Features

Manga the Week of 3/30

March 24, 2016 by Sean Gaffney Leave a Comment

SEAN: For a 5th week of the month, there’s a surprising amount of stuff coming out, though it’s nothing compared to April, which features 895,623 new and ongoing series. But it’s still March, so what’s happening next week?

The Passion of Gengoroh Tagame is getting a re-release from the Bruno Gmuender publisher, giving you more of the famous gay manga author. I know a lot of people who are eagerly awaiting this.

ASH: I’m so glad to seeing this coming back into print, and with additional content, even!

ANNA: I’m not likely to read this manga, but I think it is great that the market now supports publishing titles like this. I can’t imagine this being published 10 years ago.

SEAN: Kodansha has the 13th and final volume of My Little Monster, a bumper volume not only featuring various sequels and side stories to the main plot, but also selected highlights from the fan book! A must buy.

MICHELLE: And buy it I shall!

SEAN: And The Seven Deadly Sins is also at Volume 13, but is nowhere near its final volume.

UQ Holder reaches Vol. 7, and by now has given up any pretense of being anything but a sequel to Negima.

And there’s a 6th volume of shonen romance Your Lie In April.

Seven Seas gives us an 8th volume of always interesting if sometimes a bit uncomfortable series A Centaur’s Life.

They also have the debut of Not Lives, yet ANOTHER survival game manga (2013: Alice in the Country of Hearts, 2014: Vampires, 2015: Zombies, 2016: Survival Game, 2017: ???), which also has gender bending to shake things up.

MICHELLE: I don’t suppose we could parlay the survival game trend into a license for Yumi Tamura’s 7SEEDS, eh?

SEAN: Speaking of familiar genres, Vertical debuts Nichijou, a humorous slice-of-life high school comedy – NO WAIT COME BACK! Nichijou is fantastic! It’s very weird and quirky (as the cover might indicate), and has some great characters. I’ve been eagerly awaiting it. For fans of Seki and Sakamoto.

ASH: I have heard good things, and I’m a fan of Seki and Sakamoto, so I should probably pick this up.

MICHELLE: It definitely looks intriguing.

ANNA: That sounds interesting.

MJ: Hm, okay, I’m in.

SEAN: The rest is all digital, but there’s a lot of it. Viz has a 2nd volume of the Boys Over Flowers sequel, appropriately named Boys Over Flowers Season Two.

MICHELLE: I read a chapter or two of this, but should try to get back into it.

ANNA: Yay! I enjoy this series.

SEAN: And Yen’s digital-only titles give us new volumes of Aphorism, Crimson Prince, Renaissance Eve, Scarlet Empire, and Sekirei.

ANNA: I need to catch up on Scarlet Empire – I think I bought the first volume and it disappeared into the mass of titles on my kindle.

SEAN: Is there a title here that cries out to your heart?

My Week in Manga: March 14-March 20, 2016

March 21, 2016 by Ash Brown

My News and Reviews

I managed to post two in-depth manga reviews at Experiments in Manga last week, though it looks like I’ll only be posting one this coming week since taiko will be keeping me pretty busy with a number of different performances and related events. Inio Asano’s A Girl on the Shore was the first manga that I reviewed last week. Like the rest of Asano’s work that I’ve read, it can be emotionally intense and hard-hitting at times, but it’s very well done. As part of my monthly horror manga review project, last week I also took a look Mushishi, Volumes 8, 9, and 10, the final installment in the English-language release of Yuki Urushibara’s award-winning debut. Although I’ve reached the end of the series proper, I’m planning on at least more Mushishi-related post before I’m through.

Elsewhere online: The BBC has an interesting piece on Keiko Takemiya—The godmother of manga sex in Japan. Rokudenashiko was interviewed by the Anne Ishii of MASSIVE about controversial art and free speech. Otaku USA posted an interview with translator and scholar Frederik L. Schodt about his work and Osamu Tezuka. An interview with Steve Oliff, the colorist who worked on Marvel’s release of Katsuhiro Otomo’s Akira, was posted at Anime News Network. In licensing news, Dark Horse has picked up the Psycho-Pass: Inspector Shinya Kogami manga written by Midori Goto and illustrated by Natsuo Sai. Finally, the Skip Beat! crowdfunding effort that I mentioned a couple weeks ago has moved from Indiegogo to Kickstarter.

Quick Takes

Dream Fossil: The Complete Stories of Satoshi Kon by Satoshi Kon. Compiling fifteen of Kon’s short manga from between 1984 and 1989, as well as an essay by Susumu Hirasawa (which was a pleasant surprise), Dream Fossil is a somewhat peculiar volume which will probably be of most interest to Kon enthusiasts although other readers may find parts of it appealing as well. As is the case with so many collections, some stories are much stronger than others. Some of the unevenness can likely be attributed to the fact that Dream Fossil consists of Kon’s early works in which his narrative techniques were still being refined and developed. I actually found myself frustrated with some of the stories because they read less like manga and more like a storyboard or broad outline for a more involved work; some of the stories and ideas seem like they would have been better conveyed through animation rather than sequential art. Even so, as a whole I did enjoy Dream Fossil. While the storytelling itself was sometimes weak, the underlying concepts and imagery were great.

Master Keaton, Volumes 2-4 written by Hokusei Katsushika and Takashi Nagasaki and illustrated by Naoki Urasawa. It’s been some time since I read the first volume of Master Keaton, but being a fairly episodic series without much of an overarching story it wasn’t at all difficult to fall right back into the manga. I first picked up Master Keaton because of Urasawa’s involvement with the manga. This is still a major draw for me, but I continue to read the series because I genuinely enjoy the stories and characters. Keaton is sent all over the world to investigate a wide range of cases, so there’s plenty of variety in the manga’s stories as well. Although the series’ drama, action and adventure is certainly engaging, I especially like the chapters that take advantage of Keaton’s archaeological and academic interests. Master Keaton, while fictionalized, makes use of actual people, places, and events, which I like. (I’ve even learned a few factual tidbits from the manga.) Occasionally the series does get bogged down in historical details that don’t necessarily further the story, though.

The Tipping Point edited by Alex Donoghue and Tim Pilcher. Published as part of the fortieth anniversary celebrations of the comics publisher Humanoids, The Tipping Point collects thirteen short works from creators influenced by Japanese, Franco-Belgian, and American comics traditions. The anthology specifically caught my attention due to the mangaka involved—Taiyo Matsumoto, Atsushi Kaneko, Naoki Urasawa, Keiichi Koike, and Katsuya Terada—although the European and American creators are notable in their own right. (Sadly, though the collection touts its own innovation and diversity, only male creators are represented, something that is quickly glossed over in the introduction.) I greatly enjoyed the individual comics which range in subject, genre, and tone, but as a collection The Tipping Point seems to be missing a sense of cohesiveness and context. In the end, I was left wondering why these particular creators and why these particular works were selected to be brought together. Perhaps the theme of a “tipping point” was simply too vague or broad.

