Manga Bookshelf

Discussion, Resources, Roundtables, & Reviews

Michelle Smith

Bookshelf Briefs 11/2/20

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Blank Canvas: My So-Called Artist’s Journey, Vol. 5 | By Akiko Higashimura | Seven Seas – It shouldn’t take most readers by surprise that the final volume of Blank Canvas is heart-rending, but even knowing that it will be doesn’t lessen the manga’s impact; Higashimura utilizes a masterful combination of humor, honesty, and heartbreak. Blank Canvas captures so incredibly well the complexity and multifaceted nature of people, their feelings, and their relationships. The series is in large part about Higashimura’s growth as an artist and as an individual, especially the influence of one person particularly important to her development, but through the process of the manga’s creation it’s also an opportunity for her to confront some of the regrets in her life. In Higashimura’s own words, “As an adult, I have complicated thoughts about my younger self.” Blank Canvas allows Higashimura to come to terms with some of those thoughts and “what ifs” while honoring the memories of her teacher, mentor, and fellow artist Kenzou Hidaka. – Ash Brown

Fly Me to the Moon, Vol. 1 | By Kenjiro Hata | Viz Media – The new series from the Hayate the Combat Butler creator spends much of its first time watching the intelligent but extremely flaky Nasa hero overreact to nearly everything, and his savior and then wife be bafflingly mysterious. Tsukasa reads like an odd cross between Hinagiku and Athena, and I was rather surprised that we got to the end of the first volume without really understanding much about her. The series is somewhat cute and fun, though a lot of the humor beats will be familiar to Hayate fans, and there are some of the usual pop culture references as well. This got an anime, so I assume more will make sense later, but for the moment this is a first volume that qualifies as “good.” – Sean Gaffney

My Next Life As a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom!, Vol. 4 | By Satoru Yamaguchi and Nami Hidaka | Seven Seas – The manga has the unfortunate problem, which the other volumes did not, of coming out after the anime series. As such, there’s not really much in this book that you had not already seen before. In fact, it might seem a bit rushed compared to the anime. But it hits the high points—everyone begging Katarina to wake up, her dreamscape of her past life with A-chan, stopping and saving Raphael, and finally being the most oblivious dork in the world, as Maria blatantly confesses to her and she STILL doesn’t get it. Fortunately, the game had a sequel—Fortune Lover II. Unfortunately, she never played that one, and it has Katarina return as a villain—again. Well adapted. – Sean Gaffney

Practice Makes Perfect, Vol. 1 | By Ui Hanamiya | Kodansha Comics (digital only) – I picked this digital-only up on a whim, thinking the premise sounded cute. Two pro athletes in their late twenties (him in Judo, her in Volleyball) are representing their country in what is implied to be the 2020 Olympics that didn’t happen. They both really want to lose their virginity, and, coming across each other’s problems, decide to “practice” kissing, touching, etc. in a hotel so that they can be more experienced in relationships. The outcome (they fall in love for real) is not in doubt, especially when you realize this is only four volumes long. It’s the journey that’s important, though, and they are both really cute and awkward sports dorks. THAT’S the selling point, and it’s a great one. – Sean Gaffney

Skip Beat!, Vol. 44 | By Yoshiki Nakamura | Viz Media – Did I say in my last brief on Skip Beat! that Ren and Kyoko were having communication problems? This volume doubles down on that, as Ren pokes at Kyoko, who was seen getting kissed by Sho by a photographer, and suggests that she’s “giving up on her revenge” and Sho has “compassion and understanding.” This causes Kyoko to blow up, in an exquisitely drawn scene that manages to dwarf everything else in the volume. She may hate Sho (and it’s clear by now she doesn’t), but Ren doesn’t get to say nice things about him when they are WRONG. Elsewhere, the reveal of Kyoko’s sword teacher brings big laughs, and the Kyoko/Momo ship gets more holes bored into it. Great stuff as always. – Sean Gaffney

Snow White with the Red Hair, Vol. 9 | By Sorata Akiduki | Viz Media – Most of this volume ends up being, in a sense of bad timing for the North American market, a race to find a cure for a horrible pandemic that is ravaging the city. (The volume came out in Japan years ago, so there’s no thought of COVID here.) This ends up separating our lead couple even more than they already are—there’s a brief reunion, but this is not where Zen needs to be right now, and he knows it. Indeed, as many have said, Obi seems more and more like the main romantic lead, helping Shirayuki solve this plant-based mystery and save the day. There’s a lot more going on in this title than just the romantic couple, as in the best shoujo series. It’s a winner. – Sean Gaffney

Yona of the Dawn, Vol. 26 | By Mizuho Kusanagi | VIZ Media – Yona of the Dawn is always good, but this Xing arc has been something special. Princesses Kouren and Tao and their devoted warriors are such vivid characters that they legitimately seem like the stars of their own story, rather than merely side characters in Yona’s, if that makes sense. Kusanagi-sensei also adeptly created an extremely odious scheming priest and gave us a delicious scene in which Su-Won gives not a single shit for the intel the priest obsequiously offers him. I actually laughed at some of his reaction panels more than once. What really seals the deal on this being a special volume, though, is the final chapter, in which some genuine romantic progress finally happens between Hak and Yona. It is great, and Yun and the Four Dragons’ reactions are also great. Have I mentioned lately how much I love this series? It’s among the best I’ve ever read. – Michelle Smith

Pick of the Week: Idols, Clubs, and Maidens

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MICHELLE: I’m reluctant to tout anything from TOKYOPOP, given that I am still bitter about past deeds, but I must admit that Ossan Idol! looks really fun. I’m worried they’ll abandon this series midway, like so many others, but I shall cautiously award it my pick of the week.

SEAN: This week’s pick is Easy Breezy for me: it’s the first volume of Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken, which if it’s even half as good as the anime will be very good indeed.

ASH: I’m certainly interested in Eizouken, too, but this week I think I’ll be focusing on catching up on Viz series, probably starting with JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure before pivoting to shoujo.

MJ: Okay, I’ll be honest, folks. I don’t have a pick this week, because I can’t focus on anything besides the impending doom we’re facing this week in the U.S. It’s pretty all-consuming. I know they are still selling manga, but that knowledge is buried under so much anxiety, I can barely even acknowledge it. Stay safe, everyone. I’m sure you know where my meager hopes fall. Sorry I’m useless.

KATE: I’m intrigued by Ossan Idol, but my heart belongs to O, Maidens in Your Savage Season, a sharp, funny portrait of nerdy girls coming to terms with their budding sexuality. If you enjoyed the movie Booksmart, Maidens is for you, as it explores some of the same emotional (and humorous) terrain.

ANNA: I’m finding it hard to concentrate on manga right now. There’s a lot of great shoujo coming out this week, I think I’m going to pick Daytime Shooting Star, a manga that inspires both feelings of dread about potentially inappropriate relationships and hope that things all work out somehow.

Manga the Week of 11/4/20

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SEAN: November, and there’s still a lot coming out every week.

And we start with a bang, as Dark Horse has the manga version of the highly-acclaimed series Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken! (Eizouken ni wa Te wo Dasu na!). From Gekkan Spirits, it’s a fantastic look at goofy eccentrics trying to make their own anime.

ASH: I’ve definitely heard good things about the anime; hopefully the manga will be good, too!

MJ: That sounds kind of fun!

SEAN: J-Novel Club has a lot of print this week. Two debuts, By the Grace of the Gods (now with an anime) and I Shall Survive Using Potions! (the manga version).

Also in print: An Archdemon’s Dilemma 8, Ascendance of a Bookworm 2 (manga version), Infinite Dendrogram 9, The Magic in This Other World Is Too Far Behind! 9, and My Next Life As a Villainess! 4.

