manga the week of

SEAN: Still hot. Still humid. Apologies to readers in Nunavut, who must feel left out. But what about manga?

MICHELLE: Florida is a literal and figurative hellscape at present.

ASH: It’s been pretty bad where I am, too.

SEAN: Yen Press have one debut, Guillotine Bride: I’m Just a Dragon Girl Who’ll Destroy the World (Dantoudai no Hanayome – Sekai wo Horobosu Futsutsuka na Tatsuki desu ga) is a manga based on the light novel that Yen put out last year. It’s a harem action series, and the LN was bad. This runs in Dra-Dra-Flat b.

Yen also has April Showers Bring May Flowers 3.

Viz Media debut Astro Royale, a series from the creator of Tokyo Revengers. As a gang battles to decide who their new leader is, a meteor hits, and suddenly everyone has superpowers! I think this was announced for print by Viz right before Weekly Shonen Jump cancelled it.

ASH: Ope!

SEAN: We also get The Bugle Call: Song of War 2, Colette Decides to Die 4, Dandadan 14, Demon Slayer: Kimetsu Academy 6 (the final volume), The Elusive Samurai 16, In the Name of the Mermaid Princess 7 (the final volume), Kagurabachi 4, Kill Blue 2, Marriage Toxin 8, Natsume’s Book of Friends 31, Queen’s Quality 23, RuriDragon 2, Sakamoto Days 18, Spy x Family 14, and You and I Are Polar Opposites 6.

MICHELLE: I really need to check out Colette Decides to Die and catch up on Natsume!

ANNA: Me too!!!!

ASH: Yup.

SEAN: Tokyopop has The Margrave’s Daughter & the Enemy Prince 4 and The Person I Loved Asked Me to Die in My Sister’s Stead 4.

Titan Manga has a 10th volume of Kamen Rider Kuuga.

Steamship debuts Don’t Hold Back, Lord Hades (Gaman shinaide, Hades-sama. ~Reikoku na Meiou no Jun’ai wa Michishirenai hodo Fukakude, Omoi~), a josei title from Otomitsu Mangosteen that asks “what if the tale of Hades and Persephone had more sex?”.

ANNA: There are a lot of romance novels that investigate this line of inquiry.

ASH: I’ve read a comic or two, as well. I might have to read this one, too.

SEAN: And they also have Outbride: Beauty and the Beasts 8.

Square Enix Books has the 6th volume of The Apothecary Diaries light novel in print.

ASH: Which reminds me that I need to start reading the prose version.

SEAN: Square Enix Manga has YoRHa: Pearl Harbor Descent Record – A NieR:Automata Story 4 (the final volume).

Seven Seas has a new danmei title, Joyful Reunion. An abused, neglected child one day has a man show up and say he’s the boy’s father. Now the boy is taken away to a web of political intrigue.

MICHELLE: Hm. I do like political intrigue.

ASH: Same.

SEAN: No God in Eden (Kamisama Nanka Shinjinai Bokura no Eden) is an omegaverse manga that runs in Magazine Be x Boy. Two high schoolers, supposedly total opposites, one day find that they’re alpha and omega. In fact… they’re the world’s FIRST alpha and omega.

Werewolves Going Crazy Over Me is a manwha whose premise sounds exactly like an omegaverse title, but replace omega with “mate” and you’ll get the gist. Young single mom whose child is fighting illness meets a CEO who has a secret. You can guess the secret.

ANNA: I know! Is he…..a vampire??????????

ASH: That must be it!

SEAN: Also from Seven Seas: Cat Companions Maruru and Hachi 4, The Dangers in My Heart 11, Gene Bride 2, How NOT to Summon a Demon Lord 22, Hunting in Another World With My Elf Wife 6, Life with an Ordinary Guy Who Reincarnated into a Total Fantasy Knockout 7, Mii-chan Wants to Be Kept 2, My Deer Friend Nokotan 6, Pet Shop of Horrors: Collector’s Edition 3, and Soara and the House of Monsters 5.

ASH: I recently read the first volume of Soara and the House of Monsters; I should probably read more.

SEAN: One Peace Books has a 4th volume of Hero Without a Class.

No debuts at all or Kodansha. In print, we get A-DO 8, Blade Girl 2, FAIRY TAIL: 100 Years Quest 18, The Fragrant Flower Blooms With Dignity 8, Kaina of the Great Snow Sea 4 (the final volume), Love, That’s an Understatement 2, Sheltering Eaves 4, Teppu 2, WIND BREAKER 13, and Welcome to Demon School! Iruma-kun 15.

MICHELLE: I really liked what I read of Sheltering Eaves.

SEAN: The only digital volume is the 31st and final volume of Those Snow White Notes.

J-Novel Club has one debut, a light novel. No Wife, No Problem: A Mage’s Life with His Beloved Daughter (Kekkon wo Akirameta Majutsushi, Dekiaisuru Manamusume ga Dekita node Issho ni Shiawase ni Narimasu) stars a powerful mage who is now in his forties and lonely. He asks the gods for a daughter, and they give him one from his own blood – and this daughter is even more OP than her dad. This seems to be in the “no incest, just heartwarming” dad/daughter genre.

ASH: Oh, good!

SEAN: Other JNC novels: Ascendance of a Bookworm: Fanbook 6, Cooking with Wild Game 29, My Quiet Blacksmith Life in Another World 11, and The White Cat’s Revenge as Plotted from the Dragon King’s Lap 8.

For manga, they have 8th Loop for the Win! 5, The 100th Time’s the Charm 4, The Conqueror from a Dying Kingdom 5, Did I Seriously Just Get Reincarnated as My Gag Character?! 6, Hell Mode 7, and Rebuild World 12.

Ghost Ship has a 15th volume of World’s End Harem: Fantasia.

In print, Airship has The Too-Perfect Saint 3.

And for early digital, we get Reincarnated Into a Game as the Hero’s Friend 5 and Too Many Losing Heroines! 5.

What manga will you get to cool you off (unless you’re in Nunavut)?

SEAN: Say goodbye to July with these titles.

ASH: So soon? I seem to have misplaced a week or two somewhere.

SEAN: Lots of print from Airship, as we get Failure Frame 12, Free Life Fantasy Online 9, A Tale of the Secret Saint 8, and Witch and Mercenary 3.

And in early digital we get Survival in Another World with My Mistress! 8 and Trapped in a Dating Sim: Otome Games Are Tough For Us, Too! 4.

Aloha Comics have a massive hardcover box set of all 6 volumes of the Heaven Official’s Blessing manhua.

ASH: I’d somehow managed to forget about Aloha Comics, but what a fantastic reminder! This set looks gorgeous.

SEAN: Cross Infinite World has a one-shot debut, The Hired Heroine Wants the Villainess to Gloat (Yatoware Heroine wa Akuyaku Reijou ni Zamaa Saretai). Our protagonist is hired by God to try and get the plot of an otome game back on the rails, despite the prince wanting to be a farmer and the villainess not being that evil.

ASH: I am amused by this premise.

ANNA: Me too.

SEAN: They also have Apocalypse Bringer Mynoghra 7 and So You Want to Live the Slow Life? 5.

Dark Horse debuts Cat + Crazy (Nekottake!), which is not a spinoff of Cat + Gamer – it actually predates it – but is from the same author. A boy whose family is allergic to cats loves them, so is happy when he meets someone who is renowned in the ways of cat. This seems silly. It ran in Shonen Sunday S.

ASH: Silly cat manga has really established itself as a genre.

SEAN: Dark Horse also has a deluxe hardcover edition of Planetes coming out, and if you don’t know what Planetes is, buy this now. If you already have all the various editions of Planetes that have come out… buy this anyway.

ASH: Join me for a third time! Seriously though, this series is great and am thrilled to see it getting the deluxe treatment.

ANNA: For sure deserving of the deluxe hardcover.

SEAN: And they also have the 2nd Gunsmith Cats omnibus.

From Ghost Ship we see Betrayed by the Hero, I Formed a MILF Party With His Mom! 2 and The Witches of Adamas 11 (the final volume).

Hanashi Media has an 8th volume of Tsukimichi: Moonlit Fantasy.

One debut for J-Novel Club: Notorious No More: The Villainess Enjoys Feigning Incompetence (Kitai no Akujo, Sandome no Jinsei de “Musai Munou” wo Tanoshimu) stars a young woman whose been reincarnated TWICE. In her first life, she was an evil mage. In her second life, she lived in Japan as an ordinary woman into her eighties. Now, she decides to take it easy by faking being an incompetent dimbulb. This is a comedy, as you might gather.

ASH: Twice, you say? Not sure I’ve seen that before!

SEAN: Other light novels include D-Genesis 9, Long Story Short, I’m Living in the Mountains 2, The Misfit of Demon King Academy 10-1, and Taking My Reincarnation One Step at a Time 8.

And in manga, there is Ascendance of a Bookworm Part 4 Volume 4.

No new Kodansha Manga titles. But we see The Ayakashi Hunter’s Tainted Bride 3, A Condition Called Love 14, EDENS ZERO 32, Flying Witch 13, GAEA-TIMA the Gigantis 2, Honeko Akabane’s Bodyguards 4, Shimazaki in the Land of Peace 5, and Vampire Dormitory 14 (the final volume).

And for digital-only… there is nothing. You may have noticed Kodansha is trying to quietly sunset the glut of digital-only series.

MICHELLE: Pout. But my dreams for Big Windup!

SEAN: One Peace has a 9th volume of the manga version of The Wrong Way to Use Healing Magic.

Seven Seas has a danmei one-shot. Astrolabe Rebirth is from the author of Dinghai Fusheng Records, and is about two young men fighting against a sci-fi dystopia.

ASH: Count me as intrigued.

SEAN: The big debut is Ichi the Killer (Koroshiya 1), a late 90s manga from the creator of Homunculus and Hikari-Man – this was their breakout hit. It’s in a 2-volume omnibus format, and is about a cowardly young man who, when he starts to cry uncontrollably, turns into a vicious killer.

ASH: I should probably make a point to read this; the film adaptation has been on my radar for quite some time, too.

SEAN: Seven Seas also has Gravitation: Collector’s Edition 6 (not QUITE the final volume, there’s an EX), His Majesty the Demon King’s Housekeeper 10, Mysterious Disappearances 6, and No Longer Allowed In Another World 9.

Steamship debuts Shindou-kun’s Tight Squeeze: Helpless Against His Alluring Touch (Shindou-kun wa Toriatsukai Chuui), a josei title from Choco Love. A young woman is in her dream job, and she’s damn good at it. But now she has to mentor the new guy, adn the new guy is better than her… both at work and in bed!

ASH: Uh-oh!

ANNA: This sounds like quite a predicament.

SEAN: They also have the 4th and final volume of Before You Discard Me, I Shall Have My Way With You.

Titan Manga has a 2nd volume of Welcome to Ghost Mansion.

Yen On debuts Lord of Mysteries, the newest Chinese hit that has an anime going right now. A man wakes up in a steampunk universe, and finds vast conspiracies all around him.

ASH: I do enjoy a good conspiracy.

SEAN: Yen Press theoretically (I can’t find it anywhere but their website) debuts Sailor Zombie digitally. Zombies and idols compete to see which genre this is. It runs in Heros.

Also from Yen Press: Super String: Marco Polo’s Travel to the Multiverse (Super String: Isekai Kenbunroku) is… sort of a Weekly Shonen Sunday title, but it’s also a webtoon, and Boichi is the artist, for those who are fans/need to be warned. “What if Marco Polo was a shonen hero and also there were beastgirls” seems to be the plot.

ASH: Huh. That’s quite the combination.

SEAN: And on that bizarre note, what are you buying?

SEAN: Oh no, Yen Press has decided to destroy us all!

ASH: It was bound to happen eventually.

SEAN: No debuts for Yen On, but we get a lot of continuations. The Contract Between a Specter and a Servant 4, Gods’ Games We Play 5, Hero Syndrome 3, Kunon the Sorcerer Can See 4, Liar, Liar 6, Reign of the Seven Spellblades 13, Spy Classroom 9, and The Vexations of a Shut-in Vampire Princess 9.

Yen Press has a lot. We’ll start with Almark, based on an as-yet unlicensed light novel. A city in the north is home to powerful mercenaries, but one boy just isn’t as strong as the rest. His father sends him south to a magic academy to try to be a sorcerer instead. Why am I getting Last Dungeon Kid vibes from this? It runs in Isekai Comic.

ASH: It does feel like I’ve heard this premise somewhere before…

SEAN: Bocchi the Rock! Comic Anthology is exactly what it sounds like. Various artists do their take on Bocchi.

Speaking of things that are just what they sound like, Dead Mount Death Play Side Story: Phantom Solitaire’s Art of Disguising Oneself as a Supernatural Being is a prequel to the main series, and runs in Manga Up!.

Delicious in Dungeon World Guide: The Adventurer’s Bible, Complete Edition is, erm, also what it sounds like. It’s got over 70 new pages.

ASH: It’s got additional content, so I’m picking this one up.

SEAN: Double the Trouble, Twice as Nice (Oshikake Ouji wa Nido Oishii) is a shoujo series from Manga Mee. Our heroine works a horrible job, and was just dumped by her fiance. Also, her phone is dead, and there’s a kid passed out in the street. She takes the kid home to make sure he’s all right… and wakes up to find he’s become a hot guy? Fans of manipulative yet hot shoujo men will like this.

ASH: Huh.

SEAN: Konosuba: Even More Explosions on This Wonderful World! (Zoku Kono Subarashii Sekai ni Bakuen wo!) is another set of manga dealing with Megumin when she’s not around Kazuma. It ran in my nemesis, Monthly Comic Alive.

Level Up with the Gods is one of those “this is Korean but somehow not Ize Press” titles that I haven’t been able to figure out. An ordinary college student joins forces with powerful warriors to defeat the bad guys… and fails. Now he’s sent back in time to train even harder.

ASH: That’s one way to do it.

SEAN: Li’l Miss Vampire Can’t Suck Right (Chanto Suenai Kyuuketsuki-chan) is one of those “sounds worse than it is” titles, and runs in Dragon Age. The most popular girl at school is a vampire, and can control people whose blood she drinks. Sadly, she’s shy and introverted. This is a comedy, obviously.

