manga the week of

SEAN: For a Yen week, this is actually pretty reasonable. Mostly as Yen moved a bunch of titles to the week after next, but hey.

Kodansha first, though. They’ve recently announced several new titles as digital releases. Deathtopia debuts next week, from the creator of Cage of Eden. This is a seinen title from Evening Magazine, and we’ll see if it’s as fanservice-laden as its shonen predecessor. It’s a thriller.

Wave, Listen to Me! gets the award for best title of the week. It’s an Afternoon manga from the creator of Blade of the Immortal. Fans of that series will be happy to hear this new one takes place… at a radio station?

ASH: I just found out about this series and I am incredibly curious about it.

MICHELLE: Oooooh! I especially like that the Kodansha site mentions “the beginning of an aggressive ramp-up in new digital manga series!”

KATE: Count me in for Wave, Listen to Me!, too. I’m a little biased — I teach a class on radio and television history — but I’m delighted to see a few grown-up options in the mix.

MJ: Oh, interesting.

ANNA: I am officially intrigued.

SEAN: And this isn’t out in volume form yet, but a new series from the creator of A Silent Voice debuts next week with 10 individual chapters, which catches us up with Weekly Shonen Magazine. Called To Your Eternity (Fumetsu no Anata e), it’s more supernaturally tinged than A Silent Voice but apparently just as depressing.

Kodansha also has an 8th print volume of Forget Me Not.

Seven Seas surprisingly only has one title out this week, given how much they’ve been piling on the books lately. It’s the 5th volume of Nurse Hitomi’s Monster Infirmary.

Vertical Inc. has the first volume of Nisioisin’s popular Zaregoto series, Decapitation: Kubikiri Cycle, though they emphasize they’ve only licensed this one volume, to tie in with the current Japanese OAV adaptation. It was actually released by Del Rey years ago; this is a re-edited version, and hopefully now that Bakemonogatari is popular it should see more readers.

Vertical Comics also gives us a third Immortal Hounds.

And the rest is Yen Press. First off, a 9th volume of capital letter and punctuation loving Akame Ga KILL!.

The 8th manga volume of A Certain Magical Index wraps up the adaptation of the 6th novel.

Death March to the Parallel World Rhapsody is the runner-up for best title of the week. As for the content, it’s a story where a guy finds himself transported to another world, gaining impressive powers, and surrounded by beautiful… wait, why are you running away? “Transported to another world” is this year’s vampires! This is the manga, the novel is out one week later.

First Love Monster has a 6th volume.

Fruits’ Basket Collector’s Edition reached Vol. 9, and get ready, because this is the one with THAT spoiler which shattered Furuba fandom forever.

MICHELLE: I continue to boggle that we’re up to this point already. But I also love that we’re still maintaining the secrecy of that spoiler.

SEAN: Horimiya has a 6th volume, and we’ll see if things advance on the romance front.

ASH: I’ve been enjoying Horimiya a great deal.

MICHELLE: Woot!

SEAN: I’ve enjoyed the light novel The Isolator, dark as it’s been, and so am pleased to see the manga adaptation is now coming out over here.

And there’s a 3rd volume of fantasy Liselotte & Witch’s Forest.

MICHELLE: I’ll be picking up this one, too.

SEAN: Murciélago also debuts this month from Yen Press. It’s a Young Gangan title that is apparently SUPER violent, and has humor so black it causes you to redefine “funny”. And it also has a lesbian lead, though this isn’t your cute high school girls sort of lesbian. I’ve heard good things about it (it has the Erica Friedman seal of approval), but with lots of “it’s pretty sick” warnings.

ASH: I’ve heard good things, too, but it definitely won’t be a series for everybody.

MJ: I would describe myself as interested, but skeptical.

SEAN: Rokka: Brave of the Six Flowers also has its manga adaptation debut (the novel arrives in April). It’s a fantasy series with strong word of mouth – real fantasy, rather than light novel fantasy. This adaptation ran in Shueisha’s now defunct Super Dash & Go!.

ANNA: Huh, I am always up for more fantasy manga.

SEAN: I was pleasantly surprised at how good I found the first volume of Scum’s Wish, though ‘pleasant’ is perhaps the wrong word for what’s going on with these kids. I look forward to the second volume.

MICHELLE: Same. Dark and complex, but not ecchi like the cover of volume one might suggest.

SEAN: Taboo Tattoo has a 5th volume, and is very Monthly Comic Alive.

Today’s Cerberus sees a 2nd print volume, and is still cute and silly.

You can’t have a long list of manga without at least one survival game title, and there is is: the 2nd volume of Tohyo Game.

Lastly, we wrap up the 6th Umineko arc with the 3rd and final omnibus of Dawn of the Golden Witch. I’m not sure when the 7th arc will begin – Yen hasn’t scheduled it – but this volume at least resolves Erika Furudo’s role in the series… at least for the time being.

A lot of new stuff this week. What appeals to you most?

SEAN: Mid-month, and it’s a mostly quiet time in manga land. Some series end, but others carry on regardless. What’ve we got this time around?

ASH: Wow! It’s been a while since we’ve had a week this quiet.

SEAN: Kodansha has a 2nd volume of Interviews with Monster Girls, whose first volume I found pretty good. It’s more on the ‘cute’ than ‘sexy’ end of the spectrum.

ASH: Hopefully the recent anime adaptation will encourage people to try the manga, too.

SEAN: And there’s an 18th volume of The Seven Deadly Sins.

One Peace gives us an 8th volume of yuri trap manga Maria Holic.

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Seven Seas has one of my favorite horrible guilty pleasure series come to an end with the 4th and final omnibus of Franken Fran. I understand it wasn’t a big seller, which is a shame, but its over-the-top horrible horror and humor always tickled my funny bone. Or made my jaw drop.

ASH: I’ve been thoroughly enjoying Franken Fran. It’s sad to hear it hasn’t done especially well, but I’m glad to have it on my shelves.

SEAN: How to Build a Dungeon also made my jaw drop, but not in a good way. Vol. 2 is out. Buyer beware.

My Girlfriend Is a T-Rex also has a 2nd volume, and I found the first, like Interviews with Monster Girls, cute and ‘pretty good’. This is a mild recommendation.

And Non Non Biyori’s 6th volume, a series that takes slice of life to such extremes you may fall asleep just reading the synopsis.

Vertical gives us a 7th volume of Ninja Slayer, which has ninjas, who possibly slay.

Viz has the 20th volume of Dorohedoro, and I could not be more delighted. I look forward to this series every time a new volume comes out.

ASH: Yes! I love Dorohedoro.

SEAN: And there is a 16th Terra Formars as well.

Lastly, Tokyo Ghoul has a 2nd novel based on the popular series, this one called Void.

MANGA? It’s what’s happening. What are you getting?

MICHELLE: Uhhh… nothing, apparently.

KATE: That makes two of us, Michelle! There’s a whole lotta “Whoa!” and “No!” in this week’s shipments as far as I’m concerned.

MJ: Same! Is it sad that I’m somewhat relieved to finally have disembarked the Seven Seas train? Sorry, Seven Seas.

