Bookshelf Briefs

Chainsaw Man, Vol. 1 | By Tatsuki Fujimoto | Viz Media – It’s a little hard to live up to the hype that this title has gotten on social media, and I admit this first volume did not wow me as much as I’d expect. It seems to run on gonzo and gore, and (from what I’ve heard) gets better as it goes along. That leaves us with this volume, where a young man trying to pay off his father’s debt gets nearly brutally murdered, only to fuse with a chainsaw dog, making him the titular character. He’s taken in by an agency whose head seems so deeply, deeply suspicious I’ll be very surprised if she turns out not to be evil. It’s OK, though, because it means he might one day squeeze her chest! I might have liked this better in a different year, but I will give it another shot with volume two. – Sean Gaffney

The Invincible Reincarnated Ponkotsu, Vol. 1 | By Reona Umitsuki | Kodansha Comics (digital only) – This may be one of the dumbest manga I’ve read since the halcyon days of Sasameke. That said, it’s not trying to be anything else—ponkotsu means “airhead,” but apparently not the same way a tennen is. Our protagonists get reincarnated into heroes. Sanae has absolute brute strength, but only when used by accident. Shota has supposed high defense, but he keeps ending up near death anyway. And Kana can heal Shota (because she has a crush on him)… but only with her boobs. It’s deliberately over-the-top and silly, and sometimes I did crack a smile, but mostly I just sighed, especially towards the end when it briefly tried to be serious. For hardcore ponkotsus only. – Sean Gaffney

Komi Can’t Communicate, Vol. 10 | By Tomohito Oda | Viz Media – I was running behind when I reviewed volume nine, so I got to read volume ten straight away. And it’s a big sea change—there’s a new year and new classes, and most of Komi’s friends are not in her new class. Fortunately, Tadano is, so she’s not completely alone. (Also fortunately, this means Yamai is now elsewhere, though we see her once or twice.) In their place we get Rumiko Manbagi, who is a hardcore gyaru with tons and tons of makeup, who is also suffering from her friends now being in another class. The makeup doesn’t last, but she and Komi bond more than any other friend Komi’s had except for Tadano. Speaking of Tadano, Manbaki is acting awfully tsundere with him. A great addition to the Komi cast. – Sean Gaffney

Mujirushi: The Sign of Dreams | By Naoki Urasawa | Viz Media – I primarily picked up Mujirushi for two reasons: (1) Urasawa is one of those creators whose manga I will always try and (2) the volume is part of the “Louvre Collection,” a series of comics commissioned by the Louvre highlighting the museum and its art. Considering these two things, as well as the somewhat ominous cover image, I really was not expecting Mujirushi to be as much of a comedy as it is. (I also wasn’t expecting masks reminiscent of President Trump’s face to come into play multiple times.) In addition to the Louvre, Mujirushi is also inspired by Fujio Akatsuka’s Osomatsu-kun. In particular, Iyami, a character from that franchise, is pivotal to Urasawa’s story. The real star of the show for me, though, is the whip-smart Kasumi on the cover. Mujirushi is an entertainingly absurd caper, featuring an art heist which is certainly not to be taken too seriously. – Ash Brown

Practice Makes Perfect, Vol. 2 | By Ui Hanamiya | Kodansha Comics (digital only) – There’s a sweet romance going on here, as our two protagonists realize that they’re not really content with this just being practice after all, and I enjoyed the big press conference at the end of the book after they’re found out, where both admit—on air—to being virgins. I read this title more for the hilarious aspects of treating sex as another Olympic sport like volleyball or judo. The two shouting at each other about training harder is great, but I think the top moment of the title was when (pardon me, it is a mature manga) Takaya tries to get advice on how to use his fingers to pleasure Nohara, and whines “they’re going to cramp up!” Still better than I expected. – Sean Gaffney

Shikimori’s Not Just a Cutie, Vol. 1 | By Keigo Maki | Kodansha Comics – This did not really go in the direction I expected. Shikimori is indeed cute, and does show off that side of her to her boyfriend. Sadly, he has bad luck and is pretty weak, so essentially needs saving constantly, which inevitably makes her more cool than cute. Of course, he loves that too, but Shikimori is a fragile young woman, and would much rather be cute. There’s no real ‘are we going to break up’ dangers here, and indeed they start the book already together. The reason to read this is Shikimori’s embarrassed blushes and cool poses, which is exactly the same reason that her boyfriend loves her. It’s not the best romantic comedy in the world, but it’s pretty damn cute. I mean cool. – Sean Gaffney

Spy x Family, Vol. 3 | By Tatsuya Endo | Viz Media – There is so much wonderful comedy in this series. Yuri’s huge sister complex, Anya and the dodgeball game (complete with Bazooka Bill!), and everything about the “extra chapter,” where Yor gets shot in the ass during an assassination and has to endure the pain with a massive frown on her face. But there’s also a lot of heartwarming family stuff here as well—Yor doubting her skills as a wife, Anya getting upset whenever Lloyd and Yor aren’t getting along, even that same extra chapter, which is very funny but also has Anya tell an enemy agent to hang it up and go keep his girlfriend happy instead. It’s that balance that makes this one of the breakout hits of the last two years. – Sean Gaffney

UQ Holder, Vol. 20 | By Ken Akamatsu | Kodansha Comics – There’s a lot going on here—flashbacks (or is it flashforwards?), training arcs, lots of big old battles, and, for once, surprisingly minimal perverse antics. (Akamatsu is in shonen fight mode rather than harem nudity mode.) The general question we see in this book… and really the entire series… is “is being immortal a good thing?” Especially if it comes at the expense of a great deal of the solar system. Touta continues to show off how much he’s not like Negi—unfortunately, that makes him far more normal, and there’s less to distinguish him from other idiot heroes. I still enjoy reading UQ Holder, but, as with all of Akamatsu’s series, it feels like it should have ended a while earlier and is coasting a bit. – Sean Gaffney

Cutie and the Beast, Vol. 1 | By Yuhi Azumi| Seven Seas – This looked cute, and gave off a very My Love Story!! vibe, but I was wary of the fact that one of the leads is in his late twenties and the other is a senior in high school. That said, unlike a lot of other romance titles from Japan that adore this sort of couple, the manga makes their age difference the main conflict. He’s a famous pro wrestler, and getting involved with a girl her age, even if she is eighteen, would be career-killing. On the other hand… these two have fallen hard for each other almost at first sight, and can’t stop texting, calling, meeting up, etc. Now, how this will play out I’m not sure. Pretty sure they’ll get together, but I bet his career does take a big hit. Nice to see the manga address it, though. – Sean Gaffney

How Do We Relationship?, Vol. 1 | By Tamifull | Viz Media – “Opposites attract” is a common enough trope, but it is utilized to great effect and with notable complexity in How Do We Relationship?. The manga follows two young women in college as they begin dating each other—the somewhat shy and innocent Miwa and the much more boisterous and experienced Saeko. Navigating a new relationship is rarely easy and a romance between two women has additional sets of challenges, as Saeko in particular is very aware. While Miwa and Saeko’s deepening feelings are obviously core to the story, their relationships with friends and classmates play critical roles as well. One of the things that impressed me the most about the first volume of How Do We Relationship? was just how believable and realistic all of these different relationships were. The characterization of the leads is wonderfully nuanced, too. I’m really looking forward to reading more of the series. – Ash Brown

Komi Can’t Communicate, Vol. 9 | By Tomohito Oda | Viz Media – Most of this Komi volume revolves around Valentine’s Day, which as always presents the author with a conundrum: how do I make them give chocolates and be the cutest couple ever without actually making them a couple or having them confess? Rest assured, though, fans of Komi and Tadano will find endless scenes to love here. My favorite may be Tadano’s sister trying to get him to admit his feelings, then being rather annoyed when he actually comes close to doing so. Fortunately, as the title suggests, Komi is not very good at communicating, so things stay the same for now. Still, I suspect we need something to shake things up. Perhaps a new love interest could magically arrive soon? – Sean Gaffney

My Hero Academia, Vol. 25 | By Kohei Horikoshi | Viz Media – Shigaraki’s backstory is as terrifying and traumatic as you might imagine—let’s just say the hands he wears aren’t just for show. So it’s back to our heroes, who are practicing how to do hero interviews (Midoriya’s goes as badly as you’d expect) and also preparing for the next round of internships. Oh yes, and celebrating Christmas, which is adorable and also has Eri Santa. As for internships, Nighteye is dead and his agency is too busy to take him in, and Best Jeanist is missing, so Bakugou’s in limbo as well. Todoroki suggests an obvious idea: all three of them could intern with the best dad ever. All of this is clearly setting up a huge battle in the upcoming books, but it’s fun to see. – Sean Gaffney

Ossan Idol!, Vol. 1 | By Ichika Kino and Mochiko Mochida | TOKYOPOP – Adapted from a light novel, Ossan Idol! is the story of Miroku Osaki, a virginal, pure of heart, and unemployed 36-year-old who has spent the last decade as a shut-in. He’s always been overweight, but once he discovers a love of dance, he starts training at a gym with Yoichi Kisaragi, who was once overweight himself. Soon, Miroku is buff, handsome, and charming and the karaoke video he accidentally uploads to the internet becomes a viral sensation. The volume concludes with a famous producer declaring he’ll turn Miroku into an idol, and not just him but Yoichi (41) and dancer pal Shiju (40), too. All in all, this is a pleasing bit of fluff that I don’t have a lot to say about either positively or negatively. I will probably check out volume two, at least, to see where the story goes. – Michelle Smith

Sadako at the End of the World | By Koma Natsumi and Koji Suzuki | Yen Press – The premise of this one-volume manga—What if the girl from The Ring ended up in a post-apocalyptic world?—made me wonder if it would be horror or melancholic like Girls’ Last Tour. It’s pretty much both. Sadako, particularly once the artist gives her a tablet to communicate with, is not as scary here, and the girls she’s with are an innocent delight. But as they meet the few remaining people in this world along the way, there’s a definite sense she’s also going back and doing what she does best to each of them. The ending tries for sort of a fourth-wall-breaking thing but I think it was simply there as the author wasn’t sure how to end it after the cast was gone. A good read overall, though. – Sean Gaffney

Sleepy Princess in the Demon Castle, Vol. 13 | By Kagiji Kumanomata | Viz Media After reading my brief of the last volume, I feel a need to eat my words. The combination of this new volume and the currently running anime have made me realize: yes, there is real character development here. Syalis at the start of the series was a gag character who would murder at the drop of a hat. Here, while she’s still extremely flaky, she’s doing her best to unite humans and demons, even if this means completing all the Demon Lord’s paperwork—in ONE DAY. Even better, when the Cleric waffles on about his feelings for her and the reason he ran away from the castle, Syalis points out something: who she likes is her own decision. Our Sleepy Princess is all grown up! – Sean Gaffney

Sweat and Soap, Vol. 4 | By Kintetsu Yamada | Kodansha Comics – There’s a chapter of sex here, in case you were looking for that, but for the most part this series would rather deal with the sweet tensions of a young couple in love trying to negotiate how to do that and still be attentive to the other partner’s needs. Their couple-ness is now generally known to the office, though we have not quite told the parents yet—I suspect that will be next book. More importantly, they are talking about moving in together, something that requires charts and sticky notes, because these two are organized and also adorable. And they are also still very much desiring each other as well—the sex here is hot. One of the best romance mangas to come out in 2020. – Sean Gaffney

What the Font?! – A Manga Guide to Western Typeface | By Kuniichi Ashiya| Seven Seas – This is pretty much exactly what you’d expect. A young woman is told to layout a presentation, but has never done this before. While studying Western fonts, she falls asleep… and meets personifications of many of them, both Serif and Sans. Each font has a personality, they talk about themselves and their history, and then we move on. If you’re expecting Hetalia antics, look elsewhere—there’s no plot to speak of, and the fonts are not the most riveting characters. If you do want to learn about the differences between Western typefaces, though, this is a good enough guide for you, though I suspect it works even better in Japanese. – Sean Gaffney

Whisper Me a Love Song, Vol. 1 | By Eku Takeshima | Kodansha Comics – The cover of this volume is quite striking, and it led me to believe that this would be somehow different from your standard “high school girls in love” story. Unfortunately, it really isn’t. Yori Asanagi is a talented singer who fills in with the light music club band for a performance at the entrance ceremony Himari Kino is attending. Himari promptly informs Yori she’s fallen for her at first sight and Yori believes she means it romantically (instead of merely as a fan), and instantly falls in love herself. Characterizations here are shallow, particularly for Yori’s would-be bandmates, and there’s just not much going on that’s especially interesting. The one exception is that Himari’s enthusiastic appreciation for Yori’s singing is seemingly helping her to overcome some confidence issues. I’ll give this one more volume, I think, to see how it develops. – Michelle Smith

