Bookshelf Briefs

Anonymous Noise, Vol. 10 | By Ryoko Fukuyama | Viz Media – Finally, the concerts are going well. Seeing the band actually being fantastic and getting the audiences going is a joy to watch. That said, though, this is still primarily a romance manga. Yuzu manages to confess, but Nino’s just not that into him—she still is in love with Momo. That said, she’s upset about hurting Yuzu, and (in the best scene in the book) opens up to Miou about it. This allows Miou to finally put aside her own demons and admit that she’s in love with Haruyoshi, though he admittedly connects a lot of the dots there in his own favor. That said, Black Kitty absolutely just tore it up. Can In No Hurry top them? This is still one of the better potboiler shoujo manga out there. – Sean Gaffney

As Miss Beelzebub Likes, Vol. 3 | By Matoba | Yen Press -The shotacon I grumped about last time is noticeably absent from this volume (it’s even lampshaded), and I’m not sure that’s the reason I liked it more, but it’ll do. Frankly, I want to see Beelzebub and Mullin get together. I know I will be very, very frustrated as this series goes on, but I’m sorry, they’re just too cute! I’m not quite as fond of the other romance in this book, mostly as I just don’t like Astaroth all that much, and I feel that Sargatanas could do better. There’s also some amusing humor here, including a swimsuit-buying chapter filled with a lot of jokes and fanservice. This series is never going to be anything but froth, but the froth is tasty, and I enjoy it way more than I expected. – Sean Gaffney

Astra: Lost in Space, Vol. 4 | By Kenta Shinohara | Viz Media – There’s a new character introduced at the start of this volume, who was in cryostasis from her own spaceship wreck. At first I thought she’d be a villain character, but it actually turns out that she’s there to be the viewpoint character, as the rest of our cast are getting further and further away from that as we learn their big secret. It certainly explains why they were all mysteriously in that accident—not so mysterious. I feel bad for Aries, who ends up being the only one with a parental figure who wasn’t awful. I’ve no idea where this will end up, but we do get another (amusing) pairing happening here, so my guess is it will wrap soon. – Sean Gaffney

Barakamon, Vol. 16 | By Satsuki Yoshino | Yen Press – To my surprise, Handa actually seems to be getting legitimate students for his school, as well as taking inspiration from his father to do some awesome calligraphy and also worry about Naru. That said, this is Hiroshi’s book. He graduates, and despite Rina’s attempts to confess he goes off to Tokyo single as he’s a bit clueless, but also apparently not really all that into Rina, so it’s probably for the best. There’s lots of nice relaxing stuff about Hiroshi growing up and standing on his own, and it really does feel as if the manga is quietly coming to a close at this point. I’m not sure if it will have a “real” ending per se, but as long as it turns out nice, relaxing volumes like this I’m still reading happily. – Sean Gaffney

Escape Journey, Vol. 1 | By Ogeretsu Tanaka | SuBLime – Naoto Hisami and Taichi Hase dated in their first year of high school, but were better as friends than as a couple and eventually broke up after harsh words were exchanged. Now reunited in their first year of university, they try to be friends but eventually fall back into the same unhealthy pattern. At first, things are consensual, but Naoto wants there to be more to their relationship than just sex. He rents a DVD to watch together, but after Taichi sees a text from a girl on Naoto’s phone, he gets jealous and ends up sexually assaulting Naoto. Are there any kind of ramifications for his actions? No, reader, there are not. For some reason, Naoto takes part of the blame and then it’s all glossed over. I like broken characters, and their relationship dynamics are interesting, but I don’t think I can read any more of this. – Michelle Smith

The Girl from the Other Side: Siúil, a Rún, Vol. 5 | By Nagabe| Seven Seas – I hadn’t really thought that this series could get any creepier and darker, but way to prove me wrong, Girl from the Other Side. Shiva’s aunt may not be “dead” in a normal sense, but as a character she certainly is. I felt some empathy for her plot-related backstory, as she’s presented with a choice that has no good options. There’s also a brutal fight between Teacher and two guards who have been cursed, which would be quite nasty if the art weren’t so abstract. And so Teacher and Shiva are on the run, and hoping that a different village will make things slightly more relaxing. I’m pretty sure it won’t, but I am interested in seeing how this finally ends—is there any way it can end happily? – Sean Gaffney

Interviews with Monster Girls, Vol. 6 | By Petos | Kodansha Comics – It’s been over a year since the last volume of this, and since then the anime has made its impression. This may be why all of a sudden the relationship (or rather lack thereof) between Tetsuo and Sakie really comes to the fore here, and there’s much less focus on the girls. Not that I’m complaining—the author is really good at writing sexual tension, and by the end of the volume you will be screaming for these two to just screw already. The other major focus of this book is Yoko, Tetsuo’s niece, and her zashiki-warashi, who turns out to possibly be in Yoko’s head all along? Or not? If I were to take one monster girl manga to a desert island, it would be this one. – Sean Gaffney

My Brother’s Husband, Vol. 2 | By Gengoroh Tagame | Pantheon Books – I am still thrilled that My Brother’s Husband was released in English. The second half or the series may be even better than the first, perhaps in part because it had such a strong foundation upon which to build. Yaichi remains the most well-developed character—understandably as his growth as a person is a major focus of the series—but more is revealed about Mike as well, and through him Yaichi’s brother Ryoji. The story is beautifully structured with ending scenes paralleling those from the beginning, showing how much Yaichi has matured in such a short period of time, confronting and overcoming the homophobia he hadn’t at first realized he had internalized. My Brother’s Husband is not a subtle manga, but it is a legitimately moving one. By realistically portraying how prejudice and discrimination directly impact the characters’ lives and deeply inform their relationships, Tagame’s message of love is made abundantly clear. – Ash Brown

My Brother’s Husband, Vol. 2 | By Gengoroh Tagame | Pantheon Books – Oh, don’t mind me. I’m just over here sniffling because one dude told another dude “You’re family, Mike” and then later they hugged. It’s true that at times the revelations Taichi has about homosexuality fall squarely in “no crap, dude” territory, but at least he’s having them. (It’s especially gratifying that he refuses to indulge the homophobia of Kana’s teacher, as well.) He gradually realizes that not only has he become completely comfortable in Mike’s presence, but Mike has become so important over the course of his three-week visit that Yaichi is starting to envision the Canadian being a real part of their lives going forward. I liked the implication that Yaichi and Kana will visit Canada someday and Yaichi will get the opportunity to be the tourist, learning about a part of Ryoji’s life he’s unfamiliar with. This was a really touching conclusion. Highly recommended. – Michelle Smith

The Ancient Magus’ Bride, Vol. 9 | By Kore Yamazaki | Seven Seas – I read the first eight volumes of The Ancient Magus’ Bride back-to-back, so it was a little weird reading this one on its own. We pick up with Chise having made a deal with Josef that ultimately involves each getting to see the other’s painful past. She eventually must agree that he’s suffered even more than she has, though this doesn’t give him an excuse for hurting people. I’m not sure if her message of understanding really got through to him, but it was pretty neat that, although Elias was prepared to do something terrible to save her, Chise essentially saved herself. Perhaps a bit too neatly, everything more or less resets in time for the next phase of the story—the “college arc”—which begins next volume. I’m looking forward to it! – Michelle Smith

A Centaur’s Life, Vol. 15 | By Kei Murayama | Seven Seas – Last time we had a lot of war and very little of the main cast; this time the main cast are more heavily involved, but only because the war comes to them. Honestly, if anything, the series gets even more bizarre, something I thought impossible, mostly thanks to the snake people and their “world in a bubble” reality generator, which makes me wonder how much of what we’ve seen has been in one of those. As for Hime, though the cover may make this look like a final volume, it isn’t—but she is almost killed by terrorists, who go after the little triplet girls as well. A Centaur’s Life has found the line between cute (and sometimes perverse) monster girls and anti-war otakudom, and is proud to step back and over over that line. – Sean Gaffney

Hatsu*Haru, Vol. 2 | By Shizuki Fujisawa | Yen Press -The concept of the playboy high school guy who ends up knowing nothing about what real love feels like is not a new plot in the slightest, but the author does a very good job of keeping us interested despite that. Kai’s attempts to force a kiss on Riko get him in deep trouble for almost half the volume, and justifiably so. But Kai is genuinely trying to understand Hiro, and understand why she continues to be in love with another man even though she knows he is with someone else and can’t reciprocate it. The series gets a bit more cliche when it moves to the other main characters—honestly, the Buddhist guy/Shinto girl pair made me groan at how cliched it was. Do we need to pair the spares already? Still, overall good. – Sean Gaffney

Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon Four-Panel Comic: Odd Days of Goddess | By Masaya Takamura and Fujino Omori | Yen Press – The second volume of this 4-koma parody series is not as good as the first. Honestly, it has to be said: seeing Hestia and Lilly getting jealous over Bell is not really why fans over here read the series, and since it’s exaggerated in a parody, that makes it more annoying. This second volume came out around when Sword Oratoria was taking off, so the second half focuses far more on Lefiya and company, but the humorous tone is still the same. Oddly, the best parts of the volume are when it briefly turns serious, or at least sweet, showing off Bell and Hestia’s pure and innocent kind-of love. If you like the series, this may make you smile. – Sean Gaffney

Kaguya-sama: Love Is War, Vol. 4 | By Aka Akasaka | Viz Media – I suspect I may love this a bit more than other manga bloggers do, but oh well. I love it. Shirogane’s sister is on the cover, and she does come to visit the student council room, though she’s on her best behavior. And there are a few classic Chika moments. But for the most part this volume is dominated by Kaguya and Shirogane and their desperate attempts to get the other to confess first so they can just GO OUT ALREADY. This includes pretending to be cold, which goes disastrously on both sides, and Kaguya then CATCHING a cold, which leads to an actual crisis when Shirogane can’t control his teenage hormones and Kaguya thinks he went too far… or not far enough. I can’t stop laughing when I read this. – Sean Gaffney

The Night Beyond the Tricornered Window, Vol. 5 | By Tomoko Yamashita | SuBLime Manga (digital only) – I wasn’t exactly lulled into a false sense of security by the episodic first half of this volume, given the pervasive ominous feeling that always lingers on the fringes of this series, but I was still taken by surprise when some pivotal things suddenly happen in the back half, including Hanzawa having a run-in with Erika and readers suddenly learning some very major and disturbing truths about Rihito’s past that both render him more sympathetic as a character and provide further evidence that he’s likely a very dangerous person for Mikado to be hanging around with. I love this series so much, from the spare yet expressive art to the creepy cases to the leads and their complicated relationship. What it reminds me of the most is Tokyo Babylon, so if that’s your jam, please read this series! – Michelle Smith

Queen’s Quality, Vol. 5 | By Kyousuke Motomi | Viz Media – This volume of Queen’s Quality felt more like a shonen series, filled with dramatic battles, swords, and flashbacks of dead childhood friends in the best One Piece tradition. Fumi is getting closer to becoming a true queen, and succeeds in at least moving from the Black Queen to the Dark Grey Queen this time around (would she sing the Seven Seas of Rhye?), but she has to figure out a way to work with white as well, and it’s implied that she has to recover all her memories to do so. Meanwhile, Kyutaro is having trouble dealing with how much he’s in love with her, and even her very presence can relax and heal him. This new arc involving a spring break training trip will have trouble topping the excitement of the arc that ended here. – Sean Gaffney

Skip Beat!, Vol. 41 | By Yoshiki Nakamura | VIZ Media- Kyoko’s audition for a ninja role in a samurai drama continues, and the majority of this volume can be summed up as, “She proceeds to be very badass.” Some of what happens to make her stand out was a calculated move on Yashiro’s part, but the fact is that she has prepared more than any of the other candidates, and even the fact that she’s a “talento” with LME instead of an official actress doesn’t seem like it’ll hurt her much. I love the way Nakamura-sensei depicts Kyoko when she’s in character, and her ninja persona is very cool indeed. I’d be super happy to see some serious stardom start to come her way, especially with Yashiro as her manager. The final couple of pages hint for some movement on the romance front, too. I still love this series very, very much! – Michelle Smith

Slum Wolf | By Tadao Tsuge | New York Review Comics – Although it’s the first volume by a Japanese creator to be published by New York Review Comics, Slum Wolf is the second major collection of Tadao Tsuge’s work to have been translated into English. (Trash Market was released a few years ago by Drawn & Quarterly.) Slum Wolf brings together nine of Tsuge’s short manga originally published between 1969 an 1978, most of which first appeared in the influential alternative manga magazine Garo. In addition to an autobiographical article by Tsuge, an essay by the volume’s editor and translator Ryan Holmberg which provides additional historical context for the manga is also included. The stories themselves have autobiographical influences as well. Filled with vagrants, punks, hoodlums, and other tough guys living in the shadow of the Second World War and the American occupation that followed, the short vignettes in Slum Wolf share a similar atmosphere and mood, themes, and even a few recurring characters. – Ash Brown

