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Manga the Week of 10/15/25

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SEAN: Slowly Halloween creeps closer. Can you feel its hand on your shoulder?

ASH: Not yet! Please, we can’t possibly be that far into October yet!

SEAN: Viz Media debuts Phantom Busters, a Jump Square title about an honor student and skeptic who meets a boy who eats ghosts! Given everything else the author has written, this is shonen for BL fans but with no actual BL, I’m gonna guess.

ANNA: That is a genre!

ASH: It is! And I often read it.

SEAN: Also from Viz: Beyblade X 4, Case Closed 96, Destroy All Humans 5, Disney Twisted-Wonderland: The Manga – Book of Savanaclaw 2, Firefly Wedding 4, Hayate the Combat Butler 46, Kill Blue 3, Pokémon: Scarlet & Violet 3, Rainbows After Storms 6, and Yaiba: Samurai Legend 2.

ANNA: Need to get caught up on Firefly Wedding!

SEAN: Tokyopop has the 5th volume of The Prince Is in the Villainess’ Way!.

Titan Manga debut Isekai Metaller, a Comiplex series based on a webmanga about a heavy metal fan who dies and finds himself reincarnated in a world based around the sort of subjects heavy metal gets into – werewolves, dragons, etc. He’s so excited!

ANNA: Is this wholesome? It sounds cute.

ASH: I have no idea, but I’m loving the character designs.

SEAN: SuBLime debuts Sleeping on Paper Boats (Kami no Fune de Nemuru), a BL series from Canna by the author of The Yakuza’s Bias. A writer finds that everyone who inspires his writing ends up dead, and resolves to never write again. But then he meets the perfect muse…

ASH: Uh, oh!

They also have Ask and You Will Receive 3.

Square Enix Manga gives us My Isekai Life 21, Tokyo Aliens 9, and Wash It All Away 4.

Seven Seas debuts I Can’t Stand Being Your Childhood Friend (Osananajimi ja Gaman Dekinai) about two lifelong friends who are now roommates and things might be getting steamier? It ran in Daria.

Sensei’s Mail-Order Food: The Complete BL Manga Collection (Sensei no Otoriyose) is a 2-in-1 omnibus BL title from Kurofune Zero. A writer and artist find they’re total opposites in every way. How can they work together? Well, they both love food!

ANNA: it is good to have shared interests!

MICHELLE: The cover on this is cute!

ASH: I am really looking forward to this one.

SEAN: Also from Seven Seas: Classmates 7, Hate Me, but Let Me Stay 5, The Lady Knight and the Beast-Eared Child 4, Malevolent Spirits: Mononogatari 12, My Dear Detective: Mitsuko’s Case Files 4, Only I Know the World Is Ending and Getting Killed by Rampaging Beasts Only Makes Me Stronger 3, Reborn as a Barrier Master 8, Reborn Rich 4, and She Professed Herself Pupil of the Wise Man 13.

MICHELLE: Ooh, more Classmates!

ASH: Always good to see.

SEAN: And in non-Airship novels, we get Legend of Exorcism: Tianbao Fuyao Lu 3, Run Wild: Sa Ye 3, and The Twelve Kingdoms 1 Part 2.

ASH: I am still so incredibly excited that we’re getting The Twelve Kingdoms again.

SEAN: One Peace Books gives us the 25th manga volume of The Rising of the Shield Hero.

No debuts for Kodansha. In print we see Blue Lock: Episode Nagi 5, I Want to Love You Till Your Dying Day 5, Medaka Kuroiwa is Impervious to My Charms 13, Shimazaki in the Land of Peace 6, and Tying the Knot with an Amagami Sister 12.

And digitally we see Because I, the True Saint, was Banished, that Country is Done For! 9, Gang King 34, Giant Killing 51, and Quality Assurance in Another World 15.

MICHELLE: I am literally dozens of volumes behind in Giant Killing now.

ASH: As am I, but I still frequently think fondly of the anime adaptation, which was great.