You Are My Princess | By Hiroto Kujirada | Futekiya (digital only) – Itsumi Tachibana is a scary-looking guy who secretly loves kitties. He’s surprised when the princely student council president, Seima Takajo, confesses romantic feelings for him, and suspects he’s being made fun of. After spending more time with Takajo, however, and realizing he’s the only one Takajo allows himself to be unguarded around, Itsumi’s feelings change. Plot-wise, You Are My Princess isn’t terribly unique. The guys get together, they have sex in the final chapter, the end. What makes it special, though, is Kujirada-sensei’s clean and expressive artwork, the nonverbal storytelling, and the little moments in which Takajo drops the facade and reveals real vulnerability. And also kitties. In the end, I enjoyed this cute story and look forward to more by this creator! – Michelle Smith

A Bride’s Story, Vol. 12 | By Kaoru Mori | Yen Press – Being at a yearly schedule for this series is bad, but it could be worse: Yotsuba&! seems to come out every 3-4 years. The best part of this volume sees Mr. Smith and Talas meeting up with Anis and Sherine, a married couple that, as before, remains defined by the lack of husband in their lives. He’s there, to be sure, but this may as well be a yuri couple for all the emotional beats. Also, learning how to write everyone’s name is very awesome and cathartic. Elsewhere, Karluk is reminded that everyone has different skill sets, and Pariya has to deal with unexpectedly being on her own. The “plot” of the series barely exists, and I’m not sure it will last till Karluk comes of age. But it’s peaceful and the art is gorgeous. – Sean Gaffney

Cherry Magic!: Thirty Years of Virginity Can Make You a Wizard?!, Vol. 1 | By Yuu Toyota | Square Enix – With a title and conceit like Cherry Magic!, I’ll admit I wasn’t expecting much from the series, so I was delighted to encounter a surprisingly charming and lighthearted first volume. After turning thirty without experiencing so much as a first kiss, Adachi finds that he can now read people’s minds when he physically touches them. The ability can occasionally be helpful, but in general he tries to avoid using it. Things take an awkward turn when he bumps into his coworker Kurosawa, inadvertently learning he’s been hiding a crush on him. Kurosawa is a popular and nice enough guy, but Adachi, being romantically inexperienced, isn’t quite sure what he should do with his newfound knowledge—especially considering that Kurosawa hasn’t actually mentioned anything about liking him yet. Cherry Magic! is a silly but sweet romantic comedy; I had fun reading it and would happily read more. -Ash Brown

Farming Life in Another World, Vol. 1 | By Kinosuke Naito and Yasuyuki Tsurugi | One Peace Books – If you liked everything about In Another World with My Smartphone but wish that the magical smartphone had been replaced with a magical farming tool, have I got a series for you. Most of the plot beats are even the same, although Hiraki manages to get it on with most of his wives a good 20 or so volumes before Touya. Despite that last sentence, those who are buying this for the “snu snu” will not be happy—it’s far more interested in the farming, as well as his accumulation of wolves, spiders, and brides. I’m honestly not unhappy that we only got the manga version of this—I suspect it would be tedious in prose. As it is, it’s perfectly good slow-life isekai with a farming bent. – Sean Gaffney

Himouto! Umaru-chan, Vol. 11 | By Sankakuhead | Seven Seas – This is the penultimate volume of the original series, though I understand there are several spinoffs. That said, there’s nothing here indicating that we’re headed for a big finish or climax. Which makes sense—this is not really that kind of series. It does show us how Umaru and Ebina met, which is as cutesy as it sounds. Indeed, cutesy is the watchword for every single chapter. Even the sibling relationship friction, which was what drove many of the early volumes, seems to have been dialed way back as they’re mostly getting along now. It’s a good sign that the series should be wrapping up, really, and so it is. That said, if you love Umaru-chan, this should make you happy. – Sean Gaffney

Revolutionary Girl Utena: After the Revolution | By Chihi Saito | Viz Media – I am, to put it mildly, not a fan of the original Utena manga. So I was initially incredibly uninterested in this 20-years-later single-volume afterword. That said, it does not seem to even take place in the same universe—it feels like Saito was told to make this an anime sequel more than a manga sequel. Good news, this means Juri is gay again. Not surprisingly, I found the Juri/Shiori/Ruka story the most interesting, though I still hate Ruka more than the creators want me to. Elsewhere, Touga and Saionji turn into Scooby Doo investigators, and Miki and Kaoru are still really into incestual subtext. I still prefer Artistic Veggie Platters as an Utena continuation, but this is OK. – Sean Gaffney

Teasing Master Takagi-san, Vol. 10 | By Soichiro Yamamoto | Yen Press – The “future” chapter showing Nishikata and Takagi married and having a daughter was wildly popular with readers. We don’t get another in the series here—by this point there was a spinoff all its own to take care of that—but we do see an older Chi in middle school, trying to be what her mother was with the guy she likes and failing miserably. It’s pretty adorable. As for the actual cast, they pet dogs, go fishing, eat candy, and make everyone think they are the most sickeningly sweet couple you’ll ever meet without actually being a couple. There’s no “plot advancing” chapters here, but there’s lots of cuteness, and Takagi is the most likeable of the “teasing” girls we see a lot of these days. – Sean Gaffney

That Blue Summer, Vol. 8 | By Atsuko Namba | Kodansha Comics (digital only) – Rio’s days in the tranquil village of Ueko are coming to an end. She has ended things with Ginzo because it was too hard, knowing they could never be together long-term, and tries to put on a brave face about going back home to Tokyo. But once she gets there and tries to move on, it’s clear she’s just going through the motions. I really liked that I wasn’t sure that the main couple would actually end up together, and also that the romance between a couple of side characters wasn’t just filler but a way to put things into perspective for Rio. What I liked most, though, is why Ginzo loves Rio—she’s the one who encouraged him to embrace his passion for graphic design, who created opportunities for him that boosted his confidence. This has been one of my favorites of the Kodansha digital-only shoujo offerings! – Michelle Smith

Yoshi no Zuikara: The Frog in the Well Does Not Know the Ocean, Vol. 1 | By Satsuki Yoshino | Yen Press – Despite my good intentions, I have yet to read Barakamon. And so I must ask… is this what Barakamon is like?! ‘Cos it’s good as hell! Naruhiko Tohno is a struggling manga artist who still lives in the remote village in which he was born and raised. He’s been writing fantasy manga for ten years and isn’t exactly gung-ho when his editor suggests he try writing rural slice-of-life instead, but it ends up selling far more than his previous series. I definitely enjoyed the segments about Tohno and his life growing up, particularly the obvious links between his middle-school friends and classmates and the characters in his manga, but I’m a little sad that we don’t spend more time with the characters in his manga, because they were totally charming, too. Guess I gotta go read everything in English by Yoshino-sensei now! – Michelle Smith

Yowamushi Pedal, Vol. 15 | By Wataru Watanabe | Yen Press – I mentioned as I was reading this that it’s astonishing that Watanabe has not turned his hand to horror manga, given everything about Midousuji in this volume, which is simply mind-numbingly creepy. That said, wow, he’s a good cyclist, and he likely will help to goad Naruko into becoming more well-rounded. Elsewhere, we learn how difficult it is to find new members who are as good as the old ones—the previous year was unusual, after all—and also not to abandon a potential member just because you judge them at first to be not worth your time. I hope to see more of our new huge son. It did feel weird that this volume did not have a major race in it, but I’m sure that’s coming soon. – Sean Gaffney

Blank Canvas: My So-Called Artist’s Journey, Vol. 5 | By Akiko Higashimura | Seven Seas – It shouldn’t take most readers by surprise that the final volume of Blank Canvas is heart-rending, but even knowing that it will be doesn’t lessen the manga’s impact; Higashimura utilizes a masterful combination of humor, honesty, and heartbreak. Blank Canvas captures so incredibly well the complexity and multifaceted nature of people, their feelings, and their relationships. The series is in large part about Higashimura’s growth as an artist and as an individual, especially the influence of one person particularly important to her development, but through the process of the manga’s creation it’s also an opportunity for her to confront some of the regrets in her life. In Higashimura’s own words, “As an adult, I have complicated thoughts about my younger self.” Blank Canvas allows Higashimura to come to terms with some of those thoughts and “what ifs” while honoring the memories of her teacher, mentor, and fellow artist Kenzou Hidaka. – Ash Brown

Fly Me to the Moon, Vol. 1 | By Kenjiro Hata | Viz Media – The new series from the Hayate the Combat Butler creator spends much of its first time watching the intelligent but extremely flaky Nasa hero overreact to nearly everything, and his savior and then wife be bafflingly mysterious. Tsukasa reads like an odd cross between Hinagiku and Athena, and I was rather surprised that we got to the end of the first volume without really understanding much about her. The series is somewhat cute and fun, though a lot of the humor beats will be familiar to Hayate fans, and there are some of the usual pop culture references as well. This got an anime, so I assume more will make sense later, but for the moment this is a first volume that qualifies as “good.” – Sean Gaffney

My Next Life As a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom!, Vol. 4 | By Satoru Yamaguchi and Nami Hidaka | Seven Seas – The manga has the unfortunate problem, which the other volumes did not, of coming out after the anime series. As such, there’s not really much in this book that you had not already seen before. In fact, it might seem a bit rushed compared to the anime. But it hits the high points—everyone begging Katarina to wake up, her dreamscape of her past life with A-chan, stopping and saving Raphael, and finally being the most oblivious dork in the world, as Maria blatantly confesses to her and she STILL doesn’t get it. Fortunately, the game had a sequel—Fortune Lover II. Unfortunately, she never played that one, and it has Katarina return as a villain—again. Well adapted. – Sean Gaffney

Practice Makes Perfect, Vol. 1 | By Ui Hanamiya | Kodansha Comics (digital only) – I picked this digital-only up on a whim, thinking the premise sounded cute. Two pro athletes in their late twenties (him in Judo, her in Volleyball) are representing their country in what is implied to be the 2020 Olympics that didn’t happen. They both really want to lose their virginity, and, coming across each other’s problems, decide to “practice” kissing, touching, etc. in a hotel so that they can be more experienced in relationships. The outcome (they fall in love for real) is not in doubt, especially when you realize this is only four volumes long. It’s the journey that’s important, though, and they are both really cute and awkward sports dorks. THAT’S the selling point, and it’s a great one. – Sean Gaffney

Skip Beat!, Vol. 44 | By Yoshiki Nakamura | Viz Media – Did I say in my last brief on Skip Beat! that Ren and Kyoko were having communication problems? This volume doubles down on that, as Ren pokes at Kyoko, who was seen getting kissed by Sho by a photographer, and suggests that she’s “giving up on her revenge” and Sho has “compassion and understanding.” This causes Kyoko to blow up, in an exquisitely drawn scene that manages to dwarf everything else in the volume. She may hate Sho (and it’s clear by now she doesn’t), but Ren doesn’t get to say nice things about him when they are WRONG. Elsewhere, the reveal of Kyoko’s sword teacher brings big laughs, and the Kyoko/Momo ship gets more holes bored into it. Great stuff as always. – Sean Gaffney

Snow White with the Red Hair, Vol. 9 | By Sorata Akiduki | Viz Media – Most of this volume ends up being, in a sense of bad timing for the North American market, a race to find a cure for a horrible pandemic that is ravaging the city. (The volume came out in Japan years ago, so there’s no thought of COVID here.) This ends up separating our lead couple even more than they already are—there’s a brief reunion, but this is not where Zen needs to be right now, and he knows it. Indeed, as many have said, Obi seems more and more like the main romantic lead, helping Shirayuki solve this plant-based mystery and save the day. There’s a lot more going on in this title than just the romantic couple, as in the best shoujo series. It’s a winner. – Sean Gaffney

Yona of the Dawn, Vol. 26 | By Mizuho Kusanagi | VIZ Media – Yona of the Dawn is always good, but this Xing arc has been something special. Princesses Kouren and Tao and their devoted warriors are such vivid characters that they legitimately seem like the stars of their own story, rather than merely side characters in Yona’s, if that makes sense. Kusanagi-sensei also adeptly created an extremely odious scheming priest and gave us a delicious scene in which Su-Won gives not a single shit for the intel the priest obsequiously offers him. I actually laughed at some of his reaction panels more than once. What really seals the deal on this being a special volume, though, is the final chapter, in which some genuine romantic progress finally happens between Hak and Yona. It is great, and Yun and the Four Dragons’ reactions are also great. Have I mentioned lately how much I love this series? It’s among the best I’ve ever read. – Michelle Smith

