little Lady manga volume, and The Otome Heroine’s Fight for Survival 3.

Two debuts from Kodansha. Snow & Ink (Yuki to Sumi) runs in Comic Days. A woman about to lose in her battle from the throne buys a man accused of murdering 50 people. Can they understand each other when no one else will? This one’s dark, folks.

ASH: Sounds like!

SEAN: Thunder 3 is a Weekly Shonen Magazine title that looks like it’s from 1965 but is in reality from 2022. A boy and his two buddies must journey to another world when his little sister watches a DVD that kidnaps her!

ASH: I love seeing these callbacks to older styles!

SEAN: Also in print: The Fable Omnibus 4, Medalist 5, The Seven Deadly Sins: Four Knights of the Apocalypse 14, and Vinland Saga Deluxe 5.

ASH: I still haven’t decided whether or not to upgrade my Vinland Saga collection, but these deluxe editions are SO NICE.

No digital debuts, but we see Blue Lock 28, How to Grill Our Love 11, Life 20 (the final volume), Love, That’s an Understatement 5, Matcha Made in Heaven 10, Those Snow White Notes 22, and Tying the Knot with an Amagami Sister 15.

MICHELLE: I really should get around to reading Love, That’s an Understatement, considering how much I loved Lovesick Ellie.

ANNA: I need to read more Lovesick Ellie.

SEAN: One Peace has a 2nd volume of Nukozuke!.

Seven Seas debuts the manhua adaptation of Dinghai Fusheng Records, based on the danmei novel Seven Seas will be releasing next year. Two men fated to be together, magic, exorcism, the whole nine yards.

MICHELLE: Woo! (Though, probably, I will wait for the novel.)

ASH: I do like that we’re seeing manhua translated more frequently these days.

SEAN: For actual danmei novels, we have Peerless 2.

Also out from Seven Seas: The Duke of Death and His Maid 15, His Majesty the Demon King’s Housekeeper 8, Killer Shark in Another World 2, Nightfall Travelers: Leave Only Footprints 2, Plus-Sized Elf: Second Helping! 3, and The Weakest Tamer Began a Journey to Pick Up Trash 6.

From Square Enix we see Demons of the Shadow Realm 6 and Otherside Picnic 11.

Tokyopop debuts A Tail’s Tale (Okashiratsuki), a seinen title from Comic Zenon. A girl who struggles to fit in at her sports club as she doesn’t tan meets a boy with a tail!

Also from Tokyopop: If My Favorite Pop Idol Made It to the Budokan, I Would Die 9 and Sweet for Sweets and Foreigners 2.

Two debuts from Viz Media. Colette Decides to Die (Colette wa Shinu Koto ni Shita) is a shoujo manga from Hana to Yume. An exhausted apothecary jumps into a well, but finds herself in hell caring for Hades, who’s sick! Now she’s going back and forth between the two worlds. This was 20 volumes in Japan, so Viz is doing the omnibus route, this has the first two volumes.

MICHELLE: Huh.

ANNA: I’m intrigued!

ASH: Likewise! And I’ve heard some good things.

SEAN: Kagurabachi is a Weekly Shonen Jump title about a boy whose father is murdered trying to get revenge on the men who killed him. (That said, it’s in Weekly Jump, so shouldn’t get TOO dark.)

ASH: A story of revenge, you say? You have my attention.

SEAN: Also from Viz: Dark Gathering 10, The Elusive Samurai 13, In the Name of the Mermaid Princess 4, Like a Butterfly 9, My Special One 8, Natsume’s Book of Friends 30, One-Punch Man 29, Queen’s Quality 20, Sakamoto Days 14, Wolf Girl and Black Prince 10, and You and I Are Polar Opposites 3.

MICHELLE: Will now be the time I finally catch up on Natsume?!

ASH: And shall I join you?!?

SEAN: Lastly, some Yen stragglers. Yen On has a 4th volume of I May Be a Guild Receptionist, but I’ll Solo Any Boss to Clock Out on Time.

And Yen Press debuts 86–EIGHTY-SIX: Operation High School, which is the traditional High School AU these sort of dark “everyone dies” series tend to get. It ran in my nemesis, Comic Alive.

At last, a relatively short list. What are you picking up?

SEAN: Halloween is here! BOO!

