Michelle Smith

Blue Morning, Vol. 7 | By Shoko Hidaka | SuBLime – Encouraged by Akihito to pursue his own individual ambitions for once, Katsuragi becomes determined to save the workers at the spinning mill he briefly had charge of, and most of this volume depicts his plans to wrest control of the mill from a powerful ally without jeoparding said ally’s support of Akihito. It’s interesting, but of course the most important thing is Katsuragi finding something he really wants to do that does not involve serving the Kuze family. After a volume that’s 95% chaste, he finally travels to the remote villa where Akihito is recuperating and, okay, yes, they totally get it on. It’s not just smut, though; there is so much love between these men. Mutual respect, the sincere wish for other to find happiness and fulfillment… Blue Morning continues to be something special. – Michelle Smith

DNA Doesn’t Tell Us, Vol. 1 | By Mintarou | Seven Seas – Now that Monster Girls have become the new trend, it’s perhaps inevitable that we’ll get Animal Girls along with it. And so we get this series, which has animals spontaneously turning into human girls for no real reason. (Yes, always girls.) They’re still basically animals, though, so they go to a school to learn how to be human. This first volume follows the “tame” animals through the eyes of Youko, a Bighorn Sheep who is a bit more together and sensible than the rest of her goofy classmates. This edges towards the ‘fanservicey’ edge of the spectrum, but is essentially harmless, and didn’t really bother me too much. That said, I’d only recommend it to fans of animal girls—there’s nothing beyond that. – Sean Gaffney

Dragon Half, Vol. 1 | By Ryusuke Mita | Seven Seas – Before reading the first Dragon Half omnibus, I only knew the series by name, mostly due to the fans of the anime adaptation from the early 1990s. The manga itself was originally serialized between 1988 and 1994. Dragon Half is a ridiculous, absurd, and incredibly silly blast from the past. As a gag manga heavily inspired by fantasy and role-playing games, the series has its fair share of powerful, scantily clad women, including the titular half-dragon Mink. The daughter of a red dragon and a famous swordsman, Mink is on a quest to become human so that she can win the love of the dragonslayer (and teen idol), Dick Saucer. While I was amused from the very beginning, it wasn’t until about halfway through the omnibus that Mita’s sense of humor really started to click with me. The comedy can be a little hit-or-miss, but at it’s best, Dragon Half is hilarious. – Ash Brown

The Girl from the Other Side: Siúil, a Rún, Vol. 4 | By Nagabe | Seven Seas – There are many scenes in this volume of The Girl from the Other Side that elicit a pang of empathy. There’s Shiva, feeling so bad for lying to Auntie about having been touched by an Outsider. There’s Auntie, gradually losing her memory of her humanity and revealing to Teacher that the worst part about the curse is that after it fully takes hold the afflicted can’t die, putting a new spin on humans killing those who are only suspected of having been exposed. And there’s Teacher, watching Shiva and Auntie together and concluding that the girl no longer needs him, that it’d make no difference if he was around or not, and that perhaps he’s harming her by trying to keep her close. At least Shiva has other ideas about that, but it’s hard to see how a happy ending is going to be possible for this story. – Michelle Smith

Horimiya, Vol. 10 | By Hero and Daisuke Hagiwara | Yen Press – We don’t seem any closer to wrapping up, but there is a bit more forward progress here, though anyone expecting a straightforward answer to last volume’s proposal may be disappointed. Instead, the reader can enjoy seeing the over-serious Sengoku dealing with the pangs of love, and his conversation with Remi is also something of a proposal in a way, spoken through the plots of books. I enjoyed it. There’s also a nice helping of humor here, as we see Sengoku’s dad was friends with the Horis—and is not fond of that fact. We also see Hori’s dad with his hair up, and I straight up did not recognize him at first. We seem to be back on an upswing, and I’m looking forward to more. – Sean Gaffney

Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? Four-Panel Comic: Days of Goddess | By Masaya Takamura and Fujino Omori | Yen Press – These sorts of spinoffs are all over the place in Japan, but we rarely see them over here. It’s exactly what you’d expect—the DanMachi story told as 4-koma gags with the cast in superdeformed mode. Since it’s “Days of Goddess,” we follow Hestia more than Bell, as she struggles to get by despite only having one follower. It’s sort of nostalgic given how far the series has come since then. The other early cast members appear as well, though given Ais’ running gag of always eating, you’ll wonder if the author confused her with Saber. There’s another volume in the fall—twice a year seems about right for this cute and funny spinoff. – Sean Gaffney

Kemono Friends: Welcome to Japari Park!| By Fly and Kemono Friends Project | Yen Press – Sadly, this is one of those series where the real-life travails of the franchise prove to be far more interesting than the manga that came out of it. Based on an unsuccessful mobile game that got an anime that was VERY successful… until it blew up… the manga concerns a young woman named Nene, who is hired to essentially be a zookeeper for various young animal girls who are able to talk to humans and are basically eccentric young women with animal characteristics. Cute ensues. This volume contains both volumes of the original series, and as such wears out its welcome quite fast—series this fluffy should not be omnibuses. If you really like Kemono Friends, get this. – Sean Gaffney

Land of the Lustrous, Vol. 5 | By Haruko Ichikawa | Kodansha Comics – Although the narrative as a whole remains somewhat ambiguous, Land of the Lustrous continues to be one of the most visually striking series currently being released in English. With world-building and character introductions happening in fits and starts, the manga tends to favor mood and style over an obvious, logical narrative, but the melancholic atmosphere that Ichikawa has created with the manga is a compelling one. There is an intensity of emotion that makes it feel as though the gems’ psyches are as precariously close to shattering as their physical manifestations. Phos, the manga’s lead, has suffered immense trauma over the course of the series and has transformed dramatically as a result. However, as more is revealed about the characters and world, it becomes clear that Phos isn’t the only one hiding both secrets and pain. I’m still incredibly intrigued by Land of the Lustrous. – Ash Brown

Nameless Asterism, Vol. 1 | By Kina Kobayashi | Seven Seas – The premise of this sweet but deliberately frustrating series is that all of the main cast are in unrequited love with someone else in the main cast, and none of it ever goes anywhere. As such, it can be a bit teeth-grinding to see everyone confess over and over in their head but not do anything. A lot of the unrequited relationships are between girls, which explains some of the angst—indeed, one of the girls who goes on about all the boys she dates and talks about how that’s “normal, right” is possibly in the most transparent closet I’ve ever seen in any media. It’s decently written, and the kids are all likeable, but I have to admit that the volume did not really do anything for me. Still, if you like frustrating yuri. – Sean Gaffney

The Young Master’s Revenge, Vol. 1 | By Meca Tanaka| Viz Media – An unfortunate trend of most Meca Tanaka series that I read is that I enjoy them while also having very little to say about them, and that’s the case here. The premise is also remarkably similar to Masamune-kun’s Revenge, another series licensed over here, but fortunately the core audience are almost total opposites. Our hero was traumatized by an unthinking childhood friend when he was a kid. He returns, as a gorgeous rich teen, to make her fall for him and then dump her, as a somewhat petty revenge. Sadly, she’s no longer rich. Also sadly, she’s cute, plucky and adorable, and he rapidly finds himself falling for her for real. This fits the Shojo Beat line admirably, though I wasn’t wowed. – Sean Gaffney

Anonymous Noise, Vol. 7 | By Ryoko Fukuyama | Viz Media – To answer the question I posed in my last brief, apparently this will be running a little longer, as the cliffhanger indicates we’re starting up a new subplot. That said, as the end of an “arc” this wasn’t bad, though I admit that I always take more notice when the focus is on Nino and Yuzu—I honestly want Ayumi’s domestic angst drama to end as quickly as possibly, as it’s annoying me. Still, Nino and Yuzu are both fantastic here, and the art gives us lots of fantastic screams. Both are now ready to expand their horizons, which for Yuzu may mean getting past a few psychological blocks. I’m still happy to let this play out, though I do hope it wraps up in a few more volumes. – Sean Gaffney

