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Sean Gaffney

Manga the Week of 1/31/2018

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SEAN: So Yen is splitting its shipment, pushing a bunch of its titles into the first week of February. Lucky for all of you, or next week would be even bigger than it already is.

Ghost Ship has a 2nd omnibus of To-Love-Ru, and a 2nd volume of its sequel To-Love-Ru Darkness.

Three new volumes from J-Novel Club, as we see a 7th Grimgar of Fantasy and Ash, a 5th How a Realist Hero Rebuilt the Kingdom, and a 2nd Outbreak Company.

Kodansha Digital seemingly has nothing out next week if you look at Amazon and B&N. Kodansha’s own site, however, says they’ve definitely got some stuff. We have Black Panther and Sweet 16 6, Giant Killing 10, Living Room Matsunaga-san 2, and Until Your Bones Rot 4.

MICHELLE: Hooray for Giant Killing!

ASH: Hooray!

SEAN: We also have the 9th and final volume of The Full-Time Wife Escapist, which I’m still running behind on but remains my favorite digital license from Kodansha.

MICHELLE: I’m very much looking forward to this.

ANNA: I like this series even though I’m so far behind, maybe I will binge a bit on the weekend.

SEAN: There’s also print, with a 3rd Kiss Me at the Stroke of Midnight, and a 9th volume of endurance test Welcome to the Ballroom.

MICHELLE: Heh. Here’s hoping it lightens up sometime soon.

ANNA: This is not inspiring me to get caught up on Ballroom!

ASH: I’m already behind on Kiss Me at the Stroke of Midnight, but I did enjoy the first volume more than I thought I would.

SEAN: Seven Seas debuts a light novel digitally next week, though the print edition is not out till June. It definitely has a light novel title: Didn’t I Say To Make My Abilities Average in the Next Life?!. It does have a female lead, though. I’m all for light novels with female leads.

The manga debut is Nameless Asterism (Nanashi no Asterism), a Gangan Online series that seems to be about a love polygon, and may also have elements of BL and yuri.

ASH: I’m rather curious about Nameless Asterism; looking forward to giving the first volume a try!

SEAN: Seven Seas also has a 3rd Alice & Zoroku, and a 4th Plum Crazy!.

MICHELLE: Kitty!

SEAN: Vertical has a 6th Immortal Hounds, which is now caught up with Japan, I think.

And so we come to Yen. There’s digital-only titles, as we get Crimson Prince 14, Kuzumi-kun, Can’t You Read the Room? 4, Now Playing 4, and Sekirei 14. There’s also a digital release of the light novels Kieli’s vols. 2 and 3.

Yen On has light novels, though thankfully this is a small month after the deluge in December. We get Death March to the Parallel World Rhapsody 4, My Youth Romantic Comedy Is Wrong As I Expected 4, Overlord 6, and Strike the Blood 8.

As for Yen Press, there’s several titles out next week (unless you get manga from Diamond Comics, in which case their monopoly is pointing and laughing at you). Debuting is Baccano!, a manga adaptation of the first light novel. Actually, the first volume is mostly an original prequel to the novels written by Narita, featuring Firo and the Gandors a few years earlier. It’s already come out digitally, but now you can enjoy it in print.

The other debut is Val x Love (Ikusa x Koi), an ecchi fantasy series from Shonen Gangan that sounds like it will appeal to fans of High School DxD.

Ongoing series unrelated to light novels include Akame Ga KILL! 13, Black Butler 25, Gabriel Dropout 2, and The Royal Tutor 5.

Ongoing series that are either adaptations of or spinoffs from light novels include A Certain Magical Index 12, Hybrid x Heart Magias Academy Ataraxia 2, DanMachi Sword Oratoria 2, Overlord 5, Re Zero Arc Three 2, and the 6th Sword Art Online Progressive.

And that’s all for Yen for next week, but stay tuned to the week after. Anything appealing to you here?

RWBY

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By Shirow Miwa, based on the series created by Monty Oum. Released in Japan by Shueisha, serialized in the magazine Ultra Jump. Released in North America by Viz Media. Translated by Joe Yamazaki. Adapted by Jeremy Haun and Jason A. Hurley.

I have never actually seen the RWBY series, though I know of it via Tumblr osmosis. What I know can be summed up as a) there’s a team of fighting girls; b) two of them are super gay; c) OK probably not canonically but fandom thinks they’re super gay. That’s about it. So I was looking forward to seeing this series. It’s always interesting when Japan does a manga of a Western property, though in this case obviously RWBY has a certain anime style to begin with. The manga serves as a prequel to the series, showing off the four main characters, as well as another team that also works with them, as they protect the world from enemies while also attending what seems to be superhero school. I enjoyed it quite a bit, but I suspect that this may be more a book for newbies than the hardcore RWBY fan.

The girl on the cover is Ruby Rose, the R of the group, and she gets the first of what turns out to be an introductory story for each of the team. She’s essentially the standard Shonen Jump hero, only female. I like her, she’s very straightforward. Less straightforward are Weiss, who is fighting with the team despite the objections of her rich, upper-class family, who have other plans for her; Blake, who is a faunus, aka a catgirl, and who has a dark past and seems to have once been a terrorist; and Yang, Ruby’s sister, who likes to be a big sister type, punching things, and Blake, not necessarily in that order. The stories are not particularly deep – Weiss and Blake’s, being more serious, had greater impact for me – but they sketch out the personalities of the team pretty well.

