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My Week in Manga: October 2-October 8, 2017

October 9, 2017 by Ash Brown

My News and Reviews

Last week at Experiments in Manga I announced the winner of the Assassin’s Creed manga giveaway. The post also includes a list of manga published in English that feature pirates of various types, including historical pirates, fantasy pirates, space pirates, and others. Then New York Comic Con (which is still going on) and Yaoi Con were held last week as well. I didn’t attend either event, but there were some announcements made by Kodansha Comics, Viz Media, and SuBLime Manga (which is technically Viz Media, too). Kodansha revealed plans to release Kenji Inoue and Kimitake Yoshioka’s Grand Blue Dreaming, Mitsurou Kubo’s Again!!, and Akiko Higashimura’s Tokyo Tarareba Girls in print. Among other things, Viz will be adding Hidenori Kusaka and Satoshi Yamamoto’s Pokémon Sun & Moon and Tenya Yabuno’s Pokémon Horizon: Sun & Moon and will be re-releasing Naoki Urasawa’s 20th Century Boys and 21st Century Boys in a hardcover edition in addition to speeding up the release of Kōhei Horikoshi’s My Hero Academia. SuBLime announced a few new digital titles, but Ranmaru Zariya’s Coyote and Ogeretsu Tanaka’s Escape Journey will receive print runs, too.

Quick Takes

Aho-Girl, Volume 1 by Hiroyuki. I only realized it after I finished the first volume of Ah0-Girl, but I’ve actually read another of Hiroyuki’s four-panel manga, Dojin Work, which was never released in its entirety in English. It’s been a long while since I’ve read Dojin Work, but I get the sense that in general I prefer that earlier series over this more recent one. Aho-Girl, while it did legitimately make me laugh on multiple occasions, tends to rub me the wrong way and I personally could have done without all of the sexual harassment being used as the basis for comedy. The dirty jokes I don’t particularly mind, though. As defined by first volume’s cover, “aho-girl” is Japanese for a clueless girl. Yoshiko Hanabatake, the series’ titular character, is indeed an astonishingly dense airhead. Oh, and she really, really likes bananas. Other major characters in the first volume of the manga include Akuru Akutsu, her long-suffering next door neighbor and supposed childhood friend (who doesn’t seem to have many friends in part due to his own unfortunate personality), her mother Yoshie, who would like nothing more than to see the two of the together, and Sayaka Sumino, a genuinely kind girl, classmate, and friend. As may safely be assumed, most of the humor of Aho-Girl revolves around Yoshiko’s sheer stupidity, for better and for worse.

Appleseed Alpha by Iou Kuroda. An adaptation of sorts of the Appleseed Alpha anime, which itself is a spinoff of sorts of Masamune Shirow’s Appleseed manga, Kuroda’s Appleseed Alpha manga forms a prequel to the original story. Although to be completely honest, I’m not entirely sure exactly how the Appleseed Alpha fits into the larger Appleseed franchise since I’m not familiar with any of the other manga or anime. What drew me to the Appleseed Alpha manga was Kuroda’s involvement. It’s been a few years since I’ve read it, but I remember enjoying Kuroda’s alternative manga Sexy Voice and Robo, so I was glad to see more of the creator’s work with its distinctive illustration style released. Kuroda’s Appleseed Alpha was longer than I originally thought it was–Kodansha Comics’ hardcover edition is in fact an omnibus collecting the entire two-volume series, but somehow manages to look much shorter than it actually is. Appleseed Alpha is not a quick read although the plot and action moves at a fairly steady pace. The story follows Deunan, a very competent ex-SWAT officer, and her combat cyborg boyfriend Briareos as the couple makes their way through a dystopic cyberpunk Western version of the United States. Previous knowledge of Appleseed is not needed to enjoy Kuroda’s somewhat quirky contribution.

QQ Sweeper, Volumes 1-3 by Kyousuke Motomi. I greatly enjoyed Motomi’s earlier manga series Dengeki Daisy, so I was looking forward to giving another of the creator’s series a try, which is what ultimately led me to QQ Sweeper. (A few of the characters from Dengeki Daisy actually happen to make quick cameo appearances in the series, too.) Fumi’s dream in life is to find a prince charming to sweep her off her feet. Instead, she finds Kyutaro who has a fixation on literally sweeping. He has a pretty good reason for it, though. Kyutaro and his family are responsible for ridding the local area of dangerous infestations of malicious thoughts and psychological torment which manifest as bugs and physical cleanliness can go far to help with spiritual cleanliness. Of course, sometimes the bugs really are just bugs. For as seemingly silly and charmingly goofy as QQ Sweeper can often be–it can essentially be summed up as a supernatural cleaning manga–the series quickly becomes surprisingly dark. QQ Sweeper ends somewhat suddenly with the third volume and doesn’t really provide much of a satisfying conclusion, but fortunately the sequel series Queen’s Quality has been licensed as well. The series’ humor and seriousness occasionally seems a little off-balance, but I really liked QQ Sweeper and certainly plan on continuing with the story.

Manga the Week of 10/11/17

October 5, 2017 by Sean Gaffney, Michelle Smith, Ash Brown, Anna N and MJ 1 Comment

SEAN: The fields are full of dancing, full of singing and romancing, cause the manga never stops.

Dark Horse has a 6th omnibus of Oh My Goddess!, the only title to rival Dragon Ball for most re-releases.

J-Novel Club finishes up the 3rd volume of The Faraway Paladin, which was large enough to be split into two books, and this is the second.

ASH: I’m really hoping that Seven Seas might consider teaming up with J-Novel Club for a print release of The Faraway Paladin like they’ve done for other titles.

SEAN: Kodansha Digital is truckin’ like the doo-dah man. We start with a 3rd Aoba-kun’s Confessions.

MICHELLE: I am beginning to sense a trend with these musical references…

SEAN: As the Gods Will’s 2nd Series (the first, which I will always mention, was never license) has a 21st volume.

Chihayafuru’s 5th volume makes me feel guilty I haven’t finished the 4th yet.

MICHELLE: Yay!

ANNA: Double Yay here!

SEAN: Clockwork Planet has a 5th manga volume, and it’s also in print, novelty though that be.

Also in print is a 6th Fire Force.

Back to digital, we have the 2nd Magical Sempai, reminding us that honorific use in translation is still a hot button issue.

And there’s an 8th Real Account.

On to Seven Seas, who have the 3rd print edition of Grimgar of Fantasy and Ash’s light novels, previously released digitally by J-Novel Club.

They also have a 5th Lord Marksman and Vanadis.

The debut next week is Spirit Circle, a new shonen title from the creator of Lucifer and the Biscuit Hammer. It’s a story of ghosts and reincarnation, and ran in Shonen Gahosha’s Young King Ours. It also had a Crunchyroll digital release.

ASH: I’m looking forward to giving this one a try! Lucifer and the Biscuit Hammer was such an odd series, but I rather liked it.

SEAN: SuBLime gives us a 3rd deluxe edition of Finder.

And an 8th World’s Greatest First Love.

Titan has collected a 2nd volume of its Sherlock manga adaptation that runs in Japan. Sherlock: The Blind Banker is out next week.

ANNA: We’ve picked these up at my library, and I think they circulate well.

SEAN: Vertical has a 10th volume of Ajin. Happy double digits!

Case Closed reaches Vol. 64. If we convert to Base 10, it’s reached 100 volumes!

Gangsta has a 3rd volume of its Cursed spinoff.

ASH: I hope to see more of the main series, but the spinoff is likewise compelling and incredibly dark.

ANNA: This reminds me that I bought the first two volumes of this series. Need to get caught up ASAP!

SEAN: Viz is also releasing a novel. Juni Taisen: Zodiac War is written by Nisioisin, creator of the Monogatari and Zaregoto series, and has illustrations by Hikaru Nakamura, creator of Saint Young Men. It also has an anime that just began. Its subtitle is its premise, from what I understand.

ASH: My curiosity is certainly piqued based on the creators involved.

MJ: I have to admit that “Saint Young Men” is the first thing on the list this week that has caught my eye at all. So yes, I’m in for something illustrated by Hikaru Nakamura.

SEAN: And a 26th volume of Magi involves a lot of fighting, I expect.

