Bookshelf Briefs

Shake off the food coma and partake of some briefs!

Haven’t You Heard? I’m Sakamoto, Vol. 2 | By Nami Sano | Seven Seas – It’s always a battle each chapter to see who’s more interesting, Sakamoto or the people reacting to him. Because, while Sakamoto is the star and the catalyst, the plot is driven by those other people, those who find themselves changed by Sakamoto’s eccentric yet ultra-cool behavior. A teacher frustrated and determined to catch Sakamoto doing something against the rules ends up two chapters later yelling “don’t make me worry, dammit” in the best tsundere way. A gang leader finally finds a way to make Sakamoto angry, but the battle which follows still is nothing like he expects. For all that everyone wants to be near, love, or impress Sakamoto, at the end of the day they’re all marching to his beat. – Sean Gaffney

My Neighbor Seki, Vol. 5 | By Takuma Morishige | Vertical Comics – Unlike Sakamoto-kun in the above review, Seki still struggles with controlling the narrative of his own title, mostly as he has to deal with the main heroine, Yokoi, who’s long since given up pretending she doesn’t want to be entertained and get involved, even if she keeps telling herself it’s to punish him and make him pay attention. Sometimes this still backfires on her, such as during parents’ day (when we meet Seki’s non-speaking but frustrated mother), but more often than not, Yokoi is starting to gain the upper hand. Even if this means that other people view their relationship as something more than it is. Seki-kun will never be deep, or even pretend to, but it’s a lot of fun. – Sean Gaffney

Skip Beat!, Vol. 35 | By Yoshiki Nakamura | Viz Media – As this series progresses, Nakamura is able to dial up the emotional stakes for her characters more and more. At first I thought that the enforced closeness of the Heel Siblings storyline was about as intense as it was going to get, but when Kyoko encounters Ren as Corn, her long-lost childhood fairy, the reader sees some vulnerability and uncertainty from Ren/Kuon/Corn that is absolutely disarming. The mental gymnastics that Kyoto goes through to justify her friendship with Corn while she’s thinking of Ren are quite amazing, and Ren dealing with jealousy towards his own alter ego is hilarious. Yet another great volume of Skip Beat!, one of my shoujo favorites. – Anna N

UQ Holder, Vol. 6 | By Ken Akamatsu | Kodansha Comics – This volume seems packed with things that are designed to make any Shonen Magazine reader happy. A genuine zombie invasion, with many, many people killed off—luckily we have a supporting character who can reverse time. An onsen scene that allows readers to get their fill of Akamatsi’s nude bodies, still popular after all these years, and also lets him further develop Kuromaru’s anxiety about gender identity—not helped by everyone else saying “you’re acting like a girl, so be one.” And the presence of Mana at the end, which reminds us that this is still a sequel to Negima, whose cast was filled with students who were half-demon, supernatural, or just robots, so are still around 100 years later. We’ll see what happens with her in the next volume. – Sean Gaffney

Yamada-kun and the Seven Witches, Vol. 5 | By Miki Yoshikawa | Kodansha Comics – For the most part this volume is content to spin its wheels a bit—the fire subplot with Sarushima is stopped with a minimum of fuss and a lot of comedy (including some panty flashing and boob showing, as this is a Magazine title). We also get a new club member, who sadly seems totally uninteresting. Luckily Yamada and Shiraishi are still the best part of this title, and their kind of sort of love story is heartwarming when used properly. The next arc combines witch-hunting with that old shonen favorite, “your club will be used to do the Student Council’s dirty work,” and it will be interesting to see how this develops, though I suspect it will again involve a lot of comedy and panty flashing. – Sean Gaffney

New releases from Kodansha, VIZ, and Vertical are on the menu for this week’s Bookshelf Briefs.

Black Rose Alice, Vol. 6 | By Setona Mizushiro | VIZ Media – From the moment it was licensed, I was aware that Black Rose Alice is on hiatus in Japan—this volume was published there in 2011—and that the story would go into indefinite limbo after volume six. What I did not expect is that it would not be painful! Instead of abruptly cutting off without any hint of resolution, this is the end of “part one,” and while there is certainly plenty more story that could be told, some very important things wrap up, too. We get the full backstory for Kai and Reiji, there’s seeming closure where Koya is concerned, and, most significantly, Alice makes her choice. I eagerly await part two, but at least I don’t feel annoyed in the meantime. – Michelle Smith

Cage of Eden, Vol. 19 | By Yoshinobu Yamada | Kodansha Comics – I long for the good old days of Cage of Eden when our heroes merely had to battle prehistoric 50-foot reptiles. Sadly, they’re now facing a sociopathic human, who’s decided that the best way to get the masses on his side is to allow them to rape the girls in Akira’s group. That doesn’t happen, but it reminds readers that Cage of Eden is, shonen togetherness and action scenes aside, mainly designed for the 13-year-old boy who likes big tits and girls being threatened. In the end, the entire escapade proves fruitless in any case as the villain isn’t even a real doctor! Luckily, things are resolved here, and the next arc is the final one. I’ll keep reading, but this series has outstayed its welcome. – Sean Gaffney

Chi’s Sweet Home, Vol. 12 | By Konami Kanata | Vertical, Inc. – It’s bittersweet to say farewell to a series as great as Chi’s Sweet Home, but man, this final volume packs a powerful emotional punch! The Yamada family is torn—should they take Chi with them to France or call the number on the ‘lost cat’ poster with her picture on it? The decision is ultimately made for them when Chi’s mom gets injured while protecting her daughter from an oncoming car. Many sniffles ensue. I knew I was in trouble when Yohei made me get all verklempt on page five but the moment he realizes how important Chi’s feline family is to her and his resigned acceptance of returning her is especially heartbreaking. In fact, the excellent non-verbal storytelling showing how deep the bond between Chi and Yohei is, even if they are from different species, left me literally in tears. And if crying over fictional cartoon cats is wrong, I don’t want to be right! – Michelle Smith

Love Stage!!, Vol. 4 | By Eiki Eiki and Taishi Zaou | SuBLime – After an opening chapter that is literally about Izumi avoiding Ryoma because his butt hurts, Love Stage!! finally does what I’ve been wanting it to do and focuses on the boys’ careers. Izumi has made his debut and, after making an impact with several high-profile commercials, gets offered a part in a TV drama from his favorite director. Unfortunately, this guy is a rampant sexual harrasser, so Ryoma accepts a role, too, squeezing this commitment into his already packed schedule so he can protect Izumi. I appreciate that we finally see Izumi exhibit enthusiasm for the craft of acting and also that he impresses his co-stars with his raw talent. I hope the series maintains this balance of love and stage going forward. – Michelle Smith

My Hero Academia, Vol. 2 | By Kohei Horikoshi | Viz Media – Our premise having been given in the first volume, this second one is devoted to fleshing it out, with the arcs being carefully structured just in case the series did not take off. (Unsuccessful Jump series tend to run two volumes). So we see a confrontation between our hero and his rival, showing why their childhood friendship turned sour, and showing off their faults and strengths admirably. We also expand the cast, meeting a few new hero students, of whom the frog girl made the strongest impression. And we also get introduced to a new set of villains, which shows off the author’s strong sense of design, and also allows us a nice little cliffhanger. Exciting fun. – Sean Gaffney

My Little Monster, Vol. 11 | By Robico | Kodansha Comics – This series is wrapping up soon, and thus is trying to show off how much its characters have developed and resolving their relationships. And they have developed—Natsume still tends to show a stubborn immature side left over from the bullying she received, but she also shows how she does see Sasayan’s moods and can try to help when he’s depressed—without the artificial cheer that comes with it. As for Haru and Shizuku, they start off apart but that doesn’t last, partly as they’re meant for each other and partly as Yamaken forces the issue by confessing—again—and getting shut down—again. After sagging a bit in the middle volumes, this series has found its feet again, and this volume is particularly strong. – Sean Gaffney

RIN-NE, Vol. 19 | By Rumiko Takahashi | Viz Media – I think I may finally have reached the end of my rope with RIN-NE, which continues to showcase one-shot supernatural wackiness with the occasional ghost with a grudge. My many assumptions about the series—including the one that Sakura’s strong emotions were left behind when she almost died—seem to now be replaced with ‘maybe she’s simply dull.’ I have called this Takahashi’s retirement series before, and the lack of effort involved in each successive week depresses me. And unlike Ranma 1/2 or Urusei Yatsura, I don’t have beloved nostalgia to sustain me. We do get a new character here, but the chief gag seems to be that he may be gay (but of course is not). Yeah, I’m done. -Sean Gaffney

The Bookshelf brigade brings you beaucoup des briefs!

