Michelle Smith

Happy new briefs!

The Ancient Magus’ Bride, Vol. 6 | By Kore Yamazaki | Seven Seas – This is a book of two halves. The first deals with Christmas, as Chise meets with Alice so they can buy their respective mentors a present, which is mostly light and fluffy (with the exception of Alice’s drug-riddled backstory), and the second half is more supernatural, showing how kids say things they don’t mean, and how in the border between human and faerie that can be incredibly dangerous. Both halves show off Elias’ burgeoning (read: teenage) emotions, as well as Chise’s growing stockpile of good friends. On an ominous note, she’s also now got a pelt that lets her transform, which she feels she shouldn’t overuse, and promptly does. A fantastic new volume in this richly fantastical series. – Sean Gaffney

Cells at Work!, Vol. 2 | By Akane Shimizu | Kodansha Comics – In this volume, food poisoning, heat stress, and cancer must all be fought off (with over-the-top carnage) by the brave members of the immune system brigade. This series is educational as well as entertaining, because now I can tell you that while eosinophil cells are not especially good at fending off bacteria, they kick butt at defeating parasites! I also adored the visual of baby cells on a conveyor belt, waiting to be sorted out by stem cells in nurse uniforms, and I am certainly not going to forget that any time soon. Though it’s true that not even a white blood cell and red blood cell can escape the manga trope of having met previously as children, this series consistently offers things I never expected to see or feel (such as sympathy for a cancer cell), which is much appreciated! – Michelle Smith

Complex Age, Vol. 3 | By Yui Sakuma | Kodansha Comics – Complex Age continues to get better and better, as it digs deep into the nuances and complications of Nagisa’s dedication to cosplay, even as her ideals and her reality are moving farther and farther apart. The fact that her mother offers the same reason as her motivation for giving up her Lolita fashions gives Nagisa much to consider. When she attends a class reunion and unexpectedly connects with a male former classmate, Senda, I was at first happy for her, as it’s her first relationship in a long time. Because he shares her love for Magi-Ruri, it seemed that perhaps he could appreciate her hobby. Not so, alas. This is a fascinating series that takes fandom seriously, and I am pretty anxious to see how it all plays out. – Michelle Smith

Complex Age, Vol. 3 | By Yui Sakuma | Kodansha Comics – Again, this volume not only examines the wisdom of enjoying your hobbies from a fan perspective—once again Nagisa is the belle of the ball until Aya appears—but also how it can impact your adult life. Last time it was the workplace, this time it’s relationships, as Nagisa hooks up with a classmate she met again at a reunion. The hookup is quite fast, probably too fast, and therefore it’s not a surprise to see things going south fairly quickly as well, mostly revolving around how the guy is OK with Nagisa cosplaying until he realizes she’s showing off her sexy body to guys who aren’t him. This series doesn’t pull any punches, and I’m genuinely intrigued to see what stand it eventually takes. – Sean Gaffney

Kuma Miko: Girl Meets Bear, Vol. 2 | By Masume Yoshimoto | One Peace Books – Thankfully, there are little to no explicit sexual references in this volume of Kuma Miko, and it is content to do what I expect most people want it to—it’s a goofy manga about an over-earnest young miko who has no idea how a lot of modern Japan does, and a talking bear who knows more than she does, but not much. Of course, Kumamura may be leveling up a bit in this second volume, as she reveals her deep knowledge of the local clothing store, which reveals that she probably could end up eventually making it on her own if she can get past her panic and nerves. The bear, meanwhile, makes gags, and mostly does them well. This is sort of cute, if not enthralling. – Sean Gaffney

Pandora in the Crimson Shell: Ghost Urn, Vol. 6 | By Shirow Masamune and Rikudou Koushi | Seven Seas – I debated simply copying and pasting my review of volume five to see if anyone noticed. It’s almost the exact same thing, only this time Clarion gets taken out by a superior enemy, and Nene, in going down after her, shows off once again how she’s not just your average girl with a full-body prosthetic. There’s lots of technobabble here, and a few amusing jokes. We again see that Nene’s obsession with Clarion verges on yuri even if it didn’t have the ‘activation’ fanservice. And there is a bit of Excel Saga mockery, as the main villain this time around talks about this world rotting, no doubt channeling his inner Il Palazzo. Pandora continues to be itself. – Sean Gaffney