The ending story tries to focus on one of the other teams in the series, Team JNPR, whose leader seems to have a crush on Weiss, and also an extreme case of self-doubt. Unfortunately, this is a one-volume title, so we don’t really get to know the rest of his team that well, but that’s what the series is for. Again, there’s nothing particularly surprising here – Jaune’s team leaves early to battle a monster so that he can prove how awesome he is, only to run into trouble and need to get bailed out by our heroines. We get a few cameos from people who are clearly also regular cast members (I liked the flying robot girl), as well as a hint of GREAT EVIL afoot that no doubt also will appear in the show rather than this manga.

As I said, this seems to serve more as an introduction to RWBY for those who haven’t seen it – fans may want to wait for the anthology series that Viz just licensed. It’s not great, but I felt it had a lot of style, just like the team it’s trying to show us. It made me curious about the series, which is probably all it was designed to do. Definitely worth a shot.

Paying to Win in a VRMMO, Vol. 6

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By Blitz Kiva and Kuwashima Rein. Released in Japan as “VRMMO wo Kane no Chikara de Musou suru” by Hobby Japan. Released in North America digitally by J-Novel Club. Translated by Elizabeth Ellis.

One benefit of reading light novels on my phone rather than in print is that there’s less tendency for me to look back at the color pages. These pages, seen in most light novels, are basically a preview of the book, showing various exciting scenes in color to whet the appetite. When done well, they do just that, and show off the drama, excitement, or humor within. Sometimes, though, they can actually be major spoilers, revealing the surprise climax before you’ve even started the book. Fortunately, by the time I got to said climax, I’d forgotten that I’d already read it in the color page the day before. Which is good, as the climax is brilliant, showing off the protagonist at their best, in a magnificent display of everything we love about her. Yes, that’s right, her. Ichiro may be the one Paying to Win, but in the end Iris gets the cover of this final volume, and rightly so.

This volume picks up right where the last one left off, and certainly has a nice little starting point: Ichiro is arrested. Of course he’s not guilty, but the problem is that announcing the guilty party would be problematic for many different reasons. As such, after posting bail, he and Airi (who has rushed to see him at the station due to, well, sheer outrage, I think) set about trying to figure out a way to fix this. It gradually becomes clear that there’s no quick and easy way to do that, and that it looks as if Ichiro is going to have to break his own “rules” he’s set for himself in order to do so. But fortunately, the people he has met in the game over the past few months are here to help him, as are a few of his friends outside the game. And there’s always Airi/Iris and her use of her sharp tongue, though for once it’s not the words that are as effective as simply, wonderful violence.

Not to spoil but there was a scene in this volume that had me cheering out loud. I’ve made no bones in prior reviews about how much I did NOT want to see Ichiro and Iris as a romantic pairing, and I got my wish. Rosemary, the AI from the prior volumes, is asking various “rivals” how they feel about Ichiro, and Iris comments that she sees him as “an enemy”, someone to show up and surpass. She also notes she’s not attracted to him. I love this because I feel Iris’ character is so much better when she has this goal in mind. She’s never been a tsundere, much as the narrative might have occasionally tries to shoehorn it in. She’s just determination in one small package. (Actually, there may be more rivals out to defeat Ichiro than there are rivals for his love – Megumi may have lucked out there.) Pay2Win ended up with precisely zero romantic pairings over the course of the book, and that was very refreshing, especially for this genre.

Aside form Iris’ violence at the finale, I must admit my favorite moment in the book was the use of a popular meme. It was first seen as part of a montage of players discussing Ichiro and how they felt about him, and was a very amusing gag – there’s always that one player who wants to speak in meme. Then it shows up again later, and I felt “Oh, no, he ruined it by trying to use it again. Minus five points.” But its use as the big villain reveal at the end of the book left me with my jaw dropped, as suddenly I went “Oh my goooooood, of COURSE.” Honestly, I’ve felt that way throughout the last couple volumes of this series. It started off unevenly, and got better as it went along. J-Novel Club has better written light novels, but there are few that have genuinely entertained me as much as Paying to Win in a VRMMO. Can we get that “Irish Sniper” web-only side-story as an extra?

Bookshelf Briefs 1/23/18

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A Certain Scientific Accelerator, Vol. 7 | By Kazuma Kamachi and Arata Yamaji| Seven Seas – Much to my surprise, there was one less death than I predicted in my last brief. Other than that, though, this went sort of how I expected—our heroes fought a long, hard battle and won eventually, though Estelle is warned by Accelerator that she should stay out of “the dark side” of Academy City. From what I recall in the main Index series, that’s easier said than done, though of course Accelerator simply means stay away from HIM. Of course, Accelerator cannot stop being a trouble magnet, just like Touma. And, just like Touma, he now has a beautiful girl fall out of the sky in front of him. Index was hung like a futon, and this new princess seems to have been in a suitcase. What will happen next? Good times in any case. – Sean Gaffney

My Monster Secret, Vol. 9 | By Eiji Masuda | Seven Seas – Akemi and Aizawa are on the cover this time, as if to announce that the harem sweepstakes, which has never exactly been a small part of this series, is now ramping up quite a bit. Of course, this all stems from Youko’s actions at the end of the last volume—something she’s still freaking out over, to an extent. There’s a lot of comedy but very little forward progress here, as you’d expect from this sort of series. Still, the comedy is funny, and there’s even a bit of plot. It’s also amusing to have the characters we aren’t allowed to see play a big role—Akemi from the future and Shiho’s mother. If you get frustrated by lack of forward progress, come back in a volume or two. Otherwise, this continues to be funny. – Sean Gaffney

