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Cats of the Louvre

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Weird. Uncanny. Melancholy. Beautiful. Those were just a few of the adjectives I jotted down while reading Taiyo Matsumoto’s Cats of the Louvre, the latest volume in the museum’s ongoing graphic novel series. Like Nicholas De Crécy’s Glacial Period and Jiro Taniguchi’s Guardians of the Louvre, Cats of the Louvre is less an illustrated guide to the museum than a story that happens to take place within its walls—in this case, the attic, where a colony of cats have taken up residence. Through a series of eighteen vignettes, Matsumoto gradually reveals that the cats’ primary caretaker—an elderly night watchman—has dedicated his life to searching the museum for his missing sister, who disappeared into one of the paintings when she was a child.

The key to finding Arrieta turns out to be Snowbébé, a kitten who frequently escapes from the attic to roam the galleries, hiding inside canvases to avoid detection. Snowbébé’s gift is both an essential plot point and an opportunity for Matsumoto to luxuriate in the smaller details of his favorite paintings, as is evident in a lovely, strange sequence that unfolds inside Henri Lerambert’s The Funeral Procession of Love (1580). From a modern viewer’s standpoint, Lerambert’s painting seems a little kitschy, with its parade of cherubs, poets, and philosophers strolling under the watchful eye of the goddess Diana:

Once Snowbébé steps into the painting, however, the landscape comes to life in unexpected ways: the flowers grin, the animals speak, and the laws of gravity disappear. In one brief but delightful sequence, for example, Snowbébé and Arrieta cavort across the ceilings and walls of a temple, while in another they board Diana’s chariot for a ride through the Milky Way. Yet for all the joyful (and weird) imagery, there’s a wistful quality to these two chapters, as Snowbébé slowly realizes that he cannot remain inside the Parade forever; his presence has disturbed the painting’s equilibrium, bringing storm clouds and disrupting the flow of time itself, forcing him to choose between staying with his new friend, or returning to the “cold and smelly and noisy” world of the Louvre.

What prevents Snowbébé’s odyssey from seeming twee or precious is Matsumoto’s studied primitivism; his characters’ mask-like faces, oddly proportioned bodies, and grotesque smiles are genuinely unnerving, creating a surreal atmosphere in which the boundaries between reality and imagination are blurred. Nowhere is this tendency more obvious than in the way he draws Snowbébé and his friends: the cats look like animals to their caretakers, but assume a humanoid form when interacting with each other. In Matsumoto’s hands, they look more like people in cat costumes than pussycats, with their essential feline features—ears, whiskers, tails, elongated limbs—rendered in an exaggerated fashion that gives them a faintly alien appearance.

Matsumoto’s depiction of the Louvre is more straightforward, recreating iconic works with fidelity to the originals, whether he’s drawing a lesser-known genre painting or a genuinely famous sculpture. His rendition of the physical environment—the claustrophobic, dusty garret where the cats live, the grand staircases and hallways that lead to the galleries—is similarly precise, helping the reader envision the sheer size and opulence of the museum. As a result, the Louvre transcends its basic function as a setting, taking on the qualities of a living, breathing organism whose vaulted ceilings and majestic columns invite comparisons with dinosaurs or whales:

And while all the comics in the Louvre Collection have done an admirable job of depicting the museum, Cats of the Louvre approaches its subject matter without didacticism or pedantry; though Matsumoto’s human characters express strong feelings about art, those conversations spring organically from the story. Equally important, Cats of the Louvre has its own personality; unlike Hirohiko Araki’s Rohan at the Louvre, which recycled ideas and characters from JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, Matsumoto’s story stands on its own, capturing his unique response to the museum and its collection. But the best reason to read Cats of the Louvre is its hero Snowbébé, whose quest to find his place in the world invites us to see the Louvre through fresh eyes, as a place of danger and sadness, but also of wonder, magic, and possibility. Recommended.

A review copy was provided by VIZ Media. To read a short preview, click here.

CATS OF THE LOUVRE • STORY AND ART BY TAIYO MATSUMOTO • TRANSLATED BY MICHAEL ARIAS • RATING: TEEN • 432 pp.

Outbreak Company, Vol. 11

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By Ichiro Sakaki and Yuugen. Released in Japan by Kodansha. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Kevin Steinbach.