Aoharu x Machinegun, Vol. 2 | By Naoe | Yen Press – For the most part, this series has two things that it does, and it does them both well. There’s lots of talk about the survival game tournaments, and we see how even the nicest person can turn into an absolute demon in competition. We also get good advice for Tachibana, who has brilliant instincts, but this isn’t the sort of event where you can just rely on those to get you through. And what makes it worse, she’s still hiding the fact that she’s a girl, and you know it’s going to get outed at the worst possible time, especially as it’s now connected to Matsuoka’s troubled past experiences. This continues to be a surprisingly addicting action manga with a genderbend twist. – Sean Gaffney

Bungo Stray Dogs, Vol. 1 | Story by Kafka Asagiri, Art by Sango Harukawa | Yen Press – After penniless Atsushi Nakajima is cast out of an orphanage he stops a man named Osamu Dazai from committing suicide and is introduced to the “armed detective agency,” whose members all possess a supernatural skill. When it turns out that Atsushi is the “man-tiger” that they’ve been hired to capture, he ends up receiving a job offer. One of the central gimmicks of the series is that each detective is based on a real Japanese writer or poet, and although Wikipedia helped in this regard, I really wish Yen’s edition had included some explanatory notes. It was also a bit jarring that the story jumped into conflict with the main villain so quickly; I’m used to these supernatural team-up stories spending at least the first few volumes on episodic jobs. In any case, this turned out to be an intriguing story and I plan to continue. – Michelle Smith

Kiss Him, Not Me!, Vol. 8 | By Junko | Kodansha Comics – After a very funny volume, this one is a bit more dramatic, as we have the aftershock from Nanashima’s kiss, which is possibly the highlight of the volume, as Kae’s emotions and fears aren’t downplayed just because Nanashima had a cold and apologized—and he understands that. Less successful is the sequence with Shinomiya finding that his parents are moving away from Japan, and he’s being asked to go with them, which leads to both an emotional breakdown and a long iguana sequence. And while there is comedy here, the ‘overprotective to a creepy degree dad’ storyline has been done better in other shoujo works, and I’m glad he promptly leaves again. But an excellent first half. – Sean Gaffney

Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic, Vol. 21 | By Shinobu Ohtaka | VIZ Media – “A new story arc’s starting!” proclaims the first page and, indeed, after a fast-forward through the aftermath of the Magnoshutatt arc, we find our heroes on their way back to Sindria, where Sinbad is preparing for a conference with Koen Ren on the future of the world. After the latter requests an attendant, Alibaba ends up returning to Balbadd and seeing how drastically it has changed in his absence. All of this is interesting, as is Aladdin’s worry about Sinbad being dangerous, but I confess my favorite part was Alibaba and Morgiana finally making a little bit of progress on the romantic front. I particularly like that even with Alibaba’s moments of heroism and bravery, he’s also shown to be a vulnerable and occasionally angsty adolescent. Perennially recommended. – Michelle Smith

Of the Red, the Light, and the Ayakashi, Vol. 5 | By nanao and HaccaWorks* | Yen Press – Ask and you shall receive. I wanted the main plot to come back in this volume, and it does with a vengeance. The shrine denizens want Yue to “eat” someone of their choosing. Kurogitsune helps him to escape, but we find that he too wants Yue to “eat” someone, but he wants it to be one of the two he’s closest with. Yue, meanwhile, knows what the act means, and doesn’t want to eat anyone, but given who he is, is that even a choice that can be made? As for Akashi, I think he just wants to destroy things. There’s a few more volumes to go before this finishes, but it’s nice to see what we at least appear to be driving forward rather than running in place. – Sean Gaffney

