manga the week of

SEAN: Technically, this is the smallest week of the month. That does not mean there aren’t a lot of titles, just slightly less than the deluge of the other weeks.

I Am A Hero has been a long-awaited title here, and Dark Horse has it. It’s not just a zombie apocalypse manga, it’s a multiple award-winning zombie apocalypse manga, which runs in Big Comic Spirits (yes, that means it’s another seeming Viz title that went to Dark Horse – possibly for aesthetic reasons, like Gantz). This is an omnibus of the first two volumes.

MICHELLE: I’m eager to see reviews of this, as I can’t tell yet whether it’s something I’d like.

ANNA: I’m also intrigued by this series.

ASH: I’m very excited for this one, even considering that I’m a bit burned out on zombies.

SEAN: And while one popular title begins, another ends, as we see the last Lone Wolf and Cub omnibus, Vol. 12. But fear not, New Lone Wolf and Cub is still around.

ASH: I’m so glad that Lone Wolf and Cub is back in print in its entirety in an edition that doesn’t cause as much eyestrain.

SEAN: And we have a giant omnibus of the Evangelion spinoff Campus Apocalypse, which is a sort of shoujo-ish BL-ish mystery-ish take on the series. Ish.

ASH: Ish, eh?

SEAN: Kodansha theoretically gives us a 34th volume of Air Gear. I say theoretically as of all the titles that have sliding release dates, Air Gear’s has been the most egregious – don’t blame me if it’s delayed till August by next week.

Attack on Titan: Before the Fall turns out to be a much longer spinoff than I expected, as we’re at 7 volumes and still running.

Fairy Tail 53 continues… some plot, I guess, I’m about 20 volumes behind by now, alas. There will be fights and nudity, no doubt. The staple of all Shonen Magazine series.

And Tsubasa World Chronicle 2… I got nothin’, sorry. MJ?

MJ: I… don’t either. I admit I haven’t been reading this, and suddenly I’m feeling kinda guilty.

MICHELLE: I can’t remember whether I didn’t know this existed or whether I did and promptly forgot. Which is worse? I dunno; I guess I’ve still got CLAMP fatigue.

SEAN: Seven Seas has the 4th volume of dark romantic fantasy The Ancient Magus’ Bride, which I quite like.

ASH: As do I!

SEAN: And there’s a 3rd volume of awkward college romance Golden Time.

And also a 3rd of Monster Guy gag manga Merman In My Tub.

SubLime has a new debut, the first volume of Midnight Stranger, which apparently involves goat demons? I assume they’re sexy goat demons.

MJ: Goat demons do not sound promising.

ASH: Of course they’re sexy goat demons, Sean.

SEAN: Udon has the 3rd volume of Steins;Gate and its damned semicolon of awful.

Viz gives us a 58th volume of Case Closed, which is a lot.

And a 17th Itsuwaribito, which is another series that turns out to be much longer than I had originally expected.

There’s also a 17th Magi, but I’m absolutely delighted that it’s running this long. I still boggle this is written by the same person who gave us Sumomomo Momomo.

MICHELLE: It is?! I never noticed.

SEAN: Lastly, there’s a new manga debut with Monster Hunter: Flash Hunter, which I think is primarily for the PokeMarket, though I could be wrong.

As with many 2nd weeks of the month, it’s very much a hodgepodge of stuff. What catches your eye?

SEAN: This is it, folks. We’ve hit peak manga boom. Every week of next month has at least 15 titles out. All you can do is whimper, really. What’s out next week? Well…

Kodansha gives us an 18th volume of Attack on Titan, which is such an obscure title with very few readers. To try to pump up that readership, there’s also a limited edition with a DVD!

And there’s a 4th volume of oddball shoujo romance Kiss Him, Not Me!.

ASH: I’ve already fallen behind, but I do enjoy oddball shoujo!

SEAN: Seven Seas gives us a third volume of Ten Little Lesbians sitting down to dine, aka Akuma No Riddle.

