manga the week of

SEAN: It’s September! Summer vacation is over, time to go back to school, and a whole lot of manga seems to be coming to a close.

Dark Horse has a 10th New Lone Wolf and Cub. There are swords in it.

Paradise Residence wraps up with its third volume, It felt fairly inconsequential, but then so did Oh My Goddess! much of the time.

ASH: I actually didn’t realize the series was only three volumes.

SEAN: Seven Seas has a 5th volume of Citrus, whose cover looks suggestive, but if it’s like previous volumes it will have more angst than seduction.

And a 5th Non Non Biyori, which has yuri tease but otherwise could not be more different than Citrus.

Vertical gives us a 4th volume of Nichijou, which is funny and weird, not necessarily in that order, but always worth getting.

And now the rest is Viz. Bloody Mary has a 4th volume, and, well, vampires.

ANNA: I enjoy this because the vampires are so pretty, and I think secretly in love with each other.

SEAN: Dragon Ball has its final 3-in-1, the 14th. Worry not, however, because…

There’s a 3rd Dragon Ball Full Color Freeza Arc, and that’s not done yet! There will always be Dragon Ball in Oceania.

I liked Everyone’s getting Married’s first volume, and am interested in seeing how far it goes with its premise. Vol. 2 next week.

MICHELLE: I’m looking forward to this one.

ASH: Somehow, I’ve already fallen behind. I’ll need to change that.

ANNA: So good! I’m always happy when there’s a regular josei series coming out.

SEAN: Haikyu! is still monthly, with its third volume. My guess? Volleyball practice.

MICHELLE: With the new defense specialist kid!

ASH: I’m really enjoying this series!

ANNA: I am too, it just keeps getting better and better.

SEAN: Idol Dreams continues to come out at a very slow rate, which is what happens when you catch up to Japan almost immediately. Will Volume 3 still be uncomfortable? We shall see.

ANNA: Still here for any Arina Tanemura series.

SEAN: Also caught up with Japan is Kimi ni Todoke, but that’s OK, it’s always worth the wait, even at Vol. 25.

Komomo Confiserie wraps up with its 5th volume. It wasn’t a Special A, or even a Voice Over, but it was pretty good.

MICHELLE: Yeah, I certainly didn’t hate it, but I don’t know that I’d reread it.

ANNA: I liked it, but I agree, probably not a series I’d reread every few years.

SEAN: Nisekoi 17 is the first one to be released after the manga has ended in Japan. Will sales still be good? And is the harem safe? Think of the poor harem!

One Piece’s 17th 3-in-1 has reached Thriller Bark, which I wasn’t fond of at the time but has grown on me after the endless Dressrosa arc.

One-Punch Man 8! PUNCHING!

ASH: INDEED!

ANNA: SO MUCH PUNCHING!

SEAN: Seraph of the End 10! SERAPHING!… OK, no, that doesn’t work. Vampires?

ANNA: I’ve fallen behind on this series but I enjoy the vampires, complex worldbuilding, and angst.

SEAN: Skip Beat! is not coming to an end anytime soon, despite reaching its 37th volume. That said, we do reach a plot I’ve been waiting for since the first volume.

MICHELLE: I actually do not know anything about the plot in this volume, so now I am all excite.

ANNA: I don’t know either, but I’m always excited for Skip Beat! May it run eternally.

SEAN: World Trigger is up to a dozen volumes. And I still have almost nothing to say about it.

And lastly, the 9th and final volume of Yu-Gi-Oh Zexal, which totally wraps up the franchise forever and ever… wait, there’s already a new series solicited. Nevermind.

So what’cha want?

SEAN: August ends with a giant pile of manga, mostly via Yen Press, but as always we’ll start alphabetically.

Kodansha gives us the first volume of the Attack on Titan: Lost Girls manga. This is an adaptation of the visual novel that focused on Mikasa and Annie, there’s also a novel that Vertical released. It promises to be quite good.

ASH: Oh! I somehow overlooked the manga being licensed, though I did know about the novel.

SEAN: There’s also a 4th volume of Maga-Tsuki, as well as a 9th Your Lie In April. You know I have little to say when I combine releases into the same line.

ASH: I didn’t care much for Maga-Tsuki, but for the most part I have been enjoying Your Lie in April. It can be a bit melodramatic, but I’m always down for music manga!

SEAN: Seven Seas gives us a 9th volume of runaway monster girl hit Monster Musume.

And they also have a 2nd volume of Shomin Sample, whose full title I won’t bother with. Volume 1 was not very good, but did make me laugh more than I expected to.

Vertical Comics also has a Vol. 9, this one is Witchcraft Works.

OK, that’s it for non-Yen titles. Let’s start with digital, there are new digital volumes of Aoharu x Machinegun (5), Black Detective (5), Corpse Princess (6), and Saki (5). I’m falling behind on Saki, I will admit.

ASH: Still happy if somewhat stunned that Saki is being translated!

SEAN: Yen On has a full 8 light novels out this month; luckily, we already had two of them out this week. For next week, we get the debut of The Asterisk War, a stunning expose of modern copyediting in Japan. Wait, no, this is another fantasy series with magic, swords, and cute girls. But, on the bright side, it does not have anyone getting trapped in a game.

Baccano! has a 2nd light novel, this the first of a 2-part arc subtitled The Grand Punk Railroad (this is the “Local” novel.) It is worth noting that one of the protagonists in this book is named Jacuzzi Splot. This alone should make everyone want to read it.

MICHELLE: Haha. At some point, I will get around to these.

SEAN: And a 4th Black Bullet, which will have to figure out how far down the rabbit hole it can go after last volume’s “kill an entire classroom of adorable children”.

The Devil Is A Part-Timer! is always a treat, and I look forward to the 5th volume.

ASH: I’ve fallen behind on the series, but was greatly amused by its beginning.

SEAN: Likewise, Is It Wrong To Try To Pick Up Girls In A Dungeon? continues to have a batting average above its premise, and the 6th volume should continue that.

And Sword Art Online has an 8th volume, this one devoted to two large novellas and a short story, taking place both during the time in Aincrad and after.

MJ: I’m still reading this, so… that’s something.

SEAN: On the manga front, Yen has a 2nd volume of Anne Happy, a story of several unlucky students and their bizarre classroom.

And there’s a 2nd omnibus of Corpse Party: Blood Covered, which as you can tell from the title is filled with heartwarming fluff.

Yen has a 3rd volume of sci-fi thriller Dimension W.

ASH: I recently picked up the first two volumes since I generally like Yūji Iwahara’s manga. Also, the covers glow in the dark!

SEAN: And a 4th volume of fanservice-heavy Dragons Rioting.

