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Manga the Week of 1/22/25

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SEAN: This week we see January, traditionally the month with the fewest releases, take on Yen Press, which always buries us in stuff on the same week. Who wins?

ASH: We all do! Somehow. I think?

SEAN: The debut from Yen On is a one-shot and award-winner, Love Unseen Beneath the Clear Night Sky (Toumei na Yoru ni Kakeru Kimi to, Me ni Mienai Koi wo Shita), a romance title about an introverted college guy whose world opens up after he meets a blind woman. This is not an adaptation based on a movie but feels like it is.

ASH: Oh, interesting.

SEAN: We also see Solo Leveling: The Novel Omnibus, a giant brick featuring all the books to date.

ASH: That’s one way to do it… and does remind me this is a series I’m supposed to try at some point.

SEAN: And we get new volumes! Associate Professor Akira Takatsuki’s Conjecture 5, Even a Replica Can Fall in Love 2, Gods’ Games We Play 4, Hell Is Dark with No Flowers 2, Hero Syndrome 2, If the Villainess and Villain Met and Fell in Love 3, The Irregular at Magic High School 24, My Happy Marriage 8, Sabikui Bisco 9, and Sasaki and Peeps 8.

MICHELLE: I should potentially check out My Happy Marriage.

ANNA: Oh, me too.

SEAN: From Yen Press, we debut Everyone’s Darling Has a Secret (Houkago no Idol ni wa Himitsu ga aru), a seinen title from Manga Park. A young man who needs to get top scores or else ends up screwing up the answer sheet and gets sent to remedial classes… where he meets the prettiest girl in school!

Hell Is Dark with No Flowers (Jigoku Kurayami Hana mo Naki) is a manga adaptation of the light novel Yen is also releasing. It runs in Young Ace.

I’m Here, Beside You (Anata no Osoba ni) is a BL title from B’s-LOVEY. Our protagonist always loved the very straight class president in high school, but never did anything. Now he finds the ex-president is getting married… to a man! Drinking himself into a stupor filled with regrets, he wakes up… in his high school past?

MICHELLE: Welp, that’s an instant pre-order.

ASH: I am likewise intrigued!

ANNA: I’m curious!

SEAN: Also from Yen Press: Ako and Bambi 4, Bungo Stray Dogs: Dazai, Chuuya, Age Fifteen 3, Call the Name of the Night 5 (the final volume), Chained Soldier 10, Cheerful Amnesia 5, Days with My Stepsister 2, The Demon Sword Master of Excalibur Academy 8, From Old Country Bumpkin to Master Swordsman 2, The Girl I Saved on the Train Turned Out to Be My Childhood Friend 8, Goblin Slayer Side Story II: Dai Katana 7, Hakumei & Mikochi: Tiny Little Life in the Woods 12, The Holy Grail of Eris 9, Kowloon Generic Romance 9, Lord Hades’s Ruthless Marriage 3 (the final volume), Magical Explorer 2, Miss Savage Fang 2, Saint? No! I’m Just a Passing Beast Tamer! 5, Sasaki and Miyano 10, Sasaki and Peeps 3, Shadows House 8, She Loves to Cook, and She Loves to Eat 5, Shy 9, So What’s Wrong with Getting Reborn as a Goblin? 7, Spring Storm and Monster 2, Sword Art Online: Kiss and Fly 3, This Monster Wants to Eat Me 3, Toilet-bound Hanako-kun 21, Tougen Anki: Legend of the Cursed Blood 2, Tsubaki-chou Lonely Planet 9, and Your Forma 2.

ASH: Okay, yeah, Yen might have won.

SEAN: Viz has two debuts. Tokyo Alien Bros. is a seinen title from the creator of Hirayasumi, and ran in Gekkan! Spirits. Two aliens come to earth to investigate humans. One is very good at blending in. The other… isn’t.

ASH: Sounds absolutely like something I would read.

We also get Vagabond Definitive Edition, which is self-explanatory. 728 pages, $55 hardcover, filled with Takehiko Inoue, which justifies the price.

ASH: This should be glorious. I’m seriously considering upgrading from my VizBig editions.

ANNA: I’m not in favor of double dipping since I also have the VizBig editions but that is tempting.

SEAN: Also from Viz: After God 2, Record of Ragnarok 13, Red River 3-in-1 2, Snowball Earth 4, Steel of the Celestial Shadows 5, Trillion Game 3, and Undead Unluck 18.

ANNA: Red River! Red River! Red River!

