manga the week of

SEAN: The Dog Days of August begin with a manga pile worthy of an entire dog show.

Cross Infinite World has been releasing some shoujo light novels digitally, something I had shamefully forgotten till now. They have a release next week of AkaOni: Contract with a Vampire.

ASH: Oh, shoujo! I’d forgotten as well. It’s great to see these being released.

SEAN: Fantagraphics has the 2nd and final Otherworld Barbara omnibus, and I really really want to get it. Sadly, I actually ordered it from Amazon rather than Diamond, and for once Diamond is ahead of the game here.

MICHELLE: Woot. Looking forward to this one.

ANNA: Can’t believe I missed the first one, well now I can get both!!!!

ASH: Likewise, I’m going to have to wait for my copy, but I’m always excited to read Hagio’s work.

SEAN: J-Novel Club will be releasing the 3rd How a Realist Hero Rebuilt the Kingdom. Take a shot for each mention of Machiavelli.

And we get our monthly Invaders of the Rokujouma?!, the 5th volume in that long series.

Kodansha Digital gives us a new Del Rey rescue with the 20th Alive.

Kodansha has a 22nd volume of Attack on Titan, which finally gives us a beach episode.

ASH: Hahaha! Does it really? I admit, I’ve fallen a bit behind in reading Attack on Titan.

SEAN: GTO: Paradise Lost has a 4th volume digitally.

As does suspense title Kasane.

There’s also 2nd volumes for new series Kounodori: Dr. Stork and Love’s Reach.

One Peace has two debuts hitting comic shops next week (and bookstores a bit later). I Hear the Sunspot (Hidamari ga Kikoeru) is from Printemps Shuppan, running in the mostly BL magazine Canna. This isn’t BL, and appears to be about a student with hearing loss. It seems interesting.

ASH: My copy of I Hear the Sunspot actually arrived early. I’m very curious about the manga and hope to read it soon.

ANNA: Huh, that does sound interesting.

SEAN: They also have a light novel debut, Mikagura School Suite. It seems to be a Battle School title, based on a series of Vocaloid songs.

Seven Seas has a 3rd Magical Girl Site, which despite its title is dark horror.

And there’s a 3rd There’s a Demon Lord on the Floor, which is comedy fanservice just as its title implies.

Udon has a 6th volume of Persona 3.

Vertical has a done-in-one manga debut. She and Her Cat is written by Makoto Shinkai, so expect a bittersweet ending, but it should be very good.

ASH: As many Shinkai manga are, I suppose.

MICHELLE: Of course I am entirely down for this.

ANNA: Done in one manga are certainly nice sometimes!

SEAN: And now it’s time for Viz. The 17th Assassination Classroom has the kids arguing about whether they should assassinate in the classroom, fittingly.

There’s a 4th Behind the Scenes!!, which I continue to be a bit lukewarm on.

And an 8th Black Clover, which will feel even more like Fairy Tail now that Fairy Tail has ended.

Bleach’s 3-in-1 release hits Book 20.

And Food Wars! has a 19th volume – will things continue to be ‘darkest just before the dawn’?

Haikyu!! continues its monthly release with its 14th volume. The Japanese release is around Vol. 27 or so, so we’ve a ways to go before we catch up.

MICHELLE: I’m eager for both Food Wars! and Haikyu!!.

ASH: I’m still loving this series, and loving that it’ll continue to be released monthly for a while yet.

ANNA: I clearly need to go on a big volleyball binge.

SEAN: JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure has another hardcover of its least impressive arc with a 4th Stardust Crusaders.

ANNA: I love these hardcovers and the insane action of JoJo’s.

SEAN: Rejoice! August means Kaze Hikaru, which may be only one volume a year but it tries harder!

MICHELLE: Yaaaaaaaaay!

ASH: I plan on picking it up!

ANNA: I LOVE IT SO MUCH!!!!!!!!

SEAN: Kuroko’s Basketball has its 13th/14th volumes out in this omnibus, which will involve the characters playing basketball.

MICHELLE: *snerk*

ANNA: I thought they were all pastry chefs!

SEAN: Maid-sama! has come to an end with this 9th omnibus. Will Misaka be able to kick ass and take names? And how much blushing will we have? (Answer: so much.)

MICHELLE: I’m looking forward to the finale.

SEAN: My Hero Academia is one of Jump’s biggest hits, containing a cast filled with characters everyone loves, and Mineta. The 9th volume ships next week. (Seriously, everyone hates Mineta.)

One Piece’s 83rd volume will continue to develop Sanji’s predicament and upcoming marriage.

Platinum End’s 3rd volume will be there for hardcore fans of this manga team.

So Cute It Hurts!! is almost over, as the 14th volume is the penultimate one.

Toriko is also almost over, though the 39th volume shows we have a few more to go.

Vampire Knight: Memories is the debut from Shojo Beat. It’s nice to see the author return to her most popular world, I guess, though I worry it’s because she wasn’t able to duplicate that success.

Yona of the Dawn’s 7th volume continues our PIRATES! theme, though I do not believe ninjas, zombies or robots feature.

ASH: I think I’m okay with that.

ANNA: I so enjoy Shojo Beat’s fantasy manga.

Yu-Gi-Oh! never quite ends, as this is the 11th 3-in-1 and we’re still not near the end.

Lastly, Yen Press has one straggler, as the third Twinkle Stars omnibus finally shuffles onto the scene, looking furtively at its shoes as it apologizes for being so late.

MICHELLE: <3

ASH: I quite taken with the first two omnibuses, so I’m glad the third is finally here!

ANNA: Maybe I will finally read the first two volumes that are stacked up on my to-read pile!

SEAN: Which of these titles dog your footsteps?

SEAN: Viz is done. Yen is mostly done. Quiet final week of the month, right? HA.

J-Novel Club has the 3rd volume of excellent fantasy The Faraway Paladin, which barely feels like a “light” novel at all.

Lots of Kodansha, starting with a Del Rey resurrection, next week it’s Princess Resurrection 16.

The 4th volume of All-Rounder Meguru hits digitally.

Descending Stories is a highly unusual license for North America, particularly in print, but I thought the first volume was pretty good, so am looking forward to next week’s Vol. 2.

MICHELLE: I plan to read both of these soon!

ASH: I’m still waiting, perhaps/probably in vain, for All-Rounder Meguru to be released in print, but I greatly enjoyed the first volume of Descending Stories!

SEAN: We near the end of Fairy Tail with its 61st volume.

More sports manga with the 3rd Giant Killing out digitally.

MICHELLE: It’s so good!

ASH: I’d really like to see this series in print, too!

SEAN: And we also have the 2nd and final Queen Emeraldas hardcover from Kodansha, whose first volume felt like a Wagnerian tragedy, which is… appropriate given it’s Leiji Matsumoto. Expect more lyrical deaths in Book 2.

MICHELLE: I’ve been holding on to volume one ’til now, so I’m looking forward to reading this!

ASH: The first volume was terrific; I’m definitely on board for the finale.

SEAN: Springtime with Ninjas comes to an end with its 4th digital volume.

And there’s a 5th Tokyo Tarareba Girls digitally as well.

ANNA: I still need to read the first volume!

ASH: Print, please! (Sorry/not sorry to be a broken record. I’m thrilled these are all being translated, but I yearn for physical media.)

SEAN: Lastly for Kodansha, we have the 11th UQ Holder, aka Negima 2: The Search For Negi.

One Peace’s Maria Holic release has hit double digits with Vol. 10.

Seven Seas has a very large number of titles out next week, starting with the 4th Battle Rabbits.

A Certain Scientific Railgun 12, as you can tell by its cover, pairs up everyone’s favorite normal girl with one of the series’ more amusing villains. Will they bond? And can I avoid spoiling Index 15 in my review?

Generation Witch is the debut this week, a slice-of-life manga about witches that also seems to be a bit darker than the equivalent comparison, Flying Witch. It ran in Ichijinsha’s Comic Rex.

Hatsune Miku’s troubles continue with Vol. 2 of Bad End Night.

My Monster Secret is one of the more consistently funny manga coming out right now, so I’m definitely getting Vol. 7.

And a 3rd volume of The Seven Princes of the Thousand-Year Labyrinth, which takes less time to read than to type the title.

ASH: Heh.

SEAN: Speaking of awkward titles, enjoy Vol. 6 of The Testament of Sister New Devil.

Vertical gives us an 8th volume of cheery, kid-friendly, fluffy bunny manga Wolfsmund, and I am totally not lying like a rug at all.