MJ: I know fanservice sells, but it’s become so overwhelming in Yen titles generally, I’ve started to wonder what’s left for me. Then I remember things like Emma and Fruits Basket.

SEAN: Well, Yen Press allied with Kadokawa Shoten, and is now putting out a bunch of its titles. Between Dragon Age and Comic Alive, there’s a lot of titles that cater to the male otaku.

We have reached the end of Emma with its 5th and final omnibus. This one is mostly side stories, but does also give us some time with the main characters themselves. So happy Yen rescued this.

MJ: Yep.

ASH: Yes! I was one of the people who discovered the series after it had gone out of print. I’m thrilled that I can now own it, and Yen has done a beautiful job with the release.

ANNA: I got it the first time around, but am so happy that people who hadn’t read it before have a chance at a nice rerelease.

SEAN: And a 4th omnibus of Fruits Basket, which introduces us to Hiro, who is one of my favorite underappreciated characters.

MICHELLE: This is coming out so fast!

MJ: Delightfully fast!

ANNA: Fruits Basket EEEE! I have all the TokyoPop volume, so I have held off on this but I am delighted it is in print again!

SEAN: Monthly Girls’ Nozaki-kun is always at the top of my pile when it comes out, because it will always be the funniest thing to read.

MJ: I gotta get into this.

ASH: Definitely! I think you’ll like it. The anime adaptation is great, too.

ANNA: I like it, and it is genuinely funny.

SEAN: School-Live! has a 4th volume of adorable schoolgirls and horrific zombies.

Trinity Seven, Volume Six. I’ve made this joke too many times already, so just insert your football results gag here.

Lastly, there is a 3rd omnibus of Yowamushi Pedal, filled with earnest cycling and the sweat and tears of male athletes. It’s actually quite awesome.

MICHELLE: I love it!

ASH: I enjoy this series so much.

ANNA: I haven’t picked this up yet, which I’m sure indicates that there is something wrong with me.

SEAN: As always, so much stuff you could be behind forever. What are you reading?

SEAN: The dog days of August are really dragging in my opinion, and there isn’t much coming out this week I’m picking up. But I’ll tell you about it anyway, as it’s what I do.

Dark Horse has the first omnibus re-release of the old CLAMP series RG Veda, which I seem to recall I found the most difficult to get into of their early works. Perhaps Michelle or MJcan enlighten me further?

MICHELLE: I have actually never read RG Veda, either!

ANNA: I read a few volumes of RG Veda, and I agree it is hard to get into.

SEAN: Kodansha is next. Fairy Tail has a 3rd volume of its Wendy-focused spinoff Blue Mistral.

And a 5th volume of The Heroic Legend of Arslan, which may not come out that often but it’s drawn by Arakawa so who cares?

ANNA: I haven’t read this yet, I clearly need to rethink my life priorities.

ASH: I’ve read the first few volumes and definitely plan on reading more.

SEAN: And there’s a 6th volume of L♥DK, which continues to be oh-so-bad for us.

One Peace has a 5th volume of its novel Rise of the Shield Hero.

Seven Seas has a 2nd volume of horror manga Hour of the Zombie, which does not even pretend to be cute or fluffy before going for shocks.

There’s a 4th 4-koma volume of Merman in My Tub.

ASH: I’ve read a few volumes of this series, too, and was generally amused.

SEAN: And a 3rd volume of odd survival-game-ish Not Lives.

Vertical has the 6th Tokyo ESP omnibus – it’s catching up with Japan a bit, so this may slow down soon.

MICHELLE: I do like this series, but I’m a couple of volumes behind now.

Almost all of Yen’s August releases got pushed back a week, but there are two titles mysteriously unaffected at major retail sites, so I will list them here accordingly. The 8th A Certain Magical Index novel gives us a different POV narrator, as Mikoto’s stalker junior Kuroko gets her own series of adventures.

And The Irregular at Magic High School’s 2nd volume wraps up its first arc.

Do you want something from this list, or is it just too hot to read?

SEAN: The dog days of August are here, but there’s still manga to keep you cool.

If you like Neon Genesis Evangelion but wish there was less drama and more high school harems, then Dark Horse has you covered with an omnibus re-release of the first 3 volumes of The Shinji Ikari Raising Project. At 16+ volumes, this spinoff is actually longer than the original manga.

Kodansha gives us a 6th volume of reverse harem comedy Kiss Him, Not Me!.

The debut this week is also shoujo, from Kodansha’s breakaway hit magazine Aria. It’s called That Wolf-Boy Is Mine! No prizes for guessing what the lead boy’s amazing secret is, and I’ve heard it compared to Fruits Basket a bit.

MICHELLE: I’ll be checking this one out, and the Fruits Basket comparison is reassuring, since I was worried it’d feel more like Twilight or something.

ASH: I’ll admit, I’m a bit curious about this one.

ANNA: I’m curious too, but I will reserve judgement until after you guys read it!

SEAN: One Peace gives us another omnibus of not-really-yuri license rescue Maria Holic. I think this catches us up, so volumes after this should be new.

Vertical has a 2nd volume of To the Abandoned Sacred Beasts.

Viz gives us a 19th volume of Dorohedoro, which I always look forward to, even if I still am a bit lost on the whole Caiman/Kai/Ai thing.

ASH: This week may have relatively few releases, but it does still have Dorohedoro!

SEAN: And an 8th volume of Tokyo Ghoul, still popular.

Lastly, for all your tokusatsu needs, there’s a 5th volume of Ultraman.

Is there a title here that piques your interest?

SEAN: For a second week of the month, next week is pretty packed with stuff. Let’s leap right in.

I have become very wary of ever listing a print book by DMP on this list again, and it may just result in me being burned, but for now, the 4th volume of Border is still being listed as coming out next week.

Likewise, there’s also Does the Flower Blossom? 3, with the same caveats.

ASH: DMP has been having major problems with distribution, but I do know that currently these two manga actually do exist in print.

SEAN: The Manga Bookshelf’s pick of the Week has been fairly unanimous the last two weeks, and I suspect we will make it three with the release by Fantagraphics of Otherworld Barbara, a 400-page hardcover by Moto Hagio. This is the first of two volumes, and originally ran in the shoujo magazine flowers (note the lack of caps), home of Kaze Hikaru, as well as 7SEEDS, which is still unlicensed because Viz laughs at our pain. It should be amazing.

ASH: I am absolutely thrilled that more of Hagio’s manga is being translated. I’m especially excited for Otherworld Barbara since it’s an example of her science fiction work, which I love.

MICHELLE: I’m excited, too, but also high-fiving Sean for 7SEEDS solidarity.

