Features

SEAN: When the 1st of the month falls on a Tuesday.. STRANGE things happen.

We’ll start with Viz Media. No new titles, but it is August, and that means it’s time for the annual volume! Kaze Hikaru 31 is out. Hang in there kids, just 14 more years to go.

MICHELLE: I can’t believe I actually forgot about this!

ANNA: Yay! Always happy for August when new Kaze Hikaru comes out.

ASH: Same!

SEAN: Viz also has Ayashimon 3, Boruto: Naruto Next Generations 17, Kaguya-sama: Love Is War 26, My Special One 3, Prince Freya 9, Rainbow Days 5, Sakamoto Days 9, World Trigger 25, and Yona of the Dawn 39.

MICHELLE: I desperately need to catch up on Yona.

ANNA: I’m not too far behind on Yona, but need to catch up on Freya.

ASH: I’ve been enjoying both series, but have some catching up to do, too.

SEAN: From Udon we get Persona 4 Arena Ultimax, which is, I’m guessing, a sequel to Persona 4 Arena. It ran in Dengeki Maoh.

Steamship gives us GAME: Between the Suits 4.

Seven Seas has an OEL debut, Amongst Us. No, not that. This LGBT title is a spinoff from a webcomic called Carciphona, and is apparently a modern day AU.

ASH: Oh, I actually have another edition of this one! (Though I haven’t actually read it yet.) Carciphona was a splurge purchase for me at TCAF one year and I enjoyed it, so I’ve been keeping an eye out for the creator’s work.

SEAN: Also from Seven Seas: Backstabbed in a Backwater Dungeon: My Party Tried to Kill Me, But Thanks to an Infinite Gacha I Got LVL 9999 Friends and Am Out For Revenge 2, Crossplay Love: Otaku x Punk 4, The Idaten Deities Know Only Peace 5, The Knight Blooms Behind Castle Walls 3 (the final volume), Lupin III: Thick as Thieves – The Classic Manga Collection (a second “greatest hits” release), Wonder Cat Kyuu-chan 8, and Yakuza Fiancé: Raise wa Tanin ga Ii 4.

ASH: Still glad to see the new edition of Lupin III being released.

SEAN: Two print debuts for Kodansha Manga. Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug & Cat Noir is a Shonen Sirius adaptation of the French/Japanese cartoon.

And WIND BREAKER is a print release of the series that’s already coming out digitally.

ASH: Delinquent manga in print!

SEAN: Also in print: As a Reincarnated Aristocrat, I’ll Use My Appraisal Skill to Rise in the World 6, The Heroic Legend of Arslan 18, The Iceblade Sorcerer Shall Rule the World 6, and Tsugumi Project 2. (I swear they’re pushing the print release back a week right after I make these lists, just to make me seem dumb.)

The digital debut is The World is Dancing, a seinen manga from Morning magazine. It’s a semi-fictionalized account of the founder of Noh theater. It looks fantastic, to be honest.

ASH: It may be digital (which I don’t read much of), but this certainly interests me.

SEAN: And we also see Abe-kun’s Got Me Now! 11, Chihayafuru 39, The God-Tier Guardian and the Love of Six Princesses 10, I’m Standing on a Million Lives 15, Life 6, MF Ghost 16, and My Wife is a Little Intimidating 2.

Debuting digitally from J-Novel Club are several titles. La Ragazza: Living with Francesca (Italia-jin no Onnanoko ga Isourou Suru Koto ni Natta) is a manga series from Comic Walker. An illustrator suddenly finds an Italian girl staying… and mooching… at his house.

Only I Know That This World Is a Game (Kono Sekai ga Game dato Ore dake ga Shitte Iru) is a manga based on a (not yet licensed) light novel, and it’s also from Comic Walker. If you like Sword Art Online but thought “I need more of the exact same plot”, good news.

Taking My Reincarnation One Step at a Time: No One Told Me There Would Be Monsters! (Tensei Shōjo wa Mazu Ippo kara Hajimetai: Mamono ga Iru toka Kiitenai!) is a light novel series. A woman who has spent her entire life with an unexplained fatigue is transported to another world by a goddess, in the body of a 10-year-old. Now that she actually has energy and drive, what will she do?

ASH: Huh! I’ve asked myself similar questions…

SEAN: The Troubles of Miss Nicola the Exorcist (Haraiya Reijō Nicola no Komarigoto) is a light novel about a reincarnated young sorcerer girl and her attempts to not get dragged into the life of her annoying childhood friend.

There’s also 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 4, Hell Mode 6, Monster Tamer 14, My Friend’s Little Sister Has It In for Me! 10, Perry Rhodan NEO 14, and When Supernatural Battles Became Commonplace 7.

Cross Infinite World debuts I’ll Use This Do-over to Become the Ideal Lady’s Maid! (Yarinaoseru Mitai nano de, Kondo Koso Akogare no Jijo wo Mezashimasu!), which is from the writer of Formerly, the Fallen Daughter of the Duke. Yes, we’ve got another girl who’s sent back in time because of her tragic death, and she’s determined to live a different life… as a maid?

ASH: Personally, that wouldn’t be my first choice of careers.

SEAN: Also out from CIW: Expedition Cooking with the Enoch Royal Knights 3, Lovestruck Prince! I’ll Fight the Heroine for My Villainess Fiancée! 2, and The Reincarnated Villainess Won’t Seek Revenge 2.

Airship gives us print editions for 7th Time Loop: The Villainess Enjoys a Carefree Life Married to Her Worst Enemy! 4 and The Case Files of Jeweler Richard 5.

And we get early digital of Irina: The Vampire Cosmonaut 6 and Raven of the Inner Palace 3.

July? Or August? You decide!

ASH: I can’t tell what day it is these days, let alone month…

SEAN: As July sinks slowly in the West, we are faced with its hotter cousin: August.

ASH: How has it already come to this?

SEAN: Airship has a bunch of print light novels. We get Didn’t I Say to Make My Abilities Average in the Next Life?! 16, Modern Villainess: It’s Not Easy Building a Corporate Empire Before the Crash 3, She Professed Herself Pupil of the Wise Man 8, and Sword of the Demon Hunter: Kijin Gentōshō 2.

ASH: A good reminder that I’ve been meaning to give the first volume of Sword of the Demon Hunter a try.

SEAN: And there’s early digital for There’s No Freaking Way I’ll be Your Lover! Unless… 2 and The Weakest Tamer Began a Journey to Pick Up Trash 4.

Denpa Books has the 2nd volume of Baby Bear’s Bakery.

Not Ghost Ship, but probably should be, we get Asumi-chan is Interested in Lesbian Brothels! 3. Ayakashi Triangle 4 and SUPER HXEROS 11 definitely ARE Ghost Ship.

ASH: I would not have been surprised to find Asumi-chan is Interested in Lesbian Brothels! in the Ghost Ship catalog.

SEAN: One digital light novel debut from J-Novel Club: You Like Me, Not My Daughter?! (Musume Janakute, Watashi ga Suki Nano!?) is from the creator of When Supernatural Battles Become Commonplace. A young single mother raising the child of her late sister finds that, now that he’s in college, her daughter’s childhood friend has feelings. Wait, for HER?! For lovers of age-gap romance in a comedic vein.

