Manga Bookshelf

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Michelle Smith

Off the Shelf: Not entirely unanticipated

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MJ: Heeeeey, look at this, it’s been less than two months and we’re already back again. That’s a huge improvement on our recent record, no?

MICHELLE: Considering that there was a two-year gap before our last column, I’d certainly say so!

MJ: Heard any good jokes lately?

MICHELLE: Hmm.. Here’s one! Why did the old lady fall in the well?

MJ: Wow, I don’t know! Why did the old lady fall in the well?

MICHELLE: She didn’t see that well.

MJ: Hey, that was actually pretty funny!

MICHELLE: Your reaction was unanticipated!

MJ: Speaking of “unanticipated”… no, wait, this is totally anticipated. Wanna talk about some manga?

MICHELLE: Sure! I’ve just finished the third volume of Hiroaki Samura’s Wave, Listen to Me!, a Kodansha digital exclusive.

It’s the story of Minare Koda, a waitress with a gift of fluency that catches the attention of a local radio producer, Mato. After secretly recording her drunken rant about her thieving ex and playing it over the air, he eventually takes the chance of giving her her own weekly show in a late-night time spot where she has the freedom to do some really kooky things. The first episode, for example, is a surreal audio drama about murdering said ex, Mitsuo. The next week, it’s time to bury the body on Mt. Fuji!

In this volume, Koda finds that going through those crazy plotlines has actually helped her set aside her bitterness about how Mitsuo done her wrong, and she must think about what she wants the show to be going forward. I really like the scenes wherein Mato mentors her about radio and the relationship between host and linstener. “TV viewers are guests. Radio listeners are participants,” he says at one point. This proves to be true when one of her listeners sends a fax that leads ultimately to the discovery of… well, perhaps I’ll play coy about its exact nature, but it definitely proves that reality is sometimes stranger than the occult.

Minare is a fascinating character. Full of energy and charisma, capable of selfish acts that she’s later thoroughly horrified by… She finally found a goal in life and she’s going for it, but doesn’t exactly know what she’s doing. I like her very much.

MJ: Okay, I gotta admit this sounds fantastic. It reminds me a little of a time when I played a lot of Quake so that I could imagine I was repeatedly blowing up my ex, only much more creative and generally productive. Is this series as delightful as it sounds?

MICHELLE: It’s delightful, but it’s also really a genius concept, since letting Minare do many things in many genres allows Samura the same liberty. So, on top of watching Minare’s skills and career progress, there are also wacky happenings to enjoy, too. I very heartily recommend it.

MJ: It’s hard for me to resist a Michelle recommendation, especially when it is something so obviously up my alley. You especially got me at “reality is sometimes stranger than the occult.” I mean… I have to know more. I just have to.

MICHELLE: Oh, that reminds me of another fun aspect… because Samura has already drawn out a couple of the audio dramas as if they’re actually happening, when strange things start to happen, it made me question whether he might have started another one without telling us. This is the sort of manga that would totally do that.

Anyway! What have you been reading lately?

MJ: I’ve been reading the first volume of Gengoroh Tagame’s My Brother’s Husband, just released by Pantheon Books. If, like me, you’re primarily familiar with Tagame’s work as a bara artist, this slice-of-life seinen manga is certainly a departure, but it feels so natural in his hands, you’d never know that it wasn’t a genre he’s always drawn.

Yaichi is a single dad, earnestly raising his young daughter, Kana, whose life is upended by the arrival of Canadian visitor, Mike, husband to Yaichi’s estranged twin brother, Ryoji, who has just passed away. Yaichi greets Mike with awkwardness and not just a little homophobia, but is forced to invite him to stay after Kana, blissfully unaware of her father’s discomfort, insists that he must be welcomed into their home. Mike, stricken with grief, but anxious to connect with Ryoji’s family and childhood, gratefully accepts Yaichi’s grudging hospitality and settles into Ryoji’s old room.

As the manga continues, we watch Yaichi confront his preconceptions about Mike (and gay people in general), with considerable nudging from Kana, who adores their new houseguest. It’s rough going at first, but as Yaichi gets to know the man who so deeply loved his brother, he is increasingly able to see past his prejudices, to the point that, by the end of the volume, he’s defending Mike’s snoring problem to Kana and fighting the desire to rage at a neighbor who declines to let her child visit Kana’s house, fearing “negative influence.”

True to expectation, this is a pretty moving manga, made all the more poignant by its quiet, slice-of-life atmosphere, The artwork and visual storytelling are downright adorable, as somehow Tagame has managed to create something that wouldn’t look out of place on the shelf alongside, say, Yotsuba&!, without sacrificing his own artistic sensibility. But, of course, it’s not the artwork that makes this book so important.

As a westerner, I’m always wary of imposing my own cultural expectations on books like this, and I’m very much aware that queer culture in Japan is as different from what I’m accustomed to here as is Japanese culture in general. And with that in mind, it’s pretty great to know that a series like this was run in Monthly Action, which, despite its “indie” aspirations, is clearly aimed mainly towards straight men (so many boobs, my friends, so many). Perhaps because of that, it was difficult for me to warm to Yaichi, who is obviously intended as the stand-in for the reader, in all his discomfort over the concept of gay people and how he’s supposed to interact with one. Watching Yaichi’s progress is painful and, yes, eventually heartwarming, but what is most striking to me, as a reader, is Mike’s patience, kindness, and general agreeability throughout. Watching this sweet, hulking man smile with gratitude in every moment, even when he’s being treated with barely-concealed suspicion, is just… heart-wrenching. I can only imagine how this must read for someone who has experienced the same.

MICHELLE: Oh, man. I knew the general premise of this but not that Yaichi would be quite so awful at the outset. And it’s bad enough that Mike’s being treated this way, but when he’s grieving and so desperate for any scrap of his beloved that he’ll take it. From how you describe him, it doesn’t sound as if Mike tries to stand up for himself at any point.

MJ: I feel like I should rephrase, perhaps… I mean, yes, from my perspective Yaichi is being awful, but that’s where my western perception is failing me, I think. I think we can all agree, however, that what’s astonishing and awesome about Mike (also a westerner) is that he seems to be naturally accounting for differences in culture, and is just ceaselessly kind and giving. And when Yaichi becomes moved by that, it is what really changes his perspective, perhaps even more than Kana’s influence.

There’s obviously a lot more here, too, than just Yaichi overcoming homophobia. We find out a little about his estrangement from his twin brother and also about how his own marriage broke down, and I think in the end he and Mike are going to be strong healing influences for each other, and probably also for Kana, who didn’t even know she had an uncle!

MICHELLE: That does sound reassuring. I’m about to begin reading My Brother’s Husband this evening, in fact, so I’ll do my best not to get too riled up. Especially since I’m so very grateful that Pantheon has brought it to us!

MJ: Oh, go ahead and get riled up! But I really think you’ll love it in the end. It’s one of my favorite manga I’ve read so far this year.

So, we also have a mutual read this week… do you want to do the honors?

MICHELLE: Sure!

From Rei Toma, whose Dawn of the Arcana I liked and also featured a protagonist whose unusual red hair is viewed with suspicion, comes The Water Dragon’s Bride.

Asahi is spending a pleasant afternoon with her parents and she’s just about to go in and have some cookies when the backyard pond reaches out and ensares her, transporting her to another world. There, she meets a friendly boy named Subaru who unfortunately has some very ruthless parents, who immediately decide to offer Asahi to the water dragon god to obtain prosperity.

Asahi meets the dragon god who is, of course, a bishounen. He decides she’ll do for entertainment and shows off various tricks, but she’s unimpressed and protests so much that he steals her voice, promising to return it when she becomes his bride. Subaru mounts a valiant rescue, but the villagers prove to be just as crappy the second time around and the god decides to intervene.

