manga the week of

SEAN: The end of March, and manga is presumably going out like a lamb.

ASH: I’m not so sure about that…

SEAN: From Yen On we get the one-shot Josee, the Tiger and the Fish (Joze to Tora to Sakanatachi), a short story collection which includes the title story, which has been made into a movie. For fans of Yen’s other one-shot novels that can be summed up as “beautiful but sad”.

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

SEAN: Also from Yen On: Konosuba: God’s Blessing on This Wonderful World! TRPG, which turns the world of KonoSuba into a tabletop role playing game, and features the authors of KonoSuba and Re: Zero doing a playthrough of it.

And we get The Greatest Demon Lord Is Reborn as a Typical Nobody 7.

From Yen Press, we see the debut of Cross-Dressing Villainess Cecilia Sylvie (Akuyaku Reijou, Cecilia Sylvie wa Shinitakunai node Dansou suru Koto ni Shita), the manga version of the light novel also published by Yen. It runs in Comic Flos.

Yen also gives us If the RPG World Had Social Media… 2 (the final volume), Let This Grieving Soul Retire 2, Overlord: The Complete Anime Artbook 2, Phantom Tales of the Night 8, Teasing Master Takagi-san 14, and Uncle from Another World 4.

ASH: I really need to catch up with Phantom Tales of the Night.

SEAN: Udon Entertainment has Steins;Gate: The Complete Manga (it got bumped) and Otherworldly Izakaya Nobu 10.

Tokyopop gives us the 2nd volume of I Was Reincarnated as the Villainess in an Otome Game but the Boys Love Me Anyway!.

Seven Seas has two debuts. Sheeply Horned Witch Romi (Youkaku no Majo Romi) is from Young Dragon Age, a manga where everyone in the world has fallen asleep except: 1) sheep; 2) a witch with sheep horns, and 3) the sempai with a crush on her!

MICHELLE: Here’s the lamb content we’ve been waiting for.

ASH: Ha!

MJ: Wait, wait, I’m HERE for the sheep.

SEAN: Yakuza Reincarnation (Ninkyou Tensei: Isekai no Yakuzahime) is a Sunday GX title. A yakuza badass is killed and reincarnated in another world… as a beautiful girl! This will not stop her from kicking ass.

ASH: As reluctant as I am to admit it, I am intrigued by this isekai variant.

ANNA: This does sound amusing.

SEAN: We also get The Ancient Magus’ Bride: Jack Flash and the Faerie Case Files 4, Chronicles of an Aristocrat Reborn in Another World 4, The Dragon Knight’s Beloved 2, THE EXO-DRIVE REINCARNATION GAMES: All-Japan Isekai Battle Tournament! 2, I Am a Cat Barista 2, My Next Life as a Villainess Side Story: On the Verge of Doom! 2, Reincarnated as a Sword: Another Wish 2, and Unicorns Aren’t Horny 2 (the final volume).

ASH: I need to catch up with the various Ancient Magus’ Bride spinoffs, too.

SEAN: No print debuts for Kodansha, but we do see The Hero Life of a (Self-Proclaimed) “Mediocre” Demon! 3, Something’s Wrong With Us 7, and UQ HOLDER! 25.

Two digital debuts. Bootsleg is a Shonen Sirius series from the artist best known for Yozakura Quartet and the Durarara!! novels. A young man whose family – and limb – were taken from him by a seeming serial killer meets up with the one person who might be able to stop them.

HIRAETH -The End of the Journey- (Hiraeth wa Tabiji no Hate) is from the creator of Our Dreams at Dusk, and runs in Morning Two. A woman despairing over the death of her best friend attempts suicide… and finds herself in another world! This is apparently great, though also dark – Kodansha’s blurb comes with a content warning for suicide ideation.

MICHELLE: Hm. The Our Dreams at Dusk link is very compelling.

ASH: That it is.

ANNA: This sounds exactly like the type of critically acclaimed work that I think I will read but don’t get around to because I’m not in the mood for despair right now.

MJ: Oh, this sounds perfect for my mood.

SEAN: Also digital: Elegant Yokai Apartment Life 23, The Great Cleric 8, Stellar Witch LIP☆S 5 (the final volume), Tying the Knot with an Amagami Sister 2, and Zatsuki: Make Me a Star 2.

MICHELLE: I need to check out some of these.

SEAN: J-Novel Club has some more print editions. We see Ascendance of a Bookworm Part 2 Vol. 2 (manga), Infinite Dendrogram Omnibus 4, Marginal Operation 9, My Friend’s Little Sister Has It In For Me! 3, and Tearmoon Empire 4.

Speaking of Tearmoon Empire, the 7th volume is out digitally next week. We also see Culinary Chronicles of the Court Flower 5, Dahlia in Bloom: Crafting a Fresh Start with Magical Tools 3, Forget Being the Villainess, I Want to Be an Adventurer! 2, and Invaders of the Rokujouma!? 39.

Ghost Ship gives us Booty Royale: Never Go Down Without a Fight! 5-6.

A new light novel from Cross Infinite World: Even Dogs Go to Other Worlds: Life in Another World with My Beloved Hound (Isekai Teni Shitara Aiken ga Saikyou ni narimashita – Silver Fenrir to Ore ga Isekai Kurashi wo Hajimetara). Dead salaryman. Huge overpowered wolf. Relaxed slow life. Fluffy headpats. This book knows what the audience these days wants.

Lastly, Airship debuts I am Blue, in Pain, and Fragile (Aokute Itakute Moroi), another tearjerker from the author of I Want to Eat Your Pancreas. This is the early digital release.

ASH: Glad to see Yoru Sumino’s work is still being translated. (Though, like so many things, I need to catch up…)

SEAN: Also out ahead of print: Disciple of the Lich: Or How I Was Cursed by the Gods and Dropped Into the Abyss! 3, Drugstore in Another World: The Slow Life of a Cheat Pharmacist 5, and The Haunted Bookstore – Gateway to a Parallel Universe 3.

What manga makes you want to go out like a lamb? Or a sheep… lots of sheep manga lately.

SEAN: As we head towards the second half of March, what brand new titles get our attention?

Airship has a lot of new print titles. We get Arifureta: From Commonplace to World’s Strongest ZERO 5, The Haunted Bookstore – Gateway to a Parallel Universe 2, The Saint’s Magic Power is Omnipotent 6, and The Strange Adventure of a Broke Mercenary 4.

ASH: Another reminder to self to move The Haunted Bookstore up on my reading list.

SEAN: There’s also early digital releases for My Status as an Assassin Obviously Exceeds the Hero’s 4 and Reborn as a Space Mercenary: I Woke Up Piloting the Strongest Starship! 4.

Denpa Books has a 3rd volume of Heavenly Delusion.

ASH: Glad to see! I’ve been liking this series.

SEAN: Ghost Ship has a debut this week with GUNBURED × SISTERS. It’s a Sunday GX series, and if you want a ecchi vampire yuri-tinged action series, this is certainly one of them.

Also from Ghost Ship: SUPER HXEROS 6.

From J-Novel Club, we see Altina the Sword Princess 13, Chillin’ in Another World with Level 2 Super Cheat Powers 4, Cooking with Wild Game 16, the 2nd manga volume of Full Clearing Another World under a Goddess with Zero Believers, Guide to the Perfect Otaku Girlfriend: Roomies and Romance 5 (the final volume), and Reincarnated as the Piggy Duke: This Time I’m Gonna Tell Her How I Feel! 5.

ASH: That’s a fair bit.

SEAN: Kodansha has a double dose of Attack on Titan in print next week, with Omnibus 4-6 and Omnibus 7-9. There’s also Blue Period 6, Fire Force 26, I’m Standing on a Million Lives 12, and Living-Room Matsunaga-san 10.

Two digital debuts. Getting Closer to You (Natsume-senpai ni Semarareru Hibi) is a new shoujo series from the creator of Four Kisses, in Secret, and it runs in Dessert Blue, the spinoff of Dessert for Miles Davis fans. A girl who loves muscles thinks she’s found her ideal man… but he’s going to make her manage the basketball team first.

MICHELLE: I think this is their second series about a girl who loves muscles!

ANNA: Some girls do love muscles.

SEAN: Also shoujo, from Betsufure, is I’ll Be with Them Again Today (Kyou mo, Karera no Otonari de), about a girl, Nao, whose next-door neighbors are now two brothers – one hot and friendly, the other unapproachable and scary. And now they’re going to school with her too! Nao-chan pinch!

Also digital: Back When You Called Us Devils 11 (the final volume), DAYS 28, Harem Marriage 15, ONIMAI: I’m Now Your Sister! 5, and That’s My Atypical Girl 4.

KUMA books has a debut, The Song of Yoru & Asa (Yoru to Asa no Uta). This oneshot BL title ran in Takeshobo’s Qpa, and features a band whose vocalist seems to be, well, a bit of a jerk. If you like your BL dark, this may be for you.

MICHELLE: Depends on how dark, but maybe!

ASH: I honestly never thought we would see Harada’s work licensed in English (at least in print). It can be pretty dark, but I’ve been hoping for something to be released for years.

ANNA: Interesting.

MJ: Oh, hmmmm… this is a strong maybe for me.

SEAN: Seven Seas has the 5th and final Blue Giant omnibus (maybe that’s why I made the Miles Davis joke earlier), The Country Without Humans 2, Magical Girl Spec-Ops Asuka 13, and MARS RED 2.

MICHELLE: One of these days I’ll actually read Blue Giant.

ASH: I need to catch up, but have largely enjoyed it so far!

ANNA: Me too, I have the first volume somewhere in my house.

SEAN: Square Enix gives us a 7th volume of The Strongest Sage with the Weakest Crest.

Tentai Books once again flummoxed me with a last minute scheduling. Already released digitally as you read this is the light novel I Kissed My Girlfriend’s Little Sister (Kanojo no Imouto to Kiss wo shita). Just your typical guy dating a girl and then the girl’s identical twin who was living with the other parent moves in story.

Tokyopop’s debut is Dekoboko Bittersweet Days, the sequel to Dekoboko Sugar Days. It sounds less sweet, and it ran in Gentosha’s LOVE xxx BOYS Pixiv. It’s also complete in one volume.

MICHELLE: I enjoyed This Wonderful Season with You by the same mangaka, so I’m looking forward to this one.

ANNA: Tokyopop is still not going to trick me.

MJ: Same. I realize it’s a one-shot, but even so…

SEAN: Tokyopop also has the 2nd volume of Double.

Yen On has some new light novels. We get Durarara!! SH 3, Strike the Blood 20, Wolf & Parchment: New Theory Spice & Wolf 6, and The World’s Strongest Rearguard: Labyrinth Country’s Novice Seeker 6.