MICHELLE: At least the flashback is over!

SEAN: Lastly, more double digits boasting, as Monster Hunter: Flash Hunter reached that milestone.

This stack of manga has everything delightful and everything you need. What are you getting from it?

My Week in Manga: September 25-October 1, 2017

October 2, 2017 by Ash Brown

My News and Reviews

September has ended and October has begun, but there’s still a little time left to enter the most recent manga giveaway at Experiments in Manga! The results will be announce on Wednesday, so be sure to get your comments in for a chance to win the first volume (actually, I think it may even be the first half) of Takashi Yano and Kenji Oiwa’s Assassin’s Creed: Awakening. For this giveaway, I’m interested in learning more about everyone’s favorite pirate characters in manga. Otherwise, it was once again a fairly quiet week here at the blog. It’s been a while since I’ve last mentioned any of the Kickstarter’s that have caught my eye, but Matthew Meyer’s campaign to continue his series of illustrated yokai guides launched last week. The Book of the Hakutaku: A Bestiary of Japanese Monsters will be the third volume following The Night Parade of One Hundred Demons: A Field Guide to Japanese Yokai (which I’ve previously reviewed) and The Hour of Meeting Evil Spirits: An Encyclopedia of Mononoke and Magic. I really love these books, and the artwork is fantastic.

Quick Takes

Love & Lies, Volume 1 by Musawo. In general, I don’t tend to gravitate towards high school romances, but I am a sucker for utopian and dystopian fiction, so when those two genres mix I can’t help but want to give the resulting story a try. Love & Lies is set in Japan in the near future. In response to the crisis of an extreme decline in population, the government has implemented a program which assigns marriage partners based on their genetic makeup and social circumstances so that any children born will be healthy, skilled, contributing members of society. Once both partners have turned 16, they receive a notice from the government revealing their identities to each other for the first time. Who they may or may not truly love isn’t really taken into consideration, but it also seems that program may be susceptible to corruption. I find the premise of Love & Lies to be very interesting; it has great potential to explore the nature of love and personal relationships in a dramatic and engaging way. When the entire purpose of marriage has become a government-funded reproduction program, the impact on society and its people will be tremendous. I also especially appreciate that Love & Lies includes at least one character who isn’t heterosexual seeing as a marriage program of this type would have particularly drastic social implications for a person who is queer in some way.

Taproot: A Comic about a Gardener and a Ghost by Keezy Young. I first encountered Young’s work through the ongoing webcomic Yellow Hearts which joined Sparkler Monthly‘s lineup of online comics relatively recently. Part of what I love about Yellow Hearts is Young’s gorgeous illustrations and use of color as well as the natural inclusion of queer characters in the story. Taproot is Young’s debut graphic novel and it, too, has what I’ve come to love and expect from the creator’s other comics. The graphic novel has a great amount of depth to it, more than the rather simple, straightforward subtitle would seem to imply. Hamal is young man who can see ghosts, an ability which has made it difficult for him to find acceptance from others. At least from those who are living. Many of the ghosts, on the other hand, are drawn to and quite like Hamal; Blue has even fallen in love with him, although being incorporeal presents a few challenges. But there’s an even greater problem that the two of them must face–the very existence of the local ghosts is being threatened by a frighting supernatural disturbance. There is a sense of loneliness and melancholy to be found in Taproot, but the comic is also incredibly heartwarming and endearing. Taproot is a sweet and touching queer romance with beautiful artwork, making it something that’s extremely easy to recommend.

That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime written by Fuse and illustrated by Taiki Kawakami. There seems to be a preponderance of manga series right now with the underlying conceit of a person dying and then being reincarnated in some sort of fantasy world. I have read a few of these series, so I haven’t been completely avoiding them, but I’ve not really been seeking them out, either, having experienced genre-fatigue by proxy. However, That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime still managed to pique my interest simply because it sounded like such a ridiculous spin on what has become such a well-worn story. And I’ll admit, the first volume of the That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime manga is surprisingly entertaining. The protagonist of the series also happens to be a 37-year-old man, which isn’t the most common in translated manga. Of course, as can be safely assumed from the title, he soon dies only to start life again as a slime, one of the lowliest monsters there is. Mikami accepts this turn of fate pretty quickly and focuses his attention on gaining the ability to verbally communicate with the adventurers and other creatures he encounters. What he doesn’t realize is that he’s essentially been leveling up the entire time he’s been trying to find a way to talk and has unintentionally become one of the most powerful monsters in the area, inadvertently gaining a large following in the process.

Notes of a Crocodile by Miaojin Qiu. So far, only two of Qiu’s long-form works have been translated into English. Last Words from Montmarte, originally published posthumously after the author’s suicide at the age of twenty-six, was released in translation in 2014 and the English-language edition of Notes of a Crocodile, described as a cult classic of queer Taiwanese literature, was more recently released in 2017. Notes of a Crocodile is also one of Qiu’s most highly acclaimed and well-known works. The novel is about a small group of lovesick and psychologically troubled queer college students coming of age in Taipei in the late 1980s. The narrative unfolds as a series of notebooks which contain a combination of diary-like entries, letters between friends and lovers, and fragments of a surreal story about crocodiles posing as humans, in part a metaphor for those who have to live hidden lives. The narrator of Notes of a Crocodile is nicknamed Lazi, a young lesbian woman with self-destructive tendencies who is struggling to come to terms with her sexuality. The women she falls obsessively in love with and their doomed romances feature prominently as do the tumultuous and fraught relationships between her and her small group of extremely close friends. Notes of a Crocodile is a beautiful work but it is also filled with pain, desperation, and longing–the novel resonated very strongly with me and I hope to read more of Qiu’s work.

Manga the Week of 10/4/17

September 28, 2017 by Sean Gaffney, Michelle Smith, Ash Brown and Anna N 1 Comment

SEAN: Next week is October! Are you ready for your pumpkin-spiced manga?

Technically I’ve no idea when in October this will be out, but Bruno Gmuender has listed House of Brutes 1 on Amazon for ‘Oct 2017’, so let’s stick it here. If you like burly gay men getting tied up, you’ll love this.

ASH: The publisher declared bankruptcy earlier this year, so some of the releases are up in the air or have been moved around in the schedule. But should this actually exist, I’ll definitely be picking it up.

SEAN: We’ve seen a lot of male power fantasies this year, but Arifureta: From Commonplace to World’s Strongest may be the most iconic. The 3rd light novel arrives from J-Novel Club next week.

We also get the 3rd Bluesteel Blasphemer novel, from the creator of Outbreak Company, which J-Novel Club just licensed.

And our monthly dose of Invaders of the Rokujouma!?, Vol. 7 this time.

Kodansha Digital celebrates October with a 14th Pumpkin Scissors, and also a 17th Yozakura Quartet.

ASH: There really is pumpkin manga for October!

SEAN: Speaking of license rescues, they also are releasing ALL of Rave Master digitally next week. I assume these are the Tokyopop editions with the serial numbers filed off, but it’s nice to see them available again.

As for newer digital titles, we have a 5th Ace of the Diamond and a 7th Domestic Girlfriend. No print for Kodansha next week!

MICHELLE: Yay for Ace of the Diamond!

SEAN: Seven Seas has a 6th volume of revenge comedy Masamune-kun’s Revenge, although “revenge angst” might be more appropriate at this point.

And a 2nd Tales of Zestiria, which I think I may have mentioned in a prior post – did its date slip?

Vertical, Inc. has the Anime Supremacy! novel, which I know nothing about but looks pretty cool.

ASH: I’ve heard it described as a prose version of the Shirobako anime, which I know has more than a few fans.

SEAN: And also the 9th Devil’s Line from Vertical Comics.

Viz has a pile of titles, as always. The 6th 7th Garden seems numerically off somehow.

Assassination Classroom 18 features that most popular holiday, Valentine’s Day! Will anyone hook up?

The Demon Prince of Momochi House reaches double digits with Vol. 10.

ASH: I’ve fallen a little behind in the series; it’s probably about time I catch up!

ANNA: I enjoy it a lot. It surprises me sometimes!

SEAN: And Food Wars! has gotten to Vol. 20.

Haikyu!! is at sweet sixteen – will it still be popular now that we have a woman’s volleyball title as well? (Hint: yes.)