ASH: It is such a heart-warming title! I mean, sometimes fire is involved…

SEAN: They also have a light novel based on the tragic romance manga Your Lie in April.

Viz does have a digital release for us, with the 2nd ēlDLIVE from the Reborn! author. (Hey, how about a digital release of Reborn! that finishes the series?)

Yen Digital has its own offerings next week, with Vol. 11s for Aphorism, Crimson Prince, and Sekirei.

Yen Digital also has new offerings. First we have Kuzumi-kun, Can’t You Read the Room?, a 4-koma title from Gangan Joker and is about a popular girl and a guy who simply cannot, well, read the room.

There’s also the debut of Now Playing, a title from Gangan Online that I don’t know much about except it has a Drama Club.

Yen On also has its light novel releases, starting with the 7th Durarara!!. Was Izaya killed at the end of Book 6? Sadly no, but he is in hospital. What will happen with our huge cast now?

And the 7th Kagerou Daze is subtitled From the Darkness, meaning I suspect we’re still not quite at a conclusion, though we are caught up with Japan, so it may be a while till the next one.

No Game No Life is down to twice a year, and this 6th book doesn’t even feature the main cast, as it takes place long in the past.

And with Vols. 8-10 of Sword Art Online out digitally, we are caught up, and therefore ready for Vol. 11 to come out print AND digitally next month.

Yen also has a couple of manga titles that weren’t in this week’s pile. First of all, Sekirei is getting a print release, and the first volume is out next week. If you like harem titles, this may be for you.

Lastly, enjoy wallowing in the teenage muck that is the 4th volume of Scum’s Wish. It is highly addicting muck, mind you.

MICHELLE: And far better than I’d initially expected it would be!

ASH: I was surprised, too!

SEAN: Is it too hot to read manga? Or are you getting one of these next week?

SEAN: Duck folks, here comes another week.

MICHELLE: Quack!

SEAN: We start off with Dark Horse, which has a 2nd volume of Hatsune Miku: Rin-chan Now!

They also have the first in a series of collections of H.P. Lovecraft manga, The Hound and Other Stories. These are by Tanabe Gou, who seems to specialize in Lovecraft horror manga adaptations, and ran in Enterbrain’s Comic Beam (something Dark Horse actually point out, showing how big a name Comic Beam now has among Western manga fans).

ASH: Wow, two Dark Horse titles in one week? I don’t really have a particular interest in Hatsune Miku, but The Hound and Other Stories looks to be very intriguing.

SEAN: J-Novel has 3 titles coming out next week, as they continue to increase their publications. We get the 2nd Arifureta: From Commonplace to World’s Strongest, which is very, very “what teenage boys with a power fantasy want”.

ASH: For those who prefer physical media, it was recently announced that Seven Seas will be working with J-Novel to release Arifureta in print, too.

SEAN: And we have the 4th I Saved Too Many Girls and Caused the Apocalypse, which I find slight but amusing.

And the 4th Mixed Bathing in Another Dimension, a title I enjoy far, far more than its fanservicey title deserves. Can’t wait.

Kodansha still has digital Del Rey rescues, with Alive 19 and School Rumble 21 (which may be its 2nd to last, depending on whether Kodansha cares about the one-volume School Rumble Z or not).

There’s a pile of print releases for once, starting with Aho Girl, a broad 4-koma series (which Kodansha itself noted they rarely do) about the titular girl, who is… well, as the title says. It runs in Weekly Shonen Magazine, and is best known as the 4-koma that isn’t Seitokai Yakuindomo.

In/Spectre seems like it may be coming to a climax, though I’m not sure how many volumes the manga will be. This is the 5th.

In digital news, there’s a 3rd Kasane coming out.

Princess Jellyfish has a 5th omnibus, as they try to save the farm by putting on a show in best Judy Garland/Mickey Rooney style.

MICHELLE: Hee. I’m looking forward to this. It’s less depressing than Tokyo Tarareba Girls!

ASH: I’m still thrilled this series was picked up for a print release. (Also, here’s hoping that Kodansha’s recent “digital-first” trend is truly digital-first and that we’ll eventually see titles like Tokyo Tarareba Girls in print, too.)

ANNA: Looking forward to this as well!

SEAN: Kodansha also has the 7th Sweetness and Lightning.

ASH: I’m really enjoying Sweetness and Lightning. It can be bittersweet and absolutely adorable in turns.

SEAN: The other print debut is Waiting for Spring, a “shosei” manga from Dessert about a shy girl who gets some life lessons from a group of handsome men. Despite that description making me wary, it’s apparently pretty cute and fluffy.

MICHELLE: I am cautiously optimistic.

ANNA: Might be worth a shot!

SEAN: The last Kodansha title this week is the 6th Welcome to the Ballroom. Will we finally get a more permanent dance partner for our lead?

One Peace has a 5th Kuma Miko, which some comics shops may have gotten already. It’s highly beariable.

Seven Seas has a 2nd volume of cute yuri title Hana & Hina After School.

ASH: I tend to enjoy Morinaga’s manga, but I still liked Hana & Hina After School more than I was expecting.

SEAN: There’s also a 4th Lord Marksman and Vanadis.

And lastly, a 7th volume of Magika Swordsman and Summoner (has he hit 72 yet?).

Vertical’s big debut is the first volume of Mobile Suit Gundam WING. This is actually the Endless Waltz manga – OK, the longer and better variation of the Endless Waltz manga – and currently runs in Gundam A magazine. Will it have Relena Peacecraft, that’s my question…

Vertical also has the 9th and penultimate volume of Nichijou. You’ll never guess the plot twists!… wait, no, Nichijou. You’ll never guess the random gags!

Viz’s Terra Formars has reached 18 volumes. My word.

MICHELLE: Jeez.

SEAN: Yen On’s titles mostly ship the week after next, but next week does give us the 3rd and 4th Sword Art Online: Progressive volumes digitally.

Yen’s manga titles are (mostly) shipping next week, starting with the 11th Akame Ga KILL!.

A mere 4 years after the last volume, here is the 7th The Betrayal Knows My Name. That should excite folks.

MJ: Woo hoo!

SEAN: A Certain Magical Index’s manga reaches double digits, and I think is still adapting the 7th novel.

And Death March to the Parallel World Rhapsody has a 4th book.

Yay, a book I’m buying! An 8th Horimiya, a series I always look forward to.

MICHELLE: Me, too.

ASH: It is a great series.

SEAN: More light novel adaptations with the 7th Danmachi manga.

A print debut for a digital-only title from a while back, now getting an anime, Kakeguri – Compulsive Gambler combines the thrills of survival game-style manga with the joys of gambling.

ASH: While it’s not Kaiji, I’m still rather curious about this series.

SEAN: MORE light novel adaptations with the 4th KonoSuba manga.

Liselotte & Witch’s Forest has its 5th volume, which may catch us up with Japan – the author has been busy with her incredibly mediocre sequel to Fruits Basket lately.

MICHELLE: Yeah. Sigh.

SEAN: And an 8th Monthly Girls’ Nozaki-kun, which I think has also caught up with Japan, though that’s for more normal reasons.

MICHELLE: I might have to hoard this one for a rainy day.

ASH: I can’t blame you for that; Monthly Girls’ Nozaki-kun is SO GOOD! It always makes me happy to read it.

SEAN: Watamote, whose title is too exhausting to type out, has its 10th book.

The Royal Tutor is moving fast now that it’s in print – here’s Book 2.

ASH: The first volume was a little goofy, but fun!

SEAN: And we get a 2nd Smokin’ Parade.

And a 13th Spice & Wolf – is the manga wrapping up soon?

There is also a 7th Taboo Tattoo.

Lastly, we have a 13th volume of Triage X, which is lucky for me as I’m not reading it.

SOOOOOOO much. What interests you?

SEAN: There’s a pile. Let’s get down to it, boppers.

MICHELLE: Heh.

SEAN: Dark Horse starts us off with the third Blade of the Immortal omnibus.

J-Novel Club has the 2nd Bluesteel Blasphemer on tap.

They also have a debut, Infinite Dendrogram. It’s got many elements common to recent light novel series – a new VRMMO that may blur the line between reality and game – but I am assured it is quite good, so we shall see.

Kodansha is still rescuing some Del Rey stuff, with the 15th Yozakura Quartet and the 20th School Rumble.

In new digital licenses, they have the 4th Domestic Girlfriend, and the 4th Full-Time Wife Escapist. Excited for the latter.

