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Manga the Week of 11/17/21

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SEAN: Hey, remember when I totally screwed up? And did all of Seven Seas’s release dates wrong? No? Well. So everything you saw in LAST week’s Manga the Week of should have been on THIS list. Go look at the post for 11/10 for those. I will backtrack and do stuff that should have been on that list for this one. Apologies to Seven Seas.

Airship, in print, has My Status as an Assassin Obviously Exceeds the Hero’s and Didn’t I Say to Make My Abilities Average in the Next Life?! Lily’s Miracle.

Digitally we see Failure Frame: I Became the Strongest and Annihilated Everything With Low-Level Spells 3.

Cross Infinite World has the 2nd volume of Apocalypse Bringer Mynoghra: World Conquest Starts with the Civilization of Ruin.

Ghost Ship already has out Double Your Pleasure – A Twin Yuri Anthology. Twincest: the manga. Yaaaaaay.

ASH: Goodness!

MJ: Oh dear.

SEAN: As well as the 8th and final volume of Destiny Lovers.

J-Novel Club debut a new title, Endo and Kobayashi Live! The Latest on Tsundere Villainess Lieselotte (Tsundere Akuyaku Reijou Liselotte to Jikkyou no Endo-kun to Kaisetsu no Kobayashi-san). Two guys playing a game with a villainess suddenly realize that her fiance can actually HEAR their commentary on the game! Can they change the outcome?

Also coming out next week: Are You Okay With a Slightly Older Girlfriend? 6, Ascendance of a Bookworm Fanbook 2, Demon Lord, Retry! 7, Min-Maxing My TRPG Build in Another World 2, the 2nd manga volume of My Instant Death Ability Is So Overpowered, No One in This Other World Stands a Chance Against Me! —AΩ—, Otherside Picnic 6, and the 2nd manga volume of Villainess: Reloaded! Blowing Away Bad Ends with Modern Weapons.

ASH: I’m certainly behind, but hooray for more Bookworm fun!

SEAN: Kodansha, in print, has Drifting Dragons 10 and Sweat & Soap 10.

ASH: I’m reading both those series right now, so this is a good Kodansha week for me.

SEAN: Digitally, the debut is Anyway, I’m Falling in Love with You. (Dose Koi Shite Shimaunda), a Nakayoshi title. From the author of I Fell in Love After School, this is straight-up reverse harem fun.

MICHELLE: I am easy to please and this cover is cute so I will check it out.

ANNA: I do enjoy reverse harem fun.

MJ: As do I.

SEAN: Also debuting is Arakawa Under the Bridge. It had come out print-only years ago, now enjoy the digital.

ASH: I enjoyed this series, so am glad that it’ll be more accessible to even more people now.

SEAN: And we get Blue Lock 9, Cells at Work: Platelets! 4 (the final volume), Medalist 3, Mr. Bride 4, and Quality Assurance in Another World 4.

One Peace has a 3rd volume of Farming Life in Another World.

Seven Seas has some debuts. That are already out, please see above.

THE EXO-DRIVE REINCARNATION GAMES: All-Japan Isekai Battle Tournament! (Chou Sekai Tensei Exo Drive: Gekito! Isekai Zen Nihon Taikaihen) is from Mag Garden’s MAGCOMI, and is a parody of the genre, as isekais have become bread and circus tournaments for spectators.

A Life Turned Upside Down: My Dad’s an Alcoholic (You to Bakemono ni naru Chichi ga tsurai) is an autobiographical essay manga from Champion Cross. It’s complete in one volume.

ASH: That’s certainly a tough subject, but I’ve heard good things about the manga.

MJ: I suspect this is an important story to tell.

SEAN: And there’s Bite Maker: The King’s Omega 3, The Girl From the Other Side: Siúil, a Rún 11 (the final volume), Karate Survivor in Another World 2, Species Domain 11, The Strange Adventure of a Broke Mercenary’s 2nd manga volume, and Time Stop Hero 2.

