Manga Bookshelf

Discussion, Resources, Roundtables, & Reviews

Sean Gaffney

My Dress-Up Darling, Vol. 1

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y Shinichi Fukuda. Released in Japan by Square Enix, serialization ongoing in the magazine Young Gangan. Released in North America by Square Enix Manga. Translated by Taylor Engel.

Despite the tendency of modern-day folks to say that it’s OK to be introverted and that not everyone needs to be brought out of their shell, there’s no denying that the number of works dedicated to that continue to proliferate. In manga, who the introvert is depends very much on who the series is meant for: in shoujo works, it’s a shy young girl who runs into a brash and outgoing young man, and in shonen or seinen works, it’s the opposite. Since this runs in Young Gangan, you can guess what we have here. That said, as I have always said, just because a story is familiar does not make it bad. Both leads are quite likeable and the whole thing put a smile on my face – despite the M rating (mostly due to frank discussion of a game), so far it’s pretty wholesome, and its premise of “don’t be ashamed of your hobbies even if they are seen as girly” is a good one. Plus that cover is fab.

Our hero is Gojo, a young man who has a deep and abiding love of Hina dolls – those little dolls with the fancy head and hairpeieces – but alas, a childhood friend said that this was a girly hobby and she hates him now, and this led him to lose all confidence and become a shy loner who is constantly doubting himself. Into his life one day comes Kitagawa, a popular “gal’ in his class who has no trouble both saying what’s on her mind and also admitting to hobbies that might be seen as uncool. When she finds Gojo working on a sewing machine one day, and realizes he can make clothes, she asks him to help her cosplay, something she’s been trying but failing to do as she can’t sew at all. There is, perhaps, one catch – she wants to cosplay a character from an ero-game – again, something she’s not shy in saying.

As I said, this title is rated M. Though there are fanservicey shots of Kitagawa in her underwear – indeed, it’s on the first color page – the relationship between her and Gojo is pretty PG so far – she tries to tease him a few times, but is also starting to like him in a way that makes her shy off of that. The M rating comes from the game she loves, “Saint♥Slippery Academy for Girls–The Young Ladies of the Humiliation Club: Debauched Miracle Life 2”. It’s a title that you know a company like MangaGamer would snap up in real life, and, like a lot of these sorts of games, balances out the sex scenes with emotional moments of “love” – dubious though it may sound. Kitagawa talks about this a LOT, and as Gojo plays it and they discuss it, sometimes there are misunderstandings.

That said, the main reason to get this title is the main couple – they’re really cute, bond immediately, and I want to see them open up to each other more. (I do also wonder if the series will earn its rating more in future volumes.) I definitely recommend it for those who like comedic romance with a touch of spice – well, OK, given the game Kitagawa is a fan of, a touch of sleaze.

Ascendance of a Bookworm: I’ll Do Anything to Become a Librarian!, Part 2: Apprentice Shrine Maiden, Vol. 3

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By Miya Kazuki and You Shiina. Released in Japan as “Honzuki no Gekokujou: Shisho ni Naru Tame ni wa Shudan wo Erandeiraremasen” by TO Books. Released in North America digitally by J-Novel Club. Translated by quof.

A very telling quote comes about a quarter of a way into this volume of Bookworm, with the High Priest and Benno meeting to talk about Myne. “We must think of a plan at once. Benno, what means are there to control this thing?” The “thing” is Myne, and it seems very rude, but to the regular citizens of this world, it’s absolutely true, especially in this volume, as Myne is about to invent movable type and the printing press. In previous volumes we’d seen Myne come up with ridiculous ideas, but they were ideas – even the paper – which could still reasonably fit into a very class-based world and not create too much of a fuss. This is a very different story – nothing will ever be the same again. If you add that to the ridiculous amount of mana she has, it means that Myne is not so much a young girl as a nuclear weapon. Sadly, this means she may lose her family.

This is the third of a four-volume arc. The first arc was “Daughter of a Soldier”, and this one is “Apprentice Shrine Maiden”. Glancing at the subtitle of the next arc shows that Myne will be moving up in the world once again. It’s a horrible decision for her, as she loves her family, and they love her. Notably, the High Priest is not compromising one bit at this point – there’s no “oh, but you can still see your old family” here, mostly as if Myne is a noble, she’ll be nowhere near her old life. The book also hammers home why this is important. We see suspicious guild leaders trying to kidnap her, suspicious nobles trying to kidnap her, and the cliffhanger shows another evil noble on the way – one who likes small children, which is very disturbing given that this world shows off how young girls can “move up in the world” mostly by becoming concubines. Myne can’t simply walk around town coming up with cool new ideas anymore.

The book is well-written as always, and very long, also as always. The main new character we meet is Sylvester, another noble who, as Myne describes him, is an adult with the mind of a 6-year-old boy. There’s clearly more to him than that, but she’s also not wrong, and I admit that I found him to be more obnoxious than anything else. Fortunately, the noble who’s supposed to adopt her looks a lot more reasonable. Myne also gets a permanent bodyguard, one of the two knights who were “protecting” her in the past book. He’s a bit of a schmuck, to be honest, though he’s nice at heart. And, as noted above, Myne has her movable type thanks to a craftsman who loves working with small, detailed pieces. Now Myne is sponsoring him, something he’s rapidly coming to regret, as it’s hard to deal with Hurricane Myne. Oh yes, and new baby! Myne gets to be a big sister… if only briefly.

Supposedly Myne has until she’s ten years old until she’s to be adopted. That said, the cliffhanger implies not only bad things for Delia (who I worry about even though she’s a spy), and I suspect that that timeline may be moved up. Till then, this remains one of the most addicting light novels around. Watch the anime as well!

Pick of the Week: Wave That Flag

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KATE: While I can’t speak for everyone, I think it’s a safe bet that every member of the MB Battle Robot will be buying the first volume of Blue Flag, as it’s the kind of manga all of us like: a juicy, character-driven drama with crisp artwork. So my pick is Blue Flag. I dare the rest of the crew to prove me wrong!

