Michelle Smith

Bloom Into You, Vol. 2 | By Nakatani Nio | Seven Seas – While there is a lot of yuri out there that can be defined by the words “what is this strange feeling in my heart?,” I’m not sure if any of them are quite as fascinating as Yuu. I’m not entirely sure if this manga is going to go with “Yuu is asexual,” but the first couple of volumes can certainly be read at that. She’s not really aromantic, though, and her relationship with Touko is complicated—and becoming known to others, who may also be asexual. Touko, meanwhile, is the ever-popular “problematic” we see in so many yuri titles as well, and is having trouble balancing that line between consent and just giving in to her desires. Bloom Into You may start like typical yuri, but it’s not headed that way. Good stuff. – Sean Gaffney

Chihayafuru, Vol. 2 | By Yuki Suetsuki | Kodansha Comics (digital only) – Oh, happy sigh. I do love Chihayafuru so much. In this volume, we see the conclusion to the elementary tournament Chihaya, Taichi, and Arata have entered. Sadly, they lose and Arata moves away not long after. Chihaya is certain that they’ll meet again, but as we skip ahead three years to high school, it’s clear that they haven’t really kept in contact. She’s determined to start a karuta club and makes Taichi promise to join if she finally achieves class A ranking. Seeing her compete rekindles his own love of karuta, but when she calls Arata to tell him the good news, she learns he’s stopped playing for a really awful reason. I actually got sniffly when they came face to face again at last. This is the kind of manga where I wish I had dozens of volumes stacked up to marathon. Unequivocally recommended. – Michelle Smith

The Full-Time Wife Escapist, Vol. 3 | By Tsunami Umino | Kodansha Comics (digital only) – Although I enjoy a good cliffhanger as much as the next person, I’m not normally as invested in their outcome as I was for the one at the end of volume two of this series. Before we find out exactly what Tsuzaki and Kazami mean by “sharing” Mikuri, however, there’s an interlude where she and her fake husband must field questions from relatives about their procreation plans. I really enjoy the way Umino is plotting this series—it makes sense why Mikuri would want to take Kazami up on his arrangement, and neatly dovetails into her aunt finding out about it, prompting her to be concerned about the nature of her niece’s marriage. Mikuri doesn’t engage in any flights of fancy this time, but she does do a lot of psychoanalyzing her husband, which is interesting. Definitely looking forward to volume four! – Michelle Smith

Girls’ Last Tour, Vol. 1 | By Tsukumizu | Yen Press – I’m not entirely sure what to make of Girls’ Last Tour. Chito and Yuuri are two chibi-faced young women roaming a post-apocalyptic wasteland on their Kettenkrad motorbike, just trying to survive. There are parts of this series I really liked. I love the depictions of desolate cities, or cavernous interiors… it reminds me a little of BLAME! in that respect, which is a major compliment. Too, I like their brief interaction with a guy named Kanazawa, who has found meaning for his life in creating maps, and that other levels exist where conditions might be different. I find that I really want to know how things turned out this way. That said, I strenuously dislike Yuuri, and there are some really unfunny gags featuring her that I guess are supposed to be moe or something but just piss me off. Still, I’ll be continuing! – Michelle Smith

Golden Time, Vol. 7 | By Yuyuko Takemiya and Umechazuke | Seven Seas – Linda is mostly absent from this volume, which allows us to focus on the odd triangle between Kouko, Banri, and Banri’s old self, which seems to literally be sabotaging his relationship, though he’s also being helped by coincidental disaster and bad choices, particularly “don’t drive home when you’re all sleepy,” which leads to Kouko, understandably, having a complete nervous breakdown as several of her long-standing issues combine with nightmares she’s having about the car accident. Fortunately, Bari gets over his own issues to an extent in time to be there for her, and much to my surprise we get a ‘girlfriend’s dad’ who’s supportive and not a caricature. As good as ever. – Sean Gaffney

Kase-san and Bento | By Hiromi Takashima | Seven Seas – After getting together in the first volume, this second in the “Kase-san and” series continues to show off the awkwardness that comes with having just gotten together. Both girls still don’t know each other that well, and misunderstandings abound. But they’re all relatively easy to resolve misunderstandings, which is good, because no one is reading this for overwrought lesbian drama. We’re reading it because Yamada is adorable, Kase-san is spunky, and the two of them together are wonderful. There are a few more kisses, and Yamada is slowly gaining confidence. And there are bentos. Which, you know, you would expect thanks to the title. Cuteness personified. – Sean Gaffney

Maid-sama!, Vols. 15-16 | By Hiro Fujiwara | Viz Media – I had thought Maid-sama ended with volume sixteen, but I was wrong. And indeed, much of this volume is about reminding me that it’s not just as simple as “Misaki admits she likes him, the end.” Usui comes with baggage, though, and we learn a lot about that baggage in this volume, including the story of how his parents met—it’s steeped in class issues and tragedy. And as such Misaki, who is as common as they come, has it hammered into her that she can never be with him as she can’t cross those class barrier. Misaki, of course, is ready to kick your class barrier down with her best quality—her sheer stubbornness. Oh yes, and Misaki’s father returns. Please ignore that entire plotline; it’s awful. – Sean Gaffney

