manga the week of

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?

SEAN: Does it say something that having only 25 titles out the week of a Yen Press release dump is rather mild now? I keep thinking “it could be worse!”. I think it’s the new normal.

There are other publishers, of course. Kodansha Comics gives us a 2nd volume of Real Account, a title with good buzz despite being a survival game series.

ASH: I was surprised; it has the potential to become really interesting.

SEAN: There’s also an 8th Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle omnibus, and I believe this is about the time when I started to actively mock the series.

MJ: Poor Tsubasa. So much abuse.

SEAN: Vertical has a new series debuting again, this one called Devils’ Line. It is also a dark fantasy series, just like last week’s To the Abandoned Sacred Beasts, and features vampires. It runs in Kodansha’s Morning Two.

ASH: Not particularly interested in vampires, but I do tend to like dark fantasy.

SEAN: OK, that’s it for other publishers. On to Yen Press, starting with its novel line. Another was a under-the-radar horror novel that was released a while back digitally, and did well enough to get a hardcover release later on. Now it’s done well enough to get a sequel licensed, Another Episode S/0.

ASH: I’m looking forward to reading this! The volume includes the manga as well as the novel, too.

SEAN: Baccano! is easily one of my most awaited novel releases in the history of ever, and it’s finally here. From the creator of Durarara!!, this actually came first, and shows us the story of a group of Mafia (cough) sorry, Camorra gangs in 1930s New York City and their run in with a mysterious elixir. Read this. It’s in hardcover and digital.

The other big novel (also in hardcover and digital) this month is Overlord, whose description sounds like it’s another SAO/Log Horizon knockoff, but I’ve been assured that that’s not actually true, and that this is a fantasy series that goes to a lot of interesting places as it examines what it’s like to be a monstrous creation in an RPG. Looking forward to seeing what the fuss is here.

MJ: Well, hm.

SEAN: Lastly, there’s a 3rd Strike the Blood, a title that has underperformed for me previously, but maybe the third time is the charm.

Yen Digital seems to be the week after this, so let’s dig right into Yen proper, starting with a third volume of Aldnoah Zero Season One, which is still not Gundam.

Anne Happy: Unhappy Go Lucky! is a new debut that falls somewhere between shonen and seinen, as it runs in Manga Time Kirara Forward, also home of Aldnoah Zero and School-Live!. It’s about a high school class made up of those with natural bad luck, and their struggles to overcome it.

Black Butler has a 22nd volume, and the butler is still buttling onward, while also, yes, being a hot and sexy demon.

Corpse Party: Blood Covered is the first in a series of omnibuses (2 volumes per book) based on a game that came out in 2008. A group of kids find themselves in an alternate dimension that is haunted by the ghosts of some murdered schoolchildren. If you liked Higurashi’s mystery and gore, you should like this.

There’s a second Dimension W.

And a third Dragons Rioting. I need a title I care about stat.

Ah, here we go! Inu x Boku SS wraps up with its 11th volume, and I hear it’s a good ending despite the unfortunate death of its creator right around when it was written. I have enjoyed this series far more than I expected, and am sad to see it go.

Is It Wrong to Try To Pick Up Girls In A Dungeon? has a 5th manga volume, and I suspect will start coming out slower, as we’ve caught up to Japan.

There’s a third Monthly Girls’ Nozaki-kun, hooray! The cover features Kashima and Hori, who may be the series’ most popular fan pairing.

ASH: This series is so great. I love it.

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

MJ: I obviously need to start reading this, looking at my colleagues’ comments.

ANNA: I’m also very much looking forward to this.

SEAN: Its novel may have gotten delayed to September, but the manga is still here, as we get the debut of My Youth Romantic Comedy Is Wrong As I Expected (just call it OreGairu, everyone else does). The story may sound familiar – a pair of misfits end up in the school Service Club trying to help others despite horrible personalities. It does, however, have one very important quality – there are no fantasy elements to it.

Another Madoka spinoff bites the dust, with the final volume of Puella Magi Suzune Magica.