MICHELLE: I am several volumes behind on The Girl from the Other Side, but that just means I have a nice little chunk to read up until the end. I hope it’s happy but it’s hard to see how just now.

ANNA: I really liked the first few volumes but stalled out on this series. I’m curious to see what you think of the ending.

ASH: I’m a few volumes behind, too, but I really do love this series.

SEAN: Back to things actually coming out in the future, Square Enix has Wandering Witch’s 3rd manga.

SuBLime has a surprise non-2nd week of the month release with Sayonara Game. A one-shot from Shinshokan’s Dear+, it’s a baseball BL story?

MJ: I’m listening…

SEAN: Tokyopop has Ossan Idol! 5.

Udon has the 2nd omnibus of Steins;Gate 0.

Viz gives us BEASTARS 15, Children of the Whales 18, Hell’s Paradise: Jigokuraku 11, Urusei Yatsura 12, and Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead 4.

ASH: Whoops! BEASTARS has gotten away from me; I didn’t realize how much catching up I have to do!

SEAN: Yen On has Death March to the Parallel World Rhapsody 15 and The Greatest Demon Lord Is Reborn as a Typical Nobody Side Story: The Wonderful Life of a Typical Nobody.

Yen Press debuts the manga version of Reign of the Seven Spellblades (Nanatsu no Maken ga Shihai suru), which runs in Shonen Ace. I love the novels, so the manga should also be great.

ANNA: I’m a little curious about this!

Also debuting… sort of… is Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? II, the sequel to the first manga, but let’s face it, it’s just a continuation with a different artist.

We also have Solo Leveling 3, Toilet-Bound Hanako-kun 11, and A Witch’s Printing Office 5.

ASH: I still need to read Solo Leveling, but I’m ready for more Toilet-Bound Hanako-kun!

So, as I try to forget this list and the previous one ever happened, what are you buying?

Altina the Sword Princess, Vol. 11

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By Yukiya Murasaki and himesuz. Released in Japan as “Haken no Kouki Altina” by Famitsu Bunko. Released in North America digitally by J-Novel Club. Translated by Roy Nukia.

It’s actually surprising how little Altina the Sword Princess has leaned into the usual anime cliches. It’s very concerned with its sort-of-Europe worldbuilding, and therefore there’s no real room for a lot of bath scenes or accidental groping. I say it’s surprising because this is, after all, the author of How NOT to Summon a Demon Lord, a series begun after Altina had started and which eventually grew so popular it may have led to Altina’s extended hiatus. In any case, all that changes here, as Regis, in order to avoid getting caught by Latrielle’s troops, has to disguise himself as a woman. And he makes a very good woman indeed. Cue a lot of “I didn’t know you were into that” jokes, with furious denials. Fortunately, like most everything in this series, it serves the purpose of keeping the plot going, as Regis, now that he has made a mortal enemy, has to do everything possible to stop Latrielle becoming the next Emperor.

We pick up where we left off last time, with Regis and Fanrine being horribly murdered by Latrielle’s soldiers. Except of course they are not – their deaths are faked and they’re spirited away by Jessica and Franziska, who are trying hard to be big bad mercenaries but can’t quite be evil enough. That said, headless corpses, both of whom turn out to be men, is not going to fool the army for long, so Regis goes into disguise to try to get more evidence against Latrielle. The only thing that can really stop him becoming emperor now is for the news of his patricide to come out, but unfortunately all they have is secondhand rumors, mostly as the maids and staff who were there when it happened are all quietly murdered too. Fortunately they also have the Grand Chamberlain, who is under house arrest not avoid him talking. That said, if they had an ally who was ALSO a prince, house arrest might not be too hard to get around.

If you’re wondering how Altina is taking all this, well, she is actually in this book, fear not. She received news of Regis’ tragic “death in battle” and doesn’t believe it one bit but it’s annoying enough to make her take a large part of her army and head over to where Latrielle is, leaving us with a cliffhanger confrontation. (There’s also a side story which shows that being the Sword Princess is possibly the best thing that ever happened to her, as she’s useless at everything else. It also shows the whole “maids have to put up with sexual harassment” thing is bullshit if your superior officer can punch you unconscious. Other than that, as the author admits, this was a lot of talk and moving pieces around and not a lot of action, though that looks to change in the next book.

