Manga Bookshelf

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Sean Gaffney

Pick of the Week: Easter Manga Treats

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SEAN: Some good stuff this week: a 2nd Ran the Peerless Beauty, the Restaurant to Another World novel, a new Dead Dead Demon’s Dededededestruction and Golden Kamuy, but I’m going with the pretty debut, Go with the Clouds, North-by-Northwest, because man, it looks pretty.

MICHELLE: And it appears to be a mystery! Thus, it’s my pick as well.

ANNA: I’m halfway into the second volume of Ran and the Grey World and I’m probably going to drop that series, so I’m hoping that Go with the Clouds, North-by-Northwest has a better story to go with the beautiful art.

ASH: While I’m certainly interested in Go with the Clouds, North-by-Northwest, a new Junji Ito collection is being released upon the world in English this week. I can’t help it, Smashed is my pick! (Though I would guess it will likewise be visually striking, but for entirely different reasons…)

KATE: I’m gonna need a bigger boat–that’s an amazing manga haul! Ran and the Gray World didn’t do much for me, but I’m loving just about everything else on the MB Battle Robot’s shopping list, from the latest Dead Dead Demon’s Dedededestruction to Go With the Clouds, North-by-Northwest and Smashed.

MJ: I was a huge fan of the artwork in Ran and the Gray World, so I’ll join a number of my colleagues here and go with Go With the Clouds, North-by-Northwest as my pick this week! I’m very interested in this!

Witch Hat Atelier, Vol. 1

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By Kamome Shirahama. Released in Japan as “Tongari Boushi no Atelier” by Kodansha, serialization ongoing in the magazine Morning Two. Released in North America by Kodansha Comics. Translated by Stephen Kohler.

With a title like this, it’s tempting to leave the review at (flailing around) PRETTY!, which is certainly true, but there’s more to the title than the art – the story is also quite compelling, and I’m enjoying the characters. That said, boy is it pretty. I suspect most people were drawn to it by the cover, and the inside is even better. This is a world of magic, though at first our heroine doesn’t seem to have any. But there are magic pools and the like. And there are witches, who are both male and female here. Coco desperately wishes she was a witch, but doesn’t seem to have the power, despite having been sold a mysterious magical book at a fair years ago by a mysterious masked stranger, something that is completely not suspicious at all. So you can imagine her delight when a real witch shows up one day, and she gets to observe how magic is made. The delight has consequences, though…

For the most part, this is a title filled with whimsy and wonder, and Coco is a bubbly, happy hero. I say for the most part because the circumstances that lead to her becoming a witch are creepy and scary, and essentially a child’s worst nightmare. Fortunately the witch from the earlier chapter is able to help her, and she gets taken away to magic school to essentially start starring in Harry Potter. She gets a few new friends, and also a roommate who really does not like her, in the best boarding school tradition. Most of this volume hinges on the fact that Coco has absolutely no training in this sort of thing whatsoever, and things that are common knowledge to all witches are new to her. This allows the reader to receive an explanation, of course, but also helps to show off how Coco seems to be a prodigy as well – she soaks up the information quickly, and can extricate herself from life-threatening situations.

The rest of the cast is not as fleshed out as Coco, but it’s a good start. Mostly we focus on Qifrey and Agott. Qifrey seems to be the sort of pleasant mentor who will have a bit of a dark side later on, sort of like Dumbledore (well, hopefully not THAT much like Dumbledore). Agott makes the stronger impression, and it’s not a good one at first, with the line “such a shame about your mother” wriggling with unspoken contempt. Agott and Coco are meant to contrast heavily, and Agott is also clearly meant to be the favored student who gets shown up straight away by the new girl. Will they eventually bond as friends? Not sure, but things aren’t looking good right now, as Agott sends Coco out on a deadly test and does not seem to be punished for it at all.

So, to sum up: magical fantasy, spunky young protagonist, rivals and companions, a mysterious past, and excellent artwork. It’s a terrific start to a series.

Durarara!!, Vol. 12

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By Ryohgo Narita and Suzuhito Yasuda. Released in Japan by ASCII Mediaworks. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Stephen Paul.

Around about the time that Shizuo is seen to punch a forklift out of the way, it struck me that he is one of the most beloved characters in DRRR!! solely because it is set in “reality”. Now, it’s an urban fantasy, but you know what I mean. If Shizuo were a NEET who died and was transported into the world of DRRR!!, it would be appalling. He’d be the most overpowered male power fantasy imaginable. Heck, he even got a love triangle (of a sort) devoted to him a few volumes ago. All we lack are monsters… oh wait. This whole volume explores one of the series’ main themes, which is what makes a monster and what makes a human. Celty spends almost the entire book in a state of pure emotional rage, not even remotely resembling a human being. Anri is still (always) thinking that she doesn’t think or feel the way “humans” do. And then there’s Izaya, who finds the idea of Shizuo offensive, but let’s face it, is the most monstrous of them all.

Getting back to Anri, the scenes with her and Saki are some of my favorites in the series, if only as the whole thing is so anticlimactic. Saki arrives trying to gauge if Anri is a threat. Why wouldn’t she? Masaomi talks about her constantly, she’s cute, and is literally defined in the DRRR!! universe by her large breasts. But of course Anri is a sweetie-pie with no self-esteem, and once Saki gets that everything gets more relaxing. Anri also takes a large step forward by being the first of the trio of friends to actually break their “agreement” – she asks Saki to tell her about Masaomi’s past. Given that said agreement has only hurt everyone involved, I have to approve. Of course, Anri is still hiding some things (Saika is not brought up in front of Saki), but it’s still a step forward, and might lead to her making a big emotional leap forward.

Narita confessed in the afterword that this was meant to be the final volume and it got too long, which is not a surprise – there’s no more setup in this book, and though there are strings of long conversations as always, they’re not there to drop hints for the future. Haruna’s teacher is trying his hardest to become the Big Bad of the series, using Saika to possess half of Ikebukuro and create a “zombie attack”, but I suspect his chances of making us respect him are nonexistent. We’re far more interested in the final fight between Izaya and Shizuo, triggered by Izaya’s attempt to kill Shizuo accidentally injuring Vorona. The fact that Izaya is finally going to try to kill Shizuo is mentioned several times in the book by various groups and people, and they all have the same reaction: Izaya is going to commit suicide. Given that the two rarely confront each other in the novels, I expect the fight to be epic.