SEAN: J-Novel Club has a bunch of print titles. The 4th volume of the Ascendance of a Bookworm Part 3 manga, The Brilliant Healer’s New Life in the Shadows 2, Campfire Cooking in Another World with My Absurd Skill 3, Gushing Over Magical Girls 4, In Another World With My Smartphone 30, and the 2nd Isekai Tensei: Recruited to Another World manga.

Digitally, J-Novel Club has another contest winner from their Original Novel contest. The Adorable Dungeon Master stars a young woman who plays a cute mobile game filled with adorable things… then she’s hit by a stray bullet during a gang war and dies. No truck? Good news: she’s now inside her favorite game. Bad news: it’s some weird grimdark version of her favorite game. Well, she can fix that. She’s making things cute again!

ASH: Wishing her better luck!

SEAN: J-NC also has Long Story Short, I’m Living in the Mountains 3 and The Water Magician Arc 1 5.

And for manga they have Fushi no Kami 8 and Hell Mode 8.

Inkpop debuts My Life as an Internet Novel, a manhwa based off a webnovel about a girl reincarnated into an obvious romance novel where she’s the plain-looking best friend of the heroine. OR IS SHE?

ANNA: DRAMATIC SOUND EFFECT!

ASH: Dun-dun-duuuuuun!

SEAN: Two debuts for Ghost Ship. Makina-san’s a Love Bot?! (Kakushite! Makina-san!!) is a Monthly Action title about a high schooler who finds his classmate is actually a sexbot. He’s desperate to cover up who she really is. She just wants to show what she can do. Especially since she knows he’s a robot otaku.

ASH: Oh, myyyyyy.

SEAN: Virgin Knight: I Became the Frontier Lord in a World Ruled by Women (Teisou Gyakuten Sekai no Doutei Henkyou Ryoushu Kishi) is the manga version of the light novel Seven Seas also puts out. It runs in Comic Gardo.

Airship, in print, gives us Reincarnated As a Sword 17.

Digitally, there’s a debut from the creator of Who Killed the Hero?. The Wicked Princess and Her Twelve Eyes: The Legendary Villainess and Her Elite Assassins (Aku no Reijou to Juuni no Hitomi: Saikyou Juusha-tachi to Densetsu no Akujo, Jinsei Nidome no Kareinaru Musouroku) seems to be a one-shot. This is a “rewind to do it over” villainess book, so you know how it starts. That said, this villainess genuinely seems to be evil, and she realizes what she did wrong was not having evil minions. Time to fix that.

ASH: That’s an interesting twist! We could probably all use some minions.

SEAN: Also digital: Reincarnated as a Dragon Hatchling 12.

A medium-sized week, but be ready for landslides soon. What interests you?

An Introvert’s Hookup Hiccups: This Gyaru Is Head Over Heels for Me!, Vol. 11

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By Yuishi and Kagachisaku. Released in Japan as “Inkya no Boku ni Batsu Game de Kokuhaku Shitekita Hazu no Gal ga, Dō Mitemo Boku ni Beta Bore Des” by HJ Bunko. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Satoko Kakihara.

Welcome back to everyone’s favorite romcom with one running gag. It’s still great. They’re both still really sweet. But the entire series has one joke, used throughout, which makes it hard to review. The joke is the fact that everyone in the world thinks these two have gone further than they have. This is not helped by Yoshin and Nanami themselves, who feed each other oranges in the cafeteria with no care (well, Yoshin cares, but he simply ignores the rest of the school because he’s in love with his girl). But the class can’t get over the fact that the two cannot stop flirting with each other, little girls on the street are ready to see them becoming parents soon, and their own parents are torn between wanting them to get sexually active (as it’s what they did in high school) and wanting to prevent it at any cost (because once they get a first taste, these two will never be able to stop screwing until Nanami is pregnant).

The class is back from Hawaii, and it becomes very clear that Japan is in a different season. December is around the corner, and Yoshin gets a cold, and has to have a strangely enthusiastic Nanami take care of him. Next is Yoshin’s birthday, which he has to admit he’s never really cared about much before. But now he has friends, a girlfriend, and something besides video games, so it’s time for birthday-related events, Nanami-style. And of course there’s Christmas, which is a couple’s holiday in Japan. Sure, they’re going to do a class party, with Secret Santa and prizes. But the main reason to get excited is sexy Santa outfits. Well, that and the fact that their parents are letting her stay the night at his place… alone. Will this be the volume that they finally sleep together?