And there’s Ascendance of a Bookworm 26, I Surrendered My Sword for a New Life as a Mage 3, The Invincible Little Lady 3, The Mythical Hero’s Otherworld Chronicles 4, Only the Villainous Lord Wields the Power to Level Up 2, Reincarnated Mage with Inferior Eyes: Breezing through the Future as an Oppressed Ex-Hero 3, and the 9th manga volume of Seirei Gensouki: Spirit Chronicles.

ASH: Obligatory cry of “Bookworm!”

SEAN: Kodansha Books has the 3rd volume of Am I Actually the Strongest?, whose anime is currently delighting hard-core isekai fans.

Kodansha Manga debuts Seraph of the End: Guren Ichinose: Catastrophe at Sixteen (Owari no Seraph: Ichinose Guren, 16-sai no Catastrophe), an adaptation from Weekly Shonen Magazine of the light novel that was put out by Vertical, which is a prequel to the original manga, which runs in Jump Square. This manga’s past is kudzu. It’s also an omnibus of the first two volumes.

Also in print: Am I Actually the Strongest? 4, Fire Force Omnibus 5, In the Clear Moonlit Dusk 5, That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime 22, and What Did You Eat Yesterday? 20.

MICHELLE: I’m always here for more What Did You Eat Yesterday?.

ASH: Same!

SEAN: For digital releases, we get Am I Actually the Strongest? 8, And Yet, You Are So Sweet 8, As a Reincarnated Aristocrat, I’ll Use My Appraisal Skill to Rise in the World 6, Boss Bride Days 7, A Couple of Cuckoos 12, DAYS 36, Elegant Yokai Apartment Life 26, Gamaran: Shura 10, The Heroic Legend of Arslan 18, The Iceblade Sorcerer Shall Rule the World 6, My Home Hero 6, ONIMAI: I’m Now Your Sister! 7, and Saint Cecilia and Pastor Lawrence 11.

ASH: I had momentarily forgotten about The Heroic Legend of Arslan despite enjoying earlier volumes.

SEAN: One Peace Books has the third volume of Captain Corinth.

Seven Seas debuts a new danmei novel, Stars of Chaos: Sha Po Lang. Steampunk BL! A young man living in an impoverished village finds his whole life has been a lie! This is from the creator of Guardian, also due out soon.

MICHELLE: Definitely into this but Guardian more so, admittedly.

ASH: Adding them both to my TBR list!

SEAN: Also from Seven Seas: Drugstore in Another World: The Slow Life of a Cheat Pharmacist 7, The Duke of Death and His Maid 7, I’m a Wolf, but My Boss is a Sheep! 3, LES MISÉRABLES Omnibus 3, and Precarious Woman Executive Miss Black General 9.

From Square Enix we see Beauty and the Feast 9, Soul Eater: The Perfect Edition 11, and Suppose a Kid from the Last Dungeon Boonies Moved to a Starter Town 9.

Tokyopop has Formerly, the Fallen Daughter of the Duke 4, The Fox & Little Tanuki 6 and the 2nd and final volume of My Dear Agent.

From Viz: Chainsaw Man: Buddy Stories is a prose short story collection based on the popular manga.

Soichi: Junji Ito Story Collection (Souichi no Katte na Noroi) is another series of horror stories that ran in Nemuki about 20 years ago.

ASH: I recently mentioned that I was glad we were getting more horror manga beyond Ito’s oeuvre, but I’m not going to say no to more Ito, either.

SEAN: The Way of the Househusband: The Gangster’s Guide to Housekeeping is a guidebook that gives you recipes, helpful hints, etc. Seems to be by Western writers with the blessing of the manga artist.

ASH: Oh, that’s interesting.

SEAN: And Viz also has How Do We Relationship? 9.

ASH: I really need to get caught up with this series.

SEAN: And some stragglers from Yen to close us out. Yen On has Banished from the Hero’s Party, I Decided to Live a Quiet Life in the Countryside 9 and Secrets of the Silent Witch 4.

And from Yen Press, the 13th and final volume of High School Prodigies Have It Easy Even in Another World!.

Definitely less manga than the week before last! What are you getting?

SEAN: Warning: Yen Press week.

ASH: The heads up is appreciated.

SEAN: In fact, we start with Yen On. They have several debuts… well, and sort-of debuts. Konosuba: God’s Blessing on This Wonderful World! Fantastic Days (Kono Subarashii Sekai ni Shukufuku o! Fantastic Days!), a spinoff written by the author of Reborn As a Vending Machine, who has done several KonoSuba spinoff LNs, all unlicensed. This is licensed, probably as it’s based on a game also coming out in the West soon. It’s… well, a standard KonoSuba story.

Our Last Crusade or the Rise of a New World: Secret File (Kimi to Boku no Saigo no Senjō, Arui wa Sekai ga Hajimaru Seisen Secret File) is a short story spinoff of the main series, with 100% more wacky and 100% less weird cliffhangers.

The Samurai and the Prisoner (Kokurōjō) is a novel, rather than a light novel, written by an author best known for Hyouka, and this new book has won awards. It’s a historical mystery novel revolving around a real-life person, Kuroda Kanbei.

MICHELLE: Potentially interesting!

ANNA: Hmm, this does sound interesting.

ASH: Oh! Yes, it does!

SEAN: Words Bubble Up Like Soda Pop (Cider no Yō ni Kotoba ga Wakiagaru) is based on a movie, and we also saw the manga last month. It’s the same plot as every other Japanese anime movie ever since Your Name came out.

ASH: I thought it sounded familiar.

SEAN: They also have The Genius Prince’s Guide to Raising a Nation Out of Debt (Hey, How About Treason?) 10, Higehiro: After Being Rejected, I Shaved and Took in a High School Runaway 4, Ishura 4, Magical Explorer: Reborn as a Side Character in a Fantasy Dating Sim 5, Overlord 16, Sabikui Bisco 5, Solo Leveling 8, Wandering Witch: The Journey of Elaina 11, and The World’s Finest Assassin Gets Reincarnated in Another World as an Aristocrat 7.

Debuting from Yen Press is I Want to Be a Receptionist in This Magical World (Mahousekai no Uketsukejou ni Naritai desu!), a shoujo manga from Flos Comic based on a light novel that J-Novel Club released here as The Sorcerer’s Receptionist. Nunnally is a first-rate mage, but she’s going to be a receptionist who helps others. There’s just one problem… the annoying guy in class is always better than her at everything!

Imitation is a manwha, but not based on a webcomic or webnovel, which means it’s not on the Ize Press imprint. An idol humiliates herself on a talk show… and now a member of the top male idol group is angry with her!

ANNA: Oh no!

SEAN: My Mate Is a Feline Gentleman (Boku no Tsugai wa Neko Shinshi) is an A/B/O title (should that be a separate genre from BL?) about an omega hired by a beastman, who turns out to be appalled at the way omegas are treated in Japan. Is our hero finally going to have people be nice while having sex with him?