Oh yes, and Mikado’s got a gun, so things ain’t never gonna be the same. I didn’t talk about Mikado at all this book, but given that I suspect the 13th and final volume will revolve around him, it’s best to save something for later. Till then, enjoy a very good DRRR!!, though I’d sort of like it if Anri’s breasts weren’t a separate character of their own (complete with the usual “lol, molestation is funny!” interior art).

Manga the Week of 4/17/19

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SEAN: A Week of much excitement and prizes!

Dark Horse has a Berserk light novel (light? Berserk?) called The Flame Dragon Knight.

ASH: Ha! Surprising no one, I’ll be picking this up.

SEAN: J-Novel Club has a 13th Little Apocalypse and an 8th Outbreak Company.

Kodansha doesn’t seem to have any debuts, but we do get Aho-Girl 12 and Sailor Moon Eternal Edition 4.

Digitally there is All Out!! 9, Altair: A Record of Battles 10, Back Street Girls 10, DAYS 13, Kira-kun Today 6, Ran he Peerless Beauty 2, and Tokyo Revengers 6. I’m definitely reading another Ran.

MICHELLE: Me, too!

MJ: Okay, I still haven’t read the first Ran, but I need to!

MICHELLE: It has a certain Kimi ni Todoke quality about it.

One Peace has a 10th manga volume for polarizing title The Rising of the Shield Hero.

Seven Seas has a digital light novel debut with Restaurant to Another World (Isekai Shokudou). I’ve read the manga on Crunchyroll’s site, so am looking forward to a prose version. You can probably guess the premise.

ASH: You can probably guess that I’ll be giving the series a try later this year (when it debuts in print).

SEAN: They’ve also got the 4th Clockwork Planet novel (print edition), Getter Robo Devolution 3, Himouto Umaru-chan 5, and If It’s for My Daughter, I’d Even Defeat a Demon Lord 3 (manga version).

This should have been on last week’s list, but Sol Press have 2nd volumes for their light novels Battle Divas and Strongest Gamer.

ASH: I’d forgotten about Sol Press!

SEAN: Vertical Comics debuts Go with the Clouds, North-by-Northwest (Hokuhokusei ni Kumo to Ike), the newest series from the creator of Ran and the Gray World, runs in Harta magazine, and is apparently as gorgeous as its older sister manga.

MICHELLE: Ooh, neat!

ANNA: I haven’t read the second volume of Ran and the Gray World yet, but I suspect that series is going to be too male gazey for me, I’ll be checking out reviews of North-by-Northwest.

MJ: Sign me up for this!

SEAN: Viz, as if to say to hold off on Pick of the Week till they show up, debuts a Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind artbook, as well as a new Junji Ito Story Collection, Smashed.

ASH: Smashing!

MJ: Oooooooh that artbook…

SEAN: And they have the 5th Dead Dead Demon’s Dededede Destruction, the 6th and mercifully final Fire Punch, a 9th Golden Kamuy (which can be as disturbing as Fire Punch was at times, but draws me in far more), and Tokyo Ghoul;re 10.

ASH: More Dead Dead Demon’s Dededede Destruction and Golden Kamuy for me!

ANNA: I’m excited for more Dead Dead Demon’s Dededede Destruction!

SEAN: Are you excited. I’m excited. (And I just can’t hide… sorry.)

Bookshelf Briefs 4/10/19

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Akashic Records of Bastard Magica Instructor, Vol. 6 | By Hitsuji Tarou, Tsunemi Aosa and Kurone Mishima | Seven Seas – I was sort of hoping that Rumia would do something other than hang around and get saved, but alas. Most of the character work in this goes to Re=L, whose past turns out to be not quite her own, and the brother she’s so devoted to also turns out to be not what he seems. It’s filled with tragedy and manipulation, but fortunately Glenn is able to see her through it. And thus we move on to the next arc, which seems to be introducing a dead past love for Glenn… who happens to be a dead ringer for Sisti! Who is pretending Glenn is the man she’s going to marry. This remains middle-of-the-road manga, but it’s still interesting enough to make me get the next book. – Sean Gaffney

Berserk: Deluxe Edition, Vol. 1 | By Kentaro Miura | Dark Horse – Due to the price point, Dark Horse’s deluxe treatment of Berserk will likely appeal most to already established fans of the series (a group to which I belong), but it is a striking release nonetheless. The first deluxe omnibus collects the first three volumes of the manga in a single, massive, hardcover tome with a large trim size that showcases Miura’s artwork. There isn’t really any new or added content, although the covers of the individual volumes are included as color pages. It’s been a while since I’ve read Berserk from the beginning. The initial chapters feel a little directionless at times, nothing more than an excuse to have an astonishingly badass swordsman with a mysterious but obviously tragic backstory taking out demons, but soon the manga builds and coalesces into something truly epic. What remains constant is that Berserk is a violent, brutal, horrifying, and frequently disturbing dark fantasy. – Ash Brown

My Hero Academia, Vol. 18 | By Kohei Horikoshi | Viz Media – This is definitely a manga of two halves. The first is serious as can be—we have a major hero death, Mirio does NOT magically get his powers back, and Eri is saved but traumatized. Our main cast are changed as well… Ochaco now wants to save people as a main goal, and Kirishima also notes he’s shaken up. Fortunately for the reader, we have the back half of the manga, which introduces the REAL Camie (whom Toga had impersonated) and has the Remedial Hero License Exam… which involves winning over a class of spoiled kindergarten brats. It’s pretty hilarious all round, with some great gags and also showing us that Bakugo CAN learn and grow as well. An excellent volume of an outstanding series. – Sean Gaffney