Bodacious Space Pirates: Abyss of Hyperspace, Vol. 2 | By Chibimaru | Seven Seas – This is definitely one of those movie adaptations where they assume you know everything about the source, and having not seen the BSP anime yet, I did feel at times like I was missing something. It also feels a bit cut short, but that’s not uncommon for movie adaptations. The humor is very well done, though, with Chiaki’s horrible day, and Grunhilde’s play script to allow for dramatics. In the end, though, it’s the story of a young boy and his feelings for his father, as well as that father’s legacy. It shows space is cool, computer viruses and conglomerations are bad, and that goodness and rightness will always win in the end. This was fluff, but pretty fun. -Sean Gaffney

A Centaur’s Life, Vol. 7 | By Kei Murayama | Seven Seas – I’m quite fond of manga that transcend genre and surprise you, but I think A Centaur’s Life may be taking it a bit too far. Some of the chapters are terrifying, such as the alien invasion story taking place in this world’s equivalent of the deep south (complete with casual racism by the father figure), and a land-grabbing story which seems to show that the snake people are literally infiltrating in order to gain some sort of political advantage? But then there’s more scenes of toddler centaurs using the toilet, and I just throw my hands in the air. Some of the cute stuff is quite cute, mostly involving the teenager monster kids—I liked seeing Nozomi’s rival/twin—but honestly, this series needs focus desperately. -Sean Gaffney

Evergreen, Vol. 3 | By Yuyuko Takemiya and Akira Caskabe | Seven Seas – The angst is dialed back a bit in this volume (though there’s still a fair amount) in favor of heartwarming first-love type scenes, with Hotaka and Niki finally together and being self-conscious, blushing and adorable, as most teens are. More surprising to me was that On-chan wasn’t a nickname, but her real last name—and that she is at least able to admit to herself, and Soga, that she likes him. Which comes as a surprise to Soga, and possibly the reader. The trouble is he’s the sort to push people away, and he does so beautifully here. The bigger trouble is that next volume is the last, and I think it has a bit too much plot left to wrap up smoothly. We shall see. -Sean Gaffney

Kiss of the Rose Princess, Vol. 7 | By Aya Shouoto | VIZ Media – It’s hard to believe this series is nearly over! Time surely flies. It’s also impressive just how much it has improved over the course of its run. Now I actually kind of care who Anise ends up with romantically, and was completely surprised by a plot twist that, had I been inclined to think critically, I might have seen coming. There’s a nice dramatic atmosphere to this volume, too, with much emphasis on this being their “last day,” so it seems as though the story will barrel on through to its conclusion, leaving behind the unfunny comedic gags that bothered me about early volumes. I’m pleasantly surprised to be looking forward to the finale. – Michelle Smith

Library Wars: Love and War, Vol. 14 | By Kiiro Yumi and Hiro Arikawa | Viz Media – This volume contains all the thing I love about Library Wars: romance, action, convoluted statements about censorship, and evil being foiled. The Library Forces continue to advocate for an author who is being censored by trying to smuggle him out of the country. In the process Dojo gets wounded and Kasahara is left to deal with the situation on her own. As a librarian, the reference to IFLA amused me greatly. This series is might not be the flashiest shoujo series but it is consistently good, and I put down each volume with a smile. – Anna N

Maid-sama!, Vols. 3-4 | By Hiro Fujiwara | VIZ Media –Although I lost count of how many times Usui put his hands on Misaki without her consent, these two volumes seemed to tone down his obnoxiousness level to some extent. Oh, he still attempts to be controlling, but the emphasis is more on Misaki being capable in her own right, and there were even a couple of moments between them that I liked. (I liked the “girls are not weak and delicate” message, too.) Still, I can’t help but feel that a character as great as Misaki really deserves to be in a different manga with a better love interest. I would be super happy if she were completely unaffected by his overtures and just called him out for being a tremendous ass, but alas, that is not how shoujo manga works. I hope my respect for Misaki can make it through this series intact. – Michelle Smith

Monthly Girls’ Nozaki-kun, Vol. 1 | By Izumi Tsubaki | Yen Press – I’ve been looking forward to Monthly Girls’ Nozaki-kun for a long time, and it didn’t disappoint. Talented artist Chiyo Sakura has a crush on brawny Umetarou Nozaki, but when she attempts to confess her feelings, he thinks she’s a fan of his manga and recruits her to be his assistant. This is a 4-koma manga, so what follows are strips about Nozaki coming up with ideas, being inspired by kooky classmates, trying to grasp the logic of dating sim games, and accidentally drawing BL doujinshi. The layout and sensibility are 4-koma—thus far, most characters have a single personality trait—but it also is basically telling a chronological story, which I like. While it might not have made me laugh outright, I did smirk and snerk often, and I will definitely be continuing with this one. – Michelle Smith

Sean and Michelle weigh in on some new manga from Kodansha Comics and VIZ Media!

Junji Ito’s Cat Diary: Yon & Mu | By Junji Ito | Kodansha Comics – I laughed, I cried, it was better than cats. Seriously, though, I enjoyed this tremendously. Manga artist J-kun is less than enthusiastic about his fiancée’s creepy-looking cat, Yon, coming to live with them in their pristine new home. Soon, however, he is learning to wield a cat toy in an appropriately tantalizing manner, attempting to convince a cat to sleep on his bed, and worrying desperately when kitten Mu has a health scare. There are some great examples of non-verbal storytelling here—I especially like the depiction of the battle for cat tower supremacy—and fabulous panels capturing the frenzy of kitties at play. It’s not all light-hearted, but that just makes it more wonderfully poignant. Very highly recommended. – Michelle Smith

Maid-sama!, Vols. 3-4 | By Hiro Fujiwara | Viz Media – There are several things I enjoyed in this volume, such as the fact that Aoi’s desire to dress in women’s clothing isn’t treated as something perverse or strange, and basically anytime Misaki shows off how much she cares about everyone around her and how observant she is. But Usui continues to suck the joy out of the series. It’s not just that he’s perfect and does everything effortlessly—I’ve loved characters like that before. It’s that his presence makes Misaki weaker, and I don’t mean because she’s falling in love with him, I mean she becomes a weaker character in general. This puts me in the odd position of reading a romantic comedy for everything but the romance. Oh well. – Sean Gaffney

Nisekoi, Vol. 12 | By Naoshi Komi | Viz Media – There’s no overarching plot for this volume, which instead gives us a series of one-shots that seem like a Nisekoi’s Greatest Hits in a way. We show off Raku’s bond with Chitoge, his bond with Onodera, Onodera’s sister being jealous and also falling for Raku at the same time, Tsugumi’s continued issues with self-worth and self-hatred, Ruri’s stoic awesomeness, and everyone waffling about the love quadrangle. It all ends up at a summer festival, where the need to keep up the pretense of dating and the fairly large number of people who know that this is a false front hits a wall. It leads to a good cliffhanger. Overall, though, this is pretty much just killing time while the author spins out some longer plot points for the future. – Sean Gaffney

One-Punch Man, Vol. 3 | By ONE and Yusuke Murata | Viz Media – There’s an expansion of the cast in this new volume, with several new heroes who may or may not crop up again. We also get a sense of the organization behind it, and how superheroing in this area has a lot of political back and forth behind it. But the series lives and dies on Saitama, and his reactions and lack of reactions are what make it worthwhile. There’s a lot of these here, and I’m not sure which I like more, his honestly inspirational speeches about perseverance to a superhero thinking of quitting, or his flat ‘what’ gaze at… well, many, many things. All this plus actual female heroes in the series, even if they’re just cameos. I look forward to seeing where this goes next. – Sean Gaffney

Oresama Teacher, Vol. 19 | By Izumi Tsubaki | VIZ Media – I never thought I’d say “wow!” about a volume of Oresama Teacher, but volume nineteen delivers! I absolutely loved the fairy-tale feel to the first few pages, where we get an inkling of the arrangement between Momochi and Hanabusa—it really gets one in the mood for what follows. And what does follow is Kurosaki, Yui, and Saeki going to Hayasaka’s house after he fails to return to school after being suspended, and discovering all sorts of things about his life, not the least of which is his first name. Tsubaki-sensei imbues the palatial Hayasaka home with a nicely creepy, “it was a dark and stormy night” sort of feeling, but in the end the truth of it all is both better and worse, and actually ties in with some things we’ve noticed about Hayasaka in the past. Tsubaki-sensei deserves a gold star for this one! – Michelle Smith

Say “I Love You,” Vol. 10 | By Kanae Hazuki | Kodansha Comics – Given this runs in a sort of josei magazine in Japan (Dessert is one of those ‘borderline’ cases), I’m actually surprised that it took until the 10th volume to see the events that happen here. It makes sense, though—the main couple doesn’t have nearly as many issues as, say, My Little Monster, and given that the main obstacle to a deeper love has been Mei’s own self-worth issues, once those are dealt with with a truly wonderful and heartwarming Christmas, it feels earned. What’s more, the reaction of her friends is excitement and joy, something I also greatly appreciated. Each volume of this series builds on the last, and my only concern is that I expect some roadblocks to keep the manga active. -Sean Gaffney

Yukarism, Vol. 4 | By Chika Shiomi | Viz Media – It is refreshing to read a series that seems exactly the right length, without plots drawn out or cut short. In its final volume, we get a resolution of the ongoing magical time-travel reincarnation, and it involves lots of self-sacrifice, anguished screams, and quite a bit of blood as well. The threat of a love triangle was always defused once we knew the relation of Kazuma and Yumarasaki, and instead we get misguided obsession, followed by forgiveness. I am also pleased that things were resolved without a mindwipe returning it all to the way it was before—that’s how it was headed, but the author refused to go down that road. This manga gets my vote as the biggest surprise of 2015—it’s a keeper. -Sean Gaffney

Sean and Michelle briefly review new releases from Kodansha, VIZ, and Yen Press.

