Manga Bookshelf

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Sean Gaffney

Bookshelf Briefs 6/19/17

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Ace of the Diamond, Vol. 4 | By Yuji Terajima | Kodansha Comics (digital only) – This volume might’ve set a record for “number of times Michelle got verklempt due to sports manga.” Eijun’s skills continue to improve, but moreso his character does, as he realizes that taciturn catcher Chris has really been looking out for his best interests all along. Eijun becomes determined to pay him back by showing him some improvement before he graduates, practically forgetting that two junior varsity players have the opportunity to move up in his desire to express his gratitude to his teammate. Sniff! And then Chris, who has missed a year of play due to injury, gets the chance to show how terrific he’s been all this time. Meanwhile, his former varsity teammates are all pulling for him to rejoin them for their final summer season. Did I mention sniff? Great stuff! – Michelle Smith

Black Clover, Vol. 7 | By Yuki Tabata | Viz Media – This is another of those transition volumes we see so often in Shonen Jump, wrapping up the last plot, taking out a supposed traitor (who merely seems to have been corrupt), and going to the beach to show off some fanservice. We also get a few new characters, the best of whom is Kahono, who may be too good to be true somewhere down the line, but for now seems to be just what Noelle needs to finally get past the baggage of her past. The rest of the team gets to fight a bevy of enemies, either winning easily or losing just as easily. This is a team of fighters, but so far Asta and Noelle are the only important ones. Still quite readable, though, and I look forward to seeing how the fights end next time around. – Sean Gaffney

Chihayafuru, Vol. 3 | By Yuki Suetsugu | Kodansha Comics (digital only) – I love Chihayafuru so much that each time a volume ends I feel legitimately bereft. In this volume, Chihaya and Taichi manage to recruit a couple of new members to their karuta club, giving them a sufficient number to receive official club status. Taichi is really the star of this volume, helping to bring on one of the new players, as well as moderating Chihaya when, in her earnest desire to help everyone become strong, she nearly works them past the point of exhaustion. And then it’s time for the Tokyo qualifiers for the high school karuta championship, and he once again proves to be the pillar of the team. I think Chihaya’s begun to see him in a new light, too. Anyway, all of the tournament stuff is fascinating and it ends on a most excruciating cliffhanger. Worse, there’s no release date for volume four yet! – Michelle Smith

Haikyu!!, Vol. 12 | By Haruichi Furudate | Viz Media – Most of this volume is dedicated to a battle against a team with a very, very tall guy, which has its obvious advantages in volleyball that get put to good use here to try to crush our heroes, particularly Hinata. Of course, we’ve spent a couple of volumes now seeing Karasuno improving itself more and more, and so it should come as no surprise to find David taking down Goliath by the end of this match. The team is beginning to feel in sync, Kageyama is feeling (gasp!) happy and confident again, and even Tsukishima continues to try to improve himself and put said improvement in practice. As with most sports manga, you enjoy seeing the obvious growth and development laid out in excruciating detail. We get that here. – Sean Gaffney

The High School Life of a Fudanshi, Vol. 1 | By Atami Michinoku | Seven Seas – I was already a bit wary of this series, not being familiar with the anime and wondering how many of the jokes would be variations on “no homo.” (Not as many as I thought, but still too many.) But making the series a 4-koma is absolutely the wrong decision for what it wants to be, as the gags just aren’t funny enough in that format and the characters need more development. I liked the relationship between Sakaguchi and his fellow BL enthusiast Nishihara, as their fandom talk reminded me of fandom talk I have seen. But it wasn’t really enough of a draw to keep turning the pages. The author has mostly done Gintama BL smut before this, and this seems to be a dip in the waters of non-smut. 65%, Must Try Harder. – Sean Gaffney

Kamisama Kiss, Vol. 24 | By Julietta Suzuki | Viz Media – The underworld arc ends here, and it’s as epic and exciting as you’d expect. The real teary drama is in the second half of the book, though, as Nanami realizes she can’t keep being Shrine God if she’s going to be with a human Tomoe. So she runs herself ragged trying to prepare for a future she hadn’t given much thought to so as not to turn out the way her father did. Mizuki, meanwhile, is simply unable to accept that Nanami is going to get old, die, and leave him behind, and has a truly in-character hissy fit that ends up not taking as long as I thought it would. Possibly as the next volume is the last one. I’ve really loved this series as it’s gained depth, and will be incredibly sad to see it end. – Sean Gaffney

Kuroko’s Basketball, Vols. 11-12 | By Tadatoshi Fujimaki | VIZ Media – Seirin has reached the final four of the Tokyo Winter Cup qualifiers, from which two teams will emerge to represent Tokyo at the Winter Cup. Kuroko debuts his nifty new “vanishing drive” move, which helps his team overcome a deficit and tie up the game with Shutoku. Next, they face Kirisaki Daiichi, a team that employs dirty tricks to win. It was in a game against them that Kiyoshi suffered his injury, and once the first years are informed of this, they’re fired up for payback. Kiyoshi really is front and center (no pun intended) this volume, as we learn about the formation of the basketball club the year before and his past with Hyuga, though I confess I most loved seeing Kuroko get to be not just mad but kind of a badass. Even better, we don’t end on a cliffhanger for once! – Michelle Smith

Red Riding Hood and the Big Sad Wolf, Vol. 1 | By Hachoujou Arata | Seven Seas – Like the Fudanshi release I discussed earlier, this has a lot of 4-komas in it, though it intersperses it with longer stories. It’s another one of those anthropomorphic personification titles, as we meet a Red Riding Hood who loves to burn things down and the straight-man wolf whom she sets her sights on. As the title goes on, we see a bunch of new characters, all various varieties of crazy. If you enjoy sadistic grins and seeing a cute guy cry, this may be the series for you. I would not recommend it, though, for the simple reasons that I didn’t like anyone in it. Usually I say with first volumes to wait on that one clearly unlikeable character. But when they’re all like that… I’m not going to wait. – Sean Gaffney

Species Domain, Vol. 2 | By Shunsuke Noro | Seven Seas – This was still very enjoyable—there are some characters I disliked in it, but they were clearly signposted as being deliberately awful, and felt bad later. Moreover, we’re finding that it’s not only Kazamori who is having confidence issues about her lack of obvious supernatural traits—Hanei is an angel who can’t fly, which causes her a more subdued amount of stress. The main focus of the book continues to be humor, and while not as funny as the first book I find it very good. More importantly, as we get to know the cast better they’re bonding as friends, which is the most important thing in titles like this. Species Domain won’t knock any socks off, but it’s a solid and fun title. Good art, too. – Sean Gaffney

Pick of the Week: Strike Up the Band!