ANNA: There is nothing that appeals to me this week, which is good because I can hopefully get caught up reading other things!

SEAN: The holidays are over and it’s back to the grind, but we have some manga here to help you along.

Dark Horse is not only putting out Shinji Ikari Raising Project omnibuses, but also the actual series. Vol. 17 is the 2nd to last. Love those Evangelion AUs.

Kodansha has a few books. I was very pleased with the first volume of In/Spectre, whose female lead basically ticks many marks I look for in female leads. I am very excited for Vol. 2.

ASH: I’m very curious to see how this series unfolds!

SEAN: And we also get a 3rd volume of That Wolf-Boy Is Mine!, though the wolf boy himself may say otherwise.

MICHELLE: I really enjoyed the first two volumes and am looking forward to the third!

SEAN: Meanwhile, the 12th Yamada-kun and the Seven Witches starts to show us how it intends to move on after for all intents and purposes ending last volume.

ASH: The series seems to have done this a few times now.

SEAN: The big publisher this week is Seven Seas, with five titles. First we have a 9th volume of techno thriller Arpeggio of Blue Steel.

And a 3rd volume of Zero Sum-tastic action series Battle Rabbits.

The debut this week is The Girl From the Other Side: Siúil, A Rún, which is a mouthful but I have high hopes. Also known as Totsukuni no Shoujo, it’s a Mag Garden title from Comic Blade. We haven’t seen much of them since the old Tokyopop days. It seems to be along the lines of Ancient Magus’ Bride and similar titles.

ASH: I am looking forward to this one immensely; possibly one of my most anticipated debuts of the year.

ANNA: This sounds interesting to me.

MJ: Oh, this. I’m definitely interested in this!

SEAN: Golden Time’s 6th volume continues to show us that law school students can have just as many angsty romantic triangles as high school students.

And the always gloriously silly My Monster Secret has a 5th volume.

Speaking of silly, or at least just plain weird, there’s a 6th volume of Nichijou from Vertical Comics.

Viz closes things out. First we have a 61st volume of Case Closed, which continues to feature lots of mysteries and lots of pointing.

The Legend of Zelda: Legendary Edition’s first volume was a huge bestseller, and I suspect the second, which will have Oracle of Seasons and Oracle of Ages, should do equally well.

Lastly, Ranma 1/2 has its second to last omnibus, which means that at least one of its many hanging subplots will get wrapped up. No, really, it will. But not any of the romantic ones, fear not.

ASH: Still glad Ranma is getting a re-release!

SEAN: There’s some really good titles here. What interests you?

MICHELLE: Apparently only wolf boys!

SEAN: No respite for anyone this January, as unlike past years the manga keeps on piling in. What’ve we got next week?

Dark Horse has the 2nd Shinji Ikari Raising Project omnibus. So much lighter, fluffier Evangelion lately…

J-Novel Club debuts a new digital-only light novel series, and boy does this have a light novel title. I Saved Too Many Girls And Caused The Apocalypse has a tremendous number of volumes out in Japan, but it’s a harem series so that may explain it. At least our hero isn’t in a fantasy game-type world… I think.

Your Lie in April finishes from Kodansha with its 11th volume, and you’d better get ready for some Bridge to Terabithia level tears, let me tell you.

Seven Seas has a 6th volume of The Ancient Magus’ Bride, one of my favorites of their lineup. First printings will have extra material!

ASH: I’m really looking forward to this!

SEAN: They also debut Bloom Into You, a yuri title that for once is not ‘yuri for fanservice’s sake because girl-on-girl is hot’. This well-written series from Dengeki Daioh also boasts great art. If you enjoy manga like this but have avoided it because of Seven Seas’ recent yuri titles, give it a shot.

MICHELLE: I’ve been looking forward to this one!

ASH: Me, too! I’ve heard very good things about the series.

MJ: I will check this out!

SEAN: And there’s also a 10th volume of Magical Girl Apocalypse, for those who enjoy seeing cute girls dying.

Lastly, in case Seven Seas’s normal demographic was feeling left out, there is a 3rd volume of the Monster Musume side-story series I Heart Monster Girls.

And now it’s time for Viz. First off we have a 3rd volume of 7th Garden.

And a 3rd volume of “we’re still not Ouran” series Behind the Scenes!!.

ANNA: I still like it!

SEAN: The Demon Prince of Momochi House gets a 7th volume.

ASH: I just recently caught up with this series and plan on reading more.

ANNA: It is one of those series that just keeps getting better with each volume.

SEAN: And if you still can’t get enough of buying Dragon Ball over and over and over again, here’s the 5th Full Color Freeza Arc.

We’re on an odd month, so Haikyu!! is the sole sports series out from Viz this time.

MICHELLE: At least there’s never a month when we’re without!

ASH: Plus, Haikyu!! is great!!

ANNA: Yay for volleyball!

SEAN: Honey So Sweet has a 5th volume of cute cuteness.

MICHELLE: Yay. I could use some adorable about now.

ANNA: It is SO cute.

SEAN: And Naruto is still churning out 3-in-1s – this is the 17th.

Nisekoi 19 begins the march to slowly resolving all the harem pairings – and by resolve I mean let down gently.

One-Punch Man 10! PUNCHING!

MICHELLE: I am embarking on this series in the very near future!

ASH: I hope you enjoy! It can be a highly entertaining series.

SEAN: A new 3-in-1 debuts, as we now get Rurouni Kenshin for those who didn’t read it ages ago. If you didn’t, do so, it’s very good.

MICHELLE: Forsooth.

ANNA: It is so good! But I find it odd how many printings some series go through!

SEAN: An 11th volume of Seraph of the End stares quietly, waiting stoicly for me to make a vampire joke. I back down.

Skip Beat! has its 3-in-1s catch up with its main release again with this 12th omnibus.

Twin Star Exorcists trundles along as well with a 7th volume.

And we also get a 14th World Trigger, and wish the author a ‘get well soon’.

See what I mean? Not your usual slow January. Whadya got?

SEAN: I remember only 4-5 years ago when the Christmas week releases numbered zero, or at most one. Those days are gone forever, though this is a light week compared to the previous ones.

Dark Horse has a 6th omnibus of the Astro Boy manga.

Kodansha has the 20th volume of Attack on Titan, and if you like there’s also the Special Edition which comes with an actual Titan that will eat you… OK, it’s just a DVD. But I bet they’d do it if they could.

Cells at Work! gives is a 2nd volume of anthropomorphic medical action.

MICHELLE: I’m reading the first volume now and it’s pretty entertaining. I’m interested to see how (and if) the story develops.

ASH: The first volume was a great deal of fun! I’m interested in reading more.

SEAN: And a second (and final?) volume of The Black Museum: The Ghost and the Lady. No word if the other series in this collection has been picked up.

ASH: I really liked the first half of this story. If the rest of the series is anywhere near as good, I hope it’s licensed, too.

SEAN: Potboilers continue to do well, as we get an 8th L♥DK.

Lastly, rejoice! An 8th Vinland Saga omnibus is here in all its glorious carnage.

