Blog

Pick of the Week: My Neighbor Seki

January 12, 2015 by Ash Brown, Sean Gaffney, Michelle Smith, MJ and Anna N 1 Comment

ASH: There may not be many manga shipping out this week, but one of those volumes just so happens to be the debut of a series that I’m particularly looking forwad to–My Neighbor Seki. If I recall correctly, Vertical was initially planning on releasing “best of” collections, but happily plans changed and we should get to see the entire series. The anime adaptation was marvelous, so I’m very glad to get a chance to read the original manga.

SEAN: SekiSekiSekiSekiSekiSekiSeki…

MICHELLE: Couldn’t have said it better myself, Sean.

MJ: I’m in complete agreement with everyone here. Seki all the way.

ANNA: I have to agree with everyone! Seki sounds like the most interesting title by far shipping this week.

What looks good to you this week?

My Week in Manga: January 5-January 11, 2015

January 12, 2015 by Ash Brown

My News and Reviews

Well, last week unintentionally became a week filled with gay-themed manga here at Experiments in Manga, not that that’s something I’m going to complain about. But, first things first, the WataMote manga giveaway winner was announced. The post also includes a list of otaku manga available in English for anyone looking for something to read in that sub-genre. And now, back to the gay manga! I posted two in-depth manga reviews last week. The first review was of Takeshi Matsu’s English-debut More and More of You and Other Stories, a collection of gay erotic doujinshi. It’s both a fun and funny volume, so I hope to see more of Matsu’s work translated in the future. Over the weekend, I also posted a review of What Did You Eat Yesterday?, Volume 5 by Fumi Yoshinaga. I continue to really enjoy the series’ mix of food and contemporary gay life. The sixth volume was actually released last week, so I’m a little behind in my reviews, but it’s still a great series.

Elsewhere online, Digital Manga launched its first non-Tezuka Kickstarter project, an effort to reprint and restock the first six volumes of Ayano Yamane’s Finder boys’ love series. (Like many of Digital Manga’s recent Kickstarter projects, I have mixed feelings about this one.) In licensing news, Seven Seas and Yen Press announced quite a few new titles on social media. Sean has a nice roundup of the licenses over at A Case Suitable for Treatment. For those who are interested in the history of manga or are more academically inclined, be sure to check out Ryan Holmberg’s most recent What Was Alternative Manga? column, “The Fukui Ei’ichi Incident and the Prehistory of Komaga-Gekiga” at The Comics Journal and the second part of Nicholas Theisen’s manga studies essay “Takeuchi Osamu and Manga Expression” at Comics Forum.

Quick Takes

Alice in the Country of Hearts, Omnibuses 2-3 (equivalent to Volumes 3-6) by Soumei Hoshino. I was taken by surprise by how much I enjoyed the first omnibus of Alice in the Country of Hearts and so soon found myself tracking down the rest of the series. I became a little less enamored with the manga the more I read, but in the end I still thoroughly enjoyed the series and I definitely plan on picking up some of the spinoffs. Because Alice in the Country of Hearts is based on a romance adventure game, it’s not too surprising that Alice is eventually paired off with one of the multitude of people who have expressed intense interest in her. However, I didn’t really like who it was she ended up with in Alice in the Country of Hearts because he’s a violent jerk. Granted, I can say that and not really spoil too much since so many of the guys in the series are violent jerks–they feel so strongly for Alice that more than one of them actually wants to, or even tries to, kill her. This certainly adds to the ominous atmosphere of Alice in the Country of Hearts, which is one of the things I particularly like about the series. What I was hoping to see and what the manga doesn’t quite deliver on was more explanation about the world itself and about the “game” that is being played. I suspect some of the other Alice series may expand on this, though.

Citrus, Volume 1 by Saburouta. I know quite a few people who were very excited for Citrus, Seven Seas’ most recent yuri acquisition. I didn’t know much about the series, but I’m always interested in seeing, and reading, more yuri in English. Yuzu is boisterous young woman whose life has been thrown into turmoil after her mother remarries. She has a new name, a new high school, and even a new sister. Mei and Yuzu don’t really get along that well and their relationship gets even more complicated when Mei suddenly kisses Yuzu, but not out of any sort of true affection. Yuzu’s not entirely sure what’s going on with her new sibling, but after the kiss she can’t get her out of her mind and begins to develop non-sisterly feelings for Mei. Quite a few things in the first volume of Citrus strained my suspension of disbelief–I cannot and will never be convinced that Yuzu’s mother completely failed to mention before they all actually moved into the same household together that as part of her remarriage Yuzu would be gaining a stepsister–but it is an intriguing start to the series. The manga has great potential for melodrama. Mei is somewhat of a mystery at this point, and I’m curious to learn more about her. She puts up a good front for most people, but she’s incredibly manipulative and Yuzu’s one of very few people who knows about and has seen that side of her.