Manga the Week of 3/23

March 17, 2016 by Sean Gaffney, Michelle Smith, Ash Brown, MJ and Anna N Leave a Comment

SEAN: It is somewhat sad that with the huge number of manga out towards the end of every month, I can be relieved that there are “only” 33 titles out next week. Let’s plow through them.

Dark Horse has a 3rd Astro Boy omnibus.

Kodansha has an awful lot of stuff. There’s a 4th volume of that pesky Devil Survivor.

And Noragami is still sped up with its 12th release.

If you prefer 4 to 3, then the debut of Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth Side P4 will delight you. I’ll be in the corner looking baffled.

At long last, North America sees the debut of possibly the most anticipated josei title ever: Princess Jellyfish, which runs in Kiss magazine, gets an omnibus release, and it is fantastic. The Manga Bookshelf team would normally all pick it as Pick of the Week automatically, but see below. (FYI: PJ’s creator, Akiko Higashimura, has a younger brother, who happens to draw My Neighbor Seki.)

MICHELLE: I feel like I have been waiting for this for ages and ages. So excited!

ASH: Same here! (Also, I had no idea Akiko Higashimura and Takuma Morishige were related!)

MJ: So ready for this!

ANNA: I feel like I’ve been waiting for this FOREVER! Very much looking forward to reading this.

SEAN: Also debuting is Real Account, which is a survival game manga, and zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzsnooooore – sorry, fell asleep there. Moving on.

MICHELLE: It can’t be worse than BTOOOM!, can it?

MJ: We shouldn’t underestimate it, Michelle. We should give it a chance to prove that it’s worse. It’s only fair.

SEAN: And a 7th volume of Yamada-kun and the Seven Witches. One volume per witch!

Seven Seas gives us a 5th volume of Servamp, which I believe still has vampires.

And Vertical has a 7th volume of Ajin, a series I know many people are excited about.

ASH: Especially now that there’s an anime series.

SEAN: Viz finally debuts the new shoujo title from the Vampire Knight creator, who has switched from Vampires to Ninjas with Shuriken and Pleats.

MICHELLE: I didn’t love Vampire Knight, but I’m still looking forward to checking this out.

MJ: Same.

ANNA: I will read this!

SEAN: And now it’s Yen time, starting with the Yen On light novel imprint. Accel World gets a 6th volume, as we try to figure out if our hero is going to turn possessed and evil or not.

The third Durarara!!, meanwhile, focuses on Masaomi, the third member of our high school power trio.

Log Horizon has a 4th volume, resolving the cliffhanger from the third, and possibly featuring Shiroe pushing his glasses up his face a few more times.

And there’s a 4th No Game No Life, which I wasn’t as pleased with as usual. I reviewed it here.

Akame Ga KILL! ZERO is the new spinoff series of the week, a prequel taking place a few years before the main series and focusing, appropriately enough, on Akame.

There’s a third Black Bullet manga, with plenty of disturbing yet well choreographed loli assassin action for you.

Bloody Cross nears its end, but isn’t there yet, even as we hit double digits with Volume 10.

And we get the 2nd to last volume of Chaika the Coffin Princess as well, which is sadly far below the most important coffin carrying manga this week. More later.

Demon from Afar must have run out of cast members, as the 6th volume is its last.

So The Disappearance of Nagato Yuki-chan has resolved its main romance, and has finished promoting its anime. It has to wrap up soon. Right? Right?

He’s My Only Vampire is only half finished, but I’m enjoying it more than Shouoto’s other titles, and so I look forward to Vol. 6.

MICHELLE: Same here, though Demon Prince of Momochi House is pretty pleasant, too.

SEAN: The second The Honor Student at Magic High School continues to tell an alternate viewpoint of the novel we haven’t quite gotten to yet.

There’s also a 4th omnibus of Karneval’s circus mysteries.

And if you enjoy seeing a girl attempt to do life correctly and fail constantly, you no doubt are already aware that No Matter How You Look At It, It’s You Guys’ Fault That I’m Not Popular!! has an 8th volume next week.

And if you enjoy pretty supernatural people, have a 2nd Of The Red, the Light, and the Ayakashi.

MICHELLE: Yay! Volume one was a surprise delight!

ASH: I actually just finished reading the first volume; I’m intrigued and look forward to more.

MJ: Hm, I guess I should check out that first volume!

SEAN: Poor Princess Jellyfish! An obvious Pick of the Week… except oh look, here’s the final Pandora Hearts volume! Michelle, MJ, you aren’t allowed to pick both this time. (evil grin)

MICHELLE: Oh, man. Well, I’m pretty sure where MJ’s heart lies, but I am less committed.

MJ: Oh, the final one. Oh. Oh.

SEAN: And a third Prison School volume, which I think will give readers all the excess bodily fluids they could possibly want.

ASH: And then some, most likely.

SEAN: Rose Guns Days has a third volume of its Season 1 arc.

The only coffin manga that matters next week, we finally see a 5th volume of Shoulder-a-Coffin Kuro. Yay!

Spice & Wolf has a 12th manga volume, and for those who want to catch up with the series, 1-12 will also now be available digitally starting next week.

Sword Art Online begins the Mother’s Rosary arc, despite having just started the Phantom Bullet arc as well. The series ran at the same time in Japan, and will do so here as well.

Lastly, there’s a 4th volume of Sword Art Online Progressive’s manga, featuring Argo!, and also those other two I guess.

Even if you don’t get a lot of manga, there’s STILL a lot to get next week. Can you keep up?

MICHELLE: Not really, no!

My Week in Manga: March 7-March 13, 2016

March 14, 2016 by Ash Brown

My News and Reviews

I was finally able to post February’s Bookshelf Overload at Experiments in Manga last week, a few days later than I originally intended, but at least it’s up. I’ve been intentionally decreasing the number of new manga and other things that I’m buying at the moment, which means that I’ll be happily digging into my backlog and catching up on older series. I also posted an in-depth review last week, though perhaps it’s more of a summary. Either way, Mechademia, Volume 10: World Renewal contains some interesting material for those looking for a more scholarly approach to the study of manga, anime, and other Japanese popular culture. The volume also includes “Nanohana,” a short manga by Moto Hagio, and a story by Tomoyuki Hoshino called “Good Morning.” I am very fond of both creators’ work, so that made me especially happy to see.

Interesting things found online last week: Viz Media will apparently be releasing a new volume of Haikyu every month after it’s debut in July until the English edition catches up with the Japan’s releases, which is rather impressive. Yokai scholar and manga translator Zack Davisson wrote a great piece for The Comics Journal called Confessions of a Manga Translator. (Some of the comments are worth reading, too.) VICE has an interview with Gengoroh Tagame, who will also be participating in the Queer Japan documentary. (The Kickstarter campaign for the project ends very soon and could use some additional support; if it at all interests you, please consider contributing!) Graham Kolbeins, the filmmaker behind the documentary was recently interviewed as well.

