Manga Bookshelf

Discussion, Resources, Roundtables, & Reviews

Michelle Smith

Pick of the Week: Saints Alive!

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SEAN: I’m always here for light novels that are not ‘variations on a popular theme’, like isekai and ‘weak to strong’… even themes I like, such as villainess titles. As such, my pick this week is Spy Classroom, which seems to be along the lines of “What if 86 was a romantic comedy with spies?”. I enjoy espionage-style titles.

MJ: I admit there isn’t a lot to lure me in this week, but I’m always happy to see a new installment of Saint Young Men, so sign me up for that!

MICHELLE: I’ll go for DAYS this week. I’ve fallen quite a bit behind, but I do enjoy it.

KATE: What, no votes for Does a Hot Elf Live Next Door to Me?! C’mon, where’s your spirit of adventure? Seriously, though, this week feels like visiting the grocery store right before a major snowstorm (or hurricane, for that matter): most of the shelves are empty, and what’s left are a few rolls of off-brand toilet paper. But in the spirit of PotW, I’ll cast my vote for Saint Young Men, a manga I wanted to like more than I actually did.

ANNA: I will make One Piece volume 97 my pick since it is a favorite in my household.

ASH: It’s Saint Young Men for me, too! Hikaru Nakamura’s manga and particular sense of humor just works for me. My experience with Nakamura’s other series Arakawa Under the Bridge was similar.

Manga the Week of 8/25/21

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SEAN: It’s time to do the list backwards again! Which I do because I enjoy changing things up once in a while, and absolutely not just because I feel guilty that Yen Press never gets a cover art picture…

So let’s start with Yen Press, who debut Bungo Stray Dogs: Beast, a spinoff of the main series that runs in Shonen Ace. It focuses on Ryuunosuke Akutagawa.

ASH: Oh, interesting! I’ve fallen behind with Bungo Stray Dogs, but still greatly enjoy its premise and all the literary references.

Yen also has the 10th Goblin Slayer manga.

Yen On debuts Spy Classroom, which has gotten a lot of good buzz. A spy is tasked to train a crack squad into a top spy team… sadly, the words “crack squad” are used in the same way you might say “crack pairing”. They’re all useless! This should be fun.

Also from Yen On, we see the 8th volume of 86, The Angel Next Door Spoils Me Rotten 2, Durarara!! SH 2, I’ve Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years and Maxed Out My Level 10, and Konosuba: An Explosion on This Wonderful World! Bonus Story 2 (the final volume of this side story).

Viz Media has One Piece 97. Why it’s coming out this week, I’ve no idea. Get back to first week of the month where you belong!

MICHELLE: I’ve fallen a fair bit behind on One Piece, sadly.

ANNA: I’ve never even attempted it, but my kids have read through it twice courtesy of the Shonen Jump app.

SEAN: Square Enix Manga has Ragna Crimson 3.

Seven Seas’ first debut is Chillin’ in Another World with Level 2 Super Cheat Powers (Lv2 kara Cheat datta Moto Yuusha Kouho no Mattari Isekai Life), whose light novel J-Novel Club will be putting out. It runs in Comic Gardo. The plot makes me despair to type up. This guy is a summoned hero, but he’s really weak, so everyone hates and bullies him. Then he hits level 2, and all his cheat powers show up! I don’t think this quite goes “Now I’ll show them! I’ll show them ALL!”, but hey.

The other debut is Reborn as a Space Mercenary: I Woke Up Piloting the Strongest Starship! (Mezametara Saikyou Soubi to Uchuusen Mochi Datta node, Ikkodate Mezashite Youhei to Shite Jiyuu ni Ikitai). Airship already had the light novel version of this. If you enjoy “seems weak but actually strong” books but want them set in space, this might appeal. It runs on the Comic Walker website.

ASH: I think space could be a nice change of pace.

Seven Seas also has the 4th and final volume of A Certain Scientific Railgun: Astral Buddy, The Kingdoms of Ruin 3, Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear’s 5th manga volume, Love Me for Who I Am 4, Skeleton Knight in Another World’s 7th manga volume, and The Tale of the Outcasts 2.

MICHELLE: Oh, is Skeleton Knight another skeleton isekai?

ANNA: How many are there????

SEAN: (Yes, it is another example of skeleton isekai, though the most famous one is Overlord.)

ASH: Once you notice the skeletons, they’re everywhere! (I’m particularly fond of Skull-face Bookseller Honda-san, myself.)

SEAN: The only print release for Kodansha is the 6th omnibus of Saint Young Men.

ASH: Oh, that one’s for me!

MJ: Yes!

SEAN: Digitally, they debut Chihiro-kun Only Has Eyes for Me (Chihiro-kun wa, Atashi Holic), a Nakayoshi series about a girl who catches the eye of a fellow student and fashion designer. He wants her to model. He wants her to pose. He wants her to strip. He may be a little obsessed…

MICHELLE: Curious, I looked this up on Kodansha’s website. The first line in the blurb for volume two is “You have no right to refuse me doing this.” So, a big NO THANKS from me.

ANNA: Yeargh no thank you.

SEAN: Also out: Back When You Called Us Devils 4, DAYS 25, Harem Marriage 8, My Darling Next Door 2, and Quality Assurance in Another World 3.

MICHELLE: Gotta get caught up on DAYS!

SEAN: J-Novel Club gives us By the Grace of the Gods 8, The Emperor’s Lady-in-Waiting Is Wanted as a Bride 2, Guide to the Perfect Otaku Girlfriend: Roomies and Romance 3, The Ideal Sponger Life 4, and The Great Cleric 4.

Ghost Ship debuts Does a Hot Elf Live Next Door to You? (Otaku no Tonari wa Elf Desuka?), which runs in Kodansha’s Young Magazine. Japan is now having isekai elves and other types moving there to see what life is like. Our hero just wants to be a manga artist, but how can he when all these hot girls keep showing up and trying to seduce him? That’s rough, buddy…

MICHELLE: *snerk*

SEAN: Ghost Ship also has Call Girl in Another World 2.

Dark Horse has the 8th deluxe Berserk hardcover.