ASH: I am beyond thrilled for Vinland Saga’s return.

ANNA: I did not realize that this was coming out, but I’m very excited!

SEAN: Seven Seas has D-Frag! hit double digits. My guess: there will be boke and tsukkomi humor within… like the nine previous volumes.

And a 4th survival game-ish Not Lives.

My #1 guilty pleasure, and believe me the guilt outweighs the pleasure by a metric ton, Seven Seas also has a 6th Pandora in the Crimson Shell: Ghost Urn, where two amazing talents prove they can reinforce each other’s worst habits.

The debut next week is the first volume of Seven Princes of the Thousand Year Labyrinth. It’s one of the most Ichijinsha things you’ve ever met, despite also being a survival game. I reviewed it here.

ASH: I plan on giving the first volume a look at least.

SEAN: Lastly, Vertical gives us a 4th omnibus of Mysterious Girlfriend X. Get yourself some drool for the holidays.

MICHELLE: Ew.

MJ: Nothing really calls out to me from this week’s list, but I did want to say “Happy Holidays!” to all our readers, and to you all, too!

SEAN: So what are you getting with those Christmas gift cards?

SEAN: Abandon hope all ye who enter here.

ASH: Deep breaths!

SEAN: Kodansha starts things off with an 8th volume of Kiss Him, Not Me!

ASH: It has its problems, but I’m still enjoying this series.

SEAN: One Peace gives us a 2nd volume of Kuma Miko, which I hope is a bit more strange and cute and not strange and creepy.

ANNA: I have the first volume of this, I need to read it.

SEAN: Seven Seas has a 2nd volume of Lord Marksman and Vanadis, in which, hopefully, the village is saved? Or not, it could be a much darker sort of story.

At last, one year after the release of the chronological prequel Kizumonogatari comes the book that started it all. Bakemonogatari is being published by Vertical in 3 parts, fitting the Japanese re-release, and the first one contains Hitagi Crab and Mayoi Snail. If you love complicated prose, glorious dialogue, and the supernatural, you’ll love this.

MJ: I possibly should take a look at this.

SEAN: And Vertical also has the final Chi’s Sweet Home omnibus. Bye, Chi!

Viz has a 12th volume of Afterschool Charisma, reminding you that the SigIkki brand remains awesome.

MICHELLE: I believe this is the final volume, as well.

ASH: I really need to catch up!

ANNA: Me too! I need to wait for a sale or something and fill in my collection.

SEAN: Gangsta: Cursed is a prequel to the main series with the same writer but a different artist. It runs in the wonderfully named Go Go Bunch.

ASH: I’m looking forward to this.

ANNA: I am too, but I like the main series art so much!

SEAN: Viz also has a 4th omnibus of the cheerful and innocent fantasia Goodnight Punpun.

ASH: Very cheerful! Very innocent!

MICHELLE: *is not fooled*

SEAN: Master Keaton has a 9th volume, reminding me it was quite a long series.

ASH: I actually didn’t realize how long a series it was.

SEAN: And even though Amazon isn’t listing it for some odd reason, there’s a 10th Tokyo Ghoul.

The big Viz release, in more ways than one, is Tomie: The Complete Collection, a 750-page hardcover containing all of his classic horror story. If you love getting scared witless, try this book.

ASH: I love Viz’s Junji Ito releases, so I’m definitely picking this up (even though I also have the ancient Dark Horse edition).

MJ: I love getting scared witless!

SEAN: I always forget to mention Yo-kai Watch when it comes out, so this is me correcting that, as Viz has Vol. 6 of it.

And now it’s time for Yen, but stay comfortable, we’ll be here for a while. There are new digital volumes of Aoharu x Machinegun (7), Black Detective (7), Saki (7), and Corpse Princess (…8, goddamn you).

ASH: Saki!

MJ: Always love Saki!

SEAN: There are also old Yen Press releases from way in the past getting shiny new digital releases! With the Light, Yen Press’s first ever title. Dragon Girl, a fun shoujo omnibus. And Sundome, which was Flowers of Evil before it was cool. All are worth a look.

Yen On has a record number of novels out this month. Accel World’s 8th volume may finally finish this arc, perhaps? Will Takumu turn evil? Probably not.

The Asterisk War 2 continues to have magical school antics.

Baccano! Vol. 3 has the back half of the 1931 Flying Pussyfoot story, focusing on different characters as well as showing us where the heck Ladd went.

MICHELLE: Someday I really will try out this series, even though light novels are not usually my thing.

ASH: I’ve been meaning to try it out, too.

SEAN: Black Bullet 5 has the start of what I’ve heard called the “NTR” arc, a phrase that always makes me groan. We’ll see.

The Devil Is A Part-Timer! 6 apparently gets us back to the part-time work.

The debut this month is Goblin Slayer, which takes place in a fantasy world but strangely has no one come into it from another world. How weird.

The 3rd Irregular at Magic High School novel is the start of a 2-volume arc about the school Sports Festival, which uses magic. Don’t get it confused with November’s A Certain Magical Index, the start of a 2-volume arc about the school Sports Festival, which uses magic.

The 7th Is It Wrong To Try To Pick Up Girls In A Dungeon? novel is HUGE, much bigger than the other books. Set aside time for it.

After what seems like ages, the 5th No Game No Life volume is upon us. Can it live up to the wait?

Sword Art Online seemed to only two one to two arcs before this, but not anymore. The 9th book is the first in a 10-VOLUME arc. Are you prepared for this much Kirito?

And now we finally get to Yen’s manga deliveries. Akame Ga KILL! ZERO has a 4th volume, or should that be FOURTH! VOLUME.

Aoharu x Machinegun has a 2nd print volume. More fake gun battles, I assume?

The first of Yen’s debuts this month is Bungo Stray Dogs, which has supernatural powers, a detective agency, and I suspect a lot of pretty young men.

ASH: I’m actually really looking forward to this series! Supernatural, bishonen versions of some of Japan’s literary greats? Count me in.

MJ: Sounds great!

SEAN: We also have The Case Study of Vanitas, which has – you guessed it – vampires, and is by the author of Pandora Hearts.

MJ: Okay, so I know you’re all looking at me here. I checked out the first volume and wasn’t immediately drawn in as I had hoped, but I’ll give it some time to charm me.

SEAN: Fruits Basket Collector’s Edition 8 has the comedic highlight of the entire series.

MICHELLE: These volumes multiply so quickly!

MJ: Hurray, hurray!

SEAN: GA Art Design Class has its 7th and final volume. I know most fans here preferred Shoulder-a-Coffin Kuro, but I always loved this series’ focus on art and cute girls.

He’s My Only Vampire has a 9th volume.

MICHELLE: I’m a bit bummed this has gone downhill quality-wise, but I’ll probably still finish it.

SEAN: The Honor Student at Magic High School has caught up with the novels, meaning it too is starting the Sports Festival.

Just as GA Art Design Class ends, Kiniro Mosaic begins. It’s also got cute girls, and while it may lack art school, it makes up for in yuri tease. (Which GA Art Design Class also had, to be honest.)

