Manga Bookshelf

Discussion, Resources, Roundtables, & Reviews

Michelle Smith

Pick of the Week: Adults and Knights

by , , , , and Leave a Comment

SEAN: Even Though We’re Adults. Boy, that was easy. Next?

KATE: This week, I’m all about the DRAMA–specifically, romantic drama. I second Sean’s recommendation of Even Though We’re Adults, but am also stoked for a new volume of Knight of the Ice. (No, it’s not as awesome as Tramps Like Us, but it is deliriously silly and fun.)

ANNA: Knight of the Ice! Who could fail to love this josei manga about socially awkward office lady’s romance with an otaku elite figure skater??? I am consistently delighted by each volume.

MICHELLE: These two definitely top my list, as well!

ASH: Multiple josei releases in the same week! It happens a little more frequently than it used to, but it still thrills my heart. The debut of Even Though We’re Adults will be getting most of my attention this time, but I have been enjoying Knight of the Ice, too.

MJ: Same here! I’m totally here for Knight of the Ice, though Even Though We’re Adults may be my ultimate pick. Either one could easily grab my vote!

Manga the Week of 2/10/21

by , , , and 1 Comment

SEAN: Oh the weather outside is frightful, but the manga is so delightful.

Airship has an early digital release of Berserk of Gluttony 2 and the print release of Adachi and Shimamura 4.

Cross Infinite World has a one-shot shoujo light novel, As The Villainess, I Reject These Happy-Bad Endings! (Watashi, Tensei Akuyaku Reijōnanode, Meribaendo wa Soshi sa Sete Itadakimasu!). You can probably guess the plot from the title. This also has material in it that was not in the Japanese volume.

J-Novel Club has two digital debuts. Are You Okay With a Slightly Older Girlfriend? (Choppiri Toshiue Demo Kanojo ni Shite Kuremasu ka?) is from GA Bunko, and is about a couple of high school kids who get together… then he finds she’s actually 12 years older than him. This… could be bad, to be honest, but Japan does love those age gap romances.

ASH: That is true; those stories have been around since at least the 11th century.

SEAN: The other debut just had an anime announced. My Friend’s Little Sister Has It In for Me! (Tomodachi no Imouto ga Ore ni dake Uzai) is also GA Bunko, which seems to have given J-Novel Club its non-fantasy romcom titles. A guy is constantly belittled by his friend’s sister. But, when he has to pretend to be the boyfriend of the daughter of his boss, will her real feelings come out? Erm… yeah, I’ll try this too, but these two debuts summarize badly.

Also from J-Novel Club, we get The Bloodline 2, Cooking with Wild Game 11, and Seirei Gensouki: Spirit Chronicles 13.

Kaiten Books has a new digital manga release, The Yakuza’s Guide to Babysitting (Kumichou Musume to Sewagakari). This runs in Micro Magazine’s Comic Ride. It seems like one of those “bruiser guy brought to heel by a tiny little girl” sorts of titles. Cute and funny, in other words.

MICHELLE: Hm.

ASH: Oh, I often enjoy that particular sub-genre.

SEAN: No print debuts for Kodansha, but we do get A Couple of Cuckoos 2, Knight of the Ice 5, Something’s Wrong with Us 5, and The Witch and the Beast 4.

MICHELLE: I need to get caught back up on Knight of the Ice!

ANNA: Me too, I really enjoy this series.

ASH: It has been fun, so far!

SEAN: Digitally, the debut is Boss’s Wife (Gokukon ~Chou Dekiai Yakuza to Keiyaku Kekkon!?~), which runs in Ane Friend. A girl with a huge debt runs into a former classmate… who turns out to be a yakuza. He’ll buy her debt if she becomes his bride. Can she be a Yakuza wife? Man, the summaries this week are just brutal.

MICHELLE: I swore I thought this one looked kind of fun, but this summary is making me rethink that assessment.

SEAN: Also digitally: Ashidaka: The Iron Hero 2, the 28th and final volume of Domestic Girlfriend, the 12th and final volume of Kakushigoto: My Dad’s Secret Ambition, Peach Boy Riverside 4, Saint Young Men 9, Tokyo Revengers 19, and We Must Never Fall in Love 6.

One Peace has a 12th volume of Hinamatsuri.

A debut yuri manga from Seven Seas, Even Though We’re Adults (Otona ni Natte mo). From the creator of Aoi Hana and Wandering Son, this josei title runs in Kodansha’s Kiss magazine. A woman meets an old friend, they go out and more… then she finds the friend has a husband. Didn’t this sort of drama stop in high school? This one I’m definitely excited for.

MICHELLE: Me, too!

ANNA: This sounds interesting.

ASH: I’ve really been looking forward to this one.

MJ: I’d read anything from this creator, so count me in!

SEAN: There’s also a 12th Saint Seiya: Saintia Sho.

Square Enix has a 2nd volume of The Apothecary Diaries manga.

ASH: I still need to read the first volume, but i’m fairly confident this is a series I will greatly enjoy.

MJ: I have a soft spot for Square Enix basically always, and I need to get around to this, too.

SEAN: SuBLime has a new title, MADK. It runs in Printemps Shuppan’s BL magazine Canna, and MADK stands for Motsu Akuma to Danshi Koukousei. Seems to be rather bloody and violent, and has demons.

ASH: I am intrigued!

MJ: I like everything in this description, so yes!

SEAN: There’s a 10th volume of Finder’s Deluxe Edition, subtitled Honeymoon, and Given 5 from SuBLime as well.

ASH: I’m a volume or so behind on Given; this would be a good opportunity for me to catch up.

SEAN: Viz has Frozen 2: the Manga, a tie-in I would normally ignore except it’s by Arina Tanemura. Don’t expect an Idol Dreams crossover.

ANNA: I’m normally all about any Arina Tanemura manga but not sure I’m super stoked for a Frozen adaptation.

SEAN: Viz also has Fullmetal Alchemist: Fullmetal Edition 12, Hayate the Combat Butler 37, Komi Can’t Communicate 11, Pokemon Adventures Collector’s Edition 6, and A Tropical Fish Yearns for Snow 6.