School-Live! gets a third volume of heartwarming friendship and terrifying zombies.

Strike the Blood gets a third manga volume. Don’t confuse it with the third Strike the Blood light novel, out the same day. Yes, we’re still doing that.

Trinity Seven has hit volume 5, and I believe will be getting that Blake’s Seven crossover any minute now.

We also get the 6th Ubel Blatt omnibus, Ubel Blatt Vol. 5. Yes, we’re still doing that as well.

Umineko: When They Cry begins a new arc, despite Beatrice being, y’know, dead. But that hardly stops anyone in this series. Dawn of the Golden Witch is here! We’ll meet more weird “furniture”, and see how murders happen when it’s Battler that’s writing it. Oh yes, and Erika is there too. The artist also did the Higurashi: Massacre Arc manga.

I believe the 12th Until Death Do Us Part omnibus catches us up with Japan, so it’s a perfect time to go read the 2500 or so pages you may have missed.

Lastly, yay! A lucky Volume 13 of Yotsuba&!, the first new volume since 2013! (It was on hiatus in Japan as well.) Are you ready to see Koiwai’s mother? Yotsuba sure is!

ASH: I am so far behind in reading Yotsuba&!, but it is an absolutely delightful manga.

MICHELLE: Yay!!!!

MJ: Finally! I feel like Yen has largely moved towards series that are just not going to be my cup of tea, but this is a reminder that it hasn’t always been so!

SEAN: Aside from Baccano!… yes, OK, and Yotsuba&!… what are you getting this week?

SEAN: Third weeks of the month tend to be grab bag weeks, and this is no exception, but as with most grab bags, there’s always something in there that’s of interest.

For those who were eagerly awaiting the new volume of Blood C, I got nothing. But we do have a spinoff from that series, titled Demonic Moonlight, coming from Dark Horse.

ASH: Huh, I think I missed this particular license being announced. Granted, I’ve not read Blood C, either.

SEAN: Cage of Eden has slowed down its release schedule, but it’s still going, and has reached its 20th volume from Kodansha.

And Devil Survivor is more than halfway over with its 5th volume.

Kodansha also has a 2nd volume of haremnesia series Forget Me Not.

MICHELLE: *snerk*

SEAN: And a 14th Noragami, which I believe still has one or two fans.

ASH: It does and I’ve been enjoying it, too, though I’m terribly behind.

SEAN: One Peace has the 3rd volume of the manga adaptation of Rise of the Shield Hero.

Seven Seas has a trio of releases. Devils and Realist is up to Volume 9, and still features very handsome demons.

ASH: Yet another series I’ve fallen behind on, but the artwork and demons are very pretty.

SEAN: If you love Monster Musume, you’ll be delighted at the new spinoff, I Heart Monster Girls.

And there’s a 2nd volume of dark Pokehorror series Tomodachi x Monster.

A late entry that came out this week. Blame Amazon not actually classifying it as manga. Top Shelf has a collection of stories by Masahiko Matsumoto, famous gekiga and alternative manga artist. It’s called Cigarette Girl and looks absolutely fantastic. A must for fans of manga history.

MJ: Oh! Yes! Something I actually care about! Glad to see this on the list!

ASH: It’s literally been years since this manga was first announced; I’m thrilled it’s finally coming out!

Vertical debuts To The Abandoned Sacred Beasts, another in what is proving to be a lucrative line of ‘dark fantasy’ series.

ASH: Dark fantasy? I am intrigued.

SEAN: And Terra Formars from Viz has now hit a dozen volumes.

Lastly, we see a 4th Ultraman. A reminder that it’s a sequel to the beloved original TV show.

Are you grabbing something from this grab bag of manga?

SEAN: Glory be! A small week at last! Write this week down in your diary, folks.

ASH: Astonishing!

MICHELLE: “Glory be” is gonna make me have “The Night Chicago Died” in my head all day! :)

SEAN: We start off with Kodansha’s 14th volume of The Seven Deadly Sins, which is at least seven too many sins. Are they just repeating sins now?