ANNA: I need to get caught up on Full-Time Wife Escapist! I enjoyed the first couple volumes.

MICHELLE: I’m excited for volume four, as well!

SEAN: They also snuck in some new licenses too late for me to mention them last week, so these are already out. I have failed you again. Sorry. Hotaru’s Way (Hotaru no Hikari) is the most famous of the three licenses, a josei series from Kiss that’s been made into some live-action series. It’s the ever-popular “falling in love with my boss” genre.

ANNA: Yay josei!

MICHELLE: That’s not my favorite josei genre, but I’ll give it a look.

SEAN: Sneaking in a print release here, as the 5th Interview with Monster Girls ships next week.

Back to this week’s digital debuts (damn my penchant for alphabetical order), Kounodori: Dr. Stork is a long-running seinen title from Evening Magazine, involving an obstetrician/pianist. It sounds very seinen.

ASH: Huh. I had missed the pianist angle.

SEAN: Love’s Reach (Kinkyori Renai) is an older shoujo series that ran in Betsufure, and has a teacher/student romance to go along with the earlier boss/employee romance.

ANNA: OK!

SEAN: And now we’re back to next week proper, as there’s a 21st Seven Deadly Sins.

Seven Seas has a 2nd volume of shoujo romance Dreamin’ Sun.

MICHELLE: I enjoyed volume one a lot!

ASH: I actually just got around to reading the first volume. I rather liked the quirky cast of characters.

SEAN: And a 2nd volume of supernatural thriller Ghost Diary.

ASH: It seemed very derivative, but enjoyed the first volume more than I expected. (Except for one character’s super-annoying verbal affectation…)

SEAN: And I suppose we must mention the 3rd volume of yuri sleaze NTR – Netsuzou Trap. Now with anime adaptation.

They also finish a series next week, as The Sacred Blacksmith ends with its 10th volume.

SuBLime has a 7th volume of The World’s Greatest First Love.

And Udon rolls out a 5th volume of Persona 3.

Vertical gives us a 5th volume of Immortal Hounds (lot of Vol. 5s next week).

Viz has Vol. 63 of Case Closed.

They also have a new Legendary Edition of The Legend of Zelda, this one covering the Four Swords story.

ASH: The Legendary Edition of the series is really nice!

SEAN: Lastly, Rumiko Takahashi keeps toddling along with a 24th Rin-Ne.

Beat the heat with manga! What are you reading next week?

SEAN: Too many titles, let’s jump right in! What’s the feel-good manga of the summer?

Dark Horse has Berserk 38! For those wondering, the previous volume came out in 2013. Also for those wondering, it just went back on hiatus in Japan once more. Again.

ASH: Yup. This is the one. The feel-good manga of the summer. Seriously though, I’m always glad to see a new volume of Berserk (finally) show up.

SEAN: J-Novel Club thankfully gives us just one Invaders of the Rokujouma, the 4th. I enjoyed it, but am grateful it’s not 3 every month.

Kodansha has just one Del Rey rescue this week, the 18th volume of Alive.

ASH: Oh! I’d almost forgotten about this one! I wonder if the success of Noragami created more interest in this series.

SEAN: After delays that seemed to number in the centuries, we’re finally seeing the release of Appleseed Alpha, the manga adaptation of the 2014 film by the creator of Sexy Voice and Robo. It ran in Morning Two, and should be complete in one hardcover omnibus. More Deunan is always welcome.

ASH: I actually hadn’t realized that Iou Kuroda was involved with the manga.

SEAN: Kodansha Digital has plenty of new titles on tap this week, starting with some sports for Michelle with the third DAYS.

MICHELLE: Woot!

SEAN: There’s also the 12th Fuuka (the previous 11 having come out before I started tagging all the digital titles). Fuuka is a Seo Kouji title, which is its own warning.

GTO Paradise Lost has a 3rd volume. I need to catch up or I’ll end up very behind.

There’s also a 2nd Kasane, for those who like scary things.

And a 4th Tokyo Tarareba Girls, with more women behaving badly.

MICHELLE: It’s simultaneously funny and depressing and now I find I kind of dread discovering the latest heartbreak!

ANNA: I need to read this, I’ve been distracted by some of Kodansha’s other digital offerings.

SEAN: Lastly, we’re back to print with the 14th volume of Yamada-kun and the Seven Witches.

ASH: I did largely enjoy the beginning of the series, but it’s starting to feel like the manga is being stretched too thin at this point.

SEAN: Seven Seas sneaks up on you, as they don’t mass ship on one week the way Viz and Yen do, but they’re putting out a PILE of titles every month now. First up, the debut of Alice & Zoroku, a seinen title from Comic Ryu about experimental kids from a research lab and a grumpy, mostly normal old man.

The Ancient Magus’ Bride has a 7th volume coming, and that should make all of you very happy. I certainly am.

ASH: It makes me happy! This series is still one of my favorites currently being released.

SEAN: As for the 12th volume of Magical Girl Apocalypse, I’m sure some folks are happy there as well.

Monster Girl fans will be pleased by a 6th Nurse Hitomi’s Monster Infirmary.

And if you like light novels from J-Novel Club but hate digital titles, there’s the first Occultic;Nine novel in print with Seven Seas distributing.

Plum Crazy! (Kijitora Neko no Koume-san) is a series from Shonen Gahosha’s magazine devoted to cat manga, Neko Panchi. I’ve heard very good things about this title, plus KITTIES!

MICHELLE: This was not on my radar at all!

ASH: Who doesn’t like a good cat manga?

SEAN: Lastly from Seven Seas, we have Wadanohara and the Great Big Sea (Oounabara to Oounabara), a Gene Pixiv title that seems to be a younger-skewing fantasy title. It’s an omnibus of Vol. 1-2.

The sad thing is it’s a first week and I haven’t gotten to Viz yet. Let’s start with the 5th 7th Garden manga.

Anonymous Noise has a 3rd volume of teenage angst and pop music.

ANNA: I feel weirdly conflicted about this title and yet I’m sure I’m going to read it.

SEAN: Bleach is still churning out manga volumes despite the series ending about this time last year, and we’re now up to Vol. 70.

And Blue Exorcist has a 17th volume, a series I still quite enjoy even if I lose track of the plot at times.

The Demon Prince of Momochi House has a 9th volume, standing above all as the ongoing Aya Shouoto series in North America.

MICHELLE: And the best thus far.

ANNA: SO good!

ASH: I’ve been enjoying it, too!

SEAN: It’s unlucky 13 for Haikyu!!, and hopefully the triskadecaphobia won’t strike the team itself.

ANNA: Woo hoo for volleyball!

ASH: Still loving this series.

SEAN: Honey So Sweet has a 7th volume for is. It’s certainly lived up to its name.

ANNA: SO sweet!

SEAN: Naruto has a 19th 3-in-1, and my guess is there’s a big fight going on somewhere in it.

The 22nd volume of Nisekoi will wrap up Mariko’s subplot, and hopefully not kill her off with Love Story disease.

And there’s a 22nd Oresama Teacher as well, which delights me. Super Bun returns FOR GREAT JUSTICE!

ANNA: I’m behind on this title, but who doesn’t love Super Bun????

ASH: Considering my love for Monthly Girls’ Nozaki-kun, I should really make the point to give Oresama Teach a try one of these days.

SEAN: Rurouni Kenshin has a 3rd 3-in-1. Is it in the Kyoto Arc yet?

ASH: Yup!

SEAN: Twin Star Exorcists has reached Vol. 9.

And The Water Dragon’s Bride has a second volume, and I’m hoping continues to keep the oddly creepy mood of the first.

ANNA: This is a great series.

ASH: Another series I’ve been meaning to try! I greatly enjoyed the creator’s earlier series Dawn of the Arcana.

SEAN: Lastly, World Trigger hits its 16th volume, and I suspect we may be catching up with Japan before long, as the author is ill.

SO MUCH MANGA. Is it making you sweat, or is that just the heat?

SEAN: It’s the end of the fiscal year! The real 2016 ends on June 30th! What are publishers putting out before the end of the budget?

Bookwalker has been a site that distributes digital titles for many publishers, but they’ve decided to dip their own toe into the pond with a new light novel series, The Combat Baker and Automaton Waitress. It appears to feature delicious bread.

MJ: I do like delicious bread… Can a great title like this lure me into a light novel series? Stay tuned to find out!

SEAN: I’m always wary to list DMP titles these days given how iffy they’ve been with print the last two years, but The Tyrant Falls in Love 10 is still listed by Amazon as coming out next week.