Lastly, there’s a pile from Yen Press, including four debuts. Bungo Stray Dogs: Wan! is a Young Ace Up title that is essentially Ten Little Bungo Stray Dogs. (Scramble Wars Stray Dogs?) Anyway, they’re chibis.

ASH: Goodness!

SEAN: Catch These Hands! (Watashi no Kobushi wo Uketomete!) is a yuri title from Young Ace Up. A former delinquent trying to straighten up now that she’s an adult runs into her old rival… who wants a fight! And if the rival wins… a date!

ASH: Okay, I’m intrigued.

ANNA: It sounds cute.

MJ: Oh, it really does!

SEAN: Minami Nanami Wants to Shine (Nanami Minami wa Kagayakitai) is a spinoff of light novel Bottom Tier Character Tomozaki focusing on our favorite runner-up. It runs in Sunday GX.

Run on Your New Legs (Atarashii Ashi de Kakenukero) is a Big Comic Spirits title about a soccer player whose career ends with the loss of his leg. But with a new prosthetic leg, can he become a paralympics track star?

MICHELLE: REAL but soccer!

ASH: Oooooh!

ANNA: Cool. Will be checking this out for sure.

SEAN: There’s also Breasts Are My Favorite Things in the World! 5, The Eminence in Shadow 3, I’m a Behemoth, an S-Ranked Monster, but Mistaken for a Cat, I Live as an Elf Girl’s Pet 4, Interspecies Reviewers Comic Anthology 2, Lust Geass 5, Mint Chocolate 5, Monster Wrestling: Interspecies Combat Girls 4 (the final volume), Smokin’ Parade 9, The Splendid Work of a Monster Maid 2, Sword Art Online: Project Alicization 4, Woof Woof Story: I Told You to Turn Me Into a Pampered Pooch, Not Fenrir! 3, The World’s Finest Assassin Gets Reincarnated in Another World as an Aristocrat 2.

ASH: That’s a fair bit, too.

SEAN: That last part exhausted me to type out. What about you?

SEAN: Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day in the traditional Irish way… with some Japanese manga!

ASH: I can do that.

SEAN: There’s a pile of Yen On, most of it stuff moved from February (or January) that got bumped. Two debuts. Chitose Is in the Ramune Bottle (Chitose-kun wa Ramune Bin no Naka) is a high school romance that asks the question: what if the most popular boy in school was actually the main character in the light novel, rather than the sullen sarcastic loner? This one has been long awaited.

ASH: I’m so used to titles outlining the plot these days; that description’s not at all what I was expecting.

SEAN: We also have Demon Lord 2099 (Maou 2099), a light novel where the demon lord resurrects and… does NOT go to a magical academy, praise the Lord. Instead he finds himself in a futuristic cyberpunk world! What will he do? Whatever he wants.

ASH: Plot twist!

SEAN: Also out next week: Bond and Book 2, Hazure Skill: The Guild Member with a Worthless Skill Is Actually a Legendary Assassin 3, My Youth Romantic Comedy Is Wrong, As I Expected 13, Our Last Crusade or the Rise of a New World 8, and Wandering Witch: The Journey of Elaina 7.

No debuts from Yen Press, but we do see Goblin Slayer Side Story: Year One 6, Kakegurui – Compulsive Gambler – 14, Sex Ed 120% 3 (the final volume), So I’m a Spider, So What? The Daily Lives of the Kumoko Sisters 2, and Triage X 22.

Two debuts from Viz. Alice in Borderland (Imawa no Kuni no Alice), from Shonen Sunday S. It was made into an anime, and it’s apparently really good psychological horror. But: Survival game. I’ll see myself out.

MICHELLE: Oh man, for the first time in years I actually remembered BTOOOM! exists. That said, I might check this out.

SEAN: I long every day for the time when I can forget BTOOOM! exists.

ASH: I suspect Alice in Borderland may be more up my alley.

MJ: I somehow truly believed BTOOOM! had ceased to exist, and I think I’ll just keep pretending that’s the case. I really enjoyed the Alice in Borderland live action series, though, so I’m ready!

SEAN: The other is Orochi: The Perfect Edition. This Kazuo Umezu series, which originally ran in Weekly Shonen Sunday way back in 1969, was licensed by Viz in 2002… and only one volume came out. They’re trying again with this updated version, which should please fans of the author or horror in general.

ASH: Looking forward to this one for sure!

SEAN: And there is BEASTARS 17, Children of the Whales 19, Fist of the North Star 4, Hell’s Paradise: Jigokuraku 13 (the final volume), Maison Ikkoku Collector’s Edition 7, the Uzumaki Coloring Book (good God), and the 19th and final volume of Ôoku: The Inner Chambers.

MICHELLE: I knew that a nineteenth volume was coming soon, but not that it was the last!

ANNA: Yikes, another great series that I need to get caught up on!

ASH: This is a really great week for Viz!

MJ: Oh my, Ôoku! Wow, I hadn’t realized this was the last volume either.

SEAN: Udon Entertainment has Steins;Gate: The Complete Manga. This 522-page book, as its title suggests, collects the manga based on the visual novel that ran in my nemesis, Comic Alive.

Three debuts from Seven Seas. The Haunted Bookstore – Gateway to a Parallel Universe (Wagaya wa Kakuriyo no Kashi Honya-san) is the manga adaptation of the novel that Seven Seas also has. It runs in, I am not kidding, Micro Magazine’s Comic Elmo.

ASH: I still need to read the novel, but I expect I’ll enjoy it along with its adaptation.

SEAN: My Deer Friend Nokotan (Shikanoko Nokonoko Koshitantan) is a Shonen Magazine Edge series about a top student with a secret or two to hide who is blindsided by the new transfer student – a deer girl who can sniff out those secrets! This sounds like yuri but is more comedy, I believe.

My Wandering Warrior Existence (Meisou Senshi Nagata Kabi) is the latest biographical memoir from the author of My Lesbian Experience with Loneliness, as we see her trying to get into dating once more – actually, get into dating for the first time.

ASH: The books are really well done, but they can be devastating, too.

SEAN: Also from Seven Seas: Chillin’ in Another World with Level 2 Super Cheat Powers 3, The Hidden Dungeon Only I Can Enter 5, Karate Survivor in Another World 3, Necromance 2, and New Game! 12.

One Peace gives us I Belong to the Baddest Girl at School 3.

ASH: I really liked the first volume, but apparently I already need to catch up.

SEAN: Two print debuts from Kodansha Manga. Island in a Puddle (Mizutamari ni Ukabu Shima) ran in Evening, which alone is cause for me to be interested. A young boy cares for his younger sister more than his frequently absent mother. Then one day Mom takes them to an amusement park… and strands them on a ferris wheel. Which then gets struck by lightning. What happens then? Read the book!

ASH: Intriguing!

MJ: That does sound interesting.

SEAN: The other debut is Penguin & House (Pen to House), which runs in D Morning, Morning Magazine’s mobile app. He is a penguin living with a human, and I feel these two desperately need to meet Gal and Dinosaur.

MJ: This sounds adorable.

SEAN: Also in print: Battle Angel Alita 5, Beauty and the Beast of Paradise Lost 4, Rent-A-Girlfriend 11, and The Seven Deadly Sins: Four Knights of the Apocalypse 2.

Digitally our first debut is A Kiss with a Cat (Neko to Kiss). This Betsufure series is about a cat-loving girl and her classmate, an antisocial guy who always wears a mask. But he has a secret…

ANNA: Is his secret that he’s a catboy? I want to know!

ASH: Haha!

MJ: Oh my.

SEAN: The other digital debut is Piano Duo for the Left Hand (Hidarite no tame no Nijuusou), which runs in Shonen Magazine Edge. A young man meets a piano prodigy… and then tragedy strikes. Now he tries to live for both of them… but wait, what’s with his left hand? This is a supernatural drama.

ASH: Also intriguing.

MJ: Okay, you’re always going to get me with pianists…

SEAN: There’s also Blue Lock 12, Chihiro-kun Only Has Eyes for Me 6, The Dawn of the Witch 4, Hozuki’s Coolheadedness 7, The Lines that Define Me 3, My Idol Sits the Next Desk Over! 3, My Unique Skill Makes Me OP even at Level 1 7, and You’re My Cutie 3.

J-Novel Club has a LOT of print books out next week. We see Ascendance of a Bookworm 11, The Faraway Paladin’s 2nd manga omnibus, In Another World With My Smartphone 20, Invaders of the Rokujouma!? Collector’s Edition 11 (with Vol. 32-35), My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom! 9, The Unwanted Undead Adventurer 4 (light novel), The Unwanted Undead Adventurer 4 (manga).

ASH: That is a fair bit! Love to see it.

SEAN: No debuts digitally, but J-Novel Club does have Ascendance of a Bookworm Part 2 Volume 4 (manga), The Faraway Paladin 8 (manga), Monster Tamer 8, My Instant Death Ability Is So Overpowered, No One in This Other World Stands a Chance Against Me! 9, Seirei Gensouki: Spirit Chronicles 18, Sorcerous Stabber Orphen: The Reckless Journey 6 (the manga, and a final volume), and Sorcerous Stabber Orphen: The Wayward Journey 16 (the light novel, and not a final volume).

And finally, we see Airship, who has Classroom of the Elite 10 in print.

As well as early digital versions of A Tale of the Secret Saint 2 and Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear 9.

That ended up being a lot. Anything catch your eye?

SEAN: We’re hitting March proper now, so watch out for winds.

ASH: Sound advice.

SEAN: We start with Airship, which has print releases for Accomplishments of the Duke’s Daughter 4 and Trapped in a Dating Sim: The World of Otome Games is Tough for Mobs 5.

For early digital, they debut Survival in Another World with My Mistress! (Goshujin-sama to Yuku Isekai Survival!). A young man wakes up in a dark forest, finds he can gain resources via a video game menu only he can access, and ends up being protected by a dark elf who says he’s her property. Oof.

We also see the 3rd and final volume of The NPCs in this Village Sim Game Must Be Real!.

Cross Infinite World has another light novel debut with Reflection of Another World (Yugami no Kuni Monogatari). A girl is pulled through a magic mirror into a fantasy world where her plain jane looks are admired and the handsome man she meets is seen as abhorrent.

Dark Horse has a 10th deluxe hardcover for Berserk.

ASH: Glad to see these being released so regularly.

SEAN: Ghost Ship gives us Do You Like Big Girls? 3, Parallel Paradise 9, and Sundome!! Milky Way 3.

J-Novel Club has a light novel debut with Housekeeping Mage from Another World: Making Your Adventures Feel Like Home! (Kasei Madoushi no Isekai Seikatsu: Boukenchuu no Kasei Fugyou Uketamawarimasu!). We’ve got another Japanese OL who finds herself teleported to a fantasy world. 4 years later, she’s a ‘housekeeping mage’ – and a top adventurer! But can she find romance?