MJ: Always here for new readers getting into Fullmetal Alchemist (or long-time fans expanding their collections), so I’ll always cheer for that!

SEAN: And Yen has some stragglers from January that got bumped. Including a debut, the manga version of The World’s Finest Assassin Gets Reincarnated in Another World as an Aristocrat. The LN of this came out at the end of December. The manga runs in Kadokawa’s Young Ace Up.

And finally, after what I swear were 6 or 7 delays, the 4th manga volume of I’ve Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years and Maxed Out My Level.

Since we’ve no place to go, what manga are you reading?

Pick of the Week: On and Off the List

by , , , and Leave a Comment

KATE: If you’re looking at this week’s new arrival list and thinking, “been there, read that,” why not check out Glacier Bay Books’ catalog? This indie manga publisher has been putting out a small but steady stream of manga by artists who aren’t writing stories about super-powered boys or boy-crazy teens. Though the catalog is a little hit-or-miss, Popicomi and <i<Glaeolia have some genuinely awesome material, and Glacier Bay’s new series En-Chan’s House looks promising.

SEAN: I think the digital version has been out for a few weeks now, but any excuse to pick Witch Hat Atelier is a good excuse. That said, I am also intrigued by She’s the Cutest… But We’re Just Friends!”, whose plot appears to be “I met this hot girl who loves gaming and we did not immediately fall in love.” Certainly a rare plot in Japanese media!

MICHELLE: I’m definitely intrigued by Sasaki and Miyano and The Vampire and His Pleasant Companions, but since I know for sure that I enjoy Rei Toma’s particular brand of shoujo fantasy, I’m going to choose The King’s Beast this time!

ASH: I’m very happy to back up Kate’s highlighting of Glacier Bay Books – I just recently go my hands on the second Glaeolia anthology and it looks great. That being said, like Michelle, I’m also really looking forward to the debut of Rei Toma’s The King’s Beast.

ANNA: I’m a big fan of Witch Hat Atelier, but I have to say that I’m really looking forward to Rei Toma’s The King’s Beast. I thought that The Water Dragon’s Bride was a great artistic leap forward, so I’m curious to find out what will happen when she returns to the world of Dawn of the Arcana.

Manga the Week of 2/3/21

by , , , and Leave a Comment

SEAN: February! The most depressing month of the year! Let’s cheer ourselves up with some new titles!

Airship has two digital-first light novels: Classroom of the Elite 7.5 and The Saint’s Magic Power Is Omnipotent 3.

J-Novel Club has LOTS of stuff. Let’s start with print, as we get two new omnibuses. Banner of the Stars 1-3 is the light novel series, while How A Realist Hero Rebuilt the Kingdom 1-2 is a collection of the manga.

ASH: The Banner of the Stars omnibus looks nice.

SEAN: Also in print: Ascendance of a Bookworm 7 (the final volume of the 2nd arc), By the Grace of the Gods 2, and In Another World with My Smartphone 14.

ASH: Hooray for more Bookworm!

SEAN: Digitally, J-Novel Club has two debuts. The Great Cleric (Seija Musou – Salaryman, Isekai de Ikinokoru Tame ni Ayumu Michi), whose manga adaptation Kodansha is already putting out here, is the first. A reincarnated Salaryman decides to try to live to a nice old age by being a healer. Little does he know…

The other debut is She’s the Cutest… But We’re Just Friends! (Ore no Onna Tomodachi ga Saikou ni Kawaii), a relatively recent series. A guy finds that the hottest girl in the school shares the same gaming hobbies he does. They quickly become best friends… so why does everyone think they’re dating? This looks cute and fun.

Also out digitally: Animeta! 5, An Archdemon’s Dilemma: How to Love Your Elf Bride 4 (manga version), Banner of the Stars 5, I Shall Survive Using Potions! 4 (manga version), Invaders of the Rokujouma!? 35, Sorcerous Stabber Orphen 10, and The World’s Least Interesting Magic Swordsman 5.

MICHELLE: Animeta! is pretty fun.

ASH: I’ve been enjoying the series, too.

SEAN: No debuts in print for Kodansha, but we do get Eden’s Zero 10, That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime: Trinity in Tempest 2, and Witch Hat Atelier 7.

ANNA: Always happy for more Witch Hat Atelier.

ASH: Yes, indeed!

MJ: I realize it’s probably a very different slime, but after playing a lot of Genshin Impact, is it weird that I’m suddenly interested in that dude’s reincarnation?

The digital debut is My Dearest Self With Malice Aforethought (Shin’ai naru Boku e Satsui o Komete), a dark title from Young Magazine. Virgin Eiji wakes up one day to find a girlfriend in his bed, his friend saying he got in a fight, and no memory of the last three days. What’s going on?

Also digital: Chihayafuru 24, Otherworldly Munchkin: Let’s Speedrun the Dungeon with Only 1 HP! 3, Our Fake Marriage 5, and The Invincible Reincarnated Ponkotsu 3.

MICHELLE: I can’t let a mention of Chihayafuru go by without saying “Yay!”.

ANNA: Wooo!!!

SEAN: Believe it or not, we now move to Viz. The debut is The King’s Beast (Ou no Kemono), the latest Rei Touma series, and set in the same universe as Dawn of the Arcana. The world isn’t great: those who are half-beast, half-human are discriminated against. So our heroine serves under the king disguised as a man. This runs in Cheese!.

MICHELLE: I really liked Dawn of the Arcana and The Water Dragon’s Bride, so I expect I will like this, too!

ANNA: I like both of those series, and I enjoy it when a heroine has to disguise herself as a man, so I have high hopes for this.

ASH: Ditto what you both said! I’m looking forward to giving this manga a try.

MJ: I admit I’m a little tapped out on “heroine disguises herself as a man” when it’s not actually about a trans person, but I’ll give it a shot.

SEAN: Shonen! Blue Exorcist 25, Boruto 10, Chainsaw Man 3, Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba 20, Dr. STONE 15, JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Part 4–Diamond Is Unbreakable 8, Jujutsu Kaisen 8, Kaguya-sama: Love Is War 18, Naruto: Shikamaru’s Story (a light novel), the 5th and final volume of Samurai 8, Seraph of the End 20, and We Never Learn 14.

