Features

SEAN: It’s the week of Valentine’s Day, and a reminder that you should be very careful what manga you give your partner. Check their tastes!

Three print volumes for Airship, as we see Adachi and Shimamura: Short Stories, There’s No Freaking Way I’ll be Your Lover! Unless… 6, and True Love Fades Away When the Contract Ends 2.

And in early digital we get Loner Life in Another World 11 and The Strange Adventure of a Broke Mercenary 10.

Cross Infinite World stuns us all by releasing a digital series away from the last day of the month. Love & Magic Academy: Who Cares about the Heroine and Villainess? I Want to Be the Strongest in this Otome Game World (Renai Mahou Gakuin: Heroine mo Akuyaku Reijou mo Kankeinai. Ore wa Otome Game Sekai de Saikyou wo Mezasu) is a light novel for those who wondered what a male Yumiella from Villainess Level 99 would be like. Though perhaps not quite as weird as Yumiella.

Ghost Ship has The Hungry Succubus Wants to Consume Him 2.

J-Novel Club has three print releases: Ascendance of a Bookworm Manga Arc 2 Volume 9, Infinite Dendrogram 21, and the 6th Tearmoon Empire manga.

ASH: I really should try the manga adaptations of Ascendance of a Bookworm and Tearmoon Empire at some point; I’ve enjoyed their counterparts!

SEAN: J-Novel Club’s digital debut is Mercedes and the Waning Moon: The Dungeoneering Feats of a Discarded Vampire Aristocrat (Kaketa Tsuki no Mercedes: Kyuuketsuki no Kizoku ni Tenseishita kedo Suteraresou nano de Dungeon wo Seihasuru) had its manga debut two weeks ago, and here’s the light novel. A young woman knows that once her father picks a successor she’ll be abandoned, so knows what to do: dungeon crawl.

Also from J-Novel Club: The Banished Former Hero Lives as He Pleases 4, By the Grace of the Gods 15, A Cozy Life in the Woods with the White Witch 2, the 4th The Reincarnation of the Strongest Exorcist in Another World manga, and the 12th The Unwanted Undead Adventurer manga.

Kodansha Manga has one print debut: Fall In Love, You False Angels (Koiseyo Mayakashi Tenshi-domo), a shoujo manga from Dessert by the author of Hoteri Hotette First Kiss. A beautiful “perfect” girl is chosen to be class president, and her vice-president is a handsome “perfect” guy. Except she’s secretly a martial artist, and hiding her true face behind a mask. Is he the same? Wait, isn’t this Kare Kano for the new generation?

MICHELLE: In fact, the blurb on Amazon references Kare Kano, too!

ANNA: I mean, I did enjoy most of Kare Kano.

ASH: And I do have a soft spot for secret martial artists…

SEAN: Also in print: The Fable Omnibus 6, Grand Blue Dreaming 21, Medaka Kuroiwa is Impervious to My Charms 10, and Pass the Monster Meat, Milady! 7.

Digitally we get Gang King 26, Giant Killing 47, I Have a Crush at Work 8, Nina the Starry Bride 14, Parasyte Reversi 3, That Beauty Is a Tramp 4, With You and the Rain 7, and Yozakura Quartet 32.

MICHELLE: Woo, Giant Killing.

ANNA: Yay for Nina the Starry Bride!

SEAN: One Peace Books has the 3rd volume of Kurokiya-san Wants to Lead Him Around by the Nose.

Seven Seas has a bunch of debuts. Choking on Love (Museru Kurai no Ai wo Ageru) is a shoujo manga from Dessert. A straight-laced graphic designer. A free-spirit musician. Can they get along? Can they find love?

MICHELLE: I’m guessing they can.

ASH: A musician and a “chaotic encounter at a ramen shop” — yeah, that’s absolutely something that I’d give a try.

SEAN: I Want to Escape from Princess Lessons (Hikyouiku kara Nigetai Watashi) is a shoujo manga based on the light novel released by J-Novel Club, and it runs in Comic Pash!. A woman who’s been trained to the point of abuse for ten years to be a royal finds her fiance with another woman and immediately breaks the engagement, runs away from home, and flees to a far-off piece of the middle of nowhere. Sadly for her, her love interest is a shoujo love interest circa 2006. She’ll NEVER get away…

ANNA: Rooting for her!

SEAN: King the Land is a webtoon Korean manwha inspired by a K-drama, and thus really far outside my wheelhouse. Two childhood friends are ripped apart by tragedy. Now it’s years later, and all there is is bitterness.

ANNA: I watched part of the drama but didn’t make it through the full season.

SEAN: The Too-Perfect Saint: Tossed Aside by My Fiancé and Sold to Another Kingdom (Kanpeki Sugite Kawaigeganai to Konyaku Hakisareta Seijo wa Ringoku ni Urareru) is the manga version of the light novel Seven Seas has already released. It runs in Comic Gardo.

In danmei news, Seven Seas has Case File Compendium: Bing An Ben 4.

ASH: I am sadly behind in most of my danmei reading.

SEAN: Also from Seven Seas: A Certain Scientific Railgun 19, Crossplay Love: Otaku x Punk 11, Even Though We’re Adults 10 (the final volume), Gravitation: Collector’s Edition 4, The Lady and Her Butler 3, Sheep Princess in Wolf’s Clothing 5 (the final volume), Stay By My Side After the Rain 3, and Tomo-chan is a Girl! Omnibus 2.

MICHELLE: I hope to read Even Though We’re Adults in one swell foop (sic), now that it’s complete.

ASH: Looks like that’s what I’ll be doing, too!

SEAN: Somehow I missed that Square Enix had their Perfect Editions of Soul Eater and Soul Eater Not! both end this week until just now, so they should have been on last week’s list. Yet another reason to never trust me. Vol. 17 and 3, respectively.

ASH: The reprints do look pretty snazzy.

SEAN: In titles actually out next week, there’s The Otaku Love Connection (Otaku mo Koi mo Rensa suru), a shoujo manga from Gangan Pixiv. A guy is perfectly happy to ship the gorgeous couple of his class, but for all his shipping desires he never realizes the attention he gets himself.

We also get Cherry Magic! Thirty Years of Virginity Can Make You a Wizard?! 13 and My Isekai Life 17.

ASH: I’m still enjoying Cherry Magic!, though I do have some catching up to do.

SEAN: A debut from SuBLime: Palace of the Omega (Kouguu no Omega), an omegaverse title from Cheri+. A prince is not only 13th in line for the throne, but also – the horror! The shame! – an omega, so he’s married off to another kingdom. Then he finds his husband is… not spoiling the manga in the blurb for once. I hate it when husbands do that.

Tokyopop has been piling on lately, and we get three MORE debuts next week. A Lovestruck Cat Wants to Be Petted (Koisuru Neko wa Naderaretai) is a one-shot BL title from Comic Marginal. A cat has a crush on the pet shop owner. Then… he suddenly becomes human?!

The Margrave’s Daughter & the Enemy Prince (Urareta Henkyou Haku Reijou wa Ringoku no Outaishi ni Dekiaisareru) is a josei title from COMIC ROOM. A tomboy princess who wants to lead men in battle rather than deal with royalty finds her kingdom taken over and her father killed. Now she’s been “given” to the enemy prince… but it’s fine. She’ll get her revenge.

ANNA: Rooting for her too!!!!

ASH: Likewise!

SEAN: White Liar is a one-shot BL title from LiQulle. A jaded hairdresser has vowed never to fall in love. But then he meets an up and coming actor…

MICHELLE : Hm.

SEAN: Tokyopop also has the 3rd volume of Boys Gilding the Lily Shall Die!?.

Viz’s debut is Pokémon: Scarlet & Violet, a sequel to Sword and Shield. It runs in Corocoro Ichiban!.

Also from Viz: Akane-banashi 10, Fly Me to the Moon 27, Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End 12, Hayate the Combat Butler 45, I Wanna Do Bad Things with You 4, I Want to End This Love Game 5, My Hero Academia 40, and Sakura, Saku 6.

MICHELLE: It has literally been five years now since I reviewed a volume of My Hero Academia. Now that it’s drawing to a close, I should probably get back on it.

SEAN: And that’s it, as Yen Press must wait till next week. Till then, who’s your true love?

ASH: Could it be… manga? (Or maybe sleep…)

SEAN: The shortest month is here, but don’t expect less manga.

Yen still has a few stragglers from January. Yen On has a 6th volume of The Eminence in Shadow.

And Yen Press has Pink and Habanero 2.

Viz Media “debuts” Boruto: Two Blue Vortex, which is basically “Boruto after the timeskip”. It still runs in V Jump.

Also from Viz: Colette Decides to Die 2, Dandadan 11, The Elusive Samurai 14, In the Name of the Mermaid Princess 5, JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Shining Diamond’s Demonic Heartbreak 2, Kagurabachi 2, Prince Freya 11, Queen’s Quality 21, Rainbow Days 14, World Trigger 27, and Yona of the Dawn 43.

MICHELLE: Man, I haven’t read any Yona in so long. Time to remedy that!

ASH: I have some catching up with Yona to do, too. I’ve also recently been told I should read Dandadan.

ANNA: I also need to catch up with Yona

SEAN: THREE debuts for Tokyopop. I Don’t Need a Script for Love (Ai no Serifu wa Irimasen) is a one-shot BL title that ran in from RED. Actor and model have a one-night stand… but then the model is brought in as an emergency replacement in the actor’s show! He doesn’t fraternize with cast members… BUT…

My Contract With the Apothecary Monster (Kusuri no Mamono no Kaiko Riyuu) is a shoujo manga based on an unlicensed light novel, which runs in Comic Corona. A girl forms a contract with a monster, which usually means giving up years of her life, but he doesn’t seem to want that. What does he want?

ASH: Indeed, what could it be?

SEAN: This Is But a Hell of a Dream (Kore wa Akumade Yumenanode) is a one-shot BL title that ran in from RED. A naive incubus is brought home by an alluring host… and the host has to teach him what being an incubus is all about. *cough*

ASH: One would think that would have been covered during orientation.

SEAN: Steamship gives us Outbride: Beauty and the Beasts 7.

Square Enix Books has a 4th print volume of The Apothecary Diaries, which will be the 2nd half of this anime season, for the curious.

ASH: I’ve been enjoying this series.

SEAN: And Square Enix Manga has the 6th and final volume of SINoALICE.

Debuting from Seven Seas is Now That We Draw (Kakunaru Ue wa), a seinen title from Young Animal. A high school manga wannabe is told by an editor his manga is too boring. But when a classmate of his sees it and reveals she’s an artist with similar problems, they get into a fake relationship to help each other with ideas. It’s Young Animal, so expect this to have a pile of fanservice.

ASH: That’s one way to solve writer’s block, I guess.

SEAN: Pet Shop of Horrors: Collector’s Edition (Maboroshi No Hana Yoi No Tsuki) is a re-release of the series Tokyopop put out 20 years ago. It ran in Horror M, as well as Apple Mystery. A pet shop sells strange animals that seem to be involved in strange situations… and the owner? Also strange. This is a new translation, and I believe the Bunkoban release, so 300 pages or so.

MICHELLE: I am excited for this! I own the TOKYOPOP editions, but never got around to reading it.

ASH: It’s a good-looking edition!

ANNA: I read several volumes of the old edition and liked it!

SEAN: Also from Seven Seas: CANDY AND CIGARETTES 11 (the final volume), Daily Report About My Witch Senpai 4, Delinquent Daddy and Tender Teacher 6 (the final volume), Easygoing Territory Defense by the Optimistic Lord 4, Hatsukoi Note 2, Heroine? Saint? No, I’m an All-Works Maid (And Proud of It)! 2, I Married My Female Friend 4 (the final volume), I Ship My Rival x Me 2, Lazy Dungeon Master 10, My Dear Detective: Mitsuko’s Case Files 2, Sword of the Demon Hunter: Kijin Gentōshō 6, A Tale of the Secret Saint 8, and Throw Away the Suit Together 3 (the final volume).

MICHELLE: I should read My Dear Detective!

ASH: Likewise.

SEAN: There’s also Case File Compendium: Bing An Ben 4 for danmei.

One Peace Books has the 10th and final volume of Usotoki Rhetoric.

MICHELLE: Oh, already over!

ASH: The perfect time for me to finally get around to reading more.

SEAN: No debuts for Kodansha Manga. In print we see A Condition Called Love 11, The Fragrant Flower Blooms With Dignity 5, MOBILE SUIT GUNDAM THE ORIGIN MSD Cucuruz Doan’s Island 3, Ogami-san Can’t Keep It In 7 (the final volume), The Seven Deadly Sins: Four Knights of the Apocalypse 15, Snow & Ink 2, Vinland Saga Deluxe 6, WIND BREAKER 9, and Welcome to Demon School! Iruma-kun 12.

MICHELLE: All those other times I pledged to read Iruma-kun, I didn’t manage to do it. Will this time be different?

ASH: I believe in you!