Barakamon, Vol. 7 | By Satsuki Yoshino | Yen Press – We’re back on the island, with the calligraphy once again taking a backseat to Handa’s somewhat hapless life among the natives. Sometimes this leads to running gags (broken windows galore) and sometimes to heartwarming sweetness (visiting the island’s 99-year-old matriarch). There’s also an expansion of the cast as we meet Miwa’s parents, introduced through a horrific misunderstanding. One set of parents is still notable in their absence, though, and Handa thinks about asking Naru about her own situation but opts instead to avoid getting serious with her. There’s no major revelations or developments here, but it’s sweet in a relaxed, daily life way. – Sean Gaffney

First Love Monster, Vol. 2 | By Akira Hiyoshimura | Yen Press – Perhaps reading my misgivings about the first volume of this series, the second one tries to make it more obvious that this is meant to be a comedy rather than a romance. We meet another resident, who looks like a new “rival” for all of about three seconds before she reveals her true intentions, and the one sensible 11-year-old among the cast winds up falling for a girl who is (sigh) the male buttmonkey of the cast dressed in drag. Oddly, despite my sounding like I didn’t like it, this series is best when it’s at its most broadly comedic. When trying to examine the genuine emotional turmoil of a young girl and her elementary school boyfriend, things simply get too uncomfortable. – Sean Gaffney

Idol Dreams, Vol. 1 | By Arina Tanemura | VIZ Media – Tanemura describes Idol Dreams as “a magical-girl series for adults,” and it kind of is, given that the protagonist, Chikage Deguchi, is a mousy, 31-year-old virgin who regrets the state of her romance-free life. But her age is really the only thing mature about Chikage, as her mentality fits much better into the 15-year-old body a former classmate’s experimental drug provides her. I like that Chikage plans to embrace this opportunity to change herself, but it’s still pretty creepy to see this grown woman crushing over the 15-year-old boy band member who provides her with her first kiss while she fills in for an advertising photo shoot (as you do). I can’t help but wonder what kind of reaction such a plot gimmick would get if the genders were reversed. I will probably read the next volume, but I don’t expect my opinion to change much. – Michelle Smith

Junji Ito’s Cat Diary: Yon & Mu | By Junji Ito | Kodansha Comics – In case you were wondering, this is indeed just an amusing cat diary, which chapters like Yon getting out of the house or Yon giving preferential treatment to Ito’s wife. (Mu plays a far lesser role). But of course the joy of reading this manga is in seeing Ito’s over the top expressions, familiar to those who’ve read his horror manga, applied to such mundane topics. He even draws his wife without pupils, giving her an evil, soulless look that belies the actual material. The art is 3/4 of the reason to pick up this book—the other 1/4 is that these are indeed cute yet willful cats, and Ito’s struggle to master them and play with them at the same time is hilarious. Cat lovers will need to pick this up. – Sean Gaffney

LDK, Vol. 1 | By Ayu Watanabe | Kodansha Comics – The initial setup of LDK sounds extremely trope-y: second-year high-school girl Aoi Nishimori lives alone in an apartment, hunky but cold-hearted school prince Shusei Kugayama moves in next door, and “a series of crazy happenings” result in them having to live together. Burgeoning romantic feelings ensue. And because of this surfeit of tropes, I excused Shusei’s initial behavior as a trope, too. Sure, he’s a git, but he is being hounded by fangirls, and that can’t be fun. But as the volume wore on, and he did more and more egregious things—culminating with forcing Aoi to try on a swimsuit while handcuffed to him—I began to realize he’d crossed the line into flagrant asshole territory. Aoi does confront him and he apologizes, so I’m willing to read one more volume to see if any change seems imminent, but otherwise I am pretty disappointed. – Michelle Smith

Missions of Love, Vol. 11 | By Ema Toyama | Kodansha Comics – The manga has been building up to Yukina finally making her choice between the childhood friend milquetoast Akira and the brooding yet caring Shigure. The trouble is that it’s not even close to being over yet. And so Yukina ends up making… the wrong choice, one that we immediately know is wrong, and Yukina soon finds out, as she still can’t separate her own personal life and the novel she’s writing—especially now that she’s in competition with another author. In addition, perhaps thinking that these people making terrible decisions were becoming too sympathetic, we meet Shigure’s brother Hisame, who is introduced in such a way that he may as well have “I Am Evil” on his shirt. Still so wrong, yet so addictive. – Sean Gaffney

Yukarism, Vol. 4 | By Chika Shiomi | VIZ Media – Sadly, Yukarism comes to a close in this fourth and final volume. Selfishly, I wanted more, but in terms of the story, wrapping it up here means there weren’t any painful filler episodes to dilute the tense atmosphere Shiomi-sensei managed to maintain until the finale. I’m not going to spoil the specifics of how things are resolved, but I will say it was a very satisfactory conclusion and I got teary-eyed at least twice. Ultimately, though I was a little critical of the first volume, Yukarism soon won me over in a big way and it ended up becoming not only a keeper that I can foresee myself rereading but also a series that I think I will be foisting upon others who are not yet maniacal manga fans. I consider this a must-read for any shoujo fan. – Michelle Smith

Sean and Michelle take a look at manga from Kodansha, Seven Seas, Vertical, and Yen Press.

Genshiken: Second Season, Vol. 7 | By Shimoku Kio | Kodansha Comics – The manga continues to balance between Madarame’s “harem” and his lack of wanting to really do anything about it, and Hato’s identity issues. The latter makes the far more interesting story, frankly, particularly as it’s a very unbalanced harem—Angela and Keiko are both character types who blatantly aren’t going to win this battle. As for Sue, her denial is getting more and more frustrating, but I will admit that moving her into the apartment next to Hato brings together the two most likelies in this pentangle. I’m enjoying Genshiken in a vague way, but I’m not sure it has much of its original fanbase left, and I think its new fans would like more Hato and less everything else. – Sean Gaffney

Horimiya, Vol. 1 | By Hero and Daisuke Hagiwara | Yen Press – When I saw the cover and read the synopsis of Horimiya, I thought I would probably like it, but I did not expect to be utterly charmed by it. Belonging firmly in the “it ran in GFantasy so it’s shounen but it feels like shoujo” family, it’s a warm comedy about Kyouko Hori, a pretty and popular high school girl who secretly shoulders a lot of responsibility at home, and Izumi Miyamura, who looks like a gloomy otaku but is secretly a sweet, naturally tactless hottie. What I love most is that though there are inklings of deeper feeling between them, the first volume is all about the strong friendship they form. Miyamura is adorable, but I also appreciate Hori’s competence, and this is a rare comedy that actually succeeds in making me laugh. Horimiya was a delightful surprise and I very much look forward to volume two! – Michelle Smith

Knights of Sidonia, Vol. 14 | By Tsutomu Nihei | Vertical Comics – I think Nihei is apologizing to those of his fans who prefer science fiction, action and horror with this volume, which certainly picks up the pace a great deal—it’s as if they’ve realized the end is near. Much to my dismay, the mind-controlling eye worms also make another appearance, and with them a bunch of plot revelations from our wounded but not out of it captain. (It also leads to some suggestive off-screen stuff that I really didn’t need, but is certainly in character for its screwed-up cast.) In any event, half the fighting crew may now be lost, including Tsumugi, and the Gauna are on the rise. I’m still not sure if this ending will be happy, bittersweet or just depressing, but it’s coming soon. – Sean Gaffney

Nurse Hitomi’s Monster Infirmary, Vol. 3 | By Shake-O | Seven Seas – I was somewhat surprised to see the latter half of this volume actually have some genuine depth to it—of course, for a series as light and frothy as this one, that’s merely going from one-D to two-D. But yes, Fujimi’s relationship with her grandfather, now dead and apparently in Hell, as well as her former ‘rapid healing’ quirk translating to ‘undying’ after an unfortunate encounter with a tornado, proved quite interesting and fun. Less so the other half, which showed Hitomi’s younger sister (siscon, multiple personalities) and two new girls who serve to contrast each other and metatextually reflect on the manga itself, which is less interesting than the author thinks it is. Silly, but highly variable. – Sean Gaffney

Pandora in the Crimson Shell: Ghost Urn, Vol. 2 | By Shirow Masamune and Rikudou Koushi | Seven Seas – Brand loyalty can sometimes be a terrible thing. When I read the first volume of this series, I read it at the same time as the loathsomely boring Magika Swordsman and Summoner, and it looked more tolerable in comparison. Now, I’m reading it without that dose of sense, and it’s even more clear that Shirow and Koushi simply reinforce each other’s worst habit—they’re both massive lolicons, and it shows in much of the art, particularly the cover, which makes you wonder whether God even exists in the world anymore. The story itself is mostly amusing comedy fluff, but the fanservice is beyond the pale. Unless you have to read anything by these two authors, skip. – Sean Gaffney

Tokyo ESP, Vol. 1 | By Hajime Segawa | Vertical Comics – There are no shortage of manga about teenagers with special powers and abilities, but prior to Tokyo ESP, I hadn’t read one with such a traditional superhero feel. Enigmatic, costumed figures have released a bunch of glowing fish that bestow powers on certain individuals. Some of the recipients are good—like impoverished teen Rinka Urushiba and her musclebound, former detective father—and some are criminals. (And one is a hippo.) In a setup reminiscent of The Flash TV show, Rinka and her new friend Kyotaro Azuma use their powers to bring the supervillains to justice. But also there is some personal growth for Rinka, a mysterious background for Azuma, and a flying penguin with the ability to revoke powers. I’m making it sound like a chaotic mess, I fear, but it really isn’t. I enjoyed the first volume and look forward to continuing the series. – Michelle Smith

Sean, Anna, and Michelle take a look at recent releases from VIZ and Kodansha!