Altina is the definition of a ‘solid’ series – you’ll never rush to read it the day it comes out, but it’s always good.

Tearmoon Empire, Vol. 6

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By Nozomu Mochitsuki and Gilse. Released in Japan as “Tearmoon Teikoku Monogatari” by TO Books. Released in North America digitally by J-Novel Club. Translated by David Teng.

It can be hard to let go of a gimmick, especially when the gimmick in question is the main reason you got readers in the first place. One reason everyone loved Tearmoon Empire 1 was not only the dissonance between Mia’s own thoughts and actions and what everyone ELSE thought of these, but also the snarky narrator constantly pummeling her. I’d theorized before that the narrator was hired by future Mia to try to slow the publishing of hagiographies about her. That being said… Mia has grown and matured a little bit, and I feel now that the goofy “she only thinks about herself and food” shtick is holding her back. And the narrator, especially when he’s making fat jokes, is starting to grate. Most importantly, though, I’m starting to feel like all the other cast members Mia has misled: if you ignore Mia’s intentions and the narrator, this remains a fantastic read, filled with intrigue, action, character building, and plot twists. Mia being a dumbass and the narrator pointing it out all the time isn’t needed anymore.

Mia is in the background for this cover picture, which is a good thing, as it shows us that Bel is, finally, going to get some actual attention. Much of the book is about Mia trying to avoid her own assassination in various ways, though honestly she mostly just avoids thinking about it, as she doesn’t want to get anyone else in danger. So we get things like a massive mushroom hunting party in the nearby forest (where she accidentally discovers deadly poison mushrooms that were what killed off a large number of people in the prior timeline) and preparing for the Holy Eve Festival, which we do not get to see because, of course, Bel is kidnapped in order to force Mia to leave the island and then kill her. There’s only one thing Mia can do… exactly what they say, hoping that if she managed to rewind time once she’ll be able to do it once she’s killed again.

Not to spoil or anything, but Mia is not killed off again, this is not that kind of time loop book. And I’ve complained about the parts of the book I didn’t like above, so let me talk about what I did like. Sometimes Mia’s thought processes are wonderful, such as when she discovers Bel is kidnapped and tries to think of the many very good reasons that going after her is a mistake… all the while getting dressed up and preparing to leave, because unconsciously she knows she’ll never abandon her granddaughter. Bel is basically a shoujo protagonist here, winning over the villains by the power of being sweet and kind, and it’s adorable. The villain is obvious and hammy, but hey. There’s also some good worldbuilding here, showing us the underside of the Yellowmoons and also a few flashbacks to the previous world, where everything went terribly. And the chase and fight scenes were wonderful, and also introduce a new minor villain who I hope we’ll see again, along with his huge puppies… OK, wolves.

So yeah, I don’t expect Tearmoon Empire to drop Mia being thought of as smart when she’s really thinking about cookies, or the narrator pointing out how her altruism is bullshit, but I’d like more of the growth we saw in Book 4-5. Also, I have no idea why the narrator is insulting her “mushroom outfit”. She looks stylish! That’s clearly a raffish cap!

Pick of the Week: Frieren vs. Ciguatera

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KATE: I’m intrigued by the cover of Cigureta, so that’s on my must-buy list, but I’ll also be adding the second volume of Mao. The first volume was uneven, but there were some weird and intriguing ideas that made me hopeful that this series is more like InuYasha than Rin-ne.

SEAN: Despite the presence of my beloved Tearmoon Empire, I am going to give the pick this week to Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End. I’m always happy to see a new Shonen Sunday series, and this one has a lot of hype as being a sort of “after the world is saved, what next?” story.

MICHELLE: I am intimidated by the comparison to Inio Asano, but it’s definitely Ciguatera for me!