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MICHELLE: I have read very few light novels and, to be honest, very few appeal to me. Sound! Euphonium is an exception, though. It’s about a high-school band—the kind with cumbersome brass instruments—and looks cute!

SEAN: Lots of my favorites, including Dorohedoro and Kitaro, and I’m also interested in Golden Kamuy. But like Michelle, my pick this week is definitely Sound! Euphonium. It’s not the sort of title you see translated to English at all, and I really want to see it succeed. Plus, brass band!

KATE: Is there a manga of Sound! Euphonium? Because I’d read that in a heartbeat. Until that arrives on bookshelves, I’m going to plug Golden Kamuy, a manly-man adventure in the vein of Kazuo Koike. The story takes place on the Hokkaido frontier in the waning days of the Russo-Japanese War. Though Golden Kamuy is violent — OK, really violent — it’s got a gonzo plot and great characters. Oh, and bears. Hungry ones. Here’s my two cents on volume one.

ASH: Wow! There are so many things being released this week that I’m interested in that it’s hard to choose just one. As for ongoing series, Dorohedoro is always high on my list, as is Kitaro. I’m really curious to see how Erased continues to develop, too. As for the debuts, I’m with everyone else so far–it’s Sound! Euphonium and Golden Kamuy for me!

ANNA: Thanks to Kate’s review, I’m definitely curious about Golden Kamuy. Manly adventure manga set in Hokkaido sounds like a fun summer diversion.

MJ: Add me to the Sound! Euphonium crowd, here! I’m interested in many of these (especially the second volume of Erased), and Kate’s mention of bears intrigues the John Irving fan in me, but for once, a novel is sounding the most appealing. I figure I should go with that and give it a try!

After Hours, Vol. 1

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By Yuhta Nishio. Released in Japan by Shogakukan, serialization ongoing in the magazine Hibana. Released in North America by Viz. Translated by Abby Lehrke.

There is something of a history in yuri manga of the protagonists realizing their feelings for each other while still in school. Sometimes it’s just them, sometimes we get another couple, and sometimes everyone in the school seems to be gay, but the theme is “students”. After Hours, therefore, with its relationship between a shy 24-year-old college graduate and the 30-year-old DJ she meets at a club, is a breath of fresh air for no reason other than the fact that it’s about two adults. Fortunately, there’s a lot more to it than just that, and in fact the ‘yuri’ part of the volume is touched on a lot less than it is in those school stories. These two meet, hook up that evening, and any angst or worry they have has nothing to do with the fact that they’re both girls. It’s great to see.

Emi is the blonde on the cover, and she and her friend are going out clubbing, something Emi is not really wild about. She’s even less wild when her friend hooks up immediately and leaves her to fend for herself. Luckily she’s saved by Kei, who works at said club. The first chapter may have been a one-shot that got turned into a series, as it’s really simple: they get on, Kei invites her to come over and look at her etchings… erm, collection of old records, and things end up progressing from there. Even the morning after, aside from a brief “OMG what did I just do!” look from Emi, is really sweet. Most of the rest of the first volume stays at that simmer, though it’s apparent that when Vol. 2 comes out there may be a bit more angst and drama. Emi is unemployed at the start, and dialogue hints that she’s living in an apartment with a guy… who she’s in the process of breaking up with. Much of this happens on the edges of the story, as Emi is understandably reluctant to bring this up with Kei, though she tries once or twice.

The other reason to read this manga is the excellent look it gives into Japanese club culture. Kei is a DJ, and shows Emi how to be a VJ and provide images for her songs about halfway through the book. It shows the fun and rush of doing these things, while a flashback of Kei’s shows how difficult it can be as well, particularly when you’re just starting out. (Kei is very laid-back and knowing for most of the present day stuff, and it’s nice to see that she used to be a ball of pent-up frustration and anger.) There’s a large group of clubbers here, almost all men, but they seem nice (accidental Jagermeister shots aside), and also seem to understand that Emi and Kei are in a relationship without it ever being brought up. After Hours is a yuri title, but the yuri in the first volume seeks, for once, to make things LESS awkward – Emi and Kei bond very fast, much faster than I think they would have if Kei had been a man. I really enjoyed the first volume, and hope Vol. 2 comes out soon (it’s not out in Japan yet, I believe.)

In Another World With My Smartphone, Vol. 3

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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.

The author and reader are clearly settling in for the long haul here in this third volume of Smartphone. ON the author’s end, he’s become aware that he wants to tell a long, convoluted (if ridiculous) story, so is starting to add more key backstory and introduce characters who may not obviously influence the plot right away. Indeed, he goes a bit too far in the other direction – the new possible villain or possible ally, Kaworu… um, sorry, Ende… is casually introduced, implied to be important to both the past and present of this world, and then just goes away for the rest of the book. I’m all for foreshadowing, but again, Smartphone guy is keeping it real and making it as thuddingly obvious as possible. Fortunately, the rest of Smartphone is also the same as always, which means totally ridiculous and compulsively readable.

On the cover, as you can see, we have Sakura from Sakura Taisen… erm, Yae, whose country we visit at the start of the book. This allows Touya to singlehandedly put down a war with nothing but a few swipes from his phone – even finding out some of his foes are undead and can’t be killed by his normal go-to means is only a prelude to him trying something even more ludicrous and over the top, which works a charm, of course. He also manages to take out another “Monarch”, this one being a twofer combo of Gamera and a giant snake. Naturally, they soon become adorable plushie versions of themselves, as Touya owns them so hard the entire harem thinks he’s being too cruel. He gains access to a floating Garden of Babylon, complete with a gynoid servant who is easily the nest addition in the book. Touya’s main harem are all just as pure as he is, so a deadpan robot girl who constantly makes sexual innuendo and comes on to him was desperately needed. Unlike the stupid extra story from the last book, I don’t mind Cesca at all because both her dialogue and Touya’s reactions to same are entirely in character.