MICHELLE: I’ve tried not to learn too much about Blue Flag to avoid spoilers but everything I have heard sounds fantastic, so I am enthusiastically waving its banner this week.

SEAN: Blue Flag, smilin’ at me, nothing but Blue Flag do I see…

ANNA: What is this I hear about Blue Flag???

ASH: I think a few of us (myself included) are excited for its release! Blue Flag is my pick, most certainly!

MJ: There’s a title coming to me… what is it? Something like Blue Flag, whatever that means. Yes, Blue Flag.

Yona of the Dawn, Vol. 23

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By Mizuho Kusanagi. Released in Japan as “Akatsuki no Yona” by Hakusensha, serialization ongoing in the magazine Hana to Yume. Released in North America by Viz Media. Translated by JN Productions, Adapted by Ysabet Reinhardt MacFarlane.

After escaping from the burning building, complete with another round of “Jesus Christ, Zeno, MUST YOU?” self-sacrifice, our heroes are ready to deal with the plot. Unfortunately, the plot is forcing them to do something that’s been a long time coming. For most of the beginning and middle of this series, the goal has been to hide Yona’s identity and have her and the others function as a rogue band of do-gooders while also learning more about the country where her father was (a pretty crappy) king. But sometimes things can’t be solved by anonymous bandits, and here Yona is forced to not only reveal who she actually is, but goes off to negotiate with Su-Won as herself, something that I’m sure will go well and not be a disaster at all. Unfortunately, we have to wait till Vol. 24 for the fallout. Again, though, Yona’s “beacon of hope shining in the darkness” personality trumps all subterfuge. Well, that and the fact that 3/4 of the cast are hostages.

We also meet Princess Kouren, Tao’s older sister, in the best possible way – Yona shoots down a bird that lands directly on her face. I expect we will get more from her in the next volume, but it’s worth noting that Tao here is allowed to have the longer view of trying to save more lives of her kingdom’s people (and it’s shown here that they’re really trying to conscript EVERYONE into the army here) because she has not been traumatized by the violence of the kingdom’s enemies. If you see all of your friends brutally murdered in front of your eyes, it is absolutely valid that you are not going to want to simply barter a peace treaty with those who did it. That said, I worry that she may end up needing to be killed by the plot in order to posthumously learn to let go. Let’s hope not.

Elsewhere, as I mentioned, most of Yona’s group are either seriously injured, captured, or both, allowing us to get a good dose of their captor, who has a truly disturbing slasher smile. I hope something bad happens to him, he is not a nice man. As for Yona, she’s pushing herself so hard she almost collapses, which is a shame, as it means she misses Hak murmuring some very important words to her. (There’s also a side story showing how few real friends she had as a child – two is the correct answer – and again you marvel how how much she’s been forced to change, and how she’s blossomed as a result. and just in case you worried there was no humor in this volume, there’s a hilarious side story where Gija, Sinha, and Yona all eat a mystery candy and turn violent. Yona, of course, being the reason this is so funny.

The best volumes make you want to read the next one right away, and that’s definitely the case here. Read it now.

The Economics of Prophecy: Dealing with Guild Politics in Another World

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By Norafukurou and Rei Shichiwa. Released in Japan by Legend Novels (Kodansha). Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Hikoki.

I have to admit, if you asked me what the next volume of The Economics of Prophecy, a work whose core audience is made up of older men already in the Japanese workforce, would be about, “school festival arc” is not what would have sprung to mind. And yet our heroes are at a school for sons and daughters of guild nobility, and therefore it stands to reason that a festival would be just as cutthroat as anything else. Naturally, it’s once again the strong vs. the slightly less strong, with Ricardo (who presents himself as the weakest but is anything but) trying to walk a fine line so that he can get what he wants in the end. The fine line is the most interesting part of this book, as it becomes clear to the reader that denseness about women might not be Ricardo’s only fault; he doesn’t really seem to realize how deep into the political world he has to get till it’s spelled out for hi8m at the end.

As you might expect, the school festival is an excuse for the kids to show off their future inheritance, with the best rooms taken by the stronger family simply by dint of rewriting the rules. Ricardo and Mei do not have a booth (they are, after all, a mere copper family) but they do need to help Alfina the Prophecy Princess, who has been exiled to a courtyard because she has her own politics to deal with. Also, one of the lesser families’ heirs is Mei’s friend (though you get the sense that Mei is less and less thrilled with this as the weeks go on), and, most importantly, he happens to be in the wrong place at the wrong time and gets drawn in. That said, he has a plan. A plan that involves modernizing this kingdom’s concept of dining to take in the outdoor cafe and the single-plate lunch.

I noted the first volume was a bit dry, and that’s also a fault with the second volume: the start in particular is a massive economics lecture that will make you yearn for the plot to begin. Once it does, however, the book picks up considerably: the interfamily politics and Ricardo’s navigating through it all with ease is immensely fun (he’s just as OP as any other isekai hero, just in terms of economic theory and political savvy). He continues to be unaware that both Alfina and Mei are in love with him, and in fact explicitly notes that Alfina, due to his live lived in Japan added to his years here, is more of a niece to him. He’s also, however, of the impression that he can magically manipulate events behind the scenes to perfection, explain exactly how he did so, and then quietly go back to his honey company and keep plugging away. That is just not going to happen, as the families explain to him at the end. It’s amusing.

There’s setup for a third book towards the end, a book that, as of this review, has not come out in Japan. So it may be a while before we see more of this. Still, if you want less dungeon crawling and magical swords and more explanations of sunk cost fallacies, this is the series for you.

