Manga Bookshelf

Discussion, Resources, Roundtables, & Reviews

Blog

Bookshelf Briefs 5/4/21

by , and Leave a Comment

Days on Fes, Vol. 1 | By Kanato Oka | Yen Press A manga about the joys of music festivals is something we’ve seen before, but usually it’s from the perspective of the band playing onstage. This new title is devoted to the happiness found in being a concertgoer at these festivals, told from the perspective of two high school girls—one a festival veteran, the other a newbie—and the veteran’s older brother, who runs a cafe, and his friend/employee, who is… Eeyore, frankly. Aside from the fun festival stuff, including an impromptu fashion show the girls give us, I was left wondering if this is a BL or yuri manga—the two guys, especially, given off a very couple vibe without actually being one. I’ll definitely be reading the next volume. – Sean Gaffney

Haikyu!!, Vol. 43 | By Haruichi Furudate | VIZ Media – I originally thought I wanted to see Haikyu!! end with Karasuno triumphing at the National Tournament. Furudate-sensei doesn’t go that route, though, and this volume in particular proves why that was absolutely the right choice. After two years in Brazil honing his skills playing beach volleyball, Hinata returns to Japan and joins a pro team (alongside some familiar faces) in the top tier of Japan’s volleyball league. This volume finds him facing off against Kageyama (and some familiar faces) for the first time since middle school, with even more familiar faces among the spectators. We needed this final arc to see how good Hinata has become, how it’s become clear even to those who once doubted him that he is a very valuable player even without Kageyama by his side. The best part, though, is the obvious respect Kageyama has for Hinata. They’ve grown in so many ways. Sniff. – Michelle Smith

Komi Can’t Communicate, Vol. 12 | By Tomohito Oda | Viz Media – The majority of this book is about the summer break from school, and attempts of the group to go to the beach as a fun activity. The difficulty is that Najimi ends up not going, so the rest of the cast, who rely on Najimi to be so over-the-top extroverted that they drag everyone else with them, is feeling awkwardly quiet. But once we get there we get a lot of fun in the sun. That said, we may be setting up an important plot point ahead, as in order to get rid of some unwanted guys hitting on her, Tadano says that he’s Manbagi’s boyfriend… something that afterwards she does not entirely seem to be opposed to. Are we headed for a love triangle? Still one of my favorite school comedies running right now. – Sean Gaffney

Satoko and Nada, Vol. 4 | By Yupechika | Seven Seas – The final volume of this story is mostly happy and heartwarming, though it can also be quite realistic—when their time together is up, Satoko and Nada go on to have separate lives, though the epilogue does show them meeting up again years later. Still, the impact they had on each other’s lives is astounding. As for the manga itself, it’s still showing off the differences between not only Japan and Saudi Arabia, but also both nations and America. Both women end up living strong, fulfilling lives, and you will be very happy to have watched part of it. This is one of my favorite pickups of the last few years, and at only four volumes it also would make a great gift set. – Sean Gaffney

Skip Beat!, Vol. 45 | By Yoshiki Nakamura | Viz Media – It feels like a dam has burst, reading this volume. The back half of the book contains some of the most amazing art in the entire series, with Kyoko literally running away from everything as fast as she can only to find Ren proving that he can run faster and confront her harder. That said, the front half of the book is also excellent—this series is now 45 volumes long, and has come a long way from a girl and her rage gremlins that surround her trying to get revenge, but it’s nice to know that whenever there’s a real problem, Ren can always turn to a giant chicken for advice. That said, she’s not a man, she’s a Kyoko Boo, so I’m on tenterhooks waiting for her response. Which, erm, is not scheduled by Viz yet, alas. – Sean Gaffney

Sleepy Princess in the Demon Castle, Vol. 14 | By Kagiji Kumanomata | Viz Media Throughout this series we’ve been wondering exactly why the human world is relying on doofuses like Braver to try to save the princess from her presumably horrible fate. OK, let’s be fair—no, we haven’t. We’ve been watching Syalis be a combination of evil gremlin, naive doofus, and teenager growing up. But it comes to mind in this new volume as her mother the Queen, running away from home after an argument with her husband, stays over for a bit with Syalis. We’ve met the Queen before, but it’s no surprise to find that she and her daughter are quite similar… or that the King is likely to be far less accommodating. Also, there’s that pesky human/demon war. Can these problems be solved? – Sean Gaffney

