Michelle Smith

Barakamon, Vol. 12 | By Satsuki Yoshino | Yen Press – The absence of Naru’s immediate family was always very unstated in the series, and it’s unsurprising that Handa thought they were both dead—the reader likely did as well. But her father, at least, is shown not to be dead, but to be away at sea most of the year, and his return for Christmas is what carries most of this volume. Naru is very Yotsuba-esque most of the time, but she is a seven-year-old girl with real feelings, and her need for her father is telling even as she sort of elides it. Her dad, meanwhile, is a well-meaning goof, but should really step up more, and Handa is, as always, a good bridge between the two. Barakamon is sweet and good-hearted and always puts a smile on my face. – Sean Gaffney

Monthly Girls’ Nozaki-kun, Vol. 5 | By Izumi Tsubaki | Yen Press – I don’t normally watch the anime versions of the manga I read, but a friend introduced me to the Nozaki-kun anime and it’s pretty great. In fact, watching it gave me a better sense of the comic timing in the series, and I think that has carried over to how I read the manga, because I enjoyed it even more than before. Scenarios in this volume include Kashima having a cold and various guys volunteering to speak for her, the gang going on a drama club training camp, and Nozaki’s search for a cute merchandise-friendly mascot for his series. There is a gag relating to the latter that made me laugh out loud, but I also enjoyed a glimpse at the process for how such things are incorporated into a series, as well as a brief lesson on how cover designs come to be. A little informative, a lot amusing! – Michelle Smith

My Hero Academia, Vol. 6 | By Kohei Horikoshi | Viz Media – I did ask for villains, and here they are, including one who seems to be angry at people who are heroes for the wrong reason. This volume has a lot to say about what makes a good hero and what makes a villain. Midoriya gains a mentor, who is impressed at the fact that he can think on his feet and is trying to teach him how to be more intuitive. But more importantly, Ida is bent on revenge against the man who destroyed his hero brother, who will likely never walk again. This is understandable, but revenge is always a BAD reason to be a hero. Luckily, we also see Midoriya being clever here, and he not only saves Ida but also calls for help, something I wish more shonen heroes did. Excellent series. – Sean Gaffney

One Piece, Vol. 80 | By Eiichiro Oda | VIZ Media – For a while now, I’ve been ready to move on from Dressrosa, but I’ll be damned if Oda’s farewell narration to the island and its inhabitants didn’t make me a little verklempt. That said, this is one of those volumes full of updates on the world at large, hints about plots to come, and glimpses at future foes. I always enjoy it when the story’s scope widens this way, though it makes me wonder exactly how long the series is going to be (and whatever happened with those obelisk things Robin was studying?). The crew reunion at the end of the volume comes as a welcome relief, and I am further manipulated by Oda into being totally invested in the Sanji cliffhanger. Still addicted after 80 volumes! – Michelle Smith

Ooku: The Inner Chambers, Vol. 12 | By Fumi Yoshinaga | VIZ Media – When last we left off, ineffectual Ienari was the shogun and his odious mother, Harusada, was capriciously poisoning those of his heirs that displeased her. In this volume, she gets her comeuppance in a satisfying way, plus Ienari grows a spine and makes perfecting and distributing the redface pox vaccine his priority. The story could almost end here, with a victory for the good guys, except that wouldn’t be nuanced enough for Ooku. Instead, time passes swiftly and we see Ienari gradually being corrupted by power and the knowledge of his (and Aonuma’s, Gennai’s, and Kuroki’s) contributions lost to history because Japan cannot admit any weakness with foreigners literally on the horizon. Captivating and bittersweet, this is a series with broad scope and I trust that Yoshinaga has a destination in mind. I’ll be waiting for volume thirteen! – Michelle Smith