ANNA: I’m always curious about Shonen Sunday titles, so it is Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End for me.

ASH: While I am likewise intrigued by Ciguatera, I think I may be even more curious to see how Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End plays out. That being said, I finally got around to reading the first volume of I Belong to the Baddest Girl at School and I’m looking forward to reading more of that series’ ridiculousness, too.

High School DxD: Hellcat of the Underworld Training Camp

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By Ichiei Ishibumi and Miyama-Zero. Released in Japan by Fujimi Fantasia Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Haydn Trowell.

(with apologies to Professor Peter Schickele)

Each time I read a new volume of High School DxD I am filled with this feeling of anticipation, a feeling of exultation, a feeling that… this new volume can’t possibly be as horny as the last one. But so far… Yeah, I know, shut up, Sean, you’re yelling at a series for 13-year-old teenage boys for talking about tits too much, and I get it. I try to recalibrate my standards for these books. Heck, the hot springs scene was even mildly amusing once those standards are recalibrated. But God Almighty, the way that Issei levels up or gets more powerful in this series makes your jaw drop. Leaving aside that the key to unlocking his new super move is to poke Rias’ nipples, there is everything about the climax of the book, where a dying Issei suddenly attains the zen-like ability to hear women’s breasts talking as separate personalities. I… what was the author on when he came up with this? I can’t even say “Oh, Japan” here. WHAT?!?!

Koneko’s on the cover, and actually gets some backstory here, though she gets less to do than I’d like. Our main cast travel to the underworld to train at Rias’ vast estate, meet her parents, and end up fighting a new Rating Game against Sona and Saji, the student council faction. Sona wants to make demon society less class-based, and is being ridiculed for the very idea, so naturally her team wants to win badly here. That said, our heroes are the protagonists. Can they be powerful enough to get past Sona’s cleverness? Maybe, but it’ll take Issei having to fight a dragon everyday, as well as Koneko having to confront her past… literally, in the form of her sister. And of course there’s Saji, who is to Sona what Issei is to Rias. He has a dream of being a teacher… and is very pissed that Issei has groped more boobs than he has.

If you leave out the tits, this is a very normal shonen battle manga. Issei is told that unlocking his Balance Breaker is the sort of thing that’s usually done in a crisis position with strong emotions behind it. We then get what is obviously meant to be just that, with Koneko’s sister attacking her and Koneko feeling tremendous self-hatred. If Issei were in Strike the Blood, this would be where he would talk about “:this is my fight!” and level up. But Issei is in High School DxD, so it’s not enough to be feeling righteous fury, he also has to be getting super horny. Hence the nipple poking. The fight between Issei and Saji is the best part of the book, pure shonen manliness and shouting about each other’s dreams… then Issei gains the ability to hear women’s breasts talking, and any drama and excitement drains out of the body.

As for why I’m still reading this, I’m not really sure. I want to actually see what happens next? Unfortunately, what happens next will likely involve more ridiculousness. But as long as it also has cool fights and some romance that isn’t pure sex, I’ll probably get the next one.

My Friend’s Little Sister Has It In for Me!, Vol. 4

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By mikawaghost and tomari. Released in Japan as “Tomodachi no Imouto ga Ore ni dake Uzai” by GA Bunko. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Alexandra Owen-Burns.

Despite the presence of some of the worst metaphors in the world, this is a better volume than the previous one, mostly because it doesn’t keep hammering on Sumire’s love of young boys. It essentially wraps up the plot from the previous book in the first half, leaving the 2nd half to delve deeper into one of the characters who we’ve been waiting to hear more about: our narrator, Akiteru. Well, sorry to break it to you, but we still don’t learn all that much about him. That said, it’s a good examination of his mindset and how he views himself compared to the others in the group, and a reminder that sometimes middle management really *is* the best skill to have. And of course there’s romance – Akiteru may be slowly (very, very slowly) catching on to what love actually feels like, and iroha reminds the other two heroines that she is still Best Girl round these parts.

