Michelle Smith

This week, Sean, Michelle, & Anna look at recent releases from Kodansha Comics and Viz Media.

My Little Monster, Vol. 6 | By Robico | Kodansha Comics – Two things stood out the most for me in this volume of My Little Monster. The first was Sasayan, who has been filling the ‘Haru’s male friend’ role since the start, and has had a mild interest in Asako, but whose status as an ‘insider’ – a normal outgoing guy who gets along with everyone – puts him on the wrong footing among this screwed up cast. The second is Shizuku’s mother, whose absence is more telling than her eventual presence. She seems to be a lot like Shizuku, but that’s led to her daughter being starved for affection, and she’s not resented in a good light here. It does allow her to bond more with Haru, though, and as always it’s the character interaction that keeps you coming back to this series.-Sean Gaffney

My Love Story!!, Vol. 3 | By Kazune Kawahara and Aruko | Viz Media – This series continues to be charming, episodic fun. Some of the more amusing highlights of the volume include Takeo and Yamato trying to make sure Sunakawa has a fun birthday, group ice skating (Takeo is a natural), and studying for a mock entrance exam. Takeo’s over-the-top reactions are always great, and I’m really growing fond of Yamato, too. My favorite parts of the series, though, are the more introspective ones. Yamato is painfully yanked out of her blissful reverie with Takeo when she learns that she isn’t his first love, and though he vows to devote himself only to her, he can’t help but help other people (or kitties stuck in traffic) when they are in need. Too, I love that even though Sunakawa sometimes cracks up at his friend’s blunders, he nonetheless respects him deeply. Man, I love this manga. – Michelle Smith

Nisekoi, Vol. 7 | By Naoshi Komi | Viz Media – Speaking of mothers that are just like their daughters, this volume of Nisekoi shows off Chitoge’s workaholic mother, whose fierce, take no prisoners attitude leads everyone to be terrified of her – including her daughter, who calls her “Mother Dearest”, in a nice translation joke by Viz. Luckily, Raku is there to beat some sense into both mother and daughter. The other new character, Paula, a fellow assassin friend of Tsumugi’s, makes less of an impression, possibly as she doesn’t fall for Raku. And Ruri’s growing feelings of… something for Shu are getting more and more obvious. Nisekoi continues to handle its standard harem comedy elements very well, though the ‘balance’ definitely swings towards Chitoge here.-Sean Gaffney

One-Punch Man, Vol. 3 | By One and Yusuke Murata | Viz Media – This volume shows loner superhero Saitama and his pupil the cyborg Genos becoming official after taking the Hero Certification Exam. Genos gets a perfect score and is assigned class S while Saitama aces the physical exam and tanks the written portion, getting a minimum qualification of class C. One-Punch Man’s casual attitude towards the superhero business get him in a bit of trouble with his new colleagues. I’m happy to see a bit more world building in this volume, as the reader gets a flashback to the days when Saitama still had hair and was yet to assume his superhero identities. Seeing new hilarious heroes like Spring Mustachio and a training session between Saitama and Genos brings jokes and rampant descruction that are trademarks of this manga. – Anna N

Say I Love You., Vol. 5 | By Kanae Hazuki | Kodansha Comics – It occurs to me that Say I Love You. features many stock shoujo scenarios—Valentine’s Day, the male lead enjoying a brief career as a popular model, a scheming rival, and the new first year with a thing for the heroine—but deploys and develops them in a more genuine way than is usually the case. I especially like seeing Yamato’s insecurities come to the fore when it turns out that Mei is able to talk to his old middle school friend, Kai, about some things that she hasn’t yet discussed with him. True, I could entirely due without Megumi and her mean-girl antics, but at least her reign of tyranny was short-lived as Kai’s advice helped Mei to stop falling victim to Megumi’s machinations. I’m looking forward to volume six! – Michelle Smith

This week, Michelle, Sean, & Anna look at recent releases from Seven Seas, Viz Media, Kodansha Comics, and Vertical Comics.

