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Sean Gaffney

The Promised Neverland, Vol. 4

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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.

(Note: The review of this volume involves talking about this volume. If you’re looking for reviews that won’t spoil you, don’t look here.)

Much as the plot of The Promised Neverland involves a lot of mystery, horror and mind games between opponents, I like to think that a lot of the mind games are between the authors and the reader. As the reader peruses the volume, they’re thinking: are they really going to kill off one of the three main characters? Are they really going to kill off TWO of the main characters? And wait, what’s with that nightmarish ‘beyond the wall’ scenario? Isn’t this just getting too mean? And are they really going to take EVERYONE with them? The fun with TPN is that the reader really wants to find out the answers, and thus keeps turning pages compulsively. I can’t say we get all those questions answered in this particular volume, but I can say that the reasons people grew to love this series are still here, in bunches.

The first question, which came from the cliffhanger, involves whether Norman’s really going to be sent outside to get eaten. After much fuss and tears and Ray coming up with scheme after scheme, the answer for now is yes, Norman is indeed being sent outside to get eaten. Now, I’m highly doubtful that the second part is going to happen – honestly, if it had, I’m pretty sure we’d have seen it – but it does mean that Norman is out of the main cast for now. Still, he gets a glorious sendoff in out-plotting and scheming Ray. As for Ray, the explanation for why he allied with Mom is interesting, but not nearly as interesting as his plot to get everyone else to escape, which again makes the reader briefly wonder if he’s actually going to immolate himself for the sake of the others. Here the answer is more immediately obvious: hell ne, because Emma.

The series has done a good job of selling Emma, Norman and Ray as the three main leads, but I get the sense that Emma is a bit more lead character-ish than the other two, especially when you think about the fact that this runs in Shonen Jump and she’s got the “Jump hero” personality. Of course, that doesn’t mean that she can’t be clever or scheming, as seen throughout this volume. The escape relies on Emma seeming to be completely broken by Norman leaving, but the reveal of everything that’s been happening behind the scenes while this was going on is truly powerful. I especially like the idea that the other younger kids are in on all this too, rather than just innocent bodies to be rescued.

Of course, escape is still a long way away. As Norman showed us, scaling the wall and jumping down isn’t an option. Phil seems to have been left behind, though honestly I’m pretty sure that’s also part of Emma and Ray’s plan. And is Jump ready for a one-eared heroine? We’ll find out the answers in the next book, and I can’t wait.

My Solo Exchange Diary, Vol. 1

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By Nagata Kabi. Released in Japan as “Hitori Koukan Nikki” by Shogakukan, serialized in Big Comic Special. Released in North America by Seven Seas. Translated by Jocelyne Allen. Adapted by Lianne Sentar.

When we last left Nagata Kabi, she had been telling us about the experiences of her depression and the exploration of her sexuality, and how she ended up using the (sometimes very painful and raw) experiences to create a manga volume. Well, the manga was a hit. Possibly a bigger hit than the author was expecting. Now she’s being asked to do an ongoing series with a larger publisher, and being influenced by her followers on Twitter, and trying to move out of her family home. Oh yes, and still dealing with the depression and sexuality, neither of which has been made any easier by her sudden success. If My Lesbian Experience with Loneliness ended on a hopeful note, this second volume shows us that there are no easy, magical outs, and that sometimes you know exactly what needs to be done and yet can’t quite do it.

This volume focuses more on interpersonal relationships. Nagata, like most people, craves contact with others, but that’s easier said than done, and even when she gets what she wants she’s not sure how to act or react, and her emotions aren’t the ones she should be having. This extends to her family as well. She’s able to understand her mother better and realize that she is also going through many of the same things, but that does not necessarily extend towards being able to help her – Nagata wants to help herself first. Which means moving out, though she finds that’s not something to be done at the spur of the moment. And at the end of the book, she even manages to go out on a date with another girl, but this too is hampered by her depression and self-esteem, as she realizes she’s only focusing on herself and not the other person.

Again, I’ve never dealt with serious depression, but nevertheless a lot of Nagata’s monologues and advice to herself struck a chord with me. Her chapter on self-esteem and how to measure yourself against others was particularly good, and the tension and anxiety that went with “how do I tell my parents about my manga?” leapt off the page. (We do also, by the way, revisit the escort agency that Nagata went to the first time, and it’s possibly the most helpful thing to happen to her in the book – even though it’s just hugging, the physical affection alone lets her take a conceptual leap forward in terms of what she wants.) There’s a reason that Nagata’s stories got so popular, which is that she is very good at being able to take her life, her worries and anxieties, and get it down onto the page in a way that a reader will identify with it and root for her. And you want to root for her, want to see her do better, even as you read on and see everything that is pulling against that.

Essentially, if you read My Lesbian Experience with Loneliness and got something out of it, you’ll definitely want to pick this up, and I’ll be getting the next volume to see how Nagata is doing.