Spirit Circle, Vol. 2 | By Satoshi Mizukami | Seven Seas – I’m really enjoying this series, but it’s surprisingly grim, even from the creator of Biscuit Hammer, which was also filled with lots of trauma. It’s probably for the best, as the humor here is not the high point. What is the high point is that we get another past life for Fuuta, which takes us back to Ancient Egypt. It shows how his past lives can get screwed over by Kouko’s past lives even if they don’t kill each other. That said, his life was not terrible. Unfortunately, doing all of this reliving of past lives may be unlinking Fuuta to his own identity, which could have ominous consequences. Spirit Circle‘s plot is intriguing and its characters are likeable. I want to see where it’s going. – Sean Gaffney

Waiting for Spring, Vol. 4 | By Anashin | Kodansha Comics – This is a shoujo romance and not a shonen basketball manga, so the result of the game may not go the way everyone wants it to. We do get some nice interaction between Mitsuki and the four guys, though, and also some suggestion that this may be a reverse harem after all, as there’s some brief ship tease with Rui and Kyousuke. This does lead us to a very good point regarding this romance, which is that things can’t progress until Mitsuki admits her own feelings, something she seems to slowly be coming to terms with. I was also amused by a healthy dose of humor AND fanservice, as everyone imagining their hot guy/girl in a swimsuit gave us a lot of amusing reactions. This is a cute, fun romance series. – Sean Gaffney

Waiting for Spring, Vol. 4 | By Anashin | Kodansha Comics – In my long review of the first three volumes, I wished for a little more basketball and this time I got my wish. Anashin-sensei achieves a good blend of tournament action and shoujo romance here, particularly as the guys are worn out from their first game and can’t sustain their lead in the second. Their loss turns into an opportunity to show rather than tell how much they’ve accepted Mitsuki into their inner circle, as she’s permitted to be present when they discuss their feelings, self-recriminations, determination to improve, etc. Ryuji endeared himself to me by crying over the loss, and even playful Rui had some harsh words for himself. I’m starting to feel like this heartwarming series might be just what I need to sustain me when Kimi ni Todoke wraps up its run in another couple of volumes. Definitely recommended. – Michelle Smith

Wake Up, Sleeping Beauty, Vol. 2 | By Megumi Morino | Kodansha Comics – It’s rare that we get to see a male lead dealing with his weaknesses as much as Tetsu does here. Still dealing with family issues, his general fear of the supernatural, and the simple nature of what’s going on with Shizu, he’s not making the best choices all the time. But he’s trying, and he’s a good kid. As for Shizu, we do eventually see more of her actual self, though that may be a worrying part of the story—due to her constant possession, she has very little idea of who she is or what she likes. That said, she’s starting to like Tetsu, and I’m wondering what will happen when she decides that she wants to control her own action more. Meanwhile, yay, a clearly villainous dad arrives just in time for the cliffhanger! Intriguing. – Sean Gaffney

Wake Up, Sleeping Beauty, Vol. 2 | By Megumi Morino | Kodansha Comics – I really appreciate Tetsu’s sense of ethics here. He’s still afraid of Shizu and her situation, but thinks to himself, “I have to earn what I’m being paid. I have to stop being scared and be a better friend to her.” Soon, he realizes that he’s not actually afraid of Haru and Shinobu, the friendly spirits who regularly inhabit Shizu and look after her, and even infuriating Mirei helps him to loosen up. It’s just Shizu herself who scares him, since she lacks a strong sense of self, but he endeavors to learn her likes and dislikes and soon realizes that she’s actively trying to make him happy. She just has an utterly self-sacrificing way of going about it. What could’ve made her this way? Enter Evil Dad, right on cue. I will definitely be seeing this short series through to its conclusion. – Michelle Smith

Pick of the Week: My Manga Is Orange

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KATE: I suspect I’m not the only one who’s eager to read orange: future; I still get the sniffles just thinking about orange, and am eager to see how Ichigo Takano continues the story. Looking over this week’s new arrivals, though, I’m also curious about Made in Abyss, which sounds like a dark fantasy-adventure with an interesting heroine. And I’ll also give a plug for PTSD Radio, despite its unfortunate title and godawful covers. It’s a solid horror series that benefits from unique artwork and an unusual narrative structure.

SEAN: There’s several titles I’m interested in, including a final volume of Golden Time and the debut of Made in Abyss. But yeah, in the end the clearly obvious Pick of the Week is orange: future, which I reviewed here in a spoilery fashion, as Seven Seas helpfully noted. It may not please everyone, but it’s well-crafted.

MICHELLE: Having now read and loved the first two volumes of Frau Faust, I am definitely looking forward to volume three. But, yes, my heart really does belong to orange: future. I’m a little afraid of what it might reveal, given how much I loved the original series, but there’s no way I’m skipping it.

ASH: I’ll definitely be reading more of Frau Faust, and I’m rather curious about Made in Abyss, too, but orange: future is unquestionably my pick this week. Like so many others, the original series made a huge impression on me.

Infinite Dendrogram: Franklin’s Game

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By Sakon Kaidou and Taiki. Released in Japan by Hobby Japan. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Andrew Hodgson.

Last time we had the setup, and this time we do get the payoff. Well… most of the payoff, as this fourth volume unfortunately does end mid-battle. It is somewhat puzzling that the author says the climax was too long to fit into this book, given that this book is significantly shorter than the previous three. But that said, it’s a solid volume overall, provided you like fighting, because that’s pretty much all that it is. We get a nice punchable villain, get to see Hugo agonize about the life choices he’s made, and get some more detailed backstory on a few of the others, including Rook, who turns out to have been the offspring of Saint Tail all along. (OK, not really.) The fights are also solid, with each of the characters helpfully narrating every single thing that’s happening, which may be annoying to some, but I have difficulty with visualization so I find it quite refreshing.