MICHELLE: There’s definitely room in my heart for both of them.

ANNA: One day I will wrestle the volumes of this series away from my kids and get caught up.

SEAN: We have a lot of final volumes next week, starting with the 8th and final Honey So Sweet!. My guess is it will live up to its name as always.

MICHELLE: It does.

ANNA: Aww, I think Shojo Beat needs another super cute series to fill the void left by Honey So Sweet and My Love Story!!.

SEAN: Kamisama Kiss comes to an end with its 25th and final volume. There’s also a limited edition with extra content – you may want to get that.

MICHELLE: So many shoujo conclusions recently!

ANNA: Glad it is getting a nice sendoff with a special edition.

SEAN: Back to series not ending anytime soon, Kuroko’s Basketball’s 8th 2-in-1 shows the end of the big game – well, the big game of the moment.

MICHELLE: Woot. I still haven’t read the seventh omnibus, so I will have fun tackling four volumes’ worth of sportsy goodness at once.

ANNA: Will Kuroko be invisible AGAIN!?

SEAN: Naruto has a 20th 3-in-1.

More omnibuses! Rurouni Kenshin’s 4th 3-in-1.

Another series ending, with the 15th and final volume of So Cute It Hurts!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!. And my last attempt to make that lame joke as well.

Twin Star Exorcists also joins the double digits club with Vol. 10.

The Water Dragon’s Bride as a 3rd volume.

MICHELLE: This series has grown on me—not surprising since I really liked Dawn of the Arcana—and I find I’m looking forward to volume three quite a bit.

ANNA: I love this series. Everyone should be reading this!

SEAN: And we have a 17th World Trigger, which hopefully will resume in Japan soon.

Lastly, there’s an 8th Yona of the Dawn, always guaranteed to put a smile on the face of the Manga Bookshelf crowd.

MICHELLE: The closest thing to Basara coming out currently, I will always be on board for this.

ASH: Same here!

ANNA: EEEEE!!! for Yona of the Dawn!!!!

SEAN: So what’s your preferred title?

Manga Giveaway: Assassin’s Creed Giveaway

September 27, 2017 by Ash Brown

The month of September brings a number of things along with it, such as the autumnal equinox (for us in the Northern Hemisphere, at least) and yet another manga giveaway at Experiments in Manga. For some, other September delights include International Talk Like a Pirate Day. As such, a manga about pirates would seem to be thematically appropriate for a giveaway, and so this month you all have a chance to win the first trade volume of Takashi Yano and Kenji Oiwa’s Assassin’s Creed: Awakening as published in English by Titan Comics. As usual, the giveaway is open worldwide!

Pirates, noble or otherwise, are a fairly popular character type in all sorts of media. The presence of pirates in a story generally brings along with it a promise of action, adventure, and sometimes even a bit of romance. Often their portrayal in fiction tends to be fairly glamorized when compared with historical and modern-day realities although there are certainly some stories that favor a more gritty approach. When it comes to manga, there’s one particularly successful series that most people probably immediately think of when considering pirates (Eiichiro Oda’s One Piece), but there are plenty of other, lesser-known manga that feature pirates of one ilk or another as well. Part of Assasin’s Creed: Awakening, for example, takes place on the high seas during the early eighteenth century and, yes, there are most certainly pirates to be found.

So, you may be wondering, how can you win a copy of Assassin’s Creed: Awakening, Volume 1?

1) In the comments below, tell me a little about your favorite pirate from a manga. (If you don’t have a favorite, or haven’t read any, simply mention that instead.)
2) If you’re on Twitter, you can earn a bonus entry by tweeting, or retweeting, about the contest. Make sure to include a link to this post and @PhoenixTerran (that’s me).

And there you have it! Anyone participating in the giveaway has one week to submit comments and can earn up to two entries. Comments can also be sent to me directly at phoenixterran(at)gmail(dot)com if either needed or preferred. Those comments will then be posted here in your name. The giveaway winner will be randomly selected and announced on October 4, 2017. Good luck!

VERY IMPORTANT: Include some way that I can contact you. This can be an e-mail address in the comment form, a link to your website, Twitter username, or whatever. If I can’t figure out how to get a hold of you and you win, I’ll just draw another name.

Contest winner announced–Manga Giveaway: Assassin’s Creed Giveaway Winner

My Week in Manga: September 18-September 24, 2017

September 25, 2017 by Ash Brown

My News and Reviews

I was running a little behind my intended schedule last week (and today for that matter–this seems to be somewhat par for the course lately), but over the weekend I was finally able to post my review of the ninth omnibus of Vinland Saga, an award-winning historical manga by Makoto Yukimura which has become one of my favorite series currently being released in English. Last week I also attend a talk by Hiroshi Yoshioka, a professor at Kyoto University’s Kokoro Research Center, called Hiroshima, Fukushima, and Beyond: Borders and Transgressions in Nuclear Imagination. Yoshioka’s research addresses the portrayal of nuclear power within popular culture, whether that be manga like Keiji Nakazawa’s Barefoot Gen, Sunao Katabuchi’s In This Corner of the World anime adaptation, other visual arts, or even Giant Baba’s “atomic drop” in professional wrestling. I won’t be doing a full write-up of the talk (although perhaps I should), but I did find it to be fascinating. A couple of other interesting things that I’ve come across recently include Ryan Holmberg’s two part article “Yokoyama Yuichi and Audiovisual Abstraction in Comics” as well as an edited version of a talk by Tyran Grillo, the translator working on the Legend of the Galactic Heroes novels, about the series and its author Yoshiki Tanaka.

Quick Takes

Frau Faust, Volume 1 by Kore Yamazaki. The German legend of Faust, a scholar who sells his soul to the Devil in order to gain great knowledge and worldly delights, has had numerous interpretations over the centuries. (Considering my background in music, I’m personally most familiar with the various operatic and symphonic renditions of the tale.) Faust being the subject of a manga would be enough for me to take an immediate interest, but the fact that Frau Faust is by Yamazaki, the creator of The Ancient Magus’ Bride which I greatly enjoy, made it a series that I absolutely knew I needed to read. One volume in, not only am I intrigued, I am completely on board with Yamazaki’s reimagining of the classic tale. As can be gathered from the title, Faust in this case is a woman. Johanna is strikingly enigmatic, the complexity of her true nature slowly revealed over the course of the first volume of the manga. The pacing of Frau Faust is excellent. Plenty of mystery remains by the first volume’s end, but rather than the story feeling like it’s being unnecessarily drawn out, it simply makes me want to read more. The only real complaint I have about the manga, and it’s a relatively minor one at that, is Johanna’s eyeglasses which tend to inexplicably appear and disappear from one panel to the next and I can’t tell if it’s meant to be intentional or not.

Kiss of the Rose Princess, Volumes 1-2 by Aya Shouoto. Since I’ve been enjoying The Demon Prince of Momochi House I’ve been making a point to try some of the other manga by Shouoto available in English. Sadly, I haven’t been nearly as taken with Kiss of the Rose Princess, one of Shouoto’s earlier series. I think that part of my lack of interest in the series stems from the fact that there’s not much of a plot even hinted at until the second volume. It’s almost as if the first volume, and much of the second, is devoted to a side quest before really getting to the meat of the story. Anise is a high school student who quite unexpectedly finds herself in command of a quartet of knights (who are also her classmates) that she can magically summon, a situation that hasn’t been fully explained. More than anything else, the setup comes across as a convenient excuse for the series’ heroine have a number of young men who are in some way bound to her if not vying for her attention. There’s nothing inherently wrong with that, but at this point most of the characters come across as “types” and any convincing romantic tension is nearly nonexistent. Everyone is very prettily drawn, however. Shouoto seems to be favoring silliness over seriousness in Kiss of the Rose Princess, which again isn’t necessarily bad, but a satisfying balance between the tones hasn’t been reached yet.

