Manga Bookshelf

Discussion, Resources, Roundtables, & Reviews

Sean Gaffney

Yuuna and the Haunted Hot Springs, Vol. 1

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By Tadahiro Miura. Released in Japan as “Yuragi-sou no Yuuna-san” by Shueisha, serialization ongoing in the magazine Weekly Shonen Jump. Released in North America by Ghost Ship. Translated by Kayla Albarado. Adapted by David Lumsdon.

When I was first researching this manga, more than one site told me that it was “the spiritual successor to To-Love-Ru”. Which makes sense. Jump usually has one title that is written purely for the sake of teenage hormones, and for years To-Love-Ru was the one. And so, perhaps after briefly checking to make sure none of the cast are based on anyone’s wife, we have Yuuna and the Haunted Hot Springs, an ecchi Jump title which offers pretty much a lot of the same things that To-Love-Ru gave the reader. There’s a guy surrounded by a bunch of hot young girls. There is an awful lot of tripping and falling into boobs. There is a lot of violence towards the lead guy by said girls after that happens. And no doubt most of them will fall for him, though so far we only have the titular ghost. It’s Harem Comedy 101.

Our hero is Kogarashi, who has had a pretty unlucky life – he’s easily possessed by spirits, and it’s made his life very difficult, as well as made him very poor. Fortunately, he’s learned (almost out of necessity) to be an exorcist so that he can deal with these things. He’s also found an inn with attached hot springs where the rent is dirt cheap – because, of course, it’s haunted. He meets the residents, all of whom are gorgeous girls, and also the girl haunting his room, who is a cute fluffy-headed poltergeist with a bad habit of making things float around her when she is flustered, which is most of the time. Yuuna is a cute girl, so Kogarashi can’t exorcise her. Instead he befriends her, which works out even better (and also makes her fall head over heels in love with him). Then we discover the other residents are also… not ghosts, but various types of supernatural entities or those that deal with them. Can he get along with everyone? And what about school?

As you might be able to guess, this is not exactly the most original title in the world. At the same time, it has a job to do and does it well. Everything is in the standard ecchi harem language, but there was no point where I was bored or turned off by any of the various goings-on. Kogarashi is more of the “confident” Jump hero in the Luffy/Soma tradition, which makes a nice change from the meek nerds that usually inhabit such titles (as, for example, To-Love-Ru). Yuuna is as you’d imagine, but I did like the way she was translated/adapted, as she uses a certain amount of “Scooby-Doo” style exclamations at times, which is amusing as she’s a ghost, but also apropos as it shows she’s older than she should be. We’ve barely met the other residents yet (there’s a demon slayer who I still call Motoko as she hasn’t really differentiated herself from the Love Hina character), but I’m sure that will come soon.

So this won’t win any awards, but if you’re here for amusing comedic romance with lots of large breasts, and don’t mind no actual romantic resolution for 25 volumes or so (because did I mention it’s a comedic romance manga?), this could be the title for you.

Sword Art Online, Vol. 13: Alicization Dividing

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By Reki Kawahara and abec. Released in Japan by ASCII Mediaworks. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Stephen Paul.

As you might gather from the title, Kirito and Eugeo are divided throughout the book, as the cliffhanger from last time leaves Kirito and Alice hanging off the edge of the tower, and Eugeo needs to go on by himself to duel the last of the Integrity Knights there to stop them. This once again allows the author to alternate between third-person Eugeo POV and first-person Kirito POV. I’m not entirely certain if the hate-on fans have for Kirito is as omnipresent in Japan as it is here in the West, but I get the sense that Kawahara is playing with the reader a bit here. Eugeo is the straightforward, pure, noble type hero and Kirito is the snarky little cheater. Possible the funniest moment in the book is when Kirito wears Eugeo’s sword, and he and Alcie talk for a bit about how difficult using two swords actually is. Kirito doesn’t bring up his past as he feels embarrassed by it. Even Kirito is sick of Kirito. That said, Eugeo does not end up in a good place either.

As I said before, Kirito and Alice end up hanging off the tower by their swords, and have to find a way to climb up about twenty floors. This allows them to snark at each other, bond during fights, and of course for Kirito to tell Alice what’s really going on with the Integrity Knights. I will note that this scene should look fantastic when animated, though I suspect my fear of heights will mean I would never be able to watch it. I was most interested in how Kirito and the author are both telling the reader to think of Alice Zuberg, the little girl and childhood friend, as a separate person from Alice Synthesis Thirty, the Integrity Knight. Kirito knows that saving the former means killing the latter, and is feeling increasingly bad about that. More to the point, Eugeo is clearly there for Alice Zuberg… but Alice the Integrity Knight is obviously being set up as another of Kirito’s love interests.

Speaking of Eugeo, his fight against Bercouli was pretty awesome, and I was amused by the idea of a time-traveling sword slash. Eugeo gets the better of him in sort of a double suicide attack, but unfortunately is then found and brought to the administrator, whereupon he runs up against the necessity of the plot. Kirito and Eugeo are both great protagonists, but there can be only one Kirito in Sword Art Online. And come on, you know that the two friends were going to have to battle at some point. So yes, much as we’d like Eugeo to be strong and throw off the obvious brainwashing, he falls, and the cliffhanger shows that he is now an Integrity Knight with his memory removed. (Speaking of which, Alice, Eugeo and Kirito all have flashes of Kirito being present in their childhood – something Kirito clearly doesn’t recall now. I do wonder what’s going on there.)

So we’re all set up for friend vs. friend next time around. Will they finally be able to take down the Administrator? Well, possibly not, as we’re only now at the halfway point of the Alicization arc. One last thing: Kirito and Alice discovering the true nature of the Senators may in fact be the darkest, most horrifying scene Kawahara has ever written. Well done. I shuddered.

Pick of the Week: Sweet and Bizarre Adventures

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KATE: There’s plenty of product this week, from long-running shojo favorites like Kimi ni Todoke to new light novel series. My vote, however, goes to Chi’s Sweet Adventure, a spin-off of the Chi’s Sweet Home anime. I’m not expecting anything too ground-breaking here, just some cute kitty antics. What looks good to you?