I mean, technically yes, in this volume they both mutually agree to sleep next to each other. But no overt touching, because, as I said above, once they pop they can’t stop. But yeah, come on, you know there’s no sex, and that’s the only real plot – will they sex? No. Instead, let’s talk about the title, as I saw someone recently say that the title is telling a lie as Nanami is not remotely a gyaru in the way that most otaku see them. I’d have to agree that in terms of her general attitude she’s more of a yamato nadeshiko with a teasing side. and a touch of the dojikko as well. The gyaru part mostly comes from her fashion sense, and her careful cultivation of outfits, both for herself and for her boyfriend, throughout the series. “This male fantasy is head over heels for me” does not sell nearly as many books, though.

We’re caught up with Japan, as the 12th book just came out last month. It promises a hot springs trip for two! Will it be 200 pages of porn? (I’d settle for half a page of porn.) Recommended for those who love cinnamon rolls who are too good for this world, too pure.

The Tanaka Family Reincarnates, Vol. 4

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By Choko and kaworu. Released in Japan as “Tanaka-ke, Tensei Suru” by Dragon Novels. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Sasha Schiller.

This series makes no bones about the fact that it is a comedy. So much of this volume is utterly ridiculous, and it’s not just the Tanaka family being giant overpowered weirdos. They’ve also influenced everyone around them to be better, and the knock-on effects of that are not only heartwarming but also funny. (I enjoyed the running gag of “the wait for grandchildren was extended”.) Other folks in this series are also loopy eccentrics, mostly as they love Emma and would do anything for her. And the entire back half of this volume is the folks in not-Japan trying to get the Tanaka family to leave them to die and return to safety, followed by 10 pages or so of them screaming “what the hell is wrong with you?”. There is a hint that the 5th book in the series may have a darker, more serious plotline… but we know it won’t. Emma will just be shiny and the problem will solve itself.

Having heard about the disaster currently destroying the Eastern Empire, and now that it’s summer break, they’re off to solve the problem and get themselves some Japanese food!… and also save everyone. Right, that comes first. Maybe. This leaves most of the rest of the supporting cast behind in the kingdom to have their own adventures, such as learning about the horrible slum life of the orphans (Edward), turning heads at a ball (Emma’s friends), suffering from the lack of their goddess (everyone back at the their domain, which they won’t be going back to this summer), and getting dumped in a poor village with bad food and worse shelter in order to learn how the non-noble folks live (Robert). Meanwhile, the Tanaka Family, Joshua (who is coordinating shipping and fanboying over Emma), a spare orphan who seems to be there to learn how to be a ninja, and the 4 Empire ninja/cooks, who Emma has renamed as Hispanic cooks for some reason, are going to the Eastern Empire to see what can be done.

I could not get over how much I enjoyed seeing every single Tanaka go full ham once they reached the Empire. This is foreshadowed a bit by Emma’s pilfered bugs growing to massive size by accident, and Emma convincing her furious mother that they will just be able to cut through those horrible monsters with GUTS! Much to the surprise of the bugs, who seem to doubt this. But sure enough, on arrival, and after boot camp with the monster cats, Emma’s bugs are indeed able to do everything that she says they can. All of this is done with maximum LOL factor, as Emma is far more concerned about getting monster parts and tasty monster food to worry about, y’know, everyone giving up and accepting death. Hell, by the end of the volume they “accidentally” build a hot springs inn, complete with multiple rooms, made from the corpses of the monsters that were supposedly unkillable. Silly monster, you cannot defeat the narrative.

So, now that they’re heading back home, will Emma be forced to move to another country and be the cruel plaything of religious zealots? Hardly. Bet she’ll do something completely bonkers, though. This is amazingly silly, but if you accept that it’s great fun.