Saint? No! I’m Just a Passing Beast Tamer!: The Invincible Saint and the Quest for Fluff (Seijo-sama? Iie, Toorisugari no Mamono Tsukai desu! – Zettai Muteki no Seijo wa Mofumofu to Tabi wo suru), which is another manga based on a light novel J-Novel Club is already putting out. This runs in Comic Walker, and is about a girl who is determined to NOT be the Saint that will save the world.

Secrets of the Silent Witch (Silent Witch – Chinmoku no Majo no Kakushigoto) is the manga adaptation of a light novel that Yen puts out themselves. It’s from B’s Log Comic, and is about an introverted but extremely powerful witch forced to be the secret bodyguard to a prince.

The Devil Is a Part-Timer! Official Comic Anthology is a collection by various artists of short manga based around the popular series.

ASH: It’s been a while since I’ve thought of that franchise, but I had fun with it.

SEAN: The Summer Hikaru Died (Hikaru ga Shinda Natsu) is a BL-ish manga that runs in Young Ace Up. Two boys have always been best friends… but one day one of them comes back from the mountainside… and he’s DIFFERENT. I am not sure if The Summer Hikaru Died is the same time as The Night Chicago Died. Probably not.

MICHELLE: Glory be!

ASH: I’ve heard very good things about this one.

SEAN: Also from Yen Press: Banished from the Hero’s Party, I Decided to Live a Quiet Life in the Countryside 5, The Beginning After the End 3, Black Butler 32, The Boxer 3, Bungo Stray Dogs Wan! 5, Call the Name of the Night 2, Can’t Stop Cursing You 4 (the final volume), Cheeky Brat 7, Coffee Moon 3, Dead Mount Death Play 9, The Eminence in Shadow 7, Final Fantasy Lost Stranger 9, Goblin Slayer 12, Hinowa Ga CRUSH! 8 (the final volume), Hirano and Kagiura 3, Horimiya Memorial Book Page. 100 (an art book), I Kept Pressing the 100-Million-Year Button and Came Out on Top 3, In Another World with My Smartphone 9, Kakegurui Twin 13, Kowloon Generic Romance 4, Love and Heart 8, Love of Kill 12, Mint Chocolate 8, My Gently Raised Beast 3, Please Put Them On, Takamine-san 6, Run on Your New Legs 5 (the final volume), Shadows House 4, Shy 3, A Terrified Teacher at Ghoul School! 13, Toilet-Bound Hanako-kun 18, Touring After the Apocalypse 3, What’s Wrong with Secretary Kim? 2, Why Raeliana Ended Up at the Duke’s Mansion 4, and The World After the Fall 3.

MICHELLE: I continually forget Black Butler is still going.

ANNA: 32 volumes is something!

SEAN: It’s OK, you can come out now, Yen is done. On to Viz. Continuing their partnership with Marvel, we get Marvel Comics: A Manga Tribute, an artbook featuring several famous Japanese artists drawing Marvel characters.

ASH: I’ll have to see who all contributed to this one.

SEAN: Viz also has Boy’s Abyss 2, Dark Gathering 2, Record of Ragnarok 7, Seraph of the End 27, and Undead Unluck 12.

Udon Entertainment has Record of Lodoss War: The Crown of the Covenant 2.

Square Enix Manga has The Girl I Like Forgot Her Glasses 4 and My Dress-Up Darling 9.

Seven Seas debuts The Great Snake’s Bride (Daija ni Totsuida Musume), a horror manga from Comic Marche. This has won awards, and is apparently very dark and filled with interesting themes, but I will just say that it is about a marriage between a woman and a giant snake.

ASH: I’ll readily admit that I’m intrigued.

SEAN: There’s also Bite Maker: The King’s Omega 8, The Dangers in My Heart 6, The Evil Secret Society of Cats 3, Ex-Yakuza and Stray Kitten 3, My Senpai is Annoying 10, Namekawa-san Won’t Take a Licking! 4 (the final volume), The Skull Dragon’s Precious Daughter 2, and She Professed Herself Pupil of the Wise Man 9.

Kodansha Books has Saving 80,000 Gold in Another World for my Retirement 2, the third volume in the series. (The first was an omnibus of the first two Japanese novels because it was a license rescue, so this will not be going away.)

Kodansha Manga has no debuts, but has some print. We get Attack on Titan Omnibus 11, A Condition Called Love 4, FAIRY TAIL: 100 Years Quest 13, The Great Cleric 4, Phantom of the Idol 6 (look, Kodansha is now putting out ebooks 1-2 weeks before print, and it’s confusing), When Will Ayumu Make His Move? 12, and Wistoria: Wand and Sword 5.

Digitally they’ve got Anyway, I’m Falling in Love with You 6, Blue Lock 20, Gamaran 11, Medalist 7, Messiah -CODE EDGE- 2, Small Nozomi and Big Yume 3 (the final volume), Ya Boy Kongming! 12, and You’re My Cutie 6.

MICHELLE: I need to get caught up with Blue Lock and Medalist. I enjoyed what I’ve read of both very much.

ANNA: I need to order Blue Lock for one of my kids, I’m likely going to start collecting Medalist in print.

SEAN: The debut from J-Novel Club is Stuck in a Time Loop: When All Else Fails, Be a Villainess (Loop kara Nukedasenai Akuyaku Reijō wa, Akiramete Sukikatte Ikirukoto ni Kimemashita). For once, we have a nice girl who, after being killed over and over for not having the RIGHT power, decides to give up and be a villainess. That’ll go well.

ASH: It usually does.

SEAN: There’s also A Cave King’s Road to Paradise: Climbing to the Top with My Almighty Mining Skills! 2, The Game Master Has Logged In to Another World 3, Holmes of Kyoto 15, I’m Capped at Level 1?! Thus Begins My Journey to Become the World’s Strongest Badass! 2, Now I’m a Demon Lord! Happily Ever After with Monster Girls in My Dungeon 5, Reborn to Master the Blade: From Hero-King to Extraordinary Squire 9, and Seventh 4.

Ghost Ship has Desire Pandora 4 and Peter Grill and the Philosopher’s Time 10.

And Airship, in print, has The Saint’s Magic Power is Omnipotent 8 and Survival in Another World with My Mistress! 6.

While in early digital, if they can get the retailer links up in time, we should see Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear 14 and Modern Villainess: It’s Not Easy Building a Corporate Empire Before the Crash 3.

Tired. Manga? Buy?

SEAN: (bad white blues singer voice) Well I woke up this morning, with some manga near my bed…

Airship has lots of print. Classroom of the Elite: Year 2 5, Grimgar of Fantasy and Ash 19, The Haunted Bookstore – Gateway to a Parallel Universe 6, and Though I Am an Inept Villainess: Tale of the Butterfly-Rat Body Swap in the Maiden Court 4.

ASH: Always a fan of print!

SEAN: And there’s an early digital release for Loner Life in Another World 6.

Ghost Ship gives us Parallel Paradise 14.

It’s print week for J-Novel Club! Debuting is the manga version of Tearmoon Empire, which is just as good as the novels. It runs in Comic Corona.

ASH: I should give this a look.