Again!!, Vol. 4 | By Mitsurou Kubo | Kodansha Comics – Just as the ouendan members are beginning to communicate and share ideas for how to set their cheering apart, Imamura falls down the flight of stairs again and finds himself back where he started, temporally speaking. What follows is a neat split timeline, with Imamura in 2014 trying to figure out whether what he experienced was real or a dream, and Fujieda in 2011 watching everyone gradually forget Imamura and his influence in their lives. It’s still not 100% conclusive that it is real, or whether Imamura’s actions will in any way affect the present, but he’s still determined to try. Armed with knowledge of how Usami ends up causing a disaster and dropping out of school, an accidental plummet from a window sends him back again. This was an exciting volume, and a big improvement over the previous one. – Michelle Smith

Arakawa Under the Bridge, Vol. 4 | By Hikaru Nakamura | Vertical Comics – As always, I’m grasping at straws to avoid having every review be simply “this series is really weird but pretty funny,” and this time around it’s noticing that despite living under the bridge mostly involving Rec playing the straight man, it’s actually pretty much been a good thing for him, both in terms of his physical and mental health. Rec was the sort of person who was headed for an early nervous breakdown, and while one can argue that he has about ten of these in this omnibus alone, he’s also maturing in a weird way by being immature. He’s also a good fit with Nino, who gets a rival in a huge Amazon this time around but is otherwise power-faced. Best read in bits, but still great fun. – Sean Gaffney

Chio’s School Road, Vol. 1 | By Tadataka Kawasaki | Yen Press – Although Chio is a high school student who would rather not draw too much attention to herself, somehow the complete opposite always seems to happen. She can’t even make it to school on time without something astonishingly absurd happening first–thus the title and premise of the series. Chio’s School Road can be incredibly funny. The titular heroine repeatedly finds herself in over-the-top situations which she unintentionally makes even more outrageous due to a potent mix of exceptionally creative problem solving, a nearly complete lack of common sense, and an obsessive love of video games. While not as overly-sexualized or fanservice-laden as it could be, Kawasaki’s background as a hentai artist is readily apparent in Chio’s School Road, mostly in how characters’ facial expressions are portrayed during times of intense physical exertion. Some of the humor is a bit lewd or risqué as well, but some elements are more innocent. – Ash Brown

D-Frag!, Vol. 12 | By Tomoya Haruno | Seven Seas – It’s been almost a year and a half since the last volume of D-Frag!, and I’ve honestly forgotten half the cast. But that’s fine, as the reader will quickly get back into the spirit of things, as the premise remains the same—gags happen, and they are funny. Much of the volume involves the main cast going to a festival held at the Girls’ Private Academy they’ve occasionally battled, and no prizes for guessing that they have to play games there. And there’s also many, many jokes about Takao’s breasts, which remain nearly invincible (in fact, the fact that they can come to harm is a gag all to itself.) D-Frag! is never going to have a serious plotline or any character development, but it’s dumb fun. – Sean Gaffney

My Monster Secret, Vol. 12 | By Eiji Masuda | Seven Seas – First off, I get the feeling that the manga really is going to go for the teacher/student relationship with Akari and Sakurada, and I’m not sure how I feel about it, though it would at least stop the old maid jokes. The best part of this volume, though, is Youko and Asahi’s first date, which is absolutely adorable despite a bit of ominous foreshadowing near the end, which seems to imply that Youko’s vampire tendencies may actually be tied to her lust for her boyfriend. We also start a new year, and thus have new freshman, including Asahi’s sister, who I’d forgotten existed, and Momochi, an over-the-top ninja who seems to fall in love at the drop of a hat. Dragging on a bit, but still good. – Sean Gaffney

Yowamushi Pedal, Vol. 9 | By Wataru Watanabe | Yen Press – Day two of the inter-high continues! The teams from Hakone and Sohoku make their triumphant return to the head of the pack, much to the consternation of a hothead on the Kyoto-Fushimi team. Midousuji insists all is within the scope of his simulations, however, and employs various tactics to ensure his victory. It’s initially satisfying watching Midousuji be thrown off by just how strong Fukutomi and Kinjou really are—I was particularly amused when he called them “sewer gnats!!”—but once he gets a tragic backstory, I felt a little less gleeful about it. Fukutomi and Kinjou have a very healthy rivalry born of mutual respect that leads to greater heights, whereas Midousuji has nothing like that. Watanabe-sensei, I can’t believe you made me feel bad for Midousuji. Well done! – Michelle Smith

Bloom Into You, Vol. 5 | By Nakatani Nio | Seven Seas – Yuu works with Kanou to get the ending of the student council play rewritten so that the character Touko’s playing won’t disregard the her of the present to pretend to be the her of the past. When Touko sees the new script, especially the requirement that she now say a line about how her choices have been wrong, she’s rather put out and expects Sayaka to support her, but instead, Sayaka is with Yuu on this one. Finally, though, Yuu seems to be getting through to her with an impassioned speech about, “You’ve been you all this time!” I do think Touko probably needs to be in therapy, but it seems like her love for Yuu, something her sister never had, might be showing her the path to her real self, and that’s kind of neat. I’ll keep reading! – Michelle Smith

Giant Killing, Vol. 13 | By Masaya Tsunamoto and Tsujitomo | Kodansha Comics (digital only) – There are twenty minutes left in ETU’s game against Tokyo Victory and their early one-point lead is in jeopardy as Victory’s previously injured ace, Mochida, takes the field. It’s probably too early in the series for ETU to achieve an outright victory over the league champions, but they at least hold them to a draw, with Tsubaki playing with a lot more confidence than in their prior matchup. It’s awesome to see how much he’s grown. Next, over midseason break, some of the players have been drafted for an exhibition game between the league’s Japanese all-stars and its foreign players, with ETU management hoping an MVP recognition might appease their sponsors, particularly the son of a wealty donor who is not as enamored of the club as his father is. Basically: this is grown-up sports manga and it’s great. – Michelle Smith

Hakumei & Mikochi: Tiny Little Life in the Woods, Vol. 1 | By Takuto Kashiki | Yen Press – It’s the manga’s subtitle that reveals the conceit that separates Hakumei & Mikochi from any number of other slice-of-life series currently being released. The two titular characters, like everyone else in the manga, are tiny. Like, using-beetles-as-a-mode-of-transportation small. Overall the tone of the manga is calming and optimistic although it’s not without its moments of danger and drama as the story follows Hakumei and Mikochi through their day-to-day lives. Mikochi is the more quiet and reserved of the two while Hakumei is more energetic and outgoing. The two young women live with, support, and look out for each other. The artwork of the series is detailed, with particular attention given to creating a well-realized setting and portraying the beauty of nature. At this point there’s no evidence whatsoever of humans encroaching upon the surprisingly gentle world of Hakumei & Mikochi, and I suspect that will be the case for the entire series. – Ash Brown

Lovesick Ellie, Vol. 6 | By Fujimomo | Kodansha Comics (digital only) – The drama in this volume mostly hinges on communication fails and I’m sorry to say that it’s getting old. Some of it is pretty good, like when Sara’s feelings get hurt when she realizes that Ellie never told her when she and Akira officially started going out. But it’s frustrating when Ellie irrationally decides that Akira does not actually care about receiving the Valentine’s Day chocolates she made for him. It’s just so stupid because it’s obvious that it means a lot to him! The cuteness of the resulting smoochy times just can’t make up for such a dumb moment. To top it all off, the friendless boy with whom Ellie sympathizes, despite Akira’s jealousy, is now poised to be a rival for her affections. Whee, a love triangle. My favorite. I hope I can continue to enjoy this series going forward, but I’m not so sure. – Michelle Smith

Scum’s Wish, Vol. 8 | By Mengo Yokoyari | Yen Press – The final volume of Scum’s Wish ends as it began, with the horrible pangs of unrequited teenage love. Neither Hanabi nor Mugi gets what they want, and while it would be really easy for them to take comfort in each other, they can’t bring themselves to do it. They just don’t have those feelings. It’s well-portrayed. Slightly less so is Akane, who seems to end up with Narumi because of his acceptance and love of who she is, including the awful bits—it’s fine if she cheats on him, he says with a smile. This leads her to the revelation that she really does want to marry him, but it feels, like most of Scum’s Wish, a bit more sordid than I’d like. There’s a sequel, but I suspect this may be it for the title over here. It was good, but painful. – Sean Gaffney

Stupid Love Comedy | By Syusyusyu Sakurai | Yen Press – For a manga with “love comedy” in the title, Stupid Love Comedy has surprisingly little romance in it. Suzu Sakura is a manga creator described as a natural genius but who requires quite a bit of oversight from her editors in order to keep her on schedule. Stupid Love Comedy opens with her being assigned a new editor, Osamu Hasegawa, who is less inclined to put up with her antics and excuses. Feelings of love aren’t completely absent from the story, and in some ways the series is set up like a reverse harem (every guy Sakura works with is incredibly attractive), but for the most part the true love of the various characters is the creation of manga. The stories and characters of Stupid Love Comedy are based on real-life people and experiences, the series providing a humorous, entertaining, and at times outrageous behind-the-scenes look at the manga industry. – Ash Brown

Tales of Wedding Rings, Vol. 3 | By Maybe | Yen Press – Last time I said the series was avoiding the obvious harem fantasy tropes, and while I enjoyed this volume as well, I can’t say that here. From catgirls to “my future husband must defeat me in combat,” it’s all present and correct. What’s more, Wife #1 Hime is starting to feel a bit jealous, and also somewhat inadequate compared to the powerhouses Satou is picking up. Still, she’s first among equals, and I think that fans of harem romances will… well, OK, fans of harem romances will be upset there was no nookie here either—Souma explicitly wants to wait till he’s back home in Japan. Next time we’ll get a new princess, no doubt, but I think the series works best when it’s focused on Satou and Hime. – Sean Gaffney

Toppu GP, Vol. 3 | By Kosuke Fujishima | Kodansha Comics – Everyone loves Myne, the Belldandy of this series, though she doesn’t really seem to have her eye on anyone. Which is good, as the romance would get in the way of the bike-racing and bike-training. The majority of this is basically watching awesome motocross racing and giving advice to newbies on how to get better, which includes things like “don’t ride when you are frustrated or you’ll injure yourself.” Toppu is a lot more young and teenage than the Keiichi ever was—actually, to be honest, he resembles the Keiichi at the start of Oh My Goddess!, before he became sexless by design. This comes out once in a blue moon, but it’s still a good title for Fujishima or biking fans. – Sean Gaffney

Yowamushi Pedal, Vol. 9 | By Wataru Watanabe | Yen Press – Day Two is over, and it will come as no surprise to anyone to learn that Midousuji’s way of biking is not going to come out on top. He gets a tragic backstory that makes things more understandable, but at the end of the day I still sort of hate him. Fortunately, this volume is far more balanced between the three teams, giving everyone a chance to show off, be really shonen, and demonstrate to the reader how cool, powerful, and exhausting this all is. The book reads as fast as the race, as you find yourself pulled along by the lineart. So with two days down and one to go, I expect some downtime in the next book. However, I still can’t wait to read it. Addicting. – Sean Gaffney

Arpeggio of Blue Steel, Vol. 13 | By Ark Performance | Seven Seas – Well, that escalated quickly. The end of this volume notes that this is the end of “Chapter One” of this series, and it’s certainly taking things in a different direction. It helps when you write out the main character, to be fair: Gunzou isn’t quite killed, but it seems pretty clear that he’s at least being written off the stage for a while. In his place we have Iona, who is forced to abandon him in order to save everyone else. And so now the entire cast seems to be shifting over to… I can’t believe I’m writing this… a school series, complete with cute school uniforms. It actually seems to be a Naval Academy, but I dunno. Are we really exchanging epic naval battles for this? I’m not really sure where this is going from here. – Sean Gaffney