Orphan Blade written by M. Nicholas Almand and illustrated by Jake Myler. After previewing some of Myler’s work in progress for Orphan Blade, I was really looking forward to reading the graphic novel. Unfortunately, while there were some aspects of the comic that I really appreciated (it’s nice to see a gay protagonist), overall I was disappointed with Orphan Blade, especially since it had such great potential. The setting is an alternate-universe, 17th-century Japan in which the world was overrun with kaijū. But now that most of the monsters have been destroyed, humans are once again at war with each other. Particularly coveted are Artifacts, weapons of immense power fashioned out of the bodies and bones of the defeated kaijū. Hadashi is a young man who comes into possession of one of those Artifacts, but it possesses him in return. For the most part, Myler’s artwork is excellent. The monster and character designs, while lacking cohesiveness, are great and I love the colors. Orphan Blade is surprisingly violent, bloody, and gruesome. There are plenty of dynamic battles, however the action is frequently confusing and difficult to follow which is particularly problematic since a large part of the graphic novel is devoted to fight sequences. I like the world and basic premise of Orphan Blade, but the story feels inexpertly cobbled together in places, which may be explained by the fact that Almand sadly passed away before the comic’s completion.

VIZ Rescues More CLAMP Titles

January 12, 2015 by Katherine Dacey

Pull up a chair and pour yourself a strong cup of coffee–today’s super-sized post rounds up the best news stories, manga reviews, and personal essays from around the web!

VIZ is reissuing two CLAMP titles from the Tokyopop catalog: Duklyon: CLAMP School Defenders and Shirahime-Syo: Snow Goddess. As with VIZ’s other Tokyopop license rescues, Duklyon and Shirahime-Syo will be digital-only releases.

Sean Gaffney reports on the latest licensing news from Seven Seas and Yen Press, from light novels to 4-koma novelties such as Merman in a Tub.

Over at Organization Anti-Social Geniuses, Justin Stroman interviews former Tokyopop editor Lillian Diaz-Pryzbyl about her experiences in the manga industry.

Manga scholar Ryan Holmberg posts a lengthy essay on Osamu Tezuka’s Manga Classroom, a how-to series that appeared in Manga Shonen from 1952 to 1954.

Unofficial Hatsune Mix tops this week’s New York Times Manga Bestseller list, followed by the first volume of Assassination Classroom and the second volume of Attack on Titan: No Regrets.

What’s arriving in comic book stores this week? The Manga Bookshelf gang lists the good, the bad, and the ho-hum.

Erica Friedman shares the latest yuri manga news at Okazu.

Khursten Santos has compiled a handy list of “the most dangerous BL titles of 2015,” complete with charts, cover art, and analysis.

Charles Pulliam-Moore explores the world of bara, manga by and for gay men.

In case you missed it: Chris Randle interviews translator Anne Ishii about her experience working on the new anthology Massive: Gay Erotic Manga and the Men Who Make It.

Using Tokyo Ghoul as a jumping-off point, Tony Yao explores Japanese fans’ changing taste in manga.

Wondering what josei fans are reading in Japan? Heart of Manga explores the current issue of Cookie magazine, from Rin Saito’s Back Alley Animal Clinic to Miho Obana’s Honey Bitter.

On Wednesday, January 14th, Kodansha Comics USA will be holding a special event at the midtown Manhattan Kinokuniya. Expect licensing announcements, manga giveaways, and Q&A with the Kodansha editorial staff.

Manga n00b Christina Negroni files a report on her visit to the Kyoto Manga Museum. While some of her reactions are stereotypical–who knew there was smutty manga?–her discussion of the museum’s collection is worth a read.

News from Japan: As part of its efforts to promote the Kindle platform in Japan, Amazon just launched a new service that gives customers free access to manga magazines via smart phones, tablets, and laptops. Kodansha is also getting into the e-manga game with simultaneous digital and print editions of Monthly Shonen Magazine, Weekly Shonen Magazine, and Young Magazine.