SEAN: Digitally we have Chihayafuru 48, My Wife is a Little Intimidating 10, Shangri-La Frontier 19, and Those Snow White Notes 25.

J-Novel Club has one debut, The Hero-Killing Bride (Yūsha-goroshi no Hanayome). The plot will sound a bit familiar to fans of The Executioner and Her Way of Life. Our heroine is a nun who’s actually an inquisitor, and is assigned to seduce and kill the hero who is getting to be more popular than the church. Except the hero is also a girl. This is dark yuri, along the lines of… well, The Executioner and Her Way of Life.

ASH: Huh.

SEAN: Also from J-Novel Club: Dimension Wave 2, Doll-Kara 9, Finding Avalon 5, Gushing over Magical Girls 11, The Hero and the Sage, Reincarnated and Engaged 3, the 2nd The Oblivious Saint Can’t Contain Her Power manga, the 5th Peddler in Another World manga, Reincarnated Mage with Inferior Eyes 7, The Reincarnated Princess Spends Another Day Skipping Story Routes 9, The Reincarnation of the Strongest Exorcist in Another World 3, Seventh 10, and VTuber Legend 8.

Ghost Ship has a 13th volume of 2.5 Dimensional Seduction.

And Airship has, in print, the debut of The Too-Perfect Saint: Tossed Aside By My Fiancé and Sold to Another Kingdom (Kanpeki Sugite Kawaige ga Nai to Konyaku Haki Sareta Seijo wa Ringoku ni Urareru). The title is the plot, but having read the digital version, I’m far more excited for the upcoming anime. This does interesting things.

ASH: That’s good to know!

SEAN: Also in print: The Mimosa Confessions 3, Reborn as a Space Mercenary 11, Reincarnated as a Dragon Hatchling 9, and Though I Am an Inept Villainess 8.

And there’s early digital for Easygoing Territory Defense by the Optimistic Lord 4 and Witch and Mercenary 2.

I’ve decided to streamline these lists by removing the parts of the light novel titles that come after the colon (except for debuts). Did it help?

MICHELLE: Yes!

ASH: That’s a good trick; don’t let the secret out.

SEAN: January is coming to a close, let’s see what we’ve got.

ASH: I bet it’s manga. And maybe some light novels?

SEAN: Airship has one print volume, the 5th and final I Swear I Won’t Bother You Again!.

And for early digital titles we see The Most Heretical Last Boss Queen: From Villainess to Savior 8, Too Many Losing Heroines! 3, and Trapped in a Dating Sim: Otome Games Are Tough For Us, Too! 3.

Cross Infinite World gives us the debut of Dinners with My Darling: How the Former Monster King Ate Her Way to Happiness (Aisanai to Iwaremashite mo – Moto Maou no Hakushaku Reijou wa Kimajime Gunjin ni Ezuke wo Sarete Shiawase ni naru). A young woman enters a political marriage with her military husband, who says he’ll never love her. Little does he know that merely by feeding her he’s better than her old family!

ASH: I will admit, there are elements of this premise that appeal to me. (And others that don’t.)

SEAN: Also from CIW is How I Swapped Places with the Villainess, Beat Up Her Fiancé, and Found True Love 2 and Let’s Get to Villainessin’: Stratagems of a Former Commoner 2.

Ghost Ship debuts The Elf Sisters Can’t Wait for the Night (Yonshimai (Elf) wa Yoru wo Omachikane), a Dragon Age manga about a guy who can rouse the “Queen’s Blood” in four elf sisters, so gets permission to prank them every night. And by prank I mean sleep with.

ASH: Four!

SEAN: Hanashi Media has the 5th volume of Tsukimichi Moonlit Fantasy.

J-Novel Club has three debuts next week. Meals Made to Order: How to Domesticate Your Dragon with Delicacies! (Misuterareta Ikenie Reijou wa Senyou Skill “Otoriyose” de Jaryuu wo Ezukesuru) stars a young woman who … sigh… can’t activate her magic skill, so everyone hates her, she’s disowned, and she’s being fed to a dragon. She then awakens her isekai memories, and realizes her skill is “Doordash gourmet meals from Earth straight to her”. Now she can feed the dragon tasty food rather than herself!

ASH: Okay, dinners with dragons might actually get me to read this.

SEAN: Mercedes and the Waning Moon: The Dungeoneering Feats of a Discarded Vampire Aristocrat (Kaketa Tsuki no Mercedes: Kyuuketsuki no Kizoku ni Tenseishita kedo Suteraresou nano de Dungeon wo Seihasuru) is the manga version of a light novel JNC will soon be releasing, and it runs in Comic Corona. A young woman knows that once her father picks a successor she’ll be abandoned, so knows what to do: dungeon crawl.

Shannon Wants to Die! (Shinitagari no Shannon: Dragon ni Taberarete Mita) is about an immortal mage who has gotten sick of immortality. Unfortunately, nothing seems to kill her!

ASH: I do like stories about immortality…

SEAN: Also from J-Novel Club: the 2nd Accidentally in Love: The Witch, the Knight, and the Love Potion Slipup manga, Dagashi-ya Yahagi: Setting Up a Sweets Shop in Another World 3, Der Werwolf: The Annals of Veight 16 (the final volume), The Emperor’s Lady-in-Waiting Is Wanted as a Bride 5, the 6th I’ll Never Set Foot in That House Again! manga, I’m a Noble on the Brink of Ruin, So I Might as Well Try Mastering Magic 5, Invaders of the Rokujouma!? 46, Rebuild World 6 Part 1, The Reincarnator and the Goblin Maiden’s Happily Ever After: Using a Past Life to Keep a Joyful Wife 2, and Tearmoon Empire 14.

Kaiten Books has a 9th print volume of the Loner Life in Another World manga.

Kodansha Books has a 7th volume of My Unique Skill Makes Me OP Even at Level 1.

One print debut for Kodansha Manga: Honeko Akabane’s Bodyguards (Akabane Honeko no Bodyguard), a Weekly Shonen Magazine title about a guy who has to protect his classmate against numerous assassins… without her knowing it!

Also in print: Gazing at the Star Next Door 4, Hitorijime My Hero 15, Suzume 3 (the final volume), and Toppu GP 13.

SEAN: Digitally the debut is Killing Line, a josei series from Be Love that’s from the creator of Searching for My Perfect Brother. A young woman is invited to a group date, only for the date to be interrupted by an assassin who has a hit out on one of the other participants, and wants to leave no witnesses! Can she manage to survive? This is a dark comedy, apparently.

MICHELLE: Huh. Could be good!

ANNA: Dark comedy and assassins are things that I like.

ASH: Same!

SEAN: Also digitally we see Am I Actually the Strongest? 13, As the Gods Will 3, Chihiro-kun Only Has Eyes for Me 11, A Couple of Cuckoos 21, Elegant Yokai Apartment Life 29, Gamaran: Shura 28, and WIND BREAKER 18.

MICHELLE: Someday, I really will read Elegant Yokai Apartment Life.

ASH: I really ought to, as well.

SEAN: One Peace Books has a 13th volume of The New Gate.

The debut for Seven Seas is Home Sweet Home (Hiiragi-senpai to Ofutari-sama), a shoujo manga from Betsuma. A girl tired of changing schools when her dad changes jobs wants to stay home by herself, but is OK with living with the daughter of her dad’s boss. Only… it’s the SON of her dad’s boss. This is from the creator of Rainbow Days.

MICHELLE: I didn’t like Rainbow Days at all, but the lure of Margaret (or an offshoot) cannot be denied. Shallowly, the cover to volume one is cute!

ANNA: Margaret and related things are intriguing.

ASH: Hmmm.

SEAN: There’s also a mature webtoon title, The Missing “O”, about a woman who had a one-night stand that gave her the perfect orgasm, and she’s spent years trying to find her lover again. Unfortunately, she doesn’t remember his name.

ASH: Whoops.

SEAN: Also from Seven Seas: Checkmate 2, The Dragon Knight’s Beloved 8, Karate Survivor in Another World 7, Magical Buffs: The Support Caster is Stronger Than He Realized! 2, Otaku Elf 8, Precarious Woman Executive Miss Black General 11, The Summer You Were There 6 (the final volume), and Yokai Cats 9.

Steamship has a 2nd volume of I’ll Never Be Your Crown Princess! – Betrothed.

Also from Tokyopop: A Gentle Noble’s Vacation Recommendation 10, I Was Reincarnated as the Heroine on the Verge of a Bad Ending, and I’m Determined to Fall in Love! 2, I Was Reincarnated as the Villainess in an Otome Game but the Boys Love Me Anyway! 6, Let’s Eat Together, Aki and Haru 3 (the final volume), and Watch Dogs Tokyo 3 (the final volume).

Udon Entertainment debuts Mr. Mega Man (Rockman-san), a slice-of-life title from Young Ace Up based on the classic game. (It got bumped.)

And there’s also Little Mega Man, a gag manga based on the game that also runs in Young Ace Up.

Viz Media gives us Boy’s Abyss 8, How Do We Relationship? 12, and JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Part 6–Stone Ocean 8.

ASH: I am so far behind but still excited for JJBA.

SEAN: And Yen Press has three debuts that didn’t come out in last week’s deluge. The Color of the End: Mission in the Apocalypse (Usuzumi no Hate) is a seinen title from Harta. If you like “wandering a post-apocalyptic hellscape” manga (and let’s face it, that’s a genre now), this is for you.

ASH: It is… and I do.

SEAN: I Picked Up This World’s Strategy Guide (Kono Sekai no Kouryakuhon wo Hirotte Shimaimashita) is from the magazine Isekai Comic (it has its own magazine now?). A young girl going out to pick herbs finds a mysterious book… which tells her all about the fate of her village and country! But she’s an NPC-type! What should she do?

Takahashi from the Bike Shop (Jitenshaya-san no Takahashi-kun) is an award-winning josei title from Torch, and it’s also been mad into a live-action drama. A woman who is dealing with her terrible job finds the one person she can confide in is, well, see title.

MICHELLE: Sounds potentially cute!

ANNA: It does sound cute!

ASH: I’m looking forward to this one!

SEAN: Yen also has Elden Ring: The Road to the Erdtree 5 and the 2nd and final volume of When the Villainess Seduces the Main Heroine.

Much better than last week. Well, a little better. What are you getting?

SEAN: This week we see January, traditionally the month with the fewest releases, take on Yen Press, which always buries us in stuff on the same week. Who wins?

ASH: We all do! Somehow. I think?

SEAN: The debut from Yen On is a one-shot and award-winner, Love Unseen Beneath the Clear Night Sky (Toumei na Yoru ni Kakeru Kimi to, Me ni Mienai Koi wo Shita), a romance title about an introverted college guy whose world opens up after he meets a blind woman. This is not an adaptation based on a movie but feels like it is.

ASH: Oh, interesting.

SEAN: We also see Solo Leveling: The Novel Omnibus, a giant brick featuring all the books to date.

ASH: That’s one way to do it… and does remind me this is a series I’m supposed to try at some point.

SEAN: And we get new volumes! Associate Professor Akira Takatsuki’s Conjecture 5, Even a Replica Can Fall in Love 2, Gods’ Games We Play 4, Hell Is Dark with No Flowers 2, Hero Syndrome 2, If the Villainess and Villain Met and Fell in Love 3, The Irregular at Magic High School 24, My Happy Marriage 8, Sabikui Bisco 9, and Sasaki and Peeps 8.

MICHELLE: I should potentially check out My Happy Marriage.

ANNA: Oh, me too.

SEAN: From Yen Press, we debut Everyone’s Darling Has a Secret (Houkago no Idol ni wa Himitsu ga aru), a seinen title from Manga Park. A young man who needs to get top scores or else ends up screwing up the answer sheet and gets sent to remedial classes… where he meets the prettiest girl in school!

Hell Is Dark with No Flowers (Jigoku Kurayami Hana mo Naki) is a manga adaptation of the light novel Yen is also releasing. It runs in Young Ace.

I’m Here, Beside You (Anata no Osoba ni) is a BL title from B’s-LOVEY. Our protagonist always loved the very straight class president in high school, but never did anything. Now he finds the ex-president is getting married… to a man! Drinking himself into a stupor filled with regrets, he wakes up… in his high school past?

MICHELLE: Welp, that’s an instant pre-order.

ASH: I am likewise intrigued!

ANNA: I’m curious!

