Michelle Smith

SEAN: It was the end of Julys, it was the beginning of Augusts…

We start off with Airship, which has print for Though I Am an Inept Villainess: Tale of the Butterfly-Rat Body Swap in the Maiden Court 7.

And the early digital debut is I’m the Heroic Knight of an Intergalactic Empire! (Atashi wa Seikan Kokka no Eiyū Kishi!). As the title might suggest, it’s a spinoff of I’m the Evil Lord of an Intergalactic Empire!. It seems to star a knight? I suspect things will go badly for her, given the parent series.

ASH: Seems accurate.

SEAN: And there’s also Free Life Fantasy Online: Immortal Princess 7.

Cross Infinite World has two debuts. The Former Assassin Who Got Reincarnated as a Noble Girl (Moto Ansatsusha, Tenseishite Kizoku no Reijou ni Narimashita) is sort of a villainess reversal, as a former killer is now nobility… but this is still Villainess nobility, so she can’t just relax.

Let’s Get to Villainessin’: Stratagems of a Former Commoner (Saa, Akuyaku Reijou no wo Shigoto wo Hajimemashou: Moto Shomin no Watashi ga Idomu Zunousen) is one of those “modern-day Japan” stories rather than fantasy Europe world, but the plot remains the same: our heroine has to survive three years pretending to be an elite at a rich academy. The catch: this is an otome game, and the girl she’s replacing is the villainess. Great title, if nothing else.

MICHELLE: I gotta admit, “Villainessin'” definitely caught my eye.

ANNA: Amazing.

ASH: So many villainesses these days! Villainii?

SEAN: Also from CIW: The Abandoned Heiress Gets Rich with Alchemy and Scores an Enemy General! 3.

Hanashi Media has a debut. Observation Records of My Fiancée: The Misadventures of a Self-Proclaimed Villainess (Jishou Akuyaku Reijou na Konyakusha no Kansatsu Kiroku) is a light novel whose manga came out from Alphapolis a while ago. A crown prince is somewhat baffled by his fiancee telling him she’s a villainess who is reincarnated, and she’s trying her hardest to be evil. There’s one slight issue. She’s an idiot.

MICHELLE: Snerk.

ANNA: Ooops!

SEAN: They also have the 2nd volume of Tsukimichi: Moonlit Fantasy.

A quiet week for J-Novel Club. No debuts, but we get The Diary of a Middle-Aged Sage’s Carefree Life in Another World 3, Moon Blossom Asura: The Ruthless Reincarnated Mercenary Forms the Ultimate Army 3, Through the Viewport: Child of a Ruined World 2, The Unwanted Undead Adventurer 13, Villainess Level 99: I May Be the Hidden Boss but I’m Not the Demon Lord 6, and You Were Experienced, I Was Not: Our Dating Story 4.

No debuts for Kodansha Manga either, but we get As a Reincarnated Aristocrat, I’ll Use My Appraisal Skill to Rise in the World 11, A Condition Called Love 9, Fire Force Omnibus 11, The Great Cleric 10, I See Your Face, Turned Away 2, ORIGIN 5, Seraph of the End: Guren Ichinose: Catastrophe at Sixteen 5, and Witch Hat Atelier Kitchen 4.

MICHELLE: A couple of nice shoujo titles in there!

ANNA: I keep meaning to check out Witch Hat Atelier Kitchen!

ASH: I’ve been collecting them! (But still need to read them…)

SEAN: And for digital, we see How to Treat a Lady Knight Right 6, Our Bodies, Entwining, Entwined 8 (the final volume), Saint Cecilia and Pastor Lawrence 13, and Saving Sweets for After-Hours 4.

Seven Seas has a danmei novel debut: Peerless. It’s set in the universe of Thousand Autumns: Qian Qiu, and has two rival cops fight to solve a case and get over their sexual tension.

MICHELLE: This sounds fun.

ANNA: What if the case just increases the sexual tension??????? What will they do?????

ASH: You’ll never guess!

SEAN: Noss and Zakuro is a comedy that runs in East Press’ Matogrosso. It’s a comedy about a vampire mom and her vampire daughter.

Seven Seas also has The Summer You Were There 5, The Titan’s Bride 4, and Yakuza Reincarnation 6.

Steamship debuts I’ll Never Be Your Crown Princess! – Betrothed (Outaishi-hi ni Nante Naritakunai!! Konyakusha-hen), a sequel to the first book which runs in Comic Zero-Sum. It basically sounds like a continuation.

Also from Steamship: Healer for the Shadow Hero 2 and Sundome!! Milky Way 10 (the final volume>.

Tokyopop has A Gentle Noble’s Vacation Recommendation 8.

Yen On has the 7th volume of Sasaki and Peeps.

Meanwhile, Yen Press’ July was so huge that half the titles got bumped a week. There are no debuts, but we get (deep breath) 15 Minutes Before We Really Date 3, Associate Professor Akira Takatsuki’s Conjecture 4, Banished from the Hero’s Party, I Decided to Live a Quiet Life in the Countryside 8, The Demon Sword Master of Excalibur Academy 6, I Want a Gal Gamer to Praise Me 2, In Another World with My Smartphone 12, Kiss the Scars of the Girls 3 (the final volume), Konosuba: God’s Blessing on This Wonderful World! 17, Minato’s Laundromat 3, My Instant Death Ability Is So Overpowered, No One in This Other World Stands a Chance Against Me! —AO— 5 (a JNC print title), The Reformation of the World as Overseen by a Realist Demon King 4, The Saga of Tanya the Evil 23, Saint? No! I’m Just a Passing Beast Tamer! 4, Shy 7, Sword Art Online Progressive Canon of the Golden Rule 2 (the final volume), To Save the World, Can You Wake Up the Morning After with a Demi-Human? 7, Touge Oni: Primal Gods in Ancient Times 4, Trinity Seven Revision 2, The Vampire and His Pleasant Companions 5, and When I Became a Commoner, They Broke Off Our Engagement! 3.

ASH: Dang! At some point every week is going to be a Yen week.

SEAN: Assuming you’re still reading after that block of text, what are you getting?