SEAN: Square Enix has a 3rd manga volume of The Angel Next Door Spoils Me Rotten.

Seven Seas has two debuts, one manga and one danmei. The manga is Only I Know the World Is Ending and Getting Killed by Rampaging Beasts Only Makes Me Stronger (Kono Sekai ga Izure Horobu Koto wo, Ore dake ga Shitte Iru) is based on an as-yet unlicensed light novel, and its very title exhausts me. It runs in Magazine Pocket, and is a reverse isekai and a “I can return by death!” sort of thing, only unlike Subaru, this guy also gets skills.

Run Wild: Sa Ye is another one of those books which has spawned lots of adaptations. A young man who decides that living with his gambling-addicted dad is better than the contempt he gets from his adoptive parents goes to live with him, only to run into a brother and sister who end up changing his life! (It’s danmei, so you can probably guess which sibling changes his life more.)

MICHELLE: Heh.

ASH: Why, whatever do you mean?

ANNA: It must be the sister.

SEAN: Also from Seven Seas: After School Etude 2, A Cat from Our World and the Forgotten Witch 4, Cat on the Hero’s Lap 4 (the final volume), Diary of a Female Lead: Shujinkou Nikki 2, Dinghai Fusheng Records (manhua version) 2, Free Life Fantasy Online: Immortal Princess 9, How My Daddies Became Mates 2, I Abandoned My Engagement Because My Sister is a Tragic Heroine, but Somehow I Became Entangled with a Righteous Prince 2, The Lady Knight and the Beast-Eared Child 2, My Kitten is a Picky Eater 2, ROLL OVER AND DIE: I Will Fight for an Ordinary Life with My Love and Cursed Sword! 6, and Trapped in a Dating Sim: The World of Otome Games is Tough for Mobs 11.

A manga debut from One Peace Books. The Revenge of My Youth: Re Life with an Angelic Girl (Inkya Datta Ore no Seishun Revenge – Tenshi sugiru Ano Ko wa Ayumu Re Life) is a shonen series based on an as-yet unlicensed light novel, and it runs in Comp Ace. An office worker at a black company drops dead and wakes up back in high school! Now he can make his high school life more vibrant, and also save the life of the cutest girl in school, who committed suicide after being bullied. Hence the revenge part of the title.

KUMA is listed as having two one-shots out next week. Even if There’s No Rainbow Tomorrow (Ashita Niji ga Denakute mo) is a one-shot title from On Blue. An online romance between a drag queen and a sleepy salaryman.

MICHELLE: I’ve had this pre-ordered for a while. I’m definitely looking forward to it.

ASH: What a pretty cover!

ANNA: Sounds cool.

SEAN: And there’s also Guardians of the Far Frontier (Hategaikaku no Bannin), a Lily Hoshino series from Rutile. An aristocrat with PTSD after being the only survivor of a battle is sent to a faraway outpost. Can a sorcerer help him with his nightmares?

ASH: Lily Hoshino is a name is don’t remember seeing for a while!

ANNA: Oh yeah, that’s a bit of a throwback.

SEAN: Kodansha has debuts. Dogs and Punching Bags (Inu to Sandbag) is the latest title from Kaori Ozaki, creator of The Gods Lie and Mermaid Prince. This ran in Gekkan! Spirits, and stars a woman returning home to help her drunken father live out his final days. She runs into a man whose enthusiasm for life contrasts entirely with her own. This release has both volumes, so is complete in one.

MICHELLE: Intriguing!

ASH: I missed that we were getting more Kaori Ozaki manga! That makes me very happy.

ANNA: It makes me happy too!

SEAN: Dra-Q is a seinen title that runs in Young Magazine. A quiet high school student has a secret… she’s a vampire! (Yeah, sorry, Dra-Q does not mean drag queen, this is not that kind of manga.) She can attend school but is forbidden to fall in love, so naturally the guy she has a crush on finds out her secret.

ASH: Seems right.

ANNA: Listen, these things happen when you are a secret vampire.

SEAN: Also in print: Gachiakuta 5, The Great Cleric 12, The Iceblade Sorcerer Shall Rule the World 12, Kei X Yaku: Bound By Law 4, Ninja Vs. Gokudo 5, and Shimazaki in the Land of Peace 2.

Digitally there’s Boss Wife 9 (the final volume), Hozuki’s Coolheadedness 24, MF Ghost 20, Medaka Kuroiwa is Impervious to My Charms 15, and Ya Boy Kongming! 18.

