Michelle Smith

Arakawa Under the Bridge, Vol. 2 | By Hikaru Nakamura | Vertical Comics – The conceit of the first volume was to show that everyone who lived under the bridge, including the supposed straight-man hero, was completely and utterly weird. This second book expands that to show that you don’t even have to be living under the bridge, as Rec’s father and underlings prove to be just as screwed up. That said, the best moments in this omnibus go to the already-introduced cast. Everything involving Maria is a delight, particularly her “helping” Rec in his deception. Rec becoming a schoolteacher is also a fertile ground for gags, as is the race. My favorite moments, though, are just the simple unfussy love Nino seems to have for Rec. It actually grounds the series. – Sean Gaffney

Behind the Scenes!!, Vol. 5 | By Bisco Hatori | VIZ Media – I couldn’t quite bring myself to abandon this series, and that may be a good thing, because volume five is quite a bit better than what’s come before. True, some things are treated in a very frivolous manner, like Ruka’s stalker who conveniently disappears after Goda thwarts him once, but some emotions ring true, particularly Ranmaru’s raging feelings of inferiority when it comes to Goda, whom Ruka, the object of Ranmaru’s unrequited affections, pines for unrequitedly and who not only protects her from the stalker but has superior design ideas at every turn. Of course, Ranmaru ultimately learns that Goda is so good at what he does because of hard work, not sheer talent, and by volume’s end he seems more driven to work hard himself. I might care enough to stick around a bit longer. – Michelle Smith

Bloom Into You, Vol. 4 | By Nakatani Nio | Seven Seas – The drama amps up in this fourth volume, which (as with previous volumes of this series) makes it more interesting. Touko’s self-hatred is really becoming harder to hide, as she not only reveals to Yuu the mask that she’s been wearing ever since tragedy struck her family, but also urges Yuu not to fall in love with her, as, of course, she hates herself. That said, it may be a bit late on that score, as Yuu might be asexual but she’s not aromantic. (There is a clever use of a word bubble to obscure a narrative text block that is fooling no one.) The play that is written, meanwhile, is a bit too close to Touko for comfort, and the ending feels off, which is why it’s good that Yuu may be trying to change that. I’m finally enjoying this quite a bit. – Sean Gaffney

Chihayafuru, Vol. 9 | By Yuki Suetsugu | Kodansha Comics (digital only) – One of the things I like best about Chihayafuru is that the less-advanced members of the Mizusawa Karuta club are allowed to make valuable contributions. After watching the Master and Queen matches, “Desk-kun” tells Chihaya she shares a skill with the intimidating Master—the ability to discern more one-character cards than others—and one can’t help but think she’ll go far if she develops it. Meanwhile, Kana takes the education of new first-year members in hand (and proves to be right that it’s the poetry that hooks them) and “Meat Buns” trains the cocky newcomer who only knows the Hokkaido variant of the game. Everyone’s changing and they all have different goals and priorities, but two constants are their love of karuta and my love of this series. – Michelle Smith

Delicious in Dungeon, Vol. 4 | By Ryoko Kui| Yen Press – The majority of this volume is dedicated to finally bringing down the red dragon that ate Laios’ sister, and it’s a pretty badass battle, showing everyone failing and succeeding in equal measure—it’s well-earned. Sadly, Falin is pretty much a skeleton by now, but that is not going to stop our heroes. This is actually a fairly odd development, one that requires a bit of a side story in the early part of the volume to set up so it’s not completely out of the blue. (It also shows off some worldbuilding, hinting at an ongoing plot beyond this book, which I suspect may have been the original “if this gets cancelled fast” ending. But the series is popular, so we get a menacing elf for a cliffhanger. This has become excellent. – Sean Gaffney

Food Wars!: Shokugeki no Soma, Vol. 22 | By Yuto Tsukuda and Shun Saeki | Viz Media – Thanks goodness, the recipes at the end of this book do NOT ask the reader to cook with bear—the meat is changed to something more prosaic. The whole book is devoted to Soma’s battle, though we do also see a few shots of the new players in the Council of Ten, including Hayama, and also discover Megumi has to be judged by the eccentric Rindo. Soma’s got his work cut out for him, though, as his judges are all relatives of the Nakiri family, including Alice’s little sisters. The idea of Southern Fried Bear boggles the mind a bit, but the beauty of Food Wars is its ability to make anything sound delicious. And Soma’s bearburg steak may end up saving the day—depending on if Hayama will eat it. – Sean Gaffney