Bookshelf Briefs 6/12/18

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Arakawa Under the Bridge, Vol. 3 | By Hikaru Nakamura | Vertical Comics – It really does surprise me how invested I am in rec and Nino’s love affair, given that it’s not really an affair yet and this book is more about everyone being hopelessly weird. But in a series like that, you need something to ground you or else you risk not caring about anything, and for me it’s the moments when the two really show how devoted they are to each other. Elsewhere, a battle royale between the cast goes about how you’d expect in terms of the winner (hint: she’s on the cover), and there is also the occasional hint that these happy (sort of) days for rec won’t be able to last forever. Arakawa requires a love of gag comedy to appreciate, but if you do there are a lot of rewards here. – Sean Gaffney

Durarara!! Re;Dollars Arc, Vol. 1 | By Ryohgo Narita, Suzuhito Yasuda, and Aogiri | Yen Press – The last time we had a DRRR!! manga volume come out over here, we were just beginning the light novel release. Almost three years later, here’s the new arc. This starts to adapt the fifth novel, meaning that Akane and Vorona, two of my favorites, make an appearance. There’s not a whole lot of extra content here for those who have seen the anime and read the novels, though I was very appreciative of Shinra’s fantasy of why Akane would want to kill Shizuo. But for those who like following DRRR!! in manga form, this adaptation remains a good go-to choice. It’s drawn by Aogiri, who also did the Aquarion Evol manga art. Sadly, it also has Izaya being Izaya Alas. – Sean Gaffney

The Elder Sister-Like One, Vol. 1 | By Iida Pochi | Yen Press – While I was reading this, the first thing that came to mind was “this reads like porn with the sex removed.” Which indeed it is—the original was a pornographic doujinshi, but the author made the relationship non-explicit and a bit more familial (only a bit, mind you) for this mainstream release. The premise involves a young man who has been passed along from relative to relative and his demonic familiar who becomes a sort of twisted family. If you’re thinking “This sounds like Natsume’s Book of Friends only written for guys and with lots more cleavage,” you aren’t far off. It actually manages to respectably straddle the line between supernaturally sweet and supernaturally skeezy as hell. We’ll see how long it can keep that up. – Sean Gaffney

Flying Witch, Vol. 6 | By Chihiro Ishizuka | Vertical Comics – The cast expands a bit here, as we meet Sayo, a “student council president” sort who thinks that Makoto is a bit too laid-back and relaxed about her witchly duties. Which, to be fair, is 100% correct. Fortunately, they bond over a case involving a repeating town block, and Sayo shows off her shy, cute side. Elsewhere in the volume, most of the rest of the cast show up for a barbecue of sorts, as we get much discussion of giblets and just how common it is to be loving it as a delicacy. Speaking of food, turns out the school’s pork cutlets are delicious to cats as well as humans, and also that you can get winter in July provided you’re associated with witches. Flying Witch is always peaceful, but never boring. – Sean Gaffney

Food Wars!: Shokugeki no Soma, Vol. 24 | By Yuto Tsukuda and Shun Saeki | VIZ Media – I haven’t enjoyed this Central arc much, so it’s a relief that the end seems to be in sight. It turns out that Erina’s dad once idolized Soma’s dad and is unable to resist a challenge in which a defeated Joichiro would become his minion. Now the resisters are going up against the remaining council members, with the possibility of taking over the council themselves, and we get fun training action like a three-on-three battle during which Takumi reveals just how much he’s grown and Erina attempts unorthodox cooking for the first time. It’s a lot of fun and the air of amiable challenge that exists between Soma and Joichiro ends up inspiring Erina to stand up to her dad and publicly side with the resisters. We barely get started on the team shokugeki before the volume ends, but I’m happy to find myself once again enjoying this series immensely. – Michelle Smith

Haikyu!!, Vol. 24 | By Haruichi Furudate | Viz Media – This was one of the best volumes of Haikyu!! I’ve read yet, and it’s not a coincidence that there’s no tournament going on. I do love the games, but volume after volume of them can get exhausting (and hard to review). Here we see a jealous and driven Hinata follow Tsukishima to the all-rookie camp… where he wasn’t invited. What’s worse, the coach of this camp is Shiratorizawa, whose motto is basically “no short kids.” Still, he lets Hinata be the ball boy. This is actually really good for him, as it allows him to realize how much there is to learn by just watching. His raw instinct is combining with actual game smarts, and it’s terrific to see. I am really waiting to see how this plays out in the future. – Sean Gaffney

Laid-Back Camp, Vol. 2 | By Afro | Yen Press – I mentioned this in my review of the first volume, but it really is striking how much the series is trying to separate the main cast. We start off with Nadeshiko and her club at a hot spring camp, and Rin… far away, looking for another hot spring (which turns out to be closed) but finding her own solitary camping experiences. It’s nice to see that the manga tells people it’s fine to have fun on your own. Still, I think I appreciated it more when Rin and Nadeshiko were actually interacting in person rather than by phone, and I do hope that in future volumes we can have the four together… or maybe five, if we can convince Rin’s weird friend to come along. Still a nice series as laid-back as its name—I just wish it had more characterization. – Sean Gaffney

Takane & Hana, Vol. 3 | By Yuki Shiwasu | Viz Media – Takane & Hana is still at its best when its romantic pair are snarking at each other, and there’s plenty of that here. Elsewhere, though, Hana’s grades are starting to slip, leading to a studying binge which Takane actually proves pretty adept at helping with. It’s not without cost, though, as he gets a bad cold, and she realizes just how much it is that he actually does. Meanwhile, a trip with Takane, Hana, and Hana’s friends also includes the high school boy who likes her, and he brings up the elephant in the room, which is the fact that Takane is a decade older than Hana, she’s still in high school, and this is pretty creepy if you stop and think about it. That said, I’m content right now to let the shoujo manga keep the romance on a slow simmer. – Sean Gaffney

Yona of the Dawn, Vol. 12 | By Mizuho Kusanagi | VIZ Media –Yona of the Dawn is always good, but this volume is particularly so. Yona and her retinue get caught in the Fire Tribe city of Saika as an invading army from the Kai empire approaches. I appreciated the atmosphere of tension while everyone waited and also loved seeing Tae-Jun be brave, keeping his promise to protect the villagers. It turns out it’s all a traitorous plot and even though Yona would also like to get vengeance on Su-Won, she can’t let this army attack the palace lest they throw the nation into chaos. Potentially my favorite aspect of this, though, is that Kusanagi keeps showing that Su-Won actually is a better king than Yona’s father was. I expect eventually she’ll have to recognize that for herself. At turns light-hearted and intense, Yona of the Dawn really is something special. I’m glad this story exists. – Michelle Smith

I Saved Too Many Girls and Caused the Apocalypse, Vol. 8

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By Namekojirushi and Nao Watanuki. Released in Japan as “Ore ga Heroine o Tasukesugite Sekai ga Little Mokushiroku!?” by Hobby Japan. Released in North America digitally by J-Novel Club. Translated by Mana Z.

