Features

SEAN: Technically March, but it’s still February for most of our list.

Yen On’s sole release next week is Tezcatlipoca, a crime novel featuring a Mexican drug lord and his Japanese boy protege getting involved in organ donation. It is award-winning, and also not for the squeamish.

ASH: I am very curious about this one (but probably not in the mood to read it right this moment).

SEAN: And from Yen Press we see The Beginning After the End 2, Hazure Skill: The Guild Member with a Worthless Skill Is Actually a Legendary Assassin 5, and The Hero Is Overpowered But Overly Cautious 5.

Viz Media has a 2nd Demon Slayer light novel, One-Winged Butterfly. There’s also JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Part 5–Golden Wind 7, the 17th and final omnibus of Urusei Yatsura, and WITCH WATCH 5 digitally. Thank you, Viz, for finally releasing all of UY for its fans.

ASH: It really is great to see these longer classic series being released.

SEAN: Square Enix has By the Grace of the Gods 7 and The Girl I Like Forgot Her Glasses 2.

Seven Seas had been quiet the last couple of weeks. That ends now. There’s so much. That said, there’s only one debut, The Invisible Man and His Soon-to-Be Wife (Toumei Otoko to Ningen Onna: Sonouchi Fuufu ni Naru Futari), a Futabasha series about an invisible man and a blind woman who find love while running a detective agency. Gotta say, this sounds fantastic. The author also wrote The Country Without Humans.

MICHELLE: I’m looking forward to this very much!

ANNA: OK, this sounds cool.

ASH: It does seem worth a look!

SEAN: Also from Seven Seas: A Chinese Fantasy: Law of the Fox (the 2nd in this series), The Idaten Deities Know Only Peace 4, Karate Survivor in Another World 4, Magic Artisan Dahlia Wilts No More 4, Monster Guild: The Dark Lord’s (No-Good) Comeback! 4, My Deer Friend Nokotan 3, My Wife Has No Emotion 4, Otaku Elf 5, Pompo: The Cinéphile 3, Ramen Wolf and Curry Tiger 2, ROLL OVER AND DIE: I Will Fight for an Ordinary Life with My Love and Cursed Sword! 3, The Saint’s Magic Power is Omnipotent 7, SPRIGGAN: Deluxe Edition 3, This Is Screwed Up, but I Was Reincarnated as a GIRL in Another World! 5, and Versailles of the Dead 3.

ASH: You weren’t kidding! That is quite a bit. It’s been literal years since the last volume of Versailles of the Dead was released, but I do vaguely recollect getting a kick out of it.

SEAN: KUMA debuts A Home Far Away (Haruka Tooki Ie), a one-shot from Canna about a directionless young man looking for a purpose, and his encounter with a young cook.

MICHELLE: Judging purely by the cover, this looks good!

ANNA: Sounds interesting.

SEAN: Kodansha Books has another digital release of an old Vertical crime drama from the 00s, this one Kenzo Kitakata’s Winter Sleep.

ASH: Another one I haven’t managed to read yet, but am glad is being made more broadly available.

SEAN: In print, Kodansha Manga gives us BAKEMONOGATARI 17, Don’t Toy with Me, Miss Nagatoro Manga Box Set 1 (the first six volumes), EDENS ZERO 21, Hitorijime My Hero 13, Peach Boy Riverside 10, Rent-A-Girlfriend 17, The Seven Deadly Sins: Four Knights of the Apocalypse 7, Shonen Note: Boy Soprano 2, Something’s Wrong with Us 13, and The Witch and the Beast 10.

MICHELLE: I need to get started on Shonen Note.

ASH: As do I, I’ll have to admit.

SEAN: The digital debut is My Home Hero, a drama about a salaryman who finds himself embroiled in crime syndicates and murder. It runs in Young Magazine.

Also digital: Am I Actually the Strongest? 7, Boss Bride Days 2, Elegant Yokai Apartment Life 25, The Food Diary of Miss Maid 4, Gamaran: Shura 5, Heaven’s Design Team 8, Hozuki’s Coolheadedness 12, My Idol Sits the Next Desk Over! 6, The Prince’s Romance Gambit 12 (the final volume), The Slime Diaries: That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime 6, We’re New at This 12, and With You and the Rain 4.

Kaiten Books has a print volume of My Dad’s the Queen of All VTubers?! 3.

J-Novel Club have some digital debuts. Enough with This Slow Life! I Was Reincarnated as a High Elf and Now I’m Bored (Tensei Shite High Elf ni Narimashitaga, Slow Life wa 120-nen de Akimashita) is one of those reincarnation books. Sadly, the life of an elf involves staying put and being a vegetarian… and also living for a thousand years! After a century of this, our hero decides to go on a journey.

Grand Sumo Villainess (Ouzumou Reijou ~Seijo ni Hirateuchi wo Kuratta Shunkan Sumō Budatta Zense wo Omoidashita Akuyaku Reijō no Watashi wa sute Neko Ōji ni Chanko wo Furumaitai Haadosukoidosukoi~) is a “reincarnated as a villainess in an otome game” book, and our heroine is already at her doom. Fortunately, she knows sumo!

ASH: That’s a new twist to the genre I wasn’t expecting!

SEAN: I Parry Everything: What Do You Mean I’m the Strongest? I’m Not Even an Adventurer Yet! (Ore wa Subete o “Parry” Suru: Gyaku Kanchigai no Sekai Saikyou wa Boukensha ni Naritai) is one of those books about an OP hero who doesn’t realize he’s OP, in the style of Last Dungeon Kid.

And one manga digital debut, I’m Capped at Level 1?! Thus Begins My Journey to Become the World’s Strongest Badass! (Genkai Level 1 kara no Nariagari: Saijaku Level no Ore ga Isekai Saikyou ni Naru made) is a Comic Walker title. It begins with our hero being summoned, given powers, condemned for having weak powers, and sentenced to death. So, one of those series.

Also from J-Novel Club: The Apothecary Diaries 7, An Archdemon’s Dilemma: How to Love Your Elf Bride 15, Cooking with Wild Game 20, Dahlia in Bloom: Crafting a Fresh Start with Magical Tools 6, Doll-Kara 4, John Sinclair: Demon Hunter 9, Maddrax 5, Making Magic: The Sweet Life of a Witch Who Knows an Infinite MP Loophole 2, the 4th manga volume of Oversummoned, Overpowered, and Over It!, and Rebuild World 2 Part 1.