Yamada-kun and the Seven Witches, Vol. 11 | By Miki Yoshikawa | Kodansha Comics – And so Yamada-kun finally wraps things up and comes to an end. Yamada cleverly uses his wish to get rid of the witch powers, most of the witches are pretty happy with that, and most importantly, he confesses to Shiraishi and they become an official couple. This has been a terrif… wait, what? The series is still going? Yes, that’s right, welcome to “this is too popular to cancel,” the inverse of “cut short,” as we now have the adventures of the new student council, with some old friends but also some new characters. How this will develop I’m not sure, given it’s barely begun, and I’ll definitely give it a shot, but I do sort of wish that things had ended here, as it was perfect. – Sean Gaffney

A Centaur’s Life, Vol. 10 | By Kei Murayama | Seven Seas – What I said in my last review applies, only more so. I’m wondering if the author even has a plan at all, or is just happy to coast on monster girls as long as possible. Here we wrap up the arc in the alternate universe, which ends with the ‘it was all a dream’ cliche so dreaded by readers everywhere. We get a test of strength among the class, which a baffled Hime wins without ever really knowing why. We get the introduction of Suu’s sister, which gives us the idea of a giant snake as a bratty goth-loli wannabe. For the most part, though, this wasn’t really very funny, and didn’t have as much of the total bafflement I’ve enjoyed before. Also, stop showing us girl monsters on the toilet. Jeezus. – Sean Gaffney

Haikyu!!, Vol. 5 | By Haruichi Furudate | VIZ Media – This was another excellent installment of Haikyu!!. The Inter-High qualifiers are upon us, and I loved getting glimpses of some of the other participating teams. I especially loved Furudate’s extended look at those who were defeated in the first round, including a poignant montage and emphasis on the losers’ regrets. In this way, we also meet Karasuno’s girls’ team, and now I want a spinoff. For their part, the Karasuno boys also bring the feels as they overturn the prevailing opinion that they merely used to be good. The panel with an about-to-jump Hinata superimposed over a crow spreading its wings actually made me verklempt, as did the moment when he realizes how cool being a decoy can be. I wish I had more to read! – Michelle Smith

Nichijou, Vol. 5 | By Keiichi Arawi | Vertical Comics – I was happy to see more Mai here as I requested, whether she’s torturing her friends in a game of Red Light Green Light, torturing her friends by drawing baffling buddha backgrounds on their yaoi manga, torturing the Professor by letting her dogs “play” with her, to the point where they bite Mio and Yukko for the lulz, and in general shows that she does not remotely grasp human interaction whatsoever. In non-Mai news, we see more of the scientist who’s desperate to examine Nano but gets tripped up by… well, everything. Western fans will be baffled by the surreal chapter based around nagashi somen. And in the best chapter in the book, our three girls struggle against the rain and her vagaries of an angry temple god. Terrific. – Sean Gaffney

Nisekoi: False Love, Vol. 18 | By Naoshi Komi | Viz Media – The field trip continues, and has many sweet and funny moments, but it’s not what the meat of this volume is. No, we’ve reached what appears to be the start of a final arc (spoiler: it’s not), where Chitoge is told that they’re moving back to the US, so she can come with and stop pretending to be Raku’s girlfriend. Needless to say, she’s devastated by this, as are the others, as she’s never had friends like this before, and of course is also in love with Raku. We’re starting to realize he’s in love with her as well—Shu blatantly asks who he likes, and while he says it’s Onodera it’s the first time he’s really waffling on the question. Will she leave? Will she stay? Will Claude kill Raku before that’s decided? Yup, cliffhanger. One of the best volumes yet. – Sean Gaffney

Princess Jellyfish, Vol. 3 | By Akiko Higashimura | Kodansha Comics – The effort Kuranosuke expends to support the dreams of others is truly impressive. Not only does he spearhead the fashion designer idea as a way to earn enough money to avoid Amamizu-kan’s destruction, but he manages to provide costumes and audience to a struggling student production, nudges Mayaya out of her comfort zone, and utilizes his politican father’s party to drum up attendees and press for a Jelly Fish fashion show. I love that he both accepts the Amars as they are and challenges them to participate in the outside world. In this way, he’s given them, and particularly a fired-up Tsukimi, an outlet for their hopes and fears as the reality of their neighborhood’s eventual destruction begins to hit home. Highly recommended. – Michelle Smith