Of course, given that Iroha has been on the cover of every volume to date, the idea that this is an ‘equal harem’ series is ridiculous. We start off where we left off, with Akiteru and Iroha in the shrine of love. Unfortunately, the shrine of love does not come with a toilet, so any deep sexual yearnings will have to wait. And, in any case, the real issue resolved here is Sumire’s desire to be an artist warring with her desire to be a teacher. It helps that, in the best Japanese tradition, her stern, unyielding grandfather turns out to be quite yielding after all. Then our heroes finally get a beach vacation, at Canary’s private beach house. Of course, there’s a catch. While brainstorming a new character, Canary essentially comes up with it herself. And also is better at forcing Sumire to work. And their “ghost” writer too. Is… is there anything for Akiteru left to do?

The main reason to read this series is still the two leads, who are the best thing about it. Akiteru may talk a good game about being logical and pragmatic, but he’s repressing an awful lot, and seeing how well Canary can seemingly do what he does every day gets him depressed and jealous. And, of course, it’s up to Iroha to do something about this. I like how her pep talk does help to cheer him up, but it’s not the actual solution – the solution is that Akiteru really *is* better at managing a bunch of eccentrics, as Canary finds out to her horror. (That said, she was doing this to test him anyway.) We’re also seeing secret identieis out in the open – Sumire now knows who Mashiro really is, and Ozuma has figured out who the “secret voice actress” is as well. This sort of series can’t resolve too quickly, but it’s nice to see it determined to move forward a plot point of two each volume.

There’s a cliffhanger that suggests the next book might be a bit more uncomfortable for Akiteru. Till then, this is a decent high school romcom with likeable characters, except for Sumire sometimes, and great dialogue, except for Sumire all the time. Seriously, “the dick in my heart won’t get hard”? That’s the metaphor you go with?

Can Someone Please Explain What’s Going On?! ~The Contract Couple’s Happily Ever After~, Vol. 7

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By Tsuredurebana and Rin Hagiwara. Released in Japan as “Dareka Kono Joukyou wo Setsumei Shite Kudasai! ~Keiyaku Kara Hajimaru Wedding~” by ArianRose. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Tara Quinn.

It’s all change for this 7th volume of Can Someone Please Explain What’s Going On?!. As you can see, there’s a new subtitle (sorry that I can’t find the Japanese romanji equivalent) that basically is the equivalent of “After Story” – the main story has ended, our couple are living happily ever after, now what? There’s a new translator (the series’ third). And, most importantly there’s a new narrative focus, which means that sadly we don’t get much at all of Viola as the narrator here. Given that at the end of my last review, which kind of tore the series apart, I said that I would keep reading because I loved Viola’s narrative charm, that’s quite a blow. Thankfully, the series also seem s to have backed off on most of the other things that I disliked in the last volume. It’s a lot fluffier and sillier than previous volumes, but that’s not a bad thing in this case. These are “extra” stories, they don’t have to try hard.

Don’t let the cover fool you, our happy main couple and their child are definitely supporting players in this – indeed, the child only shows up in a side story, as most of this takes place only a short time after the previous volume. The actual protagonists are the couple behind them – this is the story of Corydalis, Cercis’ best friend and adjutant, and Stellaria, Viola’s replacement chief maid after her regular maid takes maternity leave. They fall in love. It’s really quite cute… mostly. (I’ll get to that.) Despite the occasional seeming obstacle, everyone approves of the two of them. Both are very mature. There is no need to worry about contract marriages or mistresses here. It would be somewhat dull were it not for the back half, which features a hostage situation and the World’s Dumbest Bandits.

There’s always a ‘but’ with this series. This time there’s no fat jokes, Viola is not kept in the dark, and we don’t have “yay, another victory for white rich people!’. But we do have the book’s running gag, which is that Cercis starts a rumor that Corydalis is avoiding getting married as he’s gay, and the rest of the book has, every 4-5 pages, Cory having to say “I’M NOT GAY!’ in anger as everyone around him laughs. It’s meant to be funny and teasing, but it just reads poorly in this day and age. Other than that, this was a good return to form. As I said, this couple can be defined by their down to earth feel, and we also get some nice observations from the two of them of the events in this book, particularly the first volume where Cercis is still very much all contract, no marriage.