Arifureta: I Heart Isekai, Vol. 3 | By Misaki Mori, based on the novel by Ryo Shirakome | Seven Seas – This is keeping up a fast pace, not lingering too long on any one part of the novels that it’s making fun of. Everyone manages to be that much more over-the-top than they are in the source—though admittedly Kaori goes above and beyond in this regard—and the art also has little cute “we are angry” faces for everyone that look cute and scary at the same time. More to the point, despite all the gags, the I Heart Isekai series actually manages to keep the found-family bits that are also the best reason to read the main series, and its character attacks never feel malicious (again, Kaori comes close, but then she does in the main series as well.) A lot of fun. – Sean Gaffney

Dr. STONE, Vol. 13 | By Riichiro Inagaki and Boichi | Viz Media – A lot of Dr. Stone is taking inventions that you would expect could not remotely be done in a pre-industrial age and doing them anyway due to Senku’s knowledge… though he’s helped along greatly by his dad, who we see passing away long in the past in a flashback here but who also manages to get Senku some gold and platinum to work with. They are also helped out by Kohaku’s awesome strength and agility, though I will admit I could have done without the “does not know how to be feminine” stuff. That said, it’s hard to top the absolute highlight of the book, which is Suika driving what is essentially a tank, BLIND, off a ship and into Senku’s hands. She’s still the best thing in this. – Sean Gaffney

Hatsu*Haru, Vol. 12 | By Shizuki Fujisawa | Yen Press – The damp squib that is Tarou and Kagura wraps up fast here, which is good, because the rest of the book is all over Misaki and Ayumi. Her parents have discovered their relationship, and since Misaki is a very serious boy, he decides to stop seeing her till he can get her dad’s approval, because of course he is one of THOSE dads. As for Ayumi, she still has trouble with the normal emotions of love that come naturally to the rest of the cast. The result is, as it has been since it became, several volumes back, the best relationship in the series. Which is good, as the series ends next time, and we will no doubt be moving back to Kai and Riko—I smell a sudden transfer to another part of the country coming. – Sean Gaffney

The Ideal Sponger Life, Vol. 6 | By Tsunehiko Watanabe and Neko Hinotsuki | Seven Seas – We are starting to see Zenjiro beginning to act on his own a bit more, though he’s still got someone there next to him to do the actual work. It is hard, after all, despite many isekais to the contrary, to fully immerse yourself in a new world with all-new customs. More to the point, his child with Aura may not be unique when it comes to magical affinities. And there’s a new princess in town, from the equivalent of Scandinavia, and no one seems to know what to make of her—indeed, she makes a point to divide her role as a captain from her role as a princess. More to the point, it means we get another badass woman in this book that seems to be far more interested in its politics than in any sponging. – Sean Gaffney

Laid-Back Camp, Vol. 9 | By Afro | Yen Press – If there’s one issue I have with this series it’s the artwork, particularly the character art, as I frequently find that I have trouble telling many of the characters apart. Once I get past that, this is exactly what the previous eight volumes have been: lots of relaxed camping, great scenery, and cute girls. There’s not really any hint of yuri here, but there’s also not really any hint of boys, so Rin/Nadeshiko fans should be pleased anyway. We get the birthday party from last time, which is… not as big a secret as expected. We get capybaras! There’s hot springs, there’s sunrises, and there’s Rin going off to do her own thing half the time, like the introvert with a wanderlust that she is. Does this end when they graduate? – Sean Gaffney

Murcielago, Vol. 15 | By Yoshimurakana | Yen Press – I missed reviewing 14 somehow, and thus the end of the sewer monster story. That said, though, what with Kuroko decidedly NOT having ridiculous sex at the start of this book, I have to wonder: is Murcielago getting toned down? Certainly the violence is present and correct, though this is the start of an arc, so it’s not quite as over-the-top as before. This sees another old villain returning, but we haven’t yet met Comedy Writer in this series—they seem to get people to do silly stunts, and ‘retired’ after one stunt ends up with dead people. Kuroko is her usual goofy self here, but as I noted, she seems a bit more… placid than usual? Her detective skills are also excellent here. Still great if you don’t mind gore. – Sean Gaffney

My Dress-Up Darling, Vol. 2 | By Shinichi Fukuda| Square Enix Manga – Despite the explicit content tag (and the occasional naughty shot, like the inside front cover), this reads far more as a series for fans of nice high school romance than anything else. Gojo is pushing himself far too hard, because he’s genuinely creating something for someone else but also as he feels that after this one event he’ll lose it all forever. He’s desperately socially awkward, and it’s rather sweet that Kitagawa gets so upset she’s in tears at the thought of him driving himself this hard. The cosplay is a big success, and there’s some nice costuming tips here as well. By the end of the volume, she seems to be realizing she’s falling for him… so it is, of course, the perfect time to introduce another rival. Cliffhanger! – Sean Gaffney

Our Teachers Are Dating!, Vol. 1 | By Pikachi Ohi | Seven Seas – If you want your yuri with a side order of adorable, this is the manga for you. One is the science teacher, the other teaches gym, and they’re both cute cute cute. To the point that there is minimal conflict—and honestly you don’t want any. The other teachers? Love the two of them together. The administration? Fine with it. The other students? They’re over the moon, of course. Most of the book is seeing two relatively shy people grow closer and closer in their dating till they’re ready to take the next step, which we see towards the end of the book. The students bribe them with pictures of the other. The closest we get to any strife is one being mistaken for a student (she’s short and cute). This was super-fluffy. – Sean Gaffney

The Saint’s Magic Power Is Omnipotent, Vol. 1 | By Yuka Tachibana and Yasuyuki Syuri | Seven Seas – I haven’t read much in the way of light novels, but this one sounded interesting, so I gave it a go. Perhaps I should’ve started with a traditional isekai series in order to better appreciate how this one differs, as I initially found it quite slow going. Sei Takanashi, office lady, is summoned to another world as one of two potential Saints who will help quell an outbreak of monsters. After the prince chooses the younger candidate, Sei is free to pursue her interests, eventually discovering she’s very good at making potions, enchanting objects, and performing healing magic. Towards the end, with Sei reluctantly accepting that she is the Saint after all (unable to refrain from healing a seriously injured knight), the story picked up a bit, and I’m interested to see where it will go from here. A bit more action would be nice! – Michelle Smith

Skip Beat!, Vol. 44 | By Yoshiki Nakamura | VIZ Media – It’s probably cheesy to say, but each new volume of Skip Beat! really is like checking in with old friends. In this case, it’s a pair of old friends who still haven’t managed to communicate their feelings to the other. This time they’re thwarted by Ren’s assumption that Kyoko has fallen back in love with Sho and by a tabloid article about Ren kissing an older actress. I truly wish each volume was about thrice as long, but alas, we don’t yet see what Ren does with the information that Kyoko is upset about the article more than his assumptions about her and Sho. I love this series and I don’t want it to end and I know that Ren and Kyoko getting together will mean that end is coming, but a little crumb of genuine progress would make me so happy. Maybe next time, which won’t be ’til March! – Michelle Smith

As Miss Beelzebub Likes, Vol. 10 | By Matoba | Yen Press – While there is a tiny bit of forward movement with some of the couples in this volume, for the most part the author knows that people read this series for cute fluffiness, and cute fluffiness we shall have. This even extends to a skiing vacation that the cast takes, where the snow piles up and Beelzebub’s innate inability to ski leads to her and Mullin freezing in a cabin in the woods… but don’t worry, the status quo is not yet ready to break. We also check back in with the wannabe succubus, and discover that this is her second choice after failing to be an idol. Good news awaits her!… sort of. The series has wrapped up in Japan, so it’s just a matter of seeing how definite an ending this fluff has. – Sean Gaffney

D-Frag!, Vol. 14 | By Tomoya Haruno | Seven Seas – By the end of this volume, at long last, we are preparing to finally get everyone out of Kazuma’s house, which is good, because there’s only so much tsukkomi he and his sister can do before they’re exhausted. The big surprise, though, is Kazuma’s dad appearing, hair wax and all, and he’s just as ridiculous as the rest of the cast, which quickly decides to have a came of Concentration to decide who stays and who goes. Funabori is just over for the day, and Takao sadly is unable to really show that she belongs there at all, but the Shibasaki siblings at least have the excuse of the meteor that hit their home. That said, the plot in this manga is completely irrelevant to the rapid-fire gags, which are all present and correct. – Sean Gaffney

Fiancée of the Wizard, Vol. 1 | By Syuri Nakamura and Masaki Kazuka | Yen Press -This one starts off like so many lately: killed in an accident on Earth, a young woman is reborn in a fantasy world that has magic! Unfortunately, she’s not very good at magic. And there’s knights with swords! Which she also isn’t that great with. What she is good at is not judging by appearance and first impression, which allows her to win over the heart of a super-powerful boy who everyone nevertheless fears and loathes. We get a seven-year timeskip in this first book, taking us to young adulthood, and now that our Wizard is a political tool, they want to marry him off to a higher status girl. But he’s having none of that… despite treating our heroine, erm, badly. It’s OK, he’s awkward! This seems fun. – Sean Gaffney

Ping Pong, Vol. 2 | By Taiyo Matsumoto | Viz Media – The second and final omnibus of Ping Pong is just as magnificent as the first; the storytelling and artistry exhibited is tremendous. Matsumoto’s artwork is astonishingly dynamic and expressive while the narrative structure entwines the characters’ pasts, presents, and futures as they wrestle with themselves and with one another. Perhaps surprisingly, the ending of the final tournament game isn’t actually shown—one coach declares and is absolutely correct that “in this particular match, who wins and who loses isn’t even relevant”—although the outcome is ultimately revealed in the last chapter, which takes place five years later. In addition to the conclusion of the manga itself, the volume also includes an engaging essay by Yasuki Hori, the editor who worked with Matsumoto on the initial development of the series. I can still hardly believe that Ping Pong is finally available in English, but I am so incredibly glad that it is. – Ash Brown

The Promised Neverland, Vol. 16 | By Kaiu Shirai and Posuka Demizu | Viz Media – Apologies to Promised Neverland, which waited sixteen volumes to get exiled to Bookshelf Briefs. It’s not because of the quality; the first half of this in particular is filled with gloriously surreal imagery as Ray and Emma continue their vision quest and both show off how clever they are in different ways. We then follow up with the other team, Don and Gilda, who are not QUITE as clever, unfortunately: they know there’s a mole in their party who wants to kill Mujika and Sonju, but fall for the obvious choice rather than suspecting the cheerful one. It’s a rather tense volume all around, as we also get flashbacks showing how easy it is to lose your ideals. Will Norman end up in the same place? – Sean Gaffney

Sweat and Soap, Vol. 3 | By Kintetsu Yamada | Kodansha Comics – The relationship between Kotaro and Asako is getting more and more obvious to anyone who watches them interact, and it can’t be hidden from work forever. An extended business trip (which Asako is not on) allows Kotaro to finally admit to his crushing kohai that he and Asako are dating, which mostly puts that to bed. The crux of this volume, though, is the fact that these two are still very, very hot for each other, and the enforced absence of the trip is only amping up their drives. I do like that the soap part of the title is not ignored, as they discuss the fact that bars cannot be easily used sometimes and it would be nice to get the same experimental fragrances in liquid soap. Still excellent and sexy. – Sean Gaffney

Tomo-chan Is a Girl!, Vol. 8 | By Fumita Yanagida | Seven Seas – The final volume of this series wraps things up nicely (and does not give Misuzu a ‘pair the spares’ boyfriend, for which I am very grateful). After more panicking and running away, Tomo and Jun finally confront their feelings for each other as well as Tomo’s worry that if they start being lovers they can’t be friends. Then there’s the old “you can’t date my daughter till you defeat me” chestnut, which is harder to do in a series where half the cast are judo experts. Also, as a huge Carol fan, I loved the little scene where she tries to quietly remove herself from Tomo and Misuzu’s heart-to-heart but Misuzu wants her to stay. (Let’s face it, Carol and Misuzu is the ship we all wanted but didn’t get.) A fantastic and funny series. – Sean Gaffney

