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Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation, Vol. 2

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By Rifuin Na Magonote and Shirotaka. Released in Japan as “Mushoku Tensei – Isekai Ittara Honki Dasu” by Media Factory. Released in North America by Seven Seas. Translated by Alyssa Orton-Niioka. Adapted by JY Yang.

The second book in this series covers about three years time, going from when Rudeus is 7 to just after his 10th birthday. It’s striking that we still haven’t really hit the teenage/adult years that most “in another world” titles skip to, although the ending to this volume may indicate a change is on the horizon. It does allow us to see Rudeus both mature as a child growing up, and also attempt to fix his mindset from his previous life that got him into trouble there as well. We also get a new female lead, since Rudeus was forcibly separated from his childhood elf friend (who gets one mention briefly here in an “oh, right, her” sort of way… which is typical for children who move, to be honest). Instead we have Eris, who is a giant ball of violence disguised as a child, and has driven away countless tutors both by being unteachable and also by beating the crap out of them. Naturally, Rudy is made of sterner stuff.

First of all, Rudy’s plan to pretend to get kidnapped so that he can show Eris the value of reading, magic and ‘rithmatic is astonishingly dumb, and it will come as no surprise that it immediately turns into a real kidnapping. The fact that it achieves its aims (Eris is willing to settle down a bit and learn) does not make it less dumb. Most of the rest of the book is devoted to The Taming of the Shrew, essentially, as Rudy slowly but surely gets Eris to learn how to read, write, do sums, practice magic and also dance in his spare time. Naturally, she falls for him hard. I’d say nothing happens as they’re 10 and 12 respectively, but something almost happens. It’s portrayed as overtly wrong and that’s fine, but I’m still thinking “wtf?” a bit. That said, Eris clearly states the fact that they’re too young is the only thing stopping her. Despite being a bit of a cliched angry tsundere, I like Eris. Well, I like Eris when she’s not adding “mew” to her sentences, another reminder that the author’s idea of fanservice is “just add it wherever and don’t worry if it makes sense character-wise”.

Then there’s that ending, which comes as a surprise. I’m not entirely sure yet what it means for Rudy and Eris (who I’m guessing are still together), but its devastation to the country that we’ve been in since the start of the series is pointed. The style had been very much relaxed and fun before this, but the final scene is done seriously and tragically, and works very well. It also shows us that Roxy will be getting back into the series soon, which pleases me, especially since it turns out that her tutoring royalty was a disaster as he was a royal brat. Given the sheer nature of what happened, I’m not sure this is easily fixed at all. That said, it’s certainly a great way to tell readers to get the next book, as I very much want to find out what happens and verify who is dead and who isn’t. As for the book itself, aside from the author sometimes being weirdly otaku, it’s still a very good reincarnation isekai. I can see why it has its reputation.

Bookshelf Briefs 6/11/19

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Arakawa Under the Bridge, Vol. 6 | By Hikaru Nakamura | Vertical Comics – There’s an extra metatextual level of weird at the start of this volume of Arakawa. Did Rec really go to Venus and meet with Nino’s parents, in scenes that are bizarre even for this super-bizarre series? Or did Rec merely go to Hawaii and is putting up an act? Elsewhere, Santa is coming, provided we can stop Sister burning everything down to stop him, P-Ko may literally be some sort of vegetable, the Mayor is pregnant, possibly to inspire some fanfics about him, and we learn the hilariously tragic(?) story of Rec’s birth. For a series that was supposedly ending soon in the last volume, things are back to their normal silly and somewhat nonsensical ways. I still say this works better in a magazine as short chapters. – Sean Gaffney

My Hero Academia, Vol. 19 | By Kohei Horikoshi | Viz Media – Having endured a rather harrowing experience for the last few books, we’re still not ready to go back to villains just yet. Also, Eri’s still recovering, and can’t smile. What better way to fix this than a school festival arc! Jirou can sing! Bakugou can play the angriest drums ever! Mina can dance! And Izuku can be a gofer, which as always leads him to run into the actual plot, in this case with a group of mild-mannered villains who are determined to ruin the festival (which, the principal has explained will be totally shut down if there’s even one suggestion of an attack). Can he stop them? Can he make it back to the show in time? And can Eri learn to actually enjoy things again? I love this series. – Sean Gaffney