Bookshelf Briefs 4/18/20

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Bloom Into You, Vol. 7 | By Nakatani Nio | Seven Seas – The majority of this volume is devoted to Sayaka, who finally works up the resolve to confess to Touko, despite knowing that she’s in love with Yuu. It goes exactly as you’d expect, but that does not diminish how well told this is. (The second novel might go into more detail.) We also get some backstory for the teacher and her partner, explaining how they got together and reminding both Sayaka and the reader that being in love with another woman is something that does not have to be confined to high school. As for Yuu and Touko, well, they’re almost there (and I will admit the scene where Seiji bluntly tells Yuu that they’re not the same (meaning Yuu isn’t asexual) was very well done). This remains fantastic. – Sean Gaffney

Hatsu*Haru, Vol. 11 | By Shizuki Fujisawa | Yen Press – I’ve pretty much resigned myself to reading this for the side couple, so I was delighted with their half of the manga, as Ayumi, after attempting to analyze love to death in an effort to run away from her own feelings gets a Big Damn Kiss and turns into a sop. It’s sweet, and god knows Takaya deserves it. Unfortunately, I’m still uninterested in Kagura and Tarou—she’s much better when she’s not being a weak drip, which she is here, and he’s so passive and understanding that it’s what’s actually preventing anything from happening. I suspect this story, despite a double convention, is not quite over, particularly given Tarou’s “huh? what’s love? can you eat it?” expression, but maybe twelve will give me more Ayumi. – Sean Gaffney

I Fell in Love After School, Vol. 2 | By Haruka Mitsui | Kodansha Comics (digital only) – While initially reluctant to become the manager of the boys’ volleyball team at her high school, Kao Hayama is now really putting her all into the role. That’s what makes I Fell in Love After School unique, when it otherwise would be a fairly straightforward shoujo romance. Often, when such a series involves a boy passionate about sports (like Waiting for Spring, for example) readers only see an occasional glimpse of games, which is never really enough to suit a sport manga enthusiast like me. Because Kao is the manager, however, much of the plot is sport-related, which I appreciate. On top of this, Kao’s burgeoning relationship with Nagisa Kuze is compelling. I appreciate that she is never a spaz, and that he’s not some cool prince type, but has flaws and vulnerabilities that Kao is adept at perceiving. I look forward to reading the rest of this series! – Michelle Smith

An Incurable Case of Love, Vol. 3 | By Maki Enjoji | Viz Media – I seem to be surprised lately with shoujo or josei romances hooking up faster than I expected. I guess Moonlighting Syndrome is not what it once was. In any case, yes, our lead couple are now a couple, though they haven’t gotten very far and he still tends to be a bit of a jerk if prodded. I am also rather impressed with the book continuing to emphasize the aspects of being a nurse, and what Sakura does well and does badly at, showing how she can’t simply use her natural empathy to win the day all the time. This comes in handy when she deals with a new nurse who is VERY interested in Tendo, and is also a better nurse on the non-empathic side of things. As always with this author, a very well-written heroine carries the day. – Sean Gaffney

My Hero Academia: School Briefs, Vol. 4 | By Kohei Horikoshi and Anri Yoshi | VIZ Media – This fourth installment of the My Hero Academia light novel series centers around the school festival. In “Prep,” Shinso takes out some trash and witnesses the other classes hard at work. (And thinks regarding Mineta, “He’s gotta get expelled for sexual harassment one of these days, right?” I SURE AS HELL HOPE SO, SHINSO!) The longest story depicts class 1-B’s play, and is pretty fun, but mostly just made me wish these characters got their own spinoff a la Vigilantes. My actual favorite was “Festival for All,” which takes a collage of panels from the manga and extrapolates scenes from them, like Shinsho hanging upside down in a haunted house, Midoriya making candy apples for Eri, et cetera. I will try very hard to forget the absolutely VILE thing Mineta says at the end of this otherwise very nice story. I think it was his grossest comment yet. – Michelle Smith

My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom!, Vol. 3 | By Satoru Yamaguchi and Nami Hidaka | Seven Seas – The gag here, and it really is a great one, is that despite winning the hearts of literally everyone around her, Katarina STILL ends up in the exact same cutscene from Fortune Lover that her evil version did. Of course, the cast IS all in love with her, so the scene goes south rather quickly—with everyone noting the bullying plot is far too well thought out to be planned by our Bakarina. The rest of the volume is more serious, as Maria goes missing, and dark magic is suspected. The suspect is obvious, but that doesn’t make the danger to Katarina any less great, and she ends the book in a coma. Can she manage to charm her way out of things while asleep? Fantastic. – Sean Gaffney

The Swamp | By Yoshiharu Tsuge | Drawn and Quarterly – As the first volume in Drawn & Quarterly’s series of Tsuge’s complete mature works, The Swamp brings together eleven of Tsuge’s short manga along with an essay by Mitsuhiro Asakawa which provides them with additional historical context. The stories collected in The Swamp were originally published between 1965 and 1966, most of them appearing as contributions to the influential alternative manga magazine Garo. Tsuge’s narratives are compelling, at times unsettling and at times humorous, but always offering insightful commentary on humanity. Even those that are more surreal have an underlying sense of truth. Most of the short manga featured in The Swamp have at least one twist to them to give the reader pause, whether in delight or in disquiet, or some combination of the two. Overall, it’s an immensely satisfying volume. I’ll definitely be on the lookout for Drawn & Quarterly’s second Tsuge collection, Red Flowers; this is not a series to miss. – Ash Brown

Takane & Hana, Vol. 14 | By Yuki Shiwasu | Viz Media – I will admit, Hana falling off their cruise ship into the water took me by surprise—I had to read it three times to get what was happening. Naturally, Takane goes after her, and so we end up with, of all things, a “castaways on an island” plotline, though it goes in a very Love Hina direction when it turns out that civilization is across the island. On the brighter note, we get the main couple telling the immediate romantic rivals about their coupledom, which is honestly better handled on Hana’s end. And because the only thing better than one problematic age-difference couple is TWO, there’s more with Nicola and Mizuki, as she still has a crush on him, and he is… at least getting to know her better. Unbalanced, but good. – Sean Gaffney

What’s Michael? Fatcat Collection, Vol. 1 | By Makoto Kobayashi | Dark Horse – What’s Michael? is a series I’d wanted to read for years, but quickly discovered is best enjoyed in small doses. The manga consists of six-page chapters that do not tell a cohesive narrative. Michael might live with a yakuza in one chapter and with a single lady in the next. Sometimes he has a mate and children. I liked best the chapters that employ nonverbal storytelling, like when Michael keeps laying on objects people need or when getting a ribbon stuck on his claw leads Michael to perform several pages of rhythmic gymnastics. As usual, I took some things too seriously, getting pissed off at an idiot who punches Michael for being disinterested in playing fetch and utterly failing to find anything funny in the plight of a poor, neglected dog. That said, the majority of this chunky omnibus was enjoyable, and I look forward to the second half. – Michelle Smith

Adachi and Shimamura, Vol. 1

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By Hitoma Iruma and Non. Released in Japan by Dengeki Bunko. Released in North America by Seven Seas. Translated by Molly Lee.