Queen Emeraldas, Volume 2 by Leiji Matsumoto. In addition to being a classic manga, which I’m always happy to see more of in translation, I found the first half of Queen Emeraldas to be wonderfully engrossing, so I was looking forward to reading the conclusion of the series. One of the things that particularly appeals to me about the Queen Emeraldas is the mood that Matsumoto is able to create–the melancholic atmosphere of the manga as well as the portrayal of the great expanse and loneliness of the universe. (I also adore Matsumoto’s illustrations of space.) Emeraldas is a woman traveling the stars, her ship her only constant companion. However, her destiny still frequently crosses paths with those of others. Hiroshi Umino repeatedly finds himself drawn into her orbit as he tries to establish a life of freedom in space. The chapters of Queen Emeraldas are loosely-connected stories with the presence of Emeraldas as the uniting factor. She herself is frequently the narrator of the tales, but the focus is often on the follies and arrogance of the men she meets. I was actually hoping to learn more about Emeraldas and her personal story, but by the end of the series very little has been explicitly stated about her past. Even so, Emeraldas is a marvelously charismatic character, capable of great empathy and compassion but dedicated to justice.

Manga the Week of 9/27/17

September 21, 2017 by Sean Gaffney, Ash Brown, Anna N, MJ and Michelle Smith 3 Comments

SEAN: Another final week of the month with far more than we’d come to expect for a final week of the month. Mainly thanks to our friends at Kodansha (yeah, sorry Ash, it’s all digital again).

ASH: They may be digital, but at least there’s some really great manga being released!

ANNA: It is true, but it also makes me a little wary, having seen plenty of digital manga efforts go under in the past.

SEAN: Starting with their weekly Del Rey rescue, Princess Resurrection 18.

The first digital debut this week is All-Out!, which is a rugby manga. I’ll repeat that: a rugby manga has been licensed for North America. It runs in Kodansha’s experimental seinen magazine Morning Two, and is, I’ll repeat once more, a RUGBY MANGA. Must buy.

MICHELLE: Ooooooh. I have really appreciated the seinen difference in Giant Killing, so I’m obviously all over this one.

ASH: Yup. This one has caught my eye, too.

ANNA: This sounds interesting.

SEAN: Altair: A Record of Battles has a 4th volume digitally.

And there’s a 2nd Black Panther and Sweet 16, for shoujo fans. Also digital.

DAYS 5 reminds you that it’s not just rugby manga out there this week.

MICHELLE: Woot.

SEAN: DEATHTOPIA has a 4th volume as well.

Elegant Yokai Apartment Life has a 2nd volume of, my guess is, yokai living in apartments. Elegantly. (Though not as elegantly as Michiru Kaioh.)

MICHELLE: No one could ever be as elegant.

MJ: I am intrigued by the title alone.

SEAN: Print at last, and the debut of Frau Faust, a josei (ish) title that runs in Itan, from the creator of The Ancient Magus’ Bride. It’s a genderbent take on the classic tale, and I greatly enjoyed the first volume.

MICHELLE: I’m looking forward to this one!

ASH: I’m very excited for this release, too! I’m really enjoying The Ancient Magus’ Bride and, well, Faust is another tale I’m quite familiar with.

MJ: This sounds great!

ANNA: I didn’t totally connect with The Ancient Magus’ Bride but I am intrigued.

SEAN: Genshiken 2nd Season has its 11th volume – we’re almost near the end, but not quite there yet. Expect more Madarame stuff.

ASH: I happen to like Madarame, but I wasn’t expecting the series to end up focusing on him as much as it does.

SEAN: Giant Killing says that it too is a digital sports manga with its 6th volume.

MICHELLE: And this!

SEAN: In/Spectre comes to an end with its 6th volume. I will miss its heroine especially. and hope things end well.

Princess Jellyfish has a 6th omnibus, and it too is apparently nearing its climax. Will the apartments be saved?

MICHELLE: I love this series so much. I love the realism as they come to appreciate the enormity of what they’re attempting, but gosh darnit, I want them to succeed!

ASH: I’m so happy this series is being released! The anime adaptation was delightful, but I’m glad to finally be able to get the entire story.

ANNA: Me too! I need to go on a Jellyfish binge.

SEAN: Real Girl has a 3rd volume, and I keep meaning to catch up with it but haven’t yet.

Shojo Fight is the other big digital debut that I can’t quite believe is out over here. Women’s volleyball! It runs in Evening magazine, and is filled with kickass women. Buy this AND the rugby manga. Splurge.

MICHELLE: I literally have geekbumps right now.

ANNA: Sounds good! Crimson Hero was not enough volleyball manga!

MICHELLE: And those final six volumes will probably never be released here. :(

SEAN: Lastly for Kodansha, we have a 3rd Tsuredure Children, whose anime just wrapped up.

SEAN: One Peace has an 11th volume of Maria Holic, which I still dislike but its fans are happy.

Seven Seas has several titles, starting with a 5th 12 Beast.

Otome Mania!! has its 2nd and final volume, as we see if this game can get released.

Re: Monster has a 3rd volume of male power fantasy.

And Species Domain has a 3rd volume of quirky fantasy slice-of-life school manga.

Lastly, just when you thought the fanservice was gone, it’s back bigger than ever: The Testament of Sister New Devil STORM! debuts.

ASH: Hmmm, usually there’s at least one Seven Seas release I’m reading, but haven’t been following any of these.

SEAN: Udon has a debut as well with Infini-T Force, a Shogakukan title from Hero’s magazine (yes, that’s how they spell it) that’s essentially a giant superhero crossover.

Vertical has a 3rd Flying Witch, which continued to be cute and weird, in that order.

MICHELLE: It’s a low-key charmer.

SEAN: And we have some Yen runoff, starting with their digital titles, new 12th volumes for Aphorism, Crimson Prince and Sekirei.

In print, we have the 7th How to Raise a Boring Girlfriend.

And the 8th Of the Red, the Light, and the Ayakashi, which will no doubt entertain and confuse me, not in that order.

ASH: I need to catch up on this series, but I’ve been liking it!

SEAN: It’s a digital world, folks. Sorry again, Ash. What are you getting this week?

ASH: It’s okay, at least there’s some great print releases, too!

My Week in Manga: September 11-September 17, 2017

September 18, 2017 by Ash Brown

My News and Reviews

Last week at Experiments in Manga I posted August’s Bookshelf Overload which lists the manga, comics, and other media that found their way into my home last month. Otherwise, it was fairly quiet here at the blog, but I did come across some great interviews elsewhere online: Paul Semel interviewed author Kazuki Sakuraba whose novel A Small Charred Face will be released in translation this week. (I actually recently reviewed the book; it’s well-worth picking up.) Susannah Greenblatt interviewed Motoyuki Shibata, one of the cofounders of the Monkey Business literary magazine, discussing translation and Japanese literature among other things. (I’ve previously reviewed some of the early issues of Monkey Business.) And for something a little more manga-centric, Brigid Alverson interviewed manga editor Yumi Sukimune who works with Akiko Higashimura on Princess Jellyfish (which I greatly enjoy) in addition to other series.

And then there’s the licensing news from last week. Udon Entertainment, for example has plans to release Yuztan’s Dragon’s Crown manga adaptation. Most of last week’s manga and light novel licensing announcements came from another Seven Seas’ sprees, though: Accomplishments of the Duke’s Daughter manga by Reia and Suki Umemiya; two companion volumes to Kore Yamazaki’s The Ancient Magus’ Bride (which I’ll definitely be picking up); Arifureta: From Commonplace to World’s Strongest manga by Ryou Hakumai and RoGa; the original Cutie Honey manga by Go Nagai; The Dungeon of Black Company manga by Youhei Yasumura; Didn’t I Say to Make My Abilities Average in the Next Life?! light novels and manga by FUNA, Itsuki Akata, and Neko Mint; Go For It, Nakamura! manga by Syundei (probably the one I’m personally most excited about); Himouto! Umaru-chan manga by Sankaku Head; How Not to Summon a Demon Lord manga by Yukiya Murasaki and Naoto Fukuda; How to Treat Magical Beasts manga by Kajiya; Hungry For You: Endo Yasuko Stalks the Night manga by Flowerchild; If It’s for My Daughter, I’d Even Defeat a Demon Lord manga by CHIROLU and Hota; Little Devils manga by Uuumi; Mushroom Girls in Love, a one-volume manga by Kei Murayama; Precarious Woman Executive Miss Black General by Jin; Satan’s Secretary manga by Kamotsu Kamonabe; The Voynich Hotel manga by Seiman Doumanv. It’s an interesting mix!