Spoof on Titan, Vol. 2 | By Hounori, based on Hajime Isayama’s manga | Kodansha Comics – Two volumes seems about right for this comedic take on the Titan series to not wear out its welcome. We get a big focus on the rest of the cast this time around, with Hitch and Annie shenanigans, and Levi’s doomed squad (all alive here, of course, as this is a parody manga). We do once again get some shout outs to future events—everyone’s saying Historia rather than Krista, and there’s a cute section about the difference between the two. I also liked when it made fun of fan stereotypes—Sasha talks about a dream that isn’t food, but everyone’s bored till she gives in and acts her “role.” This was cute, and I’m glad it was brought over. Though I’m also glad it wrapped up here. – Sean Gaffney

Yowamushi Pedal, Vol. 4| By Wataru Watanabe | Yen Press – I am not a fast reader, but the pace of Yowamushi Pedal is so exhilarating that I flew through this 400-page edition. The first half depicts the tense battle for the remaining spots on the Inter-High team, with displays of determination (even from those who don’t make the cut) and friendship (cue sniffles when Naruko and Imaizumi work together to keep an exhausted Onoda upright) from all involved. Then, just before the tournament begins, we begin a lovely long flashback to what happened last year, where Captain Kinjou was in serious contention to win it all when a rival’s incredulity at being passed cost him the race. Each time I finish one of these volumes, I’m desperate for the next. – Michelle Smith

Black Clover, Vol. 4 | By Yuki Tabata | Viz Media – So the arrogant heroes we met last time haven’t really learned humility, but at least they’re not regarding Asta and company as total chumps anymore. Instead, it’s our heroes who either get to learn a lesson, kick ass, or both. Noelle learns not to dwell on weakness or mistakes during a battle; Yuno shows that he still has a big complex when it comes to Asta supposedly being “weaker”; and Asta himself gets to beat people up for most of the volume, but also learn how to actually analyze a battle and know his limitations. The result is a volume filled with fights that not only manages to entertain throughout, but didn’t immediately make me think “this reminds me of this other title.” Getting better. – Sean Gaffney

Blue Exorcist, Vol. 16 | By Kazue Kato | Viz Media – This is very much a marking time volume, setting things up for the next big arc and taking a breather from the last one. There’s comedy, particularly with Renzo trying to feel his way back with his group of friends (Suguro keeps calling him “spy”) and a gratuitous bathing scene; there’s possible romantic advancement as Rin finally confesses to Shiemi, albeit under circumstances that don’t really allow a response; and there’s the new instructor, Lewin, who wears a big fishing hat, has hair over his eyes, and is easygoing, so you know he’s super-powerful. And above all else there is Yukio, whose desire to find out whether the power within him is evil or not has become so great it’s making him try to kill himself. Chilling. – Sean Gaffney

The Case Study of Vanitas, Vol. 1 | By Jun Mochizuki | Yen Press – As one of the manga blogosphere’s most vocal fans of Jun Mochizuki’s Pandora Hearts, it should come as no surprise that I anticipated this series’ debut with great interest. Its first signs are promising. The volume’s opening pages introduce us to Noé, a Mochizuki protagonist if there ever was one, stoic and quietly dashing, complete with top hat and temperamental pet cat, surrounded by a steampunk universe full of ornate zeppelins and the glorious clothing that has traditionally accompanied the artist’s horror-tinged worlds. Unfortunately, that’s where the wonder ends. The rest of the volume trudges along, mired in confusing exposition and fights so dull, even a beautifully elaborate mechanical arm can’t save it. Also, there are vampires. Still, though this series is not as immediately engaging as Pandora Hearts, it warrants patience. We’ll hold out for volume two. MJcannot live on sleeves alone. – MJ

Everyone’s Getting Married, Vol. 3 | By Izumi Miyazono | VIZ Media – Marriage-obsessed Asuka is beginning to get on my nerves. She knew full well that her boyfriend, popular newscaster Ryu Nanami, did not want to get married. He made it abundantly clear. But when she finally decides to try to figure out why he is opposed, and learns that his past experience with a miserably married lover means that he doesn’t share her idealistic view of marriage, she has the temerity to feel as if she’s been deceived. Uh-huh. By yourself, lady. To her credit, she does soon realize that she’s been pushing this idea on Ryu without it being about the two of them so much as this fantasy of hers, so perhaps she’ll be able to table her fixation for a while. We shall see! – Michelle Smith