ASH: The Berserk are taking up a fair amount of my available shelf space, but they’re looking good doing it!

SEAN: Airship has a digital-first debut. Disciple of the Lich: Or How I Was Cursed by the Gods and Dropped Into the Abyss! (Fushisha no Deshi ~Jashin no Fukyou wo Katte Naraku ni Otosareta Ore no Eiyuutan~) has our hero summoned to another world… and dropped at the bottommost dungeon with no powers. Fortunately he meets a girl who’ll protect him. Unfortunately, she’s undead.

Also out early digital is Classroom of the Elite 9 and Monster Musume The Novel – Monster Girls on the Job! (yes, yes, it got bumped).

Did anything catch your eye here? Also, does anyone even notice that I go in alphabetical order by publisher anyway?

ASH: It may be the librarian in me, but I do!

Pick of the Week: Beasts, Cats and Murders

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KATE: Oh man… I don’t even know where to start. I’m morbidly curious about Kaori Yuki’s latest series Beauty and the Beast of Paradise Lost, even though I know that it’s probably a fever dream of non-consensual relationships, lurid plot twists, and wackadoo costumes. I keep putting it in my Amazon cart and removing it because deep down, I know it’s probably bad. Two titles I did pre-order, though, are the latest installment of Asadora!, a twisty, suspenseful story with a plucky female lead, and the second volume of What’s Michael?, a wonderfully weird and funny collection of cat comics.

SEAN: It’s a VERY nostalgic week all around, so I will pick What’s Michael? this week, because it’s so strange, and because buying it might mean Club 9 if we wish hard enough.

ANNA: I am also not sure if I’m actually going to read Beauty and the Beast of Paradise Lost but I will make it my pick just as a nod to Kaori Yuki’s chaotic energy.

MICHELLE: Although I’m also planning to read Asadora! and What’s Michael? at some point, and have at least some interest in Kaori Yuki, this week I’ll buck the trend and pick the manga adaptation of The Decagon House Murders. I’m a big mystery buff and the novel’s been on my to-read list for years, so I’m really looking forward to this one.

ASH: In addition to the latest Junji Ito manga, I’m interested in everything that everyone else has mentioned so far, but what I’m most curious about this week is Megumi Hayashibara’s The Characters Taught Me Everything now that it’ll be available in print.

MJ: I’m going to admit that chaotic energy is basically my kryptonite, which means there’s no way I can resist Beauty and the Beast of Paradise Lost. If I can’t have anything new from my favorite agent of chaos, Yun Kouga, at least give me Kaori Yuki.

Manga the Week of 8/18/21

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SEAN: Mid-August, and I cannot confirm this, but I imagine it’s hot. At least here in North America. Australia might be saying something different.

Airship, in print, gives us Adachi and Shimamura 6 and Mushoku Tensei 12.

Digitally, the early debut is The Haunted Bookstore – Gateway to a Parallel Universe (Wagaya wa Kakuriyo no Kashi Honya-san), a fantasy about a girl who lives in a bookstore that caters to spirit people. Then one day she rescues a boy from an exorcist family! Can she convince him all spirits aren’t evil?

ASH: This appeals to me on multiple levels.

MJ: Okay, same.

SEAN: There’s also The Hidden Dungeon Only I Can Enter 5.

Cross Infinite World has a 2nd volume of the enjoyable but exhausting to say title Since I Was Abandoned After Reincarnating, I Will Cook With My Fluffy Friends: The Figurehead Queen Is Strongest At Her Own Pace.

Dark Horse has the 2nd and final What’s Michael: Fatcat Collection, rounding up the rest of what Dark Horse published from this classic 80s manga.

MICHELLE: Oh, hey! I was wondering what had happened with this.

ASH: Glad to see it finally coming out! I love the series and am happy to see it back in print.

MJ: Oh!!

SEAN: Ghost Ship debuts Shiori’s Diary (Shiori no Nikki), from Nihon Bungeisha’s Manga Goraku Special. A wife finds a diary showing evidence of her husband’s many affairs, so decides to start a diary of her own… and start having sex with others as well. From what I hear, this is more ‘high tone’ than Ghost Ship’s usual fare.

ASH: Huh!

SEAN: They’ve also got Destiny Lovers 7 and the final volume of Yokai Girls.

J-Novel Club has some nice print stuff for us this week. We get the debut in print of The Unwanted Undead Adventurer, which is a skeleton isekai, but this one is a kinder, gentler skeleton.

MICHELLE: I was not prepared for the existence of the skeleton isekai genre.

ANNA: Nor was I.

MJ: Well, huh.

SEAN: Also debuting in print is the manga omnibus of The Faraway Paladin (which is also getting an anime soon). If you ever wondered what Superman would be like in a high fantasy world, this is not far off. This has Vol. 1-2.

ASH: I’m still waiting for the original novels to be released in print (supposedly coming next year!), but I’ll take the manga in the meantime.

Also out in print: Ascendance of a Bookworm 9 (aka Part 3, Vol. 2); By the Grace of the Gods 5; In Another World with My Smartphone 17; and Otherside Picnic Omnibus 2, with Vol. 3-4.

Digitally, J-Novel Club has Can Someone Please Explain What’s Going On?! 6, Mapping: The Trash-Tier Skill That Got Me Into a Top-Tier Party 6, Otherside Picnic 5, Reincarnated as the Piggy Duke: This Time I’m Gonna Tell Her How I Feel! 2, and Sorcerous Stabber Orphen: The Wayward Journey 13.

In print, Kodansha brings us the latest Kaoru Yuki title, Beauty and the Beast of Paradise Lost (Rakuen no Bijo to Yajuu). This runs in Kodansha’s Palcy, and is probably in the artist’s usual genre of “is this romance, horror, or both?”.

MICHELLE: That cover is great.

ANNA: Good to see more Kaoru Yuki coming out.

ASH: Ooooh! Kaoru Yuki!

MJ: Oh, I’m so excited!

SEAN: They’ve also got That Wolf-Boy Is Mine! Omnibus 1, containing the first two volumes.

Also in print: Blue Period 4, the 16th and final volume of Boarding School Juliet, and Go with the Clouds, North-by-Northwest 5.