The 3rd My Youth Romantic Comedy Is Wrong As I Expected manga still has a long title.

There’s more Of the Red, the Light and the Ayakashi with a 5th volume. Is it halfway through adapting the game yet?

MICHELLE: I’ll be reading this one.

SEAN: Overlord also has a 3rd volume of the manga adaptation.

And Strike the Blood has a 5th manga adaptation. Expect novels from those last two in January.

Ubel Blatt’s 7th omnibus takes us to the 15th volume of the Japanese release, in case you’ve gotten lost.

Lastly, there’s a 4th omnibus of cycling manga Yowamushi Pedal.

MICHELLE: Yay! Oh sports manga, how I adore you.

ASH: Yes, yes, yes!

ANNA: I have not read this yet! Someday!!!!

SEAN: And we’re done. At last. Good God. What’re you getting from this morass?

SEAN: Another week before Christmas, another 15-odd titles due out. Let’s break it down.

Dark Horse has an 11th New Lone Wolf and Cub. Will it one day pass its predecessor? Actually no, as this is the final volume.

For the most part, Amazon dates on DMP have been so inaccurate lately I haven’t bothered to mention them, which is likely how I missed that the 4th Border volume came out.

MICHELLE: I have the first couple of volumes of this, but never got around to actually reading them.

SEAN: J-Novel Club has two new releases. The first is actually highly anticipated, as I assumed that Yen would be picking it up (they got the manga instead). Grimgar of Fantasy and Ash is one of those “transported to another world” books, but is quite popular and has an anime already, so I’ll give it a shot.

The other new series is My Little Sister Can Read Kanji, apparently a broad comedic take on the moe-ing of Japan, which is a surprising license simply due to the fact that the premise revolves around kanji. Interested in how this is adapted more than anything else.

ASH: Kanji, huh? That could be interesting.

SEAN: Kodansha has a 9th volume of what is easily the most popular of its Attack on Titan spinoffs, Before the Fall.

ASH: Currently my personal favorite is Lost Girls, but Before the Fall has its moments.

SEAN: Complex Age continues to balance fun cosplay and anime references with a more serious take on “being an adult”, and I can’t wait for its third volume.

MICHELLE: Ooh, yay!

ASH: Complex Age is a great series.

ANNA: I need to get caught up with Volume 2!

SEAN: And Fairy Tail gets a 3rd giant Master’s Edition mega-omnibus.

Spoof on Titan – famous for being the less insane of the two parody spinoffs – comes to an end with its 2nd volume, which feels about right.

ASH: I found it to be a surprisingly fun series, but I agree that two volumes seems about the right length.

SEAN: Seven Seas has some new stuff as well, starting with a 4th volume of 12 Beast.

NTR – Netsuzou Trap has enough of an audience that it’s getting an anime. I suspect it is 99% male, though, and I’d put quote marks around “yuri” for its 2nd volume.

And there’s an 8th volume of Servamp. (Please insert vampire joke here – The Management)

SuBLime has a 6th volume of Love Stage!!.

ASH: I’ve been meaning to give Love Stage!! a try. Guess I have some catching up to do!

SEAN: Vertical’s re-release of BLAME! is not only handsome but also HUGE. Leave space on the shelf for it.

MICHELLE: I should probably get these.

ANNA: I am pondering this.

SEAN: Viz gives us a 19th Itsuwaribito, which I wish I had anything to say about give it’s run so long.

And a 21st Magi, which I will always have things to say about, as it’s fantastic.

MICHELLE: Also, yay!

ASH: I’ve finally picked up a few volumes of Magi! (I still need to actually read them, though…)

ANNA: Me too. My winter vacation reading goals revolve around Magi and some other languishing series.

MICHELLE: Same here. You might be happy to hear, Anna, that this includes One-Punch Man!

ANNA: I have a mini stack of One-Punch Man too! Looking forward to all the punching!

SEAN: There’s also a 5th Monster Hunter: Flash Hunter.

ASH: I actually completely forgot about the Monster Hunter manga, but I did enjoy some of the original games.

SEAN: Lastly, an old release now available for the first time digitally, as Yen On is putting out Spice & Wolf’s light novels, starting with Vol. 1 this week.

Is this enough? Do you need more? (Don’t worry, the week after next has you covered.)

SEAN: Will December set a record for most titled released? We shall see. It’s off to a good start next week…

Bruno Gmuender continues to fulfill its niche of manly gay manga with the release of The Boy Who Cried Wolf.

ASH: It’s the second collection in English by Mentaiko Itto whose Priapus was highly entertaining, so I’m looking forward to it!

SEAN: Kodansha gives us another Fairy Tail spinoff, this one focusing on the Twin Dragons of Saber Tooth (note: not actual dragons).

And there’s a 6th volume of Maga-Tsuki.

Seven Seas has a 3rd volume of Masamune’s Revenge, which I still continue to vaguely be interested in despite itself.

And Monster Musume has reached double digits. Rejoice, monster girl fans!

There’s also a 3rd The Other Side of Secret, which is… let’s move on!

ASH: Usually there’s at least one Kodansha or Seven Seas manga that I’m particularly interested in but, alas, not this week.

SEAN: Udon fell behind a bit with Persona 4, so to make up for it they’re releasing both Vol. 4 and 5 next week.

ASH: Looks like I’ve got some catching up to do as well then.

SEAN: And Vertical has the fourth volume of Devil’s Line, which continues to be Devil Fine. (You know I’m tired when I’m making Medaka Box jokes in this list.)

And so we come to Viz. Assassination Classroom’s 13th volume should resolve the students’ current battle, and hopefully also Irina’s tortured emotions.

I’ve given in and admitted I simply like Black Clover, even though it is hilarious in its thefts of other manga. Looking forward to Vol. 4.

ANNA: I read volume 1 and then fell behind. Looks like I should try to catch up.

SEAN: Bloody Mary’s 5th volume is also out next week.

ANNA: VAMPIRES AND ANGST!

Catching up with Blue Exorcist means I always feel it’s been forever since the last volume, even though it’s only been since May. Here’s Vol. 16.

Everyone’s Getting Married hits its third volume, and it has been brought to my attention that in fact very few people are getting married at all.

MICHELLE: Heh.

ANNA: No surprise, I enjoy this josei manga.

SEAN: Food Wars! has a 15th chance to make us really hungry. It’s worked every volume so far.

Haikyu!!, meanwhile, just uses its 6th volume to make us so happy we are in a sports manga renaissance here in North America. (Meaning there’s more than one at one time.)

An here’s the other one, with a 3rd omnibus of Kuroko’s Basketball.

MICHELLE: *sighs happy sigh* I love all three of these.

ASH: I actually still need to read Kuroko’s Basketball, but I am really enjoying Food Wars! and Haikyuu!!.

ANNA: I enjoy Kuroko’s Basketball and Haikyuu!! very much.

SEAN: For Naruto fans, we get the 2nd part of the Itachi’s Story novel.

And an 18th One Piece 3-in-1, which wraps up Brook’s introductory arc.