ASH: I’m really happy to see so much print coming out from J-Novel Club.

SEAN: Digitally the debut is Fushi no Kami: Rebuilding Civilization Starts With a Village (Fushi no Kami ~ Henkyou kara Hajimeru Bunmei Saiseiki ~). A young man is reincarnated in another world, but he doesn’t have cool magic or sword powers, and the world is medieval. He wants modern civilization! Can he find it?

And there’s also the 5th Marginal Operation manga.

Kodansha debuts in print That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime: Trinity in Tempest, another spinoff of the popular series.

Also in print from Kodansha: Fate/Grand Order – mortalis:stella 2, Fire Force 20, O Maidens in Your Savage Season 8, That Time I Got Reincarnated As a Slime 14, Welcome to the Ballroom 10, and Yuri Is My Job! 6. Wait, Welcome to the Ballroom still exists?

MICHELLE: Apparently! It’s been almost three years since volume nine came out.

ASH: Wow, that has been a while! O Maidens in Your Savage Season is the series that has my attention here, though.

SEAN: Digitally the debut is Otherworldly Munchkin: Let’s Speedrun the Dungeon with Only 1 HP! (Isekai Man Chikin -HP 1 no Mama de Saikyou Saisoku Danjon Kouryaku-), a Suiyoubi no Sirius series about a brother killed protecting his sister who’s reincarnated in a fantasy world… as is his sister, who he still has to save.

Also digital: All-Rounder Meguru 17, Cells at Work: Bacteria! 5, GTO Paradise Lost 13, Magical Sempai 7, My Boss’s Kitten 7 (the final volume), My Sweet Girl 11, Our Fake Marriage 4, Shaman King: Flowers 3, Shaman King: Red Crimson 2, and Smile Down the Runway 15.

MICHELLE: I should really check back in with My Sweet Girl. It was getting kind of good when I left off.

SEAN: One Peace has a 10th volume of Hinamatsuri.

Seven Seas debuts, in print, Yes, No, or Maybe?, a BL light novel about the television industry.

ASH: I might get around to reading this now that it’s in print.

MJ: Okay, I might be interested in this.

SEAN: Also coming out: Fairy Tale Battle Royale 4, The Legend of Dororo and Hyakkimaru 2, Shomin Sample 13, Skeleton Knight in Another World 8 (digital version), and Who Says Warriors Can’t Be Babes? 2.

ASH: I only just recently read the first volume, but I’m interested in reading more of The Legend of Dororo and Hyakkimaru. Osama Tezuka’s original Dororo is one of my favorites.

SEAN: Tokyopop debuts Ossan Idol! (Ossan (36) ga Idol ni naru Hanashi), an adaptation of a novel that runs in Comic Pash!. A Middle-Aged Man, bullied most of his life, turns his life around and gets buff, cool and handsome… but is unaware of this. Now he’s been scouted. This looks pretty fun.

MICHELLE: It does!

SEAN: Vertical has the 5th Bakemonogatari manga and Don’t Toy with Me, Miss Nagatoro 4.

No debuts for Viz, just the usual powerhouses. There’s Black Clover 23, the 2nd Bleach: Don’t Fear Your Own World light novel, Daytime Shooting Star 9, Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba 18, Dr. STONE 14, Haikyu!! 41, JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure Arc 4 7, Kaguya-sama: Love Is War 17, Love Me Love Me Not 5, My Hero Academia: Vigilantes 8, The Promised Neverland 17, Samurai 8 4, Shortcake Cake 10, Snow White with the Red Hair 10, and World Trigger 21.

MICHELLE: Yep, I’ll definitely be reading a bunch of these. I’m probably the most excited for Haikyu!!.

ASH: I’m following quite a few of these, too!

ANNA: I am also happy about many of these ongoing series!

SEAN: Yen On has three ongoing titles: May These Leaden Battlegrounds Leave No Trace 2, A Sister’s All You Need 8, and That Time I Got Reincarnated As a Slime 9.

As for Yen Press, the “debut” is Sword Art Online Progressive: Barcarolle of Froth, the continuation of Progressive’s manga with a new artist, covering the series’ third novel.

There’s also Final Fantasy: Lost Stranger 5, The Royal Tutor 14, Sacrificial Princess and the King of Beasts 11, and That Time I Got Reincarnated As a Slime: The Ways of the Monster Nation 2.

ASH: I really need to catch up with Sacrificial Princess and the King of Beasts; I enjoyed the early volumes, but have fallen behind.

SEAN: See? That’s a lot.

Pick of the Week: Traveling Manga

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SEAN: I am torn between two manga with really nice art this week. Shikimori’s Not Just a Cutie and Heterogenia Linguistico both make me want to judge books by their covers. I’ll make them a co-pick.

MICHELLE: I’m keen to get caught up on The Girl from the Other Side, but I too am charmed by the cover of Heterogenia Linguistico, so will make that my official pick this week.

ANNA: I’m going to signal my intentions of getting caught up on The GIrl from the Other Side and make that my pick!

KATE: The last two volumes of Girl from the Other Side have been such colossal downers that I’m going to highlight a different Seven Seas title this week: Nicola Traveling Around the Demon’s World, a handsomely illustrated, utterly charming manga about a plucky human who’s passing through a world of monsters, demons, ghosts and spirits, making friends and casting spells along the way. It’s the kind of all-ages series that adult readers can appreciate for the craftsmanship and young readers can appreciate for its emotional honesty and down-to-earth humor. Why this isn’t on more people’s radar, I don’t know, but Nicola is Eisner-worthy. Just sayin’.

ASH: I don’t think I can put it much better than Kate already has, but Nicola Traveling Around the Demon’s World is a truly wonderful and absolutely delightful series. While debut-wise I’m curious about Heterogenia Linguistico, my heart goes to Nicola this week.

MJ: Okay, I really didn’t have a pick this week, but you all have convinced me that I absolutely need to check out Nicola Traveling Around the Demon’s World. So I guess that’s that. I’m doing it.

Bookshelf Briefs 10/22/20

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Arifureta: I Heart Isekai, Vol. 3 | By Misaki Mori, based on the novel by Ryo Shirakome | Seven Seas – This is keeping up a fast pace, not lingering too long on any one part of the novels that it’s making fun of. Everyone manages to be that much more over-the-top than they are in the source—though admittedly Kaori goes above and beyond in this regard—and the art also has little cute “we are angry” faces for everyone that look cute and scary at the same time. More to the point, despite all the gags, the I Heart Isekai series actually manages to keep the found-family bits that are also the best reason to read the main series, and its character attacks never feel malicious (again, Kaori comes close, but then she does in the main series as well.) A lot of fun. – Sean Gaffney

Dr. STONE, Vol. 13 | By Riichiro Inagaki and Boichi | Viz Media – A lot of Dr. Stone is taking inventions that you would expect could not remotely be done in a pre-industrial age and doing them anyway due to Senku’s knowledge… though he’s helped along greatly by his dad, who we see passing away long in the past in a flashback here but who also manages to get Senku some gold and platinum to work with. They are also helped out by Kohaku’s awesome strength and agility, though I will admit I could have done without the “does not know how to be feminine” stuff. That said, it’s hard to top the absolute highlight of the book, which is Suika driving what is essentially a tank, BLIND, off a ship and into Senku’s hands. She’s still the best thing in this. – Sean Gaffney