This volume is still short, but a bit longer than the 10th book. That said, I’m still struggling to find 500+ words to say about it. The series is good, I enjoy it, but it’s not really trying for anything other than “be entertaining” with a small side of “treat all people equally”. It doesn’t help that this book is an expanded short story, blown up to book format when the author realized he didn’t have the room. The thrust of the plot is that Amatena, Elvia’s cold, paranoid sister, and Clara, who held him captive while he was kidnapped, are on the run from the authorities of their nation, who have decided that they’re a liability – possibly as they’ve been passively helping Shinichi smuggle anime and manga into the country. Elvia helps them hole up at the mansion, but they have to hide themselves. This leads to an extra maid (which stresses Myusel out, though not for the reason you might think) and an extra (disguised) Elvia. Hijinks ensue.

There’s a subplot in the book of Shinichi’s class getting a hold of digital cameras, and Shinichi and a very grumpy Hikaru end up having to teach them that it’s not OK to just take pictures of everyone all the time – you need permission, and sneak shots are right out. This is a good reminder that a lot of the “lessons learned”, heavy-handed as they can be, are as much for any young readers the series might have as for the fantasy elves and dwarves of Outbreak Company. Consent is important, even though Shinichi frames it as “you don’t want to catch them out of character”. The other small subplot is Amatena’s cool, overly suspicious attitude is contrasting hideously with Elvia’s puppy-ish mood, something that’s more vital than you’d expect given Amatena is supposed to be pretending to be Elvia. This leads to another obvious, but still welcome lesson: if you don’t trust anyone, why should anyone trust you? You have to open up a LITTLE bit.

Meanwhile, the series’ slow-boiling romance may finally be getting somewhere, though this may all vanish by the next book. The difficulty is on both sides, as Shinichi still tends to think of himself as a “loser” that nobody could like. He’s also, despite his perversions, still relatively innocent, and Clara reminds us of how he fended her off when he was kidnapped – by pretending that if he has sex with a woman, he’ll die. On Myusel’s end, more and more people are accidentally seeing Shinichi naked, and this frustrates her though she’s not sure why. After talking things through with Clara, she may have finally realized how deep her feelings for Shinichi are, but then she’s also dealing with a poor self-image, so it’s unclear whether she’ll actually act on this – certainly Elvia’s “heat” interrupts her at the end of this book.

It was nice to be back in Eldant for this book, despite it reading very much like a padded-out short story. We may get that next time too. Still recommended for those who enjoy the series.

I Saved Too Many Girls and Caused the Apocalypse, Vol. 16

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By Namekojirushi and Nao Watanuki. Released in Japan as “Ore ga Heroine o Tasukesugite Sekai ga Little Mokushiroku!?” by Hobby Japan. Released in North America digitally by J-Novel Club. Translated by Mana Z.

The final volume of Little Apocalypse, and I’ll try to keep my general thoughts above the picture and then get into actual spoilers below it. It’s a good final volume, I was pleased. The series knows what it does best and does it. Big ol’ melee fights, lots of humor, lots of self-doubt, Rekka being Rekka – indeed, you could argue the plot of this book is Rekka being Rekka. Including Rekka being dense, which he confirms here is sometimes deliberate, but also confirms here that sometimes he really is just that dense. Also, to my relief, despite appearing on the cover at last, R does not become a “heroine” in the romantic sense. There’s explanations for previous major plot points, each of the girls gets to do at least something, even if it’s sit on the sidelines and write/direct (you can guess who I’m talking about there). Fans of the series should not really have any issues with it at all… well, OK, except maybe for one thing.

Yes, if you wanted romantic resolution, first of all, you were deluding yourself, but second of all, you will be disappointed as Rekka does not, in fact, choose anyone. Indeed, the villain of the piece, if you can call him that, is Rekka from the future, and he makes it clear that he’s saved hundreds of heroines and loves all of them. The trouble, of course, is that Rekka loves all these heroines in the earnest, hero sense of love. There is no romantic or sexual love here, and indeed beyond getting flustered occasionally when confronted with boobs, Rekka is a decidedly uninterested hero. This applies to him, to his female self (and one big drawback of the book is that we never met any of the heroes that she saved – or did she save heroines? Her sexuality is just as absent as Rekka’s). As for future Rekka, he may be an immortal vampire with cyborg arms, but at heart he’s still the same guy, which means he has the same self-doubts.