How’s that?

MJ: That’s about the size of it! So. Okay. Honestly, I’m having a hard time coming up with a lot to say about this series so far. It’s definitely kind of adorable. Asahi is a spunky, likable heroine. Subaru, the obvious love interest, is sweetly earnest, and the bishounen water dragon god is pleasantly crusty. But man… haven’t we read this book before? Like a thousand times? Am I too much of a bitter, old schoolgirl-in-another-land fogey to enjoy this… again?

MICHELLE: It was certainly a very lightweight volume! I do think there’s potential, especially in the character of the water god. He’s cold, distant, and uncaring. At one point he simply watches as she wastes away in starvation. And he only intervenes at the end to preserve his entertainment. I’m sure he’ll feel love eventually, since that sort of thing always happens, but he’s definitely the most interesting character so far. Too, at least with the fish imagery and the pond, I had a little bit of Moon Child feels, and that’s always welcome.

MJ: I hadn’t thought about Moon Child, but I can see where you’re coming from, though the artwork isn’t nearly as beautiful as Shimizu’s, nor does it hold up well to what was the obvious comparison for me, Yun Mi-kyung’s Bride of the Water God, which, whatever you think of the series in general, I think is objectively visually stunning. Of course Bride of the Water God is a much more serious take on the sacrificial maiden theme, and Moon Child is weird and darkly whimsical like no other manga I’ve ever read. So it’s not really fair to hold this sweet little volume to either of those standards.

That said, I agree that the bishounen god has some possibilities (even if the long hair and excessive lounging just made me wish we were getting a new volume of Loveless anytime soon), and I expect there will be more substance as we go forward. But I kinda hope it hurries.

MICHELLE: Me, too! I did think of Bride of the Water God, but I although I did collect the volumes for a while, I never actually read them.

MJ: Well, perhaps this little manga will fare better on your shelves! I guess time will tell!

MICHELLE: I will least give it a few volumes to see how it fares. But it won’t assuage my sorrow that volume four of Wave, Listen to Me! is not even out in Japan yet.

MJ: That is a tragedy, indeed.

A Silent Voice, Vols. 1-7

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By Yoshitoki Oima | Published by Kodansha Comics

asv1In elementary school, Shoya Ishida often engaged in foolhardy stunts to stave off boredom. When hearing impaired transfer student Shoko Nishimiya joins his class and causes disruption within the class, she becomes Shoya’s target. Initially, the other kids laugh at Shoya’s antics but when he goes too far and destroys several hearing aids to the tune of $14,000, they swiftly condemn him. Now he’s the one who’s ostracized and this status continues into high school, long after Shoko transferred out again. Full of self-loathing, he’s preparing to commit suicide, but a chance reunion with Shoko inspires him to try to change.

One of the first things Shoya does is accept the friendship of a tubby, pushy classmate called Tomohiro Nagatsuka. Tomohiro doesn’t have much depth or subtlety as a character, but he proves to be a reasonably faithful friend and helps Shoya become more sociable. Soon, he meets Yuzuru, Shoko’s tomboyish sister, and reunites with more girls from his elementary school class. Many of the middle volumes involve frictions between this group of people, particularly between a volatile girl named Naoka and Shoko. Shoya tries to help patch their relationship, but things do not go well at all. There is a lot of punching and hair-pulling, in fact.

asv4Back and forth things go, with this group continuing to try to establish themselves as friends without seeming to genuinely like each other much. Eventually, they decide to film a movie together. For one scene, they need to acquire permission to film at their old elementary school. Shoya is the unwilling emissary, and an encounter with his odious former teacher leaves him feeling so awful about himself that he ends up lashing out at all his friends, seemingly trying to drive them away as he feels he deserves. This has the unintended side effect of causing Shoko to feel like she’s the cause of his unhappiness, prompting a desperate act.

Throughout, I enjoyed Shoya’s arc. I like that gaining some people to hang out with is not enough to immediately banish self-hatred or prevent negative feelings. Only at the end of the series does Shoya gain the courage to face people honestly, accepting criticism for his faults and misdeeds while also being open to the possibility that not everyone is hostile towards him. I do wish we got more emphasis on Shoko’s inner life, however, even though I liked the direction she’s headed at the end of the series.

asv7Less clear is what Oima was aiming for with their group of friends. Even though Naoka was far more outwardly nasty to Shoko, at least she was open about it and expressed a great deal of self-loathing because of her behavior. With the help of another friend, Miyoko, she is encouraged to have a bit more optimism, and will probably end up doing okay. Even though she could’ve been fleshed out further, I do like Naoka as a character. But man oh man, do I hate Miki. She makes everything about herself—at one point revising the bullying narrative so that she and Shoko were co-victims—and doesn’t seem to grow at all. Everything she does seems fake, because most of it is, and I was baffled when the boy she fancies declared her to be “kind” after some weepy episode. Miki should get hit by a bus.

Lastly, there were some thoughtful depictions of how characters perceive the spoken word. In later volume there’s a chapter from Shoko’s point of view where all of the dialogue in the speech bubbles is only about sixty percent legible. It’s a neat effect. Too, on several occasions Shoya seems to overhear his classmates making derogatory comments about him. The scenes are depicted in such a way that the reader has doubt—is he just imagining what they’re saying, or are they really saying it? This struggle to interpret conversation is something he and Shoko have in common.

Despite a couple of complaints, I’d say A Silent Voice is well worth reading!

A Silent Voice is complete in seven volumes, all of which are now available in English.

Pick of the Week: Requiem Æternam

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MICHELLE: Probably I should be casting my vote for the third volume of Tokyo Tarareba Girls. It’s josei and it’s kind of brilliant, but it’s also devastating in its own kooky way. Instead, I think I’ll pick something really comforting, like the third volume of Ace of the Diamond.

SEAN: My pick is the new My Neighbor Seki, whose variations on a theme have yet to get old.

KATE: I second Michelle’s enthusiasm for Tokyo Tarareba Girls. It will make you laugh, cry, and cringe in equal measure — that’s how good it is!

ASH: I’m certain that I would absolutely love Tokyo Tarareba Girls, but this week I only have eyes for the next volume of Requiem of the Rose King. The series is a fascinating and heart-wrenching reimagining of history with strong Shakespearean influences and gorgeous artwork.

MJ: Requiem of the Rose King 4evah. That’s just the way things are.

ANNA: Any week that Requiem of the Rose King comes out makes it an automatic pick for me too. This is one of the most compelling series currently coming out and every new volume is a treat. A treat of emotional anguish and surrealism!

Bookshelf Briefs 5/8/17

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Arpeggio of Blue Steel, Vol. 10 | By Ark Performance | Seven Seas – Even as this volume gives us a lot more badass combat, it also shows us the closeness between mental models and humanity, as well as the giant gulf that still separates then. Gunzou wants to bridge that gulf, which means he needs them to see humanity as an equal rather than as a plaything. Hence the threats, and the battles. There’s lots of good back and forth here, though like many Japanese military otaku manga, it sometimes sounds like it was written by a far-right conservative. I am wondering if things are going to start turning against our heroes soon. If you have to read one manga where girls are anthropomorphic personifications of something, this is still the one to read. – Sean Gaffney

Cells at Work!, Vol. 4 | By Akane Shimizu | Kodansha Comics – Red Blood Cell is back in focus this time around, and is allowed to grow in competence a bit, to the point where she gets a kohai to lead around—though she’s still ditzy, causing the kohai to wonder what on earth she’s gotten into. Like most manga protagonists, even red blood cells, she makes up for it with GUTS! and determination. We also get some new characters thanks to a transfusion, which gives us a kansai-ben red blood cell. (I would wonder if he’s a romantic rival to White Blood Cell before recalling that this manga has no romance.) Mostly it’s got what you came here for—cells being badass and yet human, showing off the human body and the many things that try to constantly destroy it. Well worth reading. – Sean Gaffney