ANNA: No surprise, I’m looking forward to this too. I appreciate the 7SEEDS shoutout!

SEAN: Attack on Titan has an 8th volume of its Before the Fall spinoff from Kodansha – honestly, it’s run a lot longer than I expected.

Fairy Tail has reached its 55th volume, and really that is about what I expected. It’s not remotely done either.

And we finally run out of Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle with its 9th and final omnibus.

On to Seven Seas. Devils and Realist has reached 10 volumes. I’m not sure what’s going on in it anymore, but the guy on the cover looks pretty sexy.

ASH: I’ve fallen behind on reading the series, but the covers and artwork are lovely to look upon.

SEAN: The Testament of Sister New Devil also has what might be considered by its core audience a sexy cover with Vol. 3. Its audience and Devils and Realist may not overlap at all.

SubLime gives us the debut of Ten Count, a new BL manga. No, it’s not about boxing – I think North America would more accurately call it Ten Step. It’s about therapy, and by the author of Seven Days.

ASH: I loved Seven Days so will definitely be checking out Ten Count. Despite it’s popularity, it does seem to be a somewhat divisive series, though.

SEAN: Udon has the 3rd volume of Kill La Kill. Be warned, the manga was cut short before it covered what the anime did as well – this is the final volume.

It’s been almost a year since the last Arata the Legend, which has caught up with Japan and thus runs on Watase Yuu time. Vol. 24 is here, from Viz, however.

Itsuwaribito has finished in Japan, but there’s more of it to come over here, and Vol. 18 ships next week.

Oh thank God, something I actually read on a regular basis. Magi! Yes, Magi is here to give me something besides Moto Hagio to buy this week. Luckily, it’s awesome.

ASH: I still need to get around reading Magi…

MICHELLE: I’m a few volumes behind, so look forward to getting caught up.

SEAN: Viz also has a 3rd volume of Monster Hunter: Flash Hunter.

Lastly, Viz is releasing an artbook of Yoshitake Amano’s works, simply called Illustrations. It should be gorgeous, and also have vampires, given its creator.

ASH: I have another of Amano’s artbooks and it is stunning, so I’m definitely glad to see more being released.

SEAN: That’s a lot. Any for you?

SEAN: Next week is a huge week, with Viz releasing a pile plus stuff from other publishers. It’s hard to keep up anymore.

Dark Horse has a 2nd and final volume of the Blood C spinoff Demonic Moonlight.

Kodansha gives us the 19th volume of Attack on Titan, which once again comes with a Special Edition that has a DVD for those inclined.

ASH: That it does! The second half of No Regrets.

SEAN: And Say “I Love You” has a 15th volume. Will we see the main couple again?

MICHELLE: Let us hope!

ANNA: So far behind on this series. I feel guilty.

SEAN: Seven Seas has a trio of titles. D-Frag! has a 9th volume of broad comedy and gaming, though the gaming will always take a backseat to the comedy.

Somehow Dragonar Academy has hit double digit volumes. Could it be the fanservice?

Nurse Hitomi’s Monster Infirmary is also not above fanservice, but is usually more content to milk humor out of the weird monsters and school life situations. Vol. 4 hits next week.

From Vertical Comics, Wolfsmund has a 7th volume. Japanese Game of Thrones?

ASH: This series has been brutal. I’m curious to see where it will go considering the finality of some of the developments in the sixth volume.

SEAN: The rest is all Viz. We get an 11th volume of Assassination Classroom, where our kids will no doubt find they have much more still to learn.

Black Clover gets a 2nd volume. I hear it wasn’t well-liked at SDCC – can it turn this around?

ASH: I know plenty of people who love the series!

ANNA: I like it! Why wasn’t it liked at SDCC?

SEAN: Bleach has a 16th 3-in-1, and honestly, I’ve lost track of where it is. My guess is people are fighting each other.

ASH: Probably.

SEAN: Will Food Wars! 13 finally get to the end of its latest tournament? Doesn’t matter to me, this is a really fun arc.

MICHELLE: I’m enjoying it very much, too.

SEAN: Haikyu! gets a 2nd volume of plucky volleyball guy and angry volleyball guy learning the basics of being in a Shonen Jump title.

MICHELLE: Ha! That pretty much sums it up, but I love it anyway.

ASH: I’m happy to get another volume so soon after the first.

ANNA: Me too!

MICHELLE: You will get them monthly through at least January!

SEAN: And The Heiress and the Chauffeur wraps up with a 2nd volume, in which, presumably, they combine to become the Heirffeur.

ANNA: I am a fan of occasional 2 volume shoujo series.

SEAN: JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure wraps up its 2nd arc with the 4th hardcover omnibus of Battle Tendency. Worry not, though, the previously released 3rd arc is getting the deluxe re-release treatment soon.

ASH: I remember when the third arc was going out of print. I plan on upgrading my set; these deluxe releases are nice!

SEAN: If it’s August, it must be time for our yearly volume of Kaze Hikaru! This is Volume 24 (of 38 – and counting – in Japan). Thanks as always to Viz for not giving up on it.

MICHELLE: I’m super happy about a new volume even though I will probably be of retirement age before we get to the end.

ANNA: Viz deserves props for this. I love this series so much.

SEAN: On a list of titles I never thought I’d see over here, Kuroko’s Basketball would be pretty high up. But the anime was popular, and Slam Dunk’s re-release ended, so we can have another basketball manga. It’s coming out as omnibuses, to catch up faster – should be 15 omnibuses total.

MICHELLE: Once again, I am so excite!!! So much good stuff coming out this summer!

ANNA: Yay sports manga!

SEAN: Maid-sama! Omnibus 5 finally includes all-new material, for those who didn’t want to rebuy old Tokyopop stuff (though it is an all-new translation from the start.)

My Hero Academia has a 5th volume of Superhero School.

And One Piece, at Vol. 79, is finally wrapping up Dressrosa. I think.

MICHELLE: Finally. Let us hope there are not any more speeches to women about how they shouldn’t do anything so strenuous as fight for their freedom.

SEAN: So Cute It Hurts!! is at Vol. 8, which is right around the halfway point of the series.

MICHELLE: Oh man, somehow I had it in my head that this was only ten volumes long.

ANNA: Yikes! I like this series, but 16 volumes sounds like too much to me.

SEAN: And Toriko is at Vol. 35, an I’m hopful it’s over halfway through, but who knows?

It’s good that lately there’s always been one really obvious pick of the week lately. Viz debuts a series I have wanted to see here forever – Yona of the Dawn, a fantasy series from the author of NG Life, if anyone recalls NG Life. Its heroine is fantastic, and I cannot wait to read it.