Hatsu*Haru, Vol. 12 | By Shizuki Fujisawa | Yen Press – The damp squib that is Tarou and Kagura wraps up fast here, which is good, because the rest of the book is all over Misaki and Ayumi. Her parents have discovered their relationship, and since Misaki is a very serious boy, he decides to stop seeing her till he can get her dad’s approval, because of course he is one of THOSE dads. As for Ayumi, she still has trouble with the normal emotions of love that come naturally to the rest of the cast. The result is, as it has been since it became, several volumes back, the best relationship in the series. Which is good, as the series ends next time, and we will no doubt be moving back to Kai and Riko—I smell a sudden transfer to another part of the country coming. – Sean Gaffney

The Ideal Sponger Life, Vol. 6 | By Tsunehiko Watanabe and Neko Hinotsuki | Seven Seas – We are starting to see Zenjiro beginning to act on his own a bit more, though he’s still got someone there next to him to do the actual work. It is hard, after all, despite many isekais to the contrary, to fully immerse yourself in a new world with all-new customs. More to the point, his child with Aura may not be unique when it comes to magical affinities. And there’s a new princess in town, from the equivalent of Scandinavia, and no one seems to know what to make of her—indeed, she makes a point to divide her role as a captain from her role as a princess. More to the point, it means we get another badass woman in this book that seems to be far more interested in its politics than in any sponging. – Sean Gaffney

Laid-Back Camp, Vol. 9 | By Afro | Yen Press – If there’s one issue I have with this series it’s the artwork, particularly the character art, as I frequently find that I have trouble telling many of the characters apart. Once I get past that, this is exactly what the previous eight volumes have been: lots of relaxed camping, great scenery, and cute girls. There’s not really any hint of yuri here, but there’s also not really any hint of boys, so Rin/Nadeshiko fans should be pleased anyway. We get the birthday party from last time, which is… not as big a secret as expected. We get capybaras! There’s hot springs, there’s sunrises, and there’s Rin going off to do her own thing half the time, like the introvert with a wanderlust that she is. Does this end when they graduate? – Sean Gaffney

Murcielago, Vol. 15 | By Yoshimurakana | Yen Press – I missed reviewing 14 somehow, and thus the end of the sewer monster story. That said, though, what with Kuroko decidedly NOT having ridiculous sex at the start of this book, I have to wonder: is Murcielago getting toned down? Certainly the violence is present and correct, though this is the start of an arc, so it’s not quite as over-the-top as before. This sees another old villain returning, but we haven’t yet met Comedy Writer in this series—they seem to get people to do silly stunts, and ‘retired’ after one stunt ends up with dead people. Kuroko is her usual goofy self here, but as I noted, she seems a bit more… placid than usual? Her detective skills are also excellent here. Still great if you don’t mind gore. – Sean Gaffney

My Dress-Up Darling, Vol. 2 | By Shinichi Fukuda| Square Enix Manga – Despite the explicit content tag (and the occasional naughty shot, like the inside front cover), this reads far more as a series for fans of nice high school romance than anything else. Gojo is pushing himself far too hard, because he’s genuinely creating something for someone else but also as he feels that after this one event he’ll lose it all forever. He’s desperately socially awkward, and it’s rather sweet that Kitagawa gets so upset she’s in tears at the thought of him driving himself this hard. The cosplay is a big success, and there’s some nice costuming tips here as well. By the end of the volume, she seems to be realizing she’s falling for him… so it is, of course, the perfect time to introduce another rival. Cliffhanger! – Sean Gaffney

Our Teachers Are Dating!, Vol. 1 | By Pikachi Ohi | Seven Seas – If you want your yuri with a side order of adorable, this is the manga for you. One is the science teacher, the other teaches gym, and they’re both cute cute cute. To the point that there is minimal conflict—and honestly you don’t want any. The other teachers? Love the two of them together. The administration? Fine with it. The other students? They’re over the moon, of course. Most of the book is seeing two relatively shy people grow closer and closer in their dating till they’re ready to take the next step, which we see towards the end of the book. The students bribe them with pictures of the other. The closest we get to any strife is one being mistaken for a student (she’s short and cute). This was super-fluffy. – Sean Gaffney

The Saint’s Magic Power Is Omnipotent, Vol. 1 | By Yuka Tachibana and Yasuyuki Syuri | Seven Seas – I haven’t read much in the way of light novels, but this one sounded interesting, so I gave it a go. Perhaps I should’ve started with a traditional isekai series in order to better appreciate how this one differs, as I initially found it quite slow going. Sei Takanashi, office lady, is summoned to another world as one of two potential Saints who will help quell an outbreak of monsters. After the prince chooses the younger candidate, Sei is free to pursue her interests, eventually discovering she’s very good at making potions, enchanting objects, and performing healing magic. Towards the end, with Sei reluctantly accepting that she is the Saint after all (unable to refrain from healing a seriously injured knight), the story picked up a bit, and I’m interested to see where it will go from here. A bit more action would be nice! – Michelle Smith

Skip Beat!, Vol. 44 | By Yoshiki Nakamura | VIZ Media – It’s probably cheesy to say, but each new volume of Skip Beat! really is like checking in with old friends. In this case, it’s a pair of old friends who still haven’t managed to communicate their feelings to the other. This time they’re thwarted by Ren’s assumption that Kyoko has fallen back in love with Sho and by a tabloid article about Ren kissing an older actress. I truly wish each volume was about thrice as long, but alas, we don’t yet see what Ren does with the information that Kyoko is upset about the article more than his assumptions about her and Sho. I love this series and I don’t want it to end and I know that Ren and Kyoko getting together will mean that end is coming, but a little crumb of genuine progress would make me so happy. Maybe next time, which won’t be ’til March! – Michelle Smith

Manga the Week of 10/28/20

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SEAN: BOO!

Cross Infinite World gives us the 2nd volume of Another World’s Zombie Apocalypse Is Not My Problem!, which surprises me, as I thought it was a standalone.

Dark Horse has the 6th volume of Mob Psycho 100.

ASH: While I’m not quite as taken with the series as I was in the beginning, I’ve still been enjoying it.

SEAN: There’s a triple dose of not-quite-porn from Ghost Ship, who have Destiny Lovers 4, Parallel Paradise 3, and To-Love-Ru Darkness 17.

J-Novel Club debuts a new manga, Campfire Cooking in Another World, based on the light novel of the same name.

They also have Can Someone Please Explain What’s Going On? 4, Der Werwolf 9, When the Clock Strikes Z 2 (a final volume, I think), and The White Cat’s Revenge as Plotted from the Dragon King’s Lap 3.

ASH: I haven’t actually read that last one, but that series title is great.

SEAN: Kodansha is still making up for lost time, so get ready. Print Debut #1: Shikimori’s Not Just a Cutie (Kawaii Dake Janai Shikimori-san) is a Magazine Pocket series that seems to be part of the “girl teases the guy she likes” genre, though in this case they’re already dating.

Print Debut #2: The Witch and the Beast (Majo to Yajuu), an action-adventure series from Young Magazine the 3rd that seems to run on being really cool.

MICHELLE: It really does look very cool.

MJ: I like cool.

SEAN: Also in print: Cells at Work: Code BLACK 6, Fairy Tail: 100 Years Quest 5, The Heroic Legend of Arslan 13, If I Could Reach You 5, Kiss Me at the Stroke of Midnight 11, Love and Lies 9, Sue & Tai-chan 2, and UQ Holder 20.

ASH: I’m not actively reading too many of these, but I am really glad to see the print titles picking up again.

SEAN: Two digital debuts. The first is another Shaman King spinoff, Shaman King: Red Crimson. This one started AFTER the artist moved to Kodansha, so ran in Shonen Magazine Edge. It’ll run 4 volumes.

