Michelle Smith

Behind the Scenes!!, Vol. 2 | By Bisco Hatori | VIZ Media – I was pretty disappointed by volume one of Behind the Scenes!!, but while the series remains far from great, the second volume is an improvement overall. Some parts of it I found excruciating, though, like the dumb gag where the props a girl stayed up all night making get destroyed because someone literally slips on a banana peel. But while I was groaning, the same girl would make a speech about refusing to repress her passions just to nab a boyfriend, and I’d have to begrudgingly approve. It’s only at the very end, when Ranmaru learns a bit more about mysterious Izumi, who heedlessly plunges his hand into boiling water to save a classmate’s cell phone and seemingly has no regard for his own welfare, that I actually found a character I could possibly care about. I’m willing to keep going with this for a little while, at least. – Michelle Smith

A Centaur’s Life, Vol. 9 | By Kei Murayama | Seven Seas – Once again, this is a tale of two halves. On the one half, we have the typical slice-of-monster-life we’re used to, with more ‘is it yuri or just akogare’ chapters, another examination of how monster bodies and human-style clothing works, and a bizarre omake where a political argument in class is resolved by the teacher transforming into a magical girl and mind controlling everyone. The other half has Hime and Shino accidentally transported to a fantasy dimension where she’s thought to be a god, and has to defend a fortress against various enemies with her archery and tactics. It doesn’t so much end as stop. I sense this series has become ‘whatever the author feels like writing that month.’ – Sean Gaffney

Honey So Sweet, Vol. 3 | By Amu Meguro | Viz Media – I talked about the new guy who arrived at the end of the last volume, and in the end he turns out to be a friend, enemy, AND love interest. Futami has the looks and personality that Onise doesn’t, and is quick to help him to open up and gain more support from his classmates. In fact, they get along so well Kogure worries that maybe she’s the one in the way (no, not in that way). But Futami is also falling for Kogure, and he’s determined to do something about it, even as Onise has mixed feelings. The whole subplot is handled quite well, and while there’s a bit more drama and angst to it, this still reminds me a lot of My Love Story!!—you read it for the sweetness. – Sean Gaffney

Nichijou: My Ordinary Life, Vol. 3 | By Keiichi Arawi | Vertical Comics – Nichijou is a surreal comedy, and so you don’t really go looking for character development here. That said, the third volume had a surprising number of heartwarming scenes mixed in among the hilarity. The Professor deals with the hazards of still being a young child, despite her genius, and bonds with Nano a bit. Mio and Yukko get into a huge argument that goes on for pages until it eventually circles back around and turns into the two of them praising each other. And Yukko goes to visit Nao and the Professor, and reassures her that, even if everyone knows she’s a robot, Nano is still just Nano to them. These scenes give the series a heart that helps it to earn the laughs and strange “huh?’ reactions it also gives us. – Sean Gaffney

One-Punch Man, Vol. 7 | By ONE and Yusuke Marata | Viz Media – Yes, we are here. It finally takes more than one punch for Saitama to take out an enemy, though he’s still not really breaking a sweat or showing much emotion. The main reason to get this volume is the artwork, which is simply amazing. This volume may have more two-page spreads than any other shonen manga I’ve seen, as the final battle is a huge monumental “serious punch” from Saitama that words cannot really describe. (And note he’s able to do this even after being hit TO THE MOON and having to jump back to Earth.) I suspect we’ll see more of Tornado, who has a giant chip on her tiny shoulder. And some other heroes get shown off here as well. But this is still The Saitama Story, and what a story it is. – Sean Gaffney

Pandora in the Crimson Shell: Ghost Urn, Vol. 5 | By Shirow Masamune and Rikudou Koushi | Seven Seas – There’s no Excel Saga cameos here, beyond the appearance of the Excel-ish Vlind, so I am once again forced to talk about the actual manga itself. Fortunately, the first 3/4 of this volume is relatively mild, and even interesting. Nene wishes for happy fun uneventful days, but Clarion knows that the world they live in is filled with evil organizations and killer robots. So she proceeds to go to town on said robots, as well as the local army. It’s almost worth recommending, except at the end they have to power up the Pandora, which is done via the wretched “not really vaginal fingering, but close” method we know and loathe. In the end, this is still Pandora, alas. – Sean Gaffney