Snow White with the Red Hair, Vol. 12 | By Sorata Akiduki | Viz Media – Well, so much for moving in together. After the last volume saw Zen and Shirayuki finally be able to be in the same building with each other, this new one sees Shirayuki being reassigned, meaning a long time away from Zen. Yes, Snow White with the Red Hair appears to be turning into a long-distance dedication. (Can we get fantasy Casey Kasem?) Oh yes, and the Queen, who apparently is allergic to being in the castle, has decided to abdicate in favor of the eldest son, which leads to a big ol’ ceremony and also the reintroduction of characters we thought might be gone, like Kiki’s wannabe fiancee. In any event, it appears we’re definitely headed for a new arc in the next book. – Sean Gaffney

What the Font?!: A Manga Guide to Western Typeface | By Kuniichi Ashiya | Seven Seas – While there doesn’t seem to be any shortage of manga with anthropomorphic characters, I can safely say that What the Font?! is the first I’ve come across featuring fonts personified, putting a literal face to typeface. Ostensibly, the story is about Marusu, a salesperson who has been put in charge of a proposal layout despite having no formal background in design or typography. But What the Font?! isn’t really about telling a story; it’s about providing Marusu (and by proxy the readers) a crash course in Western typefaces, their history, aesthetics, and uses. Most of the volume is presented as four-panel manga accompanied by informational tidbits. The humor isn’t always particularly funny or invigorating, but some of the jokes are quite memorable as Ashiya finds ways to successfully convey the characteristics of fonts through human personalities and behavior. What the Font?! is an accessible and frequently entertaining introduction to typography. – Ash Brown

Invaders of the Rokujouma!?, Vol. 36

by

By Takehaya and Poco. Released in Japan as “Rokujouma no Shinryakusha!?” by HJ Bunko. Released in North America digitally by J-Novel Club. Translated by Warnis.

I’ve mentioned this a few times before, but Rokujouma frequently has to walk a bit of a high wire, especially in the books that take place after the “ending” we saw in Vol. 29. The author still clearly wants to write more and more stories, and does not want to wrap things up quickly. At the same time, one of the joys of this series has been seeing the characters gradually grow and mature, and as such we don’t want to see them all static either. This new volume is particularly good at keeping that balance, especially for our two resident magical girls, Maki and Yurika. Maki’s past, both as an orphan sold into slavery and as a member of Darkness Rainbow, still tends to guide her actions. Meanwhile, Yurika’s self-pity sometimes verges into self-loathing, so much so that she can’t honestly see how impressed everyone is with her. The best way to resolve both of these things is to head off to Folsaria, Maki’s homeland. And who knows, maybe we can tie into the other ongoing plot while we’re at it.

We pick up where we left off, as Ralgwin has gotten away, though he does not seem to be starting anything major from somewhere else. This allows them to focus on Maki, who has been invited to join Rainbow Heart after recommendations from both Nana and Yurika. Maki certainly has the magic for it… and she’s got the “heart” as well. But can she really become one of the good magical girls after being a literal terrorist just a year or so ago? She gets a provisional task she must complete: investigate the disappearance of several men from a part of the city. This leads her not only to the home where she was born (now a ruined building), but also to a graveyard containing something that’s a lot bigger than just missing people. Can Maki rally together with all of her friends and family and save Folsaria from a hideous disaster?

I was talking about balancing character development with a certain static point, and something in the narrative really showed that off to me: when they arrive at Rainbow Heart headquarters, Yurika is given a letter explaining that all of her debt has finally been paid. Folsaria is a magical land, and Yurika should have been getting a salary, particularly given how much nof a prodigy she was. But apparently she destroyed a factory when her magic went out of control… and it was on her own time, not during work. So her wages were garnished forever to pay for it. Yurika, however, is not delighted by this at all. She fears that if she’s no longer a freeloader Koutarou will abandon her. What surprised me is that there’s no snapback at the end of the book. I was sure Yurika would end up reincurring a large debt. But no. And she’s even able to continue living frugally (so far). It’s really impressive, both for her and the author, not to fall into old habits.

Apologies to Maki, as I spent most of her book talking about Yurika. But Maki is awesome here too, gets to resolve many conflicted feelings, and becomes a real heroine at last, with a paycheck and everything. Unfortunately… the villains kinda win here. We’ll see what happens next, I guess.