Yen On’s October debuts all got delayed to next week, so here they are. In My Seventh Life, I Met a Monster Princess (Boku wa Nanadome no Jinsei de, Kaibutsuhime wo Te ni Ireta) is a one-shot. A man who keeps getting killed wants revenge, and after getting killed for the 6th time he meets a monster princess who might be able to help.

Kusunoki’s Garden of Gods (Kami no Niwatsuki Kusunoki-tei) stars a man who lives in a remote house filled with evil spirits… at least, until the house is purified by the man’s amazing skills. Now gods are drawn to the residence instead.

ASH: I am intrigued.

SEAN: Love Is Dark (Koi wa Ankoku) is a twisted love story. A boy who has a normal high school life moonlights as an assassin. Things get awkward when the school idol asks him out. Things get more awkward when she shows up at his latest job. This is from the creator of Grimgar of Fantasy and Ash.

ASH: That does seem like that would be rather awkward.

SEAN: Reign of the Seven Spellblades: Side of Fire (Nanatsu no Maken ga Shihai Suru: Side of Fire – Rengoku no Ki) is a prequel to the main series set five years earlier, focusing on Alvin Godfrey.

The World Bows Down Before My Flames (Waga Homura ni Hirefuse Sekai) stars a girl who really, really, really wants to set things on fire, and has the power to do it. Now she has to defeat the demon lord… but will she go overboard? Signs point to yes.

ASH: Sometimes you just really need to set things on fire.

SEAN: Also from Yen On: Demon’s Crest 2, I Got a Cheat Skill in Another World and Became Unrivaled in the Real World, Too 6, Playing Death Games to Put Food on the Table 2, and The Vexations of a Shut-In Vampire Princess 8.

The one manga debut is Lycoris Recoil, a manga adaptation of the popular anime series. Why are assassins all cute high school girls? Read on to find out! Actually, likely this is meant for those who’ve already watched the anime…

There’s also the 2nd manga volume of No Game No Life Chapter 2: Eastern Union Arc.

The one release from Viz is JoJo A-Go!Go!, an artbook about JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, now available as a standalone hardcover.

ASH: Very nice; I’ve had my eye on this one even before it was released outside of Japan.

SEAN: Tokyopop has the 3rd volume of FANGS.

Two debuts for Seven Seas: The Lady Knight and the Beast-Eared Child (Onna Kishi to Kemomimi no Ko) about a lady knight who, well, adopts a beast-eared child as her apprentice. He teaches her how to appreciate life’s quieter moments, she teaches him that the world they live in is pretty murderous.

ASH: Sounds promising to me.

SEAN: Tiger and Dragon is a shoujo manga from Margaret. A girl had a crush on her friend when they were tots, but then he moved away. Now, ten years later, she’s ready to move on with her other childhood friend… but guess who’s back?

MICHELLE: Margaret, you say?

ANNA: Is there something from Margaret!? This is the rumor I’ve been hearing.

ASH: That does seem to be the case.

SEAN: Also from Seven Seas: Drugstore in Another World: The Slow Life of a Cheat Pharmacist 9, Even Though We’re Adults 9, Monster Cats 2, and Reincarnated as a Sword 13.

MICHELLE: I really need to read Even Though We’re Adults.

ASH: I need to catch up, too.

SEAN: One Peace Books gives us Hero Without a Class: Who Even Needs Skills?! 2.

Apologies to KUMA, who I left out of last week’s list (like Denpa, KUMA’s release dates are fluid, so it can get difficult). They have the debut of Yata-Momo, a BL title from Qpa. It’s from the author of The Song of Yoru and Asa and Happy Crappy Life, and is about a relationship between a slovenly mess and a straight-laced reliable guy.

MICHELLE: The blurb for this actually contains the word “himbo.” I am… kind of intrigued!

ANNA: Who isn’t intrigued by himbos?

ASH: I’m in.

SEAN: Debuting in print for Kodansha Manga is Ajin: Demi-Human Complete, an omnibus collection. This has the first three volumes.

Also in print: Blue Lock 15, Gachiakuta 4, Nina the Starry Bride 7 (watch the anime!), Seraph of the End: Guren Ichinose: Catastrophe at Sixteen 6 (the final volume, as it’s been an omnibus), and Shangri-La Frontier 14.

ANNA: Woo, Nina the Starry Bride!

SEAN: And digitally we get The God-Tier Guardian and the Love of Six Princesses 14, Mermaid Melody Pichi Pichi Pitch: Aqua 4, and TenPuru -No One Can Live on Loneliness- 11.

