Bookshelf Briefs

The Demon Prince of Momochi House, Vol. 5 | By Aya Shouoto | VIZ Media – It’s been quite interesting to see how Shouoto-sensei has improved as a mangaka. Kiss of the Rose Princess was fairly mediocre, He’s My Only Vampire is better, but in these past two volumes, The Demon Prince of Momochi House has surged forward in a big way. While volume five isn’t quite as great as volume four was, it’s still very good, revealing Yukari’s sad backstory and leaving fans with yet another cliffhanger ending: Aoi looking happy at Himari’s confession and then turning her down. Is this the usual mortal/immortal love angst, or did he somehow mess up their fate when he asked Kasha for help breaking a curse? Combine this with a mysterious new foe and I’m really looking forward to the next volume! – Michelle Smith

My Love Story!!, Vol. 9 | By Kazune Kawahara and Aruko | VIZ Media – My Love Story!! continues to be as cute as ever. In this volume, Takeo struggles with feelings of insecurity after one of Yamato’s coworkers at the cake shop—a talented pastry chef named Ichinose—declares that he’d be a better match for her and that she has become his muse. Alas, the love rivalry plotline isn’t especially unique, but I did really enjoy spending more time with Yamato on her own, being passionate about something, and the way Takeo never wavers in his encouragement just proves what a great guy he is. This volume also includes a sweet bonus story that emphasizes how much Takeo means to Sunakawa. I will always love how their friendship is depicted. I’ll probably always love this series, too. – Michelle Smith

My Monster Secret, Vol. 3 | By Eiji Masuda | Seven Seas – There is some more cast expansion in this volume as well, mostly showing us Nagisa’s trolling brother (it was a nice fake-out, actually), but much of this volume is dedicated to expanding on Asahi’s growing harem. Youko is the main girl, of course, and if you think the final girl will be anyone but her, you’re fooling yourself. The scenes of honest cute romance with the two of them are the best part of the book, and apparently they’re recreating something that Youko’s parents also went through. We can’t count the others out yet, though— after all, it’s only volume three. I was admittedly not expecting forced love confessions to be brought about by a pair of possessed glasses, but then, this is a comedy first and foremost. Fun. – Sean Gaffney

Nisekoi: False Love, Vol. 16 | By Naoshi Komi | Viz Media – The main arc in this particular volume involves a foreign princess who’s a dead ringer for Chitoge, which is honestly just an excuse for Raku and “Chitoge” to go on real dates without the author needing to worry about keeping her in character. One can only tsun so far, after all. As ever, the remainder of the volume are short one-chapter vignettes, mostly comedic, involving the rest of the class. We hear Yui’s horrible singing, deal with Marika’s fear of animals, continue to set up Shu and Ruri as a beta couple, though clearly this will require more giving in on Ruri’s part, and allows Onodera lovers to have more ‘will they or won’t they?’ tease. As with the last volume, I’m still enjoying Nisekoi, but it’s spinning its wheels. – Sean Gaffney

Rose Gun Days Season One, Vol. 4 | By Ryukishi07 and Soichiro | Yen Press – Knowing that season two is coming makes the finale to this volume a bit more acceptable. Oh, things wrap up pretty nicely, but there’s a lot of ambiguity going on here, the sort that is only going to be answered by seeing what comes next. Has Leo really left the cast for good? And are he and Rose a couple or not? (The omakes play it for laughs…) Did Rose really kill Caleb? I’m inclined to doubt it, even though the entire plot of this volume is about making us think that Rose is ready to get her hands dirty. In the end, I think Rose is just too shiny for that. And, most importantly, was that omake gag with Stella at the end really as filthy as it sounded? Ryukishi07 fans will enjoy this. – Sean Gaffney

Behind the Scenes!!, Vol. 2 | By Bisco Hatori | VIZ Media – I was pretty disappointed by volume one of Behind the Scenes!!, but while the series remains far from great, the second volume is an improvement overall. Some parts of it I found excruciating, though, like the dumb gag where the props a girl stayed up all night making get destroyed because someone literally slips on a banana peel. But while I was groaning, the same girl would make a speech about refusing to repress her passions just to nab a boyfriend, and I’d have to begrudgingly approve. It’s only at the very end, when Ranmaru learns a bit more about mysterious Izumi, who heedlessly plunges his hand into boiling water to save a classmate’s cell phone and seemingly has no regard for his own welfare, that I actually found a character I could possibly care about. I’m willing to keep going with this for a little while, at least. – Michelle Smith

A Centaur’s Life, Vol. 9 | By Kei Murayama | Seven Seas – Once again, this is a tale of two halves. On the one half, we have the typical slice-of-monster-life we’re used to, with more ‘is it yuri or just akogare’ chapters, another examination of how monster bodies and human-style clothing works, and a bizarre omake where a political argument in class is resolved by the teacher transforming into a magical girl and mind controlling everyone. The other half has Hime and Shino accidentally transported to a fantasy dimension where she’s thought to be a god, and has to defend a fortress against various enemies with her archery and tactics. It doesn’t so much end as stop. I sense this series has become ‘whatever the author feels like writing that month.’ – Sean Gaffney

Honey So Sweet, Vol. 3 | By Amu Meguro | Viz Media – I talked about the new guy who arrived at the end of the last volume, and in the end he turns out to be a friend, enemy, AND love interest. Futami has the looks and personality that Onise doesn’t, and is quick to help him to open up and gain more support from his classmates. In fact, they get along so well Kogure worries that maybe she’s the one in the way (no, not in that way). But Futami is also falling for Kogure, and he’s determined to do something about it, even as Onise has mixed feelings. The whole subplot is handled quite well, and while there’s a bit more drama and angst to it, this still reminds me a lot of My Love Story!!—you read it for the sweetness. – Sean Gaffney

Nichijou: My Ordinary Life, Vol. 3 | By Keiichi Arawi | Vertical Comics – Nichijou is a surreal comedy, and so you don’t really go looking for character development here. That said, the third volume had a surprising number of heartwarming scenes mixed in among the hilarity. The Professor deals with the hazards of still being a young child, despite her genius, and bonds with Nano a bit. Mio and Yukko get into a huge argument that goes on for pages until it eventually circles back around and turns into the two of them praising each other. And Yukko goes to visit Nao and the Professor, and reassures her that, even if everyone knows she’s a robot, Nano is still just Nano to them. These scenes give the series a heart that helps it to earn the laughs and strange “huh?’ reactions it also gives us. – Sean Gaffney

One-Punch Man, Vol. 7 | By ONE and Yusuke Marata | Viz Media – Yes, we are here. It finally takes more than one punch for Saitama to take out an enemy, though he’s still not really breaking a sweat or showing much emotion. The main reason to get this volume is the artwork, which is simply amazing. This volume may have more two-page spreads than any other shonen manga I’ve seen, as the final battle is a huge monumental “serious punch” from Saitama that words cannot really describe. (And note he’s able to do this even after being hit TO THE MOON and having to jump back to Earth.) I suspect we’ll see more of Tornado, who has a giant chip on her tiny shoulder. And some other heroes get shown off here as well. But this is still The Saitama Story, and what a story it is. – Sean Gaffney

Pandora in the Crimson Shell: Ghost Urn, Vol. 5 | By Shirow Masamune and Rikudou Koushi | Seven Seas – There’s no Excel Saga cameos here, beyond the appearance of the Excel-ish Vlind, so I am once again forced to talk about the actual manga itself. Fortunately, the first 3/4 of this volume is relatively mild, and even interesting. Nene wishes for happy fun uneventful days, but Clarion knows that the world they live in is filled with evil organizations and killer robots. So she proceeds to go to town on said robots, as well as the local army. It’s almost worth recommending, except at the end they have to power up the Pandora, which is done via the wretched “not really vaginal fingering, but close” method we know and loathe. In the end, this is still Pandora, alas. – Sean Gaffney

Persona 4, Vol. 3 | By Shuji Sogabe and ATLUS | Udon Entertainment – Most of this volume is dedicated to a new young man trapped in the killer TV program, and again it shows us hidden sides, this time dealing with traditional gender roles and how shameful it can be for a young Japanese boy to be good at traditionally feminine tasks. Naturally, this has led him to overcompensate and become a giant thug, hence the obvious choice of him going to TV Bear land. That said, it’s resolved fairly simply, and our heroes didn’t even need to do much besides stand around and comment. Of course, it’s not all psychological horror and battles, there’s also the worst curry in the world, as we discover that of the two main heroines, neither one can cook worth a damn. Pretty good. – Sean Gaffney