Accomplishments of the Duke’s Daughter, Vol. 6 | By Reai and Suki Umemiya | Seven Seas – Another series down to “once a year” release—I had to jog my memory at the start to recall what had been happening. Many things are going wrong for our heroine, who is trying to be strong and tough but is also starting to break down, and I felt that the scenes with her and Dean struck just the right balance of comforting and letting the heroine cry without making her seem weaker. This sets the stage for her comeback, which is extraordinary. (And also has a corrupt Church, a constant in Japanese light novels, though at least here there are also honest and good religious people in it.) That said, eventually Dean’s identity will come out, and I do wonder how this very good “villainess” isekai will handle it. – Sean Gaffney

The Ancient Magus’ Bride: Jack Flash and the Faerie Case Files, Vol. 1 | By Yu Godai, Mako Oikawa, and Kore Yamazaki | Seven Seas – A faerie switched at birth for a human child, Jack never fit in in either world. Only in the mortal realm could she earn money for anime collectibles, however, so she decided to make herself into a tough, capable woman like her literary heroes and set up shop as a detective. Together with her fellow changeling, Larry the werewolf, Jack takes on supernatural cases in New York City. In this volume, Lindel tasks them with tracking down a missing dragon egg. I liked the resources Jack uses to obtain information, which include a dapper theatre ghost and a spell with components of rat whiskers and taxi tires because “Nobody out there knows this city better than them.” I still found this a bit hard to get into, though, especially the parts involving a perpetually tearful off-off-off-off-Broadway actress and her pickpocket boyfriend. Still, I will check out volume two! – Michelle Smith

Black Clover, Vol. 22 | By Yuki Tabata | Viz Media – At long last, this interminable arc comes to an end. I enjoyed a lot of it, but I cannot deny it should have been about two volumes shorter. Most of the book is taken up by shonen battles, with the villain being nigh unkillable, the heroes almost breaking themselves to stop him, etc. Fortunately, the day is saved, and even the Wizard King turns out to be… sort of alive again? Shota fans should be happy. Asta fans perhaps less so—the sheer amount of damage done to the kingdom in this arc means someone has to be blamed, and give Asta has the “dark evil magic” it’s gonna be him, especially when he takes the incredibly obvious bait they use to get him to fight. Oh well, if Asta were smart, this wouldn’t be Black Clover. – Sean Gaffney

Don’t Toy with Me, Miss Nagatoro, Vol. 3 | By Nanashi | Vertical Comics – Part of the problem with titles like this and the other teasing works (Takagi-san less so as Nishikata doesn’t fall into the category) is that they are, at heart, the classic “extroverted girl acts overtly extroverted to bring introverted guy out of their shell,” and that’s not really a plot that feels comfortable in the Gen Z days, where you’re more likely to say “why doesn’t she just let him be in his quiet, safe space?” And by she I mean they, as Nagatoro’s two friends appear far more often here, which offers some good two-way teasing action, as they clearly see her crush on him, if not why. It’s still sort of hard to read, but if you pretend he’s more OK with it than he actually is, this is cute. – Sean Gaffney

Failed Princesses, Vol. 1 | By Ajiichi | Seven Seas – The concept of “popular girl meets unpopular girl” is a common one in yuri manga, and we do indeed hit several of its tropes in this first volume. The amusing thing is that Kanade, the shy outcast girl, is perfectly aware of how things are supposed to go, and keeps pulling back a bit to try to save Nanaki from, well, making herself an outcast by associating with the wrong people. The best part of the volume is that Nanaki really doesn’t give two shits about any of that, and seems set on making Kanade her best friend… and also making her over, which backfires a bit as Kanade cleans up nicely. I hear this gets a bit dramatic later, but for the moment it’s a cute and fluffy proto-yuri story. – Sean Gaffney

In/Spectre, Vol. 12 | By Kyo Shirodaira and Chashiba Katase | Kodansha Comics – The first story in this volume is another “Rikka tries to make people understand Kotoko is an evil Machiavellian schemer,” this time with one of her ex-classmates, but again the response seems to be “we know she’s a manipulative bitch, but she’s a good person anyway.” The larger story, which will continue into the next book, seems to be a chance to write Kuro and Kotoko as an actual romance, as the man we meet here and his relationship with a yuki-onna… as well as his penchant for attracting misfortune… very much parallel them. That said, they’re very cute together, which is why I hope he avoids the murder charge he’s now being investigated for. Still a favorite. – Sean Gaffney

Interviews with Monster Girls, Vol. 8 | By Petos | Kodansha Comics – The author knows what people want to see, but also knows that the best way to get readers is to drive them crazy by not showing it. We finally get what we’ve been begging for here, as Tetsuo asks Sakie out on a date. (This is after rejecting Kyouko’s love confession, both because she’s his student and also, as he is forced to admit, as he likes Sakie.) The stage is set for the date… and the rest of the book is thus spent with the three main student girls going to Kyouko’s for a fireworks viewing and meeting her family. They’re good chapters, and I really liked showing how difficult Kyouko has it as a dullahan in terms of everyday life, but GOD, please get back to the teachers, I beg you! – Sean Gaffney

Kaguya-sama: Love Is War, Vol. 16 | By Aka Akasaka | Viz Media – The series has gotten to the point where the more rewarding chapters are the ones as part of a larger arc. Not that the one-shot chapters are bad—though Maki’s journey to India may be the most pointless thing in this entire series to date, we do get Chika’s iconic “shut up or I’ll kill you” here. But the larger arcs, featuring Miyuki and Kaguya attempting to date without interruptions, and setting up Ishigami and Iino for a romance—though given the number of limbs broken in this book, and Iino’s own horrible lack of self-awareness, it may be a ways out—are better. This series is still hilarious, but we’ve come to read it more for the heartwarming moments. Heck, there’s even some serious drama here. Very good. – Sean Gaffney

Nineteen | By Ancco | Drawn & Quarterly – Although it was translated and released second in English, Nineteen is a precursor to Ancco’s internationally award-winning manhwa Bad Friends. The volume collects thirteen short comics originally published in Korea over a decade ago which absolutely remain relevant to today’s world. While understandably not as polished as some of Ancco’s later work—one can observe her style evolving and growing over the course of the collection (which is fascinating)—the comics still carry significant emotional weight and impact. Nineteen includes diary comics, which tend to be more lighthearted, as well as harder-hitting fictional stories, many of which also have autobiographical inspiration. As a whole, the collection explores themes of young adulthood, growing up, and complicated family relationships. In particular, there is a compelling focus on the relationships among daughters, mothers, and grandmothers. Some of the narratives can be rather bleak, but a resigned sense of humor threads through Nineteen, too. – Ash Brown

Ran the Peerless Beauty, Vol. 8 | By Ammitsu | Kodansha Comics (digital only) – Shoujo manga that has couples getting together BEFORE the end of the series is inevitably going to have an arc dealing with how far the lead couple should go now that they’re dating, and this is Ran’s turn, as she and Akira and their friends go to a beach house Ran’s family owns and have some beach fun. Unfortunately, the cast gets winnowed down one by one until it’s just the two of them… and her overprotective father, who arrives in time to provide the cliffhanger and no doubt ensure that nookie does not ensue. Not that I think it should—these two kids are even purer than the couple from Kimi ni Todoke, and I think they should mature a bit more before going further. Plus, watching them blush and kiss is wonderful. – Sean Gaffney

Spy x Family, Vol. 2 | By Tatsuya Endo | Viz Media – Having spent our first volume establishing that our found family can really come to love each other deep down, this volume shows off how they are also, at heart, fundamentally awkward and unable to socialize normally. This is unsurprising—hints of Loid’s life we’ve seen show him as a war orphan, Yor is a contract killer, and Anya basically grew up being experimented on by bad guys. As the school soon finds, this leads to issues. The second half of the book introduces Yor’s sister-obsessed little brother Yuri, who turns out to be a torture expert for Loid’s enemies. As always, half the fun is that everyone except Anya has no idea who their real selves are, and the cliffhanger tells us we’re in for some hilarious family fun. I love this. – Sean Gaffney

Spy x Family, Vol. 2 | By Tatsuya Endo | VIZ Media – After a brief spell atop the waiting list, Anya officially makes it into Eden Academy. Loid is anxious to progress to the next stage of his mission and, believing there’s not much chance of turning Anya into an elite scholar like his agency wants, focuses instead on having her befriend the younger son of his target. It does not go to plan, of course. Anya is very cute in this volume, and I also really appreciated how Loid genuinely listens to Yor and values her input. The arrival of Yor’s brother, a member of the secret police, is going to be a fun complication, and another cast member with a secret, but my favorite part of this series is probably always going to be how much love these three are already feeling for each other. So unique and good! – Michelle Smith

Sword Art Online: Hollow Realization, Vol. 6 | By Tomo Hirokawa, based on the story by Reki Kawahara | Yen Press – The weakness of this manga is the same as always—it’s written to tie into the games, and features several characters I just don’t recognize, which can be a problem given this is the big final let’s-save-the-world ending. That said, this is still a decent SAO title. Kirito gets to be cool and badass, but because this isn’t written just by Kawahara others do as well, and it’s a nice balanced effort that focuses on heroine Premiere. I also really liked the point where all the NPCs are worried when everyone has to log out for several days for maintenance. While I’ll still remember this as the “SAO only everyone is alive” manga, I enjoyed reading it, when I wasn’t confused. – Sean Gaffney

BL Metamorphosis, Vol. 2 | By Kaori Tsurutani | Seven Seas – The balance in this series is nearly perfect. You’d expect, given the premise, that there would be more focus on Ichinoi, and we do get a lot about her current life, her classes she teaches, meeting her daughter, etc. But Urara’s side of the equation is just as strong—she’s not simply there to introduce her elderly friend to the world of BL, as this isn’t that kind of series. The two enjoy discussing their passion for the work, but also find out more about each other, come see each other for other reasons, etc. Urara’s teenage friendships also permeate the volume, and the best exchange in it may be Eri hearing Urara call herself “nobody” and taking it personally, as she knows who her boyfriend really likes. Fantastic stuff. – Sean Gaffney

Bloom Into You, Vol. 8 | By Nakatani Nio | Seven Seas – With the emotional climax of the series coming at the end of the last volume, it’s tempting to simply call this an epilogue, but that isn’t quite right, as Touko and Yuu still have to negotiate the boundaries of their new relationship. To some (Sayaka), they’re really obvious, but not everyone knows about it. Moreover, how physical do the two of them want to get? (Turns out, they do want to get physical.) We then get a flash forward seeing them relatively happy, as well as the fate of some others. (Sayaka has a girlfriend, as you will find out if you read the third novel about her life.) Overall, this did not go quite in the directions I was expecting, but it improved with each volume, and I greatly enjoyed it by the end. – Sean Gaffney

I Love You So Much, I Hate You | By Yuni | Yen Press – As always, very happy to see a yuri manga that’s not about girls in high school with their touching first romance. Fujimura is an up-and-coming office worker. Asano is her hard-working, driven boss. They are secretly having an affair—Asano is married—and trying to keep things as “just a casual thing.” Unfortunately, events conspire against them, both externally (another office couple is caught and one of them resigns) and internal (their growing love for each other). The tension between the two leads is the main reason to read the book, and it feels quite real—though there’s not quite as much of the ‘I’m dating my boss’ power issues as I’d expected. If you’re looking for a solid portrayal of an adult couple, this is a good choice. – Sean Gaffney

Komi Can’t Communicate, Vol. 8 | By Tomohito Oda | Viz Media – This volume has the school trip, something Komi hasn’t done before (last time her class did it she didn’t go due to communication issues). Fortunately, she has Tadano with her this time. UNfortunately, the groups for the trip are segregated by sex, so she’s going to have to be on her own most of the trip, with two of the lesser-known cast members alongside her. We get to know those two, and their awkwardness but try-hard attitude around Komi, and as you’d expect the results are mostly heartwarming—a good time is had by all. She even gets a quiet moment with Tadano towards the end. This is a manga that knows exactly the mood it wants to set, a balance between funny and touching. – Sean Gaffney

The Man on the Other Side | By Poteto Ueno | Futekiya (digital only) – Takuma Sano is a rather boring salaryman who has trouble connecting with people. The only friend he has is “S,” a Twitter follower whom he hasn’t met in five years of chatting. Finally, S proposes a meetup and turns out to be Sayaka Narumi, a popular and handsome actor. They both want to become friends, but their relationship is hampered by Sano’s profound social awkwardness—I love how Ueno doesn’t depict him as shy or withdrawn, just oblivious to social cues—and Narumi’s paranoia, after having recently been in the tabloids, that Sano is going to blab. This is a very chaste title with only a couple of smooches, and the big payoff comes when they can both finally clearly communicate their feelings. I enjoyed it, and was particularly amused that a photograph of (presumably) roasted chicken served as a sort of bat signal for the couple. Recommended. – Michelle Smith