Speaking of the harem, I admit to being rather surprised at how fast things are advancing on that front. Clearly the author has realized that a) there’s no point in dragging out the ‘will they confess?’ any longer given that they’re all too pure to go any further than kissing anyway, and b) given this is a world where it’s OK to take up to 20 wives provided you can in fact be rich enough to support 20 wives, ‘who is best girl?’ is mostly irrelevant anyway. I was impressed with Linze for taking the advantage on the kissing front, showing off that she may be shy most of the time but is secretly the bolder of the twins. I was a bit less thrilled with Yumina basically already admitting that Sue, her little girl cousin, will also be part of the harem once she grows up, but I suppose I shouldn’t have been surprised. I was also amused that he asked advice from God (remember this all started with God?) on how to deal with this, and gets a pep talk not only from the main God but also the God of Love, who judging by the illustration and behavior, is Marielle from Log Horizon.

One of the themes of this book is that Touya completely does not realize how ridiculously OP and amazing he is, because he tends to think of it as “I did very little to achieve this, therefore it wasn’t all that great”. Combine that with him not realizing why the girls all like him, and he’s very much harem protagonist material. That said, it’s the rare harem novel that actually takes the hero aside and literally has two gods telling him he’s being foolish and to try being a bit more selfish once in a while. That brings me to my last shuddering realization about this series: I can’t in good conscience call it bad anymore. Yes, it is terminally ridiculous (the scene where our hero builds an entire hot spring for the hotel he used to stay in in approximately five minutes may set a new record for laughable), and the lead is such a ridiculously overpowered twink that anyone who takes isekai seriously will be grinding their teeth, but by god, it’s fun.

Manga the Week of 6/21/17

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SEAN: It’s that time again. Time for this list of titles to take forever, time for your wallet to scream in pain, time for Anna to wonder why Yen doesn’t license more shoujo. Yes, it’s that week of the month.

Dark Horse has another Hatsune Miku manga, this one called Acute.

Drawn and Quarterly gives us another Kitaro volume, The Great Tanuki War. I’ve reviewed it here.

ASH: I’m always ready for more Kitaro!

SEAN: Haikasoru has the 4th Legend of the Galactic Heroes novel, which seems more timely than ever these days.

ASH: That it does.

MICHELLE: Someday, I really will read these.

ANNA: I just got the first one!

SEAN: J-Novel Club has the 4th Grimgar of Fantasy and Ash out digitally.

Their debut this week is If It’s For My Daughter, I’d Even Defeat A Demon Lord, which is a very light novel title if nothing else. J-Novel’s founder described it as being “like Bunny Drop”, then had to hurriedly walk that back after fans recoiled in horror. The good parts of Bunny Drop, apparently.

Kodansha continues to rush Nodame Cantabile to its finish digitally, here’s Vol. 23.

MICHELLE: Woot!

SEAN: Kodansha in print has a 7th volume of Inuyashiki, which recently ended in Japan.

And an 11th volume of Kiss Him, Not Me!, which despite its cover is unlikely to end with anyone married.

There is also a 7th Real Account.

Seven Seas gives us a 3rd volume of “would you read this in public?” series Holy Corpse Rising. (Answer: no.)

The new title is Otome Mania!, a reverse harem series that runs in Sylph, and whose author has done a lot of Shonen Jump BL doujinshi. So, pretty much the opposite market to Holy Corpse Riding.

Viz gives us the 21st volume of Dorohedoro, which crawls closer to its conclusion, but I don’t mind it taking so long.

ASH: I continue to adore Dorohedoro. It will be sad when it ends, but it has been an astonishing ride so far.

SEAN: Viz’s big debut is Golden Kamuy, a Young Jump title which sounds absolutely amazing, and co-stars an Ainu woman? Sign me up.

ASH: I’m really looking forward to this series!

ANNA: This looks cool.

SEAN: The 6th Goodnight Punpun omnibus is also out next week.

ASH: We’re drawing near the end of this depressing yet compelling work.

SEAN: And an 11th Master Keaton.

Lastly (from Viz, don’t get excited), there’s a lucky 13th volume of Tokyo Ghoul.

That leaves Yen, but we’re not even halfway through the list. A huge number of light novels next week, starting with the 10th Accel World, which I hope is more lighthearted after the last few books.

Is It Wrong To Pick Up Girls In A Dungeon’s side story, Sword Oratoria, is not making viewers of the anime adaptation happy, but will they enjoy this 3rd light novel more?

The first of two debuts this month, Magical Girl Raising Project is one of THOSE series, featuring a lot of cute and determined magical girls who will be brutally slaughtered.

The 4th volume of Psycome goes off campus, as our heroes deal with Eri’s family and past.

Re: Zero’s 4th volume starts a new arc which no doubt means more deaths and save points for our hero.

The most exciting debut of the week for me is Sound Euphonium, a book about a high school band that was adapted into a beloved anime series. I believe this is the only volume licensed, though a sequel is out in Japan. Buy it, I hear it’s great.

MICHELLE: I don’t often go in for light novels, but for this I think I’ll make an exception.

ASH: I’ll absolutely be reading this. Band was the highlight of my high school years.

SEAN: Spice & Wolf turns out to be not quite over, as we get this 18th volume of the series.

And the first two Sword Art Online: Progressive novels are out digitally next week.

On to Yen’s manga. There’s a 5th Aoharu x Machinegun.

The Asterisk War has a 4th volume of its manga adaptation.

And Bungo Stray Dogs gets a 3rd volume.

The Devil Is A Part-Timer’s 9th manga volume is out as well.

And a 7th Dragons Rioting. Sorry, no witty remarks, no snark, just a long list of things I don’t read.

I do read Erased, though, and look forward to the 2nd omnibus.

ASH: It should be good! The first omnibus was a little slow for me at first, but by the end I was hooked.

SEAN: If you want to read Grimgar but hate books, here is the first volume of the Grimgar of Fantasy and Ash manga.

And there’s a 6th volume of Handa-kun.

The Honor Student at Magic High School is once again behind the light novels, to my relief. Here’s the 7th manga volume.

How to Raise a Boring Girlfriend has reached Vol. 6.

Kiniro Mosaic has a 3rd volume of basically not a lot happening to cute, yuri-ish girls.

My Youth Romantic Comedy Is Long As I Expected still has a long title, even 5 volumes in. (A reminder this sis the manga adaptation, though Amazon has gotten better at differentiating the two now.)

A spin-off of No Game No Life (whose own manga adaptation seems to be on hiatus in Japan), No Game No Life, Please! focuses on Izuna, as the title’s verbal tic likely gave away.