Haikyu!!, Vol. 11 | By Haruichi Furudate | VIZ Media – The Tokyo training camp continues and Karasuno is beginning to see some results. I love seeing Tsukishima’s actually trying. He’s listening to advice, asking questions, etc. Meanwhile, Hinata is learning some new tricks and Kageyama is starting to treat him as an equal. When their improved “freak quick” makes its debut, I couldn’t help but smile. There aren’t any miracle wins here, as Karasuno loses every game they play, but by the end of the week they’ve begun to close the gap and, more importantly, gained confidence in their ability to face off against national-level teams. “Spring tournament preliminaries arc begins now,” says on narrative box, but it lies. We’ll have to wait for next time. I’ll just be over here, sulking. – Michelle Smith

Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid, Vol. 3 | By coolkyousinnjya | Seven Seas – I wasn’t as impressed with this volume of Dragon Maid, which continues to introduce more and more dragon girls, sometimes within reason (Elma, whose chapter on joining the office-lady workforce was one of the better ones) and sometimes not (Ilulu, whose “look at my crotch” pose for the cliffhanger made me want to drop the book immediately). There’s also, to my surprise, less yuri tease in this than the previous two books, and it feels a bit like the filler volume you get when a manga writer realizes his series is actually more popular than expected and therefore he’ll have to come up with more plot. Whether he’s successful or not is something we’ll see next time; till then, for monster girl fans only. – Sean Gaffney

My Love Story!!, Vol. 12 | By Kazune Kawahara and Aruko | Viz Media – I will admit that the first half of this book, which resolves the transfer student story, was not really my cup of tea, so I will brush right past it and move on to what is likely to be the final arc of My Love Story!!, which involves Yamato’s family moving to Spain. Needless to say, there’s “we can have a long distance relationship” and then there’s this, which causes Yamato to nearly have a nervous breakdown, running off to Okinawa with a concerned Takeo (who basically is such a nice guy that her parents are OK with him getting her home over the course of several nights in a hotel). The cliffhanger has her seemingly accepting that this is going to happen, but we’ll see how the final volume shakes out. Happily, I assume. – Sean Gaffney

Nichijou: My Ordinary Life, Vol. 8 | By Keiichi Arawi | Vertical Comics – This is the first volume that mostly appeared after the anime came out, so if you wanted to read only new material, this is the place to start. It’s also a terrific Mai volume, which pleases me tremendously—she not only faces off against Mio’s sister in a prank war, but we also get a flashback as to how she and Yukko first met, and it’s actually quite heartwarming, and shows us how much of Mai’s interaction with others is overcompensation for shyness. And there are dream sequences, and weird character designs, and chapters simply stop rather than come to a conclusion. Nichijou is not afraid to wear its gag manga heart on its sleeve, which means it’s never going to be a belly laughter, but it makes you smile quirkily. – Sean Gaffney

Nisekoi: False Love, Vol. 21 | By Naoshi Komi | Viz Media – It’s Marika’s turn to get written out, though it’s not clear if she’s going to be married off or killed off. But it does give an excuse for Nisekoi to turn into an action manga, as Raku and company try to infiltrate Marika’s huge family compound and get her away from the clutches of her over-controlling mother. My favorite part of the book is where Chitoge assumes that if Marika and her mother just talk things over, all will be well, and Marika’s like “yeah, my mom’s not your mom, OK?” We still get the heavy hints that Marika is slowly dying of something, but it’s not clear how far the author is going to take it—not that far, I expect. In any case, next time we will no doubt get a thrilling rescue, though Marika is certainly not end girl. – Sean Gaffney

Requiem of the Rose King, Vol. 6 | By Aya Kanno | VIZ Media – Wow, what a volume. Catesby shows up to bring Richard home from the forest where he’s been holed up with Henry. He clearly knows who Henry really is, but doesn’t tell Richard. Richard, meanwhile, now has a goal: kill Henry and finally succeed in avenging his father so he can live happily ever after with… Henry. They’ve even sworn a promise. In addition to the lovely angst and dramatic irony, there’s treachery, a huge battle, lots of death, Margaret being extremely creepy regarding the consummation of her son’s marriage, and an absolutely horrible flashback to the consummation of her own. Not even several doses of white boar cuteness can make up for the sense of oncoming dread, but it’s all absolutely riveting, especially the final few pages. This’ll be Kanno’s masterpiece, methinks. – Michelle Smith

Manga the Week of 5/10/17

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SEAN: 2nd week, and things are popping. What’s coming down the pike?

Dark Horse has the debut of another comedic gag Evangelion manga, this one called Legend of the Piko Piko Middle School Students.

It also has the 3rd omnibus of its slice-of-life dumb-it-down Evangelion manga, The Shinji Ikari Raising Project.

ASH: Though I’ve seen the original anime series, I’ve never actually read any of the Evangelion manga.

ANNA: Me too.

SEAN: J-Novel Club has another debut, Bluesteel Blasphemer. Yes, it’s another “transported to a fantasy world” series, but this one has guns, and it’s by the author of Chaika the Coffin Princess.

And a 2nd volume of the popular title How a Realist Hero Rebuilt the Kingdom. Will they go to war?

Del Rey catchups are mostly taking the week off, but we do get a 13th Princess Resurrection.

There is still plenty of new Kodansha Digital, though, as we have Ace of the Diamond 3, Domestic Girlfriend 2, House of the Sun 5, *and* Tokyo Tarareba Girls 3!

MICHELLE: Yay for 75% of those!

ANNA: I am glad these are all out and sad I am so far behind in my reading!!!

SEAN: In print, we have the 10th volume of Genshiken 2nd Season. Will we finally resolve Madarame’s endless harem issues?

And a 4th In/Spectre, which promises to take a turn back towards the grim.

Interviews with Monster Girls 4 will hopefully be less grim, despite also featuring yokai.

One last Kodansha Digital title, which I mention only as it’s a series I never noticed began sometime last year. Unlimited Fafnir ran in good! Afternoon, and this is the 4th and final volume. It’s a light novel adaptation.

Seven Seas has a 3rd volume of Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid, which has quite a following now that the anime’s done.

ASH: I enjoyed the first volume much more than I thought I would.

SEAN: And a 2nd There’s a Demon Lord on the Floor.

SuBLime has a 4th volume of not-boxing manga Ten Count.

ASH: Nope, definitely not boxing. The series actually comes across to me as dark, psychological horror more than anything else right now.

ANNA: The first couple volumes that I read were pretty grim.

MJ: Oh, Ten Count… I never really made it past volume two.

MICHELLE: I made it to volume three, but I’m really done now.

SEAN: People, people, it’s supposed to be a TEN count.

Vertical Comics gives us a 9th volume of My Neighbor Seki, which always makes me smile.

ASH: Me, too! :)

SEAN: A fourth Legendary Edition for The Legend of Zelda, this one has The Minish Cap and Phantom Hourglass.

Lastly, there’s a 6th volume of Requiem of the Rose King, and I can hear everyone in Manga Bookshelf breathe a sigh of relief. Also, shouldn’t Henry be dead soon?

ASH: I love this series so much!

ANNA: Yay!!!

MJ: This! Always! THIS!!!!

SEAN: It’s Mother’s Day next week! Which of these titles would you buy for your mother?

Several from Seven Seas

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In the past couple of months, Seven Seas has published several new releases of interest to me!

Bloom Into You, Vol. 1 by Nakatani Nio
Koito Yuu has just begun her first year of high school. Pressured by her friends to participate in club activities, she ends up assisting the student council, where she meets elegant second-year student Nanami Touko. Yuu has been trying to figure out how to reply to the male friend who confessed his love for her at their middle school graduation, and when she overhears Touko rejecting a confession with the words “I don’t intend to go out with anyone, no matter who asks me,” she thinks she’s found someone who’ll understand how she feels.