The digital debut may be more familiar to mystery fans: The Decagon House Murders (Jukkakukan no Satsujin), a manga based on the classic mystery novel. A mystery club travels to a remote island to solve an unsolved murder… but is this really all it seems? Umineko fans will find a lot of this rings a bell.

MICHELLE: I’m looking forward to this one!

ASH: Oh, nice! I enjoyed the novel, so will want to check the adaptation out, too.

SEAN: Also out: Cells NOT at Work 4, Nina the Starry Bride 4, Undead Girl Murder Farce 3, and Will It Be the World or Her? 8.

One Peace debuts a new title: I Belong to the Baddest Girl at School (Pashiri na Boku to Koi suru Banchou-san), a Kadokawa series from Young Ace Up. A boy is being used as an errand boy and bully victim by the girl gang leader of the school… or so he thinks. She’s actually trying (badly) to confess. I am always down for banchou girls.

ASH: Same!

SEAN: Also from One Peace, the 5th manga volume of The Reprise of the Spear Hero.

Seven Seas debuts Level 1 Demon Lord and One Room Hero (Lv1 Maou to One Room Yuusha), a title from Houbunsha’s Comic Fuz that seems to be part of the popular ‘demon lord in modern Japan’ genre.

They also have Slow Life In Another World (I Wish!) (Isekai de Slow Life o (Ganbou)), an Overlap series from Comic Gardo. A reincarnated guy does his best to avoid conflict in his new world… but he’s getting attacked, he’s getting slaves, and he’s getting more problems.

There’s also Akashic Records of Bastard Magic Instructor 12, The Ancient Magus’ Bride: Wizard’s Blue 3, Arifureta: from Commonplace to World’s Strongest 7th manga volume, Magical Angel Creamy Mami and the Spoiled Princess 2, School Zone Girls 2, Superwomen in Love! Honey Trap and Rapid Rabbit 2, and Thigh High: Reiwa Hanamaru Academy 2.

ASH: I’ll have to admit, despite greatly enjoying the original series, I have yet to actually try any of the spinoffs of The Ancient Magus’ Bride.

Viz has a new Junji Ito manga, Sensor. Is anyone else reminded of the days when an Arina Tanemura manga would come out from Viz every month? It seems like we’re at that point with Ito.

ANNA: I would like to read more Arina Tanemura manga!

ASH: As would I! And more Junji Ito for that matter.

SEAN: Also from Viz: Asadora! 3, Assassin’s Creed: Blade of Shao Jun 2, Golden Kamuy 23, Mobile Suit Gundam Thunderbolt 16, Urusei Yatsura Omnibus 11, and Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead 3.

Yen On debuts the print version of Megumi Hayashibara’s The Characters Taught Me Everything: Living Life One Episode at a Time, which had a digital version out a while back. This memoir is part talking about roles she’s had over the years and part self-help book.

ASH: I’m looking forward to this one.

SEAN: Yen On also has Baccano! 17, which wraps up the 1700s arc (and might seem familiar to anime fans), and Bottom-Tier Character Tomozaki 6.5, which, as you may have guessed from the number, is a short story volume.

What manga will you read no matter which continent you’re on?

Pick of the Week: Skipping This Week

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SEAN: My eyes this week are on Skip and Loafer, a Seven Seas title about a “country bumpkin” moving to the city that has me just with its cover – the combination of body and face on the lead is wonderful. I’ve heard many other good things about it as well.

KATE: I second Sean’s recommendation: Skip and Loafer looks like a delightful bit of escapism.

MICHELLE: This is definitely a case where the cover has utterly sold me. Count me down for Skip and Loafer, too!

ANNA: I’m all in for escapism, Skip and Loafer is my pick as well.

ASH: Who am I to break the consensus? Skip and Loafer was already going to be my pick this week, but seeing so many other people choose it makes me even more interested.

MJ: Okay, it’s been a heck of a week and I haven’t even had time to really look at this, but if all these people, with their impeccable taste, are enthusiastic about Skip and Loafer, I have no doubt I’ll be into it too! My pick this week is blind trust in my amazing colleagues!

Manga the Week of 8/11/21

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SEAN: August continues. It’s still 2021, you know. Not 2022 yet, I promise.

ASH: I do sometimes wonder at what year it is, so I appreciate the clarification.

SEAN: Two print novels from Airship: Drugstore in Another World: The Slow Life of a Cheat Pharmacist 2 and Skeleton Knight in Another World 9.

In early digital news, we get two debuts. Monster Musume The Novel – Monster Girls on the Job! is pretty much exactly what it says.

ASH: Huh, I had missed that there was a novel, too.

SEAN: She Professed Herself Pupil of the Wise Man (Kenja no Deshi wo Nanoru Kenja) is about a gamer whose OP character is an old man. Then one day he falls asleep and wakes up in the world of the game… but he’s a young girl! What else can he do but pretend that she’s his disciple?

Denpa Books gives us Gambling Apocalypse: KAIJI 3.

ASH: Glad to see this coming out!

SEAN: Ghost Ship debuts Sundome!! Milky Way, a Shueisha series from Grand Jump about a salaryman who runs into an alien girl who wants to have his baby. The trouble is, when she gets embarrassed she reverts to her alien form. This is from the creator of Yokai Girls.

ASH: Not to be confused with the now out-of-print (though still available electronically) Sundome by Kazuto Okada.

SEAN: J-Novel Club has, in novels, Are You Okay With a Slightly Older Girlfriend? 4 and The Greatest Magicmaster’s Retirement Plan 10.

On the manga side, they debut Villainess: Reloaded! Blowing Away Bad Ends with Modern Weapons (Doushitemo Hametsushitakunai Akuyaku Reijou ga Gendai Heiki wo Te ni Shita Kekka ga Kore desu), whose light novel we’ve already seen. The manga runs in Suiyoubi no Sirius.

And we also get Record of Wortenia War’s 3rd manga.

In print, Kodansha has the 3rd volume of the delightful A Sign of Affection.

MICHELLE: I really will read this at some point.

ANNA: I love this series. It is one of the few series that I decided to get digitally because I didn’t want to wait for print.