SEAN: Also from Yen Press: Ako and Bambi 4, Bungo Stray Dogs: Dazai, Chuuya, Age Fifteen 3, Call the Name of the Night 5 (the final volume), Chained Soldier 10, Cheerful Amnesia 5, Days with My Stepsister 2, The Demon Sword Master of Excalibur Academy 8, From Old Country Bumpkin to Master Swordsman 2, The Girl I Saved on the Train Turned Out to Be My Childhood Friend 8, Goblin Slayer Side Story II: Dai Katana 7, Hakumei & Mikochi: Tiny Little Life in the Woods 12, The Holy Grail of Eris 9, Kowloon Generic Romance 9, Lord Hades’s Ruthless Marriage 3 (the final volume), Magical Explorer 2, Miss Savage Fang 2, Saint? No! I’m Just a Passing Beast Tamer! 5, Sasaki and Miyano 10, Sasaki and Peeps 3, Shadows House 8, She Loves to Cook, and She Loves to Eat 5, Shy 9, So What’s Wrong with Getting Reborn as a Goblin? 7, Spring Storm and Monster 2, Sword Art Online: Kiss and Fly 3, This Monster Wants to Eat Me 3, Toilet-bound Hanako-kun 21, Tougen Anki: Legend of the Cursed Blood 2, Tsubaki-chou Lonely Planet 9, and Your Forma 2.

ASH: Okay, yeah, Yen might have won.

SEAN: Viz has two debuts. Tokyo Alien Bros. is a seinen title from the creator of Hirayasumi, and ran in Gekkan! Spirits. Two aliens come to earth to investigate humans. One is very good at blending in. The other… isn’t.

ASH: Sounds absolutely like something I would read.

We also get Vagabond Definitive Edition, which is self-explanatory. 728 pages, $55 hardcover, filled with Takehiko Inoue, which justifies the price.

ASH: This should be glorious. I’m seriously considering upgrading from my VizBig editions.

ANNA: I’m not in favor of double dipping since I also have the VizBig editions but that is tempting.

SEAN: Also from Viz: After God 2, Record of Ragnarok 13, Red River 3-in-1 2, Snowball Earth 4, Steel of the Celestial Shadows 5, Trillion Game 3, and Undead Unluck 18.

ANNA: Red River! Red River! Red River!

SEAN: Square Enix has a 3rd manga volume of The Angel Next Door Spoils Me Rotten.

Seven Seas has two debuts, one manga and one danmei. The manga is Only I Know the World Is Ending and Getting Killed by Rampaging Beasts Only Makes Me Stronger (Kono Sekai ga Izure Horobu Koto wo, Ore dake ga Shitte Iru) is based on an as-yet unlicensed light novel, and its very title exhausts me. It runs in Magazine Pocket, and is a reverse isekai and a “I can return by death!” sort of thing, only unlike Subaru, this guy also gets skills.

Run Wild: Sa Ye is another one of those books which has spawned lots of adaptations. A young man who decides that living with his gambling-addicted dad is better than the contempt he gets from his adoptive parents goes to live with him, only to run into a brother and sister who end up changing his life! (It’s danmei, so you can probably guess which sibling changes his life more.)

MICHELLE: Heh.

ASH: Why, whatever do you mean?

ANNA: It must be the sister.

SEAN: Also from Seven Seas: After School Etude 2, A Cat from Our World and the Forgotten Witch 4, Cat on the Hero’s Lap 4 (the final volume), Diary of a Female Lead: Shujinkou Nikki 2, Dinghai Fusheng Records (manhua version) 2, Free Life Fantasy Online: Immortal Princess 9, How My Daddies Became Mates 2, I Abandoned My Engagement Because My Sister is a Tragic Heroine, but Somehow I Became Entangled with a Righteous Prince 2, The Lady Knight and the Beast-Eared Child 2, My Kitten is a Picky Eater 2, ROLL OVER AND DIE: I Will Fight for an Ordinary Life with My Love and Cursed Sword! 6, and Trapped in a Dating Sim: The World of Otome Games is Tough for Mobs 11.

A manga debut from One Peace Books. The Revenge of My Youth: Re Life with an Angelic Girl (Inkya Datta Ore no Seishun Revenge – Tenshi sugiru Ano Ko wa Ayumu Re Life) is a shonen series based on an as-yet unlicensed light novel, and it runs in Comp Ace. An office worker at a black company drops dead and wakes up back in high school! Now he can make his high school life more vibrant, and also save the life of the cutest girl in school, who committed suicide after being bullied. Hence the revenge part of the title.

KUMA is listed as having two one-shots out next week. Even if There’s No Rainbow Tomorrow (Ashita Niji ga Denakute mo) is a one-shot title from On Blue. An online romance between a drag queen and a sleepy salaryman.

MICHELLE: I’ve had this pre-ordered for a while. I’m definitely looking forward to it.

ASH: What a pretty cover!

ANNA: Sounds cool.

SEAN: And there’s also Guardians of the Far Frontier (Hategaikaku no Bannin), a Lily Hoshino series from Rutile. An aristocrat with PTSD after being the only survivor of a battle is sent to a faraway outpost. Can a sorcerer help him with his nightmares?

ASH: Lily Hoshino is a name is don’t remember seeing for a while!

ANNA: Oh yeah, that’s a bit of a throwback.

SEAN: Kodansha has debuts. Dogs and Punching Bags (Inu to Sandbag) is the latest title from Kaori Ozaki, creator of The Gods Lie and Mermaid Prince. This ran in Gekkan! Spirits, and stars a woman returning home to help her drunken father live out his final days. She runs into a man whose enthusiasm for life contrasts entirely with her own. This release has both volumes, so is complete in one.

MICHELLE: Intriguing!

ASH: I missed that we were getting more Kaori Ozaki manga! That makes me very happy.

ANNA: It makes me happy too!

SEAN: Dra-Q is a seinen title that runs in Young Magazine. A quiet high school student has a secret… she’s a vampire! (Yeah, sorry, Dra-Q does not mean drag queen, this is not that kind of manga.) She can attend school but is forbidden to fall in love, so naturally the guy she has a crush on finds out her secret.

ASH: Seems right.

ANNA: Listen, these things happen when you are a secret vampire.

SEAN: Also in print: Gachiakuta 5, The Great Cleric 12, The Iceblade Sorcerer Shall Rule the World 12, Kei X Yaku: Bound By Law 4, Ninja Vs. Gokudo 5, and Shimazaki in the Land of Peace 2.

Digitally there’s Boss Wife 9 (the final volume), Hozuki’s Coolheadedness 24, MF Ghost 20, Medaka Kuroiwa is Impervious to My Charms 15, and Ya Boy Kongming! 18.

J-Novel Club actually had some print out that should have gone on last week’s list, but it wasn’t on Yen’s site. Cross-pollination of publishers confuses me. THIS week they have Blade & Bastard 3 and My Instant Death Ability Is So Overpowered, No One in This Other World Stands a Chance Against Me! —AO— 7 out in print.

Last week they had Ascendance of a Bookworm 28, I Shall Survive Using Potions! 9, and Tearmoon Empire 11.

As for digital titles, there are two debuts. The first is the manga version of Imperial Reincarnation: I Came, I Saw, I Survived (Tensei Shitara Koutei deshita – Umare Nagara no Koutei wa Kono Saki Ikinokoreru ka), which runs in Comic Corona, and whose light novel JNC will be releasing soon. Our hero is reincarnated as a young child emperor who everyone wants to use as a puppet. Can he somehow control his own destiny?

The other debut is one I’ve been waiting for for some time. The Trials and Tribulations of My Next Life as a Noblewoman (Tensei Reijou to Suuki na Jinsei wo) has a deceptively dull title but has been called “the light novel Game of Thrones”. Our heroine is reborn as a rich noble, but with no magic or powers, just a normal woman. Unfortunately, when she hits fourteen, the drama starts, as she’s exiled from her home, and then at sixteen she’s dragged back to an arranged marriage. I have been told that this is dark but really good.

ASH: My curiosity has been piqued.

SEAN: Also from J-Novel Club: Ascendance of a Bookworm: Short Story Collection 2, Chivalry of a Failed Knight 4, the 7th The Frontier Lord Begins with Zero Subjects manga, the 8th Full Clearing Another World under a Goddess with Zero Believers manga, the 9th Isekai Tensei: Recruited to Another World manga, A Late-Start Tamer’s Laid-Back Life 12, When Supernatural Battles Became Commonplace 12, and You Were Experienced, I Was Not 6.

Ghost Ship has Ayakashi Triangle 13, Inside the Tentacle Cave 4, Monster Marriage Shop 2, and Yandere Dark Elf: She Chased Me All the Way From Another World! 2.

I can feel Ed Chavez glaring at me from here, but retailers say the legendary They Were 11! (11-nin Iru!) is out next week. I know it’s probably still a placeholder date. Sorry. It *is* coming soon. A shoujo story from 1975 by Moto Hagio that ran in Betsucomi, and honestly if you did not order this when you heard the name Moto Hagio, then you should probably be reading some other weekly manga releases post.

MICHELLE: I was lucky enough to obtain a copy of Four Shojo Stories, in which the original run of “They Were Eleven” appeared, but this new edition also contains a sequel series, so I am definitely looking forward to that!

ASH: I also have one of the illicit copies of Four Shojo Stories and am likewise really looking forward to this release whenever it happens to come out.

ANNA: Did you know that I also have a copy of Four Shojo Stories somewhere in my house? But I can’t find it and will totally buy They Were Eleven whenever it is available.

SEAN: Airship, in print, has Free Life Fantasy Online: Immortal Princess 8 and She Professed Herself Pupil of the Wise Man 12.

And in early digital there is Failure Frame: I Became the Strongest and Annihilated Everything With Low-Level Spells 11.5 and Sword of the Demon Hunter: Kijin Gentōshō 8.

So, it turns out January is no longer the month no one releases anything. What are you getting?

SEAN: Somehow it’s still 2025.

ASH: My brain has managed to jump ahead to 2026 and back to 2024 simultaneously, which I guess evens out to 2025?

SEAN: In print, Airship has I Abandoned My Engagement Because My Sister is a Tragic Heroine, but Somehow I Became Entangled with a Righteous Prince 2.

MICHELLE: I like the title, at least!

SEAN: And digitally they have True Love Fades Away When the Contract Ends 2.

Drawn and Quarterly debuts a classic, The Legend of Kamui (Kamui Den). This 60s manga was serialized in Garo, and is NOT the 80s version that was put out by Viz Media. An Edo-Period historical drama with ninjas, it’s so influential even Tezuka praised it for bringing drama and ideology to manga. This is the first omnibus, and is 600 pages.

ANNA: Oooh, interesting.

ASH: This is huge. I am so incredibly happy and excited for this release. And was fortunate to receive an early copy which I am absolutely loving.

SEAN: No debuts for J-Novel Club, but we do see After-School Dungeon Diver: Level Grinding in Another World 4, the 10th Campfire Cooking in Another World with My Absurd Skill manga, Demon Lord, Retry! 9, From Old Country Bumpkin to Master Swordsman: My Hotshot Disciples Are All Grown Up Now, and They Won’t Leave Me Alone 5, the 11th How a Realist Hero Rebuilt the Kingdom manga, Let This Grieving Soul Retire 6, The Misfit of Demon King Academy 8, My Instant Death Ability Is So Overpowered, No One in This Other World Stands a Chance Against Me! —AΩ— 9, Record of Wortenia War 27, and the third The Water Magician manga.

Kodansha also has no debuts. In print, they have Ajin: Demi-Human Complete 2, Blue Lock: Episode Nagi 2, ORIGIN 8, The Seven Deadly Sins Omnibus 14 (the final volume), Sheltering Eaves 2, Versus 2, and Witch Hat Atelier 13.

MICHELLE: I really liked the first volume of Sheltering Eaves!

ANNA: I cannot believe I am so far behind in Witch Hat Atelier it is a personal failing.

ASH: I have a few volumes I’ve been saving which I’ll be reading all at once.

SEAN: And for digital we see Blue Lock 29, Gang King 25, Manchuria Opium Squad 4, Tokyo Tarareba Girls Returns 2 5, and We’re New at This 18 (the final volume).

MICHELLE: How am I already this far behind with Tokyo Tarareba Girls Returns 2?!

SEAN: One Peace have the 5th light novel volume of The Wrong Way to Use Healing Magic.

Just one debut for Seven Seas. Glasses with a Chance of Delinquent (Megane, Tokidoki, Yankee-kun) is a shoujo title from Betsufure. A girl who was bullied by gangs in the past attends a new high school free of them, and meets a glasses-wearing kid… and it turns out he’s a secret gang member! This was so popular Japanese fans got it un-cancelled at one point.

MICHELLE: Looks potentially cute!

ANNA: I generally enjoy delinquents in shoujo.

ASH: Same! And megane, too!

SEAN: Also coming from Seven Seas: 365 Days to the Wedding 6, The Barbarian’s Bride 2, The Duke of Death and His Maid 16 (the final volume), Failure Frame: I Became the Strongest and Annihilated Everything With Low-Level Spells 9, I Quit My Apprenticeship as a Royal Court Wizard to Become a Magic Item Craftswoman 2, The Idaten Deities Know Only Peace 7, The Most Notorious “Talker” Runs the World’s Greatest Clan 8, My New Life as a Cat 8, Mysterious Disappearances 4, Soara and the House of Monsters 4, The Strange Adventure of a Broke Mercenary 4, Tiger and Dragon 2, The Titan’s Bride 6, Tokyo Revengers 27-28, and The White Mage Doesn’t Want to Raise the Hero’s Level 4 (the final volume).