ASH: That title, though!

SEAN: Lycoris Recoil Official Comic Anthology: React is the first of three LycoReco anthologies we’re getting here.

A Misanthrope Teaches a Class for Demi-Humans (Jingai Kyoushitsu no Ningengirai Kyoushi – Hitoma-sensei Watashitachi ni Ningen wo Oshietekuremasu ka……?) is a manga based on the light novel already released by Yen. It runs in Shonen Ace.

MONSTER TRIBE runs in Comic Newtype, and stars a boy who just wants to be normal… but his entire family are monsters, and he’s half monster. Now he has to save the world.

Neighborhood Craftsmen: Stories from Kanda’s Gokura-chou (Kanda Gokura-chou Shokunin-Banashi) is an award-winning title that tells stories of craftsmen who explain how they ply their trade. This gets a hardcover edition.

ASH: I’m really looking forward to this one.

SEAN: Suzuki-kun’s Mindful Life (Suzuki-kun no Teinei na Seikatsu) is a shousei title that runs in Melody (!). From the creator of one of the culled Tokyopop shoujo titles, The Stellar Six of Gingacho, and stars a boy who looks tough and imposing, but really just loves to sew and cook! When he meets a boy who looks soft and sensitive but is a tough guy, can they become friends? I think this falls into “sounds like BL but isn’t”?

MICHELLE: You had me at Melody, and then invoked The Stellar Six of Gingacho! After Silver Diamond, that’s the one I’m saddest about not getting to read all of in English (yes, still, after fourteen years). This looks really cute.

ANNA: Oh yeah! I’m similarly nostalgic for Stellar Six so I will be checking this out for sure.

SEAN: In addition to those THIRTEEN debuts, we also see… oh dear… Banished from the Hero’s Party, I Decided to Live a Quiet Life in the Countryside 10, The Beginning After the End 8, Cheeky Brat 14, DARK SOULS: REDEMPTION 2, Elden Ring: The Road to the Erdtree 6, The Failure at God School 2, GOGOGOGO-GO-GHOST! 4, Higurashi When They Cry: MEGURI 5 (the final volume), The Holy Grail of Eris 10, I Don’t Know Which Is Love 3, I’m Quitting Heroing 8, I’ve Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years and Maxed Out My Level Spin-off: The Red Dragon Academy for Girls 2, In Another World, My Sister Stole My Name 3, Monthly Girls’ Nozaki-kun 16, No Matter How I Look at It, It’s You Guys’ Fault I’m Not Popular! 25, Nomi x Shiba 2, Pandora Seven 5, The Reformation of the World as Overseen by a Realist Demon King 6, Rejected by the Hero’s Party, a Princess Decided to Live a Quiet Life in the Countryside 3, Secrets of the Silent Witch 4, Shadows House 9, Sister and Giant 4, The Small-Animallike Lady Is Adored by the Ice Prince 3, Strategic Lovers 3, Studio Apartment, Good Lighting, Angel Included 7, Toilet-bound Hanako-kun 22, Touge Oni: Primal Gods in Ancient Times 6, Touring After the Apocalypse 6, Übel Blatt Deluxe Edition 3, The World’s Strongest Rearguard: Labyrinth Country’s Novice Seeker 8, and Your Forma 3.

MICHELLE: A couple in there I’m interested in!

ANNA: So. Much. Manga.

ASH: That is quite the list! I think I saw Monthly Girls’ Nozaki-kun in there?

SEAN: And I guess it doesn’t really matter what I write anymore, as no one’s reading past all of that. ANYWAY. Viz Media gives us Boy’s Abyss 10, JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Part 7–Steel Ball Run 2, One Piece: Heroines 2, and Ponyo Film Comic All-in-One Edition.

Retailers say Udon Entertainment is releasing More Than a Married Couple, but Not Lovers 2 and My Stepmom’s Daughter Is My Ex 2.

Tokyopop debuts The Unwanted Bride Loves the Crown Prince With All Her Heart (Nozomarenu Hanayome wa Ichizu ni Koutaishi wo Aisu), based on an as-yet unlicensed light novel. A princess is delighted to find she’s going to be married to the prince of the nation they were at war with, who she deeply loves! Sure, he doesn’t remember her. Sure, everyone in the country despises her. But love will prevail!

Steamship has a one-shot coming out, You Will Become My Wife (Konya, Kimi wa Boku no Mono ni Naru) ran in Opa x Comi. An heiress is engaged to a handsome, talented man… she just wishes she knew what he was thinking.

They also have Alpha Wolfgirl x Omega Wolfboy 4 (the final volume), Healer for the Shadow Hero 3, and Virgin Marriage: A Maiden Voyage into Passion’s Embrace 2.

Square Enix Manga gives us Cherry Magic! Thirty Years of Virginity Can Make You a Wizard?! 14.

MICHELLE: Woo.

SEAN: Seven Seas. Lion Hearts is a BL one-shot from Comic Pixiv. Two kids were inseparable, but one moved away. Now he’s back, can they find love?

MICHELLE: Another BL with a cute cover. I think I gotta read this one.

ASH: It does look cute!

SEAN: Tough Love at the Office: The Complete Yuri Collection (Black & White) is similar to SHWD – Seven Seas released one volume of it a long time ago and then it stopped. Now all three volumes are out under a new title. Two office women at a bank either beat each other up or screw each other. Now they have to team up to stop a conspiracy at their office.

MICHELLE: I’d be into this except for the beating each other up part.

ANNA: Yeah, I’m not sure…..

SEAN: Two Guys at the Vet Clinic (Doubutsu Byouin no Ofutari-san) is a BL one-shot from Gene Pixiv. A young vet student finds himself falling in love with the older owner of a vet clinic.

Also from Seven Seas: ENNEAD 6, Gap Papa: Daddy at Work and at Home 5, Hate Me, but Let Me Stay 4, Reborn as a Space Mercenary 9, and Todai Revengers 5-6 (the final volume).

And for danmei they have the 2nd and final volume of Riverbay Road Men’s Dormitory.

One Peace has the 24th volume of the manga version of The Rising of the Shield Hero.

Kodansha Books gives us As a Reincarnated Aristocrat, I’ll Use My Appraisal Skill to Rise in the World 6.

Kodansha Manga debuts Last Samurai Standing (Ikusagami), a seinen manga from Weekly Morning. It’s a historical title but also appears to be a sort of death game series?

ASH: Sounds like something I would probably read.

SEAN: They also have, in print, Ajin: Demi-Human Complete 4, Blue Lock 20, Fate/Grand Order -mortalis:stella- 4, and Gachiakuta 7.

And digital only has A Couple of Cuckoos 24.

J-Novel Club has three debuts. Blade Skill Online: Crushing the Competition with My Abysmal Stats, Useless Class, and Garbage Weapon! (Blade Skill Online: Gomi Shokugyou de Saijaku Bukide Kuso Status no Ore, Itsunomanika “Last Boss” ni Nariagarimasu!) is a manga version of a light novel J-Novel Club will release later in the year. It runs in Comic Gardo. A guy plays a VRMMO, but gets tricked into bad stats, and he’s also in the body of a gorgeous girl. How will he possibly cope?

The Bladesmith’s Enchanted Weapons (Isekai Toushou no Maken Seisaku Gurashi) is a new light novel series. It stars a number of people who are united in one purpose: they’re complete lunatics about enchanted swords.

ANNA: Always nice to find people to share a hobby with!

ASH: It’s true!

SEAN: Take These Talents Elsewhere: A Delightful Demotion to the Countryside (Saishuu no Ki wo Motsu Koyakunin no, Henkyou Nonbiri Slow Life: Shusse Dekizu Sasensareta Hazu ga, nazeka Mawari kara Tayoraremakutteimasu) stars a guy who’s spent ten years in government but never got promoted. Annoyed, his brother exiles him to the countryside, where he has to be “father” to a 14-year-old princess… the daughter of our hero’s first love! Nothing in that description inspires me.

ANNA: I am similarly uninspired!!!

SEAN: Also from J-Novel Club: Bullet Hellion 2, EXP Is Golden 3, From Villainess to Healer 4, and Isekai Walking 3 are the light novels.

For manga we see Black Summoner 20, I’m Capped at Level 1?! 5, My Daughter Left the Nest and Returned an S-Rank Adventurer 8 and My Quiet Blacksmith Life in Another World 5.

Ize Press debut the novel version of Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint. A young man finds himself inside of his favorite, very very obscure, novel. Now he needs to survive. This series is ridiculously popular.

ASH: Maybe I’ll actually give it a try at some point.

SEAN: They also have Beware the Villainess! 4, The Boxer 11, Itaewon Class 6, Lady Devil 2, Lover Boy 2, See You in My 19th Life 7, Semantic Error 3, SSS-Class Revival Hunter 4, and Tomb Raider King 11.

Inklore has a 4th volume of the manwha Father, I Don’t Want This Marriage.

Ghost Ship gives us 12 Dirty Deeds to Unite the Princess and Her Heroine 2.

Airship has, in print, The Strange Adventure of a Broke Mercenary 12.

Debuting in early digital is The Devil Princess (Akuma Koujo). A demon who longs to have family and friends and a brighter life ends up being forcibly reborn into the body of a human princess. She’s revered as a saint, but her demonic impulses – and other demons – haunt her.

There’s also Though I Am an Inept Villainess 9.

Ooooof. Anything?

SEAN: Can mid-July manga save us from the summer doldrums?

ASH: I’m at least willing to give it a chance.

SEAN: Airship has print books for The Condemned Villainess Goes Back in Time and Aims to Become the Ultimate Villain 5 and I’m the Heroic Knight of an Intergalactic Empire! 3.

And for early digital, they have Easygoing Territory Defense by the Optimistic Lord 5 and I’m the Evil Lord of an Intergalactic Empire! 9.

Fantagraphics are releasing Brain Damage, a new collection of short stories from guro manga author Shintaro Kago. These ran in Web Comic Gum, and while not for the faint of heart, are guaranteed to be visually arresting.

ASH: That is a very apt description of much of Shintaro Kago’s work.

SEAN: Ghost Ship gives us Imaizumi Brings All the Gals to His House 3 and Into the Deepest, Most Unknowable Dungeon 11.

ASH: Surely something must be known by the eleventh volume?

SEAN: J-Novel Club has some print volumes, including the manga debut of The Brilliant Healer’s New Life in the Shadows (Isshun de Chiryou shiteita no ni Yakudatazu to Tsuihousareta Tensai Chiyushi, Yami Healer to shite Tanoshiku Ikiru), based on the LN also by JNC, which runs in Piccoma.

They also debut Gushing Over Magical Girls (Mahou Shoujo ni Akogarete), a manga that runs in Manga Life STORIA Dash, and got a hit anime recently. A shy girl who adores magical girls ends up working for the villains… and ends up dominating the girls she loves. This one’s infamous.

ASH: Oh, my.

SEAN: There’s also print volumes for Ascendance of a Bookworm 31, Ascendance of a Bookworm Fanbook 4, the 6th omnibus volume of The Faraway Paladin’s manga, and Full Metal Panic!: Short Stories 3.

ASH: Yay, Bookworm!

SEAN: It’s a quieter week next week for JNC digitally. We get I Could Never Be a Succubus! 7, I Parry Everything 9, My Fiancé Cheated, But a New Love Rings! 2, Survival Strategies of a Corrupt Aristocrat 3, The Trials and Tribulations of My Next Life as a Noblewoman 2-1, and The Villainess Is Dead! Long Live the Empress! 2 for light novels.

And I’m a Noble on the Brink of Ruin, So I Might as Well Try Mastering Magic 3 for manga.

Kodansha Manga debuts Tower Dungeon, the latest series from Tsutomu Nihei. It runs in Shonen Sirius. A princess is kidnapped and taken to a tower. In order to rescue her, folks will have to get past the tower’s UNTOLD HORRORS.

MICHELLE: Hm. I can’t say the premise really excites me, but I do love Nihei’s art.

ASH: As do I.

ANNA: Me too!

SEAN: Kodansha also has the first Magic Knight Rayearth Part 2, where the girls return to find their work is not yet done.

ASH: That does happen sometimes.

SEAN: Also in print: Blue Lock: Episode Nagi 4, The Blue Wolves of Mibu 6, Gazing at the Star Next Door 6, Kei X Yaku: Bound By Law 7, Ninja Vs. Gokudo 8, and Tune In to the Midnight Heart 2.

And digitally we see Because I, the True Saint, was Banished, that Country is Done For! 8, Issak 13, MF Ghost 22, Medaka Kuroiwa is Impervious to My Charms 17, My Home Hero 21, and TenPuru -No One Can Live on Loneliness- 12.

One Peace Books has a 4th volume of I Was Sold Dirt Cheap, but My Power Level Is off the Charts.

Just one debut for Seven Seas. Contrast is a BL manga that ran in Canna, and is complete in one volume. A handsome popular guy. A quiet honor student. Secret meetings at the stairwell. And… love?

MICHELLE: Looks potentially cute!

ASH: I have enjoyed other manga from Canna.

SEAN: We also get I’m in Love with the Older Girl Next Door 2, IDOL x IDOL STORY! 2, Kaya-chan Isn’t Scary 2, Kemono Jihen 17, The Lady and Her Butler 4, The Most Notorious “Talker” Runs the World’s Greatest Clan 9, My Sister Took My Fiancé and Now I’m Being Courted by a Beastly Prince 4 (the final volume), and The Titan’s Bride 7.

Square Enix Manga gives us The Strongest Sage with the Weakest Crest 25 and The Villainess’s Guide to (Not) Falling in Love 4.

Steamship has Guilty Smile 3 (the final volume) and Seduced by the Demon King: A Sensual Rebirth 2.

Titan Manga has the 7th and final volume of Alpi the Soul Sender.

Viz Media debuts Tokyo Fears Rhapsody (Tokyo Kaijin Rhapsody), an action comedy that runs in Comiplex. It’s from the author of Momo – The Blood Taker. A monster hides his identity while working various jobs. Then he sees the cops have mecha now! He wants to ride a mecha! But he’s a monster, can he really do that?