Princess Jellyfish, Vol. 2 | By Akiko Higashimura | Kodansha Comics – Kuranosuke and the residents of Amamizu-kan have declared their intention to buy the place to save it from redevelopment, but they lack the funds to actually do so. Kuranosuke rallies them into action, especially after being inspired by one of Tsukimi’s drawings to create jellyfish-inspired fashions. I love how all the various story elements service the series’ predominant theme. Meeting Kuranosuke has introduced Tsukimi to the passion of creating something she loves, but it has also brought her pain, as she is confronted with “evidence” that Shu has slept with the scheming Inari. It’s too much stimulation for her, and she retreats to the familiar territory of avoiding her emotions, and believing she’s not the kind of girl who could fall in love. Funny, poignant, addictive… I’m sad we must wait ’til October for more! – Michelle Smith

The Ancient Magus’ Bride, Vol. 5 | By Kore Yamazaki | Seven Seas – Chise is an all-loving heroine sort of girl, and when she sees someone she naturally wants to help them. Which is fine, and leads to some nice heartwarming scenes here, but it also does a number on her body, as she simply can’t use all that magic and not pay for it in some way. This leads to much of this volume taking place in Fairy Land (and a return to winter later), where we meet a doctor with a harsh but effective bedside manner, and Elias is once again mocked by everyone who seems to see him as being too selfish. Again, it’s not clear how bride-like this series will ever get, but I’m content with detailed descriptions of magic plants and rituals and gorgeous art in the meantime. – Sean Gaffney

Barakamon, Vol. 11 | By Satsuki Yoshino | Yen Press – It’s hard to follow a volume as good as the last one, and much of this new Barakamon is spent wrapping that story up and starting a new one. No one really expected Handa to get married, and he doesn’t, but it is interesting seeing the idea of an arranged marriage for him being tossed about among all the other characters who’ve grown close to him. Once his parents have departed (and I think his father understands him better now, if not the reverse), we see the return of old rival Higashino, who Handa still doesn’t remember but who seems dedicated to theoretically ruining his life, although as always most of that is merely in Handa’s head. Will he be able to grow the best vegetable garden ever? Results are unclear. – Sean Gaffney

He’s My Only Vampire, Vol. 7 | By Aya Shouoto | Yen Press – Ever since the very first chapter, we’ve known that Eriya was going to show up eventually. And sure enough, he’s now here, conveniently at a time when Aki is still dealing with amnesia. Kana isn’t sure what to make of this—she’s having enough trouble dealing with the fact that Aki’s love for her is now history, though he seems to be backsliding a bit there. That said, Eriya seems to be evil, or at least rather selfish, using a chance at a “normal school life” to try to win Kana over for himself, with the use of liberal hypnosis to make the school OK with this. Kana is, by the nature of the series, a somewhat passive heroine, but I really hope she’s able to do something about this next time. – Sean Gaffney

He’s My Only Vampire, Vol. 7 | By Aya Shouoto | Yen Press – There are two distinct halves to this volume, and they don’t fit together terribly well. We begin with Aki having forgotten his feelings for Kana, due to trading the “lust” stigma in exchange for her release from her Tsubakiin captors. Eve the succubus and her dealer try to take advantage of Aki’s personality shift to cause the final stigma, “envy,” to manifest—mostly by making him kill deranged humans but also through a random beauty contest—and it also seemed like the story would be developing its love triangle by bringing Kana and Jin closer together, but then both of those threads are abandoned in favor of Eriya’s return, which might have been surprising if it hadn’t been foreshadowed so heavily. I’m afraid that as this series approaches the end, it’s going to get as convoluted as Shouoto’s Kiss of the Rose Princess did. That would be a shame. – Michelle Smith

The Honor Student at Magic High School, Vol. 3 | By Tsutomu Sato and Yu Mori | Yen Press – If ever there was a spinoff that felt like a spinoff, it’s this series, which never lets me forget throughout its entire reading that more important things are happening to the actual hero elsewhere while this is going on. The three ‘detectives’ are amusing, and they do achieve something, but compared to Tatsuya and Miyuki they’re mostly there as victims. Miyuki, of course, is not going to be your garden variety victim, and the best parts of this book show off how much of the “darkness” within herself she wants to hide from her brother so that they can live happy, normal high school lives. I suspect, as with the previous two volumes, this will read better after I’ve read the second irregular novel. – Sean Gaffney

Of the Red, the Light, and the Ayakashi, Vol. 3 | By nanao and HaccaWorks* | Yen Press – I’m guessing the author heard me when I said in my last review I’d drop the series if the cute little sister got erased. She not only doesn’t, but gets actual things to do, as she is able to tell that her brother is in trouble and get help for him! (Of course, this implies that she too knows more than she’s saying, and may have dark secrets of her own, but I’ll deal with that when I come to it.) As for said big brother, he is indeed in peril from one of the most dreaded monsters of all, the bratty girl sort, who is desperate to eat his soul but also toys with her food far too much, so she’s not going to be long for this world. I still have no idea where this is going, but it’s fun. – Sean Gaffney

Of the Red, the Light, and the Ayakashi, Vol. 3 | By HaccaWorks* and nanao | Yen Press – I compared the first volume of this series to Natsume’s Book of Friends, but now it has evolved to the point where there’s hardly anything similar about them. Of the Red… has a more defined plot—a delightfully creepy one that heightens the ethical dilemma for our hero—as well as multiple action scenes, as one of Yue’s new friends, Tsubaki, is revealed to be an extremely desirable and tasty target for the local ayakashi population. (Also, his sister seems to be protecting him somehow, and his dad recognized Yue as someone called “Yoshiki.”) The mysteries continue to unfold but the answers do, too, which I really appreciate. I continue to really enjoy this series and look forward to volume four! – Michelle Smith

Don’t Be Cruel, Vols. 1-2 | By Yonezou Nekota | SuBLime – I hated this at first. In the opening scene, one character handcuffs another to a fence and demands sexual gratification, saying, “Don’t get the wrong idea, now. That wasn’t a request. It was an order.” Nemugasa (the victim) is being blackmailed by Maya (the perpetrator), so continues to obey his commands, but their relationship evolves and by the end of the volume, they’re in love. (But not before Nemugasa is roofied by his tutor and given over to someone else for a plaything!) What’s frustrating is that there were glimmers here of something I might’ve liked, moments where the developing dynamic was interesting, but I just couldn’t get over those early scenes and often wanted to throttle the characters, Maya especially. As a result, I can’t really recommend this even though I kind of want to read the next volume. – Michelle Smith

Fate/Zero, Vol. 2 | By Gen Urobuchi, Type-Moon, and Shinjiro | Dark Horse – After all the setup of the first volume, most of this second one is devoted to a battle between two servants—or at least, it starts off with just two servants. Saber is, of course, the Arturia we’re familiar with, but Lancer is Diarmuid Ua Duibhne, another Irish mythological hero. Their snark and battle is fun, but gradually everyone starts dropping in—literally, in the case of Iskander—and adding more chaos to the battle. As with the first volume, Iskander’s sheer force of personality, and everyone’s reaction to it, is the highlight—though Gilgamesh’s arrogance comes close. Fate fans should enjoy this, and it hasn’t gotten too dark yet, though I’m sure that will change. – Sean Gaffney

Food Wars!: Shokugeki no Soma, Vol. 12 | By Yuto Tsukuda and Shun Saeki | Viz Media – While there is the occasional ship tease (and I remain surprised at how little Erina has done to date, given she’s supposed to be the main heroine—Soma spends most of his off time with Megumi here), for the most part Food Wars! continues to keep its focus reassuringly on food. All three remaining contestants are brilliant, but Soma is particularly impressive because, while he’s confident, he’s not arrogant about it. Indeed, we see him reach out to almost everyone in the dorm trying to find a way to improve his fish dish. Of course, Akira and Ryo are not really villains either, so they’re both just as impressive if not more so. Will Soma win next volume? Probably not. But it’s always fun to see. – Sean Gaffney

Kiss Him, Not Me!, Vol. 5 | By Junko | Kodansha Comics – Mutsumi has been the least developed of the four male leads, so it was only a matter of time before we got a volume devoted to him. He seemed to always have Kae’s best interests at heart, and you wondered if he even loved her at all—or is he simply more mature than the others? No, as it turns out, he’s simply never quite examined the feelings of love yet, and we find why when his over-the-top brother shows up. They end up competing in a “famous” card game called Castle Cards, and it’s a game where Mutsumi has never won—but take a wild guess what happens when it’s Kae’s affection on the line. This is still amusing, but it’s a bit less parodic now and a bit more normal. I’ll still read it. – Sean Gaffney