Ghost Ship gives us The 100 Girlfriends Who Really, Really, Really, Really, REALLY Love You 5 and Manga Diary of a Male Porn Star 3.

Cross Infinite World debuts The Inconvenient Life of an Arousing Priestess (Kon’yaku Hakida, Hatsujou Seijou). A hardworking young woman is engaged to a prince and working as a priestess! Unfortunately, her powers have a bad side effect. As a result, you guessed it, broken engagement, ruined reputation, shunned, etc. Fortunately, the next country over needs her powers!

They also have Onmyoji and Tengu Eyes: Hide and Seek in the Wintry Mountains 2 and the 5th and final volume of Reincarnated as the Last of my Kind.

Airship has the print debut of I’m in Love with the Villainess: She’s so Cheeky for a Commoner, the spinoff series giving us Claire’s POV.

Also in print: The Case Files of Jeweler Richard 3, Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear 13, and Survival in Another World with My Mistress! 4.

And in early digital we see Failure Frame: I Became the Strongest and Annihilated Everything With Low-Level Spells 7.

What interests you? What arouses you? What appalls you?

SEAN: February. I can’t believe I’m still in February.

ASH: It really seems like it should be over by now, doesn’t it?

SEAN: Airship starts us off. We see print volumes of Failure Frame: I Became the Strongest and Annihilated Everything With Low-Level Spells 6 and Grimgar of Fantasy and Ash 18.

And for early digital there is Accomplishments of the Duke’s Daughter 8 (the final volume) and Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation 21.

Dark Horse Comics has Psycho Pass: Inspector Shinya Kogami 6 (the final volume).

ASH: I really ought to get around to giving this series a try at some point.

SEAN: DMP has the 8th Vampire Hunter D manga (it got bumped).

ASH: That doesn’t seem to be unusual for DMP these days…

SEAN: Drawn and Quarterly has a new reprint of the Kitaro anthology. This was fantastic, a wonderful representation of the series, and if you didn’t get it then, get it now. It doesn’t duplicate much content, if any, from the more recent collections.

ASH: I am so glad to see this one staying in print! I loved the first edition and am looking forward to reading the new essay included in this one.

SEAN: J-Novel Club has a giant pile. The debut is The Disowned Queen’s Consulting Detective Agency (Kandō Sareta no de Tantei-ya Hajimemasu! Jitsu wa Bōkoku no Joōda Nante Naisho Desu), from the creator of I’m the Villainess, So I’m Taming the Final Boss. Octavia is found to be illegitimate, and swiftly disowned. Unfortunately, she has a bunch of heirlooms her old family really want. But she doesn’t care: she’s going to become a detective!

MICHELLE: I’m always tempted by anything that might have a mystery element.

ASH: They can be fun!

SEAN: Also out next week: Gushing over Magical Girls 5, Haibara’s Teenage New Game+ 2, I Shall Survive Using Potions! 8, Infinite Dendrogram 19, the third Isekai Tensei: Recruited to Another World light novel, the third Isekai Tensei: Recruited to Another World manga, My Daughter Left the Nest and Returned an S-Rank Adventurer 7, My Instant Death Ability Is So Overpowered, No One in This Other World Stands a Chance Against Me! 13, the 7th manga volume of My Instant Death Ability Is So Overpowered, No One in This Other World Stands a Chance Against Me! —AΩ—, Outbreak Company Gaiden (the final volume), Peddler in Another World: I Can Go Back to My World Whenever I Want! 2, Reincarnated as the Piggy Duke: This Time I’m Gonna Tell Her How I Feel! 9, and The World’s Least Interesting Master Swordsman 9.

ASH: That is quite the pile!

SEAN: Kodansha debuts, in print, The Great Cleric, a series it had been releasing digital-only. It’s Reincarnated In Another World As a Cleric, and is on the more serious end of the isekai spectrum.

Also debuting is the one-shot Sweet Poolside, another Shuzo Oshimi title that ran in Young Magazine back in 2004. Two swimmers have similar but opposite problems. A boy is ashamed he has no body hair. A girl is ashamed she has too much. She then asks him to shave her. This is apparently less dark than other Oshimi titles.

ASH: It certainly still sounds a lot like an Oshimi title, though!

SEAN: Also in print: Blue Lock 5, Fire Force 31, Flying Witch 11, Go! Go! Loser Ranger! 3, Grand Blue Dreaming 18 (it got bumped), Last Gender 2, Miss Miyazen Would Love to Get Closer to You 3, Run Away With Me, Girl 2, and Shangri-La Frontier 4.

ANNA: My kids are Blue Lock fans, so I’ve pre-ordered this!

ASH: That’s a solid recommendation, then!

SEAN: Digitally we see Anyway, I’m Falling in Love with You 5, Beast #6 3 (the final volume), The Café Terrace and its Goddesses 5, Changes of Heart 9 (the final volume), The Full-Time Wife Escapist 11 (also a final volume, unless they license the guidebook, which I doubt), Gamaran 6, Golden Gold 9, HIRAETH -The End of the Journey- 3 (also a final volume), Medalist 6, This Vampire Won’t Give Up! 4, Ya Boy Kongming! 10, and You’re My Cutie 5.

MICHELLE: I’ll definitely be reading The Full-Time Wife Escapist and am working on catching up with Medalist, too.

ANNA: I need to read both!

SEAN: One Peace Books has the 2nd manga volume of The Wrong Way to Use Healing Magic.

From Seven Seas, we get CALL TO ADVENTURE! Defeating Dungeons with a Skill Board 5, Classroom of the Elite 5, Crossplay Love: Otaku x Punk 3, Futari Escape 2, I Think I Turned My Childhood Friend Into a Girl 2, Kemono Jihen 4, Reincarnated as a Sword: Another Wish 3, and Time Stop Hero 6.

Titan Books has a 3rd volume of ATOM: The Beginning.

New titles from Tokyopop. The Flower That Seems to Truly Dance (Makotoshiyaka ni Mau Hana wa) is a BL title from Canna, about a young man trying to find someone at the outbreak of World War II. It’s a one-shot.