Or, rather, doesn’t feel. Yuu wants to experience a soaring, sparkly love like she reads about in manga. She tried, but she couldn’t, and with Touko’s support, she’s finally able to let the guy down. What she isn’t prepared for is for Touko to reveal that they’re not alike after all because “I think I might be falling in love with you.”

At first, I was annoyed by Touko’s declaration. It was too soon; it felt unearned. However, the more we get to know her, as Yuu spends more time with her while working as her campaign manager for student elections, it becomes clear that Touko has devoted a lot of time and effort into projecting an image that isn’t really her. She wanted to be special, and now she must maintain that perfect facade. Around everyone, that is, except Yuu, who is seemingly incapable of finding anyone special. For you see, Yuu doesn’t feel anything when Touko confesses either, nor when the other girl steals her first kiss. She’s not excited, and she’s not upset. She feels nothing. I actually began to wonder… has she suffered some kind of deep, psychological trauma?

I like both Yuu and Touko, I like the Maria-sama ga Miteru sort of atmosphere, I like Yuu’s continued detachment, and I have high hopes for how this story might unfold going forward.

Bloom Into You is ongoing in Japan, where three volumes have been released so far. Volume two comes out in English on May 16th.

The Girl from the Other Side: Siúil, a Rún, Vol. 1 by Nagabe
It doesn’t happen all that often that I read something and conclude, “This is a five-star manga that everyone should read.” So, please keep that in mind when I say… This is a five-star manga that everyone should read.

The back cover blurb sets up the tone of the series marvelously, so I’m going to quote it. “In a land far away, there were two kingdoms: the Outside, where twisted beasts roamed that could curse with a touch, and the Inside, where humans lived in safety and peace. The girl and the beast should never have met, but when they do, a quiet fairytale begins.”

I knew I’d adore this series the moment a black-as-pitch creature approaches a little girl who’s snoozing unaware and instead of menacing her, he scolds her for wandering off. Indeed, the creature—whom Shiva, the little girl, refers to as “Teacher”—is gentle, gentlemanly, and valiant, protecting Shiva both physically (when paranoid human soldiers think she must be cursed and try to kill her) and mentally (by shielding her from the truth that she has been abandoned). He also possesses medical knowledge but forgot that he told Shiva he’d been a doctor. Was he once human himself? His concern for Shiva radiates from him—I was particularly struck by a panel depicting his fists clenched in worry—and I love him deeply.

While humans and their fear are one threat, we’re introduced to another at the end of the volume, making for a chilling cliffhanger. I can’t wait for volume two of this lovely and captivating series!

The Girl from the Other Side is ongoing in Japan, where three volumes have been released so far. Volume two comes out in English on May 16th.

Kase-san and Morning Glories by Hiromi Takashima
Kase-san and… is a series that is technically comprised of a succession of one-shot stories. This first volume, entitled Kase-san and Morning Glories, includes the title story as well as interludes like “Kase-san and the Bicycle,” “Kase-san and Sneakers,” and “Kase-san and the Spring Breeze.”

Yamada doesn’t fit in with her classmates well. Though she has noticed popular Kase-san, the boyish star of the track team, she never thought she was on the other girl’s radar. But it turns out that Kase-san admired Yamada’s dedication to the thankless task of weeding the school grounds. The girls eventually start hanging out together and it isn’t long before Yamada is having Feelings with a capital “F.” There ensues the typical angst about “but she’s a girl.”

There are a couple of other moments that I’ve seen elsewhere, too—an indirect kiss via a shared thermos, the first real kiss in the nurse’s office—and it’s certainly fluffy and insubstantial, but it’s still really cute. The art style is pleasant, and I wonder whether Yamada’s friend—who warns her about Kase dating girls—might provide some drama down the road. In any case, I’m on board for the next volume.

Kase-san and… is ongoing in Japan, where three volumes have been released so far. The second, Kase-san and Bento, comes out in English on May 23rd.

Kindred Spirits on the Roof: The Complete Collection by Hachi Ito, Aya Fumio, Toitentsu, and Liar-Soft
I was initially under the mistaken impression that the manga version of Kindred Spirits on the Roof was a retelling of the storyline from the yuri visual novel. Instead, it focuses on new girls attending Kokono-Tsuboshi Girls’ Academy of Commerce with some of the original couples returning as side characters or cameos.

In side A, written and illustrated by Hachi Ito, we are introduced to shy Shiina Shiori, who is in the art club. She comes out of her shell a bit while helping to create scenery for the play her class is putting on for the school festival, and by the end of the volume—after much dithering and conversations about “what does it feel like to love someone?”—has decided to stop running away from the feelings of her childhood friend, Kanda Mako. The moment where they become a couple is the only time the original kindred spirits are glimpsed, buy they don’t do or say anything.

Side B, written by Toitensu and illustrated by Aya Fumio, has a little more meat on its bones, but only just. Hase Chiharu and Ichiyama Tokino are fans of “friendly girls,” and decide to join the quiz club so that they can squee over the relationship between their sempai, Tomoe Natsuki and Sasaki Rika. They endeavor to help cool Sasaki admit to her feelings, and there is, of course, the implication that they themselves will form a couple someday. There were very brief glimpses of the girls at their quiz tournaments, but it was very far from being the focus of the story.

Ultimately, I didn’t hate Kindred Spirits on the Roof. It’s sweet and not lecherous. But it’s also a very frothy concoction without much depth. I can’t see myself ever desiring to reread it.

Kindred Spirits on the Roof is complete in two volumes.

Review copies for Kase-san and Morning Glories and Kindred Spirits on the Roof provided by the publisher.

Bookshelf Briefs 5/1/17

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Anonymous Noise, Vol. 2 | By Ryoko Fukuyama | VIZ Media – Although I’m still not convinced this series is a keeper, I did like the second volume more than the first. Nino wants to improve her singing and consults Miou, the former vocalist of Yuzu’s band, who gladly points out all of her deficiencies. Apparently Nino never bothered to learn any singing fundamentals before. Meanwhile, she hears about vocal auditions for Momo Kiryu, who might be (and ultimately is) her Momo. Only, he doesn’t want to see her because he has angst about selling the songs he originally wrote for her. There is also some ridiculous angst about the reason Yuzu doesn’t sing anymore. And we still don’t have any idea what Nino’s voice actually sounds like, only that it’s unforgettable. Yet, I’m still interested in the next volume, as Nino has formally joined Yuzu’s band. I hope she develops some goals other than incessantly shouting for her childhood friend. – Michelle Smith

Kuma Miko: Girl Meets Bear, Vol. 4 | By Masume Yoshimoto | One Peace Books – Given that this volume features two detectives investigating a murder by going into a odd, remote village where everyone has strange worshiping habits, it’s not surprising that I got a bit of a Higurashi vibe off of this volume. The rest of the book is as variable as ever—I was quite amused at some of the gags, such as Natsu ending up looking as if he’s about to eat Machi by a horrible series of coincidences, or the sheer ridiculousness of the “murder” itself. But when Kuma Miko tries to do more normal manga gags, it falls flat—Hibiki’s crush being used for comedy isn’t as funny as it thinks it is, and Machi’s naivete can wear thin fast. Honestly, Kuma Miko is best read by fans of talking bears. – Sean Gaffney