Again, one of the more unique things about the Dendrogram series is that it is actually a game, and not people trapped or living in a game-like environment. As such, Franklin, our sneering villain, can feel free to kill off a bunch of Masters with impugnity and the reader is not inclined to think of him as history’s greatest monster the way that we did when the NPC children were being slaughtered in the second book. Franklin, in order to make things fun and also make sure that he gets the one battle he wants to have, ensures that low-level masters – like Ray and Rook, conveniently – can escape the arena and go to try to stop him. Naturally this is going to backfire horribly on him, because Ray and Rook are not just any old newbies. Again, we’re informed of the difference between those who simply treat this world and those in it as a game, and those (like Ray) who can’t help but see the people suffering inside it as real. (Marie also gets something to do, by virtue of who she is, but her fight with the conductor, while cool, felt more like an excuse to pad the book out than anything else.)

One thing I really liked about this book is the addition of three minor female masters who follow Ray and Rook to go do battle. They’re introduced as tagging along because Ray and Rook (especially Rook) are really handsome, and I was expecting them to be either a) cannon fodder, or b) a source for annoying gags. Imagine my surprise when they get (admittedly brief) characterization and backstory of their own, team up well to take out some minor monsters, and do fairly well for themselves. I’m not sure if we’ll see them in future books, but it was nice to see them taken seriously even though they’re fangirls. As for Ray’s battle with Franklin, it’s still in media res, so to speak, but I was amused by the fact that everyone thinks of Ray as a big dumb shonen hero filled with justice and righteousness, which isn’t wrong, but when we switch to his POV his mind is filled with analysis and quick thinking. This is no Luffy.

It took a while to grow on me, but I’ve come to quite enjoy Dendrogram. If you like “game-style worlds” and aren’t annoyed that it’s an actual game for once, this is a good series to follow.

Kitaro: Kitaro the Vampire Slayer

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By Shigeru Mizuki. Released in Japan as “Gegege no Kitaro” by Kodansha and Shogakukan, serialized in various magazines. Released in North America by Drawn & Quarterly. Translated by Zack Davisson.

I’m sure that if I looked at my previous reviews of Kitaro they would find me saying the same thing as I’m about to say here, so I apologize for the repetition, but I love Nezumi Otoko. He is the number one reason to read this series, even more than the cool adventure plots of the weird, goody and terrifying yokai. And that is simply because he is SO TERRIBLE. He is just the worst. When Mizuki wrote his Hitler book, and needed a narrator who could enchant the reader while still being able to get away with throwing his arms around Hitler as if they’re buddies, there was only one real choice. This volume shows Mezumi Otoko getting in a fight with Kitaro (meaning he slaps him across the chops – his signature move), team up with the titular vampire, sell out his friend and have Kitaro reduced to a skull, etc. Even when he is supposedly on the side of our hero, you’re reminded that his stench is repellent and his farts are lethal. He’s so much fun.

In non-Nezumi Otoko discussion of this new volume of Kitaro, I admit that when I saw the cover, I was expecting more of a Beatles parody than I actually got. Sure the vampire has a Beatle haircut, and carries a guitar with tempting music, but otherwise he’s just a garden-variety Mizuki villain. Not that this is entirely a bad thing, as Mizuki’s yokai can be real pieces of work – Kitaro needs a lot of help to triumph here. There’s also a second vampire story in the book involving, of all things, a vampire Marilyn Monroe. Kitaro needs a lot of help here as well – in fact, in this book, his eyeball father may get more heroic things to do than he does. But sadly, such is the way of adventure thrillers, where the new villain has to be shown to be impressive by making mincemeat of the hero – at first.

The last two stories in the book feature Kitaro in a bit more of a heroic mode. All the stories, however, are exemplary in their economy. The non-yokai cast may be a bit bland – honestly, between the dialogue and the hangdog expressions he gives everyone you’d be forgiven for thinking that all the humans in Kitaro’s universe speak in a monotone – but there’s something happening on every page, and we rarely get too many subplots or sidesteps, even in the longer tales such as the title one. These stories are not really here to make people debate backstory or create Kitaro High School AU fanfiction, like other, more modern manga. They tell a story well, fast, and then move on to the next story. As such, Kitaro should be a lot of fun to anyone who enjoys reading a good story. And, as previously stated, they have Nezumi Otoko. Who is just awful. Seriously.

My Big Sister Lives in a Fantasy World: The World’s Strongest Little Brother vs. the Evil God?!

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By Tsuyoshi Fujitaka and An2A. Released in Japan as “Neechan wa Chuunibyou” by Hobby Japan. Released in North America digitally by J-Novel Club. Translated by Elizabeth Ellis.

We did not break up, we are merely taking a break from each other. I wasn’t fired, I chose to do other things. My light novel series isn’t cancelled, I just have a new idea I want to work on. I will totally get back to it. In due course. At the appropriate juncture. In the fullness of time. Sometimes you have people saying one thing but hearing the subtext behind it, and that’s sort of how I felt about the end of Big Sis Fantasy World, whose epilogue and afterword even hint at this by talking about “And the adventure continues”, one of the stock bullet points you see on the final page of a series that has been cancelled (usually in Shonen Jump). To a degree this is intentional, as like so many other things in this series the author is making fun of the genre it’s also swimming in. But unfortunately, this sort of thing only works if you’re thinking “Damn, I want to see what happens next”, rather than “Oh thank God.”