MICHELLE: Gotta say, that setting really does appeal to me.

ANNA: I remain steadfast in my resolve to not read things from this publisher.

SEAN: SCRAMBLUES (Bokura no Scramblues) is a BL title from Canna, about the relationship between a popular musician and a graphics designer. It’s a one-shot.

The Snake Who Loved a Sparrow (Suzu Hebi Kyuuairon) is a BL title from Canna, and it’s, well, about the love between a snake and a sparrow. It’s also explicit. And a one-shot.

There is also a 6th volume of A Gentle Noble’s Vacation Recommendation, which is from Comic Corona, not Canna, and is also not BL, per the author, though I’d argue it’s for BL fans.

Viz has a big debut with Choujin X, the new title from the creator of Tokyo Ghoul. A young man, trying to fight against injustice, injects himself with a drug that turns him into a powerful creature. Can he keep this a secret?

Mermaid Scales and the Town of Sand (Aoi Uroko to Suna no Machi) is a josei title from You, about a girl and her father moving to a rural town to start over, a town which reminds her of her childhood… when she was saved by a merman? This is complete in one omnibus.

ANNA: I was getting worried that there might not be much for me this week, but I’m intrigued by this.

SEAN: I have heard that Mermaid Scales and the Town of Sand is REALLY good. Also, how often do we get anything from You? Maybe if this sells we can get Gokusen.

ASH: I am likewise intrigued and have heard good things!

SEAN: Also from Viz: Golden Kamuy 28, Hayate the Combat Butler 41, Mission: Yozakura Family 3, Rooster Fighter 3, Twin Star Exorcists 27, The Way of the Househusband 9, and Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead 9.

ASH: I need to get caught up with Househusband; I’ve enjoyed what I’ve read so far immensely.

Yen On debuts Hirano and Kagiura, a light novel side story to Sasaki and Miyano. By the way, if you read the Hirano and Kagiura manga, this is a separate story taking place six months before that.

It also has Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russian 2, The Angel Next Door Spoils Me Rotten 5, Apparently, Disillusioned Adventurers Will Save the World 2, Bofuri: I Don’t Want to Get Hurt, so I’ll Max Out My Defense 8, The Bride of Demise 3 (the final volume), Chitose Is in the Ramune Bottle 3, Date a Live 8, Death March to the Parallel World Rhapsody 18, Magical Girl Raising Project 15, A Sister’s All You Need 14 (the final volume), and You Call That Service? 7 (the final volume).

Yen Press debuts Assorted Entanglements (Fusoroi no Renri), a yuri series from Comic Newtype. It’s an anthology! Sometimes. It’s a series of interconnected stories! Sometimes.

ASH: Hmmm.

SEAN: The Princess of Convenient Plot Devices (Watashi wa Gotsugou Shugi na Kaiketsu Tantou no Oujo de aru) is a manga adaptation from Flos Comic of the light novel Yen also releases. It’s a good reincarnated villainess story, if only as, while our heroine tries to change her fate, she may accidentally be making things worse.

ASH: I haven’t read the original light novel, but I still like that title.

And they have, in digital-only form, Rose Guns Days Sorrowful Cross Knife (Rose Guns Days – Aishuu no Cross Knife), a side story to the main Rose Guns Days series focusing on Wayne.

There is also SOTUS. From Kadokawa’s Ciel and based on a Thai webnovel. Have you ever wanted to have ritualized hazing and bullying be super sexy? This book’s for you.

MICHELLE: …

ANNA: No thank you!

SEAN: And Yen Press also has Bungo Stray Dogs: Dead Apple 2, Chained Soldier 3, Cross-Dressing Villainess Cecilia Sylvie 3, Daughter of the Emperor 3, Death March to the Parallel World Rhapsody 13, The Detective Is Already Dead 4, Final Fantasy Lost Stranger 8, Hinowa Ga CRUSH! 7, The Holy Grail of Eris 3, Mint Chocolate 7, Re:ZERO -Starting Life in Another World-, Chapter 4: The Sanctuary and the Witch of Greed 5, Reign of the Seven Spellblades 5, Sasaki and Miyano 7, School-Live! Letters (a one-shot sequel to the original manga), Toilet-Bound Hanako-kun 17, Uncle from Another World 6, Unnamed Memory 2, The Wolf Never Sleeps 3, The World’s Finest Assassin Gets Reincarnated in Another World as an Aristocrat 4, and The World’s Strongest Rearguard: Labyrinth Country’s Novice Seeker 5.

ASH: That’s quite the pile, too!

SEAN: I miss when Yen delayed everything so they had ten titles per week rather than 40 in the same week. What are you getting?

SEAN: It’s Valentine’s Day, or Galentine’s Day, or whatever you might celebrate. What manga do we have?

We’re still in a kinder, gentler time when Yen Press no longer has sliding release dates, so we start with Viz. Their debut is the one shot The Girl That Can’t Get a Girlfriend (Kanojo ga Denai Onna), which ran online on various services like Tapas and pixiv, and which Viz is publishing as a collected volume. It’s an autobiographical story of love, and what to do when that love does not work out.

ASH: I’ve been curious about this one since I first heard about it.

MJ: I hadn’t heard about it, but it does sound interesting!

SEAN: Viz also has The Hunters Guild: Red Hood 2, Komi Can’t Communicate 23, Radiant 16, Sakamoto Days 6, and Splatoon 16.

Tokyopop debuts Confessions of a Shy Baker (Futari de Okashi na Kyuujitsu o) which runs in the amusingly named magazine Flat Heros. A real estate agency owner worries that advertising the agency as LGBT-friendly might out him. Fortunately, he bakes, so there are always sweets.

ASH: I generally avoid Tokyo these days, but I am seriously tempted by some of these titles.

MJ: Must… stay… strong..

SEAN: They’ve also got Formerly, the Fallen Daughter of the Duke 3.

SuBLime has a debut. Megumi & Tsugumi (Megumi to Tsugumi) runs in Qpa. It’s an Omegaverse story, so the plot is basically all about that sort of thing.

Also from SuBLime, Candy Color Paradox 6.