Girls’ Last Tour, Vol. 4 | By Tsukumizu| Ywn Press – It’s hard for one part of this fourth volume to not completely overwhelm the rest of it. For the most part, Chito and Yuuri ride their tank around, take a still-moving subway car to a brand-new part of the city, discover real, actual chocolate, and the like. But when Yuuri fires off a tactical nuclear weapon, destroying a large portion of the city off in the distance, your jaw drops. I am told the anime played this scene a bit more seriously, and rightly so—Yuuri’s laughter is appalling (and it’s meant to be, I think). This volume assures us that this is genuinely after the end of the world, and there’s not going to be a final scene where they’re rescued. I was not expecting a slice-of-life series with two cute girls to be so chilling. – Sean Gaffney

Log Horizon: The West Wind Brigade, Vol. 8 | By Koyuki and Mamare Touno | Yen Press – OK, turns out that Soujiro’s opponent isn’t quite Nureha, but some sort of golem controlled by a person of the earth with a penchant for evil. Strangely, said character later ends up as a small girl, and gets adopted by the West Wind Brigade and named Kuroe (to contrast with Shiroe and remind you why everyone in the WWB suspects Soujiro has a crush on him). The rest of the volume wraps up the events of the fourth book, giving more insight into the missing memories and some terrific facial expressions of Raynesia. The series just announced it’s ending in Japan, but this sort of side story doesn’t really need a definitive ending. “And the adventure continues” will do fine. – Sean Gaffney

Assassination Classroom, Vol. 20 | By Yusei Matsui | Viz Media – So in the end there is no easy way out, and no happily ever after. Oh, the kids survive, though it’s a bit touch-and-go for Kayano, who tries to protect Koro-sensei and gets impaled for her troubles. But no, what it means is that, despite Koro-sensei taking care of the bad guys, with one very satisfying death, he still has to be killed—and, given the entire premise of the series, the kids have to kill him. We’re at the climax of the series, which is apparently rather awkward in volume format—expect a lot of padding in the final volume. Still, for fans of this series, this may be a bit of a tear-jerker, but it feels right, and will also make you smile. (Though please stop with the “Kayano has a small chest” jokes, please.) – Sean Gaffney

Behind the Scenes!!, Vol. 5 | By Bisco Hatori | Viz Media – This was a much stronger volume of the series, though I admit that sometimes I have trouble remembering who is who—this is what happens when you catch up to Japan so quickly. Here we see the pain of unrequited love, and how for the most part there can be very little you can do about it other than pine, especially when you love is pining for someone else. That said, the core of this series is still its special effects, which branch out here into scene design as our heroes run into a school with a lot of ideas but no idea how to convey those with an actual budget. The end design was quite clever, showing off the desperation that frequently drives genius when pushed to a deadline. Solid. – Sean Gaffney

Black Clover, Vol. 10 | By Yuki Tabata | Viz Media – As it turns out, permanent damage is pretty easy to heal when you live in a world of magic and you’re also the main character. Black Clover is never going to win any originality awards, and will likely never rise above “good.” But it also doesn’t plumb the depths of some series—it’s pacy, knows how long to do an arc for, and is also not afraid to bring in characters introduced in the light novels when it wants to, which might be a bit of a wrench for North American readers who know Viz doesn’t really license Jump light novels unless they’re Naruto. Meanwhile, Noelle levels up, and Asta tries to solve things by talking rather than punching (shame it doesn’t work out). Black Clover is fun if you’re a teen who’s never read Jump manga before. – Sean Gaffney