In/Spectre, Vol. 8 | By Kyo Shirodaira and Chashiba Katase | Kodansha Comics – This is a second volume of short stories for this series, though it’s implied we’ll get a longer arc next time. The first story takes up most of it, and serves up a nice balance of mystery and horror, which is what we’ve come to expect from In/Spectre. Well, that and Kotoko going on and on about getting into Kuro’s pants. This time instead of the third wheel being Kuro’s ex-girlfriend, it’s a Cool Old Lady (TM),who helps the two of them deal with a wooden doll that is killing all the fish at a local seaport. The second story is lighter in tone, being about a tofu yokai who’s trying to get Kotoko to praise his tofu—this was actually interesting more for the discussion of taste than any mystery. Still enjoying this. Sean Gaffney

Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic, Vol. 31 | By Shinobu Ohtaka | VIZ Media – Aladdin and Alibaba haven’t had their reunion yet, but the day is drawing near. First, though, Aladdin must evade the clutches of Gyokuen, who isn’t dead and who is working along with Sinbad to try to take control of the world. Sinbad has convinced himself that only he can see the flow of fate and create a peaceful world, which of course Aladdin disagrees with. Meanwhile, Alibaba is hustling on behalf of the Kou Empire, making headway in their new business ventures before being torpedoed by Sinbad and coming back even stronger. It was hinted pretty heavily along the way that Sinbad would turn out to be the big bad of the series, and we’re starting to see that play out, even though neither Aladdin nor Alibaba thinks he’s a wholly terrible person. Six volumes left in this impressive shounen series! – Michelle Smith

Species Domain, Vol. 5 | By Shunsuke Noro | Seven Seas – I’m wondering if the series is wrapping up soon, as we get a lot more emphasis on who is going to pair up with whom in this volume. The most interesting, even if it goes nowhere for the moment, is Hanei and Mikasagi, which ends up being a very shonen sort of relationship—I love him and can admit it to myself, but want to wait till he knows he loves me too. As for Dowa and Tanaka, they may be insisting they aren’t a couple but Dowa’s family and the narrative is sure treating them as one, jokes about Tanaka dying aside. Still, the closest relationship may be between Kazamori and Ohki—sadly, this time around it’s the girl who’s oblivious. This is still an excellent “monster girl” series that’s not perverse and deft with the comedy. – Sean Gaffney

A Strange & Mystifying Story, Vol. 4 | By Tsuta Suzuki | SuBLime – A year has passed since Master Kurayori agreed to accept Tsumugi as his bride. In this time, Tsumugi has fallen in love with Kurayori, and his teenaged boy hormones lead him to plant a kiss on Kurayori when the latter doesn’t seem to understand his feelings, though at least Tsumugi is immediately mortified about what he did. In some ways, despite the fact that one of these characters is a supernatural being who was a sixty-year-old human spellcaster before becoming said supernatural being, this is basically your standard burgeoning romance boys’ love story. It’s got a pleasant atmosphere, and I enjoyed seeing a favorite couple from the previous volume. Perhaps the best part, though, was a very brief appearance by a mysterious couple in a bookstore. Could there be a darker subplot on the horizon? – Michelle Smith

That Blue Sky Feeling, Vol. 1 | By Okura and Coma Hashii | Viz Media – Very few manga by openly gay creators have made their way into English translation. Most recently is That Blue Sky Feeling, an ongoing manga series illustrated by Coma Hashii based on a webcomic by Okura. Outgoing, earnest, and kindhearted by nature, high school transfer student Noshiro can’t stand by when he notices that his classmate Sanada generally keeps to himself and that most of the other students avoid him. The reason for that is a rumor going around that Sanada is gay–a rumor that turns out to be true. The characterization and personal development of both Sanada and Noshiro are highlights of That Blue Sky Feeling. There are some discomforting elements as well (such as the age difference between Sanada and his ex-boyfriend, who essentially becomes the manga’s adult role model), but overall it’s a sweet, thoughtful, and charming if somewhat subdued series about friendship and first love. – Ash Brown

UQ Holder, Vol. 14 | By Ken Akamatsu | Kodansha Comics – A lot of UQ Holder is about history repeating itself from Negima, and so therefore it comes as no surprise that the Nodoka-alike gets shoved aside for Kuromaru, Setsuna’s expy, and then Kuromaru gets set aside for Kirie, who looks and acts like the loli-Chisame from the first series. Well, that’s not quite true—Chisame was never quite this over-the-top in terms of trying to deny her feelings. Kirie has to deal with being stuck in a body that’s too young for her mental state, as well as, well, being a massive tsundere. It is Ken Akamatsu after all. The first half of this series works better, because Ken has always been better at action than he has been at harem antics. But when will the series start using its new Japanese subtitle: Negima 2? – Sean Gaffney

What Did You Eat Yesterday?, Vol. 13 | By Fumi Yoshinaga | Vertical, Inc. – There’s hardly any drama in this volume, and what there is is decidedly adjacent to Shiro and Kenji. The boss of Kenji’s salon is oblivious to the fact that his wife is planning to divorce him, Shiro’s college classmate dies and he realizes that he’s old enough to have grandchildren, etc. Even seeing Mr. Kohinata again after he made a pass at Shiro goes smoothly. As ever, the best part here is the tasty food. Shiro seems to be getting a little more adventurous, incorporating more international dishes and modern ingredients into his cooking, while also making traditional hot pot and spring rolls, the latter of which look exceedingly tasty. This series will always be an immediate read for me whenever a new volume comes out. – Michelle Smith

Black Clover, Vol. 12 | By Yuki Tabata | Viz Media – Boy, that wrapped up fast, didn’t it? This is very much a breather volume of Black Clover, and some of the conflict resolution is laughable–the Queen of Witches basically just walks away, and there’s even time to cure Kahono and Kiato (which is good, as Kahono works 100% better as a teasing (and talking)) girl who ships Asta/Noelle. More importantly, the Black Bulls are now the second-most-powerful guild. This… displeases some of the other guilds, and leads to a hot spring on top of a mountain of lava–something that only those with magic can climb. Sucks to be Asta, but guess what? He finds a way anyway. Black Clover is highly enjoyable given its negative originality, and I’m glad I still read it. – Sean Gaffney

Bloom Into You, Vol. 5 | By Nakatani Nio | Seven Seas – I love it when series get better with each volume, as Bloom Into You is doing. The cover image shows the adorable aquarium date that Yuu and Touko go on towards the start of the book, and it’s pure cute and adorable. But Yuu’s also trying to change the ending of the play so that Touko stops seeing herself in it, and Touko doesn’t like that. What’s worse, she’s lost her biggest ally in Sayaka, who agrees with Yuu (and is not petty enough to stop it merely to torpedo Yuu’s relationship with Touko). This all culminates in a big confrontation on the roof, when Yuu says that she doesn’t want Touko to kiss her “to prove she exists.” The cliffhanger is the debut of the play–how will it go? I absolutely can’t wait. – Sean Gaffney

Food Wars!: Shokugeki no Soma, Vol. 25 | By Yuto Tsukuda and Shun Saeki | Viz Media – There’s two matches that take up the entirety of this volume, and they’re both excellent. The soba battle between Soma and Nene is something where you learn the difference between doing what you’re taught and thinking on the fly, as they’re in a fairly cold stadium and need to take ambient temperature into account. Meanwhile, Isshiki’s opponent is an arrogant Italian specialist (sort of an evil Takumi) who makes the mistake of insulting not just Isshiki (he doesn’t care about that) but the rest of the Polaris dorm. And so Isshiki absolutely destroys him, using things the rest of the dorm residents were experimenting with. This reads better in volumes than as weekly chapters. Good stuff. – Sean Gaffney

Kaze Hikaru, Vol. 26 | By Taeko Watanabe | VIZ Media – The majority of this latest installment of Kaze Hikaru revolves around Kondo’s proud new mistress, Miyuki, and the schemes she employs to avoid sleeping with him after her freedom has been bought. She’s actually got a rather interesting backstory, and her arrangement with Kondo comes to an end in a bittersweet way, so it made for diverting, light reading. I can’t say nobody died in this volume, but nobody we cared about, at least. Also, Sei didn’t do anything stupid, and Okita came a little closer to admitting that he thinks she’s cute. I suppose if they were all this slice-of-lifey, the annual releases would get old fast, but in terms of a pleasant visit with some likeable characters, this was a good one. See ya next year, Shinsengumi! – Michelle Smith

Kuroko’s Basketball, Vol. 25-26 | By Tadatoshi Fujimaki | Viz Media – The flashback ends, and it’s as depressing as you’d expect. The “miracle generation” are so good that it’s actually damaging them–and what’s more, Akashi levels up so hard that it turns him into a completely different person. Kuroko can’t play in the final game, loses his friend because of the rest of his team, and even brushes off Momoi. That said, I enjoyed seeing that the rest of the team brushed this off and reminded Kuroko of what he has now. That said, Kuroko winning the last game may actually have done some damage, as Akashi points out–he’s no longer standing in the shadows. Can he still play his kind of basketball if he gets noticed? We’ve got two more omnibuses to find out. – Sean Gaffney

The Promised Neverland, Vol. 5 | By Kaiu Shirai and Posuka Demizu | VIZ Media – The Promised Neverland never ceases to surprise me. That said, if you want to be surprised, skip ahead now because there will be some spoilers. I won’t go into specifics, but the escape happens and it’s as riveting as you’d expect. I did not expect my heart to be broken by a brave four-year-old or for Mom’s backstory to render her, if not sympathetic exactly, then at least more nuanced. My favorite aspect going forward is how much emphasis there is on how this would’ve been impossible without Emma. She actually feels a bit like a shoujo heroine, in the Sarasa or Yona vein, and the terrain the kids now find themselves in makes me think of 7SEEDS. It was exciting before and now it’s even more so. What a great series. – Michelle Smith

Vinland Saga, Vol. 10 | By Makoto Yukimura | Kodansha Comics – With its engrossing story, compelling characters, and superb artwork, Vinland Saga somehow impresses me more and more with every passing volume. The manga is easily one of my favorite series currently being released in English. Thorfinn wants nothing more than to leave his violent past behind–not to forget it, but to atone for it–which is proving to be increasingly difficult. Numerous people want him dead or to enter into battle for a variety of reasons, some thinking nothing at all of using hostages to try to force Thorfinn’s hand. Yukimura continues to up the ante in this volume by introducing new characters, in particular Garm, an exceptionally skilled spearman who is determined to fight Thorfinn. Vinland Saga can be an incredibly violent series, but Yukimura skillfully balances that intensity with humor. The seriousness of the story isn’t diminished, but the comedic moments help keep the manga from becoming overwhelmingly oppressive. – Ash Brown

Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba, Vol. 1 | By Koyoharu Gotouge | Viz Media – Well, that escalated quickly! Tanjiro, an earnest young man helping to support his loving but struggling family, returns home one day to a gruesome scene of blood and death wreaked by demons. One of his sisters survived, though she is now destined to become a demon herself. Desperate to save and protect what remains of his family, Tanjiro turns to the life of a demon slayer. The more I read of Demon Slayer the more I had the feeling that I had encountered parts of the story somewhere else before (except perhaps for Tanjiro’s superior sense of smell). But even so, it was an engaging first volume. Even if a series seems to be relying heavily on well-established tropes and familiar training montages, done well it can still be a great read. Demon Slayer might be one of those manga, but it also has the potential to be more. – Ash Brown

Devilman VS. Hades, Vol. 1 | By Go Nagai and Team Moon | Seven Seas – In addition to being a sequel to Nagai’s original Devilman story, Devilman VS. Hades is a crossover with the Mazinger franchise. To some extent, Devilman VS. Hades can be read as a standalone work—the most critical information needed to follow what’s going on is included within the series itself—but some basic familiarity with Devilman and/or Mazinger doesn’t hurt. (Fortunately, several incarnations of both franchises are readily available in English.) In Devilman VS. Hades, Devilman has literally fought his way through Hell to free the souls of those he holds most dear, unleashing a horrifying new apocalypse in the process. Devilman, Akira Fudo in his human form, must now face enemies old and new while navigating the grotesque and hellish landscape. Devilman VS. Hades is only three volumes long so the first understandably moves along at a fairly quick pace, but at the same time it can seem bizarrely unfocused. – Ash Brown

Dreamin’ Sun, Vol. 7 | By Ichigo Takano | Seven Seas – So, yeah, the prodigal lawyer dating the high school girl was never going to be a popular decision, and when you throw in the house basically being used as a dormitory for troubled souls, it’s not hard to see why Fujiwara’s father has decided to come in and bust it all up, since Shimana did not listen to his wise counsel an go away forever. That said, he’s an obstacle rather than a dad, and so we’re not thinking about how to appeal to his better nature, but how to surmount him. As for Shimana and Fujiwara, well, if nothing else his emotions are getting more immature when he’s with her—which may not be a bad thing. This is no orange, but it’s still good enough to keep reading. – Sean Gaffney