J-Novel Club actually had some print out that should have gone on last week’s list, but it wasn’t on Yen’s site. Cross-pollination of publishers confuses me. THIS week they have Blade & Bastard 3 and My Instant Death Ability Is So Overpowered, No One in This Other World Stands a Chance Against Me! —AO— 7 out in print.

Last week they had Ascendance of a Bookworm 28, I Shall Survive Using Potions! 9, and Tearmoon Empire 11.

As for digital titles, there are two debuts. The first is the manga version of Imperial Reincarnation: I Came, I Saw, I Survived (Tensei Shitara Koutei deshita – Umare Nagara no Koutei wa Kono Saki Ikinokoreru ka), which runs in Comic Corona, and whose light novel JNC will be releasing soon. Our hero is reincarnated as a young child emperor who everyone wants to use as a puppet. Can he somehow control his own destiny?

The other debut is one I’ve been waiting for for some time. The Trials and Tribulations of My Next Life as a Noblewoman (Tensei Reijou to Suuki na Jinsei wo) has a deceptively dull title but has been called “the light novel Game of Thrones”. Our heroine is reborn as a rich noble, but with no magic or powers, just a normal woman. Unfortunately, when she hits fourteen, the drama starts, as she’s exiled from her home, and then at sixteen she’s dragged back to an arranged marriage. I have been told that this is dark but really good.

ASH: My curiosity has been piqued.

SEAN: Also from J-Novel Club: Ascendance of a Bookworm: Short Story Collection 2, Chivalry of a Failed Knight 4, the 7th The Frontier Lord Begins with Zero Subjects manga, the 8th Full Clearing Another World under a Goddess with Zero Believers manga, the 9th Isekai Tensei: Recruited to Another World manga, A Late-Start Tamer’s Laid-Back Life 12, When Supernatural Battles Became Commonplace 12, and You Were Experienced, I Was Not 6.

Ghost Ship has Ayakashi Triangle 13, Inside the Tentacle Cave 4, Monster Marriage Shop 2, and Yandere Dark Elf: She Chased Me All the Way From Another World! 2.

I can feel Ed Chavez glaring at me from here, but retailers say the legendary They Were 11! (11-nin Iru!) is out next week. I know it’s probably still a placeholder date. Sorry. It *is* coming soon. A shoujo story from 1975 by Moto Hagio that ran in Betsucomi, and honestly if you did not order this when you heard the name Moto Hagio, then you should probably be reading some other weekly manga releases post.

MICHELLE: I was lucky enough to obtain a copy of Four Shojo Stories, in which the original run of “They Were Eleven” appeared, but this new edition also contains a sequel series, so I am definitely looking forward to that!

ASH: I also have one of the illicit copies of Four Shojo Stories and am likewise really looking forward to this release whenever it happens to come out.

ANNA: Did you know that I also have a copy of Four Shojo Stories somewhere in my house? But I can’t find it and will totally buy They Were Eleven whenever it is available.

SEAN: Airship, in print, has Free Life Fantasy Online: Immortal Princess 8 and She Professed Herself Pupil of the Wise Man 12.

And in early digital there is Failure Frame: I Became the Strongest and Annihilated Everything With Low-Level Spells 11.5 and Sword of the Demon Hunter: Kijin Gentōshō 8.

So, it turns out January is no longer the month no one releases anything. What are you getting?

Pick of the Week: Samurai, Swords, and Sharks

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SEAN: I can’t guarantee that I’ll be devouring it immediately, but given its legacy I think The Legend of Kamui has to be my pick of this week.

MICHELLE: I should probably pick that, too, but in all honesty, I’m interested in reading more Sheltering Eaves. I liked the first volume quite a lot!

KATE: It’s Kamui for me–what’s not to like about samurai, swords, and sharks?!

ASH: My pick this week is unquestionably The Legend of Kamui. It may be a little early to say for certain, but I suspect it will be my pick of the year, too. I am absolutely thrilled that this monumental work is being released in English.

ANNA: I already have my copy of The Legend of Kamui, looking forward to reading it.

The Promise of Marielle Clarac

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By Haruka Momo and Maro. Released in Japan as “Marielle Clarac no Yakusoku” by Ichijinsha Bunko Iris NEO. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Jasmin Thairintr.