MICHELLE: SO EXCITE!

ASH: YES!

ANNA: ME TOO!!!!!!

SEAN: And lastly, a 7th Yu-Gi-Oh 3-in-1 omnibus.

There’s a ton to peruse here. What are you getting?

SEAN: You know the drill. Last week of the month, piles and piles of titles, let’s get right to it.

Dark Horse gives us a 2nd volume of Dangan Ronpa: The Animation, whose awkward subtitle lets you know it’s based on that rather than the game.

And they also have a 4th Oh My Goddess omnibus, which is warring with Dragon Ball for most re-releases.

This is my featured manga this week, and I guarantee it’s my pick of the week as well. The first omnibus volume of Queen Emeraldas is coming from Kodansha Comics, and I’ve heard it looks gorgeous. Matsumoto’s manga is always amazing, and don’t let the age of the material stop you – this is top tier.

MICHELLE: So excite!

ANNA: I am also very, very excited!

ASH: Definitely picking this one up!

SEAN: Also from Kodansha, we have a 3rd volume of Real Account.

ASH: As far as manga with games of life and death go, this series actually manages to be pretty interesting.

SEAN: The other Kodansha debut is Sweetness and Lightning, which runs in good! Afternoon, and apparently lives up to the sweet part of its name. It was a Crunchyroll title that Kodansha then decided to take to print. The author is much better known for BL titles, which this isn’t.

MICHELLE: I’m looking forward to this, as well!

ASH: A food manga featuring a single dad and his adorable kid? I’m in.

SEAN: And there is a 9th volume of Yamada-kun and the Seven Witches, currently in the middle of a very dramatic arc.

ASH: That it is! I just recently caught up with the series, and I’m curious to see where it goes.

SEAN: Seven Seas has a 4th volume of college romance and drama Golden Time.

We also have the 4th and final volume of Haven’t You Heard? I’m Sakamoto, which is ending at just about the right time, I think.

ASH: I’m glad Seven Seas took a chance on this series.

SEAN: Vertical has the 2nd volume of vampire thriller Devils’ Line.

They also debut Immortal Hounds, a violent supernatural thriller that runs in Enterbrain’s Harta magazine. If you liked Ajin and the like, you should enjoy this.

And now for Yen. Only one digital-only title this month, the 5th volume of Crimson Prince.

For print, we have a 7th volume of capital-letter loving (or just English loan-word loving) Akame Ga KILL!.

A manga debut based off a light novel that comes out next month, The Asterisk War is a fantasy series with magic and swords, much like every other series licensed in the past 3 years or so. Its manga runs in… groan… Comic Alive.

Speaking of manga that make me groan, BTOOOM! is somehow at 14 volumes, and more are coming.

MICHELLE: Ugh.

SEAN: A Certain Magical Index has its 6th manga volume. It’s adapting Accelerator and Last Order, should be good.

And The Devil Is A Part-Timer! also has its 6th manga, which is only up to the 3rd book, because it’s not jettisoning some novels the way Index did.

The final volume of Final Fantasy Type-0 Side Story, Volume 5, means I can stop making lame soccer-based jokes.

Fruits Basket gets a 3rd Collectors’ Edition, which will collect the 5th and 6th volumes. It will feature a very awkward but true discussion of how school bullying really works in Japan.

MICHELLE: And Shigure looks fetching on the cover.

ANNA: More Fruits Basket is always a good thing!

SEAN: Horimiya has a 4th volume of romantic sweetness – will things finally get taken further?

ASH: I really need to catch up on this series! The first volume was delightful.

SEAN: How to Raise a Boring Girlfriend reaches Vol. 3, and the boring girlfriend is still the major issue with this.

Kagerou Daze has a 6th manga volume, and I’ve honestly lost track of which LN volume it’s adapting.

And a 5th omnibus of Karneval comes next week as well.

The debut I’d be most excited about were it not for Queen Emeraldas is Liselotte & Witch’s Forest, the current series (though I think it’s on hiatus for health reasons) by Natsuki Takaya, creator of Fruits Basket. It runs, when active, in Hana to Yume.

MICHELLE: And a third debut I’m eagerly anticipating. All of these fab new series almost salve the pain of what we lost when various companies folded in recent years. I’ll never stop pining for Silver Diamond, though.

ANNA: Ah, I’m looking forward to this, although series on hiatus always make me nervous. Also, if Michelle is going to shout out Silver Diamond, I am going to take a moment of silence for Demon Sacred.

MICHELLE: I still haven’t given up hope!

SEAN: Log Horizon’s harem-influenced spinoff The West Wind Brigade has a 3rd volume.

And there’s a 4th omnibus of hard-to-read but fascinating Prison School.

ASH: Yup.

SEAN: And for those who wished Jeanne D’Arc’s life was just as tragic but had more magical girls, there’s the 3rd Puella Magi Tart Magica manga.

Re: Zero had its novel debut last week, so look to that post for a description. Here’s Vol. 1 of the manga, which runs in Big Gangan.

Lastly, there is a 3rd Taboo Tattoo, one of manga recent series that have an anime running at the same time.

Exhausted yet? That’s a whole lotta spicy manga. You’ll need alka-seltzer.

SEAN: Sometimes I like to shake things up and do my list in reverse order, usually when a feature image would be right at the bottom of the list. This is one of those times.

So let’s start with Yen On, which has four books out, one a debut, Re: ZERO ~Starting Life in Another World~ sounds like a mouthful, and it is yet another in a series of “normal guy gets summoned to fantasy world” books, but I have heard from those who have seen the anime that this is top tier stuff. We shall see, but I am provisionally excited.

ASH: One of the light novel competitions has actually stopped accepting those types of stories they’ve become so prevalent.

SEAN: Log Horizon has a 5th volume, subtitled A Sunday in Akiba. Will Shiro and company be able to avoid politics and monster killing and have a light fluffy volume of no consequence? I highly doubt it.

After a bit of a delay, we see the 4th Kagerou Daze novel. The main point of interest in the last novel was seeing that one of the Mekakushi group seems to have a grudge against Shintaro, and also knows about his tragic relationship with Ayano. I’d like to see more about that.

The 4th Durarara!! novel, on the other hand, is a bit of a placeholder before the next major arc begins, but as with most Narita novels, the placeholding is possibly more interesting to fans.

ASH: I’ve sadly fallen behind in most of my light novel reading.

SEAN: And now back to manga, so the rest of the MB team can wake up. We have a 13th volume of Terra Formars from Viz, which honestly has gone a lot further than I expected.

I believe that the 9th volume of Monster (Perfect Edition) is the last, which means it’s a perfect time for readers who got behind to catch up.