The Demon Prince of Momochi House, Vol. 2 | By Aya Shouoto | Viz Media – This manga suffers a bit in comparison to the overwhelmingly excellent Kamisama Kiss, since they are so similar in plot and sometimes character design, but I did enjoy this volume because it gave more hints of the troubles associated with Aoi’s attachment to Momochi House. He’s been at the house since he was a young child and can’t leave. In a reversal of the rescue the trapped princess trope, Himari is more and more determined to free him. There’s a bit of humor as yet another super cute ayakashi shows up. This manga is good for light and fluffy reverse harem demonic fun. – Anna N.

Kamisama Kiss, Vol. 19 | By Julietta Suzuki | Viz Media – Now that we’ve mostly resolved the love story of Nanami and Tomoe, it’s time to try to figure out where to go next, as clearly the series is popular enough that it can’t just end. And so we get the resolution of the dugong plot, with Nanami’s ‘normal’ friends learning about her deity status, and seemingly OK with it. As for Kurama, I liked that his slowly getting closer to Nanami is not getting in the way of him still being a basic jerk—this transformation is slow, and thus more realistic. As for Mizuki, I’m not sure if this will actually stick, but he certainly seems to have come into his own when charming the mermaid with self-image issues. I sense the series is being dragged out, but so far I’m OK with that. – Sean Gaffney

Kamisama Kiss, Vol. 19 | By Julietta Suzuki | VIZ Media – This latest arc—a school trip to Okinawa—started so tamely that I had zero memory of it when I started this volume. And yet, it ended up being significant for two supporting characters! With Nanami mostly sidelined by having her energy drained by Kirihito, Mizuki and Kurama set out to rescue their classmate, Ami. While Kurama ends up revealing more of himself to Ami than he has to anyone else, sowing the seeds for a presumed future relationship, it’s Mizuki who quells the wrath of a lonely mermaid by promising to be her husband. I 100% believe he would’ve honored his word and stayed with her, but when she sees how much he cared for Nanami, the mermaid (Unari) lets him go. In a way, this volume feels like it’s dealing with Nanami’s other potential suitors, clearing the slate for the final arc about Kirihito. We shall see! – Michelle Smith

Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic, Vol. 14 | By Shinobu Ohtaka | Viz Media – The first half of this volume wraps up Hakuryu’s arc, and the thought that he’s meant to be a darker version of Alibaba is not going away, from his murder here right down to his hasty confession to Morgiana (who I think is far too overwhelmed with new and confusing emotions to answer any confession right now). The second half sticks with Aladdin, as he finds that there’s a difference between being a Magi and actually learning and using magic, so he goes to a manga Hogwarts to try to get the basics from the ground up. Since he needs to conceal his true nature, this is harder than it seems. I can do without Aladdin (and the author’s) boobies obsession, but otherwise this is another excellent volume. – Sean Gaffney

My Little Monster, Vol. 10 | By Robico | Kodansha Comics – I love the smell of plot guns in the morning. Haru’s past, and his effortless academic excellence, have been on reader’s minds since the first volume. Now we get a long arc showing how he and Yuzan got to be the way they are, and how Shizuku likely has far more in common with Yuzan than she expected. It can be very frustrating to see someone like Haru in your life, and Shizuru needs to get past that – and I’m sure she will. Unfortunately, she doesn’t here, and Haru is likely going to react badly to this. Adding to that the beta couple, Natsume and Sasayan, also not really going anywhere (mostly due to Natsume’s ongoing issues), and it’s possible this series may end with no romance at all! Somehow I doubt that, though. – Sean Gaffney

My Love Story!!, Vol. 6 | By Kazune Kawahara and Aruko | Viz Media – We’ve been slowly watching Takeo learn how to be a good boyfriend over the course of this series, and now we get to see him learn how to be a good big brother, as his mother is finally giving birth. (Speaking of which, seeing how Takeo’s father courted his future wife and proposed is possibly the funniest moment in the entire book.) After this there’s some cute Valentine’s Day shenanigans, but the more intriguing thing is the promise of more Suna in the next volume. He remains a difficult character to grasp, deliberately so—indeed, he has trouble grasping himself. He knows he hasn’t found the love that Takeo has, though. Will new girl be able to get through to him? – Sean Gaffney

My Love Story!!, Vol. 6 | By Kazune Kawahara and Aruko | VIZ Media – Just when I thought I couldn’t possibly love My Love Story!! more than I already do, we get this adorable volume. First, we spend a bit of time with Takeo’s parents, Yuriko and Yataka, learning how they met and how Yuriko can’t help but try to take care of other people, just like her son. (Also, I absolutely love that Yataka was attracted toYuriko for being reliable, confident, and hard-working!) Next, pregnant Yuriko is admitted to the hospital, and panicked Takeo is gently steered in the right directions by calm, kind Sunakawa. And, ultimately, the family welcomes big, strong daughter Maki—there’s a great panel in which Takeo magnanimously declares that he’ll allow Sunakawa to marry her—and Takeo begins to think that he might like to have a career helping people. He’d make a fabulous fireman. Also, I would read that manga! So much love for this series. – Michelle Smith

Sean, Anna, and Michelle present a smattering of briefy goodness.

The Demon Prince of Momochi House, Vol. 2 | By Aya Shouoto | VIZ Media – At first, I thought this must be a short series, since Himari and Aoi already have feelings for each other by chapter four, but it’s not especially so. Thankfully, the pace slows down a little more toward the end of the volume, as Himari transfers into a new school. Curious classmates follow her home to her notoriously haunted house, and after a bit of comedic drag by the bishounen occupants, we learn that one of the visitors is already dead. It’s a nice bit of creepiness that will carry over into the next volume, hopefully boding well for more stories of a similar nature down the pipeline. Too, I liked the too-short bonus story of how Aoi came to reside within Momochi House. I am intrigued and will continue to follow this series! – Michelle Smith

Food Wars!: Shokugeki no Soma, Vol. 8 | By Yoto Tsukuda and Shun Saeki | Viz Media – I leave out contributor Yuki Morisaka in these briefs for reasons of space, but it’s fairly clear that she’s a second food expert on this title. The addition of the recipes makes sure that the series doesn’t get too ridiculous with its culinary competitions—when Alice uses liquid nitrogen to prepare her bento meal, it’s lampshaded that the bento recipe provided is a “super-easy” version of same. As for the contest, after Megumi’s spotlight last time, this time it’s Soma that gets to move on—though Megumi does have a not-so-shocking realization about her feelings for him. The question is not whether Soma will get past Alice—the nature of the title is not going to have him lose here. It’s how that makes us want more. – Sean Gaffney

Knights of Sidonia, Vol. 14 | By Tsutomu Nihei | Vertical Comics – Perhaps it’s an understatement to say that things are not looking good for the crew of the Sidonia. Spurred into the offensive against a huge cluster ship by the fact that it will only get bigger if they wait, two attack fleets are dispatched without injured ace Tanikaze and soon more gauna materialize to destroy half of them. Still more gauna threaten the Sidonia and, oh yeah, there’s a rogue crazy hybrid out there to contend with, as well. It’s a tense volume and I love that I can actually believe that Nihei really will allow humanity’s last hope to perish. My sole quibble is that when the captain tells Tanikaze about his origins and seemingly attempts to seduce him he has basically no reaction to the former and we never see response to the latter. You’d better not cheat on Tsumugi, you jerk! – Michelle Smith