My Hero Academia: School Briefs, Vol. 1 | By Kohei Horikoshi and Anri Yoshi | VIZ Media – The things the cretinous Mineta says in this prose spinoff are so vile that they eclipse the things he says and does in the manga/anime, and that’s really saying something. I appreciate the reactions from some classmates, like Tokoyami glaring at him with “utter contempt” and Kaminari getting a chance to show that his own horniness has limits, but I must remind the author… Mineta didn’t have to get this much of the spotlight, you know? Anyway, Parents’ Day is at hand (which makes for some drama at the end of the volume) but first several of the boys rescue a girl at an amusement park while three of the girls go to a supermarket. The latter story was promising until was revealed that the shoplifter they caught had crapped himself. So puerile. I wanted to like this but in the end it just pissed me off. – Michelle Smith

My Monster Secret, Vol. 15 | By Eiji Masuda | Seven Seas – This mostly expands on the new plot twists from last time. Shiho is still trying to find a way to avoid fate, which doesn’t work, but she, Mikan and Nagisa all reveal their secrets to each other at the same time, which is probably the funniest scene in the book, and leads to a lot of “yeah, so, most of us are supernatural in some way” scene. There’s also a summer beach chapters, which leads (chanks to Akane) our main couple getting left behind and stranded. They grow closer, there’s a kiss…. and then there’s a bite. Now it’s time for Akane to point out that biting for vampires isn’t just kissing, it’s a lot more serious. And finally, a reminder—again—that Youko is a vampire. Are we finally going to dark places? – Sean Gaffney

Otherworldly Izakaya Nobu, Vol. 3 | By Natsuya Semikawa and Virginia Nitouhei | Udon Entertainment – The “cute food manga” is still there, but things get a lot more dramatic in this third volume. We actually get some backstory for Shinobu, the heir to a restaurateur who is fleeing and arranged marriage, and Nobuyuki, her restaurant’s cook who had just quit. In the fantasy world, the asshole villain from last time is back, and trying to get the izakaya shut down—and its owners executed—for the beer they’re selling, as it’s actually lager, which is illegal in this world. This is one of those “every minor character who had loved their food comes together to help” plots that I really love, and it makes this volume the best of the series to date. – Sean Gaffney

That Blue Sky Feeling, Vol. 2 | By Okura and Coma Hashii | Viz Media – Noshiro may be a giant bundle of extrovert, but that’s not always a good thing, as this volume demonstrates. Whether Noshiro is gay or not is still up in the air—certainly Sanada thinks he’s straight—but his attempts to solve Sanada’s problems just lead to more problems, as Ayumi and Sanada cannot go back to what they were before, and underclassman Makoto (who has a giant crush on Noshiro) is another spanner in the works. Noshiro has to be reminded that “Oh, he’s gay!” is not just something you can say in a modern Japanese high-school environment… and Sanada has to be shown that it’s not the end of the world. Still surprisingly sweet. – Sean Gaffney

UQ Holder, Vol. 16 | By Ken Akamatsu | Kodansha Comics – After a Vol. 15 that I gave a full review to as it wrapped up Negima properly, we’re back to the actual main cast of UQ Holder, who have been shown how to abuse time travel by Negi and company and are now abusing that for their own ends. It’s a good philosophical argument held here—we can’t save everyone vs. can we just let everyone die? We also get some insight into Jinbei and Gengoro and what kind of immortality they have, as well as the type of person they are—though honestly, Akamatsu tends to lean towards “battle crazy” a whole lot. One other thing I want to note is that, now that UQ Holder comes out in a monthly magazine rather than weekly, and the chapters are longer, it’s much better paced. – Sean Gaffney

Yona of the Dawn, Vol. 17 | By Mizuho Kusanagi | VIZ Media – A new arc begins in this volume, as the five-tribe council agrees to war with South Kai in order to reclaim Kin Province, lost in a previous war. Yona and company have befriended a kid from Kai and, after helping him get back home, witness firsthand the atrocities committed by the Kai soldiers after their defeat by Kohka. Meanwhile, several of the dragons have fallen ill and there is ominous talk (and, later, a bonus story about) what happens to the existing dragon when a new one is born. They decide to hide the fact that they are short-lived from Yona, and it’s perhaps because this put the idea of their demise into my head that I completely fell for a fakeout that ensues. I appreciate the opportunity to learn more about the mysterious Zeno, and continue to love this series very much. – Michelle Smith

Accel World: Cradle of Stars

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By Reki Kawahara and Hima. Released in Japan by ASCII Mediaworks. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Jocelyne Allen.

For the most part this is a “downtime” volume of Accel World, a breather after the action of the last few books. We get Niko and Kuroyukihime coming over to Haruyuki’s house for a sleepover, where he suddenly goes into great detail about his family, presumably in order to make a future arc not come out of nowhere. He and Takumu are also confronted by a classmate who wants them to join her in running for the student council, something that really hammers on Haru’s “I hate myself” buttons. There is, of course, a pool episode, with swimsuits galore and Haruyuki accidentally seeing more than he should. Nega Nebulus adds to its ranks with the Chocolat Puppeter trio (complete with an explanation of why her name is written wrong in English). And we get a big confrontation with the Green team, as they discuss how to defeat the Acceleration Research Society. The cliffhanger shows that one of Green’s group is very familiar to Nega Nebulus. Who could it be?

…and then it promptly shows us who it is in a short story set after the main book, where we see a younger Kuroyukihime getting ready to level up to Level Nine with the help of her teacher and companion in Nega Nebulus. It does sort of undercut the cliffhanger considerably. I’m also not sure I like our teasing creator suggesting something that clearly isn’t going to be true. Kawahara is already well aware that fandom thought Kirito and Asuna were Kuroyukihime’s parents, and went out of his way to shoot that down. But here we see a mysterious black figure, with two swords as his main feature, who pretty much describes himself as a sword, and who occasionally shows signs that he’s not in elementary school like the rest of them (such as his knowledge of what a pencil is). It screams “COULD THIS BE KIRITO?!” so much that it clearly isn’t, but I’m not sure I appreciate the author trolling in quite this way.