Of the Red, the Light and the Ayakashi may not make much sense to me, even after 7 volumes, but it’s got style.

MICHELLE: I’m enjoying it!

ASH: I’ve been enjoying it, myself.

SEAN: And we have a 7th Prison School omnibus.

ASH: I’m still reading this series, too. It’s definitely not for everyone, though.

School-Live! still has not run out of zombies, as we have Vol. 7 here.

And a 7th Strike the Blood manga will not surprise, but may satisfy anyway.

Today’s Cerberus gives us a 4th print volume of the already out on digital series.

Lastly, the your name novel gets a manga adaptation, and this is Vol. 1.

Phew. What’s for you next week? Or does the list just make you dizzy?

Yona of the Dawn, Vol. 6

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

One of the hallmarks of many a shoujo series is the idea of the man falling for a woman, among other reasons, because of her sheer stubbornness – the idea being that he no longer sees her as merely a weak girl who can’t do anything because of the fire in her eyes. And given that Jaeha is proving to be a tough nut to crack, it makes sense that we’d get one of these scenes with him and Yona as well. Of course, Yona of the Dawn is not your standard high school romance, and therefore the stubborn streak that Yona has involves truly death-defying walks along a sheer cliff face to acquire a much-needed herb. Jaeha can see how terrified Yona is of the whole thing, but also sees her reasoning behind why she still does it (mostly as she narrates it aloud to him, admittedly). It’s the best scene of the book.

The rest of the book is pretty nifty as well. We meet the pirate crew that Jaeha is working with, and they’re the ‘good’ kind of pirates, of course, led by a badass old woman who I hope we see more of but I suspect will be gone after this arc. The pirates are here to stop the evil slave traders kidnapping young girls, which makes Yona an obvious choice to be bait. (The other choice, equally obvious if you know this series, is Yun, who fills the tsundere role admirably and looks fantastic in women’s clothing (as he says himself). This does lead us to one of the series’ running themes, which is that it’s very difficult to conduct a secret mission to save the kingdom if you have fiery red hair that everyone knows is like the Princess. Yona’s solution here is very clever, and another sign of how she’s growing by leaps and bounds.

As for the romance side of the manga, well, Jaeha is falling for Yona, though he’s not quite ready to admit it. The second best scene in the book is when he talks to Hak and tries to get the measure of what the relationship between him and Yona is. Hak is very tightly wound, with most of his affection for Yona coming out as teasing and the occasional serious “dedication to duty” conversation, but it becomes clearer the longer he watches her that there is an intense pent-up desire there. This is normally the sort of thing that can’t stay pent up forever, but given this is a Hana to Yume romance, I expect it will likely stay pent up for quite some time. Still, it’s beautifully conveyed.

Ending with a truly loopy alternate universe omake (I love the idea of Yona as a ditz with a flower growing out of her head), this is another strong volume in an already strong series. Still one of the best Shojo Beat titles being released right now. I can’t wait to see what happens next.

My Big Sister Lives in a Fantasy World: The Melancholy of the High School Girl Light Novel Author?!

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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.

I will save my objections for later in the review, so let me start by saying that a lot of this book is fun as usual. The author is getting more blatant in his Haruhi rip-offs, from the title of this volume to the fact that the villain is disappointed at Yuichi’s proactive personality and says she wants someone who says “yare yare” all the time, and it’s still funny. Mutsuko gets a lot less to do here than she normally does, but is still amusing in a “if I start to take her seriously she will be a Cthulian horror’ sort of way. Aiko and Yoriko make a good double act, and I’m amused at people saying Aiko’s not as much of a threat in the ‘love interest’ category as she’s too passive. And the overarching plot, which looks like it will be the core of the rest of the series, is not all that bad, taking the metatextual Haruhi stuff and trying to spin it in a dramatic way.

But enough of that, let’s move on to Kanako, who gets the spotlight here at last. I admit I had been misreading her in the first couple volumes as something of an airhead type, but now it becomes apparent that it’s more ‘withdrawn from reality’. And more to the point, Kanako has suicidal thoughts, and the book begins with her attempting to kill herself (it’s when she first meets Mutsuko and Yuichi). I will be fair, this scene works quite well. Mutsuko’s flip “that’s boring!” grates, but her solution, although ludicrous, teaches an important lesson, one that I think Kanako grasps. No, the trouble I have with Kanako’s subplot comes later in the book. Her relationship with her mother is written in a completely serious, realistic way, with no parodic elements at all, and the scene where she sees her, happy with her new family, is devastating. Having the villain take credit for her entire past, including her mother wanting a son so much that it poisoned her entire relationship with her child, is frankly awful and makes light of Kanako’s pain.

As for the climax of the book, Yuichi pays some lip service to the fact that you can’t just magically fix a suicidal person’s thoughts with a few well-intentioned words, but then he goes ahead and does it anyway. And Kanako is now added to the love interest pile, and I have a sneaking suspicion that we aren’t really going to touch on her problems again. It’s maddening in many ways, and one reason I find it hard to fully embrace this series – if it’s going to be a parody of Haruhi and similar series, it shouldn’t be using darker subplots like this one and the kidnapped girls one from Book 3, and if it does use the serious plots it should commit to them seriously and not handwave it away with the power of Yuichi’s GAR. And so I’m left with feelings of ambivalence. I do hope the next book uses Mutsuko more, as I find the series at its most intriguing when it’s examining her incredibly broken mindset.

Bookshelf Briefs 6/12/17

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Anne Happy, Vol. 5 | By Cotoji | Yen Press – There’s a new character introduced in this volume who I thought at first was going to be an antagonist but it turns out is merely another one of our broken, unlucky heroes. That said, “terminally shy” is not really unlucky so much as a basic personality flaw. As for the class, we’re looking beyond graduation, and while I will marvel if some of these ditzes manage to survive in the adult world, it’s a good thinking exercise to get them to ponder dreams they’d like to achieve—Botan as a school nurse is amusing and obvious, Hibari’s “botanical research technician” a bit less so. As for the culture festival, they’re doing a play, probably to continue trying to force them to interact with others till they can do it more naturally. Mildly recommended. – Sean Gaffney