ASH: Yeah… DMP’s distribution is almost nonexistent these days. The manga might eventually make it to other sellers, but The Tyrant Falls in Love, Volume 10 isn’t even available through June Manga’s website yet.

SEAN: J-Novel Club has another debut with Demon King Daimaou, a fairly old series that had an anime out back in 2010. It has a magical academy, a boy who will grow to be a demon king, a harem of girls who zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz….

Kodansha wraps up a license rescue next week, as Nodame Cantabile comes to an end with Vols. 24 and 25. There’s also a 14th Yozakura Quartet.

In print, there’s a 3rd volume of Clockwork Planet.

Back to digital for the 2nd volume of Giant Killing, which is not about killing giants in a fantasy way, just in a sports way.

MICHELLE: And it’s so good! I’m looking forward to this one.

SEAN: Kodansha’s print debut next week is Land of the Lustrous (Houseki no Kuni), a seinen series from afternoon about gemstones fighting in a war. From what I’ve seen, the gemstones are genderless, so be warned that there may be a translation fight here (remember Wish?).

ASH: I am rather curious about this series. (And speaking of Wish, I wonder if Dark Horse’s forthcoming omnibus edition will be using a new translation… )

MJ: So… like Steven Universe, but without Steven?

SEAN: And a new volume of Vinland Saga is always welcome, here’s the 9th.

ANNA: Yay! I have been buying these faithfully even though I have not read them yet. Waiting until I feel particularly vikingish to go on a reading binge.

ASH: It is SO GOOD. I’m thrilled that we’re getting more of the series! There were some really great female characters introduced recently, too.

SEAN: Seven Seas has not one, but two debuts next week. The first is Beasts of Abigaile (Bara Kangoku no Kemono-tachi), a shoujo manga from Princess (man, have we had any Princess titles since Tokyopop shut down its manga?) that’s a reverse harem with werewolves.

ANNA: OK, paranormal reverse harem does interest me.

MJ: Maybe, maybe…

SEAN: Concrete Revolutio: The Complete Saga, as the name might suggest, is a done-in-one omnibus from Young Ace. The subtitle in Japan is “Superhero Fantasy”, and that seems entirely correct.

MICHELLE: Both appear to feature protagonists with pink hair!

SEAN: Seven Seas also has a new omnibus of Freezing, Vols. 15-16.

And there’s also a 5th Hour of the Zombie, which has caught up to Japan, I believe.

Udon, like DMP, has constantly slipping and sliding dates on Amazon, but it does say the 4th Persona 3 is out next week.

ASH: I’m not enjoying the Persona 3 adaptation nearly as much as the Persona 4 adaptation.

SEAN: Vertical gives us the 4th massive tome in their BLAME! Master’s Edition.

And a 2nd volume of slice-of-magical-life series Flying Witch.

MICHELLE: I enjoyed volume one quite a bit, so I’m looking forward to this!

SEAN: Vertical Inc. has the next novel in the Monogatari series. Nisemonogatari is split into two volumes that deal with Araragi’s younger sisters – this is the first, Karen Bee.

Viz has a new digital release, at least “new” in terms of a collected volume. The Emperor and I runs in Shonen Jump+, and is, well, about an emperor. An emperor penguin, that is.

Yen Press has some digital titles as well, with the 11th Corpse Princess and the 10th Saki.

They also have two digital debuts. Gesellschaft Blue is a Young Gangan series filled with blood, gore and action. It’s a very dark fantasy.

IM: The Great Priest Imhotep seems more like a standard shonen fantasy, and appropriately it runs in Shonen Gangan.

There’s always one lone Yen title that’s pushed back a week from the others, and this month it’s Leg Horizon’s 8th novel, which focuses on the younger members of the guild and their adventures.

Lastly, Sword Art Online gets 3 more light novel digital releases with Vols. 5-7.

Did you budget properly? Do you have money left over to buy manga next week?

SEAN: It’s that time again. Time for this list of titles to take forever, time for your wallet to scream in pain, time for Anna to wonder why Yen doesn’t license more shoujo. Yes, it’s that week of the month.

Dark Horse has another Hatsune Miku manga, this one called Acute.

Drawn and Quarterly gives us another Kitaro volume, The Great Tanuki War. I’ve reviewed it here.

ASH: I’m always ready for more Kitaro!

SEAN: Haikasoru has the 4th Legend of the Galactic Heroes novel, which seems more timely than ever these days.

ASH: That it does.

MICHELLE: Someday, I really will read these.

ANNA: I just got the first one!

SEAN: J-Novel Club has the 4th Grimgar of Fantasy and Ash out digitally.

Their debut this week is If It’s For My Daughter, I’d Even Defeat A Demon Lord, which is a very light novel title if nothing else. J-Novel’s founder described it as being “like Bunny Drop”, then had to hurriedly walk that back after fans recoiled in horror. The good parts of Bunny Drop, apparently.

Kodansha continues to rush Nodame Cantabile to its finish digitally, here’s Vol. 23.

MICHELLE: Woot!

SEAN: Kodansha in print has a 7th volume of Inuyashiki, which recently ended in Japan.

And an 11th volume of Kiss Him, Not Me!, which despite its cover is unlikely to end with anyone married.

There is also a 7th Real Account.

Seven Seas gives us a 3rd volume of “would you read this in public?” series Holy Corpse Rising. (Answer: no.)

The new title is Otome Mania!, a reverse harem series that runs in Sylph, and whose author has done a lot of Shonen Jump BL doujinshi. So, pretty much the opposite market to Holy Corpse Riding.

Viz gives us the 21st volume of Dorohedoro, which crawls closer to its conclusion, but I don’t mind it taking so long.

ASH: I continue to adore Dorohedoro. It will be sad when it ends, but it has been an astonishing ride so far.

SEAN: Viz’s big debut is Golden Kamuy, a Young Jump title which sounds absolutely amazing, and co-stars an Ainu woman? Sign me up.

ASH: I’m really looking forward to this series!

ANNA: This looks cool.

SEAN: The 6th Goodnight Punpun omnibus is also out next week.

ASH: We’re drawing near the end of this depressing yet compelling work.

SEAN: And an 11th Master Keaton.

Lastly (from Viz, don’t get excited), there’s a lucky 13th volume of Tokyo Ghoul.

That leaves Yen, but we’re not even halfway through the list. A huge number of light novels next week, starting with the 10th Accel World, which I hope is more lighthearted after the last few books.

Is It Wrong To Pick Up Girls In A Dungeon’s side story, Sword Oratoria, is not making viewers of the anime adaptation happy, but will they enjoy this 3rd light novel more?

The first of two debuts this month, Magical Girl Raising Project is one of THOSE series, featuring a lot of cute and determined magical girls who will be brutally slaughtered.

The 4th volume of Psycome goes off campus, as our heroes deal with Eri’s family and past.

Re: Zero’s 4th volume starts a new arc which no doubt means more deaths and save points for our hero.

The most exciting debut of the week for me is Sound Euphonium, a book about a high school band that was adapted into a beloved anime series. I believe this is the only volume licensed, though a sequel is out in Japan. Buy it, I hear it’s great.

MICHELLE: I don’t often go in for light novels, but for this I think I’ll make an exception.

ASH: I’ll absolutely be reading this. Band was the highlight of my high school years.

SEAN: Spice & Wolf turns out to be not quite over, as we get this 18th volume of the series.

And the first two Sword Art Online: Progressive novels are out digitally next week.

On to Yen’s manga. There’s a 5th Aoharu x Machinegun.

The Asterisk War has a 4th volume of its manga adaptation.

And Bungo Stray Dogs gets a 3rd volume.

The Devil Is A Part-Timer’s 9th manga volume is out as well.

And a 7th Dragons Rioting. Sorry, no witty remarks, no snark, just a long list of things I don’t read.

I do read Erased, though, and look forward to the 2nd omnibus.

ASH: It should be good! The first omnibus was a little slow for me at first, but by the end I was hooked.

SEAN: If you want to read Grimgar but hate books, here is the first volume of the Grimgar of Fantasy and Ash manga.

And there’s a 6th volume of Handa-kun.

The Honor Student at Magic High School is once again behind the light novels, to my relief. Here’s the 7th manga volume.

How to Raise a Boring Girlfriend has reached Vol. 6.

Kiniro Mosaic has a 3rd volume of basically not a lot happening to cute, yuri-ish girls.