The Promised Neverland, Vol. 10 | By Kaiu Shirai and Posuka Demizu | VIZ Media – Emma and the other human occupants of Goldy Pond continue their rebellion against the demon quintet that regularly hunts them for sport. Three teams of kids are tackling four of the demons while Emma is tasked with stalling the most ruthless one who is actually kind of, God help me, elegant. Certainly the most fascinating demon character we’ve seen so far, even if he is bloodthirsty. Predictably, things don’t go according to plan and it’s looking like some of the humans aren’t going to make it. It’s too bad that I don’t care more, really, but Emma hasn’t been there long and we don’t really know these kids. The few flashbacks to their backstory don’t help much. That said, it’s very action-packed and exciting with a really satisfying final scene that still manages to be a cliffhanger. Looking forward to volume eleven! – Michelle Smith

Sleepy Princess in the Demon Castle, Vol. 7 | By Kagiji Kumanomata | Viz Media – This may be the best volume yet. At the start we’re still going with the premise of Syalis trying to get a good night’s sleep (even if it means her death), but the bulk of it has her returning home in order to get her woolen underwear, with the Demon Lord and associate coming with in vain hopes that this will be simple and that they won’t be discovered. The most wonderful hijinks ensue. We also meet Syalis’ mother, who is (as the manga spells out) a mellow version of her daughter, and she sees what’s going on but is perfectly happy to let Syalis return with the demons if that’s what she wants. For a gag comic that’s supposed to have one joke, this was really well-developed. – Sean Gaffney

10 Dance, Vol. 3 | By Inouesatoh | Kodansha Comics – 10 Dance is really shaping up to be one of the best BL manga I’ve ever read. Did you enjoy Future Lovers? Read this series. Sugiki and Suzuki have developed a routine of dancing all night in a snowy park, each time learning more about each other until Sugiki reveals something unflattering about himself and realizes how much he doesn’t want Suzuki to hate him just as Suzuki realizes how worried Sugiki is about that, culminating with super dramatic big smoochies on a train. They’re falling in love slowly and still confused about what it all means, and man, I’m here for it. Plus, there’s all sorts of dance training going on, with Suzuki getting fired up to compete internationally and Sugiki arranging for him to get instruction from another standard master, all the while thinking, “I don’t want to give him away to anyone.” It’s so good! – Michelle Smith

We Never Learn, Vol. 4 | By Taishi Tsutsui | Viz Media -The series continues to be well-crafted and likeable but as predictable as anything, with not one but two reset buttons to assure that the status quo continues. This isn’t too surprising—fourth volumes are always hard for Jump series, as it’s the first volume past the “you’re cancelled” risk—but it can make things a little trying if you don’t like pure harem comedy hilarity. We also get a new cast member, as Nariyuki runs into a short, cute girl at his cram school who turns out to be older than him—and she has the same situation as the other female leads, trying to get into medical school despite her talents being elsewhere. Certainly I prefer the teasing she gives him to the ongoing attempts to add the teacher to the harem, which bleah. – Sean Gaffney

Yuri Is My Job!, Vol. 3 | By miman | Kodansha Comics – Well, the volume didn’t QUITE end with Kanoko knifing someone, but it’s not for lack of trying. She is obsessed to a terrifying degree, and is thus at odds with Sumika, who is trying to point out that the yuri cafe does not need to get actual romantic feelings involved in it… something she knows from past bitter experience. There’s also the whole fact of her being a “gyaru” type outside the cafe, which creeps Kanoko out. It’s all heading to a climax, but that climax is not in this book, so instead we get a lot of simmering. Actually, I’m finding these two more interesting than the main leads, who are dealing with a somewhat rigged popularity contest, as well as still being uncomfortable around each other. Potboiler, but good. – Sean Gaffney

Crest of the Stars: Princess of the Empire

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By Hiroyuki Morioka and Toshihiro Ono. Released in Japan by Hayakawa Bunko. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Giuseppe di Martino.