The goddesses who are the cause of all this are perhaps the least interesting part of the book – I joked that one reminded me of Aqua, but that was more the way she was initially introduced. There is an interesting idea here in that the gods literally CANNOT stop making and destroying worlds as that is their function, it’s what they do. This is what led to the surprisingly bloodless War of All, whose sole casualty that we know about (Iris’ father) is undone by the ending fight presumably making it so the war never happens. It also felt right that the one who helped our Rekka to finally defeat his future self was R, and that she did it not through caustic words and innuendo – her weapons so far – but just by giving him a big push. If only getting him to pick a girl was that easy.

And so the series is over, everything is back to where it was, and Rekka will no doubt keep saving heroines, though hopefully on a slightly smaller scale. This started out as a parody of the harem genre, but by the end it had embraced what it mocked, and I feel it’s the better for it.

Pick of the Week: It’s That Manga Again

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MICHELLE: There are some pretty interesting things coming out next week, namely the debut of another digital-only josei series from Kodansha Comics, but my heart belongs to volume six of The Night Beyond the Tricornered Window, which actually came out last week. I love this series so very much and am always excited when a new installment pops up. Because of its creepy atmosphere, the timing is just right, too!

SEAN: There’s quite a few things I like this week, but I’m going to go with good old Silver Spoon, because I love it and it is wonderful.

MJ: I was surprised to note that, in such a full week, the only thing on my Absolute Must Buy list is Silver Spoon. But also, YAY SILVER SPOOOOON! Seriously, I could not love this series more.

KATE: At the risk of sounding like a broken record, I am Team Silver Spoon 100%. It’s one of most consistently funny, honest, and gut-wrenching manga being published in English right now, and it deserves waaaaay more love and support from the mangasphere.

ASH: Silver Spoon really is a tremendous series! And so, for all of the reasons that everyone else has already outlined, it gets my pick. On top of that, I always get a little nostalgic reading the manga… it reminds me a lot of the people and places in my hometown growing up.

ANNA: I am feeling so guilty for not reading Silver Spoon yet, although I think I have a couple volumes stashed around my house. I’m not going to break the streak for pick of the week. I’m going to read the first volume this week for sure!

Invaders of the Rokujouma!?, Vol. 25

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

Well, I guess I’m going to be dealing with the villain I don’t like for a bit longer. Vandarion is mostly absent from this volume, which sees Elexis and Darkness Rainbow making their big move. It relies on trying to win Koutarou over to their side in some way, shape or form, his identity as the (seeming) Blue Knight, and appointing a Regent who an be manipulated and controlled, but is also sweet as pie and likeable. All these things happen, and yet our heroes prove to be one step ahead of the villains once more, leading to a giant battle in, of all places, a cemetery for the the finale. This despite the fact that Koutarou is minus his main weapon as using it is slowly killing Harumi, and also despite the fact that he has to abandon half his group and run off with “the smart girl” of the harem to solve things. This doesn’t go over well when he returns…

There’s a lot of very clever plotting in this volume, as Elexis’ plan depends on Koutarou being the Blue Knight, but not THE Blue Knight. He (and most everyone else) had been running on the assumption that Koutarou was a descendant or merely taking up the name. The clever bit (you can tell Kiriha was behind this) is that Koutarou reveals not only that he’s the Blue Knight, but also tells everyone about the time travel accident. This means he is the real, honest to god Blue Knight. And, thanks to the second and even more clever plot twist, which I won’t spoil as it’s so clever, he now has Forthothe completely over a barrel. As expected, this means that Elexis has no choice but to kill him NOW – they may respect each other, but Elexis is still a villain. This leads to the final battle, where Koutarou and company try to silently escape but are caught anyway.