We conclude Little Apocalypse’s first two-parter here, and though things end as one might have expected, the purpose of the journey has changed. Little Apocalypse has always waffled back and forth between whether it’s a parody or not, and it’s true that the next volume may make me eat my words, but for the moment it’s taking itself seriously. What we see here is what we’ve seen in previous books. Rekka uses various powers that he has available to him via the girls around him to solve his problem. (It’s much like Rokujouma in that regard.) But there’s little joking around here, the villains are seen to inflict horrible consequences, and the solution, as R notes, may actually make things worse. In fact, that’s how you know things are super serious – R is actually dispensing advice and trying to help, at least as much as she’s allowed to.

Speaking of R, we get to hear more about her actual mission than we have since the first volume. It’s clear that she’s not allowed to help Rekka figure out which girl he likes, or even clue him in that the girls like him. She’s only allowed to help him in his missions to save the girls’ stories. As we’ve seen, this can be very frustrating to her, as Rekka is deeply clueless about the feelings that the others have for him. That may change soon, though I somehow doubt it – he seems to think that Harissa’s gambit at the end of the book here might be accidental, whereas I’m pretty sure she, and R, knows exactly what she’s doing. Unlike Rokujouma, where you can pretty much tell near the halfway point of the series that they’re headed for some sort of polygamous ending, and everyone’s mostly confessed, here you’re continually reminded that the girls really are in constant rivalry with each other, and something else is probably needed to make sure we don’t end with an even bigger apocalypse.

All right, let’s talk about the time travel. I mentioned in my review of the seventh volume that even though I suspected that Sophia was somehow going to be saved, that didn’t make the matter of Lyun’s grief and rage any less important to Rekka. We get to see that even more with the massacre of the psychic gang, which hammers home once more how difficult the “job” that Rekka has is, and how easy it can be to get an unhappy ending. Fortunately, this is not Grimgar or something similar, and I was happy to take the time-travel out, even if it did involve Rekka disturbingly having to leap off a building to trigger it. But even with the time travel there’s still a lot of tension here – I’d mentioned that there was little humor in this book, and it’s true. Little Apocalypse has gotten serious, and thankfully in a good way.

Now, I’m not sure this will last. We’re exactly halfway though the series now, and I think the next volume may be far more comedic to make up for the serious bits here. But as long as it keeps up the small but noticeable character development we see here, and moves us closer to Rekka getting a clue and making a decision, then Little Apocalypse is still worth your time.

Pick of the Week: Love Is Hard, But So Is Loveless

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MICHELLE: I feel like I really should be picking Loveless, since it’s been so long, but I’m pretty sure someone else will have that covered. Instead, I’ll go with the second volume of Wotakoi. I’ve finally gotten around to reading the first one, and it’s amusing and charming and just really a lot of fun.

SEAN: I’m also ready for Wotakoi, as well as Captain Harlock. But my pick this week is Sleepy Princess in the Demon Caste;, because every Shonen Sunday license needs our support, and also because sleepy princesses sound awesome.

ANNA: I’m pretty stoked for Captain Harlock, but like Sean, I want to support Sleepy Princess in the Demon Castle, since Shonen Sunday series don’t come around too often.

KATE: I’m glad we’re finally getting a second volume of After Hours, one of the only licensed yuri series that focuses on adult women, but my heart belongs to Captain Harlock. Bring on the manly conversations about Loyalty, Courage, and Space!

ASH: So much great stuff is being released this week! After Hours, Captain Harlock, and Wotakoi are all very high on my list, and I’m rather curious about Sleepy Princess in the Demon Castle, however another tremendous series that hasn’t been mentioned yet it is To Your Eternity. The manga just started a new story arc which I’m sure will be just as devastating as the ones that preceded it, but I’ve come to expect great things from the series.

MJ: Michelle was right not to fret, because of course the only possible pick for me this week is volume thirteen of Loveless. Yun Kouga’s pretty much always got my number, with her chaotic, emotionally messy style that’s exactly my cup of tea. There can be few who don’t already know how much I adore Loveless, in particular, since I was never able to stop writing about it (and writing about it). After nearly four years since the last volume was released in English, I suspect the new installment will feel scant and less satisfying than I’d like it to be, but I’m so glad to finally see it, I can’t quite bring myself to care.

Captain Harlock: The Classic Collection, Vol. 1

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By Leiji Matsumoto. Released in Japan as “Uchuu Kaizoku Captain Harlock” by Akita Shoten, serialized in the magazine Play Comic. Released in North America by Seven Seas. Translated by Zack Davisson.

I had reviewed the first volume of the modern-day remake of this series, Dimensonal Voyage, and I worried that reading the original afterwards might be a bit of a letdown if they covered the same ground. No need to worry there. The more recent series seems to be far more concerned about the planet Earth and what’s happening back there, whereas the original Captain Harlock can’t wait to head out into the depths of space. Which makes sense, because as with the other classic Matsumoto series we’ve seen, Queen Emeraldas, the author is less interested in creating a manga story than in creating a manga mood. Harlock is a Wagnerian opera, complete with the repetitive, sonorous narration that makes the whole series sound like a collection of leitmotifs. As such, there is a general theme of “war against the eerily beautiful and yet eeeeeeevil women’, but for the most part you are here for the spectacle. And what good spectacle it is.