Our Wonderful Days, Vol. 3 | By Kei Hamuro | Seven Seas – I think I forgot to brief the second volume of this, and now it’s come to an end with the third. The series does a good job of showing us exactly what a series like K-On! or Lucky Star would be if it had genuine yuri in it instead of tease. Mafuyu and Koharu grow closer as a couple, thanks mostly to some nicely surreal dream imagery, but the series seems to be more dedicated to everyday life with friends than budding romances. Which is fine, as the friendships here are great, particularly the beta couple Nana and Minori—though the gag at the end shows off that those two aren’t actually a couple after all. (Honestly, given Nana’s brain, they may just not be aware of it.) This won’t be in a top-ten list, but it’s cute. – Sean Gaffney

Primitive Boyfriend, Vol. 2 | By Yoshineko Kitafuku | Seven Seas – After the first volume returned our heroine to the present, I wasn’t expecting to go back to the caveman era quite so soon. But most of this second volume has Mito once again bopping around the jungles and plains, sent back there to find Garhi. She runs into another primitive man, and manages to befriend him in much the same way, while also getting herself into peril, etc. Naturally, it turns out that she’s way in the future, and that this man may be Garhi’s descendant. She ends up back in the present at the end, and the implication is that she has to find Garhi’s soul in someone in modern times. Will it be one of her many potential boyfriends? We’ll know soon; this ends with the third book. – Sean Gaffney

Sacrificial Princess and the King of Beasts, Vol. 10 | By Yu Tomofuji | Yen Press – Well, we couldn’t go too far without another kidnapping, and that’s what we get here, with our favorite sacrificial heroine allowing herself to become a hostage to save the rest of the boat. That’s not something that can stand, and while the king is (for now) restrained, several are coming to her rescue, including the former villainous chancellor. There’s a lot in this series about vows of loyalty overriding most other reasons, and I really liked Sariphi showing her mettle against her captor, indicating that gifts and luxuries are nothing without the feeling behind it. This feels like it’s going to be wrapping up soon, but this is a typically strong volume, and an underrated series. – Sean Gaffney

Venus in the Blind Spot | By Junji Ito | Viz Media – I’m always glad for a new volume of Ito’s manga to be released, so it shouldn’t be surprising that I was looking forward to Venus in the Blind Spot, a “best of best” collection. The anthology brings together ten of Ito’s short manga as well as a small selection of illustrations, a few but not all of which have previously been released in English translation. It’s an interesting mix of stories ranging from original tales of horror to adaptations of work by other authors, including two which are based on stories by Edogawa Ranpo (“The Human Chair” and “An Unearthly Love”). As a fan of Ranpo, I was particularly excited to read these, but I was also especially delighted to discover the inclusion of one of Ito’s autobiographical pieces (“Master Umezz and Me”). Ito’s short masterpiece “The Enigma of Amigara Fault” is here, too, adding to an already great collection. – Ash Brown

Waiting for Spring, Vol. 13 | By Anashin | Kodansha Comics – Mitsuki and Asakura-kun officially became a couple in the previous volume, so now it’s time for Ryuji and Nanase to sort out their status. Although Waiting for Spring doesn’t do anything unexpected with its plotting, I do like how it focuses on communication issues for these couples, with Mitsuki somewhat troubled by Asakura’s perpetually calm exterior and Nanase worried about the age difference and the things that will be new for Ryuji that aren’t new for her. You never feel like either pairing is in actual jeopardy, but there will be things that they will have to talk through together. We also see Mitsuki successfully deliver a heartfelt speech to the incoming first-year students. The main story ends here, but there will be one more volume, featuring bonus stories and an epilogue. Anashin hasn’t started a new series yet, but I look forward to reading more by her someday. – Michelle Smith

With a Dog AND a Cat, Every Day Is Fun, Vol. 1 | By Hidekichi Matsumoto | Vertical Comics – This manga is mostly presented as a series of two-page strips. On the first page, Inu-kun, Matsumoto-sensei’s dog, will be full of innocence and energy on a given topic, and on the second page, Neko-sama, the cat, will be… a cat. Topics include things like laptime jealousy, bathroom visitors, the pets trying to cheer up Matsumoto-sensei, etc. I definitely snickered at a few different things, but wasn’t prepared to end up sniffling, too. The story about Matsumoto’s previous dog and how a friend’s comment revived happy memories that had long been obscured by sad ones really got to me, as did the part about lingering regrets affecting how a person interacts with pets who yet live. I know exactly how that feels. So, yes, it was the sad bits that really won me over in the end, but the cuteness is undeniably beguiling, as well. – Michelle Smith

Yay! Sean’s back!

Barakamon, Vol. 18 + 1 | By Satsuki Yoshino | Yen Press – I had thought this was something like an epilogue to the series, but it ends up being more of a hodgepodge—there’s a number of 4-koma strips, there’s interviews and yes, there is a short “years later” mini-chapter that assiduously avoids showing us Naru looking older, though it teases it. Instead, the majority of the book is an artbook, showing off color illustrations. And that’s the reason to get it as well, as you’re reminded that the art was also a big strength with this series. The pieces are very character oriented, showing Handa and company in a variety of poses and places, and it adds to the overall peaceful feel that we got from this series. I’ll miss it. Also, show us teenage Naru, you cowards. – Sean Gaffney

Goodbye, My Rose Garden, Vol. 2 | By Dr. Pepperco | Seven Seas – I never actually reviewed the first volume of this series—it came out in the height of COVID isolation, and I was bogged down in other things. It’s quite good, though, being a fairly tortured yuri drama without quite tipping over the edge into melodrama, although the reason it reads so well is that it balances on that edge quite nicely. Here we learn the story of Alice and how she became everyone’s favorite suspicious person, as well as the tie that binds her past with Hanako’s. As for the two of them as a couple, we aren’t there yet, and may not ever get there—it’s unclear if there’s a happy ending coming here. Nevertheless, you hope for one—these two need some good things happening to them. – Sean Gaffney

Goodbye, My Rose Garden, Vol. 2 | By Dr. Pepperco | Seven Seas – I really wish I liked this more. I like the setting—England in 1900—and two heroines who love books (and talk about Oscar Wilde and Sherlock Holmes!) and want to thwart society’s expectations of women while still being constrained by them. But everything just moves so fast! I found myself wishing this was a romance novel instead so it could have a little time to just breathe. They love each other, they find out secrets, Alice’s mom and fiancé conspire to get Hanako sent away, Alice finds her, more secrets are revealed. Nothing really lands with any emotional impact because it’s cruising right along and, in fact, comes to an end in the next volume. I will probably see it through to its conclusion but am overall kinda disappointed. – Michelle Smith

Horimiya, Vol. 14 | By Hero and Daisuke Hagiwara | Yen Press – This is the manga that never ends. It goes on and on, my friends. Given that the writer and publisher seem dedicated to avoiding the original ending of the webcomic, there’s not really much that can be done here except ‘everyday high school life’ shenanigans,’ to the point where I was for once reasonably pleased when Hori’s sadist/masochist tendencies come to the fore again, as she spreads a childish nickname for Miyamura just so that he’ll get mad at her. That said, despite the two being a seemingly close couple, at the end of the day Hori is still a horribly flawed character who needs constant validation and can’t trust her own feelings. She’s the most annoying and most interesting part of this. – Sean Gaffney

I Don’t Know How to Give Birth! | By Ayami Kazama| Yen Press – This is an excellent combination of biography, information, and comedy, as the author and her husband take us through the steps they took in order for her to have a child—more steps than you’d expect, as they eventually need in-vitro fertilization—and how she felt as she went through the process, ranging from “why am I doing this? My husband is the one who really wanted kids” to “I am getting in touch with my inner animal!” Scattered throughout are facts about preparing for nursing your child, Japan apparently not teaching expectant mothers how to push, and the lack of meds in their non-Tokyo hospital. All this is done in a fun way, with the author’s self-portrait having an arrow in her head. – Sean Gaffney

An Incurable Case of Love, Vol. 4 | By Maki Enjoji | Viz Media – Should you sacrifice your dream for love? Well, not if you’re in a romance manga, but it’s a question that’s thought about long and hard in this volume, as Nanase discovers that Dr. Tendo is getting an offer to study abroad so he can research a condition that killed someone he knew in his past. He is seemingly fine with abandoning it and staying with Nanase, but another patient with the same condition shows that he’s not as cool and collected as you’d expect. As with previous volumes, this strikes a good equal balance between the medicine and the romance, and there is also some lightness of tone, such as Nanase mistaking her lovesickness for a heart condition after the two spend the night together. – Sean Gaffney

A Man and His Cat, Vol. 2 | By Umi Sakurai | Square Enix – The more we see of Kanda’s late wife, the more we see how much her death has devastated him, and we are grateful for Fukumaru for being there. That said, Fukumaru is a big, awkward, untrained cat, so this inevitably leads to events like the cat breaking precious pictures and the like. The cat is also somewhat jealous of anything that gets in between him and his master. So it’s a nice mix of cute ‘the cat is destroying the house and acting like a cat’ antics and ‘the cat is basically the one thing keeping his owner away from despair.’ Kanda’s utter adoration of Fukumaru’s cuteness (made funnier by the fact that, to most everyone else, Fukumaru’s pretty goofy-looking) may be the best part of this. – Sean Gaffney

My Dress-Up Darling, Vol. 1 | By Shinichi Fukuda | Square Enix – Wakana has an unusual hobby—he admires and creates traditional Japanese dolls. In part because of this, he’s become a loner, but that changes after his popular high school classmate Marin discovers his talent with a sewing machine and convinces him to help her make a (sexy) cosplay outfit. Marin is passionate but not a skilled seamstress, so she hopes Wakana’s experience making doll clothing will be of some use. My Dress-Up Darling is rated “mature.” The first volume does include some risqué images and topics of conversation; however, it’s not overly explicit. Later volumes might become more so, but right now the story itself is surprisingly wholesome and the characters endearing. I’m really looking forward to reading more of the series and seeing Wakana and Marin’s relationship develop. But perhaps even more, I’m hoping to see Wakana follow Marin’s example and become more confident in himself and his interests. – Ash Brown

My Hero Academia SMASH!!, Vol. 5 | By Hirofumi Neda| Viz Media – The last volume of this series really does not stray from its mandate of ‘gags.’ We see 1-A and 1-B team up for a rescue exercise, the highlight of which is seeing that even the SMASH!! author thinks that Itsuka is a better Momo than Momo is. There’s some of Deku being such a hero fanboy that it’s hilariously creepy, and everyone participating in comedy training. (I was not prepared for Uraraka’s fantastic Aizawa impression.) There’s tanabata festivals, held back by a personality change in Bakugou (this actually comes up TWICE). And we end with a “years in the future” that isn’t really, with only Deku left to be the straight man. I’m happy this is ending now, but it was also a good deal of fun while it lasted. – Sean Gaffney

Snow White with the Red Hair, Vol. 8 | By Sorata Akiduki | Viz Media – As expected, ‘making the relationship public’ gets put on the back burner, mostly as reality is far too complicated for things like that to go smoothly. Instead we spend much of this volume transitioning into a new arc, featuring Shirayuki and Ryu going up north to snow country to study as herbalists there… with the added addition of Izana, who is traveling there incognito to annoy his brother and to study Shirayuki further. In between these things we get a story looking deeper into Obi, who I sometimes get the feeling the author would be more happy making the lead character. It adds up to a good solid volume of the series, though I suspect the next volume will set a better pace. – Sean Gaffney

Teasing Master Takagi-san, Vol. 9 | By Soichiro Yamamoto | Yen Press – The rule of thumb in this series is that Takagi is more readily able to admit her own feelings to herself than Nishitaka is to himself. His embarrassment and wariness of any action that he’s goaded to by Takagi leading to a “ha ha, so you like me!” moment drives whatever he does, and the moment he gets over this the series ends. (Mostly—the unlicensed next-gen series shows he never quite gets over it.) Takagi CAN occasionally be embarrassed—my favorite chapter in this volume, where they’re sending texts to each other, ends with her blushing—but for the most part is content to tease him every day and patiently lead him to a point where they can be a couple. It’s not happening anytime soon. – Sean Gaffney

To Be Next to You, Vol. 8 | By Atsuko Namba | Kodansha Comics (digital only) – On paper, To Be Next to You looks like standard shoujo fare. Nina Uemura is in love with her next-door neighbor, Kyosuke Tachibana, and to try to forget him, she started going out with a classmate. But when Kyosuke collapses with a fever on Christmas Eve, she bails on her boyfriend (Miyake-kun) to take care of him. Miyake-kun realizes that whatever happiness they can achieve together will always be vulnerable to being swept aside in an instant, and breaks off their relationship. What I love is how skillfully Namba-sensei has shown Nina’s maturation process throughout this series—she’s definitely not the same oblivious girl we encountered in volume one—and that we get little moments like Miyake-kun telling his friends what happened and them crying on his behalf. Between this and That Blue Summer, I have become a true Namba fan. I hope we get more from her soon! – Michelle Smith

In which we extend our profound sympathies to Sean, languishing without internet thanks to a hurricane and his crappy ISP.