In print, J-Novel Club has a 3rd volume of the Black Summoner light novel.

J-Novel Club has one debut. The Dorky NPC Mercenary Knows His Place (Kimo Ota Mob Yōhei wa, Mi no Hodo o Wakimaeru) is a “space opera” comedy about a short, plain mercenary who just tries to keep his head down and be a side character… but gorgeous women keep trying to get close to him!… possibly as he’s the best pilot in the galaxy.

ASH: These things happen sometimes.

Also out next week: the 4th The Conqueror from a Dying Kingdom manga volume, The Diary of a Middle-Aged Sage’s Carefree Life in Another World 4, Earl and Fairy 8, The Fake Hero Crashes the Party 2, the 6th The Frontier Lord Begins with Zero Subjects manga volume, the 6th My Daughter Left the Nest and Returned an S-Rank Adventurer manga volume, the 8th Now I’m a Demon Lord! Happily Ever After with Monster Girls in My Dungeon manga volume, The Oblivious Saint Can’t Contain Her Power: Forget My Sister! Turns Out I Was the Real Saint All Along! 4 (the final volume), A Pale Moon Reverie 3 (the final volume), Record of Wortenia War 26, and, most importantly, The Magic in this Other World is Too Far Behind! 10, the first new volume in almost 5 years.

No Ghost Ship releases, but two mature Seven Seas titles, both BL webtoon titles. debuting is Checkmate, about a man who’s drifting through life till he sees his old high school rival, who he could never beat, enmired in scandal. Now he has a new goal… to destroy him! Enemies to Lovers, do I hear you calling?

There’s also The Dangerous Convenience Store 4.

Denpa Books has Mobile Suit Gundam: Char’s Counterattack 3 and Under Ninja 4.

Dark Horse Comics has a 6th volume of Cat + Gamer.

ASH: This is another series I should really give a try at some point.

SEAN: Two debuts from Cross Infinite World. The Frugal Priestess Becomes a Saint (Isekai kara Seijo wo Yobe to Muchaburisareta Shinkan wa, Cost Performance no Tsugou de Seijo ni Naru) features our heroine, who is a member of the clergy, preparing to isekai someone to be the next saint whose magic power is omnipotent. Unfortunately, summoning dying from overwork Japanese women is really, really expensive. And… our heroine has black hair. Maybe she can pretend to be the Saint? It will save the country so much money!… wait, why is the prince obsessed with her now?

ASH: Whoops!

SEAN: How I Swapped Places with the Villainess, Beat Up Her Fiancé, and Found True Love (Danzai Sareteiru Akuyaku Reijou to Irekawatte Konyakusha-tachi wo Buttobashitara, Dekiai ga Matteimashita) is a more traditional villainess work. Our heroine, surprise surprise, dies and wakes up as a villainess getting condemned by her fiance. Snapping, she beats up the fiance… then she finds herself in the past? Yes, it’s an otome game villainess AND a fix the timeline book.

CIW also has Expedition Cooking with the Enoch Royal Knights 5.

No print releases for Airship next week, but we get a digital debut. Mushoku Tensei: Redundant Reincarnation (Mushoku Tensei – Dasoku Hen) is basically an “After Story” for the main series.

Also out in early digital: Sword of the Demon Hunter: Kijin Gentōshō 7.

Is there, perhaps, too much manga? Is it like Halloween candy?

ASH: Only if you don’t have the stomach for it!

SEAN: Psst. Halloween’s behind you. Creeping ever closer. Step by step.

ASH: Wait, behind me? What month is it??

SEAN: Airship has print releases for Easygoing Territory Defense by the Optimistic Lord: Production Magic Turns a Nameless Village into the Strongest Fortified City 3, Failure Frame: I Became the Strongest and Annihilated Everything With Low-Level Spells 11, Modern Villainess: It’s Not Easy Building a Corporate Empire Before the Crash 5, and Raven of the Inner Palace 7 (the final volume).

And for early digital we have The Case Files of Jeweler Richard 9 and Survival in Another World with My Mistress! 7.

Ghost Ship has Booty Royale: Never Go Down Without a Fight! 15-16, Peter Grill and the Philosopher’s Time 13 and Welcome to Succubus High! 6

And in mature Seven Seas titles, we see Case File Compendium: Bing An Ben 3 and The Titan’s Bride 5.