ASH: I’m really glad Monster is available in its entirety again! And in a great looking edition, too.

SEAN: And hey, it’s been a while – over a year, in fact – but here’s the 7th volume of Gangsta.

ASH: I’ve been looking forward to the continuation of the series as well as the spinoff that Viz recently licensed.

ANNA: I didn’t realize that there was a spinoff coming out too! I enjoy this series and it has been far too long since a new volume came out.

SEAN: The Complete Chi’s Sweet Home has a 3rd omnibus of amazingly cute kitties!

MICHELLE: Yay!

SEAN: Seven Seas has a bevy of titles out. My Monster Secret’s 3rd volume continues to show us that monsters and broad comedy mix really well.

If you enjoyed Love in Hell when it came out a while back, we’re now getting a sequel series, Love in Hell: Death Life. As for me, I’d prefer an anime of Matt Groening’s Life in Hell.

And there’s a 4th volume of yuri thriller Akuma no Riddle, which is beginning to run out of antagonists.

MICHELLE: I haven’t gone back since volume two. Not sure if I am sufficiently compelled.

SEAN: One Peace has a 4th volume of the manga adaptation of Rise of the Shield Hero (which runs in Comic Flapper, for those of you fond of that magazine).

Kodansha has an 8th volume of UQ Holder, which has gone from weekly to monthly recently in Japan, so may start slowing down soon.

And with Noragami 16, we are finally caught up with Japan, so the monthly releases end here.

ASH: I recently caught up with Noragami myself and it’s getting really good. Like, really good.

SEAN: Lastly, we end as we began, with a novel. This one can’t really be called light, though, as it’s the 2nd Legend of the Galactic Heroes book from Haikasoru. Space opera! Intrigue! A whole lot of death! All are within these pages.

MICHELLE: Woot! I confess I still haven’t read the first one, but I am totally getting this via Audible, as I did the first volume.

ASH: Definitely picking this up!

ANNA: I need to confess that I haven’t read the first, but I really want to! Maybe I will schedule a reading binge for a long weekend soon.

SEAN: Which of these books will help you beat the heat?

SEAN: For a 2nd week of the month, there sure is a lot of stuff coming out. What have we got here?

Dark horse has a 6th and final volume of the Oreimo spinoff Kuroneko. Is it a slightly less incestuous ending? (Actually, I think, unlike many harem spinoffs, it’s not an AU at all.)

If you recall Spirit of Wonder coming out from Dark Horse, a) you are very very old, and b) you will be delighted with the release of Wandering Island by the same author.

ASH: I missed out on Spirit of Wonder, but I’m looking forward to giving this series a try.

SEAN: Fairy Tail Zero from Kodansha is, as the title might suggest, a prequel focusing on Fairy Tail’s founder, Mavis.

Forget Me Not has a 3rd volume. Note this isn’t the Forget Me Not which the author of Wandering Island wrote back in the 1990s.

ASH: Ha! I hadn’t made that non-connection yet.

SEAN: And The Seven Deadly Sins gives us Vol. 15, and has surely run out of sins by now, just as I have run out of jokes to use about this title.

Seven Seas has an 8th volume of Magical Girl Apocalypse, because grim and gritty refuses to go away no matter how many wishes I use.

And the Monster Musume spinoff I Heart Monster Girls gives you some 4-koma gag monsters.

Pandora in the Crimson Shell’s 5th volume has less Excel Saga knockoffs, but does have a fair amount of exciting action, and of course the awful service is there too.

The big release this week is The Osamu Tezuka Story, a biography from Stone Bridge Press that is over 900 pages (and print only, so I will let someone else read it – Ash, I suspect).

ASH: Yup! It might take me a while to get through, though. My copy just arrived, and it is ENORMOUS.

SEAN: SubLime has the 2nd and final volume of Midnight Stranger, who is no doubt friends with the Midnight Cowboy and Midnight Rambler.

ASH: The first volume of Midnight Stranger was, well, strange, but the clueless goat spirit was rather endearing.

SEAN: Viz gives us the 59th volume of Case Closed. I don’t read it, but it’s always great to see non-Jump series reach this many volumes – in fact, I think Case Closed may be the ONLY non-Jump series to reach this many volumes here.

Ranma 1/2’s 15th omnibus volume has the introduction of my favorite Ranma character. I am alone in this, and have been since 1996, but I don’t care. It’s been 20 years, I won’t back down now.

ASH: I’m still glad this series is getting a re-release.

MICHELLE: Me, too.

SEAN: Lastly, Rin-Ne has a 21st volume. My guess is that ghosts will feature in some way. Also, Rinne will be poor. And Sakura will continue to not have any emotions at all.

What’s your wallet paying for?

MICHELLE: Nothing this time, actually.

ANNA: My wallet is paying for nothing! It is a good thing so much great manga came out in the previous week!

SEAN: July, another big month for manga, because there are no small months for manga anymore. What’ve we got for the first week, aside from a pile of Viz (though we’ll be getting to that as well)?

Kodansha has the 6th volume of Devil Survivor. Is every manga title in Japan somehow based on Shin Megami Tensei?

And an 8th Your Lie in April, sure to be gut-punchingly heartwarming in a horrible way.

ASH: I finally just got caught up with this series! Pretty sure I already know how some things will turn out, but I’m still glad to see music manga being released.

SEAN: Seven Seas gives us a 5th volume of The Ancient Magus’ Bride, and I cannot wait, as it’s one of my favorite titles from them.

ASH: Same!

ANNA: I started the first volume and didn’t finish it for some reason. I should try again!

SEAN: Then there is the debut of Battle Rabbits. Judging by the title, you’d expect bad things, but no, this is a Zero-Sum series, so I doubt it’s boobies and fighting. It’s by the authors of 07-Ghost.

MICHELLE: Huh! This wasn’t on my radar.

ANNA: I’m interested, and also feeling guilty for not reading more 07-Ghost.

SEAN: A Centaur’s Life continues to be utterly strange and unpredictable, even as we reach Volume 9.

Vertical gives us a 3rd Nichijou, which is strange and unpredictable in a totally different way. I love it a lot.

MICHELLE: I enjoyed the first two more than I expected to, so am looking forward to this one.

SEAN: Now here’s the Viz. Behind the Scenes!! has a 2nd volume. I’m not used to series starting out caught up with Japan. This feels like it’s been a while since Book 1.

MICHELLE: It really has. I hope I like volume two more than the first.

ANNA: I liked the first one well enough!

SEAN: You’ll never guess who shows up at the end of the 67th volume of Bleach. No one could have predicted… no, wait, everyone did.