To an extent, the story of Harlock is actually the story of Tadashi Daiba, a young boy whose scientist father is gratuitously killed off to jumpstart the plot. Earth is currently under the rule of a useless, narcissistic leader (so nothing at all like our current timeline), and Tadashi is longing to get revenge on the beautiful women “who burn like paper” that killed his father. Enter Harlock, who arrives with his crew and backstory already in place – albeit the backstory is teased out to us bit by bit, and the only time we see Emeraldas she’s an evil doppelganger. Instead we have Harlock’s eccentric crew, which are composed entirely of Matsumoto’s two basic types: short, squat men and gorgeous long-haired blondes. With Tadashi now on the crew, they head out into space to try to find out the secret of the Mazon, and see if they can discover a reason for their war against the Earth… or if it’s just pre-destined after all.

As with a lot of manga from this time period, readers should be prepared for a lot of silly comedy interspersed with Harlock’s stoic nobility. His first mate Yattaran is the primary source of this, caring about putting together models of battleships and nothing else, to the point where the running gag starts to get tiresome, but thankfully not past that point. There’s also an alcoholic doctor, which might seem a bit familiar to fans of Space Battleship Yamato. As for his two female crew members, sadly they’re just as serious-minded as Harlock, though at least Yuki gets in the occasional snarky line. As for Mimay, it’s rare to meet a character who screams “I am going to die tragically somewhere in the next volume” more than she does, and every single line she says just underlines that point.

The plot is slight, and the art is very 1970s. That said, this is the sort of manga that’s not meant to be read so much as sipped. If you keep that in mind, Harlock turns into an excellent purchase, showing off a creator at the height of his powers.

Me, a Genius? I Was Reborn into Another World and I Think They’ve Got the Wrong Idea!, Vol. 2

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By Nyun and Sakana. Released in Japan as “Isekai ni Tensei Shitandakedo Ore, Tensai tte Kanchigai Saretenai?” by Overlap, Inc. Released in North America digitally by J-Novel Club. Translated by Shaun Cook.

I’m afraid that there’s a bit of a sophomore slump with this second volume. It was always going to be hard to keep the lightning in the bottle, but I think the author may have changed things up a bit TOO much. Most of the events and places that we were introduced to in the first book are jettisoned, including his school and friends – yes, even Alice, despite being the main cover girl for the second time, barely appears – and instead Kouki’s parents, realizing that eventually the world is going to have to do something about their son that everyone assumes is an amoral monster, decide it’s for the best to move. With 100,000 of their colleagues. To another universe. Because even though most of the actual plot of the first book is abandoned for this second book, the basic premise remains the same – everyone thinks they’re the only same person in the room, and everyone is wrong – they’re all over the top out of their gourds.

The reason they’re able to do the universe move is, for once, not because of some invention of Kouki’s, but because they’re investigating ruins on the moon and Kouki does what no one else has been able to, which is figuring out the hieroglyphics that are they key to get inside. There they meet an alien who gives them a device to look over other worlds. Sadly, the world they end up choosing has its own issues, and so while the first book in this series is science fiction of a sort, this is more playing with isekai fantasy. Of course, Kouki and his family are still who they are, and so they proceed to do laughable stuff that it’s impossible for the reader to take seriously and pass it off as obvious. There are still some very good jokes, such as when Miki realizes that Kouki has somehow learned magic, and her solution is “I’ll just learn it too so I can say I taught him”.

It’s become increasingly clear why this alternate universe Kouki was reincarnated in is like this – it has no casual fiction. No manga, anime, fantasy, video games, etc. This is why people stare in horror when Kouki does things that are what a casual teenage otaku might want to do after seeing an episode of your average sentai show and having unlimited access to the tech that can achieve it. Unfortunately, the actual writing itself still lacks focus – the changing viewpoints are clever, but they also mean that we flit from location to location at times, never really getting time to settle down and like any of these people. As the hero, Kouki fares best, and his emotional breakdown about the horror of war near the end wasn’t horrible, but I did feel that it hadn’t really been earned.

The series ends with the third volume, and I’m not sure if it’s got a real ending or an “open ending because who knows, maybe sales will perk up again” ending. Given it’s only three volumes, I’m going to read the next one, especially to see if they resolve the Alice subplot they mentioned and forgot in Vol. 1, and which doesn’t come up at all here. Till then, this is still goofy fun, but doesn’t really stick with you too much after reading.

Yona of the Dawn, Vol. 12

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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. Translated by JN Productions, Adapted by Ysabet Reinhardt MacFarlane.

One of the many things that the author of Yona of the Dawn is very good at is showing that the world keeps moving even as Yona and company are gallivanting around saving villages, gathering more hot guys, and hiding her true status from prying eyes, other parts of the Kingdom still have events move forward. Indeed, it’s doubly true here, as we see that Su-Jin, the leader of the Fire Tribe, has been plotting to overthrow the King for some time now, and is not going to let a little detail like Su-Won actually killing the previous King and taking over stop him. After all, what good are plans if they don’t end with you in a position of absolute authority? And so a lot of this volume is warfare and tactics, which is good. Fans of Yona’s slow-burning relationship with Hak may not get a lot to see here, but it doesn’t matter, as Kusanagi commands the reader’s attention no matter what she writes.