So yes, I’ll read the next bunch of After Stories, which looks like they’ll do what I thought this one would – tell the story of how Lettie Cercis and Viola’s daughter, came to pass. Nice save, though I’m still watching you with a weathered eye.

Turning the Tables on the Seatmate Killer, Vol. 1

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By Aresanzui and Sabimizore. Released in Japan as “Tonari no Seki ni Natta Bishoujo ga Hore Saseyou to Karakatte Kuruga Itsunomanika Kaeriuchi ni Shite Ita” by Monster Bunko. Released in North America by Tentai Books. Translated by Noor Hamdan.

Everyone talks a lot about how much they detest clichés, but a lot of the time they don’t really seem to mean it. What they detest are boring clichés. You really do enjoy seeing the seemingly stoic and grumpy guy or the bubbly and somewhat clumsy girl provided they’re written well. They’re types we love. The trouble is that most authors don’t know how to make those clichés come alive, and so you get a series of light novel protagonists that have been dubbed “potatoes” by fans. Replace them with a potato, and the story would be the same. Fortunately, it doesn’t require much to clear this low bar. Just… add a dash of realism to your cliché. Make them seem like a person who could exist in the real world. Doing this solves many issues. Fortunately, Seatmate Killer manages to do this quite well. I was surprised to find myself increasingly gripped by the characters.

The Seatmate Killer is Yui, a cute and popular high school girl who has had a lot of guys sit next to her, fall in love with her, confess… and get rejected. Every changing of seats brings a new guy and a new rejection. That said, if this IS deliberate she has a tough nut to crack when Yuuki sits next to her. A seemingly stoic man who doesn’t react to any of her overtures of conversation, he has no interest in her at all, and is puzzled that she keeps trying to get under his skin and get closer to him. Of course, Yui is not particularly doing this because she’s a tease, she has a very good reason for it. What’s more, Yuuki’s attitude also comes from a realistic place, and also involves his little sister, who manages to be weirder than he is.

As you can see, the two leads are types. The supporting characters also fit that bill. Mina is the classic little sister with an older brother complex, but she’s also fragile and emotionally devastated, and she and Yui have a lot more in common than you’d think. Maki, Yui’s older sister, is the classic teasing oneesama type, but also clearly cares and worries about Yui, and doesn’t want to see her hurt. As the book goes on we get deeper into Yuuki and Mina’s past, and Yuuki’s tendency to smile and go along with things unemotionally is put under the microscope. That, more than any banter at their shared classroom desks, is what allows the two to get closer. That said, this book is still relatively lighthearted, and there’s a lot of humor to be found in Yui’s freaking out about things or Yuuki’s po-faced reactions to her jokes and attempts at conversation. I would also like to note that if THIS is the Seatmate Killer, the other guys in their classroom are all the easiest of chumps. Sheesh.

I said on Twitter I think Tentai Books has a nice niche in sugary sweet romcoms, and this book certainly helps to add to that impression. I’ll be getting another volume. It’s clichéd… but in the right way.

Manga the Week of 11/10/21

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SEAN: It’s so hard to hold a manga in the cold November rain…

We start with Yen On, which has a new light novel debut: I Kept Pressing the 100-Million-Year Button and Came Out on Top (Ichiokunen Button o Rendashita Ore wa, Kidzuitara Saikyou ni Natteita ~Rakudai Kenshi no Gakuin Musou~). The story of a failure of a swordsman who gets one of the cheatiest cheats ever, though he comes to regret it.

There’s also new releases from many of Yen On’s biggest titles. We see Accel World 25, Re: ZERO -Starting Life in Another World- 17, Sword Art Online 23, Sword Art Online Alternative: Gun Gale Online 10, and That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime 12.