We see Nega Nebulus expand a great deal in this book, as I said earlier. In addition to Chocolat Puppeter’s group challenging Haruyuki so that they can ask to join their group (which leads to the funniest fight in the book, as even Silver Crow shows he is not above eating his way out of a problem), Metatron’s “bug” form is introduced to Kuroyukihime and Fuko, and there’s a brief amusing confrontation as to who gets to be his master/teacher. Haruyuki’s life in the Accel World is expanding, with friends and loved ones. He’s still having trouble transitioning that into the real world, though, despite the basketball game a few volumes ago (which is brought up here) and despite everyone literally pointing out all the great things he’s been doing. Once you start regarding yourself as pathetic, it’s really hard to stop it, and I appreciate that we’re seeing this with Haruyuki, even if it can be frustrating.

So, since the cliffhanger was sort of given away after the fact, the real question for next volume is why is their old friend now working for the enemy? Also, wasn’t he trapped in the palace the way that the others were? And will Haruyuki run for office? Or finally choose a level-up bonus? Still a good series, despite my criticisms.

Oh yes, and don’t spend 15 pages building up why the next world will be a Space world and then have it NOT be a Space world. What was the point?

Space Battleship Yamato: The Classic Collection

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By Leiji Matsumoto. Released in Japan as “Uchuu Senkan Yamato” by Akita Shoten, serialized in the magazine Bouken Ou. Released in North America by Seven Seas. Translated by Zack Davisson. Adapted by J.P. Sullivan.

There’s been a wonderful glut lately of both classic 70s manga and also Leiji Matsumoto’s works (frequently those are the same thing). We got Captain Harlock and Queen Emeraldas, and we’re getting the modern rewrite of Harlock. And now we’re getting the original Space Battleship Yamato, with the modern version of that coming out this summer. No sign of a rescue of Galaxy Express 999, but I suspect that’s more complicated. In the meantime, it’s time for more of the best of what Matsumoto has to offer as a manga artist… and also the worst, as Matsumoto is not perfect, nor is this collection. But it does give you exactly what the title promises: Space, and lots of it. Impressive battleships sailing through space. And, wonder of wonders, and ending that, although rushed, actually wraps up the series! Unfortunately, that ending is 1/3 through the book, and the actual ending is the open non-ending we’ve come to expect from Matsumoto.

For those who are unaware, Yamato was conceived as an anime, and Matsumoto was brought into it later on in development. He quickly made it his own, though, and the manga began about a month after the anime started. (The anime was also “adapted” into Star Blazers, for those with long memories…) The premise has aliens dropping radioactive bombs on Earth, and the only ones who can stop them is the Earth Fleet… which isn’t doing so hot. Fortunately, they have a secret battleship, Yamato, that can battle the Gamilans, as well as try to seek aid from mysterious blonde-haired, gorgeous, and mostly dead alien babes. (This isn’t Harlock, so the gorgeous aliens aren’t evil here.) Together with trusted old Captain Okita, young and impetuous yet destined for greatness Susumu Kodai, and only woman in the Earth Fleet Yuki Mori, they will defeat the Gamilans… and then have to escape Earth after it grows smug and proud in the aftermath.

The main reason to get this manga, in my opinion, are the many pages of the expanses of space. Each chapter features at least 5-6 pages of just space, planets, and stars, and it’s here to show off the wonder of it all. Characterization, on the other hand, fares less well, with everyone pretty much matching to a type. There’s a sense this is trying to adapt an anime rather than be its own thing (which may be true). In addition, I have to say it, I’m not a fan of the way Matsumoto uses humor. His leads tend to be the brooding, serious types, so he balances it out by having the dumbest Milton Berle-style comedy, complete with drunken vets butchering pigs, etc. An exception to this is the robot Analyzer, who would be an R2-D2 ripoff if this weren’t a good three years before Star Wars. His snarky comments did spark amusement from me, especially when they verged on verbal abuse.

This doesn’t really hit the heights that Harlock and Emeraldas do; it tries to be majestic, but can’t quite make it. But it’s entertaining as a space opera, and I do love those expanses of darkness with only stars. If you enjoy Matsumoto, give this a try.

Pick of the Week: Witches, Maidens and Yokai

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MICHELLE: Well, I guess I’ll be predictable and go for the big debut this week—Witch Hat Atelier looks very charming. I desperately hope that, unlike a certain other seinen series with a young female protagonist with magical powers, there are no adult creepers in sight!

SEAN: I agree, but I think the rest of MB will as well, so I’ll go for O Maidens in Your Savage Season, though I may be jumping the gun as only Kodansha’s own site lists it as coming out this week. It has a great pedigree, though, and I can’t resist a title like that.

ASH: There are plenty releases this week that I’m looking forward to, including the two that have been mentioned so far, but my pick actually goes to Kitaro’s Yokai Battles. It’s been so long since the last volume was released, and I’m always delighted by the series.

KATE: My comic shop got Witch Hat Atelier last week and it’s every bit as good as I hoped it would be. I’m getting a strong Miyazaki vibe from it — no squicky seinen overtones, no sappiness. If anything, it reminded me of Howl’s Moving Castle, as it has the rhythms and dramatic conflicts of a great children’s fantasy novel.

MICHELLE: That’s a very encouraging comparison!

ANNA: I think I’m going to throw in for Witch Hat Atelier as well, it sounds very appealing!

MJ: I feel like a sheep, but honestly I’m all about Witch Hat Atelier, especially since Kate has confirmed an absence of smarm which, like Michelle, was the only question giving me pause. So that’s my pick, too!

The Saga of Tanya the Evil: Abyssus Abyssum Invocat

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By Carlo Zen and Shinobu Shinotsuki. Released in Japan by Enterbrain. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Emily Balistrieri.