When asked, Which manga series would you most like to see end this year?, Japanese fans overwhelmingly cited Kochira Katsushika-ku Kamearikouen-mae Hashutsujo, which began serialization in 1976, and Detective Conan (a.k.a. Case Closed), which began serialization in 1994. And speaking of final volumes, the following series will be posting their last chapters in 2015: Ai Morinaga’s Kirara no Hoshi, which currently runs in Bessatsu Friend; Ryoichi Ikegami’s Tenshi wa Maiorita, which currently runs in Weekly Manga Times; Mako Kamao’s Ange Verge Linkage, which currently runs in Dragon Age; and Tsutomu Mutsuki’s Is This Girl for Real?!, which currently runs in Comic High!

Reviews: Shaenon Garrity devotes the latest House of 1000 Manga column to Massive: Gay Erotic Manga and the Men Who Make It. Here at Manga Bookshelf, Michelle Smith, Anna N., and Sean Gaffney offer pithy assessments of D-Frag!, Knights of Sidonia, and other recent releases.

Ken H. on vol. 2 of Ajin: Demi-Human (Sequential Ink)
Rebecca Silverman on vol. 1 of Ani-Imo (ANN)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 1 of Assassination Classroom (Comic Book Bin)
Rebecca Silverman on vol. 1 of Assassination Classroom (ANN)
Julia Smith on vol. 2 of Black Rose Alice (The Fandom Post)
Matthew Warner on vol. 12 of Blue Exorcist (The Fandom Post)
Chris Kirby on vol. 10 of Bunny Drop (The Fandom Post)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 14 of Dengeki Daisy (Comic Book Bin)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 1 of Drug & Drop (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Kate O’Neil on Garden of Words (The Fandom Post)
Kory Cerjak on vol. 2 of Honey Blood (The Fandom Post)
Katie Skelly on In Clothes Called Fat (The Comics Journal)
Joseph Luster on vol. 12 of Knights of Sidonia (Otaku USA)
Sean Gaffney on Legal Drug Omnibus (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Rebecca Silverman on vol. 1 of Love at Fourteen (ANN)
Kathryn Hemmann on Marshmallow Bungaku Girl (Contemporary Japanese Literature)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 1 of Master Keaton (Comic Book Bin)
Laura on vol. 1 of Meteor Prince (Heart of Manga)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 1 of Meteor Prince (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Johanna Draper Carlson on vols. 1-2 of Monster: Perfect Edition (Manga Worth Reading)
Ash Brown on More of You and Other Stories (Experiments in Manga)
Matthew Warner on vol. 6 of Nisekoi: False Love (The Fandom Post)
Ken H. on vol. 1 of Norigami (Sequential Ink)
Jessica Chautin on vol. 1 of Phantom Thief Jeanne (No Flying No Tights)
Johanna Draper Carlson on vol. 1 of Prophecy (Manga Worth Reading)
Joseph Luster on vol. 1 of Prophecy (Otaku USA)
Rebecca Silverman on vol. 1 of Prophecy (ANN)
Erica Friedman on vol. 16 of Rakuen Le Paradis (Okazu)
Julia Smith on vol. 1 of Resident Evil: The Marwha Desire (The Fandom Post)
Matthew Warner on vol. 16 of Rin-ne (The Fandom Post)
Chris Kirby on vol. 21 of Toriko (The Fandom Post)
Megan R. on Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicles (The Manga Test Drive)
Ash Brown on vol. 5 of What Did You Eat Yesterday? (Experiments in Manga)
Lori Henderson on vol. 1 of xxxHolic Rei (Manga Xanadu)

What Did You Eat Yesterday?, Vol. 5

January 11, 2015 by Ash Brown

Creator: Fumi Yoshinaga
U.S. publisher: Vertical
ISBN: 9781939130808
Released: November 2014
Original release: 2011

I have thoroughly been enjoying the English-language release of Fumi Yoshinaga’s manga series What Did You Eat Yesterday?. This probably shouldn’t be too much of a surprise since the series brings together so many of my loves and interests: manga, Fumi Yoshinaga, food, and queer life, just to name a few. What Did You Eat Yesterday?, Volume 5 was originally published in Japan in 2011 while the English translation of the volume was released by Vertical in 2014. Vertical made many fans of Yoshinaga, myself included, very happy when it licensed What Did You Eat Yesterday?, a somewhat niche title, but a series with the potential to appeal to a variety of audiences. Food and handsome gay men are common themes in many of Yoshinaga’s manga and are frequently even found within the same work, which is certainly the case with What Did You Eat Yesterday?. Though not my favorite Yoshinaga manga, it’s still a great series and one that I enjoy.