Requiem of the Rose King, Vol. 5 | By Aya Kanno | VIZ Media – Wow, what a volume! Political scheming abounds in the action-packed moments, as Richard’s rescue of his brother forces Warwick to abandon his plan to make George the king and pivot instead back to the Lancasters, just as the other Edward (the one in love with Richard) counted on when he agreed to help Richard out. And in the quiet moments, we spend time with a couple of people still in love with Richard (Edward and Anne), and in the worst/best part of all, Henry and Richard manage to have another blissful interlude together, during which Richard finally admits to himself that he’s in love with Henry just as Henry says he will not permit himself to love anyone. Oh, the treachery and the angst! It’s riveting. Keep ’em coming, Kanno! – Michelle Smith

Shuriken and Pleats, Vol. 2 | By Matsuri Hino | Viz Media – Well, that was one big thud of an ending. When this was licensed I heard it was two volumes long, which made me wary, and that after it ended the author returned to Vampire Knight material, which made me warier. Sure enough, this has “cancelled early due to low reader support” written all over it. Mikage’s stoic ninja finds many things to feel emotional about, but alas, we’re left with the uncomfortable ‘father role’ as the main romance, though it’s blessedly one-sided. And, this being a ninja manga, there’s plots, counterplots, fights on top of speedboats, etc. The main problem with this series, though, is that in the end there was not one plot twist I didn’t guess beforehand. Hino fans should reread Vampire Knight instead. – Sean Gaffney

That Wolf-Boy Is Mine!, Vol. 2 | By Yoko Nagiri | Kodansha Comics – The trouble with getting rejected and saying “I hope we can still be friends!” is that you need to actually have the resolve to do that, which is difficult when you’re still massively in love, not to mention getting mixed signals. As for Yu, we see signs of him getting jealous, but I don’t think he’s even consciously aware of what that is. Honestly, I wonder if Yu’s grumpy friend Rin might be a better match for Komugi, though as a blonde guy in a shoujo manga, he’s inevitably going to be second-best. What’s more, we’re getting some suggestion that Komugi’s background may not be what it seems, something that will no doubt lead to much drama but also allow her to end up with one of these guys. Good, but can be dull at times. – Sean Gaffney

UQ Holder, Vol. 9 | By Ken Akamatsu | Kodansha Comics – As a Negima reader, I found it somewhat hilarious that as part of her training Tota, she sends him into the jungle in order to imitate his predecessor’s “cross a world in a short period” plotline. Even worse, his companion is Kirie, the Chisame lookee-likee, making it even more obvious that he’s just having fun for his fans. That said, this is quite a strong volume, showing off cool fights, embarrassed blushes, aborted love confessions, and our hero literally PUNCHING TIME in order to meet Evangeline’s young self again. New readers will suffer even more, though, as Ayake and Chachamaru show up at the end here, Konoka and Setsuna’s descendants are coming, and that Shinobu clone as well. Akamatsu’s greatest hits, but they’re good hits. – Sean Gaffney

Haikyu!, Vol. 5 | By Haruichi Furudate | Viz Media – Well, I was wrong about training harder. They do, but we don’t see it much. Instead, we head right into the big tournament proper, and get the first two matches. The first one is against an old classmate of Sawamura’s, and we see how far along our heroes have come compared to the other teams. There’s a great shot halfway through showing all the losing teams—including the Karasuno Girls’ team, whose captain clearly has a crush on Sawamura, always a danger in a manga with a 99% female fandom. The rest of the book shows their match against the team that beat them last year, though, and they’re still tough as nails. But now we have our short but valiant secret weapon! Very shoneny, in the best way. – Sean Gaffney

Liselotte & Witch’s Forest, Vol. 2 | By Natsuki Takaya | Yen Press – Well, I did ask for more on Liselotte’s past, and I certainly got it. We also get a lot of her channeling her inner Tohru, trying to meet the witches in the forest to assure them that she means them no harm but merely wants to live here in peace and harmony. Of course, that’s easier said than done, especially when an assassin is sent after her, complete with an eyepatch so that you know he’s a true rogue. And we learn a bit more about Engetsu, who is sort of Liselotte’s old dead love Enrich, but also sort of not. How this plays out is anyone’s guess, but it certainly looks pretty, and has some nice cool fighting. I still find it a bit underwhelming, but honestly that’s been true of any non-Furuba Takaya title. – Sean Gaffney

Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic, Vol. 20 | By Shinobu Ohtaka | Viz Media – The most important thing in this volume for me is that Morgiana returns, and she does what we love to see her do best: rescue Alibaba and princess carry him. She seems to be a lot less stoic after her trip of awesome training. The rest of this volume consists of a) lots of battling against the big evil thing of evil, which proves quite difficult to defeat as it is literally made of evil; b) a lot of backstory that shows that Aladdin has a lot more going on than everyone expected, which honestly most readers had guessed; and c) theoretically killing off some characters (I’ll believe it while I see it), while bringing the most obvious one back from the dead right after he’s passed. Fun, but I really want a new arc. – Sean Gaffney

Maid-sama!, Vols. 11-12 | By Hiro Fujiwara | VIZ Media – This is a fairly uneven installment of Maid-sama!, though the one constant throughout is Misaki attempting to come to grips with and then successfully express how she feels about Takumi. First, they go on a double date to the hot springs, and then Takumi’s family drama suddenly ramps up. Next, it abruptly turns back into a comedy as his half-brother has a penchant for making his valet dress up like a ninja as he spies on Takumi. Throughout, there are various assertions that Misaki isn’t good enough for Takumi, with Takumi dissenting, et cetera. And then, at the end, Aoi designs some costumes and briefly stops being a jerk. I don’t know why I kind of expected a volume of Maid-sama! to be uniformly good, but I did. In any case, it’s decent enough and the story is moving along. Sort of. – Michelle Smith

Missions of Love, Vol. 13 | By Ema Toyama | Kodansha Comics – You know how most people were about Black Bird? Or Hot Gimmick? That’s how I’ve come to feel about Missions of Love. Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely love it. I love seeing these damaged, deeply manipulative teens walk all over each other. I love the fact that Yukina is amazed that she might still be ignorant of what love is, despite the entire series being based around that premise. (“Apparently I’m frigid.” made me laugh out loud.) And then there’s Mami and Akira, whose plotline keeps happening just off camera, all the better to keep Yukina guessing. And of course there’s Shigure, who is understandably frustrated at being away from all of this. Good thing she’s dragged to him for the cliffhanger. Read this amazing trash. – Sean Gaffney

One-Punch Man, Vol. 9 | By ONE and Yusuke Marata | Viz Media – The deeper stuff I mentioned last time is continuing, as the villain we met last time decides to go around beating up literally everyone he comes across, and most of the heroes seem to be able to do little to stop him. I’m sure Saitama and Genos will end up in his path eventually, but in the meantime we have Blizzard, a stereotypical yakuza boss who’s also a hero, and decides that Saitama is good enough that she wants him to be part of her hero gang. Naturally, Saitama is unimpressed, and has some nice lectures on what it means to be a hero. Also naturally, most of her bluster is just that—she’s the Tornado of Terror’s little sister, and it weights on her. I love how this series views superheroes. Highly recommended. – Sean Gaffney

Oresama Teacher, Vol. 21 | By Izumi Tsubaki | VIZ Media – For a while there, it looked like we weren’t going to get any follow-up to the “Hayasaka finds Super Bun’s scarf in Mafuyu’s closet” cliffhanger, and so I was doubly disappointed by the boring hometown interlude set during winter break. Happily, once school reconvenes, we learn that Hayasaka has been waiting for the opportunity to ask Mafuyu about it, but just then, a Super Bun impostor is sighted, and the rest of the volume primarily consists of chase scenes. That probably sounds boring, but it’s actually something fun and different. I can’t remember if we’re supposed to recognize the dude who’s behind it all, and I’m sure it’ll end with Hayasaka still not learning the truth, but for now it’s quite enjoyable. – Michelle Smith