Quick Takes

Delicious in Dungeon, Volume 2 by Ryoko Kui. I absolutely loved the first volume of Delicious in Dungeon and after reading the second volume my opinion of the series hasn’t changed–I still find it tremendously entertaining. The conceit of Delicious in Dungeon is fairly simple and straightforward. Basically, Kui has taken a dungeon-crawling adventure and turned it into a food manga. It’s a brilliant combination of subgenres with endless possibilities when it comes to the sheer variety monsters that could end up as a meal for the manga’s protagonists. While this alone could carry the series a fair distance (especially considering the immense creativity Kui exhibits in how fantasy creatures might be used to either directly or indirectly support an adventurer’s diet), Delicious in Dungeon also benefits from having a main cast that largely consists of a bunch of endearing goofballs. Kui has also started to expand on the actual worldbuilding of the series, too. While the manga still relies fairly heavily on the well-established tropes of fantasy role-playing games, small details are being introduced that make the setting of Delicious in Dungeon a little less generic. Of course, part of the series’ humor and charm is firmly based on Kui taking familiar fantasy elements and twisting them just a bit. It’s all great fun.

Sweetness & Lightning, Volumes 6-7 by Gido Amagakure. Although I love food manga, I never generally read a particular title thinking that I’ll actually make any of the recipes that might be contained within it. If I ever did, though, Sweetness & Lightning is probably the series that I would turn to. Since the main characters are in the process of learning to cook (and one of them is a preschooler about to start kindergarten), the dishes that they tackle typically tend to be within the reach of a beginner and aren’t usually overly-complicated. The fact that Sweetness & Lightning is a food manga is what initially brought the series to my attention, but at this point it’s really the characters which keep me coming back for more. I’m particularly impressed by the portrayal of the father-daughter relationship between Inuzuka and Tsumugi. Amagakure is also incredibly successful in depicting little kids in a convincing way. Sweetness & Lightning is in turns adorable and bittersweet, and these two volumes have some especially poignant and heartbreaking moments. Since Tsumugi is so young she still doesn’t entirely understand the death of her mother and Inuzuka still grieves the loss of his wife. But the sixth and seventh volumes also introduce more members of their extended family which was lovely.

What Did You Eat Yesterday?, Volume 12 by Fumi Yoshinaga. The English-language edition of What Did You Eat Yesterday? has essentially caught up with the original Japanese release so the individual aren’t published as frequently as they once were, but I’m always very happy to get my hands on the latest installment in the series. The food in What Did You Eat Yesterday? is beautifully illustrated from start to finish. The individual ingredients, the techniques used, and the resulting dishes are wonderfully and realistically rendered. Visually, the people in What Did You Eat Yesterday? aren’t nearly as detailed as the food they are eating, but the believably complex and nuanced characterizations in the series is exceptional. The characters certainly have their personal flaws and Yoshinaga isn’t afraid to reveal them; rather than portraying some sort of romanticized ideal, Yoshinaga captures the messiness of real-life relationships in the series. It’s an approach that I particularly appreciate. What Did You Eat Yesterday? follows the day-to-day lives of two adult men who are in a committed, long-term relationship with each other which of course is something that I also greatly value. At times the food aspects of What Did You Eat Yesterday? seem tangential to everything else going on, but it’s still a great series.

Manga the Week of 9/20/17

September 14, 2017 by Sean Gaffney, Michelle Smith, Ash Brown and Anna N 1 Comment

SEAN: They did it again, so let’s talk Kodansha Comics. I love their digital line, even if I can’t keep up with it. I love it, but the short turnaround time on solicits/announcements means that I can never get it into Manga the Week of on time. And Amazon is also frequently very late with solicits (or absent with them), so sometimes I miss even more. So let’s start with what’s already out digitally.

Magical Sempai (Tejina Sempai) is a gag manga about a magician’s club that runs in Young Magazine.

And Grand Blue Dreaming is a title from good! Afternoon which combines the writer of Bakas, Tests and Summoned Beasts with the artist of the Amagi Brilliant Park manga. It’s about scuba diving (and romance, and ecchi situations – come on, look at the creators).

Now onto next week’s titles. J-Novel Club has the 5th volume of I Saved Too Many Girls and Caused the Apocalypse, which is not as good as it once was, but let’s see if more girls can solve that.

As the Gods Will 2nd Series is another one of those titles that have been sneakily getting digital all along but which Amazon only recently started listing. Vol. 20 is out next week. And no, the first series was not licensed.

Descending Stories gets a 3rd volume, and will no doubt have a great story to relate.

ASH: I’m still so glad this series is being translated!

SEAN: Hotaru’s Way gets a 3rd digital volume, House of the Sun gets a 7th, and Kasane gets a 5th. (Sorry, have to streamline, too much stuff this week).

Kiss Me at the Stroke of Midnight (Gozen 0-ji, Kiss Shi ni Kite yo) is a shoujo debut for Kodansha, from the Betsufure magazine. It is a “comedy romance”, and the creator also does Love’s Reach, which Kodansha is putting out digitally.

MICHELLE: I was kind of looking forward to this one ’til you mentioned Love Reach, which I didn’t enjoy too much. Oh well. I’ll give it a shot, at least.

ANNA: Huh, I’m usually good for at least the first volume of a new shoujo series.

SEAN: More digital. Peach Heaven 6 and Tokyo Tarareba Girls 7. Enjoy getting further behind!

MICHELLE: At least Tarareba has gotten less depressing!

ANNA: ARRGH, still need to read the first two volumes!

SEAN: And some print, with the 22nd Seven Deadly Sins, as well as the 7th Welcome to the Ballroom. Two titles unlikely to get a gimmicky crossover with each other anytime soon.

ASH: That’s probably true.

SEAN: Seven Seas has a quartet of titles, mostly for their female readers (yes, Seven Seas has female readers). There’s a 3rd Bloom into You for yuri drama, a 3rd Dreamin’ Sun for cishet drama, a 2nd High School Life of a Fudanshi for not-really-BL comedy, and a 2nd Plum Crazy for KITTY! fans.

MICHELLE: I’ll be picking up three of the four!

ASH: That’s pretty good odds! I still need to give Plum Crazy a try. I like High School Life of a Fudanshi more in concept than execution but largely enjoyed the beginnings of both Bloom into You and Dreamin’ Sun.

SEAN: We have reached the final volume of Nichijou with Vol. 10, surely one of the more bizarre comedies to get licensed over here. But fear not, its spinoff, Helvetica Standard, is coming soon, also from Vertical Comics!

The second volume of Golden Kamuy is out from Viz, and I understand it’s slowly transitioning to a cooking manga.

ASH: I think at heart it was always a cooking manga. (And of course I’ll be picking it up.)

ANNA: Really??

SEAN: Goodnight Punpun has its 7th and final volume out next week. A gripping and well-told narrative that I found myself absolutely unable to read, but that doesn’t negate its power.

ASH: Once I’m feeling brave enough, I’ll read the sixth and seventh volume together. It’s a tremendous series, but not at all an easy read.

SEAN: Master Keaton also reaches an end with its 12th volume. Will we ever get more insurance investigator manga?

MICHELLE: Someday, I really will read this.

ASH: And someday I will finally finish reading it!

ANNA: It is so good!

SEAN: Sweet Blue Flowers had a sort of aborted digital release from DMP a while back, but this omnibus edition from Viz is the real deal, and in print. It’s a great story and I can’t wait to read it.

MICHELLE: Yay!!!

ASH: One of my most anticipated releases this year!

SEAN: Yen On has a series of light novels, several of which I have dropped from my reading list. So fans of things that are really dark/evil will have to enjoy Black Bullet 7 and Overlord 5 without me, and fans of isekai-by-numbers will need to read Death March to the Parallel World Rhapsody’s 3rd volume.

As for series I am still reading, Accel World’s 11th volume will kick off a new arc. Baccano! surprises readers by jumping forward about 70 years (don’t worry, it’ll be back to the 1930s soon enough). Is It Wrong To Try To Pick Up Girls In A Dungeon? has a 9th volume that sees if Bell Cranel really can do something to piss off the entire cast.