The location of the battle is interesting, as it’s in an ancient cemetery that has some of the graves of Koutarou’s lost allies from back two thousand years ago. This means that when the chips are down, as Koutarou can’t use his cool sword, the other girls are mostly tactical rather than battle geniuses, and the arrival of the rest of the girls does not help quite as much as they would like, he manages to literally get help from ghosts of the past, rallying to save Alaia and the Blue Knight. I will admit I am not a monarchist, but seeing the fervor that everyone shows Alaia reminds the reader just what it must have been like back in the days when Kings and Queens were revered and loved. Indeed, Harumi is seriously feeling that pressure now, as she thinks that if she can’t take on Alaia’s aspect to help Koutarou, she’s worthless – something everyone tries to convince her isn’t true, but they don’t quite manage it.

We’re in the home stretch here, and it’s noted once again that there’s going to be a lot more lives lost as this fight keeps going. Will the author dare to kill off some of the harem? Probably not, but you never know. In any case, another strong volume in this series. Go support the Kickstarter and get it all in print!

How a Realist Hero Rebuilt the Kingdom, Vol. 10

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By Dojyomaru and Fuyuyuki. Released in Japan by Overlap, Inc. Released in North America digitally by J-Novel Club. Translated by Sean McCann.

Once we found out that the world of Realist Hero is one that supports polyamory, the romantic pairings started flying fast and furious. The main focus of this volume is the marriage between Souma and his five wives, and that does happen. But Souma wants to have a lot of other weddings at the same time. His reasoning is solid: he wants lots of babies now so that everyone is available later on, as he suspects soon he’ll be battling Fuuga and other higher-ups for control of the kingdom and other lands, and needs all the help he can get. As a result, he goes around resolving all the sort of romances we’ve had to date that don’t involve him. (Sometimes he doesn’t even need to get involved. Julius marries the princess we saw in Book 8, and Haruhi – sorry, Kuu – proposes to the Realist Hero equivalent of Yuki and Mikuru.) So Hal is marrying Kaede and Ruby, and may also get an elf bride in a few years as a third. The resident mad scientist is marrying her minder. And Poncho also resolves his OT3… well, no. All these marriages are resolved by women. Indeed, the core of this book is that the guys have the nominal power, but the women are the more mature ones who resolve things.

Having had Saber Red on the cover of the first book, we get Saber Lily here for the 10th. Of course, both are Liscia, but the artist has never quite managed to hide their Fate fanart origins. It seems appropriate for this book, which reads almost like a fanfic writer decided to resolve all the uncommitted pairings at once. The “make babies at once” edict also seems like a fan thing, and while there’s no sex in this book, we glide around the topic quite a bit, going from another “Excel Walter Explains It All For You” bridal meeting to Liscia explicitly telling Souma he’ll be bedding everyone one night after another right after the wedding (Aisha is first up) to Serina making sure that Poncho is eating aphrodisiac foods at their own wedding reception. I am not sure if Book 11 will be filled with babies, though. Oh yes, and in non-wedding news, the identity of a certain masked ninja is made a lot clearer.

The best story is saved for last, though, as Liscia’s mother Elisha tells her own life story, and how she discovered her horrible power and used it in order to marry the right man, set up the kingdom so that it would not end in bloodshed, and when all that failed at least send the memories of the one thing she did wrong to the Elisha of OUR world. Yes, that is a plot twist I am spoiling, but it’s brilliant, and I applaud. Elisha’s similarity to Liscia as a child was amusing, but it’s her compassion that is how we remember her. I also liked the callback to an earlier volume where Elisha tells Souma of the fate he and Liscia suffered in that world, and Souma suggests the old “they never saw the bodies” defense, which turns out o be rather relevant after all. In a book filled with sweet, sappy love stories, this one really made me grin.

If I recall, the webnovel this is based on slightly changed the title for future books, implying this is the end of Season 1. I doubt the official books will do the same, but I do expect a change of pace next time. Till then, enjoy all the weddings.

Silver Spoon, Vol. 11

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By Hiromu Arakawa. Released in Japan as “Gin no Saji” by Shogakukan, serialization ongoing in the magazine Weekly Shonen Sunday. Released in North America by Yen Press. Translated by Amanda Haley.