My Youth Romantic Comedy Is Long As I Expected still has a long title, even 5 volumes in. (A reminder this sis the manga adaptation, though Amazon has gotten better at differentiating the two now.)

A spin-off of No Game No Life (whose own manga adaptation seems to be on hiatus in Japan), No Game No Life, Please! focuses on Izuna, as the title’s verbal tic likely gave away.

Of the Red, the Light and the Ayakashi may not make much sense to me, even after 7 volumes, but it’s got style.

MICHELLE: I’m enjoying it!

ASH: I’ve been enjoying it, myself.

SEAN: And we have a 7th Prison School omnibus.

ASH: I’m still reading this series, too. It’s definitely not for everyone, though.

School-Live! still has not run out of zombies, as we have Vol. 7 here.

And a 7th Strike the Blood manga will not surprise, but may satisfy anyway.

Today’s Cerberus gives us a 4th print volume of the already out on digital series.

Lastly, the your name novel gets a manga adaptation, and this is Vol. 1.

Phew. What’s for you next week? Or does the list just make you dizzy?

SEAN: Traditionally this is the small week of the month, but tradition can go hang: there are no small weeks anymore.

MICHELLE: At least there is no shortage of choices for Picks of the Week!

ASH: What a time to be alive!

SEAN: Dark Horse has the 5th volume of Fate/Zero, which will likely be as gruesome as ever.

J-Novel Club has In Another World With My Smartphone on the fast track, as we have Vol. 3 already. It’s the bouncy puppy of isekai.

And Paying to Win in a VRMMO also has its 3rd volume.

Kodansha has a pile of digital only Del Rey rescues: Alive 17, Nodame Cantabile 22, and Yozakura Quartet 13.

In new digital titles, we have a 4th Ace of the Diamond.

MICHELLE: Woot!

SEAN: Air Gear is down to one volume per year, but Kodansha can take heart that the 36th is the 2nd to last one.

Chihayafuru gets a 3rd volume digitally as well, and I will definitely be reading it.

MICHELLE: Super woot!

SEAN: There is a 5th Complex Age, a very realistic take on cosplay and aging – a bit too realistic for my taste.

MICHELLE: I’m wary, since I hated the new character in volume four so vehemently, but the series concludes with volume six, and it’d be a shame not to finish it.

ASH: I haven’t read the fourth volume yet, but the first three left a strong impression on me.

SEAN: And Fire Force has a 4th volume of supernatural firefighting.

One Peace has an 8th volume of its light novel series Rise of the Shield Hero.

Seven Seas has a 12th volume of Dragonar Academy, which I hear some people buy and enjoy.

There is also a 5th Masamune-kun’s Revenge, which I have been enjoying with reservations.

A debut! Red Riding Hood and the Big Sad Wolf (Akazukin-chan wa Ookami-san o Nakasetai!) is a Zero-Sum series which seems to have a less grim take on Grimm.

ASH: That could be interesting.

SEAN: Species Domain was more fun than I expected, and a 2nd volume should hopefully be as fun.

The other Seven Seas debut is Tales of Zestria, a manga version of the RPG game. It’s also a Zero-Sum title.

SuBLime has a spinoff of the Don’t Be Cruel manga called Don’t Be Cruel: plus+. Do you pronounce both pluses?

We also see the first volume of the Finder Deluxe Edition (from SuBLime, I think – hasn’t this series had more re-releases than I can keep track of?).

ASH: This is only the second release, I promise. Digital Manga used to have the license, but SuBLime has it now. And this edition has additional content not previously released!

SEAN: Vertical has the 6th and final Mysterious Girlfriend X omnibus.

Viz has the debut of After Hours, their own entry into the burgeoning yuri manga market. It runs in Hibana magazine, and I understand it does not take place in a school! Gasp!

MICHELLE: Looking forward to this one!

ASH: Same! (Even more now that I know it isn’t a school romance.)

SEAN: There is also a 24th Magi, for all you Magi fans (including me, though I wish Morgiana did more).

Lastly, we have the 8th Monster Hunter: Flash Hunter.

Do any of these series excite you? Depress you? Irritate you?

SEAN: June is bustin’ out all over! And while we don’t have that Rogers and Hammerstein manga just yet, we certainly have plenty of titles coming out next week.

ASH: (I would totally read that manga, btw.)

MJ: (Same.)

SEAN: J-Novel Club has the 4th volume of My Big Sister Lives in a Fantasy World, which promises to be more Haruhi-ish than ever before.

Kodansha digital has more Del Rey rescue volumes, as we get Nodame Cantabile 21 and Princess Resurrection 15.

They also have the 2nd digital volume of Drowning Love.

MICHELLE: Yay for Nodame and Drowning Love.

SEAN: I admit that I have for the most part dropped Fairy Tail. I am a shipper, though, and I do love me some Galevy. I will be picking up Fairy Tail: Rhodonite, then, a spinoff focused on Gajeel.

Noragami has a new volume, with Vol. 18! Man, remember when these were monthly?

ASH: I do! It’s great to catch up so quickly, but it does make the waits between volumes feel especially long.

SEAN: And there is a 6th Sweetness and Lightning.

MICHELLE: I could use a dose of wholesome food manga.

ASH: I’m really loving this series.

SEAN: On the Seven Seas front, we have the 2nd volume of Captive Hearts of Oz, which I found interesting enough to continue, and Alice in the Country of fans should love it.

ASH: The first volume intrigued me as well. It had it’s rough spots, but overall I was entertained.

SEAN: They’re also releasing a print version of the first Grimgar of Fantasy and Ash light novel, which J-Novel Club released back in December.

The big release next week is My Lesbian Experience with Loneliness, which everyone needs to pick up immediately. I reviewed it here.

MICHELLE: Hm, sounds interesting!

ASH: One of my most anticipated releases of the year! I’m glad to finally get a chance to read it.

MJ: This was somehow not on my radar at all, so thanks for fixing that!

SEAN: And there is a 3rd Please Tell Me, Galko-chan!, which I find far more amusing and fun than I’d expected to.

ASH: Same.

SEAN: Vertical Comics has a 7th Volume of Devil’s Line.

And now it’s time for Viz. Assassination Classroom 16 promises a heaping help of backstory.

Black Clover 7 promises more of what it is that Black Clover does best: reminding you of other shonen titles.

Even after 7 volumes, Bloody Mary still has vampires.

The 5th Everyone’s Getting Married is also out. Can they keep things from getting too angsty?

And things continue to go from bad to worse for the students in the 18th volume of Food Wars!.

MICHELLE: Ordinarily, I look forward to Food Wars! passionately, but this current arc is rather distressing.

ASH: I actually need to catch up to the current arc; I’ve fallen behind!

SEAN: Haikyu!! 12 is probably happy it doesn’t have to worry about cooking and can just focus on volleyball.

MICHELLE: Huzzah!

ASH: Yay!

SEAN: And the second to last volume of Kamisama Kiss! I will miss it!

ANNA: I’ve been stockpiling volumes because I don’t want it to be over.

SEAN: Kuroko’s Basketball has a 6th 2-in-1 omnibus, and continues to star Kuroko, against all odds.

MICHELLE: Further huzzah!

SEAN: Viz’s big release is Manga in Theory and Practice. A few years ago Tokyopop released a volume by Hakusensha’s editors on how to do shoujo manga. This might be the shonen equivalent, but its creator is none other than Hirohiko Araki, the creator of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure! I cannot wait to read this.

ANNA: That sounds like a hoot.

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

MJ: Oh, interesting. Count me in.

SEAN: One Piece 3-in-1 20 should not be read without tissues handy, as it has the death that no one was expecting.

Seraph of the End has reached a dozen volumes, meaning it can now be profitable in syndication.

And So Cute It Hurts!! has unlucky Volume 13.

Lastly, but not leastly (oh, the grammar pain), there is a 6th Yona of the Dawn. Why can’t this be monthly?

ANNA: YES, WHY?????

MICHELLE: Aside from Fruits Basket, has a shoujo series ever had a monthly print release?

ASH: It seems like there must have been, but none immediately come to mind.

SEAN: A highly interesting week. What are you getting?

SEAN: Believe it or not, under 20 releases is now a quiet week. Welcome to the Manga Boom, here’s your accordion. So what’s out next week?