One of the things I like best anout this series is that it shows Yona’s decisions, which usually involve impulsively trying to protect those being attacked even when it would be far more sensible to stay hidden and keep doing reconnaissance, as being the right thing to do. Yes, Yun occasionally chimes in with how stupid this actually is, but the reason that everyone follows Yona is because she is wearing a nametag that says “Have you hugged your idealist today?”. Yes, the narrative shows that she made the right decision every time, but that’s the point. This is a manga that began with Yona’s crush and childhood friend betraying her and killing her father, and yet it refuses to get bitter and cynical, even when events conspire against it. Every time Yona looks determined and asks everyone to fight to save the oppressed, my heart grows a little bigger.

There is a bit of humor and romantic tease in this volume, mostly confined to the start, which sees all the guys squeezed into one small tent, or the wonderful shot of Jaeha with Sinha in his arms – not exactly what he’d planned. Presumably so the cliffhangers work out, we also get a couple pf side stories to round out the volume, the longer of which deals with Gija and the scars on his back. I’ll be honest, as the “harem” around Yona has grown, I feel that Gija has slipped into the background more than the others, so this was a nice way to remind readers of his past – which was sad, but not quite as sad as others were assuming. That said, I suspect readers will be focused more on the outcome of the battle between Su-Jin and Su-Won, and how the Happy Hungry Bunch are going to interfere even though they’re up against a ridiculous number of troops.

To sum up, Yona of the Dawn is still one of Viz’s best titles. Everyone should be reading it.

Manga the Week of 6/13/18

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SEAN: Did you know there is manga coming out next week? It’s true!

MICHELLE: Shokku!

ASH: You wa shock!

ANNA: Madness and insanity!

SEAN: Dark Horse has the first volume of Gantz G, the sequel series that serves all your lycra fetish needs. (I still want HEN, dammit.)

J-Novel Club has new digital novels for us. Grimgar of Fantasy and Ash 9, The Magic in This Other World Is Too Far Behind! 3, and My Little Sister Can Read Kanji 4.

Kodansha has new print titles! We have the 3rd Again!!, the 7th Aho-Girl, a 5th To Your Eternity, and the 2nd omnibus of Wotakoi: Love Is Hard for Otaku. Most looking forward to that last one.

MICHELLE: I am horrible and haven’t read the first Wotakoi yet. Perhaps I’ll remedy that this week.

ASH: You should! This is definitely another Kodansha week for me–I’m picking up most of these.

SEAN: Digitally we have another debut, this one is Kamikamikaeshi is a Nakayoshi shoujo series (we haven’t seen anything from them lately). It involves gods, hair, and reverse harems, and is by Ema Toyama of Missions of Love fame.

ANNA: Did someone say reverse harems??????

SEAN: There’s also a 3rd Boarding School Juliet, a 9th GTO Paradise Lost, a 3rd Living Room Matsunaga-san, and a 4th Starving Anonymous.

Seven Seas has another big blast from the past with the first Captain Harlock: The Classic Collection. First serialized in the 1970s in Akita Shoten’s Play Comic, this hardcover is filled with piracy and brooding.

ASH: Should be great.

ANNA: Wooo!!!!

SEAN: There’s a light novel debut in print, as we get the first volume of light-hearted overpowered heroine comedy Didn’t I Say to Make My Abilities Average in the Next Life?!. In digital, meanwhile, we get the 2nd volume of the same series.

The other debut may actually be familiar to those who tried the MangaBox digital app back in the day. High-Rise Invasion (Tenkuu Shinpan) is a shonen series that started there, then moved to Weekly Shonen Magazine. Beware, beyond this point survival game manga lies.

SuBLime has a 7th Deluxe Edition of Finder.

Vertical has the 2nd volume of CITY, the spiritual successor to Nichijou.

Viz debuts a new series, Sleepy Princess in the Demon Castle (Maou-jou de Oyasumi), which is, believe it or not, a new Shonen Sunday debut. Yes, the magazine still exists. The demon king has kidnapped our heroine… who just wants a nice rest. I look forward to this.

MICHELLE: I miss Shonen Sunday titles!

ASH: Indeed! And I’ve heard good things about this particular one, too.

ANNA: Looks cute!

SEAN: We also get a 2nd volume of After Hours, a 13th Loveless… oh, wait, here’s MJ.

MJ: THIS THIS THIS THIS THISY THIS THIS. Hi. There’s a new volume of Loveless. Obviously I will be devouring it.

MICHELLE: So excite.

ASH: I adored the first volume of After Hours and, yes, I’m still reading Loveless as well.

SEAN: …and there’s also a 30th Magi and a 3rd Splatoon. I’m impressed Magi has made it to 30+ volumes.

ANNA: So many volumes I am hopelessly behind on.

SEAN: Lastly, after a few delays, we finally get the 11th light novel for Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon?, seeing if Bell can bounce back after the disastrous events of the last book.

See? I told you there was manga. Anything for you?

ASH: Always, and then some!

Invaders of the Rokujouma!?, Vol. 13

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By Takehaya and Poco. Released in Japan as “Rokujouma no Shinryakusha!?” by Hobby Japan. Released in North America digitally by J-Novel Club. Translated by Warnis.

Much as the Rokujouma series in general has focused on life on Earth, and more specifically around Room 106, I’ve been starting to get a feeling that when the series does eventually end (and it’s showing a few signs it may soon in Japan, though we’re still long away from it here) it’s going to be having the cast emigrating to Forthorthe in some way, shape or form. Theia and Ruth’s plotline is simply too wrapped up in a world far away from here. We see that at the start of this book, where both of them go back to their planet to investigate her mother’s supposed illness, and the narrative kind of idles while everyone waits for them to get back. It takes a lot to shift these folks from where they want to be – next to Koutarou. That said, we’re also seeing that Theia and her mother are being set up to look like traitors by the bad guys, so a closer visit to modern Forthorthe is no doubt in the offing. For now, though, enjoy a volume that’s almost all battle.

