Michelle Smith

Manga the Week of 7/29

July 23, 2015 by Sean Gaffney, Anna N, Michelle Smith, Ash Brown and MJ Leave a Comment

SEAN: It’s become almost musical, the way manga comes out. Huge week… quiet week. Huge week… quiet week. The occasional 5th week trips up the manga dancer with the brief shift into 5/4 time. How is our quick-quick-slow week?

Dark Horse is doing it again, folks. Here is the first omnibus volume of a seinen manga series called Oh My Goddess!, about a young man who calls the wrong number and gets a goddess as his girlfriend. Perhaps you’ve heard of it when it was released by Dark Horse before. And before that. And before that. And before that. This will have the first three volumes, for those who have been curious but never tried it before. All three of you.

Kodansha has a 49th volume of Fairy Tail, which I’m surprised isn’t getting omnibus volumes as well, frankly.

ANNA: Fairy Tail is not on my radar, but I am stunned it is up to 49 volumes. Wow.

SEAN: There’s also a 2nd volume of A Silent Voice. Volume 1 was excellent writing but very hard to actually read, being filled with realistically flawed and terrible kids (and teachers). Will the second volume give us some glimpses of light amongst the darkness?

ANNA: This sounded a bit too grim for my tastes, which is why I haven’t read the first volume yet.

MICHELLE: Yeah. I am glad something like that exists but I still am in the “I read manga ‘cos it’s fun” camp.

ASH: The first volume was incredibly well done and one of the best things that I’ve read this year, but yeah, not the happiest of stories.

MJ: I suspect I would like this.

SEAN: And a third volume of Yamada-kun and the Seven Witches. Will we actually get witches this time?

ASH: We shall see!

SEAN: Seven Seas has a fourth volume of Magical Girl Apocalypse, for those who thought Madoka Magica wasn’t violent or cynical enough.

Lastly, Vertical is giving readers who missed earlier Chi’s Sweet Home volumes a chance to catch up with an omnibus of the first 3 volumes. As they’ve only released this once before, I’ll give them a pass here.

ANNA: Actually, I have not read Chi’s Sweet Home before, and I know it is both very good and popular, so I might finally check out this series!

MICHELLE: You should!

ASH: You really should! Plus, the omnibus has a larger trim size and some additional content, too.

MJ: Yes, yes!!

SEAN: I can’t tell a waltz from a tango, but can you tell what you’re buying this week?

Manga the Week of 7/22

July 16, 2015 by Sean Gaffney, Ash Brown, Michelle Smith and Anna N Leave a Comment

SEAN: Oooooh man, here we go again. Let’s just buckle down.

We’re aaaaaalmost done with Dark Horse’s release of Gantz, but not quite. Vol. 36.

ASH: So close!

SEAN: Kodansha has a 9th My Little Monster, which hopefully will continue the development the 8th volume had.

MICHELLE: Yay!!!

SEAN: Seven Seas gives us a 5th volume of SF action series Arpeggio of Blue Steel, my favorite of the ‘young girls and military’ licenses.

Viz has another volume of its Monster Perfect Edition, the 5th. Expect happiness and rainbows.

ASH: This is the volume with the epic library scene, isn’t it? And who doesn’t love libraries?

ANNA: Honestly this is the one title this week that I’m happy about, because I do want to tackle reading Monster at some point. Sometime after I read all my stockpiled volumes of 20th Century Boys.

SEAN: And a 5th Resident Evil, with puppies and kittens.

Lastly, Terra Formars 7, with love and peace for all. Please do not try to read all three Viz releases at once this week. You will die.

ASH: That is a distinct possibility.

SEAN: And now Yen. Light novels first. The 4th Accel World should resolve the cliffhanger from the last one. Will Chiyuri be a traitor? I highly doubt it.

The debut this week is the highly anticipated Durarara!!. Yen has had the manga for some time now, but the novels are also excellent.

MICHELLE: Hm! I liked the manga more than I thought I would, but drifted away when the Saika Arc started.

ASH: I really should give at least one of the versions of Durarara!! a try at some point.

SEAN: Log Horizon’s 2nd volume will hopefully give us the hinted plot from Vol. 1 about the twins, if the cover doesn’t lie.

And there’s a 2nd No Game No Life, which I hope will have less naked 11-year-olds and more awesome mind games.

On the manga side, we have the 4th Accel World manga, still not the novel.

A third Akame Ga KILL! will live up to its name, if the previous two are any indicator.

Black Butler hits a new milestone with Vol. 20. It’s sad when a series catches up with Japan, isn’t it?

MICHELLE: I continue to read this, even though I am not madly in love with it.

ANNA: I stopped after the first couple volumes.

SEAN: A Certain Magical Index’s manga will continue to adapt Novel 1 with Vol. 2. Really, we need graphs and charts.

The Devil Is A Part-Timer! joins the growing list of manga adaptations of light novels also coming out, with Vol. 2 of the main manga. Wait till next month, it gets more confusing.

ASH: Heh. That it will.

SEAN: And now we get DRRR’s manga, which has a 3rd volume of the Yellow Scarves arc. At least that novel won’t be out till 2016.

Final Fantasy Type-0 Side Story, Vol. 1: The Ice Reaper is one of those manga whose title pretty much sums it up. I think the Main Story manga came out with the English release of the game.

First Love Monster is another one of those Aria shoujo titles, which means we’ve no idea what we’re going to get. The artist has done some Book Girl manga adaptations.

MICHELLE: It looks sort of kooky, but that might be fun!

ANNA: I will wait to see if Michelle likes it before reading it!

SEAN: Inu x Boku SS has an 8th volume – will it reset again? Or just give us more yokai action?

More manga adaptations of light novels, as we get a 2nd Kagerou Daze, which finishes adapting the first LN and starts the 2nd.