SEAN: It feels odd to be picking nonfiction as my pick of the week (and prose for the second week running), but the Mari Okada autobiography, From Truant to Anime Screenwriter. I am looking forward to a lot of Viz stuff as well, but Mari Okada is definitely my pick this week.

MICHELLE: I’ll go with the 29th and penultimate volume of Kimi ni Todoke, even though I fully intend to hoard my copy and read it along with the final volume, since we have to wait until December for that one (sniff)!

ANNA: There’s a ton of great manga coming out this week! I’m going to have to go with the latest volume of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Chronicles. I might be hopelessly far behind in my reading of this series, but I love that it is getting the deluxe hardcover treatment.

ASH: I’ll join Anna this week in declaring JoJo my pick! I’m actually double-dipping for Stardust Crusaders because the deluxe edition is so handsome. There’s plenty of other manga coming out that I plan on giving a read, too, though!

Bookshelf Briefs 4/30/18

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Again!!, Vol. 2 | By Mitsurou Kubo | Kodansha Comics – Imamura sets about convincing the former members of the ouendan to rejoin the club. Although he has success with drummer Tatsuhiko Okuma (who has an extremenly ardent, unrequited crush on Usami), the other second years want nothing to do with it. Thankfully, he finally manages to convince a pair of third years to return by exposing the cheerleaders’ evil plot via a puppet show. (Yes, really.) Things are looking up, Usami is smiling, but… he’s still stuck in the past, and he’s a member of a club he never intended to personally join, and what’s more, he has knowledge that the school’s sports teams aren’t going to win anything. The volume ends with the suggestion that he might try to change that, but it seems like what he really needs to conquer is his own deep-seated belief that he’s a bad-luck charm. This is a fun series. – Michelle Smith

DAYS, Vol. 8 | By Tsuyoshi Yasuda | Kodansha Comics (digital only)- It’s the semi-finals of the Tokyo qualifiers for the All Japan Tournament, the final chance for Seiseki’s third years to play on the national stage. Unfortunately, with Oshiba and Kazama injured, and captain Mizuki forced to sit out because of penalties in previous games, Seiseki is missing its offensive powerhouses. Tsukamoto plays his first official game in some time, and it’s truly gratifying to see him gradually realize that he doesn’t suck anymore. He has a real affinity for regaining possession of stolen balls, and once he begins to have some confidence in his skill, soccer, which previously was just a way of hanging out with friends, starts to become fun in its own right. Seeing him seize the opportunity for a shot without hesitation is quite a big deal, even though he misses. Looking forward to volume nine! – Michelle Smith

Dead Dead Demon’s Dededede Destruction, Vol. 1 | By Inio Asano | Viz Media – While it may not be as immediately dark as some of Asano’s other manga, Dead Dead Demon’s Dededede Destruction still has an ominous and disconcerting atmosphere to it; already there is plenty of heartbreak along with the more lighthearted moments. Kadode Koyama is a young woman in high school who is having a difficult time finding the motivation to devote to her studies when the world itself is coming to an end. Three years ago, aliens appeared from outer space, the attack changing both everything and nothing about human life on Earth. While the story itself is intriguing, Asano’s artwork is a real highlight of the series. With dramatic angles and cinematic framing, Dead Dead Demon’s Dededede Destruction is always visually dynamic even when the manga focuses on the more mundane aspects of the characters’ lives. Well, as surprisingly mundane as things can be when living through an alien invasion. – Ash Brown

The Honor Student at Magic High School, Vol. 8 | By Tsutomu Sato and Yu Mori | Yen Press – For a series that’s supposed to be about Miyuki, the side manga really isn’t concentrating on her POV as much as you’d expect. Of course, given Miyuki’s incestuous love for her brother, perhaps that’s for the best. Instead, this volume is Honoka-and-Shizuru heavy, as we see Honoka’s triumphant win at Battle Board (as well as her triumphantly skintight wetsuit, which shows off her large chest to a ridiculous degree) and also see Shizuku’s battle with Miyuki in Ice Pillars Break, whose conclusion is fairly obvious but still emotional. It’s hard to strive to do your best when you hang around with people so far above you every day, let alone when they’re good friends. Excellent – Sean Gaffney

Imperfect Girl, Vol. 3 | By NISIOISIN and Mitsuru Hattori | Vertical Comics – Good news, the series stayed away from disquieting relationships, though there is a bath scene together. This series has been about a girl who has suffered abuse, and her traumatic mindset after the death of her parents. Said death is shown here, a bit unrealistic but evocative, as is somewhat expected of Nisioisin. Speaking of which, the revelation of the stories that the narrator wants to tell now is a nice fourth-wall break, as they’re all if Nisioisin’s other series, from Zaregoto onward. The conclusion is perhaps a bit too pat, but honestly at this point after all the exhausting tension of the three-book series, pat is good enough for me. Good stuff. – Sean Gaffney

Murcielago, Vol. 6 | By Yoshimurakana | Yen Press – To answer my question from last review, yup, this volume begins with a ridiculously over-the-top sex scene between Kuroko and the mother from last volume. As for the daughter, she’s attending a new school, which is an elevator school that also features Hinako and her friends, as well as a mad bomber, some unfortunate bullies, and a seemingly meek young woman whom Kuroko helps to stroll down the path of a twisted lesbian killer. For all that Kuroko is theoretically helping the police, there’s never any doubt that she’s also killing because she loves it, and gets away with it here. I emphasize again: I enjoy reading Murcielago, but it is a nasty series, and you need to accept that going in. Everyone here is awful. – Sean Gaffney