And they also have Dragon Daddy Diaries: A Girl Grows to Greatness 3, Goodbye Otherworld, See You Tomorrow 2 and Private Tutor to the Duke’s Daughter 2.

Kodansha, in print, gives us Grand Blue Dreaming 15 and When Will Ayumu Make His Move? 4.

ASH: I’ve fallen far behind on the former, but I’m more interested in starting the latter.

SEAN: Kodansha didn’t announce March digital releases till this week, so I missed being able to tell you about two titles already out: Having an Idol-Loving Boyfriend Is the Best! (Otatomo ga Kareshi ni Nattara Saikou Kamo Shirenai) is the first. This shoujo series from Palcy is about a girl who loves to fangirl about idols with her best male friend. Then… said friend confesses to her! The author also did Yen Press’s School of Horns.

They’ve also got, already out, Twilight Out of Focus (Tasogare Outfocus), a BL title from Honey Milk about two roommates who have rules not to fall for each other or get in the way of each other’s dalliances… but can that hold up?

MICHELLE: This one looks like it could be good.

SEAN: Kodansha’s first digital debut next week is Medaka Kuroiwa Is Impervious to My Charms (Kuroiwa Medaka ni Watashi no Kawaii ga Tsuujinai), a Weekly Shonen Magazine series about a monk-in-training who can’t have a relationship with anyone… but that’s not stopping the school’s top girl from trying!

They also have Apple Children of Aeon (Sennen Mannen Ringo no Ko), a josei title from Itan which may be of most interest to the Manga Bookshelf crew. A man who marries an apple farmer and moves to her town sees a mysterious apple one day that changes his life. This has won awards.

ANNA: I’m curious about this for sure.

ASH: Yup! Same.

SEAN: Also digital next week: Abe-kun’s Got Me Now! 8, Ace of the Diamond 36, Guilty 9, Lightning and Romance 2, My Darling, the Company President 4, Peach Boy Riverside 10, Police in a Pod 10, and Vampire Dormitory 8.

MICHELLE: I really, really need to get caught up with Ace of the Diamond.

SEAN: Seven Seas has two debuts. The Case Files of Jeweler Richard (Housekishou Richard-Shi no Nazo Kantei), a josei title from Comic Zero-Sum, a mystery series based on a just-licensed novel that got an anime recently. A college student rescues a man who turns out to be a jeweler. Adventures ensue.

MICHELLE: I’m looking forward to this one!

ANNA: Me too!

ASH: I’ve heard great things; I’m excited to read it.

SEAN: The other debut is The Girl in the Arcade (Gesen no Kanojo), a Shonen Ace Plus series about a nebbish guy who works at an arcade and the hot girl who needs his help to beat one of the games… and also asks him out?

We also see Drugstore in Another World: The Slow Life of a Cheat Pharmacist 4, The Kingdoms of Ruin 4, and Pandora in the Crimson Shell: Ghost Urn 15.

SuBLime has Black or White 2, but more importantly they have Dick Fight Island 2!

ASH: The first volume of Dick Fight Island was absolutely ridiculous, but in a good way, actually?

SEAN: Viz Media has Animal Crossing: New Horizons 2, Fly Me to the Moon 10, Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End 3, Kirby Manga Mania 4, MAO 4, and Pokémon Journeys 2. That’s a weird tie-ins to normal manga ratio.

Yen On has King of the Labyrinth 3.

Lastly, Yen Press debuts New York, New York, a BL manga from Hana to Yume back in the pre-Fruits Basket days when it was a lot darker and gayer. A police officer keeps the fact that he’s gay very well hidden… but when he falls in love with a man with a troubled past, will he be able to keep things at arm’s length? This is an omnibus of the first two volumes.

MICHELLE: Looking forward to this, as well! A good week.

ANNA: I’m intrigued.

ASH: I’ve got my eyes out for this one, for sure.

SEAN: And Yen Press has Delicious in Dungeon 10, Hakumei & Mikochi: Tiny Little Life in the Woods 9, Re:ZERO -Starting Life in Another World-, Chapter 4: The Sanctuary and the Witch of Greed 3, and Toilet-bound Hanako-kun 0 (the volume number is deliberate).

ASH: Huzzah, more Delicious in Dungeon! And more Toilet-bound Hanako-kun, even if I still have a backlog.

SEAN: There’s actually quite a variety there. What are you interested in?

SEAN: Our long nightmare, aka February, is over. What does March bring us?

Yes Press is mostly off this week, but we get two titles: I’m the Villainess, So I’m Taming the Final Boss 3 and To Save the World, Can You Wake Up the Morning After with a Demi-Human? 4.

Two debuts from Viz Media, one for each of their main imprints. Dragon Quest: The Adventure of Dai (Dragon Quest – Dai no Daibouken) is the classic 1989 manga from the pages of Weekly Shonen Jump! It’ll be coming out here in omnibus form, 2-in-1. It’s one of the biggest manga ever. Its authors later did Beet the Vandel Buster. The plot? Boy has adventures.

ASH: Always glad to see more classic manga being released!

ANNA: Nice!

SEAN: The Shojo Beat title is Ima Koi: Now I’m in Love (Ima, Koi Wo Shite Imasu), a Betsuma series that features yet another guy who seems to be scary but is actually really nice. The author is best known for Wolf Girl and Black Prince, which has not been licensed, alas.

MICHELLE: I tend to like those sorts of stories, so I’m down for this.

ASH: Same!

ANNA: Surprising no one, me too.

SEAN: Also from Viz: Mashle: Magic and Muscles 5, My Hero Academia 30, the 14th and final volume (thank God) of Platinum End, Rosen Blood 2, Undead Unluck 6, World Trigger 23, and Yakuza Lover 4.

ASH: I didn’t get very far with Platinum End.

ANNA: I think I lasted for a couple volumes.

SEAN: Seven Seas debuts Classroom of the Elite (Youkoso Jitsuryoku Shijou Shugi no Kyoushitsu e), based on the light novel, which runs in my nemesis, Comic Alive. Kiyotaka is entering a prestigious high school known for educating the children of the future. Unfortunately, he ends up in Class D, which is where the rejects go to get ridiculed and vanish from society forever. Unfortunately for the school, there’s a lot more to Kiyotaka than it seems.

Also from Seven Seas: DUNGEON DIVE: Aim for the Deepest Level 3, I Got Caught Up In a Hero Summons, but the Other World was at Peace! 3, The Invincible Shovel 3, My Lovey-Dovey Wife is a Stone Cold Killer 2, The Saint’s Magic Power is Omnipotent 5, Sorry for My Familiar 9, and A White Rose in Bloom 2.

MICHELLE: I’m looking forward to A White Rose in Bloom.

ASH: As am I. I really love Asumiko Nakamura’s manga.

SEAN: One Peace Books has a 14th volume of Hinamatsuri.

ASH: I’ve fallen behind, but I’ve gotten a kick out of what I’ve read so far.

SEAN: Kodansha, in print, has Beyond the Clouds 4, Chasing After Aoi Koshiba 3, Love and Lies 11, Saint Young Men 8, and Yuri Is My Job! 8.

ASH: I’m still here for Saint Young Men, as usual.

SEAN: Digitally, the debut is… not announced yet, so will have to wait.

Also digitally: A Couple of Cuckoos 6, Girlfriend, Girlfriend 8, Kounodori: Dr. Stork 21, My Master Has No Tail 4, the 22nd and final volume of Smile Down the Runway, and We’re New at This 10.

J-Novel Club debuts Magic Knight of the Old Ways (Furuki Okite no Mahou Kishi), a story of knights and kings that also has to deal with the fact that its leads are named Sid and Alvin, which makes me worry this will become Carry On Magic Knights.

J-Novel Club also has some digital manga releases as we see Bibliophile Princess 5, The Emperor’s Lady-in-Waiting Is Wanted as a Bride 3, Infinite Dendrogram 9, and Marginal Operation 12.

Ghost Ship has new volumes. We get Does a Hot Elf Live Next Door to You? 3 and Might as Well Cheat: I Got Transported to Another World Where I Can Live My Wildest Dreams! 2.

Cross Infinite World debuts So You Want to Live the Slow Life? A Guide to Life in the Beastly Wilds (Shishi Kamori de Slow Life), a bit of a reverse isekai. Our hero stays in Japan, and inherits his grandfather’s estate. Unfortunately, his estate is in the Beastly Wilds, a section of forest off-limits to humans… as it’s filled with beastmen! That said, it’s a slow life book, so don’t expect battles.

ASH: Could possibly be an interesting isekai inversion.

SEAN: In print, Airship has Berserk of Gluttony 5 and The Hidden Dungeon Only I Can Enter 6.

And in early digital, they have a debut: The Most Heretical Last Boss Queen: From Villainess to Savior (Higeki no Genkyou tonaru Saikyou Gedou Rasubosu Joou wa Tami no Tame ni Tsukushimasu). You know the drill. Reincarnated in an otome game as the villainess. Tries to be a good person instead. Does it a little TOO well.

Anything catch your fancy?

SEAN: STUFF! Just a whole ton of it. As always.

ASH: Yes, indeed!

ANNA: I’m always amazed.

SEAN: Airship, in print, has I’m in Love with the Villainess 4 and She Professed Herself Pupil of the Wise Man 3, while we get early digital volumes for The Haunted Bookstore – Gateway to a Parallel Universe 2 and The Saint’s Magic Power is Omnipotent 6.

ASH: Which reminds me that I need to read the first volume of The Haunted Bookstore; it seems like a series tailor-made for me.

SEAN: Dark Horse has a 5th volume of their Blade of the Immortal Deluxe series.

ASH: I am absolutely double-dipping for this edition.

SEAN: Ghost Ship debuts The 100 Girlfriends Who Really, Really, Really, Really, Really Love You (Kimi no Koto ga Dai Dai Dai Dai Daisuki na 100-nin no Kanojo), a Weekly Young Jump series about a guy with horrible romantic karma who now gets 100 soulmates. Unfortunately, he needs to make them ALL happy – or they’ll die!

ASH: I’ve actually heard some pretty good things about this series, so I plan on giving it a try.

SEAN: Ghost Ship also has World’s End Harem: Fantasia 6.

J-Novel Heart has a digital debut, and one I’ve wanted to read (legally) for years. Prison Life is Easy for a Villainess (Konyaku Haki kara Hajimaru Akuyaku Reijou no Kangoku Slow Life) does not involve anyone getting reincarnated into otome games or sent back in time to fix their future. Rachel is perfectly happy with her present, thank you… and happy to sit in prison while she watches her ex-fiance suffer.

ASH: Interesting!

ANNA: This does sound interesting.

SEAN: J-Novel Club also has My Daughter Left the Nest and Returned an S-Rank Adventurer 3, the 8th manga volume of I Shall Survive Using Potions!, and The Master of Ragnarok & Blesser of Einherjar 19.