The other is When We’re in Love (Hana-kun to Koisuru Watashi), a Betsufure series featuring a model student and a delinquent. Sure, throw another shoujo on the pile.

Also coming out digitally: Abe-kun’s Got Me Now! 5, Atsumori-kun’s Bride to Be 5, Cells at Work: Platelets 2, Kounodori: Dr. Stork 17, the 7th and final volume of Love Massage: Melting Beauty Treatment (I assume she has now melted and man and puddle can live together as one), Maid in Honey 2, My Best (♀) Butler 2, Orient 7, and Shaman King: Flowers 2.

MICHELLE: I couldn’t even make it one volume through Abe-kun. I am, though, happy for more of Atsumori-kun’s Bride-to-Be!

SEAN: Oh yes, and 12 more Drops of God volumes hit digitally, 22 to 33.

One Peace has a new debut: Farming Life in Another World (Isekai Nonbiri Nouka). This series from Fujimi Shobo’s Dragon Age is… exactly what it sounds like, but there’s more sex than you’d expect.

ASH: Huh. The farming aspect vaguely interests me, but…

SEAN: Seven Seas has two light novel debuts, one print and one digital-first. The print is ROLL OVER AND DIE: I Will Fight for an Ordinary Life with My Love and Cursed Sword!, which I reviewed when the digital version came out. It had a lot more horror than I was expecting, but should also satisfy yuri fans.

The digital first is Berserk of Gluttony (Boushoku no Berserk), a dark-sounding light novel about a man who’s lived his life always hungry finding out that he can feed on BLOOD AND SOULS! Not Elric of Melnibone, I’m sure, but close.

Also out from Seven Seas: Buck Naked in Another World 2 (mercifully the final volume), Classroom of the Elite 7 (early digital), Dance in the Vampire Bund: Age of Scarlet Order 3, The Girl from the Other Side 9, Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear novel 3, Magical Girl Spec-Ops Asuka 9, Mushoku Tensei 7 (novel), Nicola Traveling Around the Demon’s World 3, and Pandora in the Crimson Shell: Ghost Urn 13.

ANNA: I’m ashamed at how far behind I am with The Girl from the Other Side but I fully intend to get caught up.

MICHELLE: I think I have read through volume seven, but I also have a little catching up to do.

ASH: The Girl from the Other Side is still one of my top series; Nicola Traveling Around the Demon’s World is really wonderful, too.

SEAN: Square Enix has NieR:Automata – YoRHa Boys, a novel based on… well, take a guess.

They’ve also got Hi Score Girl 4.

Tentai Books says they’re releasing the 2nd volume of There’s No Way a Side Character Like Me Could Be Popular, Right?.

Vertical has the 3rd volume of Owarimonogatari: End Tale, which wraps up the Monogatari series… OR DOES IT?

Yen On gives us four more light novels to round out the month. There’s I’ve Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years 8, Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? Familia Chronicle 2: Episode Freya, KonoSuba 12, and Strike the Blood 16.

Yen has two manga debuts. Heterogenia Linguistico is a Young Ace Up series that looks like it does for monster research what Delicious in Dungeon does for monster food.

MICHELLE: The covers have a similar aesthetic, too.

ASH: I am intrigued.

SEAN: Star Wars: Leia, Princess of Alderaan is a LINE manga title based on some obscure movie, and deals with Leia’s teenage adventures.

ANNA: I’m a little curious about this.

SEAN: Yen also gives is Happy Sugar Life 6, I’ve Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years 3 (manga), Kemono Friends a La Carte 4 (final volume), Our Last Crusade 3 (manga), and Restaurant to Another World 2 (manga).

Are you scared?

Pick of the Week: Waves, Sneezes, and Flags

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MICHELLE: It’s all about the W’s for me this week. Wotakoi and Whisper Me a Love Song are high on my list, but I’m most excited to continue the story of Wave, Listen to Me. The digital releases paused to allow the print version to catch up, so it has been a long time! Honorable mention to non-W Blue Flag, as well.

SEAN: I’ll go with a double dose of light novels this week. Ongoing, no question it’s the new Ascendance of a Bookworm that has my pick. But we’re also seeing the debut of In the Land of Leadale, which has intrigued me since it first was announced, if only for the gorgeous covers. (Remember around four years ago, when we were desperate for any light novels with a female protagonist? Those days are happily long gone.)

KATE: Achoo! It’s Sneeze for me, as I’m really curious about Naoki Urasawa’s short game. I’ve enjoyed Master Keaton and Pineapple Army, two series that are more anthologies than epic sagas, so I’m cautiously optimistic about Urasawa’s ability to tell a self-contained story.

ASH: My wallet will certainly be hurting this week; I’m reading so much of what is being released! In addition to everything that everyone else has mentioned so far, I’ve also got my eyes on the (print) debut of Heaven’s Design Team.

ANNA: There’s a lot of manga coming out this week that sounds interesting, but I think for me more Blue Flag is what I’m most excited about.

Manga the Week of 10/21/20

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SEAN: Is this Phase Three of Manga reopening?

Cross Infinite World gives us a third volume of I Became the Secretary of a Hero!.

J-Novel Club has Ascendance of a Bookworm 9, Campfire Cooking in Another World 8, and the fourth Marielle Clarac book, The Wedding of Marielle Clarac.

ASH: I’m definitely behind on Ascendance of a Bookworm, but I’ve been enjoying the series.

SEAN: Kodansha seems to be making up for the lack of print lately. There are two print debuts. Heaven’s Design Team (Tenchi Souzou Design-bu) we’ve seen before digitally, it’s about animals designers with a bunch of questions for God. It runs in Morning Two.

MICHELLE: It’s not bad, but perhaps the most interesting thing about it is that it’s co-written by Tsuta Suzuki, creator of the supernatural BL series A Strange & Mystifying Story.

ASH: Even though I’ve really been looking forward to giving this one a try, I had somehow completely missed that connection, Michelle!

SEAN: Whisper Me a Love Song (Sasayaku You ni Koi wo Utau) is a ‘cute girl falls for her sempai” series from Comic Yuri Hime.

MICHELLE: It does indeed look cute.

ANNA: Nice.

SEAN: Also in print: Chobits 20th Anniversary Edition 2, Perfect World 3, Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon 10 (the final volume), Rent-a-Girlfriend 3, Sweat and Soap 4, Wave, Listen to Me! 4, Wotakoi: Love Is Hard for Otaku 4, and Yuzu the Pet Vet 3.

MICHELLE: Super excited for more Wave, Listen to Me! and Wotakoi!

ANNA: I’m so behind on Wave, Listen to Me! but I want to read it someday!

ASH: Oh, Kodansha really is making up for the lack of print! I’m reading (or have read) most of these.

SEAN: Digitally there are also debuts. Shaman King: Flowers is a sequel to the original series, and ran in Jump Kai.

The Writer and His Housekeeper (Shousetsuka-sama wa, Monmon Shitagaru) is a josei series from Kodansha’s Ane Friend. Woman who housekeeps for an eccentric erotic novelist finds herself moving in with him when her place burns down. Not my thing, but hey.

MICHELLE: Yeah, this’ll be a pass from me.

ANNA: I love josei but am not into the whole servant thing.

SEAN: Lots of other digital-only titles. Cosplay Animal 14 (the final volume), Dolly Kill Kill 7, Fairy Tail: Happy’s Heroic Adventure 6, GE: Good Ending 10, Heroine for Hire 2, Kakushigoto 8, Shaman King: Zero 2, and Shojo FIGHT! 13.

MICHELLE: I have fallen quite far behind on Shojo FIGHT!, alas.