The subtitle of this volume is translated as “Hell Follows Hell”, or more colloquially, one mistake leads to more. Tanya learns that here in a book that shows off how imperfect all the sides are. Tanya herself, due to her rabid anti-communist mindset (and the salaryman inside her, who I honestly tend to forget about most of the time) is slow to realize that the not-Russians fighting them are actually fighting for their homes and native land… not for communism. This is huge because it changes the entire way they have to fight the enemy. She also runs into Mary Sue for the first time, and while there’s clearly a much larger fight still to come, it’s a difficult battle that depletes her elite unit of a quarter of its entire force. (That said, rest assured all the characters whose names we can remember survive.) And of course Britain and Russia are having their own issues with lack of manpower, lack of supplies, lack of materials… we’ve reached the attrition stage of the war.

The cover art has Tanya standing at the gravesite of the soldiers who fell in that battle, and it reminds us that just because the title is “Tanya the Evil”, and Tanya frequently does morally reprehensible things, does not means she is 100% black of heart. She cares about her subordinates, mourns them, and has long passed the Tanya of the first book who was merely looking for “meat shields”. Likewise, General Zettour, at the end of the book, as he attempts to coerce/cajole the separatist parts of the Federation to join them, thinks that as a good person, he’s appalled, but as a soldier fighting for the Empire, he’s willing to be evil. A person who commits mass murders but feels really bad about the whole thing is still a mass murderer. And, on the other side of the coin, we have Mary, who is bright and shiny and filled with thoughts of revenge and I suspect is so naive that she will be led by the nose whenever she runs into someone manipulative.

Other things to note: as I feared, Loriya is still around, and still a pedophile. It’s not played for laughs as much, but still disturbing. Speaking of which, the soldiers joke at one point about Tanya marrying Visha for her coffee-making skills, and Tanya briefly ponders whether, as a male mind inside the body of a young girl, he would qualify as gay or not, but then promptly decides to not think about it. Which is fine, I won’t either. Tanya is twelve. In fact, the fact that Tanya is twelve comes up an awful lot here: after four volumes of mostly having everyone ignore the fact that she’s so young, we get a bunch of scenes to reinforce it: she can’t interrogate the Federation prisoners as they won’t take her seriously, she can’t get into the celebratory party at the Officer’s Mess as she can’t drink, etc. It’s a nice reminder that the basic premise of this entire series is meant to be, deliberately, very screwed up. War makes people send a child to battle.

I’ve heard that Tanya light novel fans and Tanya anime fans disagree quite a bit, and I suspect this book definitely falls on the reader side, being interesting more for the discussion of warfare than for the short, yet well-written battles. There’s also a lot of great wartime sarcastic banter between the soldiers here, which I enjoyed. For those who don’t mind long, lecturing tomes, this is still very good.

The Promised Neverland, Vol. 9

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By Kaiu Shirai and Posuka Demizu. Released in Japan as “Yakusoku no Neverland” by Shueisha, serialization ongoing in the magazine Weekly Shonen Jump. Released in North America by Viz Media. Translated by Satsuki Yamashita.

At long last, we get to meet the famous William Minerva… or at least his echo. I liked the self-awareness that both Emma and Lucas had when they got to the elevator and went “…really? An elevator to freedom/ Is it THIS easy?” No, of course it isn’t that easy. In fact, it turns out that William Minerva may no longer be with us, though that doesn’t stop him from leaving a recording that helps our heroes to buckle down and not give up. It also reveals that this WAS meant to be a safe harbor, and it’s the demons who corrupted Goldy Pond and turned it into a hunting ground. There’s lots of odd otherworldly touches in the early part of this book, like the literal pond of gold whose water doesn’t get you wet, that reminds the reader that The Promised Neverland is as much science fiction as it is horror or mystery.

Meanwhile, I’ve been saying ever since he was removed ffrom the plot that Norman would prove to not be dead, and that is the case. That said, the chapter featuring him is one big “what the hell?” after another, and is meant to plant seeds, especially given that one of the kids in Emma’s group at Goldy Pond (who seems to have a learning disability) keeps repeating Norman’s number. How long has it been since the start of the series? Norman’s in much the same place he was at the first volume – solving tests, amazing folks with his intelligence, and trying to escape even though it’s even more impossible than it was at Grace Field. What’s more, the guy who’s his minder is the same guy who betrayed “William Minerva”. And, lest you forget that Promised Neverland is also a horror title, there’s that two-page spread of the room of experimental humans Norman walks past. In just one chapter you get about thirty things to think about.

Back at Goldy Pond, the next hunt has been scheduled early because the demons want to eat Emma SO BADLY. Fortunately, our heroes are prepared for it, and so we get a few chapters of the kids showing they’ve been holding back and taking out the mook demons. This includes one who leers at the reader and says “How Cute”, which makes me wonder if this homage to Kaguya-sama was in the original Japanese or if this is just a Viz invention. There’s lots of scenes of the kids seemingly cornered only to win out in the end, which I will happily read over and over again, and not every battle runs along the same lines, which is important in a long-running shonen title like this. That said, I doubt this series will be going to 90+ volumes like One Piece. But it is going to double digits, as the cliffhanger shows Emma confronting the strongest and cleverest of the hunting demons.

I hope I don’t need to repeat myself: Promised Neverland is consistently excellent, and I like how it’s really showing off that just because it left Grace Field (the cliffhanger to the first anime season) does not mean it’s all over. Essential.

The Asterisk War: Whispers of a Long Farewell

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By Yuu Miyazaki and okiura. Released in Japan by Media Factory. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Haydn Trowell.

Last time Saya stole Claudia’s thunder a bit, but in this volume Claudia definitely takes the spotlight: this is her book, and we get glimpses of her childhood, how she’s been changed and affected by wielding the Pan-Dora, and just what her REAL wish it, as everyone agrees it can’t simply be “I want an interview with a known political prisoner”. In fact, it’s a lot more close to home than that, and a lot darker. That said, in amongst the darkness we do get some good fights, as Ayato finally has to face off against his roommate, who turns out to be from a family of ninjas, to the surprise of absolutely no one. And of course the other girls are somewhat stunned at Saya admitting her feelings directly to Ayato, and are wondering what comes next, though honestly, knowing how harem titles work, they should not be surprised the answer is “not much.”