ASH: I recently picked up the first volume of Soara and the House of Monsters; I have time to catch up!

SEAN: And for danmei they have Stars of Chaos: Sha Po Lang 5 (the final volume).

Square Enix has Just Like Mona Lisa 4.

From Steamship we get I Can’t Refuse S 5 and A Suitable Fetish 2.

Steamship also has an early digital release of the 2nd light novel volume of The Villainess and the Demon Knight.

SuBLime has My Dearest Patrolman 3 (the final volume) and Stigmata: Love Bites 2 (the final volume).

MICHELLE: The latter has such a gorgeous cover, I might read it on that basis alone!

ASH: Oooh, that is evocative!

SEAN: Two debuts from Viz. Beyblade X is the latest in that toy-based series, and runs in Monthly CoroCoro.

Firefly Wedding (Hotaru no Yomeiri) is an award-winning shoujo manga that runs in Manga One. An ill girl who is being married off so she can have some value to her family before she dies now finds that she’s also being targeted by an assassin! Can she find a way to solve both these problems in one fell swoop? This is definitely on the more ‘dramatic’ end of the shoujo manga scale.

MICHELLE: Hm. Maybe!

ANNA: Shoujo with assassins???? I’m going to check this out.

ASH: This definitely holds promise. Now I just have to figure out why the premise sounds vaguely familiar to me…

SEAN: Also from Viz: Case Closed 93, Destroy All Humans. They Can’t Be Regenerated. A Magic: The Gathering Manga 2, Disney Twisted-Wonderland: The Manga – Anthology 2, Komi Can’t Communicate 32, Mao 19, Spy x Family 13, and Yashahime: Princess Half-Demon 6.

And that’s it! Titles from 1964 to 2024 in this batch. What are you buying?

ASH: No wonder I can’t figure out what year it is!

SEAN: The first real week of 2025, so there’s a bit more to chew on.

ASH: And only more to come.

SEAN: Yen On has one straggler from December, Re:ZERO -Starting Life in Another World- Short Story Collection 2.

Viz Media debuts RuriDragon, a Shonen Jump series so good that when the creator was unable to keep up with the weekly pace, Shueisha let them take two years off and moved it to a milder schedule. It’s that good. The story of a high school girl who suddenly finds she’s the daughter of a dragon… and has dragon powers. This is so sweet and funny and heartwarming and awesome. I love it.

MICHELLE: I hadn’t heard of this before, but with a recommendation so heartfelt, I’ll have to check it out.

ANNA: Me too, it sounds great.

ASH: Count me in as well!

SEAN: Also from Viz: Black Clover 36, Chainsaw Man 17, Dark Gathering 11, Last Quarter 2 (the final volume), Like a Butterfly 10, Marriage Toxin 5, Moriarty the Patriot 18, Otaku Vampire’s Love Bite 2, Sakamoto Days 15, Tamon’s B-Side 6, and Wolf Girl and Black Prince 11.

MICHELLE: Man, I could do with a Tamon binge about now!

ANNA: Will be checking out Last Quarter for sure.

SEAN: Steamship has Fire in His Fingertips: A Flirty Fireman Ravishes Me with His Smoldering Gaze 6 and Loved by Two Fiancés 2.

ASH: I didn’t realize that Fire in His Fingertips was still ongoing!

SEAN: Square Enix has Mobsters in Love 3 (the final volume), My Clueless First Friend 8, and The Strongest Sage with the Weakest Crest 22.

Seven Seas debuts Blood Night Market, a supernatural seinen series from Young Ace. In a city where vampires want blood and humans are willing to sell, an employee of an organization that tries to stop illegal vampiring (is that a word) runs into a self-proclaimed vampire gourmand. This isn’t listed as BL, and it runs in Young Ace, but… I dunno, it seems BL. The creator is a BL author who also wrote vs. LOVE.

MICHELLE: The blurb on Amazon includes the word “desires,” so your instincts are spot-on.

ANNA: Only legal vampiring should be allowed!

ASH: Forsooth! (Fortooth?)

SEAN: Also from Seven Seas: Cinderella Closet 8 (the final volume), The Hidden Dungeon Only I Can Enter 12 (the final volume), Kageki Shojo!! 12, Malevolent Spirits: Mononogatari 9, My Girlfriend’s Not Here Today 3, My Sister Took My Fiancé and Now I’m Being Courted by a Beastly Prince 3, and You Like Me, Not My Daughter?! 5.

ASH: I really need to catch up with Kageki Shojo!! one of these days.

SEAN: And in danmei releases we see Ballad of Sword and Wine: Qiang Jin Jiu 3.

One Peace Books has the 23rd volume of the The Rising of the Shield Hero manga.

Kodansha’s print debut is Love on the Horizon (Ashita Ai kamo Shirenai), a BL series from Gateau. A country boy at college, in love with his senpai, is tasked with getting him home after a party one night and ends up in bed with him! But it was just a one-time thing, right?

MICHELLE: I’m guessing not.

ANNA: These things happen.

ASH: It would be more surprising if it didn’t.

SEAN: Also in print: A-DO 6, Anyway, I’m Falling in Love with You 5, Don’t Toy with Me, Miss Nagatoro 18, Medalist 6, Shikimori’s Not Just a Cutie 19, Spoil Me Plzzz, Hinamori-san! 2, Thunder 3 2, Your Lie in April Omnibus 2, and Yuri is My Job! 13.

And for digital we have Even Given the Worthless “Appraiser” Class, I’m Actually the Strongest 12, How to Grill Our Love 12, Medalist 11, Those Snow White Notes 24, and Tying the Knot with an Amagami Sister 16.

MICHELLE: This will be the year I read Medalist.

ANNA: Oh, I have some digital volumes stockpiled, I should get back into it. It really is so good.

ASH: I keep meaning to start it, too.

SEAN: One debut for J-Novel Club: Isekai Walking is about… ugh… a guy with a seemingly useless power who’s summoned to be a hero but thrown out for being useless only it turns out his power is secretly awesome. Whee.

ASH: That can’t be a real isekai title – it’s only two words long!

SEAN: Also from J-Novel Club: The Apothecary Diaries 13, The 10th Cooking with Wild Game manga, The Dorky NPC Mercenary Knows His Place 2, Earl and Fairy 9, Housekeeping Mage from Another World: Making Your Adventures Feel Like Home! 8, the 3rd I Parry Everything: What Do You Mean I’m the Strongest? I’m Not Even an Adventurer Yet! manga, Knight’s & Magic 5, the 7th My Daughter Left the Nest and Returned an S-Rank Adventurer manga, the 2nd Private Tutor to the Duke’s Daughter manga, and To Another World… with Land Mines! 10.

There’s a Ghost Ship debut. ISEKAI AFFAIR: 10 Years After Defeating the Demon King, the Hero Cheats on His Wife With a Warrior Woman Who Lost Her Husband (Isekai Furin – Maou Toubatsu kara Juunen, Tsuma to wa Resu no Moto Yuusha to, Otto o Nakushita Onna Senshi), which ran in Sunday Web Every. The title is the plot.

Denpa Books is listed as having the 5th volume of Under Ninja.

Airship, in print, has I’m the Heroic Knight of an Intergalactic Empire! 2, Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear 20, and Trapped in a Dating Sim: The World of Otome Games is Tough for Mobs 13 (the final volume).

Digitally there’s a debut: The Too-Perfect Saint: Tossed Aside By My Fiancé and Sold to Another Kingdom (Kanpeki Sugite Kawaige ga Nai to Konyaku Haki Sareta Seijo wa Ringoku ni Urareru) is in that “disgraced noble lady” genre, and the title is the plot again, but it’s getting an anime this year, and is from the creator of I Abandoned My Engagement Because My Sister is a Tragic Heroine, but Somehow I Became Entangled with a Righteous Prince.

Also digital: Reincarnated as a Dragon Hatchling 9.

It’s hard to do January book puns. Do any of these titles give you an epiphany? No? I’ll workshop it.

ASH: It’s a start!

SEAN: It’s 2025! OK, most of these come out on the 31st of December 2024, but still! Only 500 years to the song In the Year 2525!

ASH: So close, and yet so far away!

SEAN: Airship’s print debut is A Tale of the Secret Saint ZERO (Tenseishita Daiseijo wa, Seijo de Aru Koto wo Hitakakusu Zero), the prequel story of Princess Serafina’s adventures 300 years before being reincarnated as Fia.

Also in print: The Strange Adventure of a Broke Mercenary 9.

And for early digital we see Adachi and Shimamura: Short Stories, Reborn as a Space Mercenary: I Woke Up Piloting the Strongest Starship! 11, and There’s No Freaking Way I’ll be Your Lover! Unless… 6.

Cross Infinite World has Fluffy Paradise 6 and Since I Was Abandoned After Reincarnating, I Will Cook With My Fluffy Friends: The Figurehead Queen Is Strongest At Her Own Pace 6 (the final volume).

Ghost Ship has She’s the Strongest Bride, But I’m Stronger in Night Battles: A Harem Chronicle of Advancing Through Cunning Tactics 2 and the 18th and final volume of World’s End Harem.

The debut from J-Novel Club is From Villainess to Healer (Kaifukushoku no Akuyaku Reijou), whose manga adaptation came out from JNC two weeks ago. Our protagonist is dumped for having evil dark magic rather than good healing magic, so she goes to another country, changes her class to healer, and vows to forget all about him.

ASH: As she should.

ANNA: She doesn’t need that guy!

SEAN: Also from J-Novel Club: the 6th The Invincible Little Lady manga, Isekai Tensei: Recruited to Another World 9, Jeanette the Genius: Defying My Evil Stepmother by Starting a Business with My Ride-or-Die Fiancé! 3 (the final volume), Nia Liston: The Merciless Maiden 5, the 9th Now I’m a Demon Lord! Happily Ever After with Monster Girls in My Dungeon manga, Reborn to Master the Blade: From Hero-King to Extraordinary Squire 12, and the 4th A Wild Last Boss Appeared! manga.

No debuts for Kodansha. In print they have Am I Actually the Strongest? 8, Blue Lock 16, and The Spellbook Library 2.

ASH: Oh, I was supposed to read the first volume of The Spellbook Library, wasn’t I?

ANNA: Tell me if you like it!

SEAN: Digitally we see Altair: A Record of Battles 27 (the final volume) and Issak 11.

One Peace Books has a 5th volume of The Death Mage light novel.

The debut for Seven Seas is a mature BL oneshot, Wanna Be My Dress-Up Lover? (Nee, Onnanoko ni Shite Ageru). This ran in Reijin, and stars an office manager who relieves his stress by working at a cross-dressing cafe… but then his sarcastic employee shows up!

MICHELLE: I do like sarcastic guys in BL…

ASH: Saaaaaame.

ANNA: Indeed!

SEAN: Also from Seven Seas: Arifureta: From Commonplace to World’s Strongest 13, Box of Light 3, Dance in the Vampire Bund: Age of Scarlet Order 13, Dungeon Builder: The Demon King’s Labyrinth is a Modern City! 10, I Get the Feeling That Nobukuni-san Likes Me 5, I Swear I Won’t Bother You Again! 5, Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid: Fafnir the Recluse 4, My Deer Friend Nokotan 5, My Girlfriend’s Child 6, She Professed Herself Pupil of the Wise Man 12, and Skeleton Knight in Another World 13.

Steamship has the 4th and final volume of Revenge: Mrs. Wrong.

And one title from Yen Press, a debut for Yen On: Monsterholic. This is by the author of Days with My Stepsister and My Friend’s Little Sister Has It in for Me!, but this is definitely a different genre. A vampire and a werewolf patrol a government-approved slum, trying despite that to fight crime.

MICHELLE: Huh.

ASH: That is quite the genre switch.

SEAN: End of the year is always short. What are you buying with your New Year’s money? Assuming you are Japanese and get New Year’s money.

SEAN: Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and Best wishes from Manga Bookshelf!… wait, there’s manga out this week?

ASH: As if there was any doubt!

SEAN: Yen On has one title, and it’s a debut. Before the Tutorial Starts: A Few Things I Can Do to Keep the Bosses Alive (Tutorial ga Hajimaru Mae ni: Bosschara-tachi wo Hametsu Sasenai Tame ni Ore ga Dekiru Ikutsu ka no Koto) is a “I am the weakest, but really the STRONGEST” title combined with “I’m reincarnated as a pathetic villain” with a dash of “my sister is dying”.

MICHELLE: That’s kind of a lot.

SEAN: And Yen Press has Excellent Property, Rejects for Residents: Baths, Lavatories, and Angels Are Communal 2 and Final Fantasy Lost Stranger 11.

Viz Media has the 15th volume of Fist of the North Star.

ASH: Always happy for a new Fist of the North Star volume!