Maid-sama!, Vols. 15-16 | By Hiro Fujiwara | VIZ Media – Maid-sama! keeps on trucking towards its finale. There’s rather too much repetition of the “you’re from different worlds” theme for my liking, as Misaki first encounters some weird Miyabigaoka kids who’re trying to befriend Tatsumi by throwing him an elaborate birthday party (one gift is a bronze statue of himself) and later tries to become a polished enough young lady to follow him to England, where he has gone to formally renounce his family ties. I had expected his departure to follow the shoujo trope wherein the hero goes away and there’s a time jump, but instead we actually get the story of his parentage, which was far more interesting than I expected. Still, I’m glad this is ending next time. – Michelle Smith

My Love Story!!, Vol. 12 | By Kazune Kawahara and Aruko | VIZ Media – Unlike Maid-sama!, I’m really sad this one is ending next time! Especially since a good chunk of this volume deals with compulsively lying transfer student Tanaka and how Takeo can see through his falsehoods to the loneliness within. And then Tanaka transfers schools again. It would all feel pointless if it didn’t emphasize again how good of a person Takeo is and how deep the friendship is that he and Sunakawa share. I like Yamato and all, but it’s really the depiction of this supremely meaningful friendship between guys that makes My Love Story!! unique and wonderful. Here, too, someone is poised to go overseas and we have a cliffhanger ending, but I predict happiness and warm feelings to come. – Michelle Smith

My Monster Secret, Vol. 6 | By Eiji Masuda | Seven Seas – This series is panning out to be very long, and that can be a problem when one of the main plotlines is “when will these kids who are obviously in love with each other admit their feelings” You risk frustrating your audience—especially these days, as the more modern anime fan is less tolerant of drawn-out confessions. How do you solve that, if you’re My Monster Secret? By doubling down on the comedy, as Asahi’s confession attempt is done in by Nagisa’s desperate flailing (and occasional shovels to the head), as well as Youko’s denial that he could possibly love someone like her, and the constant feeling, omnipresent in these works, that they’d ruin a great friendship . Luckily, it *is* hilarious. – Sean Gaffney

Scum’s Wish, Vol. 3 | By Mengo Yokoyari | Yen Press – The core of this third volume is the reveal about Minagawa and how she feels about Kanai—and men in general. Given that Scum’s Wish is about the sordid, seedy side of love and sexuality, she honestly fits right in, and while she’s written to come across as highly unlikable, I still sort of get a kick out of her thoughts and scheming. Meanwhile, Mugi and Hanabi have moved on to mutual masturbation, but still are avoiding the main issues, though Mugi at least it starting to see how her actions are hurting others. Not that she lets this stop her. And speaking of mutual masturbation, there’s also her friend Ecchan, who is willing to let her emotions be played with as long as she has this. Scum’s Wish: still twisted, still readable. – Sean Gaffney

Yowamushi Pedal, Vol. 5 | By Wataru Watanabe | Yen Press – There is a certain point in this omnibus, when two of our heroes are fighting against a young man stripped half naked and screaming “ABS!” like a mantra, and refusing to work together as a team in order to easily take him down, that you are thoroughly entertained by the sheer ridiculousness of what’s going on here. Less hilarious is Midousuji, whose creepy vibe is helped along by the art—it’s as if Watanabe realized how strange his faces looked on the main characters, and wondered what would happen if he took it up to eleven. The answer is: TERRIFYING THINGS. But in between that, there is bike races galore, as well as a few tragic flashbacks. Exhilarating. – Sean Gaffney

Pick of the Week: Why Just One?

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SEAN: I am defying the rules! I will pick two titles this week and no one can stop me! Because we’ve been waiting for My Brother’s Husband since it was announced last year, but there’s also the debut of Dreamin’ Sun from Seven Seas! I cannot choose! I must have you both!

MICHELLE: Well, if you’re doing it, then so will I! The same two titles for me, if you please!

KATE: Well, if Sean *and* Michelle are going to break the rules, then I will, too. I’m equally thrilled for My Brother’s Husband, but I’m also planning to buy the penultimate volume of My Love Story!!, one the funniest and smartest shojo comedies VIZ has published, period. It’s one of the few series that always makes me laugh — something I can’t say of many other titles that strain too hard for comic effect. If you haven’t been keeping up with My Love Story!!, now’s a great time to get reading!

MJ: I actually find myself not even remotely torn here. I am entirely on board for My Brother’s Husband this week. It’s absolutely the pick for me!

ASH: I’m definitely interested in a fair number of this week’s manga releases, including the previously mentioned debut of Dreamin’ Sun and the continuation of My Love Story!! among others, but like MJthere’s really only one pick for me this week and that is My Brother’s Husband. I couldn’t be happier that this series is being released in English.

ANNA: This is a very good week. Like everyone else I’m excited about My Brother’s Husband, but I have to admit I’m feeling so nostalgic about My Love Story!! now that the series is coming to a close, I have to go with that.

Giant Killing, Vol. 1

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By Masaya Tsunamoto and Tsujitomo | Published digitally by Kodansha Comics

Although I genuinely, deeply love shounen sports manga, I can’t deny that most follow similar story beats. I knew going in that Giant Killing is actually seinen, but wasn’t prepared for what a breath of fresh air it would be.

Instead of some first-year joining his high-school team, the protagonist of Giant Killing is Takeshi Tatsumi, a 35-year-old former pro soccer player turned coach. The series opens with Yuri Nagata and Kosei Gotou, the PR rep and general manager of East Tokyo United (a struggling Japanese team) finally locating Tatsumi at his job in England, where has led a team of amateurs to a top-32 finish in the Football Association Cup. They have even managed to crush professional teams.

It turns out that Tatsumi specializes in leading underdog teams to victory against highly favored opponents. He sees it as a David-and-Goliath scenario, hence the title of the series. Initially, the English club president doesn’t want to let Tatsumi out of his contract, but when he learns that Tatsumi used to play for ETU and that there are desperate fans in his hometown waiting to be helped, he relents and lets him go.

Tatsumi doesn’t seem to particularly care either way and it’s this neutrality that makes him an interesting character and effective coach. For instance, at his first practice session with the ETU team, he makes them run sprints for 45 minutes. Those with the most stamina turn out to be the younger guys, but they’re also merely the alternates on the team. With his guidance, they manage to defeat the older starters in a scrimmage. The stalwart veteran of the team, Murakoshi, gets his pride wounded by this, but rather than suggest that he’s no longer useful, Tatsumi instead points out that what he needs is to find his own secret weapon to overcome these odds. Tatsumi is adept at seeing a team or an individual’s shortcomings and offering strategies to overcome them, and that’s the kind of reliable leadership that Murakoshi has done without all these years.

On the one hand, Tatsumi exemplifies the gifted protagonist that this genre is full of, but his gift is not in his own athletic prowess (or not merely that) but rather his ability to furnish others with the tools they need to succeed, to reinvigorate failing franchises, and to rekindle fan enthusiasm. And, of course, the clubs don’t mind the boost in revenue that inevitably results. Giant Killing is every bit as addictive as a shounen series, but with grown-up stakes and nuance. I can’t wait to read more!

Giant Killing is ongoing in Japan, where the 43 volumes have been released so far.

Review copy provided by the publisher.

Ace of the Diamond, Vols. 1-2

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By Yuji Terajima | Published digitally by Kodansha Comics

Eijun Sawamura really wanted to make some good baseball memories with his middle-school friends, but even though they practiced hard, they couldn’t win a single game. Although he shows talent as a pitcher, his unsportsmanlike behavior after a bitter defeat means most of the good baseball schools are no longer interested in him. And, because he is a hot-headed yet enthusiastic idiot, he totally forgot about the entrance exams required for other schools.

Luckily, Rei Takashima pays a visit and scouts him for Seido High, a big-name school in Tokyo that’s been to Koshien many times. He’s torn between testing his skills in this new world (the baseball club has over 100 members vying for nine positions on the roster, so competition is fierce) and loyalty to his old friends, but after they encourage him to seize the opportunity, he’s off to Tokyo. Of course, because he is such a hot-headed yet enthusiastic idiot, he clashes with the strict coach right away, flubs a chance to show off his pitching potential, and is barred from participating in practice.