Dokudami Tenement, Vol. 1 | By Takashi Fukutani | Black Hook Press – Thanks to the efforts of Black Hook Press, a niche publisher based out of Tokyo currently focusing on gekiga and more obscure manga, the beginning of Fukutani’s most popular and successful series Dokudami Tenement is now available in English. The first volume includes the manga’s prologue and three stories—”Sun Is Shining,” “The Fetishist’s Lament,” and “Midnight Mover”—in addition to an introduction by Mitsuhiro Asakawa, a short biography, and a list of Fukutani’s publications. Dokudami Tenement began serialization in 1979, Fukutani incorporating semi-autobiographical elements into his stories about Yoshio Hori, an unemployed twenty-six year old living in a decrepit apartment building in Tokyo. It’s a funny and entertaining series, although at times admittedly lewd and crass; the characters somehow manage to be both appalling and sympathetic while the manga explores social and economic issues of the time period with a biting sense of humor. – Ash Brown

Food Wars!: Shokugeki no Soma, Vol. 22 | By Yuto Tsukuda and Shun Saeki | VIZ Media – The advancement exams in Hokkaido continue and the resisters have survived until round three, when they must go up against members of the Council of Ten. Yukihira is having a rematch against Hayama, who defeated him in the Fall Classic, and their theme ingredient is bear. Despite a lot of focus on how the boys manage to overcome the stinky attributes of bear and create delicious dishes, I have to say I’m still not particularly keen to try it. We get the typical fanservice of clothes being blown off by flavor, but I could’ve done without the really awkward explanation for why the Nakiri family has this reaction. It was still entertaining, though, and I really liked that Yukihira acknowledged that he’s a better chef now because Hayama defeated him in the past. Beyond that, I remain “meh” about this Central arc. – Michelle Smith

Haganai: I Don’t Have Many Friends, Vol. 15 | By Yomi Hirasaka and Itachi | Seven Seas – The first half of this volume continues the giant high from the second half of the last one—these are probably the best scenes in the series. After getting his ass kicked by Rika, Kodaka finally stops ignoring Sena and tells her the truth—he loves her, and wants to do lots of naughty things to her, which… sort of pleases her, ish. But he won’t date her, because it would ruin the Friendship Club. Which, honestly, is getting pretty ruined even without dating, as Yozora has finally sunk into deep depression and run away, all the way to… Kodaka’s house. The manga says—possibly to stop readers abandoning ship—it will have a different ending than the polarizing light novel. We’ll see how that develops next time. – Sean Gaffney

Haikyu!!, Vol. 20 | By Haruichi Furudate | VIZ Media – Karasuno is engaged in their first five-set match against formidable opponent Shiratorizawa and they’re approaching the limits of their endurance. Kageyama’s accuracy is suffering, and though Tsukishima (who has apparently become my favorite character) continues to make some awesome moves, he ends up injured and in the infirmary for the beginning of the fifth and final set. Can the team pull off victory without him? Well, it’s not surprise that we don’t know the answer to that yet, since Haikyu!! is always pulling off excruciating cliffhangers, but once a rested-up Kageyama returns to the court, it certainly seems possible, as he and Hinata execute a spectular quick set that narrows Shiratorizawa’s lead to one point. As exciting as ever! – Michelle Smith

JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Crusaders, Vol. 6 | By Hirohiko Araki | Viz Media We’ve finally gotten to Egypt, but alas, Dio still eludes us, as we continue instead to plow through a series of mooks trying to stop our heroes getting there in time to save Holly (who long-time readers may have totally forgotten about, to be honest). There is some very amusing comedy, as our heroes’ new ally is a Stand User who’s a dog—a very eccentric, unlikeable dog. The dog manages to do something that hasn’t happened the entire series, which is briefly make Jotaro interesting. But be it Youssou N’Dour, Oingo Boingo or Chaka Khan, no amount of unsubtle 80s music references can stop our heroes. Will we finally see Dio next time? Probably not, but hey. JoJo’s fans will want to read this. – Sean Gaffney

Kase-san and an Apron | By Hiromi Takashima | Seven Seas – The physicality of Yamada and Kase-san’s relationship is dialed back in this new volume, possibly due to being serialized in a magazine, Wings, which is slightly less OK with it. The yuri cuteness is still there, though, and this remains probably the best of our ongoing “girls in high school like each other and start dating” series. There are few surprises—the fact that Kase-san hadn’t dated her sempai seemed fairly obvious to me—but the emotions seem real, the girls are both sweethearts, and you root for them. I had thought this was the final volume, but apparently it is continuing on an occasional basis, so we may see a new volume. A must-read for yuri fans. – Sean Gaffney

