Doughnuts Under a Crescent Moon, Vol. 1 | By Shio Usui | Seven Seas – It’s always worth buying a new yuri volume that features two adults, and this one does not disappoint. Hinako is trying her best to live the life that everyone and everything says she should be living, but she’s still pretty unhappy with it. She also finds herself drawn to Asahi, the cool and collected (and scary to the other workers) manager at the place she works, who turns out… to be a lot cuter than she expected. Meanwhile, Asahi’s sister finds out that she’s made friends with another woman and pushes hard for them to bond some more, as Asahi’s life revolves around work and her sister and that’s about it. This has just gotten started, but I really like both heroines and hope they make it work. – Sean Gaffney
Farming Life in Another World, Vol. 2 | By Kinosuke Naito and Yasuyuki Tsurugi | One Peace Books – I may have been a bit too generous with my brief of the first volume. I think the main issue is that the series does not allow our hero to leave the “village” that he has created—he’s considered too valuable, so others act as his envoys. Which is fine, but… the series never leaves his POV, so they just fly off, then come back. I suspect the series is popular with young men because it does not shy away from talking about how he’s having sex with over 50 women… but I wonder what they get out of it, since none of this is ever shown. You’re left with a book heavy on the food and farming but light on adventure or sex, the reason you’d think folks would be reading it. – Sean Gaffney
Kaguya-sama: Love Is War, Vol. 19 | By Aka Akasaka | Viz Media – Again, a book of two halves, and it’s all about the front half, as we resolve the “Hayasaka quits” plotline. It’s very tense and dramatic at times, and I enjoyed seeing Hayasaka briefly fantasize about a more typical romantic comedy resolution to things before being confronted with the sordid reality: Kaguya is upset and feels betrayed. And, well, with good reason. That said, Kaguya clearly understands that Hayasaka was doing this under threat, so they’re able to resolve their past and start over as friends. It’s really nice. The rest of the book is more typical, though we’re definitely setting things up to resolve the Tsubame subplot—is she going to betray Ishigami? Probably not, but I would not expect her to win. – Sean Gaffney
My Hero Academia, Vol. 27 | By Kohei Horikoshi | Viz Media – This marks the start of a very long and very devastating arc, and it’s clear almost from the get-go that it’s not going to go as well as planned. It’s impressively planned too, as the heroes really do try to take everything into account… but the villains are also very, very good at being bad guys. Indeed, the end of this volume revolves around the very question of “can bad guys be redeemed?” and the answer—yes, but you’ll need to do prison time—does not appeal. So the series shows it can kill off regulars, but will it go further? Certainly Mirko facing off against the Nomus involves a painful sacrifice for her, and the students all question whether they should really be there… a question the reader might be wondering as well. – Sean Gaffney
Natsume’s Book of Friends, Vol. 25 | By Yuki Midorikawa | Viz Media – This is down to about once a year now, but I still love it whenever it comes out, whether it’s telling more light-hearted stories, like the one here about a weak yokai hitching a ride out of a dangerous area, or more serious stuff, like the story that takes up the rest of the book, one of the longest arcs to date (and it ends on a cliffhanger), involving Natsume, Natori and Matoba teaming up to take on a nasty customer who seemingly works for an even nastier one who likes to collect yokai-related items. We get lots of (seemingly) identical ceramic cat dolls that look like Nyanko-sensei, some very scary paper dolls, and a real sense of danger on all sides. This feels like the sort of shoujo title you’d read in a horror magazine. – Sean Gaffney
Remina | By Junji Ito | VIZ Media – I’m not exactly a horror manga aficionado, but the premise of Remina intrigued me. Sadly, I ultimately found it strangely unaffecting. When a scientist discovers a new planet and names it after his daughter, she becomes a celebrity. And when said planet swiftly devours the rest of our solar system and heads for Earth, public opinion suddenly shifts as people become convinced that killing Remina the girl will compel Remina the planet to disappear. It’s a neat concept, but nothing lands with any weight. The destruction of the other planets happens so fast, for one thing, and Remina is largely passive (often “rescued” by creeps who then turn on her when she rejects their advances) and frequently expressionless. There are several panels, for example, where if not for dialogue reading “sob sob sob,” I never would’ve known she was crying. For better Ito, I recommend “The Enigma of Amigara Fault.” – Michelle Smith
Sadako at the End of the World | By Koma Natsumi | Yen Press – I’ll have to admit, I’ve never actually read Koji Suzuki’s novel Ring. Even so, I’m still very familiar with the premise of a cursed video tape and the character of Sadako who emerges to kill anyone who watches it—with so many adaptations and references to it in pop culture, Ring is a touchstone of Japanese horror. Sadako at the End of the World is a somewhat unusual but surprisingly effective take on the character and curse. The conceit is that Sadako has been brought forth by two young girls in a post-apocalyptic setting. In their innocence, they don’t recognize Sadako for the vengeful spirit that she is and are instead delighted to finally have someone else around for company. Natsumi takes a humorous approach, but at heart Sadako at the End of the World is a work of horror, even if it can at times be unexpectedly charming and endearing. – Ash Brown
We’re New at This, Vol. 5 | By Ren Kawahara | Kodansha Comics (digital only) – Now that our newly married couple have managed to have their first time, they may like it a bit TOO much—it’s strictly regimented to Friday and Saturday evenings, so that they get enough rest for their jobs. As always, there is a core underneath all the comedic fanservice, which is properly communicating with your partner, and not just assuming you know what they’re thinking. Even Sumika and Ikuma are having trouble with this… the rules have been set, but that doesn’t mean that Sumika doesn’t want her husband noticing when she’s horny and ready to go anyway. This is never going to get very deep, and you’d better be OK with sex and nudity, but it’s still a favorite of mine. – Sean Gaffney