Yes, Ruth’s evil ex-fiance is back, and bhe’s brought friends and a consuming desire to battle Koutarou. As such, once Theia and Ruth return with her mother the Empress (turns out the illness was a lie – no surprises there), our heroes are under attack from multiple fronts. This allows us to show off the varied skills of all the group while also showing that, unlike Koutarou, they are allowed to lose to superior numbers and firepower. Koutarou is an exceeption, but again this book takes the time to hammer home again and again that he’s using “borrowed power” from everyone. That said, what he does with all that power is purely him, even if he refuses to admit it. There are a few exceptions, of course. Harumi, newly awakened to the magic she has within her, as well as to the fact that she’s Alaia’s reincarnation (something only Clan and Theia’s mother seem to be figuring out), and suddenly she’s a huge powerhouse, though sadly this does push Yurika’s talents off to the side a bit.

And then there’s Shizuka. Now, given that the last few books have been trying their darndest to make Shizuka part of the main harem, despite the fact that she’s not in love with Koutarou (yet), there was always going to be a revelation about her. Her super strength for no reason at all was a signpost there. Still, it’s hard not to be amused when Koutarou literally pulls a deus ex machina and calls on his ancient dragon friend from the past… only to find the dragon has been within Shizuka all along. Shizuka herself seems unaware of this, possibly because the author wanted to have a wacky tag for the epilogue, but I suspect it’s only a matter of time before she ends up much the same as Harumi is now. Given the nature of this book, it’s unsurprising that there are an awful lot of last-minute saves and “oh, did I mention I can do this” twists to it. Oh, and we also hear about another Koutqarou and Clan time-travel adventure we haven’t seen yet, though I hope that doesn’t mean another .5 volume.

So with Theia and her mother likely having to stay in exile for a while, and the two biggest antagonists in the series joining forces at the end, what’s coming up? This feels very much like an “End of Part One” sort of book, so I suspect next time we’ll see the start of something new.

Éclair: a Girls’ Love Anthology That Resonates in Your Heart

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By Various Artists. Released in Japan as “Éclair – Anata ni Hibiku Yuri Anthology” by Kadokawa Shoten. Released in North America by Yen Press. Translated by Eleanor Summers.

The big news about this anthology, I think, is the fact that we’re seeing it at all. These anthologies pop up quite a bit in Japan, usually in the shoujo end of the market, with a collection of themed stories by various artists with a few known names to anchor the collection. That’s just what we have here, with the theme being the love between two girls. And yes, it is mostly girls – there are a few adults in this collection, but unsurprisingly most of the stories go to the4 traditional yuri well of ‘all girls school’. That said, while there are a few stories here that are essentially “Story A”, as Erica Friedman has defined it, there are more surprises than I expected, and quite a few touching and amusing moments. It doesn’t get that feeling of reading the same story 16 times that you sometimes see in these sort of books. And, of course, there is Girls’ Love to the nth degree – I only spotted a man once or twice in the entire book, and they didn’t speak.

It’s hard to review a title like this because the stories are so short you risk giving everything away just discussing them. On the ‘famous author’ end, the cover and first story are by Nio Nakatani, the author of Bloom Into You (unfortunately, I found it a rather weak story to begin with). Sakuya Amano, creator of Gosick and Konohana Kitan, has a story about a sheltered rich girl and her sharp-tongued maid, of which my favorite part was the sharp tongue more than the romance. And Canno of Kiss & White Lily fame has a story about a high school girl with a crush on an older, unemployed woman which is probably better off with the open ending that it was given – the author noted that she wanted to make the older woman more “bad”, but was unable to do it, and you can see the struggle to tame the story in the actual work.

Elsewhere, we get stories that allow us to see that not all relationships end happily ever after, with Shiori Nishio’s story showing us a love realized too late. There’s some twisted love, as a coffeehouse employee is falling for their new hire, but only because she’s a completely useless klutz and therefore adorable. I enjoyed the tales we got that stepped away from the school, like the woman who asks her friend to help her cook something for whichever new boyfriend she’s fallen for, only to find that this pie may be a little different; or the “post-apocalyptic” story that was a bit silly but amusing enough. Possibly the weirdest story in the book comes near the end, where a girl declares that she’s going to be having another girl’s baby. It’s the sort of thing you could only pull off in a short story – the number of pages (10) was just about right.

As you can imagine, the contents are highly variable, as you’d expect with an anthology like this. That said, the anthology is still well-worth picking up overall, especially if you like the authors or the genre. There are a few authors in here I would not mind seeing more of.

The Combat Baker and Automaton Waitress, Vol. 3

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By SOW and Zaza. Released in Japan by HJ Bunko. Released in North America by Bookwalker. Translated by Ari and John Werry.

As readers of fantasy manga and light novels know, one of the go-to ways to create a new world but also invest it with countries that the audience might care about is to make it like Europe around the time of the first and second world wars. Be it refighting the conflict with mecha or girls in powered suits, extending the way forever thanks to the efforts of a twisted God and twisted little girl, or focusing on post-war issues and fallout, everyone loves to write not-Europe – particularly not-Germany. Combat Baker is no different, which has made this book, one where Germany essentially won the war, a bit discomfiting. But for the most part it’s been subtle, and as long as the author doesn’t try to work in the Jewish people in an incredibly unsubtle way with a stereotypical character, I think we’re — (telephone rings) Hello, yes? What? (hangs up) Oh dear.