Komomo Confiserie, Vol. 4 | By Maki Minami | Viz Media – I’d complained about Komomo in the last brief I did of this series, and it’s possible the author heard me, as we get to see a little more fire in her this time around. A rival appears, all the way from France, and given this is a short series, wastes no time behaving in an overtly evil way, even going to the point of having the confiserie vandalized just because she doesn’t get her way. This leads to the best part of the entire volume, in which Komomo channels her inner royalty and absolutely lets her have it, in a truly glorious scene. The second half is not as good, as we meet a friend of Natsu’s whose goal is apparently to push the two together quickly—possibly he knows the series is wrapping up. – Sean Gaffney

Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic, Vol. 18 | By Shinobu Ohtaka | Viz Media – As expected, most of this volume is devoted to a giant battle, with first one side looking like they’re going to win, then the other side having a comeback, etc. Those who enjoy cool moves and epic battles will love it, but it does make things rather difficult in terms of writing a brief. The best part of the volume is probably the end, where Aladdin and Alibaba reunite, and it’s as heartwarming and amusing as you’d imagine, even though it them gets shoved aside to explain more of the plot. I hope Morgiana isn’t too far away either, to be honest. In the meantime, I’m now more concerned about Titus, whose sense of self has been a major part of this arc, and now we’re finding it may all be for naught. Still addictive. – Sean Gaffney

Say “I Love You,” Vol. 14 | By Kanae Hazuki | Kodansha Comics – After so much time devoted to Megumi in France, and her new (and to me suspicious) relationship with a photographer, it was highly jarring to suddenly find that plot mostly dropped and seeing her back in Japan, and looking quite different, makes me wonder if there was a missing volume somewhere down the line. In happier news, the relationship that wasn’t between Kai and Rin lasts about as long as I thought it should, as Kai finds that “go out with me even if you don’t love me” is just not going to work for him. Honestly, I’m still not quite sure where the author is going with Rin and Ren, but given that Mei and Yamato are mostly resolved, it’s onward with the secondary characters, I guess. – Sean Gaffney

Say I Love You, Vol. 14| By Kanae Hazuki | Kodansha Comics – There’s something of a bittersweet mood (plus a touch of foreboding) about this volume, in which the third-year characters look toward their futures (and the goals they strive for with varying degrees of intensity), the first-year Aoi siblings are caught up in the present (and the pain of unrequited love), and second-year Kai is unable to shed the baggage of the past. Of these, I was actually captivated most by Kai in this volume. Despite the fact that he’s tall and strong now, inside he’s “a big lump of insecurities,” and I loved the moment where carefree Rin, who has cajoled him into giving her a chance, comes face to face with the reality of the darkness within him, something she’s not prepared for. It’s rare that a series can continue to be this good even when the focus has drifted a bit from its main couple! – Michelle Smith

It’s a Vizstravaganza!

Assassination Classroom, Vol. 10 | By Yusei Matsui | Viz Media – First of all, yay, Kayano got to do something! The giant pudding detail was very well done, and there was a minimum of the usual tiny chest jokes that normally surround her. The other important detail to note in this volume is how much other forces from outside the classroom are also trying to kill Koro-sensei, and how their methods are very much “by any means necessary.” Indeed, Shiro may end up being this manga’s Big Bad. What he does to Itona is appalling, and I was pleased that, after suitable recovery and the appropriate tragic backstory, he was able to join the class. This continues to be a top-drawer Jump series, and is now so popular that the author will be at NYCC this fall. – Sean Gaffney

Food Wars!: Shokugeki no Soma, Vol. 12 | By Yuto Tsukuda and Shun Saeki | VIZ Media – I always enjoy Food Wars!, but this was an especially good volume. The three-way battle in the final round of the Fall Classic gets underway, but Soma is at a disadvantage when it comes to selecting the best pike (the theme ingredient) for his dish. Of course, he comes through with an innovative workaround after having been dismissed as a threat by his two competitors, though we’ll have to wait until the next volume to see how the judges react to his final flourish. I especially liked that the art has evolved some, and Soma appears to have aged a bit since the start of the series, and that the over-the-top reaction shots leaned more towards musclebound dudes than scantily clad ladies this time around. Eagerly looking forward to volume thirteen! – Michelle Smith

Kamisama Kiss, Vol. 21 | By Julietta Suzuki | Viz Media – I was rather surprised to see that Tomoe’s plight is not so easily resolved, and indeed not resolved at all this volume. But that allows us to focus more on Nanami, who is struggling hard to get her happy human-sized lifetime with her love, but the question remains how long her life is going to be, especially with Yatori, who’s always been sort of creepy and villainous but ups his game a great deal here. Things are so bad that Nanami is even offered an out, when she arrives at Mount Kurama and reunites with her (slightly older) friends, who tell her she can stay there for the rest of her life, and see Tomoe on occasion. But that’s not good enough: Nanami loves Tomoe, and has to fix this. Still recommended. – Sean Gaffney

Paradise Residence, Vol. 2 | By Kosuke Fujishima | Kodansha Comics – This is just the one volume, and because Fujishima’s volumes are slim, it looks like a lot less compared to its predecessor. I’d say that the content also felt a bit light compared to its predecessor, but that implies that the previous volume had a heavy amount of content, which it doesn’t. This series is fluffy even for Fujishima, who takes the time when he’s relaxing from wrapping up Oh My Goddess (most of this ran concurrently with it) to give us amusing school situations, amusing beach situations, a lot of pretty girls, and of course a brief race with a souped-up car, because we know what the author REALLY cares about. If you love Fujishima, this is definitely worth a read. If not, totally skippable. – Sean Gaffney

QQ Sweeper, Vol. 3 | By Kyousuke Motomi | Viz Media – I wasn’t aware that this was the final volume of QQ Sweeper until right before I read it, and it came as a surprise. That said, what it’s actually doing is changing its title and rebooting itself, something that usually happens when a title changes publishers, but no, it’s still going to be in Betsucomi. This is probably why very little is actually wrapped up here, though at least we now have confirmation that Fumi is indeed a very special girl, and she and Kyutaro become closer. This is just as dramatic as the previous volume, with some bullying at the start and major suicidal focus in the second half, so it may not be for everyone. For me though, it was fantastic, and I really hope Viz licenses Queen’s Quality soon. – Sean Gaffney

QQ Sweeper, Vol. 3 | By Kyousuke Motomi | VIZ Media – This is the final volume of QQ Sweeper under this name, but the story doesn’t actually end here. Rather, it just sort of pauses, continuing in Queen’s Quality, which I am hopeful VIZ will license soon. Because, in the end, I really came to like Fumi a great deal. When a manipulative bug-handler coopts a karaoke outing to create hysteria over Fumi’s supposed curse, which in turn leads to bullying followed by insincere friendliness, she comports herself throughout with dignity yet doesn’t shy away from expressing her anger. Furthermore, she’s able to graciously accept Kyutaro’s help when one of the mean girls is further compelled to attempt suicide. It’s nice to have a lead who isn’t spazzy! In fact, I’ve grown to care about both lead characters very much and hope we see more of them soon! – Michelle Smith

School Judgment: Gakkyu Hotei, Vol. 3 | By Nobuaki Enoki and Takeshi Obata | Viz Media – Sometimes you read a series and you know the only reason it was licensed at all is the name recognition, and that’s certainly the case with School Judgment, which would never have even sniffed these shores were it not drawn by Takeshi Obata. We meet our third colleague of Abaku, and if you enjoyed Franziska Von Karma but wished she wore a leather bustier and was twelve years old, you’re in luck! For the rest of us, the fanservice falls flat, and the volume reads like a classic ‘cancelled’ Jump series, i.e. the ending is quite rushed and unsatisfying. If you absolutely must have anything Obata writes, you can get this, but otherwise Ace Attorney is still miles better (and indeed Miles better). – Sean Gaffney

School Judgment: Gakkyu Hotei, Vol. 3 | By Nobuaki Enoki and Takeshi Obata | VIZ Media – In this volume, one last classroom session for class 6-3 leads to the discovery of the identity of the fourth student to survive the massacre five years before. I’ve always felt rather “meh” about School Judgment, but with the introduction of Yui Kijima (the third survivor), my feelings shifted to outright dislike. Not only does she have a sadistic personality, the hyper-sexualized depiction of her as a leather-clad, twelve-year-old dominatrix is really gross. Still, the promise of resolution to the aforementioned massacre kept me reading. Too bad that turned out to be pretty lame, as well. Enoki’s original one-shot, with its craptastic art, rounds out the volume. I’m left with profound gratitude that this series is over. – Michelle Smith