It is, to be honest, rare that a light novel catches me completely by surprise. For one thing, I tend to spoil myself as to what the content of a series is going to be. I thought I knew about this one. I knew it was an extremely popular yuri light novel series. I also knew it was supposed to be a bit boring. Both are true. The story begins with Adachi and Shimamura already knowing each other (though we get a later flashback to how they meet). They’re both delinquents who tend to cut class. Adachi, the black-haired girl, is seemingly stoic and unapproachable. Shimamura, who has dyed light brown hair, is more open and has more friends than the aloof Adachi, but also seems to have a disconnect when it comes to emotions. Seeing them flapping around in their interior monologue trying to connect is what’s meant to be the point of the book. That said, it doesn’t quite keep the reader’s attention. Then the girl in the spacesuit shows up…

So yes, this is my own fault. I knew that the author of this series has written a large number of other series for both Dengeki Bunko and other publishers (including the Bloom Into You light novel spinoffs). I had also heard of the much older series Ground Control to Psychoelectric Girl (Denpa Onna to Seishun Otoko), but didn’t realize that it was also by this author. And that series has, as one of its supporting cast… a girl who dresses in a spacesuit and has seemingly supernatural powers. In the context of that other series, which stars another girl who says she is an alien, Yashiro as a mysterious maybe alien with supernatural abilities works fine. But when she shows up here and starts hanging out in what is, let’s face it, the cast of K-On! without the band, it’s quite jarring. Especially when she takes over the scenes she’s in… and proves to be more interesting than the two leads.

Let’s get back to the title characters. Three fifths of the book is narrated by Shimamura, and is the poorer for it. I’m not sure what the author is really trying to convey with her headspace. She seems to be pretending to be a normal, outgoing high school girl to hide her own inner lack of empathy and interest, but she’s too good at it externally and too bad at it internally, so it doesn’t quite come off. She’s the reason the book is seen as dull. When the narrative shifts to Adachi, things pick up a great deal, as she has the actual character conflict – she’s in love with Shimamura, something she starts the book off denying (in the classic “not in a gay way or anything!” sense) but accepts, at least to herself, by the end of the book. I think she’d have confessed to Shimamura on their “date” if Yashiro hadn’t ruined her chances. Hopefully future books will give Shimamura the chance to develop beyond “how do I connect to other humans” as well.

So I am very fifty-fifty about this book. The most interesting character in it is from another series. The narrator for most of the book struggles to connect with not only everyone around her but also the reader. On the other hand, Adachi’s inner monologue of panicked love epiphany was genuinely involving. I’ll be reading another volume, but so far it’s more Adachi than Shimamura for me.

Manga the Week of 4/22/20

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SEAN: Yes, there’s still manga. May is the apocalypse, April is packed.

Ghost Ship gives us a 2nd Saki the Succubus Hungers Tonight and the 10th Yokai Girls.

No debuts, for once, for J-Novel Club, but we do get Ascendance of a Bookworm 6, The Combat Baker and Automaton Waitress 5, Isekai Rebuilding Project 2, Kobold King 2, and Der Werwolf 7.

Kodansha’s print debut is Perfect World, which had a digital release a while back. I enjoyed the first volume, but never did follow up on it. I should do that.

MICHELLE: Same here. It’s a tough series to marathon. Keeping pace with the print release should be easier than catching up on all the extant digital volumes.

ASH: I’ve been waiting for this one to come out in print!

SEAN: Also in print: Cardcaptor Sakura Collector’s Edition 4, Cardcaptor Sakura Clear Card 7, Fire Force 18, and Sailor Moon Eternal Edition 8.

ASH: The collector’s edition of Cardcaptor Sakura is pretty.

MJ: I haven’t been picking up the new edition, but it’s sooooo tempting. It’s such a pretty manga. And Dark Horse’s mid-release shift in trim sizes damaged the prettiness of the last edition for me. (Yes, I still have not forgiven them for that.)

SEAN: The digital debut is Dolly Kill Kill, which ran on the Mangabox App back in the day. A young man’s life is destroyed by monsters that look like mascot costumes. Can he get back what he lost? For fans of weird horror.

There’s also GE: Good Ending 4, I’ll Win You Over Sempai! 3, Kakushigoto 2, The Quintessential Quintuplets 12, Saint Young Men 5, and Shojo FIGHT! 10.

MICHELLE: I have no idea how I got four volumes behind on Shojo FIGHT!, but it has somehow happened! Not that I mind having a decent chunk to devout at once.

SEAN: Seven Seas has the 2nd Bloom Into You light novel (digitally), The Ideal Sponger Life 5, If It’s for My Daughter I’d Even Defeat a Demon Lord 5 (manga version), My Monster Secret 20, and Shomin Sample 12.

Vertical has an 8th Flying Witch, a highly underrated series.

Viz has two debuts. The Art of Junji Ito is what it sounds like, and will probably not give TOO many nightmares.

ASH: Always glad to see more of Ito’s work released!

MJ: Same!

SEAN: The other debut is Blue Flag, a title with SO much buzz and hype I worry it can’t live up to it. A Shonen Jump + series, it is apparently about sweet, painful and heartrending days.