Kodansha’s print debut is The Best of Attack on Titan: In Color. It is what it is.

ASH: Huh. I can only assume this is aimed at devotees of the series; seems like it could make a rough entry point for a newcomer.

SEAN: Also in print: Bakemonogatari 12, Blood on the Tracks 8, Eden’s Zero 15, Flying Witch 10, Life Lessons with Uramichi Oniisan 3, Real Account 15-17, The Seven Deadly Sins Omnibus 2, Star⇄Crossed!! 4 (the final volume), With a Dog AND a Cat, Every Day is Fun 6, and Yamada-kun and the Seven Witches 25-26. Boat finally make it through the Suez Canal, then?

ASH: Ha!

MICHELLE: This will be the volume I finally check out Star⇄Crossed!!!

SEAN: Digitally our debuut is Sakura’s Dedication (Sakura wa Watashi wo Sukisugiru), a shoujo title that’s been in both Betsufure and Palcy (titles move more easily these days). A girl who just broke up with her cheating boyfriend is suddenly confessed to by an earnest young man. Sadly, he’s not her type. But that’s not stopping him from confessing over… and over… and over again. OK, this is just embarrassing!

MICHELLE: Yeah, not sure what to think about this. That behavior is not great.

SEAN: They’ve also got Back When You Called Us Devils 10, Harem Marriage 14, His Extra-Large, Ever-So-Lovely… 2, Living-Room Matsunaga-san 11 (the final volume), Nina the Starry Bride 6, Saving Sweets for After-Hours 2, Space Brothers 40, and Tesla Note 3.

Two new series from Seven Seas. I’m a Wolf, but My Boss is a Sheep! (Ookami Buka-kun to Hitsuji Joushi-san), a Comic Bunch title about a mattress company consisting of all sheep employees… and one lone wolf. He tries to keep to himself, but his boss is so adorable! Gonna be honest, this looks cute.

ASH: It really does.

SEAN: We also get Monologue Woven For You (Kimi ni Tsumugu Bouhaku), a yuri title from Takeshobo about two drama majors whose paths cross. It’s in full color!

ASH: Oh, ho!

ANNA: Is full color manga now a thing?

SEAN: Also from Seven Seas, Creepy Cat 2, Hitomi-chan is Shy With Strangers 3, Kiruru Kill Me 2, The Masterful Cat Is Depressed Again Today 3, and semelparous 2.

ASH: A good week for curious cat manga, then.

SEAN: Square Enix has Soul Eater Perfect Edition 6.

Tokyopop has the 2nd volume of Our Not-So-Lonely Planet Travel Guide.

Generally I tend to skip Viz’s digital-only Jump releases, which come out at the end of the month. But the debut this month is one of my favorite current series, WITCH WATCH. The creator did comedy Sket Dance for years, and also Astra: Lost in Space. This new series has a teenage witch move into the house of her childhood friend and ogre, in the hopes of making him her familiar… and perhaps more? It’s hilarious.

ASH: That’s a solid recommendation.

ANNA: I enjoy witchy manga.

SEAN: Yen On has 86–EIGHTY-SIX 9, Banished from the Hero’s Party, I Decided to Live a Quiet Life in the Countryside 5, The Demon Sword Master of Excalibur Academy 5, I’m the Villainess, So I’m Taming the Final Boss 2, Re:ZERO -Starting Life in Another World- 18, and The World’s Finest Assassin Gets Reincarnated in Another World as an Aristocrat 4.

The debut from Yen Press is From the Red Fog (Akai Kiri no Naka kara), a GFantasy title (attn: MJ) that can best be described as ‘historical horror’. A young boy who has been kept in a basement for years grows up, leaves and moves into a nursing home. Except… bad things keep trailing after him. And honestly, given that cover art, he looks OK with that.

ASH: I am likewise intrigued!

MJ: You called? Oooooohhhhh, you DID call. Okay. Yes. YESSSSSSSSSSSSS. I NEED IT.

Yen also have Cheeky Brat 2, Cirque Du Freak: The Manga Omnibus 5, Love at Fourteen 11, Love of Kill 6, Mama Akuma 2, Puella Magi Madoka Magica: Wraith Arc 2, the 6th and final volume of RaW Hero, Reign of the Seven Spellblades 2, and Spirits & Cat Ears 10.

What manga would you read in prison?

SEAN: Valentine’s Day has gone, so what manga did you get? Chocolate manga? Is it food? Can you eat it?

Viz Media has the one-shot Came the Mirror & Other Tales from Rumiko Takahashi, which seems to be along the lines of her Rumic Theater collections of yore. Five short stories, all “magical realist” in nature. Plus, a rare appearance in a Viz title from Mitsura Adachi, as Takahashi discusses her friendship with him.

ASH: I’m excited for this one, but had missed that there was an Adachi connection, too!

MICHELLE: I will definitely have to check this out!

ANNA: This sounds cool.

MJ: Oh, interesting!

SEAN: Viz also has Golden Kamuy 25, Mobile Suit Gundam Thunderbolt 17, No Guns Life 12, Urusei Yatsura 13, and Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead 5.

ASH: I really need to catch up with Golden Kamuy.

SEAN: Tokyopop has I’m Looking for Serious Love! (Tadareta Koi ni wa Itashimasen!), a one-shot BL title from Overlap’s LiQulle (Overlap does non-isekai stories?). Naive country boy meets suave city boy. Coitus ensues.

MICHELLE: *snerk*

MJ: *appreciates Michelle’s snerk*

SEAN: Two debuts from Seven Seas. I Can’t Believe I Slept With You! (Ichido Dake Demo, Koukai Shitemasu) is a yuri title from Dengeki Daioh about a young woman who is jobless and hasn’t paid her rent. The landlady will let it slide… if the two of them sleep together. They do, and somehow it becomes an ongoing thing. But can friendship arise from this?

MJ: W. tf.

SEAN: Restart After Growing Hungry is technically a sequel to Restart After Coming Back Home, showing us the further adventures of Mitsuomi and Yamato. It ran in Canna, and is also one volume.

Also from Seven Seas: the 2nd Heaven Official’s Blessing novel, Kageki Shojo!! 4, Kase-san and Yamada 2, Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation 14, Reincarnated as a Dragon Hatchling 2, She Professed Herself Pupil of the Wise Man 4, and A Tale of the Secret Saint 2.

ASH: Still very happy to see Heaven Official’s Blessing being translated.

MICHELLE: I need to catch up on both Restart and Heaven Official’s Blessing.

ANNA: I’m in the middle of the first book! Need to finish up.

SEAN: One Peace has the 17th manga volume of The Rising of the Shield Hero.

SEAN: In print, Kodansha has The Summer With You, sequel to My Summer Of You.

The digital debut is The Transcendent One-Sided Love of Yoshida the Catch (Chouzetsu Kataomoi High Spec Yoshida), a shoujo title from Palcy. A hot guy who is also great at his job has a secret: he’s in love with a disaster of a manga artist! He’s her assistant, but… she doesn’t know he’s in love with her! This seems amusing.

ASH: Manga-related manga has a pretty good track record with me.

MICHELLE: It’s worth a try.

ANNA: It sounds cute.

MJ: It had me at “disaster.” Count me in!

SEAN: There’s also Defying Kurosaki-kun 18, The Lines that Define Me 2, Our Fake Marriage 8, and Shaman King Marcos 3.

There’s a lot from J-Novel Club. First some print titles, as we see By the Grace of the Gods 7, Full Metal Panic! Volumes 7-9 Collector’s Edition, Her Majesty’s Swarm 2, I Shall Survive Using Potions! manga volume 6, Seirei Gensouki: Spirit Chronicles Omnibus 4, and The Unwanted Undead Adventurer’s 3rd manga volume.

J-Novel Club debuts FOUR new light novel series this week. We start with My Quiet Blacksmith Life in Another World (Kajiya de Hajimeru Isekai Slow Life), a classic slow life title. Guy dies, is reincarnated as a quiet, normal profession… but things keep happening to him.

My Stepmom’s Daughter Is My Ex (Mamahaha no Tsurego ga Motokano datta) is a romcom title about… well. They dated in middle school. They broke up. Now, in high school, they’re stepsiblings. Can they really get along even after breaking up? This has an anime coming soon.

To Another World… with Land Mines! (Isekai Teni, Jirai Tsuki) has an entire class get killed off and sent to another world. There’s a god offering them cool powers… but why is everyone taking this at face value except our hero?

When Supernatural Battles Became Commonplace (Inō-Batoru wa Nichijō-kei no Naka de) already had an anime… in 2014. Another class gets cool powers, and they don’t even have to die! Our hero knows what’s coming next: they’ll have to save the world. Except… why is life carrying on as normal?

Also from J-Novel Club: Ascendance of a Bookworm 17, Full Clearing Another World under a Goddess with Zero Believers 2, Holmes of Kyoto 8, Perry Rhodan NEO 6, and Record of Wortenia War 14.

ASH: I say this almost every time, but hooray Bookworm!

SEAN: Ghost Ship debuts The Witches of Adamas (Adamasu no Majotachi), from Weekly Young Magazine, about… oh Christ, skip it. Not even gonna.

ASH: I had to look it up and just… wow.

SEAN: They also have Yuuna and the Haunted Hot Springs 18.

And Airship has, in print, Adachi and Shimamura 8 and Planet of the Orcs 2.

And in digital-first we have Classroom of the Elite 10 and Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation 15.

What Valentine’s gifts did you get? Please tell me it wasn’t The Witches of Adamas.

SEAN: February still exists, despite all our best efforts. What manga is there next week?

ASH: It still does, doesn’t it?

SEAN: We start off with Airship, which has early digital editions for The Hidden Dungeon Only I Can Enter 6 and The Strange Adventure of a Broke Mercenary 4.

Ghost Ship debuts 2.5 Dimensional Seduction (2.5 Jigen no Yuuwaku), which runs in Shonen Jump +. The manga club president is only into fictional girls. But wait… what if real-life girls cosplay AS fictional girls? This comes with a recommendation from the creator of One Piece, well known for his realistic body designs on women.

ASH: With the right creator that could be a cute premise.

SEAN: Ghost Ship also has Peter Grill and the Philosopher’s Time 7 and SUPER HXEROS 5.

Two light novel debuts for J-Novel Club. Fantasy Inbound (Isekai, Shuurai) is an MF Bunko J title, and this time around, the fantasy world is crossing over to Japan… to invade it! With the world in chaos and destroyed, can one man stand a chance to save it?

The other title is Saint? No! I’m Just a Passing Beast Tamer! (Seijo-sama? Iie, Toorisugari no Mamono Tsukai desu!), a Kadokawa Books series about a girl who SHOULD be the Saint who will help to guide the Church… but will that get her cute animals to snuggle? Will it get her fluff? No. Ergo, she must change jobs!