Food brings people together, sometimes in unanticipated ways. Shiro’s friendship with Kayoko, which started when they decided to split a watermelon that was on sale at the supermarket, has continued to deepen. Though they were once complete strangers, they have now become regular cooking buddies, sharing recipes and food. Her family likes Shiro as well, though at times he’s treated as something of a novelty simply because he’s gay. Kayoko’s husband even makes a point to introduce Shiro to a member of his tennis club, assuming they’ll get along well since Kohinata happens to be gay, too. They actually do, in an odd sort of fashion, and eventually Shiro, Kohinata, and Kenji and Wataru–their respective boyfriends–all end up sharing a meal together. In a roundabout sort of way, it’s thanks to that watermelon that they ever met. Food can help turn acquaintances into friends and can strengthen the existing bonds between family members as traditions are passed along from one person to the next.

One of my favorite chapters in What Did You Eat Yesterday?, Volume 5 was actually when Shiro visited his parents for the New Year holiday. For the most part, What Did You Eat Yesterday? is fairly episodic, although there is ongoing character development. However, Shiro returning home for the New Year celebration is a recurring event in the series which has already happened several times in the manga’s earlier volumes. Generally, there’s also some family drama involved with these visits. Shiro’s parents initially struggled when he came out to them, but it’s marvelously touching to see how much more accepting and even supportive they have become of their son’s homosexuality. There is a really wonderful scene with Shiro and his mother cooking together in the fifth volume of What Did You Eat Yesterday?. Sometimes the series’ focus on food feels completely separated from its story, but here it was a perfect combination, the cooking furthering the characters’ personal growth and connections.

While the food and recipes are prominent parts of What Did You Eat Yesterday?, not to mention some of the reasons that I enjoy the series, the characters and their relationships are just as important to the manga and are what really make it successful as a work. It makes perfect sense to me since I associate family with food, but family relations are a frequent focus in What Did You Eat Yesterday?, especially those between Shiro and his parents as well as those between Shiro and Kenji as they continue to make a life and home together. The fifth volume also reveals more about Kenji’s past and his own unfortunate family situation. What Did You Eat Yesterday? largely tends to follow Shiro and therefore not as much is known about Kenji, so I particularly appreciate when the story turns towards him for a time. Yoshinaga’s characters in What Did You Eat Yesterday?, are believable flawed and complex individuals with histories and subtle depth, making the series particularly gratifying.

Meteor Prince, Vol. 1

January 11, 2015 by Sean Gaffney

By Meca Tanaka. Released in Japan by Hakusensha, serialized in the magazine LaLa. Released in North America by Viz.

Meca Tanaka was an author I enjoyed back in the old CMX days – I was quite find of Omukae Desu. She has a certain messy style with a lot of words that reminds me a bit of Banri Hidaka, though really many Hakusensha artists have this, as their magazines have a lot more dialogue than the average Shueisha and Shogakukan title. Here we see her writing a short two-volume series about an alien who comes to Earth looking for a soulmate, and the girl with a life of bad luck that he declares is the one.

I was a bit worried at the start, what with the jokes about “shall we mate now?”, but it’s made clear right off the bat that consent is required first. Io, the alien, is not particularly adept at human social conventions, but he’s an alien so gets more of a pass than the usual shoujo boyfriends who are just bad at interacting and boundaries. Once Io realizes what Earth requires, he does his best to try to work within its rules, even if they baffle him. He’s also very cheery and friendly (except for one moment where he gets jealous), which actually works against him at the end, as Hako can’t tell if he’s being sincere about his love, especially when he seems to give it up so easily.

Hako also impressed me. Honestly, with the sort of life she’s led, she should be a lot more broken than she is, and it’s definitely a good thing that she’s been taken in by the occult club. That said, she gets a lot more emotional as the title goes on, and it becomes clear that a lot of her open cheerfulness is a mask. She’s also shown to be somewhat stocky (well, by shoujo manga standards), so makes a nice change from the usual tall thin girls. She’s a nice girl. You want good things to happen to her. Io ends up being a good influence.