Torture Princess: Fremd Torturchen, Vol. 7

by

By Keishi Ayasato and Saki Ukai. Released in Japan as “Isekai Goumon Hime” by MF Bunko J. Released in North America Yen On. Translated by Nathaniel Hiroshi Thrasher.

Back in my fanfiction days, I used to have an argument with a friend of mine, who wrote some great stories but tended to end them a little too late. I used to call them the “And they all lived happily ever after till they died, and here’s how they died” stories. Now, I’m not sure I expect Torture Princess to go QUITE that far. But at the end of my last review, I mentioned that I was worried that the series would not be able to justify continuing after a very satisfying 6th book, which wrapped up Kaito’s plot beautifully. I’d say the answer is yes and no. Yes, it’s another Torture Princess book, with some of the most evocative writing in light novels, and I could have easily quoted a dozen passages. And I do enjoy Elisabeth’s character arc here quite a bit. Still… man, this is a downer, and has some of the most graphic horror descriptions since Vol. 1. It is a Dead Dove: Do Not Eat of a light novel.

The book picks up right where the previous one left off, with the introduction of our antagonists, who also grace the cover: A girl who calls herself Alice Carroll, the new Torture Princess, and her minder/father figure Lewis. They have killed off the two beast princesses who worked with Kaito in the previous book, and are basically here to destroy the world AGAIN. To be fair, they do have a pretty good reason they can use to justify it, but that’s not good enough for Elisabeth. Now she has to try to stop them, helped by Lute, whose job is to be the heart of the book; Jeanne, who is a girl in love, and Izabella, who has acknowledged this love but not responded to it; and La Cristoph, who has already been captured by the enemy. Worst of all, as everyone seems to be telling her… Elisabeth is getting SOFT.

This is not a completely grim book. There are lots of attempts at humor, some of which are admittedly as dark as the blackest night, but they’re there. One running gag with Elisabeth and La Cristoph actually made me laugh. But I won’t deny that there’s a lot of depressing goddamn shit here. Alice, like Kaito, is an abused Japanese girl, whose previous life reminded me an awful lot of Satoko from Higurashi, and it’s no surprise that her reincarnated powerful self is a very, very broken girl. And then there is the revenge that Lewis takes on behalf of the mixed-race peoples, which involves using a large number of purebreds as wombs for demon children. The description in this particular scene is so Grand Guignol that it almost crosses over into parody, but it’s also incredibly sickening to read about. There is, briefly, a nice little bit of hope towards the end of the book, but I still am not 100%… or even 50%… confident that this series won’t end with most everyone dead or wishing they were dead.

Still, I admit that’s not much of a change from the previous six books. I think the loss of Kaito’s POV affected the book more than I was expecting. It’s still a great series to read if you like good writing and horrible graphic images. But man… what a bummer.

Pick of the Week: It Must Have Been the Roses

by , , , , and 2 Comments

SEAN: Come on. We all know what it is. This is the last time we can pick it, so it HAS to be the 5th and final volume of The Rose of Versailles. It’s just that good.

MICHELLE: Forsooth. And we’re all so grateful the whole thing actually got released!

ANNA: Me too, it is amazing!

ASH: I agree, the pick really can’t be anything other than The Rose of Versailles. The series is absolutely one of the gems of my bookshelf. I’m so, so glad we got such a nice release.

KATE: C’mon… what did you think I would pick: Skeleton Knight in Another World?!!! I’m also on Team Oscar this week. I gotta see how it all ends!

MJ: I mean, obviously. It’s The Rose of Versailles.

The Eminence in Shadow, Vol. 3

by

By Daisuke Aizawa and Touzai. Released in Japan as “Kage no Jitsuryokusha ni Naritakute!” by Enterbrain. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Nathaniel Hiroshi Thrasher.

I think I am going to have to accept the fact that this is one of those series where I love everyone except the main character. This is not uncommon in Japanese anime and manga, of course. There are large numbers of people who can’t stand Naruto or Ichigo as characters, but love the series around them. Sword Art Online may be the best example of all. But at least all of those characters are actual heroes. A bit overpowered, a bit narrative-breaking, a bit dense, but heroes. Cid from The Eminence in Shadow is certainly overpowered, narrative-breaking, and dense. Though I think he’d get annoyed if called narrative-breaking, as he’s actually trying to create cool narratives for him to lurk in and be badass. There’s just one problem. He’s TOO annoying, even for a comedy. We’re meant to laugh at the dissonance between what he’s thinking/doing and what everyone else thinks of him, but I just sort of want him to go away, because honestly I quite enjoy this series otherwise.