Karneval oddly ended up on the worst manga of the year list at SDCC, though I found the first omnibus more… diffuse than anything else. Vol. 2 will have more focus, maybe?

ASH: More focus would be good.

ANNA: I was curious about the first volume, but now I’m sort of glad I skipped it.

SEAN: Another Puella Magi Madoka Magica spinoff begins, with Homura’s Revenge. Can’t be a depressing manga with a title like that!

Prison School is a much anticipated omnibus that many said was too ecchi to actually get a North American release. But no, here it is. I wonder what it’s about?

ASH: B-but it’s by the creator of Me and the Devil Blues! (I’ll admit, I’m curious about this one.)

So I Can’t Play H! has a 2nd volume, and gloriously no light novel license yet, meaning I only have to worry about this for the moment.

Lastly, we get the final – I checked this time – volume of Soul Eater NOT!, bringing the Soul Eater franchise as a whole to a close.

Is there something in this giant list that catches your eye?

Pick of the Week: Pick of a Future Week?

July 16, 2015 by Michelle Smith, Anna N, Sean Gaffney and Ash Brown 1 Comment

MICHELLE: I’m feeling in the mood for some Takahashi, so I reckon my pick of the week is going to be RIN-NE. That said, my real affection this week is directed towards Udon Entertainment for licensing The Rose of Versailles!

ANNA: I think I’m just going to pick Rose of Versailles every week for the next few months.

SEAN: Sticking with Takahashi, I’m picking the new Ranma 1/2 omnibus, mostly as I love Nabiki Tendo. You may assume I am over the moon about Rose of Versailles as well.

ASH: I am beyond thrilled that Udon was able to license Rose of Versailles, but this week I’ll happily (and appropriately) be distracting myself from the wait for its release with the utterly charming and delightful My Neighbor Seki.

What looks good to you this week (or in future months)?

Bookshelf Briefs 7/9/15

July 9, 2015 by Sean Gaffney, Michelle Smith and Anna N 1 Comment

After a bit of a break, Sean, Michelle, and Anna offer up a hefty serving of briefs, including recent releases from Seven Seas, Viz Media, Yen Press, and Kodansha Comics.

Alice in the Country of Hearts: Junk Box Stories | By QuinRose and Mamenosuke Fujimaru | Seven Seas – In general, the stories done by Fujimaru, the ‘default’ Alice artist, have a higher quality to them than the other spinoffs, even in a grab bag collection of short stories like this. There’s a little bit for everyone here (except Julius, my own favorite – sigh), and if you don’t like the Twins as an Alice pairing – which I don’t – wait 10 minutes and we’ll have moved on. The best story in the collection involves Gray, Nightmare’s right-hand man, attempting to get Alice to realize he likes her despite his maturity and her own self-image issues. I feel like I know Gray better now than I did with the Lizard series. Alice fans who want more content should enjoy this. – Sean Gaffney

Assassination Classroom, Vol. 4 | By Yusei Matsui | Viz Media – To defeat a culture of bullying – and let’s face it, the entire school in Assassination Classroom is based around “Bullying is good for you” – requires that the class develop strong bonds between each other and with their teacher. They need to learn to take pride in themselves – which they do at the end of one arc here, insisting that they won’t let an outsider kill Koro-sensei, they have to be the ones to do it. And of course they gain skills through assassination training, which by its very nature also teaches you about everything under the sun. Even Irina is becoming part of the group. This must be worrying the school principal – the cliffhanger seems to say he’s going to make sure this class Knows Their Place. Fantastic as always. – Sean Gaffney

Blue Exorcist, Vol. 13 | By Kazue Kato | Viz Media – right from the beginning, this manga has reminded us that it’s darker than the usual Jump fare and that people are going to die. Right at the start of this volume we see one of the bad guys, moved by Izumo’s plight, try to help her escape… and she’s horribly murdered for her trouble. Our heroes have arrived at last, but are split up and attacked by ghouls – or is it zombies? Far too many of those coming out from Viz Media this month in any case. And of course there’s Renzo, our double-triple-quadruple agent, who we still aren’t sure about. Killing off Izumo’s familiars is not going to win him friends, though. If there’s one big drawback to this series, it’s that it comes out far too slowly. It should move to Weekly Jump. – Sean Gaffney

Food Wars!, Vol. 6 | By Yuto Tsukuda and Shun Saeki | Viz Media – In case anyone was wondering how Soma got the drive to always succeed that we’ve seen in these first few volumes, we’re introduced to his father, the top chef of his own class (though he never did graduate), who promptly creams Soma in a breakfast competition.. and it’s revealed has creamed Soma almost 500 times over the course of his life. Suddenly a schoolwide curry competition seems less taxing. Even though ‘curry’ is pretty broad a topic. I could have done without another teacher who looks like a teenager but is really far older, but in any case most of this is clearly setup for what’s likely to be an amazing set of cooking shonen drama in the next volume. Yum. – Sean Gaffney

Haganai: I Don’t Have Many Friends, Vol. 11 | By Yomi Hirasaka and Itachi | Seven Seas – She may be very hard to like, but there’s no denying that Yozora remains the most fascinating part of Haganai, and the best reason to keep reading. Most of the Friends Club are at least occasionally making the effort to reach out to each other, but Yozora created this club for her and Kodaka, and is still incredibly resentful that it’s hijacked. She’s also trapped in the past, something Sena rightfully calls her out on here, and later on Kodaka does the same thing. This is a shame, as she’s already shown when she applies herself she can do great things – her play here impresses everyone, even Sena. But of all the cast struggling to move forward, I think Yozora will be the last to do so, and the final part of this still ongoing series. – Sean Gaffney