J-Novel Club has an odd license. Despite being available to them, no one thought the company would license Invaders of the Rokujouma!? for two reasons: 1) It’s 23 volumes and counting in Japan, and 2) it already had a well-regarded fan translation of the first 22 volumes. But J-Novel has licensed that fan translation, is giving it an edit, and doing a fast release of the first three volumes of the series, with more to come monthly, apparently. As for the title itself, it’s a harem comedy, so moving on…

ASH: It’s probably not a series that I’ll ever pick up, but that’s an interesting publication history!

SEAN: Kodansha has more digital Del Rey rescues. Alive 16, Nodame Cantabile 20, and Yozakura Quartet 12.

…and I guess that Kodansha has Battle Angel Alita 1-3 out digitally too. I knew it was coming, but not so soon. This is the original BAA (as opposed to the Last Order reboot), with a new translation.

Their lone print release this week is the 60th volume of Fairy Tail, which should be wrapping up in Japan soon.

Kodansha also has new digital releases. Kasane is an award-winning work, and runs in the magazine Evening. It appears to be a dark thriller with lots of bullying and abuse overtones. But, magic lipstick!

Real Girl (3D Kanojo) is a shoujo/josei title from Dessert, involving a nerdy outcast type who ends up working with a cool beauty, the sort he hates, but gradually comes to realize that cool beauties are people too.

ANNA: I have mixed feelings about these digital releases, I’m so happy that more shoujo/josei is coming out, but having been burned before by the crash and burn of digital manga programs in the past, I’m concerned about some of these titles actually being finished. Also, it would be great to have some more josei print manga! Even with these handy reminders for the Manga Bookshelf team, I’m having a hard time keeping track of all the digital releases that I’m interested in.

MICHELLE: There certainly are a lot of them! That said, I will give these two new ones a try. And yay for more Nodame, as well!

ASH: I’m glad that these titles are being licensed at all, but I’d definitely like to see more of the released in print, too.

MJ: I share Anna’s concerns. I’m glad these are being released, but I’m still reeling from the loss of some JManga series I was really invested in (that have not, to my knowledge, been picked up by anyone else), and I admit I still mistrust digital.

SEAN: If it helps, the JManga title To All Corners of the World was rescued by Seven Seas and will be out in November in one (print) omnibus.

Seven Seas has a few new titles next week, starting with a (gasp!) novel, The Disappearance of Hatsune Miku, based on the seemingly unstoppable Vocaloid idol.

The manga debut is The High School Life of a Fudanshi (Fudanshi Koukou Seikatsu), a comedy title from Zero-Sum Online about a straight guy obsessed with BL, and his drive to find someone else to share his obsession with.

ASH: Knowing a few straight fudanshi myself, I’m rather curious to see how the series handles the topic.

MJ: Cautiously interested.

SEAN: And there’s a 5th volume of Shomin Sample, which must have run out of girls showing us their panties on the cover by now. (checks) Sadly, apparently not.

Vertical has the 8th Ninja Slayer, for all your Ninja needs.

They also have a light novel based on the Seven Deadly Sins manga, subtitled Seven Scars They Left Behind. Judging by that title, I wouldn’t expect a lot of laughs.

Yen Digital has some new volumes for us, as we get the 10th Aphorism, the 10th Crimson Prince, and the 10th Sekirei.

And while it’s not Vol. 10, Yen On does have the first four Sword Art Online novels now available digitally, for those obsessed with reading light novels on their phones (like me).

Are you taking a week off? Or getting something here?

SEAN: Either you ride with the manga tide or you let it drown you. Looking at next week… blub blub blub.

MICHELLE: I thought this list was huge enough as it is!

SEAN: Dark Horse has a 2nd volume of Psycho Pass prequel Inspector Shinya Kogami.

J-Novel Club gives us a 3rd volume of Mixed Bathing in Another Dimension, which I still find much better than its title would suggest.

Kodansha has a pile, of course. In the Del Rey rescue category, we have Nodame Cantabile 19 (get ready for weekly releases of this), and Princess Resurrection 14.

MICHELLE: I continue to be asquee about Nodame. Looks like they’ll have the final volume out by the end of June!

ASH: Wow! I wasn’t expecting such a rigorous schedule for Nodame!

SEAN: Their debut is Descending Stories: Showa Genroku Rakugo Shinju, a josei title from Itan magazine. Its anime was insanely popular, so I’m expecting good things.

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

ASH: As am I! It’s actually one of my most anticipated debuts for the year.

ANNA: Sounds great!

SEAN: The Full-Time Wife Escapist has a 3rd volume digitally, and I still want more of it.

MICHELLE: I still need to read 1-2!

ANNA: This is one series I’m actually not behind on reading!

SEAN: Hozuki’s Coolheadedness also has a new volume out digitally, its 2nd.

ASH: So many things I’m interested in are only being released digitally right now!

SEAN: Missions of Love 14 is here to make me grind my teeth but enjoy it anyway. It’s still a while away from an ending.

There is also a 3rd Peach Heaven out digitally.

The Seven Deadly Sins is almost old enough to drink with its 20th volume.

And Welcome to the Ballroom has a 5th book, no doubt starting the next arc.

And now for Seven Seas. First off, we have the 7th Golden Time manga, a good solid romantic dramedy.

Kase-san and Bento is the 2nd in the “Kase-san” series, and I would guess will involve bento lunches.

MICHELLE: That’s a good guess. The first one wasn’t profound or anything, but it was pleasant, so I reckon I’ll read this one, too.

ASH: I’ve been meaning to give the series a try for a while now, but there being a food theme does bump it up on the to-be-read list.

SEAN: And a 7th volume of sleepy slice of life Non Non Biyori.

Vertical gives us an 8th volume of Cardfight!! Vanguard, which seems to have gotten over whatever licensing issues had it on hold.

I’ve been forgetting about Boys Over Flowers Season 2, which Viz is still releasing digitally – the 5th volume is out next week.

MICHELLE: I wish I could love this as much as the original. Sadly, it hasn’t grabbed me.

ANNA: I liked the first couple volumes, but I agree, not as compelling as the original series.

MICHELLE: The Yoko Kamio series I *would* be excited about is Cat Street.

SEAN: The rest is Yen, but so much Yen. On the novel side, we get an 11th A Certain Magical Index, now on location in Italy.

Death March to the Parallel World Rhapsody has a 2nd volume. I understand it is one of them newfangled trapped in another world thingummies.

The much delayed My Youth Romantic Comedy Is Wrong As I Expected finally gets its 2nd novel, which may require me to reread the first to remind me what’s going on.

And a 4th volume of Overlord, this time focusing on some Lizardman Heroes who will no doubt be destroyed by our title antihero in some way.

Strike the Blood will have a 6th volume of eminently readable and totally uninspiring antics.

The big novel release this month is your name, whose lack of capital letters did not prevent it from becoming a huge movie. It’s complete in one volume, though a sequel is out later this fall.

MICHELLE: I’m a little wary of this, since I loved the movie so much. What if it taints my experience?

ASH: I’m interested in seeing how the novel reads. The manga adaptations of Shinkai’s works have generally been quite good, though.

SEAN: And there’s 3 more Spice & Wolf digital releases, 15-17, which I believe finishes the catch up.

In manga news, there’s a 5th Anne Happy, which wrings laughs out of misfortune. Well, chuckles at least.

Big Order has its second omnibus, as it continues to try to outdo Future Diary.

This isn’t manga, but I don’t care. Brave is out next week! From creator Svetlana Chmakova, it’s a semi-sequel to her hit Awkward, taking place in the same universe but focusing on new kids. It’s super good.

Following something like Brave with the 17th volume of BTOOOM!, a series still best known for its bomb-breast-bouncing scene, seems cruel.

The Case Study of Vanitas gets a 2nd volume. I understand there are vampires.

ASH: And pretty artwork, from what I hear.

SEAN: Corpse Party: Blood Covered must have killed its way through the cast, as this is the 5th and final omnibus. Not to worry, a sequel is out later this year.

Several exciting new debuts this week, starting with Delicious in Dungeon (Dungeon Meshi), a seinen series from Enterbrain’s Harta magazine that manages to combine dungeon crawls and a cooking manga.

MICHELLE: I am excite!

ASH: Same! I love the premise of the series so much. Granted, the few times that I’ve played tabletop rpgs, the groups had a tendency to put a lot of emphasis on food, both in the game and outside of it.

ANNA: Oh yeah, this sounds good!

SEAN: Dimension W has a 6th volume for those of you who enjoy the things Dimension W provides. (Can I get any vaguer?)

Girls’ Last Tour (Shoujo Shuumatsu Ryokou) is also debuting, coming from Shinchosha and one of its many Bunch magazines. It’s post-apocalyptic slife-of-life, and probably the closest to Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou anyone is going to get.