J-Novel Club graces us with FIVE new debuts. The Boy Who Ruled the Monsters (Kaibutsu-tachi o Suberu Mono) is a “banished from the party” story, though at least this time two of the party join him. This is because (try to contain your shock) his ability is great after all! Now he’s going to make his own party of monsters. (Taking a wild guess that the monsters look like hot girls.)

EXP is Golden: The Queen of Destruction Speedruns Her Ascension (Ōgon no Keikenchi) looks like the dark counterpart to A Late-Start Tamer’s Laid-Back Life. Leah is eager to play the hot new MMORPG… and finds she can take powerful NPCs and use their EXP as her own! And she’s a powerful enchantress! And is building a dark army!… wait, isn’t this the path to being evil? Well, whatever.

I Only Have Six Months to Live, So I’m Gonna Break the Curse with Light Magic or Die Trying (Yomei Hantoshi to Senkokusareta no de, Shinuki de “Hikari Mahou” wo Oboete Noroi wo Hodokou to Omoimasu. – Noroware Ouji no Yarinaoshi) is the manga adaptation of the light novel J-NC also puts out. It runs in Drecomics.

Private Tutor to the Duke’s Daughter (Kōjo Denka no Kateikyōshi) is the manga adaptation of the light novel J-NC also puts out. It runs in Shonen Ace plus.

The Reincarnator and the Goblin Maiden’s Happily Ever After: Using a Past Life to Keep a Joyful Wife (Goblin Reijō to Tensei Kizoku ga Shiawase ni Naru Made: Konyakusha no Tame no Zense Chishiki no Jōzu na Tsukaikata) is a light novel about a reincarnated man who wants to do anything to find a happy marriage. In his previous life, he was single for almost a century due to his looks. Now he’s handsome, and gets a proposal offer for a Duke’s Daughter… whose appearance looks like a goblin! It’s OK, though, he knows what she’s going through. This looks really sweet.

ASH: Okay, out of the five, this is the one that interests me the most.

SEAN: Also from J-Novel Club: The Banished Former Hero Lives as He Pleases 3, D-Genesis: Three Years after the Dungeons Appeared 7, Enough with This Slow Life! I Was Reincarnated as a High Elf and Now I’m Bored 8 (the final volume), the 13th The Faraway Paladin manga volume, Full Clearing Another World under a Goddess with Zero Believers 12, the 2nd I’m a Noble on the Brink of Ruin, So I Might as Well Try Mastering Magic manga volume, Through the Viewport: Child of a Ruined World 3 (the final volume), the 2nd To Another World… with Land Mines! manga volume, and You Were Experienced, I Was Not: Our Dating Story 5.

Three debuts for Kodansha Manga, though only one is a debut per se. Blue Lock Season 1 Part 1 is a box set with the first six volumes of the series.

ASH: Perhaps the perfect time to finally get around to actually reading it.

SEAN: Your Lie in April Omnibus 1 contains the first three volumes of this tear-jerker.

ASH: That takes me back.

SEAN: The actual debut is The Spellbook Library, the new title from Uta Isaki, creator of Sayabito: Swords of Destiny, Generation Witch, and Is Love the Answer? (wow, one of those titles is not like the other). This book is being published in English first via KManga. As for the plot… if you read Magus of the Library and thought “I want something just like this”, I have good news!

ASH: Oh!

SEAN: Also in print: Blue Period 15, The Iceblade Sorcerer Shall Rule the World 11, Kaina of the Great Snow Sea 3, Kusunoki’s Flunking Her High School Glow-Up 2, Parasyte Full Color Collection 8 (the final volume), Rent-A-Girlfriend 27, A Sign of Affection 10 (whose print and digital are now released at the same time), and Witch Hat Atelier Kitchen 5.

MICHELLE: I know I really need to read A Sign of Affection.

ASH: Same, actually.

ANNA: It is so good! I think I’m three volumes behind now.

SEAN: Digitally we see Am I Actually the Strongest? 12, Gamaran: Shura 25, Issak 10, and Undead Girl Murder Farce 7.

One Peace Books has a 4th volume of Tales of the Tendo Family.

ASH: I should check in with this series again; the first volume intrigued me.

SEAN: Seven Seas has a couple of debuts. Diary of a Female Lead: Shujinkou Nikki is, amazingly, a shoujo series from Betsucomi. Our heroine has low self-esteem. Her brother is a popular athlete. Her mother is a famous shoujo mangaka. All she wants is friendship. Real friendship. Her brother disagrees, though, and brings home impossibly cool Sena to show her what she really needs to come out of her shell is love. This is “critically acclaimed”, apparently, which might make up for a premise that seems a bit ergh.