ASH: I can follow that logic.

SEAN: Other light novels are The Greatest Magicmaster’s Retirement Plan 12, A Late-Start Tamer’s Laid-Back Life 2, and The Tales of Marielle Clarac 8.

On the manga side, they have Der Werwolf: The Annals of Veight -Origins- 5 and My Instant Death Ability Is So Overpowered, No One in This Other World Stands a Chance Against Me! —AΩ— 3.

ASH: It took me a moment to fully parse how many titles you just listed there.

SEAN: Kodansha has some print books. Cells At Work: Baby! 3, The Hero Life of a (Self-Proclaimed) “Mediocre” Demon! 2, I’m Standing on a Million Lives 11, Lovesick Ellie 2, Perfect World 10, Shaman King Omnibus 7, Toppu GP 7, and The Witch and the Beast 8.

ASH: Seems like the first print volume of Lovesick Ellie was just released not too long ago; I need to pick that up!

ANNA: It is really good! I didn’t realize the second volume was coming out so fast.

SEAN: Two digital debuts. Falling Drowning (Ochite Oborete) is a Dessert series about a high school love triangle. (Sorry, sometimes they just sound like that.)

MICHELLE: I will probably be checking this out.

ANNA: It sounds like my kind of thing, but I’m terrible at reading digital manga.

SEAN: Fungus and Iron (Kin to Tetsu) is a sci-fi shonen series that comes from Bessatsu Shonen Magazine. A young man risks it all for love… but the risks involve mushrooms!

ASH: Okay, I’m curious.

SEAN: Also digital: Are You Lost? 9, Giant Killing 29, I Was Reincarnated with OP Invincibility, so I’ll Beat ’em Up My Way as an Action-Adventurer 2, In the Clear Moonlit Dusk 3, It’s That Reincarnated-as-a-Virus Story 2, Police in a Pod 9, The Springtime of My Life Began with You 5 (the final volume), and Tokyo Revengers 24.

MICHELLE: I really must catch up on Giant Killing.

SEAN: Seven Seas has Seaside Stranger 2 and Skip and Loafer 3.

SuBLime debuts Change World, a Dear+ title that is a sequel to Sayonara Game.

They’ve also got the special limited edition of Yarichin Bitch Club 4.

Tokyopop debuts Alice in Bishonen-Land (Shinkyou Alice to bishounen to bishounen to bishounen to bishounen to bishounen ~Otome Game Royale~), a shoujo series that seems to combine idols with trapped in a game survival stuff. Our heroine is a manager?

Viz debuts Deadpool: Samurai, a series which runs in Shonen Jump + but stars everyone’s favorite Marvel headcase. Will Deadpool meet the stars of Shonen Jump? I wouldn’t put it past him…

ASH: That could be fun.

ANNA: Truly, there is no way to escape Deadpool.

SEAN: Viz also has Call of the Night 6, Fullmetal Alchemist: Fullmetal Edition 16, the light novel Fullmetal Alchemist: The Abducted Alchemist, Hayate the Combat Butler 39, How Do We Relationship? 5, and Komi Can’t Communicate 17.

Yen On has three ‘delayed from January’ books: Baccano! 18, The Genius Prince’s Guide to Raising a Nation Out of Debt (Hey, How About Treason?) 8, and High School DxD 6.

And Yen Press gives us Combatants Will Be Dispatched! 6, Days on Fes 4, and In Another World with My Smartphone 4.

Can you make February go away with your MIND? Or with manga?

SEAN: Traditionally, February is the most depressing month of the year. Let’s find some manga to cheer you up.

ASH: Sounds good to me!

SEAN: Yen Press has Interspecies Reviewers 6.

Viz has a stack of Jump and Beat for you. We get Black Clover 28, Chainsaw Man 9, Dr. STONE 20, JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Part 5–Golden Wind 3, Jujutsu Kaisen 14, Seraph of the End 23, The King’s Beast 5, We Never Learn 20 and Yona of the Dawn 34. (Psst. Read Yona.)

MICHELLE: I need to get caught back up on Yona!

ASH: It’s such a great series! I’m happy to get my hands on more of JoJo’s, too.

ANNA: Always love to see Yona on the release list.
‘
SEAN: Tokyopop gives us the 6th and final volume of Laughing Under the Clouds, though there are prequels and sequels as yet unlicensed.

MICHELLE: Hey, they finished something!

MJ: lol

SEAN: Two debuts from Seven Seas. 5 Seconds Before a Witch Falls in Love (Majo ga Koi suru 5 Byou Mae) is a one-shot from Comic Yuri Hime. Witch vs. Witch-Hunter. Will sparks fly?

Also in a yuri vein is Hello, Melancholic!, also from Ichijinsha. Tall but shy trombone players. It’s already won me over just with that.

MICHELLE: The cover for this is super cute!

ASH: I am so here for this one.

MJ: Oh my god, yes.

SEAN: And we get Dance in the Vampire Bund: Age of Scarlet Order 5, I’m in Love with the Villainess 2, Muscles are Better Than Magic! 4 (a final volume), Reborn as a Barrier Master 2, and THIGH HIGH: Reiwa Hanamaru Academy 3 (also a final volume).

ASH: I’ve been meaning to give Thigh High a try.

SEAN: One Peace has the 7th The Reprise of the Spear Hero manga.

Kodansha has the, um, 9th volume of Knight of the Ice a week after the 8th. Huh. It also debuts The Seven Deadly Sins in omnibus format, with Vol. 1-3. And we get Orient 7, Peach Boy Riverside 5, and Vampire Dormitory 3.

ASH: Supply chain issues do funny things to release dates.

ANNA: Looking forward to binging on Knight of the Ice.

SEAN: Digitally we get a huge re-release of an old favorite, especially with Kodansha’s Japanese arm, which keep hoping it will get popular again. GTO, aka Great Teacher Onizuka, is back. All 25 volumes of the original series, and the 9 volumes of semi-sequel 14 Days in Shonan are available digitally. Yes, only digitally, come on, I know Attack on Titan sells well, but not well enough to justify so much print. I loved Onizuka back in the day, though I suspect he may be a bit less fun these days. Also, looking at the preview, this looks to just be a straight-up scan of the old Tokyopop version.

ASH: I largely enjoyed it back in the day, too. Glad to see it available again in some fashion!

ANNA: Yes, always great to see older series have better availability.

MJ: Oh, this is great!

SEAN: The new digital debut is Lightning and Romance (Inazuma to Romance), a Betsufure series from the creator of Kiss Me at the Stroke of Midnight. Girl wants a high school romance, but her new seatmate is… 20 years old?

Also debuting digitally is Tying the Knot with an Amagami Sister (Amagami-san Chi no Enmusubi). It is a Weekly Shonen Magazine title from one of the assistants of The Quintessential Quintuplets… and sounding a lot like it. A guy trying to get into medical school is allowed to stay at a shrine… provided he marries one of the beautiful daughters that live there.

Also out digitally: the 4th and final volume of Ashidaka: The Iron Hero, Chihayafuru 30, A Condition Called Love 9, Kounodori: Dr. Stork 20, My Darling, the Company President 3, My Idol Sits the Next Desk Over! 2, and My Master Has No Tail 3.

MICHELLE: I’m looking forward to a nice Chihayafuru binge.

ANNA: I’m so far behind on Chihayafuru, but vow that one day I will catch up.

SEAN: In print, J-Novel Club has My Friend’s Little Sister Has It In For Me! 2, Tearmoon Empire 3, and The White Cat’s Revenge as Plotted from the Dragon King’s Lap 2.

A rare manga-only week for J-Novel Club’s digital side. Campfire Cooking in Another World with My Absurd Skill 6, I Shall Survive Using Potions! 8, Sorcerous Stabber Orphen: The Reckless Journey 5, and Villainess: Reloaded! Blowing Away Bad Ends with Modern Weapons 3.

Airship has print releases for Disciple of the Lich: Or How I Was Cursed by the Gods and Dropped Into the Abyss! 2, Grimgar of Fantasy and Ash 17, and The NPCs in this Village Sim Game Must Be Real! 2.

Digitally, Airship has early digital for I’m the Evil Lord of an Intergalactic Empire! 2 and Reincarnated as a Sword 10.

That’s actually pretty thin? Well, that’s February for you…

The last week of January brings us no manga whatsoever!… OK, I lie, there’s a lot.

ASH: You almost had me there!

SEAN: Airship, in print, has the 8th volume of Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear.

And in early digital we see Berserk of Gluttony 5 and She Professed Herself Pupil of the Wise Man 3.

Dark Horse has the 3rd volume of Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken!.

ASH: Which reminds me that I still need to read the first two, but I suspect that it’s a series that I’ll enjoy.

SEAN: J-Novel Club has two debuts. The light novel debut is Forget Being the Villainess, I Want to Be an Adventurer! (Tensei Reijou wa Boukensha wo Kokorozasu). You can likely guess how this one goes.

ASH: I do find it fascinating to see how these trends evolve over time.

SEAN: The manga debut is Full Clearing Another World under a Goddess with Zero Believers (Shinja Zero no Megami-sama to Hajimeru Isekai Kouryaku), based on the light novel J-Novel Club also puts out. This runs in Comic Gardo.

We also see the 7th An Archdemon’s Dilemma manga, the 5th Black Summoner manga, By the Grace of the Gods 10, The Ideal Sponger Life 6, My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom! 11, the 2nd Reborn to Master the Blade manga, the 6th Record of Wortenia War manga, and Sweet Reincarnation 6.

Kaiten Books has a digital 3rd volume of The Yakuza’s Guide to Babysitting.

Kodansha debuts in print a new boxset holding the first 7 volumes of The Quintessential Quintuplets. Go read the part of the manga that everyone loved because they were sure their girl would win.

ASH: Haha!

SEAN: Also debuting in print is The Seven Deadly Sins: Four Knights of the Apocalypse (Mokushiroku no Yonkishi), a prequel to The Seven Deadly Sins that runs in Weekly Shonen Magazine.

There’s also the 13th and final CITY, If I Could Reach You 6, the 12th and final Kiss Me at the Stroke of Midnight, Knight of the Ice 8, Saint Young Men omnibus 7, To Your Eternity 16, Wave, Listen to Me! 8, and Yuzu the Pet Vet 7, the last volume before the timeskip.

MICHELLE: I need to catch up on Knight of the Ice and Wave, Listen to Me!.

ANNA: Knight of the Ice is one of the rare series that I’m actually caught up on because it is just that good!

ASH: This is a good Kodansha week for me! In addition to those two series, I’m particularly interested in Saint Young Men and To Your Eternity.

SEAN: Digitally the debut is Zatsuki: Make Me a Star (Zatsuki ~Watashi o Sutaa Nishi Nasai~), a shoujo title from Palcy. Two teenage stars whose careers are going in opposite directions meet at high school.