Toriko, Vol. 34 | By Mitsutoshi Shimabukuro | Viz Media – I will hand it to Viz, there was absolutely no way they could censor out the fact that Toriko and company have to get the testicles of the Monkey King to save Komatsu, or all the many, many ball-jokes that follow, and they don’t even try. For the most part, though, this is setup to a big upcoming battle, complete with ignominious defeat to begin with (complete with fake horrific death scenes), and difficult but amusing training sequences. As for the Monkey King himself, he honestly seems like a lot of fun, and I’m hoping that things might be able to be resolved without his death. Until then, though, it’s a giant tag-team wrestling match with our heroes. Toriko is still not about food, but as a Jump title, it’s good. – Sean Gaffney

Inu x Boku SS, Vol. 11 | By Cocoa Fujiwara | Yen Press – The finale of this series gets a few more extra pages to be able to show the final battle and all of the villainous tragic backstory that precipitates it. It ends up tying in with the time-traveling tree we’ve seen in prior volumes, but honestly, I wasn’t as interested in the villains as I was in seeing our heroes be cool. All the appropriate couples end up together (though surprise, the supposed lesbian isn’t so much in the end), and we even get some closure from the future-that-wasn’t cast as well. I enjoyed this series a great deal, with several of the plot twists taking me totally by surprise (though sometimes, as with the fate of Kagerou, there is utter non-surprise). I’ll miss it. – Sean Gaffney

Kamisama Kiss, Vol. 21 | By Julietta Suzuki | VIZ Media – I have consistently enjoyed Kamisama Kiss, but now that we’re moving into the endgame, it’s gotten even better. Tomoe has decided to become human, but his first attempt has left him in fox form instead. Nanami is supposed to stay behind while Mikage seeks treatment, but of course she doesn’t, and her shortcut leads to a run-in with one of Kirihito’s minions who reveals that her life force has been so diminished by what happened between her and his master in Okinawa that she’s got at most six months to live. I am absolutely sure a shoujo manga won’t allow its heroin to die—though I can think of one notable exception—so the parts that I actually found most interesting involved Kirihito’s schemes coming nearer to fruition along with inter-minion power plays. I love the darker atmosphere Suzuki evokes in their scenes; I hope there are many more of them to come! – Michelle Smith

Non Non Biyori, Vol. 4 | By Atto | Seven Seas – I was a bit irritated with the last volume of this slice-of-country-life series, but luckily things are a bit better this time around. Natsumi’s irritating qualities are kept to a minimum, and we get more of Renge, possibly due to reader demand as she is the young, cute (and very strange) one. Of course, you could argue the entire cast is strange in its own way, and the series is at its best when it’s at its silliest, such as the Koshigaya Sisters playing around with persimmons, or a flashback to the day baby Renge was brought to school and caused total havoc. There are some sweet moments as well, of course, such as the trek to see the New Year’s sunrise, but for the most part you read this for good, if mild, laughter. – Sean Gaffney

orange: The Complete Collection, Vol. 2 | By Ichigo Takano | Seven Seas – Given how deeply I loved the first volume of orange, it would’ve been hard for the second to surpass it, so the fact that I liked it a little less shouldn’t be construed as disappointment. I merely thought the ending was a bit rushed, with Suwa giving up on his feelings for Naho seemingly without much angst and an argument between Naho and Kakeru that felt somewhat forced. (Surely Naho is intelligent enough to see where her future self went wrong before essentially repeating the mistake!) There are many intensely lovely scenes between the group of friends, however, including a memorable sports festival, and I’m very fond of all the characters. To top it all off, I actually really liked the bonus story, too. This is a manga I will be rereading and foisting on friends for sure. – Michelle Smith

A Silent Voice, Vol. 7 | By Yoshitoki Oima | Kodansha Comics – Those who were wondering if the two tormented leads would ever get together at the end of this may be a bit disappointed by the ending to A Silent Voice, where the closest we get to romantic resolution is Naoka showing off a ring a tall, hot model gave her—which turns out to be from Miyoko. (OK, that’s not romantic resolution, it’s yuri tease.) What is resolved is the film everyone was making, which doesn’t get any awards but ends up being personally satisfying, and Shoko and Shoya, who are both able to come to terms with their past and move on. After a series that dealt repeatedly with abuse and suicidal thoughts, this comes as something of a relief, and I am delighted with the finish. – Sean Gaffney

Yamada-kun and the Seven Witches, Vol. 8 | By Miki Yoshikawa | Kodansha Comics – The first half of this is pure setup, as they learn what the power of the seventh witch is (the cliffhanger from last volume being totally wrong), realize what will happen if they figure out who said witch is, and have contingency plans to deal with said fallout. And then, naturally, everything goes horribly wrong. The second half of this volume can be very painful to read, especially for anyone who’s always secretly wondered if maybe their friends all have more fun whenever they aren’t there. Yamada-kun puts a brave face on things, which leads to hilarious scenes of him trying to clean his way to happiness, but an emotional breakdown isn’t far off, and I suspect things will get worse in the next volume. – Sean Gaffney

Yotsuba&!, Vol. 13 | By Kiyohiko Azuma | Yen Press – It’s been a long time since the last volume of Yotsuba&! came out, but after reading a few pages it feels like we’ve never really been away. We get Asagi being bemused at Yotsuba’s childlike logic, Fuuka suffering from the same, and Yanda getting just plain abuse. But the majority of this book is about Yotsuba’s grandmother, who comes to stay with her son for a few days. She’s new to the reader but not to Yotsuba or Koiwai, which leads to many familiar yet unfamiliar situations. She’s also naturally got a dour face, even if her mood is not matching, so we get amusing contrasts between dialogue and expression. But, most importantly, we discuss Yotsuba sleeping on her own for the first time! Will time actually move forward? – Sean Gaffney

Cage of Eden, Vol. 20 | By Yoshinobu Yamada | Kodansha Comics – Cage of Eden ditches the rape threats and infighting, thank goodness, and gets back to one of its two big strengths—exploring things and discovering horrifying secrets. This also leads to a death, and we haven’t gotten a character death in a while, so it would almost be a surprise if it weren’t telegraphed heavily beforehand. Meanwhile, it’s always been apparent that our heroes are not just on some J. Random Dinosaur island, and it’s also becoming very clear that something else is involved. The unrecognizable cars and robots are also a clue. The next volume is the final one—will it have answers? More to the point, can it possibly resolve everything in that short a space? – Sean Gaffney

A Certain Scientific Accelerator, Vol. 3 | By Kazuma Kamachi and Arata Yamachi| Seven Seas – The setup of the first two volumes leads to the chaos that I said would occur, and it’s certainly chaotic, as we are introduced to yet ANOTHER group of overpowered teens and tweens who hover between sociopathic and just needing a hug. Railgun readers should already be familiar with this sort of thing; Index novel readers will have to wait a while for it to make sense. That said, anyone familiar with Aiho Yomikawa will love this volume, as she shows off both what an incredible badass she is and the compassion and love that drives it—though admittedly, in the world of Index, those who say “no, they really are using us as guinea pigs” are always correct. Sorry, Yomikawa. – Sean Gaffney

Oresama Teacher, Vol. 20 | By Izumi Tsubaki | Viz Media – This is a transitional volume, as we wrap up, for the moment, Hayasaka’s family and the manipulations of Momichi. If nothing else, this should show the average reader not to mess with mind control, as Hayasaka’s memories, combined with the trauma of his well-meaning but also somewhat appalling father and Momochi’s hypnotism, are something resembling swiss cheese. (The funniest moment of the volume, if only as it’s so unexpected, features Saeki going to Momochi’s room every day. We expected the rug to be pulled from under us, but not that way.) So naturally, now that he’s finally recovering, is the time when he may finally realize the truth about Super Bun. Always recommended. – Sean Gaffney

Requiem of the Rose King, Vol. 4 | By Aya Kanno | Viz Media – There’s far less Henry and Richard having ambiguous sexual tension here, but that’s only because the political machinations of almost everyone comes to the fore. Everyone wants the throne or wants to influence the power behind it. George is pitted against Edward, and poor Anne refuses to be used as a pawn, but is unfortunately overheard and misunderstood in exactly the worst way. Throughout all this flits Richard, who honestly is at his best when being a stereotypical shoujo hero for Anne, but we all know that’s not what’s going to happen, and so does he. Of course, this assumes that he can survive the latest coup attempt to take out his family. Shakespeare and shoujo go together amazingly well. – Sean Gaffney