The Misdeeds of an Extremely Arrogant Villain Aristocrat, Vol. 1

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By Yukiha Kuroyuki and Uodenim. Released in Japan as “Kiwamete Gouman Taru Akuyaku Kizoku no Shogyou” by Kadokawa Sneaker Bunko. Released in North America by Airship. Translated by Ben Trethewey. Adapted by Kylee Yasin.

I haven’t really dipped my toe into the smaller pool of “villain” books, which is to say the genre and basic plot beats are the same, but it’s someone being reincarnated as a terrible man rather than a terrible woman. This also is one of a small number of books where the reincarnated person and the “bad” person they’ve replaced/overwritten actually struggle to see who’s really in charge. Luke was supposed to be another stereotype of these fantasy books – the snobby, coasts by on his family name, rude to absolutely everyone sort. But our new reincarnated guy knows that that is, as Katarina Claes would put it, a path to doom! So he tries to change. Can he be nice?… no. Can he reach out to others to ask for help?… provided he frames it as an arrogant command. This will be tough. Fortunately, he can actually put in the work and study. Also fortunately, the series he’s in is a comedy.

Luke Witharia Gilbert has just remembered that he’s actually a character in a light novel. What’s worse, he doesn’t really remember all that much about the light novel except the basics. He knows that he’s a talented but lazy arrogant ass who is doomed to be killed by the “you can do anything with enough willpower!” hero in a few years. While the real Luke inside his head won’t let him stop being an asshole to almost everyone he meets, he can at least do something about the lazy. So he demands his butler (an ex-soldier) teach him the sword… and he’s brilliant at it. Then he demands a wandering magic lecturer teach him magic… and he has rare and powerful dark magic. He’s told by his father to find himself a girl to get engaged to… and ends up with a talented bombshell who is cold and sneering to everyone… till she meets Luke, and discovers what she really wants in life. Frankly, maybe it’s the hero who should worry.

The author in the afterword straight up admits that it’s tough to take a book in this genre and set it apart from the others. Their solution was to make everyone a “pervert”, though how you define that depends how you feel about such things. Certain Alfred, the butler, is not a pervert in any sense but his desire to see Luke grow to be the strongest in the world. Alice *is* a masochist, as she discovers once Luke effortlessly defeats her in a duel, but her desire to be worthy of staying at his side makes her also a genius who tries. Mia, a young girl who has talent but also a case of the self-doubts gets crushed when she duels… and turns to Luke to make her better. Basically, he’s warping the entire narrative around himself. The hero, Abel, is a nice guy who reads like a Jump hero, but he has no chance in a series like this. I also worry about his obvious love interest Lily. I can see this series going the NTR route as part of its comedy. Luke is just that good. (I was amused that the one time he actually “lost” is when Alice basically stripped naked and started to kiss him. Some things you can’t sneer your way out of.)

If OP characters bother you, steer clear. But I honestly found this a hoot. I look forward to seeing Luke be mean to others and force them to be the best that they can be in the future.

Pick of the Week: Everyone Has Choices

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MICHELLE: I’ve been looking forward to Our Dining Table: Seconds, Please! since I learned it had been licensed, so that is absolutely my pick this week!

SEAN: The author and I have had mixed success to say the least, but I will give them another shot, and make my pick this week The Lying Bride and the Same-Sex Marriage Debate.

ASH: I’m definitely interested in both of those titles, but the release I’m most excited about this week is Kamudo. Ever since meeting Akira Himekawa at TCAF ages ago, I’ve wanted to read some of their original work. I’m so glad to finally have the chance!

ANNA: I’m going to go for the latest volume of Otaku Vampire’s Love Bite as a reminder for me to get caught up!

KATE: I second Ash’s pick; Kamudo has a knock-out cover! I’ll also mention Moan: Junji Ito Story Collection for anyone who wants a head start on Halloween.

The Devil Princess, Vol. 2

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By Harunohi Biyori and Geso Umiu. Released in Japan as “Akuma Koujo” by K Lanove Books. Released in North America by Airship. Translated by Julie Goniwich. Adapted by Emlyn Dornemann.