ASH: I just recently picked up the first volume! I’m looking forward to giving the series a try.

SEAN: The digital debut is Yamaguchi-kun Isn’t So Bad (Yamaguchi-kun wa Warukunai), the story of a girl who finds the scary-looking classmate of hers is actually quite a kind person. It runs in Betsufure.

MICHELLE: I know this is a well-trodden shoujo genre, but dangit, I usually like these.

ANNA: Unsurprisingly, me too!

ASH: Saaaaaaame.

SEAN: They also have Are You Lost? 7, Cells at Work and Friends 5, A Couple of Cuckoos 5, Defying Kurosaki-kun 16, Giant Killing 25, and Police in a Pod 3.

MICHELLE: Insert perennial Giant Killing squee here.

ASH: I really enjoyed the anime; I still need to read the manga!

SEAN: A lot of debuts for Seven Seas. Chronicles of an Aristocrat Reborn in Another World (Tensei Kizoku no Isekai Boukenroku – Jichou o Shiranai Kamigami no Shito) is another “the title is the plot” isekai, and it runs in Mag Garden’s Beat’s.

I Got Caught Up In a Hero Summons, but the Other World was at Peace! (Yuusha Shoukan ni Makikomareta kedo, Isekai wa Heiwa deshita) is a Kadokawa series from Comp Ace. Our protagonist is accidentally transported due to a hero summons… but there’s no war? Demons are our friends? No adventuring either? Good thing there’s piles of girls to glom onto our potato of a lead guy!

Skip and Loafer is a series from Kodansha’s Afternoon about a country girl who thinks she is completely prepared for life in the big city!… She isn’t. This is award-nominated.

MICHELLE: This sounds fun! The cover is cute, too. Kind of has a Silver Spoon vibe.

ANNA: This does sound cute.

ASH: I am intrigued!

SEAN: Also from Seven Seas: Doughnuts Under a Crescent Moon 2, Failure Frame: I Became the Strongest and Annihilated Everything With Low-Level Spells 2, Harukana Receive 8, How Heavy Are the Dumbbells You Lift? 7, and Tamamo-chan’s a Fox! 3.

Square Enix has a 7th volume of Hi Score Girl.

SuBLime has a 2nd volume of horror BL series MADK.

ASH: I’m so far behind on so many series, but this one is higher up on the ever-growing pile of manga to be read.

Tokyopop gives us Glass Syndrome (Glasstaion Shoukougun), a one-shot BL manga about two teens who both have tons of issues and how they get together. It ran in Kaiousha’s Gush.

MICHELLE: Another nice cover.

ANNA: Tokyopop, you still can’t trick me.

SEAN: Viz has Call of the Night 3, Fullmetal Alchemist: Fullmetal Edition 14, Komi Can’t Communicate 14, the 7th volume of Persona 5, Radiant 14, and Sleepy Princess in the Demon Castle 15.

ASH: Some good selections in that list.

SEAN: Lastly, Yen Press has The Dark History of the Reincarnated Villainess 3, ID:Invaded #Brake-Broken 2, Love of Kill 3, Mint Chocolate 3, and Sasaki and Miyano 3.

What manga are you reading if you get transported to another world?

Pick of the week: Killer Viz-ion

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MICHELLE: It’s the once-a-year release of Kaze Hikaru and there’s also the debut of the fun-looking Happy Kanoko’s Killer Life, but if it’s my last chance ever, I simply must pick Haikyu!!. I didn’t think anything could supplant Hikaru no Go as my favorite sports manga, but Haikyu!! has done it. I’m going to miss this series so much.

SEAN: It’s hard to ignore Viz this week, but ignore I must, because Happy Kanako’s Killer Life is hilarious. Well, if you find murder repugnant, I would not read it. But honestly, most of the people Kanako kills are terrible, and she’s just such an airhead that the whole thing becomes hysterical. The author posted the first 4 chapters – in Japanese and English – on their Twitter, I can’t wait to read more of it.

ANNA: Every summer Kaze Hikaru comes out and every summer I must pick the latest volume!

ASH: While I am intrigued by Happy Kanako’s Killer Life, my heart belongs to Viz this week. Both Haikyu!! and Kaze Hikaru are highlights for me, but the debut of Golden Wind gets my official pick!

Manga the Week of 8/4/21

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SEAN: August! Is there any dog manga?

MICHELLE: Guru Guru Pon-chan?

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

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

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

Also we have Muscles Are Better Than Magic! 3.

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

Denpa Books has the 4th Pleasure & Corruption.

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

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

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

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

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

Also in print is Sachi’s Monstrous Appetite 3.

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

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

MICHELLE: Yay Chihayafuru!

ANNA: I’m so far behind!!!

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

MJ: Interesting???

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Oof. Any highlights?

Memoirs Most Charming, Part 1

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I’ve read a handful of charming memoirs lately, and more are on the way!

luckyguyI’m a Lucky Guy by Frank B. Gilbreth, Jr.
This was a reader suggestion from Anne!

Here, Frank B. Gilbreth, Jr. (writing without sister Ernestine, his sometime collaborator) recounts various happenings and misadventures from his early adulthood, beginning in 1929 when he’s headed off to college and ending somewhere around 1946, when he has returned from serving in the Navy and resumed his career as a newspaperman. These include things like going out for football whilst scrawny, being mistaken for a gun-toting gangster whilst attempting to hide booze (prohibition was still on) from the cops, pranking an odious professor (and, later, an odious superior officer), and repeatedly failing to live up to the standards of a demanding admiral to whom he has been assigned as aide.

On the whole, I found all of these stories entertaining, though the sole moment that made me laugh out loud was when Frank’s soon-to-be wife and mother-in-law completely excused the lascivious behavior of his friend, which a moment before had scandalized them, upon learning he was Methodist (their preferred denomination).

“You don’t think he’s a Ten Commandment breaker?” I asked.
“Why, I’d trust him any place,” Liz said indignantly.
“So would I,” said her mother. “I’ve always said that people shouldn’t be judged by circumstantial evidence.”
“You’re so right,” I assured her.
“Probably,” she continued, fishing around for a likely excuse, “probably—well, probably the doctor sent that girl over to your apartment to change the boy’s bandage, again, before he went to bed.”
I was tempted to break into a high-pitched giggle, but I looked at Liz and caught a warning.
“That’s probably just the way it happened,” I nodded gravely.