I did give Saya credit for confessing last time, but it’s hard to take “you don’t have to answer me right away” as anything more than backing away at the last minute. That said, that’s more on the author than on Saya herself, and she’s right that she doesn’t want to affect the Gryps team while they’re still competing. Julis and Kirin are both providing what little humor is in this volume with their reactions, which are pretty much exactly what you’d expect. Additional lightness is provided by Laetitia, Claudia’s childhood friend and “rival”, the sort of rival that you always see in these sorts of things, who is constantly talking about defeating Claudia one day but in reality is caring and worried. Just because I really enjoy each new volume of Asterisk War does not mean it isn’t hitting each cliche with perfect precision.

The bulk of the book stems from Claudia’s somewhat open declaration of war last book, and the Powers That Be deciding that things are so dangerous now that assassinating her in a very obvious way is actually the lesser of two evils. Fortunately, she’s clever and able to avoid getting killed right up till Ayato can show up. Unfortunately, Ayato is related to her REAL wish, and to his horror, it’s a bit of a death wish. As I said before, given what Claudia endures is using her Orga Lux, it’s unsurprising that she’s gotten somewhat jaded and tired – she’s seen being killed by the entire cast, including Julis, Kirin AND Saya. But not Ayato, and this leads to the second confession of the book. I’ll be honest, I did briefly wonder if the author had the stones to kill Claudia off. But honestly, having her survive was not only the more cliched (and thus Asterisk War) option, but it allows for a really lovely it where Ayato asks what she plans to do now, and she literally has no idea – she hadn’t imagined surviving.

I’m not sure how her newly “repaired” relationship with her mother and the rest of the PtB will go, but I do know that the next book will have the next tournament bout, and it’s not good news for our heroes – Claudia and Ayato are very depleted on resources. Are they really going to lose? OK, probably not. But Asterisk War remains good frothy fun, with some really good character development this time around as well.

Yona of the Dawn, Vol. 17

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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.

This volume of Yona of the Dawn doesn’t quite reach the absolute heights of the previous two. Of course, since that downgrades it to merely “excellent”, there’s no need to worry. We start a new arc, as it turns out that one of the latest outbreaks of war is happening right where Yona and her crew are going to next. Imagine that, huh? (Seriously, there’s a wonderful self-aware moment midway through this volume where Yona wonders what her life would have been like if Hak and Su-Won had not been at odds, and she realizes she’d be a sheltered princess in the palace, not caring about the outside. Moreover, there would be no Yona of the Dawn. And so, as a reader, we are delighted that instead Yona is out and about and doing things like “Starving child? Huh. Better shoot down a bird from the sky for him to eat!” without even batting an eye. This is the Yona I want to read about.

The starving kid is what kicks off the story – he’s from a village that is now part of the Kai Empire, but decades ago was part of the Kohka Empire. Shifting borders happen all the time when large nations are at war, and one of the points of this book is that people don’t care enough about the little villages along the border that are forced to deal with all this. For the most part the village has tried to stay out of the way of everyone, but that’s not going to work anymore, as, having suffered a humiliating defeat, decide that rather than let Kohka retake the land they lost, they’re going to burn it to the ground and kill everyone in it. Fortunately, they’ve got the Happy Hungry Bunch in town. Unfortunately, almost the entire group is down with a bad illness.

Hak is not ill, but even he can’t take on a huge group of soldiers all by himself. Yona is fine as well, but Hak knows very well this is not a fight for her no matter how much she’s improved – the numbers are too bad. And then there’s Zeno, the last of the not-ill group, who has been, for the past several volumes, “the goofy one” for the most part, who has to fly into action after all the others (including the sick guys, who try their best but are severely underpowered) are taken down and Yona is surrounded, and… well, immediately gets a sword through the chest. Ow. Fortunately, it turns out that Zeno has a few secrets of his own, though given that it’s part of the cliffhanger, it will be till the next volume before we get to see that. There’s also a short story at the end showing Jaeha’s past with his predecessor, which again reminds us of the difficulties of being a Dragon.

Yona is always exciting and fun (even in the most serious of scenes, there’s usually one or two asides that are hilarious – my favorite this volume being Yun’s “I know I’m a great catch, but I’m a boy.” Rest assured, this volume of Yona will keep you thoroughly entertained.

Manga the Week of 4/10/19

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SEAN: Last week we gushed about Viz, I suspect this week will be Kodansha, with two killer debuts. (Debuts reflect release date on Kodansha’s website, not Amazon)

But first, Drawn & Quarterly has a new Kitaro volume, Kitaro’s Yokai Battles.

ASH: Yes! It seems like forever since the last Kitaro release.

SEAN: J-Novel Club snuck Invaders of the Rokujouma!? 20 out on me for this week, plus we also have Cooking with Wild Game 2 and Seirei Gensouki: Spirit Chronicles 4 next week.

Kodansha has a bevy of digital, including a debut. The title is My Pink Is Overflowing (Atashi no Pink ga Afurechau), which sounds filthy, and runs in Ane Friend. It’s about a girl who finds out her manager at work is a virgin, which excites her to no end. This sounds so trashy that I have to read it.

MICHELLE: After having given in to trashy temptations with Love Massage, I think I’ll sit this one out. :)

ANNA: Me too, there’s plenty of other things to catch up on instead.

MJ: Yeah, so not into this. Probably. Well, maybe.

SEAN: Also digitally? The third and final Crocodile Baron, I’m Standing on a Million Lives 6, Love Massage! Melting Beauty Treatment 2, My Sweet Girl 2, The Walls Between Us 5, and World’s End and Apricot Jam 3.

MICHELLE: I’m reading several of these (hint: not Love Massage). World’s End in particular is better than I thought it would be, given its premise.

SEAN: We also have some print releases from Kodansha. O Maidens in Your Savage Season (Araburu Kisetsu no Otomedomo yo) is written by Mari Okada, famed anime screenwriter whose autobiography was put out by J-Novel Club, and drawn by Nao Emoto, who did Forget Me Not. It’s a Bessatsu Shonen title with an anime coming out this summer, and is a coming of age drama starring five high school girls.