Yen Press’s debut is a spinoff: So I’m a Spider, So What? The Daily Lives of the Kumoko Sisters, a gag manga spinoff that runs in Young Ace UP!, featuring the four parallel minds of our spider heroine.

Yen also has Cirque du Freak Omnibus 4, The Elder Sister-Like One 5, the 10th and final volume of Happy Sugar Life, Hazure Skill: The Guild Member with a Worthless Skill Is Actually a Legendary Assassin 2, I’m a Behemoth, an S-Ranked Monster, but Mistaken for a Cat, I Live as an Elf Girl’s Pet 3, Konosuba: God’s Blessing on This Wonderful World! 12, Sasaki and Miyano 4, and Sex Ed 120% 2.

MICHELLE: Out of all of this, only Sasaki and Miyano is my sort of thing.

ASH: I think I’m likely of a similar mind, though I do vaguely remember Cirque du Freak being something I meant to check out way back when it was first being released.

SEAN: Viz has two new debuts. Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End (Sousou no Frieren) is a Shonen Sunday title. Our hero’s party has defeated the demon king. Now what? This is something the near immortal elf of the party, who is going to watch the other members age and die, wants to find out. This one is award winning and everyone seems to love it. Can’t wait.

MICHELLE: Interesting!

ANNA: This sounds intriguing. I’m always curious about Shonen Sunday titles.

ASH: I am likewise intrigued! And I do like a good story about (near) immortals.

SEAN: The other debut is Pokémon Journeys, which is, well, a Pokemon manga. For fans of the genre.

And if you missed Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba when it came out, we have the Demon Slayer Complete Box Set for you.

ASH: That’ll be nice to see!

SEAN: Also from Viz: Fly Me to the Moon 8, Mao 2, and Splatoon: Squid Kids Comedy Show 5.

MICHELLE: I still need to check out Mao.

ASH: I have the first volume! But haven’t actually read it yet…

SEAN: SuBLime has Birds of Shangri-La 2.

ASH: The artwork in this series is appealing, but I’m not completely sold on the story, yet.

SEAN: No debuts for Seven Seas proper (but see later on). We do get: Classmates 4, The Dangers in My Heart 3, Drugstore in Another World: The Slow Life of a Cheat Pharmacist 3, Gal Gohan 9, The Hidden Dungeon Only I Can Enter 4, How Heavy Are the Dumbbells You Lift? 8, I Got Caught Up In a Hero Summons, but the Other World was at Peace! 2, The Invincible Shovel 2, and My Wife Has No Emotion 2.

MICHELLE: I really will get caught up on Classmates this time.

ASH: It’s good; I’m really glad we got to see this series in English.

SEAN: One Peace has I Belong to the Baddest Girl at School 2.

ASH: I finally got my hands on the first volume and am looking forward to giving it a read.

SEAN: Kodansha debuts Ciguatera, a manga by the legendary Minoru Furuya, author of Ping Pong Club. This ran in Young Magazine, and is about the pain and struggle (and tiny joys) of high school life. For fans of Inio Asano.

MICHELLE: Well, that last sentence is foreboding, but I’ll still probably check this out!

ANNA: I’m not sure how much I feel like being super depressed but I’m sure this is very good and critically acclaimed.

SEAN: And we get a spinoff debut, Rent-A-(Really Shy!)-Girlfriend (Kanojo, Hitomishirimasu), a Magazine Pocket title that focuses on Sumi.

There’s also the 2nd and final volume of Codename Sailor V: Eternal Edition, a rerelease of Junji Ito’s Cat Diary: Yon & Mu in a Collector’s Edition, and the 5th Shaman King omnibus.

ASH: I greatly enjoyed (and enjoy) Cat Diary.

SEAN: Digitally, get ready for ANOTHER Cells at Work spinoff. Cells at Work! White Brigade (Hataraku Saibou White) is from Shonen Sirius, and, well, focuses on the White Blood Cells.

ASH: I’ve lost track of all of the spinoffs, but I do like franchise.