Pandora in the Crimson Shell: Ghost Urn, Vol. 10 | By Shirow Masamune and Rikudou Koushi | Seven Seas – Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in. The first half of this is standard Pandora, meaning somewhat dull and also filled with dumb comedy, though I did appreciate that Vlind’s two assistants seemingly look similar to Hyatt and Elgala. The second half, dealing with Mr. Keith Brooklyn, his wife, and their child, is a lot better, getting into the nature of “quality of life” and what it means to be truly happy, and utilizing Nene’s special superpowers for a good, loving reason. I know more than to expect this sort of thing to continue, but it was greatly appreciated as a break from the fanservice and global conspiracy. – Sean Gaffney

Spirit Circle, Vol. 3 | By Satoshi Mizukami | Seven Seas – Fuuta is getting better at reconciling his past lives with his present (and figuring out that his family and friends are also connected to him in the past), but he’s not getting along any better with Kouko, and she’s determined to destroy him for what he apparently did as Fortuna—which we still don’t know, and which Fortuna himself seems to be trying to actively stop him learning. As for the life we see this time around, it’s a tale of old samurai, and he and Kouko literally lose an arm and a leg each to each other. The author is very goo9d at showing the emotional impact of a scene, even if he’s not the best at facial expressions. (That hasn’t changed since Biscuit Hammer, really.) Addicting. – Sean Gaffney

Yowamushi Pedal, Vol. 8 | By Wataru Watanabe | Yen Press – Day two of the Inter-High continues. Although this volume features the triumphant return of Onoda and Tadokoro—which is great, and features Tadokoro crying manly tears of profound gratitude—most of the action has to do with the two teams currently battling it out for the lead: reigning champions Hakone Academy and Kyoto Fushimi, led by deceptive and ever-so-creepy Midousuji. We see how he converted the previously unified members of the Kyoto Fushimi team into his foot soldiers (and there are hints that a rebellion might come soon from within the ranks) and how he exploits the totally justified and sympathetic weakness of Hakone’s ace sprinter, Shinkai. Although readers surely want to see Shohoku take the victory, it’s neat that for this section at least, I find myself rooting for Hakone to smack Midousuji down decisively. Hopefully that will transpire in the next volume! – Michelle Smith

Baccano!: 1933 The Slash -Bloody to Fair-

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By Ryohgo Narita and Katsumi Enami. Released in Japan by ASCII Mediaworks. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Taylor Engel.

“There’s always someone better than you.” A truism that this two-volume arc of Baccano! seems to be taking to heart. Last time we saw Maria devastated when her swordplay lost out to Adele’s spear, and the repercussions of that reverberate though this book. But it doesn’t just end with her. Adele herself gets shattered when Maria’s clever thinking is actually able to deliver a bad wound, and the newly introduced Christopher Shaldred can try all he wants to be a cool, constantly talking killer, but we already have Clare/Felix, so he’s inevitably going to come out second best, especially when you realize that Felix prolonged the fight solely for the reason that he wanted to fight back to back with his fiancee. And then there’s Tim, who finds that not only is he easily manipulated by Huey, but also gets verbally destroyed by Senator Beriam. The theme here is “stay humble”, though to be honest nobody really learns that lesson.

By the time this book had come out, Narita had already started his other popular novel series Durarara!!, and I have to admit that of all the Baccano! novels, this one feels the closest to DRRR!! style shenanigans. That said, DRRR!! never gets quite as bloody as Baccano! does, and the massacre of the employees of the Nebula Building is (at least temporarily) a bit horrifying. Again one is reminded that there really aren’t too many “good guys” in this series – even Jacuzzi and Nice are gang leaders, and honestly I think the only reason they don’t get taken to the cleaners at the end is because Chane is part of their gang. The new villains are also pretty bad, and continue the theme of “someone better than you” – Tim’s Larva group from the prior book is as nothing compared to Huey’s experimental Lamia children, and it’s notable that after the fight at the end of the previous book, Adele is ready to go off the rails at a moment’s notice.

And then there’s Maria. I savaged her pretty badly in the first volume’s review, and to be fair she was incredibly annoying then. That doesn’t completely change (Luck confronting her at the end may be the funniest scene in the book, especially as by then the reader had ALSO forgot what her original mission was), but she manages to overcome her fears and doubts, gets a ridiculously cool two-sword move (honestly, this book would be fantastic animated), and possibly hook up with Tick – she says he gets to decide if they’re friends or lovers, to which I think Tick’s response can best be described as “Buh?”. She’s certainly better off than Firo, who runs around trying to save Ennis only to find Ennis never really needed saving at all. and then has Ennis say that she thinks of Firo… as family. Good thing these two are immortal, they need all that time.

Narita’s afterword says that the publisher wanted to get away from the 1930s again (so The Children of Bottle apparently did pretty well), but he said he had far too many 1930s plots still to tell. As such, be prepared to start a THREE-part arc next time, as we advance one year but otherwise have the same old ruckus. Plus maybe we’ll see who rescued Christopher, last seen bleeding out. As for The Slash, the second part definitely is better than the first. This is a fun ride.

Oh yes, Dallas is in this too. Sorry, totally ignored him.

Monthly Girls’ Nozaki-kun, Vol. 9

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By Izumi Tsubaki. Released in Japan as “Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun” by Square Enix, serialization ongoing in the online magazine Gangan Online. Released in North America by Yen Press. Translated by Leighann Harvey.

It’s been a long nine months since we last saw Nozaki-kun here, the curse of having caught up with Japan. I’m relieved to say, though, that the wait is worth it, as this series’ one and only job is stillo being done incredibly well: I laugh a whole lot when reading this. In fact, one joke made me laugh so much I had to put the book down for a few minutes. (It involves the art club and their “perfect guys”.) Characterization remains strong but static: apart from Hori maybe realizing that Kashima is attractive as a woman (though that doesn’t necessarily translate to any love epiphanies), no one here grows or changes, but remains the same lovably exaggerated idiots we want and expect. Chiyo’s Nozaki-love is up to eleven, Seo continues to be the best troll, and Nozaki’s people watching is as entertaingly wrong as ever.