Captive Hearts of Oz, Vol. 2 | By Ryo Maruya and Mamenosuke Fujimaru | Seven Seas – As I noted in my review of the first volume, folks did not particularly read Alice in the Country of Hearts for the reverse harem—or if they did, the worst volumes of it were only concerned with that. No, they read it for the dark subtext, and I am pleased that Captive Hearts of Oz is well aware of that and turns the dark subtext into text. There are some sweet, heartwarming moments, don’t get me wrong, such as Leon finding his courage and Nick’s daring rescue of Hayward. But there’s also chilling stuff here, as one of the crows we met earlier is vanished into black mist, and after seemingly being killed in the rapids, Nick just… comes back wrong. I am fully down with this series now. – Sean Gaffney

Fairy Tail: Rhodonite | By Kyouta Shibano | Kodansha Comics – This says volume two on it, but it’s actually a single volume spinoff—volume one was Twin Dragons of Sabertooth. This second volume deals with Gajeel and his past, and as such has a lot of cool fights, disturbing revelations and shonen stubbornness. But of course I didn’t get it for that reason. I got it because Gajeel x Levy 5-evah. And I am pleased to note that fans of this pairing will have a lot to work with, from Levy’s realization that she’s never really asked much about Gajeel’s past, to Juvia’s straight-up shipping of the two of them (who can blame her), to Gajeel’s pure and honest respect for Levy. They’ve come a long way from his beating her to unconsciousness and crucifying her. Recommended for Gajevy fans. – Sean Gaffney

Food Wars!: Shokugeki no Soma, Vol. 18 | Story by Yuto Tsukuda, Art by Shun Saeki | VIZ Media – I was hesitant going into this volume since the beginning of the “Erina’s horrible dad takes over” arc was rather distressing. It isn’t over yet, and several research societies get squashed in the shokugeki they requested to challenge the order to disband. Still, Yukihira does prevail in his rigged showdown with the fate of Polaris dormitory on the line, so there’s some hope. Too, we learn that Azami at one point idolized Yukihira’s dad and is now doing all of this because the “rotten and corrupt” culinary world “dared to ruin” him. Oh, and Erina now knows that the person she looks up to more than anyone is Yukihira’s dad, causing her to reflect on all the times she’s treated him shabbily. Probably my favorite part of this volume is seeing her among the Polaris gang; I hope she loosens up a bit more under their influence. – Michelle Smith

Haikyu!!, Vol. 12 | By Haruchi Furudate | VIZ Media – Ah, what a tremendously satisfying volume! With little preamble, the first game of the Spring Tournament preliminaries begins. Everyone is much more confident now after spending so much time practicing against strong Tokyo teams, and Karasuno makes it through its two exciting games, earning a spot in the qualifier round. Essentially, this volume offers both in-game awesomeness as well as training montages, as the two months between tournaments pass quickly, with various guys making improvements, Hinata and Kageyama’s new quick set upping its success rate, and even Tsukishima asking for tips on how to effectively block a superior player. It’s also great to see Hinata getting respect on a wider stage. Sounds like volume twelve will be a great one, too! – Michelle Smith

Murcielago, Vol. 2 | By Yoshimurakana | Yen Press – Hinako is on the cover of this volume, and she does get a chapter of focus to herself, which mostly serves to make us wonder if she’s meant to be sixteen years old or six. It’s also unclear exactly what her relationship with Kuroko is beyond ‘buddy with car.’ Kuroko certainly seems like she can handle things herself, finishing up the murder mansion subplot with a few more corpses and a lot more gore—though less than I expected, as the murderous maid loses a few limbs but not her life—something it’s hinted she may regret. We also begin a new arc, trying to rescue a girl from her father, who may be a serial killer. If you like lots of over the top violence and lesbian sex, Murcielago STILL may not be for you—it’s pretty twisted. – Sean Gaffney

Please Tell Me! Galko-chan, Vol. 3 | By Kenya Suzuki| Seven Seas – As with the second volume, this one ramps back on the sex talk, though there is still some as we discuss pubic hair and the benefits and drawbacks to large breasts. Mostly what we get is more character-based gags, as Galko and company go video shopping, visit an art museum, and have a school festival, which brings about the majority of the drama in the latter half of the volume—Galko is excellent at reading aloud, so is drafted as narrator of the school play. But this means she can’t do the festival with Otako and Ojou! Fortunately, she has a childhood friend who, while he’s attracted to her, also understands her needs, and the problem is solved to a degree. A lot of fun. – Sean Gaffney

Rose Guns Days Season Two, Vol. 3 | By Ryukishi07 and Nana Natsunishi | Yen Press – This ended up being a lot more idealistic than I was expecting, even if there was a bit of manufactured drama when Zel’s real identity is revealed. The chase is on to try to rescue her father and also help Rose not surrender to the Chinese—something Lee is happy to help with provided he can consolidate his power base. Also, turns out a few of the cast from Season One are not quite as killed off as they appeared. The whole season is set up like a heist film, and a heist is what you get in the end. If there’s a problem, it’s that it all goes far TOO smoothly—you get the sense that even more was cut from the visual novel to squeeze this one. On to season three, which is in 1949. – Sean Gaffney

Pick of the Week: Manwha-Karuta

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SEAN: There have been a lot of yuri picks of the week this year, mostly as there have been a lot of yuri debuts this year. The latest is After Hours, a Viz title about a young woman who gets dragged to a club and finds her life turned upside-down! It’s my pick this week, despite putting the voice of Mo Tucker in my head.

MICHELLE: o/~ And someday I know someone will look into my eyes and say hellooooo… you’re my very special one…. o/~ I used to always close mix tapes with that one back in the day. Anyway, I am very excited about After Hours, but as usual my heart pines most strongly for sports manga and in this case it’s the third volume of Chihayafuru, due out digitally from Kodansha. I’m happy to see it coming out so soon after volume two and hope that becomes a trend.

KATE: My pick of the week isn’t a manga but a manhwa: Uncomfortably Happily, due out from Drawn & Quarterly on June 13th. It’s a semi-autobiographical story by Yeon-Sik Hong about a pair of artists who trade life in the big city for a rural retreat, only to discover that life in the countryside isn’t as simple as they imagined it would be. After reading Rebecca Silverman’s glowing review, I ordered myself a copy.

ASH: I’m definitely interested in After Hours, but I’m with Kate this week in picking Uncomfortably Happily. I actually ended up with an advanced copy of the work, so I already know it’s great! My own review of the manhwa should be posted in just a few days.

ANNA: How am I behind in my Chihayafuru reading!? Having two volumes to read to get caught up is exciting though. Volume three of Chihayafuru is my pick for the week.