I got startled 3/4 of the way through this book, but this time it was more because I forgot the premise than for any “what a twist” reasons. I was so distracted by our little evil princess’ “reincarnated as a villainess” style storyline that I forgot about the first part of Volume 1. And so when we got her four lazy, eccentric and just plain awful retainers, I was expecting it to be either the standard “she whips them into shape with the power of intense training”, or, later on, “she whips them into shape by putting the fear of god into them”. Then the actual plot kicks in, and each of the four retainers gets a lovely little “this is why I am a terrible person deep down” flashback, and I realized that this was not the direction this series was going. And then I was surprised, and reminded of the first part of Volume 1, which explains everything. Gotta pay attention to things.

Over the course of the book Princess Yulucia goes from four to six years old, and it’s an eventful time. She has her debut at a ball where everyone is absolutely overwhelmed by her (or terrified of her), but her sisters still manage to act just like wicked stepsisters always do in these sorts of books. She gains the aforementioned attendants, who are, respectively, bad and obsequious, bad and lazy, bad and angry, and bad and ditzy. She heals people with crippling diseases (yay), and cures the early male pattern baldness of various loser nobles (less yay). Unfortunately, another very striking young noble is inviting girls to her own nighttime tea party… and some of them are not coming back. Time for Yulucia to investigate… and do something about her sucky servants.

The last quarter of this book is not quite as striking as the first volume, but Yulucia makes it very clear that she does not suffers fools gladly, and if they don’t improve, well, their souls will be destroyed. That’s how it rolls with demons. Fortunately, she’s able to save their bodies, and it turns out she has some very capable folks to inhabit those bodies. We also see some innocent lesser nobles get invited to Miss Mylene’s tea party, and we never see them again, so clearly this is not a case of “and then we found them in the attic and returned them to their parents” but “and then we found their corpse with the others”. As with the author’s other series, this is not for the faint of heart, and gets pretty horrific… but it can also be very funny at times. Sometimes at the same time. As for Yulucia, her stepsisters may be a bigger issue going forward, as the older one seems to be the one person who sees her true self.

I hear that future volumes go even further off the rails, so I’m not sure where this will end up. For the moment, though, I’m happy to be following along.

The Do-Over Damsel Conquers the Dragon Emperor: Operation Records

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By Sasara Nagase and Mitsuya Fuji. Released in Japan as “Yarinaoshi Reijō wa Ryūtei Heika o Kōryaku-chū” by Kadokawa Beans Bunko. Released in North America by Cross Infinite World. Translated by piyo.

Yes, that’s right, it’s short story collection time. Indeed, this is the first of two short story collections, as the one next month is sort of a “what if we were on the original timeline” collection of Bad End stories. This one, though, consists of stories that take place in the first four books. The content is varied, as you might expect, but in general it’s happy to play around with the core conceit of this series: Jill is 11 years old, she is engaged to the Dragon Emperor, and the reader is never, ever going to be able to handwave that away the way folks do with some age-gap romances in anime and manga. Because Jill and Hadis can’t handwave it away either – they are touched by destiny, very much in love with each other, incredibly jealous when someone else takes interest in them, and incredibly insecure about themselves. This is cute, this is romantic, this is cool, but again – she’s 11. (Well, 17 if you count her former life, but only she does that.)

About half these stories are short, 1-3 page bits that I won’t recap here. The longer ones: 1) We see just before the series begins, from the perspective of Hadis and Rave, as well as the immediate aftermath of Jill’s actions. 2) A teenage girl helps out at the local bakery, and finds one day that the new baker is a very handsome man… in fact, it’s the Dragon Emperor. We then get the “Mr. Baker” part of the story from the bakery POV. 3) Jill, watching Hadis dance with other noble girls and feeling like she doesn’t measure up, is given a makeover by Hadis’ sisters. It works a little TOO well. 4) Hadis keeps getting accosted by girls in Cervel “tripping” and needing to be helped by him, while Jill worries, again, one might succeed. 5) Jill’s younger twin brothers discover what’s happened to her, and are rather upset at it. 6) Vissel struggles to deal with a possible impending war, as well as his own arranged marriage, with a fiancée he’s barely met. 7) Hadis and Jill go to the graves of the former Dragon Consorts, and discuss the past and the future.