For those going to TCAF, you may be aware that Rokudenashiko will be appearing and discussing her genitalia-related art. A manga-style memoir discussing the whole thing, called What is Obscenity?: The Story of a Good For Nothing Artist and her Pussy, will be out next week from Koyama Press.

ASH: It’s a serious topic and an important manga, but it’s also strikingly funny and charming. Highly recommended.

SEAN: And Jiro Taniguchi fans will be delighted to hear about the hardcover Guardians of the Louvre coming out from NBM Publishing.

ASH: Looking forward to reading this! I enjoy Taniguchi’s work, and it’s a part of the series that brought us Hirohiko Araki’s Rohan at the Louvre as well.

MICHELLE: Ooh, I had no idea about this.

MJ: Oh… yes!

SEAN: SubLime has a 5th volume of Love Stage!!.

Vertical has somehow reached double digits with What Did You Eat Yesterday’s 10th volume. That’s a lot of food.

ASH: And a delectable series.

MICHELLE: Yay! I treasure each new release of this series.

MJ: I’m so excited! I always want more of this series.

SEAN: Ranma 1/2 has a 14th omnibus, as we get to see Hinako fall for Soun Tendo, every Ryouga/Ukyou fan’s favorite story (they won’t enjoy the manga version), and Ryu Kumon, possibly the most sympathetic antagonist in all of Ranma.

And Requiem of the Rose King has a 4th volume, as I begin to wonder how closely we’ll be sticking to Shakespeare’s timeline. Is Henry VI not long for this world?

ASH: I still adore this series. The atmosphere! The drama!

MICHELLE: I’m enjoying this one, too.

MJ: I’m head-over-heels for this series! Figures, the first small week in ages, and it’s the one with the most for me!

ANNA: I agree, this is one of my current favorites!

SEAN: Are you going for the arty manga, or the more traditional fare? Or both?

ASH: I’ll apparently be picking up a copy of almost everything being released this week…

SEAN: Let’s face it, there are no light weeks anymore. There’s 21 titles next week, and that’s our new normal. We just have to accept it, manga is popular again.

ASH: All right!

MICHELLE: Yay! Now, can we have back some of those series that disappeared in less prosperous times? Like Silver Diamond? Please?

MJ: I’ll second Michelle on this. :)

ANNA: Silver Diamond, Demon Sacred, I could go on!

SEAN: Dark Horse gives us a 5th volume of Oreimo: Kuroneko, showing that non-canon love interests are always more popular than canon ones, especially when they aren’t related.

Seven Seas gives us a 7th volume of underrated techno-thriller Arpeggio of Blue Steel.

Shomin Sample is a harem comedy based on a light novel, whose title I am abbreviating as it’s too long, and I think that says it all. Vol. 1 comes out from Seven Seas next week.

And there’s a second Testament of Sister New Devil, whose title I actually got wrong in my review of the first volume, it’s that hard for me to keep straight.

Vertical has a 2nd volume of Nichijou, whose first volume I was delighted to see was a big hit. Keep it up!

MICHELLE: I will soon be catching up on Nichijou!

SEAN: There’s a Takeshi Obata artbook coming out, blanc et noir, whose title is very e.e. cummings. MJwill, I’m sure, have more to say.

ASH: My copy arrived early, and it’s gorgeous. The volume includes a fair amount of art from Death Note, but also from Hikaru no Go and some of Obata’s other works, too.

MJ: I haven’t seen this, but you can bet I’ll be picking it up. Whatever I have thought about some of his collaborations, I’ve always loved his artwork. This is a must-buy.

SEAN: Relive those days when everything was Aizen with the 15th Bleach 3-in-1 omnibus.

Blue Exorcist also has a 15th volume, and finally wraps up the Izumo arc, I believe.

Dragon Ball Full Color adds Freeza Arc to its title, in case people had forgotten which edition they were re-re-re-rebuying.

The Heiress and the Chauffeur is Viz’s debut this month, and give it’s a LaLa DX series I am contractually obligated to love it. It’s also only 2 volumes, so not a huge investment. Also, Taisho era!