Unfortunately, it does seem Frank shares a little of the antipathy toward overweight people that his sister possesses. I don’t mind when he accurately describes a person’s physical characteristics—if a bosom is ample and an abdomen abundant, there’s really no getting around that—but when he makes comments about fellow student Sallye—whom he later proclaims to be “a real friend”—like no “male student in his right mind” would give her their fraternity pen, it’s just unnecessarily mean. True, Sallye has a tendency to be loud and overbearing, and I’m fairly sure that’s part of what he meant, but not the whole of it.

That criticism aside, I did enjoy this book and I’m glad I read it. Thanks, Anne!

Always Look on the Bright Side of Life: A Sortabiography by Eric Idle
Initially, although it was an enjoyable read, I wouldn’t have classified this “sortabiography” from the Monty Python co-founder as charming. Idle recounts his childhood, school days, introduction to the world of comedy, the formation of Monty Python, the run of the original series, and the Python movies without a tremendous amount of detail. He does elaborate more about his independent endeavors, and I especially appreciated learning more about the creation of The Rutles. Using the song “Always Look on the Bright Side of Life” as a sort of framework, Idle chronicles the various circumstances after The Life of Brian where he was called upon to sing it, ranging from Graham Chapman’s funeral to the Royal Variety Performance to the closing ceremony of the 2012 Summer Olympics.

As is common for a book of this type, there is a lot of name-dropping, but in this case a lot of the names were people I genuinely like, like Harry Nilsson, George Harrison, David Bowie, Stephen Fry, Peter Cook, Robin Williams, and Eddie Izzard. And, too, Idle toots his own horn rather frequently, which is admittedly justified when you’ve accomplished as much as he has, and makes sure readers know there were times in his life when he was having loads of sex.

Where he really shines, though, is penning touching tributes to friends who are no longer with us. My husband and I listened to Idle read the unabridged audiobook version together, and by the end of the chapter entitled “George,” we were both in tears. The chapter about Robin Williams is no less lovely. I cannot stress enough how wonderful these two chapters are; they alone are worth the price of admission. It does make one wonder why he doesn’t delve so deeply into the character of his comedy partners, and only makes a few mentions of Terry Jones’ dementia, but perhaps it is because they were all still living in 2018, when the book was published. I shall have to find out whether Idle penned any tributes to Jones on the sad occasion of his passing last year.

savagesLife Among the Savages and Raising Demons by Shirley Jackson
I’d heard such good things about these books, but my reaction to Life Among the Savages wasn’t what I expected. True, some of the “lightly fictionalized” anecdotes Jackson relates are somewhat amusing, like the family’s struggle to find a house to rent in Vermont, or insisting to the hospital intake person that her occupation is “writer” as opposed to “housewife,” or her son’s fascination with all the gory details after he gets hit by a car. But the vast majority of the stories involve her children behaving badly, and I had very little patience with these at all.

I imagine that other mothers sympathize with these episodes. Perhaps they see their own experience reflected, and so they laugh but also feel all warm inside, in a loving, maternal way. Not so me, I’m afraid. No, whenever the son showed arrogant condescension toward his mother, or her daughter became intolerably fixated on proper decorum, or one kid or the other was insolent and disrespectful, it just made me angry. In fact, I might have said “Shut the fuck up!” aloud a time or two. This is why it is probably a very good thing that I am not a parent.

Thankfully, Raising Demons contains less of that sort of thing (though significantly more than none). I really loved the section in which Jackson waxes nostalgic about her adolescent obsession with making clothespin dolls and her snarky description of life as a faculty wife (who is expected to have “hemming dishtowels” among her hobbies). The story of how she got a new refrigerator was a highlight, as well.

You’ll Never Believe What Happened to Lacey: Crazy Stories About Racism by Amber Ruffin & Lacey Lamar
Having seen and adored whimsical clips from The Amber Ruffin Show, I was very excited to see that Amber Ruffin and her older sister Lacey Lamar had written a book together. Although the topic is racist incidents the sisters have endured (mostly Lacey, who lives and works in Omaha), the approach at least attempts to be light-hearted. These aren’t stories where someone gets hurt or dies; instead, they elucidate the kind of crap Black people are just expected to swallow or forget.

I did laugh a few times, particularly at Ruffin’s effervescent line delivery—I listened to the unabridged audiobook read by the authors—but after a while, the unrelenting wave of absolutely flagrant ignorance and hate becomes overwhelming. The commentary on the stories is funny, but the situations themselves are stressful and horrible and eye-opening in the most abject, despair-inducing kind of way. I have never been one to deny that racism exists, but I admit to being surprised and horrified by a lot of these stories, espcially the awful things done to kids. A beautiful drawing torn to shreds, a group of teens accused of stealing car keys when none of them is old enough to drive, kids threatened at gunpoint by a crazy neighbor but nobody calls the cops because who will the cops believe… I also feel terribly naive for being surprised.

I’m glad I read this.

nutsinmayOur Hearts Were Young and Gay and Nuts in May by Cornelia Otis Skinner
Note: The former was co-written with Emily Kimbrough.

Our Hearts Were Young and Gay recounts the three months in the early 1920s that two young American women spend abroad in Europe, written when they are older (“Emily and I have now reached the time in life when not only do we lie about our ages, we forget what we’ve said they are.”) and nostalgic for more innocent days. It’s written in Cornelia’s voice, though Emily provides many of the details, and tells of the time their ship ran aground, the time Cornelia caught the measles and evaded quarantine, the time they met H. G. Wells and Emily made an embarrassing first impression, the time they mistook a brothel for a boarding house, the time bedbugs gave Cornelia a swollen lip “shining like a polished tomato,” the time their dogs piddled in a swanky Parisian restaurant, etc. For the most part, it’s quite amusing, but there are a few comments that expose the girls’ ignorant attitudes regarding people of other races and sexual preferences.