D-Frag!, Vol. 3 | By Tomoya Haruno | Seven Seas – That’s a new character on the cover, and she has potential to be a new harem member, but I think that may end up, as always, taking a back seat to the comedy. Funabori liking Kazama is not as important as Funabori dressing up in a nurse outfit with wings just because she was asked. Likewise, Takao may also have a crush on Kazama, but the jokes still stem from her inability to speak her mind and her large chest, which becomes weaponized here. As for Kazama, he’s made it clear what kind of girls he likes – strong girls who win fights. This is why the tournament arc ends with Kazama vs. Shibasaki – it leads to the most drama AND the most comedy. D-Frag! continues to be hilarious, and a great read.-Sean Gaffney

Knights of Sidonia, Vol. 12 | By Tsutomu Nihei | Vertical Comics – By the end of volume eleven, Knights of Sidonia was starting to feel a bit like “Love Hina in space,” but happily, the focus shifts in this installment from all the females (not necessarily human) who fancy Nagate to a mission to test the capabilities of Sidonia’s new defense cruiser, “Mizuki.” One of the things I really love about this series is the way in which some of said females are proving themselves to be awesome—Izana’s bravery and quick thinking recently resulted in a promotion, and here it’s Yuhata’s turn, as she impressively pilots the cruiser and takes out a cluster ship. I still fear for these characters’ lives constantly—I confess that before I even began the volume I flipped to the end to make sure Tsumugi was okay—so it is wonderful to see them make a bit of headway against their enemy. Ever so highly recommended. – Michelle Smith

Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic, Vol. 9 | By Shinobu Ohtaka | Viz Media – Six months have passed since the battle in Balbadd and Aladdin, Alibaba, and Morgiana are recuperating and training on the island nation of Sindria, where Sinbad is king. And, really, that’s kind of all this volume is—training and learning more about magic and Sindria—and yet it’s still interesting and entertaining. Aladdin and Alibaba each acquire a teacher to help hone their abilities, and while Morgiana does as well, she’s also in a position to augment her already impressive strength courtesy of Alibaba’s djinn, which shares its power with members of his household. For that, she needs a vessel, and for that, she chooses her old slave shackles, choosing to see them now as “a proud symbol of my gratitude.” Next, they’re off to a dungeon to activate her vessel. So, essentially this arc is, like, “Let’s help the badass girl get even more awesome.” I’m down with that! – Michelle Smith

My Love Story!, Vol. 3 | By Kazune Kawahara and Aruko | Viz Media – My Love Story! continues to be consistently heartwarming and hilarious. Takeo’s unconventional romance with Yamato hits some additional milestones in this book as they get lost while hiking and endure an extremely shy trip to the beach with classmates.Takeo and Yamato also take Sunakawa out for his birthday, where they fall over each other in making sure that their friend is having a good time. Sunakawa’s stoic responses contrast with the over to top eager to please mannerisms of the unlikely couple. When Yamato and Takeo study together at his house, his mom reacts in classic fashion to meeting her son’s girlfriend for the first time, as her careful deadpan expression doesn’t hide her enthusiasm in the slightest. I always look forward to this quirky shoujo manga. – Anna N

Say “I Love You”, Vol. 5 | By Kanae Hazuki | Kodansha Comics – Poor communication isn’t fixed overnight, and Mei is lucky that in this volume she gains an ally as well as a strong enemy. Megumi started to show her true colors in the prior volume, but here she goes into full-on evil mode, intent on removing Mei not just from Yamato’s orbit but everyone else she’s now friends with. That said, just like the rest of the cast, Megumi’s backstory seems to hint greater depth is coming besides “I’m the standard evil rival”. This manga’s strength is in showing off the way that its characters think and how they got to be the way they were – and in turn, how it leads to stronger bonds. This has rapidly become one of my favorite shoujo manga. Absolutely recommended. – Sean Gaffney

What Did You Eat Yesterday, Vol. 6 | By Fumi Yoshinaga | Vertical Comics – As tasty as the food looks in this volume (at one point inspiring a serious case of gyoza envy), I most love how Yoshinaga-sensei uses meals and shopping to convey how Shiro and Kenji feel about each other. Both guys cook to cheer the other up, whether it’s Shiro trying to get Kenji to quit apologizing for his jealousy or Kenji trying to help Shiro get over a disappointing verdict at trial, but it’s also revealed that Shiro is so intensely frugal because Kenji isn’t, and he wants to have enough saved for the both of them. And then, once he sees how much Kenji loves having bento in the park, he relaxes his stance on being seen together in public. Never before has two guys going out grocery shopping been so significant! Can I end a review with a <3? – Michelle Smith

This week, Sean, Michelle, and Anna check out recent releases from Yen Press, Seven Seas, Viz Media, and Kodansha Comics.