MICHELLE: I am soooooo excited for this.

ASH: Same!

ANNA: Me too!

SEAN: Also from Viz: Golden Kamuy 15, Tokyo Ghoul: re 16, and Ultraman 13.

ASH: Here for Golden Kamuy (though I’ve enjoyed some of the earlier volumes more than some of the later ones).

ANNA: Golden Kamuy is one of those series I keep meaning to read but there is so much manga!

SEAN: Yen On split its main April release schedule across two weeks: this is the first. We get Accel World 21, Baccano! 13, Bottom-Tier Character Tomozaki 3, Combatants Will Be Dispatched! 3, and Sword Art Online 19.

The manga debut has a light novel coming out in June. I’m a Behemoth, an S-Ranked Monster, but Mistaken for a Cat, I Live as an Elf Girl’s Pet (S-Rank Monster no Behemoth Dakedo, Neko to Machigawarete Erufu Musume no Kishi (Pet) Toshite Kurashitemasu) is one of THOSE series. A reincarnated as a powerful beast series, with added elf, this runs in Hakusensha’s Young Animal, so expect boobs.

MJ: I know every publisher has a niche, but Yen Press… I’m begging for more stuff like Silver Spoon. With a few exceptions, I’ll admit they’ve kind of lost me as a reader. Our tastes just don’t line up anymore.

MICHELLE: I’m still in it for Nozaki-kun and Yowamushi Pedal, but I’m close to being in the same boat. I’m boat-adjacent. I also miss manhwa.

MJ: Me too, Michelle, ME TOO.

SEAN: I have good news for you about the week after next, then, MJ…

MJ: YESSSSSSSS.

SEAN: The rest? A Certain Magical Index’s 21st manga volume, Chio’s School Road 8, Gabriel Dropout 8, Kaiju Girl Caramelize 3, Plunderer 4, Reborn as a Polar Bear 3, Shoulder-a-Coffin Kuro Side Story (yay!), Teasing Master Takagi-san 8 (also yay!), Val x Love 8, and A Witch’s Printing Office 2.

ASH: I finally picked up the first volume of A Witch’s Printing Office… I should probably get around to actually reading it.

SEAN: What manga cries out… for JUSTICE?

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Isekai

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By SAKKA KEIHAN and Shinobu Shinotsuki. Released in Japan by the authors at Comiket 96. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Emily Balistrieri, Noboru Akimoto, Roy Nukia, Andrew Cunningham, Andrew Hodgson, and Mike Langwiser.

First of all, I really like the fact that this was licensed. I appreciate publishers taking a flyer on titles like this, especially when it’s something that was not published professionally in Japan, but rather was the author’s own fan work they sold at one of the Comikets. It’s also an amusing idea, the sort of thing you can imagine a writer’s group brainstorming about – deconstructing and parodying the isekai genre by putting themselves into the genre, and showing the pitfalls that most isekais manage to avoid by not thinking about them too closely. These stories think about things far too closely, and that’s part of the humor. It’s also a doujinshi, so it’s not too long (and don’t expect illustrations beyond the cover art – these are writers, not artists). That said, I feel it could stand to be a bit shorter. The danger of anthologies is that you find stories you like and stories you don’t, and this did not have a great batting average overall.

The cover art alone should tell you how seriously to take it. We start with Carlo Zen (the author of The Saga of Tanya the Evil) writing isekai as a travel guide for tourists. Tappei Nagatsuki (the author of Re: ZERO) then steps in with what amounts to a broadsided attack/homage of his friend Natsume Akatsuki’s work KonoSuba, as well as other “goddess grants you powers” works. Natsuya Semikawa (the author of Otherworldly Izakaya Nobu) has the isekai as a day trip to escape the burdens of deadlines. Natsu Hyuuga (the author of The Apothecary Diaries) writes the straightest isekai of the bunch, where they are not only transported to another world but are a “piglet” (the word “orc” is studiously avoided) and having trouble surviving; Katsuie Shibata trades on the fact that he took his penname from a Sengoku military commander and does the “accidentally summoned instead of someone else” story, and Hoko Tsuda is transported via delicious ramen into a “everyone mistakes everyone’s intentions all the time” world.

I’ll start with the good: Nagatsuki’s section is reason enough alone to buy this book, as it’s hilarious, especially if you’ve read KonoSuba. Getting hit by a truck, magical power lotteries, and Aqua herself (well, a 2nd rate expy of her) combine to make this tremendous fun. Carlo Zen’s section suffers from his dry, textbook prose (something Tanya readers will find familiar) but is an amusing “what about inoculations/money/customs declarations/etc.” guide. After that, though, things start to sink a bit, though I will admit I found the idea of Shibata’s (penname authors summoned as Sengoku commanders for a real fight) to be a very good one, but the execution was also a tad boring. Semikawa’s story was simply tedious, Hyuuga’s was far too normal (it read like a standard isekai), and Tsuda’s, I suspect, depends on knowing the work that he is riffing on, which I do not.

So again, your mileage may vary, and I like the concept and would like to see more author anthologies like this. But this particular anthology had more misses than hits for me.

Prince Freya, Vol. 1

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By Keiko Ishihara. Released in Japan as “Itsuwari no Freya” by Hakusensha, serialization ongoing in the magazine LaLa DX. Released in North America by Viz Media. Translated by Emi Louie-Nishikawa.

One of the habits that I’ve noticed a lot of creators have, particularly in series that have afterwords, is that they can sometimes apologize for the flawed behavior of the main character. Rarely is this an actual apology, it’s more to let the reader know that yes, the author did in fact plan for this character to be weak/annoying/overpowerful/perverse, and that it is a function of the plot, so don’t worry too much about it. We get that here as well, as the author tells us she is aware that Freya is a bit of a crybaby, but to hang in there because the story is about her character growth. What makes this amusing is that the author also starts the book with a startling image of Freya leaping off a giant cliff. Again, this is a fakeout (she looks tragic and doomed, but it turns out was gathering herbs that grow in dangerous places) but it does set up up to see her as bold and fearless… THEN shows us what she is is coddled.