I think that my main issue with this series, with is taken to eleven here on purpose, is Yuichi’s inability to really grow or change because he has no need. All the training from Mutsuko happened before the start of the series, and made him who he is today. Which is fine, but he makes a really crap protagonist as a result. And this is in a book that even features a villain who is a parody of harem protagonists. Yuichi’s actions at the start of the book frustrate Mutsuko, which is unsurprising, but they also frustrate the reader, who wants to see him be proactive by choice rather than because he’s blackmailed into it or just thinks “oh well, guess it’s time to fight”. For an author that loves Haruhi Suzumiya so much, They’ve certainly missed the point of Kyon, who had an entire book set in an alternate world to come to terms with the fact that he IS having fun and SHOULD be proactive.

The book isn’t terrible. The prose reads fine, events happen quickly and make sense. Even the semi-incomprehensible plot involving the demon god starts to make a bit more sense as it hits its climax, though it’s mostly there to give us a good final battle. (Mutsuko, sadly, is sidelined because she’s mad at her brother – I kept waiting for Yuichi to briefly be defeated to teach him a lesson, but it never happened. Instead Mutsuko is beaten bloody… offscreen.) There are a few amusing gags, though once again the series seems to regard its non-regular cast as little more than cannon fodder – in fact, it gleefully points it out. If you’ve been reading Big Sis Fantasy World all along, you should read this too, as it provides a conclusion to the series, even one that is open ended and resolves nothing. But I’m not remotely holding my breath waiting for Book 8.

orange: future

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By Ichigo Takano. Released in Japan by Futabasha, serialized in the magazine Manga Action. Released in North America by Seven Seas. Translated by Amber Tamosaitis. Adapted by Shannon Fay.

When orange ended its main run, it was a somewhat ambiguous open ending which I praised at the time. The point of the series was not about whether Naho and Kakeru would hook up, it was about facing down Kakeru’s suicidal thoughts and actions, and an examination of how you can sometimes try your hardest with good intentions and still have it not be enough. When word came out that a 6th volume was being released (which is coming out over here separate as ‘future’), I admit I expected that after such a serious and frequently tear-jerking story, we would finally get a light and fluffy series of side-stories, maybe get romantic resolution to the main pairing. And technically we do get the latter, but I probably should not have been too surprised that orange: future is not interested in sweet fluffiness, but instead continues to examine our decisions and their consequences, in both the world where Kakeru killed himself and the world where he was stopped.

That’s Suwa on the front cover, and indeed Suwa is on the back cover. And throughout the book. This final volume is an examination of Suwa and his burgeoning love for Naho. We begin with the ‘epilogue’ to the main series, where Kakeru has been saved and Naho is clearly going to end up with him. It’s made clear that Suwa’s letters from his future self clearly said he and Naho were married now, but that he should save Kakeru anyway. Suwa, who tends to reflect on his own actions a bit too much, sees future Suwa as a bit of a jerk for stepping in and stealing Naho after everything that happened, and it’s up to his friends to explain that the Suwa they know isn’t like that at all. It’s a nice little bittersweet epilogue, but it only takes up about a quarter of the book. The majority of the book explores what actually did happen in that world where Kakeru wasn’t saved.

As I said before, the entirety of this volume is focused on Suwa and his perspective on things. This allows the reader to gain a greater appreciation of the character (and he was already one of my favorites) and shows us how just because you realize that the girl you love is in love with someone else, it doesn’t mean that your love moves on. The main issue with this volume, I think, is that we don’t get Naho’s perspective on things at all, which can make the ultimate decisions she makes look a bit out of the blue. This fits well with Suwa’s POV – he’s trying his hardest, but from what he can see Naho just isn’t responding – but from a reader perspective we agree with him, and wonder what led her to her decision. That said, I have no real complaints, mostly as I simply enjoy the way that Takano tells the story, and the emotions feel very real and earned.

If you enjoyed the initial orange onmibuses, this is clearly a must buy. But be aware that it’s not going to be happiness and sweets. Also, loved the inside cover art showing the cast in their future professions. Also also, Azusa and Takako are the absolute best.

Manga the Week of 1/24/18

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SEAN: Manga still comes, through snow, rain, gloom, and dead of night. What’s up for next week?

Kodansha debuts the new sequel to Battle Angel Alita, subtitled Mars Chronicle. It comes after Last Order, and will no doubt be as sweet and fluffy as previous volumes (please note sarcasm). It runs in Evening.

Kodansha’s digital offerings are slightly less next week – are they tired? Domestic Girlfriend 15, I’m in Love and It’s the End of the World 4, My Boyfriend in Orange 2, Pitch-Black Ten 2, and PTSD Radio 3.

MICHELLE: Heh. I will eventually read the shoujo ones on that list.

SEAN: In print, we have finally come to the end of Fairy Tail, with its 63rd volume. There are still a few spinoffs still to be released, but this is the end of the main story.

ASH: That’s an impressive run! One Piece and Case Closed are the only other series I can think of off the top of my head that have over sixty volumes published in English.

SEAN: And there is a 3rd Frau Faust, which I pray does not have the heroine get even younger by the end.

MICHELLE: I am determined to start this series this week! Maybe today!

ASH: You should! It’s great!

SEAN: We also have a 24th volume of The Seven Deadly Sins, which with the end of Fairy Tail is now the longest-running Weekly Shonen Magazine series that’s licensed over here. (Sorry, Hajime no Ippo, Ahiru no Sora and Seitokai Yakuindomo are NOT licensed over here.)

Seven Seas has a bunch of stuff. Golden Time comes to an end with its 9th volume of romance and amnesia.

Hachune Mike’s Everyday Vocaloid Paradise has a 2nd volume.