If there’s a straight man left in the series, it’s probably Mikoshiba, whose attempts at getting Mayu and Wakamatsu interested in visual novels is a hilarious disaster, given that they’re not really playing the game for the same goals. Mikoshiba continues to be Chiyo’s BFF (yes, even though he’s a guy), trying in vain to help her and Nozaki get closer. This culminates in the guys and girls having (separate) sleepovers, which predictably involves Mikoshiba an company staying up late and gossiping about the romance game they played, while the three girls (who have no idea how an actual slumber party works) just talk about what male underwear looks sexiest.

I’ve been reviewing this series with full reviews since it began, and I admit it can sometimes be a bit of a challenge given that there’s not much to say here beyond “this is what I thought was the funniest”. But it is funny, and I can admire the craft that Tsubaki brings to the title in developing each gag. This series is not really much at all like Oresama Teacher beyond the love of “tsukkomi” style punchlines. Nozaki-kun has to be punchier, faster, and not wait for the gag to land. It can also be hard to think up material every week – you might see some of that in Nozaki’s watching the drama club improv, where they all talk about how easy it is to end a scene by having everyone drop dead or be murdered.

I’m not sure when Nozaki will end – I suspect when Tsubaki and Square Enix decides it’s run its course. We’ve already had an anime,. and a 2nd season is not on the horizon. That said, I’m not sure I’d expect much resolution in any ending – much as the fans might want the three “main couples” to get together – or even Mikoshiba and Mayu – I’m inclined to agree with the drama club. Ending with a romantic kiss is cheap and easy. Especially for a series like this. Making us laugh, though? That’s guaranteed.

As for tanukis, well, just look at the cover.

Reborn as a Vending Machine, I Now Wander the Dungeon, Vol. 1

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By Hirukuma and Ituwa Kato. Released in Japan as “Jidou Hanbaiki ni Umare Kawatta Ore wa Meikyuu wo Samayou” by Kadokawa Shoten. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Andrew Prowse.

If you’re going to be selling, as a regular series, a story about a guy reincarnated as a vending machine, you’d better go all in. Some stories work better as parodies (see the upcoming “Do You Like Your Mom?”), but I’m pretty sure this would not be any good if it weren’t 100% serious about its vending machine hero and the world he now lives in. The author says he wrote the book as a sort of push against the typical isekai harem protagonist, and I can see that. Yes, the machine gets a “blessing” that allows him to have a super cool force field, but it uses up HP fast, and its airtightness means it’s hard to keep humans inside. He also can’t move – he’s a vending machine. And his conversation is limited to six programmed phrases – he’s a vending machine. And he’s not getting a harem… well, OK, that remains to be seen.

Our hero is Boxxo (yes, really – thankfully it’s not his own choice of name), a young Japanese man obsessed with vending machines and the things that come out of them, who one day is killed in a brutal vending machine accident. He wakes to find he is now a vending machine, dispensing mineral water and corn soup. Unfortunately, he is sitting at the side of a lake deep in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by frog enemies trying to break him, and if he doesn’t sell things he’ll eventually run out of lifespan. Then he meets Lammis, a super strong, super spunky, super naive girl who has been abandoned by her party and is on the verge of death. He gives her food and drink, and in return she picks him up and carries him to the nearest settlement. (I did mention the super strength, right?) As the book goes on, he finds he can add new items (provided it’s something he previously bought when he was a human), camouflage himself, and other cool adventure powers. As for going on quests… you’d be surprised how important convenient food and drink can be in a battle.

As you can see, the premise can be as silly as you’d like. This is absolutely ridiculous. But the characters are all treated as real people rather than stock isekai types, even the guards at the door, the innkeeper and her daughter, and the town madam. (Oh yes, Boxxo can also sell condoms. I was surprised it went there, but it’s handled quite well. No, Boxxo is not going to be using them, he’s a vending machine.) Boxxo and Lammis get on great from the start, she’s very good at figuring out what he means when he’s using his stock “welcome!’ phrases, and having her around means the story is not totally stationary. I mean… the book has a subplot of Lammis falling in love with Boxxo, and it actually plays out as really sweet and cute rather than weird and creepy. I could have done without the constant breast size discussion, but that’s what you get in this genre, and at least Boxxo’s lack of a human body means he’s rather blase about it all – mostly.

I was going to be cute and say this was the best vending machine isekai I’d ever read, but that’s selling it short – it was a really good read, period. I enjoyed this a lot more than I expected, and definitely want to see what happens next. You will believe that a fantasy world can be transformed by a simple machine that gives you Pringles when you want them.

Manga the Week of 5/2/18

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SEAN: There’s a lot of manga out in May, but mercifully slightly less than March or April. What do we have next week?

Cross Infinite World has another Japanese webnovel for us. Mia and the Forbidden Medicine Report stars a girl determined to help the sick, and her adventures in a fantasy-tinged land.

Ghost Ship has a 4th To-Love-Ru Darkness.

J-Novel Club has a couple of debuts, one of which is very interesting indeed. Mari Okada is a prolific anime screenwriter who has won awards, and From Truant to Anime Screenwriter: My Path to “Anohana” and “The Anthem of the Heart” is her autobiography. A truly unique license that sounds fantastic.

ASH: That does sound interesting! Okada worked on the anime adaptation of Wandering Son and The Woman Called Fujiko Mine among many other great series.

ANNA: Huh, that does sound interesting!

SEAN: The other debut is more typical. The Unwanted Undead Adventurer starts off in a fantasy world, so not an isekai. Unfortunately, our plucky young adventurer was eaten, and now exists as a skeleton. Can he conquer dungeons anyway? What do you think?

There’s also a 2nd New Life + and a 12th Invaders of the Rokujouma!?.

Kodansha is mostly taking a break from digital next week, but they are debuting even more new series, so we get the debut of Beware the Kamiki Brothers! (Kamiki Kyoudai Okotowari), a 6-volume Betsufure series. I tend to be very wary of shoujo covers with a pensive female lead and smug male lead. We shall see.

Seven Seas has the 7th Lord Marskman and Vanadis, and a 2nd Nameless Asterism. They’re also putting out a 2nd digital volume of the Strawberry Panic light novel.