Astra: Lost in Space, Vol. 2 | By Kenta Shinohara | Viz Media – The cast is advised to forget about who the traitor is among them for the moment, and I think the reader is meant to as well—the pacing of the main plot in this series can be awkward, and you get the sense things are being walked back. Things get a bit more interesting when we’re exploring more bizarre alien worlds, which can be both amazing and deadly. We also get some development of our shyest, most introverted crew member, who has a ball of self-worth issues and a voice like an angel. (The two are connected, as you might guess.) And there’s also some hints of romance. This is solid, but not great, and you get the sense the author is starting to realize this is not going to be the next One Piece. – Sean Gaffney

Barakamon, Vol. 15 | By Satsuki Yoshino | Yen Press – Handa is a good guy, but he’s impulsive and doesn’t think things through, such as the fact that his dad had been paying his rent up till now, or that he’s charging an exorbitant fee to get island folks to learn calligraphy. He needs someone like Kawafuji, who is angry and contrary and guides Handa along every step of the way even as it goes against the reason he came there in the first place. They make great friends, even if Kawafuji seems more like a minder at times. When Handa actually starts trying to teach the kids, he’s awkward at first, but you gradually realize that he’s going to be quite good at this. As for whether he can make enough money doing it, well… – Sean Gaffney

Beasts of Abigaile, Vol. 3 | By Spica Aoki| Seven Seas – Poor Eva, in the end she doesn’t have it in her to be the chief Evil Girl in the series, being more of a jealous little sister who wants her brother a bit too much. So we need to introduce the new Evil Girl in Angelica, the Student Council President, daughter of the warden, and all-around manipulative… well, you know. Nina, of course, is not all that easily manipulated, being that she wears her heart on her sleeve so much she’s willing to risk death just to pick some flowers on the side of a cliff. Luckily, that’s why drugs were invented, just to keep folks like Nina docile. This is a total potboiler, but fun. – Sean Gaffney

Delicious in Dungeon, Vol. 4 | By Ryoko Kui | Yen Press – I love the mix of food, fantasy, and humor in Delicious in Dungeon and have been enjoying the series a great deal. However, while the ingredients are the same, the exact proportions of the mix has changed somewhat with the fourth volume. Food is still an important element, and the manga’s terrific comedic moments continue to be a staple, but the story has taken a significantly darker, more serious turn–the series’ intrepid adventurers must now face off with the red dragon they’ve been hunting down from the very beginning. It’s an intense battle brilliantly executed by Kui who demands both sacrifices and clever thinking from the manga’s quirky yet endearing cast. This easily could have been the series’ grand finale, but there’s more to come; I’m intensely curious to see where the manga, and its frequently unexpected cuisine, goes from here. – Ash Brown

Frau Faust, Vol. 4 | By Kore Yamazaki | Kodansha Comics – You get the sense, reading this volume of Frau Faust, that Johanna is the sort of protagonist who has the magical ability to have good friends die around her so that she can suffer and also deal out justice and a good moral lesson. Which means that this series is not exactly filled with fun and games, but the title might have been a clue that wasn’t going to happen. Johanna’s undying nature is unhelpful here, as she spends half the book being gruesomely tortured on behalf of the evil nun in charge of hating demons—except, of course, the ones she can use for her own benefit. Still greatly enjoying Frau Faust, but you need to realize going in the premise is “everything is awful and everything hurts.” – Sean Gaffney

Giant Spider & Me: A Post-Apocalyptic Tale, Vol. 1 | By Kikori Morino | Seven Seas – I almost passed up on Giant Spider & Me, but as soon as I learned that it was in part a food manga, I couldn’t resist giving the first volume a try. One day, Nagi, a young woman largely living on her own in the mountains, encounters a strange but intelligent creature in the woods that looks an awful lot like a giant spider. It ultimately follows her home, essentially becoming Nagi’s pet and guard animal, but more importantly her companion against loneliness (even if food is their most successful means of communication). The worldbuilding is a little vague at this point which can be frustrating, and Morino’s artwork isn’t always consistent when it comes to scale, but as a whole Giant Spider & Me is charming and surprisingly sweet. I was delighted by the first volume, so I’ll certainly be picking up more of the series. – Ash Brown