The Dorm of Love and Secrets, Vol. 4 | By Nikki Asada | Kodansha Comics (digital only) – Structurally, the conclusion of The Dorm of Love and Secrets is a lot like another of Kodansha’s short, digital-only, shoujo series, Let’s Kiss in Secret Tomorrow. The heroine’s big secret is received with very little fanfare (in Asahi’s case, her high-achieving dormmates had already figured out she was a member of the normal class) and instead the focus is on reassuring the secondary character who’d been interfering with the main couple’s happiness that they are, in fact, a good person. Here, Asahi helps Tsukigase fight to save Midnight Oil Hall from being torn down. It’s a decent ending, though the plot thread about Yokaze’s grandfather’s dojo is never addressed again. I also would’ve liked more with Asahi and her older sister, who was largely responsible for Asahi’s inferiority complex regarding her supposed lack of intelligence. Ultimately, this was a pleasant series but not required reading. – Michelle Smith

Haikyu!!, Vol. 39 | By Haruichi Furudate | VIZ Media – Karasuno has advanced to the quarterfinals of the Spring Tournament and their opponent is Kamomedai, a defensively skilled team with a “little giant” of its own. In fact, the original little giant is in the stands, and seeing him be impressed by the next generation of small players is great. My favorite part, though, is that a couple of Hinata’s classmates, who had assumed he was a benchwarmer, happen to catch the game on TV and are astonished by how good he is. In fact, throughout the volume, whenever he scores a point, Furudate-sensei will toss in a little panel of these guys celebrating his success. It’s a really nice touch. Oh, and also Tsukishima the elder literally sparkling with pride over his little brother’s performance. The volleyball part is as great as ever, but the sheer warmth exuding from these pages is why I love this series so much. – Michelle Smith

Love on the Other Side: A Nagabe Short Story Collection | By Nagabe | Seven Seas – Collecting six short manga, Love on the Other Side is more akin to Nagabe’s series The Girl from the Other Side than the The Wize Wize Beasts of the Wizarding Wizdoms anthology, although there are certainly some aesthetic similarities to that volume, as well. While the narratives in Love on the Other Side are unrelated to one another, the stories are all about an intimate (not necessarily romantic) relationship between a human child or young woman and a beast. In many cases, that beast is a literal monster. Some are kind-hearted, some are not, and with some, well, it can be difficult to tell. In part, the tension and unease caused by that is what gives Love on the Other Side such an effective and affecting atmosphere. The stories are beautiful and touching but also often unsettling—love shadowed by peril, uncertainty, and the unknown. Overall, it’s an excellent collection. – Ash Brown

Not Your Idol, Vol. 1 | By Aoi Makino | Viz Media – Given the fact that the main protagonist of Not Your Idol is an assault survivor, it probably shouldn’t come as a surprise that the manga is intense, but I don’t know that I was fully prepared for the level of its intensity going into the first volume. I hesitate to call Not Your Idol “dark” (even though it is) as that could seem to imply that the story goes beyond reality when what makes it so disconcertingly effective is the horrifyingly realistic sexism and misogyny underlying the manga’s drama and psychological suspense. The first volume is not a feel-good debut, but it is a very strong one. I’m anxious to see where the series goes next, especially considering some of the twists towards the end of the first volume—I desperately want to know if those developments are truly what they seem or if there are more shocking revelations to come. – Ash Brown

Skull-face Bookseller Honda-san, Vol. 4 | By Honda | Yen Press – Skull-face Bookseller Honda-san began as an amusing depiction of the hectic goings-on (and kooky customers) at the bookstore at which its creator worked. After volume three, though, Honda quit that job and is now hurting for material (by her own admission). In desperation, she interviews various people in the bookselling industry (and takes a trip to Taiwan), but the frenetic energy of earlier volumes is completely gone. Now it’s just informative and rather dull. The story peters out and then we get random short comics from Pixiv and Twitter. I did like a couple of things, like the page capturing the various ways people show joy before the shelves, and Honda’s reaction to a senseless act of destruction. Honda-sensei quit the bookstore to become a full-time manga creator, and I hope we see some of her other series here in the near future! – Michelle Smith

Wanna Try Dating Inoue? | By Fujitobi | Futekiya (digital only) – This is another exceedingly cute BL oneshot from Fujitobi, who also wrote Faded Picture Scroll. Although named for the first trio of stories, the volume is actually about two different couples at the same high school, set in a world where humans and anthropomorphic animal people coexist peacefully. Asthmatic first-year Yuzuta Inoue falls for a kind third-year tengu named Karasuma, and it is mostly cute, although Inoue’s persistence in trying to get Karasuma to fall for him crosses the line into problematic initially. Rooting for them are a couple of side characters named Asaka and Ookami, who turn out to be the protagonists of the next trio of stories. Ookami is 100% the best thing about this manga. He’s sweet, gentle, shy, and stuck in the big, imposing body of a werewolf. I love him. I hope we get more Fujitobi titles in the future! – Michelle Smith

Blue Flag, Vol. 2 | By KAITO | VIZ Media – How do I already love these kids this much?! Blue Flag is the story of four friends in their third year of high school who care about each other but who are all also dealing with their own problems and trying to figure out what they want to do with their lives. I especially love Taichi and identify so much with the childhood memory he shares with Masumi—“I regretted my inaction so badly.” Taichi is always trying to become the sort of person who can act (and supports Futaba as she seeks to make the same change in herself). And thus, we are inexorably led to the cliffhanger of this volume, where Taichi gets the chance at a do-over, seizes it without a moment’s hesitation, and perhaps pays another, different price this time. I’ve never meant “I can’t wait for the next volume!” more than I have this time. – Michelle Smith

Dead Dead Demon’s Dededede Destruction, Vol. 8 | By Inio Asano | Viz Media – We finally get one of the big reveals in this volume, which involves the origin of Oran and the sort of girl she used to be. It also gives us, even if it’s not quite the real thing, an origin story of the friendship between her and Kadode, and it’s really sweet and fun. That said, their meeting with an alien goes very differently here, and the series finally begins to tie in with all of the Doraemon parodies that it’s been using at the start and end of each volume. Sadly, this is not a good thing, and the entire volume ends on a horrifically nightmarish cliffhanger that I can’t see ending any way but tragically. As always, I hate reading this series, one of the best manga I’m currently reading. If that makes sense. – Sean Gaffney

Dr. STONE, Vol. 12 | By Riichiro Inagaki and Boichi | Viz Media – We’re going on a boat journey, taking along most of the important cast members, in order to discover the island with Sena’s dad’s past and also find platinum, which can help speed up un-stoning everyone. Unfortunately, there are villains about, and they take out most of the cast, who are petrified once more. In between this, we get a lot of cool Jump adventure, some goofy gags, some fun surprises (we know that Suika would stow away somehow, the question was how) and some serious drama as, well, the cast is being re-petrified by powerful unknown villains. There’s nothing earth-shattering in this particular volume, but it still adds up to a great time. – Sean Gaffney

Haganai: I Don’t Have Many Friends, Vol. 18 | By Yomi Hirasaka and Itachi | Seven Seas – I could review this entire volume, but honestly, the last 50 or so pages sort of dwarf the rest of it. We are reminded, as is the school, that Sena is fantastic at everything and has no idea that other people can’t do what she does. This all comes to a head at the Christmas party, where she starts to be attacked for all of her bad points, and lashes out at everyone in a justified but ill-thought-out diatribe. Which is then passed to Yozora, who also defends Sena and finally, amazingly, admits that the two of them are friends. This may be more important than which girl Kodaka picks, to be honest, and is absolutely fantastic. (Speaking of Kodaka, his solution is very Hachiman, and works about as well). – Sean Gaffney

Moms | By Yeong-shin Ma | Drawn & Quarterly – One thing in particular that makes Moms stand out from other manhwa in translation (and honestly many other comics in general) is the focus of its narrative—the lives and loves of mothers in their fifties. The volume takes direct inspiration from the creator’s own mother after she shared some of her personal experiences and stories about her friends. While there is some humor and absurdity, the resulting work’s realism is gutting as the characters navigate divorces, affairs, workplace harassment, and constantly shifting allegiances. A central thread is an on-again, off-again relationship between Soyeon and her boyfriend Jongseok. Without him she’s lonely, with him she’s miserable, a common theme in Moms. Most of the men in the work are frankly disappointing human beings. The women aren’t always entirely blameless, but they’ve put up with a lot, so it’s exhilarating to witness when they can live their lives with uninhibited gusto. – Ash Brown

Secret XXX | By Meguru Hinohara | SuBLime – Secret XXX is pretty explicit and features a seme who says things like “Too late. I’m not stopping now” and “I love your feeble protests,” but also includes a lot of cute bunnies. Shohei Ikushima is a college student who believes he is allergic to rabbits but still volunteers at Itsuki Mito’s bunny-exclusive pet shop because he’s fallen in love with the gentle-seeming proprietor. I can’t tell if what I found frustrating is intentional characterization, or simply that the narrative had to make Shohei look vapid in order to work. Like, he never actually considered “Do I even swing this way?” until he was literally in bed with Mito. And no one (including his parents, evidently) ever suggested antihistamine until he finally sees a doctor. I did like the emphasis on appreciating family, though, and plan to read the spinoff starring Mito’s meddling little brother. – Michelle Smith

A Sign of Affection, Vol. 2 | By suu Morishita | Kodansha Comics (digital only) – A lot of shoujo titles are content to move along at a glacial pace, and the good ones do that by keeping the character solid. Yuki and Itsuomi are still feeling each other out. She’s fallen in love for the first time, but has communication issues that go beyond her deafness, and also a childhood friend who (I suspect) likes her more than she is aware. Asd for Itsuomi, he has some past baggage that really isn’t going away, and has goals for the future that do not involve being in Japan—goals which are likely more important to him than romance. Despite that, these two are very cute together, and you’re rooting for them to find a way to make things work. One of the better recent digital-pnly titles. – Sean Gaffney

Spy x Family, Vol. 1 | By Tatsuya Endo | VIZ Media – It only took a few pages for me to completely fall in love with Spy x Family. Debonair “Twilight” is an experienced spy for Westalia, but when his next mission requires him to quickly acquire both wife and child, he ends up choosing an assasassin (Yor) for a bride and a telepath (Anya) for a daughter. Neither Twilight nor Yor is aware of the other’s real line of work, but Anya knows all. Only, she loves her new life and family so much that she isn’t going to say anything to jeopardize it. In fact, she’s doing her best to get accepted into a prestigious school so that Twilight can get closer to his target and they can all continue to stay together. I really like all the characters, the “found family” trope always works for me, the tone is fun, and the art is stylish. More, please, and soon! – Michelle Smith

Takane & Hana, Vol. 15 | By Yuki Shiwasu | Viz Media – The bulk of this volume introduces us to Takane’s mother, who is a lot like he is in both looks and eccentricity, and turns out to have a checkered past with her son that, to no one’s surprise, involves bad communication. Hana tries to get the two of them to make up while also showing off how she’s a great match for Takane, and her cheer is infectious. That said, the background does remind readers just how high a bar Hana has to clear if she’s going to end up happily ever after with the guy she loves. The series is gearing up for its finale, and I suspect that class conflict is really going to come to the fore here. But at least she’s won over Mom, which is a big start. – Sean Gaffney

A Witch’s Printing Office, Vol. 3 | By Mochinchi | Yen Press – Following up on the last cliffhanger, there is another Japanese person here, and he’s actually gone about things the proper isekai way, as opposed to our heroine, Yomiko… um, I mean Mika. Yeah, about that, I get the feeling that 80% of the people reading this series are reading it because they want to see Yomiko from Read or Die in an isekai setting. It even feels like the super-ditzy side of her, as opposed to, well, the other, less popular aspects of Yomiko. As for the manga itself, there’s more Comiket gags, Mika managing to accidentally get a town popular, an ancient spellcaster possessing exactly the wrong person, and a rival publishing company. This is big goofy fun, sort of slice-of-isekai life-ish, but lacks any substance at all. – Sean Gaffney

