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Genshiken: Second Season, Vol. 8 | By Shimoku Kio | Kodansha Comics – The first half of this volume has a lot of amusing antics, but let’s face it, the second half is where the truly eye-popping stuff happens. Madarame is still having trouble getting his head around the fact that four different people are interested in him, and confesses to Kugayama (when did we last see HIM in this series?) that he thinks he’s just nervous as he’s still a virgin. So he gets talked into going to a host club, and naturally it’s the one Keiko works at. What follows shows off that Madarame has more issues than just his lack of experience to work through—if he can’t notice Keiko trying to get into his pants THAT blatantly, then there’s something terribly wrong. Will this subplot be ending anytime soon, however? Or is it the main plot? – Sean Gaffney

Kimi ni Todoke, Vols. 24 | By Karuho Shiina | Viz Media – Usually, I don’t mind the slow pace of this series, as it has a mood that would be somewhat ruined by Hakusensha-style fast-paced violence. I will admit, though, I did think this volume dragged a bit, as we wait endlessly for Sawako to realize what everyone else does first: she wants to go to the educational university, not the one Kazehaya is going to. As for our other couples (or ex-couples), Chizuru and Ryu are dating but she still struggles with the fact that cheering him on means separating. And Yano is discovering that getting into a top-flight university really is as hard as it seems. This is still an excellent series, of course, and I’m hoping the next volume will give us more forward progression. – Sean Gaffney

Love Stage!!, Vol. 5 | By Eiki Eiki and Taishi Zaou | SuBLime – After showing signs of improvement in the previous volume, Love Stage!! trots out some truly eyeroll-inspiring material in volume five. After arguing with Izumi about the time he’s spending with their lecherous producer and being intimidated by Izumi’s acting talent, Ryoma is rendered incapable of performing. Instead of dwelling on their professional rivalry, which might’ve been interesting, we instead get a plot in which the producer’s hypnosis causes Ryoma to forget Izumi entirely, leading to much angst and, ultimately, the two of them falling off a cliff. Yes, really. And then they have to huddle together for warmth because a freak thunderstorm has delayed the search party. Siiiiigh. And yet, I will probably read the next volume anyway. – Michelle Smith

Oresama Teacher, Vol. 20 | By Izumi Tsubaki | VIZ Media – With Hayasaka’s memory now restored, volume twenty first clears up his (needlessly) complicated family circumstances before moving on to reveal the nature of the arrangement Momochi and Hanabusa have made. I like that Hanabusa has been shown to be a good guy, and liked too that Aki was disgruntled that the gang kept Hayasaka’s recovery a secret from him in order to ensnare Momochi, but this is a series that doesn’t delve deep into its characters, so instead of more time with either of them, we get an interlude about Mafuyu and Okegawa unknowingly being penpals (bonus: there are panels from the overworked carrier pigeon’s POV!) and a fast-forward to a Christmas party, during which Hayasaka might’ve figured out Mafuyu is Super Bun! I hope he really did, but I expect comedic deflection in the next volume. We shall see! – Michelle Smith

Shomin Sample: I was Abducted by an Elite All-Girls School as a Sample Commoner, Vol. 1 | By Risumai and Takafumi Nanatsuki | Seven Seas – I almost didn’t get this simply because of the reprehensible cover, and I still cringed every time there was a blatant panty shot in this series. That said, there were one or two moments in the book that I was indeed amused, which shows off my low standards if nothing else. The story is pretty much given in the subtitle above, and most of the good humor relies on the sheltered young girls being naive about everything, The bad humor relies on things like panty shots, walking in on someone in the bath, and whenever our hero isn’t being a smartass (as that’s his best trait). If you read Seven Seas and Yen’s skeezier titles, this is right up your alley. For others, I’d pass, even though it wasn’t the worst thing in the world. – Sean Gaffney

The Wallflower, Vol. 36 | By Tomoko Hayakawa | Kodansha Comics – Spoilers: no, they don’t. But honestly, if that surprises you, you were reading the wrong series. Hayakawa has said for eons she’s good at comedy and bad at romance, and that shows in the final volume of The Wallflower, which at least makes an effort to hit the series’ core themes: Sunako likes dark, Halloween-ish stuff; Sunako can be quite the lady when she tries, but doesn’t care to; and Kyohei and Sunako are perfect for each other and both are ignoring that fact heavily. There’s more non-SD Sunako here than in many, many volumes, which is a nice treat for the readers. I’ve always enjoyed this series even past its sell-by date, but admit it’s time for it to end. And so it has. – Sean Gaffney