Quick Takes

Alice in the Country of Clover: Cheshire Cat Waltz, Volumes 1-4 by Mamenosuke Fujimaru. With the extraordinary number of retellings, spinoffs, and sequels to Alice in the Country of Hearts, it can be somewhat daunting to know where to start. Fortunately, I have people looking out for me; Cheshire Cat Waltz was one of the series that was repeatedly recommended by multiple individuals. Although it still has the same vaguely ominous atmosphere (which I like), the Country of Clover is actually a slightly different setting than the Country of Hearts. Even the personalities of the characters that are shared between the two are somewhat changed as they adapt to their modified roles. I found Boris, the Cheshire Cat, an especially interesting character in the first manga series, so it probably makes sense that I would enjoy a series where he plays a leading role. Admittedly, the pairings in the various Alice in the Country of manga that I’ve read certainly shouldn’t be lauded as examples of healthy relationships. Boris, as sweet and considerate as he can sometimes be, is also very possessive. The story is engaging, though, and Cheshire Cat Waltz is surprisingly steamy as well.

Behind Story, Volumes 2-3 by Narae Ahn. I enjoyed the first volume of Behind Story more than I thought I would, so I wanted to be sure to read more of the boys’ love manhwa. At the time, I didn’t even know how long the series was, and I wasn’t able to find out much about the creator, either. It turns out Behind Story is only three volumes, was Ahn’s debut series, and was originally published online. The final two volumes of Behind Story take place three years after the first. Johann has survived his teacher’s attempted murder-suicide, but his life is still a complicated mess; he’s more or less forced transfer out of school, leaving Taehee—one of the very few people who legitimately cared for him and his well-being—behind with no way to contact him. Eventually the two of them do reunite, but they’ve both changed over the years and neither are sure what direction their relationship will take in the future. Behind Story is a fairly solid debut with interesting characters and a story that, for the most part, moves beyond the genre’s standard tropes. The series’ ending does perhaps wrap up a little too quickly and nicely and could have used a little more development, but overall the manhwa is enjoyable.

Monthly Girls’ Nozaki-kun, Volume 1 by Izumi Tsubaki. I absolutely loved the anime adaptation of Monthly Girls’ Nozaki-kun, so I was very happy when Yen Press announced that it would be releasing the original manga series. The success of four-panel manga can be rather hit-or-miss in the North American market as their comedy is often firmly situated within a Japanese sense of humor and context. A few of the jokes in the first volume of Monthly Girls’ Nozaki-kun I may not have immediately understood if I hadn’t already seen the anime (which was able to more fully expound on things due to its format) but overall the manga and its gags are largely accessible and very funny. The series revolves around Nozaki—a relatively successful shoujo mangaka who has a difficult time convincing many of his high school classmates of that fact due to his large stature and seemingly stoic nature—and the various students who become his assistants or the inspiration for his characters. The manga is good-natured fun, much of the humor the result of the differences between the characters’ personalities and how most other people actually perceive them. I especially appreciate the series’ willingness to play with gender roles and expectations.

Manga the Week of 3/16

March 9, 2016 by Sean Gaffney, Michelle Smith, Ash Brown, MJ and Anna N Leave a Comment

SEAN: Third weeks are usually the most diverse manga weeks. And that’s the case here, with lots of new titles debuting. Let’s see what we’ve got.

Dark Horse gives us the first volume of Dangan Ronpa: The Animation, which contrary to its name is indeed a manga. It’s based on a game and has had tons of adaptations – this is the Shonen Ace one. A lot of folks I know like it, but it is set in a school where people die one by one, so be warned.

And there’s a 3rd Oh My Goddess! omnibus as well.

Kodansha has a couple of debuts next week. Forget Me Not (aka Soredemo Boku wa Kimi ga Suki) is a somewhat ecchi romance from the Shonen Magazine group (it’s been in both Weekly and Betsu), and should appeal to fans of Suzuka and other titles where you just scream in rage and bafflement at the male lead for months on end.

MICHELLE: Heh.

SEAN: There’s a second volume of supernatural mystery series Livingstone.

Kosuke Fujishima, author of Oh My Goddess!, actually finished that series, and so needed something to draw. That something is Paradise Residence, whose first omnibus volume is due out next week. It runs in Afternoon. I’m not sure if this collects Vol. 0 and 1 or 1 and 2 – it’s that kind of series. It also has a female lead at an all girls’ school, because Fujishima knows no one reads his series for the men.

MICHELLE: I’m kind of interested in this one, though I know virtually nothing about it.

SEAN: Seven Seas has a 4th omnibus of Freezing, with lots of girls fighting and being busty.

And the fourth and final volume of Evergreen, the bittersweet not-quite-romance from the author of Toradora!.

Vertical has the 7th My Neighbor Seki, which I think catches us up with Japan, so it may be a while till Seki 8.

ASH: My Neighbor Seki is still an utterly delightful series.

MJ: This, yes.

SEAN: They also debut a quirky romance called Mysterious Girlfriend X, which also ran in Afternoon. It’s an omnibus of the first two volumes, and should be fun to read provided you’re OK with drool. If you aren’t, this is probably not the title for you.

MICHELLE: Ew.

ASH: I actually know quite a few people who are excited about this series; I may need to check it out, drool and all.

ANNA: I know I am not ok with drool and will be skipping this.

MJ: I… wow, drool?

SEAN: The big debut this week for bloggers, who never met a depressing artsy manga they didn’t love, is Goodnight Punpun, a series by Inio Asano, author of Solanin, Nijigihara Holograph, etc. This is his longest series, I believe, and ran in Young Sunday (then Big Comic Spirits when YS folded). It’s extremely weird, extremely cruel, and extremely heartwarming. It too is an omnibus with 2 volumes inside.

MICHELLE: I am still not recovered from A Girl on the Shore, honestly. I don’t know if I can take more Asano right now.

ASH: Asano can be rough, but I’m looking forward to this one.

ANNA: I own but have not read A Girl on the Shore because I haven’t felt up to it, but I’m going to get this and I think that more Asano is always a good thing.

MJ: I am always ready for more depressing artsy manga, as long as it’s from Asano.

SEAN: There’s also a 6th volume of insurance madness with Master Keaton.

ANNA: Yay!

SEAN: And Manga Bookshelf peeps will be delighted to hear we’re getting a 14th volume of Real as well.

MICHELLE: Yay!!!!!!!!!!!!

ASH: Excellent.

ANNA: Extra Yay!!!!!

MJ: Hurray!!

SEAN: Lastly, Terra Formars has Volume 11 coming out.

A whole bunch of new series next week. Which ones are you getting?

My Week in Manga: February 29-March 6, 2016

March 7, 2016 by Ash Brown

My News and Reviews

Last week at Experiments in Manga, I announced the World Trigger Giveaway Winner. As usual for such announcements, the post also includes a thematic list of manga. In this case, I’ve put together a list of some of the manga licensed in English that feature parallel worlds, dimensions, and universes. Speaking of which, last week I also reviewed the first volume of a series that was included on that list–Shuji Sogabe’s Persona 4, Volume 1. I haven’t played any of the Persona 4 video games yet, but the manga adaptation is off to an intriguing start. I’m looking forward to reading more, and I’ll likely give the anime a try as well.