Haikyu!!, Vol. 6 | By Haruichi Furudate | VIZ Media – I always like it when the supporting players in a sports manga get their moment to shine. In the first half of this volume, there’s a lot of Azumane and Nishinoya, as they were the two most affected by Karasuno’s previous defeat at the hands of Date Tech. Moments of faith and triumph ensue. Next up, the team faces off against Aoba Johsai, and unfortunately Kageyama starts to fall back on his own habits by attempting to rectify a score deficit by himself. While this makes for a somewhat stressful read, it does give the team’s other setter, Sugawara, a chance to finally see some tournament play. In volume seven. Hmph! Lastly, it’s gratifying that spectactors are starting to appreciate just how much Hinata contributes to the team. More, please! – Michelle Smith

Kuroko’s Basketball, Vol. 5-6 | By Tadatoshi Fujimaki | Viz Media – This omnibus introduces us to Aomine, a player so talented that he defeats everyone handily and thus has begun to find the game tedious. Naturally, Kagami says that he’ll show that jerk a lesson. Unfortunately, Kagami, you’re only up to volume six. As such, he’s the one who learns the lesson, as he and Kuroko get their asses handed to them—a defeat so bad it has a knock on effect on the rest of the tournament. And so all hopes and dreams are left in ashes. Luckily, these kids are just freshman, and we’re nowhere near done yet. There are other tournaments. But learning from bitter defeat is tried and true sports manga, and Kuroko’s Basketball handled it quite well. – Sean Gaffney

Lord Marksman and Vanadis, Vol. 2 | By Tsukasa Kawaguchi and Nobuhiko Yanai| Seven Seas – When this series is having a giant melee battle, it really shows off how good it is. The hero is talented but not omnipotent; the heroine is talented and yeah, sort of omnipotent, but we knew that from the start; and even the childhood friend gets to look cool before unfortunately having her clothes ripped off and being threatened with assault, because this series also has lots of fanservice, which is much less good. Still, the good outweighs the bad here, and the two leads have excellent chemistry (sorry, childhood friend, you’ve already lost). It looks as if the cast is going to expand next time, so we’ll see if this manages to avoid becoming a harem manga. I hope so. – Sean Gaffney

Reindeer Boy | By Cassandra Jean | Yen Press – Quincy is an ordinary high school student with an unusual recurring dream. Each Christmas Eve, she dreams of a young boy with antlers placing a gift beneath her Christmas tree, and each Christmas she awakens to find a stray gift waiting for her, wrapped in tinfoil. When a gorgeous, antlered transfer student named Cupid arrives at her school, it takes her a surprising amount of time to realize that he is, in fact, the boy from her dream. Meanwhile, a slew of other new students begin turning up, also with antlers, similarly bearing the names of Santa’s reindeer (at which, somehow, nobody at school bats an eye). Not since Sweet Rein have we been asked to accept so silly a Christmas-themed premise. Yet, despite all of that, there is an adorableness to this comic that can’t be denied. Jean’s artwork is attractive and her storytelling effective, ultimately achieving some kind of real success. Though the volume has no number, the story seems to beg for more. Here’s hoping? – MJ

Yona of the Dawn, Vol. 3 | By Mizuho Kusanagi | VIZ Media – I am starting to get legitimately immersed in the shoujo fantasy epic that Yona of the Dawn is shaping up to be. After receiving counsel from a priest, Yona and Hak travel to a remote village in search of the White Dragon, one of four warriors who can help Yona with her quest, whereupon it becomes clear that Yona is the “Crimson Dragon King” returned. The quest for allies and the female protagonist as foretold leader evoke both Fushigi Yuugi and Basara feels without being derivative of either. True, neither Hak nor Yun, another new companion, is particularly interesting yet, but Gija (the White Dragon) does seem to have some potential. At the very least, he’s a convenient GPS for the other warriors. Can’t wait for volume four! – Michelle Smith