Requiem of the Rose King, Vol. 6 | By Aya Kanno | Viz Media – There’s a lot of good stuff going on in this volume, not the least of which is the tragic death of a major character, but it’s sort of hard to get past THAT SCENE. I said “poor Anne” at the end of my last review, and boy, I wasn’t kidding, though frankly she takes it far better than I expected. But man, Margaret. She’s always been one of my favorite Shakespeare villains, as well as one of his best female characters, and BOY HOWDY does Kanno convey that in a fantastic way. You want to recoil from the page. As for Henry and Richard, I think by necessity we are headed to the end of that relationship soon, unless there’s some rewriting of canon beyond what we’ve already seen. Riveting. -Sean Gaffney

Toriko, Vol. 38 | By Mitsutoshi Shimabukuro | Viz Media – Thankfully, this volume was considerably more interesting than the previous one, though I am still grateful we’re heading for the end. Most of the volume focuses on Komatsu and the other cooks, and I am reminded that this is really Komatsu’s story as much as Toriko’s, and he’s had a lot farther to develop. Beyond that, we have the usual impressive shone n stunts, monsters galore, and a decent amount of food, though I miss the days when food was the only thing driving this manga. And again, the relationship between Toriko and Komatsu may not be explicitly gay, but it’s certainly far deeper than any relationships the two of them have with their love interests. Keep at it if you’ve been reading it. – Sean Gaffney

Welcome to the Ballroom, Vol. 5 | By Tomo Takeuchi | Kodansha Comics – The Tenpei Cup has come to an end, and Tatara Fujita must return to normal life. After successfully getting into high school, he is upfront about his love of dancesport in his self-introduction, earning the mockery of the girl who sits in front of him, Chinatsu Hiyama. However, it soon becomes apparent that not only is Chinatsu a big fan of Sengoku and his partner, Chizuru Hongo, but she has some experience with ballroom dance. Hey, how convenient that such a character shows up right when Tatara is in need of a new partner! Imagine that. Anyway, this is mostly a transitional volume, and featured a couple of people saying unkind things about their overweight friend, so I didn’t enjoy it as much as previous volumes. I’m still on board for the next one, though. – Michelle Smith

Ace of the Diamond, Vol. 3 | By Yuji Terajima | Kodansha Comics (digital only) – Although the first years finally manage to score in their game against the upperclassmen, victory eludes them. Still, Eijun’s ability to fire up his teammates does not go unnoticed and his performance on the mound sees him promoted to the Junior Varsity squad. He’s not satisfied with the catcher he’s paired up with for practice, though. After attending the first game of the Kanto Tournament and seeing how much better a pitcher Furuya is, he accuses the morose catcher (Chris) of having given up on getting to Varsity, something he will never do. And then after he learns how completely wrong he was, he actually humbles himself and starts seriously trying to learn about baseball. Sniff! Our little shounen hothead is growing up! – Michelle Smith

Anonymous Noise, Vol. 2 | By Ryoko Fukuyama | Viz Media – I am probably liking this a lot more than I should, really. I am far too old to really be drawn in by teen angst, and there’s a lot of soap opera-ish stuff happening here. But I’m a sucker for untrained singers who make up for the lack of training through passion, mostly as it’s the sort of thing that in real life always sounds awful—but on the printed page it’s fine. Nino and Yuzu are drawn to each other in both healthy and unhealthy ways, and when we finally meet Momo again, he’s being just as unhealthy. These are three kids who have hit their teenage years with a whump, and drama is the watchword. But I dunno, something about the writing and characters makes me like this a lot. We’ll see how long it lasts. – Sean Gaffney

Bloom into You, Vol. 2 | By Nakatani Nio | Seven Seas – For parts of this volume, Bloom into You feels like a fairly standard yuri manga. There’s the part where a fellow student council member happens to see Touko and Yuu smooching, and the part where the vice-president clearly thinks she’s the only one Touko needs by her side. But towards the end of the volume, it veers once more into darker and more fascinating territory, as we learn that Touko is so driven to appear perfect due to family pressure to live on in the place of her amazing older sister who died seven years ago. She can’t bear for anyone to love either the real or the fake her, which is why she’s chosen Yuu, who ends up swearing never to fall in love with her even though she privately wishes she could. It’s nice to be reminded what turmoil lurks beneath the pleasant surface! – Michelle Smith