This book is divided into two halves. In the first, Cid is led by his sister to the Lawless Sector, which has a lot of bad guys and three major powers. She’s there to try to get Cid a place in the Knights, but he quickly wanders off to go be cool and shadowey. Unfortunately, as always, his chuuni declarations designed to sound ominous are actually coming true: in this case, they’re trying to resurrect a vampire queen and turn the town into corpses. In the second half of the book, he teams up with one of the major powers from the first part, a fox woman with a tragic past, in order to destroy the economy of two major companies… one of which is the company literally run by his own minions. To do this, he has to invent another identity so he can be his own bad guy, because honestly, the idea of doing this appeals to him far more than the impact it might have on anyone who cares for him. Our hero, ladies and gentlemen.

I suppose I should be grateful for small blessings: I hear that in the original webnovel, Cid was actually far more consciously evil about doing all this, whereas in this book most of the actions he takes in the second half of the book are just him not thinking things through or genuinely being a dumbass. But anyway, let me stop talking about Cid, as the rest of the cast are a lot of fun, and the book can be quite funny when it wants to be. Delta, who Cid thinks of as a giant Golden Retriever in the form of a woman, is possibly the only character denser than he is, and yet she’s a delight, because it’s innocent denseness. There are some strong dramatic turns here as well, believe it or not, both from Alpha and from Yukime, the fox woman Cid teams up with. And OK, the final gag with Cid digging a giant hole because he thinks he’s discovered some Mysterious Last Words is pretty funny.

So yes, I’ll definitely be reading more, but I just gotta prepare myself: Cid’s probably always going to be like this.

Accel World: Sword Sage of the Blue Flower

by

By Reki Kawahara and Hima. Released in Japan by Dengeki Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Jocelyne Allen.

Accel World in general is a classic example of a series that is a lot of fun provided you don’t think too hard about much of it. This new volume was filled with scenes and moments I felt were pretty cool, but when I tried to tie them into the ongoing plot I went “hey, um, wait…”. That said, it’s not like Sword Art Online doesn’t also have that problem. If SAO is the light novel equivalent of Shonen Jump, then Accel World is its Shonen Magazine equivalent, with nice pizzazz and lots of fanservice. (Probably for the best that Haruyuki is in pig form on the cover there.) It does not help, admittedly, that we are still in the middle of this very long arc. The author promises, in the afterword, that it will end in the next book, but admits that he’s said that before and no one believes him. Oh yes, and after raising the dead, sort of, in the last book, we follow it up by… doing it again? Wow, raising the dead is EASY.

Everyone is still discussing the big plan to take out the massive sun-like enemy that’s keeping all the kings trapped, and Haruyuki’s new sword, with its heat resistance forced by the Blacksmith of Eternal Peril, seems to be the answer. He can also get training from the mysterious presence that helped him last time… but wait. If he finds out who she is in the real world, can he do for her what was done for Orchid Oracle? We then get a training montage, which is pretty cool but is, nevertheless, a training montage, so I don’t have much to say about it. And then, finally, the big confrontation, in which Haruyuki is very cool and the day is saved… oh dear, here comes the villain for another cliffhanger.

My favorite scene in the book was the party that all the girls (and Takumu, sorry, Takumu) threw him to celebrate his being the point man on this mission… and the fact that he shows up with another new girl, who just happens to be a rival for those who’ve been in Brain Burst the longest, showing up after being gone for years. You’d think there’s be a lot of jealous stares, but the mood seems to be more “Of course he has another girl to add to his pile, it is Haruyuki after all”. Actually, the biggest danger to Kuroyukihime in this book is not Centaurea Sentry, his new mentor, but Rin Kusakabe, who has apparently been reading Devil Is a Part-Timer in her spare time because she wants him to remember she confessed, and not just let it slip his mind just because he happens to still hate himself. If I weren’t reminded occasionally that everyone in the cast is between 9 and 14 years old, this would be a great romantic harem series. Alas.

I am not expecting the bad guys to win or anything, but the main Kings are certainly in a tight spot with the cliffhanger. Indeed, cliffhanger endings has proven to be one of the stronger parts of Accel World. Might have to wait a little longer for the next volume, though, as we’ve caught up with Japan mostly.