Rather than focusing on one particular adventure, Nuts in May is a collection of humorous yet unrelated anecdotes Skinner wrote for publications like The New Yorker. Topics include but are not limited to: actors being asked to lend their talents in aid of charitable organizations, a Protestant family’s audience with the Pope, people who laugh at anything, dizzying real estate transactions, and being interviewed by Dr. Kinsey. Occasionally, the tone turns more domestic and reminds me some of Shirley Jackson, such as in “Bag of Bones,” when Skinner’s son insists that the bones they find on a Colorado trail belong to a dinosaur, or “Those Friends of His,” about her son’s reticence on the origins of his friends who come to visit. The latter also makes reference to a car “teeming with hamsters,” which is a phrase and a visual that I adore. Indeed, there were quite a few giggles to be had, and I reckon I might seek out more of Skinner’s work in the future.

Pick of the Week: Seasides, Windows, and Comic Beam

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SEAN: Despite the temptation of picking Ghost Ship’s Booty Royale… OK, it’s not that much of a temptation… I’m making Captivated, by You my pick this week. I actually don’t know much about it, but it’s a one-shot hardcover and the title ran in Comic Beam, so I’m in.

MICHELLE: I am really looking forward to checking out Captivated, by You, but this week also sees a new installment of one of my favorite manga, The Night Beyond the Tricornered Window, and I can’t pass up the chance to pick it once again. This series is getting an anime in October, which I hope inspires more people to check out the manga. It’s great.

ASH: I so want The Night Beyond the Tricornered Window to be released in print! Until then, Captivated, by You is the debut I’m most curious about this week, so it earns my official pick. Though, I’m interested in reading Seaside Stranger, too, having heard good things about it…

ANNA: I’ll go for Seaside Stranger this week!

Manga the Week of 7/28/21

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SEAN: The end of July should be quiet, right? Everyone’s on vacation, right? Right?

ASH: I actually will be on (a very much needed) vacation!

ANNA: Me too!

SEAN: Airship has the print edition of Reincarnated as a Dragon Hatchling 1, and an early digital for Accomplishments of the Duke’s Daughter 2.

Cross Infinite World has the 2nd volume of Mia and the Forbidden Medicine Report.

Denpa Books has a 2nd volume of Heavenly Delusion.

ASH: Nice to see this one finally coming out; it encountered some delays.

SEAN: Ghost Ship debuts Booty Royale: Never Go Down Without a Fight! (Hagure Idol Jigokuhen), which is coming out in 2-volume omnibuses and runs in Nihon Bungeisha’s Bessatsu Manga Goraku. A wannabe idol and karate expert is tricked into the adult entertainment industry, and forced to fight the sex equivalent of a death match game.

MICHELLE: …

ASH: Huh.

ANNA: Erm.

SEAN: J-Novel Club gives us The Faraway Paladin’s 5th manga volume, John Sinclair: Demon Hunter 3, Monster Tamer 5, Perry Rhodan NEO 2, and the 4th Sweet Reincarnation manga.

Kodansha’s print titles include the debut of Pretty Boy Detective Club (Bishounen Tanteidan). They’ve released the first three novels for this already, now we’re getting the manga, which has run in Aria, Palcy, AND Shonen Magazine Edge, so is sui generis. It’s about a middle schooler who gets caught up in a very strange club.

MICHELLE: The first novel didn’t thrill me, but that was largely because of the narrative style. Could be that I would enjoy it more as manga.

ASH: I’ve found that to be true of some of NISIOISIN’s other work as well; at times the stories seem better suited for manga (or anime) rather than prose.

SEAN: Also in print: Boys Run the Riot 2, CITY 12, I’m Standing on a Million Lives 10, Sweat and Soap 7, and Yuzu the Pet Vet 6.

ASH: Boys Run the Riot is high on my list. And this is a good reminder for me to give Sweat and Soap a try.

SEAN: Digitally we see two debuts. My Darling Next Door (Tonari no Otona-kun) is a Betsufure series about a high school girl who falls for an older salaryman who’s just moved next door. Hrm…

ONIMAI: I’m Now Your Sister! (Onii-chan wa Oshimai) runs in Ichijinsha’s Comic Rex, and is about a young man who is turned into a woman due to his mad scientist Little Sister. No comment.

We also see And Yet, You Are So Sweet 4, Back When You Called Us Devils 3, Harem Marriage 7, I’m Standing on a Million Lives 11 (print has nearly caught up), Quality Assurance in Another World 2, Saint Cecelia and Pastor Lawrence 2, Saint Young Men 12, She’s My Knight 2, The Slime Diaries: That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime 5, and the 10th volume of When We’re in Love, which is not a final volume but the series has gone on hiatus after this.

MICHELLE: Cue lamentations about being so far behind on everything.

SEAN: Seven Seas has a few debuts. I’m in Love with the Villainess is based on the light novel, and the digital version has been out for some time, but the print edition of the manga is now released.

ASH: Excellent.

SEAN: Seaside Stranger (Umibe no Étranger) is a BL story from Shodensha’s On Blue, about two men who bond with each other at a seaside town… only one of them isn’t staying long. Can they reconnect?

MICHELLE: I’m definitely looking forward to this one!

ASH: Same! I’ve heard good things.

ANNA: Sounds good.

SEAN: The Strange Adventure of a Broke Mercenary (Kuitsume Youhei no Gensou Kitan) runs in Hobby Japan’s Comic Fire, and is based on the light novel that Airship is releasing. A cynical merc finds it hard to change careers and become an adventurer.

Also from Seven Seas, Berserk of Gluttony 3, Blue Giant 5-6, My Senpai Is Annoying 5, the 5th and final volume of the PENGUINDRUM manga, and The Demon Girl Next Door 3.

ASH: For the most part, I’ve been enjoying what I’ve read of Blue Giant.

ANNA: I have yet to read the first volume, but I have it!

SEAN: Square Enix debuts The Great Jahy Will Not Be Defeated! (Jahy-sama wa Kujikenai!), the story of a demon lord whose mana crystal is shattered and who ends up powerless in the human world. Can she regain her power despite being small, weak and somewhat pathetic? This has an anime coming out this summer, and is, sigh, from the same writer as Breasts Are My Favorite Things in the World! and The Maid I Hired Recently Is Mysterious.