Seven Seas has no debuts, but plenty of ongoing series. We get Alice & Zoroku 7, Arifureta 10 (print version), Didn’t I Say to Make My Abilities Average?! 4 (manga version), Getter Robo Devolution 5 (the final volume), Himouto Umaru-chan 11, Love Me for Who I Am 2, Reincarnated As a Sword 4 (manga version), Restaurant to Another World 5 (early digital), and Wonderland 6.

ASH: I somehow haven’t actually read the first volume of Love Me for Who I Am yet; I should probably fix that.

SEAN: Udon has the 13th and final volume of Persona 4.

Vertical has a 2nd volume of The Daily Lives of High School Boys.

Viz gives us Sneeze: Naoki Urasawa Story Collection, which has eight short stories that mostly ran in Big Comic Spirits. Obviously, a must buy for Urasawa fans.

ASH: I’m really curious to see how Urasawa does with shorter manga, having previously only read his multi-volume works. (Well… unless you count Pineapple Army…)

MJ: I guess I’m in for this.

SEAN: They’ve also got two box sets: The Legend of Zelda Legendary Box Set (5 volumes, in Hardcover, with a “treasure chest” box) and Tokyo Ghoul: re Complete Box Set (16 volumes, comes with a poster).

ASH: That is a very pretty looking Zelda box set.

And we also have Blue Flag 4, Golden Kamuy 18, and Ultraman 14.

MICHELLE: Yay for Blue Flag!

ANNA: Also behind on this, gotta get to reading.

MJ: Oh no, same.

MICHELLE: Honestly, I live in a constant state of “Behind on this, gotta get to reading.”

ASH: Glad to see more Blue Flag and Golden Kamuy, too, though I’m also a little behind on those series.

SEAN: A lot of Yen’s October releases got delayed to later weeks. The ones that kept the same release date must be the STRONGEST Yen Press releases!

This includes no less than THREE debuts from Yen On. The first is long, long awaited by many horny anime fans. High School DxD has had its manga coming out here for a while, but finally we get the novels. Issei is contracted to a demon and getting involved with Fallen Angels, but what he really wants is a harem.

In the Land of Leadale (Leadale no Daichi nite) starts off with a woman who gets in a horrible accident… but doesn’t die. She is on life support, though, and her VR Game Leadale is a comfort. However, having now passed away, she finds herself in that same game world… 200 years after the events of the game! I’ve heard this is similar to Overlord, only without the evil.

Lastly we have a one-shot, Three Days of Happiness (Mikkakan no kōfuku). A college student sells thirty years of his life, for both cash and to try to find something worth living for. This sounds like it’s for fans of Makoto Shinkai’s earlier, more depressing titles.

ASH: Oh, is that me? That might be me.

SEAN: Also out from Yen On: Death March to the Parallel World Rhapsody 12, The Greatest Demon Lord Is Reborn As a Typical Nobody 4, High School Prodigies Have It Easy Even in Another World! 2, and Re: Zero 14.

Yen Press has an expensive but no doubt gorgeous artbook due out next week: Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice Official Artworks. Based on the game, Yen also released a manga side-story of this world a few months back.

Yen also has Bestia 2, The Monster and the Beast 3, RaW Hero 3, To Save the World, Can You Wake Up the Morning After with a Demi-Human? 2, and Toilet-Bound Hanako-kun 5.

ASH: I’ll be picking up Toilet-Bound Hanako-kun for sure. And probably The Monster and the Beast, too.

SEAN: Is this too much? Or just enough?

Pick of the Week: Blue Moods

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SEAN: Was feeling kind of blue this week, so thought I might go for the adorable-looking Cutie and the Beast as my pick instead, but then I thought, so what? Let’s go with the manga I’ve been most excited for, that is miles ahead of the others. Blue Period is my pick.

MICHELLE: These are definitely the two titles I am most excited about this week! I must agree with Sean that Blue Period generates the most excitement, though, so I will also pick that one.

ASH: It’s the debut of Blue Period and Cutie and the Beast for me, too, this week! Quite different series from each other, I expect, but I’m looking forward to reading both of them.

ANNA: To be honest, I’m probably most excited for Cutie and the Beast, it sounds like an adorable distraction.

MJ: There’s not a lot luring me in this week, with the exception of Blue Period, which sounds like exactly my kind of manga. So here’s hoping!

KATE: What Ash said!

Manga the Week of 10/14/20

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SEAN: October 2020, where you have to bar your doors against trick-or-treaters. This year sucks. Let’s brighten it with manga.

Denpa Books says they’re putting out the 3rd Pleasure and Corruption.

J-Novel Club’s digital debut is a manga. Sorcerous Stabber Orphen: The Youthful Journey. By the title, I’d guess it’s a prequel to The Wayward Journey?

Also from J-Novel Club: Bibliophile Princess 4, Epic Tale of the Reincarnated Prince Herscherik 2, the 4th The Master of Ragnarok & Blesser of Einherjar manga, Record of Wortenia War 8, and Wild Times with a Fake Fake Princess 3, which I believe is the final volume.

Kodansha has a few print titles coming out. The debut, which I am very excited for, is Blue Period, an Afternoon manga from the author of She and Her Cat. A young man finds a calling in painting, but it’s one that might ruin his future if he’s not careful.

MICHELLE: I’m looking forward to this, too!

ASH: Same!

MJ: This sounds great!

ANNA: I’m officially intrigued.

SEAN: Also in print, the 5th Attack on Titan Colossal Edition, Grand Blue Dreaming 11, Interviews with Monster Girls 8, and Something’s Wrong with Us 3.

ASH: In case anyone hasn’t actually seen the colossal edition in person, it is indeed colossal.

SEAN: Two debuts digitally. The first is Practice Makes Perfect (Acchi no Renshuu Hajimemashita), a shoujo manga from Ane Friend. Two jocks who were just dumped by their respective partners due to lack of experience try to “practice” with each other.

The other is Shaman King: Zero, which contains various short stories of the main series that ran in Jump Kai back when this was owned by Shueisha.

And there’s All-Out!! 16, Domestic Girlfriend 27, Vampire Dormitory 4, and We Must Never Fall in Love! 2.

MICHELLE: I believe this is the penultimate All-Out!!, a sports series I have still not even managed to start. Shock!

SEAN: One Peace has a 3rd volume of The New Gate.

Seven Seas has a debut. Well, two, really, as The Hidden Dungeon Only I Can Enter has a print release now. It’s trash, but very readable.

ASH: Sometimes you need a series like that.

SEAN: The other debut is Cutie and the Beast (Pujo to Yajuu: JK ga Akuyaku Wrestler ni Koi shita Hanashi), a Betsufure shoujo manga about, well, a high school girl who falls in love with a wrestler who looks like a villain. This looks adorable.

MICHELLE: I have a soft spot for stories where a scary-looking guy is actually very sweet.

ASH: I am incredibly curious about this title; it looks and sounds great!

ANNA: I’m going to check this out too!

SEAN: Also out: The Ancient Magus’ Bride 13, Classroom of the Elite 6 in print, How NOT to Summon a Demon Lord 9 (the manga version), Kingdom of Z 2, My Next Life As a Villainess 4 (manga version), and There’s a Demon Lord on the Floor 8.

ASH: Hooray for more The Ancient Magus’ Bride! I need to catch up on the last few volumes (and spin-offs).

SEAN: Square Enix has a 2nd volume of The Strongest Sage with the Weakest Crest.

SuBLime has two manga: His Favorite 11, and Jealousy 2.

MICHELLE: I bought Jealousy volume one, but haven’t managed to read it yet. It looks very dramatic.

ASH: His Favorite is so goofy; I really enjoy it.