SEAN: It’s still July, and still hot, but don’t worry, you can relax in the shadow of Yen Press releases.

ASH: That could possibly work.

SEAN: There is one debut this week for Yen On: The Trials of Chiyodaku: Running the Supreme Court of Another World With My Sister (Chiyodaku Ōkoku Judgment: Ane to Ore to de Isekai Saikō Saibansho). A guy and his sister end up in another world. She’s fantastic at law but knows nothing of fantasy worlds or monsters. He’s a gamer who knows all about those things. Together, they fight crime and the cover art. (The cover art wins, sadly.)

ASH: Wow. The law angle is at least vaguely intriguing, but, wow.

SEAN: And there’s also a side story from a popular franchise. Bungo Stray Dogs: Another Story: Yukito Ayatsuji vs. Natsuhiko Kyougoku features, well, those two characters, I guess.

Also from Yen On: Agents of the Four Seasons 3, Associate Professor Akira Takatsuki’s Conjecture 4, Bofuri: I Don’t Want to Get Hurt, so I’ll Max Out My Defense 13, Bride of the Barrier Master 3, Classroom for Heroes 2, The Contract Between a Specter and a Servant 2, The Detective Is Already Dead 8, The Eminence in Shadow 5, The Executioner and Her Way of Life 8, The Genius Prince’s Guide to Raising a Nation Out of Debt (Hey, How About Treason?) 12, Ishura 7, The Magical Revolution of the Reincarnated Princess and the Genius Young Lady 7, Our Last Crusade or the Rise of a New World 13, Re:ZERO -Starting Life in Another World- 25, and Suppose a Kid from the Last Dungeon Boonies Moved to a Starter Town 15 (the final volume).

ASH: You did warn it was a Yen week, but that’s still quite the list.

SEAN: And then there’s Yen Press debuts. Aria of the Beech Forest (Buna no Mori no Aria) is a shoujo series from Asuka. It’s about a witch who lives in the woods and a talking wolf she finds one day.

ASH: Witch manga seems to be a particularly popular (or at least common) genre these days.

SEAN: Excellent Property, Rejects for Residents: Baths, Lavatories, and Angels Are Communal (Yuuryou Bukken Mou Dame Sou – Furo, Toilet to Tenshi wa Kyoudou desu) is the latest ecchi shonen manga from the creator of Plunderer and Heaven’s Lost Property. An angel tries to help a loser guy who lives in an apartment house full of losers.

GOGOGOGO-GO-GHOST! is a josei title from Comic Bridge. After being fired from her OL job, a woman is living on temp gigs and desperation. Is she desperate enough to team up with a ghost lady?

MICHELLE: Hm. Josei + ghosts?

ASH: I’m in.

SEAN: Kind of a Wolf (Aimai na Wolf) is a one-shot BL manga from Bloom. When his pet cat sneaks into the apartment of the noisy guy next door, our hero has to sneak in after them… and discovers a secret!

ASH: What could it be?

SEAN: Miss Savage Fang: The Strongest Mercenary in History Is Reincarnated as an Unstoppable Noblewoman (Savage Fang Ojou-sama – Shijou Saikyou no Youhei wa Shijou Saikyou no Bougyaku Reijou to natte Futatabime no Sekai wo Musou suru) is an adaptation of the light novels Yen also releases. It ran in Isekai Young Jump.

My Oh My, Atami-kun (Iyahaya Atami-kun) is a BL manga from Harta. A high school boy is constantly being asked out by girls because of his handsome face. Can’t they realize that he’s gay?

MICHELLE: This looks potentially cute.

SEAN: This Wolf Is Not Scary (Ookami-kun wa Kowakunai) is a BL one-shot from B’s-Lovey Recottia. Wolf boys, rabbit boys, heats… not full on A/B/O, but in the ballpark. Also, two wolf oneshots in the same week?

MICHELLE: Any BL with a wolf in it, nowadays, I basically assume is not gonna be my sort of thing.

SEAN: And also from Yen: The Abandoned Empress 8, Bungou Stray Dogs Wan 8, Chained Soldier 8, Delicious in Dungeon 14 (the final volume), The Eminence in Shadow 10, Game of Familia 4, Honey Lemon Soda 6, I’m Quitting Heroing 6, I’ve Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years and Maxed Out My Level 13, My Poison Princess Is Still Cute 3 (the final volume), No Longer Heroine 7, The Princess of Convenient Plot Devices 5, Reign of the Seven Spellblades 7, A Returner’s Magic Should Be Special 4, and Why Raeliana Ended Up at the Duke’s Mansion 7.

Viz has one debut, another collection of horror, Alley: Junji Ito Story Collection (Rojiura). These ran in Monthly Halloween.

ASH: I’m behind in my Junji Ito reading, but do plan on picking this up.

SEAN: They also have Boy’s Abyss 6, a re-release of the GoGo Monster box, and JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Part 6–Stone Ocean 5.

ASH: Oh!

SEAN: Two debuts from Tokyopop. Jealousy Blinds Love (Shitto wa ai o Kumoraseru) is a one-shot from from RED. Can BL and piano exist together?

Too Close to Fall in Love (Koi o Suru ni wa Chika Sugiru) is also a from RED oneshot. What about a “we’re stepsiblings!” romance, but BL?

And they have Lullaby of the Dawn 4 (which is also from RED, in case you were worried).

Steamship has a 3rd manga volume of The Villainess and the Demon Knight.

Square Enix manga debuts Soul Eater NOT!: The Perfect Edition. This spinoff of Soul Eater was far less popular but had far more yuri subtext. It ran in Shonen Gangan.

And they’ve also got The Villainess’s Guide to (Not) Falling in Love 2.

No debuts from Seven Seas, but we do see COLORLESS 7 (the final volume), The Condemned Villainess Goes Back in Time and Aims to Become the Ultimate Villain 2, Ennead 3 (which comes in teen-rated paperback and adult-rated hardcover), His Majesty the Demon King’s Housekeeper 6, Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear 9, and Magical Angel Creamy Mami and the Spoiled Princess 7 (the final volume).