SEAN: We also see Ascendance of a Bookworm 19, the 5th Infinite Dendrogram manga omnibus, and the 4th Seirei Gensouki: Spirit Chronicles manga omnibus.

ASH: I’ve got some catching up to do with Ascendance of a Bookworm, but I do really enjoy the series.

SEAN: Digitally J-Novel Club has Black Summoner 13, Campfire Cooking in Another World with My Absurd Skill: Sui’s Great Adventure 4, Earl and Fairy 2, The Skull Dragon’s Precious Daughter 3, VTuber Legend: How I Went Viral after Forgetting to Turn Off My Stream 5, Young Lady Albert Is Courting Disaster 2, and Yuri Tama: From Third Wheel to Trifecta 3.

Kodansha has no debuts, but we do see print volumes for A Galaxy Next Door 5, SHAMAN KING: FLOWERS 3, Shikimori’s Not Just a Cutie 3, and Twilight Out of Focus 2.

The digital debut is one that made anime fandom very happy when it quietly appeared on bookstore sites. Teppu ran in good! Afternoon about 15 years ago, and is about mixed martial arts, which means it’s filled with very well-drawn hot teenagers beating the hell out of each other. That said, I hear this is more character-driven than, say, Baki the Grappler is.

MICHELLE: I’m always willing to give a new sports manga series a chance!

ANNA: Hmmmm…..

ASH: Count me curious!

SEAN: And also digitally we have Ace of the Diamond 44, The Fable 16, Gang King 7, Girlfriend, Girlfriend 14, A Kiss with a Cat 6 (the final volume), Life 2: Giver/Taker 5, Medaka Kuroiwa is Impervious to My Charms 7, Phantom of the Idol 6, and Watari-kun’s ****** Is About to Collapse 14.

One Peace Books has the 8th manga volume of The Reprise of the Spear Hero.

From Seven Seas we get BARBARITIES III, Cinderella Closet 2, Failure Frame: I Became the Strongest and Annihilated Everything With Low-Level Spells 6, I Get the Feeling That Nobukuni-san Likes Me 3, Malevolent Spirits: Mononogatari 3, MoMo -the blood taker- 5, My Girlfriend’s Child 2, My New Life as a Cat 2, My [Repair] Skill Became a Versatile Cheat, So I Think I’ll Open a Weapon Shop 4, and No Longer Allowed In Another World 3.

Square Enix Manga has The Apothecary Diaries 8 and The Strongest Sage with the Weakest Crest 13.

ASH: The Apothecary Diaries is another series I enjoy but need to catch up on.

SEAN: SuBLime has Finder Deluxe Edition 12 and The World’s Greatest First Love 16.

ASH: I’ll admit, I’d forgotten that both of these series were ongoing.

SEAN: Tokyopop gives us a 2nd volume of Sengoku Youko.

Udon Entertainment has Persona 4 Arena 3 (the final volume).

Viz debuts Disney Twisted-Wonderland, based on the Japanese game, and running in GFantasy. Yu is at a magical academy… despite having no magic. And no way to leave campus.

Also from Viz: Case Closed 87, Dandadan 4, Devil’s Candy 3, Fly Me to the Moon 18, Helck 4, Kaiju No. 8 7, Kirby Manga Mania 6, Mao 12, and Wolf Girl and Black Prince 2.

(bad white blues singer voice) I was asking what you were buying… and then a demon slayer from another world with a harem of catgirls cut me dead.

MICHELLE: *tosses a buck in Sean’s guitar case*

SEAN: Hot hot heat. Must be July.

Viz gives us a debut, Like a Butterfly (Hibi Chouchou) is the latest from the author of A Sign of Affection and Short Cake Cake… except it’s not, it actually came out before both of those. A gorgeous high school girl is also shy and doesn’t like attention… so promptly falls for the boy who refuses to look at her. This looks sweet.

MICHELLE: I’m here for it.

ANNA: Surprising no one, so am I!

ASH: Likewise interested.

SEAN: Also from Viz: Blue Box 5, Dr. STONE 26, The Elusive Samurai 7, Kubo Won’t Let Me Be Invisible 8, Moriarty the Patriot 12, My Love Mix-Up! 8, One Piece 103, Romantic Killer 4 (the final volume), Tista 2 (the final volume), and Vampire Knight: Memories 8.

Square Enix has A Man and His Cat 8.

ASH: I should probably catch up with this series; I did enjoy what I have managed to read.

SEAN: Seven Seas debuts Classroom of the Elite: Horikita (Youkoso Jitsuryoku Shijou Shugi no Kyoushitsu e √Horkita), a spinoff AU series that focuses on Horikita, which may surprise anime fans who thought the series already focused too much on her. It ran in my nemesis, Comic Alive.

They’ve also got The Ancient Magus’ Bride 18, Berserk of Gluttony 8, Gap Papa: Daddy at Work and at Home 2, Kemono Jihen 6, Let’s Buy the Land and Cultivate It in a Different World 4, Made in Abyss 11, Pandora in the Crimson Shell: Ghost Urn 16, and Versailles of the Dead 4.

MICHELLE: I didn’t realize volume 18 of The Ancient Magus’ Bride was coming out so soon; I’ve been working my way to getting caught up to 17!

ASH: Always glad to see a new volume of The Ancient Magus’ Bride!

SEAN: There’s some print from Kodansha. Drifting Dragons 14, EDENS ZERO 23, In/Spectre 18, Lovely Muco! 2, Noragami Omnibus 6, To The Abandoned Sacred Beasts 14, and Yuri is My Job! 11.

ASH: Drifting Dragons is another series that I’ve been enjoying but need to catch up on.

SEAN: The digital debut is My Wife is a Little Intimidating (Boku no Oku-san wa Chotto Kowai), a Comic Days series based on a Twitter comic. The description reminds me a bit of We’re New at This if the wife were… well… intimidating, rather than stoic.

And there’s digital for The God-Tier Guardian and the Love of Six Princesses 9, How to Grill Our Love 3, Life 5, MF Ghost 15, Matcha Made in Heaven 6, Mermaid Melody Pichi Pichi Pitch: Aqua 2, Sakura’s Dedication 4, The Transcendent One-Sided Love of Yoshida the Catch 3, and Tying the Knot with an Amagami Sister 9.

ANNA: I’ve been eagerly awaiting the next Matcha Made in Heaven!

ASH: I haven’t read the first volume yet, but I still love the series’ title.

SEAN: No new series for J-Novel Club, but a whole lot of ongoing ones. The 100th Time’s the Charm: She Was Executed 99 Times, So How Did She Unlock “Super Love” Mode?! 2, The Apothecary Witch Turned Divorce Agent 2, An Archdemon’s Dilemma: How to Love Your Elf Bride 16, the 2nd manga volume of A Cave King’s Road to Paradise: Climbing to the Top with My Almighty Mining Skills!, Endo and Kobayashi Live! The Latest on Tsundere Villainess Lieselotte Disc EX (the final volume), Full Clearing Another World under a Goddess with Zero Believers 8, the 5th manga volume of Full Clearing Another World under a Goddess with Zero Believers, Let This Grieving Soul Retire 2, Magic Knight of the Old Ways 5 (the final volume), The Misfit of Demon King Academy 4 Part 2, My Stepmom’s Daughter Is My Ex 7, the 4th manga volume of Rebuild World, A Royal Rebound: Forget My Ex-Fiancé, I’m Being Pampered by the Prince! 2, and To Another World… with Land Mines! 7.