After the Spring Tournament, in which Seido’s lack of a pitching ace becomes obvious, Eijun gets one more chance to show what he can do in a first-years versus upperclassmen game. The upperclassmen immediately dominate but Eijun isn’t intimidated or discouraged, and the second volume ends with the cliffhanger… will he and another first year succeed in scoring against overwhelming opponents?

So far, Ace of the Diamond is a lot of fun. I can’t claim that Eijun’s personality type is especially endearing, but he’s got his admirable qualities, too. More, though, I am having fun with the rapidly expanding cast. Beyond the upperclassmen, which include Eijun’s roommates at the dorm and a genius catcher with a troublemaking streak, we also meet Satoru Furuya, another first-year pitcher who’ll likely become Eijun’s fiercest rival; Haruno Yoshikawa, a clumsy first year manager and presumed love interest; and Haruichi Kominato, a diminutive wallflower with a talent for precision batting.

The pace is fast, the characters are fun, the protagonist has a lot of room to grow, the series is 47 volumes long with a sequel… All of that sounds spectacular for a sports manga geek like me. Thank you, Kodansha!

Side note: I keep wanting to call this series Aim for the Ace!, but that’s something completely different. (I still really want to read it, though.)

Ace of the Diamond is complete with 47 volumes. However, a sequel series—subtitled Act II—is still running. The seventh volume came out in Japan last week.

Review copies provided by the publisher.

Manga the Week of 5/3/17

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SEAN: It’s May, and a young man’s thoughts turn to … well, hopefully things other than manga. But if you want manga, we have you covered.

ASH: I always want manga.

SEAN: We also have light novels covered. J-Novel has the debut of Arifureta: From Commonplace to World’s Strongest. It’s one of the most popular “isekai” titles out there, and unlike most examples of the genre we’ve seen lately, I think it plays it perfectly straight, for good or ill.

I was blown away by the readability of In Another World With My Smartphone, though I would not remotely call the book good. Vol. 2 is out next week, and I expect to be equally entertained.

ANNA: Well, things don’t have to be good to be entertaining!

SEAN: Kodansha has some more old Del Rey titles out digitally. Alive 14, Pumpkin Scissors 12, Yokazura Quartet 10… and sadly we can’t count down by 2s any more.

In new Kodansha digital releases, we have the 3rd All-Rounder Meguru and the 3rd (and final?) Museum.

In addition, Kodansha schnookered me with a last-minute title. The 3rd Wave, Listen to Me! is already out. I was not able to inform you a week ahead of time. I am filled with shame.

MICHELLE: But a hearty “Yay!” anyway.

ANNA: Arrgh, haven’t even read the first volume.

SEAN: And in print Kodansha news, a 4th volume of Cells at Work!.

ASH: This series is ridiculous fun. And informative, too.

SEAN: I’ve been waiting for this one since it was announced. Pantheon has the debut omnibus of My Brother’s Husband, a manga by Gengoroh Tagame about a Japanese man whose brother passes away, and the brother’s Canadian husband then moves in with him and his young daughter. It runs in Fuitabasha’s Manga Action, and I believe just announced it’s finishing with 4 volumes, meaning we should get a 2nd omnibus at some point. Go get this release.

MICHELLE: So excited for this one.

ANNA: Sounds great!

ASH: This is absolutely one of my most anticipated releases for this year. I’ve been collecting the Japanese volumes, but I’m so excited that it’s being translated and will definitely be picking up the English-language edition.

MJ: So very much on board with this!

SEAN: Seven Seas has a quartet of titles, starting with the 10th Arpeggio of Blue Steel.

Dreamin’ Sun is their first debut, and any other week it’d be the title I’m most excited about. It’s by the creator of orange, and is the title she had success with before that one. It ran in Bessatsu Margaret, a Shueisha title. Yay, shoujo!

MICHELLE: !!!! How did I miss this?! I loved orange and usually love things that rain in Margaret or its offshoots.

ANNA: Woo hoo for shoujo!

ASH: I loved orange, so I’m looking forward to giving Dreamin’ Sun a try.

SEAN: Another Hatsune Miku spinoff comes out, as we get Vol. 1 of Bad End Night. This seems to be Hatsune Miku meets Alice in the Country of, and it ran in Zero-Sum Online.

And there is a 2nd volume of Magical Girl Site, no doubt featuring more dead young girls, because that’s what kids like these days.

Vertical has an 8th volume of Nichijou, and this is the volume where the plot really starts kicking in… OK, not really.

And the rest is Viz. Anonymous Noise gets a second encore… I mean volume.

ANNA: I find this title both entertaining and frustrating, but I keep getting drawn in by the stylish cover art.

ASH: I feel much the same.

MJ: Yep. I guess we’ll see if it gets less frustrating, eventually.

SEAN: Bleach has a 19th 3-in-1.

Guess what’s back from the dead? That’s right, D.Gray-Man, with its 25th volume out a mere 2 and a half years after its 24th.

And speaking of necromanced properties, we begin the release of Dragon Ball Super, taking place sometime after Z but before its epilogue, and apparently being more of a tie-in to the anime than anything else. Which is to be expected given it runs in tie-in paradise V-Jump.

It’s not a Viz release party without a Haikyu!!. Here’s Vol. 11.

MICHELLE: Woot.

ANNA: Woo hoo vollebyall!!!!

ASH: Yeah!!

SEAN: JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure continues its hardcover release of what is becoming its most boring arc, though I’ll keep trucking along. Have the 3rd Stardust Crusaders book.

ASH: Just you wait, Sean, things will start to pick up again.

SEAN: Last time I said we got the penultimate Maid-sama! omnibus, showing I can’t count. Instead THIS is the penultimate volume, and I expect we’ll get the last in August.

MICHELLE: Actually, I had it in my head that the series was 16 volumes long, too, so you’re not alone.

SEAN: The 8th My Hero Academia will show off more Superhero School, as they try to pass their finals in the most awesome way possible.

Speaking of penultimate volumes, here’s the 2nd to last My Love Story!!. Just typing that is making me sad.

MICHELLE: Me, too.

ANNA: NO, IT MUST NEVER END!!!!!

ASH: My Love Story!! has been such a treasure. I love the series so much.

SEAN: Nisekoi continues to trundle towards its ending as well with Vol. 21.

One Piece’s 82nd volume will hopefully tell us what’s going to happen to Sanji, though knowing Oda no doubt it will be drawn out.

Toriko has ended in Japan, and its schedule is slowing down here. This is the 38th volume.

MICHELLE: Someday I really will read this.

SEAN: And what would a list of Viz releases be without a Yu-Gi-Oh volume at the end? This is the 10th 3-in-1.

Do you feel the PASSION pouring through your veins? BUY SOMETHING FROM THIS LIST!