Before I get into Shylock (yes, really), let’s take a look at the rest of the book. Jacob is the focus of this volume, as his mother wants to move to a bigger city but he wants to stay behind with Lud and company. Meanwhile, the military is dealing with the equivalent of the SS troops, a separate group attached to the powers in charge which is trying to become more powerful than the government’s own military. In order to achieve this they have sent an immature teenage brat with delusions of regaining her family’s honor, one token “just plain evil” soldier, and a corporal in a mask who looks like he wants to stop these people, but also has something to hide. And of course we still have the occasional harem antics, as Sven frustratedly realizes that she cannot control women from falling in love with Lud, mostly as she hasn’t actually confessed yet. Can this group survive a Bake-Off as well as a kidnapping?

I should note here that I’m not Jewish, so this is just my own personal feelings. I think I see what the author wanted to do with his insertion of Shylock, a businessman who grew up abused by people simply due to his ethnicity and has tried hard to run his business and support his country. We see a bit of the catch-22 involved when he thinks that giving money to the state would get him in trouble, only to be arrested for not giving money. I suspect some of my reservations would be allayed if he weren’t literally named Shylock, and his nickname is “Greedy Shylock” to boot, a businessman who controls most of the weapons manufacturing in not-Germany. When you’re writing a fantasy novel which is dealing with the horrors of war in many ways, you need some subtlety in your writing and background. Shylock was as subtle as a boot to the head.

Apart from that, this is a decent enough Combat Baker. Jacob gains some depth here as a child who’s had to grow up far too fast, and occasionally acts like the child he’s supposed to be for once. And once again it’s hinted that Lud knows exactly who Sven is and is just rewriting his own mind to forget it. There’s also new translators, and the book read a lot smoother this time around. If you’ve been reading Combat Baker, you’ll want this one as well. And yes, there is also delicious bread (though the book does not come with free bread with purchase – Bookwalker might want to look into0 that.)

Bookshelf Briefs 6/4/18

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Battle Angel Alita: Deluxe Edition, Vol. 3 | By Yukito Kishiro | Kodansha Comics – Alita has been many things since she was rescued from a scrap pile–a formidable bounty hunter, a talented motorball player, and now (of all things) a beloved bar singer and musician–but her destiny hasn’t finished playing out yet. Zapan, another cyborg and ex-bounty hunter who unfairly blames Alita for everything that has recently gone wrong in his life, is coming after her to seek revenge. He cares very little about anyone or anything else, resulting in massive casualties and destruction. As I’ve come to expect from the series, the numerous battles in this volume are intense and well-executed in addition to being incredibly gruesome. Kishiro also has a knack for creative and marvelously disconcerting cyberpunk designs. But what really makes the series work is Alita herself and the strength and depth of her character. While her circumstances are rarely very happy ones, she continues to persevere. – Ash Brown

Kiss Me at the Stroke of Midnight, Vol. 5 | By Rin Mikimoto | Kodansha Comics – Last time I said that a lot of this was shoujo by numbers, and it still is to a degree, but you can feel the author fighting back against the obvious a bit. Shu spends much of the volume trying not to be the evil girl who gets between our hero and heroine, before seemingly just saying “screw it” and doing so for a good cliffhanger. That said, I continue to like the way the book is handling Kaede, who really is making an effort here in a way that most shoujo hotties, especially ones who are famous stars, wouldn’t do. It makes the butt stuff more tolerable. (It helps that both Hinana and Shu are also “pervy” to a large degree.) Add in more funny SD-faces, and it’s a pretty decent volume. – Sean Gaffney

Shojo FIGHT!, Vol. 3 | By Yoko Nihonbashi | Kodansha Comics (digital only) – I was very happy to see this volume on Kodansha’s release schedule! In it, one of Neri’s new teammates, Nao, has gotten herself involved in a “volleybetting” enterprise in which the audience gambles on matches between scantily clad girls. The Kokuyodani team rallies to extricate Nao from this situation, but all is not as sordid as it seems. Their efforts, in part, involve putting together an audience team to help win Nao’s freedom, and Neri’s teammates assure her that now is not the time to hold back, so she’s finally able to play her hardest with teammates in full support. Meanwhile, Takako Yui returns from overseas and seems to be fairly evil, though I liked that Michiru and Odagiri start dating as a result of her machinations. Looking forward to more! – Michelle Smith

Sweetness & Lightning, Vol. 10 | By Gido Amagakure | Kodansha Comics – Sweetness & Lightning continues to be eyebleach in manga form. In addition to cooking some classic Japanese dishes in this volume—udon, oden, and sukiyaki—Kotori and Tsumugi achieve a few more growing-up milestones. I appreciated that witnessing Tsumugi’s success in learning to ride a bike helped Kotori pass her interview for culinary school, and also liked how Tsumugi is picking up on things more now, like how their time cooking with Kotori might soon come to an end, or that, despite her best efforts to be friends with everyone, there are just some people she doesn’t like. My favorite moment, though, was when Kotori’s father tasted her food and affirmed, “You’re good at this.” Overall, it’s a very nice series about nice people cooking nice food and sometimes one needs that sort of story. – Michelle Smith

To Your Eternity, Vol. 4 | By Yoshitoki Oima | Kodansha Comics – One of my favorite manga series currently being released in English is To Your Eternity. Admittedly the story can be emotionally devastating and heartbreaking, but it’s also a beautiful and compelling examination of life, love, and what it means to be human. In stark contrast to the beginning of his existence, Fushi has lived the last few years in relative peace. He’s once again become an integral part of a found family, but now he’s had the advantage of time to establish even deeper bonds with people as he grows and learns. Fushi’s language skills develop alongside his self-awareness and understanding of others. However, danger and tragedy isn’t far off–Fushi will have to face his fears and make tremendously difficult decisions in order to protect those he has come to love. He’s evolving to become more human-like even while the monstrous truth behind his creation and survival is revealed. – Ash Brown