ASH: I liked the first volume of Nameless Asterism well enough to see how the Gordian Knot of unrequited love continues to develop in the second.

SEAN: We have a new publisher, though they’ve done work on visual novels in the past. Sol Press debuts two new light novels titles digitally, with print apparently coming out later on. We have Battle Divas: The Incorruptible Battle Blossom Princess, as well as Strongest Gamer: Let’s Play in Another World. Go check them out!

ASH: Oh, a new challenger has entered the arena! I was previously unaware.

MJ: Oh, interesting! I’m not sure I mean these particular books, but always happy to see a new publisher in the game.

SEAN: Vertical has the debut of Chi’s Sweet Adventures, the spinoff of beloved cat manga Chi’s Sweet Home.

And the rest is Viz. There are no debuts this time around. The Jump imprint has new volumes of Black Clover (11), Bleach’s 23rd 3-in-1, Haikyu!! (23), the 7th hardcover re-release of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Crusaders, Kaguya-sama: Love Is War 2 (technically Seinen Jump), Naruto: Chibi Sasuke’s Sharingan Legend (3), One Piece (86), the penultimate Toriko (42), and Twin Star Exorcists (12).

ASH: Haikyu!! and JoJo for me, please!

ANNA: So behind with JoJo but I love it.

On the Shojo Beat end, we see Anonymous Noise 8, Everyone’s Getting Married 8, Kimi ni Todoke 29 (also a penultimate volume), and Oresama Teacher 24.

ASH: I’ll take some more Oresama Teacher, too.

SEAN: That’s actually quite a bit. Do you see favorites in this list?

MICHELLE: My favorites are all in the VIZ camp today, specifically One Piece, Haikyu!!, and Kimi ni Todoke. Hard to believe the last is finally drawing to a close.

Dead Dead Demon’s Dededede Destruction, Vol. 1

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By Inio Asano. Released in Japan by Shogakukan, serialization ongoing in the magazine Big Comic Spirits. Released in North America by Viz. Translated by John Werry.

This was the series that came directly after Goodnight Punpun for Inio Asano, and he’s on record as saying that he wanted to give readers something a bit lighter and easier to read after Punpun’s depresso-fest. Having read the first volume of this series, it’s… sort of correct? There’s definitely an attempt here to do a sort of Asano version of a slice-of-life series a la Strawberry Marshmallow, with Kadode and Ontan as a sort of grown up Chika and Miu, doing weird things in their day to day life. But of course this is an Asano version of slice-of-life, not actual slice-of-life, and so it’s hard not to see the grey clouds piling up bind the series. Kadode’s family life is depicted starkly but without drama (big drama is rarely seen in Asano’s works), and her attempts at relationships are meant to make the reader feel uncomfortable, I suspect, and succeed. Oh yes, and then there’s the other reason this slice-of-life is odd: aliens invaded Japan three years before, and are still hanging around.

The idea of an alien invasion that has gone on so long that it’s become part of everyday life is not unique to Asano, I believe, but usually in other cases the aliens play a major role. Here they hover offscreen in their giant mothership, occasionally sending out smaller ships to get blown up by pissed-off humans. The flashbacks to the initial invasion are played relatively seriously, but most of the story takes place once everyone is thinking “now what?”, as after that first strike not much has happened. And so life has gone back to semi-normal, allowing the kids to keep going to high school, Kadoda to continue to hit in her teacher, and Ontan to be loud, rude, and eccentric, which seems to be her entire character. There are games to play, love affairs to be gossiped about, and college choices to be mulled over. At least till a possible cliffhanger, you get the sense that “now what?” may be the point of the entire story.

There are a few flaws here, in my opinion. As I said before, Ontan does not seem to have as deep a character as Kadoda, and various scenes suggest that the author kind of wants to set the two girls up as a couple but can’t bring himself to do it. The relationship between Kadoda and her teacher is meant to be vaguely offputting and unsettling, and certainly fulfills its function there, but I also get the sense there’s a “will they or won’t they?” question that is speaking to an audience far more comfortable with teacher/student romance in their manga. Also, please try not to make your high schoolers look like they’re eight years old. On the flip side, of course, this volume is filled with what Asano does best, with evocative art (the contrast between the hyperrealistic backgrounds and the cartoony characters is excellent) and a mood that I think I can best describe as “repressed ennui”. I read an Asano book to feel things, and I certainly did with this one, even if some of those things were frustration.

If you’re an Asano fan, you should absolutely get this. If you avoided him for one reason or another, you may want to give this a try. He seems to be trying to compromise with his audience a bit, and the journey should be fascinating. Also, who could resist that cover?

I’ve Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years and Maxed Out My Level, Vol. 1

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By Kisetsu Morita and Benio. Released in Japan as “Slime Taoshite 300 Nen, Shiranai Uchi ni Level MAX ni Nattemashita” by Softbank Creative. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Taylor Engel

The premise for the start of this book may seem a tad familiar: a young woman dies and is told by an apologetic angel that she can be reincarnated in another world, and is entitled to 1 (one) cool power. Azusa wasn’t actually killed saving a young boy or murdered by a jealous colleague, though – she just worked herself to death as a corporate wage slave. Since dying for her job proved to be very unsatisfying, she asks to be immortal in her next life, and is reincarnated as a perpetually 17-year-old witch in your standard fantasy land. (If this is made into an anime, she’d better be played by Kikuko Inoue or I’ll be sad.) She meets the local villagers, finds a conveniently abandoned house, and spends her days killing off low-level slimes. Then 300 years pass…

If this sounds like I just spent a paragraph explaining the plot of a book whose plot is actually explained in the title, well, welcome to the world of Japanese light novels, where the longer and more pedantic the title, the more popular it seems to be. Yes, after killing slimes every day for 300 years, Azusa is rather shocked to find she’s now a Level 99 powerhouse. This upsets her, as for 300 years she’s also been doing the opposite of what she did in her former life – taking life easy, slow, and not really doing anything at all. Unfortunately, now that word’s gotten out, she suddenly finds adventure coming for her. A dragon wants to challenge her, two slime girls are here for revenge, a busty elf arrives demanding protection from a demon… you get the idea. Will she be dragged into dangerous yet compelling adventures against her will?