Anne Happy, Vol. 3 | By Cotoji | Yen Press – The stars of Anne Happy may be in a separate class due to their horrible luck, but they also end up getting special attention, which makes the other classmates in the school (who are also in specialized programs, so you can’t really compare it to a gifted program or somesuch) upset. That’s the focus of the new teacher introduced properly in this volume, who thinks the luckless girls are being coddled. But it’s hard to be stern when merely swimming in a school pool might cost you your life, and midterm exams dependent on improving luck have Anne in the basement. This is cute, but absolutely light as air. That said, adding more dramatic stuff wouldn’t help it one bit. It is what it is. – Sean Gaffney

Everyone’s Getting Married, Vol. 3 | By Izumi Miyazono | Viz Media – This is a josei series rather than shoujo, and it shows in the maturity of the two leads, who thankfully do not overreact to seeming disasters by running off with tears in eyes. As expected, Ryu’s married ex is back, still married, and still a giant pile of problems that Ryu can’t help but get involved in. Meanwhile, Asuka is getting a marriage proposal from a handsome, successful guy who is perfectly happy to let her achieve her dream of being a housewife. But can she still have that dream anymore without Ryu? As for Ryu, can he let go of his past… and tell Asuka about it? This is still a potboiler, but it’s a mature one, in the best sense of the word. Still totally on board. – Sean Gaffney

Food Wars!: Shokugeki no Soma, Vol. 15 | By Yuto Tsukuda and Shun Saeki | Viz Media – I keep thinking that Soma is not like other Jump protagonists, but that’s not really true. He’s enthusiastic, stubborn, talented, and tends to fail repeatedly till he works out how to win. It’s just he’s so laid-back that he feels different in comparison to the Luffys of the world. Here the school has the typical Festival arc, except being a bunch of lunatic chefs, they all compete to see whose food sells the most. Soma makes a foolhardy bet with one of the Elite Ten, and while his thoughts on winning aren’t wrong, they aren’t enough. Luckily, he has Megumi to help, and even Erina is giving good advice. It’s hard to believe this is the series I panned so hard long ago. There aren’t even any food orgasm shots this time around. – Sean Gaffney

Food Wars!: Shokugeki no Soma, Vol. 15 | By Yuto Tsukuda and Shun Saeki | VIZ Media – I should know better by now than to read Food Wars! while hungry, but I challenge any meat-eaters to read this volume and not salivate for the black pepper pork buns Soma creates for his booth at the School Festival! He spends most of the volume figuring out how to challenge one of the Council of Ten who’s a Chinese food expert, and all of his strategizing and flavor-testing are fun to read about, not to mention his salesmanship and the gradual improvement of his standings in the sales rankings. We’ll have to wait until the next volume for the resolution, but I’m certainly impressed how invested I am in the outcome. – Michelle Smith

Haikyu!!, Vol. 6 | By Haruichi Furudate | Viz Media – Hope you like volleyball, because it’s all tournament, all the time this arc. Sadly, that means that while it was quite good, I’m at a loss as to what to talk about. The most obvious thing is probably Kageyama, who shows that when you’re a grumpy ball of rage a lot of the time, you can be easily frustrated. Particularly when the opposing team works out your super secret signals to show what you’re going to do. On the bright side, it was nice to see Asahi get past his previous year and kick ass, as they managed to defeat Date Tech’s Iron Wall. The cliffhanger was excellent too, as the best sports manga always take pains to remind you it’s a team sport, no matter how many prodigies may be starring. – Sean Gaffney

Kuroko’s Basketball, Vols. 5-6 | By Tadatoshi Fujimaki | VIZ Media – After Kuroko prevents a buzzer-beater shot by Midorima, Seirin moves on to the finals league of the Tokyo Inter-High qualifiers. Their first game is against yet another of Kuroko’s middle-school teammates, Daiki Aomine, an incredible player (and awful person) with an unpredictable playing style. As a long-time fan of sports manga, I was chastising myself somewhat for buying into the idea that Seirin might lose. Then I thought, well, perhaps they might lose this game, thus making their ultimate perseverance that much more poignant. I was not prepared for what happened or for the desolate sentiment, “We were fooling ourselves.” I’ve enjoyed Kuroko’s Basketball up until this point, but this volume surprised me. Now I’m even more eager to see where the story goes from here. – Michelle Smith