Usually when it becomes apparent the author is getting a little tired of writing their best-selling series, it’s not quite as blatant as this. Oh, don’t get me wrong, this is another fine book in the franchise for those who like the sort of things Marielle Clarac gives you. But the author states flat out that they had not expected to still be writing this as Marielle hits her 20th birthday (which she does at the end of the book), and they don’t really have a desire to write an adult Marielle. (This re-emphasizes my feeling that we won’t ever see her as a mother, or if we do it will be in an epilogue in the last book.) And I get it. This series is meant to be about Marielle Clarac, but she’s been Marielle Flaubert for far longer. She’s no longer the teenage girl who can lurk in the background and hear juicy gossip, the juicy gossip is now about her. Not great.

Marielle is horrified to find that the gossip newspaper La Mome has a story accusing Agnes Vivier of plagiarism. After talking her down a bit, Simeon agrees with her that her publisher should handle things themselves… but of course, Marielle can’t help but investigate anyway. She meets up with the reporter that she teamed up with a couple of books ago, and discovers that the article was in fact meant to lure her out, as a piece of jewelry described in her latest book perfectly resembles a piece that a young nobleman needs to get his inheritance. Needless to say, that story is absolutely full of holes, and Marielle doesn’t buy it either. This does not stop her from getting involved, chased, kidnapped, kidnapped AGAIN, and seemingly nearly murdered a few times. Fortunately, she has her overprotective husband by her side. Most of the time.

One of the things I liked best about this book is it has a double bluff revelation. We get the somewhat obvious revelation I was expecting about 3/4 of the way through the book, which I did not complain about because it made a lot of the previous peril Marielle was in make a lot more sense. But then there’s another revelation near the end that was more of a surprise. And it’s always fun seeing Marielle sleuth, and fangirl over her husband looking dark and menacing. But I will admit, it *did* feel a bit like the writer is going through the motions, giving the readers what they want. There is a plot point dangled which promises to be of greater importance in the next book (which should be out faster than this one), but a lot of the most exciting things in this book are looking back at past triumphs rather than ahead to the future.

If the author does not really want to write Marielle as an adult, there’s not much further this can go. But it’s going another volume, at least. For fans.

Though I Am an Inept Villainess: Tale of the Butterfly-Rat Body Swap in the Maiden Court, Vol. 8

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By Satsuki Nakamura and Kana Yuki. Released in Japan as “Futsutsuka na Akujo dewa Gozaimasu ga: Suuguu Chouso Torikae Den” by Ichijinsha Novels. Released in North America by Airship. Translated by Tara Quinn.

This was supposed to be the final arc of the series, but the author says in the afterword that it’s being extended, supposedly because there’s so many stories still to tell, but also probably because this sells quite well in Japan. That said, I get the feeling the bulk of this volume may have been written before the series got the OK to continue, as there’s very much a “headed into the final act” feel to this, with the danger ramped up even more, and with one of the most violent and hard to read sequences in the series so far, which is thankfully cut off by a series of punch the air moments. Honestly, this is a punch the air series much of the time, as the first half of the book shows us how dangerous things are going to be, and the second half sees Keigetsu managing to succeed somehow and Reirin simply blowing everything up and doing exactly as she pleases. That said, this one is gonna be hard to fix.

Our two heroines have still not been able to swap back to their own bodies, even a month after the 7th book. The reason for this is the Emperor is very suspicious, and wants to execute any magic users he finds. They try to figure out a way to do the switch during a ritual that’s coming up, but the Emperor figured out they were going to do that, and instead sends them all out into the poorer areas of the country to distribute food. Keigetsu (really Reirin) will be sent to the most dangerous, remote part of the country, a land that’s caught between two families and thus has no one taking responsibility for everything. He also sends an assassin after her. Meanwhile, the Emperor himself surprises the other four maidens by showing up at their own distribution site, and he’s determined to prove that Reirin is not Reirin. Which is going to be easy, as she isn’t.

This is the first volume where we’ve really had to dig into the Emperor himself, as mostly we’ve seen the generation after him – his son Gyoumei and the maidens. As it turns out, Genyou’s had it very rough as well, and is consumed by the idea of revenge – which is the main reason that he’s trying so hard to uncover Keigetsu’s magic. Elsewhere, as you’d expect, this volume is filled with Reirin doing jaw-droppingly amazing things, but it also has yet another instance of our two besties completely misunderstanding each other. Reirin has spent so much of her life at death’s door that she has no idea how to deal with things like depression, longing, and love – and let me tell you, this book may not be yuri, but even Reirin’s fiance AND her brothers agree that she’s head over heels in love with Keigetsu. Fortunately, they make up in the most overdramatic way. Unfortunately, they’ve sort of blown any chance of keeping things a secret.