ASH: I’m not sure I’m sold on the premise, but I am absolutely sold on that cover.

SEAN: Viz also has After God 5, The Climber 2, One-Punch Man 31, Record of Ragnarok 15, Red River 3-in-1 4, Steel of the Celestial Shadows 7, Tokyo Alien Bros. 3, Trillion Game 6, Twin Star Exorcists 34, and Vagabond Deluxe Edition 3.

ASH: So far I’ve resisted upgrading to the deluxe edition, but I suspect it’s just a matter of time…

ANNA: I have been considering it…

SEAN: Yen On has three ongoing series. Bride of the Barrier Master 4, Even a Replica Can Fall in Love 3, and The Irregular at Magic High School 25.

And Yen Press has The 13th Footprint (13-kaime no Ashiato). It got bumped, in case it seems familiar. It’s the latest from the creator of Erased and The Kid I Saw in My Dreams. A teacher living a happy life with his family finds that coming to an end when he begins receiving anonymous postcards that foretell the future. This gets a swank hardcover, also like the author’s other titles.

MICHELLE: Still interested!

ASH: Yup!

SEAN: A thankfully smaller week than last time. What interests you?

SEAN: Are you forced to do summer school this year? Why not read some manga inside your textbook? That sure worked during the school year!

MICHELLE: What could go wrong?

ASH: Seems like a solid plan, to me!

SEAN: We start with Yen On, who have a huge number of debuts. The Girl Who Wants to Be a Hero and the Girl Who Ought to Be a Hero (Yuusha ni Naritai Boku to, Yuusha ni Narubeki Kimi) is from the creator of I’m in Love with the Villainess, and is also yuri. A young demon girl travels to a hero academy in hopes of joining the school. There she meets the daughter of the current Hero… and immediately proposes to her!

ASH: I’m not so sure about the “immediately” part, but I did enjoy I’m in Love with the Villainess.

SEAN: How to Eat Life (Inochi no Tabekata) stars a young man who just wants to quietly live his life talking to his friend Baku, a backpack. Then he realizes that a girl in his class can see him doing this, even though no one else can.

ASH: It must be destiny!

ANNA: I’m still a little caught up on the backpack friend part.

SEAN: Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? Collector’s Edition collects the first ten volumes of the series in a deluxe hardcover (and, judging by the fact that it’s 10 volumes in 992 pages, minuscule print).

ASH: Enormous and yet so small at the same time.

SEAN: [Oshi No Ko] Spica the First Star is a spinoff novel of the popular manga series.

Sword of the Stallion (Sword of Stallion: Taneuma to Yobareta Saikyou Kishi, Ringoku no Oujo wo Netore to Meijirareru) stars a knight gone to seed after the death of his fiancee. He spends his nights in brothels, earning the title nickname. Then… his not-quite-dead fiancee shows up, and demands he seduce the princess of another kingdom. This is from the creator of Strike the Blood, and looks amazingly trashy. I might give it a try.

ASH: That premise really is amazing.

ANNA: It does sound amazingly trashy!

SEAN: To Sir, Without Love: I’m Divorcing You (Haikei Mishiranu Danna-sama, Rikonshite Itadakimasu) stars a noblewoman whose husband went off to war on their wedding day. Eight years later, he returns, but she wants a divorce, as she has her own life now. (Given the genre, odds are they will not be getting divorced.)

ASH: I can understand where she’s coming from.

ANNA: I’m in favor of noblewomen divorces!

SEAN: Also from Yen On: Sword Art Online 28, That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime 21, and The Theater of Haruhi Suzumiya (the 12th novel in the series, which came out digitally last year).

Yen Press debuts Convenient Semi-Friend (Koutsugou Semi-Friend), a yuri title from Manga Time Kirara. A shy girl hopes to make friends, and so goes off to college… to find her roommate groping another girl. This sounds like it’s for those who enjoy heroines blushing on every frame of every page.

Sword Art Online Unital Ring is the latest manga arc adapting the latest light novel , and it runs in Shonen Ace. Are they trapped in another game? Sorta kinda?

There’s also a third volume of K-ON! Shuffle.

Viz also has a few debuts. Disney Twisted-Wonderland: The Manga – Book of Octavinelle is the latest “we’re Alice in the Country of Hearts but without the legal battles” title. It runs in GFantasy.

ASH: Ha!

SEAN: Spider-Man: Kizuna runs in the kids manga Saikyou Jump. A young Japanese boy accidentally ends up merged with Spider-Man after a villain attack.

ASH: This looks fun. And gives me hope other Spider-Man manga might someday be released?

ANNA: I might check this out!

SEAN: Tsumiki Ogami’s Not-So-Ordinary Life (Ogami Tsumiki to Kinichijou) is the story of an awkward boy and a sweet girl. The girl is a werewolf, but that’s no issue. This runs in Weekly Shonen Sunday.

Ultraman: Along Came a Spider-Man runs in Corocoro Comic, and is exactly what you’d expect from that title. Pure crossover.

ASH: Other, other Spider-Man manga, that is.

ANNA: Is this the summer of Spider-Man manga???

SEAN: Yaiba: Samurai Legend (YⱯIBA) is a 1990s era manga from the creator of Detective Conan… erm, sorry, Case Closed, we love Jimmy Kudo, please put down those lawyers. It ran in Shonen Sunday, and we seem to be getting the omnibus bumko edition. A boy and his search for an enchanted sword. From what I hear, this is like Dragon Ball in that it starts silly and gets more serious as it goes on.

ASH: I’ve enjoyed what I’ve seen of the anime!

ANNA: Cool!

SEAN: Also from Viz: Beyblade X 3, Case Closed 95, Destroy All Humans. They Can’t Be Regenerated. A Magic: The Gathering Manga 4, Firefly Wedding 3, Kirby Manga Mania 8, and Sleepy Princess in the Demon Castle 28.

Tokyopop debuts You Can’t Live All on Your Own! (Hitori de Ikiru wa Mamanaranu), a josei manga from Comic Qurie. The adventures of four women living in a shared house in Tokyo.

MICHELLE: Intriguing!

ANNA: Oooh, I might have to get this.

SEAN: Titan Manga has a 3rd volume of Corpse Blade.

SuBLime has Ask and You Will Receive 2 and Therapy Game Restart 5.

MICHELLE: I really need to catch up on Therapy Game Restart! I love it very much.

SEAN: Steamship debuts SEX DRIVE – My Listless Instructor (Sex Drive Watashi no Kedarui Kyoikugakari). A young woman develops a condition that makes her go into heat and emit pheromones. Naturally, she’s fired. Her only chance to survive is to join an espionage agency. This runs in Choco Live, one of Libre Shuppan’s few non-BL magazines.

ASH: I was not expecting espionage.

ANNA: Maybe she can make friends with a spy’s backpack.

SEAN: Also from Steamship: The Trapped Former Villainess Wants to Escape from the Sadistic Prince 2.

Square Enix Manga gives us The Emperor’s Caretaker 3 and Just Like Mona Lisa 6.

Seven Seas has two debuts, both BL. My Younger Knight Takes Care of Me in Another World (Isekai de Toshishita Kishi ni Sewa wo Yakareteimasu) stars an office worker who accidentally gets isekai’d to another world along with a young woman. She’s the one they wanted, he’s excess baggage. Fortunately, a knight takes a shine to him.

ASH: Awww.

SEAN: The Feisty Omega and His Twin Mates (Tsuyogari Omega wa Bokura no Ban) runs in Be x Boy Omegaverse. Usual omegaverse stuff. Omega pretends to be a beta. Is attacked one day when he goes into heat. Rescued by his destined alpha. Unfortunately, his destined alpha is… twins?

Seven Seas, danmei: The Husky and His White Cat Shizun 9.

Seven Seas, manga and manga-related byproducts: At 25:00 in Akasaka 4, The Big Apple 3, DUNGEON DIVE: Aim for the Deepest Level 7, Even Dogs Go to Other Worlds 5, The Long Summer of August 31 2, Malevolent Spirits: Mononogatari 11, and My New Life as a Cat 10.

One Piece books debut Teppeki Honeymoon, the latest shoujo title from Meca Tanaka. A high school girl famed for her ludicrous strength but also in debt suddenly finds her debts will be cleared… if she marries this handsome smug guy with an agenda. She does so, but what if the smug guy with the agenda turns out to be the love interest? This ran in Hana to Yume Ai, so yes, he is the love interest.

MICHELLE: I really like this cover and find the fluffy shoujo premise appealing!

ASH: It’s nice to have fluffy options.

ANNA: I enjoy Meca Tanaka manga.

SEAN: Retailers say KUMA is debuting Haberdashery Ginmokusei (Ginmokusei no Shitateya), a BL title from Chara. A man inherits his grandfather’s tailoring store, but business is terrible. Suddenly a handsome young man offers to turn the shop around.

MICHELLE: Sounds potentially fun!

SEAN: Kodansha Manga has one debut, 23:45 Re;, a sequel to the earlier 23:45. More doomed BL ghosts. This ran in Gateau, and is also done in one.

ASH: I’ll admit to enjoying doomed BL ghosts.

SEAN: Also in print: Medalist 9, My Noisy Roommate 3, and A Sign of Affection Omnibus 3.

ANNA: I need to get caught up with both Medalist and A Sign of Affection.

SEAN: Digitally there is Gang King 31, Manchuria Opium Squad 7, and Ya Boy Kongming! 20.

One debut for J-Novel Club, a light novel. In Another World with Household Spells (Isekai ni Kita kedo, Seikatsu Mahou shika Tsukaemasen) stars an office lady who does not even get a considerate truck-kun hitting her, she just wakes up as a destitute 10-year-old noble. Can she turn her family’s fortunates around at the magic academy despite only knowing minor household spells?

ASH: I hate just waking up to things like that.

SEAN: Other light novels: Dimension Wave 4, Fluffy-Eared Realm Restoration 2, The Frontier Lord Begins with Zero Subjects 9, The Hero-Killing Bride 3 (the final volume), The Legendary Witch Is Reborn as an Oppressed Princess 5, The Poison King 5, Rebuild World 6-2, Record of Wortenia War 29, The Reincarnation of the Strongest Exorcist in Another World 5, The Tanaka Family Reincarnates 3, and Welcome to Japan, Ms. Elf! 10.

Other manga titles: Housekeeping Mage from Another World 8, I’ll Never Set Foot in That House Again! 7, The Invincible Little Lady 9, and The Oblivious Saint Can’t Contain Her Power 4.

Ghost Ship has a 16th and final volume of Ayakashi Triangle.

Digital Manga Publishing has a 2nd edition of the BL title Even So, I Will Love You Tenderly.

ASH: I’m still giving DMP the side-eye, but am glad to see this back in print.

SEAN: Retailers say Denpa Books has the 6th and final omnibus of Nana & Kaoru.

ASH: Perhaps!

SEAN: Airship, in print, has the 11th volume of Classroom of the Elite: Year 2 and the 12th volume of Loner Life in Another World.

And for early digital we see Sword of the Demon Hunter: Kijin Gentōshō 10 and The Weakest Tamer Began a Journey to Pick Up Trash 10.

Lastly, ABLAZE reminds folks again they have the Tezuka license by boxing up four recent releases of theirs: One Hundred Tales, Shakespeare Manga Theater, Tomorrow the Birds, and Neo Faust.

ASH: Oh! I’ve been meaning to get around to most of those. Maybe it’s time.

SEAN: They also have a Horror Manga Box Set, which collects the first volumes of Gannibal, Happyland, and Crueler Than Dead.

This week proved much bigger than expected. Maybe the manga artists all had summer school?

SEAN: The second half of the year begins, appropriately, with a lot of stuff.

ASH: A belated Happy Solstice, everyone!

SEAN: The big light novel of the week is not an Airship title (and technically not a “light” novel), so we’ll have to wait. Till then, Airship does have the third volume of Heroine? Saint? No, I’m an All-Works Maid (And Proud of It)! in print.

And in early digital we see Reincarnated as a Dragon Hatchling 11 and The Too-Perfect Saint 3.

Cross Infinite World debuts I Want to Be a Saint, But I Can Only Use Attack Magic! (Seijo-sama ni Naritai no ni Kougeki Mahou shika Tsukaenain desu kedo!?). A young woman desperately wants to not be isolated. She wants to be a saint. But when she goes to magic academy, it turns out she can only use attack magic (men’s magic) and not healing magic (women’s magic) at all! I hope this kicks against gender binaries more than it sounds.

ASH: It would be great if it does.

SEAN: There’s also The Do-Over Damsel Conquers the Dragon Emperor 7.

Dark Horse has another Lovecraft title, The Colour Out of Space (Isekai no Shikisai), a one-shot which ran in Comic Beam. A spooky town with a spooky university gets a spooky meteorite. This is award-winning (the manga, that is).

ASH: Gou Tanabe’s Lovecraft adaptations have been excellent thus far; I expect this one to be no different.

SEAN: Ghost Ship has Tamamori’s Fantasies Never Stop! 2.

Random House is debuting a new imprint, Ink Pop. Their first title is a manga hardcover, I Wanna Be Your Girl (Kanojo ni Naritai Kimi to Boku). This ran in the magazine Ganma!. A girl has been in love with her childhood friends for years… but now finds that she identifies as female. Wanting to be supportive, she helps with her friend’s transition… and starts to dress as a man to see what it feels like. This is apparently a great LGBT title, and the imprint is being pitched for younger readers.

MICHELLE: Interesting!

ASH: Very! The manga itself as well as the emergence of yet another manga publisher!

ANNA: Great to see!

MJ: It’s been a while since I weighed in here, but uh… hello?? I might need this.

SEAN: J-Novel Club has one digital debut, a manga. Zero Damage Sword Saint (Kougekiryoku Zero kara Hajimeru Ken Hijiri Tan). Based on an as-yet unlicensed light novel, it’s about a young man who wants to be a magic swordsman. But it turns out he can only use healing and defensive magic! Running away from mockery to a magic academy, he probably finds life there a lot better than the woman in the CIW title above.