Barakamon, Vol. 10 | By Satsuki Yoshino | Yen Press – This is without a doubt the best volume of Barakamon to date, coming full circle to show off what began the title: Handa’s troubled relationship with his father, and his inability to stop overthinking his calligraphy. He can’t avoid the topic this time, though, as his parents are in town to visit, and we begin to see that Handa’s father is not the heartless strict man that previous chapters may have made him out to be. It all culminates in a father/son battle at Naru’s school, showing off how good his father REALLY is, but also that when Handa isn’t trying, he can have moments of genius that make his father realize that he has a true rival on his hands. A brilliant volume, and I didn’t even get to Kirie, a trans character who’s very well-handled. – Sean Gaffney

Horimiya, Vol. 3 | By Hero and Daisuke Hagiwara | Yen Press – Being best friends can be very comforting, whereas being in love can be terrifying. So it’s no surprise that much of this third volume of Horimiya sees Hori and Miyamura desperately trying to avoid their relationship changing, even if it means simply sticking their fingers in their ears and going la la la. In the meantime, we meet a couple of new cast members, one of whom seems to have a thing for Ishikawa, in case you wondered if we weren’t going to have more love triangles. It’s all relaxed and heartwarming rather than angsty or wacky, though, and so it just feels good to read. I especially liked the simple presence that Miyamura gives Hori when she’s sick, possibly the sweetest moment in a sweet volume. – Sean Gaffney

Maid-sama!, Vols. 7-8 | By Hiro Fujiwara | Viz Media – This was better than the previous volume, I will grant you. Admittedly, I found both side-stories fairly tedious, even if it gave us a chance to see Misaki as a delinquent. Misaki still spends most of the volume flushing in embarrassment, but is beginning to admit her feelings, even if it’s like pulling teeth. Usui’s perfection may be put to the test soon, as we see his jealousy and longing observing the wacky-yet-loving antics of Misaki’s family. (We also meet her younger sister, one of my favorite characters.) And we get set up for what I suspect will be the next major plot arc, the student council elections. Will Misaki get re-elected, or will the guys manage to get their Dark Horse in? Also, we’re now caught up with Tokyopop. – Sean Gaffney

Maid-sama!, Vols. 7-8 | By Hiro Fujiawara | VIZ Media – As I’ve been rereading Maid-sama! in VIZ’s new editions, I’ve had cause to wonder why I’d been so eager for a license rescue of this series. Now, at last, I remember. After several volumes of harassment, bickering, and episodic filler, Misaki and Usui are finally honest with each other about their feelings. Although I could argue that the smooch they share to the accompaniment of fireworks is somewhat cliché, this welcome development still makes me interested to find out how much the series might improve going forward. I do hope, however, that we’re not expected to take dull-as-dishwater Hinata seriously as a romantic rival, though I do sadistically enjoy it when Usui torments him. Aoi can also feel free to fall off the face of the Earth. – Michelle Smith

Missions of Love, Vol. 12 | By Ema Toyama | Kodansha Comics – Well, there was no way that Hisame was going to be able to keep up being irredeemably evil for the rest of the series, particularly given that the rest of the cast aren’t exactly wonderful people. And so over the course of this volume it becomes apparently that he’s really just a petulant child who enjoys breaking his toys and hates it when they’re taken away from him. Mami is his old favorite, and the idea that she might actually be falling for Akira infuriates him. And his new toy, Yukina, is having trouble coping herself, especially with Shigure MIA for most of the book. Her novel is being affected by the fact that true love is not running at all smoothly. Still 100% trash, and 100% addictive. – Sean Gaffney

Nichijou, Vol. 2 | By Keiichi Arawi | Vertical Comics – The ensemble is an important part of Nichijou, and we get to see more of them here, including Nakanojou’s non-mohawk personality traits, the amusing (and possibly romantic) antics of the Go/Soccer Club, and Misato becoming such a tsundere that aliens literally suck her up into the sky out of embarrassment. At its heart, though, the series knows that it stars Yuuko, whose puns are too lame to react to, whose tsukkomi reactions are simply unstoppable (though at least in the end she manages to get Mai to show something other than her poker face), and whose daydreams involve time cubes destroying the world (possibly as they have more or less than four). Nichijou remains strange and wonderful. – Sean Gaffney

What Did You Eat Yesterday?, Vol. 10 | By Fumi Yoshinaga | Vertical, Inc. – I just want to sigh contentedly after finishing a volume of this much-beloved series. Not only does so much of the food look delicious—things that made me salivate this volume include croquettes and pancakes!—but I genuinely adore Shiro and Kenji, and find myself identifying with them a lot, especially in relation to their aging woes. Parents having surgery, middle-aged partners who lament the loss of their youthful physique… definitely some universal rites of passage. No, there’s no big drama here, unless you count a new hairstyle for one of the protagonists or future career prospects for Shiro, but it’s so all so comforting and lovely that I am not complaining one little bit. My love for What Did You Eat Yesterday? knows no bounds! – Michelle Smith