Somehow So Cute It Hurts!!!!!!!!!! has reached 10 volumes as well. Have some exclamation marks to celebrate.

MICHELLE: *snerk*

SEAN: And Stan Lee’s collaboration with Japan, Ultimo, comes to an end with its 12th volume.

Finally, there is a 3rd volume of the wonderful shoujo series Yona of the Dawn.

MICHELLE: Yay! I’m really looking forward to this.

ASH: Same!

ANNA: Very excited!!!!

SEAN: And this is only the first week? Who knows what the rest of December will hold? What are you getting?

SEAN: You know, for a 5th week of the month, there sure is a ton of stuff next week. Sheesh.

ASH: Woo!

Dark Horse gives us the third Dangan Ronpa volume, as the class continues to choose between hope, despair, or being violently killed.

And there’s a 5th Oh My Goddess omnibus, warring with Dragon Ball for most re-releases.

J-Novel Club is a new publisher of Japanese light novels, digital only, and they’ve finished three volumes that are scheduled to drop next week. Brave Chronicle (Kimi kara Uketsugu Brave Chronicle) is actually finished in one volume, and combines magic school, childhood friends, lots of action, etc.

More obviously light novel-ey is My Sister Lives in a Fantasy World (Nee-chan wa Chuunibyou), a series about a boy who gains certain powers and his overenthusiastic little sister. It’s 7+ volumes in Japan.

And Occultic;Nine is the most familiar title, as it has an anime currently out, and should also be familiar with punctuation haters everywhere as the successor to Steins;Gate, Chaos;Head, etc.

Kodansha has five new releases this week. They say it’s six, but they still maintain that Animal Land 11 is actually coming out this time, and a ha ha ha, you can’t fool me again. Animal Land is a myth.

ASH: Animal Land? It has been a while!

SEAN: Fairy Tail 57. GAJEVY! GAJEEEVVVYYYY!!! That is all.

The second volume of Happiness will likely be as ironically titled as the first one was.

ASH: Most likely.

SEAN: The Seven Deadly Sins has its 17th volume.

And there’s a 3rd Sweetness and Lightning, which so far has leaned on the sweetness.

ASH: I am really enjoying Sweetness and Lightning so far.

SEAN: We also have a 2nd volume of Welcome to the Ballroom, which I hope will be as dynamic and exciting as the first was.

MICHELLE: I’m really looking forward to this one, and will be picking up Sweetness, too.

ANNA: I am also very much looking forward to Welcome to the Ballroom.

SEAN: The 14th volume of Haganai from Seven Seas continues to move towards a potential breaking point with the Neighbors club.

Holy Corpse Rising is a new series from the creator of Ninja Girls, and combines… I know this will shock you for a Seven Seas release… fantasy and fanservice.

ASH: I don’t know much about the series, but the cover art is striking.

Vertical; has an 11th volume of What Did You Eat Yesterday?, which is good, as I wondered what might get Pick of the Week at this rate.

MICHELLE: Heh. I will say I’m looking forward to Ballroom nearly as much.

MJ: Yoshinaga always has an edge where I’m concerned. You know I’ll be getting this.

ASH: I’m still so happy this series is being translated!

SEAN: Yen Press has new digital volumes! All Volume 7s for Aphorism, Crimson Prince, and Sekirei.

They also have some volumes left over from this week’s pile, as apparently there was too much so some got moved to next week. Anne Happy continues to try to rely solely on pluck with its third volume.

Dragons Rioting gives us a 5th volume.

And there’s a 5th Prison School omnibus.

ASH: I’m actually still reading this.

Scumbag Loser is a giant done-in-one omnibus of three volumes, and sounds intriguing, if you can get past the title and cover art, which I suspect most won’t. The author is also known for Tomodachi Game, a survival game manga.

MICHELLE: I’m taking a pass on Scumbag. That sort of creepy losery protagonist just doesn’t appeal to me. Like I’ll Give It My All… Tomorrow, for example.

ASH: Huh.

SEAN: And Sword Art Online gives us MORE DEBAN! with a third volume of spinoff Girls’ Ops.

As I said, that’s quite a lot. Anything for you?

SEAN: Are you giving thanks for so much manga? Hope so, as there is SO MUCH.

MICHELLE: It’s a cornucopia!

ASH: I always give thanks for manga!

SEAN: Kodansha has a bunch of stuff. A 5th Forget Me Not should please romance fans.

Their debut this week is In/Spectre, a yokai manga from Shonen Magazine R (the 2nd season of Shonen Magazine?) which is by the author of Spiral.

ASH: Yokai, you say? Then I’m in!

MJ: Hmmmm, maybe me too.

SEAN: The Prince and His Dark Days has a 2nd volume, which I’m hoping is a bit less Dark Days, to be honest.

ASH: It does seem to be an aptly named series.

SEAN: Real Account has its 5th volume – though technically this is the third volume of Real Account II. The distinction is something no one would ever notice, but that’s why I’m here.

ASH: Huh. I was unaware.

SEAN: Lastly, a third volume of Tsubasa World Chronicle, which I haven’t tried yet. Have Michelle or MJ?

MICHELLE: Nope.

ANNA: I am saddened by how indifferent I am to CLAMP when I used to love them so much.

MJ: I haven’t, which surprises me more than anyone, honestly.

SEAN: One Peace has a 6th novel of Rise of the Shield Hero. I would think he’d have risen by now – even Christ only took 3 days.

Seven Seas gives us a 5th and mercifully final omnibus of I Don’t Like You At All, Big Brother!!.

Magia the Ninth is their first debut, another Gene Pixiv title (which I think is Media Factory’s equivalent to Zero-Sum or Wings), from the creator of Black Bard. The plot is essentially “classical music composers hunt demons”.

ASH: Okay, I can’t help it, I really want to read this series. And I did rather enjoy Black Bard.

MJ: Sean knows he can get my attention by invoking the names “Zero-Sum” and “Wings.” So. Yes.

SEAN: In case you worried there were no monster girls this week, well, there’s monster guys, as we get a 5th Merman in My Tub.

The other debut is Please Tell Me, Galko-chan!, a comedy title that runs on the Comic Walker website. It seems to involve a blunt girl and her friends.

ASH: I’ve heard good things and so am curious.

ANNA: I enjoy blunt girls and friends.

SEAN: And the title that always gets me mixed up, The Testament of Sister New Devil, has a 4th volume.

Vertical has another spinoff novel in the Attack on Titan series, called The End of the World. It’s a novelization of the live-action movie.

And there’s a 3rd volume of To The Abandoned Sacred Beasts.

The rest is Yen, though it’s not even all of Yen – they pushed a few titles back to the week after next. For Yen On, we have a 3rd volume of The Isolator, the dark thriller from the creator of Sword Art Online.

Black Butler is still popular, I hear, even in these days of Monster Girls. Vol. 23 is out next week.

And popular as well is BTOOOM! 15, which may never really surpass that whole ‘bomb bounces off the boob’ scene that is the only reason anyone remembers it.

Corpse Party: Blood Covered has a 3rd omnibus of, well, blood and corpses, no doubt.