I found quite a few interesting things to read last week. Frederik L. Schodt (whose work I greatly admire) wrote about translating manga for World Literature Today. ICv2 has been busy interviewing folks from the North American manga industry, including a two–part interview with Viz’s Kevin Hamric and another two–part interview with Dark Horse’s Michael Gombos and Carl Horn.

There have been a few interviews with manga creators posted recently, as well. Manga Brog translated an interview with Tsutomu Nihei from earlier this year. Kazuo Koike participated in a Reddit Ask Me Anything. And Kodansha Comics has a new creator interview with Chuya Koyama, the mangaka of Space Brothers. Related to that interview is an autograph sweepstakes and survey about Space Brothers which is a great opportunity to let Kodansha know if, like me, you’d be interested in seeing a print release of the series.

In licensing news, Seven Seas slipped in an announcement for Kanekiru Kogitsune and Kobayakawa Haruyoshi’s Re:Monster manga adaptation. There’s also currently an Indiegogo campaign to add an English dub to and generally improve the quality of the upcoming North American DVD and Blu-ray release of the Skip Beat! anime adaptation.

Quick Takes

A Bride’s Story, Volumes 6-7 by Kaoru Mori. Every time I pick up A Bride’s Story I can’t help but be impressed by Mori’s stunningly detailed and beautiful artwork. The manga is gorgeous to look at, but the storytelling is lovely as well. These two volumes fall at the opposite ends of the spectrum when it comes to tone, but they’re both still wonderfully engaging. Though it has its quiet moments, the sixth volume is dominated by exciting action sequences and battles as Amir’s original clan struggles to find a way to survive now that it has lost access to grazing lands. The intensity of the sixth volume isn’t found in the seventh, but there’s still plenty of drama as the series shifts to follow more of Mr. Smith’s journey. The story itself focuses Anis, a young Persian woman whose husband is quite wealthy. Because of this she leads a somewhat lonely and secluded life until, at the urging of her maid, she starts going to the public baths where she can spend more time with other women. (Much of the volume takes place at the baths, so there is a fair amount of tasteful nudity.)

Tokyo ESP, Omnibus 1 (equivalent to Volumes 1-2) by Hajime Segawa. It took me a couple of chapters to completely warm up to Tokyo ESP, but by the end of the first omnibus I was completely engaged. Segawa’s artwork doesn’t particularly grab me, but I’m immensely enjoying the quirkiness of the manga’s characters and the weirdness of its story. Tokyo ESP is ridiculous in a good sort of way. One morning, Rinka wakes up to discover that she has the ability to pass through physical objects. She’s not the only Tokyoite to have suddenly gained strange superpowers, but Rinka does appear to be one of the few to try to use her newfound skills for justice rather than personal gain. Though reluctant at first, wishing that she could just go back to normal, Rinka is quite capable and soon finds herself caught up in gang war fighting other espers. Tokyo ESP is a violent, action-packed series with a goofy sense of humor. Rinka can literally kick ass, but she also gets her fair share of beatings. The manga can actually be surprisingly brutal at times.

The World’s Greatest First Love: The Case of Ritsu Onodera, Volumes 1-3 by Shungiku Nakamura. I know quite a few people who we extraordinarily pleased when SuBLime announced that it would be releasing The World’s Greatest First Love. It was their enthusiasm that led me to giving the manga a try–I had read and even enjoyed parts of Nakamura’s earlier series boys’ love series Junjo Romantica, but overall I wasn’t especially enamored with it so I wasn’t necessarily intentionally seeking out more of the creator’s work. But I will admit, so far I am consistently amused and entertained by The World’s Greatest First Love even if I am more interested in the series’ hilarious (and I’m told accurate) portrayal of the inner workings a shoujo magazine than I am in any of the manga’s dubious romances. The World’s Greatest First Love works best for me when it’s a bit over-the-top and not trying to be taken too seriously. Though the anatomy of the characters can occasionally be rather awkward, Nakamura excels at reaction shots and the artwork is well-suited for a comedy.

Manga the Week of 3/9

March 3, 2016 by Sean Gaffney, MJ, Ash Brown, Anna N and Michelle Smith 1 Comment

SEAN: I love quiet weeks. I love them so much more given we’re in a new manga boom where the first and fourth weeks of the month can be crippling on the wallet. But don’t worry, there’s still big things afoot next week.

The big release, and I will warn in advance this is absolutely my Pick of the Week, is the debut of the space opera novel series Legend of the Galactic Heroes. Viz’s SF imprint Haikasoru has picked up the first 3 volumes, with promises of more if it sells well. Old-school anime fans will recall its adaptation being a gateway series in the 1990s, trading fansubs and joking about “That man, Yang Wen-Li”. It is also filled with very handsome young men, so has a large female fanbase as well. This isn’t space opera like the Irresponsible Captain Tylor – it takes itself Very Seriously Indeed. But don’t let that stop you getting this, it is an absolute Must Buy.

MJ: Okay, you’ve sold me. Which is good, because nothing else here really does.

ASH: I am so incredibly excited for this!

ANNA: I am also incredibly excited for this! Space Opera for the win!!!!

MICHELLE: What is that I spy, sitting in my Amazon cart? Why, it’s the first volume of Legend of the Galactic Heroes!! Hi there, little guy!

SEAN: Dance in the Vampire Bund’s spinoff, Scarlet Order, ends with its 4th volume from Seven Seas.

Seven Seas also has a 3rd volume of Haven’t You Heard? I’m Sakamoto. I’ve heard it’s selling poorly, which is a shame, as I’m very fond of it. Go get this! It’s weird and funny! It has an anime coming soon!

ASH: Oh, that is a shame; I really enjoy the series. Hopefully the anime will help sales.

SEAN: After a few false starts, I believe that we do have the 4th World’s Greatest First Love volume from SubLime.

ASH: I actually just started reading this series. Guess I’ll have to add the fourth volume to the pile!

SEAN: Ranma 1/2 omnibus 13 contains two of the more beloved arcs of the franchise, as it wraps up the Herb story and also has Shinnosuke’s arc, which highlights Ranma and Akane’s awkward love story. Oh yes, and we meet Hinako-sensei as well.

Lastly, there’s a 20th Rin-Ne volume, and I admit I waved a little white flag last time around at the extreme lack of anything happening in the series.

Aside from IMPERIAL SPACE OPERA, what interests you this week?

My Week in Manga: February 22-February 28, 2016

February 29, 2016 by Ash Brown

My News and Reviews

It’s the end of the month, so there were a couple of different things posted at Experiments in Manga last week, such as the launch of the most recent manga giveaway. The winner will be announced on Wednesday, but until then there’s still time to enter for a chance to win the first two volumes of Daisuke Ashihara’s World Trigger. The most recent review in my monthly horror manga review project was posted last week as well (technically it’s a week late). This month I took a look at After School Nightmare, Volume 8 by Setona Mizushiro. It’s a fairly momentous installment in the series, with several major developments and revelations.