As promised, we get the Valentine’s Day arc in this volume. That said, it pretty much relies on the sort of thing that I talked about in the last review: everyone is sort of pissed off watching the happy not-yet-a-couple while they themselves are single. Indeed, we even get a breakup here from one of the minor characters, and it’s pointed out that “eldest son of a farmer” is not a big plus for women looking for a man. In fact, it’s the opposite. That said, there is hope on the horizon. Hachiken successfully conveys that he wants chocolate from Mikage. Despite enormous obstacles, she manages to give it to him. And even with an immediate mood-killer, it’s not destroyed like Hachiken’s phone was in the last book. The same applies to Mikage’s grades – they aren’t great, but they’re now good enough that she can see about getting a recommendation for her college. Steady progress is important – in fact, that’s the key to this whole volume.

Everyone is moving up a grade – and in many cases, that means moving out of the dorms. Hachiken decides that he wants a place of his own, and manages to barter with his parents to get it. Less successful is his attempt to explain to his dad that he wants to start a business and would like funding. He has the ideas and the fortitude – and his father is impressed that he actually stands up for himself – but he has no real plan beyond “stuff happens”, so is coldly rejected. Fortunately, he has the sense to ask Tamako for help, as she’s the economic genius of the bunch. Hachiken’s dad is not made magically nicer here, but we do start to see why he was so frustrated at Hachiken passively doing what others wanted before, and it’s Hachiken (and Mikage!) standing up to him that means that the door is not permanently shut. That said, Hachiken’s dad is still sort of a scary ass.

I’ve made no secret of the fact that I’m not all that fond of “lovable idiot” characters like tokiwa and Ookawa. We get a lot of Ookawa in this book, as he’s finally forced to graduate (literally, they have to physically make him take the diploma) and face up to unemployment. There isn’t a job of “ruin Hachiken’s life”, sadly, which is a shame as he’s perfectly qualified for it. We also get a long, serious and heartwarming explanation of the Silver Spoon in the title from the headmaster, though again Arakawa can’t resist undercutting things by having the teacher point out it’s his “standard speech”. It still works, and by the end of the volume you get the sense that Hachiken is on the right path, using the resources of abandoned and half-finished projects that the school still has lying around for his own.

This seems to end the “Winter” arc, and the next arc, “Four Seasons”, is the final one (assuming the manga ever comes off of hiatus again). It remains essential reading for anyone who loves a great story and characters.

The Irregular at Magic High School: Steeplechase Arc

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By Tsutomu Sato and Kana Ishida. Released in Japan as “Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei” by Dengeki Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Andrew Prowse.

When you’re doing a series set in high school, and it actually moves forward in time, it can be hard to find new material for the same thing you’ve seen before. Last time on Irregular at Magic High School we saw everyone searching for new club members – again – and this time we get the second time around for their equivalent of the athletic festival, the Nine Schools Competition. So, naturally, the author decides to have things changed around at the last minute, in order to better serve the plot. Three events are different, much to Azusa’s horror, as it means they have to do a lot of last-minute planning. Why the last-minute changes? Well, it’s all part of a powerplay involving the military, the parasites from previous books, an some Chinese defectors – who we don’t actually meet in this book, but I’ve no doubt will appear soon. Not that the schools know this. Fortunately, First High has Tatsuya, who can do anything.

That said, even Tatsuya is having trouble keeping up. In addition to ferreting out the saboteurs who plan to put parasite-infected androids in the steeplechase course to maim magic students – rather cruelly, we’re told it’s OK to ruin the student’s lives and magic career as long as they aren’t killed – but he also has to do prep for all the students competing in the various events this year. At least he’s not IN the events, but it’s so exhausting that he barely even notices his sister having a mental meltdown one night and “warming his body” with her own. Fortunately for my sanity, this low point is followed by the book’s high point, as Tatsuya is about to go out and invade the Steeplechase course to take out the androids before the events, and Miyuki correctly notes that he’s about to fall over exhausted, and why does he have to do absolutely everything all the time? Miyuki works so much better as a caring little sister than as a thirsty one.