ASH: That’s probably true.

SEAN: There’s also, for light novels, From Old Country Bumpkin to Master Swordsman 7, Knight’s & Magic 7, The Otome Heroine’s Fight for Survival 5, and Yuri Tama: From Third Wheel to Trifecta 4.

And for manga we get The Banished Former Hero Lives as He Pleases 7, The Brilliant Healer’s New Life in the Shadows 3, The Coppersmith’s Bride 6, My Instant Death Ability Is So Overpowered, No One in This Other World Stands a Chance Against Me! —AΩ— 11, The Reincarnation of the Strongest Exorcist in Another World 6, The Retired Demon of the Maxed-Out Village 2, and Tearmoon Empire 8.

No debuts for Kodansha. In print we get The Dashing Zaddy and His Icy Protégé 2, In the Clear Moonlit Dusk 8, Thunder 3 5, and Wind Breaker 12.

Digitally we see Blue Lock 22, How to Grill Our Love 15, and Those Snow White Notes 30.

The big debut for Seven Seas is the debut of The Twelve Kingdoms novel, which had come out about 20 years ago but is getting a proper release now. They’re dividing the first book in half, and it has a new translation. A high school girl finds herself in another world, beset by dangers, and far more important than she expects. Can this overcome the fact that everything has tried to imitate it since its original release?

ASH: This series is fantastic; I am so incredibly excited that it’s being re-released! (And hopefully we get the whole thing this time.)

ANNA: Wow, I would love to be able to read the end of this series!

SEAN: Seven Seas also has a 5th volume of Heaven Official’s Blessing: Tian Guan Ci Fu (the deluxe hardcover version).

Their first manga debut is BL Game Rebirth: My New Life as the Hero’s Younger Brother (BL Game no Shujinkou no Otouto de aru Koto ni Ki ga Tsukimashita). An office worker who loves BL dies and is reincarnated in her favorite game as the main character’s younger brother! …wait, the main character’s already hooked up? …wait, did he have a younger brother?

ASH: Hmmm…

SEAN: The second debut manga is a manwha. What It Means to Be You features a couple who are currently shunned and shamed by society. Our heroine, knowing everyone hates her, tries to kill herself… only to wake in her husband’s body! And he’s in hers! Can a Freaky Friday plot save their marriage?

ASH: Maybe it can!

ANNA: Worth a try!

SEAN: There’s also a new omnibus, Tokyo Revengers: Brilliant Full Color Edition.

Also from Seven Seas: 365 Days to the Wedding 8, The Ancient Magus’ Bride 20, Easygoing Territory Defense by the Optimistic Lord 5, Glasses with a Chance of Delinquent 3, Otaku Elf 9, Punch Drunk Love 3, Re-Living My Life with a Boyfriend Who Doesn’t Remember Me 4, A Tale of the Secret Saint 9, and Yakuza Reincarnation 13.

MICHELLE: Hooray for more of The Ancient Magus’ Bride!

ASH: Yes, indeed! (Though I do need to catch up…)

SEAN: Square Enix brings us Daemons of the Shadow Realm 8 and The God-Slaying Demon King 2.

Steamship has At Your Service in Another World 2 (the final volume).

Titan Manga debut Cosmic Censorship (Uchuu Kenetsukan), a mecha series from LINE Manga. A track girl suddenly finds herself involved with mysterious powers and needs to save the world.

ASH: This sort of thing seems to happen from time to time.

SEAN: Tokyopop debuts SANCTIFY: Lost Paradise, a sequel to the Sanctify BL series. Expect dark supernatural smut.

Udon is listed as having the second volume of Veil, which surprises me given how the first book just a) came out and b) sold out.

ASH: I did manage to get my hands on a copy; hopefully I can snag this volume, too.

ANNA: Yikes, I need to get this!

SEAN: Viz debuts Nue’s Exorcist (Nue no Onmyouji), a Weekly Shonen Jump title. A boy who can see spirits has tried to avoid them most of his life, but when asked by a spirit to defeat evil haunting his school, he gets swept up in adventure.

Also debuting is a sequel. The Demon Prince of Momochi House: Succession (Momochi-san Chi no Ayakashi Ouji: Tsugu) picks up where the last series left off. It also runs in Asuka.

MICHELLE: Huh. I don’t think I ever finished the first one.

ASH: I’m not sure I did either, but I enjoyed the volumes that I read.

ANNA: I actually finished it, I think! Will be curious to check this out.

SEAN: Also out: Blue Box 16, Blue Exorcist 31, Dark Gathering 14, Fushigi Yûgi: Byakko Senki 2, My Special One 10, One Piece 109, Otaku Vampire’s Love Bite 4, Pink Candy Kiss 2, Tamon’s B-Side 8, and Wolf Girl and Black Prince 14.

MICHELLE: Byakko Senki! It’s been almost five years since the first volume came out.

ANNA: Yay!!!!!!!!!

SEAN: Yen On debuts Who Killed the Hero? (Dare ga Yuusha wo Koroshita ka?), an award-winning light novel. The demon lord has been defeated, though it cost the hero’s life. Now, several years later, a writer doing a book on the hero’s party wonders… is that really what happened?

They also have Love Is Dark 3.

Yen Press debut The Hitman Stans (Koroshiya no Oshi), a seinen title from Harta. A hardcore hitman feared by all says he’s retiring… to devote his life to his favorite idol.

ASH: This could potentially be fun.

ANNA: It does sound fun.

SEAN: The other debut is I Made Friends with the Second Prettiest Girl in My Class (Class de 2-banme ni Kawaii Onnanoko to Tomodachi ni natta). Based on an as-yet unlicensed light novel, it’s about a loner who discovers that his pretty classmate also likes B-movies, and they become secret friends. This runs in Comic Alive+.

And there’s also Spring Storm and Monster 3.

Too much manga? Maybe. But don’t buy all of it, just what you want!

SEAN: How is June already getting away from us?

ASH: I don’t know and I’m not sure I like it.

We start off with Yen Press, which has finally located most of its June releases. We start off with Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russian (Tokidoki Bosotto Roshiago de Dereru Tonari no Alya-san), whose light novel has been coming out so long I’d assumed the manga was long-since licensed. It runs in Magazine Pocket.

ASH: I thought that title sounded familiar.

SEAN: Dara-san of Reiwa (Reiwa no Dara-san) is a supernatural comedy from Comic Walker. Two siblings meet a terrifying yokai… who they are not all that terrified by. And give a cute nickname. The cover makes me suspect this has a lot of fanservice.

ASH: Hmmm… the premise intrigues me at least.

SEAN: The Heroic Tale of the Villainous Prince (Akuyaku Ouji no Eiyuutan) is a villainess story, only with a villain, and runs in Dengeki Comic Regulus. A third prince hated for his dark hair and eyes… and, let’s face it, attitude… comes across his older brother in the middle of (sigh) breaking off his engagement in public. So the third prince decides to make her his fiancee instead.

Isekai Samurai runs, appropriately, in Isekai Comic. A samurai warrior is desperate to find a strong opponent… so desperate, in fact, that she ends up in another world, battling a dragon.

ASH: That’s one way to do it.

SEAN: Also from Yen Press: Associate Professor Akira Takatsuki’s Conjecture 6, Bride of the Barrier Master 4, Bungo Stray Dogs: Wan! 11, Coffee Moon 6 (the final volume), The Color of the End: Mission in the Apocalypse 2, The Dark History of the Reincarnated Villainess 12, Daughter of the Emperor 11, Friday at the Atelier 4 (the final volume), Handyman Saitou in Another World 7, Honey Lemon Soda 9, Honey Trap Shared House 5, Imitation 6, In Another World with My Smartphone 14, Interspecies Reviewers 10, Is the Order a Rabbit? 3, Kakegurui – Compulsive Gambler – 18, Konosuba: God’s Blessing on This Wonderful World! 19, Lycoris Recoil 3, No Longer Heroine 9, Please Put Them On, Takamine-san 9, Riviere and the Land of Prayer 3 (the final volume), The Saga of Tanya the Evil 26, The Three-Body Problem 3, and Victoria of Many Faces 2.

MICHELLE: I should check back in with No Longer Heroine at some point.

ANNA: I should check back in with Honey Lemon Soda.

ASH: So. Many. Titles.

SEAN: Viz Media has Fist of the North Star 17 and My Name Is Shingo: The Perfect Edition 5.

ASH: Excellent.

SEAN: Tokyopop gives us a 6th volume of Our Not-So-Lonely Planet Travel Guide.

Titan Manga debut Yan, a Taiwanese title that is a brutal action mystery series about a woman who was falsely accused and is apparently dead, but has come back with superpowers.

ASH: And a very striking cover.

SEAN: They also have ATOM: The Beginning 11 and Dopeman 2.

Steamship debuts Sweet Heat Before Falling in Love: The CEO and His Fated Omega (Koi Suru Mae ni, Amai Hatsujou. – Shachou to Unmei no Omega), an omegaverse title from Otomitsu Mangosteen. An omega hiding her status goes into heat and has anonymous sex with a perfect alpha… if only she knew who he was! (Hint: it’s in the title.)

ANNA: Is it the CEO??????????????

ASH: No way!!

SEAN: Seven Seas has a danmei debut, so I’ll start with that. Dinghai Fusheng Records is another series about two young men who have to try to stop the entire universe exploding and also fall in love. This also has a special edition with a double-sided bookmark, a lined notebook, a set of five trading cards, and a sticker sheet.

ASH: Sounds like a challenge. (And also a very nice release.)

SEAN: Also danmei: Peerless 4.

Seven Seas manga debuts? BLACK BLOOD is a BL manga from Canna, complete in one volume. A cyborg who wonders if he really has a human heart meets a sweet scientist.

MICHELLE: Huh.

ASH: I’ll admit to being curious.

SEAN: Himegasaki Sakurako Is a Hot Mess (Himegasaki Sakurako wa Kyoumo Fubin Kawaii!) is from the creator of I Get The Feeling That Nobukuni-san Likes Me, and runs in Comic Cune. Sakurako is cute, curvy, and everyone loves her… except her childhood friend, who is in love with another girl!

Wolf’s Daughter: A Werewolf’s Tale (Ookami no Musume) is a shoujo manga from Flowers (!), from the creator of Kids on the Slope, a popular “license this, it won’t sell but I want it!” title. A young woman finds that she’s a werewolf, and now has to figure out what that really means and how to live with it.

ASH: This one caught my eye even before I knew about the Kids on the Slope connection.

SEAN: Also from Seven Seas: Don’t Call it Mystery 13-14, I Got Caught Up In a Hero Summons, but the Other World was at Peace! 9, Imaginary 3, Lazy Dungeon Master 11, Royal Tailor: Clothier to the Crown 4, and There’s No Freaking Way I’ll be Your Lover! Unless… 7.

MICHELLE: Insert continued happiness over Yumi Tamura.

ANNA: Indeed!!!!!

SEAN: One Peace Books gives us Nukozuke! 4.

Kodansha Books has Saving 80,000 Gold in Another World for My Retirement 8.

Kodansha Manga debuts Snegurochka of the Spring Breeze (Harukaze no Snegurochka), a new title from the creator of Blade of the Immortal and Wave, Listen to Me!. It’s complete in one volume, and ran in Manga Erotics f. Two kids try to help someone escape from the secret police in the Soviet Union, but they are captured and tortured. This is an award winner.

MICHELLE: And it has a really gorgeous cover!

ANNA: Cool!

ASH: I’m here for it.

SEAN: Also in print: Bless 5, Blue Lock 19, Grand Blue Dreaming 22, Nina the Starry Bride 10, and Shangri-La Frontier 17.

And digitally we see Am I Actually the Strongest? 14, Drops of God: Mariage 13, Elegant Yokai Apartment Life 30, and Gamaran: Shura 32.

Kaiten Books has a 12th volume of the Loner Life in Another World manga digitally.

J-Novel Club have a print release for My Instant Death Ability Is So Overpowered, No One in This Other World Stands a Chance Against Me! ―AO― 8.

No digital debuts for J-Novel Club. On the light novel side, they have By the Grace of the Gods 16, The Countess Is a Coward No More! 3, Dahlia in Bloom ~Side Stories~, Formerly, the Fallen Daughter of the Duke 5, Grimgar of Fantasy and Ash 20, Infinite Dendrogram 22, Lady Rose Just Wants to Be a Commoner 3 (the final volume), and Nia Liston 7.

And for manga we get Death’s Daughter and the Ebony Blade 5, Demon Lord, Retry! R 7, The Engagement of Marielle Clarac 8, Flung into a New World? Time to Lift the 200-Year Curse! 2, A Late-Start Tamer’s Laid-Back Life 6, Stuck in a Time Loop 4, and Sweet Reincarnation 11.

ASH: That’s a pretty decent J-Novel haul.

SEAN: HarperAlley, a HarperCollins imprint, debuts Plus-Sized Misadventures in Love! (Debu to Love to Ayamachi to!), a shoujo title from Koisuru Soiree. A shy young woman thinks of herself as fat and ugly, but after a car accident affects her memories, suddenly she’s a lot more confident. This is a romcom, with the publisher saying it’s in the vein of A Silent Voice and Perfect World.

ANNA: Hmmm. Maybe.

ASH: Agreed.

SEAN: Ghost Ship has a third and final volume of The Hungry Succubus Wants to Consume Him.

Retailers say Denpa Books have Short Game: Mitsuru Adachi’s Baseball Short Story Collection out next week. This is a collection of short stories by a classic manga artist about the subject he loves best.

MICHELLE: I am so looking forward to this.

ANNA: Me too!!!!!!

SEAN: Also listed as coming out next week is Today’s Menu for the Emiya Family 6.

No print for Airship, but we do see Free Life Fantasy Online: Immortal Princess 9 and Heroine? Saint? No, I’m an All-Works Maid (And Proud of It)! 3 in early digital.

OK, that’s pretty huge! Publishers trying to squeeze titles in before the end of the fiscal year. What are you buying?

SEAN: Mid-June, and oh look, it’s raining again. I guess April showers bring May showers bring June showers.