For the most part, this is pretty lighthearted. The comedic highlight is definitely Vissel’s fiancée Gloria, who seems pretty ticked off at him, and so decides to go and become a tuna fisherman. Trust me, it works in context. And while it does get a bit old, there are times when Jill and Hadis each trying to make the other one fall even more in love with them is quite funny – the aftermath of the Jill Makeover Plan does not go well for anyone involved, and Jill is left to realize that if she’s going to do this again she needs to stop being a size that Hadis can easily carry around. There is some serious stuff going on here, though. Jill’s decision impacts her family greatly, and while eventually some of them warm to Hadis, she’s never going to be able to be as close to them ever again. And there’s also the reminder of the tragic past of every dragon consort, and that Jill could one day join them. Though, given this author, probably not.

Fans of the series should be very happy with this. That said, I think next month’s book may be even more interesting.

The Trials and Tribulations of My Next Life As a Noblewoman: The Price of Glory, Part 1

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By Kamihara and Shiro46. Released in Japan as “Tensei Reijo to Sūki na Jinsei o” by Hayakawa Shobo. Released in North America by J-Novel Heart. Translated by Hengtee Lim.

For the most part, Trials and Tribulations is content to wallow in the genre of “political intrigue”, as Karen finds herself getting involved in everything under the sun despite her best efforts. There’s also a bit of romance, though only a bit, as Karen has to literally be told about her growing feelings and she’s still pretty much in denial about them. That said, occasionally this series has dipped into straight up horror. Until now that’s also been part of the political intrigue, as we get politically-motivated massacres and regicide. The start of this third volume, though, is horror for horror’s sake, as Karen ends up trapped in a house with a bunch of rooms with corpses in them, and then is pretty much told without words “please become the next corpse”. The whole thing is unsettling both to her and to us, and things are not helped when Six, after rescuing her, admits that she was bait so that they could find out what was in that trap. This makes her unhappy.

After being freed from the murder house, Karen understandably comes down with a fever, which is what nobles do when they have too much stress. The fever is not helped when her brother Arno arrives to check on her… with Wilhelmina, who the family is now supporting. Of course, Karen is supporting Reinald, and as such things are a bit difficult between her end of the family and the main one now. Especially as Karen’s mysterious parentage is now the subject of rumor, and even though it’s not proven everyone seems to think her real father is a big-shot military man in the Empire… who is neutral in the throne war, so Karen is an even more useful pawn. Things then get even more troubling when the Emperor himself invites her to a ball… which means she will be forced to dance, and yes, dancing badly can mean you need to leave nobility entirely. She’s beyond bad. Finally, there’s a big fight with her best friend Ern, about which more below.

For the most part, the isekai in this book is used to show that Karen does not think like other nobles born in this world think (the funniest part of the book is when Karen, desperate to try to pay Reinald back for everything he’s done, offers to skin a deer and serve it for dinner to him, which causes his jaw to drop). But she’s not the only reincarnated character, and one could argue that Ern has had an even greater impact on this world. Karen is just dealing with politics and everyone wanting her to join their faction because she’s nice to them. Ern had a far worse life in our world, and a far worse death, and she is desperate to make something for herself in this new world,. despite a) the fact that she thinks she’s not doing anything but copying our world’s stuff so feels like a fake, and b) the fact that she’s starting an arms race by introducing modern weaponry to a society that’s not ready for it. The climax of this book (OK, the halfway point, but it’s a very good break) is her and Karen having a big fight about this, and I’ll be honest, the title of this arc does not make me optimistic she’ll get a happy ending here.

Karen will probably be OK, though she will no doubt suffer. But that’s why we read this. As always, this is addictive reading and highly recommended.

Manga the Week of 10/8/25

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SEAN: It’s now fully October, which means you should expect pictures of skeletons in place of manga.

ASH: There was a streak of skeleton manga there for a bit.

SEAN: Airship starts us off, with print volumes of Adachi and Shimamura 12, Classroom of the Elite: Year 2 12, and A Tale of the Secret Saint ZERO 3.

And digitally they have Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear 21.

Dark Horse Comics have a 15th volume of Mob Psycho 100.