Kamisama Kiss, Vol. 18 | By Julietta Suzuki | Viz Media – This series is now three times as long as Karakuri Odette – remember that? – and after a long and intense arc in Tomoe’s past, is trying to get back to basics with Nanami dealing with school, and the fact that her grades are absolutely awful. But after all this time, she just can’t quite get away from life-threatening crises, or indeed sacrificing herself in order to save even her enemies, which has always been Nanami’s greatest strength and greatest weakness. And rescuing her friends, even if they’ve been turned into dolphins at the behest of a cruel and noble mermaid. I do wonder if Aimi will remember what happens to her, or if we’ll get a convenient memory erasure soon. In any case, still good. – Sean Gaffney

Love at Fourteen, Vol. 3 | By Fuka Mizutani | Yen Press – The title is important in this series. We’ve gotten so used to shoujo romance involving young teenage students that the fact that the leads are fourteen-year-olds is more likely to have a reader say “Yes, and?”. But they’re all still maturing, and insecure, and at a very impressionable period in their lives. So we see Kanata and Kazuki deal with their first fight, which starts indirectly and continues simply as they misunderstand each other’s absences. We see Nagai, seemingly betrayed by Hinohara, lashing out in pain and regret, even as he tries to protect her from any consequences. As for Hinohara herself, she’s still the one aspect of this manga that makes me worry. We’ll see what happens next time. – Sean Gaffney

Magi, Vol. 12 | By Shinobu Ohtaka | Viz Media – The core trio of Aladdin, Alibaba and Morgiana is fun to watch and heartwarming to see develop, but it’s become increasingly clear that Alibaba relies on it more than the other two. So the latter half of this volume, where both Aladdin and Morgiana realize they need to go on their own journeys in order to become stronger, devastates him. Sadly, his acting like a whiny, pathetic young teenager is also very in character, and I hope that he learns a valuable lesson soon. Elsewhere, Sinbad shows off why he’s not the hero of this tale, as his character development has mostly already happened. He easily takes out the volume’s villain, and his seduction techniques are so good they’re made fun of in the extras. Magi is a ton of fun. – Sean Gaffney

My Little Monster, Vol. 8 | By Robico | Kodansha Comics – This series is an interesting blend of familiar shoujo scenarios—like the start of the gang’s second year bringing with it a quirky new first-year character who immediately falls in love with Haru—and a distinctly different vibe that actually makes it seem possible that the two leads will not actually end up together. Granted, Haru and Shizuku do finally become an official couple in this volume, and there are plenty of sweet, significant moments between them, but there are also some missed connections, and the occasional insight into just how broken Haru is that makes their long-term prognosis as a couple less assured than many others I could name. It was lovely to have a small stockpile of volumes to consume over a weekend, and now I’m kind of bummed that volume nine is a whole cruel month away. – Michelle Smith

My Love Story!!, Vol. 5 | By Kazune Kawahara and Aruko | Viz Media – I hope at some point we get a Suna-centric side story, because in this volume he’s at his watchful and sympathetic best as he observes Saijo developing a crush on Takeo, despite the fact that Takeo and Yamato have such a strong relationship. Saijo eventually confesses her feelings, and Suna helps her deal with the aftermath, as Takeo nicely turns her down and reaffirms his commitment to his girlfriend. Takeo and Yamato also celebrate a birthday and learn some important lessons about matchmaking. This manga continues to be unusual in the refreshing lack of drama in each volume, and the smaller more heartwarming moments that continue to drive the love story forwards. Always a great read. – Anna N

Natsume’s Book of Friends, Vol. 18 | By Yuki Midorikawa | Viz Media – The first story in this volume is cute and fun, and the last one is sweet but melancholy. But it’s the met of this book that most folks will be talking about, as Natori ends up overhearing about the Book of Friends, something that Natsume has been trying to keep a secret from him for a long, long time. Like most subplots in this series, we’re unlikely to see the consequences of this play out immediately. But it continues the motif of Natsume learning to open up and trust people even as the yokai that he deals with every day show the dark side of trusting humans. There’s a very good reasons that yokai and humans are of two worlds, and Natsume’s precarious balance between them is what makes this manga so addictive. – Sean Gaffney

Nurse Hitomi’s Monster Infirmary, Vol. 2 | By Shake-O | Seven Seas – There are some more students with teenage problems introduced here – a winged girl who.hates rules and confinement, a boy who finds growing breasts shows him how women deal with things, and a girl who will eat absolutely anything. But honestly, I suspect most of the audience for this title will only be interested in Kaminaga-sensei, who is the prettiest teacher in school, can control and manipulate her extremely long hair, and is, as one student puts it, “a great big lesbo!” This falls directly in ‘comedy lesbian’ territory, complete with lots of sexual assault of Hitomi, her object of affection. Still, this is a light fluffy comedy series, so that only makes sense. Enjoyable if you don’t take it remotely seriously. – Sean Gaffney

Say I Love You., Vol. 8 | By Kanae Hazuki | Kodansha Comics – After a couple of intensely character-driven volumes—particularly focusing on teen model Megumi—we come to a slightly lighter (though not insignificant) story about a school idol contest that Mei ends up entering in an attempt to prevent anyone else from winning the grand prize of a date with the male winner, who is sure to be Yamato. I suppose it was predictable that Mei would end up surprising the audience with a stunning transformation, but the way the contest ultimately plays out should have some interesting repercussions for Mei and Yamato’s relationship. I also quite like that Mei is definitely thinking about going all the way with Yamato, but doesn’t want to do it for the wrong reasons. I’m starting to believe we’ll actually see them take this next step, which is pretty rare for a high school romance manga. – Michelle Smith

Pick of the Week: Plenty of Shoujo

July 9, 2015 by Sean Gaffney, Michelle Smith, Anna N, Ash Brown and MJ Leave a Comment

SEAN: There’s some nice Viz stuff out this week, both new and old, as well as a few choice titles from other publishers. I suspect the MB team will be warring between What Did You Eat Yesterday? and Sunny. I will be picking My Love Story!!, because it’s still the most adorable shoujo out there.