Airship, in print, gives us The Mimosa Confessions 4 and Reborn as a Space Mercenary 12.

And for early digital we see The Condemned Villainess Goes Back in Time and Aims to Become the Ultimate Villain 5 and A Tale of the Secret Saint 8.

Dark Horse Comics has the 5th and final volume of the deluxe edition of Trigun Maximum.

Ghost Ship has The 100 Girlfriends Who Really, Really, Really, Really, REALLY Love You 14 and The Cursed Sword Master’s Harem Life 3.

ASH: One day I will really, really, really get around to reading one of these. (Can you guess which?)

SEAN: Ize Press debut Radio Storm. A young man is suffering through the standard “I’m in a magic school with weak powers”, but a plague sends him out of the school to find his “Caller”. This is whatever the Korean term for BL is.

Also from Ize Press: DARK MOON: THE BLOOD ALTAR 7 (the final volume), Finding Camellia 4, I Tamed My Ex-Husband’s Mad Dog 3, Men of the Harem 3, My Secretly Hot Husband 3, Not-Sew-Wicked Stepmom 6, and Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint 7.

No debuts for J-Novel Club, though technically the 14th volume of Arifureta: From Commonplace to World’s Strongest should count, as it’s the first of the “After Story” books showing what life is like for Hajime and his polycule back on Earth.

On the light novel side, we see The Banished Former Hero Lives as He Pleases 5, Chivalry of a Failed Knight 6, Haibara’s Teenage New Game+ 8, Invaders of the Rokujouma!? 47, Mercedes and the Waning Moon 2, The Mythical Hero’s Otherworld Chronicles 11, Private Tutor to the Duke’s Daughter 16, and They Don’t Know I’m Too Young for the Adventurer’s Guild 2.

For manga, they have Campfire Cooking in Another World with My Absurd Skill: Sui’s Great Adventure 7, A Cave King’s Road to Paradise 6, Dragon Daddy Diaries 5, The Eternal Fool’s Words of Wisdom 5, The Invincible Summoner Who Crawled Up from Level 1 3, Only I Know That This World Is a Game 8, Sweet Reincarnation 11, and A Wild Last Boss Appeared! 6.

There’s several print debuts for Kodansha, especially if we count repackagings. The first and final volumes of Codename: Sailor V are out in the Naoko Takeuchi Collector’s Edition.

MICHELLE: Oooh.

ASH: Pretty!

ANNA: Sweet!!!

SEAN: Senpai is an Otokonoko: My Crossdressing Classmate (Senpai wa Otokonoko) is a LINE Manga title that had an anime recently. Given it’s LINE Manga, you know what that means, it’s a webtoon, which also means it’s in color throughout. A girl confesses to the cool upperclassman… only to find the cool upperclassman is a boy in the girls’ uniform.

ASH: I’d read at least the first volume of this.

SEAN: Shout Loud, My Heart is a BL title from Gateau, complete in one volume. A college student and budding guitarist meets a man at a gig and is attracted to his voice.

MICHELLE: Interesting. The cover to this has a nice vibe, too.

ASH: I am intrigued.

SEAN: And there’s a box set with all of Twilight Out of Focus.

Also in print: Am I Actually the Strongest? 10, The Ghost in the Shell: The Human Algorithm 5, Rent-A-Girlfriend 31, and Saving 80,000 Gold in Another World for My Retirement 11.

And we get digital releases of Medalist 12, Parasyte Reversi 5, and Quality Assurance in Another World 14.

One Peace Books debuts My Death Flags Show No Sign of Ending (Ore no Shibou Flag ga Todomaru Tokoro o Shiranai), a Manga Box title based on an as-yet-unlicensed light novel. This is a male version of the villainess story, as our protagonist finds himself in his favorite game as the most evil character.

ASH: A potentially interesting variant of the genre.

SEAN: Seven Seas releases Cats With Jobs (Neko no Oshigoto), another cat manga from the author of Monster Cats, Yokai Cats, etc. The subject should be obvious.

ASH: Kitties!

ANNA: It is nice to know that there’s so much cat manga out there.

SEAN: Seven Seas also have SHWD: The Complete Yuri Collection. This is an odd one. They licensed and released Vol. 1, but then it vanished for three years. Now they’re releasing the whole thing at once, including that first volume. SHWD is from Comic Ruelle. It stands for Special Hazardous Waste Disposal, and has been described as “yuri buddy cop story meets horror”.

ASH: That is rather odd.

SEAN: Also from Seven Seas: 7th Time Loop 7, After School Etude 3, Arifureta: From Commonplace to World’s Strongest 14 (not to be confused with the light novel with the exact same title being released by J-Novel Club the day before), Dungeon Builder: The Demon King’s Labyrinth is a Modern City! 11, Failure Frame 10, Last Game 9, Love is an Illusion! 7, My Stepmother and Stepsisters Aren’t Wicked 6, Nakamura-san, the Uninvited Gyaru3, The New Recruit 3 (the final volume), Too Many Losing Heroines! 3, Trapped in a Dating Sim 12, and You Like Me, Not My Daughter?! 6.

Square Enix Manga has Always a Catch! 3, Ragna Crimson 14, and Wash It All Away 2.

Steamship has a third light novel for The Villainess and the Demon Knight.

Tokyopop’s debut is My Adorable Betrothed (Kawaii yo Gikei-san), a one-shot BL title that ran in from RED. Two men are betrothed to each other after birth, and years later one of them is adopted into the family of the other. Does this lead to forbidden passion? Does this lead to piles of sex? Yes.

Also from Tokyopop: My Contract With the Apothecary Monster 2.

No debuts from Viz, but we do see Choujin X 9, Dogsred 2, Fool Night 5, Haikyu!! 3-in-1 5, Heart Gear 5, Insomniacs After School 10, Magilumiere Magical Girls Inc. 8, Mission: Yozakura Family 17, Undead Unluck 20, and Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead 17.

ASH: Ack, I still need to read the first volume of Dogsred!

SEAN: Yen Press have three debuts. The 13th Footprint (13-kaime no Ashiato) is the latest from the creator of Erased and The Kid I Saw in My Dreams. A teacher living a happy life with his family finds that coming to an end when he begins receiving anonymous postcards that foretell the future. This gets a swank hardcover, also like the author’s other titles.

MICHELLE: I’d always meant to read those other titles but, predictably, I failed.

ASH: It’s been a while, but I recall liking them.

ANNA: Michelle and I can be failure buddies together.

SEAN: The Ragnarok System of the Desperate Reincarnated Demon Lord and the Seven Aggressive Maidens (Kojirase Tensei Maou to 7-ri no Oshikake Otome no Ragnarok System) is from the author of Trinity Seven, and runs in… oh dear… Champion RED. A former hero is reincarnated as a dorky college student… and suddenly everyone wants to have sex with him! This is exactly what it looks like.

ASH: Hmmm.

SEAN: There’s also Spice and Wolf Collector’s Edition, which collects the manga in 2-in-1 volumes with new art.

Also from Yen: Aria of the Beech Forest 3 (the final volume), I’m Here, Beside You 2 (the final volume), and Tougen Anki: Legend of the Cursed Blood 3 (not remotely the final volume).

MICHELLE: The first volume of I’m Here, Beside You was kinda disappointing, but I reckon I’ll still finish the series, given there’s only one more volume.

SEAN: How are you keeping your manga dry?

SEAN: Summer is here, it’s getting too hot to read 800-page history books, but not too hot to read manga.

ASH: It’s getting close, some days.

SEAN: Yen On has a good 3/4 of the stuff it said was coming out today (though Yen Press itself got bumped). Secrets of the Silent Witch -another- (Silent Witch: Chinmoku no Majo no Kakushigoto -another-) is a spinoff of the main series, showing us the backstory of Monica’s minder and irritating smug colleague Louis.

This Is the Wizard’s Secret Weapon (Kore ga Mahoutsukai no Kirifuda) stars a swordsman tired of war. Despite having no magical aptitude, he decides to retire and go to a magic academy. Unfortunately, a) his sword skills mean he defeats everyone anyway, and b) the princess also attending wants him to get back to warring.

ASH: Poor guy.

SEAN: Also from Yen On: The Detective Is Already Dead 10, I Kept Pressing the 100-Million-Year Button and Came Out on Top 10, Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? Minor Myths and Legends 2, Ishura 9, I’ll Become a Villainess Who Goes Down in History 2, The Only Thing I’d Do in a No-Boys-Allowed Game World 2, Rascal Does Not Dream of His Girlfriend (the 14th book), Recommendations for Bad Children 2, and Sugar Apple Fairy Tale 8.

The debut for Viz Media is Girl Crush, a shoujo title from Comic Nicola. A young woman decides to be an idol, but though she’s technically perfect she lacks a certain something. Can she push past those barriers and become a star?

MICHELLE: Hm. Maybe!

ANNA: I don’t know!!!

SEAN: Also from Viz: Akane-banashi 12, Call of the Night 20 (the final volume), I Wanna Do Bad Things with You 6, Komi Can’t Communicate 34, Minecraft: The Manga 2, Pokémon: Scarlet & Violet 2, and Rainbows After Storms 4.

Tokyopop has a BL one-shot, Sweet or Bitter Love (Ryouen to Akujiki). This from RED title is about a guy who seems to be down on himself, and goes to a marriage interview… only to find his chosen partner is his handsome, perfect co-worker!

ASH: Awkward!

SEAN: They also have Comic Party Wonder Love 3 (the final volume).

SuBLime have Black or White 2 and The World’s Greatest First Love 18

Square Enix Manga gives us My Isekai Life 19 and The Otaku Love Connection 2.

Seven Seas’ one debut is a sequel, I Didn’t Mean to Fall in Love -double- (Koi wo Suru Tsumori wa Nakatta -double-). It ran in mellow kiss and is complete in one volume.

MICHELLE: Oh! I really liked the first volume of this.

SEAN: They also have Berserk of Gluttony 12, The Eccentric Doctor of the Moon Flower Kingdom 10, Kageki Shojo!! 14, King the Land 2 (the final volume), My Dear Detective: Mitsuko’s Case Files 3, Now That We Draw 2, Otonari Complex 4, Re:Monster 11, Rozen Maiden Collector’s Edition 2, and This Is Screwed Up, but I Was Reincarnated as a GIRL in Another World! 16.

MICHELLE: A lot of good stuff here!

SEAN: And for danmei, we see Case File Compendium: Bing An Ben 5 and Run Wild: Sa Ye 2.

One Peace Books has a 2nd volume of The Revenge of My Youth.

Kodansha’s print debut is an omnibus edition of Issak.

ASH: Oh! I’d somehow missed (or likely forgot) this was getting a print release. Pretty sure I need to read this.

ANNA: I’m curious about this.

SEAN: Also in print: The Darwin Incident 7, Dead Rock 2, The Fable Omnibus 8, Fall In Love, You False Angels 3, I Want to Love You Till Your Dying Day 3, The Seven Deadly Sins: Four Knights of the Apocalypse 17, Sketchy 6 (the final volume), and Tank Chair 4.

For digital we get Gang King 30, Giant Killing 49, I Have a Crush at Work 10, Love, That’s an Understatement 6, and Nina the Starry Bride 15.

MICHELLE: Jeez, more good stuff!

ASH: Truth!

ANNA: Nina the Starry Bride, yay!

SEAN: J-Novel Club has a pile of print. We get Ascendance of a Bookworm (manga) Arc 3 Vol. 3, Black Summoner 5, Blade & Bastard 4, Hell Mode 8, the 6th omnibus of the Infinite Dendrogram manga, Invaders of the Rokujouma!? Collector’s Edition 12, and The Unwanted Undead Adventurer 13.

No debuts for J-Novel Club digitally. On the light novel side, we see Chillin’ in Another World with Level 2 Super Cheat Powers 18, Heavenly Swords of the Twin Stars 6, and Pens Down, Swords Up 2.

On the manga side, we get Bibliophile Princess 9, Butareba 6, The Frontier Lord Begins with Zero Subjects 9, I Only Have Six Months to Live, So I’m Gonna Break the Curse with Light Magic or Die Trying 2, Mercedes and the Waning Moon 3, The Otome Heroine’s Fight for Survival 4, and Sometimes Even Reality Is a Lie! 5.

Ghost Ship has a 22nd volume of Parallel Paradise.

Airship, in print, has the 3rd and final volume of I Abandoned My Engagement Because My Sister is a Tragic Heroine, but Somehow I Became Entangled with a Righteous Prince.

And for Early Digital, we see Failure Frame 12.

Lastly, ABLAZE has a PILE of titles, perhaps glaring at me given I tend to forget to add them to this list. We start with an Osamu Tezuka title, complete in one volume. Neo Faust is a late period Tezuka, and ran in Asahi Shinbun. A professor is trying to sort out his legacy. Unfortunately, so are others.

ASH: I do appreciate that Tezuka’s works seem to have been released from licensing purgatory.

SEAN: Petals of Reincarnation (Reincarnation no Kaben) is a horror manga that’s coming out in omnibus format here, and ran in Comic Blade. A young man who tends to be painfully average at anything he tries discovers there are people who borrow talents from their past lives…

ASH: I am intrigued.

SEAN: ABLAZE also has Gannibal 4, Get Schooled 4, and Happyland 2.

There we go. What are you picking up?

SEAN: (insert June-related manga joke here)

ASH: (witty response)

SEAN: Airship has only one print title, Adachi and Shimamura 99.9.

ASH: I had to check, but that is indeed the correct volume number.

SEAN: And for early digital they have I’m the Heroic Knight of an Intergalactic Empire! 3 and Loner Life in Another World 12.

Fantagraphics has a 2nd volume of Search and Destroy.

ASH: Excited for this!

SEAN: J-Novel Club has one print title out next week, Reborn to Master the Blade 6.

No debuts for J-Novel Club, but we see (on the light novel side) An Archdemon’s Dilemma 19, The Boy Who Ruled the Monsters 3, The Brilliant Healer’s New Life in the Shadows 6, Imperial Reincarnation: I Came, I Saw, I Survived 2, An Introvert’s Hookup Hiccups 10, Lady Bumpkin and Her Lord Villain 4, and My Next Life as a Villainess 14.