ASH: I’m very curious about this one, actually.

SEAN: Karneval has a 7th omnibus.

Kiss and White Lily for My Dearest Girl has a 2nd volume, which seems fast but recall the first volume was delayed a month. In any case, yay!

MICHELLE: Forsooth!

Log Horizon: The West Wind Brigade has a 5th volume, and is one of the more enjoyable fluffy spinoffs out there.

Monthly Girls’ Nozaki-kun remains a highlight every time it comes out, even with its 7th volume.

ASH: Yes! It is so consistently great! I love it so much!

SEAN: And if you want hyperviolent fanservicey trash (which I sort of like anyway), there’s a 2nd Murcielago.

ASH: Definitely not a series for everyone, but I liked the first volume, too.

SEAN: Re: Zero’s manga starts to adapt the 2nd novel with Chapter 2: A Week at the Mansion. Yes, folks, you’ll get your Rem here.

Rokka: Braves of the Six Flowers has a 2nd volume of its manga adaptation as well.

We get the 3rd and final volume of Rose Guns Days Season 2. Worry not, fans, Season 3 is on the schedule. (Are there Rose Guns Days fans?)

Yen released this digitally ages ago, but it’s popular enough to get print now (the upcoming anime may have something to do with it). Enjoy The Royal Tutor!

ASH: Glad to see more digital titles released in print! I wanted to give this series a try when it was first licensed, and now I finally can.

SEAN: Spirits & Cat Ears has a 2nd volume, and while I wish we’d get more of the former and less of the latter I expect to be disappointed.

There is a 9th Trinity Seven.

Lastly, Black Butler fans will take interested in the 2nd Yana Toboso Artworks book, which is devoted to the series.

Keeping your head afloat? What are you getting?

SEAN: Thanks to Kodansha’s INCREDIBLY AGGRESSIVE digital plan, there’s a large amount to talk about in what would normally be a very small week.

MICHELLE: I’m not complaining, but it is pretty overwhelming.

ANNA: I think I would be buying more of these if they were coming out at a slower pace. I feel like I can’t keep up. But I’m not complaining about more manga!

SEAN: J-Novel Club starts us off, though, with the third volume of I Saved Too Many Girls and Caused the Apocalypse. There’s only one girl on the cover this time – is he slipping?

And they also have the 3rd My Little Sister Can Read Kanji.

Kodansha takes up a great deal of what follows. First, there’s new volumes of Alive (15) and Yozakura Quartet (11) for your Del Rey rescue needs.

The first of THREE new digital debuts next week, Aoba-kun’s Confessions is from Ema Toyama, the author of Missions of Love, which I hate and also love. This is her new Nakayoshi series.

Meanwhile, some may remember Cage of Eden, which put out 20 volumes before dropping off the face of the earth. It’s back with its final, 21st volume. Will they get off the island? Will they find out the truth? Will the girls show off their large breasts? One of these things is sure to be true!

Chihayafura gets a 2nd digital-only volume, and I cannot wait for more HOT KARUTA ACTION.

MICHELLE: Yaaaaaay!

ANNA: I am here for this!!!!

SEAN: Clockwork Planet also gets a 2nd volume.

And there’s a 2nd volume of sports manga DAYS (digital-only). Remember when those were rare?

MICHELLE: Vaguely!

SEAN: The 2nd digital debut is Drowning Love (Oboreru Knife), a more mature, dramatic shoujo from Betsufure. Its author, George Asakura, had A Perfect Day For Love Letters out here eons ago.

MICHELLE: The art style (at least on the cover) is not the most appealing, but I’ll be checking this out.

MJ: I’m looking forward to this, It think.

ANNA: Me too.

SEAN: GTO: Paradise Lost has a 2nd digital volume of Onizuka antics.

The last digital debut is Our Precious Conversations (Boku to Kimi no Taisetsu na Hanashi), a Dessert series from Robico, the author of My Little Monster. I loved that series, so really look forward to this one.

MICHELLE: Same here!

ASH: I love the huge variety in these digital titles! I do hope that some eventually make their way into print, though, since I don’t really read digital manga. That may have to change soon.

ANNA: This sounds intriguing.

SEAN: On to other publishers. One Peace has a 6th volume of the Rise of the Shield Hero manga, which they oddly still keep calling “Manga Companion”, which makes it sound like a guidebook to me.

Seven Seas has a 2nd volume of Bloom Into You, a more dramatic yuri title than the cute fluffy ones we’ve seen recently.

MICHELLE: I enjoyed the first volume.

ASH: The first volume intrigued me; I’m very curious to see how the story unfolds.

SEAN: They also have a 2nd volume of spooky supernatural fantasy The Girl from the Other Side: Siúil, A Rún.

MICHELLE: <3 <3 <3 <3

MJ: Michelle tells me I’d like this!

MICHELLE: You would!

ASH: You really, really would! This series is already one of my absolute favorites for the year.

MICHELLE: I enjoyed your review, Ash. And your perfect image choice. I sent just that one picture to a friend—pointing out the flower crown—and it convinced her to want to read the series.

ANNA: I also love this series, going to be picking this up for sure!

SEAN: Viz gives us a 2nd volume of the Gangsta spinoff Cursed.

ASH: Though I haven’t actually read the first volume yet, I do plan on picking this one up.

ANNA: I need to pick up both, and I will!

SEAN: There’s also a 3rd Mobile Suit Gundam Thunderbolt.

Lastly, they have an 8th volume of Ultraman. For all your tokusatsu needs.

Which of these will you be getting next week? And how many will be digital?

SEAN: 2nd week, and things are popping. What’s coming down the pike?

Dark Horse has the debut of another comedic gag Evangelion manga, this one called Legend of the Piko Piko Middle School Students.

It also has the 3rd omnibus of its slice-of-life dumb-it-down Evangelion manga, The Shinji Ikari Raising Project.

ASH: Though I’ve seen the original anime series, I’ve never actually read any of the Evangelion manga.

ANNA: Me too.

SEAN: J-Novel Club has another debut, Bluesteel Blasphemer. Yes, it’s another “transported to a fantasy world” series, but this one has guns, and it’s by the author of Chaika the Coffin Princess.

And a 2nd volume of the popular title How a Realist Hero Rebuilt the Kingdom. Will they go to war?

Del Rey catchups are mostly taking the week off, but we do get a 13th Princess Resurrection.

There is still plenty of new Kodansha Digital, though, as we have Ace of the Diamond 3, Domestic Girlfriend 2, House of the Sun 5, *and* Tokyo Tarareba Girls 3!

MICHELLE: Yay for 75% of those!

ANNA: I am glad these are all out and sad I am so far behind in my reading!!!

SEAN: In print, we have the 10th volume of Genshiken 2nd Season. Will we finally resolve Madarame’s endless harem issues?

And a 4th In/Spectre, which promises to take a turn back towards the grim.

Interviews with Monster Girls 4 will hopefully be less grim, despite also featuring yokai.

One last Kodansha Digital title, which I mention only as it’s a series I never noticed began sometime last year. Unlimited Fafnir ran in good! Afternoon, and this is the 4th and final volume. It’s a light novel adaptation.

Seven Seas has a 3rd volume of Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid, which has quite a following now that the anime’s done.

ASH: I enjoyed the first volume much more than I thought I would.

SEAN: And a 2nd There’s a Demon Lord on the Floor.

SuBLime has a 4th volume of not-boxing manga Ten Count.

ASH: Nope, definitely not boxing. The series actually comes across to me as dark, psychological horror more than anything else right now.

ANNA: The first couple volumes that I read were pretty grim.

MJ: Oh, Ten Count… I never really made it past volume two.

MICHELLE: I made it to volume three, but I’m really done now.

SEAN: People, people, it’s supposed to be a TEN count.

Vertical Comics gives us a 9th volume of My Neighbor Seki, which always makes me smile.

ASH: Me, too! :)

SEAN: A fourth Legendary Edition for The Legend of Zelda, this one has The Minish Cap and Phantom Hourglass.

Lastly, there’s a 6th volume of Requiem of the Rose King, and I can hear everyone in Manga Bookshelf breathe a sigh of relief. Also, shouldn’t Henry be dead soon?

ASH: I love this series so much!

ANNA: Yay!!!

MJ: This! Always! THIS!!!!

SEAN: It’s Mother’s Day next week! Which of these titles would you buy for your mother?