The Girl from the Other Side: Siúil, a Rún, Vol. 4 | By Nagabe| Seven Seas – If you’re still comparing this with The Ancient Magus’ Bride, I can see why, but this series seems to be turning down a far darker alley. Teacher has decided that things will be best if he, Shiva and her aunt all live together. but just because the aunt is now cursed does not mean that she’s ready to trust and forgive the teacher—quite the opposite,. There is a stereotypical cooking scene where everything goes wrong and the three end up covered in white flour that is simply brutally jarring in terms of tone—it helps put the rest of the book in stark relief. Meanwhile, the main mystery for this series is “what is Shiva’s deal?”, and I hope we find out more about that next time. – Sean Gaffney

Lovesick Ellie, Vol. 4 | By Fujimomo | Kodansha Comics (digital only) – My least favorite attribute of Ellie’s personality is how her fantasy life blinds her to the reality of certain things, like… if you fail your final exams, you’re going to have to take remedial classes during winter break. Of course, the angst over missing Christmas with Akira and not recognizing that he has been looking forward to it just as much as she was eventually leads to a really sweet moment (and smooch!) so I guess we have to suffer through some “derp” stuff to get to the good stuff. Meanwhile, Ellie seems to have made a couple of new friends in class thanks to her ping pong prowess (yes, really); we get to know Sara’s second-year protector, Takagi, a little better; and a boy in Ellie’s remedial class seems to be the one commenting on her Twitter fantasies. Not groundbreaking shoujo, but I enjoy it. – Michelle Smith

One-Punch Man, Vol. 13 | By ONE and Yusuke Murata | Viz Media – Last time I said the tournament was the least interesting part of the volume, this time the opposite is true. Saitama’s fight with Suiryu is not only filled with a lot of fantastic and ludicrous action, but also helps once again to define what Saitama’s ideas of being a hero and being strong are compared to other people—and why he’s the title character. That said, he learns the wrong lesson from the battle—but that’s why One-Punch Man remains very funny. Of course, things aren’t all fun and games, and I worry that we may lose some innocent bystanders in this ongoing war between heroes and monsters—especially as Saitama is running away and may not be able to help. – Sean Gaffney

One-Punch Man, Vol. 13 | By ONE and Yusuke Murata | VIZ Media – You know you’re middle-aged when you’re watching heroes battle a giant octopus and you keep thinking about how massive and costly the cleanup will be from all the damage! At least we learn more about the source for all these monsters, and that Saitama will probably be facing them soon, since they invade the martial arts tournament at the end of the volume. The tourney was quite entertaining this time, as Saitama faces the one guy (who could be called One-Kick Man, based on his previous bouts) who he thought could give him a challenge, only to realize once again that it’s not the case. Still, I enjoyed their fight and hope that Saitama will now get back to the hero game. Also, I missed Genos! Thankfully, the wait for the next volume is not as long this time. – Michelle Smith

Skip Beat!, Vol. 40 | By Yoshiki Nakamura | Viz Media – The cover to this volume is adorable—Kyoko just wants to act together with Kanae SO MUCH, and you can hope that she will get her wish someday, though the cliffhanger implies it may be a lot more difficult than the usual “audition.” Fortunately she has Yashiro in her corner, who is acting as a temporary manager for her, and reminds the reader once again that when it comes to “manager” activities, he is essentially superhuman. More seriously, we meet an old rival in this volume and, like Kyoko, our jaw drops when we finally realize who she is. I will admit that I was more interested in Kyoko’s swordfighting and rhythmic gymnastics training than I was anything with Erika. That does not change the fact that Skip Beat remains essential.-Sean Gaffney