As for the rest of the cast, I already commented on Twitter about finding Erina fascinating. Unlike Io, there’s no excuse for her – she’s just constantly smiling with closed eyes, all the time. I think the only time she remotely shows another emotion is when Io pretends to be injured and drives Hako away, and even then it’s less anger and more ‘tsk tsk’. I hope we find out something about her in the 2nd volume. As for the club president and Matchan, they make a nicely goofy beta couple – indeed, the president (is he ever named?) seems to be starring in a completely different manga, possibly Nisekoi. Matchan might feel a bit cliched to Western readers, but the girl who shows embarrassing emotions as anger is a classic Japanese trope, and so I just deal with it.

This is over in the 2nd volume, and honestly it almost felt complete in this first one – you could stop right here and have a satisfying ending. Still, I enjoyed it. It wasn’t deeply meaningful or anything, but was good enough for me to seek out the next in the series.

New License Roundup

January 10, 2015 by Sean Gaffney

It’s the start of 2015, and some publishers are just itching to give us some new titles, even though cons in January are thin on the ground. The solution is, of course, social media. This week Seven Seas and Yen Press/Yen On announced titles. Let’s take a closer look.

Seven Seas is gracing us with four new titles. Akuma no Riddle is a newish title from Kadokawa’s Newtype magazine, and it also had an anime series last spring. The most important points about this series, in no particular order, are 1) it’s written by Yun Kouga, the author of Loveless, and drawn by Sunao Minakata, the artist of Pixy Junket. (Oh come now, surely SOMEONE remembers it…). 2) It has a yuri vibe to it, taking place at an all-girls school. And 3) It’s about girls being trained to be assassins. The last may be the most important.

Golden Time is a more comedic title, running in ASCII Mediaworks’ Dengeki Daioh. It’s based off of a light novel, and has everything you’d expect if you hear the words ‘comedy/romance’; childhood friends, one of whom has now forgotten everything; a female lead who is somewhat difficult for fans to like but will clearly be the main romantic option; and lots of angst. It’s by the author of Toradora!, which Seven Seas also releases.

Orenchi no Furo Jijō (Merman In My Tub) is for female readers what Golden Time might be for male readers. It runs in Media Factory’s Comic Gene, which specializes in oddball shoujo, much like Kodansha’s Aria. The premise sounds a lot like Monster Musume or Ane-Imo, only with a BL subtext couple.

And there’s Mushoku Tensei – Isekai Ittara Honki Dasu. This runs in Media Factory’s Comic Flapper, which already gives it a leg up in my opinion. A middle-aged NEET who’s wasted most of his life get killed trying to stop a truck from hitting three high school students, and is reincarnated in a fantasy world, determined to make better choices and live a life with no regrets. The series has a lot of fans, though I have heard the lead character has a lot of perverted talk. But hey, based on a light novel, what did I expect? In any case, should be fun for fans of SAO or Log Horizon.

Next, let’s take a look at Yen Press, which announced four titles yesterday: one purely manga, and 3 where they announced the light novels on the Yen On line, and the manga (already out in one case) on the Yen Press side.

Oh, yes, there’s some Madoka Magica as well. Let’s start with that. Puella Magi Homura Tamura is a cute slice-of-life spinoff series, for those who like the characters but wished they stopped dying tragically all the time. There’s also Homura’s Revenge, where Madoka joins Homura in going back in time to change things, and I expect it will end badly.

Rust Blaster is the debut work from Yana Toboso, and I believe complete in one volume. It has vampires! And is by the author of Black Butler! Can’t imagine why this was licensed, who would buy such a combination? :)

On the LN/manga combo side, we first have Strike The Blood, which also has vampires, one of which is our hero. He’s being watched closely by a teenage sword expert who has been sent to follow (indeed, stalk might be more accurate) the vampire and take him out if he becomes a threat. If you guessed their love story is part of the story, you’re right. The manga runs in Dengeki Daioh, and the author is also known for the g-dropping series Asura Cryin’.

Black Bullet looks far more future apocalypse, detailing the world 10 years after being ravaged by a virus, which is being combatted by Cursed Children and their minders. Basically, he’s a high school student who can do Tendo Style Martial Arts (I’m sure it’s a coincidence), she’s a childhood friend with superhuman powers. Together, they fight crime! The manga ended at 4 volumes, and ran in Dengeki Maoh, a Daioh spinoff devoted to games and light novels.