I was excited when I heard that this got picked up by J-Novel Club. I’d read the Tokyopop so long ago that I’d forgotten almost everything about it, but I definitely remember enjoying it. It’s old-school science fiction, the sort that not only introduces you to the main characters but also builds an entire political galaxy, delves deeply into engineering and battle terms, and also invents an entire alien language for the reader to immerse themselves in, complete with not only translations but phonetic pronunciation. It’s also a novel rather than a light novel, so aside from the cover, don’t expect any interior illustrations. As for the story itself, it takes a while to get going, but once Lafier shows up and meets Jinto, things really start to take off, and the last quarter of the book is fantastic. It also leaves you on a cliffhanger, so I’m grateful more is coming.

The book opens on the planet Martin, where the seemingly arrogant and ruthless Abh Empire has just invaded. They basically have a choice – get taken over peacefully or not peacefully. Jinto, the 10-year-old son of the planet’s leader, rapidly discovers that his father not only chooses “peacefully” but also decides to become an Abh noble and leaves the planet… which means everyone suddenly hates Jinto by association. Seven years later and a far calmer and mellower Jinto has been going to schools to learn about his new status as an Abh (albeit not by genetics) and is ready to begin life as a quartermaster. He’s met by a young woman who is, like all people born Abh, gorgeous, and who also seems stunned he doesn’t recognize her. As a result, she asks him to call her Lafier, and they get on like a house on fire. Of course, this assumes that he can make it to his new position, as suddenly the Abh are under attack by the Human Empire.

I will get a few things out of the way here. First of all, it’s Lafier with an r, which is not what I’m used to from prior releases. It didn’t take too long to get used to it, through. The same cannot be said for the vocab peppered throughout the book, which is a LOT. At the start of the book every third word seems to get its own alien term, pronunciation guide, and English equivalent, and after a while it can verge on annoying. That said, it really does help to sell the Abh as a different culture. Plus as the book goes on previous alien terms are merely put in bold type, so you don’t actually have to deal with learning the words too much. The main reason to read the book, as I said, is Jinto and Lafier. They’re both great, immediately likeable personalities, and they bounce off each other well. The last quarter of the book has them dealing with a self-serving baron (who has his own harem, something that is NOT painted as a good thing) and I can’t wait to see him get his comeuppance.

There’s also some good, moving writing here as well, particularly in the doomed space battle 2/3 in. If you want some nice chunky sci-fi with lots of alien terminology, it’s absolutely worth checking out. Just don’t let the vocab lessons get you down.

Pick of the Week: Ill Communication

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SEAN: My pick this week, as I may have hinted in Manga the Week of, is Komi Can’t Communicate, which takes the standard ‘aloof beauty is just an introvert’ and takes it to eleven, as Komi seems to have an actual communication disorder. The manga is lighthearted but apparently really sweet. I want to read it.

ASH: I’ll admit, the manga I’m most curious about this week is actually I Married My Best Friend to Shut My Parents Up. Though it’s a story of a completely different type, the title and underlying premise immediately reminded me of Kaori Ekuni’s novel Twinkle Twinkle, which is a favorite of mine.

MICHELLE: Even though I’ve somehow already managed to get several volumes behind, it’s Ran the Peerless Beauty for me!

KATE: I’m also curious about Komi Can’t Communicate, but am otherwise underwhelmed by this week’s bounty!

ANNA: I’m going to check out Komi Can’t Communicate, but this week also represents a chance for me to get a little caught up on my stack of unread manga.

MJ: So, I’m going to go in a different direction this week and check out Crest of the Stars. I missed it the first time around, when Tokyopop was publishing it, and I’m in the mood for some great science fiction. That’s my pick this week!

Aria The Masterpiece, Vol. 2

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By Kozue Amano. Originally released in Japan by Mag Garden, serialized in the magazine Comic Blade. Released in North America by Tokyopop. Translated by Alethea and Athena Nibley.