SEAN: It’s May, and a young man’s thoughts turn to … well, hopefully things other than manga. But if you want manga, we have you covered.

ASH: I always want manga.

SEAN: We also have light novels covered. J-Novel has the debut of Arifureta: From Commonplace to World’s Strongest. It’s one of the most popular “isekai” titles out there, and unlike most examples of the genre we’ve seen lately, I think it plays it perfectly straight, for good or ill.

I was blown away by the readability of In Another World With My Smartphone, though I would not remotely call the book good. Vol. 2 is out next week, and I expect to be equally entertained.

ANNA: Well, things don’t have to be good to be entertaining!

SEAN: Kodansha has some more old Del Rey titles out digitally. Alive 14, Pumpkin Scissors 12, Yokazura Quartet 10… and sadly we can’t count down by 2s any more.

In new Kodansha digital releases, we have the 3rd All-Rounder Meguru and the 3rd (and final?) Museum.

In addition, Kodansha schnookered me with a last-minute title. The 3rd Wave, Listen to Me! is already out. I was not able to inform you a week ahead of time. I am filled with shame.

MICHELLE: But a hearty “Yay!” anyway.

ANNA: Arrgh, haven’t even read the first volume.

SEAN: And in print Kodansha news, a 4th volume of Cells at Work!.

ASH: This series is ridiculous fun. And informative, too.

SEAN: I’ve been waiting for this one since it was announced. Pantheon has the debut omnibus of My Brother’s Husband, a manga by Gengoroh Tagame about a Japanese man whose brother passes away, and the brother’s Canadian husband then moves in with him and his young daughter. It runs in Fuitabasha’s Manga Action, and I believe just announced it’s finishing with 4 volumes, meaning we should get a 2nd omnibus at some point. Go get this release.

MICHELLE: So excited for this one.

ANNA: Sounds great!

ASH: This is absolutely one of my most anticipated releases for this year. I’ve been collecting the Japanese volumes, but I’m so excited that it’s being translated and will definitely be picking up the English-language edition.

MJ: So very much on board with this!

SEAN: Seven Seas has a quartet of titles, starting with the 10th Arpeggio of Blue Steel.

Dreamin’ Sun is their first debut, and any other week it’d be the title I’m most excited about. It’s by the creator of orange, and is the title she had success with before that one. It ran in Bessatsu Margaret, a Shueisha title. Yay, shoujo!

MICHELLE: !!!! How did I miss this?! I loved orange and usually love things that rain in Margaret or its offshoots.

ANNA: Woo hoo for shoujo!

ASH: I loved orange, so I’m looking forward to giving Dreamin’ Sun a try.

SEAN: Another Hatsune Miku spinoff comes out, as we get Vol. 1 of Bad End Night. This seems to be Hatsune Miku meets Alice in the Country of, and it ran in Zero-Sum Online.

And there is a 2nd volume of Magical Girl Site, no doubt featuring more dead young girls, because that’s what kids like these days.

Vertical has an 8th volume of Nichijou, and this is the volume where the plot really starts kicking in… OK, not really.

And the rest is Viz. Anonymous Noise gets a second encore… I mean volume.

ANNA: I find this title both entertaining and frustrating, but I keep getting drawn in by the stylish cover art.

ASH: I feel much the same.

MJ: Yep. I guess we’ll see if it gets less frustrating, eventually.

SEAN: Bleach has a 19th 3-in-1.

Guess what’s back from the dead? That’s right, D.Gray-Man, with its 25th volume out a mere 2 and a half years after its 24th.

And speaking of necromanced properties, we begin the release of Dragon Ball Super, taking place sometime after Z but before its epilogue, and apparently being more of a tie-in to the anime than anything else. Which is to be expected given it runs in tie-in paradise V-Jump.

It’s not a Viz release party without a Haikyu!!. Here’s Vol. 11.

MICHELLE: Woot.

ANNA: Woo hoo vollebyall!!!!

ASH: Yeah!!

SEAN: JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure continues its hardcover release of what is becoming its most boring arc, though I’ll keep trucking along. Have the 3rd Stardust Crusaders book.

ASH: Just you wait, Sean, things will start to pick up again.

SEAN: Last time I said we got the penultimate Maid-sama! omnibus, showing I can’t count. Instead THIS is the penultimate volume, and I expect we’ll get the last in August.

MICHELLE: Actually, I had it in my head that the series was 16 volumes long, too, so you’re not alone.

SEAN: The 8th My Hero Academia will show off more Superhero School, as they try to pass their finals in the most awesome way possible.

Speaking of penultimate volumes, here’s the 2nd to last My Love Story!!. Just typing that is making me sad.

MICHELLE: Me, too.

ANNA: NO, IT MUST NEVER END!!!!!

ASH: My Love Story!! has been such a treasure. I love the series so much.

SEAN: Nisekoi continues to trundle towards its ending as well with Vol. 21.

One Piece’s 82nd volume will hopefully tell us what’s going to happen to Sanji, though knowing Oda no doubt it will be drawn out.

Toriko has ended in Japan, and its schedule is slowing down here. This is the 38th volume.

MICHELLE: Someday I really will read this.

SEAN: And what would a list of Viz releases be without a Yu-Gi-Oh volume at the end? This is the 10th 3-in-1.

Do you feel the PASSION pouring through your veins? BUY SOMETHING FROM THIS LIST!

SEAN: For a non-Yen final week of the month, this is pretty ridiculously busy.

J-Novel Club has the 2nd volume of The Faraway Paladin, whose first volume I greatly enjoyed. Looking forward to this more serious take on the ‘reincarnated in another world’ genre.

Kodansha has piles of new volumes for fans of their old Del Rey series out digitally. Gakuen Prince 12, Nodame Cantabile 18, Princess Resurrection 12, Pumpkin Scissors 11, and School Rumble 19.

ASH: Oh! Nodame Cantabile! I actually still have the volumes that Del Rey released; glad I’ll be able to finish the series. (Though, as always, I will continue to hope for a print edition, as unlikely as it is.)

SEAN: There’s also new digital volumes of their newer series. The Full-Time Wife Escapist 2, House of the Sun 4, and Peach Heaven 2. Definitely interested in more Wife Escapist, which I really enjoyed.

MICHELLE: Yay for Nodame and House of the Sun and escapee wives!

ANNA: I can’t believe I’m so far behind in digital releases, wait, it it is totally believable. Sounds like I need to check out the Full-Time Wife Escapist for sure.

SEAN: In new digital releases, though you can’t seem to preorder them yet, we have DAYS, another soccer manga from the creator of Over Drive that runs in Weekly Shonen Magazine.

MICHELLE: Being sports manga, I am of course duly excited for DAYS. In fact, I think I’ve now officially lost count of how many sports manga series are being released here.

ASH: I’m enjoying this surprising sports manga renaissance, too!

SEAN: And there’s also Tsurezure Children, a 4-koma romance series from Bessatsu Shonen that deals with a varied cast. It looks cute.

In print Kodansha, we have the 21st volume of Attack on Titan. Will we finally get to that pesky basement of Eren’s dad?

ASH: One of these days, maybe!

SEAN: The 4th and final volume of the Fairy Girls spinoff is out.

And a 4th volume of Happiness.

ASH: I already need to get caught up with Happiness. I’m not especially interested in vampires, but I really liked the first volume.

SEAN: Seven Seas has an 11th volume of D-Frag!. Get your tsukkomi ready!

And also a 12th Devils and Realist.

Magical Girl Apocalypse has somehow made it to 11 volumes, despite all the hate rays coming from my eyes.

And Monster Musume has a Vol. 11 as well.

Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation’s 5th volume will satisfy fans of (again) reincarnated in another world series.

And My Monster Secret has a 6th volume. I always look forward to this series.

Vertical has the 3rd and final volume of the Bakemonogatari novels, this one focused on Tsubasa Hanekawa, the bespectacled class president. Fear not, though, Nisemonogatari begins in June.

Vertical Comics has the 8th and I believe final omnibus of Tokyo ESP.

Viz has a digital only debut this week: ēlDLIVE, a shonen sci-fi series from the creator of Reborn! and will likely appeal to fans of same, though I’m not sure if it has as much BL tease as Reborn! did. It’s definitely harder to type, though.

Yen Digital has a 9th Aoharu x Machinegun, and a 10th Corpse Princess.

Lastly, Yen On shuffles out four more volumes of the Spice & Wolf novel series digitally – Books 11-14.

April brought a shower of manga and light novels. What are you getting?