MJ: Did someone say “manhwa from Drawn & Quarterly”? I’m pretty sure that’s my pick, even if I read nothing more about it. Combine that with the recommendations so far, and it sounds like it’ll completely make my week. Uncomfortably Happily is the comic for me this week!

Delicious in Dungeon, Vol. 1

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By Ryoko Kui. Released in Japan as “Dungeon Meshi” by Enterbrain, serialization ongoing in the magazine Harta. Released in North America by Yen Press. Translated by Taylor Engel.

This is, when you come right down to it, a straight up mix of two popular genres right now. Dungeon Crawling is popular in both isekai works and others that just like the genre of the fantasy RPG. And cooking manga has always been popular in Japan for years, with people spending pages upon pages telling readers how delicious they can make something in great detail. Combining the two is a clever idea, and on the face of it the main reason to read this book, but I’m going to be honest, I found the actual RPG and food sections rather boring. No, the real reason to read this book are the main characters, who, while not the most original bunch, do give a off a certain weird charm – emphasis on the weird. They’re individually eccentric, but even more eccentric when put together.

Our party seems very standard by RPG terms: among others, they have a front-line warrior, an elf mage, and a small, grumpy trap expert. At the beginning of the title, they have even more people, but they miscalculate what supplies and food they need to successfully fight off a monster, and as a result are exhausted and starved. So they lose and have to run away – and worse, our hero’s sister in literally eaten by one of the monsters. When most of the rest of their team quits, they’re left in dire straits – the sister can be rescued, but only if they return immediately. Thus a truly foolish, desperate idea – save on supplies by eating the monsters they capture. With the help of a dwarf who had a lot of cooking knowledge and very little common sense, they set out to slowly return to where they left off and maybe try to rescue the sister, though honestly they’re taking so long I’m not expecting much.

As I said above, the main reason to read this is the off-kilter sense of humor it has. Laios, our hero, is a monster freak with a lot of idealism and book knowledge, but it’s also made him a bit of a ditz. Marcille, the elf mage, is a walking font of common sense for the most part, forever forced to be the tsukkomi and be shocked to find the technically gross things she’s eating are actually really tasty when cooked properly. The other one with some common sense is Chilchuck, the trap expert, and he contrasts well with the dwarf, Senshi, who is a bit of a pop-eyed lunatic when he’s not talking about food. Fortunately, Chilchuck is easily flattered. Together, the four of them get into vaguely death-defying situations as they attempt to save Laios’ sister, whose fate seems to be a bit of a running gag, but I suspect will pop up later on if only as the alternative is a bit too dark.

I’m not exactly sure if this is a series I’d want to keep reading on a regular basis, but the first volume was amusing enough, and is definitely worth it if you enjoy dungeon crawls. As for the foodie crowd… possibly less so.

Manga the Week of 6/14/17

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SEAN: Traditionally this is the small week of the month, but tradition can go hang: there are no small weeks anymore.

MICHELLE: At least there is no shortage of choices for Picks of the Week!

ASH: What a time to be alive!

SEAN: Dark Horse has the 5th volume of Fate/Zero, which will likely be as gruesome as ever.

J-Novel Club has In Another World With My Smartphone on the fast track, as we have Vol. 3 already. It’s the bouncy puppy of isekai.

And Paying to Win in a VRMMO also has its 3rd volume.

Kodansha has a pile of digital only Del Rey rescues: Alive 17, Nodame Cantabile 22, and Yozakura Quartet 13.

In new digital titles, we have a 4th Ace of the Diamond.

MICHELLE: Woot!

SEAN: Air Gear is down to one volume per year, but Kodansha can take heart that the 36th is the 2nd to last one.

Chihayafuru gets a 3rd volume digitally as well, and I will definitely be reading it.

MICHELLE: Super woot!

SEAN: There is a 5th Complex Age, a very realistic take on cosplay and aging – a bit too realistic for my taste.

MICHELLE: I’m wary, since I hated the new character in volume four so vehemently, but the series concludes with volume six, and it’d be a shame not to finish it.

ASH: I haven’t read the fourth volume yet, but the first three left a strong impression on me.

SEAN: And Fire Force has a 4th volume of supernatural firefighting.

One Peace has an 8th volume of its light novel series Rise of the Shield Hero.

Seven Seas has a 12th volume of Dragonar Academy, which I hear some people buy and enjoy.

There is also a 5th Masamune-kun’s Revenge, which I have been enjoying with reservations.

A debut! Red Riding Hood and the Big Sad Wolf (Akazukin-chan wa Ookami-san o Nakasetai!) is a Zero-Sum series which seems to have a less grim take on Grimm.

ASH: That could be interesting.

SEAN: Species Domain was more fun than I expected, and a 2nd volume should hopefully be as fun.

The other Seven Seas debut is Tales of Zestria, a manga version of the RPG game. It’s also a Zero-Sum title.

SuBLime has a spinoff of the Don’t Be Cruel manga called Don’t Be Cruel: plus+. Do you pronounce both pluses?

We also see the first volume of the Finder Deluxe Edition (from SuBLime, I think – hasn’t this series had more re-releases than I can keep track of?).

ASH: This is only the second release, I promise. Digital Manga used to have the license, but SuBLime has it now. And this edition has additional content not previously released!

SEAN: Vertical has the 6th and final Mysterious Girlfriend X omnibus.

Viz has the debut of After Hours, their own entry into the burgeoning yuri manga market. It runs in Hibana magazine, and I understand it does not take place in a school! Gasp!

MICHELLE: Looking forward to this one!

ASH: Same! (Even more now that I know it isn’t a school romance.)

SEAN: There is also a 24th Magi, for all you Magi fans (including me, though I wish Morgiana did more).

Lastly, we have the 8th Monster Hunter: Flash Hunter.

Do any of these series excite you? Depress you? Irritate you?

Invaders of the Rokujouma!?, Vols. 1-3

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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.

This series has an unusual history, at least in terms of translation. It’s 24+ volumes in Japan, so no one was seriously considering it as a possible license. Plus it had a fan translation already. But J-Novel Club reached out to the fan translator and made a deal, and so what we have here is that translation, newly edited for published release. It’s available for free on J-Novel’s site, or you can buy it on Amazon and the usual suspects as a normal light novel. As for why you’d want to? Well, do you like Strike the Blood? Do you enjoy its blinding obvious cliches but wish that it was less action oriented and more of a harem comedy? If so, then Rokujouma may be the series for you! It’s cliched as heck, but rarely actively irritating, and at times even can be heartwarming and amusing.