Elsewhere online: Ryan Holmberg examines pro-nuclear manga of the seventies and eighties; Kodansha Comics has a two part interview with Hiroya Oku, the creator of Gantz and the more recent Inuyashiki; Justin of The Organization of Anti-Social Geniuses contacted Robert McGuire to determine the status of Gen Manga since the publisher has been rather quiet of late; finally, in an interesting move, Funimation has launched a Kickstarter for a newly dubbed blu-ray release of The Vision of Escaflowne; Anime News Network also interviewed some of Funimation’s staff members about the project.

Quick Takes

Aldnoah.Zero: Season One, Volumes 1-2 written by Olympus Knights and illustrated by Pinakes. I haven’t seen any of the original Aldnoah.Zero anime series, though I have been meaning to give at least a few episodes a try. The series mostly caught my attention for two reasons: the underlying story about interplanetary warfare between the humans on Earth and Mars (as I’ve mentioned in the past, I have particular interest in Mars), and the fact that Wandering Son‘s Takako Shimura was responsible for the character designs. Seeing as I generally have more opportunities to read manga than I do to watch anime, I figured I’d give the Aldnoah.Zero manga adaptation a try. Sadly, parts of the manga are somewhat difficult to understand if one isn’t familiar with the original. Pinakes makes heavy use of screentone, which obscures the artwork and action and gives the pages a cluttered feel. I do like the basic premise of the series, but the motivations behind the war, while cursorily explained, remain frustratingly unclear and many of the Martians come across as villainous caricatures rather than well-rounded characters.

Franken Fran, Omnibus 1 (equivalent to Volumes 1-2) by Katsuhisa Kigitsu. I tend to enjoy horror manga and I had heard great things about Franken Fran, so I was very much looking forward to giving the series a try. The manga and its characters are delightfully quirky, in turns disturbingly cute and skin-crawlingly creepy. Fran is a charming young woman who, due to her nearly irrational reverence for life, is more or less an unintentional sadist. She, along with her cadre of assistants and monsters, saves lives through extreme surgeries and bizarre experiments often with gruesome results. Although there are recurring characters, the manga is generally episodic without much of a continuing story, but the chapters all have at least one deliberately shocking twist to them. Franken Fran, with its incredibly dark sense of humor, quickly and repeatedly swings from the surprisingly heartwarming to the magnificently grotesque and back. It’s definitely not a series for everyone, but I’ll certainly be picking up the rest of the manga.

Purity: The “Post-Yaoi” Anthology edited by Anne Notation and A. E. Green. I was previously unfamiliar with most of the contributors to Purity; I learned about the anthology due to the participation of two creators whose work I currently follow—Kori Michele Handwerker and Starlock. (I was happy to discover that a comic by Alexis Cooke, one of Sparkler Monthly‘s creators, was also included.) Purity is a collection of forty-two homoerotic illustrations and short comics by forty-eight creators from around the world who have been influenced by yaoi manga. Although it’s clear that some of the artwork was originally in color, the anthology has been printed in grayscale. There’s a nice variety in the tone and style of the contributions in Purity; some are sweet while others are unapologetically smutty (and there’s nothing wrong with that). Genre-wise, the anthology tends towards the paranormal, fantastic, and futuristic, but there are contributions firmly based in reality, too. Although all of the stories stand on their own, a few do tie in with some of the creators’ existing works.

Manga the Week of 3/2

February 25, 2016 by Sean Gaffney, Michelle Smith, Ash Brown, MJ and Anna N Leave a Comment

SEAN: Honestly, it’s a very light week for the first of the month, helped out by Viz’s big shoujo debut getting pushed back a couple weeks for some reason. But there’s still a lot left here. (Of note, for reasons unknown to me, Diamond is not shipping any Viz next week, so I am not getting any of this.)

MICHELLE: Huh. Maybe they wanted it to stand out from the pack?

SEAN: New Lone Wolf and Cub isn’t so new anymore now that it’s on its 8th volume from Dark Horse.

ASH: Heh.

SEAN: On the Seven Seas front, there’s an 8th volume of Science vs. Fantasy manga Devils and Realist.

And a 2nd omnibus of otaku favorite Mayo Chiki.

And now for the rest of Viz, which has not been delayed but is coming out as usual (except via Diamond). Starting with the 66th volume of Bleach, now 2/3 of the way to 100 volumes. (Please do not let Bleach hit 100 volumes.)

MJ: Lord, no.

SEAN: Bloody Mary has a 2nd volume, and continues to feature vampires.

MICHELLE: I didn’t love the first volume of this, but I’m not ready to give up on it yet, so I will be checking this out.

MJ: I will follow Michelle down this road.

ANNA: I liked it ok! It is a bit different from all the other vampire manga out there, which I found refreshing.

SEAN: Dragon Ball has still not run out of 3-in-1s with its 12th, but it may be close.

I was quite fond of the first volume of Idol Dreams, but I acknowledge that it has potential to be what I cheerily refer to as “problematic”, which tends to be a code word for “they’re only xx years old!”. Gender reversed in this case. In any case, Volume 2 is next week.

MICHELLE: This is another I didn’t love, but I’m totally going to read volume two.

MJ: I will probably read this.

ANNA: I liked it well enough despite the “problematic” aspect. I’m weirdly all in for all Tanemura manga.

SEAN: Final volume! Kiss of the Rose Princess wraps up with Volume 9.

MICHELLE: And this is why I keep reading sometimes underwhelming things, as I ended up kind of liking this after a while. Enough to keep going ’til the conclusion, anyway.

ANNA: I am a couple volumes behind but will get caught up!

SEAN: And Komomo Confiserie reaches its halfway mark with Vol. 3.

MJ: This has not landed for me, sadly.

ANNA: It isn’t as great as other shoujo manga, but I like the combo of food and wacky heroine.

One Piece has not remotely reached a final volume, but here’s a 15th 3-in-1 to tide you over.

There can never be enough PUNCHING! Thank goodness for a 5th volume of One-Punch Man.

ASH: Woohoo!

SEAN: Seraph of the End has an 8th volume, and also continues to feature vampires.

ANNA: It does! I enjoy all the angst and action scenes.

SEAN: Shuriken and Pleats is… delayed 3 weeks, not sure why. Moving on…

ANNA: Boo!

SEAN: Skip Beat! Yay! I miss the days when we gorged on new volumes all the time, but it just makes the wait for some nice sweet Corn all the more satisfying. (I’m so sorry.)

MICHELLE: IT HAS BEEN SIX WHOLE MONTHS!!!!

ANNA: HOW IS THAT POSSIBLE? IT IS INHUMANE!

SEAN: World Trigger is up to Vol. 9, which in Jump terms means that it can be called a definite success.

ASH: I’m behind in reading the series myself, but I do have a giveaway for the first two volumes going on right now.

SEAN: Lastly, what Viz manga list would not be complete without a Yu-Gi-Oh somewhere in it – this one the 8th volume of Zexal.