Bookshelf Briefs 4/24/17

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D-Frag!, Vol. 11 | By Tomoya Haruno | Seven Seas – I keep emphasizing in these reviews that D-Frag! is a comedy first and foremost, and that’s still true. That said, there’s no denying that there are some romantic undertones in the series—Takao and Funabori most obviously, but also Roka more subtly loves Kenji. So it’s no surprise that we end up with both of them having to live at Kenji’s house for a bit—Roka due to a meteor strike (yes, really), and Takao simply due to fretting over having Roka get the drop on her. Thankfully, D-Frag! knows that its tsukkomi is always more important than its rom-com, and the jokes still fly fast and furious. Also, bonus points at the start of the book for remembering this is a school and there are actual grades involved. Great fun. – Sean Gaffney

Horimiya, Vol. 7 | By Hero and Daisuke Hagiwara | Yen Press – Last time I noted how little losing their virginity changed the lead couple in this series, and that’s still the case, but more interestingly, we get to explore consensual kinks in this volume. To be precise, Hori is turned on by Miyamura being forceful towards her—she’s not sure why, but her father’s explanation for it likely fits the bill. That said, it makes Miyamura uncomfortable, so I’m not sure how far they’ll take it in the future. In the meantime, Yuki takes the stage for most of this volume, as she asks Tooru to be her pretend boyfriend in order to help answer a guy’s confession. Only the guy quickly becomes a member of the main cast, and what’s more, the fake boyfriend thing is going to completely torpedo Sakura’s love. Will this end well? Probably not. – Sean Gaffney

Kiss Him, Not Me!, Vol. 10 | By Junko | Kodansha Comics – I suppose, given this has become one of the more popular Kodansha shoujo titles and therefore is not ending anytime soon, that we were due for a new rival. He’s a tough one, too—not only is he a voice actor who plays Kae’s latest obsession, but he and Kae were childhood friends—in fact, they were both fat at the time! It’s actually Kae’s weight that drives a lot of the plot—Takeru finds out about her harem, and due to some misunderstandings thinks that they only care about her thin, cute, busty self. (In fact, the main cast went through this several volumes ago, and (mostly) concluded it didn’t matter.) So now he’s kidnapped her and seems to be force-feeding her, as he’s also a bit evil. Fun, but highly variable. – Sean Gaffney

Liselotte & Witch’s Forest, Vol. 4 | By Natsuki Takaya | Yen Press – It is becoming more apparent that the shot we saw in volume one of Liselotte taking up arms against her brother is not what actually happened, and in fact the more we find out about her the more we realize that she’s another of Takaya’s favorite kind of heroine, the plucky Pollyanna with the hideously broken past. That said, there are a few signs that her brother isn’t completely evil here. We also get a lot more information on witches, including the fact that Vergue and Hilde were once human, and clearly becoming a witch was something very painful and isolating to both of them. There’s still some shots of light humor—Anna is shaping up to be a smiling villain in the best way—but for the most part things take a turn for the serious here. – Sean Gaffney

Liselotte & Witch’s Forest, Vol. 4 | By Natsuki Takaya | Yen Press – Liselotte is attempting to live a peaceful life with her friends, sewing frilly shirts and tending to her vegetable garden. The back cover promises an attack by the witch Vergue, and though it’s true that he ends up significantly damaging her house, he’s also driven away simply by her shoujo heroine powers of empathizing with his rejection of humanity in favor of a place he belongs with the witches. The most interesting parts of this volume are actually the flashbacks the Vergue situation evokes, as Liselotte recalls more of what happened with her brother, who maybe isn’t actually her biological sibling, and who seemed to be giving her the chance to get away from the capitol and find happiness. That’s far more intriguing than a straight-up villain, so I hope we learn more about him in the next volume! – Michelle Smith

Tokyo Tarareba Girls, Vol. 2 | By Akiko Higashimura | Kodansha Comics (digital only) – After her unexpected hookup with hot model and younger man Key, Rinko struggles to figure out what it means. With the help of her pals, both real and hallucinated, she ultimately concludes that it was just a spur-of-the-moment whim on his part, but that doesn’t keep her from being curious about him, especially when she learns that a woman he loved passed away. Meanwhile, we get some very welcome chapters from the points of view of Kaori and Koyuki, Rinko’s friends. I love that, in time, they too start experiencing hallucinations, although it’s pretty heartbreaking that they both end up in sexual relationships without love or future prospects. This series is funny and whimsical, but also fairly bleak and depressing. I do love it, but it’s probably best in small doses. – Michelle Smith

Welcome to the Ballroom, Vol. 4 | By Tomo Takeuchi | Kodansha Comics – Fujita learns some important lessons in this book—actually, the entire book is filled with important lessons. For Fujita, it’s that he’s still a beginner and has a long way to go, and that until he grows he’s going to come last. For Mako and Gaju it’s that they weren’t really observing the other person when they danced, and they want to reunite in order to compete properly. For Shizuku it’s that she can still feel jealousy over someone being judged to be more beautiful than she is—and also hate herself for having those feelings. Even Hyodo is beginning to rediscover a passion for dancing that has been cooled by his injury. But most importantly, there is the dancing, and the art conveying the dancing, and that is still amazing. – Sean Gaffney

Yowamushi Pedal, Vol. 5 | By Wataru Watanabe | Yen Press – The Inter-High race begins! Before we get to that, though, we have to establish what some of the rivalries are. Kinjou will face off against Fukutomi again, the rider who caused his defeat the previous year, while Imaizumi is up against creepy Midousuji. We’ve been hearing about Midousuji since the beginning, but this is the first time he’s actually appeared and he looks and acts like some deranged creature from a horror manga. After that, though, the race is on and it’s a mad rush for the sprinters to claim the top spot at the first checkpoint. As usual, it’s riveting and the enormous volume goes by too quickly. The climbers take center stage next time, but we’ll sadly have to wait until August for that. – Michelle Smith

Pick of the Week: Happiness Will Prevail

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MICHELLE: I’m both excited and grateful for more digital josei from Kodansha, but of course it’s sports manga that gets me stupidly excited, which is the case for Tuesday’s debut of Days.

SEAN: I’ll go with the 3rd Bakemonogatari novel, which promises to dig into Tsubasa Hanekawa’s psyche at long last, as well as metatext, annoying sexualized scenes, and more insults hurled with love than you can shake a stick at.

KATE: I only have eyes for one title this week: Shuzo Oshimi’s Happiness. For my money, Happiness is the best title Kodansha is publishing right now: it’s smartly drawn, expertly paced, and meticulously plotted, with a memorable, sympathetic lead character and a well-rounded cast of supporting players. More impressive still is that the horror elements feel fresh and surprising; this isn’t just another teen vampire manga. If you do give it a try, be prepared to squirm or cringe from time to time — not because it’s gory, but because it captures the special awfulness of being fifteen in vivid detail.

ASH: I’m with Kate. I don’t have much to add after such an eloquent description, but Happiness is definitely the manga release which commands my attention this week.

ANNA: OK, Happiness wasn’t on my radar before, but now it certainly is! This week would be much smaller without Kodansha’s digital releases, they are bringing back older unfinished series and producing more and more digital josei, which is a very good thing. My pick of the week is Kodansha’s digital program in general. I hope it inspires other publishers to bring out more titles that might be too noncommercial for print release.

MICHELLE: At the risk of sounding like a broken record…. Like 7SEEDS?!?!

ANNA: 7SEEDS!!!!!!!

MJ: So, first I have to decide whether I can forgive my co-bloggers for momentarily making me think that someone had actually licensed 7SEEDS. If I ever manage that, or indeed manage to recover from that brief moment of excitement, I will pick… something else? I haven’t started Happiness, but it sounds like I should.

Duncan Kincaid and Gemma James, Books 5-8 by Deborah Crombie

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dreaming_of_bonesDreaming of the Bones
After making my way through the first four books in this series with reasonable alacrity, I really stalled out on Dreaming of the Bones at first. A large part of the problem for me was that it had to do with the death of a poet five years prior, and was thus strewn with quotations of both poetry and flowery letters.

Once I summoned the fortitude to continue, however, I ended up enjoying the book well enough. We are introduced to Victoria, Duncan’s ex-wife, and I appreciated that both of them are painted sympathetically. Their relationship falling apart was no one’s fault in particular, and both have the wisdom now to recognize that. Victoria is on the English faculty at Cambridge and is working on a book about poet Lydia Brooke, whose death was presumed to be suicide. Victoria suspects otherwise and Duncan (as usual) keeps an open mind about her instincts and agrees to look into things even though the local police are not exactly enthusiastic about him poking around.