High School DxD: Excalibur of the Moonlit Schoolyard

by

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

I had resolved, with this third volume of High School DxD, that I was going to stop talking about the constant teenage sex fantasy talk, nudity, and general fanservice and simply focus on plot and character. Theoretically, anyone reading a review of the third volume of this series already enjoys it, and does not need me going on about how it’s all a bit much. Therefore, I would simply glide past the fanservice and discuss other things. It’s very, very hard to do that, though. This is not a book like Accel World, where if you ignore the art and the ages of the characters it’s almost a normal harem battle novel. The sex is baked DEEPLY into the very fabric of the series. I could talk about character motivation, except we now see a THIRD demon whose plan is to gather a harem (and the second one had succeeded), and Issei explicitly says that he’s fighting in the final battle because he’s going to get to suck Rias’ nipples as a reward. It is what it is.

So, the plot, as there is one. Kiba finally gets a volume to explain his backstory, and it’s pretty wretched. It’s also pretty clear that he ids consumed by vengeance against holy swords. Thus it is an unfortunate thing that several holy swords have shown up in town, either being wielded by fallen priests, fallen angels, agents of the Church… or Issei’s childhood friend Irina, who he didn’t even realize was a girl. Needless to say, all these swords here is not a coincidence, and there’s a fallen angel at work here. Can our heroes manage to actually work together – minions of the angels and actual demons – to fight against a common enemy? Can Kiba manage to keep it together enough to get the revenge he’s sought for so long… and is revenge really the right answer? And can this series keep teasing sex while delivering precisely nothing? Signs point to yes.

I didn’t mention the other new character in this book, who seems to join the regular cast at the end. Xenovia starts off as an angel with a heaping of faith and a tendency to go off half-cocked, and ends it as a somewhat bitter demon… with the exact same tendency. She looks fun. Irina is far more pointless, and I think would have been better served being introduced in a different book. This book does, however, do something very well, which is for the climactic battle, which Kiba has far more invested in than Issei (nipples aside), it shifts to Kiba’s POV. You’d think this would be obvious, given it’s Kiba’s arc and resolution, but it can frequently be very hard to wrench the narrative away from the usual POV character, so I’m calling this a victory. Two more things: Koneko is still the minorest of the main characters, but I liked her more here. And a scene showing off how poor Irina and Xenovia really are shows the author is very good at humor when it’s not revolving around tits.

This series is pretty much review proof, but I will note: fans will enjoy it. Also, Asia looks very cute on the cover.

The Genius Prince’s Guide to Raising a Nation Out of Debt (Hey, How About Treason?), Vol. 6

by

By Toru Taba and Falmaro. Released in Japan as “Tensai Ouji no Akaji Kokka Saisei Jutsu ~Sou da, Baikoku Shiyou~” by GA Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Jessica Lange.

This volumes shares many of the same things that I criticized the last volume for – it’s very rushed, Falanya doesn’t really appear, etc. – but I found it a much better read than Book 5. Possibly that’s because this is the first book to really feature Wein as a side character in his own series. We’ve seen Wein being an “influencer” before, and in fact it’s probably what he excels at more than anything else. But in this book we see Wein caught up in a power struggle that has nothing to do with his country – or so we think – and choosing to pick a side and help one of the contenders for the throne. This volume is Felite’s as much as Wein’s. The book shows off his own similarity to Wein in a few ways – notably their kickass bodyguard/confidante who seems to be in love with them – but thankfully is not creating a Wein clone, as he feels like his own person.

Wein now has a seaport, but unfortunately no one trusts him enough to trade with him. Fortunately, his hostage/enemy is there with an answer: she knows of a nation to the South that is amenable to trade, and she can help negotiate. So we’re off on a sea voyage… which Wein quickly regrets. And yes, part of it is that he gets seasick, but there’s also the fact that the ruler who he’s supposed to be negotiating with has been assassinated, and Wein is captured and stuffed in a jail cell. Fortunately, not only does he manage to bluff his way into having a far nicer jail cell than everyone else, but he’s also kept directly next to the OTHER big name prisoner… Felite, the second son of the former ruler. The first son is the one doing the assassinating. The winner will be the one who can claim the famed Rainbow Crown, an icon of the country.