Requiem of the Rose King, Vol. 4 | By Aya Kanno | VIZ Media – After Richard flies into a rage and nearly kills his beloved Henry, not yet knowing that he and the former king he blames for his father’s death are one and the same, he is sent off to stay with Warwick for a while. He spends time with Warwick’s eldest daughter, Anne, and is relieved that he can feel romantic thoughts towards a woman, and hurt when he mistakenly believes she was faking it on her father’s orders. It’s a hardened Richard who observes Warwick and George’s uprising against Edward and coolly considers whose side it would be more advantageous to join. If it sounds like a lot happened this volume, it does, and that’s my only real complaint. Everything is fascinating and dramatic, but it all happens so fast. I feel like it’d have more emotional impact if we just slowed down a little bit. – Michelle Smith

Say “I Love You,” Vol. 13 | By Kanae Hazuki | Kodansha Comics – I could have done without the author’s afterword saying that Megumi needed to be “punished” because she was so mean in prior volumes, as I think it’s conveyed well enough as being simply what the business is: Megumi’s big in Japan, but that means nothing in France. We’ll see how trustworthy her patron is—I’m not sure I trust him just yet. In the non-Megumi part of this volume, which is much smaller, we get the ever popular “I don’t care if you don’t love me just go out with me” appeal, which is a horrible idea and literally everyone knows it. But hey, this is what happens when the main couple have worked out all their issues. Still recommended, but we’re in extra innings here. – Sean Gaffney

Yotsuba&!, Vol. 13 | By Kiyohiko Azuma | Yen Press – It’s been over two years since the last volume of Yotsuba&! came out, and I struggled a bit with getting back into the swing of things. Either that or I’ve turned into a curmudgeon, because seeing Yotsuba’s bossy behavior go uncorrected was starting to seriously bug me. Happily, Azuma picks this moment to introduce Grandma (unless we’ve seen her before and I’ve forgotten since it’s been so long!), who imparts many valuable lessons and life skills onto Yotsuba that her dad hasn’t thought to address. It’s wonderful to watch Yotsuba go from a kid who just wants Grandma’s souvenirs to one who would give them up if only Grandma would stay. And then we get a few moments showing how she and her dad are great together, as well. It’s a strong finish, and one that leaves me ready for volume fourteen already. – Michelle Smith

Arpeggio of Blue Steel, Vol. 7 | By Ark Performance | Seven Seas – Arpeggio of Blue Steel is thankfully more about the submarine battle thriller more than harem antics, but there’s no denying that this volume is about Takao trying to prove her worth to the man she’s fallen in love with, even if that means sacrificing her own life. It’s just as battle-oriented as the last one, so there’s lots of depth-charge explosions and tactical maneuvering, and luckily some more mental models who haven’t quite decided what side they’re on yet and get to have ambiguous morality. As for our heroes, they don’t do much except fire one shot—but what a shot! It looks like they’ve attracted even more attention, though—will Yamato get involved? Still hideously underrated. – Sean Gaffney

Blue Exorcist, Vol. 15 | By Kazue Kato | Viz Media – Izumo’s plot is wrapped up here, and even though it involves some personal sacrifice, at least there’s no horrible permanent damage. And we get to see Nori again! Remember her? In any case, the bulk of this book deals with the revelation that Renzo was actually a double agent all along, and by his own choice. This is hardly surprising for the reader—Renzo is simply not the character type to be secretly evil, just secretly chaotic—but it does lead to a lot of soul-searching for our heroes, and a few explanations by Mephisto. Of course, Renzo is still a bit of a manipulative dick, and he knows something’s going on with Yukio. I suspect that may be the next major plot arc, but we shall see. – Sean Gaffney

The Heiress and the Chauffeur, Vol. 1 | By Keiko Ishihara | Viz Media – This is a very short (two volumes total) series that ran in LaLa, so there’s not much time to build up much other than the main plotline, which is a strong-willed but physically weak heroine and her cool chauffeur who clearly has a thing for her but nothing is being done about it because FORBIDDEN ROMANCE. This takes place at a girls’ school, so please enjoy the brief not-yuri that exists there, but for the most part this is a two-hander between Sayaka and Shinobu. They’re both likeable, so I look forward to seeing them hook up next time. There’s also a cute short story about a pair of twins and a thief who steals things that move his heart. Good value for money here. – Sean Gaffney

Kimi ni Todoke: From Me to You, Vol. 24 | By Karuho Shiina | VIZ Media – In general, I am pretty much over school festival stories in manga, but when Karuho Shiina does it, it ends up making me verklempt. It’s now been a year since Sawako and Kazehaya started dating, and though their relationship moments in this volume are poignant (Kazehaya’s desire for Sawako to be happy and attend the university of her choice is at war with his instinct to cling to her), the most affecting part for me was seeing Sawako voted class MVP. Not only that, but this volume is full of mono no aware, as she realizes that “getting closer to the future means the present is ending.” She tries to capture certain moments in her mind to remember forever, and it really gives me a sense that the series could be ending soon. I don’t necessarily want it to, but it would be a satisfying spot to wrap things up. – Michelle Smith

My Hero Academia, Vol. 4 | By Kohei Horikoshi | Viz Media – The tournament arc continues, as you can likely see by the huge pile of cast members on the front cover. We see Todoroki’s tragic past and resolve to not knuckle under to his jerkass father, Midoriya realizing that once you’re on the top it’s very difficult to actually stay there (especially in an event like this), and various other heroes big and small showing off what makes them tick and how important it can actually be. (One hero’s power is actually illegal to use except in certain circumstances!) It looks like the cliffhanger will give us Uraraka vs. Bakugo—while I’d like to see a female lead defeat a male in a tourney like this, I suspect the plot will drive Bakugo to the final. But we shall see. – Sean Gaffney

Nisekoi: False Love, Vol. 15 | By Naoshi Komi | Viz Media – Remember when I wrote off Haru from the harem battle, saying that the author was beginning to winnow the candidates down? Yeah, sorry about that. The last half of the volume is one giant Haru fiesta. (Also, is it me or is her best friend completely in love with her?) As for Raku and his high school age girls, they continue to trundle along, with the added chemistry that Yui brings to the mix now. We get a “King Game” with lots of amusing humiliation, and Marika placing far too much value on advice from love magazines for comfort. Still, Nisekoi is starting to spin its wheels a bit, as it’s popular enough to continue along but really needs to resolve its romance soon. Even if, being a harem title, that likely means a huge drop in popularity. – Sean Gaffney

One Piece, Vol. 78 | By Eiichiro Oda | VIZ Media – Is anyone else beyond ready for the Dressrosa arc to be over? Unfortunately, that doesn’t happen in this volume. What does happen, though, is that events become more epic, and although I didn’t quite get swept up in them to the degree I might wish, my enthusiasm for this arc was somewhat rejuvenated. Even while one female character is relegated to pristine/protected status, Robin gets a badass moment shielding her from an enemy attack. Zolo’s up next, with a spectacular finish to his fight against Pica. The supporting characters continue to be great, too. The real show, though, is Luffy versus Doflamingo. What I like best about their faceoff is that Doflamingo has more interesting and critical comments for Luffy than past foes have had. It seems he gets under Luffy’s skin more, and that’s a welcome sight. Now I can say I’m genuinely excited for volume 79! – Michelle Smith

One-Punch Man, Vol. 6 | By ONE and Yusuke Marata | Viz Media – Another volume, another giant pile of cast members added to the pile—this time the top heroes of the city. The most interesting ones include Tornado, who is short, curt, and tends to go superdeformed just like Saitama; King, who everyone seems to respect despite apparently being useless; and Metal Bat, who makes me think of Paranoia Agent if it ended up being about superheroes. Despite them all showing off some awesome stuff, though, as always it’s about Saitama and his mind-numbing ability to one-hit every enemy. Of course, we may have met the first persona that actually does require more than one punch here—naturally, Saitama’s reaction is understated. Hilarious shonen fun. – Sean Gaffney

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

D-Frag!, Vol. 8 | By Tomoya Haruno | Seven Seas – I fear that this volume of D-Frag! is still on the island beach adventure, and it drags it out a bit too long, in my opinion. There are still some great gags—one of the all-girls’ school classmates being a clone of Oscar from Rose of Versailles led to some hilarious situations—but I am happy to be back at school in the end. As for the plot, we are reminded that this is still a group of kids who will compete in any competitive game, no matter how stupid or how embarrassing the consequences. (Well, except for poor Funabori, who’s simply an innocent bystander.) Even if they have to rewrite the rules as they go along, they will win. As for the supposed harem aspect, well, that’s mocked as much as everything else. Subpar, but still fun. – Sean Gaffney