Haganai: I Don’t Have Many Friends has an unlucky 13th volume. We left off with Kadota and Sena engaged. I suspect that won’t last.

Seven Seas is debuting a zombie title, Hour of the Zombie. This runs in Comic Ryu, and is apparently a pure horror series.

Udon has a 2nd volume of clothes and fanservice battle manga Kill La Kill.

And Vertical gives us a 4th omnibus of Tokyo ESP.

MICHELLE: Yay! I enjoyed part one of the series quite a lot and am looking forward to more of the story.

SEAN: Viz, believe it or not, has no debut titles this month. But that doesn’t stop them from giving us many, many volumes of its ongoing series, like the 9th Assassination Classroom.

The Demon Prince of Momochi House gives you more Aya Shouoto with a 4th volume.

ANNA: I enjoy this series, as you might expect.

SEAN: And Food Wars! is still having intense food competitions in Vol. 11.

MICHELLE: I delayed on reading volume 10 just so I could enjoy a two-volume binge. Looking forward to it!

SEAN: Honey So Sweet has a 2nd volume. How sweet is it? You’ll just have to read.

ANNA: Pretty darn sweet!

SEAN: The 15th volume of Library Wars: Love & War wraps up the story, despite hints of some side-story volumes that don’t appear to have materialized. Luckily, the final volume is immensely satisfying, and will make fans very happy.

MICHELLE: I’m looking forward to this, too!

ASH: As am I!

ANNA: Me too, although I have an odd habit of postponing reading the final volumes of series I really like, so I can lie to myself that the series hasn’t actually ended.

SEAN: Speaking of immensely satisfying, that’s how you can describe every volume of My Love Story!! really, and I suspect the 8th is no different.

ANNA: Yes! I always read this right away when a new volume shows up at my house.

ASH: My Love Story!! is the best.

MJ: Yes!!

SEAN: Naruto has a 14th 3-in-1, meaning it’s still nowhere near done.

Nisekoi Vol. 14 does what ever fan of harem manga hates – introduces a new main candidate late in the series.

School Judgment has a 2nd volume of chibi-Ace Attorney antics, and hopefully will continue to be slightly ridiculous.

And I have no doubts as to the ridiculousness of So Cute It Hurts!! 6, though I fear I must give up my vow of adding exclamation points with each book.

Toriko is up to Vol. 33, and I am starting to hear mutterings of people who wish it would be more about food and less about battles, to which I remind them this runs in Shonen Jump, concurrently with Food Wars!, which IS more about food than battles.

Twin Star Exorcists is getting an anime very soon, so it’s a perfect time for its 4th volume.

Lastly, Yu-Gi-Oh 5D’s 9 continues to look like some sort of World War II secret code.

Are you prepared for SO MUCH MANGA? No? Well, tough.

MICHELLE: No. However, I must say it’s lovely to see all of this activity in a once-troubled publishing sector.

ASH: True that!

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

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

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

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

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

MICHELLE: And buy it I shall!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

MICHELLE: It definitely looks intriguing.

ANNA: That sounds interesting.

MJ: Hm, okay, I’m in.

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

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

ANNA: Yay! I enjoy this series.

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

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

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

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

Dark Horse has a 3rd Astro Boy omnibus.

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

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

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

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

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

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

MJ: So ready for this!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

MJ: Same.

ANNA: I will read this!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

MICHELLE: Yay! Volume one was a surprise delight!

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

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

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

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

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

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

ASH: And then some, most likely.

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

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

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

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

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

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

MICHELLE: Not really, no!

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

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

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

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

MICHELLE: Heh.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

MJ: This, yes.

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

MICHELLE: Ew.

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

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

MJ: I… wow, drool?

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

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

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

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

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

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

ANNA: Yay!

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

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

ASH: Excellent.

ANNA: Extra Yay!!!!!

MJ: Hurray!!

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

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

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

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

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

ASH: I am so incredibly excited for this!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

ASH: Heh.

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

And a 2nd omnibus of otaku favorite Mayo Chiki.