Barakamon, Vol. 2 | By Satsuki Yoshino | Yen Press – I was a bit surprised at how fast this series went straight to ‘slice-of-life’ – while Handa’s devotion to calligraphy is present throughout, there aren’t as many scenes directly dealing with his struggles as before – r at least they’re more subtle. Riding the two middle schoolers about their own penmanship till they drop certainly speaks volumes. But mostly what we have here is ‘city boy learns life lessons’, in turns heartwarming and humorous. There’s also some otaku humor here, notably Tama’s repressed fujoshi fantasies, which Handa accidentally keeps inspiring. This is still enjoyable, but don’t read it for the plot – though that may change with the arrival of two new people from Handa’s past at the end. – Sean Gaffney

Girls Und Panzer: Little Army, Vol. 1 | By Girls Und Panzer Projekt and Tsuchii | Seven Seas – While Yukari is the star of the main manga adaptation, Miho is the star of the FRANCHISE, so it’s no surprise that she gets a spinoff here. This 2-volume series shows her as a more innocent elementary schooler, loving her tanks and her sister but already feeling a lot of family pressure, and not being helped by the new girl being a classic tsundere with a grudge against her family. Much of this is cute slice-of-life with tanks, as with the main series, but it’s refreshing to see an unbroken Miho here, even if the author promises the 2nd volume will be more serious. If you enjoy the main manga, and want to see more girls and tanks, this is a good choice – it’s not the fluff you’d expect. – Sean Gaffney

Happy Marriage, Vol. 9 | by Maki Enjoji | Viz Media – I’ve been feeling a little lukewarm about the past couple volumes of Happy Marriage because there were far too many contrived external events that were thwarting the happiness of Chiwa and Hokuto, but I enjoyed this volume so much more because it turned back to focusing on their developing relationship. Chiwa is being menaced and she suspects an ex-girlfriend of Hokuto’s. She and Hokuto end up confronting the woman together and in the process articulate their feelings for each other. A crisis in Hokuto’s family also brings them closer together as they finally deal with the issue of Hokuto’s succession to the family business. When I was reading this volume I was struck again by how much I like Enjoji’s art. She does a great job at portraying the nuanced meanings behind Chiwa and Hokuto’s exchanges as they slowly become a stronger couple. – Anna N

Kimi ni Todoke: From Me to You, Vol. 20 | By Karuho Shiina | Viz Media – I have yet to encounter a bad volume of Kimi ni Todoke, but this is an especially good one. The story feels evenly spread across the characters, especially the three main girls, as they contend first with contemplating their future plans and next with the implications of giving home-made chocolates on Valentine’s Day. I love that Sawako has found her calling (and the great conversation in which she tells Kazehaya about it), but Chizuru and Ayane are even more fascinating to watch, as both are encouraged by their teacher to aim higher. Ayane, especially, has never had something to put her all into, and later wonders if she’s even capable of caring for her boyfriend Kento as much as she should. For the first time, I saw this as more of a coming-of-age manga than a sweet high school romance. Maybe it really could follow them into adulthood without sacrificing quality! – Michelle Smith

Sankarea, Vol. 10 | By Mitsuru Hattori | Kodansha Comics – As we head for the final volume, we’re getting lots of answers here, all being presented by Jogoro’s second wife, whose exposition dump is livened up somewhat by revealing she was sort of an eccentric when she was alive. Zombies finally dying is the order of the day, though – Otoki’s life ends after she’s helped Chizuru refresh his memories, and we learn that his mother crucified her zombie self so as not to risk her children. That leaves us with Rea, and honestly things aren’t looking good there – she’s gone on a rampage and even Chihiro may not be able to save her now. Can this series, which has had a lot to say about life going past the point it should, possibly have a happy ending? – Sean Gaffney