Dreamin’ Sun, Vol. 7 | By Ichigo Takano | Seven Seas – I can’t make up my mind whether I want Shimane and Fujiwara to succeed as a couple or not. Complicating this is the fact that neither of them can seemingly make up their minds, either. It’s totally reasonable that there’d be a lot of fluctuation and vacillation in a teen romance, but coupled with the swift pacing of this series, I just end up with a serious case of shoujo whiplash. As it stands, Fujiwara’s father seems determined to split them up, and Fujiwara is attempting to fall for Shimane and is sure that he will, given time. Meanwhile, I thought it was kind of interesting to see why Fujiwara’s friend, Miura, might’ve agreed to interfere on Fujiwara’s father’s behalf. I don’t really believe the series will end with Shimane heartbroken, but I’m not convinced this relationship will bring her happiness, either. We shall see. – Michelle Smith

Durarara!! re: Dollars Arc, Vol. 2 | By Ryohgo Narita, Suzuhito Yasuda, and Aogiri | Yen Press – I will note the biggest disappointment in this volume right off the bat: because it’s compressing events so much, it cut the bit with Shizuo using a car as cover by kicking it along in front of him, a highlight of the anime. Other than that, this is a decent adaptation, though I think I’d give the anime adaptation the higher marks. I did like seeing how just because the runaway Akane has been “retrieved” by her father does not mean that the problem is solved—Narita is good at showing that childhood trauma can stay with you forever and is not easily fixed. Especially in DRRR!!, where everyone is sort of broken. This moved way too fast, but is otherwise good. – Sean Gaffney

Fate/Zero, Vol. 6 | By Gen Urobuchi, Type-Moon, and Shinjiro | Dark Horse – I’m not sure why we had a year’s delay between the last volume of Fate/Zero and this one, but I’m glad we’re back with it, even if it continues to be a very bleak war. That said, nothing is too depressing as long as Alexander the Great is in it, and going from the discovery and destruction of the room filled with dead and tortured children to a three-way drinking discussion between him, Saber and Gilgamesh is mood dissonance of the finest kind. It was an excellent discussion, and reminds readers who are familiar with the original Fate series just how messed up Saber’s vision really is. As for the cliffhanger, will Tokiomi actually do something? GASP! Not for the squeamish, but excellent. – Sean Gaffney

Kiss Me at the Stroke of Midnight, Vol. 6 | By Rin Mikimoto | Kodansha Comics – This is a relatively serious volume of KMatSoM, which means we get very few SD-faces and no discussions of butts. It makes sense, given we’re up against some things that could spell trouble for this burgeoning relationship. No, not Shu; she’s taken care of fairly quickly by the classic shoujo tradition of the heroine just being far too nice and sweet to be horrible to. No, the main issue is Funny Bone and their past with Kaede, and the apparently death of someone in Kaede’s past—which he starts to tell Hinana about as we close this book out. I expect we may be entering whole volume flashback territory next time, but we’ll see how it goes. Does this mean no butts in volume seven either? – Sean Gaffney

Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic, Vol. 31 | By Shinobu Ohtaka | Viz Media – To no one’s surprise, Alibaba’s financial renaissance is running into serious trouble after a strong start, as Sinbad is not about to let him get the Kou Empire back to its former strength. Alibaba can try to avoid the rumors and come up with new and more fascinating items, but it’s more interesting seeing him meeting up with old friends, some of whom have gotten married and had children. Of course, the two most important friends of his have been missing for a while… and we finally catch up with them, and see that Aladdin has finally grown up all the way. He’s got his hands full trying to deal with Arba and her ability to possess people and take them over. Will we finally see them reunite next book? Signs point to yes. – Sean Gaffney

Murcielago, Vol. 7 | By Yoshimurakana | Yen Press – We’re taking a break from serial killers to deal with terrorist organizations long thought dead, but the output is the same—lots of gore, lots of dead people, this time mostly in the Diet and the police, along with a few innocent bystanders. Kuroko is trying to deal with this, but she’s a bit upset—yes, it looks like she’s actually worried—that Chiyo is finally moving on from her. She’s probably right to worry, and I’d say she should try to better herself except this is Murcielago. The main reason to read this series remains the gratuitous violence and the action sequences, and yes, there’s also a sex scene near the end, featuring Kuroko and the girl from the very first volume’s extra chapter stealing an escort girl and having their way with her. Sleazy and it wears it proudly. – Sean Gaffney

My Hero Academia, Vol. 14 | By Kohei Horikoshi | Viz Media – I really like how Bakugo’s rage issues are shown to be a major issue that he needs to resolve, but they’re also not something that makes him a villain or means he can’t have hopes and dreams. He gets frustrated at Izuku’s drive as much as Izuku was chasing after his strength, and so the two are now even more “fated rivals.” They’re also given confinement for a few days, meaning, oh no, Izuku is behind in classwork. He also gets introduced to a few third years, whose powers are fun and also strong, and the school explains that due to the villains growing in power (indeed, we meet the next Big Bad here as well), it’s time for internships! Can Midoriya and his still-learning quirk make the grade and get him work?. – Sean Gaffney

Sleepy Princess in the Demon Castle, Vol. 2 | By Kagiji Kumanomata | Viz Media – I continue to be quite entertained by this series, though its lack of any real plot or characterization makes it a bit harder to review. The reader needs to accept that the Princess’ various antics to get a good night’s sleep are going to verge on the cruel and awful every single time, but given that most of the demons that she abuses for their functions can resurrect, it’s clearly meant for humor. We branch out a bit from pure sleep this time, as she enters an athletic competition (being in shape leads to better sleep) and suffers from—horror of horrors—dry skin! I shudder to imagine anyone taking this seriously, but as a giant goofy “what horrors will she commit next” series, it’s fantastic. – Sean Gaffney

Dead Dead Demon’s Dededede Destruction, Vol. 2 | By Inio Asano | Viz Media – If the sight of Oran’s drooling face on the cover of this volume doesn’t inform you that this is one of those weird manga titles, nothing will. That said, for a manga about aliens infiltrating the Earth, and the Earth’s rather violent response to this, there’s a lot that’s grounded in reality here. The gang’s friend Kiho is dating a guy, which puts her on the outs with the rest of her (single) friends, and also causes friction when her boyfriend turns out to be a bit fond of conspiracy theories. Possibly my favorite scene in the volume is when the girls all go to their friend Ai’s house and met her four identical siblings… and one goth guy who calls himself the Black Knight, which meets Oran’s immediate approval. A lot of fun. – Sean Gaffney

Laid-Back Camp, Vol. 3 | By Afro | Yen Press – We’re still working on the characterization of anyone not named Nadeshiko or Rin, but for the most part the third volume will please readers who enjoyed the first two, as it combines chatter about camping with the camping itself—though honestly, Rin’s driving to get to the camp ends up occupying most of the time. Sadly, a trip with Nadeshiko is turned into a solo trip because she gets a cold, but on the bright side we may finally be luring Rin’s eccentric friend Ena to go along on the next trip. The long-term plotline seems to be to get Rin to be interested in camping with other people… but it’s certainly a long term project, as we’re three volumes in and we haven’t seen a group effort yet. Next time? – Sean Gaffney

My Boy, Vol. 2 | By Hitomi Takano | Vertical Comics – As with the previous volume, I recommend skipping the afterword. If you do, then My Boy continues to be a touching story of a young woman who’s got a newfound family in a young neglected boy. The problem here is that Mashuu already HAS a father and brother, and her hanging around with him all the time is inevitably going to be seen as creepy at best. One scene, where Mashuu can’t contact his brother, has Satoko going into his home and the entire scene has you holding your breath waiting for something horrible to happen. It still, may, in fact, especially now that her coworker is noticing the attention she’s giving Mashuu. I don’t like him. The manga is very good, though, and so far is avoiding obvious pitfalls. – Sean Gaffney

Sacrificial Princess and the King of Beasts, Vol. 2 | By Yu Tomofuji | Yen Press – We return to the adventures of the most earnest sacrificial princess ever. Last time I mentioned that I felt the author might have grown up reading Fruits Basket, and that feeling hasn’t gone away—Sariphi isn’t quite as shiny as Tohru, but she still tends to try to overdo it in order to avoid disappointing anyone. In this case, though, it almost leads to her death. Fortunately, she’s gaining more allies in this book, as we meet her friend Amit, an alligator woman with a big heart, and the phoenix she summons, which is both adorable and hilarious—he needs to be animated so that I can hear his accent. Shoujo fans will enjoy this cute fantasy romance. – Sean Gaffney

School of Horns, Vol. 1 | By Mito Aoi | Yen Press – We’ve seen an endless amount of magical academies in the last few years, but there’s always room for more. This one has students divided up based on the horns they have on their heads—each type determines the magic. Our hero is half-human, so his horns are smaller than the other students (does this remind you of anything?), but in addition his powers seem to mess with others, meaning he’s a strange fifth type of magic user. Yes, it’s the old “bullied kid ends up being the really special one” story, but the main reason to read this is the slowly developing relationship between Eru and Rihito, who are sort of Deku and Todoroki-esque. This didn’t reach out and grab me, but it’s certainly pleasant enough. – Sean Gaffney

Shojo FIGHT!, Vol. 4 | By Yoko Nihonbashi | Kodansha Comics (digital only) – The fallout from the Kokuyodani team’s participation in volleybetting is going to be long-lasting, it seems. Part of their punishment involves living at the school for a month and undergoing intense training (including fasting, which supposedly “cures any illness”) and practice games against teams that believe the worst rumors. After one of these, Neri has a major attack of the angst and runs off, but after a good talk (and more!) with Shigeru, she seems finally on the verge of overcoming her past trauma, and actually tells Inugami and Odagiri what happened with her old teammates and lets herself enjoy volleyball again. And now that she seems to be on the road to better mental health, there’s enough time to give several other characters a bit more fleshing out in this volume, which is very welcome. I really enjoy this series. – Michelle Smith

Takane & Hana, Vol. 4 | By Yuki Shiwasu | Viz Media – There’s a lot less snarking in this book, but maybe I’m getting used to the fact that this is never going to match the hilarity of its start. What it does do is develop both the plot and characters—Hana is not quite ready to admit she has romantic feelings for Takane, but she’s getting there. Meanwhile there’s a new secretary at Takane’s business whose job it is to try to break them up—unfortunately, he’s a nice guy at heart, and his heart isn’t really into this, especially when Hana does not back down immediately. And lest you forget that Hana is in high school (and believe me, that is the premise), there’s a culture festival! Maids! Butlers! Cross-dressing! And Takane, being a giant ass. Which is what I’m here for. – Sean Gaffney

Toriko, Vol. 43 | By Mitsutoshi Shimabukuro | Viz Media – Toriko has finished, and it goes out the same way it’s always been—the food love is so much more interesting than the fighting. The first half of the book wraps up the fighting, including even giving the hapless Zongeh a part to play, but honestly I was ready to skip to the back half, where Toriko and his friends indulge in his Full-Course Meal, all prepared by Komatsu and HIS friends. There is also Toriko and Rin’s wedding, but again, I wonder if that was suggested by editorial fiat to avoid having the series seem too gay—the manga is all about the relationship between Toriko and Komatsu, and everything else is secondary. In the final pages, they even go off on a sort of honeymoon together. In space. – Sean Gaffney

Wake Up, Sleeping Beauty, Vol. 5 | By Megumi Morino | Kodansha Comics – Having whisked Shizu away from the hospital, Tetsu heads for his grandfather’s place by the beach, whereupon many revelations ensue. There’s a lot here that I didn’t expect to learn until the next (and final) volume, including the truth of what happened to Tetsu’s mom and why he’s been so desperate to earn money. What’s even better is that not only do readers learn these things, but so do Tetsu’s father and sisters, and everyone resolves to work harder as a family so that no one member feels the need to sacrifice everything for the sake of the others. There is one thing they don’t know, though, and it was such a great surprise that it makes me want to reread earlier volumes for hints. I’ll miss this series once it’s gone, but I bet the conclusion will be great. – Michelle Smith

Yuuna and the Haunted Hot Springs, Vol. 3 | By Tadahiro Miura | Seven Seas – This continues to be a title that you should only read if you are a teenage boy in search of something to get you horny. That said, I’m not that market at all, and I’m still reading it. I think it’s simply that compared to other series in this genre, I find it more tolerable—especially its lead, who continues to not be the standard Keitaro clone who plagues this sort of title. In fact, most of the girls spend more time fondling each other than they do the lead—and no, that doesn’t mean there’s any hints of yuri. These girls all want Kogarashi. But as with my last review, I will admit that Yuuna is a good series for those who want harmless comedic fun and like huge breasts. – Sean Gaffney