MICHELLE: Hm.

ASH: Huh.

ANNA: OK, maybe…..

SEAN: My Boyfriend is a Dog (Inukei no Kareshi) is a BL title from Monthly Action. Two co-workers are falling for each other. One is a human, and one is an anthropomorphic dog, which is to say a handsome guy in a suit, just with the face of an Akita.

ASH: Huh!

SEAN: Nakamura-san, the Uninvited Gyaru (Oshikake Gal no Nakamura-san) runs in Manga Town. A gyaru and an otaku work together, but are polar opposites. Surely they can’t become a couple! But what if I told you she was really a shy, blushing girl pretending to be a flashy gyaru? NOW how much would you pay?

MICHELLE: Hee.

ANNA: Amazing.

SEAN: Also from Seven Seas: The Dangers in My Heart 9, Even Dogs Go to Other Worlds: Life in Another World with My Beloved Hound 4, I’m in Love with the Villainess 7, The Idaten Deities Know Only Peace 6, Kageki Shojo!! 11, Level 1 Demon Lord and One Room Hero 6, Night of the Living Cat 5, Royal Tailor: Clothier to the Crown 2, Skip and Loafer 10, Slow Life In Another World (I Wish!) 7, Stay By My Side After the Rain 2, There’s No Freaking Way I’ll be Your Lover! Unless… 6, Throw Away the Suit Together 2, What He Who Doesn’t Believe in Fate Says 5, and World End Solte 3.

MICHELLE: I should also be reading Kageki Shojo!!.

ASH: I enjoyed the early volumes and really need to catch up!

SEAN: Square Enix gives us My Dress-Up Darling 12, Soul Eater NOT!: The Perfect Edition 2, and Suppose a Kid from the Last Dungeon Boonies Moved to a Starter Town 12 (the final volume).

ASH: I’m so far behind with My Dress-Up Darling, but I’ve greatly enjoyed what I’ve read.

SEAN: There’s a debut from Steamship. A Suitable Fetish (Suits ni Seiheki) comes from Betsucomi Flower, aka “SPICY Betsucomi”. Two office workers discover that they’re far less buttoned-down outside the office, and decide to explore their fetishes.

ASH: Oh, my!

SEAN: From Tokyopop, we get two debuts. The Gardener’s Favorite Poisonous Flower (Jarudinie no Aishita Doku Hana) is a BL title from Canna. An itinerant is hired as a gardener for a male brothel, where he finds the employees are “furless” – human-looking but treated as animals. This is complete in one volume, and that summary doesn’t even come close to explaining how weird it is.

Wails of the Bound: Beta (Kurui Naku no wa Boku no Ban ;β) is a sequel to Walls of the Bound, clearly. It’s more angsty omegaverse shenanigans.

And we also see A Gentle Noble’s Vacation Recommendation 9.

Viz Media has Boy’s Abyss 7, My Name Is Shingo: The Perfect Edition 3, and Vampire Knight Complete Box Set, a 3800-page (!!) box with a day planner and an artbook to boot.

ASH: Whoa!

ANNA: That’s a whole lot of Vampire Knight.

SEAN: Yen On has two light novels out next week: Banished from the Hero’s Party, I Decided to Live a Quiet Life in the Countryside 12 and Wandering Witch: The Journey of Elaina 14.

And two debuts for Yen Press. Days with My Stepsister (Gimai Seikatsu) is the manga adaptation of the light novel Yen also puts out. It runs in Shone Ace plus.

The Guy She Was Interested In Wasn’t a Guy at All (Ki ni Natteru Hito ga Otoko Janakatta) is a yuri title from Kadokawa, based on the serialized manga from Twitter. It has gotten absolutely amazing buzz, and Yen and Kadokawa have been pushing it hard here, as you know if you saw the booth at Anime NYC. Aya has a huge crush on the guy who works at the music store she goes to… not realizing the guy is a girl, Mitsuki, who sits next to her at school.

MICHELLE: Interesting!

ASH: I am very curious about this one!

ANNA: Ooh.

SEAN: Also from Yen Press: Ako and Bambi 3 and Horimiya 17 – Special Edition: A Piece of Memories (the final volume – I think).

ASH: I didn’t realize Horimiya was still going…

SEAN: You know, for a week light on Yen Press, this was a bit ridiculous. What appeals to you?