Kuroko’s Basketball, Vols. 19-20 | By Tadatoshi Fujimaki | VIZ Media – It’s the Winter Cup quarterfinals, and Seirin is up against Yosen. Most of the first part of the volume is Kagami suddenly evolving amazingly in response to Yosen’s strength, entering “the zone” in a way that is visible to the audience and demonstrating an ability to replicate moves belonging to the Miracle Generation. It’s over-the-top but still an exhilarating finish as Seirin manages to win by one point. After meeting Shogo Haizaki, a former Miracle Generation member who lost his position to Kise, we progress to the first semifinal game, between Akashi’s Rakuzan and Midorima’s Shutoku. Turns out, Midorima and his teammate Takao have a sort of Hinata/Kageyama (from Haikyu!!) past and even a quick set equivalent! It’s pretty spiffy, but is it enough to beat Akashi? Stay tuned! – Michelle Smith

Kuroko’s Basketball, Vols. 19-20 | By Tadatoshi Fujimaki | Viz Media – As you might expect, loving basketball is better than not loving basketball, and therefore those with passion—particularly in a sports manga—will always beat those who have talent but little drive. And so our heroes advance, and get the rest of the volume to watch the competition. I admit I wasn’t wild about the section in the middle, though at least Alex freed herself on her own, and Shogo made a particularly unpleasant antagonist. But now we’re on to the other semifinal, with our old friend Midorima, who is not going to win because we have already seen Seirin play them, but it’s a nice thought. Two-thirds of the way through the series, and it’s still exciting, though it does make me realize that the final game could indeed be stretched a lot. – Sean Gaffney

Nameless Asterism, Vol. 1 | By Kina Kobayashi | Seven Seas – My interest in Nameless Asterism was piqued when I heard that the series includes both yuri and boys’ love elements. Turns out there’s cross-dressing involved, too, which also holds some appeal. The story revolves around Shiratori, Washio, and Kotooka, three young women who have become particularly close. They’re not all aware of it, but Shiratori has fallen for Washio, Washio has fallen for Kotooka, and Kotooka has fallen for Shiratori. On top of that, there are boys they like and who like them, too. It’s not so much a love triangle as it is an increasingly complex love ouroboros with feelings of friendship and romance in delicate balance. Nameless Asterism is a slowly paced but sweet manga with characters who genuinely care for one another. Future volumes of the series promise to reveal even more complications as the various relationships continue to evolve. I’m curious to see how it unfolds. – Ash Brown

Sword Art Online: Progressive, Vol. 6 | By Kiseki Himura and Reki Kawahara | Yen Press – I’m enjoying the fact that Himura, the artist of this manga, is being allowed to do his own thing a bit more. We’re curling back to the book plot, as Kirito runs up against a smiling villain named Morte who has a plan to sow discord. The manga has always felt more like Asuna’s story, with Kirito acting as a Greek Chorus, and we continue that here. Also, Argo is back, which makes me very happy, as I love Argo. Most adaptations of light novels don’t really need to be read if you’ve already read the prose, but this is an exception. And there’s also quite a bit of fanservice for those who like that. Great stuff for SAO fans. – Sean Gaffney

Yona of the Dawn, Vol. 10 | By Mizuho Kusanagi | VIZ Media – Man, Mizuho Kusanagi could teach a masterclass in how to not only redeem a former antagonist but make you love him fiercely. Yona and friends have been masquerading as bandits to protect poor villages in Fire Tribe lands from exorbitant taxes. Tae-jun is sent to deal with them and, after many comical reactions whilst in disguise, his genuine relief upon learning Yona is alive is massively endearing. This whole volume is about his gradual rehabilitation; initially, he cares only about Yona and can’t see the suffering around him, but eventually his eyes are opened and he spearheads a campaign to bring much-needed government support to the people. Yes, he still cares a lot about what Yona thinks of him, but he’s also truly changed, earning the loyalty of his troops in the process. I may have shed a few tears. – Michelle Smith