And the zombies clearly have not been stopped, if Hour of the Zombie 6 is any indication.

The debut next week is Made in Abyss, a fantasy series about a girl and her robot that runs in Takeshobo’s Manga Life Win +. Despite the cast looking like moe plushies, it’s apparently more serious than it looks.

ASH: I’ve heard that it gets quite serious indeed.

SEAN: Masamune-kun’s Revenge has reached 7 volumes. Sheesh. Just get revenge already!

And Non Non Biyori has a 9th volume of doing absolutely nothing in a cute and relaxed way.

orange: future is a spinoff of the popular shoujo romance/tragedy, with additional side and after stories that will no doubt please fans.

MICHELLE: MUST HAVE!

ASH: ABSOLUTELY! The original series was tremendous, so I hope the continuation can hold up to expectations.

ANNA: I have orange lurking around my house somewhere. I should read it!

ASH: You haven’t yet?! You really should. It’s not always an easy read due to the heavy subject matter, but it’s a really well done series.

SEAN: I am surprised as well, as it’s basically exactly what you read.

ANNA: I know! My piles of unread manga are getting out of control.

SEAN: Vertical has My Neighbor Seki Vol. 10! What amazing desk toys will Seki come up with to celebrate?

And finally, Viz has a couple of digital only releases with Boys Over Flowers Season 2 Volume 7 (Part A, 5th Door To the Right, Behind the Filing Cabinet), and the difficult to type out élDLIVE has a 4th.

MICHELLE: I feel like I should give Boys Over Flowers Season 2 another chance.

ANNA: Me too. I liked the first several chapters.

MJ: Oh, this. Yes. This, this!

SEAN: What are you dashing through the snow to get next week?

Under the Air

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By Osamu Tezuka. Released in Japan by Akita Shoten, serialized in the magazine Play Comic. Released in North America by Digital Manga Publishing. Translated by Grady Martin. Adapted by Nate Heneghan.

One of the difficulties in reading the so-called God of Manga is that there is a certain tendency to try to see everything as a masterwork. This can be quite difficult with Tezuka, who has written SO MUCH already. But just as there is good Tezuka, there is also bad Tezuka. And there is also Tezuka feeling things out, trying to grow and learn and make the manga industry grow and learn with him. Under the Air is one of those types. Created for the more mature Play Magazine, it’s a series of unrelated short stories – unrelated except for an interconnected theme of good and evil. As an experimental collection, it’s very hit-or-miss in terms of enjoyment. As a document of Tezuka, I found it far more interesting, and you can also see how it improves as it goes along – my favorite story was Under the Air itself, which is the final one in the volume.

Yes, as the cover art indicates, this is definitely one of Tezuka’s work for adults. There’s violence, murder, racism, death, sex, incest, and all sorts of human frailties along the way. The manga has a high bar to clear – because it’s meant to be about the nature of evil in many ways, its protagonists tend to be horrible people. Frequently his goal is to show them have some sort of revelatory experience that leads, if not to a change of heart, then at least to a changed state. At the start, this doesn’t work out so well – the star of Joe’s Visitor is SUCH a loathsome human being that there is absolutely no way I bought him returning at the end – in fact, I was initially baffled as to what was happening. A couple of the stories also “star” Tezuka as himself, usually looking for story ideas or visiting friends, and running into trouble. Tezuka, amusingly, does not portray himself in a very likeable way either, though he’s certainly more likeable than a lot of these people.

As the volume goes on, the stories get a bit more ‘fantastical’ in nature, ranging from hallucinatory images to experimental drugs to swapping your wife’s mind with that of a donkey – yes, really. You can also see Tezuka getting a handle on what he’s actually trying to do – the characters are not as “bwahaha, I am a BAD PERSON!” as they were at the start, and therefore the moral of whatever story he’s telling makes more sense and flows better. This culminates in the final story, featuring two innocents raised by themselves in a spaceship-style environment who grow up and become curious about the world outside their little bubble – which shows off the fact that good innocence can lead to just as many tragic consequence as evil heartlessness, though the story ends on a bittersweet rather than bitter note.

This volume came out via Digital Manga Publishing’s Kickstarter efforts, and there is theoretically a lot more coming in the near future. Under the Air is never going to be placed up there with the best mature Tezuka titles such as MW or Ode to Kirihito. But it’s an excellent example of seeing Tezuka experiment, sometimes fail, sometimes succeed, and push boundaries as far as he thinks he can take them.

Bookshelf Briefs 1/16/18

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Anonymous Noise, Vol. 6 | By Ryoko Fukuyama | VIZ Media – On the heels of the electrifying performance in volume five, volume six was likely destined to be somewhat of a disappointment. The story jumps ahead three months. Momo has been gone the whole time—for completely unclear reasons he insists he can’t stay and be together with Nino—and Nino has been in a singing slump. Meanwhile, Yuzu has made some mysterious promise to his mother and has been composing like a fiend, although nothing he’s written is very good. This volume is, essentially, about everyone finding the desire to move forward, be it Nino learning that her voice did reach Momo before he left, or Yuzu realizing Momo’s songs are currently better than his, or Haruyoshi convincing Miou to go out with him. I suppose it’s good that I care a little more about the band members now, but that central love triangle is never going to captivate me. – Michelle Smith