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

MJ: Lord, no.

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

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

MJ: I will follow Michelle down this road.

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

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

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

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

MJ: I will probably read this.

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

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

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

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

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

MJ: This has not landed for me, sadly.

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

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

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

ASH: Woohoo!

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

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

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

ANNA: Boo!

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

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

ANNA: HOW IS THAT POSSIBLE? IT IS INHUMANE!

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

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

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

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

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

MICHELLE: Holy cow, this is a huge week!

ASH: It really is!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

MICHELLE: Yay kittehs!

ANNA: Can’t go wrong with manga kittehs!

ASH: Looking forward to this one!

MJ: THIS.

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

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

ASH: Still pleasantly surprised that Saki was licensed.

MJ: Yes, yes, so much yes.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

MJ: More Blood Lad is always welcome!

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

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

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

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

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

MJ: Same here!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

MJ: Hurrah!

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

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

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

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

Does anything in this giant morass speak to you?

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

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

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

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

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

ASH: Ha! Indeed, something like that.

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

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

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

MJ: Well, you’ve sold me! :D

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Go get Franken Fran. What else will you get?

SEAN: Next week and the week after are blissfully small, allowing most of us to recover from the hideous amount of manga that we still have to read. This does not mean there are not some interesting things coming out, however.

Fans of Berserk might be interested in the new science fiction manga by its creator, called Giganto Maxia. Kate Dacey already gave it a review here.

ASH: As a fan of Berserk, I’m definitely interested in this, but Miura’s other manga have been pretty hit-or-miss for me.

SEAN: Seven Seas has a third volume of fantasy parody-ish manga 12 Beast.

Their new title this week is Angel Beats! Heaven’s Door, based on the visual novel by Key. Whenever I see the words ‘visual novel’ and ‘Key’ together, I know I’m in for some tear-jerking, heartwarming tragedy, and I suspect that will be the case here as well.

There’s a 2nd volume of fantasy Mushoku Tensei.

SubLime, which has been awfully quiet recently, has a 5th volume of Awkward Silence, which is what happens when I ask out loud why they’ve been so quiet recently.

ASH: Not my favorite Takanaga manga, but it does have it’s charm.

SEAN: Udon gives us the debut of the Persona 4 manga in North America, and get ready for me to be saying ‘Persona’ quite a bit this year, as other companies are also dipping their toe into those waters.

ASH: I know quite a few Persona fans, so I’m actually rather curious about this release despite never having played the game myself.

SEAN: Viz time. We have reached the end of Deadman Wonderland with the 13th volume, and I can only assume they’re out of prison at last?

Hayate the Combat Butler continues to not sell well enough to have more than 2 volumes a year, but well enough not to be cancelled. Here’s a 27th volume.

Lastly, there’s a 16th volume of one of my favorites, Magi.

MICHELLE: I guess this is the only thing I’m buying this week. This’ll make my pick of the week easy!

MJ: And I guess I’ll just have to live vicariously through you. Wow.

ANNA: Magi is also the only thing I’m enthusiastic about this week. I’ve even started reading through some of my stockpiled volumes, although I have a long way to go before I get to the 16th volume.

SEAN: What’s your manga valentine?

SEAN: It’s a busy February, so let’s jump right into next week’s releases.

Dark Horse has a 4th volume of Oreimo spinoff Kuroneko.

Kodansha has a 3rd volume of the reluctant reverse harem manga Kiss Him, Not Me!.

ASH: I largely enjoyed the first volume of Kiss Him, Not Me!, but I’ve somehow already managed to fall behind in the series!

SEAN: Seven Seas has a couple of releases. Magika Swordsman and Summoner has reached Vol. 3, which means, given I think the hero is supposed to get a harem of 72 women, it has a ways to go.

And Monster Musume has reached Volume 8, but has not even begun to run out of Monster Girls.

I apologize for leaving out a book last week. Vertical has the first novel of Seraph of the End, whose manga has been coming out via Viz. I think Anna will be interested in this title.