MICHELLE: Actually, although What Did You Eat Yesterday? was indeed my initial impulse, especially since I won’t be able to pick it again for who knows how long, I’m going to vote for Yukarism because volume two really won me over and I’m excited to check out volume three.

ANNA: There’s a ton of great manga coming out this week. Since Michelle already picked Yukarism, I’m going to swing my vote over to The Demon Prince of Momochi House because I am shallow and enjoy manga about handsome spirits.

ASH: Well, so as not to completely disappoint Sean, I’ll throw my pick to the most recent volume of What Did You Eat Yesterday?. Actually, I was going to pick that anyway. Or, was I?! My Love Story!! is an excellent choice, as is Sunny. It’s a great week for great manga!

MJ: I’m pretty torn here, but I don’t really have anything original so I’ll simply echo Ash’s sentiment! I choose What Did You Eat Yesterday? as my official pick, but that won’t stop me from picking up the rest as well! Sorry, Sunny, for leaving you in the cold. Yoshinaga always wins.

What looks good to you this week?

Manga the Week of 7/15

July 8, 2015 by Sean Gaffney, Michelle Smith, Ash Brown, MJ and Anna N Leave a Comment

SEAN: Mid-July is a good-sized week, but not completely overwhelming like the first/third weeks tend to be. Let’s see what’s happening.

Dark Horse has the second volume of Oreimo spinoff Kuroneko, marketed to the six remaining Oreimo fans who didn’t scream in anger at the end of the main series.

Kokoro Connect has proven to be a fast favorite of mine, and so I am very happy to see the fourth volume from Seven Seas.

Magika Swordsman and Summoner is the new series debut of the week. It’s fantasy, it has a magical school, our hero is bullied by the students for his status, he amasses a crew of girls who like him, *and* it runs in Comic Alive. If ever a series screamed “License me, Seven Seas!”, this is it. And so they did.

The Sacred Blacksmith also has a new volume, its eighth.

For BL fans, there is the second volume of Love Stage!! from SubLime.

MICHELLE: I wasn’t entirely sold on volume one, but I’m at least willing to check out the second.

ASH: I actually still need to read the first volume…

MJ: Same here.

SEAN: And also a 2nd volume of The World’s Greatest First Love.

I’m loving Vertical’s My Neighbor Seki as much as I thought I would, and the arrival of a third volume fills me with glee.

ASH: My Neighbor Seki is an incredibly delightful series!

ANNA: I haven’t read this yet and I feel guilty.

MJ: I second the glee!

SEAN: The rest is Viz. I believe that Vol. 17 is the final volume of 07-GHOST, though Anna can likely confirm that. Bye, 07-GHOST! You were a good license rescue that I fell so far behind on I may never catch up.

MICHELLE: I still intend to read it, one of these days!

ANNA: I also have not caught up on this series and feel even more guilty, because I liked the first few volumes.

SEAN: Case Closed has Vol. 55, which is not the final volume, or even close to the final volume. It’s a long series is what I’m saying.

The 9th Ranma 1/2 omnibus has one of my favorite arcs of the series, where Akane gets so mad she declares that Nabiki can be Ranma’s fiancee instead, and the fallout that happens is magical. Oh, and we’ll also meet Pantyhose Taro, who… I will not spoil.

There is an 18th volume of RIN-NE, where the plot finally comes into focus and nothing will be the same anymore… OK, I can’t even type that with a straight face.

MICHELLE: I still like RIN-NE, though, particularly when I’m in the mood for something not mentally challenging.

SEAN: Lastly, a 7th volume of superhero manga with BL tease Tiger & Bunny.

Is there a favorite here for you?

Manga the Week of 7/8

July 2, 2015 by Sean Gaffney, Ash Brown, Michelle Smith, MJ and Anna N 5 Comments

SEAN: It’s a new fiscal year, and that brings a new pile of books, mostly from Viz. What have we got?

DMP print release dates give me a migraine. Twittering Birds Never Fly 2? I guess?

ASH: I can never tell when something will actually be released by DMP anymore.

MICHELLE: Me, neither. I’ll perk up when Itazura Na Kiss 11 gets here.

SEAN: Kodansha gives us a 5th volume of Ken Akamatsu’s immortals fighting each other manga UQ Holder.

Seven Seas has a trio of books. The second volume of 12 Beast is minimally interesting to me, but may interest those who like fantasy and harems.

ASH: It should at least hopefully be a hit with the Monster Musume crowd.

SEAN: Oddball slice-of-fantasy-life manga A Centaur’s Life is up to Volume 6.

Pandora in the Crimson Shell combines one of my favorite authors with one of my favorite artists, but I have heard the result is… well. We shall see. I expect I will not love this as much as Excel Saga.

MJ: I dunno, the title just makes me feel like I should be reading something by Jun Mochizuki.

SEAN: The ninth volume of What Did You Eat Yesterday? will, I suspect, have far less fanservice than Pandora in the Crimson Shell, unless you count food as fanservice.

ASH: The food definitely counts as fanservice.

MICHELLE: Oh, I had forgotten this was coming out so soon! Yay!

ANNA: Woo hoo!

MJ: This, this, this this, THIS.

SEAN: The rest is Viz, starting with Vol. 64 of Bleach. Bleach has gone from one of the big 3 shonen series to a series where even fans are screaming “Just die already!”, but it seems to still sell well.

ANNA: That is certainly many, many volumes. I did enjoy the first 13 volumes of Bleach.