Library Wars: Love & War, Vol. 14 | Original Concept by Hiro Arikawa, Story and Art by Kiiro Yumi | Viz Media – As ever, the basic premise of Library Wars is essentially ridiculous, and as a result it’s pretty hard to care about all the plotting the gang is doing to get an author whose freedom of expression is being denied to a foreign embassy so that he might defect. And yet, this setup does result in some terrific moments, like Shibazaki being omniscient (to anyone familiar with Suits, Shibazaki is the manga equivalent of Donna), Iku slinging an injured Dojo over her shoulder like a sack of potatoes, and the impossible-not-to-love two-page spread depicting a certain couple’s first kiss. Library Wars is very far from deep, but it is fun, and I expect that the next and final volume will offer up some satisfying resolution. Wonder if VIZ will release the sequel! – Michelle Smith

My Little Monster, Vol. 10 | By Robico | Kodansha Comics – Remember just one volume ago, where sweetly, slowly developing high school romance reigned supreme? Quite adeptly, Robico turns things on their head in volume ten. It’s Yuzan’s birthday, and his scandal-prone famous father is adamant that Haru attend the party for the sake of public appearances. He goes, and it’s awful, but before then we get some much-needed insight into Yuzan’s perspective. All along, I kind of thought Haru’s effortless academic superiority was just a throwaway attribute, but it turns out that it’s the source of all his problems. Young Yuzan envied Haru so much that he contrived to get him thrown out of their father’s house, and when Haru learns that Shizuku is jealous too, he can’t take it. It’s an excellent, though upsetting, volume and I absolutely love feeling that a happy ending is not a foregone conclusion. Even more strongly recommended than previously! – Michelle Smith

Seraph of the End: Vampire Reign, Vol. 6 | by Takaya Kagami and Yamato Yamamoto | Viz Media – This volume continues to show a bit of world building and backstory as Yu and Kimizuki face the demons inside their cursed weapons to gain yet another level of power. The political machinations in the Japanese Imperial Demon Army and the vampire nobility are also explained a bit, as Yu and Mika are set up for yet another confrontation. I enjoy the blend of character development and demonic weapon vs vampire action in Seraph of the End, mostly because there’s are more interesting storylines in this manga than the typical shonen action title. – Anna N

Toriko, Vol. 30 | By Mitsutoshi Shimabukuro | Viz Media – I do wonder if the reason for the big romance advancement this volume in a series where romance, let’s face it, is way way down on the list of importance was to dial back the series’ burgeoning BL fandom in Japan. Jump often gets accused of pandering to BL fans. Toriko isn’t Gintama, but they too can’t quite resist making fun of it—when Toriko accepts Rin’s proposal, Sunny straight up asks what about Komatsu? And Komatsu has dinner with a cute, like-minded chef not long after that. I think it would have more impact if Rin had been given a larger role in the story to date, but it’s still pretty heartwarming, particularly as it’s not the “I have no idea what I just agreed to” proposal acceptance I was assuming. – Sean Gaffney

Sean and Michelle present another round of Bookshelf Briefs!

Assassination Classroom, Vol. 6 | By Yusei Matsui | Viz Media – It’s unsurprising that there are people in Class E who are somewhat resentful of what Koro-sensei is trying to do. The entire class, as we’ve seen, is not of one mind, and Terasaka is perfectly happy scraping along at the bottom. Of course, Koro-sensei can win anyone over, though it also takes some tough love from Karma as well. Things are going pretty well for our heroes, though, which is why it’s time to introduce a new villain—this one the son of our main villain, the school principal. Asano is there to ensure that Class E does not make headway in the school exams. I’m not sure if he’ll succeed, as the class making headway would result in their promotion, which would make it hard to continue the series. Good stuff. – Sean Gaffney

He’s My Only Vampire, Vol. 4 | By Aya Shouoto | Yen Press – Aki’s pursuit of the seven stigmas needed to gain the power to wake his slumbering brother continues, despite the objections of a pair of angels, culminating in the acquisition of a third stigma and the apprehension of the serial killer who’s been on the periphery since the beginning of the series. This is an entertaining volume, largely due to some manipulation of shoujo tropes. A classmate goes missing, and ordinarily we would expect the heroine and friends to succeed in rescuing her, but that does not happen. Then we get the “our leads fill in for a school drama performance” plot, including Aki in drag, but this old idea is made fresh by the lurking supernatural menace. Of the three Aya Shouoto series coming out presently, I like He’s My Only Vampire the best. The tone is darker and more consistent and plotting feels more sure-footed as well. Recommended! – Michelle Smith

Kokoro Connect, Vol. 5 | By Sadanatsu Anda and CUTEG | Seven Seas – Being an ongoing light novel series whose manga was going to end here, I’m not surprised that Kokoro Connect has a very open ending that doesn’t really resolve the main love triangle or Heartseed. But it does continue to do what it does well, which is put its cast through the wringer—particularly Inaba, whose self-loathing turns out to be just as bad if not worse than Iori’s sense of self issues. The weak link here is Taichi, whose “knight complex” gets called out here without nearly as much development in the narrative. Still, it’s a solid ending that leaves things open for a second series (though one hasn’t happened as of yet in Japan). A surprisingly emotional romantic comedy with psychological underpinnings. – Sean Gaffney

Love at Fourteen, Vol. 4 | By Fuka Mizutani | Yen Press – As the focus expands slightly to show us other students in this series, it’s clear that not only do Kazuki and Kanata have the whole ‘mature’ thing going for them, but their own love affair is the only one that’s going relatively smoothly. There are issues like a need for closeness and face time, but given they’re both fourteen that’s understandable. To contrast this, we have the ongoing teacher/student relationship that knows it’s wrong but just can’t stop itself, the yuri writer whose Kanata fantasies are getting more robust, and the standard “why the hell won’t he notice me, dammit” girl who’s growing her hair out for the clueless guy she likes. Honestly, the main couple is the main reason to read this—the rest grates. – Sean Gaffney

QQ Sweeper, Vol. 1 | By Kyousuke Motomi | VIZ Media – Stop me if you’ve heard this one before. Here we have a Kyousuke Motomi shoujo manga featuring a custodian with past trauma for which he blames himself and the plucky orphan who is recruited to work alongside him. Happily, while there are obvious similarities to Dengeki Daisy, the tone of QQ Sweeper distinguishes itself nicely and its lead characters are distinct, as well. (Also, while Kyutaro describes himself as “the custodian of the Genbu Gate,” it’s not really a janitorial position.) I particularly like Fumi, both in character design and personality, especially her unabashed pursuit of a rich husband but unwillingness to get in the way of true love. I’m still positive she and Kyutaro will end up together, but for now I love that she’s not even considering him romantically, despite telling him “you’re special to me.” I really enjoyed this debut and look forward to more! – Michelle Smith

Sean tackles a big pile of briefs and Michelle… doesn’t.

Chocolate Cosmos, Vol. 1 | By Nana Haruta | VIZ Media (digital only) – Judging by the title, you might assume that Chocolate Cosmos has something to do with desserts, but so far, that does not appear to be the case. Instead, readers are introduced to high school first year Sayuki Sakurai, an academic slacker with an unfortunate case of resting bitch face, who just wants to experience a “heartwarming” kind of love, like she’s read about. It would seem luck is on her side when she meets a cute, sweet guy at the beach, but alas, he turns out to be a teacher at her school, Katsuya Hagiwara. The entire second half of the volume is Sayuki and friends trying to establish a club with Hagiwara as their advisor. As much as I generally don’t care for student-teacher romances, this one is chaste enough—and more of an ensemble piece—to be appealing in a comfort-food shoujo kind of way. I will probably keep reading it. – Michelle Smith

Haganai: I Don’t Have Many Friends, Vol. 12 | By Yomi Hirasaka and Itachi | Seven Seas – Once again I am impressed by how far this series will go to remind us how screwed up its main cast is, particularly Yozora, who undercuts what should be a really awesome moment with unrepentant theft. Even when a character is shown to be better off than we expect, such as Kobato being admired and respected by her classmates, it’s something that Kobato herself can’t accept, preferring to drench herself in fantasy and attacks on Maria, who is fast becoming her best friend. Oh yes, and Sena and Kadota are engaged, in a scene in a church so drenched with awkward sexual tension that even Christ himself tells them off. Still a hilarious comedy with dark undertones. – Sean Gaffney

He’s My Only Vampire, Vol. 4 | By Aya Shouoto | Yen Press – I will give the author credit for at last attempting to keep the ‘they still have to go to school everyday’ aspect of this increasingly dark and twisted manga going, and there are some standard ‘manga’ plots such as Kana having to stand in for the drama club when one of their members goes missing. That said, it’s the aforementioned dark, twisted bits that make this volume more interesting to me—said missing girl ends up as part of a surprisingly high body count, the Angels who oppose Aki are, unsurprisingly for Japanese manga, rather unholy, and the stigma of Lust carries a whole barrel of unhealthy implications in its story. Don’t let the fluffy cover fool you—this is pretty dark vampire action stuff. – Sean Gaffney