Well, no, she won’t, in fact. The conceit of this series, and its most entertaining aspect, is that everyone who tries to fight Azusa ends up pulled into her “my pace” lifestyle. The dragon, once defeated, transforms to human form and lives as her apprentice. The slime girls are really children who need a family more than anything else. And what’s more, Azusa benefits from this as well, as she realizes that while living alone and relaxing for 300 years was all very well, her new found family is even better, and she’s even willing to protect them in a pinch, despite that not being very relaxing. (I haven’t mentioned the elf girl, who is the weak point of the book, being a busty airhead with lesbian tendencies who is in the book because it’s written by a male author for a male audience that wants to see a busty airhead elf with lesbian tendencies. She’s not as funny as everyone would like us to think.) The general theme of this book is “relax and take it easy, do things at your own pace”, and I quite like that.

The book has several volumes out in Japan, and I’m not sure how well it will succeed going forward, but I’m perfectly happy to find out. Another “don’t read if you hate overpowered characters” warning, but if you can get past that, Killing Slimes for 300 Years will put a nice smile on your face. A good beach read.

Silver Spoon, Vol. 2

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By Hiromu Arakawa. Released in Japan as “Gin no Saji” by Shogakukan, serialization ongoing in the magazine Weekly Shonen Sunday. Released in North America by Yen Press. Translated by Amanda Haley.

It seems a bit startling for our hero and his classmates to be headed into summer break right at the start of the series, but that’s the Japanese education schedule for you, which begins in April. And summer break at an agricultural school means everyone goes back to their farms… except Hachiken, who has no farm but does have an intense desire not to go back home. So he takes up Mikage’s offer to go to her farm for the holiday. You’d think cute romance would ensue, but that’s pretty much still just in Hachiken’s head right now. Instead we get more examples of Hachiken as a fish out of water, and a lot of discussion of the various aspects of farm life, including butchering deer and watching a cow give birth. But before that, there are more important things to do. Things like pizza. Priorities, please.

One of the many things I love about Silver Spoon is the way that Arakawa portrays Hachiken, the male lead. It would be all too easy to turn him into your standard harem drip, a la Keitaro Urashima. But while Hachiken is inexperienced in the ways of farming life, and still having difficulty with the idea of “animals become food”, he’s smart as a whip and quick to understand things. Moreover, he’s a planner who sees ahead, which will become very important as the series goes on. For now it’s important because it allows him to see everything that needs to be done with the pizza oven, which ends up requiring the help of most of the school in order to repair it and procure ingredients to make the pizza. He’s also getting a little more buff, which is inevitable when you’re doing the daily farm routine he has to do. But most importantly, he feels realistic. He feels like an actual person. This is what Arakawa has always excelled at, and it goes doubly for this series.

I also love the attention to detail we see here. There’s discussion of what kinds of pizza cheese work best in Japan (gouda, not mozzarella), and we see three kinds of farms: Komaba’s small one where even the elementary school twins are pitching in constantly, Mikage’s medium-sized one (which she is expected to take over, something she clearly doesn’t want to do but is unwilling to open up about just yet), and Tamako’s huge industrial farm showing off the finest in modern advancements. When we kept joking that Silver Spoon was a farming manga back in the pre-licensed days, we weren’t kidding. This book is here to tell you what farming is really like, and that it requires a lot of labor, time, money, and care. No matter how big or how small your farm is, things need to be done constantly.

Aside from Mikage’s worries about her future and Hachiken avoiding his parents, there’s not really a lot of forward progress on a “plot” here per se. But the plot is a coming of age story, and in that sense we see Hachiken grow and change a lot in this volume. If you like Arakawa’s books, farms, or just good manga, Silver Spoon is essential.

Legend of the Galactic Heroes: Flight

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By Yoshiki Tanaka. Released in Japan as “Ginga Eiyū Densetsu” by Tokuma Shoten. Released in North America by Haikasoru. Translated by Tyran Grillo.

So the war’s over and the Empire won… now what? We knew that things weren’t going to begin to slowly wrap up given we still had five more books to go, and so, unsurprisingly, we see that maintaining the peace and holding on to what you have is not as easy as it seems. Reinhard is dealing with assassination attempts, the fact that not all of his underlings are capable and brilliant, and everyone and their brother telling him “you’re the Emperor, now get married and have an heir”. As for Yang, he is now married, but heirs may have to wait, as his very existence seems to annoy people on both sides, none of whom think he simply is retiring peacefully. Which… well, they’re right, he isn’t, but things really don’t go the way he hoped. As for Julian, he makes it to Earth, and finds it ruled by a petty tyrant held up by a group of misguided religious zealots. Insert wry political commentary here.

Reinhard doesn’t get as much focus here as previous books, despite the assassination attempt. Honestly, that attempt, done by Hildegarde’s cousin, seems more narratively designed to separate the two of them for a bit more, as everyone and their brother is telling Reinhard to find a wife and Hilda is the really obvious option. It is sort of amusing seeing him justify not only letting Hilda and her father not be killed/exiled for unthinkingly leading him to the assassin, but even keeping their positions – though the whole scenario does throw into sharp relief how little Reinhard seems to have actually grown up, and how important (still) Siegfried is to him. He’s really good at war, and really good when he has a rival like Yang. When he lacks both, what’s going to happen?

Not that Yang has been removed from the picture just yet. There are some amusing scenes of his attempt at domestic bliss, though given they mostly revolve around “Frederica only knows how to make sandwiches” it’s probably for the best that he’s quickly arrested. There’s a rumor going around that he’s starting a rebellion, everyone thinks that Yang wants to start a rebellion, therefore Yang must be starting a rebellion, even though it’s not quite true. (Yang DOES want to do something, but not for a few years – a plan that gets blown to hell by the events of this book.) Reinhard and Yang always make good contrasts, and here it’s seen by how much Yang is trying to avoid being the face of the opposition. He’s a charismatic leader that could easily be another Reinhard if he wanted, he and everyone else knows it, and he hates the idea.