There’s also the 3rd My Youth Romantic Comedy Is Wrong As I Expected, which refreshingly was not delayed. And a 7th Strike the Blood, which remains generic but highly readable.

As for Yen proper, let’s start with adaptations of light novels. We have a 5th Asterisk War, a 10th Devil Is a Part-Timer!, a 6th OreGairu (which is shorthand to avoid having to type out My Youth Romantic Comedy Is Wrong As I Epxected again), a 2nd of the No Game No Life Please! spinoff, an 8th Strike the Blood, and Vol. 3s of SAO titles Mother’s Rosary and Phantom Bullet.

There are non light novel adaptations as well, believe it or not. Alice in Murderland gives us a 7th volume of Kaori Yuki at her Kaori Yuki-est.

Barakamon has a 14th volume, and if you want to read the prequel, now’s your last chance, as we also have the 7th and final Handa-kun out in print.

MICHELLE: I watched some of the Barakamon anime recently, which convinced me I will love the manga when I finally get around to reading it.

ASH: I think you’ll like it!

SEAN: Big Order’s 3rd omnibus brings us closer to world domination, maybe?

A Bride’s Story may come out once a year here and in Japan, but it’s always welcome, and I will definitely want to read its 9th volume, even if I still find its main female lead a bit dull.

ASH: I really love this series. Mori’s artwork is stunningly beautiful in it.

ANNA: The art really is such a standout on this title.

SEAN: In titles I have nothing to say about, there’s a 4th Bungo Stray Dogs, an 8th Dragons Rioting, the 2nd Kakegurui – Compulsive Gambler (now in print), a 4th Kiniro Mosaic, a 3rd Royal Tutor (now in print), the 8th School-Live!, and a 5th Today’s Cerberus (now in print).

ASH: I need to catch up on Bungo Stray Dogs for the sake of all its J-Lit references if nothing else.

SEAN: Madoka Magica continues to push out spinoffs, with the 3rd Homura Tamura and the 4th Tart Magica.

Lastly, Rose Guns Days begins its 3rd Season, which presumably will feature a new main character to interact with Rose and her brothel of eccentrics.

Sorry for the compressing, but come on, look at all those titles. I have to save space. What’re you getting next week?

My Week in Manga: September 4-September 10, 2017

September 11, 2017 by Ash Brown

My News and Reviews

Last week I took a short family vacation so I wasn’t really online much, but I did announce the winner of the Vertical Comics giveaway before disappearing to the land of limited Internet. The post also includes a list of the manga that have been released (or will soon be released) by Vertical’s manga- and anime-related imprint, Vertical Comics. I’ve been pretty busy over the last few weeks, so I’m sure that I’ve missed out on plenty of news and announcements. Do let me know if there’s something that I should really be paying attention to or need to catch up on!

Quick Takes

Kigurumi Guardians, Volume 1 by Lily Hoshino. I actually haven’t read very many of Hoshino’s manga despite a fair number of them having been translated into English. Hoshino is probably best known as a creator of boys’ love manga, although she was also notably the character designer for Manwaru Penguindrum and her seinen series Otome Yokai Zakuro received and anime adaptation in 2010. Kigurumi Guardians is Hoshino’s most recent series, a prettily drawn but rather strange shoujo manga when it comes down to its story. Hakka Sasakura is a pure-hearted middle school student who, along with two of her schoolmates, has been paired off with a living, breathing, giant stuffed animal which transforms into a beautifully handsome man and back when kissed. This, of course, is all in order to save, or at least protect, the world from creatures from another dimension which steal the hearts of humans. The charm of Kigurumi Guardians is largely derived from the fact that the series’ doesn’t take itself or its weird humor very seriously at all. On the other hand, it doesn’t seem to have much depth to it either. Or at least not yet. The ending scene of the first volume would seem to imply that there’s much more going on than might be initially assumed from the series’ inherent and deliberate goofiness.

Oresama Teacher, Volumes 1-6 by Izumi Tsubaki. I absolutely adore Monthly Girls’ Nozaki-kun, so while waiting for new volumes in that series to be released I figured it was about time that I finally gave another of Tsubaki’s manga a try. And because as far as I know Tsubaki only has three series (all of which are available in translation), my choices came down to The Magic Touch and Oresama Teacher. Although I’ll probably still read The Magic Touch at some point, ultimately I decided to pursue Oresama Teacher first, mostly because I have a huge soft spot for delinquents in Japanese popular culture. I really should have picked up the series much sooner; I’m loving the manga and its tremendous heart. I find Tsubaki’s sense of humor in Oresama Teacher to be similar to that in Monthly Girls’ Nozaki-kun–played fairly straight while still being completely ridiculous with a cast filled with incredibly endearing characters. Granted, some of them can be pretty asshole-ish at times, too. The plot wanders around a fair bit, mostly for comedy’s sake, but the series generally follows Mafuyu Kurosaki, an ex-gang leader who is attempting to clean up her act by transferring schools and trying to become a “normal” high school girl. This proves to be rather difficult when her homeroom teacher and newfound friends all have pasts as troublemakers, too.

Manga in America: Transnational Book Publishing and the Domestication of Japanese Comics by Casey Brienza. Relatively few academic writings have been specifically devoted to the North American manga industry; so far, Manga in America is both the first and only book-length work to tackle the subject. Although it was published in 2016, Manga in America was originally written in 2012. There have been some significant changes and developments in the United States manga industry since then, but the book is still an informative and valuable ethnographic study. A significant portion of the volume and Brienza’s research was informed by a series of confidential, in-depth interviews that were conducted with seventy people who had experience working within the industry. Manga in America is undoubtedly the most comprehensive look at the North American manga industry that I’ve seen in a single volume, providing insight into all aspects of what Brienza terms the “domestication” of manga. Licensing, translation, editing, sales, design, and more are all addressed as is the historical context of the industry and possible future developments. Overall, Manga in America is accessible to a general audience although some sections will likely be more interesting or meaningful to readers with some familiarity with sociology.

Manga the Week of 9/13/17

September 7, 2017 by Sean Gaffney, Michelle Smith, Anna N and Ash Brown Leave a Comment

SEAN: More manga, more backlog.

Kodansha has the final volume of Complex Age, Vol. 6, which I found a little TOO realistic for my tastes, but it was very well written.

MICHELLE: Volume five was less painful than volume four, though I am still nowhere near certain that we’re going to get a happy ending.

ANNA: I’m way behind on this series but still interested in it!

ASH: Same! The first volume left a deep impression on me, and the other volumes I’ve read were likewise very strong. I’ll definitely be reading the rest.

SEAN: There’s also a 6th volume digitally of Domestic Girlfriend.

Fuuka hits Vol. 14, despite still being written by Seo Kouji.

And there is a 12th volume of Kiss Him, Not Me!, which is The Wallflower for the millennial generation.

ASH: I’ll admit, I’ve fallen behind on the series. But while are parts of the story I’m not fond of, I do like the manga overall.

SEAN: If you didn’t get burned out by the heroine of Mikagura School Suite’s light novel, One Peace has Vol. 1 of the manga.

Seven Seas is next. The third Kase-san And… volume, which of course has no actual numbers, is Kase-san and Shortcake. It promises to be adorable.

ASH: Quite.

SEAN: Monster Girl Encyclopedia sure was popular with a certain type of fan. If you are that type of fan, there is a 2nd volume.

Non Non Biyori’s cast continues to do not very much in a cute way with this 8th book.

And we also get a print version of the second volume of Occultic;Nine, whose digital edition came out from J-Novel Club.

SuBLime has a 5th volume of Don’t Be Cruel, which is not subtitles To A Heart That’s True, but should be.

ASH: I haven’t read the series proper yet, but the first volume of the side stories was entertaining.

SEAN: And we also get the 7th and final volume of Love Stage!!, which can now pass on its extra exclamation marks to needy new manga.

MICHELLE: I had actually completely forgotten Love Stage!! exists.

SEAN: Vertical has a 5th volume of the Master Edition of BLAME!.

ASH: For anyone interested in Tsutomu Nihei’s artwork, this is absolutely the edition to pick up.

SEAN: Lastly, Viz’s poster child for “do scanlations hurt sales?”, Hayate the Combat Butler has finally hit Vol. 30. I eagerly await it, though I may be totally alone there.