Anonymous Noise, Vol. 9 | By Ryoko Fukuyama | Viz Media – The tour begins, but it’s already on the verge of falling apart. Nino simply isn’t playing very well, and Yuzu is falling apart because of his love for Nino, something that he is trying desperately to hide from her. Indeed, he ends up getting in such a swivet he loses his voice, prompting a trip to the doctor that may lead to him missing the start of the concert. And then there is Momo, dealing with his own career, and irritated as he waits for In No Hurry to reach the level they sho0uld be able to achieve. I was frequently frustrated by this volume, but the book’s last chapter works exactly like a great song, pushing closer and closer to a climax until it finally hits the last chorus in triumph. And then there’s a cliffhanger. End of song next book! – Sean Gaffney

The Bride & the Exorcist Knight, Vol. 1 | By Keiko Ishihara | Seven Seas – I wasn’t too sure about this premise. Anne is a young woman destined to be the bride of a demon. Instead, she’s saved by Haru, who is a male exorcist. He’s also twelve, and he says he’s going to marry her instead. The book, fortunately, emphasizes over and over not only that he’s too young to be talking about marriage but also that he really is an immature kid, despite being an amazing exorcist. Anne too is a good character, not content to be a helpless damsel but fighting in her own way to change fate. We don’t see much of Mephisto, her intended groom—though the cliffhanger suggests that will change. But provided you don’t mind the age issue too much, this is a cute and action-filled debut. – Sean Gaffney

Gabriel Dropout, Vol. 4 | By Ukami |Yen Press – the majority of this volume involves our four leads returning to heaven/hell (delete where applicable) in order to report on their time down in the world of humans. The gags are predictable but still fun—Gabriel is unable to bring her games to heaven, which proves rather dull, but at least she can bullshit her way past an easily suckered God. Meanwhile, Vignette is dealing with her adorable little pet being a lot bigger than she remembers (I was reminded of Gintama here), and Satanya has to deal with being herself—she tries to break into heaven and fails. Fortunately, we find out that the rest of her family (bar the “normal” younger brother) are just like her. This remains a very silly but amusing series. – Sean Gaffney

Go For It, Nakamura! | By Syundei | Seven Seas – Although there have already been several BL-adjacent manga released by Seven Seas, Go for It, Nakamura! is the publisher’s first real foray into the genre. The volume is an absolute delight. Nakamura is a gay high school student who has developed a crush on his classmate Hirose, but Nakamura’s introverted nature and general awkwardness mean that the two of them have barely even talked to each other. Go for It, Nakamura! is the perfect title for this manga–I couldn’t help but root for Nakamura as his friendship with Hirose slowly develops. The story is funny and charming and the characters immensely likeable. A bigger deal is made out of Nakamura being a fan of octupi than out of him being gay, a refreshing twist that is also resolved sweetly. Nakamura does occasionally have a dirty daydream, but overall, Go for It, Nakamura! is rather chaste and wholesome. I loved it. – Ash Brown

Haikyu!!, Vol. 25 | By Haruichi Furudate | Viz Media – Last time I commented on how delighted I was with Hinata’s character development and growth. That continues here, but as the training camps end and we resume practice it’s Kageyama who’s given a volume to really show off. In this case it’s not just that he’s grown, but the series also looks at the attitude that got him in trouble in middle school—the whole arrogant “King” thing—and wonders if it was the attitude or the rest of the team? After all, the Haikyu!! kids are unlikely to be cowed by Kageyama at this point. Particularly Tsukishima, who may need enough people being jerks towards him in order to really take off. Good stuff, though I suspect we may be getting more tournament games soon. – Sean Gaffney

Little Devils, Vol. 1 | By Uuumi | Seven Seas – This is supposed to be more than one volume, though I do wonder where it’s going to go from here. The premise is that the hero has defeated the demon king… which is now split into eleven adorable and bratty children (and one egg). Each chapter of this first volume introduces one of the children, shows off their eccentricities, and moves on. Some of the cast make reappearances (Asuka is clearly the “star” of the children), but for the most part this reads very much like an anthology. Fortunately, the kids’ eccentricities are enough to disguise the fact that the hero is super boring. The said, this really feels like it could have ended with the first volume, after the egg hatches and we get our twelfth devil. Can it keep up being sort of cute? – Sean Gaffney

Log Horizon: The West Wind Brigade, Vol. 9 | By Koyuki and Mamare Touno | Yen Press – We continue to deal with the odd golem creation that was introduced in the last book here—turns out Kuroe is part of a pair, and is not all that excited to join up with her other half, which is filled with hatred and despair, now that she’s gotten kindness from Soujiro and company. The evil golem creature is a pretty nasty opponent, eating Isaac’s black sword among other things, and the fact that it sort of looks like Soujiro with cat ears doesn’t help. I suspect this may be the final arc of this spin-off title, so I’m pleased it’s emphasizing the family aspect of the series rather than the comedy. Also, really nice fights. – Sean Gaffney

My Hero Academia: Vigilantes, Vol. 1 | By Hideyuki Furuhashi, Betten Court, and Kohei Horikoshi | VIZ Media –I was a little wary of this My Hero Academia offshoot, but it turned out to be more enjoyable than I expected. Nineteen-year-old Koichi Haimawari has a modest quirk—the ability to glide along surfaces—and has been spicing up his boring life by doing good deeds. One night, he runs into a grizzled old vigilante who calls himself Knuckleduster and becomes his apprentice. Knuckleduster is on a mission to track down the source of a drug called Trigger, which causes users to spontaneously undergo monstrous transformations. I didn’t expect this much plot, and Betten Court really nails Horikoshi’s art style. My only complaint is the fanservicey costume for the female vigilante, Pop-Step, who ends up in villainous clutches more than once, but I definitely like the family vibe the trio have going by volume’s end. I will surely be checking out volume two. – Michelle Smith

My Solo Exchange Diary, Vol. 1 | By Nagata Kabi | Seven Seas – One of the most critically acclaimed manga released last year was Kabi’s My Lesbian Experience with Loneliness. The sequel series My Solo Exchange Diary was therefore a welcome and perhaps obvious addition to Seven Seas’ catalog. Like its predecessor, My Solo Exchange Diary is an autobiographical work that will resonate strongly with many readers. Through the short essay manga collected in the series, Kabi continues to explore her experiences with anxiety, depression, and intense feelings of loneliness and how they impact her relationships and day-to-day life. Each chapter is framed as a diary entry written to her past self, at times offering advice and encouragement while at other times seeming to despair that she couldn’t have done some things differently. My Solo Exchange Diary can be brutally honest as Kabi struggles to find love, happiness, and self-worth, but it’s that honesty and authenticity that makes the series so compelling. – Ash Brown

Spirit Circle, Vol. 4 | By Satoshi Mizukami | Seven Seas – Spirit Circle has an overarching plot, but the way it’s being told also makes it feel like an excuse to do a series of short anthologies with a wraparound. Once again, the majority of this book is devoted to another of Fuuta’s past lives… and this one seems to be a future life, as he’s now Lafalle, a young man in charge of cleaning the chambers in a giant monolithic tower that house the brains of those that were killed but may one day be revived. As he gets older we see him interact with Kouko’s other self Lapis, and the two of them continue to have an odd bond that seems to lack any romantic feeling whatsoever—they even get married here, but it’s never consummated. This is well-written, but where is it going? – Sean Gaffney

Cutie Honey a Go Go! | By Shimpei Itoh | Seven Seas – Over the years Go Nagai’s Cutie Honey has seen numerous incarnations, including live-action, anime, and manga adaptations. Cutie Honey a Go Go!, a collaboration between manga creator Shimpei Itoh and Hideaki Anno, is directly based on Nagai’s original manga. The short manga series has been collected in its entirety along with additional material in a single, action-packed volume. Although I have been aware of Cutie Honey for quite some time, Cutie Honey a Go Go! was actually my entrée into the franchise. It’s a tremendous amount of fun, even considering that Itoh had to wrap up the manga earlier than hoped. The story about an endearing super-powered android and the gun-toting investigator keeping tabs on her ends rather abruptly as a result, but the series’ likeable characters and terrific sense of humor more than make up for that fact. The manga is full of capable, kick-butt women. – Ash Brown

Fairy Tail S, Vol. 2 | By Hiro Mashima | Kodansha Comics – A good number of Fairy Tail spin-offs, sequels, and prequels have already been translated with even more to come, a testament to the franchise’s popularity. While some of those manga are accessible to those unfamiliar with the original, Fairy Tail S is definitely intended for established fans. It’s a short series, only two volumes, collecting a variety of omake, side stories, crossovers, four-panel comics, and other short Fairy Tail manga. One of the crossovers in the second volume of Fairy Tail S is with Hitoshi Iwaaki’s Parasyte (also recently published in the Neo-Parasyte M anthology) while another is with Hiro Mashima’s own Rave Master. Most of the stories tend towards the humorous and include a fair amount of fanservice, but some do have more serious, heartfelt moments, too. Lucy features prominently in the second volume though many of the other characters get their time in the spotlight as well. – Ash Brown

Go For It, Nakamura! | By Syundei | Seven Seas –The retro-looking Takahashi-esque cover for Go For It, Nakamura! promised a cute story and that’s exactly what it delivers. Sixteen-year-old Okuto Nakamura has known since he was very young that he’s gay, and when he spies adorable Aiki Hirose at the opening ceremony, he falls in love. Nakamura is shy, however, and has trouble approaching Hirose. After a couple of incidents that go awry, he soon begins to make some headway, courtesy of things like filling in for a dramatic performance, scaring off some bullies, and being the victim of an overly friendly cockroach. It’s adorable and sweet and completely teen-rated, which makes it a good choice if you’re in the mood for standalone brain balm. – Michelle Smith

Haikyu!!, Vol. 25 | By Haruichi Furudate | VIZ Media – Hinata continues to use the opportunity to observe at the prefectural rookie camp to great advantage, and ends up seeing something that actually enables him to help one of the participants. This serves him well once he’s back with his regular team, as he notices that Tsukishima is capable of more, which prompts Kageyama to (after some arguing and angst) decide that maybe it’s okay to bring back his king persona if it means he can demand the best from his teammates. Everyone’s getting better, which is nifty, but I’m especially keen to see how much better Hinata really has gotten at defense after his time away. I thought Haikyu!! was good before, but now it feels like it’s getting even better! I am so down for that. – Michelle Smith

Himouto! Umaru-chan, Vol. 2 | By Sankakuhead | Seven Seas – The series here (despite the presence of a few “pilots” at the end) seems to have settled into what it wants to be. We get Motoba fully integrated into the cast, becoming convinced that the blobby “indoor” Umaru is actually the little sister of the Umaru she knows. We get a bit of backstory for Ebina, and find out why she seems to be crushing on Taihei so hard. (He’s the only one who didn’t greet her by staring at her large breasts.) I do wish we’d see a bit more of the contrast between the two Umarus, and perhaps a bit more school stuff (the two could combine, in fact), but I understand why it’s easier to write for blobby Umaru. This is not high art, but is amusing moe fun. – Sean Gaffney

Kaguya-sama: Love Is War, Vol. 3 | By Aka Akasaka | Viz Media – The cover this time has Ai, Kaguya’s childhood friend, maid, and minder, not in that order, and she gets a couple of chapters to herself. The bigger deal here, though, is the introduction of Yu Ishigami, another member of the student council, who is a capable treasurer but filled with depression and paranoia. He has a great ability to read the room except when it will get him into trouble, and he’s absolutely terrified of Kaguya, who thinks he gets in the way of her machinations against Miyuki too much. And then there’s Chika, still my favorite, who manages to be super innocent while at the same time more worldsly than Kaguya, and also discovers that training Miyuki will always bring pain. Hilarious. – Sean Gaffney

Kiss Him, Not Me!, Vol. 14 | By Junko | Kodansha Comics – Kiss Him, Not Me ends here, and it does a very good job of wrapping up its storylines. We see Kae and Mutsumi as nervous virgins (the high point of the book may be Yusuke, the non-virgin, having to advise everyone else on sex). We negotiate the dreaded “I am going to college far from you” speedbump, and see Kae actually abandoning her BL obsessions for study so that she can eventually join him. And we see a wedding—and yes, Kae is fat for it, but it is for once not for the sake of comedy (much), and given she fits in her dress fine you suspect they planned for it anyway. We even get to see a kid, who is (of course) named Shion. And, though there were annoying hints, they avoided making Shima het at the last minute. Good job. – Sean Gaffney