ASH: I somehow missed reading the second volume of Chainsaw Man, so I’ll need to fix that. Also need to play some catch up with JoJo, too.

SEAN: Shoujo! Far fewer titles here. Shortcake Cake 11 and Yona of the Dawn 28. (Then again, Yona should count as 4 normal shoujo titles.)

MICHELLE: I’m happy about both of these.

ANNA: Me too!

ASH: Yay, Yona!

SEAN: Yen Press has two debuts. Sasaki and Miyano runs in Gene Pixiv, is based off a webcomic, and sounds sort of like the BL version of Horimiya.

MICHELLE: That’s intriguing!

ASH: Ooooh, when you describe it like that, I may need to check it out!

MJ: Sounds like this could be great!

SEAN: The Vampire and His Pleasant Companions (Kyuuketsuki to Yukai na Nakama-tachi) is a title that runs in Bessatsu Hana to Yume. A BL title based off of a novel, with art by the creator of Baby & Me, for those who recall that old Viz series. This is nothing like Baby & Me, but has lots of hot men, hot vampires, and hot vampire men.

MICHELLE: I was just reading about this mangaka yesterday because Kodansha announced their March debits and one of them is Ragawa-sensei’s Those Snow White Notes (Mashiro no Oto). Must be her time to shine.

ANNA: I have to admit, I’m intrigued by all these combinations of hotness.

MJ: There are some things that never get old. And by “some things” I mean “hot vampires”.

SEAN: Also out next week: Bungo Stray Dogs 17, Death March to the Parallel World Rhapsody 10 (manga version), Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? On the Side: Sword Oratoria 14 (manga version), and Sword Art Online Progressive Barcarolle of Froth 2 (also a manga version, though the LN doesn’t have the subtitle).

Chilled to the bone this winter? Heat up with some manga. What are you buying?

Pick of the Week: Cuties, Spongers, and Magi

by , , and Leave a Comment

SEAN: Not a lot of manga I’m really interested in this week, so my eyes turn to light novels. The Ideal Sponger Life is one of those “don’t judge a book by its cover” novels, which starts off a bit male fantasy but gets better as it goes along. I’m also very interested in the 2nd volume of Roll Over and Die, which combines yuri and grimdark in a way that doesn’t make me run screaming. Still, despite its manga being out already, Sponger Life is a debut, so I’ll go with that as the pick.

MICHELLE: There’s not a whole lot that tempts me, either, but I am at least somewhat interested in checking out Cutie and the Beast, so I will pick that this time.

ASH: I liked the first volume of Cutie and the Beast so I do plan on reading more, but my pick this week goes to Magus of the Library – I simply cannot resist fantasy librarians.

ANNA: I haven’t read the first volume of Cutie and the Beast yet, but out of everything coming out this week, that series is what I’m most likely to read next.

Bookshelf Briefs 1/20/21

by and Leave a Comment

Goodbye, My Rose Garden, Vol. 3 | By Dr. Pepperco | Seven Seas – Last time I said that this series never quite tipped over into melodrama, but let’s face it, that’s what happens here. I mean, it’s good melodrama, and you really feel the tortured emotions of these girls who just want to be able to love each other. If I’m honest, the fact that this series has a happy ending feels a bit unrealistic given everything that’s been stacked against them since the start, but that’s OK, because it fits the work emotionally, and no one wants to see this end with someone visiting another’s grave. If you enjoyed Emma but wish it had more lesbians, Goodbye, My Rose Garden should be right up your street, and I always enjoy seeing Japanese authors write Victoriana. – Sean Gaffney

New Game!, Vol. 10 | By Shotaro Tokuno | Seven Seas – Kou is back and in charge, and the most interesting part of this volume was her decision to make Aoba the main character designer for the new game, even though she’s not the most talented artist in the room. Sometimes you just want a style. Elsewhere, Kou and Rin’s relationship continues to be “Rin is as blatantly gay as possible, Kou does not get it, but it’s getting more and more blatant by the volume,” and I figure a dam has to break at some point. As for the others, Nene is promoted to full-time employee after, of all things, an airsoft battle, and we see some of the aftermath of the previous game the team released, including some BL doujinshi popping up. This is cute, and nothing else, but it is very cute. – Sean Gaffney

The Night Beyond the Tricornered Window, Vol. 7 | By Tomoko Yamashita | SuBLime (digital only) – I don’t think there’s any currently running series that leaves me quite as desperate for the next volume as Tomoko Yamashita’s thoroughly excellent The Night Beyond the Tricornered Window. In this volume, we have Mikado learning to value the safe places he has had in his life while shying away from being Rihito’s safe place, various people trying to dig up information about the professor, Erika’s mother finally growing a backbone and urging her daughter to run away while she can, and many not-so-subtle hints about the professor’s true identity. There’s a lot of plot, there’s a lot of emotion, and there are a lot of striking visuals. I love it so much and am bummed that it recently ended in Japan. At least there’s a forthcoming anime adaptation to look forward to! – Michelle Smith

Practice Makes Perfect, Vol. 4 | By Ui Hanamiya | Kodansha Comics (digital only) – There’s a bit less sex in this final volume, mostly because it is a final volume, and we have to wrap up all the plot threads that are not “let’s treat sex like practicing for a sport.” I was pleased to see that the manga made all the right choices. There’s a brief “I’m jealous the girl I love spends her days surrounded by hot guys,” but it doesn’t last and the hot guys are all rooting for him. I will admit I *hate* very public proposals, but if I can get over that, it was sweet. Best of all, Nohara is forced to choose between getting married or her career… and she chooses the career, going to Italy for two years and enduring a long-distance relationship. They even both get Olympic golds! Though not in sex. I hope this sees print; it was great. – Sean Gaffney