The author said last time that this volume would be a slice-of-life, which it isn’t, and he apologizes for being totally unable to write such a thing. Still, we do get some of the cast in swimsuits… though really, Wein only has eyes for Ninym. Despite another girl telling him that they’re engaged (he never has any choice in the matter), Ninym is simply too high a bar to clear, and the first thing Tolchiela says after this is “It’s OK, I’ll allow mistresses”. That said, we also see some Flahm here who are also not roundly hated by everyone, and it’s apparent that they worship Natra for being the first country to actually not oppress then. If this series ever does end, I suspect it’s with Ninym recognized more officially. As for the rest of the book… it’s a fun little adventure, and Wein is mostly in smart bastard mode rather than whiny freakout mode. Plus, sea battles.

The next book promises to bring us back to the Empire, so I expect we’ll see more of Lowellmina than the running gag we got here. That said, we also saw that the series’ Big Bads are also still around, and determined to have everything end in chaos. Wein is their kryptonite, so dealing with him is getting more and more important. I’m looking forward to seeing what comes next.

Manga the Week of 5/5/21

by , , , and 1 Comment

SEAN: May Comes In Like a Tiger! What manga do we have next week?

Airship has an early digital release of Hello World, a one-shot SF novel about a boy whose future self returns to help him save his future girlfriend… or so he says. This sounds like it’s for fans of I Want to Eat Your Pancreas and others in that genre.

MICHELLE: Sounds interesting!

ASH: I’m intrigued!

MJ: Same here!

SEAN: They’ve also got Monster Girl Doctor Zero (a prequel), an early digital volume of Mushoku Tensei 11, and print volumes for The Saint’s Magic Power Is Omnipotent 3 and PENGUINDRUM 3 (the final volume).

ASH: One of these days I’ll actually read PENGUINDRUM.

SEAN: Cross Infinite World has a 2nd volume of Reincarnated As the Last of My Kind.

In print, J-Novel Club has Ascendance of a Bookworm 5 (manga), I Shall Survive Using Potions 5, Infinite Dendrogram 12, and My Next Life As a Villainess 7.

Digitally, they debut a new light novel in their Heart series, Culinary Chronicles of the Court Flower (Ikka Koukyuu Ryourichou). It sounds, honestly, a lot like The Apothecary Diaries only with food replacing medicine.

ASH: That sounds like a good combination to me!

SEAN: Also digitally is Altina the Sword Princess: Loose Threads (aka Vol. 7.5) and Altina the Sword Princess 8, Ascendance of a Bookworm 12, and Cooking with Wild Game 12.

Kaiten Books has a 4th volume of the Loner Life in Another World manga.

No print debuts for Kodansha Manga, but we do get Attack on Titan 33, Boarding School Juliet 14, Eden’s Zero 11, and Weathering With You 3, a final volume.

Digitally the debut is With the Sheikh in His Harem (Sheik-sama to Harem de), a Nakayoshi title. That cover, featuring the palest sheikh ever. That synopsis (girl is proposed to by rich man, who won’t take no for an answer). Remember when Nakayoshi was far younger in focus than it seems to be now? Recommended for Harlequin fans.

We also get the 2nd and final volume of Araki Won’t Be Tamed (whose cover I just have to link to, because YIKES), The 2nd Girlfriend, Girlfriend, My Dearest Self with Malice Aforethought 4, and My Unique Skill Makes Me OP even at Level 1 5.

ASH: That cover, my goodness!

SEAN: Seven Seas has The Dungeon of Black Company 6, Manly Appetites: Minegishi Loves Otsu 2, Skeleton Knight in Another World 6 (manga), and SUPER HxEROS 2.

ASH: I’m really looking forward to reading more of Manly Appetites; the first volume was delightful.

SEAN: Udon Entertainment has the 5th and final volume of The Rose of Versailles, including extra manga short stories Ikeda wrote in the 80s. Thank you so much for finally giving us this title in English.

ANNA: Yes. I’m still pinching myself about this.

MICHELLE: Me, too!

ASH: I continue to be absolutely thrilled we finally have this in translation.

MJ: Again, same here!

SEAN: Viz has a Shonen Jump debut, with Undead Unluck. A girl whose luck is so bad it kills people tries to kill herself, only to run into an undead man who can’t die. Together they discover they’re being hunted by a secret organization. Despite the worst possible 2-page opening spread I’ve seen in the history of Jump, I have heard this is quite good.

ASH: I have likewise heard good things.