ASH: Though I’m a little behind, I have been enjoying this series.

SEAN: Square Enix has My Isekai Life: I Gained a Second Character Class and Became the Strongest Sage in the World! 5 and Tokyo Aliens 2.

Seven Seas gives us two debuts. Gap Papa: Daddy at Work and at Home (Shokuba to Jitaku de Gap no Aru Papa) is a Kadokawa title based on a webcomic. It’s about a cool, distant work colleague who turns into a sweet and doting husband and father at home. The Gap is as in “gap moe”.

MICHELLE: Hm. Possibly cute!

ASH: Awkward title, but promising premise.

SEAN: The other debut is Marmalade Boy: Collector’s Edition. Originally running in Ribon in the early 1990s, getting a very popular TV anime, and then getting a Tokyopop release in 2002, it’s getting a deluxe reissue here, with color pages and a new translation. Miki is horrified to find her parents are swapping spouses with another couple! And they’re all living together! And her new stepbrother Yuu, is such a jerk! Voted “most likely to read badly in retrospect” by old-school manga fans. Don’t mention Namura.

MICHELLE: It’s been 20 years since I read Marmalade Boy so I’m really looking forward to revisiting it. I hope I won’t be too horrified.

ANNA: Ha, I still have my old edition of Marmalade Boy, maybe I’ll check out the new version.

ASH: I somehow haven’t actually read this series yet, although I definitely know about it!

MJ: I also still have my old editions of Marmalade Boy, and I’ll probably leave it at that.

SEAN: Also from Seven Seas: CANDY AND CIGARETTES 3, Correspondence from the End of the Universe 2, Monologue Woven For You 3 (the final volume), and The Most Heretical Last Boss Queen: From Villainess to Savior 3 (the final manga volume).

One Peace Books has a 2nd volume of Usotoki Rhetoric.

MICHELLE: Yay! I really liked the first volume.

ASH: As did I! Really looking forward to reading more.

SEAN: Kodansha has a print debut, a 528-page done-in-one collection. Break of Dawn (Bokura no Yoake) ran in Afternoon, and it’s by the author of Alice & Zoroku. A young boy watches everyone else in the country be obsessed with a comet, but he’s found something even more out of this world.

ASH: This seems like something I would be interested in (and as a single volume, might actually have a chance of reading in a timely fashion).

SEAN: Also in print: Drifting Dragons 12, The Iceblade Sorcerer Shall Rule the World 4, Parasyte Full Color Collection 2, Phantom of the Idol 4, Real Account 18-20, and Wandance 4.

MICHELLE: I’ve already fallen behind on Wandance.

SEAN: While digitally we see The Fable 11, Fungus and Iron 2, Gang King 2, Giant Killing 35, The Girl, the Shovel, and the Evil Eye 4, Girlfriend, Girlfriend 12, Island in a Puddle 5 (the final volume), A Kiss with a Cat 5, Police in a Pod 21, Rent-A-Girlfriend 17, Tokyo Revengers 29, and The Witch and the Beast 10.

Kaiten Books has the 8th manga volume of Loner Life in Another World out digitally.

J-Novel Club has some print titles. We see the debut of Seirei Gensouki: Spirit Chronicles, the manga version, which runs in Comic Fire. We also get I Shall Survive Using Potions! manga volume 9, Infinite Dendrogram 17, and The Unwanted Undead Adventurer 9.

Digitally they’ve got Backstabbed in a Backwater Dungeon: My Trusted Companions Tried to Kill Me, But Thanks to the Gift of an Unlimited Gacha I Got LVL 9999 Friends and Am Out For Revenge on My Former Party Members and the World 2, Black Summoner’s 10th manga volume, Death’s Daughter and the Ebony Blade 3, The Mythical Hero’s Otherworld Chronicles 2, and Reincarnated as an Apple: This Forbidden Fruit Is Forever Unblemished! 2 (the final volume).

Lastly, Airship has the print debut of Raven of the Inner Palace, which was excellent.

ASH: I really ought to pick this one up now that it’s in print!

SEAN: And we get early digital for I’m the Evil Lord of an Intergalactic Empire! 4 and Though I Am an Inept Villainess: Tale of the Butterfly-Rat Body Swap in the Maiden Court 3.

What manga are you grateful for?

SEAN: It’s February now, everyone’s least favorite month. Let’s see what’s on tap.

ASH: At least it’s short? Which I guess could be both a good and a bad thing…

SEAN: We start with Airship, which has one print release, Classroom of the Elite: Year 2 4.

And there are early digital releases of Skeleton Knight in Another World 10 and Vivy Prototype 3.

Dark Horse Comics has Blade of the Immortal Deluxe Edition 8 and Mob Psycho 100 10.

ASH: Still happily double-dipping on that deluxe edition.

SEAN: DMP has the 8th Vampire Hunter D manga.

ASH: While DMP annoys me for a variety of reasons, I have been known to enjoy this manga series.

SEAN: Ghost Ship has a 2nd volume of “too spicy for Viz” Shonen Jump title Ayakashi Triangle.

No debuts for J-Novel Club, but we do see Ascendance of a Bookworm’s 14th manga volume, Did I Seriously Just Get Reincarnated as My Gag Character?!’s 3rd manga volume, The Faraway Paladin’s 9th manga volume, Min-Maxing My TRPG Build in Another World 5, Monster Tamer 12, The Reincarnated Princess Spends Another Day Skipping Story Routes 6, and Yashiro-kun’s Guide to Going Solo: After Story.

Kodansha has a big print box set: Wotakoi: Love Is Hard for Otaku Complete Manga Box Set. This contains the entire series, which I found very enjoyable.

MICHELLE: I need to finish Wotakoi!

ASH: I really enjoyed it.

SEAN: Also in print: Attack on Titan Omnibus 9, Lovesick Ellie 8, Orient 13, Sailor Moon Naoko Takeuchi Edition 6, The Seven Deadly Sins Omnibus 8, Vampire Dormitory 9, and Wistoria: Wand and Sword 2.