Pretty Boy Detective Club, Vol. 1: The Dark Star That Shines for You Alone | By NISIOSIN and Kinako | Vertical – As someone who can appreciate both pretty boys and mystery novels, I was intrigued by Pretty Boy Detective Club. Actually, I am still intrigued by the premise and think it would probably make a fun anime. As a light novel, though, I really wasn’t a fan. This first book in the series is told from the perspective of Mayumi Dojima, self-proclaimed “extreme contrarian,” who enlists the aid of a group of eccentric middle-school detectives in finding the elusive star she saw ten years ago. Mayumi’s narrative voice is not particularly enjoyable to begin with, but also because we’re following her, we see absolutely nothing about how the boys investigate her case and almost nothing about the boys themselves, except superficial things and one recurring joke about how one of them is in love with a first grader. I truly did want to like this but ultimately it merits only a “meh.” – Michelle Smith

Queen’s Quality, Vol. 10 | By Kyousuke Motomi | Viz Media – New arc starts here, with more than one snake possessing people and wanting out. Unfortunately, one of those snakes is in Kyutaro, and does in fact get out at one point, which leads to a scene that manages to be both scary and sexy, because he attacks Fumi late at night when they are both, not to put too fine a point on it, rather horny. Honestly, this is one of those series that’s worth reading for the art alone—it’s simply terrific here, especially when we get to see how badass Fumi can be, wielding both a sword and a headbutt with equal perfection. It looks as if we’re going to have snake vs. snake battling next time, which hopefully will not lead to clan vs. clan. I always enjoy when a new volume is out. – Sean Gaffney

Sacrificial Princess and the King of Beasts, Vol. 11 | By Yu Tomofuji | Yen Press – The kidnapping arc finally wraps up, with a lot of action and also a lot of heartfelt debate about what it means to be a good leader, including a glorious scene where Sariphi plays Fenrir like a fiddle, telling him “his majesty would come to where I am” knowing that it will get him to do it as well. After a very bloody battle, which takes up most of the middle of the book, His Majesty is so worn down he actually gets ill enough to turn human… a dangerous thing given that he’s in his chambers. Fortunately, he has his queen by his side. Also fortunately, there’s another wonderful battle scene, mock this time, between Lanteveldt and Jormungand. This remains a highly underrated shoujo series. – Sean Gaffney

Snow White with the Red Hair, Vol. 10 | By Sorata Akiduki | Viz Media – I always seem to fall behind with this series—as I review volume ten, volume eleven is due out—but reading it always reminds me how much I enjoy it. For one thing, we finally get Kiki’s backstory, and I enjoyed it—it’s not tragic, and she’s on relatively good terms with her father. The issue is that she’s being told to get married and return home, and she’s not ready to do either yet. The manga seems to be shipping her and Mitsuhide hard, but I dunno. As for our title character, she’s as happy as can be right now, which is perhaps ominous given this series is 21 volumes and counting, but it’s nice to see. Unless you’re an Obi shipper. Of whom there are a whoooooole lot. This is still wonderful. – Sean Gaffney

We’re New at This, Vol. 1 | By Ren Kawahara | Kodansha Comics (digital only) – This comes from the creator of Ao-chan Can’t Study, so the fact that it’s all about sex is not particularly surprising. More accurately, it’s all about our newly married couple NOT having sex—they’re childhood friends, and do love each other, but are both rather embarrassed about the idea, and both easily can “not be in the mood” if things aren’t perfect. The volume—and likely the series—involves them trying to get the other one into the mood. Best part of the manga is the wife, Sumika, who is the ‘deadpan stoic’ sort, which makes it funnier that she’s a rather horny newlywed. The husband, Ikuma, is alas more of a standard nerdy drip. Still, there’s enough fun here for me to read more. – Sean Gaffney

Pick of the Week: Asadorable Manga

by , , , , and Leave a Comment

SEAN: Naoki Urasawa tends to be one of those authors I know I should get into but I never really have for various reasons, but let’s face it, there’s one really obvious pick this week and it’s Asadora, his new Big Comic Spirits series. Though Mama Akuma sounds good enough to be my runner-up.

MICHELLE: I’m in absolute agreement with Sean. The only Urasawa series I’ve actually finished is Monster, but it was great and I really did like what I read of Pluto and 20th Century Boys, as well.

ANNA: I’m picking Asadora as well, I’m always curious about new Urasawa.

KATE: I admit that I was pretty disappointed in both Mujirushi and Sneeze, so I’m a little hesitant to recommend Asadora. Instead, I’m throwing my weight behind the fourth volume of Shuzo Oshimi’s creepy thriller Blood on the Tracks. Love or hate his work, it’s impossible to deny his phenomenal artistic chops or his crack sense of pacing, whether he’s re-imagining The Drifting Classroom for adult readers or recalling the unbearable horrors of being fifteen. Blood on the Tracks is no exception: it’s tense, uncomfortable, and filled with the kind of panels that invite 4,000 word think-pieces.

ASH: Normally Asadora would be the easy pick for me, but this week I find that I’m intrigued by all the debuts about girls dealing with the supernatural – Rozi in the Labyrinth, Dear NOMAN, Mama Akuma – so I’m just going to choose that entire subgenre. That being said, Kate is spot on about Oshimi and Blood on the Tracks!

MJ: There’s a lot to choose from this week, including all the series everyone has mentioned so far (as well as the re-release of Saiyuki!) but I’m getting behind the one Sean called for me from the beginning. I’m going with Mama Akuma as my pick this week.

Manga the Week of 1/20/21

by , , , and Leave a Comment

SEAN: Well, that was a nice break this week, huh? Next week is back to a giant pile, I’m afraid.

J-Novel Club has a quintet of light novels. We get Can Someone Please Explain What’s Going On?! 5, Holmes of Kyoto 3, The Master of Ragnarok & Blesser of Einherjar 14, Outbreak Company 16, and Slayers 5.

In print, Kodansha just has Life Lessons with Uramichi Oniisan 2.

Digitally, of course, there is far more. The debut is Will It Be the World or Her? (Sekai ka Kanojo ka Erabenai), a Bessatsu Shonen Magazine title. A guy tries to confess to his childhood friend… but another girl shows up and says she’s his girlfriend. What’s more, he has to forget about the other girl… or else the world will end! This sounds like an updated UY, but the cover art sort of puts me off.