ASH: I’m particularly interested in this due to Okada’s involvement.

MJ: That sounds interesting!

SEAN: There’s also Witch Hat Atelier, which runs in Morning Two, looks AMAZING, is award-winning, and follows a girl who becomes a witch’s apprentice so she can learn magic to save her mother from… um… well, her own impetuousness.

MICHELLE: It’ll be interesting to compare this to Ran and the Gray World.

ASH: I’ve heard really good things about this title.

ANNA: I’m officially intrigued.

MJ: I mean, even just the title. Definitely interested in this.

SEAN: And we have Attack on Titan 27, Grand Blue Dreaming 5, Land of the Lustrous 8, and Tokyo Tarareba Girls 6.

ASH: I’ll definitely be picking up those last two!

Seven Seas gives us Space Battleship Yamato: The Complete Collection. It’s so old it ran in Akita Shoten’s Bouken Ou, which no longer exists, and is better known in North America for its adaptation as a cartoon, Star Blazers. As with all Matsumoto, it’s a must-buy hardcover.

ASH: Yup. Picking this one up, too.

ANNA: Yay!

SEAN: And they also have, digitally, the 6th Make My Abilities Average! novel. Print will come later.

Tokyopop has a 4th Konohana Kitan.

Vertical has the first Knights of Sidonia Master Edition, with larger size, 2.5 volumes per omnibus, and colored inserts. Come for the bear, stay for the strangest harem manga ever.

And Viz ends things next week, as we have a NeiR:Aotomata short story volume called Short Story Long.

As well as Case Closed 70, Magi 35, and Sleepy Princess in the Demon Castle 6.

ASH: Sleepy Princess in the Demon Castle is a consistently fun series.

ANNA: I need to get caught up!

SEAN: There’s some heavy hitters out next week. What’ve you got?

My Hero Academia: School Briefs, Vol. 1

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By Kouhei Horikoshi and Anri Yoshi. Released in Japan by Shueisha. Released in North America by Viz Media. Translated by Caleb Cook.

Shonen Jump series tend to have a lot of light novels based off their parent series, but just because those come out in Japan does not mean they are a success over there. Even Naruto, the juggernaut, had its post-series light novels quietly dropped after only three of the six books were out. But My Hero Academia is the new Juggernaut, the Deku to Naruto’s All Might, and so it seems appropriate that we give it a try with this first in a series of books about the “daily lives” of the cast. No major plot points, just fun. This book seems to take place around the 7th volume of the series, though if you haven’t read the 11th volume you may be spoiled for Bakugo’s mom. As that sentence indicates, the subject of this book is Parent’s Day, where out student heroes have to have the family visit. This being UA, the teachers have a surprise in store for them, however…

As you might guess, with a cast this big, not everyone gets a spotlight – even Bakugo is mostly sidelined. Not everyone is fond of Parent’s Day either, particularly Todoroki, who wants his mother to go but knows that she can’t, and really does NOT want his father to know about it at all. (Which leads to a great punchline at the end, that does not shy away from Endeavor being a horrible dad.) Fortunately, his sister is able to go. Meanwhile, Iida has tickets to an amusement park, and invites the main cast, but none of them can make it. So we end up with the odd foursome of Iida, Tokoyami, Kaminari, and Mineta. Meanwhile, Uraraka is trying to buy supermarket bargains (the book is great at reminding us how poor she is compared to the rest of the cast, particularly Yaoyorozu), but is distracted by an apparent shoplifter. And then there’s Parent’s Day itself, which turns out to be a lot more dramatic than the kids thought.

There’s good and bad in this volume. It’s trying to strike a balance between “engage new readers” and “write for fans of the series”, so there’s a lot of introductory stuff telling us who the cast is and how quirks work, etc. It makes it feel like a book that’s geared towards younger readers… were it not for Mineta, who is in this book quite a bit, and remains the worst thing about the series. Even something that is meant to be heartwarming, such as Tokoyami bonding with a lost little girl who’s scared of birds, gets ruined by Mineta saying that when she grows up, she’ll be a hottie and hitting on the girl’s mom. I hate him. He also drags Kaminari down with him, though that’s true in the manga as well. The book is best when it’s delving into things that Horikoshi has not had the time to really delve into, such as what’s it’s like for a child when their quirk first manifests (it can be terrifying), or enjoying the friendships of a group that is still learning about each other at this stage.

This is a fast read (don’t let the page count fool you, it’s short) and, Mineta aside, a lot of fun. There’s even a few touching scenes, particularly with Todoroki and Tokoyami. Fans of the series should like it quite a bit.

Bookshelf Briefs 4/2/19

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Ace of the Diamond, Vol. 21 | By Yuri Terajima | Kodansha Comics (digital only) – It’s still the finals of the West Tokyo preliminaries for Koshien, and Seido is still facing off against Inashiro Industrial. Tanba is obviously in trouble, and since what trailing Seido needs is an injection of heart, it’s Eijun to the rescue. His confidence and trust in his team exude from his every pore and it’s this spirit that gets the momentum going in Seido’s favor. It’s so nice to see Eijun doing really well and exhibiting some reliability—after spending so much time with him as a hothead with poor pitching control—and that his grandfather is there to see it. Of course, there’s yet another cliffhanger, as we make it to the bottom of the ninth with two outs to go before the volume ends way too soon. Can Seido manage to hold onto their lead? Tune in next time! – Michelle Smith

A Centaur’s Life, Vol. 16 | By Kei Murayama | Seven Seas – In this volume we get: social justice discussion; historical backstory with violence and slavery; Nozomi dressed like a girl and getting hit on; volleyball fanservice complete with a double-page “swimsuit malfunction” spread; the triplets somehow traveling in time to the past and meeting their big sister as a little kid; Kyouya talking with one of her male classmates who’s pretty good-looking and nice, but she’s not really that into him; How To Centaur For Beginners; a human teacher dealing with her new job at a frog school in a very clear racism allegory; a girl telling her male date—after the date—that she’s gay, and Manami’s Daily Life. All in a day’s work for a series that is anything but predictable. – Sean Gaffney