Digitally we see Chihayafuru 36, The God-Tier Guardian and the Love of Six Princesses 6, Grand Blue Dreaming 18, I Was Reincarnated as the 7th Prince so I Can Take My Time Perfecting My Magical Ability 8, Kounodori: Dr. Stork 32 (the final volume), Matcha Made in Heaven 4, Raised by the Demon Kings! 5, The Shape-Shifting Witch’s Kiss 3, and Shonen Note: Boy Soprano 2.

ANNA: I need to get caught up on Matcha Made in Heaven!

SEAN: Kodansha Books is starting to put out digital editions of the old Japanese fiction titles Vertical released 20 years ago. Next week we get Ashes, by Kenzo Kitakata. They already released the same author’s The Cage and City of Refuge digitally back in October.

ASH: Oh, that’s good news! Some of those titles were really great and becoming hard to find.

SEAN: One Peace Books has the 20th manga volume of The Rising of the Shield Hero.

Seven Seas has Tokyo Revengers Omnibus 7-8.

Steamship has Outbride: Beauty and the Beasts 3.

There’s two debuts from Viz Media. My Special One (Kimi ga Tokubetsu) is a new Betsuma series from the author of No Longer Heroine, which is also being released over here by a different publisher. A high school girl hates pretty boy idols… but now one of them is trying to woo her?

ANNA: Oh no, not the pretty boy idols!

MJ: Why am I a sucker for this exact type of plot?

SEAN: Show-ha Shoten! is a Jump Square title that’s gotten a release on the Jump app but is now getting a physical book. It’s by the artist of Death Note/Bakuman/etc, but with a different writer, so I am hoping it is not a giant car crash like Platinum End was. A young man gets his friend to help him do a comedy act at their school… then begs him to help him with his dream of being part of a stand-up comedy duo!

MICHELLE: Different, at least!

ASH: In general, I do like the artist’s work.

ANNA: Me too. Here’s hoping the story is as good as the art.

MJ: OH HELLO

SEAN: Also out next week: Boruto: Naruto Next Generations 16, The King’s Beast 9, My Hero Academia 33, Rainbow Days 2, and Snow White with the Red Hair 23.

ANNA: Nice to see some ongoing shoujo!

SEAN: And that’s it! What gets you through this month?

SEAN: It’s February 1st, but as readers of Manga the Week of know, that really means January.

ASH: That it does.

SEAN: It also means no Yen Press, and no Viz Media. Instead we start with Tokyopop, which has Her Royal Highness Seems to be Angry 4 and Yuri Espoir 3.

Square Enix Manga gives us Cherry Magic! Thirty Years of Virginity Can Make You a Wizard?! 6 and My Dress-Up Darling 7.

MICHELLE: I really liked the first volume of Cherry Magic!. Hopefully this’ll be the release where I get caught up.

ASH: I’ve really enjoyed what I’ve read so far, too, but am likewise a bit behind.

SEAN: No debuts for Seven Seas. But we do see The Evil Secret Society of Cats 2, Happy Kanako’s Killer Life 6, How Heavy Are the Dumbbells You Lift? 10, I Swear I Won’t Bother You Again! 3, I’m in Love with the Villainess 4, and Yakuza Fiancé: Raise wa Tanin ga Ii 2.

ASH: I’d kind of forgotten about How Heavy Are the Dumbbells You Lift?, but at least the earlier volumes had some legitimate fitness advice.

SEAN: Last Gasp has I Saw It: A Survivor’s True Story of the Atomic Bombing of Hiroshima (Ore wa Mita), a one-volume title from the creator of Barefoot Gen. This actually came out in English in 1982, but I believe this is a new edition. As you can imagine, the subject matter is gripping and horrible.

ASH: I’m glad to see this staying in print, but it is definitely not light reading.

ANNA: Agreed.

SEAN: Kodansha, in print, has Fire Force Omnibus 2 and Sayonara, Football 15 (which, glory be, is actually on their website calendar for once).

The digital debut is Boss Bride Days (Gokutsuma Days ~Gokudou Sankyoudai ni Semaretemasu~), a Palcy title based on a webcomic. A shut-in otaku girl rescues an old man… who’s actually a yakuza leader! Now he orders his three sons to woo her, as whoever wins her hand takes over the clan!

Also digital: The Great Cleric 9, Guilty 11, My Unique Skill Makes Me OP even at Level 1 9, Saint Cecilia and Pastor Lawrence 10, SHAMAN KING & a garden 4 (the final volume), Vampire Dormitory 10, Wandance 4, Watari-kun’s ****** Is about to Collapse 12, and Wistoria: Wand and Sword 2.

MICHELLE: Wandance is another series where I really liked volume one and promptly fell behind.

ANNA: Oh, yeah, I meant to check this out.

SEAN: And there’s also Kodansha Books. The debut is As a Reincarnated Aristocrat, I’ll Use My Appraisal Skill to Rise in the World (Tensei Kizoku Kantei Sukiru de Nariagaru – Jakushou Ryouchi o Uketsuidanode, Yuushuuna Jinzai o Fuyashite Itara, Saikyou Ryouchi ni Natteta), whose manga Kodansha already releases, and whose title is the plot.

And they have the new Maiden’s Bookshelf: The Moon Over the Mountain, based on the short story by Atsushi Nakajima.

And there’s also the 2nd The Dawn of the Witch.

J-Novel Club debuts another Sol Press rescue, I Surrendered My Sword for a New Life as a Mage (Moto Saikyou no Kenshi wa, Isekai Mahou ni Akogareru). A boy really wants to learn magic… but has no talents there. He does have amazing talents as the reincarnation of a master swordsman, but still… he wants to learn magic!

Also out next week: Full Metal Panic Short Stories 4, Fushi no Kami: Rebuilding Civilization Starts With a Village 7 (the final volume), the third Fushi no Kami: Rebuilding Civilization Starts With a Village manga volume, The Greatest Magicmaster’s Retirement Plan 15, Holmes of Kyoto 13, The Ideal Sponger Life 10, and, at long, long LONG last, the 7th and final volume of Mixed Bathing in Another Dimension.

Ghost Ship gives us a 2nd volume of I’m Not a Succubus!.

Denpa Books gives us Heavenly Delusion 5.

ASH: Another series I need to catch up on!

SEAN: Dark Horse has gotten very bad at actually labeling manga manga on their Upcoming Manga calendar. Neon Genesis Evangelion: The Shinji Ikari Raising Project Omnibus 6 is already out.