The Demon Prince of Momochi House continues Aya Shouoto’s demonic hold on all of North American manga publishing with its 5th volume. (Speaking of which, why hasn’t Kodansha picked up Super Darling?)

MICHELLE: At only two volumes, it definitely would seem to be an easy contender.

ANNA: I like Demon Prince, and thought the 4th volume was really strong.

SEAN: Dragon Ball Full Color Freeza Arc Volume 2. Yes, it’s still being re-released.

The big release this week is Haikyu!!, the new Jump sports manga – remember when that was box office poison? – about a volleyball team. It’s a monthly release, as this has already reached 22+ volumes in Japan. Friendship! Training! Victory!

MICHELLE: YAYYYYY!! Also… new volumes every month!

ASH: It’s an ambitious publishing schedule, but I think it might just pay off.

MICHELLE: Back in the day, this was more common. I want to say the entirely of Rurouni Kenshin came out this way, and there were periods of time in which Fruits Basket, GetBackers (someone rescue this), and InuYasha were all monthly releases, too.

ANNA: I am always stoked for more sports manga.

SEAN: Honey So Sweet has a 3rd volume. I’m hoping for more mild angst and mild romance. And more of that other girl.

And then there’s My Love Story!!, which has Vol. 9. It introduced a rival last time. Will he ruin everything? Will there be angst in my beloved shoujo sweetness?

MICHELLE: I will be snagging both of these.

ASH: I still adore My Love Story!!

ANNA: Looking forward to both titles very much!

SEAN: Naruto has a 15th 3-in-1. Perhaps you’ve heard of it.

And Jump’s most popular harem series continues with Nisekoi 16.

One-Punch Man 7! Has Saitama finally met someone who will take MORE than one punch? It’s looking likely!

ASH: I desperately need to catch up with this series. I really love Murata’s artwork, though.

ANNA: More punching!

SEAN: The other debut from Viz, 7th Garden, comes from Jump Square. From what I hear, it may appeal more to a Seven Seas demographic than a Viz one, as it seems a bit servicey? But hey, demons.

Twin Star Exorcists has a 5th volume, and I understand its anime is still chugging right along as well.

Lastly, there’s an 11th World Trigger.

What manga are you buying? What manga are you tragically breaking up with?

SEAN: The word for next week is “spinoff”, boys and girls. Can you say spinoff? I knew you could!

OK, let’s try to plow through. Dark Horse first, as always. Astro Boy Omnibus 4. Everyone loves Astro Boy.

Kodansha gives us the 2nd and final volume of Fairy Tail’s Gray-related spinoff (can you say that, boys and girls?) Ice Trail.

And a 4th Inuyashiki, with far less skintight leather than Gantz had but just as disturbing.

Livingstone has a 3rd volume. I’ve heard it called “quirky”.

And there’s a 3rd Maga-Tsuki as well, for more romantic comedy shenanigans.

Lastly, and most importantly to the Manga Bookshelf team, Kodansha has a 2nd omnibus of Princess Jellyfish. Remember when getting this license was an impossible dream?

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

ASH: Dream the impossible dream! Reach the unreachable star! (And then go buy Princess Jellyfish because it is wonderful.)

MJ: Good news!

ANNA: Still thrilled this is coming out here.

SEAN: One Peace picked up, almost without anyone realizing it, the license to Maria Holic and are re-releasing it in omnibuses. Fans of fake yuri and traps are sure to want to get it.

MICHELLE: If only it had been Maria-sama ga Miteru instead!

SEAN: Seven Seas gives us an 11th volume of A Certain Scientific Railgun, the spinoff (can you say that, boys and girls?) to Index. It’s just finished a serious arc, so I suspect that things will be a lot wackier this time around.

And there’s also a 4th volume of Magika Swordsman and Summoner, which some people clearly enjoy.

Udon has a 3rd volume of Persona 4, the manga spinoff (can you say that, boys and girls?) of the game.

ASH: I liked the first volume, but I’ve already fallen behind. I should correct that.

SEAN: Vertical has a spinoff (can you say that, boys and girls?) novel that I know some people have been waiting for. Attack on Titan: Lost Girls gives focus to two of the most seemingly stoic of the cast, Mikasa and Annie.

They also have a 5th volume of the “totally created by Americans, honest” series Ninja Slayer.

Yen Press has a number of digital releases. New volumes for Aoharu x Machinegun, Black Detective, and Corpse Princess. The final volume of Grim Reaper and Four Girlfriends and Little Witches’ Collier. And a 4th volume of Saki, for the Manga Bookshelf folks.

MICHELLE: Hm. The fanservice was starting to get to me, but I do still have some interest in Saki.

ASH: Saki! Speaking of impossible dreams, I’d still love to see a print release.

MJ: Same here!

SEAN: Yen On releases the 7th volume of A Certain Magical Index. Did you want more Roman Catholics in your Index? More nuns? What about a murderous military nun corps? Have I got good news for you!

Yen proper starts off with the 2nd volume of Akame Ga KILL! ZERO, another spinoff (can you say that, boys and girls?).

And Kaori Yuki shows us beautiful, beautiful death once more with a 4th Alice in Murderland.

Ani-Imo’s bizarre shoujo incestuous mind game antics come to an end with its 7th volume.

Barakamon has an 11th volume. Is Handa really going to have an arranged marriage? Signs point to no.

Black Bullet has a 4th manga volume of child killers and glorious depression.

It seemed like Bloody Cross announced it was ending several years ago, but it continues onward with its 11th volume.

We have a 4th Devil Is A Part Timer! High School!!, with 3 exclamation marks worth of fun. It’s a spinoff (can you say that, boys and girls?).

The big release this week is a re-release, as Yen is putting out Fruits Basket in omnibus editions. The first two, covering Vol. 1-4, are due out next week. I absolutely cannot wait to read this all over again. Who’s your favorite Souma? I’m partial to Shigure and his black, black heart.

MICHELLE: I am excite, despite already owning most of the series in Japanese and all of it from TOKYOPOP. I love the entire “Mabudachi Trio” very much, but have the warmest, proudest love for Yuki.

ASH: Glad to see this coming back, and in such a nice edition, too. I’m also rather partial to Shigure myself, but there are so many fascinating characters in the series.

MJ: These are absolutely beautiful, and I’m so excited to see them! I checked back into an old 3 Things Thursday to see what I said back then, and apparently I chose Momiji! I’ll stand by that! Looking forward to an epic re-read.

ANNA: Yay! I’m pretty resistant to buying series all over again, but I am so glad that Fruits Basket is back, this series deserves a wide audience, and I’m sure there are people who missed it the first time around.