They’ve also got The Strongest Sage with the Weakest Crest 4.

Tentai Books gives us How to Melt the Ice Queen’s Heart (Koori no Reijou no Tokashi Kata), a light novel which seems to be a sweet high-school romance series.

Tokyopop has a 4th volume of Ossan Idol!.

Viz has a formerly print-only release now released to digital – all 19 omnibuses of it! If you haven’t heard of Ranma 1/2, I’m sorry, I don’t know what to tell you.

ASH: Ha!

ANNA: What an obscure title!

SEAN: They’ve also got a digital release of Jump title Ayakashi Triangle, a series so ecchi it can’t appear on the normal Jump app. It’s from the To-Love-Ru creator, natch.

Yen On gives us Combatants Will Be Dispatched! 6, The Executioner and Her Way of Life 2, Goblin Slayer 12, In the Land of Leadale 3, Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? 16, Rascal Does Not Dream of a Sister Home Alone (the 5th in the series), and Reign of the Seven Spellblades 3.

Yen Press debut? We’ve got it. Captivated, by You (Muchuu sa, Kimi ni) is a one-shot short story collection from Enterbrain’s Comic Beam about strange high school kids, and has won some awards. It’s also a hardcover release. Anyone seeing the words “Comic Beam” should have already added this to their buy list.

ASH: Ooooh, this does look good.

ANNA: Sign me up!

SEAN: Yen also has Cirque Du Freak: The Manga’s 3rd Omnibus re-release, Cocoon Entwined 3 (hair), IM: Great Priest Imhotep 10, Karneval 12, and RaW Hero 5.

Hey, that’s not quiet at all! What suits your tastes?

Bookshelf Briefs 7/22/21

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A Certain Scientific Accelerator, Vol. 12 | By Kazuma Kamachi and Arata Yamaji | Seven Seas – I was surprised that this is the final volume. It wraps things up pretty well, tying things off as well as tying into the eighth Index novel, showing us Accelerator’s side of his walking up to Awaki and punching her suitcase full of badness into tiny bits. It works well as a capper for the whole series, which is filled with what Accelerator does best: saving the day while thinking to himself Touma could have done it better. We also get to see Yomikawa once again show she is the only sensible goddamn person in the entire City, and also the only one trying to help the kids grow up to not be monsters. Good luck with that; Railgun shows it’s not going well. – Sean Gaffney

Fist of the North Star, Vol. 1 | By Buronson and Tetsuo Hara | Viz Media – It’s hard to get a good read on this series, because it’s become so influential and referenced that you feel like you’ve already read it before you have. The author’s name could also be “Bronson,” as in Charles, and that tells you about the sort of story we get here. Kenshiro walks across an apocalyptic waste, finds injustice being done and innocents being killed, and starts exploding folks and saying things like “You Are Already Dead.” The humor is almost zero, it’s tremendously violent, and yet it’s also really compelling and readable. You can see why it became an ’80s classic. Don’t read this unless you know what you’re getting, but if you do, it’s essential. – Sean Gaffney

Kageki Shojo!!, Vol. 1 | By Kumiko Saiki | Seven Seas – The series had moved from Shueisha’s Jump Kai to Hakusensha’s Melody with this volume, so, despite the renumbering, I was expecting a bit of a reintroduction to everyone. Nope. You’d better have read the omnibus or you’ll be wondering what the heck happened. This seems to be several months after the omnibus, and shows that Ai in particular has mellowed out a lot. Fans of the anime running this summer will note that several scenes from this volume were folded in with the adaptation of the omnibus, but they work well here too. Especially the cliffhanger ending, where Sarasa does an absolutely brilliant acting job in class… and the teacher explains if she continues to do it that way, she’ll never be a star. Fantastic. – Sean Gaffney

Komi Can’t Communicate, Vol. 13 | By Tomohito Oda | Viz Media – Last time we were introduced to a young girl who’s staying with Komi’s family who has communication issues herself, though not the same as Komi’s. The majority of this book is her fighting with and bonding with Komi, who not only proves to be a sweetie pie but can also rally the entire town, Hinamizawa-style, when there’s a crisis. Meanwhile, she’s been improving so much lately that she hasn’t been needing Tadano… which upsets both of them. Then we get some of the class teaming up for a night out… which includes a test of courage, where Tadano is paired with first Komi and then Manbagi. Who is trying hard to push Tadano away, and it’s just not working. We’re headed for a crisis soon. – Sean Gaffney

New Game!, Vol. 11 | By Shotaro Tokuno | Seven Seas – After a fanservice-laden start that reminds you that, while the series may not have any men in it, the reader is definitely meant to be a man, we’re back to business as usual in New Game!. Hotarui returns to France, finding that it’s the best place for her art to grow. We see how difficult it can be to communicate the issue when something is just slightly off in the game designs and you’re not sure why. The big development, though, is that the team decides to make every NPC more playable than usual, meaning they all need unique designs and attention. The designs end up looking very much like our New Game! cast… with the exception of Rin, who wants to avoid her yuri crush becoming canon elsewhere. Cute as always. – Sean Gaffney

Sword Art Online: Girls’ Ops, Vol. 7 | By Neko Nekobyou and Reki Kawahara | Yen Press I’m not entirely certain how horrified the reader is supposed to be here, but certainly “the souls of those who died in Sword Art Online are being used to inhabit NPCs in the new game” is creepy as hell to me. And to Luz, who of course has someone dear to her that has now shown up again. There’s also a lot of clever fights here, and we get to see Luz use her Kirito-copy mod in order to fight as well. I also laughed at Argo trying her best to help everyone out… but nothing worked, so she ran off. And of course this whole arc ties in to one of Kawahara’s biggest themes, “what defines an NPC.” This ends with the next volume, and I hope the girls all get something cool to do. Even Leafa, the Zoidberg of SAO. – Sean Gaffney