Ghost Ship gives us the third volume of Betrayed by the Hero, I Formed a MILF Party With His Mom!.

Two digital light novel debuts for J-Novel Club. Guild Handyman? More like Mastermind! Using My Hidden Skills in the Shadows (Guild no Zatsuyou-gakari ga Shin no Kuromaku deshita: Kakureta Sainou de Anyaku Musou) stars a mild-mannered paper pusher who is secretly out to destroy all the bullshit rules that make this world terrible to live in.

ASH: You know, I can get behind that.

ANNA: I could too!

SEAN: Old Knight, New Post: From Retiree to Her Majesty’s Blade (Inkyogurashi no Ossan, Joouheika no Ken to Naru: Intai Kishi wa Musume no Tame ni Oukoku Hittou Kishi ni Kaerizaku) is what happens if you take From Old Country Bumpkin to Master Swordsman and My Daughter Left the Nest and Returned an S-Rank Adventurer and mash them together.

Other light novels out next week: Backstabbed in a Backwater Dungeon 11, BLADE & BASTARD 5, Cooking with Wild Game 30, Dagashi-ya Yahagi 4, Dimension Wave 5, From Old Country Bumpkin to Master Swordsman 8, From Villainess to Healer 5, An Introvert’s Hookup Hiccups 11, Let This Grieving Soul Retire 8, The Poison King 6, and The Tanaka Family Reincarnates 4.

And for manga they have Reborn to Master the Blade 6 and Safe & Sound in the Arms of an Elite Knight 5.

Kodansha’s debut is a one-shot, Before You Go Extinct (Kimi no Zetsumetsu suru Mae ni), a Comic Days title about two souls who learn, as various animals, how to go on in the face of utter annihilation.

ASH: I just recently learned about this one and am rather curious about it.

SEAN: Also in print: Blue Lock Season 1 Part 2 Manga Box Set, The Dashing Zaddy and His Icy Protégé 3, The Fable Omnibus 10, The Fragrant Flower Blooms With Dignity 9, Issak Omnibus 3, Mobile Suit Gundam: THE ORIGIN Deluxe 2, Versus 4, WIND BREAKER 15, and Welcome to Demon School! Iruma-kun 16.

ASH: Yet another reminder to myself that I need to give Issak a try.

MICHELLE: Yet another reminder how far behind on Iruma-kun I am!

SEAN: For digital we see The Café Terrace and Its Goddesses 18, Nina the Starry Bride 16, and Otherworldly Munchkin: Let’s Speedrun the Dungeon with Only 1 HP! 11.

One Peace Books have Nukozuke! 5.

Three debuts for Seven Seas. I’m the Heroic Knight of an Intergalactic Empire! (Atashi wa Seikan Kokka no Eiyuu Kishi) is the manga version of the light novel Seven Seas already puts out. It runs in Comic Gardo.

The Lying Bride and the Same-Sex Marriage Debate (Usotsuki Hanayome to Dousei Kekkon-ron) is a Comic Yuri Hime title and the latest from Kodama Naoko. A young woman who once loved a co-worker who got married now finds life difficult when her co-worker asks if she can move in after a fight with her husband!

ASH: Uh, oh!

ANNA: What’s going to happen?????

SEAN: Our Dining Table: Seconds, Please! (Bokura no Shokutaku: Okawari) is a sequel to the BL title also licensed by Seven Seas. It runs in Rutile.

ASH: I really enjoyed the original, so I should probably read this one, too.

MICHELLE: I’m looking forward to this! Our Dining Table was charming.

SEAN: Also coming out: 365 Days to the Wedding 9, BL Game Rebirth: My New Life as the Hero’s Younger Brother 2, Chillin’ in Another World with Level 2 Super Cheat Powers 11, Crossplay Love: Otaku x Punk 13, The Great Snake’s Bride 6, I Quit My Apprenticeship as a Royal Court Wizard to Become a Magic Item Craftswoman 4, The Missing “O” 3, Otonari Complex 5 (the final volume), Stay By My Side After the Rain 4, This Is Screwed Up, but I Was Reincarnated as a GIRL in Another World! 17, and Tokyo Revengers: A Letter from Keisuke Baji 5.