Persona 4, Vol. 3 | By Shuji Sogabe and ATLUS | Udon Entertainment – Most of this volume is dedicated to a new young man trapped in the killer TV program, and again it shows us hidden sides, this time dealing with traditional gender roles and how shameful it can be for a young Japanese boy to be good at traditionally feminine tasks. Naturally, this has led him to overcompensate and become a giant thug, hence the obvious choice of him going to TV Bear land. That said, it’s resolved fairly simply, and our heroes didn’t even need to do much besides stand around and comment. Of course, it’s not all psychological horror and battles, there’s also the worst curry in the world, as we discover that of the two main heroines, neither one can cook worth a damn. Pretty good. – Sean Gaffney

Princess Jellyfish, Vol. 2 | By Akiko Higashimura | Kodansha Comics – Kuranosuke and the residents of Amamizu-kan have declared their intention to buy the place to save it from redevelopment, but they lack the funds to actually do so. Kuranosuke rallies them into action, especially after being inspired by one of Tsukimi’s drawings to create jellyfish-inspired fashions. I love how all the various story elements service the series’ predominant theme. Meeting Kuranosuke has introduced Tsukimi to the passion of creating something she loves, but it has also brought her pain, as she is confronted with “evidence” that Shu has slept with the scheming Inari. It’s too much stimulation for her, and she retreats to the familiar territory of avoiding her emotions, and believing she’s not the kind of girl who could fall in love. Funny, poignant, addictive… I’m sad we must wait ’til October for more! – Michelle Smith

The Ancient Magus’ Bride, Vol. 5 | By Kore Yamazaki | Seven Seas – Chise is an all-loving heroine sort of girl, and when she sees someone she naturally wants to help them. Which is fine, and leads to some nice heartwarming scenes here, but it also does a number on her body, as she simply can’t use all that magic and not pay for it in some way. This leads to much of this volume taking place in Fairy Land (and a return to winter later), where we meet a doctor with a harsh but effective bedside manner, and Elias is once again mocked by everyone who seems to see him as being too selfish. Again, it’s not clear how bride-like this series will ever get, but I’m content with detailed descriptions of magic plants and rituals and gorgeous art in the meantime. – Sean Gaffney

Barakamon, Vol. 11 | By Satsuki Yoshino | Yen Press – It’s hard to follow a volume as good as the last one, and much of this new Barakamon is spent wrapping that story up and starting a new one. No one really expected Handa to get married, and he doesn’t, but it is interesting seeing the idea of an arranged marriage for him being tossed about among all the other characters who’ve grown close to him. Once his parents have departed (and I think his father understands him better now, if not the reverse), we see the return of old rival Higashino, who Handa still doesn’t remember but who seems dedicated to theoretically ruining his life, although as always most of that is merely in Handa’s head. Will he be able to grow the best vegetable garden ever? Results are unclear. – Sean Gaffney

He’s My Only Vampire, Vol. 7 | By Aya Shouoto | Yen Press – Ever since the very first chapter, we’ve known that Eriya was going to show up eventually. And sure enough, he’s now here, conveniently at a time when Aki is still dealing with amnesia. Kana isn’t sure what to make of this—she’s having enough trouble dealing with the fact that Aki’s love for her is now history, though he seems to be backsliding a bit there. That said, Eriya seems to be evil, or at least rather selfish, using a chance at a “normal school life” to try to win Kana over for himself, with the use of liberal hypnosis to make the school OK with this. Kana is, by the nature of the series, a somewhat passive heroine, but I really hope she’s able to do something about this next time. – Sean Gaffney

He’s My Only Vampire, Vol. 7 | By Aya Shouoto | Yen Press – There are two distinct halves to this volume, and they don’t fit together terribly well. We begin with Aki having forgotten his feelings for Kana, due to trading the “lust” stigma in exchange for her release from her Tsubakiin captors. Eve the succubus and her dealer try to take advantage of Aki’s personality shift to cause the final stigma, “envy,” to manifest—mostly by making him kill deranged humans but also through a random beauty contest—and it also seemed like the story would be developing its love triangle by bringing Kana and Jin closer together, but then both of those threads are abandoned in favor of Eriya’s return, which might have been surprising if it hadn’t been foreshadowed so heavily. I’m afraid that as this series approaches the end, it’s going to get as convoluted as Shouoto’s Kiss of the Rose Princess did. That would be a shame. – Michelle Smith