Freya is a teenage girl in “fantasy medieval Europe”, whose mother is sick and whose adopted brothers are part of the Prince’s elite guards. We get a chapter or so showing us her life, where she tends to be sweet but also shy. Fortunately both brothers are awesome, so she need not worry (her mother is also awesome, we are told, despite now being ill). That said, there is a problem. Their kingdom is under threat, and the prince is actually dying. A prince who, it turns out, is a dead ringer for Freya. The brothers have been sent to get her so that she can imperso9nate the prince, but neither of them want this outcome. Unfortunately for them, Freya overhears them and decides to follow them to the castle. She may regret this: by the end of the volume the country is still in great danger both from without and within, and her resolve to impersonate the prince is derailed by personal tragedy and her own skittish personality.

It feels a bit strange, particularly from this publisher/magazine, to have a first volume that is almost all setup. I’m so used to one-shots that slowly turn into series, or stories that appear to be complete but then we get more of when they get popular. Prince Freya, though, is designed to run for a few volumes, and it shows. Freya is an interesting heroine, who is instinctively very brave and bold, but when she thinks about things she locks up and falls to pieces. It’s not helped that she suffers a horrible trauma halfway through the book (I’ll just say that one of her adopted brothers is incredibly cool, nice, loves her, etc. and let you take a wild guess) and that those in the book who aren’t her family are a lot less patient with her hysterics given that the country is in danger. Fortunately, the end of the book sees her acting instinctively, jumping off a building (she really does jumping from great heights)… and ending up accidentally kidnapped. Whoops.

It’s just a start, but there’s a lot here to make readers want to read more. We’ll see how Freya does as prince next time around.

Pick of the Week: Darlings, Beauties, and Sleepy Princesses

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SEAN: It’s rare that I choose a pick based on a cover, but the cover art for My Dress-Up Darling just looks so confident and strong that I can’t help but be drawn to it. So I’ll make it my pick, with an honorable mention to the next Ran the Peerless Beauty.

MICHELLE: I will take up the banner for Ran the Peerless Beauty! It’s extremely charming, with expressive art and very likable leads. It’s got a little in common with Kimi ni Todoke, particularly the overall feel of it, so if you need something to fill the hole that series left behind when it ended, may I suggest Ran the Peerless Beauty?

ASH: The manga I’m most curious about this week is My Dress-Up Darling – it’s premise is intriguing, but I could also see it going in directions that I’m not particularly interested in. So, in case it turns out not to be my type of series, my backup pick is the most recent volume of Sleepy Princess in the Demon Castle.

MJ: Despite reports of abundant fanservice, I’m also cautiously drawn to My Dress-Up Darling, and hey, if you can’t take chances during quarantine, when can you? I’ll join Sean in making that my pick for the week!

KATE: I’m still hoping to get a good night sleep one of these days, so my vote goes to the latest installment of Sleepy Princess in the Demon Castle. Syalis can catch 40 winks ANYWHERE… now that’s a superpower! (Also: how you can you resist a manga with cute teddy demons, quite possibly the most harmless monsters anyone has committed to the page?)

ANNA: I agree with Kate, a funny manga all about a good night’s sleep sounds like a great distraction right now, so Sleepy Princess in the Demon Castle is also my pick.

86 –Eighty-Six–, Vol. 4: Under Pressure

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By Asato Asato and Shirabii. Released in Japan by Dengeki Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Roman Lempert.

The author brags about how this volume of 86 is much lighter in tone than the previous three, and I guess that’s true? Certainly the first quarter of the book makes a determined effort to be amusing, sweet and heartwarming in turns, with the only big drama being the arrival of Annette and her realization that her childhood friend Shin does not recall her at all, which makes atoning for her guilt rather difficult. Lena and Shin are VERY shippy here, despite the fact that Shin has difficulty getting that sort of thing. Frederica and Kurena play the part of the wacky jealous not-girlfriends to a T. But there is a plot here, which leads to the battle and action sequences, and that’s when the reader realizes that even in the lightest of 86 novels, things are still going to take a turn for the very dark, as we find out exactly what the Legion has been doing all this time, and how hard it’s going to be to defeat them going forward.

After the two-volume interqual, Lena is finally reunited with her former team, and she’s brought friends, as we add to the cast a great deal of the 86 who were fighting with her after Shin and company left and ended up in the Federation. Things are… still not great in terms of the Republic. In fact, they’re still monstrously bad, with lots of “give us back our animals they are not people” racism from their side – 86 has never been subtly about such things, and that doesn’t change here. Unfortunately, just because Lena (and Annette) have reunited with Shin doesn’t mean things are going to be happily ever after. Leaving the Legion aside, it’s pointed out that the 86 have had to cut away everything that is not related to battle in order not to go mad. If Lena wants them to regain that, she’ll just be forcing them to feel the unbearable pain again. Can she live with that? And as for Annette, isn’t this all just about her?

The second two-thirds of the book are an extended battle against the Legion in an underground subway complex with shopping mall attachment, which is annoying to our heroes as their powered suits don’t function as well there. The fight introduces a new variety of bad guy to the stage, and they’re pretty lethal right up front, taking out all of Annette’s bodyguards and almost managing to kill Shin. The exact nature of how they came to be, as well as how the Legion used the republic to get to that stage, I shall briefly gloss over except to say that it was disturbing and also disgusting. It’s well-written, though I was a bit annoyed by the return of the Legion with Kaie in them to taunt our heroes. We already got a sequence where they destroy the possessed Legion and seemingly send her to the afterlife properly, I didn’t need it all over again.

Future cover art makes me think the lighter tone will stick around, and none of the named cast that we remember died here, so in that respect this is a bit of a breather novel in the series. It’s also extremely well-written as always. Fans of the 86 won’t be disappointed.

One Piece, Vol. 93

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By Eiichiro Oda. Released in Japan by Shueisha, serialization ongoing in the magazine Weekly Shonen Jump. Released in North America by Viz. Translated by Stephen Paul.