Shuriken and Pleats, Vol. 2 | By Matsuri Hino | VIZ Media – Mikage Kirio is attempting to leave her past as a ninja behind and fulfill her late master’s wish for her to lead the life of a normal high school girl. There are a couple of nice moments when she achieves this, reflecting on the warm welcome she receives from her new group of friends, and marveling at their skill in finding the most delicious meat buns in town, but most of the volume is in a hurry to wrap up the not-very-interesting seeds-as-bioweapon plot. It’s not exactly unsuccessful—it all makes sense, at least, which is more than I can say for some series—but it’s terribly rushed. Still, it’s nice to see serious Mikage smiling for once, and overall the series has left a pleasant impression. – Michelle Smith

Toriko, Vol. 36 | By Mitsutoshi Shimabukuro | Viz Media – We wrap up one arc and start another here, so there’s not really a lot of fighting. What there is is backstory and explanations, so many of them in what is almost one big infodump. Some of it is truly interesting—I love the idea of the Earth as a meal that’s almost finished cooking, and it’s nice to see that the chefs are all going to have their own little adventure (led, no doubt, by Komatsu, who apparently awoke his own gourmet cells—he’s come a long way.) But yeah, much of this is setup for the volumes to come, with Sunny griping as always, Coco being the sensible one, and Toriko and Starjun having to work together—something which comes surprisingly easy to them. Solid, but unexceptional. – Sean Gaffney

A Certain Scientific Accelerator, Vol. 4 | By Kazuma Kamachi and Arata Yamachi| Seven Seas – The majority of the fight in this all-fight volume does not actually feature the titular character, and with good reason: Accelerator is just too overpowered for the mid-level evil teen group that’s here. But that’s OK, as we get to see Kato and Estelle put up a really good fight, and, like Aiho in the last book, get to show they’re not there merely to get rescued before, well, they are. And when Accelerator does arrive, we are reminded that a) these really are inexperienced kids, riding high on confidence they don’t really have, and b) Accelerator is TERRIFYING. He’s not a hero, that’s Touma or Mikoto. That said, he can fulfill a hero’s function. Good stuff. – Sean Gaffney

Genshiken: Second Season, Vol. 9 | By Shimoku Kio | Kodansha Comics – I asked last time if Madarame’s harem antics were the main plot of Genshiken now, and it’s clear that yes indeed they are. This is somewhat disappointing to many fans (most fans?), as getting Madarame laid is not really why any of us really read Genshiken—or at least, now that Saki is out of it. Still, Kio tries his best to keep our interest, and there is a nice subplot involving Hato and Yajima’s competing manga, and why Hato is coming up short. It also speaks to the value of constructive criticism. But it is just a subplot—the main plot is things like Sue trying to stop herself blushing and panicking whenever she has to deal with Madarame, or a field trip to Yajima’s house that ends in drunken shenanigans. This is the manga Genshiken is now, and while I enjoyed it I would not blame anyone for dropping it. – Sean Gaffney

Horimiya, Vol. 5 | By Hero and Daisuke Hagiwara | Yen Press – There is a lot less of Hori being a standard angry blushing anime girl here, and it’s all for the better. Indeed, she and Miyamura really are trying to get closer and take the next step in their relationship, but events are conspiring against them. In addition, Miyamura is having to deal with the fact that, having changed his image, he’s now being found attractive by others—much to his chagrin. Slightly less welcome in this mix is Sawada, a girl whose obsession with breaking Hori and Miyamura up turns out to be a different kind of twisted love, but it really didn’t connect with me—I like her better as a lonely girl dealing with the loss of her brother than as the lesbian stalker. A good, solid volume of romantic comedy. – Sean Gaffney