Hey, a light week! Relax, or buy something from this list?

ASH: Until now, I didn’t realize that light weeks even existed anymore!

My Week in Manga: August 28-September 3, 2017

September 4, 2017 by Ash Brown

My News and Reviews

Last week saw the end of one month and the beginning of another, which means the most recent monthly giveaway is currently underway at Experiments in Manga! Partially in honor of the seventh anniversary of Experiments in Manga (but largely just because I feel like it) this is a giveaway for four volumes of manga rather than just one. The winner will be announced on Wednesday, so there’s still time to enter for a chance to pick up a Variety of Vertical Comics: the first volumes of Ryo Hanada’s Devils’ Line, Chihiro Ishizuka’s Flying Witch, Riichi Ueshiba’s Mysterious Girlfriend X, and Keiichi Arawi’s Nichijou: My Ordinary Life. (I tried to make sure there was a good assortment of the types of manga currently being released by Vertical.)

Quick Takes

Cells at Work, Volumes 2-4 by by Akane Shimizu. I enjoyed the first volume of Cells at Work tremendously, but I did wonder just how long Shimizu would be able to carry the series’ conceit without it becoming tedious. I’m still not entirely sure, but apparently for at least four volumes because I still find myself highly entertained by Cells at Work. I’ve even learned a few things about the human immune system that I either didn’t previously know or had forgotten. (It’s been a long time since I’ve taken an anatomy or physiology class.) While there are a number of recurring characters–the anthropomorphized personifications of the various types of cells and organisms found in the human body–there’s not much of an overarching story or any real character development. Cells at Work is an episodic series with each chapter’s plot generally following some variation of the same theme: the body becomes compromised and an immune response is triggered because of it. Shimizu’s approach to the subject matter is to make it as epic and frequently as comedic as possible. The artwork is great, too. Cells at Work can be spectacularly violent, but it can also be surprisingly endearing. I continue to enjoy the series a great deal and look forward seeing more of Shimizu’s mayhem.

Otherworld Barbara, Omnibus 2 (equivalent to Volumes 3-4) by Moto Hagio. It’s been around a year or so since the first half of the award-winning manga series Otherworld Barbara was released in English, long enough for me to have forgotten some of the nuances of the story. Granted, I’m not sure that I was necessarily picking up on all of the nuances to begin with. I definitely enjoyed Otherworld Barbara, and am very glad that it has been released in English, but I will admit that the manga can be frustratingly confusing and difficult to follow at times. (Perhaps I should try reading the series all in one go.) Otherworld Barbara is a very strange series and there’s a lot going on in it. Arguably a bit too much. Among many other things genetic experimentation, the search for immortality, Martian wars, dreams which impact reality and influence the future, existential crises, psychic confrontations, disastrous relationships, and precarious family dynamics all contribute to the narrative’s chaos and occasional lack of cohesiveness. In the end everything does successfully come together in a way that largely makes sense, but it does take some seemingly convenient plot twists for it all to happen. Even so, I found Otherworld Barbara to be immensely intriguing.

Wolfsmund, Volumes 7-8 by Mitsuhisa Kuji. While it seemed like Wolfsmund had reached a natural ending point in the sixth volume, apparently Kuji had always intended the manga to be longer than that; with eight volumes, Kuji was able to reach the series’ conclusion as it was originally envisioned. Wolfsmund is an incredibly violent and frequently gruesome manga based on the historical conflict between the Swiss Confederacy and the Habspurg-led Austrian occupying forces in the early fourteenth century. The series culminates with the Battle of Morgarten, a pivotal moment in the history of Switzerland. That battle and the various skirmishes that lead up to it are brutal and legitimately gut-wrenching. Kuji does not at all shy away from showing the blood and gore associated with pre-modern warfare. The atmosphere that Kuji creates is exceptionally dark, heavy, and oppressive, the few moments of hope overshadowed by desperation and despair. However, the members of the Confederacy’s peasant army show astounding devotion to their cause even when faced with overwhelming odds. I can’t say that I was ever emotionally invested in Wolfsmund, but it was a gripping retelling.

Manga the Week of 9/6/17

August 31, 2017 by Sean Gaffney, Anna N, Ash Brown and Michelle Smith 2 Comments

SEAN: September begins, and it’s back to school with a giant crush of manga. As always.

Dark Horse has a 3rd volume of Psycho-Pass prequel Inspector Shinya Kogami.

J-Novel Club gives us a 5th digital Grimgar of Fantasy and Ash novel, which… may not be depressing? Possibly?

And there’s also a 6th Invaders of the Rokujouma!?, which gives focus to our favorite underground priestess.

Did you know that Pumpkin Scissors is still running to this day? Somehow? It’s true! Kodansha is still rescuing it digitally with Vol. 13.

MICHELLE: I did not!

SEAN: On to non-Del Rey stuff, we have a 5th volume of GTO Paradise Lost, the latest in the author’s “no matter what I try to write, only Onizuka seems to sell” sequel.

ASH: I’ll admit, although I greatly enjoyed GTO, I haven’t really been keeping up with the sequels.

SEAN: And a 3rd Kounodori: Dr. Stork, which I am now behind on. Yay!

We also have two debuts from Kodansha digitally, that actually came out this week but Kodansha dropped them secretly as always. Black Panther and Sweet 16 (Kurohyou to 16-sai) is a Nakayoshi title that nevertheless seems very racy. It also has a weak female lead and pushy male lead. Ergh.

MICHELLE: Pass.

ANNA: I feel like I have seen this too many times before…

SEAN: And Elegant Yokai Apartment Life (Youkai Apato no Yuuga na Nichijou) runs in Shonen Sirius, and is what it sounds like – protagonist moves into an apartment filled with yokai.

MICHELLE: Hm. Maybe.

ANNA: That sounds promising, but I have a high tolerance for yokai titles.

ASH: As do I, for that matter.

SEAN: You want print? How about the 8th Sweetness and Lightning?

MICHELLE: Yay!

ASH: The series is such a delight! (And yes, print, please!)

SEAN: And there is also the 2nd Waiting for Spring for shoujo fans. Its first volume was unoriginal but soothing.

MICHELLE: I think there’s room for a series like that in my heart. I plan to read volumes one and two together.

ANNA: I have the first volume and haven’t read it yet, but soothing shoujo sounds nice.

Seven Seas has an 11th Arpeggio of Blue Steel, which continues to be the Tom Clancy novel of anthropomorphic personifications.

The debut next week is Captain Harlock: Dimensional Voyage, the 2014 manga sequel that apparently updates Harlock for the 21st century. Despite the fact that it runs in Champion Red, I look forward to it.

ASH: I’m looking forward to giving this one a try, too.

SEAN: And there’s the 8th Golden Time. Still a soap opera, still enjoyable to me.

And Tales of Zestria has a 2nd volume.

ASH: Whoops, I’d already forgotten about this series (probably because it’s based on a video game I’m not particularly familiar with), but it seems like it could have potential.

SEAN: Vertical gives us the 2nd Mobile Suit Gundam Wing manga, which continues to adapt Endless Waltz.

And now for Viz. So much Viz. Starting with the 4th Anonymous Noise, which I hope features some nice screaming.

MICHELLE: Volume three was the first time I had a “this is actually kind of cool” moment, so I will keep going for a little while to see if that becomes a trend.

ANNA: I think it has gotten better as the series develops, and I enjoy the screaming scenes.

SEAN: Bloody Mary’s 8th volume is not about vampires!… wait, yes, sorry. It is.

MICHELLE: *snerk*

ANNA: SO behind on this series, but I enjoyed the vampire angst in the early volumes.

SEAN: Boruto has a 2nd manga volume, which I imagine means the anime has already long since passed it.

Death Note gets an all-in-one edition, and at 2400 pages it comes close to taking the crown for best blunt object.

ASH: I really want to see one of these in person, just to see how it’s put together. I’ve been assured that the spine will hold up, but what about the readers?!

SEAN: Everyone’s still not getting married in the 6th Everyone’s Getting Married.

ANNA: I so enjoy this series. Hooray for Shojo Beat’s stealth josei publication practices!