From KUMA we see Qualia Under the Snow (Yuki no Shita no Qualia), a oneshot BL manga from Craft. An extrovert and an introvert find themselves drawn together to help deal with their pasts.

MICHELLE: I’m definitely more interested in traumatized extroverts and introverts than wolves and stepsiblings!

ASH: Ha!

SEAN: Kodansha Books has a 5th volume of Saving 80,000 Gold in Another World for my Retirement.

No print debuts for Kodansha Manga, but we do see Blue Lock 13, Gachiakuta 3, The Heroic Legend of Arslan 19, I Can’t Say No to the Lonely Girl 3, King in Limbo Omnibus 3 (the final volume), Sailor Moon Naoko Takeuchi Collection 9, and A Sign of Affection 9.

There is a digital debut, just announced at AX. My Journey to Her (Boku ga Watashi ni Naru Tame ni) is a complete in one volume series that ran in Weekly Morning. It’s a memoir of Yuna receiving a diagnosis of gender dysphoria, and the journey to getting gender-affirming surgery that Yuna, with her family and friends, goes through.

ASH: It’s really interesting to me how many memoirs and autobiographical works of this type were seeing translated. Not that I’m complaining!

Also digital: Am I Actually the Strongest? 11, A Couple of Cuckoos 18, DAYS 42 (the final volume), Gamaran: Shura 22, and Teppu 8 (the final volume).

MICHELLE: Ah! I hadn’t realized DAYS was ending. Time for a marathon.

SEAN: J-Novel Club has a lot, including three debuts. The 100th Time’s the Charm: She Was Executed 99 Times, So How Did She Unlock “Super Love” Mode?! (99-kai Danzaisareta Loop Reijō Desu ga Konse wa “Chōzetsu Aisare Mode” Desutte!?: Shinno Chikara ni Mezamete Hajimaru 100-kaime no Jinsei), the manga adaptation of the light novel JNC already released.that runs in Drecomics.

From Two-Bit Baddie to Total Heartthrob: This Villainess Will Cross-Dress to Impress! (Mob Dōzen no Akuyaku Reijō wa Dansō Shite Kōryaku Taishō no Za wo Nerau) is a light novel about a girl reincarnated in an otome game as… a minor villainess. She decides to seduce the main character by dressing as a man. Unfortunately, everyone else has the same idea. This is infamous in Japan for its art that commits to the bit – the art makes it look BL as the cross-dressing women are so good at it.

MICHELLE: This sounds kooky but potentially fun.

ASH: Agreed!

SEAN: The Reincarnation of the Strongest Exorcist in Another World (Saikyou Onmyouji no Isekai Tenseiki ~Geboku no Youkaidomo ni Kurabete Monster ga Yowaisugirundaga~) is the manga adaptation of the light novel JNC is also releasing. It runs in Gaugau Monster.

Also from J-Novel Club: the 3rd D-Genesis: Three Years after the Dungeons Appeared manga, The Frontier Lord Begins with Zero Subjects 4, the 8th Isekai Tensei: Recruited to Another World manga, My Stepmom’s Daughter Is My Ex 11, Nia Liston: The Merciless Maiden 3, The Oblivious Saint Can’t Contain Her Power: Forget My Sister! Turns Out I Was the Real Saint All Along! 3, The Otome Heroine’s Fight for Survival 2, the 10th Record of Wortenia War manga, Seventh 8, The Troubles of Miss Nicola the Exorcist 3 (the final volume), The Water Magician 2, and Young Lady Albert Is Courting Disaster 7.

ASH: That is a decent sized list, too.

Ghost Ship has Ayakashi Triangle 10. There’s also, in Mature titles from Seven Seas, Remnants of Filth: Yuwu 4.

A new title from Fantagraphics: Search and Destroy. Have you ever wondered what the classic Tezuka series Dororo would look like in the hands of the author of Bambi and Her Pink Gun? Wonder no more. This ran in TezuComi, a magazine devoted to Tezuka tributes, reimaginings, etc.

ASH: Really looking forward to this one.

SEAN: Lastly, we have Airship. In print they have Riku Can’t Be a Goddess (Riku-kun wa, Megami ni Narenai). The story of a girl who serves as a dress form for her crush who wants to cross-dress and uses her to see how to be feminine. Then he kisses her and she flees. This apparently is part of an anthology about their high school class and identity in general.

And for early digital we get the 2nd and final volume of The Evil Queen’s Beautiful Principles and Sword of the Demon Hunter: Kijin Gentōshō 6.

I’m reduced to begging for mercy. How about you?

SEAN: All English manga will be in French for this week only. After that, your copies will return to English.

MICHELLE: Does that mean that manga I own in French will be in English this week? *hurries off to read some Mitsuru Adachi*

ANNA: Sacre bleu!

ASH: Ah, if only!

SEAN: We start with Airship. In print, they give us The Case Files of Jeweler Richard 8 and Reborn as a Space Mercenary: I Woke Up Piloting the Strongest Starship! 9.

The digital early debut is Ripping Someone Open Only Makes Them Bleed (Hara o Wattara Chi ga Deru Dakesa), the latest trauma from the creator of I Want to Eat Your Pancreas. A high school girl has what seems to be the perfect life… and she’s made sure her every move and utterance is done to help that along. Then a boy shows up who looks just like the main character of her favorite book, and bad things start to follow.

ASH: I’ll admit to being curious.

SEAN: Also out in early digital: I’m the Evil Lord of an Intergalactic Empire! 7 and The Most Heretical Last Boss Queen: From Villainess to Savior 7.

Apologies to Dark Horse, I was distracted by the Lovecraft and missed that the 5th Cat + Gamer manga came out this week.

ASH: It was pretty distracting. But Cat + Gamer is definitely worth mentioning, too.

SEAN: Next week they have a debut: Captain Momo’s Secret Base (Momo Kanchou no Himitsu Kichi), a Rakuen Le Paradis story about a starship captain dealing with remote work and bureaucracy. It’s from the creator of Wandering Island and Emanon.

ANNA: Ca peut être intéressant.

ASH: Oooooooh.