If you are wondering what Rokujouma means, well, I’m a little unclear on that myself, but the basic premise is that this young man, living alone as he starts high school, has found a dirt-cheap apartment. It’s dirt-cheap because, as the landlady tells him, it’s haunted and everyone’s been driven out of it. This does not bother our hero, though, as he’s a deep sleeper. After an accident he gets into while at work (which is, somewhat frustratingly, never followed up on in any of the three books), he comes home and finds he can now see the ghost, a cute young girl trying to get him out as this is HER apartment. And then suddenly we get a self-proclaimed magical girl, a member of an underground tribe, and an alien princess and her retainer, all of whom have designs on the room for their own reasons. And it’s not even a big apartment! Hijinx, as they say, ensue.

The author notes in the afterword of Volume 1 that this is only his second book, and his first series. It shows a bit – the flaws in this series are the sort you see in a new writer’s work, with some stuff explained too much, some not explained enough, and the occasional reliance on stereotypes to take the place of characterization, though that improves as the series goes on. The first book is the weakest, since it has to introduce the cast all at once and can’t really do much else. Stronger was the second book, which involves a school athletic festival and is filled with lots of opportunities for wacky comedy – the anime version of this is likely quite amusing. The best reason to read the series is Yurika, the magical girl who absolutely no one believes. I suspect the author was watching Haruhi Suzumiya when he wrote her, as she’s basically Mikuru, but the sheer amount of abuse and contempt heaped upon her by our hero, the other girls, and even the narration is so overblown it becomes hilarious.

This is absolutely a standard harem comedy, and doesn’t really do much of anything to set itself up above the pack so far. That said, it also doesn’t really do too much to really make it horrible, either. The ghost girl gets a lot of character development in the third book, and I suspect future books will do the same for the others. If you like this genre, and haven’t already read the series online, Rokujouma is worth checking out.

Descending Stories: Showa Genroku Rakugo Shinji, Vol. 1

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By Haruko Kumota. Released in Japan by Kodansha, serialized in the magazine Itan. Released in North America by Kodansha Comics. Translated by Matt Alt.

Just as there is a big difference between having the Great American Novel in your head and actually being able to turn it into an actual book, there is a difference between being able to tell a great story when you’re in a bar or with your friends and being able to tell a great story in front of an audience who is there to be entertained by your stories. And in Japan there is a tradition devoted to just such a thing: Rakugo, where the performer sits on a cushion and tells a long, involved story, usually involving multiple people, and has to make sure to differentiate between the characters, not make everything too complicated to follow, and entertain the audience. This is the sort of thing that ex-con Yotaro wants to do, and he persuades one of the last rakugo masters (it’s a dying art) to take him on as an apprentice. But of course, it’s not as easy as that.

The thing that struck me most about this series as I read it is the way that the three main characters are both sympathetic and yet very difficult to like. Yotaro is obnoxious in the sort of way that you’re glad he’s just a character in a story and not your actual friend, and his apprenticeship at times seems like he’s more of a puppy that was picked up off the streets (this is actually lampshaded). Yakumo, the rakugo master, is a cranky and aging man who is upset that his art is dying and troubled by a tragic past, including the death of his best friend, whose art he sometimes tries to show in his own work. He’s unpleasant in just the right ways to make him fascinating yet really irritating, and it’s still not quite clear why he picked Yotaro to be an apprentice when he never has before – I don’t think he really knows either, though Yotaro does have some raw talent.

The third main character is Konatsu, Yakumo’s “ward” and the daughter of the dead best friend I mentioned before. She is deeply bitter and angry about the death of her parents, which she suspects Yakumo was actually involved in more than he admits, and is also deeply angry and bitter about the fact that women are not allowed to perform rakugo – a shame as she’s really, really good at it, and she knows it. She ends up teaching Yotaro most of the basic skills, mostly as his actual master is far too busy using him as an actual dogsbody. The anguished and dark conversation between her and Yakumo, where he wishes out loud that the gods had let her be born a man, and she says she feels the same, is heartbreaking. Basically, Konatsu is a walking timebomb, and I’m curious how many volumes it will take for her to go off.

Descending Stories ran in Itan, one of Kodansha’s ‘sui generis’ manga magazines that, like many other ‘sui generis’ manga magazines, tends to get classified as josei when people try to slap a genre on it anyway. I can see why this story falls into that genre, though – the art style reminds me of Ooku, and not just because of the period kimonos and hair. Descending Stories didn’t bowl me over, but it’s a strong start, and I definitely want to say where these characters go next.

Pick of the Week: Are You Lesbian Experienced?

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MICHELLE: I suspect that most of my compatriots are going to pick something else, but I can’t deny that what I am most looking forward to this week is the sixth Kuroko’s Basketball omnibus. I fell a little behind on the series, and so the prospect of reading two of these 2-in-1s back-to-back sounds like sports manga paradise.

SEAN: No question, absolutely, my pick this week is My Lesbian Experience with Loneliness, which was simply one of the best autobiographical manga I’ve read.

KATE: Sean and Erica Friedman’s reviews of My Lesbian Experience with Loneliness have put it on the top of my list for this week, too. I’m also looking forward to the sixth installment of Sweetness & Lighting, a manga which always makes me feel happy and hungry in equal measure.

ASH: The obvious choice for my pick of the week is My Lesbian Experience with Loneliness but I’m definitely looking forward to giving Manga in Theory and Practice a read as well. Of course there’s the newest volumes of Haikyu!! and Yona of the Dawn, too… so many great manga this week!

ANNA: If Yona of the Dawn is coming out, there can be no other pick for me, as I’m captivated as always by this great shoujo fantasy series.

MJ: I’m definitely in the My Lesbian Experience with Loneliness crowd this week. This is, by far, the book that most interests me on the list. Also, I must now immediately go and read Sean and Erica’s reviews.