MJ: I have heard nothing, because apparently I live under a rock, but this sounds kind of great.

SEAN: There are also three long-runners coming to a close next week. JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure has the 9th book of Arc 4, so we finish off Diamond Is Unbreakable. Worry not, Golden Wind is coming. Daytime Shooting Star and Shortcake Cake, meanwhile, both end with a 12th volume.

ANNA: I like Shortcake Cake and Daytime Shooting Star for entirely different reasons.

MICHELLE: Me too. I look forward to finishing both.

SEAN: We also get Black Cover 25, Boruto 11, Haikyu!! 44, Kaguya-sama: Love Is War 19, The King’s Beast 2, Love Me, Love Me Not 8, The Promised Neverland 19, Snow White with the Red Hair 13, and World Trigger 22.

ANNA: Looking forward to The King’s Beast and Snow White.

MICHELLE: I’m following (or attempting to follow) most of these! Penultimate volumes for Haikyu!! and The Promised Neverland, also.

ASH: Ditto all of the above!

SEAN: Yen On has a light novel debut with The King of the Dead at the Dark Palace (Kuraki Kyuuden no Shisha no Ou), a dark fantasy about a sickly boy who dies and reincarnates… as a sickly undead who must obey his master.

They’ve also got Reign of the Seven Spellblades 2, which has a lot to live up to to top its excellent first volume.

On the Yen Press tip, we get manga debuts for the two light novels that came out in April, as we see Bofuri: I Don’t Want to Get Hurt, so I’ll Max Out My Defense 1, which runs in Comp Ace, and Hazure Skill: The Guild Member with a Worthless Skill Is Actually a Legendary Assassin 1, which runs in, believe it or not, Dengeki Playstation.

Lastly, Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? On the Side: Sword Oratoria’s 15th manga volume.

Mayday! Mayday! Throw me a manga!

Baccano!: 1932 Summer: Man in the Killer

by

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

After a very depressing 1700s volume of Baccano!, it’s nice to be able to get a book that is back at “home base”, so to speak: the 1930s. And this book is markedly lighter in tone, despite featuring a series of murders and an examination of what sort of person you have to be in order to commit said murders. It was originally written as an extra for those who bought the Baccano! anime DVDs Vol. 1-5 in Japan, then fleshed out for this book. That said, let’s face it, the main draw is on the cover art. If you asked any Baccano! fan which two characters absolutely should not meet because the world might end if they started talking to each other, Elmer C. Albatross and Graham Specter would be right at the top. Oh, don’t get me wrong, after a brief misunderstanding they get on like a house on fire. But that is the trouble. The last thing anyone like Graham, who Shaft can barely rein in at the best of times, needs is Elmer’s philosophy of life.

This takes place about seven months after Drugs and the Dominoes and about a year or so before The Slash, and features a few of the characters from both books. It also serves as an odd epilogue to The Rolling Bootlegs. There is a serial killer in the city, Ice Pick Thompson, whose nickname comes from his murder method. We meet Lester, a reporter who’s been ordered to follow the story even though he really would rather avoid it; Mark, a young boy who has decided to kill himself… till he meets Elmer; and Graham, Shaft and company, who are just hanging around the city but keep getting dragged into the plot. Is this just a crazy serial killer, or is there a method to their madness? What does this have to do with the Gandors? What does this have to do with Szilard Quates? And can Isaac and Miria really become literal time? Or money?

The thing that interested me most in this book is the villain, which makes a refreshing change from the usual villains we’ve seen in Baccano!, who tend to be very obvious from the start – art least from the reader’s perspective. This one is meant to be more of a mystery – though really, not that much of one, as there’s something fishy from the start. Which is fitting, given they’re more on the Dallas Genoard end of the villain spectrum than the Fermet end. I also want to note how impressed I am with Graham and Shaft, who are not Japanese but nonetheless make the perfect manzai team. When Sham made Shaft one of his vessels, he basically created the perfect tsukkomi, as well as the only one capable of stopping Graham – not that he ever actually succeeds. The best thing about the book, though, is probably Mark, a quiet, tragic character walking around a sea of loudmouthed extroverts.

If you enjoyed being back in the 1930s, worry not, we’re soon going to be there on a more permanent basis. But first we have to wrap up the 1700s arc, and finally find out what happened on the Advenna Avis. Next time we go to 1711 and see how Huey’s holding up after Monica’s death.