Kimi Ni Todoke: From Me to You, Vol. 22 | By Karuho Shiina | Viz Media – Shiina’s series began by discussing how difficult it was to make your feelings known to a person that you love—or even a close friend—and even now twenty-two volumes later, with half the cast finally hooking up, communication troubles still drive the majority of the plot. Kento has now been told what Ayano wants to do, and realizes he’s been selfish, but that doesn’t necessarily translate into a full reversal. Likewise, Chizu and Kazehaya are facing a separation from the person they love that is devastating each of them in its own way. Add to this some wonderful scenes with Sawako and Kurumi inspiring each other, and a Big Damn Kiss, and this ends up being another fantastic volume. – Sean Gaffney

My Neighbor Seki, Vol. 4 | By Takuma Morishige | Vertical Comics – As this series goes on, it is starting to slowly expand its universe, although the majority of the volume is still ‘what is Seki doing in class and what is Yokoi’s reaction.’ Yokoi’s impulsive actions end up inadvertently causing her to end up in Seki’s bedroom, and we get to see more of his sister. We also once again see that to the rest of the class, it’s Yokoi who’s the weird one—a reputation not exactly helped by Goto’s somewhat obsessive artwork depicting the many faces of Yokoi. As for Seki himself, what amuses me most is just how often his flights of fancy end up coming back to bite him in the end—it’s not just Yokoi, though she helps. Sometimes it’s his own karma. – Sean Gaffney

Sword Art Online: Progressive (manga), Vol. 3 | By Reki Kawahara and Kiseki Himura | Yen Press – The pointless fanservice that is a mild part of the novels is given a tremendous amount of focus in the manga, leading to Kirito being out of character (the underwear gag) or just pure otaku pandering (the cream-bun bukkake scene). This is irritating, because when the manga decides to use the novel as a stepping stone to tell its own story, it does a very good job. Argo continues to be a major part of this story, which is good as I love her character, and I also like how it fits in the side story ‘The Reason for the Whiskers’ in its own continuity. Still, overall the fanservice left such a bad taste in my mouth that I’d recommend the novel unless you enjoy service for service’s sake. – Sean Gaffney

Sean and Michelle are briefin’ it again with titles from Seven Seas, Kodansha, and VIZ.

D-Frag!, Vol. 6 | By Tomoya Haruno | Seven Seas – This is a gag comedy, one that mostly revolves around a few tsukkomis among a large group of bokes. As such, it amuses me when this is lampshaded over and over—Kenji is told that, more than the loud people fighting, it’s his constant comebacks that are causing a headache; and we meet Kenji and Noe’s mother, who proves to be just as much of a straight man as they are. In fact, this volume may have TOO many new characters—the cover shows “Kussie-sempai,” a girl with a creepy expression but good intentions, and we also meet Roka’s younger (and much taller) sister, who has a huge sister complex. That said, who all these people are isn’t important—they’re all funny, and that’s what counts. – Sean Gaffney

Kiss of the Rose Princess, Vol. 6 | By Aya Shouoto | VIZ Media – There’s no denying that Kiss of the Rose Princess has on occasion been kind of lame, but I find that I’m less critical of its flaws these days. It’s not merely that I’ve given up on expecting it to be something it isn’t, though that’s part of it, but having defined villains to go up against—the fake rose princess and her four fake (though no less bishounen) knights—and the romantically suggestive scenes that inspire various of Anise’s knights to achieve their “first awakening” power-ups have provided new energy and focus that is decidedly welcome. Okay, true, I am still utterly baffled as to why these fellows all love her, and it seems pretty obvious who she’s going to end up with in the end, but I think the series deserves credit for its improvement. Now I’m genuinely curious to see how the story is going to wrap up. – Michelle Smith

Love Stage!!, Vol. 3 | By Eiki Eiki and Taishi Zaou | SuBLime – So far, Love Stage!! has been about 99% love, 1% stage. In this volume, Izumi makes his celebrity debut and the job offers start pouring in, but we don’t see what comes of any of that. Instead, he spends most of the volume figuring out just exactly what it is he feels for Ryoma, whom he learns had to work quite a bit harder than he let on to get Izumi’s favorite mangaka to give encouraging feedback on Izumi’s laughably lame manga creation. I do like how they finally get together, especially Ryoma’s happy tears, but dangit, I want to see some acting! As it stands, Love Stage!! is a pleasant though fluffy BL romance, but I keep wishing for it to go in the “Izumi finds the thing he was destined to do” direction. Maybe it still will, now that Izumi and Ryoma are an established couple, but I’m not holding my breath. – Michelle Smith

Non Non Biyori, Vol. 2 | By Atto | Seven Seas – I really do wish this cast was just a little bit older—Hotaru being an eleven-year-old with the body of a seventeen-year-old for fanservice purposes will never stop being creepy —but that’s probably the only annoying thing about this peaceful, character-driven slice of life series. The ‘in the middle of nowhere’ aspect still takes precedence—there’s a very funny chapter dealing with waiting for the last train home, and Renge’s older sister trying to show off how awesome everything is in the big city where she goes to school (only to be undercut by Hotaru being an actual city girl). It’s not on a level of Yotsuba, or even K-On!, but it’s friendly enough, and despite the attempts at mild fanservice there’s no indication anything genuinely untoward will happen. – Sean Gaffney

Requiem of the Rose King, Vol. 2 | By Aya Kanno | Viz Media – Richard in this manga is being redone from the ground up—not just because of the ambiguous gender, which is made even more ambiguous in this volume, but because Shakespeare’s Richard III was a villain from the moment he was first seen on stage in Henry VI Part 2, and only got worse as he went along. We’re meant to feel bad for this Richard, though, whose grief and rage lead him to taking the life of a soldier with a family—and then becoming an unstoppable monster of death. Henry and Margaret, on the other hand, are dead-on in the way they’re portrayed from Shakespeare. This is well done, but I suspect folks unfamiliar with the original may end up getting more out of it. – Sean Gaffney

Yamada-kun and the Seven Witches, Vol. 4 | By Miki Yoshikawa | Kodansha Comics – Now that we’re actually talking about witches, they’re popping up more and more frequently. Here we see Meiko, who has the ability to form a sort of telepathic hivemind, and Maria, who can see the future (much to her detriment). That said, what the creator is really good at in this series is making every situation far more complicated than it first appears, for maximum frustration and embarrassment to all involved. That said, we may be running into a bit of a problem—everyone here is too nice for their own good, and Yamada is perhaps the worst offender. The drama arrives quickly but leaves just as quickly. This is a series in desperate need of a larger villain. – Sean Gaffney

Sean and Michelle (but mostly Sean) present a plethora of briefs.

Alice in the Country of Hearts: White Rabbit and Some Afternoon Tea, Vol. 1 | By QuinRose and Mamenosuke Fujimaru | Seven Seas – I’m always happy when the series’ primary artist is back in the saddle. The cover of this volume is very promising, with Peter and Boris holding guns to each other’s heads while Alice sweatdrops. As for the rest of the volume, I can’t stand the idea of an Alice/Peter romance myself, so this one was always going to take more to win me over. It does a good job, though, emphasizing the capriciousness of everyone bar Alice, showing off some flashbacks with Alice at school in the real world, and keeping Peter annoying and yet still amusing. For picky Alice fans, this should be a solid offering in the series. -Sean Gaffney

The Ancient Magus’ Bride, Vol. 2 | By Kore Yamazaki | Seven Seas – While there is tragedy and horror here, particularly for cat lovers, I think the primary focus on this title remains the relationship between Chise and Elias. He’s made a bit less aloof and fatherlike in this volume, as if the artist realized that calling her a bride would involve a bit more give-and-take. Here he seems to show confusion at genuine human emotions at a few points, and it is remarked upon how Chise is changing him. As for Chise herself, she’s a magic sponge, but here finds out that that doesn’t translate to a very long life. The highlight of the volume, though, may be the appearance by Oberon and Titania, who have come to see Elias’ new disciple, judge her, and then tease the hell out of both of them. -Sean Gaffney

Cage of Eden, Vol. 18 | By Yoshinobu Yamada | Kodansha Comics – Cage of Eden is one of the more consistent manga out there. Never overly fantastic, never truly dire, it continues to do what it does: put its cast into perilous situations, has them team up and act clever in order to get out of those situations, and celebrates by showing off the large breasts of its female cast. Added to that this time around are the return of a character we thought long dead, and an examination of the psychological terror that captors can exert over their hostages. Still reliably tense and exciting. Also, the two-page breakdown showing exactly what’s happened to Oomori’s clothes over the course of the series is both hilarious and sad. -Sean Gaffney

The Devil Is A Part-Timer! High School!, Vol. 1 | By Kurone Mishima and Satoshi Wagahara | Yen Press – This sort of comedy spinoff is rife in Japan—we’ve seen something similar with Haruhi Suzumiya. Here, the entire cast are not adults trying to hold down jobs, but typical high school students in a typical high school, getting into hilarious (?) situations as Maou attempts to become Student Council President. As you might expect, Maou really loves doing hard work in order to advance, Emi really likes being a giant tsundere (and yes, there’s a panties joke), and Chiyo is just sort of there. If you enjoyed the original, but wished it were duller, flatter, and not as funny, this is the perfect series for you. Everyone else should stick with the primary series. -Sean Gaffney