SEAN: There’s a 3rd Handa-kun, which is the spinoff (can you say that, boys and girls?) to Barakamon.

He’s My Only Vampire is starting to lose me a bit, but I know it ends in a few volumes or so. Here’s Vol. 7.

MICHELLE: Yeah. I’m going to soldier on to the end, though. Hopefully it’ll make more sense than Kiss of the Rose Princess.

SEAN: And a 3rd volume of Irregular at Magic High School spinoff (can you say that, boys and girls?) The Honor Student at Magic High School.

Third volumes galore! Here’s a 3rd for Of the Red, the Light and the Ayakashi.

MICHELLE: I’m looking forward to this one!

SEAN: If you enjoyed the Overlord light novel, why not try the manga (does this count as a spinoff)? The first volume is out next week.

And Rose Guns Days ends its Season One with its 4th volume, although future seasons are coming.

Servant x Service has a 2nd omnibus which wraps up that series. It proved to be a lot more character-focused than I expected for a fluffy workplace 4-koma.

The other debut this week is Space Dandy, which was originally an anime but now has this manga spinoff (can you say that, boys and girls?). If you enjoyed Cowboy Bebop and Samurai Champloo, this is in the same vein.

Lastly, a 2nd volume of Sword Art Online, Mother’s Rosary, which adapts the 7th light novel.

And with that, my running gag has come to an end. What are you getting this week?

SEAN: Third weeks of the month: almost like second weeks, but they seem different, mostly as Viz tends to put out its blogger-friendly titles here. What’s happening next week?

Kodansha debuts a new seinen series that ran in Morning magazine, which means I am already well-disposed to it. Complex Age features a cosplay fanatic who is being forced to acknowledge reality, which is that she’s now an adult with adult concerns, and can’t pull off the 14-year-old magical girl look anymore. This should be good.

MICHELLE: Definitely looking forward to this one!

ASH: I actually just reviewed this! It is indeed good.

MJ: That actually does sound good.

ANNA: I’m intrigued.

SEAN: And Fairy Tail has reached 54 volumes, meaning I think it has achieved its goal of being the Kodansha version of One Piece quite well.

And speaking of juggernaut franchises trying to catch up with Japan, here’s the 15th volume of Noragami. (I think it catches up by next month.)

ASH: I’ve got some catching up to do, but I have been enjoying Noragami.

SEAN: Seven Seas gives us two more volumes of fighting and fanservice manga Freezing, with Vol. 9 and 10 in one omnibus.

And there’s also a second volume of Survival Game virtual reality manga Not Lives.

Vertical gives us a 2nd omnibus of quirky romantic comedy Mysterious Girlfriend X.

MICHELLE: It’s a salivaganza!

SEAN: Viz has a second omnibus of Goodnight Punpun, which reminds me to start feel guilty about being not even halfway through the first, even though its quality is obvious.

ASH: The first omnibus was extraordinary, heartbreaking and surreal.

ANNA: I feel guilty I haven’t read the first volume yet too.
SEAN: Insurance madness continues with the 7th Master Keaton collection.

MICHELLE: I am woefully behind on this one.

ANNA: Me too!

SEAN: And there’s a 7th volume of amazingly popular Tokyo Ghoul.

Lastly, Yen On debuts a new series, Psycome. This is short for ‘Psycho Love Comedy’, and it comes from Enterbrain. Our hero is sent to prison for killing a dozen people (he’s actually innocent), and ends up in a prison filled with girls, all of whom are killers and all of whom proceed to obsess on him. This could be funny or dire, honestly. To be fair, it is a Yen On title that doesn’t involve fantasy worlds or gaming, though the prison itself seems like a fantasy. To be fairer, it’s only 6 volumes long, making it the rare Yen On license that isn’t ongoing in Japan.

Buy these manga or I’LL KILL YOU… nah, yandere doesn’t work when it’s me. What are you getting?

SEAN: Ah, the 2nd week of the month, the most common week for the Manga Bookshelf team to look over the releases and think “Wow, am I picking Magi as Pick of the Week again?”

MICHELLE: Heh.

SEAN: Dark Horse has a 2nd volume of Fate/Zero, sure to give us many more heartwarming moments so that it can crush them to bits in later volumes.

Kodansha Comics is likely counting down the days till Air Gear finishes, and they’re close with Vol. 35, but not yet.

And there’s a 5th volume of L♥DK, and I’m sure all is sweetness and light.

ASH: I know people who like the series, but personally I find it infuriating.

MICHELLE: I never went back after volume one.

SEAN: Paradise Residence has a 2nd volume, which is NOT an omnibus, so don’t be surprised at its slim size. There’s also a souped-up car, because Fujishima.

ASH: I’m enjoying Paradise Residence much more than I thought I would!

SEAN: And Kodansha also has a 2nd volume of their Persona Q spinoff, this one on the P4 side.

Seven Seas has a new debut, which seems to be a romantic comedy of sorts? Masamune-kun’s Revenge runs in Comic Ryu, and the premise sounds like it could be a disaster (guy becomes handsome to get revenge on ice queen who rejected him). I guess we will see how much it subverts its premise.

ASH: Hmmm.

SEAN: There’s also a 6th volume of Servamp, which has vamp… yeah, OK, the running gag is old. I will stop.

SubLime gives us a 2nd 2-in-1 omnibus of Don’t Be Cruel. But are their hearts true?

ASH: I haven’t heard much about Don’t Be Cruel, but enough to be curious about the manga.

MJ: I’m a bit curious as well.

MICHELLE: The blackmail plot doesn’t thrill me, but I can’t help but be amused by the fact that the volume numbers appear on tighty whities.

SEAN: And His Favorite has reached Volume 9, and the cover art is still amazing.

ASH: Uh oh! I’m apparently a couple volumes behind.

SEAN: Vertical gives us a 5th omnibus of Tokyo ESP.

MICHELLE: Yay! I believe this is launching a new arc.

SEAN: And yay, it’s a new volume of Magi! 18 volumes from Viz, and we’re still not tired of it.

MICHELLE: Nope!

ANNA: YAY MORE MAGI!!!!!!

SEAN: Viz also has a 2nd volume of Monster Hunter: Flash Hunter. Would a Flash hunter be against every one of us? (Wow, that was obscure.)

MICHELLE: I admit I didn’t get it, but my brain did think the sequel could perhaps be ‘QuickTime Hunter.’

SEAN: Lastly, the re-release of the Evangelion manga comes to an end with the 5th omnibus, containing the last two volumes. I actually quite liked this ending. It’s worth picking up.

Does something this week cry out to you?