And for manga we get Ascendance of a Bookworm Arc 4 Volume 3, Forget Being the Villainess, I Want to Be an Adventurer! 4, A Livid Lady’s Guide to Getting Even 4, and Private Tutor to the Duke’s Daughter 4.

Kodansha debuts, in print, Attack on Titan 35: FLY Collector’s Box Set, a huge collection of post-series stuff and artbook stuff and everything else that fans of this series will want to wallow in.

ASH: I’m past my Attack on Titan days, but that does sound like a nice set.

SEAN: Another print debut: Roar: A Star in the Abyss (Roar: Naraku no Heroine), a josei title from Palcy. From the creator of Guilty, this is along the same lines. A girl who grew up happy on a remote island now finds herself a star, being manipulated by everyone around her. Is revenge the only answer? (Yes.)

MICHELLE: Could be interesting! Not that I have yet managed to finish Guilty…

ANNA: I haven’t even started Guilty but I enjoy revenge!

ASH: Likewise, actually.

SEAN: Also in print: The Fragrant Flower Blooms With Dignity 7, Initial D Omnibus 6, MOBILE SUIT GUNDAM THE ORIGIN MSD Cucuruz Doan’s Island 5 (the final volume), A Sign of Affection 11, WIND BREAKER 11, and Welcome to Demon School! Iruma-kun 14.

MICHELLE: Yay, Iruma.

ANNA: Need to get caught up on A Sign of Affection.

SEAN: And for digital we get The Café Terrace and its Goddesses 17, Chihayafuru 50 (the final volume), Killing Line 3, Sayabito: Swords of Destiny 6, Shangri-La Frontier 21, and Those Snow White Notes 29.

MICHELLE: Okay, now I really REALLY need to read Chihayafuru.

ANNA: Wow. Me too. I think I have been digitally hoarding the first 18 volumes or so.

SEAN: Nakama Press has the first two volumes of Infini-T Force: Arc to the Future (Infini-T Force – Mirai no Byousen), which runs in Heros (yes, that’s the spelling). A girl gets a wish-granting pencil, and calls upon Gatchaman, Tekkaman, Casshern, etc. in this sentai mega-crossover.

MICHELLE: Gatchaman (or Battle of the Planets, technically) was extremely important to me becoming a manga fan, but I am still not sure I am up for this, if the *rest* of the Science Ninja Team is not present.

ANNA: I too have very fond memories of Battle of the Planets.

SEAN: One Peace Books has I Hear the Sunspot: Four Seasons 3.

ASH: As usual, I’m behind, but I do enjoy this series.

No debuts for Seven Seas. We see new volumes, though. Crossplay Love: Otaku x Punk 12, The Dungeon of Black Company 12, I Got Married to the Girl I Hate Most in Class 2, Killer Shark in Another World 4, My Kitten is a Picky Eater 4, Pandora in the Crimson Shell: Ghost Urn 20, Tokyo Revengers: A Letter from Keisuke Baji 4, and A White Rose in Bloom 4.

ASH: I need to read more of A White Rose in Bloom.

SEAN: They also have two danmei or danmei-adjacent books: Legend of Exorcism: Tianbao Fuyao Lu 2 and Lout of Count’s Family 4.

Square Enix Manga debuts On and Off: Work-Life Imbalance (Kaisha to Shiseikatsu: On to Off), a josei title from Gangan Pixiv from the creator of Ottoman: Henshin Hero Husband. An androgynous young man and a glasses-wearing young woman are co-workers… but after work, he dresses as a gothic lolita, and she dons punk fashions! When they meet up… they don’t recognize each other! This looks cute.

MICHELLE: Potentially interesting!

ANNA: It does sound cute!

ASH: I’d read it without much prompting.

SEAN: Square Enix also has the 12th and final volume of The Girl I Like Forgot Her Glasses.

From Steamship, we see Loved by Two Fiancés 3 (the final volume) and The Villainess and the Demon Knight (manga version) 4.

Tokyopop debuts Imitation Play, a one-shot BL title that ran in from RED. A bar manager nurses a doomed crush on a guy who just broke up with his girlfriend… but is it doomed?

Wails of the Bound: Return is, well, more Walls of the Bound. ABO fans will be happy.

The Wizard: When Words Kill is a danmei novel that appears to be another in the popular “police procedural but with magic” genre that danmei enjoys.

MICHELLE: Hm.

SEAN: Tokyopop also has a 4th volume of The Margrave’s Daughter & the Enemy Prince.

Udon Entertainment has, according to retailers, Veil, a josei manga from Comic Ruelle. A policeman meets a runaway heiress, and he gets her a job. This will be in full color! Let’s see if it comes out this time!

ASH: I have hope!

SEAN: They also have a big old artbook. LOVE – Arco Wada FATE Art Works is dedicated to Fate/Extra, so if you love Nero this is for you.

Two debuts for Viz. The Bugle Call: Song of War (Sensou Kyoushitsu) is a shonen series from Jump Square. Have you ever wished the Pope could rescue you from your horrible life and tell you to lead a crack military squad? No? Probably for the best, it sounds like a bad job.

ASH: I’ll admit that I am vaguely curious about supernaturally weaponized music.

Kill Blue is a Weekly Shonen Jump title about a hardboiled assassin who is somehow turned into a teenager again? can he survive the horrors of middle school?

MICHELLE: This sounds like it could be fun!

ANNA: Yes, sounds amusing.

SEAN: Also from Viz: Boruto: Two Blue Vortex 2, Dandadan 13, Dr. STONE 27 (the final volume), Kaiju No. 8 13, Let’s Do It Already! 5, Marriage Toxin 7, My Hero Academia 41, One Piece 3-in-1 35, Rainbow Days 16 (the final volume), A Star Brighter than the Sun 2, and Yona of the Dawn 44.

MICHELLE: Those last two, for sure!

ANNA: Yay!!!!

ASH: Always glad for more Yona.

Yen On has a number of titles that slipped from May. We see Date a Live 14, The Girl I Saved on the Train Turned Out to Be My Childhood Friend 8 (the final volume), The Hero Laughs While Walking the Path of Vengeance a Second Time 8 (the final volume), I’m the Villainess, So I’m Taming the Final Boss 10, King’s Proposal 6, Re:ZERO -Starting Life in Another World- 27, and The Unimplemented Overlords Have Joined the Party! 4.

Yen Press has two debuts. Desperate March for Love (Koi no Zetsubou Koushinkyoku) is a yuri one-shot from Harta. A girl asks her crush out, and she accepts!… but seems far too casual about the whole thing. Can our heroine convince her true love that this IS a true love?

The Skeleton Enchanted by the Cursed Blade: The Greatest Demon Lord, Who Conquers the Dungeon and Commands an Invincible Army (Youtou ni Miirareshi Skeleton ~Meikyuu wo Shihaishi, Muteki no Gunzei wo Hikiiru “Saikyou” no Ken Maou~) runs in Young Animal Zero, and is exactly what you’d expect a series with that title that runs in that magazine to be like. It’s also a “weak to strong” title, and filled with fanservice.

They also have Hell Is Dark with No Flowers 2.

(insert wry comment that reminds folks to buy things here)!

SEAN: The end of May brings a lot of Yen, so let’s dive right into that.

Yen On only has one title, which is the 3rd volume of Re:ZERO -Starting Life in Another World- Short Story Collection.

Yen Press has many, many debuts. We’ll start with The BS Situation of Tougetsu Umidori (Umidori Tougetsu no “Detarame” na Jijou), the manga adaptation of the light novel Yen is already releasing. It runs in Comic Alive+.

Doodles by Ryoko Kui: Daydream Hour (Kui Ryouko Rakugakihon Daydream Hour) is an artbook/sketchbook from the creator of Delicious in Dungeon, and mostly featuring that series.

ASH: I’m definitely looking forward to this one!

SEAN: Kindergarten Wars (Youchien Wars) is a Shonen Jump + series about an assassin whose job is to protect the children of world leaders, most of whom are 5-6 years old. There’s just one problem… our assassin just can’t resist hot guys! This has a LOT of buzz.

MICHELLE: Hm.

ANNA: I mean, that does sound like a problem.

SEAN: Phantom Invasion (Gensou Shinkou) is a shonen series from Comic Walker. Our “hero” wakes up one day to find he’s in another world, and can seduce monster girls, an ability he decides to use for revenge.

ASH: An obvious decision, really.

SEAN: Stardust Family (Hoshikuzu Kazoku) is a complete 2-in-1 omnibus that ran in Comic Beam. In a future that is not ours, children interview adults to determine if they will be good parents, and the children have the final say. This feels “prestige”.

ASH: I am vaguely intrigued.

ANNA: Me too.

SEAN: Speaking of prestige, A Witch’s Life in Mongol (Tenmaku no Jaadugar) is a josei series from Souffle (I love it when a magazine I’ve never heard of gets an English title released). A Persian woman wants to use her medical knowledge, and ends up in Mongolia, where she meets one of the Mongol’s wives. This has been nominated for awards, and has an anime coming soon.

ASH: Another one I’m looking forward to reading! (And potentially watching.)

ANNA: Oh, this does sound interesting!

SEAN: Also from Yen Press: Ako and Bambi 5, Bungo Stray Dogs 25, A Certain Magical Index 30, Cheerful Amnesia 6 (the final volume), CLAMP Premium Collection Tokyo Babylon 7 (the final volume), Everyone’s Darling Has a Secret 2, From Old Country Bumpkin to Master Swordsman 3, Liar, Liar 2, Miss Savage Fang 3 (the final volume), [Oshi No Ko] 10, Pink & Habanero 3, The Shiunji Family Children 4, Shy 10, So What’s Wrong with Getting Reborn as a Goblin? 8, Sword Art Online Ordinal Scale 2, Takahashi from the Bike Shop 2, This Monster Wants to Eat Me 4, Tsubaki-chou Lonely Planet 10, and When I Became a Commoner, They Broke Off Our Engagement! 5.

MICHELLE: Some shoujo treats in there!

ASH: It’s true!

SEAN: Viz Media has a Ghibli artbook, The Art of the Boy and the Heron.

ASH: It should be lovely.

SEAN: They also debut the new JoJo. JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Part 7–Steel Ball Run is an alternate universe JoJo! As for the plot, did you ever see It’s a Mad Mad Mad Mad World?

ASH: I hear this part makes its way to Michigan and the Great Lakes, so I’m pretty sure I’m obligated to pick it up. (Granted, I was already planning to.)

SEAN: Tokyopop has a one-shot BL title, I Can’t Get Through the Night Alone (Hitori de Yoru wa Koerarenai). A Japanese soldier who is still recovering mentally from the stress of World War II runs into a cute American guy. Can they actually have a future?

MICHELLE: Potentially interesting!

SEAN: They also have a third volume of The Prince Is Standing in the Villainess’ Way!.

Steamship has a 2nd volume of The Missing “O”.

Seven Seas debuts Fairy Cat (Tenohira Neko), a seinen title from Comic Bunch. A young man spots a tiny, tiny cat one day. Can he make friends with it?

ASH: This looks really cute.

SEAN: I’ll Forget You Starting Today, Senpai! (Kyou kara Senpai wo Wasuremasu) is a josei series from Vanilove. A woman is startled to find the matchmaking service matched her with her old high school boyfriend. Worse, he seems to have forgotten who she is!

MICHELLE: Sounds like wacky fun.

ASH: Gotta love josei!

ANNA: I’m sure I will be checking this out.

SEAN: Also from Seven Seas: Chillin’ in Another World with Level 2 Super Cheat Powers 10, Cutie and the Beast 4 (the final volume), Free Life Fantasy Online: Immortal Princess 10, I Quit My Apprenticeship as a Royal Court Wizard to Become a Magic Item Craftswoman 3, I’m the Evil Lord of an Intergalactic Empire! 6, The Idaten Deities Know Only Peace 8, Reincarnated Into a Game as the Hero’s Friend 4, Slow Life In Another World (I Wish!) 8, and Time Stop Hero 12.

They also have a new danmei volume, Ballad of Sword and Wine: Qiang Jin Jiu 4.

One Peace Books debuts I Want Your Mother to be With Me! (Kimi no Okaa-san o Boku ni Kudasai!), a seinen series from Manga up! about an office worker who falls for his coworker, a widowed mom with a child.

Kodansha Books has an 8th volume of My Unique Skill Makes Me OP Even at Level 1.

The debut from Kodansha Manga is Spacewalking With You (Kimi to Uchuu wo Aruku Tame ni), an award-winning seinen title from &Sofa (two new magazine titles in one week!). A boy whose inability to focus makes him in danger of flunking out meets a new student, a hyperactive boy who’s a bit naive. Will these two weirdos help each other? This is another “not BL but has two male leads” series.

ASH: Those can be fun.

SEAN: Also in print: The Ayakashi Hunter’s Tainted Bride 2, A Condition Called Love 13, Honeko Akabane’s Bodyguards 3, Magus of the Library 8, Pass the Monster Meat, Milady! 8, Shimazaki in the Land of Peace 4, That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime 26, Vampire Dormitory 13, and Vinland Saga 14.

ASH: Always glad to see a new volume of Vinland Saga!

ANNA: Yes!!!!!

SEAN: For digital we have As the Gods Will 5 (the final volume), A Couple of Cuckoos 23, How to Grill Our Love 14, Mermaid Melody Pichi Pichi Pitch: Aqua 5, Wind Breaker 20, and Wistoria: Wand and Sword 9.

J-Novel Club has two print titles. We get the 5th Black Summoner manga and My Instant Death Ability Is So Overpowered, No One in This Other World Stands a Chance Against Me! 8.

One debut for J-Novel Club digitally: Revenge of the Soul Eater: Cast Out as a Weakling by My Sword Saint Father (Hangyaku no Soul Eater: Jakusha wa Fuyou to Iwarete Kensei (Chichi) ni Tsuihousaremashita) is one of those “everyone treats our hero like shit, so he suddenly gets fantastic new powers and he’ll show them, oh yes, HE’LL SHOW THEM ALL!!!” series.