ASH: That… sounds about right for Dark Horse.

SEAN: Cross Infinite World debuts The Abandoned Heiress Gets Rich with Alchemy and Scores an Enemy General! (Suterare Reijō wa Renkinjutsu-shi ni Narimashita. Kaseida Okane de moto Tekikoku no Shō o Kōnyū Shimasu), another in the latest trend of noble girls jilted publicly and shamed for it. Now she’s an alchemist, she buys a bodyguard who used to be… well, read the title.

Cross Infinite World also has Even Dogs Go to Other Worlds: Life in Another World with My Beloved Hound 3 and Expedition Cooking with the Enoch Royal Knights 2.

And Airship, in print, has Loner Life in Another World 4 and Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation 20.

Airship, digitally, has The Most Heretical Last Boss Queen: From Villainess to Savior 4.

Short! To the point!

SEAN: The heavy part of January has passed us by, but there’s still lots of titles still to go.

ASH: Woohoo!

SEAN: No print for Airship this week, but we do see a 4th volume of Survival in Another World with My Mistress! in early digital.

Ghost Ship has Into the Deepest, Most Unknowable Dungeon 5.

J-Novel Club has a debut. These Legs Don’t Lie! Harumi’s Legacy as the Strongest Mimic (Bikyaku Mimic, Harumi-san: Tensei Monster Isekai Nariagari Densetsu) stars a young woman who seems to have been reincarnated as… a mimic? One of those treasure chests that’s really a trap? Fortunately, she’s essentially Fantasy Betty Grable.

ASH: Wait, do mimics even have legs?

SEAN: Also from J-Novel Club: Ascendance of a Bookworm 23, Full Clearing Another World under a Goddess with Zero Believers 6, Housekeeping Mage from Another World: Making Your Adventures Feel Like Home! 4, A Late-Start Tamer’s Laid-Back Life 5, and VTuber Legend: How I Went Viral after Forgetting to Turn Off My Stream 3.

ASH: Bookworm!

SEAN: Kaiten Books has a digital volume of Gacha Girls Corps 4.

Kodansha has another print debut of a former digital only title: A Condition Called Love (Hananoi-kun to Koi no Yamai). It’s a Dessert title, about a girl who ends up going out with a popular guy after his messy breakup with someone else. But is she just a rebound, or something more?

MICHELLE: I started this digitally but didn’t get far, so I look forward to the opportunity to pick up with the print edition. This is by Megumi Morino, who also did Wake Up, Sleeping Beauty.

ASH: Oh! I did enjoy what I read of that series.

ANNA: I’m curious!

SEAN: Also in print: Blue Period 12, Noragami Omnibus 3 (Vol. 7-9), Wave, Listen to Me! 9, and the final 27th and 28th volumes of Yamada-kun and the Seven Witches, a series that shows you exactly what happens when the publisher forces an artist to write more and more after it should have ended.

MICHELLE: I’ve really gotta get caught up with Wave, Listen to Me!.

ASH: I’m a couple volumes behind, but look forward to reading them. As for Yamada-kun… I’m going to have to agree with Sean’s assessment. Which is a shame since the earlier part of the series was so good.

SEAN: Digitally we get Burn the House Down 8 (the final volume), A Couple of Cuckoos 9, DAYS 33, The Food Diary of Miss Maid 3, Gamaran: Shura 4, Getting Closer to You 4, Saving Sweets for After-Hours 3, and Tying the Knot with an Amagami Sister 6.

MICHELLE: Burn the House Down looks intriguing. I shall soon undertake a binge!

SEAN: KUMA has a debut: Happy of the End, a BL series from Qpa. A man wakes up lying on garbage with another man hovering over him. Then the memories return… weren’t they in a punch-up fight the day before?

MICHELLE: This one has a very pretty cover!

ASH: I am intrigued!

ANNA: Hmmm….

SEAN: Seven Seas has some debuts. My Secret Affection (Kimi no Koto ga Suki de Ienai) is a shoujo title from Dessert. After a meteorite fall 30 years earlier, everyone now only falls in love with the same sex. Except our heroine! Can she hide the fact that she’s cishet from her childhood friend and crush?

MICHELLE: Definitely going to wait for others’ reviews on this one.

ASH: Hmmm. I could see this premise being handled really well or really, really poorly.

ANNA: Same, I guess it certainly has a unique premise?

SEAN: Sword of the Demon Hunter: Kijin Gentōshō is a supernatural title from Monthly Action and is based on the light novels Seven Seas is also releasing.

ASH: I might have time to read the manga before I have a chance to read the novel!

SEAN: In addition, Polar Bear Café: Collector’s Edition is a re-release of the popular series with additional color pages.

ASH: Nice!

SEAN: On the danmei novel side, we get The Husky and His White Cat Shizun: Erha He Ta De Bai Mao Shizun 2.

ASH: Speaking of novels I haven’t had a chance to read yet…

On the manga side, we see The Dragon Knight’s Beloved 4, DUNGEON DIVE: Aim for the Deepest Level 4, I Got Caught Up In a Hero Summons, but the Other World was at Peace! 5, Let’s Buy the Land and Cultivate It in a Different World 2, MoMo -the blood taker- 3, Thunderbolt Fantasy Omnibus II (the final volume), and Yokai Cats 2.

Square Enix Manga has Beauty and the Feast 6, The Strongest Sage with the Weakest Crest 10, and Suppose a Kid from the Last Dungeon Boonies Moved to a Starter Town 7.

Titan Books gives us Kamen Rider Kuuga 2.

ASH: Good to see Titan Books on the list!

SEAN: Lastly, from Viz Media we get How Do We Relationship? 8 and My Hero Academia: School Briefs 6.

ASH: A small showing from Viz this week, but I’ve really enjoyed what I’ve read of How Do We Relationship? so far.

SEAN: Something for everyone! Something for you? Are you everyone?

SEAN: Good news, Yen Press have finally decided to join 2023, and they have STUFF.

ASH: I’m not sure that I’ve fully joined 2023 yet, so that’s one up on me, at least!