A bunch of stuff from Square Enix. We see The Angel Next Door Spoils Me Rotten 4, the 14th Apothecary Diaries manga, The God-Slaying Demon King 3, and Love in the Palm of His Hand 2.

Steamship gives us The Trapped Former Villainess Wants to Escape from the Sadistic Prince 3.

Tokyopop have a 5th volume of Boys Gilding the Lily Shall Die!?.

Viz Media debut Kamudo, the new series from the creators of all those Zelda manga titles. It’s a shonen title from Sunday Web Every. In a society of half human, half beast people, will a fully human child be the start of something special? Oh wait, he has a dragon hand. But MOSTLY human.

ASH: I’m actually really excited about this one! I’ve been wanting to read some the team’s original work for ages.

SEAN: There’s also Moan: Junji Ito Story Collection. You know what this is. The stories all ran in Monthly Halloween.

ASH: So much Junji Ito!

ANNA: Tis the season!

SEAN: Viz also has Astro Royale 2, Boruto: Two-Blue Vortex 3, The Bugle Call: Song of War 3, Chainsaw Man 19, Dandadan 15, Marriage Toxin 9, Not Your Idol 3, Otaku Vampire’s Love Bite 5, Pink Candy Kiss 3, Tamon’s B-Side 9, and Vampire Knight Memories 10.

ANNA: I did like the first couple volumes of Otaku Vampire!

MICHELLE: Been a long time since a Not Your Idol volume!

SEAN: Lastly, Yen Press has the third and final volume of After We Gazed at the Starry Sky.

No skeletons, but we did see Junji Ito. What are you buying?

D-Genesis: Three Years after the Dungeons Appeared, Vol. 4

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By KONO Tsuranori and ttl. Released in Japan as “D Genesis: Dungeon ga Dekite 3-nen” by Enterbrain. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Ian Sacks.

Because I didn’t get into this series until 9 volumes down the road, and I still have to keep up with everything else coming out, I’ve been reading volumes piecemeal, about 25 pages a day or so. This works well to get me caught up, but can make reviews tricky, as I try to recall what I was reading three weeks earlier. Fortunately, the bulk of the interesting things happening in this book are in the back half, so I should hopefully be OK. It also helps that the biggest nerd series J-Novel Club is putting out still includes things to appeal specifically to me. Miyoshi doing her press conference dressed as Yomiko Readman from Read or Die – no, really, she even namechecks her – just gave me a big smile. She and Keigo may not be able to escape being famous for much longer, but at least their attempts to avoid it are hilarious. They may want to lay off the huge discoveries, though.

Keigo and Miyoshi continue to try to set things up so they can do what they want without several nations attempting to kill them – again. They’re forming a company to be their business front, they’re starting a course in how to increase your stats for dungeon exploration (including a drill sergeant who finds herself in way over her head when she has to increase her agility via rhythm games), and they’re trying to see if they can grow crops in the dungeon (so far, limited success). The press conference itself goes very well, though the religious cult that was mentioned in the 2nd volume seems to recognize D-Powers as a threat to their livelihood. They also make another trip to the “haunted mansion” part of the dungeon, but end up being joined by their actress and model friends, leading to a very dangerous escape – one that gets filmed.

The mansion reveals a big secret, and I suspect that secret will continue to be relevant. We probably could have guessed that this is not a series where “and then suddenly, dungeons appeared one day” would be allowed to stand, and sure enough, the scientists who all “died” that day may have been trying to create something – and may not actually be dead. This leads to the other wonderful nerd reference in here, which is that part of the dungeon language appears to be written in pIqAd, which is to say Klingon. (The fact that they figure this out because Saito happened to be a “minor trekkie” and picked up a big of the language is perhaps one coincidence too many for me, but it’s not as if I expect anything else in this series to be realistic.) This actually makes things MORE difficult – it’s a lot easier to give out “dungeon translation” orbs than to say that the secret dungeon info is written in Star Trek. You’d lose credibility.

Next time I expect we’ll get the “dungeon training courses” going full blast, which will be nice. This remains ridiculous fun.