ANNA: I think you are right! Thanks for the heads-up! I am interested in this light novel series, because it features Guren Ichinose, who people have seen in the manga as a more established authority figure. I think the light novel series focuses more on a prequel to the story that’s established in the manga, so it should be really interesting to existing fans of this franchise.

MJ: I’m definitely more interested in this than the manga, so count me in for that, too.

SEAN: There’s also a 3rd omnibus of Tokyo ESP.

MICHELLE: Yay!

MJ: And this!

SEAN: And Viz has its traditional giant pile. There’s an 8th Assassination Classroom, with more wacky death shenanigans. Not that the teacher has ever been killed.

Behind the Scenes!! is the new manga by the creator of Ouran High School Host Club, and it also runs in LaLa. It’s about a shy guy who ends up pulled into a wacky drama club.

MICHELLE: I’m looking forward to this one! Or perhaps I should use two!!

ANNA: Me too!!!!!!

MJ: This is *so* on my list!

SEAN: Bleach has a 14th 3-in-1, which if I recall correctly has some of the best scenes in the entire series for IchiHime shippers like me.

Food Wars! has hit double digits, but the food battle carries on regardless.

MICHELLE: I will always rejoice over more Food Wars.

ASH: I enjoy it as well.

SEAN: JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure has a 2nd volume of its 2nd arc, Battle Tendency. Expect great faces.

ANNA: I really have not much to say about this other than JOJO!!!!

ASH: JooooooJoooooo!!!

SEAN: And Kamisama Kiss is at Volume 20! I really hadn’t expected it to last this long. It’s still great, though.

ANNA: It is a rare series that manages to be so consistently great for so long.

SEAN: Maid-sama! has a 3rd omnibus, and is as problematic yet readable as ever. Hope you like lots of words.

MICHELLE: And yet I like it enough to keep reading.

ANNA: It has moments of charm despite being problematic.

SEAN: And superhero school manga My Hero Academia has a 3rd volume.

Naruto has another of those epilogue light novels, this one called Shikamaru’s Story. My guess is it stars Shikamaru.

One Piece is up to Volume 77, and yes, it’s still in Dressrosa. But who cares, it’s One Piece, it will be awesome.

MICHELLE: I actually never read 76. Must rectify.

SEAN: QQ Sweeper finally gets a 2nd volume. I had wondered where it was.

MICHELLE: I’m looking forward to more of this!

ANNA: Super excited for this!

ASH: Same!

MJ: Yes, yes!! So much yes!

SEAN: School Judgement is a new Weekly Shonen Jump series by the artist who did Bakuman and Death Note, this time paired with a new writer. It’s Ace Attorney meets Jump, I hear?

MICHELLE: And to this!

ANNA: I’m going to check this out for sure.

ASH: I somehow completely missed hearing about this until now.

MJ: I was so surprised to see this, considering the intensity of my Takeshi Obata fandom. I’m so on this.

SEAN: So Cute It Hurts!!!!! now gets 5 punctuation marks for its 5th volume.

MICHELLE: But not so much this.

ANNA: I like it, but it is a middle of the road title. Fun disposable reading though.

SEAN: Toriko has no punctuation parks after its title, and thank God, as it’s Vol. 32.

Lastly, the original Yu-Gi-Oh has a 5th 3-in-1.

What are you going to get from this list?

SEAN: It’s time to bury you in manga releases once more, folks. What do the companies have up their sleeves?

ASH: All right, let’s do this!

Kodansha has the 12th and penultimate volume of My Little Monster. I can’t believe it’s ending so soon.

MICHELLE: I know! Thankfully, Say I Love You. is still ongoing.

SEAN: Noragami has hit double digits, likely to the delight of Kodansha.

ASH: I’m a few volumes behind, but I have been enjoying Noragami.

SEAN: And there’s a 12th volume of The Seven Deadly Sins.

Seven Seas has a bunch of stuff for us. Akuma no Riddle intrigued me more than I was expecting, so I look forward to the second volume.