SEAN: Denpa, according to retailers, has the 2nd volume of Mobile Suit Gundam: Char’s Counterattack.

ANNA: Char Aznable est très cool.

ASH: Oui.

SEAN: Ghost Ship has the 8th volume of The Witches of Adamas.

J-Novel Club also snuck out a release this week, so you should be able to get the 4th Blade & Bastard light novel as you read this. To be fair to me, this wasn’t announced till about 5 days ago.

ASH: That is entirely fair (or unfair, depending on how you look at it).

SEAN: From J-Novel Club next week, we get the 4th 8th Loop for the Win! With Seven Lives’ Worth of XP and the Third Princess’s Appraisal Skill, My Behemoth and I Are Unstoppable! manga volume, The Conqueror from a Dying Kingdom 7, the 2nd Death’s Daughter and the Ebony Blade manga volume, Making Magic: The Sweet Life of a Witch Who Knows an Infinite MP Loophole 8, and the 2nd A Wild Last Boss Appeared! manga volume.

No debuts for Kodansha Manga, but we see in print I’m Giving the Disgraced Noble Lady I Rescued a Crash Course in Naughtiness 6, Kei X Yaku: Bound By Law 2, Ninja Vs. Gokudo 2, Parasyte Full Color Collection 7, and When Will Ayumu Make His Move? 16.

And for digital we get Anyway, I’m Falling in Love with You 8, The Beast Player 3, Hozuki’s Coolheadedness 21, I Left my A-Rank Party to Help My Former Students Reach the Dungeon Depths! 5, and Our Fake Marriage 14.

From One Peace Books we get Farming Life in Another World 10.

The debut from Seven Seas is a yuri manga, Throw Away the Suit Together (Kimi to Shiranai Natsu ni Naru) features two young women, bowed down by societal expectations, throwing it all away and moving to an island. Of course, life is not that easy…

ASH: If only it was!

SEAN: We also see The Duke of Death and His Maid 13, Mysterious Disappearances 2, No Longer Allowed In Another World 6, Sheep Princess in Wolf’s Clothing 3, The Skull Dragon’s Precious Daughter 4, The Villainess Who Has Been Killed 108 Times: She Remembers Everything! 3, and The World’s Fastest Level Up 3.

We have a debut from Square Enix, Just Like Mona Lisa (Seibetsu “Mona Lisa” no Kimi e), from Gangan Online. In a world where people are genderless till they’re 12, and over 2 years become the gender they wish to be, our protagonist is 18 and yet still genderless. Will confessions – from a boy and a girl – help them decide?

ASH: Hmmm.

SEAN: And we see The Great Jahy Will Not Be Defeated! 9.

Tokyopop debuts both a light novel and a manga, the same title. My Beautiful Man (Utsukushii Kare) is a Chara title (the manga, at least) about a guy with a stutter who tends to be used by the popular group as a dogsbody… but that’s OK, because the most popular guy is SO HOT.

MICHELLE: Snerk.

ANNA: Snerk (en Francais!)

SEAN: Tokyopop also has the 7th and final volume of The Fox & Little Tanuki.

Debuting from Udon Entertainment is My Stepmom’s Daughter Is My Ex (Mamahaha no Tsurego ga Moto Kanodatta), whose light novel J-Novel Club has been releasing. A boy and a girl who dated in middle school… then broke up badly… now find they’re stepsiblings. It runs in Dra-Dra-Sharp#.

Debuting from Viz is Battle Royale: Enforcers, the 3rd in the Battle Royale manga series, which runs in Bessatsu Young Champion. You know the plot.

We’re also getting Haikyu!! in 3-in-1 volumes, with the first shipping next week. This is a Shonen Jump title about volleyball. You know it.

MICHELLE: Omnibus editions are very nice for sports manga!

ANNA: Mais oui!

Also from Viz: Dandadan 8, Dark Gathering 8, Persona 5 12, Record of Ragnarok 11, Seraph of the End 30, Snowball Earth 2, Steel of the Celestial Shadows 3, and Undead Unluck 16.

ASH: I really ought to give Steel of the Celestial Shadows a try.

SEAN: Lastly we have Yen Press, who are sneaking two releases out ahead of the deluge the week after next. Penguin Highway is a manga adaptation of the novel of the same name, which ran in my nemesis, Comic Alive. Yen is releasing it as one complete omnibus.

ASH: Oh, I actually just saw an early copy of this! And I really enjoyed the original novel.

SEAN: And we get an artbook: Yana Toboso Artworks Black Butler 4.

Does anything here appeal?

SEAN: This list is being written for you in the small, brief moments between terrible bouts of WEATHER.

ASH: I’ll take whatever relief I can get!

SEAN: As I mentioned last week, J-Novel Club has now moved all its print releases to be distributed by Yen Press. So Yen has Ascendance of a Bookworm 25, Full Metal Panic: Short Stories 2 and Otherside Picnic Omnibus 4 in print. For those who haven’t been following Otherside Picnic, this is the one that made Tumblr go absolutely batshit.

ASH: In a good way, bad way, or both?

SEAN: Viz Media has a debut, another Naruto manga adaptation of one of the light novels that came after the main manga series. If that makes sense. This is Naruto: Konoha’s Story—The Steam Ninja Scrolls: The Manga (Naruto: Konoha Shinden – Yukemuri Ninpouchou) and it ran in Shonen Jump +.

Also from Viz: Devil’s Candy 4, Disney Twisted-Wonderland: The Manga – Book of Heartslabyul 4, Fly Me to the Moon 24, Helck 10, Kirby Manga Mania 7, Komi Can’t Communicate 30, and Yashahime: Princess Half-Demon 5.

ASH: I just recently got my hands on some more of Devil’s Candy.

SEAN: Tokyopop has If My Favorite Pop Idol Made It to the Budokan, I Would Die 7 and Watch Dogs Tokyo 2.

SuBLime debuts My Dearest Patrolman (Boku no Omawari-san), which runs in the magazine moment (with the small letter, apparently). Ex-cop who now runs a shop is beloved by his junior, who is still a cop. What happens when they get into a relationship?

They also have a 2nd volume of Engage.