We also get Dolly Kill Kill 10, Dr. Ramune – Mysterious Disease Specialist – 3, GE: Good Ending 13, I Guess I Became the Mother of the Great Demon King’s 10 Children in Another World 2, I’m Standing on a Million Lives 10, Kakushigoto 11, Orient 10, Saiyuki 4, and We’re New at This 2.

ASH: I’m still pleased that Saiyuki is being re-released; I’d love to see even more of Minekura’s work in English.

ANNA: I’m glad that Saiyuki is being re-released too!

MJ: I am, too!

SEAN: Two debut manga from Seven Seas. The first is Rozi in the Labyrinth (Roji Meikyuu no Rozi), from Mag Garden’s Comic Garden. It’s another “innocent girl in a world of supernatural beings” series along the lines of Nicola Traveling the Demon’s World.

ASH: This is a sub-genre that appeals to me. Nicola is a delight, so I’ll probably give this series a try, too.

MJ: Same here.

SEAN: Tamamo-chan’s a Fox! (High School Inari Tamamo-chan!) runs in Niconico Seiga, and has a fox spirit try to blend in as a human so that she can enjoy high school life. Unfortunately, her disguise is not all that great. This looks cute?

ASH: I’m intrigued?

MJ: This does sound potentially adorable.

SEAN: Also from Seven Seas: The Ancient Magus’ Bride: Jack Flash and the Faerie Case Files 2, A Centaur’s Life 19, Classroom of the Elite 7 (in print), GIGANT 4, The Hidden Dungeon Only I Can Enter 2 (manga version), Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear 4 (manga version), Monster Girl Doctor 7, and Mushoku Tensei 9 (digitally).

ASH: I haven’t actually read the first volume yet, but I’m definitely interested in Jack Flash and the Faerie Case Files.

SEAN: Tokyopop has two volume 2s. BanG Dream! Girls Band Party! Roselia Stage (a final volume) and A Gentle Noble’s Vacation Recommendation (not a final volume).

Vertical has a number of titles. APOSIMZ 6, Blood on the Tracks 4, Don’t Toy with Me, Miss Nagatoro 5, and Weathering with You 2.

Viz’s debut is Asadora!, a new series from Naoki Urasawa that runs in Big Comic Spirits. This seems to be one of those “follow a girl from childhood into her adult life” series, so this first volume should be full of adorable little scamps.

MICHELLE: I’m looking forward to this!

ASH: Likewise!

ANNA: Me too!

MJ: Hurray!! Totally into this.

SEAN: There’s also BEASTARS 10, Children of the Whales 16, Dead Dead Demon’s Dededede Destruction 9, Hell’s Paradise Jigokuraku 6, and Mobile Suit Gundam Thunderbolt 15.

ASH: I need to catch up on BEASTARS.

ANNA: I need to catch up on Dead Dead Demon’s Dededede Destruction.

SEAN: Yen On has a debut light novel: King of the Labyrinth (Meikyu no Ou). This seems to be a dungeon crawl light novel, only from the perspective of the monster, a powerful minotaur.

ASH: Okay, I do like a good minotaur story…

SEAN: They’re also reprinting the Haruhi Suzumiya light novels, in paperback but with the original cover art that was used for the hardcovers. The first two are out next week.

ASH: I’d somehow missed that particular news!

Yen On also has The Asterisk War 15, High School Prodigies Have It Easy Even in Another World 3, I’ve Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years and Maxed Out My Level 9, Kingdom Hearts III: The Novel 3, My Youth Romantic Comedy Is Wrong As I Expected 10.5, Strike the Blood 17, Sword Art Online 21, That Time I Got Reincarnated As a Slime 10, and Wandering Witch 4. Phew.

Yen Press has no fewer than four debuts next week. Wow! We’ll start with The Dark History of the Reincarnated Villainess (Tensei Akujo no Kuro Rekishi). This runs in LaLa, and has an amusing and also horrifying premise: our heroine is, yes, reincarnated as the villainess… but it’s from her own story she wrote in middle school!

MICHELLE: Huh. The premise and the fact it runs in LaLa piques my interest a little.

ASH: That does sound like one of the better variations on the theme I’ve heard lately.

MJ: This sounds kind of great, potentially.

SEAN: Dear NOMAN is from Kadokawa’s Comic Walker, and it’s about a girl who can see supernatural creatures but pretends not to. Then, one day, it becomes impossible to keep pretending. This is semi-yuri, and also only two volumes long.

ASH: Count me as curious.

MJ: Same!

SEAN: Mama Akuma (Akuma no Mama) is a Gangan Online title about a demon who prides himself on granting any wish… then a fourth-grader wishes for him to be her mama? Well, if that’s the wish, then that’s how it’s got to be. This looks fun.

MICHELLE: I will probably have to check this out.

MJ: This sounds very much like my thing. FYI, Sean totally called this in my DMs.

SEAN: Mint Chocolate is from HanaLaLa Online, and is the old standard “oh no, the guy I like is now my step-brother, how will we live under the same roof?” sort of series. Sounds like the classic “jerk slowly becomes not jerk” shoujo title, too…

In non-debuts, we get Combatants Will Be Dispatched! 4 (manga version), Delicious in Dungeon 9, Heterogenia Linguistico 2, Interspecies Reviewers Comic Anthology: Darkness, Trinity Seven 22, and The World’s Strongest Rearguard 3 (manga version).

Lots of debuts nxt week. What catches your eye?

Pick of the Week: Sports Manga on a Light Week

by , and Leave a Comment

MICHELLE: There isn’t a whole lot that appeals to me from this week’s releases, but what always does appeal to me is the chance to have a mini-marathon of one of my favorite sports manga series in order to get caught up to the most recent volume. I love doing this no matter the series, and next week it’ll be Ace of the Diamond‘s turn, so that’s my pick this week.

SEAN: My choice is also a sports manga… sort of. I’ve been delighted with Practice Makes Perfect from Day One, with its premise of two dumb jocks who treat having good sex the way they would treat becoming the best at any other major Olympic sport. Equal parts hilarious and sexy, the fourth volume is the last, so expect them to finally get the Gold. So to speak.