After last volume’s one-volume breather, we’re back to a cliffhanger ending, but fortunately the 9th book came out in Japan a couple months ago. Also fortunately, this is going to continue. I want to read the stories the author says are still to be told.

Otaku Vampire’s Love Bite, Vol 1

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Otaku Vampire’s Love Bite Volume 1 by Julietta Suzuki

Hina is an otaku vampire who has decided to move to Japan to devote herself to her fandom, an anime called Vampire Cross. She’s basically a shut-in, only venturing out to try to score limited edition items at merch drops. She takes occasional calls from her father who seems supportive of her lifestyle choices but can’t help reminding her that vampires sometimes find a special human who they want to bite. Hina is resolute in her decision to only drink from blood bags and fully indulge her fangirl nature. She does become distracted one day by her next door neighbor who looks exactly like Mao, the character she’s obsessed with. Kyuta recoils in disgust initially when he realizes that Hina is an otaku, but something about her draws him in. On Hina’s side she finds that Kyuta smells irresistibly delicious. She notes that there’s a mysterious voice coming from his apartment occasionally – who or what could it be?

Otaku Vampire's Love Bite

Suzuki excels at portraying tsundere heroes. Kyuta initially finds Hina off-putting, but when he realizes that she truly knows nothing about how to live on her own he starts helping her. He gives her practical advice about taking out her trash and even joins her for a special Vampire Cross cafe event when the internet friend she was supposed to go with stands her up. Kyuta ends up being a vampire magnet, and Hina has the ability to protect him because she’s unexpectedly powerful even if she has no desire to engage in vampire activities like sucking blood. I enjoyed the developing relationship dynamic between Kyuta and Hina. Hina has powerful supernatural abilities but only cares about arranging acrylic standees and Kyuta’s ability to function in the modern world balances her out. Suzuki’s art is so whimsical and cute. Hina’s tiny fangs and pointed ears are adorable and Kyuta’s exasperated but kind in spite of himself mannerisms make him sympathetic. Suzuki’s series are always delightful and the first volume of Otaku Vampire’s Love Bite started off strong.

From Villainess to Healer, Vol. 1

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By Punichan and Yoh Hihara. Released in Japan as “Kaifukushoku no Akuyaku Reijō” by MF Books. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Adam Seacord.

I do appreciate that an author might feel that the villainess genre is played out. There have been many, many, MANY villainess books in the last eight years or so. They all tend towards specific types. Some have the villainess actively trying to change her fate, as they were reincarnated long before the “break off the engagement” event. Some have them fighting death after they’re unable to avoid that fate. Sometimes they go to a different country, where they’re welcomed with open arms. Hell, this particular author will do almost the exact same premise and first chapter in a later book – you could have copy/pasted much of the start of this book into the start of Camper Van Villainess. So I do appreciate the conceit of this book, which is “what if the villainess is an RPG nerd who just wants to be hitting up dungeons and grinding levels?” Oh wait, we had that too, with Villainess Level 99. That said, this does get the “boring as hell” part of these RPG books 100% correct.

Mitsuki loves playing the RPG game Reas Life Online, as well as its Otome Game side story game, Reas Love. When we next see her (and it’s never clear how she dies), she’s in the body of Charlotte Cocoriara, the daughter of a duke and fiancee to the prince. But this is one of THOSE games – the player is a commoner girl who the prince falls for, and Charlotte is the villainess, who the prince exiles. Expecting her to object, he’s a bit stunned when she says “OK” and bolts instead. (It’s really, REALLY just like Camper Van Villainess.) She runs home, tells her parents what happened, and leaves to achieve her dream – become an adventurer and play Reas Life Online rather than Reas Love!

There were some things here I found interesting. Unlike most otome game worlds, where the “heroine” has to be yelled at by the villainess for treating it like a game when in fact it’s real life, but here it really DOES seem like a game, inasmuch as our protagonist can see status screens, levels, etc. I also like the conceit of the otome game being a side spinoff of the main RPG core. As with Camper Van Villainess and Otome Survival Game, this is more interested in taking the skeleton of a villainess plot and spinning it off into a different genre. Sadly, the genre, generic RPG power leveling, is something I’ve tried to avoid for the last few years when trying out new books, and seeing it in a villainess book really didn’t help much. At least the RV book is meant to be more ridiculous – this is just basic. And then there’s the same problem the villainess genre as a whole seems to have – by emphasizing the villainess as good and the heroine as bad, it plays into “commoners should know their place, only noble people have the breeding to rule”. Which is not helped by this heroine being, well, a generic selfish heroine.