MICHELLE: I’m looking forward to this one, though preemptively sad that it’s so short.

MJ: Same here!

ANNA: Not surprisingly I am too!

SEAN: JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure has been given the go-ahead for hardcovers of the previously released 3rd arc, which is great news. First though, it’s back to Joseph for the 3rd volume of Battle Tendency.

ASH: I’ve really been enjoying these releases. I hope Viz will pick up the later arcs, too!

ANNA: I need to get caught up!

SEAN: Kimi ni Todoke has seemingly finished with its Ayane angst, and so I suspect the 24th volume will give a bit more focus to the other two major couples.

With its 4th volume of omnibuses, Maid-sama! has finally caught up with the Tokyopop releases, and so will feature all new material next time.

MICHELLE: As problematic as this series is, I still wanna see what happens in the volumes we never saw before. Hey, you know what else could get rescued as a 2-in-1 omnibus? Silver Diamond!

MJ: Heh.

SEAN: My Hero Academia 4 has more to tell us about superheroes.

The new Naruto novel is technically called Sakura’s Story, but I’ve heard that Sakura fans are going to be disappointed. Still, it’s Naruto, you have to get all 6 novels to complete the set.

Nisekoi has reached 15 volumes, and it’s still trying to balance its high-wire harem act.

One Piece. 78 volumes. Still in Dressrosa.

One-Punch Man is at its 6th volume. Sadly, this volume has no punching… I kid. There’s always punching.

ASH: I’m still greatly enjoying One-Punch Man.

MICHELLE: I am starting to feel like maybe I would like this.

MJ: You would.

ANNA: I feel like One-Punch Man should be universally beloved.

SEAN: Oresama Teacher reached the big 2-0! Have we learned all of Hayasaka’s secrets? And what of poor, neglected Super Bun?

ANNA: Where is Super Bun? The world wants to know!!!

SEAN: And World Trigger is up to double digits, increasing exponentially the likelihood that I will never succeed in catching up to it.

Lastly, Yu-Gi-Oh has a 6th 3-in-1. Collect ‘em all!

Which of these manga titles makes you cry out in ecstasy and rapture?

SEAN: Soooo much manga. Scary… manga is scary.

MICHELLE: Holy cow. You aren’t kidding!

SEAN: Dark Horse has the 2nd and final Planetes omnibus, and if you haven’t read this series yet I urge you all to do so. It is a treat.

ASH: So glad to see the entire series back in print!

ANNA: Agreed, this is a special series that deserves to be in print.

SEAN: DMP has a rare print release with the third volume of I’ve Seen It All.

ASH: The first two volumes were ridiculous in a good sort of way, so I’ll be picking this one up, too.

SEAN: Kodansha has a large number of things out next week. The Fairy Tail spinoff Fairy Girls has a second volume.

And the giant omnibus Fairy Tail Master’s Edition sees a giant Volume 2.

Genshiken 2nd Season’s 8th volume continues to focus on who Madarame will pick from the harem he’s picked up. Knowing Madarame, the answer is likely to be “none”, but we shall see.

ASH: I was always rather fond of Madarame.

SEAN: And a 2nd volume of magical harem series Maga-Tsuki.

Missions of Love is up to 12 volumes, and the author is ready to introduce yet another unlikeable character who will get in the way of our unlikeable leads. (Just the way we like it, I hasten to add.)

ASH: Yup!

SEAN: It’s the final, 36th volume of The Wallflower! “Final” and “The Wallflower” are words I never thought I’d write, but here we are. Will it resolve the romance? I highly doubt it. Will it be funny? Far more likely.

ANNA: Wow, this was a loooong series. I enjoyed the fist few volumes but did not have the stamina to continue reading.

SEAN: Your Lie in April has a 7th volume. Is it tragic yet, or still cute and romantic?

ASH: It can be both!

SEAN: Seven Seas gives us an 8th volume of D-Frag!, which will never be tragic or romantic, and barely manages cute, but it’s still hilarious.

You may recall that Haven’t You Heard? I’m Sakamoto 3 has been on this list before. The dangers of last-minute release date shuffles. Well, it’s still worth getting.