MICHELLE: I’m at least moderately interested in this.

ANNA: Me too.

MJ: This sounds very enjoyable!

SEAN: Also digital: Back When You Called Us Devils 9, Even Given the Worthless “Appraiser” Class, I’m Actually the Strongest 3, Harem Marriage 13, I’m Standing on a Million Lives 12, The Iceblade Sorcerer Shall Rule the World 3, ONIMAI: I’m Now Your Sister! 4, Saint Cecilia and Pastor Lawrence 8, Tesla Note 2, Those Not-So-Sweet Boys 5, and What I Love About You 8.

Seven Seas debuts The Girl I Want is So Handsome! (Ikemen Sugidesu Shiki-senpai!), a done-in-one omnibus from Comic Yuri Hime. Shiki falls for an older girl at her school. She’s so handsome, and so cool… and so oblivious!

ASH: Count me as curious.

MJ: Same.

SEAN: Also from Seven Seas: the 10th and final Gal Gohan, Happy Kanako’s Killer Life 3, Harukana Receive 9. Tamamo-chan’s a Fox! 4, Trapped in a Dating Sim: The World of Otome Games is Tough for Mobs 3, and Wonder Cat Kyuu-chan 4.

Square Enix has A Man and His Cat 5.

MICHELLE: Yay!

MJ: I, too, say “yay!”

SEAN: Tokyopop debuts Double, a manga from a magazine called Flat Heroes. Two friends are actors in the same theater troupe. One is asked to “double” the other, even as his career takes him in a new direction. Somehow this turns into a seinen thriller? Gonna be honest, this sounds fascinating.

MICHELLE: Hm.

ANNA: You still won’t trick me, Tokyopop!

ASH: Exactly so.

MJ: Ugh, the nerve of them releasing something that sounds interesting. I mean that with complete sincerity.

MICHELLE: Yeah, I’m certainly trepidatious. Speaking of hurts I shall never forgive, I have taken to requesting Silver Diamond on all of Seven Seas’ monthly license-request surveys. It’s BL and isekai-adjacent, so maybe? I figure it’s at least worth a shot!

SEAN: They’ve also got The Fox & Little Tanuki 4.

Viz has another massive One Piece box set that has Vol. 71-90 of the series.

Yen On has a 2nd volume of Spy Classroom.

Two debuts for Yen Press. The Abandoned Empress is a Korean webcomic that is one of those “spurned noble ends up going back in time to try to fix things” stories.

ASH: I like that Korean comics haven’t been forgotten by publishers these days!

MJ: Ah! Agreed!

SEAN: Spy Classroom is an adaptation of the light novel – see two lines up. It runs in my nemesis, Comic Alive.

Also from Yen Press: Breasts Are My Favorite Things in the World! 4, Cocoon Entwined 4, The Dark History of the Reincarnated Villainess 4, High School Prodigies Have It Easy Even in Another World! 11, I Cannot Reach You 3, I’m the Hero, but the Demon Lord’s Also Me 3, Kaiju Girl Caramelise 5, The Maid I Hired Recently Is Mysterious 2, My Youth Romantic Comedy Is Wrong As I Expected 17, Sword Art Online Alternative Gun Gale Online 4, The World’s Strongest Rearguard: Labyrinth Country’s Novice Seeker 4, and Yowamushi Pedal 19.

MICHELLE: I need to catch up on I Cannot Reach You and Cocoon Entwined and, most especially, Yowamushi Pedal! I reckon the Inter High has gotta be finished by now!

ANNA: One of these days I need to read Yowamushi Pedal. My kids read it though so I just need to figure out where it is in my house.

ASH: I’m slowly catching up, myself. Hime Hime!

SEAN: See what I mean? Barely any manga at all. What are you getting?

SEAN: The third week of January brings many and varied things to help warm us up in these cold nights.

Yen On has three debuts. Dragon and Ceremony (Ryu to Sairei) stars a wandmaker who has to repair a wand within a time limit. The trouble is, it needs the heart of a dragon… which haven’t been seen for centuries!

ASH: Wait, is that a non-isekai fantasy novel?

SEAN: The second debut is My Happy Marriage (Watashi no Shiawase na Kekkon). A noble who has endured abuse from her family most of her life is married off to a cold, uncaring soldier. But will this turn out to be a wonderful pairing after all? I’ve heard good things about this.

MICHELLE: I might check this one out.

ANNA: It sounds intriguing!

MJ: Hmmm, maybe?

SEAN: The third title is Sabikui Bisco, which was briefly Rust-Eater Bisco until it was decided to keep the Japanese. Our heroes try to find a miracle cure in the middle of a post-apocalyptic desert. This sounds very, very Shonen Jump, and was very popular in Japan when it first came out.

ASH: And another!

SEAN: We also see Bofuri: I Don’t Want to Get Hurt, so I’ll Max Out My Defense 4, Bungo Stray Dogs 7, The The Irregular at Magic High School 18 (I will die on this running gag hill), I’ve Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years and Maxed Out My Level 11, Magical Girl Raising Project 12, The Saga of Tanya the Evil 9, So I’m a Spider, So What? 13, Sword Art Online Progressive 7, and You Call That Service? 5.

Yen Press has new volumes! Bofuri: I Don’t Want to Get Hurt, so I’ll Max Out My Defense 3, Carole and Tuesday 3 (the final volume), Golden Japanesque: A Splendid Yokohama Romance 4, Murcielago 18, Overlord 14, Slasher Maidens 4, Teasing Master Takagi-san 13, Toilet-Bound Hanako-kun 12, and Val x Love 11.

ASH: It’s a good week for Yen readers!

SEAN: Viz debuts Record of Ragnarok (Shuumatsu no Walküre), which runs in Comic Zenon. Do you like muscles? Do you like martial arts? Do you like tournament arcs? This is the manga for you.

ASH: I will admit to being curious.

ANNA: OK!

MJ: Another maybe for me!

SEAN: We also see Assassin’s Creed: Blade of Shao Jun 3, BEASTARS 16, Hell’s Paradise: Jigokuraku 12, No. 5 3, The Way of the Househusband 7, and Ultraman 16.

MICHELLE: I need to get caught up on The Way of the Househusband.

ASH: Same. I’ve loved what I’ve read so far, though!

ANNA: It is so great.

SEAN: Udon Entertainment has the 3rd and final omnibus of Steins;Gate 0.

Tokyopop has Her Royal Highness Seems to be Angry 3.

Square Enix Manga gives us Soul Eater: The Perfect Edition 5.

Seven Seas has a spinoff debuting: Reincarnated as a Sword: Another Wish (Tensei Shitara Ken Deshita Another Wish). I’m… not sure how it differs from the main series, but hey.

They also have a rare Mature title that isn’t Ghost Ship: Succubus and Hitman. It runs in… oh dear. It runs in Champion Red, and is about a succubus who forces a college student to murder the wicked. The lack of sex keeps this on the main label, I think.

Also from Seven Seas: Bloom Into You Anthology 2, The Ideal Sponger Life 10, Love Me for Who I Am 5 (the final volume), Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid: Kanna’s Daily Life 9, Monster Guild: The Dark Lord’s (No-Good) Comeback! 2, No Matter What You Say, Furi-san is Scary! 2, The NPCs in this Village Sim Game Must Be Real! 2, Slow Life In Another World (I Wish!) 2, and Species Domain 12 (also a final volume).

In print, Kodansha has 10 Dance 6, APOSIMZ 8, Sachi’s Monstrous Appetite 6 (the final volume), Toppu GP 6, and When Will Ayumu Make His Move? 3.

MICHELLE: At last, more 10 Dance!

ASH: Yes!

MJ: I am depressed to be so far behind in 10 Dance, but I guess I need to fix that!

SEAN: Kodansha did one of their “let’s announce the day before release to screw Sean up” announcements. Out already is MF Ghost, which focuses on the MFG racing circuit, and is from the creator of Initial D. No, the MF is not what you’re thinking. It runs in Young Magazine, and 10 volumes are now available.

MJ: I wish more things with “ghost” in the title were actually about ghosts. I like ghosts.

SEAN: The digital debut for next week is The Lines that Define Me (Sen wa, Boku wo Egaku), a Weekly Shonen Magazine title about the joys of India-ink painting. The mere fact that a title like this can get licensed these days is a joy.

ASH: It really is.

ANNA: Wow.

SEAN: Also digital: And Yet, You Are So Sweet 5, Blue Lock 11, Hozuki’s Coolheadedness 6, My Darling Next Door 4, Saint Young Men 15, and Yozakura Quartet 28, which Kodansha says is the final volume, though I can’t verify that. Remember when Yozakura Quartet 1 came out? From Del Rey?

MICHELLE: I sure do.

ANNA: Me too.

SEAN: J-Novel Club has Altina the Sword Princess 12, Can Someone Please Explain What’s Going On?! 8, Endo and Kobayashi Live! The Latest on Tsundere Villainess Lieselotte 2 (the final volume), The Great Cleric 6, How a Realist Hero Rebuilt the Kingdom 15, Maddrax 2, Slayers 12, and The White Cat’s Revenge as Plotted from the Dragon King’s Lap 6 (which is a surprise to me, as I was sure 5 was the last).

Ghost Ship has a 2nd volume of Desire Pandora.

And Airship has 4 new light novel volumes in print. Drugstore in Another World: The Slow Life of a Cheat Pharmacist 4, Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation 14, Reborn as a Space Mercenary: I Woke Up Piloting the Strongest Starship! 3, and The Strange Adventure of a Broke Mercenary 3.

While digitally we get Accomplishments of the Duke’s Daughter 4 and Trapped in a Dating Sim: The World of Otome Games is Tough for Mobs 5.

Don’t burn manga for warmth! Read them!

SEAN: 2022 is only just beginning and already the manga feels like it’s getting away from me.

ASH: While I delight in the amount of manga being released, you are not alone in that feeling.

SEAN: Airship has some print light novels. The Most Notorious “Talker” Runs the World’s Greatest Clan 2, My Status as an Assassin Obviously Exceeds the Hero’s 3, and The Saint’s Magic Power is Omnipotent 5.

Digitally, we get early releases for Adachi and Shimamura 8 and I’m in Love with the Villainess 4.

ASH: I’m in line for the print personally, but still, hooray!

SEAN: Cross Infinite World debuts a new light novel series, I’d Rather Have a Cat than a Harem! Reincarnated into the World of an Otome Game as a Cat-loving Villainess (Sonna Koto yori, Neko ga Kaitai ~ Otome Game no Sekai ni Tensei Shimashita ~). On the plus side, our reincarnated villainess has her old family as her reincarnated family in this world as well. On the down side, she’s still a villainess. How to solve this? …who cares? KITTY!