As for the rest of the book, it’s Mahouka-by-numbers, but in a series like this that’s not a bad thin. There’s lots of intrigue, and we get to see various characters show off how talented they are, including Ayako and Fumiya, who are on the cover, making this the second cover in a row starring twins. We’ve met these two before, but here they show off that they too can clean up at the competition, taking events for Fourth High and generally showing off. I also like Minami, who gets to use her all-powerful barrier, though finds that it can be a drawback when the enemy runs away and the cops show up to question her. Minami has absolutely had it with the incestual subtext, and I completely agree. And I was also amused by one event where Subaru pronounces that she will defeat Honoka and ensure that it’s not just “everyone who has Tatsuya as their engineer wins”, but forgets which series she’s in – one word of encouragement from Tatsuya and Honoka cleans up. Yes, it IS everyone who has Tatsuya wins. Please bow to him.

The usual irritations aside, this was a pretty decent Mahouka. Next up is apparently a two-part arc, which will no doubt continue to deal with China or its equivalent in this world. Worth picking up if you like really powerful stoic heroes.

Bookshelf Briefs 10/24/19

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Ao Haru Ride, Vol. 7 | By Io Sakisaka | Viz Media – Somehow I missed reviewing the sixth book, and may have missed reading it as well. In any case, things aren’t going well for our lead couple, which is suffering from the usual miscommunication drama that infects shoujo series like this. Indeed, it infects the rest of the cast as well, and so we have Kou’s brother getting in trouble for seemingly having an affair… with Futaba. It’s not what it seems. But it does inspire Shuko, who was terrified about what would happen to her crush, to confess to him. Fortunately, he’s a good teacher, so rejects her. We’re also getting some setup for a beta couple, which I think I would enjoy more if it wasn’t so obvious. This was a good volume, but I’ve grown to expect great from this series, and it wasn’t that. – Sean Gaffney

Cats of the Louvre | By Taiyo Matsumoto | Viz Media – I expected it would only be a matter of time before Cats of the Louvre was licensed, but I was initially a little surprised that Viz was the company bringing it over—up until this point, every volume of the “Louvre Collection” (including Hirohiko Araki’s Rohan at the Louvre and Jiro Taniguchi’s Guardians of the Louvre) has been released by NBM Publishing. But, on the other hand, Viz has been Matsumoto’s primary publisher in English. Viz has done a beautiful job with the release if Cats of the Louvre, combining both volumes of the Japanese edition into a single, hardcover omnibus. In part, the narrative follows a declining colony of cats that lives in the hidden corners of the Louvre and the humans that come into contact with it. Both Matsumoto’s storytelling and artwork are atmospheric, magical, and melancholic. But while there’s some darkness to the work, there’s also hope. – Ash Brown

Hakumei & Mikochi: Tiny Little Life in the Woods, Vol. 7 | By Takuto Kashiki | Yen Press – I think we’ve now caught up with Japan, so expect more of a gap before the next volume of this. Till then, we see our not-a-couple couple use bird mail delivery, get taken advantage of by local doctors, have troublesome friends over for the night, wait in a very long line for food that may not live up to the line, etc. Easily the best chapter is also the most serious, as an old mentor of Hakumei’s dies and sends her a final sake bottle, which she and Mikochi wander all over to try to drink quietly before Mikochi finally moves on so Hakumei can grieve a bit. This is always going to be the sort of series where “we couldn’t buy the cups” is gripping drama, but that’s why it has its fans. – Sean Gaffney

Himouto! Umaru-chan, Vol. 7 | By Sankakuhead | Seven Seas – Is this the end of the superdeformed Umaru? Well, no, but it makes for a nice change of pace, as Umaru realizes that she’s been hanging out with friends normally for a while, and wonders if she can admit to them her big secrets—both her slothful little self, and also her masked gamer. The message turns out to be “don’t rush growing up,” which is a bit disappointing but not surprising given this has like five more volumes to go. We also see the “rival” girl again, and she turns out to also be connected to this extended family in an oblique way. Unfortunately, emphasizing the similarities between her and Umaru works a bit TOO well—sometimes I can’t tell them apart. This is the definition of moe cuteness. – Sean Gaffney

Magus of the Library, Vol. 2 | By Mitsu Izumi | Kodansha Comics – The main selling point for this series is present and correct—it is gorgeous, and rivals Witch Hat Atelier for the prettiest manga in Kodansha’s stable right now. The main plot involves a somewhat older Theo setting out to take the Kafna test, despite the fact that it’s a job, much like “librarian” is here, seen as being for women. He’s joined by a young woman who seems to tick off every single box in the “easily flustered love interest” box, to the point where I actually found her a bit annoying. The series sure does love its books, though, and also loves its grueling three-day-long test, which is known to break many of its participants. Can Theo pass? If you guessed “I bet we find out in Book Three,” you’re right. – Sean Gaffney