ASH: That it is. Hopefully the recent anime will give this series a boost.

SEAN: The same cannot really be said for Pandora in the Crimson Shell: Ghost Urn’s 4th volume, though it is a step above some of the other boob-obsessed titles out at the moment. But only a small step.

Vertical gives us a 15th volume of Knights of Sidonia, and as always I just hope some of the cast survives.

MICHELLE: I believe this is the final volume, as well, which seems too soon. I am anxiously awaiting this one and will have to resist the strong urge to flip to the end.

MJ: Oh, Knights of Sidonia, I love you so.

SEAN: There are two new Yen Digital debuts, but before we get to those, there’s new volumes for Aoharu x Machinegun (which gets print soon), Black Detective, Corpse Princess, Saki, and Unknown, as well as the digital debut of The Devil Is a Part-Timer! and its High School!! spinoff. I need to catch up on Saki.

ASH: Saki!

MJ: I need to catch up as well!

SEAN: As for the debuts, we have the first volume of Grim Reaper and Four Girlfriends, about a weak, shoujo-manga loving guy who has to stop being such a loser of he’ll be killed, so he asks out four girls all at once, assuming they’ll all reject him. The trouble starts when they all say yes. Harem antics ensue. This ran in Gangan Joker.

Little Witch’s Collier (not collar, for some reason) is a GFantasy series that I don’t know much about, but I’m hoping that one of the GFantasy fans of Manga Bookshelf can take a look and tell me.

Yen Press also has its regular old pile of releases. Akame Ga Kill! chugs along with Vol. 6.

And Barakamon has reached double digits with its 10th volume. Soon it will pass Yotsuba&!.

A Certain Magical Index manga volume 5 adapts Novel Volume 5, as it decided to skip Angel Fall entirely.

Emma’s fourth omnibus actually brings to an end the main storyline, but don’t worry, we get enough epilogues and side stories for a whole other omnibus after this.

ASH: Thrilled to see this series back in print, too! Yen Press has done a beautiful job with the new edition.

ANNA: Yay!

MJ: This has been such a wonderful release for me, as I missed it the first time around. As Ash said, beautiful editions!

SEAN: Final Fantasy Type-0 Side Story 4 Part A, Second Shift, Behind the Bike-Sheds: A New Beginning.

I’ve dropped First Love Monster as being a bit too creepy for my taste, but for those who have not, the 4th volume is here.

Handa-kun, Barakamon’s prequel, gets a 2nd volume.

High School DxD has somehow reached Volume 8. Has anyone fallen into a girl’s breasts yet? I bet they have.

MICHELLE: Probably multiple times.

SEAN: I’ve enjoyed Horimiya immensely, so its third volume is near the top of my list.

MICHELLE: Same here!

ASH: Horimiya was a wonderfully pleasant surprise!

ANNA: I feel like I’m missing out!

MICHELLE: In this case, I would say that, yes, literally you are missing out. As a fellow shoujo lover, even though this is not technically shoujo, I am very confident you would love it. If you jump on the bandwagon now, getting caught up won’t seem so daunting! :)

ANNA: Sounds good, I will adjust my manga buying budget accordingly!

MJ: I missed volume two, and much catch up!

SEAN: The first How to Raise a Boring Girlfriend seemed to hit a bit too much on the ‘boring’ for my tastes, but we’ll see how it improves in its second volume.

Kagerou Daze gives us a 5th volume of time loops and social misfits.

In case you wished Log Horizon had more harem antics, here’s more of The West Wind Brigade. Though honestly the first volume was quite good.

Servant x Service is getting a print release, having been out digital for a while. It’s an omnibus, which gets it out faster, but can be exhausting for a gag manga title like this. I recommend reading in bits.

So I Can’t Play H! will no doubt compete with High School DxD for harem cliches in its 5th volume.

Sword Art Online has a 2nd volume in its Phantom Bullet adaptation.

Taboo Tattoo also gets a second volume, though I’ll be honest, I never made it through the first.