The Full-Time Wife Escapist, Vol. 2 | By Tsunami Umino | Kodansha Comics (digital only) – While there is still a lot of goofy charm in this title, mostly due to Mikuri’s imagination (we get a Les Miz takeoff here, as well as an enka number and some cheerleading chibis), the reality of the arrangement she’s entered into with Hiramasa is starting to fall apart at the seams. It’s really hard to pretend to be married, as there’s a lot of little details you can miss. Plus there’s also house-hunting (but do they really need one?), dental cavities (yes, she really does need a filling but what kind?), and Hiramasa’s growing feelings, which are… not really mirrored all that much by Mikuri, who sometimes seems almost asexual. We’ll see how well the marriage holds up in volume three, as there’s a nasty cliffhanger here. – Sean Gaffney

The Girl from the Other Side: Siúil, a Rún, Vol. 2 | By Nagabe | Seven Seas – The Girl from the Other Side loses just a teensy bit of its luster in this volume by actually trying to provide, or at least hint at, some answers. When Teacher catches an Outsider touching Shiva, he protects her valiantly, over her own protestations. Later, though, they seek out the creature again because it had hinted that it knew the whereabouts of Shiva’s aunt. It doesn’t, but leads them to a giant lake where Teacher encounters a mysterious hole in the ground and hears the Outsiders’ perspective on why the humans are the source of the curse. He doesn’t know what to believe, and meanwhile examines Shiva daily for symptoms. Then those odious humans get involved again and another volume ends with Shiva in peril. This time, Teacher’s seemingly not in a position to protect her. Still bringing the love, sorrow, and loneliness! – Michelle Smith

Haikyu!!, Vol. 11 | By Haruichi Furudate | Viz Media – This volume consists of Karasuno High’s team failing over and over again, trying things that don’t quite work, and getting pissed off with each other. But that’s as it should be, because you can’t stay static if you want to make it to the next level. The author does a very good job of showing a team that’s on the cusp of being great, if they can just pull everything together. And we’re beginning to see it… but it’s not quite there. And this being training camp, they can get advice from other teams, showing off super secret special moves that allow Hinata and company to add new talents to their repertoire. The goal here is to combine volleyball talent and instinct with intelligence. I wonder what will happen next. – Sean Gaffney

Interviews with Monster Girls, Vol. 4 | By Petos | Kodansha Comics – The whole point of this series is to see Takahashi-sensei interact with his demi students and see how they tick, and a lot of this happens outside of the classroom, so the reader may be forgiven for thinking that there are only demis in the school. But there’s lot of normal kids as well, and the charge comes down that Takahashi is not paying enough attention to them. While this is true in a sense, it’s also true that the demis do need more attention than the other students in various ways. What’s more, the “normal” students realize that treating the demis as if they’re just normal students as well may not be the best way to go. The metaphor for disabilities doesn’t always work, but this is still interesting for monster girl fans. – Sean Gaffney

My Hero Academia, Vol. 8 | By Kohei Horikoshi | Viz Media – While Midoriya is the star of this series, it’s very much an ensemble show, and this volume gives us a chance to see the entire class show off their smarts—or not in some cases. Sometimes you have to get over jealousy and dislike, sometimes you need to regain the confidence you once lost, and sometimes you’ve got to rely on your instincts (as well as being in denial about your feelings for the hero). But of course Midoriya is the star, and so a lot of the back half of the volume goes to him, as he’s accosted by Shigaraki, who’s ironically even scarier when he takes the severed hand off his face. In the meantime, more training, more horrible situations designed to make a hero stronger. Also, Mineta is the worst, y’all. – Sean Gaffney

My Neighbor Seki, Vol. 9 | By Takuma Morishige | Vertical Comics – Seki is down to twice a year, but this is still a good solid volume, relying very much on the core plot of My Neighbor Seki—what is he doing this time, and how will Yoroi react? As with volume eight, there seem to be more examples of Seki’s games rebounding on him rather than making trouble for Youko. The best chapters see him working with transparent glue, taking the bear family for a helicopter ride gone horribly wrong, and getting so caught up in roleplaying that he loses himself in the role (twice). Best of all, Yoroi ends up at a sweets shop where Mrs. Seki works, and has to hide the increasingly desperate artwork apologizing for her son’s antics, showing that such tactics do run in the family. – Sean Gaffney

Tokyo Tarareba Girls, Vol. 3 | By Akiko Higashimura | Kodansha Comics (digital only) – This volume made me seriously consider giving up on Tokyo Tarareba Girls. Not because it is bad, but because the three main characters keep making such awful decisions. Koyuki finds out that her married boyfriend lied about being separated from his wife and failed to mention he had kids, but forgives him. Kaori knows she’s not even the only woman on the side for her ex, but she still comes when he calls. They’re both so desperate for someone to be nice to them that they’ll accept something that isn’t real. It’s so depressing! And then there’s Rinko, who botches a big assignment and makes a total lush of herself and UGH. They’re all making their own problems worse and it’s hard to watch. That said, I get creepy vibes from Rinko’s new boyfriend, so will at least have to check out volume four to see what his deal is. – Michelle Smith