MJ: Every once in a while I think it might be fun to check out what’s happening in Bleach these days. And then I don’t.

SEAN: So well that we are getting another giant Bleach box set, with Vol. 22 through Vol. 48. Use it as a very short pole vault!

D.Gray-Man has its 7th 3-in-1 omnibus as well.

As if two series weren’t enough, there’s more Aya Shouoto starting next week, with The Demon Prince of Momochi House. Like Kiss of the Rose Princess, this ran in Kadokawa’s Asuka magazine.

ASH: The cover is pretty, and there are yokai!

MICHELLE: That looks like Tomoe from Kamisama Kiss!

ANNA: Is there a shoujo series featuring yokai? SIGN ME UP!

MJ: Okay, yes.

SEAN: And Kiss of the Rose Princess is exactly like Kiss of the Rose Princess, unsurprisingly. Here’s the 5th volume.

ANNA: I like it. I will not claim it is profound, but it is a good manga to read when I do not feel like thinking very hard.

SEAN: My Love Story!! has shot up in popularity thanks to its anime, and the 5th volume hopefully translates into even more manga sales.

ASH: It wasn’t popular before?! It should be. Still loving this series.

MICHELLE: Yay, again! I had no idea there was an anime.

ANNA: Such a great series! I hope the anime inspires more people to check out the manga.

MJ: Same here!

SEAN: Naruto also has a giant box out next week, with Vol. 28-48.

Nisekoi, one of my favorite modern harem comedies, hits double digits.

And with the 11th 3-in-1 of Skip Beat!, I think we’ve caught up with the single volumes.

MICHELLE: Just about. Volume 34 came out in April.

SEAN: We’ve just heard that Sunny will be ending in Japan soon, but in the meantime, enjoy its 5th volume. (Lotta 5th volumes next week.)

ASH: Viz has been doing a really lovely job with this series.

MICHELLE: I need to get caught up on Sunny.

ANNA: I’m glad VIz still breaks out the impressive packaging and design for series like this that totally deserve it.

MJ: This is such a beautiful series.

SEAN: Twin Star Exorcists is the newest Jump Square series, from the author of popular yet unlicensed Binbougami-ga!. I’ll let you guess what it’s about.

World Trigger is up to Volume 6, meaning it’s passed the 2-3 volume ‘culling’ stage of many Jump series.

Lastly, get in touch with your past life with the 3rd Yukarism.

MICHELLE: Yay, yet again. I wasn’t sold on this series after the first volume, but enjoyed the second a great deal.

ANNA: I like anything by Chika Shiomi and this series is no exception.

MJ: I’m with Anna here.

SEAN: Do you have manga for your summer vacation?

Manga the Week of 7/1

June 26, 2015 by Sean Gaffney, Ash Brown, Michelle Smith, Anna N and MJ Leave a Comment

SEAN: Since next week is a light week (despite being July 1st, it doesn’t count as a first week of July), I thought I’d do the manga in reverse order. And hey, coincidentally, that makes the image line up properly, too! Funny, that.

So we start with Vertical, who have the 5th volume of fanservice and ladies being awesome fantasy Witchcraft Works.

ASH: I’m a bit behind in this series, but I did enjoy the first few volumes.

SEAN: Seven Seas finally have a 7th volume of Toradora! for us (blame Japan, the series comes out very slowly over there), which resolves the horrible cliffhanger from… February 2014. Ah, the joys of monthly series that are caught up. I’ve reviewed it here.

The Seven Seas debut this week is Non Non Biyori, a sweet city-girl meets countryside story that I’ve heard described as Higurashi without all the murder and conspiracy, and seemingly light on fanservice. I’m looking forward to this a great deal.

MICHELLE: Hmm.

ASH: I know quite a few people looking forward to this manga.

ANNA: I don’t know. I will wait and see what the early reviewers say about this one.

MJ: Also “Hmm.”

SEAN: And there can’t be a month going by without an Alice in the Country of Hearts, this one a short story collection called Junk Box.

ANNA: I really liked the first Alice series and have just resigned myself to the fact that the spin-offs are not going to be as good as the main series.

SEAN: Attack on Titan is such a big seller for Kodansha that even the non-fiction books are getting licensed (almost unheard of after a few character guides bombed over here). This one is The Science of Attack on Titan. The author apparently specializes in looking at fantasy worlds and figuring out how they would work. Also, vampi—I mean, Titans!

ASH: Attack on Titan is the only series that has been able to convince Kodansha to break its “manga only” rule.

SEAN: And we have the third and final volume of Maria the Virgin Witch. There’s a one-shot collection of side stories in Japan, but I’m not sure Kodansha has picked that up.

ASH: Kodansha has! Exhibition is currently scheduled to be released in August.

SEAN: Finally, there’s the 9th Lone Wolf & Cub omnibus from Dark Horse, who curse the fact that I’m not starting with them as always.

Did reversing this make something stand out more for you?

MICHELLE: Alas, no. Just one thing to anticipate your review of!

ASH: Reversing the order made me realize that there was an actual order…

ANNA: I’m happy that this week is so light, because maybe I can catch up on my stacks and stacks of unread manga.

MJ: I can do nothing but be miffed on Lone Wolf and Cub’s behalf.

Pick of the Week: Vampires, Corpses, Gundam oh my!

June 23, 2015 by Anna N, Sean Gaffney, Ash Brown and Michelle Smith 1 Comment

SEAN: There’s so much coming out this week that I’m sure I won’t be able to easily choose what I’ll be… yeah, OK, it’s Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service. I hate being predictable, but come on, of COURSE it is.

MICHELLE: Aya Shouoto’s He’s My Only Vampire was a pleasant surprise for me, as it’s quite a lot better than her other title currently being released (Kiss of the Rose Princess). I look forward to seeing what volume three brings.