SEAN: Yen On’s debut is Bride of the Barrier Master (Kekkaishi no Ichirinka), which features a young woman who has always let her twin sister take the spotlight… then she finds she has a super powerful ability! Can she avoid fuss? Can she avoid romance? Signs point to no.

ASH: Oh ho, a supernatural shoujo romance novel, you say?

SEAN: Also from Yen On: Baccano! 21, Bottom-Tier Character Tomozaki 9, The Detective Is Already Dead 5, Goblin Slayer 15, High School DxD 10, Sabikui Bisco 4, Sasaki and Peeps 3, Sugar Apple Fairy Tale 2, Suppose a Kid from the Last Dungeon Boonies Moved to a Starter Town 11, and Your Forma 3.

Yen Press has seven, count em, seven debuts. Christ.

ASH: So. Many.

SEAN: We begin with Apparently, Disillusioned Adventurers Will Save the World (Ningen Fushin no Boukenshatachi ga Sekai o Sukuu Youdesu), which is based on the light novel (also from Yen) and has an anime that just began.

Doomsday with my Dog (Sekai no Owari ni Shiba Inu to) is the latest in the “let’s wander the post-apocalypse” genre, only with a girl and a dog instead of two girls. It’s a Comic Walker title.

ASH: I do tend to enjoy this particular sub-genre and we get relatively few dog manga!

SEAN: Honey Lemon Soda is a long-running shoujo series from Ribon about a shy girl who tries to change herself after a “refreshing” boy rescues her.

MICHELLE: Well, I’m all about long-running shoujo series.

ANNA: I think there’s a lot of pent up excitement for this series, and I am also here for long-running shoujo series. Woo!

ASH: Ditto!

SEAN: I’m Quitting Heroing (Yuusha, Yamemasu) is the manga version of the light novel. A hero defeats the demon lord… then is told to go away, as the people he saved find him too powerful. So he decides to help the demon lord rebuild.

Oshi no Ko is the biggest debut this week. The writer of Kaguya-sama: Love Is War and the artist of Scum’s Wish team up. Its premise is not being spoiled by the blurb, so I’ll just say it involves idols.

MICHELLE: Hm. Potentially interesting.

SEAN: Pandora Seven is a Young Gangan series about a young woman, the only human on an island of non-humans, who lives a happy life with her family and friends… until humans come to destroy it all.

ASH: I am intrigued.

SEAN: Your Forma is the manga version of the light novel. It runs in Young Ace.

Also from Yen Press: Angels of Death Episode.0 5, Bungo Stray Dogs 22, Bungo Stray Dogs: Beast 4 (the final volume), Cheeky Brat 5, The Elder Sister-Like One 6, Hakumei & Mikochi: Tiny Little Life in the Woods 10, I Got a Cheat Skill in Another World and Became Unrivaled in the Real World, Too 2, I Want to Be a Wall 2, In Another World with My Smartphone 7, Karneval 14 (the final volume?), Lost Lad London 3 (the final volume), Love of Kill 10, Magia Record: Puella Magi Madoka Magica Another Story 2, No Longer Heroine 2, Overlord: The Undead King Oh! 9, A Polar Bear in Love 5, The Saga of Tanya the Evil 18, Sword Art Online: Phantom Bullet 4 (the final volume), Triage X 24, and Tsubaki-chou Lonely Planet 2.

MICHELLE: I’m excited for the finale of Lost Lad London!

ANNA: That’s a ton of stuff. I’m going to check out the second volume of Tsubaki-chou Lonely Planet.

ASH: So much manga! It’s been a while since I’ve thought about A Polar Bear in Love, but I did enjoy earlier volumes.

SEAN: Now for non-Yen stuff. Viz debuts Tatsuki Fujimoto Before Chainsaw Man: 17-21 (Fujimoto Tatsuki Tanpenshuu), a collection of short stories from the popular author.

Viz also has the 22nd and final volume of BEASTARS, Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End 7, Record of Ragnarok 5, Seraph of the End 26, and Undead Unluck 10.

Tokyopop gives us a third volume of Our Not-So-Lonely Planet Travel Guide.

Square Enix Manga has the 10th and final volume of Hi Score Girl.

Seven Seas has two debuts. BARBARITIES is a BL title from Magazine Be x Boy about a man who is hired to bodyguard a lord, and his attempts to seduce the lord’s overly serious nephew.

MICHELLE: This is by Tsuta Suzuki, whose A Strange and Mystifying Story ended up being really interesting.

ANNA: Oh, now I’m curious since I’ve heard good things about A Strange and Mystifying Story.

ASH: I’ve been looking forward to giving this one a try; I’ve enjoyed Tsuta Suzuki’s work.

SEAN: Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid: Fafnir the Recluse (Kobayashi-san Chi no Maid Dragon: Okomorigurashi no Fafnir) is another of the endless Dragon Maid spinoffs, this one running in Monthly Action.

Seven Seas also has Headhunted to Another World: From Salaryman to Big Four! 4, Saint Seiya: Saintia Shō 16 (the final volume – yes, 15 only came out this week), and Sakurai-san Wants to Be Noticed 3.

One Peace Books has a 6th volume of Multi-Mind Mayhem.

Kodansha debuts Is Love the Answer? (Kimi no Sekai ni Koi Wanai), a one-shot josei title from Hatsu Kiss. It’s about a woman who wonders why she’s never felt any of this “love” stuff, till she goes to college and finds out what it is: she’s asexual.

MICHELLE: Ooh.

ANNA: Alright!

ASH: Hooray, josei!

SEAN: They also have the print edition of My Unique Skill Makes Me OP Even at Level 1 (Level 1 Dakedo Unique Skill de Saikyou Desu), they had already been releasing the digital.

Also in print: As a Reincarnated Aristocrat, I’ll Use My Appraisal Skill to Rise in the World 3, In the Clear Moonlit Dusk 2, PTSD Radio Omnibus 2, and Welcome Back, Alice 4.

Digitally we see Beast #6 2, The Café Terrace and its Goddesses 4, Gamaran 5, Blue Lock 17, Golden Gold 8, Hitorijime My Hero 13, Medaka Kuroiwa is Impervious to My Charms 5, Miss Miyazen Would Love to Get Closer to You 3, Mr. Bride 7, and The Untouchable Midori-kun 3.