Bookshelf Briefs, 6/5/17

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Genshiken: Season Season, Vol. 10 | By Shimoku Kio | Kodansha Comics – When Genshiken rebooted itself as a female-driven series, and adding Hato’s gender-driven issues, it acquired a big audience that it hadn’t had before. I suspect most of that audience gradually moved away once Madarame returned and the entire plot became “who will he end up with?” And clearly it wasn’t going to be Hato, but credit to Kio here for treating Hato’s attraction to Madarame, and Madarame’s growing awareness of feelings within himself, with seriousness and sympathy, despite both parties being drunk. The rest of the volume comes off as an afterthought in comparison, though it is a bit stunning to see Keiko’s temper tantrum when she realizes Madarame is just not that into her. A bit of a train wreck, but good. – Sean Gaffney

In/Spectre, Vol. 4 | By Kyo Shirodaira and Chashiba Katase | Kodansha Comics – The murder of Saki’s police colleague amps things up tremendously for our heroes, as it’s becoming increasingly hard to shut down the legend of Steel Lady Nanase. And it becomes clear that someone else is pulling strings on the other side—someone well known to both Kotoko and Kuro. While I’m not sure the title needed the addition of an evil mastermind, she works well as a dark mirror to Kuro, and also as a threat to Saki—even now. As with previous volumes, the main reason to read it continues to be Kotoko, who is clever and earnest when working towards their goal, but remarkably petty and insecure otherwise. This is not quite as good as it used to be, but still enjoying it. – Sean Gaffney

Kamisama Kiss, Vol. 24 | By Julietta Suzuki | VIZ Media – Suzuki-sensei does a fabulous job again, first resolving the Akura-Oh plot in a way that makes me feel sorry for Yatori and then really delving into what it means for Tomoe to become human. Nanami starts working herself to exhaustion to save for their eventual life together—unwilling to leave things to chance, which makes sense after a childhood with her gambling father—but the real heartbreak of this volume is Mizuki’s reaction to her eventual departure. He tries to hold in his feelings and be happy for her, but he can’t do it, particularly after she explains that she’s human and has no choice but to grow old. I fully get what it’s like to want something impossible with all your heart, so the panel of him sobbing “Don’t get old. Don’t grow up.” really got to me. I now chiefly wish for a happy ending for Mizuki! Sniff. – Michelle Smith

Kase-san and Bento | By Hiromi Takashima | Published by Seven Seas- Last week, Sean called this series “cuteness personified” and I really cannot quibble with that description. In this installment, Yamada and Kase begin their final year of high school in the same class. A trip to Okinawa provides opportunities to be accosted by creepy drunks in the airport, angst about communal bathing, fret about relationship doubts at the aquarium, and work everything out on the beach. Maybe all the insecurity is a bit much—I wished for someone to call out Yamada’s friend, Mikawa, who was constantly stirring the pot—and it’s true Yamada looks and acts like a seventh grader sometimes, but her innocence also leads to some nice moments. All in all, this is much more my style of yuri than some I’ve seen. Is it because it runs in a “pure yuri” anthology? Perhaps. I look forward to Kase-san and Shortcake! – Michelle Smith

Kiss & White Lily for My Dearest Girl, Vol. 2 | By Canno | Yen Press – A second volume gives us focus on more girls, though as with the first, things remain somewhat ambiguous throughout. This title presents a nice balance between the fluffy sweetness of Kase-san and the turmoil of Bloom Into You. It also shows us that not all of these couples are going to be simply put-the-jigsaw-together types, as Chiharu’s crush here is unrequited, though halfway through the book we get a new contender anyway. I don’t really have much to say about the volume, but that’s because these stories feel realistic and true, at least to the extent this genre can. The weak point may be the final side-story, which ties back to the angry lead from volume one meeting the sister of her “girlfriend,” with much sister crushing ensuing. Fun. – Sean Gaffney

Log Horizon: The West Wind Brigade, Vol. 5 | By Koyuki and Mamare Touno | Yen Press – Unfortunately, this continues to be a very frustratingly inconsistent series. At its best, it’s riffing on the events of the main series and showing us how they affect and are observed by the West Wind Brigade—we wrap up the Hamelin story here, and Soujirou’s admiration for Shiroe shines through. And the side story with Kawara is excellent, especially her tears when she thinks of her dad, and her backstory. The other half of the volume, though, is pure fanservice, with discussions of peeping on Soujirou in the bath, potions turning Soujirou female, and even uniform measuring—almost all of it involving Nazuna, who is in full-on ‘drunken big-breasted cliche’ mode here. For Log Horizon fans only. – Sean Gaffney

Missions of Love, Vol. 14 | By Ema Toyama | Kodansha Comics – One thing I really enjoy about Missions of Love, despite its soap-opera dramatics and basically horrible cast, is that it shows us over and over again that manipulating others in order to achieve your love is always wrong and will always fail. Hisame’s arrival may have merely been to extend this series out for a few more volumes, but we’re really getting to know what makes him tick here, and seeing how his own series (which sells better than Yukina’s at the moment) may be just as ignorant of love. The dangers of cell-phone writing for teens. Meanwhile, there’s still a Mami and Akira plot that’s happening, as Mami is trapped in a romantic triangle she’s not even really cognizant of. Still excellent trash. – Sean Gaffney

Monthly Girls’ Nozaki-kun, Vol. 7 | By Izumi Tsubaki | Yen Press – I’m hard-pressed to identify what, if anything, was different about this volume of Monthly Girls’ Nozaki-kun. Maybe it simply hit the spot for me or something, because I loved it even more than usual. This time around the chapters are focused on things like keeping up with changing technology over the course of a long-running series, how to lose weight, playing Kokkuri-san (a game like a Ouija board), and the basketball team trying to figure out what to do about Seo. Actually, there was a fair amount of Seo/Wakamatsu and Hori/Kashima in this volume, with each pair making some incremental progress, so perhaps it was that which really made it feel special. Regardless, this series is always a breath of fresh air. Only one more volume ’til we’re caught up with Japan! – Michelle Smith

Welcome to the Ballroom, Vol. 5 | By Tomo Takeuchi | Kodansha Comics – Fujita is back to classes—and it’s nice to see a brief scene showing him not rejecting his studies—but lacks a partner again, and so a lot of this volume is devoted to introducing a new girl, seemingly harsh on the very idea of ballroom dancing but in reality a huge fan of Sengoku and his partner—I suspect we’ll see her partnering with Fujita before too long. As for Fujita, his mind is moving faster than his body, and he really has to understand that the basics are important and can’t be skipped. Of course, fundamentals are frustrating, and we feel that in everything he tries to do. Not perfect (more sudden weight loss magically making women pretty, a trope I hate), but still a good shonen series. – Sean Gaffney