The romance is not just Yang and Frederica, by the way. Leaving aside everyone telling Reinhard to get married, it looks like Julian has been introduced (somewhat clumsily, I will admit) to his future love interest, who I’d call a tsundere if this weren’t written in 1985. And von Reuentahl seem sto be sleeping with the girl who’s trying to kill him. That’ll go well. You get the sense that the author is trying to move pieces for the final arc, and sometimes they move smoothly and sometimes they hit you in the face. Still, Legend of the Galactic Heroes fans won’t want to miss this. Given this was a mostly politics book, I expect a lot more space battles next time.

Bookshelf Briefs 4/23/18

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Food Wars!: Shokugeki no Soma, Vol. 23 | By Yuto Tsukuda and Shun Saeki | Viz Media – After teaching Hayama the lesson of this entire series, which is to say ‘have fun cooking and trying new things,’ Soma is able to win. Which is more than can be said for the rest of his merry band, as most of the minor good guys are summarily expelled after being defeated, and promptly leave the series, never to be seen again. Well, OK, maybe not. But we still have a few, and those few are ready to hear the tragic backstory of Soma’s father and Erina’s father, and the pressure that comes from needing to constantly be “the best.” Soma, of course, who has lost to his dad CONSTANTLY, doesn’t feel this pressure, which is why he does so well. An excellent volume. – Sean Gaffney

Gabriel Dropout, Vol. 3 | By Ukami |Yen Press – Gabriel Dropout continues to do what it does best: make the reader laugh. We get a new cast member this time around with Taplis, a young angel who hero-worshiped Gabriel and has come down to Earth to see how she’s doing. Needless to say, it’s not a pretty picture. Her addition just helps to give us more opportunities for fun, though. Actually, Gabriel may be the one cast member seemingly ignored by this volume, as the artist has realized that the other girls are easier to use for gags and also character development. She can’t hold her liquor, though, even when it’s amazake. My favorite continues to be troll Raphael, but all these girls are funny and great to read about. – Sean Gaffney

In/Spectre, Vol. 7 | By Kyo Shirodaira and Chashiba Katase | Kodansha Comics – This volume of In/Spectre is more of a short-story volume, adapting two prose stories as well as creating one original story for the manga. The stories themselves are what we’ve become used to—Kotoko listening to the problem and then theorizing us to death. But they’re also decent mysteries, and I don’t mind lots of theorizing if it manages to keep my interest and be visually striking, which the artist is quite good at. Meanwhile, Kotoko may not be getting any (I feel bad for falling for her telling us she wasn’t a virgin in volume one—she was clearly lying), but she remains one of the horniest manga heroines I’ve ever seen, constantly doing anything she can to try and get her boyfriend into bed. Nothing works. – Sean Gaffney

Kuroko’s Basketball, Vol. 21-22 | By Tadatoshi Fujimaki | Viz Media – Throughout this series, we’ve grown so used to Seirin being the underdog that it has to be pointed out to us that they’ve never really played while trying to maintain a lead—something that’s a lot more difficult than it sounds. This is despite the fact that, as everyone watched Kagami, they realize that he has the same magic that was in the Miracle Generation, even if he was never part of it. And it’s going to take that magic to hold on, as they’re up against Kise and his perfect copy, which is able to crush them even with his sitting out a good deal of the game. That said, Kuroko is still the title character, and I’m pretty sure the cliffhanger indicates he’ll solve things. Solid sports shonen. – Sean Gaffney

Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic, Vol. 29 | By Shinobu Ohtaka | Viz Media – So Harukyu has won, but is this really what he wanted? The girl he likes, Morgiana, has finally realized that she loves Alibaba even though he’s dead. He’s leading his country thanks to Sinbad… but is that really going to last? The next few volumes shoold tell us — oh no, timeskip! Yes, in time honored shonen tradition, we now jump ahead a couple years, the better to deal with Alibaba, not as dead as everyone thinks (in fact, that makes a terrific running gag) and here to step back into everyone’s lives. Sadly for him, everything is seemingly a perfect utopia now, run by Sinbad. Of course, no utopia is perfect, and I suspect Alibaba will soon be leading some sort of resistance. Once he can explain to everyone that he’s not dead. – Sean Gaffney

My Hero Academia, Vol. 12 | By Kohei Horikoshi | Viz Media – We’re back in class, and it’s time for exams—at least after a very amusing couple of chapters where the students go to mad scientist Mei to get alterations to their hero costumes. But the bulk of this is the provisional license exams, after which they’ll be able to do the hero sorts of things they got in trouble for doing before. That is if they survive the exam, which puts them against other schools in one giant melee battle, and only 200 can pass. This gives nearly everyone a chance to stand out—I particularly liked Midoriya spotting a fake immediately based purely on hero knowledge—and gives the volume tension, as we try to see who’s going to fall and have to be left behind. So glad this is now speeding up. – Sean Gaffney

Takane & Hana, Vol. 2 | By Yuki Shiwasu | Viz Media – This is not quite as hysterical as the first volume, possibly as it’s clearly now an ongoing series rather than a bunch of one-shots, and thus needs to work harder at plot and character development. I like how the author is not shying away from the age difference between the two of them, and the scandal that it would cause were it to get out. We’re also introduced to an old friend and rival of Takane’s, who I think I would like more if he didn’t keep reminding me of Saki from I Hate You More Than Anyone/VB Rose. In the meantime, rest assured that there is still a lot of great humor here—I was especially amused by Takane referring to Hana’s two friends as “Friends A and B.” I love Hana to Yume comedies. – Sean Gaffney