Haven’t You Heard? I’m Sakamoto, Vol. 3 | By Nami Sano | Seven Seas – It was inevitable for someone who can draw people into his orbit as much as Sakamoto that he would invariably meet up against a real villain, and we’re introduced to one here: Fukase, a repeat offender who enjoys “erasing” popular kids from the school, and is now out to ruin Sakamoto as much as he can. Of course, Sakamoto is not defeated so easily, and that’s where most of the comedy comes in, as we see him taking on the typical athletic and cultural festivals and coming out on top. Fukase seems made of sterner stuff, though, and I suspect the fourth and final volume will amount to a big confrontation. Or maybe not; after all, this is a gag manga first and foremost. – Sean Gaffney

Horimiya, Vol. 3 | By Hero and Daisuke Hagiwara | Yen Press – I genuinely anticipate and enjoy each new volume of this series. Miyamura and Hori are both incredibly likable, and I especially liked getting to see a different side of Miyamura in this installment, as he is reunited with a friend from middle school. Spending time with this crowd is lovely. But… I can’t help wanting the two leads to get together, already! I mean, they’re in that stage where they both kind of know that their feelings are mutual but they’re afraid to ruin their friendship and… argh! Why does it bother me when, say, Skip Beat!, still dragging things out for 30+ volumes, doesn’t? Perhaps it’s that their relationship is pretty much the sole focus of the thing. Maybe next volume they’ll either get together or find some career goals and I will be appeased. – Michelle Smith

Knights of Sidonia, Vol. 15 | By Tsutomu Nihei | Vertical Comics – The final volume of Sidonia spends 3/4 of its time locked in a deadly final battle with the Gauna. Sacrifices are made, stuff blows up, and there is much shouting of orders and cool mecha things. As for our hero and surprise heroine, both try their hardest to sacrifice their lives for each other. But in the end, Nihei makes good on his promise that this was a bit less bleak and more hopeful than his other works, and we get what’s fairly close to a happy ending. I’ll admit I was somewhat confused at where we ended up, as the characters get even more genderfluid and speciesfluid than we’d seen before, but the ending—with Izana going to explore space, and Tanikaze staying behind to raise a family, is very sweet. -Sean Gaffney

Knights of Sidonia, Vol. 15 | By Tsutomu Nihei | Vertical, Inc. – I was pretty concerned when I learned Knights of Sidonia would end with the fifteenth volume. It just seemed like there wasn’t enough time to wrap things up in a satisfying way. However, I’m happy to report that, although it’s true some things feel rushed—man, would I have loved more time with the character who changes genders off-camera!—Nihei-sensei is able to impart sufficient epic scope to humanity’s final battle with the Gauna that I found the result downright cinematic. I especially appreciated that, because of what’s happened in the story up to this point, I didn’t feel as though a happy ending was guaranteed. I couldn’t recommend this series more highly. And if you’ve enjoyed it, don’t forget Vertical is releasing BLAME! starting in September! – Michelle Smith

Log Horizon: The West Wind Brigade, Vol. 2 | By Koyuki and Mamare Touno | Yen Press – There are still elements of a harem comedy to this, and the cover promises lots of T&A, but covers lie as always. What we get instead is a surprisingly dark examination of the emotions of those trapped in the game during the first book. This takes place in the middle of Shiroe and company’s trek to rescue Serara, and is adept at showing both the chaos that was going on in Akiba while they were away, and also the leadup to what’s going to happen with Hamelin in the second novel. As for Soujiro Seta, it’s not just his looks that keep the female guild members enamored of him—he can be quite scary when he wants to be, while also keeping an optimism that contrasts with the series’ new villain, Magus. – Sean Gaffney

Pandora in the Crimson Shell: Ghost Urn, Vol. 4 | By Shirow Masamune and Rikudou Koushi | Seven Seas – I had assumed that the Kabapu cameo would be just that, but no, he’s got a much larger role in this new volume, even if he is now mysteriously a black man. Even more surprising is the appearance of Momochi, who is once again Kabapu’s capable secretary, but shows more emotion in two chapters than she did in 27 volumes of Excel Saga—perhaps working for a man like him has finally started to push her over the edge. So it’s not a must read for Excel Saga fans, but I think they’ll find it of more interest than the previous three. As for Vlind, she continues to have Excel’s personality and Elgala’s luck. If this sounds like I’m ignoring the rest of the manga, you are correct. – Sean Gaffney

Yowamushi Pedal, Vol. 2 | By Wataru Watanabe | Yen Press – Oh, sports manga. Why do you make me get all verklempt when the underdog surprises those who have underestimated him with a new technique? This second volume is comprised entirely of the first years’ welcome race, and it’s so fast-paced and addictive that I plowed through this chunky two-in-one omnibus in record time (which is fitting, I suppose). It’s too early for Onoda to win, of course, but he shows tremendous potential and impresses the older members of the bicycle racing club, whom it was great to get to know. I am extremely happy this series is 44 volumes and climbing in Japan, so I can continue to devour it for years to come. – Michelle Smith

Honey So Sweet, Vol. 2 | By Amu Meguro | VIZ Media- The vast majority of this volume is definitely super, super sweet. Nao sorts out who she truly has romantic feelings for, and her subsequent rain-soaked confession scene to Onise is one for the shoujo hall of fame. Reader, he cries and it is adorable. I also loved the scene where her uncle Sou warms to Onise, seeing in him the same desire to make Nao happy that he himself possesses. Also, there is an incredibly cute turtle. I can’t help, however, feeling apprehensive about this new friend Onise has made. Perhaps Ayaha is completely straightforward, but does he have ulterior motives? He makes me nervous. I will definitely be following this series ’til the end. – Michelle Smith

Kiss Him, Not Me!, Vol. 4 | By Junko | Kodansha Comics – I did say last time that this is not a title one reads for the depth. In many ways, it’s like The Wallflower, in that four hot guys are forced to deal with the antics of an eccentric girl. Unlike The Wallflower, though, they all have feelings for her… or, to be more accurate, desires. Shinomiya is the focus of the last half, and being “the other blonde” in the group, he desperately needs it. But let’s face it, I think BL fans read this series more than typical romance fans, so the soccer backstory and rivalry between Igarashi and Nanashima will be far more interesting. As for Kae, she proves once more to be nice, sweet, batshit about BL, and utterly unaware that there’s a three-way battle for her going on (does Mutsumi count?). Mildly recommended. – Sean Gaffney

Magi, Vol. 17 | By Shinobu Ohtaka | Viz Media – I’ll admit, this volume went in a direction that I was not expecting, as the evil Dumbledore tries, in his classroom, to explain to Aladdin and company why they are using the human underclass as magic livestock and letting them suffer. It turns out to be a cyclical abuse story, with magic users once being worked to death by uncaring humanity, including killing the daughter of the headmaster. That said, I’m fairly certain that this explanation is not going to fly with Aladdin, no matter how many cute little girls we see on the cover you save. Even worse, we see two warring countries trying to use the magic city for their own ends… and one side as Alibaba on it. I expect a lot of battling next time. – Sean Gaffney

My Monster Secret, Vol. 2 | By Eiji Masuda | Seven Seas – Having set up last time that this series consisted mostly of girls who are secretly “monsters” in some way, shape or form, and that it was going to be dedicated to gags rather than a serious romantic or thrilling plot, we can expect the second volume to expand the cast accordingly. And so we see Shiho, who seems to be a werewolf guy but is in reality a sex-changing werewolf with a lusty side… and by side I mean all of her. And there’s Akane, the school principal, who’s a demon that’s MUCH younger than she looks and whose great-granddaughter is their seemingly normal teacher. Not a lot happens to push the plot forward here, but there’s lots of great laughs, and that’s really all that matters. – Sean Gaffney

School Judgment: Gakkyu Hotei, Vol. 2 | By Nobuaki Enoki and Takeshi Obata | VIZ Media – I may not be the target audience for this series—someone out there must’ve really appreciated all of the emphasis on sixth-grade boobies, but it wasn’t me!—but I am a big fan of mysteries, so hoped I could at least enjoy that aspect of it. Sadly, I found the whodunits in this volume to be deeply boring, particularly the interminable plagiarism case. I’m not sure what it is that makes reading this such a slog for me. My interest did perk up when we got more information about the deadly classroom arbitration in Inugami’s past, for which he and two other surviving classmates were initially held responsible until they studied law and proved their innocence. The real perpetrator and motive are still unknown, and something tells me the third and final volume will deal with solving that case. I hope so, at any rate. – Michelle Smith