Starting with this omnibus Aqua renamed itself Aria and moved to its new home in Mag Garden’s Comic Blade, where it would remain until it finished. Comic Blade is technically for male readers but tended to be sui generis a lot of the time, And Aria doesn’t really have the fanservice that you’d expect from a guy title – the cast go to a hot springs here, but everyone keeps their towels on for the most part, and it’s meant to be peaceful and relaxing, just like the rest of the series. There’s no sign that the title moved magazines at all, as it picks right up where it left off with Akari and company, not doing one of those “reintroduction” chapters. There’s not really much to reintroduce. It’s a girl and her gondola, on a planet of water, and god, it’s pretty. The second omnibus helps to introduce us more to the customs and festivals in this world, adds a new minor character, and shows off the art, which is why we’re here.

(Sorry about the cover art – I spent several minutes trying to find a picture that did not have a banner in the corner and was unable to. Grump.)

Saying I’m only here for the art, though, seems rude to the main characters, who I also deeply love. Akari is such a ray of sunshine that you can’t stop smiling while reading about her, whether she’s happily cleaning her gondola, gathering firewood, or almost getting spirited away by foxes, a chapter that verges on unsettling but doesn’t quite make it because it’s hard to imagine anything bad ever happening to Akari. Alicia continues to be the big sister we all wish we had, quietly mentoring Akari, marveling at Akari’s shininess, and getting Akari drunk with some peach wine she brought out. Aika tries to hard to be cool and elegant like her crush Alicia, but she’s simply too grumpy and hyper to pull it off, but that’s what makes her charming – and hilarious. Even President Aria is here, and I still find his chapters boring, but they’re part of the mood as well, really.

We’re also shown some of the ways in which Aqua is a terraformed planet, as we meet the gnomes who make sure the gravity works properly – well, one gnome, Al, who looks like Harry Potter… erm, a little kid, but is actually a few years older than Aika and Akari. And there’s also another appearance by Cait Sith, the giant cat leader who seems to have a soft spot for Akari, as she sees him with astonishing regularity. As for the scenery, well, it’s simply fantastic, and you will pause on some two-page spreads just to take it in. There are one or two chapters where the entire point is to see Akari meander through Neo-Venezia and take in the gorgeousness. She’s not any closer to promotion (the race she competes in turns out not to be a test at all), but she’s having fun.

If you’re on the fence about getting this, because you already have it, or because you’re worried it might get cancelled – again – I urge you to pick it up anyway. It’s a coffee table manga.

Strike the Blood, Vol. 12

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By Gakuto Mikumo and Manyako. Released in Japan by ASCII Mediaworks. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Jeremiah Bourque.

At the end of my review of the 11th book in this series, I had a lot of questions that I wanted to see answered in Vol. 12, and unfortunately, and somewhat frustratingly, none of them are. Natsuki isn’t even mentioned, and since it takes place entirely off the island we’ve no idea what things will be like the next time she sees Kojou. Yukina does run into two other members of the Lion King Agency, but they seem to get along just fine, and there seems to be no real consequences as of yet to her breaking off from doing what the Agency says last time. In fact, Kojou and Yukina almost end up being guest stars in their own series, as while they do eventually show up and figure in the climax (and yes, the “this is my/our fight” running gag is present and correct), much of the book seems designed to introduce us to those two other Lion King Agency members, one of whom gets stacked on the harem pile. As you’d expect.

In case you’re curious, Yukina is the heroine on the cover of this volume of Strike the Blood. It’s always interesting to see who’ll be featured next. Meanwhile, she and Kojou do finally get off the island, mostly due to Vattler, who is here to save the day and even donates his harem of young princesses – who also seem to be a crack combat squad A-Team style – to help with this latest crisis. And it is a crisis, because kidnapping Nagisa to try to kill off what’s inside her proves to be a big mistake, and now there’s lots of things to deal with. For one, there’s a dragon named Glenda, who can also turn into a young teen girl (and gets to be Koujo’s snack of the week so that he can get a new beast vassal). And there’s also the JSDF, who seem to spend half of all Japanese light novels being useless until our heroes arrive, and the other half being evil. It’s a little of both here.