Ace of the Diamond, Vol. 8 | By Yuji Terajima | Kodansha Comics (digital only) – After a great deal of effort, Tanba shows himself to be in excellent shape for Koshien. This, plus the trust his teammates have in him, makes it even more devastating when he’s hit by a ball in a practice game right before the tournament begins, fracturing his jaw. He’ll be able to return by the quarter-finals, but meanwhile it’s up to the younger pitchers to keep things together until then. I’m a sucker for a good training montage, so enjoyed Chris drilling Furuya and Sawamura on their control and defensive fielding skills. The coach has some nice moments where he shows appreciation for both the team and the female managers, and it’s also satisfying to watch Seido crush their first-round opponents. In fact, this is quite a satisfying volume all around, aside from a couple of grammatical errors in the translation. – Michelle Smith

Gabriel Dropout, Vol. 2 | By Ukami |Yen Press – There’s very little actual forward plot here—the series runs on its gags, so mostly what changes is the situation. We see the girls going to the beach; the story of how Gabriel and Vignette first met; the absolute ludicrousness that is Satanya buying a gun (no, not a real gun); Halloween costumes; and the class president, who is 100% human and a bit horrified by the out-of-context dialogue between the class angel and devil. Of course, the question here is “does it work? Is it funny?”, and the answer is yes, this is still funny. Raphael and her trolling continues to be my favorite, though we do see she does have one weakness. If you like light fluffiness and laughs, this is an excellent series to pick up. – Sean Gaffney

I Hear the Sunspot: Theory of Happiness | By Yuki Fumino | One Peace Books – One of the debut manga from last year that left the greatest impression on me was the deceptively quiet I Hear the Sunspot, so I was very happy to discover that it had a sequel, Theory of Happiness, that would also be translated. While ostensibly a boys’ love manga, the beautifully nuanced, evolving relationship between the series’ two leads—Taichi and Kohei—is rarely at the forefront of the story. Even so, it remains an essential underlying component constant to both the narrative and its characters. Theory of Happiness also introduces Maya who, like Kohei, has partial hearing loss, but whose experiences and perspectives are uniquely her own. As was the case with the first volume, Theory of Happiness is an exceptionally lovely and thoughtful manga with marvelous characterization. Apparently there is at least one more volume in the series; I hope to see it released in English, too. – Ash Brown

Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic, Vol. 28 | By Shinobu Ohtaka | Viz Media – The war ended up being a bit of an anticlimax, mostly as we find out late in the volume that Harukyuu had a ringer from the start who was going to make the outcome obvious. I continue to wonder if Sinbad is going to end up being the major antagonist of the series, but I suspect that may have to wait till Alibaba’s return. Which isn’t happening just yet, though his chibi-doll form is certainly proving more mature than the petulant Judar. As for the war itself, I definitely enjoyed the character development for Kogyoku, who is forced to fight and kill in order to protect those closest to her and make sure they don’t lose themselves. It’s a big step forward for the former petulant princess. As for Aladdin… he’s still a bit lost. Great stuff. – Sean Gaffney

Murcielago, Vol. 5 | By Yoshimurakana | Yen Press – Kuroko may be the star of the series, and she’s very good at being clever and solving the problems the police give her, but she is an absolutely horrible, despicable person. The only reason we read this series is because her over-the-top horribleness is so hilarious—when she sets out to seduce the mother of the missing nine-year-old girl who’s been captured by a serial child killer, your jaw wants to drop but you can only laugh. I actually wondered why we never got a follow through on it, but given the volume starts with Kuroko in bed with the victim from volume four, I may simply have to wait patiently. This is not a series for the timid—the graphic child strangulation is as bad as it sounds—but oh my god, it’s fun if you have a certain twisted mindset. – Sean Gaffney

My Hero Academia, Vol. 11 | By Kohei Horikoshi | Viz Media – The grimness of this arc doesn’t let up—Bakugo is rescued, but the sacrifices are significant. I appreciated their teacher explaining that if they weren’t in a very unusual situation right now, he would have expelled the entire class except for those kidnapped and/or injured. Being a hero means following the rules—that’s why they aren’t vigilantes. (No, I haven’t read the side series yet.) We also get some home visits to the class’s parents, which range from hilarious (Bakugo) to dramatic (Izuku) to rather sweet (Kyoka). Next time we should get preparation for provisional hero licenses. In the meantime, enjoy the best thing about the volume, which I never mentioned: the epic All-Might fight in the first half. (OK, yes, and the new dorm chapters.) Top-drawer Jump. – Sean Gaffney