The Honor Student at Magic High School, Vol. 3 | By Tsutomu Sato and Yu Mori | Yen Press – If ever there was a spinoff that felt like a spinoff, it’s this series, which never lets me forget throughout its entire reading that more important things are happening to the actual hero elsewhere while this is going on. The three ‘detectives’ are amusing, and they do achieve something, but compared to Tatsuya and Miyuki they’re mostly there as victims. Miyuki, of course, is not going to be your garden variety victim, and the best parts of this book show off how much of the “darkness” within herself she wants to hide from her brother so that they can live happy, normal high school lives. I suspect, as with the previous two volumes, this will read better after I’ve read the second irregular novel. – Sean Gaffney

Of the Red, the Light, and the Ayakashi, Vol. 3 | By nanao and HaccaWorks* | Yen Press – I’m guessing the author heard me when I said in my last review I’d drop the series if the cute little sister got erased. She not only doesn’t, but gets actual things to do, as she is able to tell that her brother is in trouble and get help for him! (Of course, this implies that she too knows more than she’s saying, and may have dark secrets of her own, but I’ll deal with that when I come to it.) As for said big brother, he is indeed in peril from one of the most dreaded monsters of all, the bratty girl sort, who is desperate to eat his soul but also toys with her food far too much, so she’s not going to be long for this world. I still have no idea where this is going, but it’s fun. – Sean Gaffney

Of the Red, the Light, and the Ayakashi, Vol. 3 | By HaccaWorks* and nanao | Yen Press – I compared the first volume of this series to Natsume’s Book of Friends, but now it has evolved to the point where there’s hardly anything similar about them. Of the Red… has a more defined plot—a delightfully creepy one that heightens the ethical dilemma for our hero—as well as multiple action scenes, as one of Yue’s new friends, Tsubaki, is revealed to be an extremely desirable and tasty target for the local ayakashi population. (Also, his sister seems to be protecting him somehow, and his dad recognized Yue as someone called “Yoshiki.”) The mysteries continue to unfold but the answers do, too, which I really appreciate. I continue to really enjoy this series and look forward to volume four! – Michelle Smith

Don’t Be Cruel, Vols. 1-2 | By Yonezou Nekota | SuBLime – I hated this at first. In the opening scene, one character handcuffs another to a fence and demands sexual gratification, saying, “Don’t get the wrong idea, now. That wasn’t a request. It was an order.” Nemugasa (the victim) is being blackmailed by Maya (the perpetrator), so continues to obey his commands, but their relationship evolves and by the end of the volume, they’re in love. (But not before Nemugasa is roofied by his tutor and given over to someone else for a plaything!) What’s frustrating is that there were glimmers here of something I might’ve liked, moments where the developing dynamic was interesting, but I just couldn’t get over those early scenes and often wanted to throttle the characters, Maya especially. As a result, I can’t really recommend this even though I kind of want to read the next volume. – Michelle Smith

Fate/Zero, Vol. 2 | By Gen Urobuchi, Type-Moon, and Shinjiro | Dark Horse – After all the setup of the first volume, most of this second one is devoted to a battle between two servants—or at least, it starts off with just two servants. Saber is, of course, the Arturia we’re familiar with, but Lancer is Diarmuid Ua Duibhne, another Irish mythological hero. Their snark and battle is fun, but gradually everyone starts dropping in—literally, in the case of Iskander—and adding more chaos to the battle. As with the first volume, Iskander’s sheer force of personality, and everyone’s reaction to it, is the highlight—though Gilgamesh’s arrogance comes close. Fate fans should enjoy this, and it hasn’t gotten too dark yet, though I’m sure that will change. – Sean Gaffney