ASH: That was not a isekai variation I was expecting!

SEAN: Ghost Ship debuts Might as Well Cheat: I Got Transported to Another World Where I Can Live My Wildest Dreams! (Sekkaku Cheat wo Moratte Isekai ni Teni shita n dakara, Suki na you ni Ikitemitai), a Comic Ride title that adapts an unlicensed light novel. Our reincarnated hero may be able to make fantastic healing potions, but he’s not here to adventure – he’s here to check out the local sex workers!

J-Novel Club has some print stuff. We get Ascendance of a Bookworm manga 8 (aka Part 2 Volume 1), How a Realist Hero Rebuilt the Kingdom manga omnibus 3, In Another World With My Smartphone 19, Marginal Operation 8, and The Unwanted Undead Adventurer 3.

ASH: Yay, Bookworm!

SEAN: Digitally we have Chillin’ in Another World with Level 2 Super Cheat Powers 3, In Another World with My Smartphone 24, The Magician Who Rose from Failure 4, My Friend’s Little Sister Has It In for Me! 5, My Instant Death Ability Is So Overpowered, No One in This Other World Stands a Chance Against Me! 8, and Reincarnated as the Piggy Duke: This Time I’m Gonna Tell Her How I Feel! 4.

Kodansha has the 4th and final volume of Boys Run the Riot in print, as well as the 11th and final Sweat and Soap. They’ve also got Living-Room Matsunaga-san 9, the print debut of Lovesick Ellie (which has been released previously digitally), Rent-A-(Really Shy!)-Girlfriend 2, Shikimori’s Not Just a Cutie 8, and A Sign of Affection 4.

MICHELLE: I didn’t realize Boys Run the Riot was so short. Hooray for Lovesick Ellie in print!

ASH: I somehow hadn’t realized that, either! Also, I finally got around to starting Sweat and Soap and it’s great. Really looking forward to reading the rest of the series.

SEAN: Digitally we have two debuts. I Was Reincarnated with OP Invincibility, so I’ll Beat ’em Up My Way as an Action-Adventurer (Zettai ni Damage wo Ukenai Skill wo Moratta node, Boukensha to shite Musou shite miru) is a Suiyoubi no Sirius title that sounds like it will melt the skin off anyone who reads it.

It’s That Reincarnated-as-a-Virus Story (Virus Tensei kara Isekai Kansen Monogatari) is… well, a villainess story, sort of? It is also from Suiyoubi no Sirius, and yes, the protagonist is a virus that can cause a pandemic. Timely!

ASH: Quite.

ANNA: Maybe too timely for me.

SEAN: Also digital: Cells at Work! White Brigade 2, The Hero Life of a (Self-Proclaimed) “Mediocre” Demon! 7, My Roomie Is a Dino 6, Police in a Pod 8, SHAMAN KING & a garden 2, and Shangri-La Frontier 5.

One Peace has Farming Life in Another World 4, Multi-Mind Mayhem 2, and The New Gate 8.

Seven Seas has two debuts. Daily Report About My Witch Senpai (Majo-senpai Nichijou) is a shoujo Akita Shoten title from Manga Cross. An office worker’s senpai is a witch, as the title might suggest – and she’s overworking herself! Can he help?

The Dragon Knight’s Beloved (Ryukishi no Okiniiri) is a josei series from Comic ZERO-SUM, based on a webcomic. A young maid, who loves caring for the dragons at the castle, gets a startling request from a knight when she comes of age – pretend to be his lover!

ASH: You had me at dragons and josei.

ANNA: Woooo!

MJ: Oh!

SEAN: Seven Seas also has Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear manga 6, Level 1 Demon Lord and One Room Hero 3, and Reincarnated as a Sword 8.

Square Enix has the 4th manga volume for By the Grace of the Gods.

SuBLime has the 3rd and final volume of Bad Boys, Happy Home and The World’s Greatest First Love 15.

ASH: I liked the first volume of Bad Boys, Happy Home, so I should probably give the last two a read, too.

SEAN: Tokyopop debuts Assassin’s Creed Dynasty, which seems to be based on, besides the AC franchise, a Chinese webcomic.

As one series begins, another must end. So it is with Viz, which sees the debut of Pokémon Adventures: X•Y and the final volume of Pokémon: Sun & Moon. What are they about? Come on. They’re Pokémon manga.

Viz also has Star Wars: Tribute to Star Wars, an artbook with works from lots of Japanese creators, such as the creators of the Zelda manga, Witch Hat Atelier, and Tekkonkinkreet!

ASH: Oh! That should be pretty good, then!

SEAN: We also get Case Closed 81, Fly Me to the Moon 9, Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End 2, Mao 3, and Persona 5 8.

MICHELLE: I still need to check out Frieren and Mao.

ASH: Same, I’ll have to admit.

ANNA: Me too, although I think the first volume of Frieren is at least somewhere in my house.

SEAN: Lastly, Yen On has Bottom-Tier Character Tomozaki 7, Date A Live 4, Suppose a Kid from the Last Dungeon Boonies Moved to a Starter Town 8, and Torture Princess 7.5.

What manga are you being reincarnated as?

SEAN: Welcome to 2022, a year unlike any other (and hopefully nothing like 2020 or 2021). What manga do we have?

Well, we start with light novels, as Yen On debuts Cross-Dressing Villainess Cecilia Sylvie (Akuyaku Reijou, Cecilia Sylvie wa Shinitakunai no de Dansou Suru Koto ni Shita). It’s an otome game villainess story, but this time our heroine, instead of changing the way she lives her life, decides to completely disguise herself… as a boy!

We also see Unnamed Memory 4.

Yen Press has just one title, and it’s an artbook. Visions 2021__Illustrators Book covers 170 artists from Pixiv, showing off their stunning artwork.

ASH: Other artbooks from Yen have been nicely done, so this definitely has potential.

SEAN: No debuts for Viz Media, but we do see the final volume of Love Me, Love Me Not.

MICHELLE: Man, already?!

ANNA: I’ve been collecting this series, but am several volumes behind. Looking forward to binge reading the rest of it.

SEAN: We do get a new side story, but as it’s one volume it’s more of a one-shot. Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba–Stories of Water and Flame is a short story manga volume based on the super popular manga.

ASH: I’m far behind on Demon Slayer, but am still curious about this one.

SEAN: Also from Viz: Boruto: Naruto Next Generations 13, Dragon Ball Super 15, Kakuriyo: Bed & Breakfast for Spirits 7, Mashle: Magic and Muscles 4, Moriarty the Patriot 6, My Hero Academia: Team-Up Missions 2, My Love Mix-Up! 2, Snow White with the Red Hair 17, Twin Star Exorcists 24, and Undead Unluck 5.

MICHELLE: I’m looking forward to more of My Love Mix-Up!.

ASH: Same!

ANNA: Me too!

SEAN: Tentai Books slipped out a release this week while I wasn’t looking. From Toxic Classmate to Girlfriend Goals (Yatarato Sasshi no Ii Ore wa, Dokuzetsu Kuudere Bishoujo no Chiisana Dere mo Minogasazu ni Guigui Iku) is another in what is almost becoming a genre, the “girl sitting next to me has a bad reputation but is really just covering up her embarrassment” genre.

ASH: I’ll admit to liking this particular subgenre.

SEAN: Square Enix Manga debuts My Isekai Life 01: I Gained a Second Character Class and Became the Strongest Sage in the World! (Tensei Kenja no Isekai Life – Daini no Shokugyou o Ete, Sekai Saikyou ni Narimashita) has as its one thing different from all other books in the genre that our hero is not coming from Japan, but from a fantasy world where he already had a class. Just a weak one. Now he has two! And is strong!

We also see The Apothecary Diaries’ 4th manga and Ragna Crimson 4.

ASH: Looking forward to reading more of Apothecary Diaries.

MJ: I haven’t even started Apothecary Diaries but I admit to being very drawn to it for the title alone.

SEAN: Only one debut for Seven Seas, but it’s a biggie: Kamen Rider: the Classic Manga Collection. This 850-page omnibus has all 4 volumes of the original 1971 manga in hardcover format. This was the inspiration for most anything you’ve ever loved.

ASH: That’s a pretty easy sale for me.

SEAN: Also from Seven Seas: Akashic Records of Bastard Magic Instructor 13, Blue Giant 7-8, Chronicles of an Aristocrat Reborn in Another World 3, How NOT to Summon a Demon Lord 13, Magaimono: Super Magic Action Entertainment 2 (the final volume), Manly Appetites: Minegishi Loves Otsu 3 (also a final volume), The Tale of the Outcasts 4, and Time Stop Hero 3.

MICHELLE: I’ve been meaning to check out Blue Giant and Manly Appetites.

ASH: Manly Appetites has been a delight.

SEAN: Kodansha Manga has print books! Including the debut of The Hero Life of a (Self-Proclaimed) “Mediocre” Demon!, which came out digitally last year.

We also see Battle Angel Alita 4 and Eden’s Zero 14.

Debuting digitally is My Idol Sits the Next Desk Over! (Oshi ga Tonari de Jugyou ni Shuuchuu Dekinai!), also in the ‘sweet romance with the girl sitting next to me’ genre, only this time our protagonist is also a girl.

ASH: I don’t mind that twist.

MJ: Here for it.

SEAN: ANN also reports that Kodansha has Hiraeth: The End of the Journey (Hiraeth wa Tabiji no Hate), a Morning Two title from the creator of Our Dreams at Dusk. It’s already an award winner, and starts off dark, as a woman who wants to see her friend who has died tries to kill herself. She’s stopped by two travelers who take her on a journey.

ASH: Oh!

MJ: This sounds potentially great.

SEAN: There’s also Girlfriend, Girlfriend 7, I Was Reincarnated as the 7th Prince so I Can Take My Time Perfecting My Magical Ability 4, Kounodori: Dr. Stork 19, My Darling, the Company President 2, My Master Has No Tail 2, and Princess Resurrection Nightmare 7 (the final volume).

Kaiten Books has three new print titles for books they’ve previously released digitally. We get Loner Life in Another World 4 (manga), My Dad’s the Queen of All VTubers?! 2, and Welcome to the Outcast’s Restaurant! 1 (manga).

Quite a bit from J-Novel Club. The Apothecary Diaries 4, Black Summoner 7, Guide to the Perfect Otaku Girlfriend: Roomies and Romance 4, Hell Mode 2, How a Realist Hero Rebuilt the Kingdom 7 (manga), I’ll Never Set Foot in That House Again! 3, Jessica Bannister and the Family Secrets (4th in the series), Marginal Operation 11, Monster Tamer 7, The Reincarnated Princess Spends Another Day Skipping Story Routes 2, Sorcerous Stabber Orphen: The Wayward Journey 15, and A Wild Last Boss Appeared! 7.

ASH: That is quite a bit!