I’ll happily read more of the author’s other series. But as for this, if I wanted an OP isekai, I’d read an OP isekai.

The Manga Review: Not Dead Yet

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I had big resolutions in 2024: I would post a weekly round-up of manga news and reviews, I would read (and review) more books, and I would update my site. Alas, reader, none of these things came to pass. Work got busy, and every time I tried to carve out a few minutes to write, I had difficulty getting my head in the game. My writing stunk. My enthusiasm for writing flagged. So I gave myself permission to put The Manga Critic on ice, and took a long break from blogging. With 2025 on the horizon, though, I started to feel that familiar urge to write about manga and pulled my site out of mothballs once again. I can’t promise that I will churn out as many articles as I did in, say, 2019, but I am excited to saddle up for another year of link posts, essays, and reviews.

A quick note about this week’s column: I’ve focused exclusively on news and reviews, but future editions will also include links to great podcasts, essays, and interviews with folks working in the manga industry, so stay tuned!

NEWS ROUND-UP

Brigid Alverson breaks down the top selling titles at Yen Press, noting the success of both long-running favorites (Delicious in Dungeon) and new series (Unholy Blood)… Kara Dennison highlights three of VIZ Manga’s January releases… Erica Friedman rounds up the latest yuri news… Kodansha will be releasing new volumes of Wind Breaker on a faster schedule… Crunchyroll has plans for its own digital manga app… Tuttle will be publishing a manga adaptation of A Night on the Galactic Railway in March… and CLAMP fans have reason to celebrate: a new installment of xxxHOLiC Rei will be published in April, nearly eight years after the last chapter appeared in Weekly Young Magazine. Better late than never!

REVIEWS

Over at The Wonder of Anime, Lisa De La Cruz explains why you should be reading The Lady and Her Butler, Collette Deserves to Die and Red River… Jeremy Stauber gives mixed marks to Crescent Moon Marching, arguing that the series hits many of the same beats as Sound! Euphonium… Publisher’s Weekly gives a star to Shirato Sanpei’s The Legend of Kamui… Erica Friedman dives into the special English edition of Galette… and Demelza describes Hereditary Triangle as a “rare special manga that manage[s] to both be satisfyingly complete within a short run and leave behind a strong impression on the reader.” Also of note is Jocelyne Allen’s fabulous review of Torikai Akane’s Baby Baby wa Nakanai, a manga that absolutely, positively needs an English translation.

 

An Introvert’s Hookup Hiccups: This Gyaru Is Head Over Heels for Me!, Vol. 9

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

I honestly hope that this series does get an anime some day. Not just because it’s cute and sexy and all that. Some of you may recall back in the day there was a manga called My Dress-Up Darling, which also spawned an anime. That anime spawned Episode 11 of same. And Episode 11 spawned 80 million fanfics on AO3, the basic summary is “but what if they’d had sex?”. And that’s not going to happen with a light-novel only series like this is now, but if it gets an anime, I can’t help but think that frustrated fanfic writers are going to take matters in their own hands. Not only have they only kissed (and not even with tongue, as Nanami is reminded by her teacher), but their every move is now being watched to make sure they don’t go too far in the school. And yet these two have no idea what the definition of “too far” is. They revel in being sexy together.

Last time the author said we’d finally be getting the class trip, but I was dubious, given that the cover art showed what was clearly a sports festival. And yes, that’s absolutely what we get in the first half, as a reluctant Yoshin is convinced by Nanami to actually try for a change, and they end up competing in the Piggyback Race, a couples event where the goal seems to be “how embarrassing can we make things?”. That said, the back half of the book actually does give us the preparation and the setup for the class trip, which ends up being in Hawaii. This is possibly not the wonderful news you’d expect. Both Yoshin and Nanami’s parents had their honeymoons there, and given Yoshin has already proposed – more than once – they joke that this will be a “pre-honeymoon” for the couple. Which gives them ideas. Ideas of getting even closer. They may even get to extreme hand-holding.