ASH: This week will largely be a week for me to catch up on me reading, too, without adding too much more to the to-be-read pile. But if Practice Makes Perfect ever makes it into print it would probably be by my pick, so I’ll just go ahead and pick it now.

Manga the Week of 1/13/21

by , , and Leave a Comment

SEAN: Next week is a very quiet week. I’ll take it!

ASH: A chance to at least pretend I can catch up on my reading!

SEAN: Cross Infinite World has a debut light novel, Reset! The Imprisoned Princess Dreams of Another Chance! (Torawareta Ōjo wa Nido, Shiawasena Yume o Miru), a “Peggy Sue” style story along the lines of Tearmoon Empire, about a princess whose life and kingdom are destroyed finding herself a 12-year-old once more.

J-Novel Club has quite a few ongoing titles. Campfire Cooking in Another World’s 2nd manga volume, Der Werwolf 10, The Epic Tale of the Reincarnated Prince Herscherik 3, Fushi no Kami: Rebuilding Civilization Starts with a Village 2, Record of Wortenia War 9, Sorcerous Stabber Orphen: The Youthful Journey 2 (this is the manga), and A Wild Last Boss Appeared! 3.

In print, Kodansha has Beyond the Clouds 3 and The Quintessential Quintuplets 12.

Digitally, the debut is A Couple of Cuckoos (Kakkou no Īnazuke), the new series from the creator of Yamada-kun and the Seven Witches. It combines “accidentally switched at birth” and “arranged marriage”, and sounds sort of like an updated Marmalade Boy.

ANNA: Hmmmm…

SEAN: Also digitally: Ace of the Diamond 30, Peach Boy Riverside 3, Practice Makes Perfect 4 (the final volume), Saint Young Men 9, The Story of Our Unlikely Love 2 (also a final volume), and We Must Never Fall in Love! 5.

MICHELLE: At last here are a few I plan to read!

SEAN: One Peace has Hinamatsuri 11.

ASH: Speaking of needing to catch up – I enjoyed the first few volumes of Hinamatsuri but keep falling further behind with the series.

SEAN: SuBLime has two Volume 3s, Coyote and Jealousy.

Lastly, we have Viz, who have Case Closed 77, Fly Me to the Moon 3, Persona 5… erm… 5, Pokemon Sun & Moon 9, Rin-Ne 37, Splatoon 11, and Yo-Kai Watch 16.

ANNA: My kids like Splatoon!

SEAN: See? Super short. Anything here for you?

Pick of the Week: White Roses

by , , , , and Leave a Comment

SEAN: It’s an embarrassment of riches the first week of 2021. There’s the new Ascendance of a Bookworm novel, the new Sweat and Soap, and any number of Viz titles. But the book I’m most interested in is A White Rose in Bloom. When Classmates came out I loved its tone, and I’m hoping that we’ll see the same attention to tone and character in this new series.

MICHELLE: I am very interested indeed in A White Rose in Bloom. Not just because of its pedigree, but because I’m a sucker for boarding school stories. However, I must admit that what most fills me with manga squee this week is the prospect of a mini-marathon to get caught back up with Haikyu!!. This will probably be the last catchup I do before I hoard the volumes leading up to the 45th and final one.

ANNA: There’s a ton of great manga coming out this week, but I’m going to pick Daytime Shooting Star, because that always seems to be on the top of my to-read pile whenever it comes out.

KATE: I never miss an opportunity to plug Drifting Dragons, which is one of the best-looking fantasy/adventure series on the market right now, but I’m also going to sneak in a recommendation Blue Period, an engaging drama about a high school student whose foray into painting leads him on an unexpected journey of self-discovery. Paging Bob Ross!

ASH: I’ve really been enjoying Drifting Dragons, too, but this week my eyes are on A White Rose in Bloom. The manga is good-looking and distinctive in an entirely different way and Asumiko Nakamura’s work is always a must-read for me.

MJ: I’m typically late with my picks each week, so Sean always has to nudge me for them. Then sometimes I’m still slow, so he’s always having to come up with some kind of clever line to get me off my butt. But his week was easy. He said, it “has a manga by the author of Doukyusei.” A White Rose in Bloom had me right there. That’s all there is to say.

Manga the Week of 1/6/21

by , , and Leave a Comment

SEAN: It’s almost 2021! A year that is not 2020! Let’s start it off well, with manga.

ASH: Yes, let’s!

SEAN: We start off with J-Novel Club, who have a giant pile of stuff, including several debuts.

No debuts for print, but we do see An Archdemon’s Dilemma 9, Ascendance of a Bookworm’s 3rd manga volume, Full Metal Panic 4-6 in a hardcover omnibus, I Shall Survive Using Potions! 2 (manga version), Infinite Dendrogram 10, and My Next Life As a Villainess! 5.

ASH: I’ve been enjoying the Ascendance of a Bookworm novels, but haven’t actually gotten around to reading the manga yet.

SEAN: Digitally we start with the manga adaptation of already licensed light novel Black Summoner, which runs in Overlap’s Comic Gardo.

Speaking of Overlap, they’re the publisher of the light novel Dungeon Busters, which debuts next week. Our hero finds a dungeon in his backyard… and suddenly there’s 666 of them all over the world, which need to be cleared in ten years or the world will end! What to do? Start a company dedicated to clearing dungeons.

If you’re tired of fantasy dungeon crawls, there is also Our Crappy Social Game Club Is Gonna Make the Most Epic Game (Jakushou Soshage-bu no Bokura ga Kamige wo Tsukuru made). A former amateur social game maker has transferred schools due to past trauma, but cannot help but be drawn into the Social Game Club there too. The whole club is weird. The club is also about to be disbanded. Can he help them?

Also out digitally: Ascendance of a Bookworm 9, Discommunication 6, Grimgar of Fantasy and Ash 16, Infinite Dendrogram 6 (manga version), and the 5th and final version of My Little Sister Can Read Kanji, whose other volumes came out when J-Novel Club had just begun.