Kimi ni Todoke: From Me to You, Vol. 22 | By Karuho Shiina | VIZ Media – In a volume that gives just about equal time to each of the three female leads and their romantic relationships, most of the characters are struggling with selfish impulses. Only Chizu gives voice to these, telling Ryu “don’t go,” even though he’s working so hard for his dream, and feeling terrible about herself afterwards. Kento is debating whether to say the same to Ayane, while Kazehaya has decided not to make such a request of Sawako. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a scene in a shoujo manga where two guys talk about their girlfriends possibly moving away to pursue their dreams and must say that it’s extremely gratifying! I’m not sure how Shiina could juggle following all of these characters as they go their separate ways into adulthood, but here’s hoping she figures out a way. I’m not ready to say goodbye, either. – Michelle Smith

Komomo Confiserie, Vol. 1 | By Maki Minami | VIZ Media – Having fallen in love with Voice Over! quite unexpectedly, I was really looking forward to reading Minami’s next series to hit North America. As a spoiled little rich girl, Komomo Ninomiya loved to torment Natsu Azumi, the son of her family’s pastry chef, but ten years later her family fortunes have evaporated and the tables have turned. Komomo’s attempts at holding down a part-time job are a spectacular failure until Natsu comes along, offering her a job at his pastry shop and relishing the opportunity to make Komomo dance to his tune this time around. I was initially disappointed that neither Komomo nor Natsu is particularly likable, but as the cast broadened out and Komomo entered public school, where she proved naturally immune to mean-girl antics, I warmed to her a bit. I’ll keep going, but right now I can’t tell if I’ll grow to love this one or not. – Michelle Smith

Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic, Vol. 13 | By Shinobu Ohtaka | VIZ Media – For a series where Alibaba is meant to be one of the major heroes, and probably the closest we’ll ever get to a real romantic lead, it really does enjoy abusing him as much as it possibly can. And, as we see in this volume, there’s a good reason for this. Alibaba when he’s whining and neurotic is hilarious, and everyone knows it—even Morgiana, who is a stoic with a nascent crush on him. Luckily, that’s not all—we also see Hakuryu starting to open up to others, and we end off with another somewhat terrifying villain, who has an army of children to do her bidding thanks to mysterious powers that make her motherly to everyone’s eyes. Magi is still top-tier shonen, and it’s not even in Jump. -Sean Gaffney

Nisekoi: False Love, Vol. 11 | By Naoshi Komi | VIZ Media – The main cast gets stuff to do in this volume, with Chitoge’s continued attempts to deal with her own feelings (the amnesia arc is resolved rather quickly), and Onodera’s pure heart and waffling spirit. The best part of the volume, however, is the introduction of Marika’s hometown friend Mikage, who is loud, brash, and likes to snuggle cute girls in the best ‘not really a lesbian, but likes to attract yuri readers’ tradition. Mikage is mostly here so that Marika and Raku can pretend to go out— he’s getting rather good at that—but there’s also hints of something darker, but only hints. (Secretly dying? Secret engagement?) Most importantly, the balance between the girls is not only kept but emphasized—it’s still my favorite part of the series. -Sean Gaffney

Requiem of the Rose King, Vol. 2 | By Aya Kanno | VIZ Media – I’ve really been looking forward to the second volume in this series! This installment is pretty intense, weaving together historical high points from the War of the Roses with Richard’s increasingly extreme reactions to those events, culminating in a fascinating yet macabre moment that I won’t spoil but that I’d be willing to bet no one who reads this volume is ever going to forget. On top of all this, the surreal visitations from Joan the Arc continue, Richard reigns in his mad thirst for Lancaster blood and accepts his role as the “darkness behind the light” of his brother the new king, and the repercussions from his desperate actions are seemingly poised to come home to roost in the person of Elizabeth Woodville. Good stuff, riveting stuff, possibly not always the most coherent stuff. – Michelle Smith

Skip Beat!, Vol. 35 | By Yoshiki Nakamura | VIZ Media – There’s really no getting around how manipulative Ren is of Kyoko in this whole volume, and it’s a credit to Nakamura’s skill that it ends up coming off as cute and romantic rather than anything else. It helps that Kyoko is still a bit dense about what’s really going on—even though Kyoko’s own evil thoughts realize what’s going on, she still hasn’t quite connected Ren to Kuon. As for Ren himself, he’s still trying to move on from his tragic past, and finding that even with Kyoko’s help, it’s difficult. Despite some production issues (one panel was oddly still in Japanese, and the removal of honorifics made a scene where Kuon asks to not use them confusing), but still a very good volume. -Sean Gaffney

The Wallflower, Vol. 35 | By Tomoko Hayakawa | Kodansha Comics – Given that the series ends with the next volume, you’d think that Hayakawa would be getting around to finally resolving the few main plot points she has. You’d be wrong, and anyone who read this for the plot has long since abandoned it. Fans of the comedy will be quite happy, though, as we see lots of Sunako’s horrified SD-reactions, more of Sunako and Kyohei being perfect for each other but not acknowledging it, Sunako showing off how she’s never ever going to be a real lady, and our pretty boys being really pretty, sometimes to their detriment. There’s not as much Noi here, but we do get a lovely Ranmaru and Tamao chapter. This series is what it is, and I love it, even though I suspect Kodansha USA will be happy it’s over soon. -Sean Gaffney

Michelle and Anna are holding down the fort this week and, surprisingly, it’s not all shoujo!

Black Rose Alice, Vol. 5 | By Setona Mizushiro | VIZ Media – I’m usually a bit hesitant to recommend series that are on hiatus, but Black Rose Alice is the rare exception, just because it is so quirky, unsettling, and well-executed. The emotional stakes go even higher as Alice meets up with Koya, the student who Azuza saved when she gave up her life and joined the vampires. Mizushiro never goes for tidy resolution, and the encounter between Alice and Koya will continue to affect the rest of the group. I’m sad that there’s only one more volume left, but I’ll take whatever I can get of this fascinating series. – Anna N

Food Wars!: Shokugeki no Soma, Vol. 7 | By Yuto Tsukuda and Shun Saeki | VIZ Media – Sometimes, Food Wars! makes me feel bad for liking it. In this volume, the preliminary round of the Fall Classic gets underway, and I appreciate that quite a few female students—including unassuming Megumi, from whom the audience does not expect much—make an impression. One of these girls, Miyoko Hojo, is driven by the desire to achieve culinary prestige that the sexist all-male kitchen staff at her family restaurant will have to respect when she returns to lead them one day. Again, I appreciate that! What I don’t appreciate is that Hojo’s introduction features an extreme boob closeup and “bwoing” and “jiggle” sound effects. Siiiiiigh. I thought I had become inured to the fanservice in this series, but I guess not. Otherwise, it’s an enjoyable volume and features some tasty-looking curries. I look forward to seeing what Soma has come up with. – Michelle Smith

Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic, Vol. 13 | By Shinobu Ohtaka | VIZ Media – By Magi standards, volume thirteen is merely pretty good, but that certainly doesn’t mean that it is bad. Rather, it’s transitional. Aladdin, Morgiana, and Hakuryu (the latter of whom gets to be significantly useful on several occasions!) all have individual quests they want to pursue, so they set sail from Sindria, ostensibly leaving a sulky Alibaba behind. Only, he has stowed away and has seemingly abandoned his petulance in favor of a goal of his own. And, indeed, when the group encounters some pirates who are abducting children, it’s a return to the clear-eyed, doing-the-right-thing Alibaba of the past as he declares he and his friends will save the day. And that’s great to see! It’s just all so introductory. I’m sure the next volume will be much more satisfying. – Michelle Smith

Say I Love You., Vol. 9 | By Kanae Hazuki | Kodansha Comics – It’s a rare thing that I feel bad for a romantic rival in a shoujo manga, particularly one with a track record of nastiness like Megumi’s, but when her contest-winning “date” with Yamato makes inescapably clear there’s no room for her in his heart, she earns my sympathies. Despite trading on her cute looks, she wants someone who looks past her appearance to really see her, and that’s something the Kurosawa boys seem genetically disposed to do, as the rest of the volume tells the story of Yamato’s brother, Daichi, and the love he once had, then lost, and is now struggling to move on from. In a way, this reminds me of Hatori’s story in Fruits Basket, and I wonder if we’ll check in with him from time to time, as he lets down his walls and achieves happiness once more. I really enjoy this series. – Michelle Smith

Skip Beat!, Vol. 35 | By Yoshiki Nakamura | VIZ Media – Much as I love Skip Beat!, I have mixed feelings about this volume. On the one hand, Ren talking to Kyoko in the guise of Corn the fairy allows him to admit his feelings freely and also to make progress toward accepting that his terrible past experiences were necessary to get him where he is today, where he was able to meet Kyoko. On the other, Ren is tricking Kyoko, using her unquestioning belief in fairies to explain away his appearance and manufacturing a story about a curse in order to manipulate her into kissing him. When she is exceedingly reluctant, this grown man literally says to a teenage girl, “Liar. You said you’d do anything to help me but you didn’t mean it.” Of course, he instantly feels bad about it, but ugh. I hope she is righteously pissed off when she eventually learns the truth. – Michelle Smith

Sean and Michelle weigh in on some recent releases from Seven Seas and VIZ Media.