SEAN: Haikyu!! 15 is out. But you knew that, as it’s a monthly. It’d be weirder if it weren’t out next week.

MICHELLE: I actually have a nice little pile of Haikyu!! to read now. I expect a mini-marathon will be great fun.

ANNA: I have a difficult time reading this series because my kids steal each volume.

ASH: Like Michelle, I’ve (unintentionally) been preparing for a mini-marathon as well. But I do enjoy Haikyu!! so incredibly much.

SEAN: Kimi Ni Todoke crawls to its conclusion some more. I dearly love it every time I read it, but admit that I wish it would hurry up.

MICHELLE: Yeah, I still can’t tell whether it’ll end after high school or actually follow the characters into their college endeavors.

ANNA: I need to get caught up!

SEAN: It’s the end for My Love Story!!, which has a lucky 13th volume to end on. Will the rain in Spain defeat our separated couple? Will we get a sweet happy ending! (spoilers: we will.)

MICHELLE: I’m counting on it!

ANNA: Such a great series.

ASH: It really is wonderful!

SEAN: And Nisekoi is also almost-but-not-quite done with this 23rd volume.

Chibi Sasuke’s Sharingan Legend is a superdeformed parody that aims to show us the humorous side of Sasuke. It should be about 4 pages long, then.

One Piece’s 21st 3-in-1 takes us to Fish-Man Island, so it’s slowly catching up with the main volumes.

One-Punch Man’s 12th volume will have some quality punching.

ASH: Excellent.

SEAN: And speaking of Quality, QQ Sweeper finally gets its sequel/reboot with Queen’s Quality. I love this author, so definitely want to read this.

MICHELLE: I’m glad this is finally out!

ANNA: Yay!

ASH: I’ve somehow still not managed to finish QQ Sweeper, but I’m glad we’re getting Queen’s Quality, too!

SEAN: Skip Beat! has a 39th volume, which I hope wraps up the arc with Kyoko’s mother.

MICHELLE: I just read it and it’s great. Of course.

ANNA: Skip Beat is always great, but I am also not fond of Kyoko’s mother.

SEAN: Lastly, it’s not a long Viz list unless it ends with a Yu-Gi-Oh volume, and we get the 2nd of “Arc V” here.

Got your pencils and paper? Or tablets and digital pens, whatever the kids use these days. Also, manga?

Manga Giveaway: A Variety of Vertical Comics

August 30, 2017 by Ash Brown

It’s nearly the end of August which means it’s time for another giveaway at Experiments in Manga! Earlier this month I celebrated the blog’s seventh anniversary, and I’d like to continue that celebration by offering you all the chance to win not one, not two, not three, but four volumes of manga. In this particular case the first volumes of Ryo Hanada’s Devils’ Line, Chihiro Ishizuka’s Flying Witch, Riichi Ueshiba’s Mysterious Girlfriend X, and Keiichi Arawi’s Nichijou: My Ordinary Life, all of which have been published in English by Vertical Comics. As usual, the giveaway is open worldwide!

I’ve been a big fan of Vertical releases for years, not only of its manga, but its prose works, too, both fiction and nonfiction. (Two of my younger sisters also greatly enjoy Vertical’s puzzle books, although I think it’s been a few years since the last one was published). In 2014, Vertical launched Vertical Comics, an imprint specializing in the publisher’s manga and anime-related titles. Since then, Vertical Comics has continued to expand and offer more and more manga of a wide variety–there seems to be a little bit of something for just about everyone. And I’m always happy to give just about any manga a chance when it’s released by Vertical Comics.

So, you may be wondering, how can you win a variety of Vertical Comics?

1) In the comments below, tell me a little about your favorite manga that has been released by Vertical Comics. (If you don’t have a favorite, or haven’t read any, simply mention that instead.)
2) If you’re on Twitter, you can earn a bonus entry by tweeting, or retweeting, about the contest. Make sure to include a link to this post and @PhoenixTerran (that’s me).

And it’s as easy as that! Giveaway participants can earn up to two entries and have one week to submit comments. If needed or if preferred, comments can also be sent to me at phoenixterran(at)gmail(dot)com and I will then post them here in your name. The giveaway winner will be randomly selected and announced on September 6, 2017. Best of luck to you all!

Contest winner announced–Manga Giveaway: A Variety of Vertical Comics Winner

My Week in Manga: August 21-August 27, 2017

August 28, 2017 by Ash Brown

My News and Reviews

I was away last week traveling for work as well as for yet another family wedding (this year has been full of them), but I still managed to post a review before it was all said and done. It’s several month’s later than I really intended it to be since the manga was actually released back in May, but I’ve finally reviewed the first omnibus of My Brother’s Husband by Gengoroh Tagame. The manga was easily one of my most anticipated releases for 2017. I’ve actually been collecting the series in Japanese (even though my reading comprehension of the language isn’t quite where it needs to be yet), but I am incredibly happy that it’s being translated into English. I’m not sure when the second and final omnibus is scheduled to be released, but there’s not question that I’ll be picking it up once it’s available.

Quick Takes

Assassin’s Creed: Awakening, Volume 1 written by Takashi Yano and illustrated by Kenji Oiwa. There have been numerous Assassin’s Creed comic adaptations published by Titan Comics, so including Yano and Oiwa’s Awakening as part of its catalog seems an obvious choice to make even though the publisher doesn’t typically release many manga. Admittedly, I’ve not played very much of any of the Assassin’s Creed video games (although what I have played I’ve largely liked) and I’m not especially familiar with Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag, the installment upon which Awakening is loosely based. What primarily drew me to the series was the involvement of Oiwa, one of the creators behind the manga adaptations of Otsuichi’s Goth and Welcome to the N.H.K., both of which I greatly enjoyed. Awakening alternates between two stories taking place in different time periods which turn out to be deeply connected to each other although the depth of that connection isn’t immediately clear. The first, and the one I prefer, is set in the early eighteenth century and follows Edward Kenway, a pirate captain who gets caught up in the conflict between the Templars and Assassins. Centuries later, that conflict is still ongoing, impacting the life of Masato Yagyu and his family in unexpected ways.

The Backstagers, Volume 1: Rebels without Applause written by James Tynion IV, illustrated by Rian Sygh, and colors by Walter Baiamonte. I believe The Backstagers first came to my attention when it was featured on a list of ongoing comics series which included trans characters. And indeed, one of the characters in The Backstagers–and an important main character at that–is a transguy, something that is almost unheard of in mainstream comics. (Also of note, the series’ co-creator and illustrator is also trans, which I hadn’t initially realized.) That was enough to make me interested in the series, and the first volume was more than enough to make me a fan. The Backstagers is set at an all-boys high school and largely follows the stage crew of the drama club. Jory, a recent transfer student, who at first he thought he wanted to be an actor ultimately finds himself swept up in the magic of what happens behind the scenes. Quite literally, actually. The Backstagers is a tremendous amount of high-energy fun with brightly colored artwork and sparkles, blushing, and flowers galore. The comic is also delightfully queer and diverse, breaking down gender stereotypes by presenting a wide variety of masculinities. I absolutely loved the first volume of The Backstagers and definitely look forward to more.

Nirvana, Volume 1 by Jin and Sayuki. Due to her selflessness and devotion to volunteer efforts, Yachiyo Hitotose has become known as the Modern-Day Florence Nightingale. While on a trip to help those in need overseas, Yachiyo’s flight crashes and she suddenly finds herself reincarnated in another world known as Gulgraf. Believed to be the new embodiment of the divine goddess Sakuya, the bringer of light, Yachiyo has naturally taken upon herself to rescue and protect the residents of Gulgaf from the powers of darkness. As well-meaning as she is, Yachiyo will still need plenty of help if she wants to make a difference, especially as there are those who already want her dead. And so she sets off on an adventure, traveling across the world in search of allies as she learns to control the new powers she has been granted. Nirvana does seem to at least in part be be inspired by Buddhist and Hindu mythologies and mysticism–which honestly is what compelled me to give the series a try–but at this point they seem to be used mostly as a veneer and to provide the series’ most basic narrative structure and worldbuilding. I wasn’t as captivated as I was hoping to be with Nirvana, but I was still entertained by the first volume which takes a much more comedic approach than I was expecting.