This week, Sean and Michelle take a look at recent releases from Seven Seas, Yen Press, Viz Media, and Kodansha Comics

Alice in the Country of Joker: Nightmare Trilogy, Vol. 2 | By QuinRose and Job | Seven Seas – Slightly better than the first volume, this has an interesting premise in that for once Alice has a repressed memory her love doesn’t want her to see that isn’t about Lorina. The idea of her scribbling in her dictionary is somewhat childish, but that fits the plot pretty well, to be honest. Unfortunately, we keep running into two big problems. First, the art is simply not up to par, frequently looking almost doujinshi-esque, and suggests a rushed product. Secondly, Nightmare just isn’t that good of a romantic hero, not showing off enough cool to make up for his basic flaws. It’s sad that the cutest part of this volume was in a side story which is Alice/Blood. For completists only.-Sean Gaffney

Durarara!! Yellow Scarves Arc, Vol. 2 | By Ryohgo Narita, Suzuhito Yasuda, and Akiyo Satorigi | Yen Press – It’s impressive just how much the narrative is bending itself to make sure that its three leads don’t find out about each other’s secrets. Masaomi *almost* sees Anri here, but Celty manages to rescue her before the damage is done. As you can guess, most of this volume is backstory and buildup, showing why Masaomi is tormented in his relationship with Saki, as well as how Kadota’s gang ties into this (Walker blithely setting thugs on fire is in keeping with this author’s tendency to enjoy psychopathic tendencies). And then there’s Shinra’s father, who is a real loathsome piece of work on all fronts. Ah, DRRR, even your likeable heroes are broken.-Sean Gaffney

Food Wars!, Vol. 3 | By Yuto Tsukuda and Shun Saeki | Viz Media – OK, this series has now fully won me over after its awful start. It’s got just what you want from a Jump series: ridiculous side character, rivals turned friends, ludicrous battles that are also amazing, all involving cooking, and teamwork winning out… well, at least till the end, when Megumi is expelled. I highly doubt that will last, and the cliffhanger suggests a new battle may change the outcome. But it also allows for some heartbreak. There’s a short story at the end that was Saeki’s debut work, showing a typical high school romance and also likely showing why he was paired with a writer for this new project. The main reason to get this is Food Wars, though, and I am looking forward to the next volume.-Sean Gaffney

Haganai: I Don’t Have Many Friends – Club Minutes | By Kurian and Bomi | Seven Seas – This volumes holds together a little better than the previous ‘comedy side stories’ volume, partly due to its focus on holidays, giving it more of a thematic impact. Everyone’s amusing quirks are on display here. Rika makes filthy jokes, Yukimura is deadpan (this time about the Warring States), Sena can’t win at bishoujo games, and Yozora is the most broken of them all. We actually seem to skip past the main release, timeline-wise, as we see Student Council members who are implied to be new regulars here, and seem to have wandered in from a more normal comedy Still, it wasn’t too spoilery, and those who want more Haganai will be happy with what this volume gives them.-Sean Gaffney

Honey Blood Vol. 2 | By Miko Mitsuki | Viz Media – Well, that didn’t end so much as stop. Despite the author’s best efforts to say that this was indeed the ending she had in mind, this ending comes very abruptly and made me raise an eyebrow. (There’s a ‘side’ volume in February, that seems to consist of the ‘pilot episode’ and some side stories.) It’s a surprise as we get a new antagonist vampire introduced here, who’s carried a grudge against Junya since the Edo period and is determined to break up our couple. Add this to Hinata’s worries about whether she can really be what Junya needs, and whether hteir ‘bond’ requires sex in order to work, and you have a tasty little vampire potboiler for supernatural fans. Just… be aware it stops rather than ends. -Sean Gaffney