From Square Enix we get Otherside Picnic 10 and The Strongest Sage with the Weakest Crest 19.

Seven Seas has one debut, Re-Living My Life with a Boyfriend Who Doesn’t Remember Me (Shi ni Modori no Mahou Gakkou Seikatsu wo, Moto Koibito to Prologue Kara (※Tadashi, Koukando wa Zero)), an adaptation of the light novel series released by Cross Infinite World. A girl and her beloved are killed, and she returns to her 7-year-old body with all her past memories… except how she was killed. Worse, the same thing did not happen to her boyfriend, and he thinks she’s a pain! This runs in Flos Comic.

ASH: To be fair, a lot of seven-year-olds can be a bit of a pain from time to time.

SEAN: Also from Seven Seas: Bite Maker: The King’s Omega 11 (the final volume), Cinderella Closet 6, Daily Report About My Witch Senpai 3, Delinquent Daddy and Tender Teacher 4, MoMo -the blood taker- 9 (also a final volume), Soara and the House of Monsters 3, and Uzaki-chan Wants to Hang Out! 11.

And from their danmei line, we get Thousand Autumns: Qian Qiu 5, the final volume. It also has a special edition with postcards, stickers, etc.

ASH: Sweet.

SEAN: Kodansha Manga have a box set out next week, Hitorijime My Hero Manga Box Set 1, which has the first 6 volumes.

Also in print: The Darwin Incident 6, In the Clear Moonlit Dusk 7 and Shikimori’s Not Just a Cutie 17.

MICHELLE: I should check out In the Clear Moonlit Dusk at some point.

SEAN: Just announced at AX, digitally we get the debut of Tokyo Tarareba Girls Returns 2, Vol. 1. (Not to be confused with Tokyo Tarareba Girls Returns, the one shot that came out here four years ago.) Same author, different characters, same premise. It ran in Kiss.

MICHELLE: !!!!!

ANNA: Woah!

ASH: Oh, very nice!

SEAN: Also digital: Because I, the True Saint, was Banished, that Country is Done For! 4, Drops of God: Mariage 7, Gang King 19, The God-Tier Guardian and the Love of Six Princesses 13, and MF Ghost 19.

Kaiten Books has a debut, in both print and digital. Blue Archive: Problem Solver 68 Business Diary (Blue Archive: Benriya 68 Gyoumu Nisshi) is a spinoff of the popular smartphone game, and it runs in Comic Bushiroad Web. It seems to be an “a day in the life” sort of title.

ASH: Huh!

SEAN: J-Novel Club has one debut. The Death of the Skeleton Swordsman: Dominating as a Cursed Saint (Kotsugai no Kensei ga Shi wo Togeru: Noroware Seija no Gakuin Musō) is a new light novel in the subgenre of “I’m a skeleton” titles. Though apparently this guy doesn’t stay a skeleton for long, but instead ends up at… sigh… a magical academy. Where he’s the strongest one of all. Yeah.

ANNA: Funny how that keeps happening.

ASH: Staying a skeleton would have made it more interesting, I think.

SEAN: We also see: Ascendance of a Bookworm 32, Ascendance of a Bookworm Fanbook 4, the 16th Black Summoner manga, I Surrendered My Sword for a New Life as a Mage 7, A Livid Lady’s Guide to Getting Even: How I Crushed My Homeland with My Mighty Grimoires 2, Magic Stone Gourmet: Eating Magical Power Made Me The Strongest 6, and Reborn to Master the Blade: From Hero-King to Extraordinary Squire 11.

Ghost Ship has I’m Not a Succubus! 5 and Please Go Home, Miss Akutsu! 6.

Dark Horse Comics has a deluxe, hardcover, 630-page edition of its HP Lovecraft’s At the Mountains of Madness manga, which they released normally in two volumes in 2019.

ASH: It is an excellent adaptation which should benefit nicely from the deluxe treatment.

SEAN: In print titles, Airship has Loner Life in Another World 9 and Reincarnated Into a Game as the Hero’s Friend: Running the Kingdom Behind the Scenes 2.

And for early digital we get Trapped in a Dating Sim: The World of Otome Games is Tough for Mobs 12 and The Weakest Tamer Began a Journey to Pick Up Trash 7.

So, what do you — oops, tornado warning and hurricane warning. Gotta go.

SEAN: Is the year really half over? Years aren’t what they used to be.

ASH: They really aren’t.

SEAN: Airship has one print title, the 6th volume of Raven from the Inner Palace.

ASH: I really need to catch up on this series before I get any further behind.

SEAN: Debuting digitally – the same week as its anime adaptation – is Too Many Losing Heroines! (Make Heroine ga Oosugiru!), a romcom about (sigh) a plain, boring guy who suddenly finds that all the hot, popular girls in his class are confessing to the guys they like… and being shot down! What’s going on here?

Also in early digital: Classroom of the Elite: Year 2 9 and Reincarnated as a Dragon Hatchling 7.

Cross Infinite World debuts Soup Forest: The Story of the Woman Who Speaks with Animals and the Former Mercenary (Soup no Mori: Doubutsu to Kaiwa Suru Olivia to Moto Youhei Arthur no Monogatari). A woman who can hear the inner thoughts of humans and animals has spent her life either shunned or avoiding people, but then she meets a young man while working at her restaurant in the forest…

ASH: Okay, I’ll admit, that premise does check quite a few boxes for me, though not necessarily in a combination I was expecting.

ANNA: Does her forest restaurant also have jam? This is what I want to know.

SEAN: Cross Infinite World also have The Inconvenient Life of an Arousing Priestess 2 and Lovestruck Prince! I’ll Fight the Heroine for My Villainess Fiancée! 3 (the final volume).

Per retailers, Denpa Books has a 3rd volume of Baby Bear’s Bakery.

From Ghost Ship, we get Booty Royale: Never Go Down Without a Fight! 13-14 and Creature Girls: A Hands-On Field Journal in Another World 10.