School Judgment: Gakkyu Hotei, Vol. 2 | By Nobuaki Enoki and Takeshi Obata | Viz Media – Shonen Jump is supposedly for young Japanese boys, around he ages of 8-12. In reality, of course, it tends to skew towards kids of all ages, and adults of all ages as well. So, for the kids, we have the story itself, which continues to deal with wrongful accusations, this time also extending outside the classroom environment, and introducing a second attorney to be a slightly better rival than Pine—though he ends up losing just the same. On the down side, we have lots of sexual shots of grade-schoolers in bikini swimsuits, as if they’re meant to be the same age as Nami or Orihime. Thankfully, this ends in one volume, where we’ll presumably meet the third wrongfully jailed contemporary of Abaku’s. – Sean Gaffney

A Silent Voice, Vol. 6 | By Yoshitoki Oima | Kodansha Comics – The entirety of this volume deals with what happens in the first few pages, where Shoya is able to rescue Shoko from leaping off of her apartment balcony, but ends up falling himself and going into a coma. What follows is an explosion of emotions from everyone, and I hope you don’t shy away from people being hit, because there’s a whole lot of that going on. Shoya’s friends have to examine their own actions, and wonder if they’re really done enough to reach out and heal wounds, or have they just gone with the flow? I liked Miyoko’s plot, and Naoka’s is fascinatingly realistic, but this volume is mostly all about Shoko and her suffering, which I hope lessens by the finale. – Sean Gaffney

Brace yourself for a briefy onslaught!

Akuma no Riddle, Vol. 3 | By Yun Kouga and Sunao Minakata | Seven Seas – Sadly, this series is proving to have diminishing returns, and I wonder if it’s being written for a set number of volumes, as I feel it’s not really taking the time to develop each assassin before we get their tragic backstory and they’re summarily removed from the story. As I predicted, the Takarazuka pair are one of the main focuses here, and turn out to be somewhat star-crossed themselves, so it’s appropriate that they kill each other. (Or do they? There’s some “recovering in hospital” talk here.) As for Azuma, I think she’s realized that there’s something deeper going on with Haru, but doesn’t really seem to care. I’m still following this, but do wonder what it will do when it runs out of girls .– Sean Gaffney

The Ancient Magus’ Bride, Vol. 4 | By Kore Yamazaki | Seven Seas – Given how this series is trying to develop Chise as a bride, and Elias is very much a paternal mentor character, at some point the author was going to have to, if not walk things back, at least even things out a bit. On Chise’s end, this comes by letting her grow into more power, as she gets a staff of her own, and now finds she can recall happy memories of her past in Japan, not just nightmares. For Elias, it shows us that in many ways he is just as innocent as she, and that much of what we assumed was a guiding hand was simply his total inability to ‘get’ human emotions. Now that Chise understands this as well, will they get closer? I don’t really care, so long as we get more pretty fantasy, to be honest. – Sean Gaffney

A Centaur’s Life, Vol. 8 | By Kei Murayama | Seven Seas – I begged for more focus last time, and unfortunately that’s not what I get. I suppose that’s one of the selling points of the series, you never know what you’ll get in any chapter. At its best, you get discussion on the true nature of modern art and discussion on how siblings can be very different even if they’re from the same family. At its worst, you get that cover, and a fantasy sequence where half the cast are menaced by sentient clothing-dissolving goo. And at its most problematic, we see this series’ fantasy version of Nazi Germany, which tries to show that racism is something we should overcome, while at the same time noting that it’s ubiquitous in human nature no matter if the species aren’t human. I can’t decide who would enjoy this. – Sean Gaffney

Food Wars!: Shokugeki no Soma, Vol. 11 | By Yuto Tsukuda and Shun Saeki | Viz Media – As I expected, the villain who specializes in imitation finds that he’s weak to last-minute improvisation on Soma’s part. Also as expected, he has a somewhat sad backstory, though honestly it’s only average compared to some folks here. The best part was Soma convincing him not to leave the school but keep striving to do better as a chef. Meanwhile, Ryo and Akira prove to be almost equally matched—in fact, so equally matched that it ends up being a tie, meaning that the next volume will have a three-way final. I expect Soma will lose, as it’s far too early in a Shonen Jump series to have him win a competition like this. The joy will be in seeing how he responds to that adversity. Good stuff. – Sean Gaffney

Food Wars!: Shokugeki no Soma, Vol. 11 | By Yuto Tsukuda and Shun Saeki | VIZ Media – Man, there were a lot of fanservice-y reaction shots in this volume! I guess that’s to be expected, given that we’re in the semi-final round of the Fall Classic, but it does still bug me that in one moment, female chefs are lauded as “culinary monsters” and in the next, everything is all about their boobs. Sigh. Anyway, the actual cooking in this volume is pretty great, especially the beef stew battle between Soma and copycat Mimasaka. Also, as a Southerner, I was amused by the crowd’s reaction to the foreign notion of mesquite. I was less captivated by the matchup between the other two semifinalists (eel and prunes?! UGH!) but am looking forward to the finals! – Michelle Smith

My Love Story!!, Vol. 8 | By Kazune Kawahara and Aruko | Viz Media – This is perhaps the first volume of My Love Story!! that I wasn’t 100% happy with. Oh, don’t get me wrong; there’s still lots of wonderfulness here, particularly between our main couple. But if you are going to have a guy forcibly kiss someone, and then have Takeo whack him and tell him that this was the wrong thing to do, don’t then reward him anyway 20 or so pages later. It sends the wrong message. I’m also not too pleased with the guy introduced towards the end, though we don’t get to see too much of him. Most of the obstacles to Takeo and Yamato have been subtly handled, but this looks like it may be as subtle as a brick. That said, despite these faults, this remains essential reading. – Sean Gaffney

Shuriken and Pleats, Vol. 1 | By Matsuri Hino | VIZ Media – I suppose the good news is that I ended up liking Shuriken and Pleats more than I expected to. Mikage has been raised as a ninja, and while that imbues her with admirable characteristics like level-headedness and competence, it also means that she hasn’t been encouraged to feel emotion or consider her future goals. After her master is killed, she attempts to heed his wishes for her happiness by moving to Japan and becoming a regular schoolgirl, but gets embroiled in more trouble. Honestly, all the stuff about rival ninjas and seeds and poisons and antidotes is incredibly boring, but I liked Mikage’s journey towards becoming a regular girl in mourning for someone she loved very much. I’ll definitely read the second and final volume! – Michelle Smith

Toriko, Vol. 33 | By Mitsutoshi Shimabukuro | Viz Media – Well, I only have myself to blame. After ending my last review worried that Komatsu was going to be kidnapped or killed off, we get a bit of both, as he’s now in a coma with a void where his heart should be. As a result, Toriko and friends have to head to a kingdom of giant plant life, ruled by a monkey king that we don’t see much of but I suspect will prove to be difficult. We also get some disturbing post-fight images, as several monkeys that face off against Toriko are later shown to have killed themselves in order to make amends. Toriko, thankfully, finds one who hasn’t yet and explains why it’s the wrong thing to do. Still not as much food love here, but there’s typical Jump battles to make up for it. – Sean Gaffney

Yamada-kun and the Seven Witches, Vol. 7 | By Miki Yoshikawa | Kodansha Comics – We actually get a lot of new information here. First of all, witches can have their powers removed—which comes as a relief to Maria, whose future-vision is a pain in the ass. The guy who can do it turns out to also be running for student council president. We meet Miyamura’s sister, who was close to finding the seventh witch before something completely broke her. But perhaps most importantly, Yamada has finally realized that his feelings for Shiraishi are love. Naturally, this leads to more problems, but I am pleased with how things are progressing, and at this rate I suspect the series should be done in four or five more volumes. (Looks at current volume count.) Oh. – Sean Gaffney

Assassination Classroom, Vol. 9 | By Yusei Matsui | Viz Media – There’s a lot packed into this volume, ranging from showing how much more Class E is actually learning from Koro-sensei, to kicking off some romantic ship tease between Irina and Karasuma (good to see his the typical romantically clueless male). But the most important part of the volume discusses what it actually means to be an assassin, and how it’s different from being a soldier, or being a fighter. Koro-sensei is teaching the class the skills they need at assassination, but do any of the kids really have the desire to kill someone? (Or even the tragic background that we see Irina has here.) But, most importantly, will Kayano ever get to do anything ever? We may at least find that out next time. – Sean Gaffney