Wake Up, Sleeping Beauty, Vol. 4 | By Megumi Morino | Kodansha Comics – The cliffhanger that didn’t appear last time shows up in this volume, as Shizu’s father is back and he’s evil, alas. So it’s ‘put Shizu in an institution’ vs. having her run away with the boy who loves her, and I think we know what readers are going to go with, even in spite of the fact that this is dumb and will end badly. Before that, though, we pretty much get compressed adorable, as Tetsu and Shizu buy kimonos, attend a festival, and otherwise prove that she is indeed fully capable of interacting with the outside world provided she isn’t being constantly possessed. Sadly, I doubt Dear Old Dad will see it that way, and I expect the next volume to be rather dark. Still getting this anyway. – Sean Gaffney

Waiting for Spring, Vol. 6 | By Anashin | Kodansha Comics – There’s not a whole lot that happens in this volume plot-wise. Mitsuki challenges herself by serving on the cultural festival committee and does a very good job. Meanwhile, Aya-chan arranges for his team to have a practice game against our heroes, whereupon he and Asakura get into each other’s faces a bit. Mostly, though, this volume is about feelings. Asakura freely admits to his friends that he loves Mitsuki, which causes some strife with Rui, who was maybe starting to have feelings for her and has long had an inferiority complex where Asakura is concerned. Although I really don’t care about the Aya-chan stuff—or Rui, for that matter—I really like Mitsuki and Asakura and enjoy spending time with them as they work to better themselves and get to a place where they feel worthy of love. They’re a core couple worth rooting for. – Michelle Smith

Pick of the Week: We Want Everything

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SEAN: My pick this week is My Solo Exchange Diary, if only as I really want to find out what happens to our author next, painful as that may be. Also The Promised Neverland, Eclair, etcetcetc…

KATE: This is one of those weeks where I’m inclined to pick seven or eight titles. I second Sean’s recommendation of My Solo Exchange Diary, but I’m also excited for new installments of Princess Jellyfish, The Promised Neverland, and Descending Stories, three of my favorite ongoing series. I’d be remiss in my manga-critic duties if I didn’t also mention Yen Press’ yuri anthology Eclair, which has been on my radar since Erica Friedman reviewed it last year.

MICHELLE: I also have lots of things I’m looking forward to. Some ongoing shounen and shoujo faves from VIZ, Those Summer Days from Kodansha, Eclair from Yen Press, etc. But since it’s my final chance to choose quirky, unique, and addictive Princess Jellyfish, I’ve gotta go with that.

ASH: Absolutely sign me up for everything that’s already been mentioned and be sure to add on Vinland Saga, too. It’s such a tremendous series that somehow manages to only get better with each new volume that’s released.

ANNA: There’s a lot that’s great coming out, but I need to join with Ash in picking Vinland Saga for sure!

How a Realist Hero Rebuilt the Kingdom, Vol. 6

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By Dojyomaru and Fuyuyuki. Released in Japan by Overlap, Inc. Released in North America digitally by J-Novel Club. Translated by Sean McCann.

This volume of Realist Hero sees our heroes go off to meet the dragon people of this world. Most of them are as you’d imagine dragon people to be in an isekai light novel series written for guys – Western dragons types who can fly and breathe fire, carry men on their back, and can also turn into beautiful women. Indeed, the carrying men on their back thing is explicitly stated to be the same as losing your virginity for a dragon – with heavy consequences for the dragon if the guy doesn’t end up partnering with her. That said, none of these dragons are the star. The star is Naden, who is a dragon who doesn’t have wings and can’t breathe fire, and thus is mocked by the other dragons around her. Fortunately the star of this series is Souma, and so you know he’s going to find value in her (she can create electricity!), see what she’s really based on (Eastern dragons – which means yes, she can fly), and end up partnering with her in order to save the dragon nation from a disaster – and also because they’ve fallen for each other.

The plot of this book is very straightforward, to the point where it even seems a little rushed. Naden falls for Souma almost immediately, and there are several scenes to reassure us that he’s not going to be marrying her simply because of her powers or status, but because he likes her as well. I also appreciated the development given to Ruby, one of three “Mean Girls” style dragons who bully Naden for being different. It’s framed more as “each wants what the other can’t have”, and as Ruby points out, at least she’s being a jerk to Naden in person, rather than behind her back. Ruby, during the crisis, also has to be ridden by Hal, which of course means that he has to marry her, which is possibly poor timing given that he and Kaede finally got engaged before this book. Fortunately, everyone’s super fine with polygamy here, so it works out.

There are a few seeds for future books sown here, the biggest of which is the nature of the world that Souma was summoned to as a hero, which may not be as “alternate fantasy world” as first expected. I expect this may have something to do with the demons, which we’ve already heard are not quite as “they’re just evil, OK?’ as previously thought. The other implication of the book’s ending is far less surprising – Liscia is pregnant. This may be why the author had her go with Souma for the final battle even though she didn’t do much – it’s possibly the last time she’ll get to be involved. The next book looks to feature Juna and Roroa, so we may simply get revolving fiancee development for a while. And there is also a nice helping of humor here, ranging from Aisha destroying everything around her because Souma disappeared to Empress Maria’s new career as a pop idol. Souma’s influence is felt far and wide, clearly.

There may not be quite as much kingdom developing as previous volumes, so some fans may be disappointed. But for the most part this is a decent Realist Hero, introducing a new fiancee quickly and economically. She’s cute, too.