Knights of Sidonia, Vol. 12 | By Tsutomu Nihei | Vertical Comics – There’s some obvious emotional manipulation going on in this volume, even more so than usual, and yet I still manage to find myself feeling bad for Sho, the newly introduced Honoka clone who is introduced to die tragicaslly, in a callback to events of the first few volumes with Hoshijiro (remember her?). I was less wild about the subplot involving who’s been peeping on the female pilots when they’re changing – naturally, everyone blames Tanikaze, and just as naturally it isn’t him. But if you’re going to introduce harem manga elements in your story, I suppose you have to take the bad with the good. Still, this volume is better off when it’s trying to pull at your heartstrings rather than hit your funnybone.-Sean Gaffney

Magi, Vol. 9 | By Shinobu Ohtaka | Viz Media – A transitional volume of Magi, this serves to a) introduce a whole bunch of new powerful people who serve under Sinbad, including the cover couple, who hate each other so it must be love; b) have a wacky comedic subplot involving Sinbad being accused of raping a girl in her sleep, which I could have done without; and c) introducing a new protagonist, Hakuryu Ren, who initially seems a bit villainous but allies himself with our heroes fairly quickly. Oh yes, and there’s Morgiana, who repurposes the shackles she once wore in slavery into her new magical weapons, which almost makes up for the comedy subplot. A good volume, but I’m more looking forward to what happens next.-Sean Gaffney

Millennium Snow, Vol. 4 | By Bisco Hatori | Viz Media – It’s possibly unfortunate that this came out the same week as the last Honey Blood, as they both feature very similar plotlines, with a vampire from the past arriving to stir things up and ruin our hero’s life. Of course, Toya is far easier to manipulate than Junya, so things work out a lot better for the villain here. It’s up to Chiyuki, now dying again without Toya’s help, to try to figure out what’s really going on. The outcome is not really in doubt, nor is the epilogue,, but it’s still nice to see feelings being returned. Oh yes, there’s also the subplot with Toya’s grandfather, which has a sad and tragic air around it as it deals with senility that comes with old age. A solid, if somewhat stolid, ending for the series.-Sean Gaffney

Voice Over: Seiyu Academy, Vol. 8 | By Maki Minami | Viz Media – We’ve already seen Hime having to deal with her apathetic, neglectful mother earlier in the series. Now we get Senri’s parents, and we find out that things are even rougher here. I love the flashback to Senri’s parents, as it’s framed as a sort of shoujo manga of its own, with two eccentric people meeting cutely and falling for each other. But there’s a reason shoujo mangas often stop before the couple has children (or even a wedding), and this is why: it doesn’t always translate into good parenting. Given Sakura is also the actress who most deeply influenced Hime, and we can see a major roadblock coming up in the next volume or so – assuming Hime gets past admitting that she’s Shiro.-Sean Gaffney

Voice Over!: Seiyu Academy, Vol. 8 | By Maki Minami | Viz Media – Although the regular gang makes an appearance in the first chapter, in which Tsukino finally manages to speak up and convey her feelings, the majority of this volume is devoted to Senri’s childhood. It all starts because he realizes his friendship with Shiro (heroine Hime in disguise) is making him happy, but then he panics because he can’t tell if it’s genuine happiness or just a performance. It turns out his famous actress mother was never her genuine self around Senri, always taking on a variety of roles and not considering how this would affect her son and his ability to relate to others. I suppose this could be treading perilously close to one of those shoujo manga that becomes mostly about the lead guy’s angst, but I actually quite enjoyed it, especially the story of Senri’s first cat friend. I find I’m sad that there are only four volumes left! – Michelle Smith

Witchcraft Works, Vol. 2 | By Ryu Mizunagi | Vertical Comics – There are some interesting battles and discussion of witchcraft here in this second volume, but for the most part the emphasis remains firmly on comedy, particularly with the introduction of Honoka’s overprotective little sister Kasumi, who it turns out is also a witch. If you saw the words ‘overprotective little sister’ and groaned at the thought of what was to come, congratulations, you win the otaku cliche bingo card. She sleeps in his bed, she takes baths with him, etc. No surprise then that Honoka (also for everyone’s safety) moves into Ayaka’s high rise, though they may not live long enough to enjoy it. I’m not sure I’m going to keep up with this one, but it’s fun for fans of supernatural comedy, even if a bit predictable.-Sean Gaffney