SEAN: Vertical has two books: CITY 9, and Knights of Sidonia Master Edition 7.

Viz has two not-quite-manga debuts. The first is The Art of Magic the Gathering: War of the Spark.

The second is Fangirl: the Manga, a Viz Original by Rainbow Rowell and Gabi Nam about a fanfic-writing twin who now finds herself in college with her fanfic writing disparaged and her twin not there.

ASH: Interesting! This had slipped my radar.

SEAN: Also from Viz: Case Closed 76, Komi Can’t Communicate 9, Persona 5 4 (or Persona 4 5, whichever you prefer), Pokemon Adventures: Collector’s Edition 4, Radiant 13, Sleepy Princess in the Demon Castle 13, and Transformers: The Manga 3.

ASH: Sleepy Princess in the Demon Castle continues to delight me.

SEAN: So? Whadja get?

Pick of the Week: Beginnings and Endings

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MICHELLE: I’m excited by all the final volumes out next week. I’m definitely interested to read the conclusions of Ao Haru Ride and The Demon Prince of Momochi House, but most look forward to the resolution of To Be Next to You, a shoujo offering of Kodansha’s digital-first initiative. I’ve really enjoyed what I’ve read by Atsuko Namba and look forward to more in the future.

SEAN: Lotsa Viz I’m getting, and I’m tempted to pick Yona (always my default). But I really loved Sexiled, and want to see more by the author, so I will go with A Lily Blooms in Another World, despite having read a very similar book 3 weeks ago.

KATE: With Halloween around the corner, I’ll put in a word for the new digital edition of Junji Ito’s Dissolving Classroom, a weird, funny, and icky collection of short stories about the siblings from hell. Plot-wise, Ito’s manga doesn’t have much to do with Kazuo Umezu’s similarly titled Drifting Classroom, but it shares the same penchant for over-the-top gore and WTF? moments.

ASH: Despite already owning the first trade paperback edition of Blade of the Immortal, I can’t resist picking up the new deluxe release in all its glory. But I’ll also be turning my eyes towards the debut of another dark, action-packed series this week – Chainsaw Man.

ANNA: There’s a bunch of manga coming out this week that I’m excited to read, but the one I’m most excited about is the final volume of Ao Haru Ride, which has managed to tell a compelling story of teen romance developing despite past tragedy.

Manga the Week of 10/7/20

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SEAN: It’s October, and we are all having pumpkin spice something!

Dark Horse debuts Blade of the Immortal!… again. Deluxe hardcover this time, 576 pages, even has a bookmark ribbon to show it’s class.

ASH: Blade of the Immortal holds a very special place in my heart. While I didn’t double-dip for the paperback omnibus edition, I will be picking up these new deluxe hardcovers; Dark Horse has been doing a beautiful job with them.

ANNA: I’m sort of tempted but I also have such limited bookshelf space!

SEAN: J-Novel Club has some print titles for us. Ascendance of a Bookworm 6, How NOT to Summon a Demon Lord 12, I Shall Survive Using Potions! 2, In Another World with My Smartphone 12, and the 4th Marginal Operation manga.

ASH: Ascendance of a Bookworm is the one catching my eye here.

The digital debut is A Lily Blooms in Another World, a one-shot light novel by the author of Sexiled. It’s an “otome game villainess” story (where our heroine, once again, loves the villainess – see two weeks ago for more of this), but I loved Sexiled, so will definitely be giving this a chance.

ASH: Oh! I hadn’t made the author connection yet! Sexiled is indeed great, so I may need to add this one to my list, too. (If/when it is released in print.)

SEAN: Also, Discommunication’s 5th manga volume, I Shall Survive Using Potions! 5, the 5th Infinite Dendrogram manga, and Slayers 2.

Kodansha… let’s see. In print, we get Granblue Fantasy 5 and Maga-Tsuki 11-13 (which ends the series, a series that started so long ago I forget what it’s about. It has brides on the cover, though.)

Digitally, the debut is Four Kisses, in Secret (Kisu wa Kossori to). This is a one-shot short story collection of four one-shots that appeared in Dessert. Expect romance.

And 35 volumes of Shaman King. We discussed this before, but the delay has finished, and they’re due out next week.

And we get Cells at Work: Bacteria! 4, Chihayafuru 22, A Condition Called Love 6, Grand Blue Dreaming 11, Our Precious Conversations 7 (the final volume), Smile Down the Runway 14, Star⇄Crossed!! 3, That Time I Got Reincarnated (Again!) as a Workaholic Slime 2 (also a final volume), To Be Next to You 10 (also also a final volume), and You Got Me, Sempai! 9.

MICHELLE: Of course, I must cheer for more Chihayafuru but am also happy for the conclusion of To Be Next to You, which I’ve really enjoyed. I also need to read Our Precious Conversations at some point, as it’s by the creator of My Little Monster, which I liked.

ANNA: One of these days I need to catch up on Chihayafuru, I have a few digital volumes stockpiled.

SEAN: Seven Seas has only one print release next week, Made in Abyss Official Anthology – Layer 1: Irredeemable Cave Raiders. As noted, this is a doujinshi anthology of the popular manga.

ASH: I haven’t read much of Made in Abyss yet myself, but I do still like seeing these sorts of anthologies released.

SEAN: Digitally we see a 7th volume of Reincarnated As a Sword.

This is the one-month anniversary of my saying “Tokyopop has the 6th omnibus volume of Aria the Masterpiece.” And it’s still true! Ah, 2020, truly the most delay-filled year…

Vertical gives us a 6th Kino’s Journey, and also wants to let you know that Dissolving Classroom and Velveteen and Mandala are out digitally now.

Viz knows that this first week of the month belongs to them, and has pulled out all the stops. We start with Chainsaw Man, a highly acclaimed fan favorite… from the author of Fire Punch. Somehow those two things go together. I’ve been told it’s a lot of fun, but also really defines the “black” in “black comedy”.

ASH: I’ve likewise heard some great things about Chainsaw Man! I wasn’t a huge fan of Fire Punch, but I plan on checking this series out.

ANNA: I thought it was fun.

SEAN: Moriarty the Patriot (Yuukoku no Moriarty) is the other debut, a Jump Square series reimagining Moriarty from Sherlock Holmes as a protagonist.

ASH: Another one about which I am curious.

MICHELLE: Me too!

ANNA: This was not on my radar before but this sounds interesting.

SEAN: And there’s Revolutionary Girl Utena: After the Revolution, a one-shot manga volume from the Utena manga creator. The Utena manga and I do not get on, but I’ve heard that there are things to like about this.

ASH: I really liked The Adolescence of Utena manga, but I haven’t actually read the manga series. (Shocking, I know!!) I’ll be fixing that in the near future, and will be picking up After the Revolution, too.

MICHELLE: I’ve read the original and The Adolescence of Utena, but it was in 2006, right before I started reviewing. I remember a little. In general, I don’t have a lot of patience with narratives that don’t make complete sense, but I will still probably check out After the Revolution.

SEAN: Ao Haru Ride has its 13th and final volume, and The Demon Prince of Momochi House has its 16th and final volume.

ASH: I’m a couple volume behind with The Demon Prince of Momochi House, but as a whole I’ve been enjoying it.

MICHELLE: So many final volumes this week!

ANNA: Ah! I didn’t realize these series were concluding! Both very good.

SEAN: We also see An Incurable Case of Love 5, Jujutsu Kaisen 6, My Hero Academia 25, Naruto: Sasuke’s Story (a novel), One-Punch Man 21, Prince Freya 3, We Never Learn 12, and Yona of the Dawn 26.

ASH: Oooh, some other good titles from Viz, too.