Lastly, and to the horror of Baccano! fans, who keep waiting for their big day, Yen On announced they have licensed the Durarara!! light novels by Ryogho Narita. Yen Press has been putting out the manga for a couple of years, and I suspect this, along with Index, was their most requested license. The story of Ikebukuro and the truly insane weirdos who inhabit it, the 2nd series of the anime is also set to begin soon. By the way, perhaps the biggest news for me: All three of these light novels will have digital versions. After seeing SAO, Accel World, and Index all print-only, I was worried that Dengeki Bunko was a no-go area for digital reads. It’s great so see this.

So which one of these new titles excites you the most?

New Year, New Manga: January Releases

January 9, 2015 by Brigid Alverson

We’re launching a new feature here at MangaBlog: An annotated monthly roundup of upcoming releases, based on the Previews catalog. That means the dates are release dates to comic shops and digital media; if you buy your manga in a bookstore, your mileage may vary.

January 7

Vertical

What Did You Eat Yesterday? vol. 6
Fumi Yoshinaga’s slice-of-life tale has gotten a lot of blogger love both for the food and for the nuanced interaction of the central couple. It got plenty of upvotes in our food manga roundtable, and Johanna Draper Carlson said “I adore Fumi Yoshinaga’s art, and her combination of recipe how-tos and small moments of daily life for a gay couple works well,” although Kate Dacey admitted to being “mildly disappointed” in the series in that same post.

Viz

Bleach, vol. 10 (3 in 1)
Jaco the Galactic Patrolman, vol. 1: New series from Akira Toriyama, creator of Dragon Ball Z.
Kiss of the Rose Princess, vol. 2
Meteor Prince, vol. 1: New shoujo series from the creator of Omukae Desu and Pearl Pink.
My Love Story, vol. 3: A MangaBlog favorite!!
Naruto, vol. 10 (3 in 1)
Nisekoi: False Love, vol. 7: High school comedy about the son and daughter of two warring Yakuza families who must pretend to be boyfriend and girlfriend, even though they can’t stand each other… or maybe not.
One Piece, vol. 73

January 14

Kodansha

Noragami: Stray God, vol. 3: This started out in the first volume as sort of a slapstick comedy about a homeless god who is at the very bottom of the totem pole and is picking up odd jobs in order to earn enough to get a place to live and work his way up the ladder. It’s a good premise and I’ll be interested to see how the story develops.
The Seven Deadly Sins, vol. 6

Vertical

My Neighbor Seki, vol. 1: A new comedy about a schoolgirl who cannot ignore her classmate’s elaborate games and projects. The anime, Tonari no Seki-kun, is available on Crunchyroll.

Viz

07-Ghost, vol. 14
Case Closed, vol. 53
Ranma 1/2, vol. 6 (2 in 1)

January 21

Kodansha

Missions of Love, vol. 10
My Little Monster, vol. 6

Viz

Monster, vol. 3 (Perfect Edition)
Resident Evil: The Marhawa Desire, vol. 2
Terra Formars, vol. 4

Yen Press

Akame ga Kill!, vol. 1: A new series for the new year. Here’s the blurb:

Teenage country bumpkin Tatsumi dreams of earning enough money for his impoverished village by working in the Capital— but his short-lived plans go awry when he’s robbed by a buxom beauty upon arrival! Penniless, Tatsumi is taken in by the lovely Lady Aria, but just when his Capital dreams seem in reach yet again, Lady Aria’s mansion is besieged by Night Raid—a team of ruthless assassins who targets high-ranking members of the upper class! As Tatsumi is quick to learn, appearances can be deceiving in the Capital, and this team of assassins just might be…the good guys?!