Golden Time, Vol. 3 | By Yuyuko Takemiya and Umechazuke | Seven Seas – Any chance at romantic moves forward is shut down in the first few pages—Kaga rejects Banri’s confession, but hopes they can be friends. Honestly, it’s for the best for both of them. Banri is still dealing with his amnesia—and judging by the flashback we see, was quite different back then from his present self. Kaga, meanwhile, is still a hot mess of issues, which she handles in the most extroverted, aggravating way possible. Then there’s the added issue of Linda, who clearly knew Banri in the past—and he is aware of this—but is keeping it from him for some unknown reason. Essentially, we continue barrelling along far too fast, and the ensuing car crash, when it comes, will be awful in the best way. – Sean Gaffney

Honey So Sweet, Vol. 2 | By Amu Meguro | Viz Media – Now that we have resolved the whole “he’s really mean” plot that kicked this off, and Nao is able to realize that she does not, in fact, have romantic feelings for her uncle after all, the series can go on to do what it does very well, which is be sweet and charming. When you have two very awkward leads (and their awkward friend—Yashiro is really the odd one out here), there’s usually a lot of cute blushing, awkward almost missed dates, and apologies. Of course, as we find near the end, Taiga can’t quite get away from the fact that everyone still views him as a thug. And there’s also the dreaded new guy who enters the picture at the end of the volume. Enemy? New love interest? Ah well, at least it will be sweet. – Sean Gaffney

The Honor Student at Magic High School, Vol. 2 | By Tsutomu Sato and Yu Mori | Yen Press – I don’t think I even reviewed the first volume of this. When the Irregular volume was delayed from November to April, its spinoff manga was left in place, sadly. As a result, we see an alternate telling of a story I haven’t read yet, told from the perspective of the sister of the main novel character. On the plus side, the world is well-formed, and should please those who like ‘magic academy’ series in general. On the minus side, the heroine seems to be flawless with the exception of her massive brother complex, and anyone reading this had better have a very high tolerance for incestuous feelings of yearning. I suspect this series will work better after the novel comes out next month. – Sean Gaffney

My Little Monster, Vol. 13 | By Robico | Kodansha Comics – The thirteenth and final volume of My Little Monster includes assorted goodies for the die-hard fan. There are a few chapters from the point of view of characters whose perspectives we don’t generally see, a lovely wedding ceremony (with Nagoya the chicken included!), quite a lot of 4-koma, some character profiles, fanbook excerpts, even a maze. I’d say we did learn a few new things about some characters, and even though I wish for more detail about Natsume and Sasayan’s future, the glimpse we get here will sustain me. It says a lot about this series that Robico’s joke sequel announcement at the end of the volume made me go, “I’d read that!” Any chance to spend a little more time with these characters was and will always be welcome. – Michelle Smith

Pandora Hearts, Vol. 24 | By Jun Mochizuki | Yen Press – One of these days, I’ll have to read Pandora Hearts straight through because I am still forgetting things in between volumes. As a result, some of what happens in this final volume is rather confusing. The basic gist, however, is that the world the characters inhabit is crumbling, and our heroes must find a way to stabilize their existence without changing the past. The characters are well-served here—I was happy to see the living draw upon their memories of the departed when deciding which side they were on and the ending also delivers major feels. Happy, sad, lovely and bittersweet, it’s everything I could’ve wanted the conclusion of this story to be. Well done, Mochizuki-sensei. – Michelle Smith

Presented with apologies for the delay.

Bloody Mary, Vol. 2 | By Akaza Samamiya | VIZ Media – For a moment there, I thought I could grow to really like Bloody Mary. Perhaps it was all the slashy situations that were happening, but the atmosphere briefly coalesced into something equal parts nifty and creepy. Unfortunately, this didn’t last long, and I was soon irritated by the nebulous nature of the narrative. Perhaps just a couple more explanatory panels would help, as I kept going, “Wait, why are they breaking into that mansion again?” Why is this happening? Why is that happening? A revelation that should be big lands with a squelchy plop. There’s potential here, for sure, and I’m not ready to give up, but I’m still underwhelmed for the time being. – Michelle Smith

Haganai: I Don’t Have Many Friends, Vol. 13 | By Yomi Hirasaka and Itachi | Seven Seas – The latter half of this book is merely OK, setting up what promises to be the next big arc by introducing a student council girl with a grudge against Sena, and teasing Sena and Kodaka’s engagement. But let’s face it, this volume’s big, big reason to read it is that first chapter with Rika, as we hear her run up against Kodaka’s hardcore determination to ignore any forward development in this series, and it nearly causes her to snap. The elephants in the room—that the group is already friends (and thus the club’s purpose is complete), and that he has at least 3 girls in love with him, is something Kodaka is desperately trying to forget, and it can’t last much longer. Very well done. – Sean Gaffney

He’s My Only Vampire, Vol. 6 | By Aya Shouoto | Yen Press – I have to admit, Aya Shouoto continues to have a slight pacing problem that I can’t quite put my finger on but bothers me. I think it’s typified in this volume by Kana’s escape and training, which happens completely offscreen through a character we had no idea was on her side. Sadly, we don’t see that; we see Aki angst instead. Which is fine, I mean, it’s quality angst, but I have to admit I wanted to read something different than the author was giving me. Kana does get more to do in the second half, but for the wrong reasons—amnesia has reared its ugly head, as it always does whenever a shoujo couple dares to resolve its feelings before the series can end. This is still good, but highly uneven. – Sean Gaffney

Library Wars: Love & War, Vol. 15 | Original Concept by Hiro Arikawa, Story and Art by Kiiro Yumi | VIZ Media – Library Wars hasn’t been the most brilliant series ever, but its characters consistently put a smile on my face. That is especially true of this satisfying final volume, in which Iku completes a solo mission admirably well (while drawing on the attributes of her team for comfort and inspiration) and finally clearly communicates her feelings to Dojo. A three-year fast-forward shows us some glimpses of what’s become of the cast, and it’s all pretty great. (Avoiding most spoilers, I will only say the photograph at the end cracked me up.) There is a spinoff/sequel of sorts out there, and I really hope VIZ licenses it at some point, because these are characters I’d like to revisit someday. – Michelle Smith

My Little Monster, Vol. 13 | By Robico | Kodansha Comics – Let’s face it, this manga is a victory lap. But it’s well-deserved, and I greatly enjoyed most of it (the fanbook section, while nice to have, featured a lot of 4-komas and profiles that didn’t add much.) Loved the Natsume and Sasayan story, of course, but Iyo’s was also very good. I was less enamored with Oshima and Takaya, but you can’t say it wasn’t signposted. Best of all, though, we get a wedding, which I figured after the ending to twelve would get skipped over. It’s almost a sideplot to Takaya trying to get his love taken seriously, but Shizuka is amazing as always—the shot of her in her bridal gown chugging tea is marvelous. I will miss you, My Little Shoujo Series. Though at thirteen volumes, not too little. – Sean Gaffney

Of the Red, the Light, and the Ayakashi, Vol. 2 | By nanao and HaccaWorks* | Yen Press – The pacing of this second volume is somewhat slow, and at times it becomes easy to tell that this is based off a visual novel, and is trying to keep a lot of the basics. I also admit that I have trouble telling two of the three leads apart, both being blonds with hair about the same length. That said, as with the first volume, the title works best when establishing a creepy and unsettling mood, as you gradually realize that this is not your typical Japanese town, and that a lot of people know what’s going on here more than our three heroes. I’m not sure how well this will end—certainly if the cute little sister gets ‘erased’ I think I’m out—but right now it’s intriguing enough to keep going. – Sean Gaffney

Rose Guns Days Season One, Vol. 3 | By Ryukishi07 and Soichiro | Yen Press – Well, I suppose I asked for this, as I said last time that I wish Rose’s shiny idealism would get some more depth. And so we get this volume, in which all is in ruins, our heroes are scattered to the four winds, and Rose is literally tortured for her beliefs, and emerges almost completely broken. The keyword being almost, of course—she still has Leo and a few others, and even Stella and Meryl admit that while they were planning on double-crossing Rose before, that’s not happening now. I expect the final volume of this ‘season’ will be wall-to-wall action, but how cynical will Rose get? We shall see. Also, see if you can spot the Higurashi in-jokes this time. Recommended only for fans of Ryukishi07’s work. – Sean Gaffney