My Hero Academia: Vigilantes, Vol. 6 | By Hideyuki Furuhashi, Betten Court, and Kohei Horikoshi | VIZ Media – With the departure of Master, Vigilantes seems to be settling in for the long haul. Koichi discovers two new applications for his powers, which leads him to engage villains in ways he really shouldn’t, though this comes in handy when he helps Aizawa take on another enhanced Trigger user. In fact, there is lots of Aizawa in action, which I appreciate, as well as an example of how effectively Midnight’s powers work in the field when she goes undercover to figure out who is dosing young men with the drug. Meanwhile, there’s a mysterious speedster lurking about who easily dispatches the villain that Aizawa and Koichi struggled with. This prequel really seems to be coming into its own and I find myself increasingly captivated by it! – Michelle Smith

Mythical Beast Investigator, Vol. 2 | By Keishi Ayasato and Koichiro Hoshino | Seven Seas – Last time I called this very readable but extremely forgettable. The two qualities invert in this second and final volume, as the “twist” that happens halfway through the book is rather startling, but I don’t really like the way that it’s handled, which seems confusing and probably reads better in the novel this is based on. The focus, appropriately, changes over to Kushuna, the grumpy rabbit demon accompanying Ferry on her journeys, and we see how they originally met and how he was won over to her side. But… ergh, I don’t want to spoil the twist, but let’s just say I disliked it and leave it at that. On the bright side, I’m very glad the series ends with the second volume. – Sean Gaffney

Sleepy Princess in the Demon Castle, Vol. 9 | By Kagiji Kumanomata | Viz Media – The bulk of this volume is given over to the demon castle’s Summer Festival, which naturally Syalis is SUPER EXCITED for, despite meaning that outsiders might actually notice she has the run of the place. With that in mind, she does a café (well, haunted house was taken) which features her, as a hostage in big fake handcuffs, begging for food. It’s brilliant and also hilarious. We get a beauty pageant, which Syalis manages to lose despite seemingly being a shoo-in, as well as the final bonfire, which she sleeps through, much to her horror. The rest of the book is just as funny, and while the gags aren’t original they arrive with precision timing. This remains a fantastic comedy manga. – Sean Gaffney

That Blue Sky Feeling, Vol. 3 | By Okura and Coma Hashii | VIZ Media – I reckon some people are going to be disappointed by the ending of That Blue Sky Feeling, in that Noshiro and Sanada are not yet formally dating, but if one looks only at the change in Sanada, then it’s a satisfying ending indeed. Probably because of his experience being accepted by Noshiro, when Sanada’s long-time friend Ayumi asks whether he likes boys, he tells her the truth. And when Noshiro starts going out with a girl, it’s Ayumi who knocks some sense into Sanada, telling him that his feelings do matter in this situation. After Noshiro ditches his date to hear what Sanada has to say, it’s confession time and it looks like the feelings may be mutual. But what really stands out to me is Sanada’s face there at the ending—happy and at peace. His love was not rejected! I hope we get more Okura in the future. – Michelle Smith

Tomo-chan Is a Girl!, Vol. 5 | By Fumita Yanagida | Seven Seas – Beta couple Carol and Misaki get the main focus in this book, though they aren’t actually a couple. Carol seems to be waiting for Misaki to take the lead, and he just isn’t doing that—though seeing her and Misuzu threatened by some punks turns on his inner rage, as the cover art shows. As for Carol, once she finds that Misaki is trying to get stronger by spending time with Tomo at her father’s dojo, Carol suddenly finds herself jealous—and decides to do something about it by seemingly seducing Jun. Of course, she’s not really doing this, but it does serve to show off Jun’s paralyzing fear of intimacy, and also possibly the sexiest “rawr!” in all of manga ever. I love this series. – Sean Gaffney