SEAN: Steamship debuts The Yakuza and His Omega: Raw Desire (Gokudou to Omega – Mukidashi no Katsuai), a josei omegaverse title from Pinkcherie. A romance writer wants to interview a famous alpha who’s also head of the local yakuza. Little does she know that… drumroll, please… she’s really an omega!

ASH: Surprise! (Still glad we’re getting steamy josei in the mix.)

ANNA: Me too, I’m glad that some steamy josei is being published.

SEAN: Square Enix has Final Fantasy VII Remake: Material Ultimania Plus, a big hardcover artbook.

I feel like sticking the Mature Seven Seas titles with Ghost Ship isn’t working, so I’ll go back to listing them with the main label. The debut is a mature BL title, Our Sweet One-Room Apartment (Sweet Our 1R) is from Magazine Be x Boy, and complete in one volume. Two college kids live together, it looks very cute.

ASH: It does!

SEAN: From Seven Seas we see Chronicles of an Aristocrat Reborn in Another World 11, the 2nd KinnPorsche novel, Level 1 Demon Lord and One Room Hero 7, My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom! 10, Perfect Buddy 2, Time Stop Hero 11, and The World’s Fastest Level Up 4.

Kodansha has the debut of the week with Ashita no Joe: Fighting for Tomorrow, the legendary 1968 Weekly Shonen Magazine manga that inspired almost every shonen series that came after it. The story of a ne’er-do-well who finds his fate lies with boxing, it’s coming out in hardcover format as a 600-page omnibus. Calling it: This is our pick of the week. And possibly the year, despite coming out at the end of it.

MICHELLE: Yeah, I’m a sucker for these “adrift person finds the place they belong” stories. Of course, I’m inclined to say “It reminds me of Slam Dunk!,” though I realize it’s the other way around.

ASH: I am so excited for this release!!

ANNA: Me too, happy to see a classic title get translated.

SEAN: Also in print: Kusunoki’s Flunking Her High School Glow-Up 3 and That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime: Trinity in Tempest 9.

And for digital we see As the Gods Will 2, Bootsleg 5, Gamaran: Shura 27, I Want To Hold Aono-kun So Badly I Could Die 12, and My Home Hero 19.

No debuts for J-Novel Club, but we do see Ascendance of a Bookworm Part 3 Book 4 manga, the 18th Black Summoner manga, the 5th Hell Mode manga, I Could Never Be a Succubus! 5, An Introvert’s Hookup Hiccups: This Gyaru Is Head Over Heels for Me! 9, the 4th A Late-Start Tamer’s Laid-Back Life manga, A Livid Lady’s Guide to Getting Even: How I Crushed My Homeland with My Mighty Grimoires 4, Min-Maxing My TRPG Build in Another World 9 Part 2, Now I’m a Demon Lord! Happily Ever After with Monster Girls in My Dungeon 11, Private Tutor to the Duke’s Daughter 14, Taking My Reincarnation One Step at a Time: No One Told Me There Would Be Monsters! 7, The Tales of Marielle Clarac 11, and the 9th Welcome to Japan, Ms. Elf! manga.

ASH: No debuts, but still plenty to fall behind on!

SEAN: Ghost Ship has The 100 Girlfriends Who Really, Really, Really, Really, REALLY Love You 12 and the 2nd Do You Like Big Girls? omnibus re-release.

ASH: One of these days I really, really, really, really, REALLY will give The 100 Girlfriends Who Really, Really, Really, Really, REALLY Love You a try.

SEAN: Denpa Books has, per retailers, March Comes in Like a Lion 3.

MICHELLE: I’m dubious, but we’ll see if my pre-order ships!

ASH: Fingers crossed!

ANNA: Also hoping here!

SEAN: In print, Airship has Heroine? Saint? No, I’m an All-Works Maid (And Proud of It)! (Heroine? Seijo? Iie, All Works Maid desu (Hokori)!). A former Japanese farm girl is reincarnated and becomes a maid to a poor noble family. Except… she seems to have holy magic? And men are flocking to her? Is she a heroine? Meh. Who cares? She’s a maid!

Also in print: Reincarnated Into a Game as the Hero’s Friend: Running the Kingdom Behind the Scenes 3 and The Weakest Tamer Began a Journey to Pick Up Trash 8.

And early digital has She Professed Herself Pupil of the Wise Man 12 and Though I Am an Inept Villainess: Tale of the Butterfly-Rat Body Swap in the Maiden Court 8.

That’s actually not bad compared to the last two weeks of hell. What’s in your stocking?

SEAN: We’re in the home stretch for Christmas buying. Let’s see what we’ve got.

ASH: I suspect plenty.

SEAN: Airship has two print titles, as we see Modern Dungeon Capture Starting with Broken Skills 3 (the final volume) and A Tale of the Secret Saint 7.

And three early digital titles: I Swear I Won’t Bother You Again! 5 (the final volume), Mushoku Tensei: Redundant Reincarnation 2 and Trapped in a Dating Sim: The World of Otome Games is Tough for Mobs 13 (the final volume).

MICHELLE: I had been meaning to check out I Swear I Won’t Bother You Again!.

SEAN: Retailers say that Denpa Books has a 3rd volume of Mobile Suit Gundam: Char’s Counterattack.

Ghost Ship has a 20th volume of Parallel Paradise.

There’s also a mature Seven Seas one-shot debuting. Wet Dream Aquarium (Ero Yume Aquarium) is a BL title from a magazine called, I kid you not, Splush. A guy has started to have erotic dreams about… sex with fish. What’s more, his wannabe marine biologist classmate is always watching him in these dreams!

MICHELLE: …

ASH: Huh.

ANNA: I don’t know about this one…

SEAN: J-Novel Club has one print title coming out: The Misfit of Demon King Academy 4, Act 2.

There’s four new J-Novel Club titles. The Countess Is a Coward No More! This Reincarnated Witch Just Wants a Break (Tensei Saki ga Kiyowa Sugiru Hakushaku Fujin datta) is a new light novel series. A young woman who’s been cowardly and bullied her whole life is now married to an Earl who’s never home, so the servants bully her. But she suddenly remembers her past life as a powerful witch! Now she’s going to turn the tables.

ASH: That’s good, or perhaps poor, timing on her part.

SEAN: Disowned but Not Disheartened! Life Is Good with Overpowered Magic (Ie o Oidasaremashita ga, Genki ni Kurashiteimasu ~Cheat na Mahō to Zensei Chishiki de Kaiteki Benri na Second Life!~). A girl is disowned by her parents when she’s THREE (Christ), but is taken in by an Earl, and soon finds herself shooting off powerful magic, playing in dangerous woods, and inventing things from her past life. That plot sounds pretty cool! Alas, this is an academy for nobles genre. Yeah, she’s off to school.

ASH: Dang, what did she do to get disowned?

SEAN: From Villainess to Healer: I Know the Cheat to Change My Fate (Kaifukushoku no Akuyaku Reijou) is a manga adaptation of a light novel J-Novel Club has licensed but has not released yet, and it runs in Flos Comic. Our protagonist is dumped for having evil dark magic rather than good healing magic, so she goes to another country, changes her class to healer, and vows to forget all about him. (Yes, I had this two weeks ago. It got bumped.)

ASH: I thought that premise sounded familiar!

SEAN: A Royal Rebound: Forget My Ex-Fiancé, I’m Being Pampered by the Prince! (Konyakusha ga Uwaki Aite to Kakeochi Shimashita. Ōji Denka ni Dekiai Sarete Shiawase nanode, Ima Sara Modoritai to Iwarete mo Komarimasu) is the manga version of the light novel already released by J-Novel Club. It runs in Drecomics. (Yes, I had this last week. It got bumped.)

ASH: As so many things do.

SEAN: There’s also Backstabbed in a Backwater Dungeon: My Trusted Companions Tried to Kill Me, But Thanks to the Gift of an Unlimited Gacha I Got LVL 9999 Friends and Am Out For Revenge on My Former Party Members and the World 9, The Brilliant Healer’s New Life in the Shadows 5, Chillin’ in Another World with Level 2 Super Cheat Powers 16, The Coppersmith’s Bride 4, Did I Seriously Just Get Reincarnated as My Gag Character?! 5, The Greatest Magicmaster’s Retirement Plan 18, Hell Mode 8, Lacey Longs for Freedom: The Dawn Witch’s Low-Key Life after Defeating the Demon King 2, the 11th The Magic in this Other World is Too Far Behind! manga, My Instant Death Ability Is So Overpowered, No One in This Other World Stands a Chance Against Me! After Story (the final volume), My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom! 13, No One Gets Past This Gatekeeper: The Unwanted Warrior Guards His New Post 2, The Poison King: Now that I’ve Gained Ultimate Power, the Bewitching Beauties in My Harem Can’t Get Enough of Me 3, The Royal Hostage Has Vanished: The Black Wolf Knight Yearns for the Persecuted Princess 2 (the final volume), the 10th Rebuild World manga, and The Water Magician 3.

ASH: I accidentally started reading that as if it was all one title.

ANNA: This is a common problem because a title that long does seem somewhat plausible.

SEAN: Two debuts for Kodansha Manga. Confession (Kokuhaku) is a late 90s manga that ran in Uppers, and complete in one volume. Two men are about to die in a blizzard. One decides to confess to the dark secret he’s kept for years. Then… um, they find shelter. Now the man might be more at risk of death from his companion! This is so seinen you can smell the sweat.

MICHELLE: Heh. Potentially interesting, though!

ASH: I’m became even more interested when I realized Nobuyuki Fukumoto (Kaiji) was handling the story and Kaiji Kawaguchi (Eagle) was handling the art.

ANNA: Oh!

SEAN: Re:Anima is a series that runs on Kodansha Manga’s North American website. It’s about a world where everyone has to live underground due to the environment, but they can go to the surface in robot bodies. This, of course, leads to CRIME.

Also from Kodansha in print: The Fable Omnibus 5, The Moon on a Rainy Night 6, Rent-A-Girlfriend 28, and That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime 25.

And for digital we see Space Brothers 44 and Yamaguchi-kun Isn’t So Bad 9.

One Peace Books has an 8th manga volume of The Wrong Way to Use Healing Magic.

Seven Seas’ first debut is Beautiful Things: The Complete Manga Collection (Utsukushii Koto), a josei BL title from Kiss. A man, after a bad breakup, finds himself dressing in his ex-girlfriend’s outfits and walking the streets at night. One night he’s rescued from an assault by his co-worker, who finds himself falling for… her? Can our protagonist find it in himself to tell the truth, even after getting a confession? This started as a novel and has also been made into a play.

MICHELLE: The coworker is described as “an endearing klutz,” and suddenly I’m sold!

ASH: I am intrigued!

ANNA: OK!

SEAN: They also have HIKARI-MAN 1-2, from the creator of Homunculus and Ichi the Killer. This sci-fi series from Big Comic Spirits is about a nerdy high school kid who one day has a build up of static accidentally transfer his consciousness into his PC.

MICHELLE: For a second, I thought this said Hataraki Man, and I was very excite. This isn’t that, but still sounds intriguing.

ASH: Hahaha, same!

SEAN: Also from Seven Seas: Backstabbed in a Backwater Dungeon: My Party Tried to Kill Me, But Thanks to an Infinite Gacha I Got LVL 9999 Friends and Am Out For Revenge 7, Cat Companions Maruru and Hachi 2, Don’t Call it Mystery 11-12, How NOT to Summon a Demon Lord 20, Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid 15, Monster Musume 18, My Androgynous Boyfriend 5 (the final volume), My Cat is Such a Weirdo 5, My Senpai is Annoying 12, Orb: On the Movements of the Earth 7-8 (the final volume), Someone’s Girlfriend 2, Though I Am an Inept Villainess: Tale of the Butterfly-Rat Body Swap in the Maiden Court 6, Yakuza Reincarnation 11, and Young Ladies Don’t Play Fighting Games 7.

Square Enix has the My Happy Marriage Art Book art book, a handsome hardcover featuring art and exclusive short stories.

Steamship has a print debut. The Obsessed Mage and His Beloved Statue Bride: She Cannot Resist His Seductive Voice (Yandere Mahoutsukai wa Sekizou no Otome shika Aisenai: Majo wa Manadeshi no Atsui Kuchizuke de Tokeru) is along the lines of the last LN Steamship released, at least in terms of the male love interest. Our heroine, to save the country, turns herself to stone for twenty years. Now her cute teenage assistant is an older, sexier man, and still totally in love with her.

ASH: This was a subgenre I wasn’t aware existed, though I am also not surprised.

SEAN: Udon Entertainment has a 2nd volume of More than a Married Couple, but Not Lovers.

No debuts for Viz, but we see Black Lagoon 13, Dandadan 10, Fool Night 3, Haikyu!! 3-in-1 3, Insomniacs After School 8, Magilumiere Magical Girls Inc. 5, Mission: Yozakura Family 14, Show-ha Shoten! 6, Ultraman 20, and Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead 16.