MICHELLE: Forsooth!

ANNA: This is a happy week for me!

SEAN: Meanwhile, no one woke Yen when September ended, as they still have some releases that slid to next week. Including a debut… well, sequel… ACCA-13 PS. As you can imagine, this is an epilogue to the original.

ASH: Natsume Ono is one of the creators whose work I will always make a point to read.

SEAN: There’s also the 3rd Combatants Will Be Dispatched! manga, Hatsu*Haru 12, and Triage X 20.

What manga is in the autumn of your year?

Bookshelf Briefs 9/30/20

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Accomplishments of the Duke’s Daughter, Vol. 6 | By Reai and Suki Umemiya | Seven Seas – Another series down to “once a year” release—I had to jog my memory at the start to recall what had been happening. Many things are going wrong for our heroine, who is trying to be strong and tough but is also starting to break down, and I felt that the scenes with her and Dean struck just the right balance of comforting and letting the heroine cry without making her seem weaker. This sets the stage for her comeback, which is extraordinary. (And also has a corrupt Church, a constant in Japanese light novels, though at least here there are also honest and good religious people in it.) That said, eventually Dean’s identity will come out, and I do wonder how this very good “villainess” isekai will handle it. – Sean Gaffney

The Ancient Magus’ Bride: Jack Flash and the Faerie Case Files, Vol. 1 | By Yu Godai, Mako Oikawa, and Kore Yamazaki | Seven Seas – A faerie switched at birth for a human child, Jack never fit in in either world. Only in the mortal realm could she earn money for anime collectibles, however, so she decided to make herself into a tough, capable woman like her literary heroes and set up shop as a detective. Together with her fellow changeling, Larry the werewolf, Jack takes on supernatural cases in New York City. In this volume, Lindel tasks them with tracking down a missing dragon egg. I liked the resources Jack uses to obtain information, which include a dapper theatre ghost and a spell with components of rat whiskers and taxi tires because “Nobody out there knows this city better than them.” I still found this a bit hard to get into, though, especially the parts involving a perpetually tearful off-off-off-off-Broadway actress and her pickpocket boyfriend. Still, I will check out volume two! – Michelle Smith

Black Clover, Vol. 22 | By Yuki Tabata | Viz Media – At long last, this interminable arc comes to an end. I enjoyed a lot of it, but I cannot deny it should have been about two volumes shorter. Most of the book is taken up by shonen battles, with the villain being nigh unkillable, the heroes almost breaking themselves to stop him, etc. Fortunately, the day is saved, and even the Wizard King turns out to be… sort of alive again? Shota fans should be happy. Asta fans perhaps less so—the sheer amount of damage done to the kingdom in this arc means someone has to be blamed, and give Asta has the “dark evil magic” it’s gonna be him, especially when he takes the incredibly obvious bait they use to get him to fight. Oh well, if Asta were smart, this wouldn’t be Black Clover. – Sean Gaffney

Don’t Toy with Me, Miss Nagatoro, Vol. 3 | By Nanashi | Vertical Comics – Part of the problem with titles like this and the other teasing works (Takagi-san less so as Nishikata doesn’t fall into the category) is that they are, at heart, the classic “extroverted girl acts overtly extroverted to bring introverted guy out of their shell,” and that’s not really a plot that feels comfortable in the Gen Z days, where you’re more likely to say “why doesn’t she just let him be in his quiet, safe space?” And by she I mean they, as Nagatoro’s two friends appear far more often here, which offers some good two-way teasing action, as they clearly see her crush on him, if not why. It’s still sort of hard to read, but if you pretend he’s more OK with it than he actually is, this is cute. – Sean Gaffney

Failed Princesses, Vol. 1 | By Ajiichi | Seven Seas – The concept of “popular girl meets unpopular girl” is a common one in yuri manga, and we do indeed hit several of its tropes in this first volume. The amusing thing is that Kanade, the shy outcast girl, is perfectly aware of how things are supposed to go, and keeps pulling back a bit to try to save Nanaki from, well, making herself an outcast by associating with the wrong people. The best part of the volume is that Nanaki really doesn’t give two shits about any of that, and seems set on making Kanade her best friend… and also making her over, which backfires a bit as Kanade cleans up nicely. I hear this gets a bit dramatic later, but for the moment it’s a cute and fluffy proto-yuri story. – Sean Gaffney

In/Spectre, Vol. 12 | By Kyo Shirodaira and Chashiba Katase | Kodansha Comics – The first story in this volume is another “Rikka tries to make people understand Kotoko is an evil Machiavellian schemer,” this time with one of her ex-classmates, but again the response seems to be “we know she’s a manipulative bitch, but she’s a good person anyway.” The larger story, which will continue into the next book, seems to be a chance to write Kuro and Kotoko as an actual romance, as the man we meet here and his relationship with a yuki-onna… as well as his penchant for attracting misfortune… very much parallel them. That said, they’re very cute together, which is why I hope he avoids the murder charge he’s now being investigated for. Still a favorite. – Sean Gaffney

Interviews with Monster Girls, Vol. 8 | By Petos | Kodansha Comics – The author knows what people want to see, but also knows that the best way to get readers is to drive them crazy by not showing it. We finally get what we’ve been begging for here, as Tetsuo asks Sakie out on a date. (This is after rejecting Kyouko’s love confession, both because she’s his student and also, as he is forced to admit, as he likes Sakie.) The stage is set for the date… and the rest of the book is thus spent with the three main student girls going to Kyouko’s for a fireworks viewing and meeting her family. They’re good chapters, and I really liked showing how difficult Kyouko has it as a dullahan in terms of everyday life, but GOD, please get back to the teachers, I beg you! – Sean Gaffney

Kaguya-sama: Love Is War, Vol. 16 | By Aka Akasaka | Viz Media – The series has gotten to the point where the more rewarding chapters are the ones as part of a larger arc. Not that the one-shot chapters are bad—though Maki’s journey to India may be the most pointless thing in this entire series to date, we do get Chika’s iconic “shut up or I’ll kill you” here. But the larger arcs, featuring Miyuki and Kaguya attempting to date without interruptions, and setting up Ishigami and Iino for a romance—though given the number of limbs broken in this book, and Iino’s own horrible lack of self-awareness, it may be a ways out—are better. This series is still hilarious, but we’ve come to read it more for the heartwarming moments. Heck, there’s even some serious drama here. Very good. – Sean Gaffney

Nineteen | By Ancco | Drawn & Quarterly – Although it was translated and released second in English, Nineteen is a precursor to Ancco’s internationally award-winning manhwa Bad Friends. The volume collects thirteen short comics originally published in Korea over a decade ago which absolutely remain relevant to today’s world. While understandably not as polished as some of Ancco’s later work—one can observe her style evolving and growing over the course of the collection (which is fascinating)—the comics still carry significant emotional weight and impact. Nineteen includes diary comics, which tend to be more lighthearted, as well as harder-hitting fictional stories, many of which also have autobiographical inspiration. As a whole, the collection explores themes of young adulthood, growing up, and complicated family relationships. In particular, there is a compelling focus on the relationships among daughters, mothers, and grandmothers. Some of the narratives can be rather bleak, but a resigned sense of humor threads through Nineteen, too. – Ash Brown

Ran the Peerless Beauty, Vol. 8 | By Ammitsu | Kodansha Comics (digital only) – Shoujo manga that has couples getting together BEFORE the end of the series is inevitably going to have an arc dealing with how far the lead couple should go now that they’re dating, and this is Ran’s turn, as she and Akira and their friends go to a beach house Ran’s family owns and have some beach fun. Unfortunately, the cast gets winnowed down one by one until it’s just the two of them… and her overprotective father, who arrives in time to provide the cliffhanger and no doubt ensure that nookie does not ensue. Not that I think it should—these two kids are even purer than the couple from Kimi ni Todoke, and I think they should mature a bit more before going further. Plus, watching them blush and kiss is wonderful. – Sean Gaffney