ASH: Hmmm, there really are quite a few manga that I’m interested in that are being released this week, but I’m with Sean in picking Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service. It’s a great series, and who knows when we’ll actually be able to pick it again?

ANNA: I feel like any appearance of Gundam: The Origin deserves a celebration, so that is my pick!

Which manga featuring Char Aznable is your favorite for the week?

Manga the Week of 6/24

June 18, 2015 by Sean Gaffney, Ash Brown, Michelle Smith, MJ and Anna N 2 Comments

SEAN: The end of the month always brings a deluge from Yen, and if you add on the other publishers doing stuff it can get rather expensive. Let’s see what might be worth your hard-earned cash.

Ze, from 801 Media, has finally hit Volume 10, despite a particularly irregular release schedule.

ASH: I just recently caught up with Ze and am ready for more, even if some of the characters are jerks.

MICHELLE: I read the first few volumes of Ze and then drifted away when there was a lull between volumes. I seem to recall some plot I wasn’t wild about, also, but the details escape me now.

MJ: I *do* remember pretty clearly why I drifted away from Ze, but I’m fairly impressed that it has gone on this long. Long BL series seem so rare.

SEAN: If it seems like it’s been forever since the last Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service, that’s because it has been – Vol. 13 was out in December 2012. But things are looking up, as not only do we get Vol. 14 next week, but there’s an omnibus re-release in the fall.

ASH: They may not come out very frequently, but I’m always glad to see another volume of this series.

MICHELLE: Oh, that’s a pleasant surprise!

SEAN: Let’s Dance a Waltz hit all the right buttons except one – but it was a big wrong button. Now that our heroine has magically lost weight and become cute through the power of dance, can Vol. 2 hold on to an audience that all groaned when that happened?

MICHELLE: I am avoiding this one just on general principle. It makes me really wish The Stellar Six of Gingacho could’ve continued, because I ended up buying the final volume in Japanese and let’s just say this particular trope is avoided quite satisfactorily.

MJ: Ugh, ugh, ugh, ugh. Ugh. Also, ugh.

ANNA: The Stellar Six of Gingacho was really good!

SEAN: Noragami is a series that just didn’t catch on with me, but others from the Manga Bookshelf team can tell you about its 5th volume.

Your Lie in April’s first volume didn’t completely wow me, but had a lot of promise. Vol. 2 should build on that.

ASH: Music manga! I’m looking forward to reading more.

MICHELLE: As a pianist, I should want to read this but somehow I feel kind of “meh” about it.

MJ: I’m behind, here, but still interested!

SEAN: Seven Seas debuts a new manwha with an omnibus of Freezing 1 and 2. This has been highly anticipated by many readers, despite not having any monster girls that I know of. The blurb calls it “Ultra violent and sexy”, so the usual Seven Seas warnings apply.

No monster girls is not a problem with the 2nd volume of goofy comedy Nurse Hitomi’s Monster Infirmary.

Vertical has the 10th volume of mechstravaganza Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin. (I give permission for Vertical to use ‘mechstravaganza’ in their blurbs, if they’d like.)

ASH: Still one of the best looking manga being released in English right now.

SEAN: Given the huge popularity of Sword Art Online, and the slightly less huge but still pretty good popularity of Accel World, Yen On licensing a new Reki Kawahara novel series seems obvious. This one’s even in hardcover, so is getting the deluxe treatment. It’s called The Isolator, and seems a bit more sci-fi/aliens than his other series.

Pandora Hearts has some light novels as well, and we get the first in the Caucus Race series next week. MJ?

MJ: Honestly, I had no idea about these! Well, count me in!

SEAN: As for Sword Art Online itself, Vol. 2 of the Progressive novel series takes us into uncharted waters: this hasn’t been adapted in anime or manga form yet. It apparently has elves!

On Yen Press’s manga front, we have the first volume of Alice in Murderland. Given it’s Kaori Yuki, I’m sure the pile of corpses that will no doubt stack up as the series goes on will be exquisite.

ANNA: This title sounds amusing.

SEAN: And continuing with Alices, Are You Alice? has hit nine volumes and still doesn’t know.

Barakamon has its 5th volume of small town life and occasional calligraphy.

ASH: Barakamon has really started to grow on me.

SEAN: Bloody Cross just announced it’s ending in Japan, but I think we still have a few volumes to go here. This is the 7th.

From the author of Scrapped Princess comes another kind, Chaika the Coffin Princess, a fantasy series about a young girl who carries a coffin on her back. No relation to Shoulder-a-Coffin Kuro, though one has to be side-eyeing Yen a bit here.

A double shot of Kaoru Yuki this month, with the 3rd Demon from Afar.

And a 3rd He’s My Only Vampire, a series I’ve become quite fond of.

MICHELLE: I’ll be reading this one.

MJ: Same.

SEAN: Love at Fourteen’s third volume will have adorable and heartwarming 14-year-old romance, I imagine.

ASH: I was a little surprised by how much I enjoyed the first two volumes. Definitely plan on reading more.

MICHELLE: And this one, too!

MJ: I really enjoy this series, so I’m definitely on board here!

SEAN: Secret has a 2nd volume, no doubt filled with survival games and animal masks. I wish the artist would go back to drawing Higurashi spinoffs, honestly.

Lastly, there’s a long-awaited 2nd volume of Void’s Enigmatic Mansion, which will hopefully become a bit more opaque this time around.

Are you feeling excited? Or merely buried in stuff?

Pick of the Week: Later than ever

June 17, 2015 by Michelle Smith, Sean Gaffney, Ash Brown and MJ Leave a Comment

MICHELLE: I really am gonna do it! I really am gonna read the first two volumes of Master Keaton daringly followed by the third, which is my pick of the week!