Dreamin’ Sun, Vol. 5 | By Ichigo Takano | Seven Seas – The beginning of this volume is excruciatingly cringe-inducing, as Shimana (teen girl) attempts to induce Fujiwara (grown man) to fall in love with her by dramatically proclaiming her love in a crowded auditorium at her school’s Founder’s Day Festival. It was so bad I actively wanted him to reject her, but he bafflingly agrees to consider it. It seems like he’ll say no, but then one of the teachers, with whom he obviously has a history, shows up and suddenly he declares that he likes Shimana and is going to date her. Later, he clarifies that he doesn’t like her the same way she likes him, but that he’s determined to fall for her. Um, why her? Why not the perfectly nice age-appropriate lady who likes you?! The creepy teacher keeps popping up and it turns out she has a kid… who looks to me like Fujiwara! Dun dun dun. – Michelle Smith

Dreamin’ Sun, Vol. 5 | By Ichigo Takano | Seven Seas – I was impressed that this volume went in a few ways that I wasn’t expecting it to. After Shimana’s public confession, which made me cringe because I HATE THOSE, I was expecting a rejection, as the landlord clearly is not that into her. But he agrees to date her, which made me wonder if this was going to get a lot more angsty than I was expecting. Then, much to my surprise, we get an awesome conversation where he admits he doesn’t love her but wants to—he wants her to make him fall for him. That’s rather sweet, but could also go SO BADLY. Given we’re at the halfway point of the series, I’m expecting things may get worse before they get better. Also wow, did Zen get written out entirely? Poor Zen! – Sean Gaffney

Imperfect Girl, Vol. 2 | By NISIOISIN and Mitsuru Hattori | Vertical Comics – The story makes no bones about the sheer brokenness of both main characters, and much as “U” is clearly the more broken of the two, I like that it doesn’t skimp on showing us just how screwed up our narrator is. The “looking back at my past” narration helps there as well, though the best chapter in this volume may be the one that shows us the girl’s day at school. (I was expecting her to be bullied, but no.) That said, the preview worries me, and I really hope that this series stays away from any disquieting relationships. I think it will, though, if only as there’s only one volume left. I series that runs almost entirely on pure mood, but that’s not really a bad thing. – Sean Gaffney

Natsume’s Book of Friends, Vol. 21 | By Yuki Midorikawa | VIZ Media – I hope I always feel this delighted to read a new volume of Natsume’s Book of Friends. There are some truly charming stories this time. First, Natsume helps a lowly minion wake his master when others (including Nyanko-sensei) would like to thwart him and receive the reward themselves. Next, he helps the yokai protector of a bookstore defeat an evil spirit, and there’s a few nice moments between the yokai and Natsume’s friend, Kitamoto. But my very, very, very favorite story involves a miniature clay figurine of Nyanko-sensei and the noble spirit who inhabits it. There’s something so adorable and touching about watching this dinky little kitty making sure he’s taken care of the evil spirits near the shrine where he used to live before finally moving on, paddling along a stream in his little wooden bowl. I couldn’t possibly love it more. – Michelle Smith

Neon Genesis Evangelion: Legend of the Piko Piko Middle School Students, Vol. 2 | By Yushi Kawata, Yukito and khara | Dark Horse Comics – It has always seemed to me that Evangelion has had more “gag comic” spinoffs than most series, and with Piko Piko they seem to have hit on a real winner. While it’s hard to top the amazing front cover, I found myself laughing hard at multiple times while reading this, which is all you want out of a humor title. The cast are exaggerated to extremes, but still feel in character, oddly enough. There are a lot of hysterical visuals, such as the sushi belt, but the dialogue takes the cake—Carl Horn’s adaptation is absolutely the best reason to buy this, and adds so much to what’s already pretty funny. Honestly, this may be the most enjoyable Evangelion that’s not the original manga. – Sean Gaffney

Pandora in the Crimson Shell: Ghost Urn, Vol. 9 | By Shirow Masamune and Rikudou Koushi | Seven Seas – The most interesting part of this volume of Pandora may come in the author’s notes, where Rikudou admits he’s not drawing the manga anymore, but has farmed it out to Hitotose Rin due to health issues. He’s still doing the story (thus presumably confirming that Shirow’s no longer even remotely involved), but there’s no change in the artist credit either, no doubt due to Japanese manga rules. As for the volume itself, it was fairly light and fluffy for a Pandora volume, and the sequence with the runner who had prosthetics verged on being interesting. Still, I found myself getting bored faster than usual, making me wonder if this is finally the time to drop it. – Sean Gaffney

Invaders of the Rokujouma!?, Vol. 8.5: The Silver Princess and the Blue Knight, Part Two

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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.

A lot of the things I said about Vol. 7.5 apply here as well, with the conclusion of Koutarou in the past. There’s a lot less humor in this book than in the regular series, as for the most part our heroes are in a desperate battle to save their lives and the kingdom, not in that order. Koutarou eventually comes clean with Alaia about who he is and where he’s from, which helps towards the end as they’re actually allowed to bring out Clan’s futuristic lightsabers and nuclear weapons without the rest of the heroic cast boggling too much. And Koutarou’s armor gets beaten to hell and back, which ties in nicely with Ruth discovering its condition in Book 8. It is, as always, a very enjoyable volume in a well-written series, but there are thankfully one or two other points I can expand on to fill up a review.

The first is the surprising reappearance of the ancient temple from Vol. 1, which I admit I had 100% forgotten about (as had Koutarou, but my memories haven’t been deliberately wiped). I’m not sure how it ended up as an ancient Earth ruin, but hey. The temple, of course, was the basis for the start of all the chaos in his life, as it’s only after falling into its ruins that he can see Sanae and we set off the mad dash to get control of the room. Here we see that it’s essentially home of a mythical sacred sword, which given it’s a myth in Alaia’s time makes it a super-old myth by the time we get to Theia’s present. The sword essentially is imbued with Alaia’s life force, which causes a few problems for her (I hope that she does not die too young, as the text hints – then again, Harumi is basically her reincarnation, so…) but also allows her and Koutarou to bring out its full potential. Rokujouma is not based on a webnovel, and it’s times like this you can tell – the series feels planned in advance in ways webnovel series do not.