Manga is coming in like a lion next week! What are you getting?

Manga Giveaway: World Trigger Giveaway

February 24, 2016 by Ash Brown

February’s a short month, so it’s already time for another manga giveaway at Experiments in Manga! For this giveaway, participants will have the chance to win not one, but two volumes of Daisuke Ashihara’s World Trigger as published in English by Viz Media. Why? Because it’s the second month of the year, or something. (Really, it’s mostly because I just felt like it.) Anyway, as always, the giveaway is open worldwide!

Parallel worlds, dimensions, and universes provide interesting narrative opportunities for creators to explore. In some instances the worlds remain parallel and separate, allowing for multiple realities to exist simultaneously. But in some stories, like World Trigger, those separate realities end up crashing together. Either approach can be equally fascinating, though invasion scenarios like those found in World Trigger do perhaps lend themselves to more action-oriented tales.

So, you may be wondering, how can you win the first two volumes of World Trigger?

1) In the comments below, tell me a little about your favorite manga that makes use of parallel worlds. (If you don’t have one, or haven’t read one, simply mention that.)
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).

It’s as easy as that! Each participant has one week to submit comments and can earn up to two entries for this giveaway. Comments can also be emailed directly to me at phoenixterran(at)gmail(dot)com if preferred or if you have difficulty with the form. The comments will then be posted here in your name. The giveaway winner will be randomly selected and announced on March 2, 2016. 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: World Trigger Giveaway Winner

My Week in Manga: February 15-February 21, 2016

February 22, 2016 by Ash Brown

My News and Reviews

Last week was another one-review week at Experiments in Manga, but I should hopefully be back to the normal swing of things again soon. (Though it does seem as though one review per week is the new normal… ) As for the review itself, I took a look at the first omnibus of Planetes, an excellent series about space exploration and development by Makoto Yukimura. I don’t tend to double-dip when it comes to manga (Planetes was originally released in English by Tokyopop), but Dark Horse has done such a nice job with the new edition that I couldn’t help myself. I really enjoy Planetes and am very glad to see it back in print.

In licensing news, Jay’s manga adaptation of the BBC’s television series Sherlock will be released in English by Titan. Elsewhere online, Kodansha Comics posted an interview with Hiro Mashima and Viz Media’s Shonen Jump posted an interview with Kohei Horikoshi. The OASG hosted an interesting light novel roundtable in which my Manga Bookshelf cohort Sean Gaffney participated. And the Toronto Comic Arts Festival announced its second wave of featured guests, which includes Shintaro Kago and Faith Erin Hicks among other great artists.

Quick Takes

Chiro: The Star Project, Volume 1 by HyeKyung Baek. I picked up Chiro mainly for two reasons. The first was that the manhwa is one of Netcomics most recent releases. (Technically, it could even be considered a license rescue; Udon Entertainment published a few volumes of the series back in the day, which I also counted in its favor.) The second reason was that at some point Chiro apparently begins to play with gender in interesting ways. Unfortunately, this doesn’t happen in the first volume and there is nothing else that does happen in the first volume that would convince me to read any further. No matter what directions the series might eventually take, I really did not like the beginning of Chiro at all. The lead is incredibly self-conceited and self-absorbed and her actions frequently make no logical sense whatsoever. The plot, too, seems to be lacking any real direction at this point and ends up being a mess of unfortunate cliches and tropes. At times I think Baek is intentionally attempting to be off-the-wall and absurd, but the humor and the series as a whole just isn’t working for me.

Food Wars!: Shokugeki no Soma, Volumes 5-8 written by Yuto Tsukuda and illustrated by Shun Saeki. I tend to enjoy food manga, so it doesn’t really surprise me that I find Food Wars! to be entertaining. The fanservice is admittedly and purposefully ridiculous. People frequently lose their clothing not only figuratively but literally as their reactions to tasting exquisite food are nearly orgasmic. And there are plenty of delectable dishes to go around—these particular volumes bring to a conclusion the challenges of the school’s cooking camp and the beginning of the Fall Classic competition. One danger of a tournament-style manga like Food Wars! is the sheer number of characters that are introduced over the course of the series. Fortunately, Tsukuda and Saeki have so far managed to create a cast made up of characters who, while not necessarily being particularly nuanced or deep, are distinctive in their personalities and designs. Perhaps even more important is that they each have their own dramatic and over-the-top style of cooking. It’s especially interesting seeing the different approaches to cuisine pitted against one another.

Horimiya, Volume 1 written by Hero, illustrated by Daisuke Hagiwara. Because I knew quite a few people who were very excited when Horimiya was first licensed I wanted to make a point to give the manga a try even though I didn’t really know much about it except for the fact that it was adapted from a webcomic. They were right to be excited—Horimiya is a delightfully sweet and charming series. The basic premise is similar to any number of other manga featuring a high school romance with quirky characters, but both the leads and Hagiwara’s execution of the story are so wonderful that I didn’t at all mind. At school, Hori presents herself as fashionable and upbeat, but she’s a bit frustrated with her family situation which requires her to be something of a homebody. Miyamura is a classmate whose reserved nature and social awkwardness hides the fact that he’s liberally tattooed and pierced. Neither of them are quite like the other expected but they fall into an easy and natural friendship with each other. I’m really looking forward to reading more of Horimiya. It’s cute, funny, and has a ton of heart.

Manga the Week of 2/24

February 18, 2016 by Sean Gaffney 1 Comment

SEAN: I’m still not quite used to the sheer volume of STUFF that comes out the 4th week of the month these days. This is not helped this month by Kodansha joining Yen in the ‘let’s just release everything’ category.

MICHELLE: Holy cow, this is a huge week!

ASH: It really is!

SEAN: Air Gear has not been around in a long while, but we finally see a 6th omnibus next week.

The devil continues to survive somehow with a third volume of Devil Survivor.

Fairy Tail has both a 52nd volume of its main series and a 2nd volume of its Blue Mistral spinoff.

And there’s a third volume of the bizarre SF series Inuyashiki.

Also getting a third volume is shoujo potboiler L♥DK.

Noragami continues its sped up release schedule with Vol. 11.

ASH: The speed up means I’m falling further behind! (Whoops.)

A new Persona spinoff from Kodansha, Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth, Side P3. Volume 1. We’ll see the P4 side next month.

ASH: Lots of Persona and other Shin Megami Tensei manga (like Devil Survivor) coming out this year. Should make fans happy!

SEAN: Say “I Love You” is spinning off new characters and plots after getting its couple together, a sure sign of a popular series. Here’s Vol. 12.

MICHELLE: Usually this stage in a shoujo series bugs me, but I don’t want to see this one end, so I shall accept it.

ANNA: I am now so far behind on this series, but I did like the first four volumes so much.

ASH: I’m a few volumes behind myself, but I have been enjoying the series.

MJ: I’m always up for more of this, so I’m happy to spend more time with the supporting characters.

SEAN: And there’s a 7th Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle omnibus.