Also from J-Novel Club in light novels: The Apothecary Diaries 14, Cooking with Wild Game 28, The Ideal Sponger Life 15, Management of a Novice Alchemist 5, No One Gets Past This Gatekeeper 4, The Reincarnator and the Goblin Maiden’s Happily Ever After 3, and Seirei Gensouki: Spirit Chronicles 26.

And one manga, Safe & Sound in the Arms of an Elite Knight 4.

Ghost Ship has Ayakashi Triangle 15 and The Elf Sisters Can’t Wait for the Night 2.

Retailers list March Comes in Like a Lion 4 and Under Ninja 6 coming out from Denpa Books.

ASH: We shall see!

SEAN: Cross Infinite World has two debuts, new series with almost identical titles but apparently not the same series. Welcome to Monstrous Miss Sophie’s Enchanted Salon of Healing (Bakemono Jou Sophie no Salon: Gokigenyou. Kawa Ichimai nara Naosemasu wa) stars a cursed girl whose skin is rough like bark and who only has small healing magic. Then she remembers… she was once a single mother in modern Japan! I won’t expect mayonnaise, but something along those lines, probably.

ASH: Huh.

SEAN: Welcome to Olivia’s Magic Jewelers (Olivia Maseki Houshokuten e Youkoso: Ka to Mise wo Oida Sareta no de, Outou ni Mise wo Kamaetara, Naze ka Moto Konyakusha to Gimai no Kekkonshiki ni Dero to Iwaremashita) is a standard “my engagement is called off, my sister has claimed everything I own, and my family throws me out” book. Can she start a new store in a new city?

Airship has one print volume, Too Many Losing Heroines! 4.

And in early digital, they have The Mimosa Confessions 4 and The Strange Adventure of a Broke Mercenary 12.

Why, that’s not much manga at all! I’m sure you can afford every title on this list!

SEAN: Hello, children. Are you ready for Manga the Week of 5/21/25? Then we’ll begin.

MICHELLE: Good morning, Mr. Gaffney~!

SEAN: Airship has four print volumes out next week, as we see Modern Villainess 6, She Professed Herself Pupil of the Wise Man 13, The Strange Adventure of a Broke Mercenary 11, and Sword of the Demon Hunter 9.

And digitally, Airship has The Villainess and the Demon Knight 3 and Witch and Mercenary 3.

Ghost Ship has She’s the Strongest Bride, But I’m Stronger in Night Battles 3.

Ize Press has two debuts. Murderous Lewellyn’s Candlelit Dinner features a series of murders happening in our main character’s neighborhood. He doesn’t really care, though, till he meets his new neighbor.

ASH: Hmmm. Sounds suspicious.

SEAN: The Villainess Is a Marionette may be Korean, but the plot sure sounds familiar to readers of Japanese villainess books. Our heroine wakes up in the body of a novel’s villainess… only she’s already done this once before. This is her THIRD life, and she’s determined to fight fate this time.

ASH: I wish her luck!

SEAN: Also from Ize Press: A Business Proposal 9, Kill the Villainess 2, The Perks of Being an S-Class Heroine 4, Solo Leveling 12, The Villainess Turns the Hourglass 7, Unholy Blood 6, and The World After the Fall 10.

J-Novel Club has two light novel debuts. Well, one is a spinoff. Ascendance of a Bookworm: Hannelore’s Fifth Year at the Royal Academy (Honzuki no Gekokujou: Hannelore no Kizokuin Gonensei) is a continuation of the main series after the final volume, but Rozemyne is now a supporting player and the main character is Hannelore!… oh god, poor Hannelore. She is not ready to be a main character.

ASH: Hee! This should be fun.

SEAN: The Tiny Witch from the Deep Woods (Mori no Hashikko no Chibi Majo-san) is about a teenage girl who learns about medicine from her mother while living in a remote forest. Unfortunately, tragedy strikes, as it often does to teenage girls in these sorts of books, and she has to set out to learn more far from the forest.

ANNA: I was hoping she could remain in the woods and devote herself to making jam and/or medicines.

ASH: That would have been nice.

SEAN: Other light novels from J-Novel Club: The Diary of a Middle-Aged Sage’s Carefree Life in Another World 6, From Villainess to Healer 3, Goodbye, Overtime! This Reincarnated Villainess Is Living for Her New Big Brother 4, The Great Cleric 11, Let This Grieving Soul Retire 7, A Livid Lady’s Guide to Getting Even 6, and You Were Experienced, I Was Not: Our Dating Story 7.

And for manga we see An Archdemon’s Dilemma 12, Cooking with Wild Game 11, Jeanette the Genius 2, and Oversummoned, Overpowered, and Over It! 8.

Kaiten Books has a digital manga debut. Two Months Left to Live in Another World (Yomei Nikagetsu no Isekai Kenkouhou) runs in Isekai Comic, and has In Another World in its title, so you know what it is. A martial-arts master is now 82 and needs skilled nursing care to get by. Then one day, while being taken to the ER, he and his nurse end up… in another world! (See, you did know what it was.)

ASH: I am shocked by this turn of events.

SEAN: No debuts for Kodansha Manga. In print, we see Don’t Toy with Me, Miss Nagatoro 19, Dra-Q 3, Go! Go! Loser Ranger! 13, I Was Reincarnated as the 7th Prince so I Can Take My Time Perfecting My Magical Ability 15, Life Lessons with Uramichi Oniisan 5, and ORIGIN 10 (the final volume).

And digitally we get The Great Cleric 14, Hozuki’s Coolheadedness 26, My Wife is a Little Intimidating 11, and Yamaguchi-kun Isn’t So Bad 10.

One Peace Books gives us Tales of the Tendo Family 6.

ASH: I should check in with this series again.

SEAN: No debuts for Seven Seas, but we do see Blood Night Market 2, A Cat from Our World and the Forgotten Witch 5 (the final volume), Choking on Love 2, Chronicles of an Aristocrat Reborn in Another World 12, Home Sweet Home 2, I’m in Love with the Villainess 8, It Takes More Than a Pretty Face to Fall in Love 2, and My Wife Has No Emotion 8.

MICHELLE: I should check out Choking on Love and Home Sweet Home before I get too far behind.

SEAN: Square Enix Manga debuts Love in the Palm of His Hand (Chameleon wa Tenohira ni Koi wo Suru), a BL series from Gangan Bliss. A wannabe actor who keeps failing auditions meets a young man who has hearing loss, and discovers the wonders of sign language.

MICHELLE: This looks potentially great.

ASH: I am intrigued!

SEAN: Steamship debuts Adored By an Elite Officer: Could This Be Love? (Elite Jieikan ni Dekiaisareteru… Rashii desu?), a josei series from Eternity. A young woman loses her job and is dumped on the same day. Then she runs into her old childhood friend, now a member of the JSDF… and he proposes?

ANNA: Josei, do you say?????

SEAN: Steamship also has Loving Moon Dog 2.

Tokyopop has new volumes. I Was Reincarnated as the Heroine on the Verge of a Bad Ending, and I’m Determined to Fall in Love! 4, A Tail’s Tale 3, and Trapped By His Love: The Duke’s Unexpected Bride 2.

Viz Media debuts Cosmos, a seinen title from Sunday GX. A high school boy discovers his classmate is an alien wearing a human skin! This leads him to get caught up with an insurance investigator who wants him to help her track down more aliens.

ANNA: I have to admit I wasn’t super compelled by the alien angle but I’m intrigued by insurance investigations!

ASH: I will admit to being curious.

SEAN: Viz also has After God 4, Hirayasumi 5, Hunter x Hunter 3-in-1 2, Jujutsu Kaisen 26, Mobile Suit Gundam Thunderbolt 23, Mujina into the Deep 2, and Trillion Game 5.

No debuts for Yen On, but we do see The Angel Next Door Spoils Me Rotten 8.5, Classroom for Heroes 4, High School DxD 16, Kusunoki’s Garden of Gods 2, Monsterholic 2, Our Last Crusade or the Rise of a New World 14, Secrets of the Silent Witch 6, and Sentenced to Be a Hero 4.

And… yeah, that’s it. All the Yen Press stuff got bumped. Now, write down in your notebook what manga you want to buy at the Scholastic Book Fair.

ANNA: I also want to buy one of those sticks with a pointing hand and maybe a holographic ruler.

ASH: Book fairs are the best.

SEAN: Everything is getting released at once lately, it seems.

ASH: Here we goooooo!

SEAN: We have some Yen On stuff, the only three Yen titles that did not get bumped. Accel World 27, Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russian 7, and Hell Is Dark with No Flowers 3.

Viz has three debuts, only one of which is a manga proper. Dr. Mashirito’s Ultimate Manga Techniques is one of those “how to be a famous manga artist” books, written by the first editor for Akira Toriyama. It’s apparently excellent.

ASH: Oh, that does sound intriguing!

SEAN: Not-So-Shoujo Love Story is an OEL yuri manga that ran as a webtoon and which Viz has picked up. I don’t normally discuss OEL, but this has a lot of buzz. A girl is ready to confess to the guy she likes, only to be shocked when her rival confesses… to her!

ASH: I do like that twist.

SEAN: Snow Angel (Kono Setsugen de Kimi ga Zutto Waratte Irareru you ni) is a shoujo series from Cheese!. A young girl’s childhood ends when her father dies and she has to care for her grandfather with dementia. She’s stressed, verbally abused by her grandmother, and at the end of her rope. Then her old childhood friend shows up…

MICHELLE: Hm.

ANNA: I’m a maybe on this one. I don’t know if I’m up for heavy themes.

ASH: It does sound like she got a rough start to things.

SEAN: Viz also has Fly Me to the Moon 28, Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End 13, I Want to End This Love Game 6, Mao 20, Persona 5 13, Sakura, Saku 7, Spider-Man: Octo-Girl 2, and Spy x Family: The Official Anime Guide—Mission Report: 221001-1224 (i.e. the 2nd half of Season 1).

Udon Entertainment has three books coming out next week according to retailers: Atelier Ryza 3: Official Visual Collection, Rival Schools: Official Complete Works, and Street Fighter V: Climax Arts + Alpha to 6. They are all artbooks.

ASH: Udon has previously released some pretty nice artbooks.

SEAN: Tokyopop debuts Merry Witches’ Life, a josei series from Comic PASH!. Three recently widowed women join forces to try to bring back their late partners, by any means necessary. This is apparently a heartwarming slice of life, despite the dark premise.

ANNA: I am intrigued by this.

ASH: Likewise!

SEAN: SuBLime debuts Pink Heart Jam Beat, the sequel to, well, Pink Heart Jam. It runs in mellow kiss. It’s less a sequel and more of a continuation – they’ve moved in together now, here’s more.

SuBLime also has the 2nd and final volume of Palace of the Omega.

Steamship gives us Fire in His Fingertips 8 and A Suitable Fetish 3.

ANNA: I don’t want to know what an unsuitable fetish would be.

SEAN: Square Enix Manga has Dragon and Chameleon 3, Just Like Mona Lisa 5, and The Strongest Sage with the Weakest Crest 24.

Zero debuts for Seven Seas. But they have Diary of a Female Lead: Shujinkou Nikki 3, Heroine? Saint? No, I’m an All-Works Maid (And Proud of It)! 3, I Ship My Rival x Me 3, The Lady Knight and the Beast-Eared Child 3, Magical Buffs: The Support Caster is Stronger Than He Realized! 3, My Girlfriend’s Not Here Today 4, My Lovey-Dovey Wife is a Stone Cold Killer 7, Only I Know the World Is Ending and Getting Killed by Rampaging Beasts Only Makes Me Stronger 2, Though I Am an Inept Villainess 7, and The Too-Perfect Saint 2.

ASH: My brain is having trouble parsing how many titles are actually in that list.

SEAN: There’s also some danmei, as we see Heaven Official’s Blessing: Tian Guan Ci Fu 4 (the deluxe hardcover edition) and Remnants of Filth: Yuwu 7 (the final volume, and there’s a special edition variant).

One Peace Books gives us Hero Without a Class 3.

Zero debuts for Kodansha Manga. But they have, in print, Kei X Yaku: Bound By Law 6, Medaka Kuroiwa is Impervious to My Charms 11, Ninja Vs. Gokudo 7, The Seven Deadly Sins Manga Box Set 6 (the final box set), Versus 3, and Wandance 12.

MICHELLE: I should get caught up on Wandance.

ANNA: I should start reading it in the first place!

ASH: I probably should, too.

SEAN: And for digital they have Gang King 29, Manchuria Opium Squad 6, and My Unique Skill Makes Me OP Even at Level 1 15.

I forgot about Kana Manga last week (and, well, every other week since I began this list). They have Eden of Witches 3 out this week.

ASH: I finally just picked up the first volume.

SEAN: J-Novel Club have three print titles out next week. We see Ascendance of a Bookworm 30, In Another World With My Smartphone 29, and Seirei Gensouki: Spirit Chronicles Omnibus 12.

Three debuts for J-Novel Club, all light novels. Bullet Hellion: The Gunslinging Demon Prince Crushes Another World with Modern Arms (Juudan Maouko no Isekai Kouryaku: Maougun na no ni Gendai Heiki wo Shoukan Shite Attouteki ni Tata Katte mo Ii desu ka) has our isekai’d hero killed by bullet-kun instead of truck-kun during a paintball war gone wrong. Now he’s a noble, and can summon modern guns!

Long Story Short, I’m Living in the Mountains (Zenryaku, Yama Kurashi wo Hajimemashita) stars a man who is totally burned out, especially after his fiancee left him. So he buys a mountain and retreats from society. Except he’s lonely. Fortunately, he… no, he does not meet goddesses or cute elf girls. He ends up with three giant intelligent chickens. Who I have been assured do not turn into hot women.

ANNA: It is important to double check these things.

ASH: Have I mentioned that I’m planning to move to the mountains and raise chickens after completely burning out? I didn’t realize that was such a universal theme!

SEAN: My Fiancé Cheated, But a New Love Rings! (Konyakusha no Uwaki Genba wo Michatta no de Hajimari no Kane ga Narimashita) had its manga version come out two weeks ago. Fans of this genre will know the basics. Noble girl, doing her best as a future queen, catches the crown prince cheating on her with her younger sister. So she runs away, with the help of a guy who’s always loved her.