ASH: Wow! That is a whole lot!

SEAN: Ghost Ship has Love is an Illusion! 3 (OK, not technically Ghost Ship), Please Go Home, Miss Akutsu! 2, and World’s End Harem: Fantasia 9.

Apologies, missed this last week. Fantagraphics has a one-shot, Minami’s Lover (Minami-kun no Koibito), a Garo manga from 1986 about a high school couple who struggle with everything when she becomes six inches tall!

ASH: Oh, yes! I just got my hands on that one!

SEAN: Dark Horse has the 9th Blade of the Immortal Deluxe Edition. (It got bumped.)

ASH: I’ll be picking it up whenever it’s actually released.

SEAN: And Airship, in print, gives us Free Life Fantasy Online: Immortal Princess 3 and Irina: The Vampire Cosmonaut 5.

We also get early digital for The Case Files of Jeweler Richard 5 and Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation 23.

That’s it? Not too bad!

SEAN: June is almost over, so let’s get those last books out before the fiscal year ends.

ASH: I am unfortunately very aware of these deadlines.

SEAN: Airship has one print light novel: Failure Frame: I Became the Strongest and Annihilated Everything With Low-Level Spells 7.

We also see early digital releases of I’m the Evil Lord of an Intergalactic Empire! 5 and Sword of the Demon Hunter: Kijin Gentōshō 2.

No debuts from Cross Infinite World, but we get two ongoing series: Apocalypse Bringer Mynoghra: World Conquest Starts with the Civilization of Ruin 5 and The Do-Over Damsel Conquers the Dragon Emperor 2.

Denpa says this should be sold at AX, so I’ll stick it here, though I’m sure it will retail later. Fate/Grand Order: Chaldea Scrapbook (Fate/Grand Order Caldeas Clap) ran in Type-Moon Comic Ace, and is a series of shorts dealing with the FGO cast, including Mash’s backstory!

Ghost Ship brings us Call Girl in Another World 7.

No debuts from J-Novel Club, but lots of ongoing titles. We get Campfire Cooking in Another World with My Absurd Skill 13, Chillin’ in Another World with Level 2 Super Cheat Powers 10, Grand Sumo Villainess Z (the final volume?), The Greatest Magicmaster’s Retirement Plan 16, the 5th Housekeeping Mage from Another World: Making Your Adventures Feel Like Home! manga volume, I Only Have Six Months to Live, So I’m Gonna Break the Curse with Light Magic or Die Trying 2, The Reincarnated Princess Spends Another Day Skipping Story Routes 8 (the final volume), and When Supernatural Battles Became Commonplace 6.

Kodansha Books has a 2nd volume of As a Reincarnated Aristocrat, I’ll Use My Appraisal Skill to Rise in the World.

Kodansha Manga has a one-shot debut from Kyoko Okazaki, author of Helter Skelter. River’s Edge is a dark tale showing us the lives of six emotionally stunted students, and it ran in CUTIE.

ANNA: Alright, I’m likely going to check this out.

ASH: Absolutely! I am very much looking forward to this release. Okazaki’s work is tremendous.

SEAN: Also in print: Blue Lock 7, I Was Reincarnated as the 7th Prince so I Can Take My Time Perfecting My Magical Ability 6, Saint Young Men Omnibus 10, Shangri-La Frontier 6, and Shonen Note: Boy Soprano 4.

ANNA: Need to remember to pick up Blue Lock for one of my kids.

ASH: I’m still here for Saint Young Men!

SEAN: And we get digital volumes of Boss Bride Days 6, Gamaran: Shura 9, Getting Closer to You 5, Hozuki’s Coolheadedness 14, I Want To Hold Aono-kun So Badly I Could Die 10, Lightning and Romance 4, My Home Hero 5, Saint Young Men 20, That’s My Atypical Girl 9, and The World of Summoning 2.

KUMA is here for the same reason Denpa is: this should be available at AX. Eiji and Shiro: From Zeroes to Heroes (Mobyama Aji to Mobtani Crou no Kareinaru Nichijou e no Chousen) is a BL title from Takeshobo’s Reijin! about two “background characters” trying to change their destiny of being “those two guys”.

MICHELLE: This might be silly fun.

ASH: It does look that way!

SEAN: And they should also have Happy of the End 2.

One Peace Books has a 3rd volume of The Wrong Way to Use Healing Magic (the manga version).

Seven Seas debuts Homunculus, which inspired a Netflix series. Coming out as an oversized omnibus of the first two volumes, it’s by the creator of Ichi the Killer. It’s part psychological suspense and part just plain horror, and it ran in Big Comic Spirits. A homeless man is offered money to be the subject of a mysterious experiment…

MICHELLE: “Psychological suspense” is up my alley.

ASH: Same. And I’ve heard good things about this one.

SEAN: Also debuting is Obnoxious Hero-kun: The Complete Collection. This is a BL webtoon collection, which we’ve seen an awful lot of lately. Hope you like bondage!

ASH: There seem to be a few bondage-related manga out these days.

SEAN: There’s also 7th Time Loop: The Villainess Enjoys a Carefree Life Married to Her Worst Enemy! 3, The Case Files of Jeweler Richard 5, Failed Princesses 6.5 (a 50-page digital only extra with a couple bonus chapters), I Think I Turned My Childhood Friend Into a Girl 3, Killing Stalking: Deluxe Edition 3, The NPCs in this Village Sim Game Must Be Real! 4, Reborn as a Space Mercenary: I Woke Up Piloting the Strongest Starship! 5, SPRIGGAN: Deluxe Edition 4 (the final volume), Superwomen in Love! Honey Trap and Rapid Rabbit 5 (the final volume), There’s No Freaking Way I’ll be Your Lover! Unless… 2, and Tokyo Revengers 11-12.

ASH: Need to catch up on (or start) some of these.

SEAN: Square Enix Manga gives us Otherside Picnic 5 and Ragna Crimson 9.

Steamship has Outbride: Beauty and the Beasts 4.

Tokyopop debuts Delivery for You! (Kime e Otodoke), a BL oneshot about a guy who collects figures falling in love with his deliveryman. It ran in Chara.

They’ve also got On or Off 4 (the final volume).

Viz debuts Goodbye, Eri, from the creator of Chainsaw Man. This one-shot about a filmmaker and how he deals with grief was beloved by everyone I know when it appeared digitally.

ANNA: OK, I’m curious.

Also they also have Wolverine: Snikt!, a 136-page Marvel collaboration I would normally ignore except it’s by the creator of Knights of Sidonia.

MICHELLE: Huh.

ANNA: ….still curious.

ASH: Oh!

SEAN: They’ve also got a second Demon Slayer novel, Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba — Signs From the Wind. And Fist of the North Star 9.

ASH: Still very happy to be able to collect more of Fist of the North Star.