Kiss Him, Not Me!, Vol. 7 | By Junko | Kodansha Comics – This series has always been better when hitting the comedy rather than the romance, in the tradition of The Wallflower, a series it sometimes resembles. And the good news is this is a particularly funny volume, featuring Kae and Shima’s fangirling even managing to come out at shrine remembrances, a haunted island that leads to a lot of wackiness as well as some close calls, and perhaps most importantly, Kae may actually be seeing Igarashi as a man she is attracted to, as opposed to wanting him in BL fantasies. Of course, Nanashima won’t take this lying down, but I suspect he will regret that forced kiss (if he remembers it—the trouble with bad colds). If you like shenanigans, this is a good manga to read. – Sean Gaffney

Kuroko’s Basketball, Vols. 3-4 | By Tadatoshi Fujimaki | Viz Media – This second omnibus takes place during a tournament, and does a very good job of showing how intense and grueling those can be—especially when you move on and have to play another team later in the day. Keeping your energy can be next to impossible, and we see both of our heroes benched at one point, which of course also helps to show off the skills of the rest of the team. (The funniest moment in the volume is seeing how their manager “motivates” Junpei to play well.) The other teams are no slouches, though, in particular Midorima, who seems to be able to sink a basket whenever and wherever he likes. Even he can’t defeat the cliffhanger ending, though. This works well in omnibuses. – Sean Gaffney

Liselotte & Witch’s Forest, Vol. 2 | By Natsuki Takaya | Yen Press – Takaya-sensei herself admits that volume one proceeded at a leisurely pace, but volume two is quite the opposite. While we don’t learn the entire story of what happened to Enrich, we learn the majority of it, and it’s pretty fascinating. I especially loved that, once Engetsu is injured protecting her from an assassin who’s come back to finish the job, Liselotte carries him home herself, all the while castigating herself for all the questions she never asked him, even though whenever she tried he looked so sad that she backed off. I do like awareness of one’s own flaws as a character trait. Ultimately, this is a very satisfying volume that manages to provide some major answers and yet not all of them. Heartily recommended. – Michelle Smith

Log Horizon: The West Wind Brigade, Vol. 4 | By Koyuki and Mamare Touno | Yen Press – First of all, the first 20 pages of this volume were appalling, and I highly recommend skipping them—they’re totally irrelevant to the rest of the book. The rest of the book is pretty solid, continuing to advance the events happening away from Shiro in the first and second book. We see how the food Marielle and company are selling is causing near riots and theft. We see more of the People of the Earth becoming sentient and sympathetic, especially Sara, the West Wind Brigade housekeeper. And we see that Soujiro is simply not suited to some things, as the riot is broken up by Magus, who is using her power now for good rather than evil. Deus ex machina with the appearance potion, though. – Sean Gaffney

Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic, Vol. 20 | By Shinobu Ohtaka | VIZ Media –For a while, this almost feels like a series finale. The villain—a “crystallization of magoi and black rukh” whose origins I didn’t completely understand—is so tough that not even the combined forces of thirteen metal-vessel users, including badasses Sinbad and Koen (and the latter’s siblings, save Hakuryu) can defeat it. It was nice to see Morgiana again, and I also wonder if there was some intentional hinting going on about Sinbad’s future path. Mostly, though, I liked how a certain character’s sacrifice was the key to the good guys winning the day, and the absolutely surprising and lovely outcome of their act. If you like shounen adventure with the capacity to make you verklempt, you should be reading Magi. And yes, I’m talking to you, MJ. – Michelle Smith

So Cute It Hurts!!, Vol. 9 | By Go Ikeyamada | VIZ Media – There is absolutely nothing cute about this volume of manga whatsoever. There is, however, an abundance of dumb. There’s dumb plotting, in which Megumi is convinced Aoi hates her now because she asked about a scar on his shoulder and he ran away, leading to a plot wherein she is kidnapped by a group of random thugs who want to teach some other guy a lesson. But mostly Megumi herself is dumb, and can’t even hide properly from the thugs. Massive eyeroll. In any case, we find out why Aoi wears an eyepatch and, surprise surprise, it’s because his eye is missing. Why else would anyone wear an eye patch for two years?! Anyway, I suspect Megumi will learn about his traumtic injury and accept him anyway (after being dumb, of course) but I think I am well and truly cured of any curiosity I possessed about this series. – Michelle Smith