Also from J-Novel Club in light novels: Dungeon Dive 10, The Misfit of Demon King Academy 9, VTuber Legend 9, and The Water Magician Arc 1 4.

And for manga: Doll-Kara 10, Fushi no Kami 7, and Now I’m a Demon Lord! 10.

Ghost Ship has a third volume of Monster Marriage Shop.

ASH: At first I read that title as Monster Marriage Slop which would be an entirely different manga.

SEAN: Expanse (another publisher I should remember to look at) has Genshin Impact: Official Art Book 2.

Airship, in print, has Reincarnated as a Dragon Hatchling 10 and Reincarnated as a Sword 16.

And digitally they have I Abandoned My Engagement Because My Sister is a Tragic Heroine, but Somehow I Became Entangled with a Righteous Prince 3 (the final volume).

Reading manga is good for you! Read some today! What are you reading?

ASH: Not as much as I would like!

SEAN: May we have some manga this May? (I’ll workshop it.)

ASH: I think we just may.

SEAN: Airship has three ongoing print titles, with Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear 20.5, A Tale of the Secret Saint ZERO 2, and The Too-Perfect Saint 2.

And for early digital they have Classroom of the Elite: Year 2 11.

Ghost Ship debuts Betrayed by the Hero, I Formed a MILF Party With His Mom! (Yuusha ni Zenbu Ubawareta Ore wa Yuusha no Hahaoya to Party wo Kumimashita!), based on an as-yet-unlicensed (and unlikely to be) light novel, and runs in Isekai Comic. Our protagonist is, well, kicked out of the hero’s party. Soon after, he comes across a slave market which has a very familiar face as one of the slaves… the hero’s mother! Now he gets to realize his dream, as he has a thing for older women. This manga is rather infamous, and I may actually take a flyer on it because it’s SO over the top it might be comedic. Also, please note that Seven Seas scheduled this to come out the week of Mother’s Day.

ASH: That’s timing!

SEAN: Ghost Ship also has 2.5 Dimensional Seduction 14 and Isekai Affair 2.

J-Novel Club has three debuts next week, all light novels. Abducted Princess Running Rampant: Wielding Forbidden Magic in the Demon King’s Castle (Maou ni Sarawareta Kiyoshi Oujo desu ga, Maoujou Gurashi ga Hima datta no de Kinki Mahou de Abaremasu) features a princess who’s spent her life being forced to use holy magic and locked up by her family. Then she’s kidnapped… and the demon king forces her to do the same thing, and also locks her up. She’s going to have to rescue herself.

ASH: I have faith in her abilities.

SEAN: Fluffy-Eared Realm Restoration: Taking It Slow with My Cool Big Brother (Tensei Mofumofu Reijou no Mattari Ryouchi Kaikakuki: Cool na Onii-sama to Amaama Slow Life wo Tanoshindeimasu) is a “fix my timeline” series. The princess, along with her family, is executed for hiding her past as an orphan (her family did that, she had no choice). A fox spirit hears her prayers and sends her back in time to try again… but this time she has fox ears and can hear the voices of spirits! Will everything go well just because she’s now fluffy? (Spoiler: yes.)

ASH: Seems reasonable!

SEAN: The Villainess Is Dead! Long Live the Empress! Redoing the Story After a Poisonous End (Shokeisareta Akujo wa, Taikoku de Kouhi no Za wo Tsukamu) features another young noble woman who’s been raised to be the future queen but ends up betrayed, framed, and seemingly executed. But she actually escapes, goes to another country, and tries to start over… by becoming the Empress of that country.

ASH: At least she has tenacity?

SEAN: Other light novels from JNC: Isekai Tensei 10, Lady Bumpkin and Her Lord Villain 3, The Legendary Witch Is Reborn as an Oppressed Princess 4, and Record of Wortenia War 28.

And for manga, they have Endo and Kobayashi Live! 7 (the final volume), How a Realist Hero Rebuilt the Kingdom 12, and The Invincible Little Lady 8.

Kodansha Manga has one print debut, Tune In to the Midnight Heart (Mayonaka Heart Tune). This Weekly Shonen Magazine title has an anime in the works. A young man who, when he was a kid, found solace in a radio host, but one day she disappeared. Now in high school, he wants to track her down. Will getting involved with four wannabe idol girls help him track her down?

ASH: Perhaps!

SEAN: Also in print: Anyway, I’m Falling in Love with You 7, Love on the Horizon 2, Medalist 8, Snow & Ink 3, Thunder 3 4, and Vinland Saga Deluxe 7.

ASH: I really ought to catch up with Medalist.

SEAN: Digitally they have Blue Lock 31, Even Given the Worthless “Appraiser” Class, I’m Actually the Strongest 13, Those Snow White Notes 28, and Tying the Knot with an Amagami Sister 18.

Oh look, it’s time for “Sean missed a title” time. This should have been on last week’s list. Last Gasp has Ultra Heaven 2.

ASH: Don’t feel bad, I missed that one, too, and I’m reading the series! (Thanks for the heads up.)

SEAN: One Peace Books has Higehiro 11.

Seven Seas has three debuts, one a BL manga, one a Chinese novel, and one a Korean webtoon. The manga is 10 Things I Want to Do Before I Turn 40 (40 Made ni Shitai 10 no Koto) is a one-shot from Magazine Be x Boy. A guy about to turn forty is having a midlife crisis, and tries to check things off his list of “never done that”. Which includes spending his birthday with his lover. But he hasn’t dated in ten years. Can his younger work colleague help?

ASH: Signs point to yes.

SEAN: Love Between Fairy and Devil is another series that inspired a hit live action drama you can watch on Netflix. The demon lord has been resurrected, accidentally, by an orchid fairy. Now he’s ready to get revenge, and forces her to help him. The “her” is the surprise – I’m not sure if this is Seven Seas’ first non-danmei Chinese novel, but it feels like it.

ASH: Interesting, it just might be.

SEAN: Bastard is not the 80s fantasy manga, but a 2010s thriller webtoon, about a boy whose father is a serial killer.

MICHELLE: Hm.

SEAN: Also from Seven Seas: The Barbarian’s Bride 3, Beetle Hands 3, I Abandoned My Engagement Because My Sister is a Tragic Heroine 3, I Want to Escape from Princess Lessons 2, Kemono Jihen 16, Monster Musume 19, Pet Shop of Horrors: Collector’s Edition 2, and Too Many Losing Heroines! 3.

Square Enix Books not only has the 5th volume of The Apothecary Diaries (which is good, as 4 is where Season 2 of the anime will leave off this June), but also releases The Apothecary Diaries Art Book, a handsome hardcover showcasing the light novel art and character designs.

ASH: Oh, very nice!

SEAN: And Square Enix manga has a 2nd volume of The Emperor’s Caretaker.

Steamship has the 6th and final volume of I Can’t Refuse S.

Tokyopop has Mitsuka 4 and My Beautiful Man 4.

Viz Media has no debuts, but it does have Blue Box 15, Chainsaw Man 18, Colette Decides to Die 3, Dark Gathering 13, The Elusive Samurai 15, In the Name of the Mermaid Princess 6, Kagurabachi 3, The King’s Beast 15, Like a Butterfly 12 (the final volume), Queen’s Quality 22, Sakamoto Days 17, Wolf Girl and Black Prince 13, and You and I Are Polar Opposites 5.

MICHELLE: I really need to read Colette and Like a Butterfly!

ASH: I need to pick up Queen’s Quality again. We’re almost at the end!

SEAN: Yen On has two stragglers from April. Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? Familia Chronicle: Episode Lyu 2, and My First Love’s Kiss 3 (the final volume).

And Yen Press has Yowamushi Pedal 27.

ASH: I’m still happy this series was licensed.

SEAN: So, what manga MAY you get? (OK, OK, I’ll stop.)

SEAN: As April becomes May, we have a week equally divided into both.

Yen has some stragglers. From Yen On we get Bottom-Tier Character Tomozaki 11 and Wolf & Parchment 10.

Yen Press debut To Sir, Without Love: I’m Divorcing You (Haikei Mishiranu Danna-sama, Rikonshite Itadakimasu), a manga based on a light novel that will be coming out from Yen in the summer. It runs in Flos Comic. A woman who wants a husband-free life is delighted when, immediately after her marriage, her husband goes to war. Now, eight years later, he’s coming home, and she wants a divorce. He seems less inclined.

ASH: Uh-oh.

ANNA: That doesn’t seem great for her!

SEAN: Also from Yen Press: Blend-S 2, Brunhild the Dragonslayer 2, mono 2, Senpai, This Can’t Be Love! Brush Up 2 (the final volume), and The War of Greedy Witches 2.

Viz Media gives us Dragon Ball Super 23, Firefly Wedding 2, and – for digital fans – The Legend of Zelda manga will finally be available digitally. This is Vol. 1-10, which includes Ocarina of Time, Majora’s Mask, Oracle of Seasons, Oracle of Ages, Four Swords, The Minish Cap, A Link to the Past, and The Phantom Hourglass.

ASH: Oh, nice!

SEAN: Steamship has Alpha Wolfgirl x Omega Wolfboy 3.

Square Enix Books has a big ol’ artbook, Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail — The Art of Succession -Relics of Heritage-. Recommended for those who know what that title means.

ASH: I don’t, but I bet it’s pretty.

SEAN: Seven Seas has some debuts. Cat Man (Neko Ningen) is a shoujo title from Kurofune Pixiv. A humanoid cat struggles with everyone just seeing them as cute, and they don’t really want to be affectionate. This is apparently more serious than you’d expect, examining preconceptions and prejudice.

MICHELLE: Hm.

ASH: I am potentially intrigued.

SEAN: IDOL x IDOL STORY! is a new series from the creator of New Game!, and it runs in Comic Fuz. A convenience store worker was once a hopeful idol, but fell short. Then she meets an up-and-comer inspired by her story. Can she try again? Either way, there’s probably yuri subtext.

ASH: Naturally.

SEAN: Kaya-chan Isn’t Scary (Kaya-chan wa Kowakunai) is a seinen horror manga from Kurage Bunch, and has an anime coming soon. A kindergarten teacher discovers that one of her class has a secret and disturbing ability… she can punch out evil spirits!

ASH: That seems like it would be a good ability to have.

ANNA: These are perilous times.

SEAN: My New Boss is Goofy (Atarashii Joushi wa Dotennen) already had its anime air, and it runs in Manga Cross. A man changes jobs, and his previous boss was sadistic and cruel. His new boss… isn’t. This looks BL but isn’t, apparently.

MICHELLE: That cover absolutely looks BL.

ASH: It really does.

SEAN: Also from Seven Seas: Checkmate 3, The Condemned Villainess Goes Back in Time and Aims to Become the Ultimate Villain 4, Dai Dark 8, Dance in the Vampire Bund: Age of Scarlet Order 14, The Dangerous Convenience Store 5, Dungeon People 5, and ENNEAD 5 (in paperback and unedited hardcover).

One Peace Books debuts Detectives These Days Are Crazy! (Mattaku Saikin no Tantei to Kitara), a Dengeki Maoh series about a middle-aged detective who suddenly has a high school girl show up wanting to be his assistant.

ASH: I’d give that a try.

SEAN: Two debuts in print for Kodansha. GAEA-TIMA the Gigantis (Daikai Gaea-Tima) is a seinen title from Monthly Young Magazine, from the creator of COLOR/LESS. A monster devastates a community, with one survivor of its attack. However, a decade later it’s a tourist destination, and the survivor is selling monster souvenirs! But what happens when there’s another monster attack?

A Vampire in the Bathhouse (Sentou to Vampire) is a one-shot josei title from Zero-Sum Online. An overworked bathhouse attendant suddenly finds that an overworked vampire has started showing up! Comedy ensues.

ASH: Hooray, josei!

ANNA: Josei AND vampires? Sounds good!

SEAN: Also in print: Ashita no Joe: Fighting for Tomorrow Omnibus 2, Blue Lock 18, EDENS ZERO 31, and Nina the Starry Bride 9.

MICHELLE: I was thinking it was about time for another Ashita no Joe installment!

ASH: Excellent.

ANNA: What will he be able to punch this time????

SEAN: And digitally we get Parasyte Reversi 4, The Transcendent One-Sided Love of Yoshida the Catch 4, and Ya Boy Kongming! 19.

J-Novel Club has two debuts, both manga. My Fiancé Cheated, But a New Love Rings! (Konyakusha no Uwaki Genba wo Michatta no de Hajimari no Kane ga narimashita) is a manga based on a light novel out in two weeks or so, also from J-Novel Club. The manga runs in MAGCOMI. Fans of this genre will know the basics. Noble girl, doing her best as a future queen, catches the crown prince cheating on her with her younger sister. So she runs away, with the help of a guy who’s always loved her.

My Tiny Senpai (Uchi no Kaisha no Chiisai Senpai no Hanashi) is not based on a light novel, and runs in Manga Life Storia Dash. It was also made into an anime. Big shy guy. Office manga about a tiny teasing girl. Clearly they both like each other. Why aren’t they together? A question the entire office is asking. This is from the author of She’s My Knight.

For light novels, J-Novel Club has EXP Is Golden 2, The Frontier Lord Begins with Zero Subjects 8, Magic Stone Gourmet 9, The Poison King 4, and Tearmoon Empire 15.

For manga, they have The Banished Former Hero Lives as He Pleases 6, The Oblivious Saint Can’t Contain Her Power 3, Rebuild World 11, A Royal Rebound 2, and Young Lady Albert Is Courting Disaster 6.

No debuts for Cross Infinite World, but they do have Dinners with My Darling 2, How I Became King by Eating Monsters 3, and The Invisible Wallflower Marries an Upstart Aristocrat After Getting Dumped for Her Sister! 3 (the final volume).

And no print titles for Airship, but we do see Adachi and Shimamura 99.9 (a second short story volume) and Reborn as a Space Mercenary: I Woke Up Piloting the Strongest Starship! 12 digitally.

Has spring sprung for you yet? What titles interest you?