Lastly, Yen Press has a couple stragglers, as we see Phantom Tales of the Night 11, Re:ZERO -Starting Life in Another World-, Chapter 4: The Sanctuary and the Witch of Greed 6, and Triage X 25.

That’s a lot more “end of June” than I was expecting. Anything for you?

SEAN: Manga the Week of is happy to celebrate Juneteenth, and hopes the day off lets you read more manga.

It’s Yen week, so there’s plenty of it. Starting with Yen On. There are two debuts. The Ephemeral Scenes of Setsuna’s Journey (Setsuna no Fūkei) is one of those “summoned as a hero” books that tries to take a long look at what that sort of thing would do to the psyche of a person. The description makes it almost sound like Frieren.

Yami-hara is a one-shot novel. The author is famous for her mysteries, but this seems more horror than anything. The plot description… does not really reveal anything.

MICHELLE: Indeed not!

ASH: Oh, I am intrigued, though! (And had somehow missed that another of Mizuki Tsujimura’s novels was being translated…)

SEAN: We’ve also got Apparently, Disillusioned Adventurers Will Save the World 3, Bottom-Tier Character Tomozaki 10, Chitose Is in the Ramune Bottle 4, Date a Live 9, Gods’ Games We Play 2, My Happy Marriage 4, Rascal Does Not Dream of a Nightingale (11th in the series), Re:ZERO -Starting Life in Another World- 22, So I’m a Spider, So What? 16 (the final volume), Sword Art Online Alternative: Gun Gale Online 12, and The World’s Strongest Rearguard: Labyrinth Country’s Novice Seeker 8.

Yen Press has a bunch of new series as well. Appare-Ranman! is a 3-in-1 omnibus, and thus done-in-one. It ran in Young Ace, and is based on an anime of the same name. A young man decides to do a cross-country race to earn money so he can go to the moon.

ASH: This seems like it could be fun.

SEAN: Bloody Sweet is a Korean title based off a webcomic (is that the word? Those “read as a long strip on your phone” comics), about a bullied shaman’s daughter who gets rescued by an ancient vampire.

The Essence of Being a Muse (Muse no Shinzui) is a Comic Beam title. A girl who’s always stuck to the path that her mother has laid out for her as an artist finally snaps, runs away from home, and resolves to try to find her own way of doing things.

ASH: My curiosity has been piqued; I often find artist stories interesting.

SEAN: Handyman Saito in Another World (Benriya Saitou-san, Isekai ni Iku) runs on Comic Walker, and was adapted into an anime recently. A jack-of-all-trades who finds himself underappreciated in Japan ends up in a fantasy world, and realizes that jack-of-all-trades is an awesome power!

ASH: Never underappreciate a jack-of-all-trades.

SEAN: Higurashi When They Cry: GOU was framed initially as a reboot of the series, but by now everyone has been spoiled that it’s a pure sequel. Who can possibly completely destroy our heroes’ lives now? This ran in Young Ace Up, and is an omnibus of the first two books in the series.

Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? Memoria Freese (Dungeon ni Deai o Motomeru no wa Machigatte Iru Darou ka ~ Memoria Frese) runs on Manga Up!, and seems to be an adaptation of the mobile game.

My Instant Death Ability Is So Overpowered, No One in This Other World Stands a Chance Against Me! —AO— (Sokushi Cheat ga Saikyou Sugite, Isekai no Yatsura ga Marude Aite ni Naranai n desu ga) is the print edition of J-Novel Club’s manga.

A Reincarnated Witch Spells Doom (Tensei Majo wa Horobi wo Tsugeru) features the ever-popular Truck-kun, who kills our heroine and sends her to the next world. Sadly, she’s a witch there, so everyone hates and fears her. This runs in shoujo magazine Flos Comic.

MICHELLE: Truck-kun, why must you be this way?!

SEAN: Scribbles is a collection of sketches by Kaoru Mori, and as such is must-buy.

ANNA: Cool!

ASH: Very excited for this one!

Sword Art Online Progressive: Scherzo of Deep Night (Sword Art Online: Progressive – Kuraki Yuuyami no Scherzo) starts the new arc of the Progressive manga.

Words Bubble Up Like Soda Pop (Cider no you ni Kotoba ga Wakiagaru) is a Comic Alive (my nemesis!) title based on the feature film. It’s also an omnibus. She was a streamer girl, he was a haiku boy, could I make it any more obvious?

ASH: Haiku! I apparently need to catch up on my film watching.

SEAN: Yen Press has non-debuts as well! We get Apparently, Disillusioned Adventurers Will Save the World 2, Assorted Entanglements 2, Chained Soldier 4, Cross-Dressing Villainess Cecilia Sylvie 4, Death March to the Parallel World Rhapsody 14, Gahi-chan! 2, The Holy Grail of Eris 4, The Magical Revolution of the Reincarnated Princess and the Genius Young Lady 4, Monster and the Beast 4 (the final volume), No Longer Heroine 3, The Otherworlder, Exploring the Dungeon 2, Our Last Crusade or the Rise of a New World 6, Overlord: The Undead King Oh! 10, The Princess of Convenient Plot Devices 2, So I’m a Spider, So What? 12, SOTUS 2, The Splendid Work of a Monster Maid 5 (the final volume), Uncle from Another World 7, Unnamed Memory 3, Val x Love 14, and The World’s Strongest Rearguard: Labyrinth Country’s Novice Seeker 6.

ASH: I enjoyed the earlier volumes of Monster and the Beast, so I guess I should finish out the series!

SEAN: Viz has a new Signature title, Until I Love Myself (Jibun no Karada wo Yurusu made). It’s an autobiographical manga about coming to terms with being nonbinary. It ran in seinen magazine Yawaraka Spirits.

ASH: Signature titles are always a good bet and I am particularly interested in this subject matter.

SEAN: Also from Viz: Alice in Borderland 6, Beast Complex 3, Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End 8, Golden Kamuy 29, Insomniacs After School 2, Love’s in Sight! 2, Mission: Yozakura Family 5, Persona 5 10, and Requiem of the Rose King 17 (the final volume).

MICHELLE: Very excited to see how Requiem of the Rose King ends.

SEAN: Technically we’ve known how it ends since the 16th century.

MICHELLE: Snerk. Valid point, though I expect Bosworth Field with a twist.

ANNA: I need to catch up.

ASH: I am absolutely here for the finale of Requiem of the Rose King.

SEAN: From Square Enix we see Cherry Magic! Thirty Years of Virginity Can Make You a Wizard?! 7 and Wandering Witch 4. Not sure what happened there, I could swear these were last week.

MICHELLE: I thought so, too.

ASH: Hmmm…

SEAN: Seven Seas has one debut. What He Who Doesn’t Believe in Fate Says (Unmei wo Shinjinai Kare ga Iu ni wa) runs in pixiv Sylph, and is a story of college students and the “red strings of fate” that determine love.

MICHELLE: Apparently, the red strings will occasionally be printed in color!

ASH: That is very cool.

SEAN: There is also The Dragon Knight’s Beloved 5, This Is Screwed Up, but I Was Reincarnated as a GIRL in Another World! 7, Though I Am an Inept Villainess: Tale of the Butterfly-Rat Body Swap in the Maiden Court 3, Time Stop Hero 7, and Uzaki-chan Wants to Hang Out! 9.