One-Punch Man, Vol. 14 | By ONE and Yusuke Murata | Viz Media – One-Punch Man puts its humor on the back burner for the most part in this volume. It helps that Saitama is absent from about 2/3 of it. The gist of it is Goketsu, a monster who used to be human, showing up at the tournament to offer the other participants a chance to turn into monsters as well—or die. What follows shows off the difference between those who are heroes to protect or save people, and those who are heroes to show off how powerful they are. Suiryu gets the bulk of the character development here, though he mostly gets his ass kicked. But let’s face it, the main reason to read this is the absolutely gorgeous action sequences, which are almost works of art. I’m hoping for more funny stuff next time, though.-Sean Gaffney

The Water Dragon’s Bride, Vol. 6 | By Rei Toma | Viz Media – This went from “solid shoujo” to “lights-out fantastic” in one volume, and I’m still stunned. When the dragon god realizes that just being his priestess is putting Asahi in danger, he tries to fix it. And tries again. And then tries again. Each attempt is amazing to read—he tries putting her in a fake life back on Earth where fun times keep repeating, but she notices. Then he tries memory erasure, which doesn’t work. Finally he does something I was honestly not expecting to see—he genuinely sends her home. Home a good decade or so later, apparently, and she now has a rather grumpy little brother. But her heart is still back in the fantasy world, and with the Water God. My guess is she’s back at the start of book seven. Fantastic. – Sean Gaffney

Ace of the Diamond, Vol. 12 | By Yuji Terajima | Kodansha Comics (digital only) –Seido had been sure their opponent for the quarter-finals of the East Tokyo qualifying tournament would be Ichidai, but when that team is taken out by Yakushi in a surprise upset, Seido is suddenly facing a team full of fearless batters. In this tense volume, Yakushi fields their fiercest batter first, and I was bracing for Furuya to crumble under the pressure, but instead he has a lot of fun, having faith in his reliable upperclassmen and demonstrating some growth in his fielding capabilities. In an effort to keep Yakushi from becoming accustomed to one pitcher’s style, Sawamura is switched in but before he can do too much, the volume’s over. This is really a series that benefits from being marathoned, for though it’s great fun the way that it is, it’s probably going to be immensely satisfying to binge 40+ volumes back-to-back. – Michelle Smith

After Hours, Vol. 2 | By Yuhta Nishio | Viz Media – This second volume does a nice job alternating between Emi and Kei trying to put on a live event and Emi trying to decide what to do about her relationship, if that’s what it is, with Kei. I was pleased that the manga chose to negotiate a fairly melodramatic path without going overboard—the emotions feel fairly realistic given what Emi is going through, and Kei is not ignored either. There’s also some great scenes of Emi meeting more members of the dance club crew, and making friends and bonding with them. Usually with yuri manga you’re following it for the romance and that’s about it. But this is a more mature yuri title, and that doesn’t just mean sex, it means career motivations and such. A keeper. – Sean Gaffney

Anonymous Noise, Vol. 9 | By Ryoko Fukuyama | VIZ Media –Anonymous Noise, Vol. 9 | By Ryoko Fukuyama | VIZ Media – It took me a long time to get to this point, but I think I’m finally ready to declare Anonymous Noise a keeper. In No Hurry has embarked on their first national tour, which is interesting in and of itself, but it also feels like Fukuyama has achieved a good balance between her characters’ professional growth—Nino’s gotten more experience, Momo has decided that he wants to release music that’s true to who he is—and their personal angst. Yes, the main love triangle is still going, and though Yuzu attempts a few times and Momo declares his intentions, neither boy has made clear their feelings to Nino. But now I at least care a little more about that, while predominantly being excited for what might happen for them career-wise. I’m glad I grew to truly enjoy this series. – Michelle Smith

As Miss Beelzebub Likes, Vol. 2 | By Matoba | Yen Press – It can be difficult when you’re rooting for a cute couple to get together in a series and that series is, at heart, a goofy comedy. It’s a shame, because when the series is focusing on the cute Beelzebub and her secretary Mullin, it’s pretty adorable. But that’s not what the author is here for, really. As such, we get some new characters in this volume, including a shotacon (bleah) and a shota for the shotacon to obsess over (meh). Belphegor’s crush on Azazel is more promising, mostly as there’s a bit less about how nervousness makes her want to pee and more actual affection. This is a cute series, but at heart it’s a comedy, and the comedy is hit-or-miss. It should try to be more of a romance. – Sean Gaffney

Claudine | By Riyoko Ikeda | Seven Seas – For a variety of reasons, one of my most anticipated manga releases of 2018 was Claudine. First of all, it’s by Riyoko Ikeda, one of the Magnificent Forty-Niners, a group of women who were extraordinarily influential to the development of shoujo manga in the 1970s and many of whom continue to create exceptional work. I was also particularly interested in Claudine due to its sympathetic, albeit tragic, portrayal of a transgender man, a rarity in comics of any country or era. First published in 1978, the manga follows the titular Claudine, a young man growing up in France who struggles with the perceptions others hold of him in regards to his gender and sexuality. Claudine repeatedly finds and loses love over the course of the short manga, acceptance and betrayal often following one after the other. Claudine is gorgeously illustrated and heartwrenchingly melodramatic, a beautiful and at times troubling work. – Ash Brown

The Elder Sister-Like One, Vol. 2 | By Iida Pochi | Yen Press – Strangely, given this is still based on a porn doujinshi, the author and editors have done a very good job at making it mainstream while keeping a goodly amount of fanservice. The core relationship between Yuu and his demon sister is familial here, despite the occasional suggestiveness, and the best scenes in the book show off the family connection that he desperately needs. There’s also hints of something darker, and the clever reader will realize this is not a lifestyle that is going to be sustainable for much longer. Something is bound to go wrong. Till then, I’m happy with Yuu’s heart slowly being healed, as long as the creators remember to avoid getting too salacious. – Sean Gaffney

Giant Spider & Me: A Post-Apocalyptic Tale, Vol. 2 | By Kikori Morino | Seven Seas – Despite the attempt of various dramatic events to make us think otherwise, at heart this is a cooking manga, and the core of each chapter shows off the various recipes. We get an addition to the cast of Belle, who is the grumpy snarker that sets off Nagi’s perky optimist nicely, and the two become fast friends. There’s also a stroll into town, which surprised me, and the town reacts to a giant mutant spider about the way you’d expect it to. Fortunately, the giant spider is a sweetie pie, and indeed might be a baby giant spider, which helps to explain why Nagi’s TLC is helping. Of course, there’s another cliffhanger with Nagi being kidnapped, but given how the last cliffhanger resolved, I’m not TOO worried. – Sean Gaffney

Monster Tamer Girls, Vol. 2 | By Mujirushi Shimazaki | Yen Press – As with a lot of series that end after only two or three volumes, there’s a sense of “please wrap this up as quickly as possible” to the ending of the book, but it’s still rather cute and romantic, with Koto and Tsukiko’s relationship getting as close to canonical as a series like this is going to get. I also liked the backstory for Sora, as we see that she was rescued by a monster as a child, and then we see that same monster needing to be “rescued” in a different sense. At heart a series more about building and continuing relationships than about monsters, two volumes was probably about the right length for it. Still a good read if you like cute girls and monsters. – Sean Gaffney

My Monster Secret, Vol. 11 | By Eiji Masuda | Seven Seas – Yes, Asahi and Youko are together, but this series isn’t even half over yet, so don’t expect a lot of dating and holding hands here. Instead it’s more comedy, which is good as My Monster Secret does comedy very well. Even the melodramatic drama is comedy, as Nagisa’s tearful return to her home planet is undercut by a) a running gag of her worried about public spankings, and b) the punchline. There’s also a return of Youko’s hyperprotective father, which leads to an endless string of amusing gags. About the only time that My Monster Secret misses is when the gags it relies on are too tired, such as Akari’s age. This still has the capacity to make me laugh a good deal. – Sean Gaffney

The Troublemakers | By Baron Yoshimoto | Retrofit Comics – Only a few manga have been released by Retrofit Comics, the most recent of which is The Troublemakers, a collection of Baron Yoshimoto’s short manga curated and translated by comics historian Ryan Holmberg. Along with an accompanying essay by Holmberg placing Yoshimoto and his work into historical context, The Troublemakers collects six stories originally published between 1966 and 1974. The volume isn’t necessarily intended to be a “best of” collection. Instead, the manga included are meant to be a representative sample of not only Yoshimoto’s creative output but also of the types of gekiga and seinen manga being published for men in Japan around the 1970s. The stories are engaging and provocative, sex and violence featuring prominently as part of intense and dramatic narratives with protagonists who are frequently society’s outsiders. Based on the manga collected in The Troublemakers, I’m intrigued and certainly interested in reading more work by Yoshimoto. – Ash Brown

Astra: Lost in Space, Vol. 3 | By Kenta Shinohara | Viz Media – Two things are the most notable about this volume of Astra, which otherwise sees our heroes going to more alien worlds and slowly firming up into the obvious romantic couples. The first is the big reveal that Luca is intersex, which comes out after a confrontation with Ulgar over Luca’s father, the senator. We’ve seen intersex characters in manga before, but it doesn’t usually hit Jump titles. The other reveal is back with the parents discussing their kids, who have now been missing for a month. It’s clear that there is some sort of big conspiracy going on here. That said, I’m not sure I’d really be continuing with this if I didn’t know the next volume was the last. I look forward to it ending, but also want to see the end. – Sean Gaffney

Battle Angel Alita: Mars Chronicle, Vol. 2 | By Yukito Kishiro | Kodansha Comics – Having recently started reading and enjoying the original Battle Angel Alita, I was naturally curious about Mars Chronicle. While the first volume of Mars Chronicle served as a prequel to Battle Angel Alita, taking place during Alita’s childhood as a war orphan on Mars, the second volume is a sequel set after the events of the Last Order series. Tying the volumes together are the characters and the Martian landscape. Alita finds herself caught up in a dramatic battle with Erica, her childhood friend and another expert martial artist, while larger efforts to establish a unified Mars are in danger of collapsing, Alita herself framed for an assassination attempt of the emerging leader. For the most part, Mars Chronicle is a fairly accessible series even for those who haven’t read the earlier manga, although some basic familiarity with the franchise can still be useful. – Ash Brown

Food Wars!: Shokugeki no Soma, Vol. 24 | By Yuto Tsukuda and Shun Saeki | Viz Media – One of the more iconic things about Food Wars! are the images that are drawn by the artist summing up the preparation of food. Sometimes, when it involves the judges eating, it’s pure fanservice, but not always. There’s two terrific portraits here of the different types of cooking that two of the teams do—the one with Gin, Takumi and Megumi is shown as a sort of cocktail jazz band, while the one with Soma, his dad and Erina is shown to be avant-garde Jackson-Pollock style painters. It’s great stuff, and helps get us into the big final matches, which start with Soma immediately having rotten luck destroy him, as he’s challenging a soba expert and the meal they’re doing is soba. Ah well, he’s the hero, I’m sure he’ll come up with something. – Sean Gaffney

Ghost in the Shell README: 1995-2017 | By Takuma Shindo | Kodansha Comics – Despite being subtitled 1995-2017, the recent Hollywood live-action Ghost in the Shell film is oddly the first incarnation of Shirow Masamune’s manga to be addressed by the README guide and artbook. The rest of the volume is devoted to the various anime films and series by Mamoru Oshii, Kenji Kamiyama and, most recently, Kazuchika Kise. Each of the adaptations is given a chapter of its own which includes general information, story summaries, character, mechanical, and landscape designs, an abundance of full-color artwork, and more. For me the most interesting parts of README were the essays, the interview with Atsuko Tanaka and Maaya Sakamoto (the voices of “The Major,” Motoko Kusanagi), and the roundtable featuring all of the Ghost in the Shell anime directors in conversation with one another. README will likely appeal most to established fans of the franchise, but it provides a terrific overview and general introduction, too. – Ash Brown

Horimiya, Vol. 11 | By Hero and Daisuke Hagiwara | Yen Press – It really is impressive how the author of Horimiya is just not letting go of the fact that Hori really gets turned on by being dominated/struck, and that this really seems to bother Miyamura. It’s one reason, perhaps, why the volume ends with a short chapter that shows that, though they love each other, they still have tremendous difficulty figuring out how the other thinks. And there’s also Hori’s rage issues, which they at least acknowledge but don’t really deal with. As for the other couples, well, Ishikawa and Yoshikawa (Ishiyoshi?) are still struggling a bit, mostly due to embarrassment and embarrassing family. Horimiya isn’t as fantastic as it once was, but it’s still fun. – Sean Gaffney