MICHELLE: I need to investigate this one.

SEAN: Magical Girl Apocalypse does not intrigue me at all, but it has its fans who will enjoy this 6th volume.

And possibly the polar opposite of that title, Non Non Biyori has a 3rd volume.

Lastly, there’s an omnibus Vol. 1 release of the manga Orange, which has been up digitally on Crunchyroll, but Seven Seas now gives us a print release. It originally ran in Betsuma, then moved to Manga Action, showing it can be both shoujo and seinen. I think this is the first half.

ASH: I’ve heard good things and am looking forward to this one!

ANNA: Huh, I think I’m now officially intrigued.

MICHELLE: Me, too!

MJ: I’m always surprised when I’m interested in a Seven Seas release, but here we are!

SEAN: Vertical gives us another omnibus of Chi’s Sweet Home, with Vol. 4-6. Adorable kitties!

MICHELLE: Yay, kitties!

MJ: Chiiiiiii!

SEAN: And now it’s time for the Yen deluge. First up is Yen On. The Isolator was a new series by the author of Sword Art Online and Accel World, new enough so that it’s been a year since the first volume. Vol. 2 should be interesting.

And there’s a third volume of somewhat surreal teenage superpowers novel Kagerou Daze.

Yen Digital has a bunch of new titles coming out, and I’ll just note the complete volumes. Aphorism 2, Crimson Prince 2, Renaissance Eve 2, Scarlet Empire 3, and Sekirei 2. For those who enjoy tablet reading, try one of these series out.

On to actual print manga titles from Yen Press. There’s a 6th Accel World manga, which should be in the middle of one of the angstiest arcs.

Akame Ga KILL! reaches Vol. 5, continuing to try to excite us with capital letters and exclamation points.

Alice in Murderland 3 doesn’t have capital letters or exclamation points, but it has murder. Isn’t that enough?

A Certain Magical Index 4 decides it’s best to skip the boring vampire girl and move right to what readers really want, the sister clones.

The Devil Is A Part-Timer! 4 also adapts the novels for those who prefer exciting artwork with your plotting.

Final Fantasy Type-0 Side Story Volume 3 still remains very difficult to say.

First Love Monster’s 3rd volume will remind its readers of the discomfort they felt while reading Bunny Drop, I suspect.

Horimiya’s first volume was absolutely terrific, and I am delighted to see the 2nd one out next week.

MICHELLE: Me, too! The first volume was a lovely surprise!

ANNA: I’m intrigued again!

MJ: This is the volume I’m looking forward to most this week, I think!

SEAN: How to Raise a Boring Girlfriend (aka Saekano) is based on a light novel Yen doesn’t have the license for. It seems to feature an otaku hero and his collection of eccentric female acquaintances, just like every single other light novel ever.

Kagerou Daze also has a 4th manga volume out.

Log Horizon has a manga spinoff coming out, The West Wind Brigade, focusing on bishonen guild leader Sojirou.

Puella Magi Madoka Magica has a 2nd volume of its manga adaptation of the Rebellion movie.

So I Can’t Play H! has a 4th volume.

Sword Art Online has a 2nd volume of its side story Girls’ Ops, focusing on the female characters who get progressively ignored by the novels.

And it also starts to adapt a new arc, with the first Sword Art Online: Phantom Bullet volume.

MJ: I wish I was more interested in the manga adaptations of SAO, but they haven’t thrilled me.

SEAN: Taboo Tattoo is the other new title from Yen this month, running in my old nemesis, Media Factory’s Comic Alive. I have low expectations, but we shall see.

Triage X has reached Volume 11, despite all the prayers to the gods and curses I’ve attempted to put on it.

There’s a 5th Ubel Blatt omnibus, helpfully called Ubel Blatt 4. You know, if it had a light novel series, which Yen licensed with the same numbering, Amazon might literally explode into shards trying to keep track.

ASH: Ha! (It probably would.)