Kodansha Books has a 3rd volume of The Dawn of the Witch.

Kodansha Manga has a print debut of a title they’ve been putting out digitally, Medaka Kuroiwa is Impervious to My Charms (Kuroiwa Medaka ni Watashi no Kawaii ga Tsuujinai), a Weekly Shonen Magazine story about a girl trying to get a monk in training to fall for her.

Also in print: Drifting Dragons 13, Fire Force 33, Go! Go! Loser Ranger! 5, Something’s Wrong With Us 15 (the final volume, though I think there’s after stories), and That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime: Trinity in Tempest 7.

ASH: I need to catch up with Drifting Dragons; I was really enjoying that series but got distracted by other things.

SEAN: And in digital the debut is Messiah -CODE EDGE-. This runs in Aria, and is based on another project that I know nothing about. Basically, it’s spies, in pairs, with romance. And they’re all guys, so I guess it’s BL romance?

MICHELLE: The blurb says, “Mysterious, handsome young men working as spy-pairs for a secret agency, the Church, are forbidden to love anyone but their partners.” So… yeah. :)

ANNA: Heh.

SEAN: There’s also The Café Terrace and its Goddesses 8, The Dawn of the Witch 3, Gamaran 10, Mr. Bride 8, Small Nozomi and Big Yume 2, This Vampire Won’t Give Up! 5 (the final volume – I guess they gave up), and Vampire Dormitory 10.

MICHELLE: LOL. Maybe they moved into the dormitory.

ASH: Ha!

SEAN: Kaiten Books has a 5th volume of Gacha Girls Corps digitally.

J-Novel Club has a debut in its Heart line. Safe & Sound in the Arms of an Elite Knight (Doinaka no Hakugai Reijо̄ wa О̄to Elite Kishi ni Dekiai Sareru). Not isekai’d or reincarnated, but the heroine is still abused by her family. When she runs away and is rescued by a knight, will things improve?

ASH: I’m still delighted that the Heart line exists.

SEAN: We also see By the Grace of the Gods 12, The Conqueror from a Dying Kingdom 4, Doll-Kara 5, An Introvert’s Hookup Hiccups: This Gyaru Is Head Over Heels for Me! 3, the 4th Isekai Tensei: Recruited to Another World manga volume, The Master of Ragnarok & Blesser of Einherjar 23, Private Tutor to the Duke’s Daughter 8, Sometimes Even Reality Is a Lie! 3, The Unwanted Undead Adventurer 11, Welcome to Japan, Ms. Elf! 8, and the 3rd Young Lady Albert Is Courting Disaster manga.

From Ghost Ship we have Into the Deepest, Most Unknowable Dungeon 6 and Survival in Another World with My Mistress! 4.

Airship has just one print title, the 5th volume of Loner Life in Another World.

And for early digital we see She Professed Herself Pupil of the Wise Man 8 and Survival in Another World with My Mistress! 4.

I know, you likely stopped halfway through Yen Press. But what are you getting regardless?

SEAN: A moon, a spoon, in June, Mang…oon. Nope, sorry, try again.

MICHELLE: Black Lagoon?

SEAN: We start with Airship. In print, they have Failure Frame: I Became the Strongest and Annihilated Everything With Low-Level Spells 7 and Vivy Prototype 4 (the final volume).

And in early digital we see Classroom of the Elite: Year 2 6 and The Haunted Bookstore – Gateway to a Parallel Universe 6.

Dark Horse has the 9th Blade of the Immortal Deluxe Edition.

ASH: At this point, I’m sure nobody is surprised that I’ll be picking it up.

SEAN: There’s Ghost Ship as well, with Welcome to Succubus High! 4 and Who Wants to Marry a Billionaire? 5.

It’s print week for J-Novel Club! We see Ascendance of a Bookworm: Royal Academy Stories – First Year, In Another World With My Smartphone 26, and Marginal Operation 14.

ASH: Yay, print!

SEAN: The digital debut for J-Novel Club is Fake Saint of the Year: You Wanted the Perfect Saint? Too Bad! (Risō no Seijo? Zannen, Nise Seijo Deshita! Kuso of the Year to Yobareta Akuyaku ni Tensei Shitanda ga). A lazy NEET wakes up one day to find he’s in the otome game he loves so much… but yeah, he’s not reincarnated as his “waifu”, but as the terrible “Fake Saint”. Now he has to try to fix things to get a happy ending for all. I’m not sure how much this leans into “guy in a girl’s body”, but it definitely seems to lean comedy.

Other digital titles: The 12th Black Summoner manga volume, the 2nd Endo and Kobayashi Live! The Latest on Tsundere Villainess Lieselotte manga volume, the 2nd I Parry Everything: What Do You Mean I’m the Strongest? I’m Not Even an Adventurer Yet! manga volume, Lady Rose Just Wants to Be a Commoner! 3, Rebuild World 2 Part 2, and Reincarnated Mage with Inferior Eyes: Breezing through the Future as an Oppressed Ex-Hero 2.

The first print debut for Kodansha is Prophecy Complete Omnibus Edition, which is what it says, an omnibus of the manga released by Vertical a while back. It’s a psychological thriller.

MICHELLE: Ooh. Somehow this was not on my radar when it was initially released.

ASH: It’s definitely worth checking out! (If I recall correctly… it’s been a while since I first read it.)

SEAN: Also debuting is the manga version of Saving 80,000 Gold in Another World for My Retirement (Rougo ni Sonaete Isekai de 8-manmai no Kinka o Tamemasu), which runs in Suiyoubi no Sirius. For FUNA fans only.

Also in print: Last Gender 3 (the final volume), Rent-A-Girlfriend 19, The Seven Deadly Sins Omnibus 10, and Welcome to Demon School! Iruma-kun 2.

MICHELLE: Yay!

SEAN: And digitally we have The Fable 15, Gang King 6, Giant Killing 37, Life 2: Giver/Taker 4, Police in a Pod 23 (the final volume, though the blurb says “end of the first part”), Tokyo Revengers 31 (the final volume, though a side story is ongoing on Kodansha’s online manga app), and WIND BREAKER 10.

MICHELLE: At first I wondered, “Are we getting close to the end of Giant Killing?” So I checked and no. No we are not. Not that I’m complaining!

SEAN: One Peace Books has the 7th and final volume of I Belong to the Baddest Girl at School and Usotoki Rhetoric 3.

Seven Seas debuts Qualia the Purple: The Complete Manga Collection (Murasakiiro no Qualia). Based on the light novel, it ran in Dengeki Daioh.

Seven Seas also has Correspondence from the End of the Universe 3, The Eccentric Doctor of the Moon Flower Kingdom 2, Even Though We’re Adults 6, His Majesty the Demon King’s Housekeeper 4, Kageki Shojo!! 9, The Masterful Cat Is Depressed Again Today 6, The Summer You Were There 3, The Tunnel to Summer, the Exit of Goodbyes: Ultramarine 4 (the final volume), and X-Gender 2.