Kuroko’s Basketball, Vols. 23-24 | By Tadatoshi Fujimaki | VIZ Media – We begin with the conclusion of the Winter Cup semifinal game, during which Seirin manages to defeat Kaijo by a one-point margin. It’s tense and exciting and there is a lot of manly crying. Rather than move right into the finals, however, the story diverges into flashback mode, with Kuroko telling the story of his time at Teiko Middle. This arc is fabulous and I’m a little bummed we didn’t have it earlier, as it would’ve informed so many of Kuroko’s interactions with his former teammates. However, putting it before his big matchup against Akashi makes sense, since Akashi was the one who sensed his potential to develop a unique style in the first place. In particular, I wasn’t expecting to come out of the arc loving Aomine so much. It’s nice knowing he finally did find someone who could defeat him. One of the best volumes in a while! – Michelle Smith

Kuroko’s Basketball, Vols. 23-24 | By Tadatoshi Fujimaki | Viz Media – As you might expect, Kuroko solves things, and is even allowed to make the winning shot—something that stuns him a bit. We’re clearly getting near to the end of the series, which means it’s now time for a biiiig flashback showing how the Generation of Miracles actually came to be. As you might imagine given everyone we’ve seen, it was not free and easy. Kuroko is almost put off the team a few times and the others barely work together at all. (It’s also cute seeing a middle-school, pre-sexy knockout Momoi falling for Kuroko.) I’m glad that this flashback is coming now, as we’ve come to know all the leads, and it also gives us a break from the tournament while still being filled with basketball. – Sean Gaffney

Mushroom Girls in Love | By Kei Murayama | Seven Seas – If it weren’t for the length, this could easily have fit right into the middle of A Centaur’s Life, a series that seems to enjoy randomly wandering off into whatever the hell for a few chapters on end. Instead of animal-human hybrids, this time it’s fungi-human hybrids, as our heroines try to stay married and in love despite root rot, royalty trying to break them up, and evading gunfire and the world seemingly being against them. As with A Centaur’s Life, this is not so much comedic or dramatic as just plain weird. And then there’s the girls riding tarantulas like horses… I guess what I mean to say is that if you like A Centaur’s Life and wish that the lesbians were the main characters, give this a shot. – Sean Gaffney

Princess Jellyfish, Vol. 9 | By Akiko Higashimura | Kodansha Comics – In many respects, this is a satisfying finale. Jelly Fish is back in business and it’s great to see the girls, particularly Jiji, finally able to don fancy clothes without hesitation in order to help Tsukimi’s visions become reality. In fact, I pretty much cried straight through from that point on. Reveals and reunions occur, but when one looks closer, one sees that several things remain unsettled. Amamizukan is still owned by Kai Fish, we don’t know whether Jelly Fish will actually be a success, and we don’t know how Tsukimi feels about Kuranosuke being in love with her (though I do love that he recognizes she doesn’t need a man right now). The feeling is all very optimistic, though, and perhaps it’s for the best that we just imagine a happy outcome without worrying about the details. It’s hard to believe it’s over! – Michelle Smith

Wotakoi: Love Is Hard for Otaku, Vol. 2 | By Fujita | Kodansha Comics – If you enjoyed the first volume of Wotakoi, this second one gives you more of what you enjoyed. The four leads are still all otaku types, but realistic and not caricatured. We get to see how Hanako and Taro met, which temporarily turns Wotakoi into Haikyu!! for a bit, and also see the couples accidentally getting swapped thanks to a haunted roller coaster. And there’s a new character, introduced (I thought) to be a gay love interest to Naoya, but no, she’s just a shy girl who dresses like a schlub. Still, there’s some comedy to be mined from hiding this from Naoya for the time being. As an anime and manga geek, reading Wotakoi is both fun and heartwarming, and I like it a lot. – Sean Gaffney

Wotakoi: Love Is Hard for Otaku, Vol. 2 | By Fujita | Kodansha Comics – I really liked the first Wotakoi omnibus, but I flatout loved this one. All of the characters are so great and so vivid, and there was an interesting structure to the two volumes included here. In the first, the continuing story of Hirotaka and Narumi’s first real date is interspersed with short vignettes and the story of how Naoya makes a friend. I came away with a much stronger idea of why Hirotaka loves Narumi, and how he feels like an inferior adult compared to her. In the second volume, the continuing story is an amazing flashback to Kabakura and Koyanagi in high school, with all the tsundere goodness one could wish for. Ordinarily, characters who bicker this much would bother me, but these two are the exception. This is a fabulous series that everyone should be reading. Get on it! – Michelle Smith

Yuuna and the Haunted Hot Springs, Vol. 2 | By Tadahiro Miura | Seven Seas – If nothing else, Yuuna is proving to be a slightly better ecchi Jump title than To-Love-Ru has, possibly as there’s slightly less emphasis on falling into everyone’s breasts all the time. Only slightly, though, and Yuuna still positions itself for one type of reader and one alone—the horny teenage boy. But if I were a horny teenage boy, I’d like this—Kogarashi is a bit less hapless than the typical ecchi protagonist, the girls are for the most part fun (I was amused that the drunken Kitsune wannabe is a manga artist), and there is the occasional sweet romantic tease. Still, if you’re expecting romance, read Nisekoi. If you want boobs, this is the book for you. – Sean Gaffney

ACCA 13-Territory Inspection Department, Vol. 3 | By Natsume Ono | Yen Press – Sometimes you have to pick a side, even when you don’t want to. Jean really doesn’t want to, and it’s getting him in a bit of trouble, whether it’s being kidnapped by a group of terrorists mostly by accident, or trying to do his job while everyone wants him to be a spy and give them intel—including his boss, who gets pissed off at him at the cliffhanger. Jean, of course, reacts to this the way a Natsume Ono hero always reacts—with a world-weary stare, and in this case a lot of cigarettes. As for the actual coup, it’s still percolating, and I suspect we won’t get any actual revolution until Jean’s toured every single province. I also don’t expect he’ll be able to retire. A good title for Ono fans. – Sean Gaffney

After Hours, Vol. 2 | By Yuhta Nishio | VIZ Media – Seldom am I in the position of wishing a story gave me more angsty drama, but that’s how I feel about this second volume of After Hours. It’s reasonably interesting watching Kei and Emi come up with an idea for a big rave event and get their friends on board, but I could have done with less of that and more of Kei learning that Emi is still technically living with a boyfriend. She’s irritated and worried after the discovery, but we just don’t see into her head enough to suit me. At one point she dares to hope that perhaps Emi will choose her, but when that does happen, the moment lacks impact. Even if there had been one pause, one panel that lingered wordlessly on Kei’s face to show us her happiness and relief, I would be content. Oh well. One volume left! – Michelle Smith

Blue Exorcist, Vol. 19 | By Kazue Kato | Viz Media – After Shiemi rejected Rin in the last volume, is she now being written out of the manga? After learning a dark and tragic secret about herself (which we the reader are not yet privy to), she opts to drop out of the exorcist course, to the horror of all her friends. She insists she’ll still be at the school, but let’s face it, she would barely see them. Clearly it’s time for an awesome Christmas party! As for the rest of the book, we’re finally getting some real answers from Mephisto about the nature of the Baal and what they’re actually trying to achieve. Does this have anything ro do with Rin? I’ll be honest, I’d worry more about Yukio. Still good, though its infrequent release means I tend to forget what happened. – Sean Gaffney

Captive Hearts of Oz, Vol. 4 | By Ryo Maruya and Mamenosuke Fujimaru | Seven Seas – Last time I appreciated the lack of romance but felt confused by the plot. This fourth and final volume, the plot finally makes sense and I appreciate it, but I also now have a romance I really didn’t want. It’s made clear that Dorothy and Oz are not the same ones as the books by L. Frank Baum—though Dorothy is named after the Oz girl—I honestly felt the romance was added because the series is meant to be the sort that ends with a pairing. Ah well. The nature of the ending, which implies the return of Dorothy and Oz (like their namesakes) is reminiscent of the Alice in the Country of Hearts books. This is its spiritual successor, and likely the end of an era. It was decent. – Sean Gaffney

Cardcaptor Sakura: Clear Card, Vol. 3 | By CLAMP | Kodansha Comics – Out of all of the manga by CLAMP that I’ve so far read, Cardcaptor Sakura is one of my favorites, so I was excited when I learned that a sequel was going to be released. For the most part though, Clear Card has yet to live up to its predecessor. The third volume of the series seems a bit more substantial than the first two, which is good, but the point of the manga remains unclear even considering the attempts at ominous foreshadowing. I’ll keep reading Clear Card though. Granted, that’s mostly out of loyalty to the original series than anything else. However, I do still love the characters and the artwork is lovely in Clear Card, too. I just hope that the manga continues to pick up a bit more momentum and weight and is able to distinguish itself as something more than just a sequel to Cardcaptor Sakura. – Ash Brown

DNA Doesn’t Tell Us, Vol. 2 | By Mintarou | Seven Seas – This is the second and final volume of the series, and it wraps up fairly quickly, trying to do its best to work in the “wild animals” even though our focus is still on our tame leads. It’s odd to realize that this is actually a school for animal girls in the basic sense—they graduate and move on to real life once they learn how to interact as a human, and the series ends with our girls as dorm leader and student council president. Other than that, the series is unambitious but not uninteresting, with several new animal girls getting attention, including a mole girl and a donkey girl. As for any suggested yuri? Nah, there’s nothing there. This was cute, but two volumes seems just about right. – Sean Gaffney

Kiss & White Lily for My Dearest Girl, Vol. 6 | By Canno | Yen Press – As this series does best, we spend some time catching up on people we’ve seen in prior volumes, and some time with new people, most of whom intermesh and entwine with each other. Jealousy is the order of the day here, as the effervescent Amane doesn’t really get why she can’t simply love more than one person, and the somewhat possessive Nina is bad at being straightforward about it. Chiharu and Izumi, meanwhile, are dealing with the uncertainty of a second love, especially when the old girlfriend is coming back. The characters in this all manage to have obvious flaws that can be mined for storylines without being annoying. (Though Nina comes close here.) Still good. – Sean Gaffney

Loveless, Vol. 13 | By Yun Kouga | VIZ Media – It’s been several years since the last Loveless volume, so I reread volume twelve before tackling this one, which helped a lot. Alas, it also served to remind me how much I like this series and wish for more. Sigh. We do get some interesting things here, though, like the conclusion of Beloved’s battle against Moonless—during which Seimei’s former friend informs him that his bond with Soubi is neither love nor strength—and Natsuo recounting the stories of Seven Voices Academy as told to him by his creator, including intriguing cameos by Soubi’s mother and Ritsuka’s father. She has information about Seimei, too, but we don’t get to see that yet. Nor do we get to see Ritsuka act on his determination to get Soubi back. I hope volume fourteen comes reasonably soon! – Michelle Smith

My Hero Academia, Vol. 13 | By Kohei Horikoshi | Viz Media – Sometimes, with a cast this big, some people are going to have to take a back seat for a bit. For My Hero Academia, it’s going to be Todoroki and Bakugo, the only ones in the class not to pass the exam—both due to anger issues rather than because of lack of ability. Well, technically another girl may have failed the exam as well—turns out that one of the other class members was our favorite blood-sucking, blushing villain in disguise, and she got some very interesting blood. Of course, before Bakugo can take a back seat, he has to confront Deku with something we’ve suspected he’s known for a while now—Deku’s quirk and how it relates to All Might. Time for MANLY FISTS to take the lead! Amazing series. – Sean Gaffney

Queen’s Quality, Vol. 4 | By Kyousuke Motomi | Viz Media – A lot of Queen’s Quality has to do with Fumi trying to survive with her basic personality intact, be it because of her past (involving amnesia) or her future (involving possibly being possessed by one or more queens). So honestly, the last thing she really needs is an attempt to drive her towards the dark side by putting her in Ataru’s mind, which is as bug-filled as you’d expect. She luckily has Kyutaro to help her, but honestly his love for her is as much of a hindrance as a help half the time. Still, the author is very good at making you want to see what happens next, and I don’t even mind that this isn’t a wacky comedy anymore. Also, love those Dengeki Daisy references! – Sean Gaffney