Because One Piece has been running for so long, there aren’t a lot of plots that it hasn’t at least taken a glance at along the way. That’s probably why Oda is having so much fun with the time travel angle introduced here, with the long-lost heroes reappearing twenty years later, seemingly the same as before. The eventual beat when they all finally arrive hasn’t happened yet, but we do meet Momonosuke’s little sister, who is now of course a young woman, and also a striking reminder of how Oda loves to contrast ugly men and gorgeous women when he draws. (Or in this case ugly boys.) She’s got a lot going on in this volume, so it’s amusing that the thing I noticed most was Oda mocking shippers in her interactions with the completely sexless Zoro. (To be fair to Zoro, he does get that people would take them sleeping together the wrong way.) And then there’s Toko, which… well, I’ll get to her.

As with previous Wano volumes, the action slips from place to place almost too fast to follow, trying to make sure that everyone gets something to do. This means we get to see Nami and Robin in the baths (and Nami accidentally flashing everyone, which reminds me of her deliberately doing this in Alabasta); Sanji being, well, Sanji; Luffy, still in prison, having to fight off most of the guards one by one for entertainment, and meeting up with an old, seemingly feeble man who of course has a very badass past; and Shopper trying to deal with the fact that he’s now allied with Big Mom, who has lost her memories and thus is bright, cheery and friendly again. Chopper, of course, knows this will only last till her memories return, so spends a lot of the time terrified. (There’s some interesting lettering going on in these scenes to show “girly’ speech – excellent job by Vanessa Satone, the letterer and touch-up person.)

And then we get to the end of the book, where Oda reminds us how well he can have chaos quickly turn to tragedy, with the public execution of Yasu, who turns out to have a secret identity (not a surprise). He’s spent much of the time bopping around the manga dressed up as the stereotypical Japanese jester, with a giant grin on his face. The grin remains even as he’s about to be executed (by firing squad, a particularly dishonorable death in the period that Oda is riffing on here), and there is an explanation of everyone smiling and laughing in the face of tragedy… but then after his death, it turns far too creepy for that to really be the case, especially when his daughter sees his death and can’t stop giggling (as she has the entire book) even as she cries out that her father is dead. The cliffhanger, unfortunately, implies that it may be the One Piece equivalent of drugs at work once more.

So yeah, everything is kind of terrible at the moment. Sure would be nice if we could start a revolution soon. Still, this was a chaotic but solid volume of One Piece, a bit better than the last couple of books.

So I’m a Spider, So What?, Vol. 8

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By Okina Baba and Tsukasa Kiryu. Released in Japan as “Kumo Desu ga, Nani ka?” by Kadokawa Books. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Jenny McKeon.

I’ve discussed before that the world that this book takes place in is a really horrible world to live in, but I don’t think any book to date has hammered that home quite like this volume, which shows us again and again the downside of “everyone is morally grey trending towards black”. On the surface, the plot of this book involves Ariel, White (Shiraori is used sparingly here, so I’ll stick with White for now) and company slowly moving towards the demon lands, only to be halted by the presence of an ogre/oni who is terrorizing everyone and everything in their way. White’s narration is seen less than ever before, and flips back and forth with the ogre’s narration, with cameos from Vampy, Potimas and a few humans. Those cameos are important, though, as they remind us that one person’s practical decision is another’s life-breaking horrible tragedy. And the reader may not agree with the practicality.

There’s actually a timeskip involved here: the book takes place two years after the end of the last one. Unfortunately for White, she’s no closer to being able to use any of her powers than she was before – she may be a God now, but in terms of fighting ability she’s as weak as a kitten. In her head, she spends most of the book whining and moaning about it. Of course, in reality she’s as silent as ever. Fortunately, by the end of the book she’s in enough of a life-or-death crisis that she’s able to regain a bit of her powers. This is the light part of the book, as, deadly danger aside, Ariel’s group is a lot of fun, and the danger they’re in never feels too lethal. It’s the slice-of-life camping trip part of the book.

And then there’s the rest of the book. The countryside is being plagued by a series of infants being kidnapped,l and as we’ve read the early books we know exactly who and what is behind that, but here we see how it’s affecting the families who are destroyed, and it’s heartbreaking. Ronandt, who was so much fun as a goofy old man obsessed with our spider, has been demoted as he’s lost all sense of what is harsh training and what is abuse. The adventurers in this book almost all die like dogs, and those that don’t ponder just giving up and going back to their farm. The ogre is a walking ball of rage half the time (we’ve seen him in earlier books as well, but here he’s getting his “official” intro) and the half that he isn’t is depressing and bleak… then horrific and disturbing. Lastly, Buirimas, the man presented throughout the book as a noble warrior who died without ever seeing his wife and infant… is also shown to have done something so mind-numbingly inhumane that I have no words. Again, when you don’t think of others as people, you lose the ability to make correct moral judgments.

So overall this was a good book, but the mood shifts are a pain in the neck, and by the end I was very glad it was coming to a stop. Next time hopefully they’ll hit the demon land, and perhaps another timeskip can put us closer to where we left off with Shun and company? Oh, and Potimas is still the worst. I really hate him.