MJ: And I’m gonna stick by my boy Syoaoran and recommend that xxxHolic omnibus! So. Yeah. Take that, Sean. Or something like that.

SEAN: I should pick Fragments of Horror, really, but I suspect I like the idea of it more than the actual book, as I like my horror more manageable. So I’ll pick the 11th Haganai: I Don’t Have Many Friends, as they need all the friends they can get.

ASH: That’s okay, Sean, I’ve got Fragments of Horror covered. I’m very glad to see more of Ito’s work being translated into English. I have no idea if this collection of short manga will live up to his masterpiece Uzumaki (which I think is one of the best horror comics out there) but I’m definitely willing to find out.

What looks good to you this week?

Manga the Week of 6/17

June 12, 2015 by Sean Gaffney, Michelle Smith, Ash Brown, Anna N and MJ 1 Comment

SEAN: A second small week in a row! This is getting creepy. Where’s that manga boom?

Fans of Eden: It’s an Endless World will be more disappointed than ever see see that a new manga called Eden is not what they think. Fans of Gen Manga’s alternative stuff, though, will be delighted with Eden Vol. 1.

xxxHOLIC Omnibus 6 is a bit smaller than previous ones, as they had 4 volumes to go so had to divide it 2 and 2. Also, we’re at peak Syaoran levels. This is not a drill. Please protect yourself from further Syoaoran outbreaks.

MICHELLE: *snerk* Someday I really will finish this series and Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle.

ASH: And thanks to the omnibuses, you can! (I’m on the same reading program)

ANNA: I enjoy Clamp, but I gave up on xxxHOLIC and Tsubasa. Also I am still bitter that X/1999 is unfinished.

MJ: Sean, you hurt me. Also. You people. What.

SEAN: Not only does the cast of Haganai still not have many friends as of Vol. 11, but the cover shows that Yozora is looking more sullen than ever.

And Servamp’s protagonist is probably looking sleepy in this 2nd volume, if Vol. 1 was any indication.

Viz has Dogs reaching double-digits with Vol. 10. Man, remember when this was the new Black Lagoon, as opposed to Gangsta? Also, is it me or is this out before its traditional one-per-year release?

MICHELLE: I think it is.

ANNA: Just wanted to mention how much I like Gangsta!

SEAN: Junji Ito time, with Fragments of Horror, a short story collection that will no doubt scare the bejabbers out of everyone. It’s in hardcover, too.

ASH: Very much looking forward to seeing more of Junji Ito’s work in English!

SEAN: Master Keaton’s 3rd volume will continue to show why Keaton is a brilliant investigator and a less-than-brilliant husband and father.

MICHELLE: I am terrible because I haven’t managed to find time to read 1-2 yet!

ANNA: I agree that you are being terrible to yourself for not reading these books already!

SEAN: Lastly, there is the much anticipated Tokyo Ghoul, which seems to be making fans of the anime very happy, but is not as pleasing to the manga blogger crowd. We shall see.

ANNA: I am going to check this out.

MJ: What she said.

SEAN: Are you getting something, or saving your money for the following week’s deluge of Yen?

Bookshelf Briefs 6/9/15

June 9, 2015 by Michelle Smith, Sean Gaffney and Anna N Leave a Comment

This week, Michelle, Sean, & Anna look at recent releases from Seven Seas and Viz Media.

D-Frag!, Vol. 5 | By Tomoya Haruno | Seven Seas – I must admit we got off to a slow start with this volume, as the lunchbox plot was dull, and yet another Momotaro parody never took off. But once we introduced our new adversary, Tama, D-Frag! goes back to doing what it does best – humiliating its entire cast for the sake of comedy, while at the same time allowing them to be completely awesome. Tama fits right into the manga, and shows off a surprising childhood side of the seemingly indomitable Chitose (and Roka being an adorable yet incredibly weird baby). Actually, it’s Sakura who now gets the role of the indomitable fighter. Add in a few jokes about Takao’s chest (because without those, how would you know you were reading D-Frag!?), and it adds up to a strong finish. – Sean Gaffney

Food Wars!: Shokugeki no Soma, Vol. 6 | By Yuto Tsukuda and Shun Saeki | Viz Media – It’s time for a new arc, and Totsuki Institute’s Fall Classic, a “grand stage for fierce cooking battles,” seems poised to offer some tremendous shounen tournament fun featuring quite a few new characters. Before it kicks off, though, Soma’s dad stops by to encourage his son by trouncing him in an invigorating breakfast challenge (it’s nice to see Soma lose for a change!) and Soma realizes his scent-fu is not up to par when confronted with a master of spices. I’d forgotten how much this series reminds me of The Prince of Tennis, but volume six evoked those feels once again. It also, alas, evoked some ews with ickier-than-usual fanservice, though even Soma had his clothes blown off by some potent curry, so I guess that evens things out a bit. The volume ends just as the classic begins, so I am definitely looking forward to volume seven! – Michelle Smith

Girls Und Panzer, Vol. 4 | By Girls Und Panzer Projekt and Ryohichi Saitaniya | Seven Seas – This is a franchise, of course, and most of those who are buying the manga will already be familiar with the anime, which ends in the same way. (I imagine the light novel, which focuses on Saori, ends the same – don’t expect it licensed anytime soon.) So the manga, unlikely to show off more thrilling action scenes (though they are done very well indeed) shows us instead more of its focus character, Yukari, and her love of tankery. It can sometimes feel a bit odd – the emotional core of the story is Niho’s, and seeing it viewed through Yukari’s prism feels off. But overall, I think this was an excellent adaptation, and I’m surprised I enjoyed it as much as I did. Sweet and fun. – Sean Gaffney