Kaiten Books has a manga debuting digitally. Gacha Girls Corps (Gacha o Mawashite Nakama o Fuyasu Saikyou no Bishoujo Gundan o Tsukuriagero), from Micro Magazine’s Comic Ride, is based on a light novel (not licensed here), and its premise seems to be “In Another World with My Gacha Rolls”.

In print, Kodansha has a 2nd Blue Period, Saiyuki 4, and Sweat and Soap 5.

ASH: I’m just now getting around to giving Sweat and Soap a try; I’ve been hearing good things.

SEAN: Digitally the debut is Harem Marriage (Hare Kon), a manga that ran in Young Magazine. A woman who has had bad luck at love moves back to the country, only to find the bad luck follows her – her family are deeply in debt! A stranger offers to take care of the debt if she marries him. The thing is, their town has legalized polygamy, and he already has TWO other wives. If you find the idea of harem manga interesting but want one far more realistic and seeped in drama and sex, this might interest you.

MICHELLE: I might check this out.

SEAN: There’s also All-Rounder Meguru 18, the 7th and final Cells at Work: Bacteria!, Drifting Dragons 9, The Hero Life of a (Self-Proclaimed) “Mediocre” Demon! 5, The Invincible Reincarnated Ponkotsu 2, and Smile Down the Runway 17.

Seven Seas has several debuts, though we’ve seen two of them in digital form already. Berserk of Gluttony and Muscles Are Better Than Magic get their light novels debuts in print.

The manga debut is A White Rose in Bloom (Mejirobana no Saku), a yuri title from the creator of Classmates that comes from Rakuen le Paradis. A girl at an elite boarding school is forced to stay over the holidays, and the only other student there is the aloof ice queen. The author and magazine this is from make me very, very interested.

MICHELLE: Indeed! I also love the cover.

ASH: I love Asumiko Nakamura’s work, so I am very much looking forward to this series.

SEAN: There’s also Gal Gohan 6, the 12th and final Himouto! Uramu-chan, I’m in Love with the Villainess 2 (digital), Machimaho 7, Non Non Biyori 14, and the print version of Reincarnated As a Sword’s 7th light novel.

Vertical has the 10th volume of CITY.

Viz has no debuts, content to merely be releasing new volumes for most of the best-selling manga in the world.

On the shonen side, there’s Black Clover 24, Haikyu!! 42, Jujutsu Kaisen 0 (the “pilot” for the ongoing manga), Moriarty the Patriot 2, My Hero Academia 26, Platinum End 12, and The Promised Neverland 18.

MICHELLE: I’ll be reading a bunch of these!

ANNA: I need to check out Moriarty the Patriot.

ASH: I picked up the first volume but still need to read it.

SEAN: On the shoujo side, we get Daytime Shooting Star 10, An Incurable Case of Love 6, Love Me Love Me Not 6, Prince Freya 4, Snow White with the Red Hair 11, and Takane and Hana 16.

MICHELLE: And also a bunch of these!

ANNA: It is a good week for me!

SEAN: Lastly a trio of titles from Yen Press: Breasts Are My Favorite Thing in the World 3, Sacrificial Princess and the King of Beasts 12, and That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime: The Ways of the Monster Nation 3.

Anything strike you as particularly 2021 in this list?

Pick of the Year: Our Favorite 2020 Manga

by , , , , and Leave a Comment

KATE: Since this is the final week of 2020, we decided to pick our favorite new manga of 2020 instead of highlighting something from the new arrivals pile. I’m torn between two books: BL Metamorphosis, which is a feel-good series that’s never pat, obvious, or cliche in its portrayal of BL fandom, and Blood on the Tracks, a creepy, atmospheric series from Shuzo Oshimi about the perils of helicopter parenting. Though Oshimi’s manga always explores uncomfortable territory–seriously, this guy must be a joy at cocktail parties–he is one of the most distinctive and expressive artists currently being licensed for the US market. Oh, and he has a killer sense of pacing.

SEAN: There are all sorts of new manga I could talk about, from surprise romantic sweetness Sweat & Soap to the hilarious and sweet thriller Spy x Family to, as Kate said, the fantastic generational series BL Metamorphosis. But for me, the series of 2020 is actually from 1972. The Rose of Versailles was a Holy Grail of manga licensing for so long, and for a while it looked like it was in development forever, but the finished product shows off how it was worth the wait. One of the most iconic manga ever.

ANNA: No question for me, to have The Rose of Versailles released in such a wonderful edition after waiting so long for it to come out is something to be celebrated. To have such an iconic manga available in English is such a treat, and it deserves to be manga of the year.

MICHELLE: Looking back, there were a lot of debuts I loved (Knight of the Ice, Blue Flag, With a Dog AND a Cat, Every Day Is Fun, Yoshi no Zuikara…) and some that I’m sure I will love when I actually manage to read them (BL Metamorphosis, The Rose of Versailles, Ping Pong…) but the series that only took a few pages to completely secure my eternal love and devotion was Spy x Family. It’s stylish and clever but doesn’t lack substance, the characters are endearing and interesting, and it also manages to be both funny and heartwarming. I hope to be reading this series for years to come!

ASH: Many of my top manga of the year have already been mentioned – the coveted The Rose of Versailles, the undeniably wonderful BL Metamorphosis, the distinctive Ping Pong. It was also a great year for alternative and indie manga with the release of The Swamp, Magician A, and not one but two volumes of the Glaeolia anthology. But, if I’m to be completely honest, the single volume of manga that left the greatest impact on me this year was the conclusion of Blank Canvas. Akiko Higashimura’s ability to combine humor with brutal honesty is unmatched, making this series both heartwarming and heartwrenching.

MJ: It feels too obvious to say, “I’ve had a life-changing year” in 2020, but with so much new going on for me, career-wise, there hasn’t been much time for reading manga. That said, there are a number of series I know I should be reading, and I know I’ll love them when I do. Top of the list is BL Metamorphosis, which has been getting rave reviews from my colleagues, and wow, Michelle’s endorsement of Spy x Family is not something I can ignore. But I’m going to go “obvious” yet again and give my pick of the year to the long-awaited The Rose of Versailles. I can’ count the number of times we’ve chanted the name of that title—first, waiting for it to be licensed, then waiting for it to actually appear. And from what I’ve seen, the wait was more than worthwhile. What a gorgeous release! It has to be my pick.