Spy x Family, Vol. 2 | By Tatsuya Endo | Viz Media – Having spent our first volume establishing that our found family can really come to love each other deep down, this volume shows off how they are also, at heart, fundamentally awkward and unable to socialize normally. This is unsurprising—hints of Loid’s life we’ve seen show him as a war orphan, Yor is a contract killer, and Anya basically grew up being experimented on by bad guys. As the school soon finds, this leads to issues. The second half of the book introduces Yor’s sister-obsessed little brother Yuri, who turns out to be a torture expert for Loid’s enemies. As always, half the fun is that everyone except Anya has no idea who their real selves are, and the cliffhanger tells us we’re in for some hilarious family fun. I love this. – Sean Gaffney

Spy x Family, Vol. 2 | By Tatsuya Endo | VIZ Media – After a brief spell atop the waiting list, Anya officially makes it into Eden Academy. Loid is anxious to progress to the next stage of his mission and, believing there’s not much chance of turning Anya into an elite scholar like his agency wants, focuses instead on having her befriend the younger son of his target. It does not go to plan, of course. Anya is very cute in this volume, and I also really appreciated how Loid genuinely listens to Yor and values her input. The arrival of Yor’s brother, a member of the secret police, is going to be a fun complication, and another cast member with a secret, but my favorite part of this series is probably always going to be how much love these three are already feeling for each other. So unique and good! – Michelle Smith

Sword Art Online: Hollow Realization, Vol. 6 | By Tomo Hirokawa, based on the story by Reki Kawahara | Yen Press – The weakness of this manga is the same as always—it’s written to tie into the games, and features several characters I just don’t recognize, which can be a problem given this is the big final let’s-save-the-world ending. That said, this is still a decent SAO title. Kirito gets to be cool and badass, but because this isn’t written just by Kawahara others do as well, and it’s a nice balanced effort that focuses on heroine Premiere. I also really liked the point where all the NPCs are worried when everyone has to log out for several days for maintenance. While I’ll still remember this as the “SAO only everyone is alive” manga, I enjoyed reading it, when I wasn’t confused. – Sean Gaffney

Pick of the Week: Who’s a Pretty Boy, Then?

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SEAN: There are a few other titles I’m interested in this week, including the new one by the Barakamon author, but there’s no doubt about it: Pretty Boy Detective Club is absolutely the one I want to read most.

MICHELLE: I really must agree. There are definitely other things I am happy about too, but this is really the standout. I’ve never read anything by NISIOISIN before, but cannot resist pretty boy detectives!

MJ: There’s not a lot that interests me this week, but the one thing that does catch my eye puts me on the same wavelength with my colleagues so far. It’s Pretty Boy Detective Club for me!

ANNA: Who would I be to stop this wave of enthusiasm for Pretty Boy Detective Club? I’ll just go with the flow this week.

ASH: As curious as I am about Pretty Boy Detective Club, I think I may actually be even more curious about Yoshi no Zuikara: The Frog in the Well Does Not Know the Ocean. I enjoyed Barakamon a great deal, but somehow missed that another manga by the creator was going to be released in English!

Manga the Week of 9/30/20

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SEAN: Try to remember the kind of September when manga was slow and discussion was mellow. Ready? Then follow.

MJ: (Follow, follow, follow, follow, follow, follow, follow, follow…)

SEAN: Going by their website, Denpa Books finally has the 2nd omnibus of Gambling Apocalypse Kaiji.

ASH: Happy to see this series get back on track!

SEAN: Seven Seas’ ero label Ghost Ship has FOUR titles out, including a debut. Welcome to Succubus High! (Succubus Gakuen No Inu!!) is a Takeshobo title from Web Comic Gamma Plus. An average boy is transferred to an all-girls school full of succubuses to teach them about men. Naturally, he does NOT want to have sex with any of them, because this is a Ghost Ship title and not a Fakku title. The line may be far away, but it’s there.

Other Ghost Ship titles out are Creature Girls 4, Yokai Girls 11, and Yuuna and the Haunted Hot Springs 10.

J-Novel Club has a trio of titles. The Combat Baker and Automaton Waitress 8, Cooking with Wild Game 9, and A Wild Last Boss Appeared! 2.

Kodansha, again, has no print titles. Digitally, we have a debut: My Best (♀) Butler (Ore no Shitsuji (♀) ga Iketeiru), a Dessert title that I could describe the plot of but instead I’ll just note it’s another “poor girl is toyed with by rich boys” series and go with that.

MICHELLE: Pretty much.

MJ: Ugh.

SEAN: I’ve made a decision to stop reporting Kodansha’s “early digital” series as they simply change the date at the very last minute too often. So, in digital-only land, we have Heaven’s Design Team 5, Lovesick Ellie 11, the 16th and final volume of My Boy in Blue, Princess Resurrection Nightmare 6, and Seven Shakespeares 13. As you can see, this week is devoted to “new volumes of titles we’ve caught up to Japan on”.

MICHELLE: I’m glad for more Lovesick Ellie!

SEAN: One Peace Books has The Reprise of the Spear Hero 2.

Seven Seas has three debuts. The Ancient Magus’ Bride: Wizard’s Blue (Mahou Tsukai no Yome Shihen.108 – Majutsushi no Ao) is another spinoff of the popular fantasy manga, it runs in Mag Garden’s Manga Door, and has been described as a genderswapped version of the parent series.

We Swore to Meet in the Next Life and That’s When Things Got Weird! (Raise o Chikatte Tensei Shitara Taihen na Koto ni natta) is from ichijinsha’s Zero-Sum Online. Two lovers vow to meet again in their next life. They do! Except she’s a 39-year-old OL, and he’s still in high school! This sounds… uncomfortable but cute if you ignore the premise.

MICHELLE: I will probably check out both of these, albeit with a certain degree of trepidation.

MJ: I. Hm.

ASH: Things did indeed get weird there.

SEAN: The digital-first light novel is Muscles Are Better Than Magic! (Mahou? Sonna Koto yori Kinniku da!), a fantasy comedy about a guy who’s trained forever and the elf girl who needs his help.

Also out next week: Didn’t I Say to Make My Abilities Average?! 10 (print), How to Build a Dungeon 6, The Invincible Shovel 2 (print), Mushoku Tensei light novel 8 (digital first), and Servamp 14.

Vertical has two titles. On the manga end, we get the 2nd Blood on the Tracks.

Pretty Boy Detective Club (Bishounen Tanteidan) is a novel written by NISIOISIN, but it’s a far cry from the Monogatari or Zaregoto series – it’s a reverse harem! A young woman trying to find a star that appears only once every ten years ends up being helped by, well, the title club.

MICHELLE: I cannot resist this.

MJ: Okay, maybe need this.

SEAN: Yen also has some runoff from last week. Yen On gives us a 4th Our Last Crusade or the Rise of a New World.

Yen Press debuts Yoshi no Zuikara: The Frog in the Well Does Not Know the Ocean, a Gangan title from the creator of Barakamon, about a fantasy manga artist trying desperately to draw realistic manga.

MICHELLE: Huh. The Yoshino series was not on my radar.

ASH: Oooh, I am intrigued!

SEAN: Lastly, we get Éclair Rouge, the latest in this yuri anthology series.

More to discuss than I thought. Fantastick. What are you getting?