ASH: There are some really good series in that list.

SEAN: From Square Enix we see Cherry Magic! Thirty Years of Virginity Can Make You a Wizard?! 7 and Wandering Witch 4.

MICHELLE: I need to catch up on Cherry Magic!.

ASH: Same! I really enjoyed the earlier volumes in the series.

SEAN: SuBLime debuts Old-Fashioned Cupcake, a BL title from ihr HertZ. A middle-aged salaryman finds romance… and pancakes… with a much younger co-worker.

ASH: I do love when BL manga crosses with food manga.

SEAN: There is also a 2nd volume of The Dragon’s Betrothed.

Three debuts from Tokyopop. At 30, I Realized I Had No Gender: Life Lessons From a 50-Year-Old After Two Decades of Self-Discovery (30-sai de “Seibetsu ga, Nai!” to Hanmei shita Ore ga Around Fifty ni Natte Wakatta Koto) is a one-shot biographical manga published by Bunkasha. It explores the difficulties in being agender in Japanese society.

If My Favorite Pop Idol Made it to the Budokan, I Would Die (Oshi ga Budoukan Itte Kuretara Shinu) is a long-running yuri-ish series from Comic Ryu, it also had an anime. It’s the story of a minor member of an idol group and her #1 fan.

Why I Adopted My Husband: The True Story of a Gay Couple Seeking Legal Recognition in Japan (Douseikon de Oyako ni Narimashita) is another biographical manga from Bunkasha, and examines the same sorts of issues, only for a gay couple rather than an agender person.

ASH: If only I wasn’t avoiding Tokyopop! So many of its recent releases are absolutely up my alley.

SEAN: Viz Media debuts Spider-Man: Fake Red (Spider-Man: Itsuwari no Aka), a complete in one volume about a young man in Japan who comes across a Spider-Man costume. It ran in Magazine Pocket, and is a Marvel tie-in as well, of course.

ASH: I might have to check this out; Spider-Man is very popular in my household.

SEAN: Viz also has Call of the Night 12, Komi Can’t Communicate 25, Yakuza Lover 9, and Yashahime: Princess Half-Demon 3.

Lastly, Yen Press has the 2nd and final volume of Rose Guns Days Sorrowful Cross Knife out digitally.

ASH: Wait, there are weeks in which Yen only releases a single volume?

SEAN: Any manga have you feeling poetic?

SEAN: Oh dear, June is busting out all over. Better call a plumber.

Yen On has two debuts – sort of. They have a deal with J-Novel Club to do print releases of some of their more popular series. As such, debuting in print are Hell Mode: The Hardcore Gamer Dominates in Another World with Garbage Balancing and My Instant Death Ability Is So Overpowered, No One in This Other World Stands a Chance Against Me!. Both popular enough to get print, and both very much in a genre that people are vocally divided about these days.

ASH: I’m not particularly interested in these specific titles myself, but I do like to see these sorts of publisher collaborations.

SEAN: And Yen Press gives us The Case Study of Vanitas 9.

No debuts or final volumes for Viz, but a bunch of books. We see Ayashimon 2, Dragon Ball Super 18, Ima Koi: Now I’m in Love 6, Mashle: Magic and Muscles 12, Rainbow Days 4, Sakamoto Days 8, and Snow White with the Red Hair 25.

Udon Entertainment have Persona 5: Comic À La Carte, an anthology of manga and short stories based in the Persona 5 world, by various artists.

Square Enix has a 2nd volume of My Clueless First Friend.

I normally don’t mention OEL in this list, but Seven Seas is debuting Tiger, Tiger, an Eisner-nominated webcomic, so I will note it’s out next week. Looks good!

ASH: Oh! Speaking of collaborations between publishers, this one should be great!

SEAN: Also from Seven Seas: Chillin’ in Another World with Level 2 Super Cheat Powers 6, Free Life Fantasy Online: Immortal Princess 4, Futari Escape 3, Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation: Mo Dao Zu Shi (The Comic) 2, I’m Kinda Chubby and I’m Your Hero 2 (the final volume), The Two of Them Are Pretty Much Like This 3, Yakuza Reincarnation 6, Yokai Cats 4, and You Like Me, Not My Daughter?! 3.

MICHELLE: I didn’t realize I’m Kinda Chubby and I’m Your Hero was so short! Better get on it.

SEAN: No debuts for Kodansha either, but we see Grand Blue Dreaming 19, In the Clear Moonlit Dusk 4, Lovesick Ellie 10, Orient 15, and Quality Assurance in Another World 2 in print.

MICHELLE: I got up to volume nine in my previous gush-filled read of Lovesick Ellie, so this one will actually be new to me! Very excite.

ANNA: I need to get caught up!

ASH: Likewise!

SEAN: Debuting digitally is Mermaid Melody Pichi Pichi Pitch: Aqua, a sequel to the original Pichi Pichi Pitch that Del Rey put out years ago here. It runs in Nakayoshi, and stars the daughter of the original heroine.

Also digital: Chihayafuru 38, The God-Tier Guardian and the Love of Six Princesses 8, How to Grill Our Love 2, Life 4, MF Ghost 14, My Unique Skill Makes Me OP Even at Level 1 10, and Quality Assurance in Another World 8.

MICHELLE: Obligatory Chihayafuru squee!

ANNA: One day I will read it!!!

SEAN: Kaiten Books has a 7th manga volume of Loner Life in Another World.

One debut from J-Novel Club: Magic Stone Gourmet: Eating Magical Power Made Me The Strongest (Maseki Gourmet: Mamono no Chikara wo Tabeta Ore wa Saikyō!), which has reincarnated into a fantasy world, hero’s family hates him (except his mom here), useless powers that turn out to be awesome, all the bells and whistles you’re used to.

ASH: I continue to be surprised; I was not expecting a pica-based fantasy.

SEAN: We also see the 15th Ascendance of a Bookworm manga volume, which starts the 3rd arc, BLADE & BASTARD 2, Culinary Chronicles of the Court Flower 10, Full Metal Panic! Short Stories 6, The Ideal Sponger Life 12, In Another World With My Smartphone 27, Isekai Tensei: Recruited to Another World 4, Min-Maxing My TRPG Build in Another World 6, and Record of Wortenia War 19.

ASH: Bookworm!

SEAN: From Ghost Ship we get Do You Like Big Girls? 7 and the 24th and final volume of Yuuna and the Haunted Hot Springs.

Airship has a debut… or two debuts, depending how you look at it. To Every You I’ve Loved Before (Boku ga Aishita Subete no Kimi e) and To Me, The One Who Loved You (Kimi o Aishita Hitori no Boku e) are a paired duo of books that were recently made into a paired duo of movies, and feature a teenage couple dealing with parallel worlds. They can be read in any order.

ASH: I am intrigued.

SEAN: Also in print we see Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation 22 and Raven of the Inner Palace 2.

ASH: I really need to get around to reading Raven of the Inner Palace.

SEAN: And there’s an early digital release of 7th Time Loop: The Villainess Enjoys a Carefree Life Married to Her Worst Enemy! 4.

Did we finish cleaning June up? Or is there more June still to come?