Wotakoi: Love Is Hard for Otaku, Vol. 1 | By Fujita | Kodansha Comics – I picked up Wotakoi more on a whim than anything else, but the manga quickly became one of my favorite debuts of the year. The series actually had its beginning as a webcomic on Pixiv before being picked up by a print publisher. Even more recently, Wotakoi became the basis of an anime. The attention the manga has received is understandable. The story features quirky but relatable characters, four adult friends and coworkers (two couples) who to different extents can be described as otaku. There isn’t much of a plot, but the humor and story revolve around how being a fan of games, manga, anime, cosplay, etc. impacts relationships, romance, and worklife. In some ways, Wotakoi reminds me a little of a more subdued, grownup version of Monthly Girls’ Nozaki-kun, another series that I adore. Unsurprisingly then, I’m greatly looking forward to reading more of the charming, smile-inducing Wotakoi. – Ash Brown

Yowamushi Pedal, Vol. 8 | By Wataru Watanabe | Yen Press – This volume doubles down on Midosouji—he’s all over it, and twice as obnoxious, and I think your enjoyment of the book will depend on how much you can resist wanting to see someone slug him. The majority of this volume, in fact, does not feature our heroes, as they’re still waiting for Onoda to drag Tadokoro back—which he does, and it’s awesome—but instead focuses on the other teams, showing us their own drive to succeed—as well as the questioning of the rest of Midosouji’s teammates, wondering if this is really the right way to win? We’ve still got a long way to go in this race, but even in omnibus format I want to read it faster and faster. Can’t wait for the next volume. – Sean Gaffney

Pick of the Week: An Embarrassment of Riches

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SEAN: My pick this week is tricky, especially with so much good manga. There’s Nozaki-kun, Silver Spoon, Murcielago… that said, as you’d expect, my eye is drawn to light novels. No, not Vending Machine, though I am morbidly curious. My pick is I’ve Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years and Maxed Out My Level, which not only has a female protagonist but seems to be dedicated to “relaxing and taking it easy” despite the max level. I like the idea of an isekai with the mood of, say, Flying Witch.

MICHELLE: Because I am confident at least one other person will pick Silver Spoon, I’m going with the eighth Yowamushi Pedal omnibus. I rejoice every time there’s a new volume of this series.

KATE: I like To Your Eternity, but jeez — it’s a downer. My vote goes for volume two of Silver Spoon, the only manga series in English that features at least three udder-ly wonderful jokes about cows per volume. (Yeah, I went there.) (No, I’m not sorry.)

ANNA: I’m so far behind, I haven’t read the first volumes of To Your Eternity and Silver Spoon, but out of everything coming out this week, those are the titles that I’m sure I’d like.

ASH: There are so many great releases again this week, it’s difficult to pick just one! Many of my favorites have already been mentioned–Monthly Girls’ Nozaki-kun, Silver Spoon, Yowamushi Pedal, To Your Eternity–and I’m not even going to try to choose among them. And so, even though it’s not manga, I would like to take the opportunity to call attention to Perfect Blue: Awaken from a Dream.

MJ: Probably predictably, I’m Silver Spoon all the way this week. I absolutely loved the first volume, and I’m anxious for more. Also, I deeply appreciate Kate for the cow pun.

Wotakoi: Love Is Hard for Otaku, Vol. 1

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By Fujita. Released in Japan in two separate volumes as “Wotaku ni Koi wa Muzukashii” by Ichijinsha, serialization ongoing in the magazine Comic Pool. Released in North America by Kodansha Comics. Translated by Jessica Sheaves.

In general, when we see romances in anime and manga that also involve “otaku”, they tend to revolve around an otaku and a seemingly “normal” person who fall for each other. Kiss Him, Not Me! is a good example. We’ve also seen the occasional otaku couple, but they’ve been fairly minor characters in a story which focuses on someone else. With Wotakoi we’re finally zeroing in on romance and otaku in equal doses, and all four characters are deeply into it. Indeed, the fact that it is equal doses is the big selling point. Wotakoi is very good at balancing out its (admittedly slow-moving) romance between the leads and also the everyday otaku banter that they go through, and it makes it feel all the more realistic, because I know couples like this, who will suddenly sing a theme tune when they’re even vaguely reminded of it. Despite the otaku veneer, Wotakoi feels genuine.

Hirotaka is the guy on the cover, he likes playing games. Narumi is the girl, she’s more of a fujoshi and also makes her own doujinshi. They’re childhood friends who meet again when she starts at a new company, Over the course of the book, the two slowly enter into a… wait, no. Over the course of the very short first chapter, the two enter into a relationship founded on “hey, we might as well date”. I really liked this, because it felt very real to me, even as it’s lampshading her “mercenary” otaku mindset. And they really *do* make a great couple, as is clear immediately to everyone else except perhaps Narumi. Hirotaka does have genuine love for her, and is content to wait while she figures everything out (though he’s also not very good at emotional bonding). They also have two coworkers who are also dating and also happen to be otaku, though Taro is the most “normal” of the bunch. He and Hanako are very different from the two leads, and I loved them to bits.

In fact, that may be one of this double-volume omnibus’ flaws – the beta couple interest me more than the lead. This is, admittedly, not uncommon in romance series, particularly one where the main girl is cute and slightly oblivious like Narumi is. Taro and Hanako have that sort of “we fight all the time but love each other deep down” relationship that only seems to work well in fiction but I love it anyway. They’re also hot, leaving our main leads to fulfill the “cute” function. And of course everyone is an adult, and actually feels like one, even Narumi. We’re seeing more and more manga get out of the high school and into the workplace, but the chwracter design still seems to be stuck back in the teens for the most part. I liked seeing people who look their age.

Wotakoi’s coming out in omnibuses, and Japan is only up to Vol. 5, so we’re going to catch up pretty quick. But I definitely recommend Wotakoi both to otaku who want to see a realistic depiction of how they work in life as opposed to the “creepy otaku” stereotypes, and also to romance fans who like comedy and don’t mind characters talking about their favorite games all the time.

Also, Taro and Hanako in evening wear. YUM. I can see why they used those shots in the anime OP.