The Young Master’s Revenge, Vol. 2 | By Meca Tanaka| Viz Media – Again, this is a Meca Tanaka series, almost by definition “good but not great.” There’s a likeable heroine filled with denseness and pluck, as well as a frustrated hero who can’t decide if he’s trying to get revenge or seduce her. The best thing about this book was Tenma trying to figure out, in conversations with others, what love means to her and what kinds of love there are. It turns out Leo may need the same lesson, as the fact that he’s head over heels for Tenma has to be pointed out by his biggest rival. Will things change now that one of the pair is actually aware of this? We shall see. In the meantime, this remains a cute but slight shoujo series. – Sean Gaffney

Arakawa Under the Bridge, Vol. 3 | By Hikaru Nakamura | Vertical Comics – It really does surprise me how invested I am in rec and Nino’s love affair, given that it’s not really an affair yet and this book is more about everyone being hopelessly weird. But in a series like that, you need something to ground you or else you risk not caring about anything, and for me it’s the moments when the two really show how devoted they are to each other. Elsewhere, a battle royale between the cast goes about how you’d expect in terms of the winner (hint: she’s on the cover), and there is also the occasional hint that these happy (sort of) days for rec won’t be able to last forever. Arakawa requires a love of gag comedy to appreciate, but if you do there are a lot of rewards here. – Sean Gaffney

Durarara!! Re;Dollars Arc, Vol. 1 | By Ryohgo Narita, Suzuhito Yasuda, and Aogiri | Yen Press – The last time we had a DRRR!! manga volume come out over here, we were just beginning the light novel release. Almost three years later, here’s the new arc. This starts to adapt the fifth novel, meaning that Akane and Vorona, two of my favorites, make an appearance. There’s not a whole lot of extra content here for those who have seen the anime and read the novels, though I was very appreciative of Shinra’s fantasy of why Akane would want to kill Shizuo. But for those who like following DRRR!! in manga form, this adaptation remains a good go-to choice. It’s drawn by Aogiri, who also did the Aquarion Evol manga art. Sadly, it also has Izaya being Izaya Alas. – Sean Gaffney

The Elder Sister-Like One, Vol. 1 | By Iida Pochi | Yen Press – While I was reading this, the first thing that came to mind was “this reads like porn with the sex removed.” Which indeed it is—the original was a pornographic doujinshi, but the author made the relationship non-explicit and a bit more familial (only a bit, mind you) for this mainstream release. The premise involves a young man who has been passed along from relative to relative and his demonic familiar who becomes a sort of twisted family. If you’re thinking “This sounds like Natsume’s Book of Friends only written for guys and with lots more cleavage,” you aren’t far off. It actually manages to respectably straddle the line between supernaturally sweet and supernaturally skeezy as hell. We’ll see how long it can keep that up. – Sean Gaffney

Flying Witch, Vol. 6 | By Chihiro Ishizuka | Vertical Comics – The cast expands a bit here, as we meet Sayo, a “student council president” sort who thinks that Makoto is a bit too laid-back and relaxed about her witchly duties. Which, to be fair, is 100% correct. Fortunately, they bond over a case involving a repeating town block, and Sayo shows off her shy, cute side. Elsewhere in the volume, most of the rest of the cast show up for a barbecue of sorts, as we get much discussion of giblets and just how common it is to be loving it as a delicacy. Speaking of food, turns out the school’s pork cutlets are delicious to cats as well as humans, and also that you can get winter in July provided you’re associated with witches. Flying Witch is always peaceful, but never boring. – Sean Gaffney

Food Wars!: Shokugeki no Soma, Vol. 24 | By Yuto Tsukuda and Shun Saeki | VIZ Media – I haven’t enjoyed this Central arc much, so it’s a relief that the end seems to be in sight. It turns out that Erina’s dad once idolized Soma’s dad and is unable to resist a challenge in which a defeated Joichiro would become his minion. Now the resisters are going up against the remaining council members, with the possibility of taking over the council themselves, and we get fun training action like a three-on-three battle during which Takumi reveals just how much he’s grown and Erina attempts unorthodox cooking for the first time. It’s a lot of fun and the air of amiable challenge that exists between Soma and Joichiro ends up inspiring Erina to stand up to her dad and publicly side with the resisters. We barely get started on the team shokugeki before the volume ends, but I’m happy to find myself once again enjoying this series immensely. – Michelle Smith

Haikyu!!, Vol. 24 | By Haruichi Furudate | Viz Media – This was one of the best volumes of Haikyu!! I’ve read yet, and it’s not a coincidence that there’s no tournament going on. I do love the games, but volume after volume of them can get exhausting (and hard to review). Here we see a jealous and driven Hinata follow Tsukishima to the all-rookie camp… where he wasn’t invited. What’s worse, the coach of this camp is Shiratorizawa, whose motto is basically “no short kids.” Still, he lets Hinata be the ball boy. This is actually really good for him, as it allows him to realize how much there is to learn by just watching. His raw instinct is combining with actual game smarts, and it’s terrific to see. I am really waiting to see how this plays out in the future. – Sean Gaffney

Laid-Back Camp, Vol. 2 | By Afro | Yen Press – I mentioned this in my review of the first volume, but it really is striking how much the series is trying to separate the main cast. We start off with Nadeshiko and her club at a hot spring camp, and Rin… far away, looking for another hot spring (which turns out to be closed) but finding her own solitary camping experiences. It’s nice to see that the manga tells people it’s fine to have fun on your own. Still, I think I appreciated it more when Rin and Nadeshiko were actually interacting in person rather than by phone, and I do hope that in future volumes we can have the four together… or maybe five, if we can convince Rin’s weird friend to come along. Still a nice series as laid-back as its name—I just wish it had more characterization. – Sean Gaffney

Takane & Hana, Vol. 3 | By Yuki Shiwasu | Viz Media – Takane & Hana is still at its best when its romantic pair are snarking at each other, and there’s plenty of that here. Elsewhere, though, Hana’s grades are starting to slip, leading to a studying binge which Takane actually proves pretty adept at helping with. It’s not without cost, though, as he gets a bad cold, and she realizes just how much it is that he actually does. Meanwhile, a trip with Takane, Hana, and Hana’s friends also includes the high school boy who likes her, and he brings up the elephant in the room, which is the fact that Takane is a decade older than Hana, she’s still in high school, and this is pretty creepy if you stop and think about it. That said, I’m content right now to let the shoujo manga keep the romance on a slow simmer. – Sean Gaffney

Yona of the Dawn, Vol. 12 | By Mizuho Kusanagi | VIZ Media –Yona of the Dawn is always good, but this volume is particularly so. Yona and her retinue get caught in the Fire Tribe city of Saika as an invading army from the Kai empire approaches. I appreciated the atmosphere of tension while everyone waited and also loved seeing Tae-Jun be brave, keeping his promise to protect the villagers. It turns out it’s all a traitorous plot and even though Yona would also like to get vengeance on Su-Won, she can’t let this army attack the palace lest they throw the nation into chaos. Potentially my favorite aspect of this, though, is that Kusanagi keeps showing that Su-Won actually is a better king than Yona’s father was. I expect eventually she’ll have to recognize that for herself. At turns light-hearted and intense, Yona of the Dawn really is something special. I’m glad this story exists. – Michelle Smith

Battle Angel Alita: Deluxe Edition, Vol. 3 | By Yukito Kishiro | Kodansha Comics – Alita has been many things since she was rescued from a scrap pile–a formidable bounty hunter, a talented motorball player, and now (of all things) a beloved bar singer and musician–but her destiny hasn’t finished playing out yet. Zapan, another cyborg and ex-bounty hunter who unfairly blames Alita for everything that has recently gone wrong in his life, is coming after her to seek revenge. He cares very little about anyone or anything else, resulting in massive casualties and destruction. As I’ve come to expect from the series, the numerous battles in this volume are intense and well-executed in addition to being incredibly gruesome. Kishiro also has a knack for creative and marvelously disconcerting cyberpunk designs. But what really makes the series work is Alita herself and the strength and depth of her character. While her circumstances are rarely very happy ones, she continues to persevere. – Ash Brown

Kiss Me at the Stroke of Midnight, Vol. 5 | By Rin Mikimoto | Kodansha Comics – Last time I said that a lot of this was shoujo by numbers, and it still is to a degree, but you can feel the author fighting back against the obvious a bit. Shu spends much of the volume trying not to be the evil girl who gets between our hero and heroine, before seemingly just saying “screw it” and doing so for a good cliffhanger. That said, I continue to like the way the book is handling Kaede, who really is making an effort here in a way that most shoujo hotties, especially ones who are famous stars, wouldn’t do. It makes the butt stuff more tolerable. (It helps that both Hinana and Shu are also “pervy” to a large degree.) Add in more funny SD-faces, and it’s a pretty decent volume. – Sean Gaffney

Shojo FIGHT!, Vol. 3 | By Yoko Nihonbashi | Kodansha Comics (digital only) – I was very happy to see this volume on Kodansha’s release schedule! In it, one of Neri’s new teammates, Nao, has gotten herself involved in a “volleybetting” enterprise in which the audience gambles on matches between scantily clad girls. The Kokuyodani team rallies to extricate Nao from this situation, but all is not as sordid as it seems. Their efforts, in part, involve putting together an audience team to help win Nao’s freedom, and Neri’s teammates assure her that now is not the time to hold back, so she’s finally able to play her hardest with teammates in full support. Meanwhile, Takako Yui returns from overseas and seems to be fairly evil, though I liked that Michiru and Odagiri start dating as a result of her machinations. Looking forward to more! – Michelle Smith

Sweetness & Lightning, Vol. 10 | By Gido Amagakure | Kodansha Comics – Sweetness & Lightning continues to be eyebleach in manga form. In addition to cooking some classic Japanese dishes in this volume—udon, oden, and sukiyaki—Kotori and Tsumugi achieve a few more growing-up milestones. I appreciated that witnessing Tsumugi’s success in learning to ride a bike helped Kotori pass her interview for culinary school, and also liked how Tsumugi is picking up on things more now, like how their time cooking with Kotori might soon come to an end, or that, despite her best efforts to be friends with everyone, there are just some people she doesn’t like. My favorite moment, though, was when Kotori’s father tasted her food and affirmed, “You’re good at this.” Overall, it’s a very nice series about nice people cooking nice food and sometimes one needs that sort of story. – Michelle Smith

To Your Eternity, Vol. 4 | By Yoshitoki Oima | Kodansha Comics – One of my favorite manga series currently being released in English is To Your Eternity. Admittedly the story can be emotionally devastating and heartbreaking, but it’s also a beautiful and compelling examination of life, love, and what it means to be human. In stark contrast to the beginning of his existence, Fushi has lived the last few years in relative peace. He’s once again become an integral part of a found family, but now he’s had the advantage of time to establish even deeper bonds with people as he grows and learns. Fushi’s language skills develop alongside his self-awareness and understanding of others. However, danger and tragedy isn’t far off–Fushi will have to face his fears and make tremendously difficult decisions in order to protect those he has come to love. He’s evolving to become more human-like even while the monstrous truth behind his creation and survival is revealed. – Ash Brown

Wake Up, Sleeping Beauty, Vol. 4 | By Megumi Morino | Kodansha Comics – The cliffhanger that didn’t appear last time shows up in this volume, as Shizu’s father is back and he’s evil, alas. So it’s ‘put Shizu in an institution’ vs. having her run away with the boy who loves her, and I think we know what readers are going to go with, even in spite of the fact that this is dumb and will end badly. Before that, though, we pretty much get compressed adorable, as Tetsu and Shizu buy kimonos, attend a festival, and otherwise prove that she is indeed fully capable of interacting with the outside world provided she isn’t being constantly possessed. Sadly, I doubt Dear Old Dad will see it that way, and I expect the next volume to be rather dark. Still getting this anyway. – Sean Gaffney

Waiting for Spring, Vol. 6 | By Anashin | Kodansha Comics – There’s not a whole lot that happens in this volume plot-wise. Mitsuki challenges herself by serving on the cultural festival committee and does a very good job. Meanwhile, Aya-chan arranges for his team to have a practice game against our heroes, whereupon he and Asakura get into each other’s faces a bit. Mostly, though, this volume is about feelings. Asakura freely admits to his friends that he loves Mitsuki, which causes some strife with Rui, who was maybe starting to have feelings for her and has long had an inferiority complex where Asakura is concerned. Although I really don’t care about the Aya-chan stuff—or Rui, for that matter—I really like Mitsuki and Asakura and enjoy spending time with them as they work to better themselves and get to a place where they feel worthy of love. They’re a core couple worth rooting for. – Michelle Smith