No Game No Life, Please!, Vol. 3 | By Kazuya Yuizaki and Yuu Kamiya | Yen Press -The laughable schedule of the NGNL novels, which have been delayed so often that people now simply roll their eyes, means that this third volume of the spinoff introduces characters from novels which aren’t out yet, and expects the reader to be familiar with them. That said, hardcore NGNL fans are famous for boycotting the Yen Press novels anyway, and are likely getting this solely for the laughs and the fanservice. There’s plenty of both, so they should feel at ease. We do see a bit of the point of this series, which is trying to give Izuna more experience. But for the most part it’s a goofy spinoff manga, not to be taken seriously and meant to be forgotten after it’s read. It does what it wants to. – Sean Gaffney

Orange Junk, Vol. 3 | By Heldrad | Chromatic Press – Oft described as a love letter to shoujo manga, Heldrad’s ongoing webcomic Orange Junk is a wonderfully energetic and addictive series. The third volume sees the conclusion of the male modeling competition which Bruce initially entered in an attempt to pay his mother’s hospital bills. Miles, the son of the man who financially ruined Louise’s family, unexpectedly turns out to be Bruce’s rival in the contest as well as in love. Louise, of course, remains rather oblivious to that particular fact; she hasn’t realized that Bruce has romantic feelings for her and the grudge she holds against Miles and his family overshadows most everything else. Orange Junk is intentionally ridiculous and melodramatic with explosive chemistry and surprising friendships among the increasingly large cast of strong personalities. While it isn’t exactly a parody, the series is most definitely a comedy, and a highly entertaining and legitimately funny one at that. – Ash Brown

Plum Crazy! Tales of a Tiger-Striped Cat, Vol. 4| By Natsumi Hoshino | Seven Seas – You’d think that I, a fervent cat lover, would adore Plum Crazy!, but sadly that is proving not to be the case. Maybe the problem is that I love cats for how they actually are, but that the cats in Plum Crazy! are given so much inner dialogue and human motivation that they hardly feel like cats anymore. They exchange Christmas gifts, for example, and there’s a running gag (I use the term loosely) where Plum is concerned about the environment. Occasionally there are some cat-like behaviors, like Plum getting stuck above the ceiling (this really happened to a cat of mine!) and Snowball’s search for a snuggly sleeping spot, but they’re just not enough to make up for the rest (and it bugs me that nobody tries to correct Snowball’s bad behavior). Alas, I think I might be dropping this series. – Michelle Smith

The Promised Neverland, Vol. 2 | By Kaiu Shirai and Posuka Demizu | VIZ Media – After a fantastic and surprising first volume, I have no excuse for being taken completely unawares by the big reveal in this volume, and yet I was. The nuanced way Norman managed to turn this information into an advantage was well handled, and boy, do I have sympathy for his position going forward. Meanwhile, a game of tag with Krone reveals it’s not impossible to get the jump on her, and the three leads decide to bring the next oldest pair (Don and Gilda) into the loop. The thing is… they don’t tell them the whole truth, and I’m sure this is going to come back to bite them, especially since Don is potentially about to discover it on his own by snooping in Mom’s secret room. What a cliffhanger! – Michelle Smith

Welcome to the Ballroom, Vol. 9 | By Tomo Takeuchi | Kodansha Comics – STILL no amazing breakthrough, though it’s hinted we may FINALLY see it next time. Instead we mercifully get a bit less of Tatara and Chinatsu torturing themselves and more perspective from the rest of the cast, who can’t take their eyes away from this train wreck. We also see the return of Chinatsu’s rival Akira, who gets a flashback which shows, unsurprisingly, that her attitude stems from a severe case of hero worship gone wrong. (It could also be read as sort of yuri if you want to, but I suspect that’s not what the author has in mind.) There’s also a lot of dramatic dancing here, with lots of the art that is probably the best reason to read this title. I’m still reading it, but mother of God, END THIS ARC! – Sean Gaffney