Takane & Hana, Vol. 17 | By Yuki Shiwasu | Viz Media – OK, that turned out to be far less dramatic than I expected, and indeed less dramatic than Hana and her family expected as well. Turns out everything is fine… well, at least once Takane actually confronts his grandfather and admits what’s been obvious all along. There’s even time for a ski trip with a dramatic death-defying cliffhanger… well, it would be death defying if it were not the world’s tiniest cliff. Takane & Hana, despite the occasional dramatic turn, knows what its readers are here for, and that’s laughs and sentimentality. We get plenty of both here, and we even end with a wedding… well, with a marriage license, I assume the wedding will come in volume eighteen, which is the final one. Recommended for fans of snarky girls mocking jerky guys. – Sean Gaffney

Tales of Wedding Rings, Vol. 9 | By Maybe | Yen Press – Thankfully, after a break of over a year, this volume of the series has precisely zero “are they going to bone?” scenes in it, mostly as the hero and heroine are separated for most of the book. Satou is still trying to gain a few advantages in fighting, and seeing that legendary swords are not all they’re cracked up to be, while Hime struggles in trying to learn magic that seems to come easily to everyone else. Luckily, she’s helped out by what, to her, seems like a kindly woman who is very similar to her late mother. Unfortunately, to everyone else, it appears she’s talking to a black cloud of pure evil, and it’s no great surprise that everyone else is correct here. This was a stronger volume than previous ones, mostly due to the lack of “will they get it on?” to the plot. – Sean Gaffney

Those Not-So-Sweet Boys, Vol. 3 | By Yoko Nogiri | Kodansha Comics – Although Midori Nanami originally only became involved with a trio of truant boys to preserve her own scholarship, they’ve genuinely become friends. The more Midori has gotten to know Rei Ichijo, the thoughtful and lonely son of a rich, negligent father, the more she has fallen for him. By the end of this volume, it would appear her feelings are reciprocated. On paper, this series looks like pretty formulaic shoujo romance, but Yoko Nogiri has a way of imbuing her stories with realism and intriguing complications. Here, the main obstacle is Rei’s friend Yuki, who objects to Midori and Rei getting closer, but encourages his other bestie, Chihiro, to go after her. Does Yuki have feelings for Rei, or is he just deeply dependent on him? I’m really enjoying this series so far and am especially looking forward to further exploration of Yuki’s motivations. – Michelle Smith

We’re New at This, Vol. 7 | By Ren Kawahara | Kodansha Comics (digital only) – Having achieved stability in their relationship, our favorite cute and sexy couple decide to get a bigger place. There’s some nice discussion about finances and give-and-take, and I like that it shows that constant communication is what makes this couple work so well, and when they don’t communicate well things tend to go badly. This ends up leading to the next major problem, which is that Ikuma’s client he was working for goes under, meaning money he had assumed was coming in is now most definitely NOT coming in. He manages to find a quick solution, but doesn’t talk to Sumika about it first, which does not go over well. Can the marriage survive salaryman Ikuma over contracter Ikuma? Dunno, but I bet it’ll be cute and sweet. – Sean Gaffney

Pick of the Week: Five Alive

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KATE: If you’d told me five years ago that VIZ would be re-issuing Taiyo Matsumoto’s No. 5, I’d have chuckled and thought, “Boy, is this person naïve! VIZ couldn’t *give* copies of this series away back in 2001! It’s weird! It’s surreal! American readers aren’t ready for it!” I’m happy to say that I’m wrong, and that VIZ is about to release a gorgeous new edition of No. 5 that will give everyone a chance to luxuriate in Matsumoto’s spooky, slithery, beautiful artwork again. If you liked Tekkonkinkreet or Ping Pong, call your local comic shop NOW and ask them to pull a copy of No. 5 for you.

ANNA: I agree, No. 5 is the clear pick of the week for me as well.

MICHELLE: Now that I’ve gotten over my panic at the sheer influx of manga, I must concur—No. 5 is the standout here.

SEAN: Clearly it’s No. 5, yes, but I know the way I read manga, and I know Matsumoto and I have struggled before. As such, I’m going to actually pick the 5th volume of Tearmoon Empire, a hilarious “villainess makes good when she goes back in time” novel with a heaping helping of social conscience to it as well. Now with a stage show!

ASH: As soon as Tearmoon Empire is released in print, I suspect that I’ll wholeheartedly be onboard with that series. But, yeah, No. 5 is where it’s at for me this week, too. I think the time is finally right for the the manga to hit its mark in English, and I’m glad for it.

MJ: I hate to be a sheep, but it’s gotta be No. 5 for me, too! Weird and surreal feels exactly right when we’re living in a reality like the one we have now. Count me in!

Pick of the Week: One Cool Cat

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SEAN: Gee, what could it be? Moto Hagio? Cute smug-looking cats standing on their back paws? Sign me up for L’il Leo!

KATE: I’ve developed a reputation for being the most predictable member of the MB Battle Robot, and I won’t disappoint anyone by picking, say, The Hero Is Overpowered But Cautiously Optimistic or I’m Deeply Skeptical of the New Power I Just Manifested. OF COURSE Lil’ Leo is my first choice this week, for all the reasons Sean listed. But I’m also intrigued by Hello World, which is giving me serious orange vibes–and that’s never a bad thing.

MICHELLE: Any time there’s Moto Hagio, my pick is spoken for. That said, I am also looking forward to getting caught up on Ace of the Diamond and Giant Killing, both of which have new volumes out this week. The latter, being seinen sports manga about a professional team rather than high schoolers aiming for nationals, is particularly good.

ANNA: The idea of not picking Moto Hagio is inconceivable!

ASH: S’truth! If Moto Hagio is an option, that is the pick. And a cat manga, too? There really is no other choice. Lil’ Leo it is!

MJ: Moto Hagio and cats is an obvious and irresistible choice. My pick can only be Lil’ Leo!

Manga the Week of 7/14/21

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

MICHELLE: My big tabby is also not a fan.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

MICHELLE: Oooh.

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

ANNA: Cool.

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

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

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

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

MICHELLE: Looks fun!

ASH: It really could be!

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

MJ: Interested…

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

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

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

ASH: That title is kind of amazing.

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

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

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

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

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

ASH: I’ll admit, I’m curious.

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

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

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

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

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

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

MJ: Yen Press staying on brand, I see.

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

What manga makes you calm and tranquil?