As always, the book reads fast and the fight scenes are good. Thre’s always one bit of annoying fanservice that I twitch at, and this time around it’s Asagi spending the entire volume in a school swimsuit-like plugsuit for no real reason other than to be humiliated and gawked at. That said, as always Asagi doesn’t do much but her scenes count – I liked her relationship with the descendant of the Second Primogenitor, Iblisviel, and her complete lack of fear or loathing at his existence – not to mention her airport ramen recommendations, which may be the funniest scene in the entire series to date. That said, at the end of the book I have even MORE questions (we also find Asagi may not be the ONLY Priestess of Cain) and even fewer answers. If I’m going to sit here and read about Yukina getting jealous at every single thing Kojou does, I need to have some sort of plot payoff. Maybe I’ll get that next time when we get back to the island. Till then, enjoy some fights and heavily dropped hints.

The Water Dragon’s Bride, Vol. 9

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The Water Dragon’s Bride has always explored issues of humans using religion to justify terrible actions, and this is brought home even more when a god who is actively seeking to meddle gets turned loose. The Water Dragon God’s aloof personality and general lack of interest in humanity other than Asahi was a bit of a protective factor for humans. The God of Darkness, with his damaged human sidekick Kurose has nothing holding him back from some active and severe meddling.

I appreciate the way that Toma has developed Kurose’s character. The intense trauma that he’s experienced in the past gives more context for his turn towards darkness, and although he’s an antagonist for Asahi he’s much more complex than a typical villain. The God of Darkness is portraying the other gods as weak by inventing a Sun God for the humans to worship. By covering up the sun temporarily with darkness, and then letting the sun shine again, the humans are led to dismiss the Water Dragon God as evil and ineffectual. The emperor gets dethroned and Asahi wants to aid him, but she’s again a target of hatred for the humans.

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Kogahiko shows how malicious the combination of human and an evil god can be, even more than Kurose, as he deliberately manipulates everyone around him through the God of Darkness in order to get more political power. He still sees a use for Asahi, as a way of bolstering his new position by parading her in front of his subjects. Throughout this volume the Water Dragon God’s protectiveness and attitude towards Asahi is striking. When she asks him to forgo using his powers he complies, but his affection for Asahi ensures that he’ll find a way to protect her. As always, Toma’s deceptively simple art makes the most of the symbolism in this volume, as the humans turn towards the darkness in the guise of worshiping the sun. The Water Dragon’s Bride is surely one of the most philosophical shoujo series that I’ve read, which is also why it is a series I can see returning to and rereading in future years.

Yona of the Dawn, Vol. 18

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

The concept of living forever, and being forced to see everyone you care about move on and pass away is not a new one, but that doesn’t mean it’s not a story worth telling again in context. In this case, the context is via Zeno, whose backstory is finally revealed in this harrowing volume of Yona of the Dawn Picking up where the last volume left off, we see Zeno seemingly killed any number of times (in graphic detail – even for a series filled with violence as Yona is, this is a blood-spattered volume, please be warned)driving off the threat for the moment, and earning a group hug from the rest of the Happy Hungry Bunch. He then goes on to reveal more of his past – both his desire to make sure that Yona “proved herself” before he joined up with her (which she has most assuredly done), and then seeing how he’s been around as a Dragon far longer than the others.

Zeno is not just a Yellow Dragon, but the first and only Yellow Dragon, and flashbacks show him with the original Crimson Dragon King and his fellow Dragons. He’s not particularly strong or skilled, but, as we discover, he can recover from any grievous wound up to and including having his head chopped off, and as the attacks go on his skin gets harder. This allows him to fight with Yona’s crew… or at least inspire a terrified retreat… but back in the past, he’s horrified that he has essentially become an undying monster. Then, as he confesses his fears to his beloved King, said king tr4ies to reassure him but almost immediately dies. The two are unrelated, but they drive home something that haunts Zeno for the rest of the volume… he can’t die, and everyone else he knows can. This book very much believes in Heaven, and Zeno can’t be with his friends in the next world.