Black Rose Alice, Vol. 5 | By Setona Mizushiro | VIZ Media – I’m an unabashed shoujo fanatic, but even I must admit that, when it comes to romance, one can usually predict how a story is going to end. Not that Black Rose Alice would exactly fall under the “romance” genre, but it does center around Alice making a choice between suitors and with some surprising arrivals, departures, and developments, the story has taken a fascinating turn and I genuinely have no clue what will happen next! Alice is a mess of guilt, confusion, and indecision and Dimitri continues to be an enigmatic character whose professions of love fail to ring true, but what I liked most was getting to know one of the twins better (Kai) and seeing how his growing connection with Alice spurs jealousy and flashbacks in his brother (Reiji). I’m already sad that volume six will be the last we see for a long while. – Michelle Smith

Citrus, Vol. 3 | By Saburouta | Seven Seas – The thing that makes Citrus still readable is that Yuzu, despite being the cliched flakey girl, is the only one in the entire series with an ounce of sense and maturity. Her worries about her relationship are sensible and founded on the lack of communication she has with Mei, and the lack of communication makes sense give everything that happens here. Sadly, everything that happens includes Matsuri, a former childhood friend of Yuzu’s who spends the entire volume being so petty and evil that I found myself just wanting to put the book down. Her final conversation with Mei is well done, but was it worth all the aggravation that came before it? It’s nice to see more yuri over here, but Citrus remains highly variable. – Sean Gaffney

Evergreen, Vol. 2 | By Yuyiko Takemiya and Akira Caskabe | Seven Seas – Teenagers have chronic misunderstandings. It’s part of being a teenager, and there’s just as much media attention on it in Western media as there is in Japanese animation. There’s also a sense in Evergreen that our two leads have a darker, more dangerous snse of low self-worth than has already been suggested, due to tragic pasts and health concerns. That said, this volume of Evergreen is basically “hope you like miscommunication,” both in its main pairing (if it is one—I’m still not sure about that) and the best friend x playboy side pairing that actually takes up equal time in this volume. I may actually find their relationship more interesting than the main one—not uncommon in many romance manga. – Sean Gaffney

Food Wars!: Shokugeki no Soma, Vol. 7 | By Yuto Tsukuda and Shun Saeki| Viz Media – This is a tournament arc in a shonen manga, and even though we’re talking about food rather than fights the basic setup is the same. Lots of last-minute moves, astonished gasps from the gallery, the judges and announcers frantically talking about what they’ve just seen or eaten, and amazing poses of either a) the chef looking cool and awesome or b) annoying fanservice eating shots. The authors made a good choice saving Megumi for last, though—given we’ve been with her story since the beginning, it’s heartwarming to see her newly developed skills catapult her to the next round here, not sacrificing what makes her cooking best. Good stuff, skip the orgasms faces. – Sean Gaffney

One Piece, Vol. 75 | By Eiichiro Oda | VIZ Media – I always enjoy reading One Piece, but I found this particular volume to be bloody fantastic. Masterful, even. What could’ve easily been pure chaos—the Straw Hats once again splitting up to help free an island’s local populace from a cruel ruler, with battles raging on multiple fronts—is instead easy to follow and riveting, to boot. Going against Doflamingo is the most significant thing Luffy has done yet, for in addition to being a fearsome opponent with a loyal family of officers on his side, defeating him will bring down the wrath of one of the four emperors upon Luffy and his current ally, Trafalgar Law, and that future faceoff will bring Luffy one step closer to his goal. And if all this weren’t enough, we also get great scenes for other members of the crew and meet the worthy successor to Ace’s flame-flame fruit! Go read it! – Michelle Smith

Toriko, Vol. 29 | By Mitsutoshi Shimabukuro | Viz Media – As I expected, one of the major mentor characters in this series is brought down here. That, combined with losing his major battle and Komatsu being kidnapped, leads to a mental breakdown for Toriko that takes ages to snap out of (credit to Rin for figuring out what might do it—she’s come a long way from the comedy girl in love with oblivious guy). As for Komatsu, he may be an enemy prisoner, but he’s still able to make the most amazing food he can using only the weak ingredients provided. In a manga filled with superheroes with amazing powers, Komatsu actually ends up seeming like the author’s favorite who can do no wrong. And I’m 100% OK with that. – Sean Gaffney

Sean and Michelle review print and digital manga from Kodansha Comics, VIZ, and Yen Press.

Handa-kun, Vols. 1-2 | By Satsuki Yoshino | Yen Press – This was going to be Yen’s first digital-only release, but I guess the demand was high enough that it’s getting print in January, so it’s just digital first. This is a prequel to Barakamon, showing the adventures of Handa in high school. If Barakamon is Yotsuba&!, Handa-kun is Azumanga Daioh, being a gag manga that’s sort of the dark mirror of Haven’t You Heard? I’m Sakamoto. Rather than being perfect and having everyone stand in awe, Handa is an unsociable wretch who worries constantly about everyone hating him… except everyone stands in awe. There’s some hilarious comedy here, and you’ll appreciate how far Handa has come by Barakamon. It’s pretty slight, though; don’t expect much plot. – Sean Gaffney

So Cute It Hurts!!, Vol. 2 | By Go Ikeyamada | VIZ Media – Twin siblings Megumu and Mitsuru Kobayashi have traded places for a week so Megumu can help her academically challenged brother. They both end up falling in love and things move swiftly in this second volume, with the nature of the relationship between the twins’ love interests, Aoi and Takenaka, turning out to be what most readers probably expected, and with the masquerade seemingly coming to an end after some ridiculous shenanigans involving a not-really-that-deep hole and an inadequate grip on a towel. I’m still feeling quite “meh” about this series even though this volume is a little better than the first. Not even Aoi’s too-brief questioning of his sexual preferences can add any real depth, and I can’t believe this series is at twelve volumes and still ongoing! It’s so slight, I would’ve pegged it for four, tops. – Michelle Smith

Today’s Cerberus, Vols. 1-2 | By Ato Sakurai | Yen Press – This is digital-only, and is fluffy enough that you can see why—there’s not much here you haven’t seen in other comedy manga with a supernatural bent. That said, there’s relatively minimal service compared to other titles in this genre, and the male lead’s dilemma is actually rather interesting, as he’s missing the part of his soul that causes him to feel joy. Cerberus is, as you’d expect, a girl who can switch between three heads (with three personalities), each of whom have a crush on her new master. Add the standard human girl who’s loved him from afar, and a few enemies (including a major one for the second cliffhanger), and you have a series I recommend to those who like Monster Musume and the like. – Sean Gaffney

Voice Over!: Seiyu Academy, Vol. 12 | By Maki Minami | VIZ Media – I suspect reactions to the final volume of Voice Over! will vary depending on each reader’s tolerance for important moments being left to the imagination. Although we do see Hime’s last performance as Shiro as a rousing success that even affects her cold-hearted mother, we get only the merest glimpse of her subsequent path to stardom as herself. And though we see Senri not only discover that Hime is Shiro, but also understand her motivation and recognize that never once has his interaction with either of her identities been anything less than genuine, we never see them talk about it. There is no confession, no kiss. And yet, it’s still a satisfying ending that stresses that falling in love is not going to derail Hime from pursuing her dream. I can’t really quibble with a message like that! – Michelle Smith

Voice Over! Seiyu Academy, Vol. 12 | By Maki Minami | Viz Media – Well, that was sweet and heartwarming and… really easy. All the conflicts seemed to resolve by simply not conflicting at all. Senri finds out Shiro is Hime… and is OK with it. Sakura’s mom starts to put Shiro under her spell… but is undone by Shiro’s essential shininess. Hime’s mother, who has destroyed her daughter’s sense of self-worth, sees her voice acting and suddenly realizes how wrong she’s been. It’s a bit pat, isn’t it? Couldn’t someone have gotten mad beyond half a page? That said, aside from that, everyone is cute and funny and I thought Shiro taking his glasses off there was a brilliant move that shows how Hime has grown as an actress. I just kinda wish more had actually gotten in her way. – Sean Gaffney

Yamada-kun and the Seven Witches, Vol. 3 | By Maki Yoshikawa | Kodansha Comics – At last, after what seems like waiting forever, witches have now been mentioned in this title. And the implication is that there are more to come, but most of this is devoted to fallout from Nene trying to blackmail Ryu… which naturally blows up in her face, as it was obvious fairly immediately that she was the arrogant girl who thought too much of herself, so was guaranteed to be taken down a peg. More interesting to me is that the series still seems to love fluid sexuality (an excuse for lots of kissing), and the revelation of Ryu’s real powers added to Nene and Urara’s only helps add to that. I suspect everything will end hetero ever after, but I’ll enjoy it while it lasts. – Sean Gaffney