Yen On debuts I’m the Strongest in This Zombie World, but I Can’t Beat This Girl! (Zombie Sekai de Ore wa Saikyou dakedo, Kono Ko ni wa Katenai), a post-apocalyptic romcom. A high school boy, trying to deal with a world overrun by zombies, meets his friend’s little sister. Then he’s bitten by a zombie. Thinking he’s about to die, she agrees to be his girlfriend… but somehow, he’s a zombie who’s still got his own personality?

ASH: That is a rather curious turn of events.

SEAN: We also see Agents of the Four Seasons 4, I Kept Pressing the 100-Million-Year Button and Came Out on Top 9, Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? On the Side: Sword Oratoria 13, Our Last Crusade or the Rise of a New World: Secret File 3, Reign of the Seven Spellblades 12, The Saga of Tanya the Evil 13, and Spy Classroom Short Story Collection 3.

Yen Press has a few debuts. Blend-S is another one of those 10-year-old Manga Time Kirara Carat manga we’ve seen lately (perhaps the contract difficulties were fixed?). Our cheerful heroine gets a job at a themed cafe… but is asked to play a sadist?

Hereditary Triangle (Seshuusei Triangle) is a series from Comic Beam, collected complete in one volume here. Three friends were in a love triangle as teens… then one of them vanished. The other two married, and now, years later, the husband wonders if his wife would still have chosen him if that hadn’t happened.

MICHELLE: This feels vaguely orange-y.

ASH: I have heard very good things about this one.

SEAN: Luciole Has a Dream (Luciole wa Yume wo Miru) is a shoujo title from Asuka. A young boy awakens from sleep to find the world ended while he slept. Now he’s alone (except for his 500-year-old archmage guardian), all alone…

ASH: That’s some powerful sleep.

ANNA: I sometimes want to sleep like that.

SEAN: Senpai, This Can’t Be Love! Brush Up is, let’s be honest, Senpai, This Can’t Be Love! 2.

Sword Art Online abec Artworks New World has artwork from Vol. 16-22 of the main series and 1-3 of Progressive, so expect some sweet Argo art.

Übel Blatt Deluxe Edition is a deluxe edition of the Übel Blatt manga. hardcover, snazzy looking, 650 pages.

ASH: I don’t know that I would have expected this series to be selected for a deluxe treatment.

SEAN: Also from Yen Press: Goblin Slayer 15, The Kept Man of the Princess Knight 3, and Nights with a Cat 4.

This one is almost as big as last week’s. Sheesh. (Or maybe splush.)

MICHELLE: Snerk.

SEAN: As we prepare for Christmas, publishers try to put out all – well, most – of their titles a couple weeks early. Buckle up.

ASH: Let’s goooooo!

ANNA: I’m scared!

SEAN: Yen actually delayed a bunch of their titles a week or two, but we still have plenty this week. Yen On debuts The BS Situation of Tougetsu Umidori (Umidori Tougetsu no “Detarame” na Jijou). What appears to be a typical school life book ends up in a web of lies and intrigue. Umidori seems to be the normal narrator type.

ASH: What sort of BS are we talking about, here?

SEAN: Also from Yen On: 86–EIGHTY-SIX 13, Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russian 6, The Angel Next Door Spoils Me Rotten 8, High School DxD 15, My First Love’s Kiss 2, Riviere and the Land of Prayer 3, and Sword Art Online Alternative Clover’s Regret 2.

Yen Press has a bunch of debuts. Be My Worst Nightmare! (Dareka Yume da to Itte Kure) is a BL title from Manga Mee. A short boy discovers his crush getting rejected by a tall brute, so he challenges him to a contest! And loses. And loses. And now, for some reason, his affections seem to be shifting…

ASH: Uh-oh!

SEAN: Revenge Agent Hizumi-san (Fukushuu Daikou Hizumi-san) is a BL one-shot from B’S-LOVEY. A man whose job is getting revenge on the worst scum is hired to humiliate a cheating bastard. Which he does.

ASH: Goodness!

SEAN: Stomp, Kick, Love (Fundari, Kettari, Aishitari) is a shoujo title from pixiv Sylph. An office worker finds her only respite is going out drinking with her platonic friend, who’s a bit of a playboy. Then she ends up in bed with this platonic friend.

ASH: Whoops.

ANNA: Listen, these things happen.

SEAN: With You, Our Love Will Make It Through (Kimi to Koete Koi ni Naru) is a shoujo title from Manga Mee. A high school girl finds her class has a transfer student who is a beastman one day. She gets along with him, but her classmates don’t. Then, when they’re locked in a warehouse, his wild side merges…

ASH: Didn’t see that one coming!

ANNA: I wonder if “locked in a warehouse” can be a new trope, like “only one bed”.

SEAN: Oh yes, and we also get Delicious in Dungeon: The Complete Box Set. Comes with an exclusive poster.

ASH: Oh, very nice.

SEAN: Also from Yen Press: The Alchemist Who Survived Now Dreams of a Quiet City Life II 2, The Dark History of the Reincarnated Villainess 11, Death March to the Parallel World Rhapsody 16, The Detective Is Already Dead 6 (the final volume), The Devil Is a Part-Timer! 22, The Eminence in Shadow 11, The Hachioji Specialty: Tengu’s Love 2, Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? Memoria Freese 4 (the final volume), Konosuba: God’s Blessing on This Wonderful World! 18, Magical Girl Incident 3 (the final volume), The Magical Revolution of the Reincarnated Princess and the Genius Young Lady 6, Minato’s Laundromat 4, My Dear, Curse-Casting Vampiress 5, No Longer Heroine 8, The Other World’s Books Depend on the Bean Counter 5, Overlord: The Undead King Oh! 12, Pandora Seven 4, The Reformation of the World as Overseen by a Realist Demon King 5, Studio Apartment, Good Lighting, Angel Included 6, Sword Art Online Re:Aincrad 2, Touge Oni: Primal Gods in Ancient Times 5, Touring After the Apocalypse 5, Trinity Seven Revision 3 (the final volume), When I Became a Commoner, They Broke Off Our Engagement! 4, and The World’s Strongest Rearguard: Labyrinth Country’s Novice Seeker 7.

Next we… oh dear, everyone stopped reading. Anyway. The debut from Viz Media is Rainbows After Storms (Hana ni Arashi), a yuri title from Sunday Web Every. Two girls are best friends, hanging out at school with their other friends. But they’re also secretly dating each other. Which is getting harder to cover up…

ASH: That’ll happen sometimes.

ANNA: Indeed.

SEAN: Also from Viz: Akane-Banashi 9, Call of the Night 18, D.Gray-man 3-in-1 Edition 9, I Wanna Do Bad Things with You 3, Jujutsu Kaisen 24, One Piece 3-in-1 34, Pokémon: Sword & Shield 11, Splatoon 3: Splatlands 3.

Udon Entertainment debuts Mr. Mega Man (Rockman-san), a slice-of-life title from Young Ace Up based on the classic game.

Two debuts from SuBLime. The Metalhead Next Door (Tonari no Metaller-san) is a Chara title starring a young gay man who is freezing outside his unheated apartment during a blizzard when he’s rescued by his neighbor, a young man always in black who looks scary. Over time, they eat together and love begins to grow… at least on one side. This is a one-shot.

MICHELLE: This looks cute! I love the cover on this one.

ASH: Agreed!

ANNA: It does look cute!

SEAN: Worst Soulmate Ever (Unmei no Tsugai ga Omae da Nante) is an omegaverse series from Dear +. An omega who’s been unlucky in love tries an agency… but ends up paired with an alpha who knows him from long ago… and hates him! This is a comedy, apparently.

Steamship has Guilty Smile (Danzai no Bishou), a dark josei title from Sonya Comics. A princess is the last one standing as the royal palace is taken by rebels… and she’s also impersonating her sister, who tormented the rebel general. Not realizing the switch, the general puts a curse on her that turns her into his plaything.

ASH: Dark josei Steamship manga, hmmm…

ANNA: Intereresting!

SEAN: Just one title from Square Enix: My Isekai Life: I Gained a Second Character Class and Became the Strongest Sage in the World! 16.

Seven Seas also has a pile of titles… which we’ll get to when we hit Ghost Ship. They do also have 100 Ghost Stories That Will Lead to My Own Death (Boku ga Shinu dake no Hyakumonogatari), a horror manga from Shonen Sunday S. A boy tries to jump out his classroom window one day, and a girl stops him by telling him a legend that if you tell 100 ghost stories, afterwards you’ll see ghosts yourself.

ASH: I’ve been curious about this one.

SEAN: Also from Seven Seas: Berserk of Gluttony 11, The Concierge at Hokkyoku Department Store 2 (the final volume), The Eccentric Doctor of the Moon Flower Kingdom 8, How Heavy are the Dumbbells You Lift? 16, Kemono Jihen 14, The Kingdoms of Ruin 9, Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear 10, Life with an Ordinary Guy Who Reincarnated into a Total Fantasy Knockout 5, Magika Swordsman and Summoner 18, Modern Dungeon Capture Starting with Broken Skills 3, Pandora in the Crimson Shell: Ghost Urn 19, Reincarnated Into a Game as the Hero’s Friend: Running the Kingdom Behind the Scenes 3, A Stepmother’s ‏Märchen 5, The Strange House 2, This Is Screwed Up, but I Was Reincarnated as a GIRL in Another World! 14, Too Many Losing Heroines! 2, The Villainess Who Has Been Killed 108 Times: She Remembers Everything! 4 (the final volume), and Who Made Me a Princess 8.

MICHELLE: I need to get on The Strange House.

SEAN: And for danmei we get The Disabled Tyrant’s Beloved Pet Fish: Canji Baojun De Zhangxin Yu Chong 3.

One Peace Books has the 7th manga volume of The Death Mage.

No print debuts for Kodansha. We do get BLOOD BLADE 4, I Can’t Say No to the Lonely Girl 5, Noragami: Stray God 27 (the final volume), and Tank Chair 2.

ASH: The first volume of Tank Chair surprised me in a good way. Also, I should make a point to finish Noragami eventually.

SEAN: The digital debut is India Calling Me Now (Ima, Indo ni Yobarete), a josei one-shot from Palcy. A manga artist has been getting nowhere for years, and when her husband gets a new job in India, she takes it as a sign to give up and goes with him. Then he expects her to be a good little housewife. So she dumps his ass. Leaving her in India by herself. Can she find her dream?

MICHELLE: This sounds delightful!

ASH: I’m in!

ANNA: Sounds cool.

SEAN: Also digital: Drops of God: Mariage 10, Gang King 24, Giant Killing 46, Harem Marriage 20 (the final volume), I Have a Crush at Work 7, and Quality Assurance in Another World 12.

Some print titles from J-Novel Club, as we see Ascendance of a Bookworm Part 2 8, Black Summoner 4, My Friend’s Little Sister Has It In For Me! 10, and My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom! 12.

4 debuts for J-Novel Club next week. A Cozy Life in the Woods with the White Witch (Shiro Majo-san to no Henkyō Gurashi ~Saikyō na Majo wa Nonbiri Kurashitai~) is a new light novel series. A guy is banished from his party, and ends up coming across the all-powerful White Witch. Trouble is… she’s a slob! Fortunately, he excels at everything that does not involve fighting, so keeps house for her.

Lady Rose Just Wants to Be a Commoner (Lady Rose wa Heimin ni Naritai) is a light novel for a series we got the manga for some time ago. Our heroine is reincarnated as the villainess of an otome game… AFTER the bad end. Oops. Fortunately, she just wants to live happily with her true love… bread.

MICHELLE: Hee!

ASH: That is fortunate!

ANNA: I sympathize with her love of bread.

SEAN: A Royal Rebound: Forget My Ex-Fiancé, I’m Being Pampered by the Prince! (Konyakusha ga Uwaki Aite to Kakeochi Shimashita. Ōji Denka ni Dekiai Sarete Shiawase nanode, Ima Sara Modoritai to Iwarete mo Komarimasu) is the manga version of the light novel already released by J-Novel Club. It runs in Drecomics.

The Tanaka Family Reincarnates (Tanaka-ke, Tensei Suru) is a light novel series that shows an eccentric family dying in an earthquake… and reincarnated as an equally eccentric family, only in an isekai. This is more along the noble girl end of the genre.

Also from J-Novel Club: the 4th The Banished Former Hero Lives as He Pleases manga, the 3rd Death’s Daughter and the Ebony Blade manga, Duchess in the Attic 2, The Frontier Lord Begins with Zero Subjects 6, The Legendary Witch Is Reborn as an Oppressed Princess 2, Only I Know That This World Is a Game 6, RVing My Way into Exile with My Beloved Cat: This Villainess Is Trippin’ 3, the 2nd Safe & Sound in the Arms of an Elite Knight manga, the 2nd Stuck in a Time Loop: When All Else Fails, Be a Villainess manga, and This Art Club Has a Problem! 5.