Fruits Basket has a 7th omnibus, as past traumas collide with present abuse to hopefully lead to future healing.

MICHELLE: Seven volumes already!

ANNA: Yay for healing and Fruits Basket!

MJ: This, always!

SEAN: There’s a 6th volume of the Danmachi manga, aka Is It Wrong To etc etc etc.

And a 6th Karneval omnibus as well.

Another title better known by its fan nickname, Konosuba: God’s Blessings on This Wonderful World! *still* ends up being a mouthful to say. It’s a parody of ‘guy ends up in fantasy game world’ titles, is based on the light novel due out here next year, and runs in Dragon Age, which means it must have fanservice.

Always welcome on my shelves, we have a 5th volume of Monthly Girls’ Nozaki-kun, which means more hilarious tsukkomi faces.

MICHELLE: I recently watched some of the anime on Crunchyroll. It’s pretty great!

ASH: YESSS!!! (I love this series so much.)

ANNA: Woo hoo!

SEAN: There’s a 9th volume of the Watamote manga, aka No Matter How I Look etc etc etc.

Madoka Magica now has spinoffs or spinoffs, as the Oriko Magica spinoff gets a new side-story, Sadness Prayer. Given it’s Madoka Magica, I think sadness is guaranteed.

Rose Guns Days begins its Season 2 arc. Will Rose be able to get by without Leo?

School-Live! has a 5th volume of friendship and zombies.

I always love it when a title and its volume match. Have Trinity Seven Vol. 7.

Yen’s big debut is another title from Natsuki Takaya, creator of Fruits Basket. Back in the day, there was thought to be a licensing war over this series, but nothing came of it. Now we get Twinkle Stars in omnibus format. It’s about half the size of Fruits Basket, but has the same amount of drama.

MICHELLE: I’m so happy about this. I read the Australian editions of the first two volumes back in the day, but they were pricey to import. My plan to buy and painstakingly read the French editions did not get far.

ANNA: Officially on my holiday wishlist!

MELNDA: This, this, this.

SEAN: Lastly, we have a lucky 13th omnibus of Until Death Do Us Part, which is also the final volume.

Full of turkey? Or full of manga?

SEAN: Life goes on. Somehow. And so does manga. Let’s see what’s coming out next week.

MICHELLE: *heavy sigh*

SEAN: Haikasoru has the 3rd volume of Legend of the Galactic Heroes, as a corrupt democracy battles a fascist dictatorship, with a third party making money off of both of them. Insert dark joke here.

MICHELLE: Heh.

ASH: Eyup.

ANNA: Sounds like a good time for me to finally pick this up.

SEAN: Kodansha gives us the 4th and final volume of Livingstone.

ASH: Intriguing premise with a somewhat uneven execution, but I’m still interested in seeing how it ends.

SEAN: And the 11th Yamada-kun and the Seven Witches, which many thought would be the final volume, but… it isn’t.

ASH: Already the series has had some good stopping points. I do enjoy the manga, but I also wonder how long it can be stretched.

SEAN: Vertical has the second to last Tokyo ESP.

Do you like Gundam? Do you like serious, hardboiled, probably depressing Gundam? By the creator of the tragically unlicensed Moonlight Mile? You will love Viz’s debut of Mobile Suit Gundam Thunderbolt, then. Plus it ran in Big Comic Superior. Do you know how often that magazine gets a license? Never, that’s how often.

ANNA: I do like Gundam in general, but am not sure I am in the mood for depressing Gundam.

SEAN: Viz also has our yearly release of Ooku, with its 12th volume. If you like digital manga, Ooku 1-12 are also available digitally for the first time next week!

MICHELLE: Commence Kermit flail.

ASH: Always glad to see more of this series!

ANNA: EEEEEE!

MJ: Yes!

SEAN: And there’s a 6th and final volume of Sunny, probably my favorite Taiyo Matsumoto manga to date, even though I’ve fallen way behind on it.

MICHELLE: As have I.

ASH: It is a very good series.

SEAN: Terra Formars continues to be a resounding success despite all my best efforts. Here’s the 15th volume.

And Ultraman’s 6th volume is ultra good. (Sorry, witty comments are thin on the ground today.)

And Yen On has most of its November releases ship next week (one was moved to the week after), starting with the 9th volume of A Certain Magical Index. What happens when you combine science, magic, a citywide athletics festival, and a terrorist attack? If you guessed “shenanigans”, you win.

Durarara!! has a 5th volume that starts up a new story arc, as Izaya gets revenge for the lack of hotpot invites, and Mikado learns that running a “colorless” gang is not as easy as he thinks.

Log Horizon’s 6th volume is focused on Akatsuki, who finds her skills hitting a wall and her relationship with Shiroe doing much the same.

And lastly, another volume of Re: Zero, where we see if our hero can survive the next day, or if he keeps getting horribly murdered.

Take your mind off things. Read manga!

SEAN: November continues to give us lots of manga, with something for everyone next week.

Dark Horse has Psycho Pass: Inspector Shinya Kogami, a prequel to the popular anime series detailing the main character’s days as an Inspector.

Kodansha gives us Fire Force, from the creator of Soul Eater. It’s about demons causing people to catch fire, and a boy with special powers who joins the fire brigade to help. I look forward to the art if nothing else.

ASH: Looks like it could be fun.

SEAN: Did you enjoy Parasyte? Did you want more from this world, possibly from different creators? Then get ready for Neo Parasyte f, an anthology that collects all sorts of Parasyte-related stories from creators like Kaori Yuki (Godchild), Ema Toyama (Missions of Love), and Yuri Narushima (Planet Ladder).

ASH: I am incredibly excited for this anthology! Asumiko Nakamura (Utsubora, Doukyusei) is a contributor, too.

SEAN: There’s a 3rd omnibus of Princess Jellyfish, as they continue to try to save the apartment complex.

MICHELLE: This is already in my Amazon cart!

ASH: Still incredibly happy this series is getting a print release!

ANNA: I need to put it in my Amazon cart!

SEAN: And a 9th UQ Holder, which finally gave up and subtitled itself Negima 2 in Japan.

I find it hard to believe A Centaur’s Life has reached double digits, but there we are. Seven Seas releases Vol. 10 next week.

And there’s an 11th Devils And Realist, which is less hard to believe.

There’s a new series debuting called Re: Monster, with a fantasy world and reincarnation and a male hero who amasses a harem of zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz…

And a third volume of Shomin Sample, which has only its snarky hero to save it from oblivion.

SuBLime has a 2nd volume of Ten Count, which is still not about boxing, but it does have guys pulling off their shirts. Or possibly eating their shirts.

ASH: Nope, not about boxing. But I did find the first volume compelling.

ANNA: I think I have the first volume stashed somewhere, I need to read it!

SEAN: Vertical gives us the 3rd Seraph of the End novel, a prequel to the Viz manga.

Ranma 1/2 is starting to wrap up, but isn’t quite there yet. Here’s the 17th omnibus.

And a new Requiem of the Rose King, in which I expect Richard to be absolutely terrible, but in a very shoujo way.