Kamisama Kiss, Vol. 18 | By Julietta Suzuki | Viz Media – It almost felt like this series could end at the conclusion of the time-traveling arc, what with Nanami and Tomoe officially becoming a couple, but I’m glad it didn’t. It’s actually refreshing for her to get back to her old life, studying for finals so that she can go on the class trip to Okinawa. While I don’t love that Nanami is another in the long line of scholastically challenged shoujo heroines, I did like her being motivated by Tomoe’s resolve to absorb human knowledge, since he intends to be a more permanent part of her world. Too, the class trip brings greater definition to Nanami’s closest school friends and affords Nanami the opportunity to be very brave in attempting to save one of them from an aggrieved yokai. I admit to being a little lost about this whole Kirihito storyline, but was nonetheless thoroughly entertained. – Michelle Smith

Kimi ni Todoke: From Me to You, Vol. 21 | By Karuho Shiina | Viz Media – Sometimes, narratives I am consuming for entertainment purposes portray the agonies of youth so acutely that said consumption becomes a bit stressful. Such is the case with Kimi ni Todoke’s 21st volume, in which the cast enters their final year of high school and must decide what to do about their futures. I absolutely love that Sawako is nudged into pursuing her own goals more aggressively—it’s great to see her feeling energized about something—and the idea of Ayane going off alone to see new things and become the confident person she knows she isn’t, even though others think differently, is great. (We can has spinoff?!) But there are some hints that at least one relationship might end (and if it doesn’t, that’s probably worse) and many exciting yet bittersweet days are to come. It’s great, but it hurts. It’s great because it hurts. – Michelle Smith

Seraph of the End: Vampire Reign, Vol. 5 | By Takaya Kagami and Yamato Yamamoto – I continue to enjoy the worldbuilding in this manga. The past two volumes were mostly concerned with training and fighting, so I was interested to see some of the backstory of the Japanese Imperial Demon Army get filled in when Yuichiro is called before some members of the high-ranking Hiragi family and subjected to an interrogation. The leader learns why Shinoa is disaffected from her family and also why despite his rank, Gurren is a target of suspicion. Yuichiro is determined to master his demonic weapons, hold on to his new found family, and try to turn his long-lost friend Mika into a human again. We’ll see if he can pull that off in the next few volumes. Seraph of the End is still an engaging series five volumes in. – Anna N

Pick of the Week: Short stack

June 9, 2015 by Sean Gaffney, Michelle Smith, Ash Brown and MJ 1 Comment

SEAN: It’s a quiet week all around, with lots of continuing series. I’ll give a pick to one that’s ending, the 4th and final volume of Girls Und Panzer. I had originally thought this to be along the lines of Strike Witches, but to my surprise it’s a sweet and heartwarming school comedy, which just happens to have a completely ludicrous premise. Add in a final volume that includes a very well-drawn and understandable tank battle over multiple terrains, and I will admit that my maiden’s trembling heart was moved.

MICHELLE: I must choose between two frontrunners this week, and since I’ve picked Magi fairly recently, I think I’ll go with Say I Love You. this time. I’m a few volumes behind, but I look forward to picking up volume eight and getting caught up!

ASH: I think I’m going to have to go with Say I Love You, too. It’s been such a consistently good series.

MJ: I’m pretty much at a loss this week, so I’ll go off-list and mention that the KAIJU’s short comic Ring of Saturn just recently became available in paperback from the Sparkler Monthly shop! I reviewed Ring of Saturn back in January, when it was still an ebook only, and found a lot to love. Now all you old-school paper books folk can discover it too! PS: There’s a deleted scene from volume three of Off*Beat in the latest issue of Sparkler Monthly, and it’s pretty freaking adorable. You want it, Off*Beat fans. Trust me.

What looks good to you this week?

Manga the Week of 6/10

June 5, 2015 by Sean Gaffney, Michelle Smith, Ash Brown, Anna N and MJ Leave a Comment

SEAN: Thank you for all those who bought manga to bring rain to the Northeast. You can stop now (keep buying manga, I just mean no more flash flood warnings). Meanwhile, what have we in this small week?

Kodansha gives us an 8th volume of shosei (I just coined it, whaddya think?) romance Say “I Love You”.

MICHELLE: Yay!

ASH: Shosei. I like it.

ANNA: I’m behind on this series, but I do enjoy it!

SEAN: Something that could not remotely be mistaken for an angsty teen romance is the 5th volume of D-Frag! from Seven Seas. Betcha it’ll be funnier, though.

Barring any further spinoff licensing (unlikely, I suspect), we also get the 4th and final volume of sweeter than I expected tank manga Girls Und Panzer.

Sublime is still Starting with a Kiss, but it’s Vol. 3, so perhaps they’ve gone further.

ASH: Perhaps, perhaps…

SEAN: (Amazon lists The World’s Greatest First Love 2 as well, but I understand from a Viz press release that this has been delayed to late July.)

Viz proper, meanwhile, has the 22nd Arata the Legend volume. Man. So many more volumes than Fushigi Yuugi.

MICHELLE: Yeah, that is really hard to believe. I like Arata, but it’ll never approach Fushigi Yuugi‘s iconic status.

ANNA: I feel bad constantly comparing Arata to Fushigi Yuugi, but I can’t help it.

SEAN: And a 9th volume of slice-of-life prison comedy Deadman Wonderland. (Spoiler: it is not a slice-of-life prison comedy).

MICHELLE: Heh.

MJ: Wow, I have fallen behind!

SEAN: Lastly, Magi hits a dozen volumes. And hasn’t slowed down its release schedule, a major accomplishment for Shonen Sunday titles.

MICHELLE: Yay, Magi! This one is already in my Amazon cart!

ANNA: Nice! I enjoyed the first few volumes of this series a bunch.

SEAN: Do you have a favorite here?