SEAN: June is busting out all over, especially in terms of sheer manga volume – this month will be punishing, starting with 25 books out next week.

Dark Horse gives us the 4th – and presumably last for now – omnibus of The Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service. Go get it if you haven’t already.

ASH: I’m really glad this series is getting a second chance. Apparently the omnibuses are doing better than the single volumes did.

SEAN: And the Evangelion spinoff Shinji Ikari Raising Project may be over in Japan, but we still have a couple volumes to go. Here’s Vol. 16.

And a 9th New Lone Wolf and Cub.

This isn’t on Amazon yet, but Diamond has a couple of DMP books out, so let’s list them as well. (Yes, DMP still does print books. On occasion.) Does the Flower Blossom? gets a 2nd volume.

MICHELLE: I’m still holding out hope for volume eleven of Itazura na Kiss!

SEAN: And we also get the 9th volume of The Tyrant Falls in Love.

ASH: The eighth volume made for a pretty solid conclusion to the series, so I’m curious to see where this one goes.

SEAN: Kodansha has a 5th volume of shoujo reverse harem series Kiss Him, Not Me!.

ASH: I find that I am rather enjoying this series.

SEAN: And Say “I Love You” has gotten to Volume 14, and I still insist on using those quotes, because I’m stubborn like that.

MICHELLE: Yay!

ANNA: So far behind on this series, maybe I can do a reading binge over the summer.

SEAN: Seven Seas has the third Mayo Chiki omnibus. Does this finish that up? (Or off?)

And Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation’s third volume continues to prove that sometimes to get sales you have to license the title people already call it.

Seven Seas’ debut is The Other Side of Secret, which is from Media Factory’s Comic Alive, and I suspect will involve harem romance and possibly large breasts.

And now we have Viz, starting with Assassination Classroom getting to double digits.

Viz debuts a new Jump series, Black Clover. The premise looks to me like One Piece only with magic instead of pirates, but we’ll see how fun it is.

And there’s a 3rd Bloody Mary volume. Vampires!

ANNA: Yay! This series is goofy, but I enjoy all the angst.

SEAN: Dragon Ball’s 3-in-1 has hit lucky Vol. 13.

Yay, another Josei Beat series debuts! Everyone’s Getting Married comes from the pages of Petit Comic, and I’ve generally been very fond of these types of series. Romance between non-high schoolers!

MICHELLE: I am looking forward to this debut!

ASH: As am I!

ANNA: I’m EXTRA looking forward to it!

MJ: I’m… skeptical, but hopeful? Viz’s josei series tend to be full of landmines for me.

SEAN: Food Wars! has a dozen volumes now, and it still makes me hungry.

Kamisama Kiss is up to Vol. 21, and the romance seems to finally be heating up, maybe? As much as Hana to Yume romance ever does?

Komomo Confiserie’s 4th volume continues to try to charm me despite its lack of loud, dense heroines.

MICHELLE: I continue to follow all of these.

ANNA: They are all good series, but Kamisama Kiss is a standout.

SEAN: One Piece has its 16th 3-in-1, which I think begins Thriller Bark?

QQ Sweeper doesn’t come out often enough for my tastes, but I am very happy Volume 3 is here.

MICHELLE: Me, too, though this is the end. Unless VIZ has also licensed the sequel!

ANNA: Aieee, I didn’t realize it was so short. I will cherish the three volumes even more.

MJ: This, this, this!! But is it really the end? Nooooo.

SEAN: And School Judgment ends with its third volume.

MJ: I with I’d liked this more.

MICHELLE: Me, too.

SEAN: Seraph of the End reaches Volume 9. Vampires!

So Cute It Hurts!! has Volume 7, and I will assume has kept its cuteness promises to the reader.

MICHELLE: I have never found it cute, to be honest.

ANNA: I have found it somewhat cute, but I enjoy eye patches and cross dressing in manga.

SEAN: It’s been nine months since a Tegami Bachi volume, so Vol. 19 is heavily anticipated by the fandom.

Lastly, we have a 34th volume of Toriko, which doesn’t make me as hungry as Food Wars!, but has more punching.

ASH: True!

SEAN: Are you picking up any of this deluge?

SEAN: It’s a 5th week in may this June 1st, but unlike most 5th weeks there’s a lot coming out.

Drawn and Quarterly begins its series devoted to Shigeru Mizuki’s most iconic creation, Kitaro. They released a sampler a few years back, but this is a new multi-volume series that gives us the best Kitaro stories ever, as chosen by D&Q and approved by Mizuki himself before his death. I’ve reviewed it already, and it’s a must-read. Kid-friendly too, provided they’re OK with horror.

MICHELLE: Hmm…

ASH: I am thrilled we are getting more of Kitaro! The yokai activities in the back of the book are great, too.

SEAN: Two series from Kodansha wrap up. The first is the busily titled Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth Side P3, with its 2nd and final volume.

The second is one I care about more, the 7th and final volume of A Silent Voice. Will our two leads reconcile with their friends? Will there finally be romance, or does that even matter? And how do you live on after seemingly destroying everything? Find out here.

ASH: This series has impressed me from the very beginning, I’m very curious to see how it ends.

SEAN: Yamada-kun and the Seven Witches now has more volumes than witches with Vol. 8.

Seven Seas has several new releases, starting with the third volume of A Certain Scientific Accelerator, which has another Misaka clone needing to be rescued. They tend to get kidnapped a lot.

Franken Fran has its 2nd omnibus, featuring more humor, more horror, and more skeevy covers putting off North American readers from enjoying the humor and horror. But honestly, doing new covers and upsetting the hardcore otaku would also put readers off. No win?

MICHELLE: You know you’ve been thinking too much about Neko Atsume when you accidentally read this title as ‘Sassy Fran.’

SEAN: Non Non Biyori’s 4th volume continues to show us how, in a small country village, nothing ever, ever happens.

And we get the 2nd and final volume of orange, whose adaptation starts this summer I greatly enjoyed the first volume, and can’t wait to see how it turns out. Will history be changed?

MICHELLE: I have been waiting for this for so long!

ASH: As have I! The first orange omnibus is one of my favorite releases of the year, I’m hoping the second won’t disappoint.

ANNA: I can see I should actually read the first volume of orange!

MJ: I have heard from everyone that I need to be reading this. So I need to be reading this.

MICHELLE: Forsooth!

SEAN: Vertical has the 2nd Seraph of the End novel.

And Yen Digital has several series getting new volumes. The final volume of Renaissance Eve, and new volumes for Aphorism, Crimson Prince, Grim Reaper and Four Girlfriends, Little Witch’s Collier, and Sekirei.

Lotsa interesting stuff here. What’s for you?