Or his wife, as we also see Zeno befriend and fall in love with a young woman who lives by herself as she’s dying of an unnamed illness. She tries to politely drive him away, but he’s rather persistent, and their love story is very short-lived but also quite sweet. But of course, she has to die too, despite Zeno’s begging the heavens for a way to have her life on with him. (This is likely one of the reasons why he’s the only Dragon not to harbor romantic feelings for Yona.) Fortunately, we end the volume with Zeno, having essentially shown this flashback to the reader while he recovers, waking up to see the current Dragons and Yona hovering over him, and he joyfully glomps them all in a big group hug. I am happy to see that, while Zeno’s happy ditzy self is indeed a mask of sorts, that he is not secretly in constant agony or anything. He’s found joy once more with his new friends, and I hope that, if he does live past them, he is able to accept it.

A must read volume of Yona (unless you’re against a lot of blood and gore, as I noted), this was a gut-punch to read but all the more rewarding for it.

Classroom of the Elite, Vol. 2

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By Syougo Kinugasa and Tomoseshunsaku. Released in Japan by Media Factory. Released in North America by Seven Seas. Translated by Timothy MacKenzie. Adapted by Jessica Cluess.

Tempting as it is to paste my review of the first volume in for the second and see if anyone notices, I will make an effort to say new things. The series’ strengths and weaknesses remain the same. It’s compulsively readable, always a good thing. Its premise can be teeth-grindingly annoying, especially when everyone turns into a vicious sadist for no reason, with a lot of “ha ha, you will fail forever now” sneering. I’m still not entirely clear if this school has a purpose beyond abusing 1/4 of its student body, and I suspect this is not a question I’m going to get answered anytime soon. We do get a couple of new characters here, though, including one who I actually did not want to punch in the face, which is a monstrous improvement from the first book. Sadly, she isn’t in Class D, meaning I am probably out of luck unless we get a spinoff series or something. Plus honestly, shee likely has a dark side too.

The other new character introduced is Sakura, who isn’t annoying so much as passive. In fact, her very passivity is the problem, as she’s also an important witness to an assault by Class D hothead Sudo on three Class C students. He now faces suspension, of course, and every single thing over the course of the entire book does not help his cause. First off, he’s claiming self-defense, but that’s hard to prove when you beat up three guys and you’re fine. Secondly, no one believes him anyway because his first response is to punch everything. Of course, if Sudo gets suspended Class D will lose the few points they gained from the first book (which aren’t given to them as money, by the way – it’s implied they never will be). Can the rest of the class overcome their antipathy towards Sudo and apathy in general and help clear his name? Or will they need to be a bit more… creative?

As I said, there’s also a girl from Class B that we briefly met in the first book but who gets a genuine introduction here. Ichinose is so refreshingly normal that I was almost crying in happiness. She’s friendly and outgoing without (so far) having a scheming dark side like Kushida. She tries to use Ayanokouji to help her with a problem (girl is confessing to her, need a pretend boyfriend). She ends up being of great help to them in the climax of the book. Really, I want her to be the star. She’s certainly more fun to read than grumpy Horikita, who spends the book attempting to help Sudo while being miserable about it, or our “hero” Ayanokouji, whose desire to be average and not stand out is so great that even his own inner narration lies to us – frequently he talks about Kushida as if he knows nothing about her secrets, and there are other points where I suspect he’s straight up lying to the reader. Which is the point – their teacher is trying to get Horikita to figure out why he’s like this – but again, it’s not what I’d call fun.

I can see why this is popular – I sped through it very quickly, and want to read more. This despite the fact that I was frowning most of the time and occasionally wanted to slam the book against a wall. Classroom of the Elite is a war between the writing and the characterization, and it may take more than two volumes to figure out who’s winning.

Manga the Week of 6/12/19

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SEAN: Usually the 2nd week of the month is the smallest one. NOT NEXT WEEK.