SEAN: There’s also Ace of the Diamond 35, Police in a Pod 6, Shangri-La Frontier 4, Tokyo Revengers 23, The Witch and the Beast 7, and Yamaguchi-kun Isn’t So Bad 4.

MICHELLE: I will never fail to be happy about sports manga!

ANNA: Wish there was more in print!

SEAN: J-Novel Club graces us with By the Grace of the Gods 9, Chillin’ in Another World with Level 2 Super Cheat Powers 2, The Ideal Sponger Life 5, Invaders of the Rokujouma!? 38, Jessica Bannister 3, and Tearmoon Empire 6, the most important of these.

Ghost Ship debuts Cat in a Hot Girls’ Dorm (Joshi Ryou Neko no Tama-san) from Manga Goraku. A women’s dorm adopts a cat, and the cat has a cat’s eye view of all their sexy goings-on!

MICHELLE: …

ANNA: No thank you!

SEAN: Also from Ghost Ship: Booty Royale: Never Go Down Without a Fight! Vol. 3-4, Parallel Paradise 7, and Welcome to Succubus High! 3.

Dark Horse has the 9th deluxe hardcover for Berserk.

ASH: That one’s for me!

Airship has a bunch of print titles. We get Accomplishments of the Duke’s Daughter 3, Adachi and Shimamura 7, Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation 13, and She Professed Herself Pupil of the Wise Man 2.

And in early digital we get Failure Frame: I Became the Strongest and Annihilated Everything With Low-Level Spells 3.

What manga are you sobbing over in the rain?

The Saint’s Magic Power Is Omnipotent, Vol. 4

by

By Yuka Tachibana and Yasuyuki Syuri. Released in Japan as “Seijo no Maryoku wa Bannou desu” by Kadokawa Books. Released in North America by Seven Seas. Translated by Julie Goniwich.

It’s been a long time since the 3rd volume, likely due to the ongoing issues with printing books the world has been having. That also means that we’ve seen the anime series come and go since I last reviewed it. the anime got decent reviews, and everyone seemed to find it pleasant. It also adapted through this volume, meaning that I’ve actually seen the anime first in this particular case. I try not to do this too often, and after reading this book I reinforced why: I think that a lot of these scenes work a bit better animated. Sei is, with the exception of her embarrassing love for Albert, a fairly mild, low-key hero, which is good, but it does mean that when it comes to exciting battle scenes they can sometimes seem a bit lacking. I was waiting for the big final battle in this book, and realized as I got past it that I’d missed it in the lack of excitement.

We’re still in Klausner’s Domain, trying to get rid of the monsters that are destroying its valuable plants and herbs. There are fewer monsters at the edges since Sei is around and she’s the Saint, but they do have to deal with a great deal of slimes – not, as she explicitly notes, the cute Level-1 slimes from Japanese RPGs, but a far more dangerous kind of slime. They need more mages and fewer knights. Fortunately, Yuri and Aira show up, happening to be passing through by pure coincidence. (Note: it was not pure coincidence.) And even if they do manage to kill off the monster that’s causing all the blight upon the landf, the land is still dead, right? Sei is going to have to finally stop being the Saint in secret if she wants to solve this mess.

There’s some good stuff here, though I will admit that I find the 2nd Knight brigade more creepy than funny, as does Sei. I get that they’re worshiping her because she literally healed their missing arms and legs, but they come across like idol fans more than anything else. Yuri is slightly better, his shtick basically being research uber alles, but he too can also be a bit offputting, especially when he’s right in Sei’s face trying to see how her magic works. Fortunately, Sei’s relationship with Aira is great, and we see the two of them cooking and chatting together. What’s more, Sei’s way of thinking may be changing the mature of magic in this world – Yuri is now able to make ice cubes after seeing Sei’s power of imagination, and it’s implied other discoveries may also be possible. I wonder if we’ll get a lot more research in he next book. Oh yes, and Sei and Albert are the same as they’ve ever been – this relationship is not upgrading anytime soon.

So a decent volume, but it lacks a bit compared to its animated counterpart. Still worth a read.