Theoretically this book is still a sort of “guide” to new couples who may be reading it, showing the value of communicating everything to your partner and being open about your feelings and desires. The difficulty is that Yoshin and Nanami have a broken sense of shame. They don’t have NO sense of shame, otherwise this would be a very different series, and possibly in the Ghost Ship line. But it seems to activate late, which means they have no idea that they’re talking about intimate couple things while they’re in class surrounded by other students. Nanami in particular has this funny combination of innocence and salaciousness, meaning she can say things like “When you’re ready, feel free to really take me for a ride” and not get the implications, but also spend at least a minute sensuously licking and biting her boyfriend’s ear. I think being a guide on how to be an open loving couple has long left town.

Will they finally go further in the 10th book, when they’re in Hawaii? Probably not. But I’m sure we’ll all want to read it anyway.

Manga the Week of 1/15/25

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SEAN: Somehow it’s still 2025.

ASH: My brain has managed to jump ahead to 2026 and back to 2024 simultaneously, which I guess evens out to 2025?

SEAN: In print, Airship has I Abandoned My Engagement Because My Sister is a Tragic Heroine, but Somehow I Became Entangled with a Righteous Prince 2.

MICHELLE: I like the title, at least!

SEAN: And digitally they have True Love Fades Away When the Contract Ends 2.

Drawn and Quarterly debuts a classic, The Legend of Kamui (Kamui Den). This 60s manga was serialized in Garo, and is NOT the 80s version that was put out by Viz Media. An Edo-Period historical drama with ninjas, it’s so influential even Tezuka praised it for bringing drama and ideology to manga. This is the first omnibus, and is 600 pages.

ANNA: Oooh, interesting.

ASH: This is huge. I am so incredibly happy and excited for this release. And was fortunate to receive an early copy which I am absolutely loving.

SEAN: No debuts for J-Novel Club, but we do see After-School Dungeon Diver: Level Grinding in Another World 4, the 10th Campfire Cooking in Another World with My Absurd Skill manga, Demon Lord, Retry! 9, From Old Country Bumpkin to Master Swordsman: My Hotshot Disciples Are All Grown Up Now, and They Won’t Leave Me Alone 5, the 11th How a Realist Hero Rebuilt the Kingdom manga, Let This Grieving Soul Retire 6, The Misfit of Demon King Academy 8, My Instant Death Ability Is So Overpowered, No One in This Other World Stands a Chance Against Me! —AΩ— 9, Record of Wortenia War 27, and the third The Water Magician manga.

Kodansha also has no debuts. In print, they have Ajin: Demi-Human Complete 2, Blue Lock: Episode Nagi 2, ORIGIN 8, The Seven Deadly Sins Omnibus 14 (the final volume), Sheltering Eaves 2, Versus 2, and Witch Hat Atelier 13.

MICHELLE: I really liked the first volume of Sheltering Eaves!

ANNA: I cannot believe I am so far behind in Witch Hat Atelier it is a personal failing.

ASH: I have a few volumes I’ve been saving which I’ll be reading all at once.

SEAN: And for digital we see Blue Lock 29, Gang King 25, Manchuria Opium Squad 4, Tokyo Tarareba Girls Returns 2 5, and We’re New at This 18 (the final volume).

MICHELLE: How am I already this far behind with Tokyo Tarareba Girls Returns 2?!

SEAN: One Peace have the 5th light novel volume of The Wrong Way to Use Healing Magic.

Just one debut for Seven Seas. Glasses with a Chance of Delinquent (Megane, Tokidoki, Yankee-kun) is a shoujo title from Betsufure. A girl who was bullied by gangs in the past attends a new high school free of them, and meets a glasses-wearing kid… and it turns out he’s a secret gang member! This was so popular Japanese fans got it un-cancelled at one point.

MICHELLE: Looks potentially cute!

ANNA: I generally enjoy delinquents in shoujo.

ASH: Same! And megane, too!

SEAN: Also coming from Seven Seas: 365 Days to the Wedding 6, The Barbarian’s Bride 2, The Duke of Death and His Maid 16 (the final volume), Failure Frame: I Became the Strongest and Annihilated Everything With Low-Level Spells 9, I Quit My Apprenticeship as a Royal Court Wizard to Become a Magic Item Craftswoman 2, The Idaten Deities Know Only Peace 7, The Most Notorious “Talker” Runs the World’s Greatest Clan 8, My New Life as a Cat 8, Mysterious Disappearances 4, Soara and the House of Monsters 4, The Strange Adventure of a Broke Mercenary 4, Tiger and Dragon 2, The Titan’s Bride 6, Tokyo Revengers 27-28, and The White Mage Doesn’t Want to Raise the Hero’s Level 4 (the final volume).