Glaeolia, Vol. 1 | Edited by Emuh Ruh and zhuchka | Glacier Bay Books – One of the newest and smallest publishers of manga in English translation is Glacier Bay Books. Glaeolia isn’t its first project, but the planned series is its most ambitious so far. As stated in the introduction, “this publication originates from a desire specifically to shine a light on the small press and indie manga scenes and the literary power that resides there.” The first volume succeeds magnificently in doing this by presenting twelve short manga with a wondrous range of artistic styles and expressive narrative techniques. It’s a fascinating, engaging, and arresting collection in which many of the creators are making their English-language debut. For anyone interested in contemporary independent and alternative manga, this series and Glacier Bay Books’ other publications are well-worth seeking out. As for me, I am eagerly anticipating the next installment of Glaeolia, whenever it may be released; the first volume was remarkable. – Ash Brown

A Man and His Cat, Vol. 2 | By Umi Sakurai | Square Enix – “All the feels” may be the most overused phrase in the English language right now, but I can’t think of a more succinct way to explain A Man and His Cat‘s appeal: it will make you smile, laugh, and cry big, ugly tears, mostly because the title characters have sad backstories. Volume two delves a little deeper in Kanda’s marriage (he’s a widower) and childhood (it was unhappy), helping us understand why he’s developed such a strong attachment to Fukumaru. Interspersed with these sniffle-inducing vignettes are jokes about hairballs and cat paraphernalia, as well as a few flashbacks to Fukumaru’s kittenhood. The tonal shifts are jarring and the artwork somewhat crude—Fukumaru looks more like a bowling ball than a cat—but Umi Sakurai still manages to convey the warmth of Kanda and Fukumaru’s interactions with a direct simplicity that’s hard to resist. -Katherine Dacey

The Misfit of Demon King Academy: History’s Strongest Demon King Reincarnates and Goes to School with His Descendants, Vol. 1 | By Shu and Kayaharuka | Square Enix Books – I hadn’t even realized the anime had debuted when I was reading this first volume of the manga, and so found I was echoing folks’ concerns about the title as they watched it: this book is all about the overpowered protagonist, and is not only proud of that it’s smug about it. Our hero is reincarnated and grows to adulthood in a month because he wants to, goes to magical academy, passes the test by literally killing and resurrecting a man over and over again, and immediately makes a fast friend of the school’s Rei Ayanami clone, whose dark past we will no doubt get into in book two. The parents are very silly, and I liked them, but honestly, this is only if you like ludicrous heroes. – Sean Gaffney

The Quintessential Quintuplets, Vol. 11 | By Negi Haruba | Kodansha Comics (digital only) – This is a volume of two halves. The first half finally gives us the backstory of the quintuplets, and shows us that it was Yotsuba who met Futaro… mostly. And seeing that her relationship with him can easily be faked by one of the others, decides to make herself different. Sadly, her overconfidence regarding academics destroys her self-worth, which explains why she spends so much time helping anyone but herself. The other half of the book has Itsuki, oddly enough, still being the only quint not in love with Futaro (oddly as she was first girl) and Ichika making a career-based decision to leave school, though she is at least convinced to make it a leave of absence. Still fantastic. – Sean Gaffney

The Quintessential Quintuplets, Vol. 12 | By Negi Haruba | Kodansha Comics (digital only) – It’s School Festival time! Futaro and Yotsuba are overworked, the class is having a rivalry between pancakes and takoyaki, and Itsuki’s college prep is… not going so hot. Miku isn’t doing college at all; she wants to go to culinary school, which ends up being fine with Futaro. Most importantly, Futaro admits he loves all the quints… but knows that’s not the answer they want. He asks them to each get a focus arc till he can decide. Thus we get each of the sisters getting a “what we did at the festival” arc, which features two sisters in this volume, and no doubt has the other three next time. We also get kisses. That said, it’s still up in the air, as Futaro doesn’t think he’s going to choose ANYBODY. That never works in harem manga, guy. – Sean Gaffney

The Quintessential Quintuplets, Vol. 13 | By Negi Haruba | Kodansha Comics (digital only) – The majority of this volume is the other three quintuplets having their arcs. Miku’s arc involves her gaining courage and self-confidence, never a good sign when you’re in a harem manga. Yotsuba’s involves her literally collapsing from overwork and having to take the last day off (to apologize to everyone for collapsing), and learning to stop blaming herself, which goes… sort of well-ish. Itsuki has the best arc, confronted with her real father, who immediately tries to control her life and gets obliterated by nearly the entire cast in epic fashion. That said, I wouldn’t blame anyone for only thinking of the last 20 or so pages, when Futaro makes his decision on who he wants to spend his life with, and the fandom, no doubt, goes berserk. – Sean Gaffney

Ran and the Gray World, Vol. 7 | By Aki Irie | VIZ Media – I didn’t anticipate that I’d be reading Ran and the Gray World in its entirety, but here we are. The battle against the bugs concluded in volume six, and taken solely on its own merits, volume seven is a pleasant denouement. Ran finally wakes up and her sorrow over Otaro’s fate makes the whole town cry. From there, time accelerates as we see her beginning to mature for real, becoming more conscientious and eventually leaving home to work on her magic. By the end of the volume, it’s years later and Ran purposefully refrains from telling her nephew about the magic shoes that could turn him into an adult before he’s ready for it. I like this growth in her (and her age-appropriate romance with Hibi) but it’s impossible to forget the problematic Otaro stuff that led to it. Still, I would read more by Irie in the future. – Michelle Smith

How Do We Relationship?, Vol. 1 | By Tamifull | Viz Media – This title has a lot of things going for it, once you get past the “draw them in with sex” opening pages. It’s a college-aged relationship, still rare enough to be notable. The pair get together very quickly, but navigating being a couple is different for both of them—they have different experiences in lesbian relationships, different comfort levels in being “out,” and different ideas of when they can move forward in terms of intimacy. It’s a push-pull that feels more realistic than a lot of the yuri manga that end when the couple get together, and I’m not entirely sure that this series will end with the couple together. There’s also one really weird friend who can’t keep her mouth shut—I liked her. Want to see where this goes. – Sean Gaffney

How Do We Relationship?, Vol. 1 | By Tamifull | VIZ Media –Miwa Inuzuka knows that it’s totally normal that she loves women, but she still lacks romantic experience, despite her physical attractiveness. Just when she’s about to come out to the first friend she makes upon starting college, upbeat and unabashed Saeko, Saeko beats her to the punch. And since they’re the only lesbians they know, they decide to try dating. This is kind of an unromantic start, but I still really enjoyed this first volume. Miwa’s and Saeko’s personalities come through clearly, and all of the hurdles in their relationship come from who they are as people. The one thing that bugged me is that twice Tamifull cuts away from a scene of conflict and picks back up after apologies have been rendered off-camera. That’s kind of unsatisfying. On the whole, though, I’m really looking forward to volume two. – Michelle Smith

Kaguya-sama: Love Is War, Vol. 15 | By Aka Akasaka | Viz Media – There is a good amount of humor in this volume—Ice Kaguya’s desperately obvious attempts to do couple things, and Shirogane’s equally hilarious denseness, is a highlight, as is the Christmas party. But for the most part the drama is more interesting, as “Ice” Kaguya is in charge but her headstrong and blunt approach merely sends a stressed-out Shirogane into the hospital. Their views are polar opposites (she doesn’t want to hide her real self, he desperately does) but talking things out helps a lot, and their second kiss is quite sweet. There’s still a lot more ground to cover in this title (Ishigami’s love life, Kaguya’s awful upbringing, what’s the deal with Hayasaka, etc.), but at least the main premise of “when will they confess” has been put to bed. They’re a couple. – Sean Gaffney

Little Miss P: The Second Day | By Ken Koyama | Yen Press – The second volume of this manga that teaches people about periods has stories that are a lot more long-form than the first. A young couple’s relationship can’t survive a vacation with Little Miss P; two people who don’t match their gender norms deal with periods and a zombie manifestation; an elementary school has a co-ed discussion of periods; an alien couple are trying to get pregnant; a middle schooler who’s been bullied into not attending school worries about her future; a manga editor deals with something that ISN’T her period; an ovarian cyst; and an idol competition is filled with periods and various remedies. This may be better than the first book; it has more variety, and is very well done. – Sean Gaffney

Magus of the Library, Vol. 3 | By Mitsu Izumi | Kodansha Comics – This series is very pretty and likable, but it has to be said it’s not really breaking any new ground. There’s a lot of standard shonen beats here, and you can easily guess what will be happening next. Theo has to learn to work together with another woman who is arrogant and haughty, and does so. He has to think that he’s done horribly at one part of the test and become convinced he’s failed (he hasn’t). He has to meet a random crotchety old woman and befriend her, only for her to turn out to be much more than she seems—check. That said, provided you don’t mind not being surprised, this is good stuff, helped along by the lush, expansive art and the occasional action sequence. It’s a good series that I think we’re already caught up on, but hopefully more soon. – Sean Gaffney

Requiem of the Rose King, Vol. 12 | By Aya Kanno | Viz Media – Every time Richard and Buckingham are on the page together I want to drop this. I really dislike their relationship and the power dynamics that it shows off. And yes, I know it’s not meant to be a good thing, but that does not change the fact that I hate it. That said, there’s always one woman being awesome at some point in this series, and for this volume it’s Anne, who is given a fine chance to kill her husband and get away with it, but finds the idea that everyone she is surrounded by being a horrible person rather appalling. As such, she chooses the devil she knows, but does it with BADASS panache. Meanwhile, the War of the Roses continues apace, though we’ve wandered far from Shakespeare here. A problematic fave. – Sean Gaffney

Something’s Wrong with Us, Vol. 2 | By Natsumi Ando | Kodansha Comics – I mentioned last time that I wasn’t ready for the author accelerating immediately to ‘everything is awful’ quite so fast, and that doesn’t let up here, as things go from bad to worse with Nao. She’s banned from the kitchen, the family HATES her with varying degrees of “I want her literally dead” to “I want her to simply go away,” and even Tsubaki, her husband, indicates that if “Sakura” ever appeared to him again, he’d make her disappear. Really, it’s amazing Nao is able to concentrate on sweets at all. That said, Tsubaki may want Sakura to disappear, but he’s slowly falling for Nao, and she for him. They consummate their marriage at the end of this book, but… are things going to get worse and worse? – Sean Gaffney

Toilet-bound Hanako-kun, Vol. 3 | By AidaIro | Yen Press – While the first two volumes firmly established Hanako as an enigma, some of that mystery begins to unravel with the third. Up until this point, much of Hanako’s past was only hinted at. But with the introduction of important new characters in this volume come distressing new revelations about who he really is (or was, considering he’s currently a ghost). The comedic aspects of Toilet-bound Hanako-kun and the goofiness of many of its characters keep the series from becoming overwhelmingly oppressive, but there are still some pretty dark elements. Both Nene and Kou—the closest things to friends that Hanako has had in a long while—wanted to know more about him than he himself had revealed; now they have to come to terms with what they’ve learned and how it will impact their friendships. I look forward to seeing how Toilet-bound Hanako-kun continues to develop a great deal. – Ash Brown

Witch Hat Atelier, Vol. 6 | By Kamome Shirahama | Kodansha Comics – It’s hard not to make the entire review “OMG GORGEOUS,” because so much of what I love about this series is the artwork, which never gets tiring no matter how much you reread it. There’s more to it than the art, though. The girls’ test was interrupted, and they’re brought to one of the Big Witches in this world, who demands as a make-up test that they simply surprise him with magic. This doesn’t go well at first, but after realizing that they should work together to do this, they come up with a brilliant idea (Coco) and execution (the others) to win him over. Even the translation is great, with some hilarious wordplay around Agott’s name. This is one of the best manga releases out there right now. – Sean Gaffney

Akashic Records of Bastard Magical Instructor, Vol. 9 | By Hitsuji Tarou, Tsunemi Aosa and Kurone Mishima | Seven Seas – Forgot to review the previous volume of this, and may have even forgotten to read it. Honestly, it doesn’t matter, as we begin a new story this volume, finally giving us the backstory of Celica, Glenn’s adopted mother figure and resident mysterious older sister sort. Unfortunately, she quickly learns why we shouldn’t wander into portals that will trigger guardians that want to kill everyone, and it’s up to Glenn and company to save her. This remains decent but not great magical school fantasy. Also, apropos of nothing, Rumi looks a lot like Yotsuba from Quintuplets, right down to the ribbon. – Sean Gaffney