Ghost Ship debuts Imaizumi Brings All the Gals to His House (Imaizumin-chi wa Douyara Gal no Tamariba ni Natteru Rashii), a seinen series from Web Comic Gamma Plus. Based on a hentai doujinshi, this stars a normal everyday high school student who happens to have three high school gyarus at his apartment. He’s living with them, hanging out with them, and yes, they’re doing that as well.

They also have Creature Girls: A Hands-On Field Journal in Another World 11 and World’s End Harem: Fantasia 13.

For mature Seven Seas stuff, we see Play Me Softly (Dolce na Bokura no Koi ni Tsuite), a BL one-shot from LiQuille. An office worker who also plays in a concert band finds that his old high school crush has joined the band.

ASH: Vaguely music themed mature manga, you say?

SEAN: Sweet Room Escape is a BL title from Qpa. A gay man seems to have it all, great job, lots of partying, great sex, and no strings. Then he meets Albrecht… and is horrified to find he’s caught feelings!

Also in mature Seven Seas titles, At 25:00 in Akasaka 2, Killing Stalking: Deluxe Edition 8 (the final volume), and No Love Zone 2.

Dark Horse Comics has the 3rd Deluxe Edition of Trigun Maximum.

In print, Airship has Classroom of the Elite: Year 2 9.5.

And for early digital, we have Free Life Fantasy Online: Immortal Princess 8, I Abandoned My Engagement Because My Sister is a Tragic Heroine, but Somehow I Became Entangled with a Righteous Prince 2, and Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear 20.

Um… Merry Christmas? Please spend over one thousand dollars on these titles.

SEAN: December is here, and so is Whamageddon. Good luck to all!

ASH: Ha!

SEAN: No print light novels for Airship, but we do see an early digital release for I’m the Heroic Knight of an Intergalactic Empire! 2.

Dark Horse has the 3rd and final omnibus volume of Innocent, containing Vol. 7-9.

ASH: I’ll be picking this one up, eventually.

SEAN: Ghost Ship has the 9th and final volume of Call Girl in Another World.

And Seven Seas has a mature debut, No Spicy Romance Allowed! (Unmei demo Netsuai wa Yurushimasen!). This one shot from LiQuile is an omegaverse book about an alpha fashion model and his omega manager.

Also mature is the 7th volume of The Husky and His White Cat Shizun: Erha He Ta De Bai Mao Shizun.

Three debuts for J-Novel Club, all manga. From Villainess to Healer: I Know the Cheat to Change My Fate (Kaifukushoku no Akuyaku Reijou) is a manga adaptation of a light novel J-Novel Club has licensed but has not released yet, and it runs in Flos Comic. Our protagonist is dumped for having evil dark magic rather than good healing magic, so she goes to another country, changes her class to healer, and vows to forget all about him.

ASH: Wishing her luck on her new endeavors.

SEAN: Jeanette the Genius: Defying My Evil Stepmother by Starting a Business with My Ride-or-Die Fiancé! (Kakure Saijo wa Zenzen Megenai – Gibo to Gimai ni Ie wo Oidasareta no de Konyaku Haki shite Moraou to Omottara, Shinshi Datta Konyakusha ga Hageshiku Dekiai shite kuru you ni narimashita!?) is a manga version of the light novel also licensed by J-Novel Club, and it runs in Drecomics.

A Pale Moon Reverie (Tsuki no Shirosa wo Shirite Madoromu) is also a manga version of the light novel also licensed by J-Novel Club, and it also runs in Drecomics.

ASH: I do appreciate that we often see both the originals and the adaptations licensed these days.

SEAN: J-Novel Club also has The Blessing of Liefe: Leave This Magical Letdown Alone! 2, Cooking with Wild Game 26, DUNGEON DIVE: Aim for the Deepest Level 9, The Eternal Fool’s Words of Wisdom: A Pawsitively Fantastic Adventure 3, Magic Stone Gourmet: Eating Magical Power Made Me The Strongest 7, My Daughter Left the Nest and Returned an S-Rank Adventurer: Short Story Collection, The Mythical Hero’s Otherworld Chronicles 9, and the 2nd and final volume of The Troubles of Miss Nicola the Exorcist manga.

ASH: That’s a decent amount.

SEAN: No debuts for Kodansha. In print they have Fire Force Manga Box Set 2 (Vol. 7-11), The Fragrant Flower Blooms With Dignity 4, Initial D Omnibus 4 (Vol. 7-8), Mobile Suit Gundam Cucuruz Doan’s Island 2, Tsugumi Project 6, and Welcome to Demon School! Iruma-kun 11.

And digitally we see Chihayafuru 47, Sayabito: Swords of Destiny 5, Shangri-La Frontier 18, and Those Snow White Notes 23.

MICHELLE: Must. Read. Iruma and Chihayafuru.

SEAN: One Peace Books has a 2nd volume of I Was Sold Dirt Cheap, but My Power Level Is off the Charts.

Debuting from Seven Seas is Hoteri Hotette First Kiss, an anthology of shoujo short stories that ran in Dessert from author Coco Uzuki, whose first long-form manga is coming out from Kodansha next year.

MICHELLE: Hm. The cover’s kinda cute.

ASH: I like anthologies!

ANNA: I think we don’t get many shoujo anthologies, I might check this out.

SEAN: Also from Seven Seas: The Condemned Villainess Goes Back in Time and Aims to Become the Ultimate Villain 3, Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation: Mo Dao Zu Shi – The Comic 8, Last Game 7, Lout of Count’s Family 2, and My Stepmother and Stepsisters Aren’t Wicked 5.

Square Enix has The Ice Guy and the Cool Girl 8.

ASH: I should read more of this series.

ANNA: It is pretty cute, the couple of volumes that I’ve read.

SEAN: Tokyopop is shoving everything for December out next week. Comic Party Wonder Love is a BL comedy manga from Lynx. Two male BL authors are each other’s opposites, but find themselves drawn to each other.

The Person I Loved Asked Me to Die in My Sister’s Stead (Koishita Hito wa, Imouto no Kawari ni Shindekure to Itta. – Imouto to Kekkon shita Kataomoi Aite ga Naze Imasara Watashi no Moto ni? to Omottara @COMIC) is an adaptation of an as-yet unlicensed light novel. A noble lady is asked by her fiance to sacrifice herself and watch over the evil Predawn Realm in place of her little sister. Heartbroken, she does what he asks, and twenty years pass. Now his son arrives in the realm, asking her for the sentient sword she wields. Is she gonna finally snap?

Tokyopop also has Double 5, If My Favorite Pop Idol Made It to the Budokan, I Would Die 10, My Hateful Man 2, SANCTIFY 2, Wails of the Bound: Beta 2, and World’s End Blue Bird 2.

Udon Entertainment has Ottoman: Henshin Hero Husband 2 (the final volume). Boy, that series came and went fast… or Amazon is screwing up small publisher release dates again. One of those is more likely than the other.

ASH: Yeah.

SEAN: Some debuts from Viz. First a spinoff. JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Shining Diamond’s Demonic Heartbreak (JoJo no Kimyou na Bouken: Crazy Diamond no Akuryou-teki Shitsuren) is a manga adaptation of the as-yet unlicensed light novel, and it ran in Ultra Jump. Hol Horse searches for a missing parrot, but this is JoJo’s, you know it won’t be as simple as that.

ASH: I’ll admit to being curious!

SEAN: Next, another spinoff. Kaiju No. 8: Exclusive on the Third Division is a light novel detailing, well, the Third Division.

There’s also Disney Twisted-Wonderland: The Official Art Book, which is what it says.

ASH: I have a couple of friends I should get this for.

SEAN: And there is Studio Ghibli: Architecture in Animation, an artbook covering the studio.

Also from Viz: Blue Box 13, Blue Exorcist 30, Demon Slayer: Kimetsu Academy 4, Dragon Ball Super 22, The King’s Beast 14, Let’s Do It Already! 3, Mashle: Magic and Muscles 18 (the final volume), Neighborhood Story 4 (the final volume), and Rainbow Days 13.

MICHELLE: Dang, Neighborhood Story reached its end quickly, too! I guess that’s an omnibus release for ya.

ANNA: It did seem to fly by.

SEAN: Lastly, Yen Press has one manga volume, Banished from the Hero’s Party, I Decided to Live a Quiet Life in the Countryside 9.

Gotta be thinking of presents by now, right?

SEAN: Let’s all give thanks for manga!

ASH: Thanks!

SEAN: No debuts for Yen On, but we do see Astrea Record: Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? Tales of Heroes 3 (the final volume), The Detective Is Already Dead 9, The Magical Revolution of the Reincarnated Princess and the Genius Young Lady 8, and Re:ZERO -Starting Life in Another World- 26.

Yen Press has one new title. April Showers Bring May Flowers (Busu ni Hanataba wo) is a seinen romance from Young Ace. An unpopular girl is caught one day by the class hottie when she’s in the classroom by herself “pretending to be a heroine”. Now he’s promising to support her with everything he’s got?

ASH: Sounds like it could be cute!

SEAN: Also from Yen Press: Adults’ Picture Book: New Edition 3 (the final volume), Aria of the Beech Forest 2, Bocchi the Rock! 5, Bofuri: I Don’t Want to Get Hurt, so I’ll Max Out My Defense 8, CLAMP Premium Collection Tokyo Babylon 5, GOGOGOGO-GO-GHOST! 2, If the Villainess and Villain Met and Fell in Love 2, In Another World with My Smartphone 13, Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? Familia Chronicle Episode Freya 4, She Likes Gays, but Not Me 3 (the final volume), and A Sinner of the Deep Sea 2.

ASH: A good reminder that I should read the first volume…

SEAN: Viz Media has JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Part 6–Stone Ocean 7 and a huge 584-page hardcover omnibus, Kiki’s Delivery Service Film Comic: All-in-One Edition.

ASH: That is rather large!

SEAN: From Tokyopop we get Boys Gilding the Lily Shall Die!? 2, Lullaby of the Dawn 2, and My Beautiful Man 2.

Square Enix debuts Always a Catch!: How I Punched My Way into Marrying a Prince (Nigashita Sakana wa Ookikatta ga, Tsuriageta Sakana ga Ookisugita Ken). Based on an as-yet unlicensed light novel, it’s about a girl who spent her childhood learning martial arts now finding that all the bachelors are taken. Can a different kingdom help her find her true love?… wait, broken engagement? Huh? This runs in Manga Up!.

ASH: Okay, this is exactly the sort of ridiculous premise I can get behind.

SEAN: Seven Seas debuts a manga whose light novel came out digitally just last week. Heroine? Saint? No, I’m an All-Works Maid (And Proud Of It)! (Heroine? Seijo? Iie, All Works Maid desu (ko)! @COMIC) is a Comic Corona title adapting the comedy OP maid novel.

Todai Revengers is a parody spinoff of Tokyo Revengers which runs in Magazine Pocket.

The third debut is Wild Roses and Pretenders (Nobara to Pretender), a BL title from Magazine Be x Boy. A man, trying to support his sickly mother, becomes a manservant to a Lord. Unfortunately, the Lord wants to avoid getting married, so demands his new manservant pose as his male lover!

ASH: That always goes well.

SEAN: Also from Seven Seas: 7th Time Loop: The Villainess Enjoys a Carefree Life Married to Her Worst Enemy! 6, Black Night Parade 5, CANDY AND CIGARETTES 10, Chillin’ in Another World with Level 2 Super Cheat Powers 9, The Dungeon of Black Company 11, Headhunted to Another World: From Salaryman to Big Four! 7, I Think I Turned My Childhood Friend Into a Girl 7, I’m the Evil Lord of an Intergalactic Empire! 5, Let’s Buy the Land and Cultivate It in a Different World 6, and Otonari Complex 2.

MICHELLE: I need to get on the Otonari Complex train before it leaves me behind.

SEAN: One Peace Books has a 10th manga volume of The Reprise of the Spear Hero.

Kodansha Books debuts Shimazaki in the Land of Peace (Heiwa no Kuni no Shimazaki e), a Weekly Morning title about a boy who was kidnapped and forced to join a revolutionary army. Now, thirty years later, he’s free and returns to Japan… can he really go back to an ordinary life? Despite sounding like Full Metal Panic!, this is apparently quite serious.

ANNA: Interesting.

SEAN: Also from Kodansha: The Boy I Loved Became the Jaded Emperor 2 (the final volume), EDENS ZERO 30, The Heroic Legend of Arslan 20, I Cross-Dressed for the IRL Meetup 2, I’m Standing on a Million Lives 18, and Ninja Vs. Gokudo 4.

ASH: Oh, I had somehow forgotten about Arslan.

SEAN: Digitally we see The Café Terrace and Its Goddesses 15, A Couple of Cuckoos 20, and Gamaran: Shura 26.

J-Novel Club has one debut. Lady Bumpkin and Her Lord Villain (Imokusa Reijou desu ga Akuyaku Reisoku wo Tasuketara Kiniiraremashita) is about a noble girl who is ridiculed for her outdated fashion and heavy makeup. But she’s really sweet. She goes to a ball in a last ditch attempt to get a man, and meets the fiance of the princess… right before the princess breaks off her engagement, branding him a villain! Nice reversal.