MJ: Finally, something for me to get excited about. This is a series I still love.

MICHELLE: Me, too. And I like the cover very much, too.

ASH: I also love this Shakespearean reimagining. All of the covers have been excellent, and Kanno’s interior artwork is wonderfully moody, too!

ANNA: Add me to the list of people who love this series.

SEAN: There’s a new volume of Rin-Ne (the 22nd), though honestly you could swap it with any of the last 15 volumes and the content would be about the same.

MICHELLE: I missed some of the middle teens, but I have a few of the more recent volumes that I plan to read in the near future. Sometimes I appreciate a series where it isn’t necessary to read every volume in order to follow what’s going on in the present.

SEAN: And it’s been a while, but here’s the 9th volume of Tiger & Bunny.

Lastly, Yen released a numbered edition of this last month, but this month comes the mainstream release of Spice & Wolf: The Anniversary Collector’s Edition. This almost-1000 page hardcover collects all 17 Spice & Wolf novels to date, and looks like a Complete Works of Shakespeare. A must for S&W fans, though I myself will be waiting for the digital release that is apparently coming soon.

ASH: That does sound impressive!

SEAN: As I said, something for everyone. But is there something for you?

SEAN: Not only are there no small weeks anymore, there are no medium weeks. Only large weeks forever, with piles and piles of new manga.

MICHELLE: I can’t be sad about this, though I’ll forever mourn the titles that got cancelled when the first bubble burst.

ASH: True, true.

SEAN: We start with something that is not technically manga, but certainly has a manga style and audience. The second omnibus of the Megatokyo webcomic is out, collecting Vol. 4-6 of the Hunter x Hunter of North America. This catches up with the released volumes, I believe.

Kodansha has 6 new titles this week, starting with Cells at Work!, a cute new series which combines educational biology, amusing comedy, and action movie. I already reviewed the first volume, and found it quite enjoyable.

MICHELLE: I’m looking forward to this one!

ASH: I’m rather curious about it, myself.

MJ: This sounds pretty cool!

ANNA: It does sound intriguing.

SEAN: Devil Survivor comes to an end with its 8th and final volume.

I may be forced to endure far too many Monster Girl series these days, but at least some of them are cute and fluffy rather than softcore porn. Interviews with Monster Girls is one of the former, a sweet series about a teacher taking interest in the “demihumans” in his school.

ASH: It’s interesting to see publishers other than Seven Seas taking on the trend.

SEAN: It has been over 6 months since I last enjoyed the glorious trash that is Missions of Love. Here’s Vol. 13, and it can’t come fast enough. How will everyone be horrible this time?

ASH: I’ll admit, I actually do read and enjoy this series.

And there’s a 2nd volume of That Wolf-Boy Is Mine! (The doggone wolf-boy is mine?)

MICHELLE: I think of that song EVERY SINGLE TIME!

ASH: The first volume, while certainly not breaking any new ground, was still enjoyable. I’m looking forward to reading more.

SEAN: Lastly (for Kodansha), Your Lie in April reaches its 2nd to last volume. Will it all end happily ever after? (Spoiler: no.)

Seven Seas gives us a 3rd volume of the violent and grotesque Hour of the Zombie.

And just when you thought monster girl manga could not get sillier, there’s My Girlfriend is a T-Rex. No, really. It runs in Media Factory’s Gene Pixiv, which I guess cultivates artists from the popular Japanese art platform.

Vertical gives us a 5th Nichijou, which had better have more Mai this time around.

And the rest is mostly Viz, but that doesn’t mean we’re near done. Bleach has a 68th volume, and still has a few more to go after that, despite being finished in Japan.

And if you missed Bleach, or just want to relive its glory days, read the 17th omnibus, which shows those days had already passed by that point.

Dragon Ball Full Color Freeza Arc 4! Buy it again! And again! And Again!

And if that wasn’t enough exclamation marks for you, here’s Haikyu!! 5.

MICHELLE: Huzzah!

ASH: Yay!!

ANNA: WOO HOO!

SEAN: Rejoice, for the JoJo’s hardcovers continue! This is Stardust Crusaders, which some may have read when Viz brought it over years ago, but which many may have missed (including me). Now it’s here in hardcover deluxe editions.

ASH: I’m double-dipping on this. The hardcovers are beautiful.

ANNA: I’m behind on my Jojo reading, I’m glad Viz continues to put out these editions.

SEAN: And if you loved The Legend of Zelda manga, Viz is starting to re-release that as well, in a Legendary Edition.

Maid-sama! has a 6th 2-in-1, as it tries to explain Usui’s backstory while still letting him tease Misaki mercilessly, because really we read this for her blushing and yelling, right?

MICHELLE: I do like getting more information about him.

ANNA: The yelling is always a highlight.

SEAN: And My Hero Academia’s 6th volume should be starting up a new arc.

Viz decides to skip the Naruto novel about Hinata’s wedding prep, possibly to pacify fans, and instead will release the first volume of Itachi’s Story.

And Nisekoi gets an 18th volume. Will it start to wrap things up?

One Piece has 80 volumes. Eighty. That’s as many as eight tens. And that’s wonderful.

One-Punch Man’s 9th volume. Less volumes, but lots of punching.

ASH: One-Punch Man is still a lot of fun.

MJ: Always ready for this.

ANNA: I’m behind as always but happy for the punching.

SEAN: A 21st volume of Oresama Teacher means I will definitely have something for my Pick of the Week.

ANNA: This is my regular reminder that I need to catch up on this series.

SEAN: Shuriken and Pleats ends with its 2nd volume, and Hino heads back towards vampires, which are apparently better than ninjas after all.

ANNA: I have an idea. What about VAMPIRE NINJAS?

SEAN: Toriko 36. More eating. More fighting. More weird creatures. More homoerotic subtext that it will never deliver on.

World Trigger has really become popular, and now I wish I had kept up with it. Here’s Vol. 13.

MJ: I wish I had, too! But even more, I wish I’d stuck with Oresama Teacher, since you still love it after all this time.

And Yu-Gi-Oh! has an 8th 3-in-1.

Lastly, Yen On has (deep breath) Is It Wrong To Try To Pick Up Girls In A Dungeon? On the Side: Sword Oratorio. As you may have guessed, it is a spinoff novel from the main series, dealing with Bell’s crush, Aiz Wallenstein, and the misadventures of her own guild. I hear there are elves!

Have you already burned out your wallet for the year? Or is there more you must buy?

SEAN: End of October. 35 titles. Scary!

MICHELLE: I am having Count Floyd feels.

SEAN: Kodansha brings us the 9th volume of Genshiken 2nd Season, which may have a new cast but has ended up being about Madarame’s love life.

ASH: I’ll admit, I really wasn’t expecting it to basically become a harem manga.

SEAN: Kazuhiro Fujita, best known over here for the unlicensed yet very popular Ushio and Tora, has a new hardcover horror volume out, part of a series subtitled “The Black Museum” that runs in Morning. This one is called The Ghost And The Lady, and features Florence Nightingale. It sounds amazing.