MICHELLE: I look forward to getting caught up on Blue Lock.

ANNA: One of my kids is reading it in print form, so we’re a bit behind in my house.

SEAN: It’s print time for J-Novel Club. We see Ascendance of a Bookworm 16, In Another World with My Smartphone 25, Seirei Gensouki: Spirit Chronicles Omnibus 8, the 8th manga volume of The Unwanted Undead Adventurer, My Friend’s Little Sister Has It In For Me! 6, and The White Cat’s Revenge as Plotted from the Dragon King’s Lap 6.

ASH: Obligatory, “Yay, Bookworm!”

SEAN: J-Novel Club has one digital debut, The Game Master Has Logged In to Another World, a license rescue from the late unlamented Sol Press.

Also digital: Dungeon Busters 4, Formerly, the Fallen Daughter of the Duke 3, Now I’m a Demon Lord! Happily Ever After with Monster Girls in My Dungeon 3, Private Tutor to the Duke’s Daughter 6, and Yuri Tama: From Third Wheel to Trifecta 2.

Ghost Ship has the 5th and final volume of Does a Hot Elf Live Next Door to You?, as well as GUNBURED × SISTERS 3.

Airship has a 10th volume of Adachi and Shimamura in print.

While we get early digital volumes of Free Life Fantasy Online: Immortal Princess 2 and I Swear I Won’t Bother You Again! 3.

That’s a lot. What of that pile are you getting?

SEAN: Manga is here for you whether it’s far too warm for January or far too cold.

ASH: Far too warm and rainy here, at the moment.

SEAN: No print releases for Airship, but we do get an early digital debut, and it’s a spinoff! I’m in Love with the Villainess: She’s so Cheeky for a Commoner (Watashi no Oshi wa Akuyaku Reijō: Heimin no Kuse ni Namaikina!) retells the events of the main novel series from Claire’s point of view. I can’t wait to dig back into this world.

ASH: Oh! Very nice. (This also serves a reminder that I need to finish reading the main series.)

MICHELLE: So do I. I did enjoy the volume I read.

SEAN: Another debut for Denpa Books. Under Ninja is a Young Magazine title from the creator of I Am A Hero. Our hero is a ninja!… but he’s also a NEET. What happens when he finally gets a mission?

ASH: I’ve been very curious about this one.

SEAN: There is also the 6th and final volume of Pleasure and Corruption.

Ghost Ship gives us The Witches of Adamas 4.

J-Novel Club has some new volumes. We see Campfire Cooking in Another World with My Absurd Skill: Sui’s Great Adventure 2, Chillin’ in Another World with Level 2 Super Cheat Powers 8, Hell Mode 5, My Friend’s Little Sister Has It In for Me! 9, Perry Rhodan NEO 11, Rebuild World’s 2nd manga volume, Seventh 2, and The Unwanted Undead Adventurer 10.

In print, it’s time for Kodansha to roll out Ghost in the Shell once more. The Ghost in the Shell: Fully Compiled is an 832-page hardcover that has Ghost in the Shell 1, 1.5, and 2.

ASH: Dang! That’ll be quite the volume!

ANNA: Woah.

SEAN: Speaking of omnibuses, they also have the first manga omnibus of No. 6. This contains the first three volumes, which first came out almost 10 years ago.

ASH: I’m glad to see this series staying in print. (Also, has it really been a decade??)

SEAN: They’ve also got A Galaxy Next Door 4, Gleipnir 12, Noragami: Stray God 25, The Seven Deadly Sins Manga Box Set 3 (Vols. 15-21), Vinland Saga 13, and When Will Ayumu Make His Move? 9.

ASH: Always glad to see the newest Vinland Saga release!

ANNA: Me too!

SEAN: The digital debut is Gang King, a 37-volume monster that started in Shonen Gahosha’s Young King then jumped companies, and has been in Magazine Special, Bessatsu Shonen Magazine, and finally Evening. It’s a delinquent manga, and it’s quite well known.

Digitally, we also see Ace of the Diamond 41, The Fable 10, My Boyfriend in Orange 13, Police in a Pod 20, The Shadows of Who We Once Were 8 (the final volume), and WIND BREAKER 8.

MICHELLE: I’ve been reading The Shadows of Who We Once Were these past few days, and am glad I won’t have to wait too long to see who survives to the end!

SEAN: One Peace Books has the 11th volume of The New Gate.

Two debuts from Seven Seas. The Knight Blooms Behind Castle Walls (Kishitan wa Jouheki no Naka ni Hanahiraku) is a Comic Gardo title about a girl who dreams of being a knight, which means she’ll need to start out as a squire.

ASH: I like the premise and so am duly intrigued.

ANNA: Oh, I’m curious about this too.

SEAN: Malevolent Spirits: Mononogatari runs in Ultra Jump, and features a man who loathes spirits and wants to send them back to the otherworld. Unfortunately, he’s sent to live with a girl who shares an apartment with a bunch of spirits!

Also from Seven Seas: Chillin’ in Another World with Level 2 Super Cheat Powers 5, Dungeon Toilet 3 (the final volume), Drugstore in Another World: The Slow Life of a Cheat Pharmacist 6, Hunting in Another World With My Elf Wife 2, Machimaho: I Messed Up and Made the Wrong Person Into a Magical Girl! 11, Saint Seiya: Saintia Shō 15, and You Like Me, Not My Daughter?! 2.

Square Enix Manga has the 2nd volume of My Happy Marriage.

SuBLime has Caste Heaven 8 (the final volume) and Given 7.

ASH: I’m behind on Given, but have enjoyed what I’ve read so far.

MICHELLE: Same. I really need to get caught up on it.

ANNA: Unsurprisingly, me too.

SEAN: Viz has a debut from Ura Sunday. Helck is a manga about the competition to become the next demon lord… which is being entered by a human!?

Viz also has Case Closed 85, Dandadan 2, Fly Me to the Moon 15, Kaiju No. 8 5, Mao 9, Mashle: Magic and Muscles 10, Pokémon Adventures: X•Y 4, Skip Beat! 3-in-1 15, and YO-KAI WATCH 20.

That’s it! Man, it’s lonely at the end of the list now. No worries, Yen Press will be back with a vengeance the week after next.