Although I generally prefer stories where Duncan is assigned to the case of a stranger, Vic’s involvement did offer many emotional consequences for Duncan. Too bad there really weren’t any consequences for the rule-breaking and jurisdiction-trampling he engaged in throughout. Also, I really disliked that Gemma works out the big reveal through a spate of poetic interpretation. Ugh. At the same time, there’s a scene at the end that made me verklempt, so… not my favorite, but still definitely worth reading!

kissed_goodbyeKissed a Sad Goodbye
Duncan and Gemma are assigned to the case of a body found lovingly laid out in a park on the Isle of Dogs. They soon learn her identity—Annabelle Hammond, the beautiful and determined director of Hammond’s Fine Teas who has several lovers on the go. But is what happened to her the result of romantic jealousy, or could it be tied to something else entirely?

Two months have passed since the events of Dreaming of the Bones, and Duncan is still struggling with (spoiler alert!) his newfound fatherhood. The perspective, however, is mostly on Gemma, who is having some trouble figuring out what she wants and who she wants to be. Initially this manifests in a decision to take piano lessons, but soon involves another man.

Honestly, I failed to be convinced by Gemma’s little side romance with Gordon the clarinet-playing busker, who showed up in some earlier book in a greatly diminished capacity. I recall in his earlier appearance that he was brusque and uninterested, but here we get a retcon about how he was secretly intrigued by Gemma all along. It’s played up to be this mutual attraction that she must decide whether to pursue, but he’s just not accessible enough as a character to really make this convincing.

That said, I liked the mystery itself. There were flashbacks throughout to the ’40s, when some of the characters were evacuated to the countryside as children, and they not only elucidate the present but reveal one particular character to be more sympathetic than one might ordinarily assume. On the whole, definitely worth reading, even if there were parts of it I didn’t especially like.

finer_endA Finer End
A Finer End is somewhat tough to review, because I did genuinely like some of the characters that Duncan and Gemma encounter in Glastonbury, where they’ve traveled as a favor to Duncan’s cousin, Jack, whose vicar girlfriend has been injured in a hit-and-run accident. The problem is that Jack has supposedly been receiving messages from a long-dead monk in the form of automatic writing, a claim that Duncan and Gemma accept without question. On top of this, there’s a painter who receives visions not only of one particular little girl but also the whereabouts of the thing that the monk is trying to lead Jack to find. And because the narrative confirms the verity of these paranormal happenings, other elements of the story are thrown into question. Did the “old gods” and the tribute they’re due actually play a part in what happened, for example?

It’s not that I dislike stories about the supernatural; it’s that it’s really bizarre when the supernatural suddenly shows up in the seventh book of a series about Scotland Yard detectives. It also bothered me that the one character who’s a skeptic about all of this is a flagrant asshole who eventually comes unhinged. In addition, I dearly hope that the paternity of a particular child was supposed to be glaringly obvious to the reader, because it sure was. Too, the conclusion is muddled, and the final line was so incredibly cheesy that I actually said, “Barf!” out loud.

All in all, this was profoundly disappointing and I hope it doesn’t signify a new trend for the series.

justice_noneAnd Justice There Is None
It is with profound relief that I proclaim that I really, really liked this one! There are absolutely no supernatural elements whatsoever, thankfully, and the investigation itself is a change of pace, too. Instead of being dispatched to some bucolic locale on Scotland Yard business, a murder is committed in Notting Hill, where Gemma is now assigned as a Detective Inspector. Moreover, she and Duncan and their respective sons move into a house nearby, which puts her family in proximity to the crime and, ultimately, the culprit.

The case involves the wife of a well-off antiques dealer who recently discovered she was pregnant by her lover. Duncan recalls a similar killing that took place a month prior, so he and Gemma work together on the case. Interspersed throughout is the story of “Angel,” a young woman who is orphaned in the mid-sixties and finds herself swept up in the London drug scene. All of the pieces eventually come together, and even though there’s one clue that lets readers know who the murderer is before Gemma has figured it out, she doesn’t end up seeming slow on the uptake. Rather, it adds an extra layer of menace when the perpetrator just happens to be strolling past their new house and has a chat with Kit (Duncan’s son).

And oh, what a house. I love that Gemma and Duncan are establishing their own family, especially given the new addition on the way. I love, too, that the pets are 100% accounted for, and that Gemma adopts a sweet new dog. Best of all, though, is that it’s Christmas. Duncan’s present to Gemma makes both her and me verklempt. I also liked seeing Gemma and Duncan working with other people, and hope that some of the nice people she encountered in the neighborhood make appearances in future books.

Manga the Week of 4/26/17

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SEAN: For a non-Yen final week of the month, this is pretty ridiculously busy.

J-Novel Club has the 2nd volume of The Faraway Paladin, whose first volume I greatly enjoyed. Looking forward to this more serious take on the ‘reincarnated in another world’ genre.

Kodansha has piles of new volumes for fans of their old Del Rey series out digitally. Gakuen Prince 12, Nodame Cantabile 18, Princess Resurrection 12, Pumpkin Scissors 11, and School Rumble 19.

ASH: Oh! Nodame Cantabile! I actually still have the volumes that Del Rey released; glad I’ll be able to finish the series. (Though, as always, I will continue to hope for a print edition, as unlikely as it is.)

SEAN: There’s also new digital volumes of their newer series. The Full-Time Wife Escapist 2, House of the Sun 4, and Peach Heaven 2. Definitely interested in more Wife Escapist, which I really enjoyed.

MICHELLE: Yay for Nodame and House of the Sun and escapee wives!

ANNA: I can’t believe I’m so far behind in digital releases, wait, it it is totally believable. Sounds like I need to check out the Full-Time Wife Escapist for sure.

SEAN: In new digital releases, though you can’t seem to preorder them yet, we have DAYS, another soccer manga from the creator of Over Drive that runs in Weekly Shonen Magazine.

MICHELLE: Being sports manga, I am of course duly excited for DAYS. In fact, I think I’ve now officially lost count of how many sports manga series are being released here.

ASH: I’m enjoying this surprising sports manga renaissance, too!

SEAN: And there’s also Tsurezure Children, a 4-koma romance series from Bessatsu Shonen that deals with a varied cast. It looks cute.

In print Kodansha, we have the 21st volume of Attack on Titan. Will we finally get to that pesky basement of Eren’s dad?

ASH: One of these days, maybe!

SEAN: The 4th and final volume of the Fairy Girls spinoff is out.

And a 4th volume of Happiness.

ASH: I already need to get caught up with Happiness. I’m not especially interested in vampires, but I really liked the first volume.

SEAN: Seven Seas has an 11th volume of D-Frag!. Get your tsukkomi ready!

And also a 12th Devils and Realist.

Magical Girl Apocalypse has somehow made it to 11 volumes, despite all the hate rays coming from my eyes.

And Monster Musume has a Vol. 11 as well.

Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation’s 5th volume will satisfy fans of (again) reincarnated in another world series.

And My Monster Secret has a 6th volume. I always look forward to this series.

Vertical has the 3rd and final volume of the Bakemonogatari novels, this one focused on Tsubasa Hanekawa, the bespectacled class president. Fear not, though, Nisemonogatari begins in June.

Vertical Comics has the 8th and I believe final omnibus of Tokyo ESP.

Viz has a digital only debut this week: ēlDLIVE, a shonen sci-fi series from the creator of Reborn! and will likely appeal to fans of same, though I’m not sure if it has as much BL tease as Reborn! did. It’s definitely harder to type, though.

Yen Digital has a 9th Aoharu x Machinegun, and a 10th Corpse Princess.

Lastly, Yen On shuffles out four more volumes of the Spice & Wolf novel series digitally – Books 11-14.

April brought a shower of manga and light novels. What are you getting?