J-Novel Club has one digital debut (actually, no more print for JNC, as they finished moving all their print titles over to Yen Press to distribute). To Another World… with Land Mines! (Isekai teni, Jirai-tsuki) is a manga adaptation of the light novel they’ve been releasing for a while, as a sensible guy gets isekai’d with his classmates, and tries to stop them accidentally being really stupid. It runs in Shonen Ace Plus.

ASH: Oh, I had missed that bit of news, though I’m glad the partnership with Yen Press is going well.

SEAN: Also from JNC, The Banished Former Hero Lives as He Pleases 2, the 2nd manga volume of The Banished Former Hero Lives as He Pleases, I’m a Noble on the Brink of Ruin, So I Might as Well Try Mastering Magic 2, In Another World With My Smartphone 29, and When Supernatural Battles Became Commonplace 11.

No debuts for Kodansha Manga, but we see, in print, A-DO 3, Anyway, I’m Falling in Love with You 3, Bless 2, A Brief Moment of Ichika 2, Medalist 3, Rent-A-Girlfriend 25 (it got bumped), and To Your Eternity 20.

And digitally we see Blue Lock 26, How to Grill Our Love 9, LIFE 16, Matcha Made in Heaven 9, Those Snow White Notes 19, and Tying the Knot with an Amagami Sister 14.

One Peace Books has I Hear the Sunspot: Four Seasons 2.

MICHELLE: I really want to read this. Someday. Sigh.

ASH: I have been greatly enjoying I Hear the Sunspot.

ANNA: I need to get caught up too!

SEAN: No debuts for Seven Seas either, but we see Berserk of Gluttony 10, Dragon Goes House-Hunting 10 (the final volume), The Hidden Dungeon Only I Can Enter 11, Homunculus 9-10 (also a final volume), Malevolent Spirits: Mononogatari 7, Modern Dungeon Capture Starting with Broken Skills 2, My New Life as a Cat 6, The Saint’s Magic Power is Omnipotent: The Other Saint 4 (also also a final volume), and Servamp 20.

ASH: This would be a good time for me to actually give Homunculus a try, then.

SEAN: Square Enix has The Angel Next Door Spoils Me Rotten 2 and Victoria’s Electric Coffin 2.

Viz Media continues the trend of no debuts. But we see Blue Box 11, Kimi ni Todoke: From Me to You: Soulmate 2, Like a Butterfly 7, Marriage Toxin 3, Moriarty the Patriot 16, One Piece 106, Tamon’s B-Side 4, Wolf Girl and Black Prince 8, and World Trigger 26.

MICHELLE: I’m looking forward to more Soulmate (though perhaps I’m in the minority there) and eager to catch up on Tamon’s B-Side, as well.

ANNA: Oooh, more Like a Butterfly!!

SEAN: And that’s it! Has there been a shorter week lately? I don’t think so.

SEAN: The end of June, and if you’re in North America, dangerously high temperatures. Stay inside with manga.

MICHELLE: Good plan.

ASH: I do like manga more than I like the heat.

SEAN: Yen Press has one straggler, the third volume of Pandora Seven.

From Viz Media we get Fist of the North Star 13 and My Name Is Shingo: The Perfect Edition 2.

ASH: An excellent Viz Media week.

SEAN: Tokyopop has A Gentle Noble’s Vacation Recommendation 8, Never Let Go 2, and Our Not-So-Lonely Planet Travel Guide 5.

We get Soul Eater: The Perfect Edition 15 from Square Enix.

Seven Seas brings out the big guns for next week. Gravitation: Collector’s Edition is a deluxe large-trim omnibus edition of one of the iconic 1990s BL series. New translation as well. A rock singer gets his lyrics trashed by a handsome novelist. What follows is some of the most iconic soap opera trash out there. If you were too young to understand Gen-X fandom, this will help.

MICHELLE: Haha. This is one case where I think the anime is better than the manga.

ANNA: Oh, I remember Gravitation!

ASH: Sure takes me back.

SEAN: The other debut is also BL: Stay By My Side After the Rain (Ameagari no Bokura ni Tsuite), a nice little romance about a jaded office worker who reunites with his high school crush.

MICHELLE: Looks potentially cute!

ASH: D’awww.

SEAN: Also from Seven Seas: 7th Time Loop: The Villainess Enjoys a Carefree Life Married to Her Worst Enemy! 5, The Dragon Knight’s Beloved 7, I Got Caught Up In a Hero Summons, but the Other World was at Peace! 8, Machimaho: I Messed Up and Made the Wrong Person Into a Magical Girl! 12, Reincarnated Into a Game as the Hero’s Friend: Running the Kingdom Behind the Scenes 2, The Saint’s Magic Power is Omnipotent 9, and Trapped in a Dating Sim: The World of Otome Games is Tough for Mobs 10.

One Peace Books has Tales of the Tendo Family 2.

MICHELLE: I should read this.

ASH: I really liked the first volume.

SEAN: KUMA is listed as having a debut out next week. Terano-kun & Kumazaki-kun is a BL title from Qpa about a student council president and a scary-looking yankee who are a couple… and the scary-looking one’s the uke!

MICHELLE: This one has a fun cover.

ANNA: Sounds cute.

ASH: I have a soft spot for yankee BL.

SEAN: KUMA is also listed as having Happy Crappy Life 3 out next week. (The usual Denpa/KUMA warnings apply.)

ASH: Fair.

SEAN: Kodansha Books has a 5th volume of As a Reincarnated Aristocrat, I’ll Use My Appraisal Skill to Rise in the World.

Debuting from Kodansha Manga is Kaina of the Great Snow Sea (Ooyukiumi no Kaina), the latest Tsutomu Nihei series, though the art is now being done by Itoe Takemoto, who also draws The Beast Player. A young tree-dweller who thinks his people are the last ones alive finds out that’s not actually true. It runs in Shonen Sirius.

MICHELLE: I will likely miss Nihei’s art, but generally enjoy his works, so I will give it a chance.

ASH: Same.

SEAN: Kodansha Manga also has a debut from Kaori Ozaki: Mermaid Prince (Ningyo Ouji). This is actually a short story collection, with the title manga being the main story. It’s done in one, and ran in Wings, making its genre “whatever Wings is”.

MICHELLE: I have liked the Ozaki I have read previously!