The Wize Wize Beasts of the Wizarding Wizdoms | By Nagabe | Seven Seas – After a wizard named Wizdom bestowed the shape and intellect of humans upon beasts, the demi-human tribes built a grand academy. The Wize Wize Beasts of the Wizarding Wizdoms is a collection of BL short stories set at that school. I must say… as a major fan of Nagabe’s The Girl from the Other Side, I thought I’d like this more. Some stories are charming, like “Mauchly & Charles,” in which a human is clearly in love with his bear friend, but others are darker, like “Doug & Huey,” in which a crow sabotages his peacock pal’s efforts to find a girlfriend so that he can remain closest to him, or “Alan & Eddington,” in which the latter brews a love potion intending to make out with the former and leave him with no memory of their encounter. I was expecting more whimsy, I think. – Michelle Smith

Manga the Week of 10/30/19

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SEAN: No more small weeks anymore. All the weeks coming up are huge, huge, huge. Starting with next week.

Denpa gives us the 3rd volume of Today’s Menu for the Emiya Family, with Best Girl on the cover.

Ghost Ship has the 2nd Creature Girls volume, as well as To-Love-Ru Darkness 12.

No debuts for J-Novel Club, but we do get the 16th and final volume of I Saved Too Many Girls and Caused the Apocalypse.

There’s also Full Metal Panic! 4, In Another World with My Smartphone 17, and Seirei Gensouki: Spirit Chronicles 7 on the light novel side, and The Magic in This Other World Is Too Far Behind! 2 and Seirei Gensouki (again) 2 on the manga side.

In print, Kodansha has erm… nothing. On to digital! The debut is Guilty (Guilty – Nakanu Hotaru ga Mi o Kogasu), a josei series that runs in Be Love, and judging by the cover seems to be Very Serious Indeed.

MICHELLE: I am intrigued.

ANNA: I am too, but I somehow almost never get around to reading the digital manga I buy.

SEAN: Digitally we also see Domestic Girlfriend 22, Fairy Tail: Happy’s Heroic Adventure 2, and The Prince’s Black Poison 10 (a final volume, I think), as well as the 10th GTO: Paradise Lost, the first volume in almost a year and a half.

Seven Seas has one debut, which digital readers will have seen already: the first of the Neon Genesis Evangelion: ANIMA novels.

Seven Seas also has a lot more, though. Alice & Zoroku 6, the 10th and final Dreamin’ Sun (yes, I know, it was here before, sorry, it slipped), Getter Robo Devolution 4, the print edition of Grimgar of Fantasy and Ash 11, The High School Life of a Fudanshi 5, the 3rd Mushoku Tensei novel in print, New Game! 7, and everyone’s favorite punching bag, Pandora in the Crimson Shell: Ghost Urn 12.

MICHELLE: Probably I said something like I still intend to finish Dreamin’ Sun, even though I prefer orange, and that is still true.

ASH: Likewise.

SEAN: Vertical has Colorful Dreams, an artbook of VOFAN’s non-Monogatari works. It is apparently super gorgeous.

Despite a number of delays, Yen does have quite a bit out next week. Yen On has one debut, The World’s Strongest Rearguard: Labyrinth Country’s Novice Seeker (Sekai Saikyou no Kouei: Meikyuukoku no Shinjin Tansakusha). Reincarnated Japanese dude in fantasy world, dungeon game stats, picking a seemingly weak job and making it the strongest – this ticks those boxes.

Yen On also gives us Bungo Stray Dogs 2 (the novel version), Final Fantasy XIII-2 Fragments After, Kingdom Hearts 3D: Drop Dream Distance, Magical Girl Raising Project 7, No Game No Life 9, Overlord 11, and Sword Art Online 17. Feels like the last three of those are the most important.

ASH: I should give the Bungo Stray Dogs novels a try one of these days.

SEAN: No debuts on the manga side, though we do get the 14th and final Prison School omnibus.

And we get Akame Ga KILL! ZERO 10, Black Butler 28. Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? 11 (manga version), The Saga of Tanya the Evil 8 (manga version), School-Live! 11, and Silver Spoon 11.

MICHELLE: I am so far behind on Silver Spoon. Sigh.

ASH: Totally worth making a point to catch up when you have the time!

MJ: Such a huge week and I only care about Silver Spoon? How can this be? That said, I REALLY care about Silver Spoon!

SEAN: Do any of these float your boat? Or will you just ring and run?