SEAN: Umineko When They Cry finishes up another arc, and if it helps this is definitely the low ebb of the series. From here out, things can only get better. Well, mostly better. Somewhat better?

And lastly, there’s an 11th omnibus of Until Death Do Us Part. Or its British version, Until Death Us Do Part.

MICHELLE: Aaaand now I have The Kinks in my head!

SEAN: Aside from staring at me blankly for that last obscure joke, what’s everyone doing next week?

SEAN: Next week’s releases really run the gamut of styles and genres. Let’s see what we’ve got.

Kodansha gives us a 2nd volume of Devil Survivor, meaning I am now officially behind.

And a 5th A Silent Voice, which I am definitely caught up on.

ASH: A Silent Voice continues to be a very strong series.

SEAN: And there’s also a 6th Yamada-kun and the Seven Witches. I am also caught up here. Will we see more witches?

ASH: Time will tell!

SEAN: On the Seven Seas end, we have a 2nd volume of Golden Time, from the Toradora! author.

And the debut of The Testament of New Sister Devil, which sounds like it might hit every single current popular fetish out there, and a few more besides. We’ll see if I’m wrong.

Vertical gives us A Girl on the Shore, a complete omnibus of an Inio Asano series from the cult and sadly cancelled Manga Erotics F magazine. It’s Inio Asano, so I expect good, if depressing, things.

MICHELLE: This should be interesting.

ASH: I’m very much looking forward to this release.

MJ: Okay, this. Yes, this.

SEAN: And there’s a 6th volume of My Neighbor Seki, which is possibly the antidote if you’re read too much Inio Asano at once.

ASH: Ha!

SEAN: Viz gives us a 5th Master Keaton volume, having pushed it back from its original December release date.

MICHELLE: I need to resume my catchup efforts!

ASH: As do I!

MJ: Always welcome!

SEAN: And a 7th Monster Perfect Edition.

MICHELLE: Yay, Monster!

ASH: Monster is one of my favorite Urasawa series. I’m so glad to see it back in print!

SEAN: And Terra Formars has reached double digits with Volume 10.

Most of Yen’s stuff is the week after next, but two novels seem to be coming out next week as of this writing. Pandora Hearts has finished its Caucus Race light novels with the third volume, so at least MJcan’t get any further behind.

MJ: Oops?

SEAN: And there’s a 2nd volume of Strike the Blood, which will hopefully feel more genuine and less calculated than the first volume did.

Does something from this list sing to you? Crying out, “read me and be sad yet enriched”? Or perhaps “Read me and get suggestive succubi who say oniichan a lot”?

SEAN: Traditionally, the first and fourth weeks of the month are the largest, as Week 1 is where Viz releases it’s Jump and Beat titles, and Week 4 is usually Yen Press. Weeks 2 and 3 therefore vie for the remaining attention, containing less spectacular stuff – Viz puts out Sunday imprints in Week 2, but otherwise it can be a hodgepodge. (Week 3, to complete the analysis, is Viz’s Signature stuff.) Is there anything vying for attention in next week’s small batch?

Dark Horse gives us an 11th volume of its Lone Wolf and Cub omnibus.

ASH: I’m finally making a point to get caught up with Lone Wolf and Cub; it’s a really great series.

SEAN: Seven Seas has a trio of releases. Arpeggio of Blue Steel is a cut above the usual ‘girls are ships/planes/whatever’ genre, and I look forward to Vol. 6 next week.

The words “monster girls” may cause the entire Manga Bookshelf team to groan, but the debut of My Monster Secret from Seven Seas is intriguing – people I trust have told me it’s very funny and well-written. It’s from Weekly Shonen Champion, also home to Yowamushi Pedal, which it resembles not at all.

And we have a third Pandora in the Crimson Shell: Ghost Urn, which… yeah, I can’t, really. I do hear it has an anime soon.

SubLime has an 8th volume of His Favorite, whose covers always look great, and has some fans here, I think.

ASH: That it does!

SEAN: Viz gives us 57 varieties of Case Closed, one for each volume it has out to date.