ASH: Yeah, let’s do this!

SEAN: Ghost Ship has a To-Love-Ru omnibus, Vols. 13-14, and the 5th World’s End Harem.

J-Novel Club debuts Crest of the Stars. Tokyopop released this way back in the day, but it’s been out of print forever, and I’m very happy to see it back with new translation and cover art. It’s also great science fiction.

MICHELLE: Oh, neat!

ASH: I have at least one of the Tokyopop editions floating around somewhere; nice to see this series being revived.

ANNA: I think I missed this the first time!

MJ: I missed it, too!

SEAN: It also has How NOT to Summon a Demon Lord 9, and Seirei Gensouki: Spirit Chronicles 5.

Kodansha, print-wise, has Boarding School Juliet 6, That Time I Got Reincarnated As a Slime 10, Tokyo Tarareba Girls 7, and, for those with long memories, Noragami: Stray God 20. This was the HOT NEW SERIES till it hit the “caught up with Japan” wall.

MICHELLE: I watched a bit of the anime recently and it was pretty intriguing.

ASH: I haven’t seen the anime, but I’ve largely enjoyed what I’ve read of Noragami manga. Tokyo Tarareba Girls is a must-read series for me, though it packs quite a punch.

SEAN: Digitally Kodansha has Drowning Love 12, Kira-kun Today 8, Love Massage: Melting Beauty Treatment 4, Ran the Peerless Beauty 4, and Tokyo Revengers 8. Ran needs a print release stat.

MICHELLE: Forsooth.

ASH: I’d likewise like to see it in print!

SEAN: One Peace has an 11th volume of The Rise of the Shield Hero.

Seven Seas debuts I Married My Best Friend to Shut My Parents Up (Oya ga Urusai Node Kouhai to Gisou Kekkon Shitemita), which if nothing else has a very eye-catching title. It’s a yuri one-shot, which I reviewed here. It ran in Ichijinsha’s Comic Yuri Hime.

ASH: I’ve been curious about this one, and appreciated Sean’s review, so I’ll likely be picking the manga up.

MJ: Same here!

SEAN: There’s also the print debut of Skeleton Knight in Another World, a light novel I was unable to finish the first volume of when it came out digitally.

Seven Seas also has Dragon Quest Monster + 2, Magika Swordsman and Summoner 11, Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid: Kanna’s Daily Life 5, and the 2nd digital volume of Restaurant in Another World. I’ll take the Restaurant over the Skeleton Knight, easily.

SuBLime has Candy Color Paradox 2 and Escape Journey 3.

ASH: Which reminds me I still need to read the first volume of Candy Color Paradox!

MJ: Oh, oops, so do I!

SEAN: Vertical has a 7th Flying Witch.

Vertical also announced that the first seven Monogatari Series novels are now available digitally! Great news for those of us phone readers. These are already out, so go get them.

Viz’s manga debut is Komi Can’t Communicate (Komi-san wa Komyushou Desu), a Shonen Sunday title that I’ve really been looking forward to. Its premise may seem familiar: the cool and aloof beauty of the school is just really poor at socialization. It’s also a 4-koma, for those who seek out/avoid those.

MICHELLE: The covers for this series are really cute! It runs in Shounen Sunday, and I’ve liked slice-of-life shounen from that magazine before, so I’m hopeful about this one, 4-koma or not. (The best 4-koma is still Monthly Girls’ Nozaki-kun, though!)

ASH: Monthly Girls’ Nozaki-kun is the best of a lot of things.

ANNA: I’ll check it out.

MJ: I’m very hit-or-miss with 4-koma, but I’ll usually give it a chance.

SEAN: Viz also has a giant Evangelion artbook, with illustrations from 2007-2017.

And there’s Magi 36, Sleepy Princess in the Demon Castle 7, and Splatoon 6.

MICHELLE: I am hoarding Magi until the final volume. Just two more months!

ANNA: One of these days I’m going to do a full Magi marathon.

SEAN: See? Not a small week at all. What’s here for you?