Black Butler, vol. 19: Everyone’s favorite butler, Sebastian, is kickin’ ass and pourin’ tea in this latest volume, which kicks off a new adventure for him and his boss, Ciel Phantomhive.
Goong, vol. 17: A Shocking Secret is revealed in the latest volume of the long-running manhwa.
Inu x Boku SS, vol. 6: This is a weird ensemble story filled with light and dark moments; watch for a review of the first five volumes soon.
Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days, vol. 5: The final volume in this series.
The Melancholy of Suzumiya Haruhi-Chan, vol. 9: More 4-koma Haruhi-ness. Can there be such a thing as too much Haruhi? Apparently not.
Milkyway Hitchhiking, vol. 2
No Matter How You Look At It, It’s You Guys’ Fault I’m Not Popular, vol. 6
Secret, vol. 1: Like Yoshiki Tonogai’s other manga, Judge and Doubt, this one features schoolchildren in giant animal heads involved in some sort of cat-and-mouse game, this one involving three murderers who are in their midst. This is a two-volume series, with the second one out in June.
Sword Art Online Progressive, vol. 1
Ubel Blatt, vol. 1
Uminkeo When They Cry, Episode 4: Alliance of the Golden Witch
Until Death Do Us Part, vol. 8

January 28

Kodansha

Fairy Tail, vol. 46

Vertical

Prophecy, vol. 1: Another new series. Here’s the blurb:

A newspaper-masked vigilante who broadcasts his acts of vengeance before committing them. A newly-formed police division tackling the new frontier of internet-based crime. As the sun rises on the Era of Information, can a group of people who found themselves at the bottom of the food chain rattle society through the web and avenge a fallen friend?

Yen Press

Soul Eater, vol. 24: If you have fallen away, it’s time to get back on board, as it’s the beginning of the end—the final showdown begins, and it all comes to a head in volume 25, the last volume in the series.

Ketchup Clouds by Annabel Pitcher

January 9, 2015 by Michelle Smith

From the front flap:
Zoe has an unconventional pen pal—Mr. Stuart Harris, a Texas Death Row inmate and convicted murderer. But then again, Zoe has an unconventional story to tell. A story about how she fell for two boys, betrayed one of them, and killed the other.

Hidden away in her backyard shed in the middle of the night with a jam sandwich in one hand and a pen in the other, Zoe gives a voice to her heart and her fears after months of silence. Mr. Harris may never respond to Zoe’s letters, but at least somebody will know her story—somebody who knows what it’s like to kill a person you love. Only through her unusual confession can Zoe hope to atone for her mistakes that have torn lives apart, and work to put her own life back together again.

Review:
When a complicated love triangle results in the death of one of the parties involved, British teenager “Zoe” is wracked with guilt, especially since no one realizes the part she played in all of it. Unable to keep it in anymore, Zoe ends up writing anonymously to Stuart Harris, an inmate on death row in Texas for killing his wife, figuring he will understand how she feels. As her letters, written at night in the backyard shed, proceed chronologically through the events leading to the fateful night, Harris’ execution inexorably nears.

The whole concept of this novel put me in mind of John Marsden (a compliment). Initially, I thought of Letters from the Inside, though really the similarities are few between those works. More, this resembles something like So Much to Tell You or Winter, in which a teenage heroine attempts to get over a tragedy in her past that is gradually revealed to the audience.

Pitcher does a good job maintaining the suspense, and at varying times I desperately wanted either to peek or not to peek at the ending. Better still, and like Marsden, the true focus here is on forgiveness and healing. I found Zoe a very appealing character, the funny and creative sort I would’ve liked to be friends with in high school. (Bonus points for owning a fountain pen!) True, she makes mistakes, but never does anything outright dumb. And I liked her family, too, particularly the bond between the sisters and the way in which Zoe realizes she’s got someone closer to home who can relate to what she’s going through.

Another thing I really appreciated was how Zoe behaved around the two boys in her life, brothers Max and Aaron. She was never not herself, never downplayed her own interests and enthusiasms, and it was shown to be this quality that made her most attractive. The love triangle also didn’t resolve quite in the way I was expecting to, and while I mostly really like the ending, I will always be annoyed when a guy makes a decision on a girl’s behalf.

Ultimately, I liked Ketchup Clouds a lot. This was Pitcher’s second novel, and at some point I intend to check out her first, My Sister Lives on the Mantelpiece.