ANNA: Oooh, I like Ozaki and non-specific genres!

ASH: I will always pick up an Ozaki manga.

SEAN: And the debuts keep coming, as we also see My Noisy Roommate: The Roof Over My Head Comes with Monsters and a Hottie (Noisy Roommate – Ienashi ni Natta node Ikemen to Kaii Tsuki Bukken de Doukyo Hajimemashita), a BL-ish series from Palcy. This looks like it’s a “normal guy winds up living with weird supernatural folks” sort of series.

MICHELLE: I am just constitutionally unable to resist this.

ASH: It’s a subgenre that I tend to enjoy, too.

SEAN: Also in print: EDENS ZERO 29, Initial D Omnibus 2, Nina the Starry Bride 5, Saving 80,000 Gold in Another World for My Retirement 7, Shangri-La Frontier 12, A Sign of Affection Omnibus 2, and Super Morning Star 4 (the final volume).

ANNA: Always here to cheer on the print editions of Nina the Starry Bride and Sign of Affection!

ASH: I really need to get caught up with both of those.

SEAN: No digital debuts, but we do see The Café Terrace and Its Goddesses 13, Chihiro-kun Only Has Eyes for Me 10, Gamaran: Shura 21, My Home Hero 17, The Slime Diaries: That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime 7, and You’re My Cutie 8.

No debuts for J-Novel Club either, but we have new volumes. Back to the Battlefield: The Veteran Heroes Return to the Fray! 4, Chillin’ in Another World with Level 2 Super Cheat Powers 14, Chivalry of a Failed Knight 2, Earl and Fairy 6, Forget Being the Villainess, I Want to Be an Adventurer’s 3rd manga volume, Heavenly Swords of the Twin Stars 2, and An Introvert’s Hookup Hiccups: This Gyaru Is Head Over Heels for Me! 7.

Hanashi Media has the 9th and final volume of Another World Survival: Min-maxing my Support and Summoning Magic.

Ghost Ship features a 2nd volume of Becoming a Princess Knight and Working at a Yuri Brothel.

Lastly, Airship, in print, has the 2nd volume of The Condemned Villainess Goes Back in Time and Aims to Become the Ultimate Villain.

And in early digital we see Raven of the Inner Palace 6 and Though I Am an Inept Villainess: Tale of the Butterfly-Rat Body Swap in the Maiden Court 7.

What manga is keeping you cool?

SEAN: Despite various difficulties, Manga the Week of lives on!

ASH: Forward!

SEAN: We start with Airship, which has one print volume, Failure Frame: I Became the Strongest and Annihilated Everything With Low-Level Spells 10.

While early digital gives us Loner Life in Another World 9 and A Tale of the Secret Saint 6.

A debut for Dark Horse Comics, Danganronpa 2: Chiaki Nanami’s Goodbye Despair Quest (Super Danganronpa 2 – Nanami Chiaki no Sayonara Zetsubou Daibouken) is a retelling of the events of the second game from Chiaki’s point of view. It ran in Comic Blade.

Not Ghost Ship but mature, Seven Seas has a 6th volume of Love is an Illusion!.

No debuts for J-Novel Club next week, but we do see D-Genesis: Three Years after the Dungeons Appeared 6, Demon Lord, Retry! R 6, I Could Never Be a Succubus! 3, the 4th manga volume of I’ll Never Set Foot in That House Again!, My Magical Career at Court: Living the Dream After My Nightmare Boss Fired Me from the Mages’ Guild! 4, and RVing My Way into Exile with My Beloved Cat: This Villainess Is Trippin’ 2.

No debuts for Kodansha Manga either, but we do see, in print, I Was Reincarnated as the 7th Prince so I Can Take My Time Perfecting My Magical Ability 12, A Kingdom of Quartz 2, Medaka Kuroiwa is Impervious to My Charms 7, Ogami-san Can’t Keep It In 5, Pass the Monster Meat, Milady! 4, Peach Boy Riverside 14, Shonen Note: Boy Soprano 8 (the final volume), and Vinland Saga Deluxe 3.

MICHELLE: Well, I guess all of the procrastinating I did on Shonen Note means I now get to read the whole thing in one go.

ASH: Saaaaaame. Unrelated, those deluxe editions of Vinland Saga are gorgeous.

SEAN: And digitally we get The Beast Player 2, Gamaran 22 (the final volume, though see Gamaran: Shura), He’s Expecting 3 (the final volume), Issak 8, Mr. Bride 10 (the final volume), ONIMAI: I’m Now Your Sister! 8, Piano Duo for the Left Hand 9 (the final volume), Rent-A-Girlfriend 25 (the fin… no, no, it’s not, this series will never, ever end), Sayabito: Swords of Destiny 3, Undead Girl Murder Farce 6, WIND BREAKER 15, and Ya Boy Kongming! 16.

One Peace Books has the 3rd manga volume of Villainess Level 99: I May Be the Hidden Boss But I’m Not the Demon Lord.

Two debuts for Seven Seas: Chasing Spica (Spica o Tsukamaete) is from Comic Yuri Hime. A girl has been losing to her respectable rival all through high school. Now, in their final year… she gets some blackmail material. A love hotel? With another woman?

ASH: A bit different than Twin Spica, then.

SEAN: Royal Tailor: Clothier to the Crown (Royal Tailor: Oukyuu no Saihoushi) is a josei series from Comic Zero Sum. A young woman dreams of being a tailor, but unfortunately, she lives in a world that discriminates against humans. Will her fortunes turn around?

ANNA: Hooray for josei!

ASH: Indeed! I would totally read this.

SEAN: Also from Seven Seas: The Invincible Shovel 7 (the final volume), My Stepmother and Stepsisters Aren’t Wicked 4, Pandora in the Crimson Shell: Ghost Urn 18, Reborn as a Space Mercenary: I Woke Up Piloting the Strongest Starship! 7, Reincarnated as a Sword: Another Wish 6 (the final volume), There’s No Freaking Way I’ll be Your Lover! Unless… 5, Tokyo Revengers 21-22, and The Tree of Death: Yomotsuhegui 2.