They’ve also got the 2nd The 100th Time’s the Charm: She Was Executed 99 Times, So How Did She Unlock “Super Love” Mode?! manga volume, Black Summoner 19, the 4th Butareba -The Story of a Man Turned into a Pig- manga volume, the 5th D-Genesis: Three Years after the Dungeons Appeared manga volume, the 4th Duchess in the Attic manga volume, Heavenly Swords of the Twin Stars 4, I Parry Everything 7, In Another World With My Smartphone 30, Management of a Novice Alchemist 3, and the 3rd My Quiet Blacksmith Life in Another World manga volume.

Hanashi Media has the 4th volume of Tsukimichi: Moonlit Fantasy.

Ghost Ship gives us Ayakashi Triangle 12 and The Witches of Adamas 9.

And for mature Seven Seas titles, we see Hate Me, but Let Me Stay 2 and You’ve Got Mail: The Perils of Pigeon Post – Fei Ge Jiao You Xu Jin Shen 2.

ASH: Speaking of ridiculous premises, really do need to give that one a try at some point.

SEAN: Cross Infinite World debuts How I Became King by Eating Monsters (Monster no Niku wo Kutteitara Oui ni Tsuita Ken). A young prince is at constant risk of assassination… mostly from the prime minister… and so goes out to hunt his own food. There he meets an eccentric swordswoman who tells him that eating monsters makes you stronger!

ASH: Makes sense!

SEAN: Also from CIW: The Former Assassin Who Got Reincarnated as a Noble Girl 2, Soup Forest: The Story of the Woman Who Speaks with Animals and the Former Mercenary 2, and Third Loop: The Nameless Princess and the Cruel Emperor 3.

Airship, in print, gives us the debut of Mushoku Tensei: Redundant Reincarnation (Mushoku Tensei: Dasoku-hen), the “after story” to the main series.

And they have Sword of the Demon Hunter: Kijin Gentōshō 7.

And the early digital debut is A Tale of the Secret Saint ZERO (Tenseishita Daiseijo wa, Seijo de Aru Koto wo Hitakakusu Zero), the story of Princess Serafina’s adventures 300 years before being reincarnated as Fia.

Hope none of these mangas are turkeys!

SEAN: November continues to be Almost Christmas.

ASH: So close and yet so far away.

SEAN: Airship has a print bonanza, as we see The Case Files of Jeweler Richard 9, The Condemned Villainess Goes Back in Time and Aims to Become the Ultimate Villain 3, Loner Life in Another World 10, Survival in Another World with My Mistress! 7, and Too Many Losing Heroines! 2.

ASH: Always love a plethora of print.

SEAN: And the early digital releases are Reincarnated Into a Game as the Hero’s Friend: Running the Kingdom Behind the Scenes 3 and The Weakest Tamer Began a Journey to Pick Up Trash 8.

I missed this last week, so already out is The Complete Poe Clan: The ’70s from Fantagraphics, a repackaging of the two hardcover releases in a nice box. Highly recommended for any student of manga.

ASH: Oh! I had missed that, too! I love that this series is available in English.

ANNA: Ooh, I think I got the first volume but not the second.

SEAN: Ghost Ship gives us 2.5 Dimensional Seduction 12 and Ero Ninja Scrolls 7

For mature Seven Seas titles, there’s a debut, The Second Alpha (2ban-me no Alpha), a BL title from Be x Boy Omegaverse. (Should I classify Omegaverse as BL, or is it a separate genre by now?) A man finds his destined omega, and they have sex after said omega goes into heat. Unfortunately, said omega is also married?

ASH: It’s definitely its own sub-genre at the very least.

SEAN: We also see Remnants of Filth: Yuwu 5.

J-Novel Club has 3 print titles: Hell Mode: The Hardcore Gamer Dominates in Another World with Garbage Balancing 6, My Instant Death Ability Is So Overpowered, No One in This Other World Stands a Chance Against Me! 6, and Reborn to Master the Blade: From Hero-King to Extraordinary Squire 4.

Debuting digitally from J-Novel Club is Dimension Wave, from the creator of Shield Hero but apparently far less emo. A young man’s sisters win a ticket to the debut of a popular VRMMO, and give one to him. But he’s been tricked – his character is a girl! Oh well – it’s time to fish and enjoy the slow life.

J-Novel Club also gives us Butareba -The Story of a Man Turned into a Pig 5, Dagashi-ya Yahagi: Setting Up a Sweets Shop in Another World 2, From Desk Job to Death Beam: In Another World with My Almighty Lasers 2, From Two-Bit Baddie to Total Heartthrob: This Villainess Will Cross-Dress to Impress! 2, Haibara’s Teenage New Game+ 7, I’m a Noble on the Brink of Ruin, So I Might as Well Try Mastering Magic 4, Peddler in Another World: I Can Go Back to My World Whenever I Want! 9, the 3rd The Reincarnation of the Strongest Exorcist in Another World manga volume, and Zilbagias the Demon Prince: How the Seventh Prince Brought Down the Kingdom 3.

ASH: That’s a decent amount.

SEAN: Kaiten Books has a digital volume, Loner Life in Another World 11.

No debuts for Kodansha. In print, we see Grand Blue Dreaming 20, Suzume 2, To Your Eternity 21, and Vampire Dormitory 12.

ASH: I’ve been collecting To Your Eternity but need to make the point to actually catch up on reading it.

SEAN: Digitally we see And Yet, You Are So Sweet 10, Hozuki’s Coolheadedness 23, Lightning and Romance 6, Parasyte Reversi 2, and You’re My Cutie 9.

From One Peace Books we see Parallel World Pharmacy 6.

Seven Seas debuts a manhua based on a danmei novel, but for once it doesn’t seem to be supernatural. I Ship My Rival x Me stars two actors who find that A03 is doing some RL shipping of them! (OK, it’s probably not explicitly AO3.) Are the shippers onto something?

ASH: Could be!

SEAN: We also see Yes, No, or Maybe? (Yes ka No ka Hanbun ka), the manga adaptation of the BL light novel also released by Seven Seas. It runs in Dear+.

ASH: I feel like I read that one; did I read that one?

SEAN: Also from Seven Seas: Citrus+ 6, Gravitation: Collector’s Edition 3, The Ideal Sponger Life 17, The Lady and Her Butler 2, Re-Living My Life with a Boyfriend Who Doesn’t Remember Me 2, and Reborn as a Barrier Master 7.

Square Enix debuts Dragon and Chameleon (Ryuu to Cameleon), a Gangan Joker title. A veteran manga artist ends up switching bodies with a bitter, untalented rookie. Now he’s got to work his way back up to the summit.

ASH: Hate when that happens.

ANNA: It sounds complicated!

SEAN: Also from Square Enix: Just Like Mona Lisa 3 and The Villainess’s Guide to (Not) Falling in Love 3.

Steamship has a 2nd volume of Alpha Wolfgirl x Omega Wolfboy.

Tokyopop debuts a villainess light novel that spawned the manga they’ve already been releasing, Her Royal Highness Seems to Be Angry (Oujo Denka wa Oikari no You desu). A talented young woman, after losing her family to war, takes her own life… and wakes up a thousand years later in the body of a pathetic villainess type who’s being cheated on. What’s worse, the magic 1000 years later is TERRIBLE.

There’s also an award-winning one shot, A Smart and Courageous Child (Kashikokute Yuuki Aru Kodomo), which ran in Torch. A young couple are happily awaiting their child, when suddenly, days from birth, the mother hears about the assassination attempt of Malala Yousafzai and goes into shock. Can her husband be there for her? This is an experimental manga with rave reviews.

ASH: A well-received experimental manga, you say?

ANNA: Alright!

SEAN: This Reincarnated Countess Is Trying to Escape From Her Prince (Tensei Hakushaku Reijo wa Oji-sama kara Nigedashitai) is a manga based on an as yet unlicensed light novel. A princess awakens to her past Japanese memories, and realizes she’s got a horribly tragic and awful life ahead if she marries the prince. Solution: Don’t marry the prince. HOWEVER…

They’ve also got Let’s Eat Together, Aki and Haru 2.

Debuting from Udon is Ottoman: Henshin Hero Husband, a Weekly Young Jump title. A salaryman is infected by an alien… but that’s OK, as his wife is in danger from the forces of evil! He and the alien will have to join forces to win.

Udon also has My Stepmom’s Daughter Is My Ex 2.

Viz Media debuts After God, an Ura Sunday title about a young woman who gets caught up in the God-Killing Institute’s machinations. (Note: Gods are evil aliens here, think Titans and the like.)

ASH: I’m curious about this one. That cover is very striking.

SEAN: Also from Viz: Asadora! 8, Battle Royale: Enforcers 2, Gokurakugai 3, Hirayasumi 3, Mobile Suit Gundam Thunderbolt 22, Trillion Game 2, and Twin Star Exorcists 32.

Two debuts from Yen On. Festival of Heresies is a book that I can find almost no information about. It’s a one-shot, but is also the first in the “Sasaki Agency” series. It seems to be horror. A young woman can’t tell the living from the dead, and thus has trouble keeping a job. Her worried brother turns to a mysterious agency…

ASH: Speaking of striking covers; I could pretty easily be convinced to read this.

SEAN: In a World of Lies, I Fell into an Unforgettable Love (which I also can find little about) is from the author of Even If This Love Disappears Tonight. It’s one of those “I’m dying, so let me have one last bittersweet teenage love” stories.

Also from Yen On: Classroom for Heroes 3, The Contract Between a Specter and a Servant 3, Days with My Stepsister 4, I’ve Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years and Maxed Out My Level 15, Ishura 8, Liar Liar 5, Sugar Apple Fairy Tale 7, The Trials of Chiyodaku 2, The Unimplemented Overlords Have Joined the Party! 3, and You Are My Regret 3.

And Yen Press has a pile. Agents of the Four Seasons: Dance of Spring (Shunkashuutou Daikousha – Haru no Mai) is the manga adaptation of the light novel already released by Yen. It runs in LaLa.

MICHELLE: This is the first thing on the list that really made me perk up my ears.

ANNA: Agreed!

SEAN: All or Nothing (Ichika, Bachika) is a one-shot BL title from B’s-LOVEY. Two boys come out and reveal they’re now a couple. And now the other two boys in their friend group are looking at each other and going “hrm”.

Brunhild the Dragonslayer (Ryuugoroshi no Brunhild) is the manga adaptation of the light novel already released by Yen. It runs in Shonen Ace.

Candy: Shou Harusono Art Collection is an artbook from the Sasaki and Miyano creator.

Dracula’s on the Night Shift (Dracula Yakin!) is a one-shot manga that ran in my nemesis, Comic Alive. A vampire who works the graveyard shift at a convenience store comes across a blonde vampire hunter… and now they’re living together?

ANNA: What would happen if Sean’s nemesis Comic Alive was a person, and then they were living together?????

SEAN: …please do not ship me with Comic Alive. This is not Hark! A Vagrant.

mono is a manga from the creator of Laid-Back Camp, and it runs in Manga Time Kirara Carat. Two clubs in danger of shutting down join into one club, and go around taking exciting photographs.

Oshi No Ko also gets an artbook, 1st Illustration Collection: Glare x Sparkle.

Praise Me When I’m a Good Boy (Ii Ko ni Dekitara Hometekure) is a one-shot BL manga from B’s-Lovey Recottia. A submissive teacher whose fiancee just left him tries a dating app, and finds his male dom… is a former student?

The Teen Exorcist (Shounen Onmyouji) is based on an as-yet-unlicensed light novel, and runs in Young Ace. It’s ancient Japan, and our hero, the grandson of Abe no Seimei, wants to surpass him!

The War of Greedy Witches: 32 of the Wickedest Women Duel to the Death (Majo Taisen: 32-nin no Isai no Majo wa Koroshiau) is from the creator of Kakegurui, and runs in Comic Zenon. Do you want a death game tournament battle featuring hot evil women? Starring Jeanne D’Arc? Great news.

Also from Yen: The Abandoned Empress 9 (the final volume), Apocalypse Bringer Mynoghra 2, Associate Professor Akira Takatsuki’s Conjecture 5, Bungo Stray Dogs: The Official Comic Anthology 2, Cheeky Brat 12, Cross-Dressing Villainess Cecilia Sylvie 6, Game of Familia 5, I Cannot Reach You 8, I Want a Gal Gamer to Praise Me 3, I’m Quitting Heroing 7, I’m the Villainess, So I’m Taming the Final Boss 4, In the Land of Leadale 6, K-ON! Shuffle 2, Oshi no Ko 8, What’s Wrong with Secretary Kim? 6 (the final volume), and Why Raeliana Ended Up at the Duke’s Mansion 8.

ASH: Is it a Yen week? It doesn’t seem to be enough for a Yen week.

SEAN: It’s a lot! Are you drowning? Did you bother to read to the end?