More and More of You and Other Stories

January 9, 2015 by Ash Brown

Creator: Takeshi Matsu
Publisher: Bruno Gmünder
ISBN: 9783867877930
Released: November 2014

Takeshi Matsu is a popular creator of gay manga in Japan, his work appealing to both male and female readerships. He initially started out working for shounen magazines, at one point even winning an award for his manga. Matsu moved on to creating erotic gay manga around the age of thirty and was successful enough that he was actually able to make a career of it. It wasn’t until 2014 that any of Matsu’s work was officially translated and released in English. He was one of the nine mangaka featured in Massive: Gay Erotic Manga and the Men Who Make It which included his short manga “Kannai’s Dilemma,” and he became the first creator after Gengoroh Tagame to have a major release of gay manga printed in English. More and More of You and Other Stories, published by the Germany-based Bruno Gmünder as part of its Gay Manga line, collects several of Matsu’ self-published doujinshi in a single volume for the very first time. Although the individual manga are available in Japanese, the anthology itself is an original English-language release.

More and More of You and Other Stories collects four of Matsu’s manga, beginning with the titular and longest, “More and More of You.” It’s a surprisingly sweet and even romantic story about a young man named Kosuke who is in love with his childhood friend and neighbor Shokichi, who just so happens to now be one of his high school teachers as well. Sho actually returns his feelings, although neither one of the men has admitted it to the other, and the romantic inclinations of some of Kosuke’s classmates only complicate matters further. “Go West” is an erotically charged parody of the Chinese classic The Journey to the West, following the sexual escapades and battles of Sanzo and his small crew as they cruise their way through the gay clubs from Ni-chōme to Doyama-chō. Things get a little heated in the kitchen and in the bedroom when two cooks of rival cuisines begin dating in “Recipe for Love” while “Tales from the Kitchen” features several autobiographically-based gag manga.

Because More and More of You and Other Stories is a collection of erotic doujinshi, it’s not too surprising that each chapter somehow incorporates the characters’ masturbatory fantasies or other sexual encounters. Matsu’s men tend to be lanky, muscular, and very well-endowed. More and More of You and Other Stories can be explicit, but there’s also a lot of playfulness and humor to the sex. Even when the plot includes drama and conflict, ultimately Matsu’s manga is delightfully upbeat and sometimes even hilarious. As just one example, the absolutely ridiculous pillow talk of “Recipe for Love” as the two men rhapsodize about their lover’s body in terms of food is highly amusing. A few of the jokes and references made in “Go West” will make more sense to readers who have at least passing familiarity with The Journey to the West, but no prior knowledge is needed to appreciate the impressive sexual prowess and the rather interesting, psychically-enhanced sexual abilities and powers of the characters.

It’s very clear that Matsu enjoyed creating the manga collected in More and More of You and Other Stories. Because the selections were originally all self-published, he had the freedom to develop the works exactly in the way that he wanted and chose to do. As a result More and More of You and Other Stores is both a fun and funny volume. Even the manga included that aren’t primarily comedies have humor and charm to them. The characters are likeable and by and large are obviously enjoying all of the sex that they are having. Another thing that I particularly welcomed about More and More of You and Other Stories is that in part it’s a food manga, which I love. I also happen to have an interest in The Journey to the West in its various incarnations, so it was as if More and More of You and Other Stories was made with me in mind. In the afterword Matsu mentions that he hopes to have the opportunity to release additional collections of his manga in English; I know that I’d certainly like to see them!

Manga the Week of 1/14

January 8, 2015 by Sean Gaffney, Ash Brown, Michelle Smith, MJ and Anna N 2 Comments

SEAN: In between two fairly hefty weeks, we have a low number of titles out this week. Let’s take them one by one.

Kodansha has a 6th volume of its shonen fantasy The Seven Deadly Sins.

Vertical has a debut I’ve been waiting for ever since it was announced: My Neighbor Seki, from Media Factory’s Comic Flapper. The story of a girl who is constantly distracted in class by her next-desk neighbor’s attempts to… well, revealing more would spoil the surprise. It’s been nominated for awards, it’s had an anime, and it is really, really funny. Absolutely one to watch out for.

ASH: I’ve been really looking forward to this debut! The anime adaptation was absolutely delightful.

MICHELLE: I didn’t have this on my radar at all and then Vertical kindly sent me a copy. Researching it yielded cautious optimism and now I’m downright eager.

MJ: I am so ready for this.

ANNA: I also didn’t have this on my radar before, but it sounds interesting!

SEAN: Lastly, there’s a 53rd volume of Case Closed, and Shinichi… sorry, Jimmy… is still a kid.

MICHELLE: I have occasionally dabbled in Case Closed and found it entertaining enough, but I just can’t get excited about it.

SEAN: What (Seki) will you be buying (Seki) next week? (hint: Seki.)