ASH: It looks it, too!

SEAN: Kodansha also has a 7th volume of Kiss Him, Not Me!, which I hope is stocked next to The Ghost and the Lady at all good bookstores, just for the humor value.

Speaking of new works by authors best known for something else, Nekogahara: Stray Cat Samurai is from the creator of Shaman King, and has… well, cat samurai. Be warned: this is not your Chi sort of cat book – it runs in Shonen Magazine Edge (I assume because the works are edgy).

MICHELLE: Huh.

ANNA: I have a similar reaction as Michelle.

SEAN: And a 17th volume of breakout hit Noragami.

ASH: I’ve come to really enjoy this series.

SEAN: Seven Seas also has a bunch of stuff. The 4th volume of spinoff A Certain Scientific Accelerator continues to be action oriented, much to the annoyance of Last Order.

A new Freezing omnibus, Vols. 11-12, will please anyone who likes breasts.

Speaking of such readers, the big release this week is Monster Girl Encyclopedia, which is apparently a lavishly illustrated guide to various types of monster girls. It’s a hardcover, so they’re really pushing this. I also hear that it’s possibly the most fanservicey title they’ve ever released.

ASH: That’s impressive in and of itself.

SEAN: And another omnibus, with manwha release Witch Hunter getting Vols. 17 and 18.

Vertical has a 2nd volume of Immortal Hounds.

Time for Yen. First of all, we have the digital-only releases: Aoharu x Machinegun 6, Black Detective 6, Saki 6, and Corpse Princess… 7. Sure, ruin my numerology, why don’t you.

ASH: Saki!

SEAN: Light novels. Psycome has a second volume of wacky insane girls in prison antics.

And the fourth volume of Sword Art Online: Progressive has Argo on its cover, which automatically makes it a must-read.

As for Yen’s print manga, we get an eighth Akame Ga KILL!

Did I say Aoharu x Machinegun was digital-only? Never mind. Like Handa-kun, it did well enough to get a print release, with Volume 1 shipping next week.

The Asterisk War has a 2nd manga release. I quite like the book’s cliched but breezy story.

We’ve caught up with Barakamon, so it’s been a while since the last volume. I’ve missed it. Here’s Vol. 12.

MICHELLE: I have every intention of getting caught up on Barakamon. Intentions, but not time, alas.

SEAN: Bloody Cross comes to an end with its 12th and final volume.

A Certain Magical Index has its 7th manga volume, which I think starts to adapt the 6th novel.

And The Devil Is A Part-Timer! has its 7th manga volume, which is still adapting the 3rd novel, because it didn’t skip entire books like Index’s manga did.

And if you like cuter and fluffier, there’s a 5th volume of the High School!! spinoff.

Fruits Basket has a 6th omnibus, as Akito helpfully allows Tohru to gain resolve to stop the curse by being completely terrible.

I’d mentioned Handa-kun before, and we get a 4th print volume here.

Horimiya gives us a 5th volume of adorable high school romance.

MICHELLE: Yay for Furuba and Horimiya!

ASH: Yay, indeed!

SEAN: More manga adaptations of light novels, or in this case adaptations of songs, with the 7th Kagerou Daze.

I was lukewarm to the first Liselotte & Witch’s Forest, but a 2nd volume should help firm up which direction it’s going.

MICHELLE: I found it reasonably intriguing, but definitely the second volume is going to be key. I’m looking forward to it a lot.

ANNA: Surprisingly I haven’t read this yet, but I plan to.

SEAN: And there’s a 4th spinoff volume of Log Horizon’s West Wind Brigade.

MORE manga adaptations of light novels! This time the 2nd Re: Zero manga.

It’s rare we see seinen romance manga in North America, let alone by a female author. But Scum’s Wish is still about tortured high schoolers and hopeless crushes, have no fear. It runs in Big Gangan, and has been on the Crunchyroll app as well.

Taboo Tattoo gets a 4th volume, so it can’t be all THAT taboo.

Another manga gets out of digital only land, as we see the first volume of Today’s Cerberus. This is a Shonen Gangan series, has supernatural elements, and leans very much towards the comedy end of things. Not quite Another Monster Girl Series, but close as dammit.

Just because monster girls are the next big genre doesn’t mean we’re not getting more survival game as well. I know little about Tohyo Game except it runs in Big Gangan, and is an omnibus of the first 2 volumes.

Are you being tricked? Or is all this manga a treat?

SEAN: You thought this week might be lighter than the others? Ha! You fool!

Dark Horse has an anthology of works based on Oreimo. Unlike the anthology I’m about to talk about, it’s Japanese creators. It should be cute and incestuous, like its source.

Attack on Titan’s Anthology, a collection of works by Western creators based on the manga, has been the most anticipated title of the year. I reviewed it here, and it does not disappoint. Must buy.

ASH: It really is great!

SEAN: Kodansha also has the 3rd volume of Fairy Girls, which is not as exciting as the Attack on Titan Anthology, but probably has more nudity.

ASH: Fairy Girls is probably my least favorite Fairy Tail spin-off; a shame because the basic premise had such potential.

SEAN: There’s a 5th Inuyashiki, from the Gantz creator.

And a 7th L♥DK, still trying to give us its bad boy love.

And a 10th Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle omnibus. Didn’t this end? Is it eternal? Am I buying a cursed book?

Somehow, Rise of the Shield Hero has become The Rising of the Shield Hero. Still from One Peace, and this is the 5th manga volume.

Seven Seas has a 2nd volume of Magical Guy series Battle Rabbits.

Their first debut this week is Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid, another in a long line of monster girl works which permeate our world today. It runs in Manga Acton from Futabasha, which is at least not Comic Alive. The author has several works adapted to anime, including Miss Komori Can’t Decide and I Can’t Understand What My Husband Is Saying. I expect it will fall on the ‘goofy’ end of the scale, rather than ‘porn-ey’.

ASH: I am actually a little curious about this one.

SEAN: A 4th Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation defies my ability to say anything about it.

I do enjoy My Monster Secret, though, and so a 4th volume is welcome. See? Not all monster girl titles make me sarcastic!

The other new Seven Seas title is complete in one omnibus. Tokyo Undead is part of a smaller trend Seven Seas has picked up on – zombie horror with lots of gore. It ran in Akita Shoten’s Play Comic. Don’t expect cuteness.

Also not cute is the 8th volume of Ajin, though I don’t know, given Japan’s current trends, we could get a high school AU Ajin 4-koma spinoff soon.

ASH: Ha!

SEAN: Viz has another gorgeous Miyazaki artbook coming out, with The Art of Castle in the Sky. AKA Laputa, dropped from the title for reasons that should be obvious.

Tokyo Ghoul 9 gives us additional zombies, and we also get…

Tokyo Ghoul: Days, a prose short story collection about the “everyday lives” of the cast.

Is this enough for you?

MICHELLE: I am literally not buying any of these things. Not even the Attack on Titan anthology.

ANNA: This is one of those weeks where I’m glad I’m not interested in anything, because it gives me some time to catch up on all my other unread manga.