Turning to Seven Seas, we find the debut of a new seinen series, Tomodachi x Monster, from Futabasha’s Manga Action. I don’t have much info on this, but it seems more Kitaro than Monster Musume.

I’m not sure why the 2nd Persona 4 manga from Udon is turning up one week after the first Persona 4 manga, but there we go.

ASH: I believe the first volume was originally scheduled to be published last year, but there was a bit of a delay.

SEAN: Vertical has a series that I know will please the Manga Bookshelf team: the debut of Fuku Fuku: Kitten Tales. This is by the Chi’s Sweet Home author, part of a series she’s done on and off since the 1980s.

MICHELLE: Yay kittehs!

ANNA: Can’t go wrong with manga kittehs!

ASH: Looking forward to this one!

MJ: THIS.

SEAN: The rest is all Yen Press. Let’s start with the digital roundup, as we have new volumes of Aoharu x Machinegun, Black Detective, Corpse Princess, and Unknown. The one of interest to the MB group, though, is the 2nd volume of Saki.

MICHELLE: I’m very eager to read more Saki.

ASH: Still pleasantly surprised that Saki was licensed.

MJ: Yes, yes, so much yes.

SEAN: On the Yen On front, there’s The Boy and the Beast, which is getting the novel and the manga released the same day. I’m not sure if it’s based on the movie or vice versa.

And a 6th A Certain Magical Index, featuring a heavy dose of the title character for once. If you missed the previous volumes, Yen is also releasing novels 1-6 digitally next week, and it will also have digital editions in the future.

On to Yen’s manga releases themselves. Aldnoah Zero Season One has a 2nd volume.

Ani-Imo hits Volume 6, and I believe the siblings may be switched back by now?

Are You Alice’s 11th volume is the 2nd to last, so I think they may finally answer the titular question.

Barakamon has a 9th volume of peaceful island life and calligraphy.

MICHELLE: I am going to try to get caught up on this soon.

SEAN: And there’s a 7th omnibus of Blood Lad, a series I always find myself enjoying.

MICHELLE: Yay. I need more Mamejirou in my life.

MJ: More Blood Lad is always welcome!

BTOOOM! has reached lucky Vol. 13, and shows no signs of ending anytime soon.

Demonizer Zilch is a new Yen Press series that runs in Dragon Age, which automatically makes me wary. It features a young man who finds he has amazing powers and is caught up in a war between demons and men. Didn’t I read that fanfic?

Speaking of manga that sound like fanfics, have a third volume of high school AU The Devil Is A Part-Timer! High School!!

Dimension W sounds more promising, and the author should be very familiar from past licensed titles (Chikyu Misaki, Cat Paradise, King of Thorns). It’s a Young Gangan title that already has an anime running this season.

ASH: Oh, I had forgotten about this series! I rather enjoyed Cat Paradise and King of Thorns, so I should probably check it out.

MJ: Same here!

SEAN: Dragons Rioting has a second volume of fighting and breasts, possibly not in that order.

Handa-kun is the prequel to Barakamon showing our protagonist as a somewhat odd high school student. It’s been out digitally for a while, this is the first print volume.

We’ve reached the penultimate volume of Inu x Boku SS, a series I enjoyed far more than I expected. This is Vol. 10, and should start to wrap things up.

There’s also a 4th volume of the manga adaptation of DanMachi (don’t make me type out the real title.)

Love at Fourteen’s 5th volume will feel sweet and adorable and yes, probably problematic as well.

MICHELLE: I’m gonna try to catch up on this, too.

SEAN: I am a huge fan of Monthly Girls’ Nozaki-kun’s sense of humor, and its 4-koma style, and cannot wait for Volume 2, out next week.

MICHELLE: Yay! A lot of good Yen next week!

ANNA: I am also a huge fan of this series and am so happy a new volume is coming out!

MJ: Hurrah!

SEAN: There’s 2 more Madoka Magica spinoffs, with the 2nd Homura Magica volume and the 3rd Rebellion Movie manga.

I think the secret is out of the bag with School-Live!, so I expect Vol. 2 to have less slice-of-school life and more slice-of-postapocalyptic horror.

A 2nd Strike the Blood manga adapts that particular light novel.

Lastly, we have a 4th volume of Trinity Seven.

Does anything in this giant morass speak to you?

My Week in Manga: February 8-February 14, 2016

February 15, 2016 by Ash Brown

My News and Reviews

Life has gotten to be rather hectic again for me, though hopefully things should settle back down soon. In the meantime, I’ve returned to a reduced posting schedule for a little bit. Last week I only posted one in-depth review, but it was for the most recent installment in one of my favorite series currently being released—Aya Kanno’s Requiem of the Rose King. In this volume a tenuous peace has been established while the story moves away from the battlefield to delve into the dangerous political intrigue of the court.

Elsewhere online, The Organization of Anti-Social Geniuses (which has moved, by the way), posted a short interview with Casey Brienza, the author of the recently released Manga in America (which I hope to review in the not too distant future). The wonderful folks behind MASSIVE have launched a Kickstarter campaign to help fund The Queer Japan Project documentary, which should be phenomenal. In manga news, Kodansha Comics has announced that its release of the final volume of My Little Monster will include an additional sixty pages of content. Over the weekend, Vertical announced the addition of a few more titles: the Bakemonogatari novels by Nisioisin, the manga Immortal Hounds by Ryo Yasohachi, the master edition of Tsutomu Nihei’s manga Blame!, and (the one I’m most excited about) the josei horror manga Dissolving Classroom by Junji Ito. Not to be left out, Seven Seas snuck in a license announcement on Sunday as well—Nakatani Nio’s yuri manga Bloom Into You.

Quick Takes

Batmanga, Volume 1 by Jiro Kuwata. Back in the 1960s, Kuwata was commissioned to create a manga series featuring the iconic American masked vigilante Batman specifically tailored for a Japanese audience. This series was nearly forgotten in the United States but was rediscovered and introduced in translation relatively recently. DC Comics is now releasing the entire series in English. Although I do enjoy Batman and grew up with the franchise, I don’t really consider myself to be a huge fan or aficionado. But I was very interested in the publication history of Batmanga, and it’s not very often that an older manga is licensed. Kuwata’s Batmanga is understandably most reminiscent of the 1960s television series starring Adam West than any of Batman‘s more recent incarnations (the sixties apparently saw a Batman craze in Japan). The manga is a lot of fun with plenty of ridiculous action, camp, and wordplay. I believe that all the villains are unique to the manga, their origin stories often having something to do with devious scientific innovations or experiments gone awry.

False Memories, Volumes 1-2 by Isaku Natsume. A few of Natsume’s boys’ love manga have been released digitally, but I believe False Memories is only the second one to be released in print. It’s been a while since I’ve read any of Natsume’s manga, so I was surprised by how charming and touching False Memories ended up being. Nakano and Tsuda drifted apart soon after they slept together in high school. Ten years have passed since their graduation, but they suddenly find themselves assigned to work together on the same project by their respective companies. The misunderstandings surrounding their high school days continue to prove problematic, though. The two men will at least need to pretend to be friendly, but old feelings can be difficult to ignore. I enjoyed False Memories more than I expected I would, largely because I found the characters to be so likeable and relatable. Nakano’s insecurities are understandable, having unintentionally been hurt by Tsuda in the past. As for Tsuda, he’s a well-meaning goofball. The two of them do honestly care for each other, it just takes them a little while to figure that out.