Manga the Week of 12/30/20

by , , , and Leave a Comment

SEAN: The final week of 2020, a year I will be all too happy to put behind me. What’s coming out?

J-Novel Club has Otherside Picnic 4, Welcome to Japan, Ms. Elf! 5, and the 2nd and final volume of WATARU!!! The Hot-Blooded Fighting Teen & His Epic Adventures After Stopping a Truck with His Bare Hands!!.

Kodansha has just two titles in print next week. That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime: Trinity in Tempest 2 (which I do not care about) and Witch Hat Atelier 7 (which I do).

MICHELLE: I pledge that someday I will actually read Witch Hat Atelier.

ASH: You have a treat waiting for you, Michelle! Witch Hat Atelier is truly wonderful.

ANNA: I agree, it is a wonderful series.

SEAN: Digitally it has a lot more. The debut is We’re New At This (Mijuku na Futari de Gozaimasu ga), a series from the creator of Ao-chan Can’t Study!. Two childhood friends have gotten married and love each other… but they’re both total innocents! Can they figure out how to do what couples do? This runs in Comic Days.

Also out digitally: Fairy Tail: Happy’s Heroic Adventure 7, Guilty 7, My Boyfriend in Orange 10, Shaman King: The Super Star 4 (which catches us up with Japan, I think), A Sign of Affection 3, and The Prince’s Romance Gambit 8. A Sign of Affection is already on my must-buy list.

MICHELLE: That’s another one I need to actually start. I also enjoy Guilty, which is a fun josei drama about people who definitely don’t need lessons on what couples do.

SEAN: Seven Seas has a trio of titles, the most important being the 4th and final volume of Satoko & Nada. They also have the print version of Restaurant to Another World 4 and the print version of Arifureta Zero 4.

MICHELLE: Yay Satoko & Nada.

ASH: This series is a delight! I’m so happy that it was released in translation.

SEAN: Sol Press has 4 digital titles, all light novels. The only one that isn’t a debut is Chivalry of a Failed Knight 4.

The Game Master Has Logged into Another World (GM ga Isekai ni Login Shimashita). Gamer and GM collapses one day and finds himself in a game, now he has to call on his special cheat GM powers. I hate everything I typed just now.

I Surrendered My Sword for a New Life As a Mage (Moto Saikyou no Kenshi wa, Isekai Mahou ni Akogareru). A boy really wants to learn magic… but has no talents there. He does have amazing talents as the reincarnation of a master swordsman, but still… he wants to learn magic! This sounds slightly better, but only slightly.

Let This Grieving Soul Retire! Woe is the Weakling Who Leads the Strongest Party (Nageki no Bourei wa Intai Shitai: Saijiyaku Hanta ni Yoru Saikiyou Patei Ikusei Jutsu). This actually made it onto the end-of-year Light Novel Popularity polls, which is why I might actually look at it, despite being a “weak to strong” book, a genre I’m not fond of. Our hero’s friends have cool powers. He does not. But for some reason they keep expecting things of him.

Square Enix has a third volume of My Dress-Up Darling.

ASH: This series really surprised me. It’s definitely risqué, but it has some depth to the story and characters, too.

SEAN: Tokyopop has the 7th and final omnibus of Aria The Masterpiece, meaning after 16 years, and being cancelled twice by two different companies, we can finally read the end of Aria.

ASH: Wow!

MJ: I don’t even know what to say about this.

ANNA: I suppose it is certainly some sort of publishing achievement.

SEAN: Vertical has a 2nd in NISIOISIN’s Pretty Boy Detective Club series, The Swindler, the Vanishing Man, and the Pretty Boys.

Yen On has a few December stragglers. This includes a debut. The World’s Finest Assassin, Reincarnated in a Different World as an Aristocrat (Sekai Saikou no Ansatsusha, Isekai Kizoku ni Tensei Suru) sounds a whole lot like a number of other series we’ve seen recently, to be honest.

ASH: There does seem to have been one or two of those…

SEAN: There’s also Bungo Stray Dogs 5, Our Last Crusade or the Rise of a New World 5, and Woof Woof Story 5. Lotta 5s.

Lastly, Yen Press has High School Prodigies Have It Easy Even in Another World 9 (manga version) and A Terrified Teacher at Ghoul School 9.

What manga will you be reading to help you forget 2020?

Pick of the Week: Still High on BL Metamorphosis

by , , , , and Leave a Comment

SEAN: It’s not a very inspiring week for me this time around, though a new volume of the stellar BL Metamorphosis is always welcome. I’m sure the others will talk about it. My pick, though, is the final volume of Bloom Into You: Regarding Saeki Sayaka, a fantastic light novel spinoff of the original manga. This third volume promises to show us a romance for her that actually works out. Can’t wait.

MICHELLE: I haven’t yet ready any of BL Metamorphosis, but am nonetheless very happy it’s coming out here. I also really enjoy DAYS, which I suppose is not terrifically original as far as sports manga goes, but is still very entertaining with a fun cast of characters. I look forward to getting caught up on both of these series.

KATE: I heartily endorse BL Metamorphosis, as author Kaori Tsurutani understands why readers love BL, never reducing their passion to a cheap punchline. She also creates one of the most interesting, appealing, and authentic inter-generational friendships I’ve seen in manga–or, frankly, in just about any other medium. If you’re not reading it, add it to your list today–it’s one of the best new series of 2020.

ANNA: I absolutely agree that I should be reading BL Metamorphosis, so I will make that my pick as well.

ASH: BL Metamorphosis is one of my favorite series currently being released, and I agree with Kate 100% that it’s also one of the best of the year, so it’s an easy pick for me this week!

MJ: I am embarrassed to admit that I haven’t yet had the chance to dig into BL Metamorphosis, but with endorsements like these, it’s the obvious pick. I absolutely must find out what all the fuss is about!