Food Wars!: Shokugeki no Soma, Vol. 12 | By Yuto Tsukuda and Shun Saeki | Viz Media – While there is the occasional ship tease (and I remain surprised at how little Erina has done to date, given she’s supposed to be the main heroine—Soma spends most of his off time with Megumi here), for the most part Food Wars! continues to keep its focus reassuringly on food. All three remaining contestants are brilliant, but Soma is particularly impressive because, while he’s confident, he’s not arrogant about it. Indeed, we see him reach out to almost everyone in the dorm trying to find a way to improve his fish dish. Of course, Akira and Ryo are not really villains either, so they’re both just as impressive if not more so. Will Soma win next volume? Probably not. But it’s always fun to see. – Sean Gaffney

Kiss Him, Not Me!, Vol. 5 | By Junko | Kodansha Comics – Mutsumi has been the least developed of the four male leads, so it was only a matter of time before we got a volume devoted to him. He seemed to always have Kae’s best interests at heart, and you wondered if he even loved her at all—or is he simply more mature than the others? No, as it turns out, he’s simply never quite examined the feelings of love yet, and we find why when his over-the-top brother shows up. They end up competing in a “famous” card game called Castle Cards, and it’s a game where Mutsumi has never won—but take a wild guess what happens when it’s Kae’s affection on the line. This is still amusing, but it’s a bit less parodic now and a bit more normal. I’ll still read it. – Sean Gaffney

Komomo Confiserie, Vol. 4 | By Maki Minami | Viz Media – I’d complained about Komomo in the last brief I did of this series, and it’s possible the author heard me, as we get to see a little more fire in her this time around. A rival appears, all the way from France, and given this is a short series, wastes no time behaving in an overtly evil way, even going to the point of having the confiserie vandalized just because she doesn’t get her way. This leads to the best part of the entire volume, in which Komomo channels her inner royalty and absolutely lets her have it, in a truly glorious scene. The second half is not as good, as we meet a friend of Natsu’s whose goal is apparently to push the two together quickly—possibly he knows the series is wrapping up. – Sean Gaffney

Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic, Vol. 18 | By Shinobu Ohtaka | Viz Media – As expected, most of this volume is devoted to a giant battle, with first one side looking like they’re going to win, then the other side having a comeback, etc. Those who enjoy cool moves and epic battles will love it, but it does make things rather difficult in terms of writing a brief. The best part of the volume is probably the end, where Aladdin and Alibaba reunite, and it’s as heartwarming and amusing as you’d imagine, even though it them gets shoved aside to explain more of the plot. I hope Morgiana isn’t too far away either, to be honest. In the meantime, I’m now more concerned about Titus, whose sense of self has been a major part of this arc, and now we’re finding it may all be for naught. Still addictive. – Sean Gaffney

Say “I Love You,” Vol. 14 | By Kanae Hazuki | Kodansha Comics – After so much time devoted to Megumi in France, and her new (and to me suspicious) relationship with a photographer, it was highly jarring to suddenly find that plot mostly dropped and seeing her back in Japan, and looking quite different, makes me wonder if there was a missing volume somewhere down the line. In happier news, the relationship that wasn’t between Kai and Rin lasts about as long as I thought it should, as Kai finds that “go out with me even if you don’t love me” is just not going to work for him. Honestly, I’m still not quite sure where the author is going with Rin and Ren, but given that Mei and Yamato are mostly resolved, it’s onward with the secondary characters, I guess. – Sean Gaffney

Say I Love You, Vol. 14| By Kanae Hazuki | Kodansha Comics – There’s something of a bittersweet mood (plus a touch of foreboding) about this volume, in which the third-year characters look toward their futures (and the goals they strive for with varying degrees of intensity), the first-year Aoi siblings are caught up in the present (and the pain of unrequited love), and second-year Kai is unable to shed the baggage of the past. Of these, I was actually captivated most by Kai in this volume. Despite the fact that he’s tall and strong now, inside he’s “a big lump of insecurities,” and I loved the moment where carefree Rin, who has cajoled him into giving her a chance, comes face to face with the reality of the darkness within him, something she’s not prepared for. It’s rare that a series can continue to be this good even when the focus has drifted a bit from its main couple! – Michelle Smith