Firefighter! Daigo of Fire Company M, Volume 1 by Masahito Soda. I recently happened across the first volume of Firefighter! and so picked it up. It’s been out-of-print for some time now, but the entire series is now available digitally from Viz Media. When Daigo Asahina was a child, he almost died in a fire but was rescued by a heroic local firefighter. Ever since then, it has been his dream to become a firefighter himself. Fresh out of training he’s eager to prove himself, only the station that he’s been assigned to deals with very few major fires. While this would normally be considered to be a good thing, for Daigo it’s frustrating, especially when his rival at another company has already seen plenty of action. Despite the seemingly relaxed atmosphere of Company M, Firefighter! quickly ramps up the excitement. Only one volume in and Daigo’s had to rescue a cat, help prevent a potential gas explosion, fight multiple fires, and face the fact that he’s not nearly as well-prepared as he thought he was. The veterans of Company M know their stuff, though, and are very good at what they do.

Manga the Week of 2/17

February 11, 2016 by Sean Gaffney, Ash Brown, MJ, Michelle Smith and Anna N Leave a Comment

SEAN: There’s one title I’m really excited about next week, but there are several other books of interest. Let’s go through them, starting, as ever, with Dark Horse. (If a manga company started beginning with A-C, they’d clean up.)

Fate/Zero is a prequel to the insanely popular visual novel franchise Fate/Stay Night, taking place 20 years prior. It still has Saber (Arturia version) in it, though, no worries.

If you missed it the first time, there’s a 3rd Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service omnibus, with Vol. 7-9.

ASH: Still a great series; glad that Dark Horse found a way to keep it in print!

SEAN: Vampire Hunter D has reached its 23rd novel. I think Dark Horse put out the first one in 1922 or something like that.

ASH: Ha! Indeed, something like that.

SEAN: One Peace has a 3rd volume of the light novel Rise of the Shield Hero.

Seven Seas gives a 9th Dragonar Academy, which continues to attempt to titillate its core audience, and while I am not remotely that, I hear it does a good job.

It may surprise some to see me getting so excited about a “monster girl” series, particularly given my ambivalent attitude towards their recent popularity. But Franken Fran is not just any monster girl series . Fans have been waiting for its blend of grotesque horror and pitch-black humor to be licensed for years, and Seven Seas now obliges us with 4 big omnibuses, of which this is the first. Get this, folks (well, over-18 folks).

MJ: Well, you’ve sold me! :D

ASH: This is the series I’m most intensely curious about this week.

SEAN: I missed another one last week: there’s a 2nd digital-only volume of Crown of Thorns, by the Hana Yori Dango author.

MICHELLE: I’m not sure Franken Fran is for me, but I’m definitely excited about more Crown of Thorns!

ANNA: ACK! I forgot to get the first volume of Crown of Thorns! Oh well, it is an excellent excuse to binge-read!

SEAN: Tokyo Ghoul’s 5th volume, out next week via Viz, will sell more copies than all the other titles in this list combined.

ASH: I’ve fallen behind on the series, but I’m happy to see it doing so well for Viz.

SEAN: And there’s a 3rd Ultraman, also from Viz, which I really should know more about than I do.

Go get Franken Fran. What else will you get?

My Week in Manga: February 1-February 7, 2016

February 8, 2016 by Ash Brown

My News and Reviews

I posted a few different things at Experiments in Manga last week. For starters, the Love at Fourteen Giveaway Winner was announced. The post also includes a list of some of the manga available in English which feature a bit of romance. Last week I also reviewed Tokyo Decadence: 15 Stories by Ryu Murakami which in some ways is about love, or at least lust. Due to be published later this year, the collection is engaging but definitely not for everyone as some of the stories are quite disturbing. Over the weekend January’s Bookshelf Overload was posted for those of you curious about what made it onto my shelves last month. I also had a taiko gig over the weekend that took up a fair amount of time. As a result of that and other some other life stress, I’ve fallen a bit behind on my writing (just when I thought I’d finally gotten ahead!), so there’ll likely only be one review coming this week instead of the two that were originally planned.

Quick Takes

Orange, Omnibus 1 by Ichigo Takano. I had heard very good things about Orange and so was greatly looking forward to reading the manga, but I honestly didn’t anticipate that the series might become one of my favorite releases of the year. (It all depends on exactly how the story plays out in the second and final omnibus.) Orange sensitively deals with some fairly heavy subject matter, including suicide and crippling regret, but at the same time the manga also has a lighter sweetness to it. The manga is both heartwrenching and heartwarming, a melancholic story about close relationships and human connection. Admittedly, Naho is incredibly dense when it comes to recognizing other people’s feelings for her, even when they basically come right out and tell her, which can be a bit exasperating. But overall, the feelings and emotions in Orange ring true, especially as the series progresses and it’s revealed just why everyone is behaving in the ways that they are. I can see Orange ending either in tragedy or in happiness and I’m very curious to see which it will be.

Prison School, Omnibus 2 by Akira Hiramoto. The first omnibus of Prison School established the manga as a series that is simultaneously appalling and strangely engaging. This of course assumes that readers aren’t immediately offended by its highly sexualized and incredibly vulgar nature to begin with. Prison School is definitely not a series for everyone even if, surprisingly, it has its sweet moments. The second omnibus very much continues in the same vein, so the initial shock caused by the manga’s obscenity, over-the-top fanservice, and ridiculous premise has diminished some. Even so, Prison School is a page-turner. The series has been building up to Kiyoshi’s escape attempt, resulting in a situation that gets progressively worse as time goes by. Seeing just how bad things can possibly get (which is pretty bad) is one of Prison School‘s major draws. That and Hiramoto’s impressive skills as an artist. The manga’s content will certainly not be to everyone’s taste, but it’s hard to deny Hiramoto’s talent.

SuperMutant Magic Academy by Jillian Tamaki. Originally a webcomic, the best of SuperMutant Magic Academy has now been collected into a single volume along with newly-created content. I hadn’t actually read any of the comic while it was being released online, but I was obviously missing out—SuperMutant Magic Academy is great stuff. The comic takes place in a high school where students study magic and learn to control their superpowers (sort of an odd mix between Harry Potter and X-Men that bizarrely works), all while dealing with the more normal sorts of teenage angst and anxiety. Except for the series’ lengthy finale, created specifically for the collected volume, most of SuperMutant Magic Academy consists of single-page, and in some cases single-panel, gag comics.There’s no real overarching plot, but there are recurring characters and running jokes. Some of the social commentary can be fairly biting, but SuperMutant Magic Academy is very funny, frequently absurd, and wholly enjoyable.