ASH: I recently picked up the first volume of Soara and the House of Monsters; I have time to catch up!

SEAN: And for danmei they have Stars of Chaos: Sha Po Lang 5 (the final volume).

Square Enix has Just Like Mona Lisa 4.

From Steamship we get I Can’t Refuse S 5 and A Suitable Fetish 2.

Steamship also has an early digital release of the 2nd light novel volume of The Villainess and the Demon Knight.

SuBLime has My Dearest Patrolman 3 (the final volume) and Stigmata: Love Bites 2 (the final volume).

MICHELLE: The latter has such a gorgeous cover, I might read it on that basis alone!

ASH: Oooh, that is evocative!

SEAN: Two debuts from Viz. Beyblade X is the latest in that toy-based series, and runs in Monthly CoroCoro.

Firefly Wedding (Hotaru no Yomeiri) is an award-winning shoujo manga that runs in Manga One. An ill girl who is being married off so she can have some value to her family before she dies now finds that she’s also being targeted by an assassin! Can she find a way to solve both these problems in one fell swoop? This is definitely on the more ‘dramatic’ end of the shoujo manga scale.

MICHELLE: Hm. Maybe!

ANNA: Shoujo with assassins???? I’m going to check this out.

ASH: This definitely holds promise. Now I just have to figure out why the premise sounds vaguely familiar to me…

SEAN: Also from Viz: Case Closed 93, Destroy All Humans. They Can’t Be Regenerated. A Magic: The Gathering Manga 2, Disney Twisted-Wonderland: The Manga – Anthology 2, Komi Can’t Communicate 32, Mao 19, Spy x Family 13, and Yashahime: Princess Half-Demon 6.

And that’s it! Titles from 1964 to 2024 in this batch. What are you buying?

ASH: No wonder I can’t figure out what year it is!

I Could Never Be a Succubus!, Vol. 5

by

By Nora Kohigashi and Wasabi. Released in Japan as “Watashi wa Succubus Ja Arimasen” by Hero Bunko. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Roy Nukia.

(This review assumes you want to be spoiled about the last third of the book.)

I will always love the fact that this series is “come for the horny, stay for the funny”. And rest assured, this is still a very horny series. But there are several points in this volume where it appears that the book is finally going to take a bit of a serious bent, and then it absolutely takes a wild leap back into the broadest comedy. And that’s good, as this is one of the few light novel series that does broad comedy really well. Even the horny – especially the horny – works so well because it’s so over the top that you can’t really kinkshame it. So yes, Liz really will wear those panties with the magic-infused elephant trunk that can act like a real penis, because it means the artist will have to draw art of it, and make it funnier. And thus, when we resolve the cliffhanger from the last book, with the new hero menacing everyone, it turns out to be hysterical.

Dia the new hero, shows up and proceeds to not only give Cain a serious wound, but also kidnap Liz. That said, once Liz finds out what’s going on, she realizes that not only is Dia not nearly as villainous as previously advertised, but she’s also a cute young catgirl, which sets Liz’s heart throbbing, though she’s not quite sure why. Liz is rescued soon enough, but finds herself teleporting back to Dia’s location (basically figuring out a teleportation spell on the fly and instantly doing it perfectly, which reminds you how powerful this horny succubus really is), where she finds that Dia not only does the bare minimum of cooking and cleaning, but wears… bloomers! With holes in them! And no bra! This will not stand! It’s time for a lingerie shopping trip!

I ended up trying to overthink this. Yes, as it turns out, Dia’s story about her having the “real” hero sword and Cain’s being a suspicious fake does in fact turn out to possibly be the case but that’s not what drives the climax. The entire climax is driven by the scene where Cain walks into the lingerie shop and sees not only Liz but also Dia, and we realize that he already knows the new hero very well. Once all the identities are revealed, this gets even funnier… at least until we get to the fight to the “death”, which, of course, Cain wins. Again, this should be a dramatic scene, either tear-jerking or heartwarming, and it’s 100% undercut by Liz literally holding up cue cards for the reluctant Cain to read aloud to resolve things properly. Hell, even the sad finale where she leaves to find herself is ruined by Liz, albeit unconsciously. The main reason they want Liz’s memory back is so that when they punish her she actually a) knows why, and b) enjoys it again.

Again, I don’t recommend this to anyone who is not ready for our heroine to be dressed in panties with a working penis shaped like an elephant trunk on the front. But if you are, this remains 10% cool, 10% heartwarming, 30% sex-obsessed, and 50% LOL.