The Delinquent Housewife!, Vol. 4 | By Nemu Yoko | Vertical Comics – Everyone gets shot down here. Yoshino is too nice to go through with her “revenge,” and gives up on Dai. Dai and Komugi takes longer, and is more problematic, but eventually he gives up on her as well. The best parts of the book deal with Komugi and her mother-in-law, who discovers the truth and has to deal with it, as well as resolving to “train” Komugi as a housewife. As expected, the series ends with Tohru coming home; also as expected, we do not see this homecoming, cutting out just before it happens. This series lived and died on its premise, and I must admit I found Komugi’s struggles as a housewife more interesting than the romantic entanglements. I’m still happy I read it, though. – Sean Gaffney

The Girl from the Other Side: Siúil, a Rún, Vol. 6 | By Nagabe | Seven Seas – The good news is that Shiva and her teacher actually touch in this book, and nothing untoward happens to her, so his fears were not justified. The bad news is that, of course, he has been distancing himself from her all this time because of that. Oh yes, and also everyone else is still after them, because Shiva’s uniqueness makes her either something to kill or something to experiment on. We also get a bit of teacher’s past as a doctor, though not much, as he doesn’t recall it himself. Throughout the series, it’s been Shiva’s innocent conversation that’s kept me reading, and that’s still true here, in a lighter volume for this series—and given how dark the volume gets, that says something about the series. – Sean Gaffney

Kiss & White Lily for My Dearest Girl, Vol. 8 | By Canno | Yen Press – Yukine and Ayaka crawl towards being a couple, but we’ve got two volumes after this, and it’s clearly the endgame, so it’s only a crawl. As is the case with this series, most of the focuses goes on another couple, Hikari and Nagisa, whose first names just make me think of Strawberry Panic!. They’re both running for student council president, despite living together due to circumstances. (Ayaka is ALSO asked to run, but decides against it.) As is often the case with this series, both Hikari and Nagisa are nicer than the other one thinks they are, and slowly fall in love, though given they’re the volume couple, not AS slowly as our heroines. This is good, but I’m ready for the end. – Sean Gaffney

MachiMaho: I Messed Up and Made the Wrong Person into a Magical Girl!, Vol. 2 | By Souruu | Seven Seas – How long I stay with this series depends on how much it can continue to be ridiculous. It does its best her—I liked the reporter girl who’s dragged along by events, as well as a taste of Kayo’s actual home life and what she’s rebelling against. When there’s a more serious plotline, such as when Nako’s seemingly dead classmate is possessed and Nako has to be convinced to fight against her, it can’t quite ride the cliches as fast, and gets stuck. Kayo is a very entertaining and foul-mouthed main character, though, and despite a high death count this does not seem to be “watch magical girls suffer” like some other series. Mildly recommended. – Sean Gaffney

New Game!, Vol. 5: The Spinoff! | By Shotaro Tokuno | Seven Seas – This is something rare for a 4-koma series like this—a full-volume flashback, that was not serialized, that shows Aoba and Nene in high school, and how Aoba came to work at Eagle Jump straight out of it. We are introduced to two other “regulars” for this volume: Hotaru, a frail art student who is actually better than Aoba, and is going to art college; and their teacher Chinatsu, who is a “Sensei-chan” type who is one of the girls but occasionally dispenses good advice. There’s so much cute 4-koma humor that this could easily be a volume of Hidamari Sketch or GA: Art Design Class instead, but it does show us how Aoba got up the gumption to follow her dream. – Sean Gaffney

Precarious Woman Executive Miss Black General, Vol. 3 | By jin | Seven Seas – I still enjoy laughing as I read this very dumb but very funny title. MVP this time around goes to the evil overlord’s secretary, who I’ve taken to calling Riza Hawkeye because of her general appearance and disposition. She’s attacked by a rival henchwoman, and also accidentally drinks a love potion. Hijinx ensue. As for the General and Braveman, situation much the same. We do get a beach episode, which shows us that even on vacation, everything still descends into chaos. The funniest chapter sees the urban legend Slit-Mouthed Woman attack some little boys… and General, trying to recruit her, instead verbally tearing her apart completely Silly, silly, silly. – Sean Gaffney

That Blue Sky Feeling, Vol. 2 | By Okura and Coma Hashii | Viz Media – I greatly enjoyed the first volume of That Blue Sky Feeling and was very pleased to find the second volume is just as strong if not stronger. The series is both heartwarming and heartbreaking, realistically addressing with compassion some of the challenges faced by gay high school students. A large part of the manga’s effectiveness is due to the exceptionally well done characterizations of its two main leads. Noshiro is an earnest if somewhat naive young man. He has such an incredibly kind heart but in his efforts to help others he still makes the occasional mistake. As for Sanada, it’s wonderful to see him start to open up a little bit more in this volume. But, because of his sadly understandable efforts to protect himself, he hasn’t yet been able to be completely honest with even his closest friends. I look forward to seeing their friendship continue to develop. – Ash Brown

Total Eclipse of the Eternal Heart | By Syundei | Seven Seas – Nearly a hundred years ago, a famous novelist raped and murdered nine boys, all of whom he subsequently wrote about in one of his books. Now, Yamada Omihiko, a teen who writes exactly like that novelist, is classmates with (and on the verge of becoming more-than-friends with) a boy named Hoshino Terumichi, who keeps having a recurring dream about the death of a boy named Tsukimura Shou. It’s not much of a spoiler to say that reincarnation is a factor here. I enjoyed the bulk of the story, though the ending is a little baffling, and much of that is owing to Syundei’s easy-to-read retro-ish artwork. I’ve said previously that her style reminds me of Rumiko Takahashi, but owing to this volume’s theme, I actually got more of a Please Save My Earth vibe, which I’m not complaining about whatsoever. I’m definitely keen to see more of Syundei’s work translated in the future! – Michelle Smith