Bookshelf Briefs 4/9/20

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The Dorm of Love and Secrets, Vol. 2 | By Nikki Asada | Kodansha Comics (digital only) – Five years ago, an elite and a laidback high school combined, resulting in a new school where relations between “high-class students” and “no-class students” are horrendous. Asahi Suzumori is a member of the normal class, and when her dorm catches on fire, she accepts an offer from Tsukigase, the capricious student council president, to masquerade as a high-class student and live in their dorm, where she meets and falls in love with Yokaze Takagi, a kind boy with a sad past. Volume two mostly consists of them growing closer, but with Yokaze holding back because of a deal he made with Tsukigase that will enable him to regain something precious if he follows certain rules. The leads are okay, if a trifle bland, but I do enjoy manipulative Tsukigase and Asahi’s protective friend, Sho. The series is complete in four volumes, which feels right. – Michelle Smith

Fire in His Fingertips, Vol. 1 | By Kawano Tanishi | Ghost Ship – There’s a subtitle as well, but this is only a brief. Ryo and Souma are childhood friends. Both are very bad at communicating. After rescuing her from an apartment fire, she goes to his place and, despite some reluctance/consent issues, they have sex. And indeed they do that the rest of the book as well—this is a josei title, but still firmly within the Ghost Ship mission statement. Ryo manages to be a strong enough character to make this work and show us her latent attraction to Souma. Souma is a little more annoying, as his refusal to admit his own, clearly deep, feelings for Ryo is what leads to all the consent issues in the first place. Cautiously recommended to those who like sex and firefighting. – Sean Gaffney

Gal Gohan, Vol. 2 | By Marii Taiyou | Seven Seas – I’m not sure why this series is not pinging my “be careful, teacher/student romance” radar. I mean, it clearly is going to be. There’s no way that this series is going to pair Miku off with anyone other than her reluctant cooking professor. If anything, the series is going in the opposite direction, seemingly adding at the end a third person to the club (and no doubt adding a new romantic rival). There’s plenty of busty fanservice, and suggestive teasing (both from and of Miku). But, as I noted in my review of the first book, the whole thing is written so wholesomely that you end up accepting all of it. It’s the sweetest title about a big-breasted gal who wants to date her teacher you’ll ever read. -Sean Gaffney

Given, Vol. 1 | By Natsuki Kizu | SuBLime Manga – Since I’m always looking for good music manga and I’m always looking for good BL manga, it really was a given that Given would appeal to me. Ritsuka is a self-taught guitarist who has lost touch with his passion for music, but that missing spark eventually reignites after a schoolmate asks him for lessons. While Mafuyu’s past and personality are both mysterious, he does seem serious about wanting to learn, ultimately winning Ritsuka and the rest of his band over. Although it’s Mafuyu’s presence that really drives the story at this point, it’s the thoughtfulness that Kizu has put into the characterization of the entire cast—both leads and supporting roles—that really makes the manga work for me. How the characters all relate to one another is beautifully expressed not only through words but through Kizu’s artwork. I am definitely looking forward to reading more of Given. – Ash Brown

Guilty, Vol. 5 | By Ai Okaue | Kodansha Comics (digital only) – Man, Guilty sure has evolved since its first volume! It initially seemed like a soap opera about unfaithful spouses, and it still is that to some degree, but has morphed into psychological suspense at this point, as Sayaka begins to put the pieces together about why Rui has been so intent on ruining her life and for how long she’s been manipulating events. Kazu is a target, as well, but his sins are far worse than Sayaka’s, and he finally seems to appreciate as much here. Sayaka exhibits grit in the face of devastation, Rui is an unhinged (yet not wholly unsympathetic) antagonist, and the main ship for readers is Sayaka’s relationship with her first love, Akiyama, who is seemingly happily married with an adorable child. Complicated! The plot might verge on melodramatic at times, but it never crosses over into ridiculous. Looking forward to the next installment! – Michelle Smith

Knight of the Ice, Vol. 1 | By Yayoi Ogawa | Kodansha Comics – I didn’t realize, before I read Knight of the Ice, how hungry I was for a manga about figure skating! Our two leads are a pair of childhood friends who are on the verge of becoming something more. Petite Chitose Igari works for a magazine while closet otaku Kokoro Kijinami is a world-class figure skater whose star is on the rise, but only if Chitose continues to cast a spell on him from his favorite magical girl anime. The tone is fun and I like the characters, both main and supporting, a lot. My one complaint so far is… I wish there were more skating! There’s a fabulous glossary that explains all about scoring and the various jumps, but I wish we would actually see that in the manga. Perhaps it’s yet to come. – Michelle Smith

Laid-Back Camp, Vol. 8 | By Afro | Yen Press – It turns out we didn’t have to wait at all for the next camping trip, as the whole cast goes to Izu in this volume. Well, they get there about halfway in, and it will continue next time. We see Rin bonding with her family (and getting extra equipment for her scooter, which she chooses to drive rather than get in the big van with the others), pranking Nadeshiko into thinking she slept through the entire camping trip, getting caught in horrendous traffic jams, and, when they finally arrive, finding a site that is not closed because of the time of year after all. Basically, all the things that can go wrong or right on a camping trip. There’s also setup for some birthday parties, but we’ll have to wait for book nine for those. Peaceful and wonderful. – Sean Gaffney

A Sign of Affection, Vol. 1 | By Suu Morishita | Kodansha Comics (digital only) – As expected from this author, this is cute as a bug’s ear. Itsuomi is a student who speaks many foreign languages (and travels to many foreign countries—this may be the first manga I’ve seen where “I’m going to Laos” is a genuine apology and not a desperate excuse) and then he meets our heroine, Yuki, who is deaf. They hit it off immediately, and have some great chemistry, making him want to learn a new language so that he can talk to her better. There’s some romantic rivalry on both sides—Yuki has a childhood friend, clearly in love with her, that she’s oblivious to, and Itsuomi is surrounded by girls a lot because he’s hot. Despite that, I want to see these two grow closer. Excellent debut. – Sean Gaffney

UQ Holder, Vol. 19 | By Ken Akamatsu | Kodansha Comics – This serves to give us even more pactios (Karin, Kirie at last, and even the two hangers-on, Shinobu and the other one), remind us that Tota is a deadpan playboy as opposed to Negi’s unwitting playboy (and also that Kirie is still one up on everyone else in that department), wrap up Karin’s backstory with most tsundere Judas Iscariot shenanigans, introduce a new Big Bad, and throw in some truly fantastic fights, reminding us that Akamatsu may love fanservice and tease, but he also really loves battle sequences. We also see who Karin was not around during the events of Negima. As such, the story seems prepared to move in a new direction, and I assume it will do so next time. Fans should be happy. – Sean Gaffney