SEAN: There’s also more than usual for Ghost Ship. The debut is Into the Deepest, Most Unknowable Dungeon (Fukafuka Dungeon Kouryakuki: Ore no Isekai Tensei Boukentan), which runs in Mag Garden’s Comic Blade. There’s a dungeon that has repelled even the strongest armies. But our recently dead and reincarnated from Japan hero knows how to take them on: with a group of hot and powerful women.

ASH: Obviously.

SEAN: Ghost Ship also has Ero Ninja Scrolls 2, JK Haru is a Sex Worker in Another World 2 (manga), Parallel Paradise 8, and Yuuna and the Haunted Hot Springs 17.

Speaking of publishers sneaking out volumes without telling me, I’m TWO weeks late in noting that Inside Mari 8 is out from Denpa Books!

Dark Horse has the 8th Gantz omnibus.

Airship, in print, has Trapped in a Dating Sim: The World of Otome Games is Tough for Mobs 4.

And digitally they give us Planet of the Orcs 2.

Which of these titles gives you a Rider Kick?

SEAN: It’s the last week of 2021, what are publishers squeezing out the door?

Airship gives us How a Realist Hero Rebuilt the Kingdom 13 in print and Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear 8 in early digital.

J-Novel Club puts out Infinite Dendrogram 16, John Sinclair: Demon Hunter 5, The Magic in this Other World is Too Far Behind! 8 (manga), Mapping: The Trash-Tier Skill That Got Me Into a Top-Tier Party 3 (manga), Perry Rhodan NEO 5, and Welcome to Japan, Ms. Elf! 4 (manga).

Kodansha has a print box set debut: Attack on Titan The Final Season Part 1. We also see L*DK 17-18, My Boy 8, Peach Boy Riverside 4, Perfect World 9, Pretty Boy Detective Club’s 2nd manga volume, Rent-a-Girlfriend 10, That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime: Trinity in Tempest 5, and Vampire Dormitory 2.

ASH: Perfect World got away from me! I’ve apparently fallen a bit behind.

SEAN: Digitally the debut is Her Majesty’s Swarm (Joou Heika no Isekai Senryaku), which runs in Suiyoubi no Sirius. Based on the light novel released here by J-Novel Club, it’s about a college girl who loves strategy games who suddenly finds herself inside of one… as the leader of the spider monsters!

ASH: I mean, I do like strategy games… (but I also like print.)

SEAN: We also get Back When You Called Us Devils 8, Chihiro-kun Only Has Eyes for Me 5, DAYS 27, Elegant Yokai Apartment Life 22, Even Given the Worthless “Appraiser” Class, I’m Actually the Strongest 2, Harem Marriage 12, The Iceblade Sorcerer Shall Rule the World 2, My Boyfriend in Orange 11, Saint Cecilia and Pastor Lawrence 7, That’s My Atypical Girl 3, and With You and the Rain 2.

MICHELLE: I need to catch up on DAYS.

SEAN: Seven Seas debuts a new spinoff: My Next Life as a Villainess Side Story: On the Verge of Doom!. Our heroine is reborn as Katarina Claes, the villain of her favorite otome game, as per usual. Only… she’s already in school and bullying the heroine! How can she avoid death when she doesn’t have years to fix everything? This runs in Zero Sum Online.

Seven Seas also has Otaku Elf 3 and The Legend of Dororo and Hyakkimaru 4.

ASH: It’s been interesting to see another creator’s take on Dororo (one of my favorite Tezuka tales).

SEAN: Udon has the 9th volume of Otherworldly Izakaya Nobu.

Yen On debuts a title whose manga came out here last week: The Hero Laughs While Walking the Path of Vengeance a Second Time (Nidome no Yuusha wa Fukushuu no Michi wo Warai Ayumu). It seems to contain everything I hate about light novels. But I’m sure people who are not me will enjoy it.

ASH: It takes all kinds!

SEAN: Lastly, Yen Press gives us Fiancée of the Wizard 4 (the final volume), I Was a Bottom-Tier Bureaucrat for 1,500 Years, and the Demon King Made Me a Minister 2, Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? On the Side: Sword Oratoria 16, Love and Heart 4, Re:ZERO -Starting Life in Another World-, Chapter 4: The Sanctuary and the Witch of Greed 2, Sacrificial Princess and the King of Beasts 14, and Val x Love 10.

ASH: I’ve been meaning to give Fiancée of the Wizard a try, so this might be the ideal time to finally get around to doing that.

SEAN: That’s a relatively light week! What are you buying?

MICHELLE: Honestly, not much!

ANNA: Nothing for me, going to catch up on all the unread manga piles in my house.

MJ: Same here, unfortunately.

SEAN: If you buy these books they probably WON’T get there by Christmas. Santa is sad.

Yen On has one title: Kingdom Hearts: The Complete Novel Collector’s Edition. This box set collects 12 novels, along with a box, prints, and a keychain. It’s a must for Kingdom Hearts fans! (I am guessing, not being a Kingdom Hearts fan.)

ASH: I haven’t read the series myself, but that does look like a pretty sweet set.

SEAN: Three debuts for Yen Press. The Hero Laughs While Walking the Path of Vengeance a Second Time (Nidome no Yuusha wa Fukushuu no Michi wo Warai Ayumu) is a Comic Walker adaptation of the light novel due out from Yen On, erm, next week. If you love everything I hate about light novels, this is absolutely the title for you. It almost drips with ichor.

I’ve Become an Omega Today (Kyou Kara Omega ni Narimashita) is a BL title from Media Factory’s Comic Fleur, and is complete in one volume. Our hero’s in love with his best friend… but his best friend is an Alpha, and he’s a Beta!… OR IS HE?

ASH: Duhn, duhn, duhn!

Let This Grieving Soul Retire!: Woe Is the Weakling Who Leads the Strongest Party (Nageki no Bourei wa Intai Shitai – Saijaku Hunter ni Yoru Saikyou Party Ikuseijutsu) is a manga based on a light novel licensed by the late unlamented Sol Press. Our protagonist has vowed to become a hero along with his friends!… but they’re talented, he is not. What can he do? Well, he can beg and plead!

Also out next week: I’m the Catlord’s Manservant 2, Murcielago 17, and So I’m a Spider, So What? 10.

Get your children the Christmas Gift all families enjoy: Deserter: Junji Ito Story Collection. Out from Viz, it has 100% more melting faces than Santa normally provides.

ASH: Happy! I’m still here for it.

SEAN: Also from Viz: Fist of the North Star 3, Golden Kamuy 24, Levius/est 9, Maison Ikkoku Collector’s Edition 6, and Real 15… wait, what? Real? As in the wheelchair basketball manga? As in Vol. 14 of Real came out in 2016? That Real? Holy guacamole!

MICHELLE: !!!! I had given up hope on seeing more Real!

ANNA: I think I only have the first five volumes, but I’ll order this on principle!

ASH: I’m excited for quite a few of these, but Real is one of my top series ever, so I’m absolutely thrilled to see a new volume being released.

SEAN: Udon Entertainment gives us Persona 5: Mementos Mission, which I think is also a Comic Walker title. As for the premise, well, it’s a Persona manga.

Square Enix Manga has Beauty and the Feast 2.

ASH: I didn’t enjoy the first volume as much as I expected I would, but I’m always glad for food-oriented manga.

SEAN: Seven Seas has a pile of debuts. Cat Massage Therapy (Neko no Massageya-san) is a josei manga from Comic Qurie. If you liked cat as a barista, you’ll love cat as a massage therapist!

MICHELLE: Oh, jeez. “As the professional “meowsseur” digs soft toe beans into Nekoyama’s aching muscles, his heart warms and his worries melt away.” I think this is too much even for me, lover of both cats and josei manga.

ANNA: LOL

SEAN: The Country Without Humans (Ningen no inai Kuni) runs in Futabasha’s Manga Action. The last human in the world tries to survive and make friends. This has ‘hauntingly beautiful tragedy’ written all over it.

ASH: That’s a subgenre I generally appreciate.

SEAN: Lupin III: Greatest Heists – The Classic Manga Collection is a curated collection of the best of Monkey Punch’s manga that inspired the incredibly popular franchise. It was specially [published in Japan after his death. Now we have it.

ASH: I somehow completely forgot about this license!

SEAN: The Savior’s Book Café Story in Another World (Isekai ni Kyuuseishu to shite Yobaremashita ga, Around 30 ni wa Muri na no de, hissori Book Café Hajimemashita) is a shoujo title from Ura Sunday Jyoshibu. A woman is summoned to another world to save it!… but hell, she’s over 30 and tired, so no thanks. Instead she’ll start a book cafe. No, the novel it’s based on isn’t licensed.

ANNA: This sounds amusing.

ASH: If I’m going to read isekai, a book-themed series is probably where I’ll turn. (Also, “over 30 and tired” hits home for me…)

SEAN: Also from Seven Seas: Arifureta: From Commonplace to World’s Strongest ZERO 5, Berserk of Gluttony 4, Dragon Goes House Hunting 7, and The Saint’s Magic Power is Omnipotent 4.

And they also have an early digital version of I’m in Love with the Villainess 2 (manga).

One Peace has The Riding of the Shield Hero 22.

No print debuts for Kodansha, but we see Beauty and the Beast of Paradise Lost 3, Fairy Tail: 100 Years Quest 9, Fire Force 25, Hitorijime My Hero 11, and In/Spectre 14.

Digitally the debut is My Darling, the Company President (Darling wa Shachou-kun). This josei title from Ane Friend is about a “plain” office lady who finds the new company president is the boy she used to tutor! I hear this one is spicy.

Also digital: Anyway, I’m Falling in Love with You 2, Blue Lock 10, Boss Wife 3, Doing His Best to Confess 2, GTO Paradise Lost 16, Hozuki’s Coolheadedness 5, I Want To Hold Aono-kun So Badly I Could Die 8, and Our Bodies, Entwining, Entwined 2.

MICHELLE: I need to get on the Blue Lock train before it completely passes me by. Doing His Best to Confess also looks cute.

SEAN: J-Novel Club has Ascendance of a Bookworm 16, Der Werwolf 13, Holmes of Kyoto 7, Mapping: The Trash-Tier Skill That Got Me Into a Top-Tier Party 8, Reborn to Master the Blade: From Hero-King to Extraordinary Squire ♀ 3, Seirei Gensouki: Spirit Chronicles 17, and Welcome to Japan, Ms. Elf! 7. Rozemyne for Christmas!

ASH: Speaking of book-themed isekai, hooray for Bookworm!

SEAN: Lastly, Airship has, in print, Failure Frame: I Became the Strongest and Annihilated Everything With Low-Level Spells 3. And in early digital form we get Disciple of the Lich: Or How I Was Cursed by the Gods and Dropped Into the Abyss! 2.

What’s in your stocking?