Black Clover, Vol. 21 | By Yuki Tabata | Viz Media – Yes, this is the arc that never ends. It just goes on and on, my friends. As ever, Black Clover doesn’t do anything wrong here—the characters get good things to do, there are sparks of character depth and the action scenes are fantastic as ever. But once again, the series shows that it’s never quite going to make it into the pantheon—it’s never going to be a Naruto or My Hero Academia. It’s the best of the second tier, looking up at better series. That said, Jump always needs series like this, and several of them do tend to run and run—Black Clover is now among the longest-running Jump series. Doesn’t mean I don’t want this possessed by elves/devils/what have you arc to end. On the bright side, we finally see what’s up with that bird. – Sean Gaffney

Kakushigoto: My Dad’s Secret Ambition, Vol. 4 | By Kouji Kumeta | Kodansha Comics (digital only) – The anime series just ended, and sensibly gave more attention to the heartwarming parental aspects of this series rather than the bitter and cynical manga stuff. Thankfully, we do have the original manga, so we can get the best of both worlds. Because while Kumeta has mellowed over the years, he still has a lot of sharpness in his reactions (and overreactions) to things, and is STILL bitter about assistants after all these years, though thankfully he leaves Kenjiro Hata’s name out of it this time. On the family side, there’s discussion of Hime getting a dog, which doesn’t quite pan out just yet, and a Parent’s Day at school that likewise also doesn’t happen. Funny and heartwarming. – Sean Gaffney

Knight of the Ice, Vol. 2 | By Yayoi Ogawa | Kodansha Comics – Again, I really wish that we’d seen the prequel series Kiss and Never Cry before this, though from what I understand that had less of a “gimmick” to pull readers in than Knight of the Ice does. Things actually move pretty fast in this volume, as Kokoro and Chitose are able to somewhat indirectly have a confession, thanks to a pendant that was given to her years ago but never actually opened. The bigger worry is her job, though after some explanations she seems to have avoided being fired for now. It helps that Kokoro is becoming more famous, and he actually triumphs here with a daring free skate jump. Fans of josei romances should absolutely be reading this, as it hits all the things you want it to hit. – Sean Gaffney

My Villain Academia, Vol. 24 | By Kohei Horikoshi | Viz Media – Yes, the entire title changes in this volume, courtesy of our League of Villains changing the logo. It’s also a villain-on-villain battle here, as we get to see some of what makes our anti-heroes tick—reporter and villain Curious tries to make Toga’s “tragic backstory” a thing, but Toga just isn’t having it, and instead levels up and uses Uravity’s powers to drop them all to their deaths. Twice also gets a bit more depth here, as we see more of a running theme in MHA, which is that the system is flawed and a lot of villains are that way because of class issues. And then there’s Shigaraki, who gets a grandma and a backstory… that waits till next time. Uncomfortable but essential reading. – Sean Gaffney

The Promised Neverland, Vol. 15 | By Kaiu Shirai and Posuka Demizu | VIZ Media – I don’t know how it happened, but for at least part of this volume, I was thinking that The Promised Neverland had become kind of… dull. Part of the issue is that I identify more with Norman in his multi-chapter debate with Emma about whether it’s right to annihilate all demons—it would be a more certain path to their safety, and her idealism threatens his carefully laid plans for the pursuit of a fairy tale. I’m sure readers are supposed to be rooting for Emma, though. There’s also a lot about the hierarchy of demon society and Mujika’s place in it. Ultimately, while I definitely appreciate the complication of reuniting with a Norman who is no longer on quite the same page as his siblings (“I’m not wavering”), I’m also glad this series wraps up in another five volumes. – Michelle Smith

Sleepy Princess in the Demon Castle, Vol. 12 | By Kagiji Kumanomata | Viz Media – A good deal of time is spent by the rest of the cast in this gag manga trying to figure out what makes Princess Syalis tick. Is she, as was hinted at the start, just a spoiled princess who loves to sleep? Is she a demonic force of nature and mass murderer, something that really only applies if you take this title seriously? Is she a young woman on the cusp of her teenage years, as is laughably disproven in this volume when you realize that shame is not something Syalis was ever gifted with? Of course, the answer is that Syalis is a gag comedy protagonist, and therefore is all those things at any one time, because all of them involve funny things happening. Character development is for Komi Can’t Communicate. – Sean Gaffney

Toilet-bound Hanako-kun, Vol. 2 | By AidaIro | Yen Press – Having thoroughly enjoyed the first volume of Toilet-bound Hanako-kun, I was definitely looking forward to reading more. In general, I tend to be interested in manga dealing with yokai, so it’s probably not too surprising that I like the series, but I find the mix of humor and horror in Toilet-bound Hanako-kun to be particularly appealing. AidaIro’s use of comedy in the manga makes some of the narrative twists even more unsettling and impactful than they would otherwise be. The characterization of the titular Hanako (a ghost haunting the third-floor women’s bathroom at Kamome Academy) provides an excellent example of this—his goofiness is sharply contrasted by his sudden and often unexpected streaks of maliciousness. At times he comes across as benevolent or even endearing while at others he seems to be truly dangerous. So far, much of Hanako remains an enigma, from his true nature to his tragic past. – Ash Brown

Tomo-chan Is a Girl!, Vol. 7 | By Fumita Yanagida | Seven Seas – As with another series that shall remain nameless but is Fruits Basket, one of the big highlights of Tomo-chan is the school’s production of Cinderella, particularly as, due to being out sick when roles were chosen, Misuzu is the title role, leading to one of the grumpiest Cinderellas ever. Also, Jun finds his inner tree. More importantly, though, Misuzu realizes that she has been subconsciously sabotaging Tomo’s attempts to win Jun, and should have just said “be yourself.” Bit late now. Still, Jun apparently gets his feelings across. Unfortunately, Tomo runs away from said feelings. The next volume is the final one, so I’m sure it’ll be resolved soon. Till then, I love this character-driven romantic comedy. – Sean Gaffney

A Centaur’s Life, Vol. 18 | By Kei Murayama | Seven Seas – If you enjoy the way that the series can turn on a dime and drop you into any genre, this volume may disappoint. There’s very little of the weird sci-fi horror aspects of it, and they’re mostly gathered towards the end. Instead, we get the kids, and a lot of the kids. They’re cute! They’re bratty! They’re learning how to be better centaurs and sheep people and other types. We get to see Himeno be impressive and yet also a bit of a dimbulb, there’s more yuri text and boob jokes, and there’s some other fun gags. It’s sweet, but it also feels rather sparse. After taking the series into dark places, it now feels wrong when the series isn’t going there half the time. Balance it better in the next book. – Sean Gaffney

Faded Picture Scroll | By Fujitobi | Futekiya (digital only) – I have no clue how this earned a rating of two chili peppers (Futekiya’s system for indicating a title’s steaminess) because it is one of the cutest, most wholesome boys’ love stories I’ve ever read. When Ryuta was little, he was saved by a young exorcist named Izumo who promised to take him adventuring when he got older. When they meet again, Izumo regrets his promise but Ryuta proves he can be useful by helping to save an incredibly adorable fox spirit named Yamabuki. Over time, these two lonely guys grow closer and ultimately fall in love. Their journey to domestic bliss is sweet and the many comedic moments (mostly Yamabuki, but not always) have a distinct Rumiko Takahashi feel to them. I was utterly charmed and am looking forward to reading the other Fujitobi title on the site. Very much recommended! – Michelle Smith

Komi Can’t Communicate, Vol. 7 | By Tomohito Oda | Viz Media – Romance is not particularly important in this series right now—we’d need a strong rival character for that to happen, and we don’t have that at this point. Plus Komi, while she has improved tremendously, still has issues just communicating with others from day to day, so it would feel mean to throw a love life on top of that. That said, while we can see all of her newfound friends do their best to get her involved in their fun (even Yamai… ugh), it’s Tadano who clearly understands her the best, knowing her likes and dislikes, and also clearly having a crush on her but knowing not to push at it too hard. This series can be quite funny (Komi’s mom is a stitch), but works even better when it’s heartwarming. – Sean Gaffney

Let’s Kiss in Secret Tomorrow, Vol. 3 | By Uri Sugata | Kodansha Comics (digital only) – I was expecting this series to end with Saya and Yuto’s secret relationship coming to light amongst big drama, but instead, that moment is treated as almost an afterthought, as Sugata-sensei is more interested in delivering a moral about learning to love yourself, forgiving yourself for past mistakes, and having the courage to try again. The end result is optimistic rather than preachy, and I loved that the final image is not some swoony embrace between our two leads (who are, it is gratifyingly emphasized, also each other’s best friend) but a smile from the girl who instigated some shit and whom Saya has opted to befriend. This series surprised me and I would definitely be interested to read more from this mangaka! – Michelle Smith

My Hero Academia: Vigilantes, Vol. 7 | By Hideyuki Furuhashi and Betten Court | Viz Media – Long time since the last volume, and therefore I was initially a little grumpy that it focused on Captain Celebrity, who’s basically a shallow American All Might. But then we get to see his past, showing that while he’s a ‘dumb jock’ he’s still good at heart, and his ex-wife, who’s terrific (and also, as it turns out, pregnant). We also see, after his farewell event is hijacked by terrorist bad guys and their raptor monsters, that he can be a good guy even if it’s not winning him fame and fortune. Unfortunately, he may not survive into the next volume, though given that’s he’s currently with our hero, I think he’ll be OK. This remains a good, somewhat darker prequel to the main series. – Sean Gaffney

Natsume’s Book of Friends, Vol. 24 | By Yuki Midorikawa | Viz Media – This volume is a gift to me. I’ve long said that I love the friendship between Natsume, Tanuma and Taki (OK, yes, I ship it too), and here we get a Taki-centric story followed by a Tanuma-centric story. The Taki one involves her college-age brother returning home. He’s more of a skeptic, but is also avoiding their house for some reason. And there’s an “I entrust you with my sister’s safety” gag that’s great. The Tanuma chapter is a bit more serious, and involves possession, but it also touches on one of the running themes of this series: two yokai who want to talk to each other and are unable to do so due to death, separation, or what have you. This comes out infrequently, but I always adore it. – Sean Gaffney

Queen’s Quality, Vol. 9 | By Kyousuke Motomi | Viz Media – The arc wraps up here, with those who have died going to a more peaceful rest and those who have not died going back to cleaning really hard. The best part of the book is where Fumi is given the choice: she can save the girl Kyutaro loved as a girl, but lose her memories of everything since then… or she can save herself, and kill the memories of the girl Kyutaro loved. It’s one of those choices that seems hard until you think about it, which is why it’s slightly frustrating that most others before Fumi made the wrong choice. Fortunately, Fumi makes the right choice, and doesn’t even need the help of her boyfriend. Oh yes, they’re dating now, and get in some good kisses. An excellent shoujo series. – Sean Gaffney

The Quintessential Quintuplets, Vol. 10 | By Negi Haruba | Kodansha Comics (digital only) – This volume is a LOT. Ichika is still being amazingly aggressive, Miku is being aggressive whether she wants to be or not, and Yotsuba just wants everyone to get along like they used to. But that’s not going to happen, as Futaro points out—picking one thing means not picking the others, and that applies to life as well as romance. The romance ends up with Miku as the seeming winner here, though there’s minimal forward progression, and Futaro revealing he’s not as ignorant of everyone’s feelings as he pretends. That said, the reason this volume is a lot is the cliffhanger, where we finally found out which of the quints has been dressing up as Rena… and which one was Rena from the past. This is terrific romantic comedy. – Sean Gaffney

Sweet Time | By Weng Pixin | Drawn & Quarterly – Collecting comics that were originally created between 2008 and 2017, Sweet Time is Weng “Pix” Pixin’s graphic novel debut. Pix is an artist from Singapore who utilizes a variety of media and methods of expression. The fifteen comics in Sweet Time demonstrate Pix’s striking colorwork, providing examples of both drawings and paintings. While the individual works aren’t necessarily directly related to one another (although there are several series of diary comics), the collection as a whole explores themes of longing, desire, and impermanence. Some of the narratives are more abstract while others are more linear in their portrayal of changing relationships and human connection. Many of the selections included incorporate autobiographical elements, providing the collection with additional layers of realism and reflection. Pervading Sweet Time is a sense of intimacy and melancholy, beautifully rendered in colors that are sometimes surprising but never jarring. – Ash Brown