UQ Holder, Vol. 13 | By Ken Akamatsu | Kodansha Comics – I have to admit, I have no idea how time, dreamscapes, or indeed any aspect of magic work in Akamatsu’s universe, and I suspect neither does he, as we’re in a dreamscape that is also the past, except we also get the rest of the main UQ Holder heroines here as mind-controlled darkness versions of themselves, before EVERYONE is saved by Asuna showing up with her big-ass sword, something so unbelievable even Eva has to say she doesn’t think she’s the real Asuna. She certainly acts like her, though, and is ready to help Touta and company battle against the evil Negi and his evil sentai team. This is exciting when you read it, but logic and proportion have fallen softly dead a long time ago. – Sean Gaffney

The Ancient Magus’ Bride, Vol. 8 | By Kore Yamazaki | Seven Seas – I have to say, if the artist is trying to get Chise and Elias to be a romantic couple, as the title might imply, she’s doing a horrible job of it. That said, I’m pretty sure that’s not what she’s doing, and the second half of this volume certainly shows that in terms of understanding humanity and Chise’s own wishes, Elias fails dismally. Chise spends most of this volume dealing with the aftermath of the previous one, including her new arm. But it’s hard not to have the story overwhelmed by the final couple of chapters, as Chise decides it’s for the best to break with Elias—at least for now. This remains intensely addicting, though I’m not entirely certain it will have a happy ending. – Sean Gaffney

Beasts of Abigaile, Vol. 3 | By Spica Aoki | Seven Seas – Captured by Eva and with the threat of having her odiferous humanity revealed to the whole school, Nina insists she’s not like other humans. Roy intervenes, challenging her to prove it and claiming he’ll kill her himself if he’s not convinced. Initially, what follows is one of those “this is so stupidly impulsive” moments in which Nina climbs a cliff in the rain to get roses for Poe to paint with, but it turns into a pretty terrific scene with Eva in which Nina sacrifices herself for Eva’s sake and leaves the latter with no target for her anger. Plus, Roy now admits she’s not their enemy. In fact, the enemy seems to be the creepy student council president, who drugs Nina for this volume’s cliffhanger. Still way better than you’d expect. – Michelle Smith

Bloom Into You, Vol. 4 | By Nakatani Nio | Seven Seas – It’s summer vacation and the student council has a training camp to rehearse for their upcoming play. Before the camp, though, Yuu has time to really miss Nanami (who is trying to keep her distance lest Yuu get tired of her) and is a little jealous at the closeness Nanami and Sayaka share at the camp. As ever, though, Nanami and her sister complex is the most interesting thing about the series. Here, she learns from her sister’s former classmate that the idealized version she held of her sister was far from the truth. In fact, she’s probably surpassed her already in so far as being a good president is concerned. But who is she supposed to be now? Clearly not herself, because her self-loathing is very strong. I look forward to seeing whether Yuu can succeed in helping Nanami to change. – Michelle Smith

Cardcaptor Sakura: Clear Card, Vol. 2 | By CLAMP | Kodansha Comics – The main plot of Cardcaptor Sakura, besides the usual acquiring of new cards, is that Eriol and Syaoran are keeping a secret from Sakura, presumably either for her own good or so that she isn’t sad. This is intensely frustrating for the reader, who knows it will backfire in the worst way. Thankfully, the rest of the volume is exactly what you want from this series: light cute fluffyness, lots of card-capturing action, cute costumes and Tomoyo’s reactions to said costumes, and the occasional bout of silly humor. Still, the “secret” being kept from Sakura not only makes the reader edgy but makes it harder to enjoy this manga to its fullest. I hope she finds out what it is soon. (Also, please don’t let it be a crossover with Tsubasa.) – Sean Gaffney

Fukushima Devil Fish | By Katsumata Susumu | Breakdown Press – It’s been almost a decade since the award-winning Red Snow, Susumu’s first volume of manga to be translated into English, was released. Now there is a second–Fukushima Devil Fish, a terrific collection of nine of Susumu’s short manga accompanied by four essays written by Susumu himself, Abe Yukihiro, and the volume’s editor Asakawa Mitsuhiro, which provide additional context. The manga were all originally released between 1969 and 1989, most of them in the influential alternative manga magazine Garo. The stories generally fall into three categories. The first two are anti-nuclear manga using the now infamous Fukushima nuclear power plant as a setting. (They are very interesting to compare to Kazuto Tatsuta’s Ichi-F.) Kappa and tanuki feature prominently in the next four folklore-inspired tales while the final three incorporate semi-autobiographical elements. It’s a bit of a variety, but there’s a beautifully expressed sense of loneliness and melancholy that is frequently found throughout. – Ash Brown