There’s a lot of fun stuff in the first half of the 12th Ranma 1/2 omnibus – including the famous “fishing rod of love” story – but let’s be honest, old-school fans will mostly want to read this for Herb. He shows up in the 2nd half.

Lastly, and thankfully for Manga Bookshelf writers desperate for a Pick of the Week, there’s a 3rd volume of Requiem of the Rose King, which is still in the Henry VI plays but possibly not for much longer.

ASH: Definitely the one volume that I’m most looking forward to this week!

ANNA: This is the ONLY volume I’m looking forward to this week!

MICHELLE: Yup. Same here.

MJ: Okay, this is probably predictable since I actually chose this series as my Pick of the Year, but: ME, me, me me me. Me. Yes, me. Me, too.

SEAN: What whets your appetite for next week?

SEAN: For a first week of the month, this is pretty mild. And by mild I mean there’s still 17 titles due out. But mild by comparison.

Seven Seas gives us a 2nd volume of A Certain Scientific Accelerator, as he deals with a Certain Magical Girl who is messing up his plans to not get involved.

And a 2nd Merman in My Tub, with more wacky anthropomorphism (which would make a great band name).

ASH: That it would!

SEAN: There’s also a 3rd volume of Senran Kagura: Skirting Shadows, which I had forgotten existed, likely as it’s already hit ‘caught up with Japan’. Judging by the cover, breasts are somehow involved. I wonder if someone will trip and fall into them.

The rest is all Viz. There’s a 14th Blue Exorcist, which I admit I always forget about between volumes, but it all comes back to me when I read a new one.

Aya Shouoto continues to be the new Arina Tanemura, as we can’t get enough of her work. This week we have a 3rd Demon Prince of Momochi House, and also an 8th Kiss of the Rose Princess.

ANNA: Not surprisingly, I enjoy these series. These manga are solid shoujo series, even if they aren’t standouts.

MJ: I’ve begun to enjoy them as well!

SEAN: If you like shoujo that’s so sweet as to give you cavities, the first volume of Honey So Sweet may be for you.

MICHELLE: Sometimes I do like that very thing, so I am looking forward to this one.

ANNA: Also not surprisingly this is on my reading list!

MJ: And mine!

SEAN: Kimi ni Todoke is also good at sweet, but has also been putting on the drama a bit lately as we hit Vol. 23.

ANNA: I’ve been avoiding this just because I’m not sure I can deal with all the feels.

SEAN: And it will be hard to top the concentrated sweetness that is My Love Story!!, whose 7th volume is guaranteed to require major dentistry for all its readers.

MICHELLE: Heh. Also on my list.

ASH: Mine as well! Such a wonderfully charming series.

ANNA: Ditto. One of the series I most look forward to reading.

MJ: Wow, what a lovely, shoujo-ish week.

SEAN: Naruto has a one-volume sequel coming out next week, The Seventh Hokage and the Scarlet Spring. Be warned, it’s post-Epilogue.

And there’s a 13th Naruto 3-in-1.

Lastly, if you really want to catch up, Naruto 49-72 are in a giant box. Perfect for figuring out what the fuss was all about and why Sakura fans are so angry.

Natsume’s Book of Friends 19 is the one shoujo out this week that’s more bitter than sweet, but I still love it to bits.

MICHELLE: Me, too. Much as I look forward to the others, this is the one I’m really celebrating about.

SEAN: And a 13th Nisekoi, which will answer the question “will this still sell after the harem has now been sunk in the weekly chapters from Japan?”.

One-Punch Man just gets more and more popular by the week, so I expect big things from the 4th manga volume. And also big punches.

ASH: Still thrilled we’re finally getting this series in print.

ANNA: Why did it take so long? Hooray for punching!

SEAN: Twin Star Exorcists is getting an anime soon, so I think the 3rd volume should do pretty well.

And there’s an 8th volume of World Trigger, one of those Jump series I always despair about falling further behind on.

So what are you ringing in the New Year with?