Square Enix has The Girl I Like Forgot Her Glasses 10.

The debut for Tokyopop is Sweet for Sweets and Foreigners (Koisuru Okashi to Etranger), a josei title from Comic Qurie. A woman who’s good at sales but bad at life meets a handsome Frenchman.

ANNA: Even more josei!

SEAN: They also have Cover My Scars With Your Kiss 2 and Mitsuka 3.

The debut from Viz is Fool Night, a seinen title from Big Comic Superior. This can be summed up as “if you lived in a hellish dystopia, would you fight back, or would you let yourself be turned into a plant? Or both?” For those who want social commentary in manga, this is excellent.

MICHELLE: Sounds potentially interesting!

ANNA: I’m team plant.

ASH: I am intrigued.

SEAN: Viz also has Gokurakugai 2, Insomniacs After School 6, Magilumiere Magical Girls Inc. 2, Mission: Yozakura Family 11, Rooster Fighter 6, Show-ha Shoten! 5, and the 23rd and final volume of YO-KAI WATCH.

MICHELLE: I should probably read Show-ha Shoten!.

ASH: Likewise.

SEAN: That leaves us with Yen. Yen On debuts Babel, a semi-sequel to Unnamed Memory, taking place centuries later. This new series is an isekai, though, as a Japanese girl is transported to the future fantasy land, and needs to find a way back home while teaching her own Japanese language to a handsome linguist.

ASH: A handsome linguist, you say.

SEAN: Demons’ Crest is a new series from the creator of Sword Art Online, as he jumps into a completely different genre. Twins enjoy playing a MMORPG, but it suddenly starts fusing with the real world, and also turning deadly! Yup. Totally different genre. (cough)

Playing Death Games to Put Food on the Table (Shibou Yuugi de Meshi wo Kuu) stars a young woman who wakes up trapped in a horrible death game. But that’s fine. That’s how she makes a living. I have been told this is better than it sounds.

ASH: Hmmm.

SEAN: Also from Yen On: The Angel Next Door Spoils Me Rotten 7, Black Summoner 2 (in their J-Novel Club imprint), Date a Live 12, Days with My Stepsister 3, The Greatest Demon Lord Is Reborn as a Typical Nobody 10, I Got a Cheat Skill in Another World and Became Unrivaled in the Real World, Too 5, I May Be a Guild Receptionist, but I’ll Solo Any Boss to Clock Out on Time 3, The Kept Man of the Princess Knight 2, Kunon the Sorcerer Can See 3, Liar, Liar 4, Miss Savage Fang 2, The Other World’s Books Depend on the Bean Counter 2, Reborn to Master the Blade: From Hero-King to Extraordinary Squire 3 (in their J-Novel Club imprint), Sugar Apple Fairy Tale 6, The Unimplemented Overlords Have Joined the Party! 2, The Vexations of a Shut-In Vampire Princess 7, and You Are My Regret 2.

And yes, that’s just light novels. Time for Yen Press. Apocalypse Bringer Mynoghra (Isekai Mokushiroku Mynoghra – Hametsu no Bunmei de Hajimeru Sekai Seifuku) is a manga adaptation of the light novel Cross Infinite World is releasing. The manga runs in Comic Walker. It’s the male version of In the Land of Leadale.

Senpai, This Can’t Be Love! (Senpai, Danjite Koi de wa!) is a BL title from Comic Fleur. The talented veteran is tasked to teach the new guy at their company, and is having trouble with his cool facade. The trouble is… the new guy is having trouble keeping the facade up.

A Sinner of the Deep Sea (Abyss Azure no Zainin) runs in Harta. A mermaid has to deal with the fact that her best friend has fallen for a human. The first of two mermaid debuts next week.

ASH: I’m curious about this one.

SEAN: Sister and Giant: A Young Lady Is Reborn in Another World (Onee-sama to Kyojin) is a fantasy title from Aokishi. A girl is reincarnated in another world, and chooses to bond with a giant. Unfortunately, guess what? Evil church.

ASH: Every time.

SEAN: Sword Art Online: Kiss and Fly is a manga adaptation of the short stories in this series. It runs in Dengeki Daioh.

This Monster Wants to Eat Me (Watashi o Tabetai, Hitodenashi) is a yuri series from Dengeki Maoh. A woman in a seaside town turns out to be delicious. A mermaid wants to eat her, but not till she’s older. So now she has to defend her from other supernatural beings who want a taste. I have heard good things about this, believe it or not.

ASH: I’m curious about this one, too.

SEAN: And there’s Visions 2023__Illustrators Book, the latest artbook.

Also from Yen Press: Adachi and Shimamura 5, Adults’ Picture Book: New Edition 2, Ako and Bambi 2, Assorted Entanglements 5, A Terrified Teacher at Ghoul School 14, Black Butler 33, Black Summoner 2 (in their J-Novel Club imprint), Bungo Stray Dogs: Dead Apple 4, A Certain Magical Index 28, Cheerful Amnesia 3, Chitose Is in the Ramune Bottle 6, Combatants Will Be Dispatched! 9, The Dark History of the Reincarnated Villainess 10, The Detective Is Already Dead 5, The Devil Is a Part-Timer! 21, Heterogenia Linguistico 5, Hi, I’m a Witch, and My Crush Wants Me to Make a Love Potion 4, I May Be a Guild Receptionist, but I’ll Solo Any Boss to Clock Out on Time 3, I Want to Be a Receptionist in This Magical World 4, I Want to Be a Wall 3 (the final volume), Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? On the Side: Sword Oratoria 23, Kowloon Generic Romance 7, My Dear, Curse-Casting Vampiress 4, No Matter How I Look at It, It’s You Guys’ Fault I’m Not Popular! 23, Reborn to Master the Blade: From Hero-King to Extraordinary Squire 3 (from their J-Novel Club imprint), So I’m a Spider, So What? 13, Tsubaki-chou Lonely Planet 7, Unnamed Memory 5, The Witches’ Marriage 3 (the final volume), and Whoever Steals This Book 2.

ASH: Dang, that’s an impressive amount.

SEAN: What final volumes are you getting?