The other interesting point is Koutarou’s acceptance of the fact that he, by himself, is not powerful at all, and that every awesome thing he does is through borrowed power – Sanae’s spiritual sense, Yurika’s magical protection, Theia and Ruth’s powered armor, etc. He accepts this, and keeps his humility. This contrasts him with the power-mad villain of the story, who is desperate to get power and will use any means necessary, and what’s more sees Alaia’s sword as a symbol of the power, to the degree that if he gets the sword he doesn’t actually need the princess or the kingdom. This is, of course, what makes him the villain. As for Koutarou, one could argue his natural charm, which allows the girls to fall for him and thus give him their strength, is his true power, but given the sort of series this is, I don’t expect him to realize that anytime soon. He never even realized he was the historical Blue Knight.

So another good Rokujouma, though I am definitely looking forward to returning to the present for the next few books. I do wonder if we’ll see the giant dragon that Koutarou and Clan befriended at the end of the book – it’s certainly set up that we will. In the meantime, Shizuka is on the cover of Book 9, meaning presumably that Book 10 will develop her, under the Rokujouma cover art rules. Despite its length, Rokujouma remains one of J-Novel Club’s best series to date.

Pick of the Week: What Is a Dragonewt Anyway?

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SEAN: My pick senses are turned towards Viz this week. Fire Punch looks worthy, but I have now read it, and while it is a story well told it is not my kind of story. As such, my pick of the week is RWBY. It’s always nice to see a Japanese take on a Western property, especially when the Western property is anime-influenced. Knock my socks off, RWBY!

MICHELLE: I’ve said Chihayafuru a bunch in this space already, and I’m sure I’ll say it again, so instead this week I will pick the fourth volume of Waiting for Spring. It’s not groundbreaking shoujo, but it’s enjoyable, and I like the lead characters (and the heroine’s fujoshi best friend).

ANNA: I adore Chihayafuru, but sometime I pick titles based on the titles alone. And based on the title, Fire Punch sounds pretty great. That’s my pick!!!

KATE: I’m with Sean: Fire Punch is just too damn grim for me. I’m bullish about Children of the Whales and Kitaro the Vampire Slayer, though, and am intrigued by Juana and the Dragonewts’ Seven Kingdoms — just look at that lovely cover!

ASH: I’m certainly curious about Fire Punch, and I’m definitely looking forward to more of Children of the Whales and Kitaro, but Juana and the Dragonewts’ Seven Kingdoms has caught my eye as well. So, I guess I’m largely following Kate this week!

In Another World with My Smartphone, Vol. 6

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By Patora Fuyuhara and Eiji Usatsuka. Released in Japan as “Isekai wa Smartphone to Tomo ni” by Hobby Japan. Released in North America digitally by J-Novel Club. Translated by Andrew Hodgson.

Last time I said that the volume was jam-packed, and that goes double for this one – if I didn’t know this was based off of a webnovel, I’d start wondering if the author was being told to wrap it up. The anime’s last episode spoiled the fact that Touya would eventually end up with nine wives, and now the light novel does the same thing, though we only get one “official” new fiancee at this point. But if the first volume of Smartphone read like “Baby’s First Isekai”, then this one s the isekai of a hyperactive teenager who wants to tell all the stories at once. So Touya gets to help take down ANOTHER evil usurper, and we get to fight more magical beasts, as well as more of the enemy Phrase, who continue to be lurking in the background as a threat. I’d say the book is just watching Touya be cool, but honestly half the time it’s Touya passively watching the other women around him be cool – something he lampshades.

It’s sometimes difficult to know what to actually criticize with this series, as to a certain degree being exactly what you’d expect is part of its charm. For all I talk about the “strong female characters” in this series – and we get even more of them introduced here, including Battle Maid Training – they have the depth of paper. But so do the male characters, so everything’s equal there. More seriously, I am very grumpy about the villains in the first half of the book. I know that a lot of Japanese works seek to make the villains as bad as possible, and the evil prince here gets some rape and murder, and is also a pedophile. He’s also described as ugly and with a bowl cut, and his mother is described as ugly and fat. That’s far more annoying, and I didn’t like it at all. (The afterword implied it was deliberate, so no excuses.)

As for new things, Sue is now a fiancee, though Touya admits she’s really too young, so it’s more provisional in order to stop the evil guy. (There’s a brief line about the years in this world being much longer than our own, which I wish were made a bit more explicit.) We’re also introduced to a young woman Touya rescues from near-death, who has unfortunately lost her memories (Touya names her Sakura for now), as well as a genuine Princess Knight named Hildegard, who Touya rescues from some Phrase and gives cool swords to. At the moment, they’re both basically laying down new plots and then moving on, but again, anime watchers will likely recognize the faces. Touya also helps fight against counterfeiting, brings caramel corn to the world, and fights monsters that turn people to stone, which serves mostly as a way to give Some Lu fanservice (and remind the reader that Lu exists).

So everything’s Smartphone as usual, and honestly, I suspect I’m more grumpy about the villains being stereotypically “ugly and fat = evil” than the average reader will be. Those who have already read the book will note I left out the most important part of it. I like to think I’m saving it as a surprise for the reader. Let’s just say that Smartphone is moving ever closer to becoming Mazinger Z.