Haikyu!!, Vol. 21 | By Haruichi Furudate | Viz Media – The game finally ends in this volume, in suitably dramatic fashion. Hate to spoil it, but our heroes win. The win takes up the majority of the volume, though, and is filled with back-and-forth, showing off the exhaustion and stubbornness of both teams, as well as giving a lesson in “short people can too be good at volleyball.” Actually, the exhaustion leapt out at me—this volume does a great job of showing how physically grueling this match was, and how deeply, deeply tired everyone is at the end of it. And so now we wait to see who Karasuno will be playing—Nekoma are their “rival” team, but there’s ominous foreshadowing showing that it’s not going to be them. I suspect the team with the smuggest bastards wins. – Sean Gaffney

Kiss Him, Not Me!, Vol. 13 | By Junko | Kodansha Comics – When a series is about a heroine’s love of 2-D anime heroes over actual guys, and she ends up paired up with a guy, there’s going to be conflict. And given this is primarily a comedy, it takes a LOT to get it through Kae’s head that Mutsumi is her REAL boyfriend and Shion is a fictional character. (The resolution to this dilemma, I note, is so perfectly in character it hurts.) Naturally, there’s a bitter mastermind behind this. Unlike a lot of “you think I’m gay but I’m not” male shoujo rivals, Yashiro actually *is* gay, and the manga does its best not to make that a stereotype. He’s certainly a jerk, though. The series ends in the next volume, and I think it’s the right place to end it. Keep reading this if you’ve already been doing so. – Sean Gaffney

Queen’s Quality, Vol. 3 | By Kyousuke Motomi | Viz Media – There’s a bit less silly humor in this volume, mostly as we’re still trying to figure out what kind of Queen Fumi is going to turn out to be. The ideal is apparently the White Queen, but frankly, all options seem to involve a certain sacrifice of self that I suspect Kyutaro is not going to appreciate—though Fumi already has a big swathe of amnesia to deal with. Fumi is a cute, hyperactive and likeable heroine, but she only really seems to come alive when the “Black Queen” in her comes out. The Black Queen needs to be killed, but is that really the best answer? As with Dengeki Daisy, the author’s previous series, each volume of Queen’s Quality makes me want to learn more about the world it inhabits. – Sean Gaffney

Scum’s Wish, Vol. 6 | By Mengo Yokoyari | Yen Press – First of all, my reaction to the male option that will prevent Ecchan from having to be a genuine lesbian is basically “BLEAH.” (I may be wrong, but I suspect I’m not—also he’s an asshole, which isn’t helping.) The core of this book involves Mugi and Hanabi both promising to break things off with their crushes so that they can finally move on. This proves far more successful in one case than it does in the other, but it does remind you that if you have a situation in Scum’s Wish and you don’t know which way it will go, the seediest route is always the correct option. I’m still reading this, but I admit it’s feeling less like a guilty pleasure and more like an endurance contest. How much more screwed up will this get? – Sean Gaffney

Skip Beat!, Vol. 40 By Yoshiki Nakamura | VIZ Media – After such a long wait, it’s kind of a bummer to get only a transitional volume of Skip Beat!. By no means is it bad, as it includes Kyoko realizing that, for some reason, Ren left her off his list of White Day gift recipients (I hope this leads to some kind of confession soon!), and also acquiring Yashiro as her manager. She’s devoting herself to securing the part of a ninja in a period drama where she can work alongside Moko, but just as the auditions are about to begin, she’s culled, seemingly for failing to prepare for the role by dyeing her hair black. I can only assume that she’ll knock ’em dead in the next volume, but having to wait until September to see that makes me pout. Oh, well. #firstworldproblems – Michelle Smith