Lastly, we get a 2nd Yowamushi Pedal omnibus, for more HOT BIKING ACTION!

MICHELLE: Yaaaay!

ASH: Woohoo!

ANNA: Ack, another title I need to read!

MJ: Yes!

SEAN: April is showering us with manga. What’re you getting?

SEAN: There’s a lot of variety out next week. Something from almost every major publisher.

Kodansha gives us a fourth volume of L♥DK, everyone’s favorite “what is this thing you call consent?” shoujo romance.

MICHELLE: *snerk*

SEAN: And Noragami’s monthly release schedule chugs along with lucky Vol. 13.

Also reaching Vol. 13 is Say “I Love You”, which was introduced at the same time as My Little Monster but has zoomed past it, moving on to new volumes and new complications.

MICHELLE: I’m glad that one of them at least is still going to be around a while!

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

SEAN: And there’s the penultimate 6th volume of A Silent Voice, which ended with a hell of a cliffhanger last time, so I’m expecting some very good resolution from it.

ASH: I’m a few volumes behind, but this is such a great series.

SEAN: One Peace has the 2nd volume of the manga adaptation of Rise of the Shield Hero (they call it a “manga companion”, but I think it’s just a standard adaptation of the light novel).

ASH: I’m pretty sure you’re correct.

SEAN: Seven Seas has enjoyed giving us some bleak horror lately, and for those who love it, here’s a 7th Magical Girl Apocalypse.

I was surprised by how much I enjoyed the first volume of My Monster Secret, and so look forward to the second.

Vertical debuts a one-shot called The Gods Lie, which they are touting as a sports manga license. I suspect their tongue is firmly in their cheek, but either way it will be worth your time.

MICHELLE: I’m looking forward to reading this one.

ASH: As am I! I loved Immortal Rain, so I’m glad to see more of Ozaki’s work being released in English.

MICHELLE: Oh, I hadn’t made that connection! Awesome!

ANNA: What!!!! I have the first two volumes of Immortal Rain and am sad I didn’t pick up the whole series when it was in print. This is now in my Amazon cart!

MJ: Oh, this is exciting!

SEAN: And there’s a 4th Ninja Slayer volume. Are there ninjas? Will they slay? Read on to find out!

Who’s the cool seinen manga that’s got all the indie comic artists raving? Dorohedoro? Damn right. Vol. 18 drops next week.

ASH: Yeah!

SEAN: There’s also an 8th volume of the Perfect Edition of Monster.

And a 6th Tokyo Ghoul, which everyone loves but which I am strangely indifferent to.

MJ: If it makes you feel better, I haven’t gotten into it, either.

SEAN: Yen, meanwhile, is releasing its light novels a week before its other stuff, which is nice of them. That means we get a 3rd volume of Black Bullet, with its loli killers.

There’s a 4th volume of “what if Satan worked at McDonald’s” favorite The Devil Is A Part-Timer!. And if you like digital titles (as I do), Vols. 1-4 will be available digitally next week as well.

The Irregular at Magic High School finally debuts, and it’s apparently one of the most polarizing titles in Western anime fandom. I’ve heard it called “Batman at Hogwarts”, myself. Also, is the term Mary Sue – or in this case Gary Stu – even relevant anymore?

And there’s a 5th volume of Is It Wrong To Try To Pick Up Girls In A Dungeon?, and its title continues to be the worst thing about it – I am eager for more.

Spice & Wolf comes to an end with its 17th novel, proving that you can combine cute wolf girls and economic theory if you try.

ASH: I stopped reading about half-way through, but I am glad to see that Yen was able to publish the entire series.

SEAN: Lastly, the 7th Sword Art Online novel, Mother’s Rosary, is widely considered one of its best, possibly as Kirito plays only a minor role. Asuna fans should be very happy.

MJ: I’m down for this.

SEAN: Which titles make your pure maiden’s heart tremble?

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

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

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

ANNA: I’m also intrigued by this series.

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

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

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

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

ASH: Ish, eh?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

ASH: As do I!

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

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

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

MJ: Goat demons do not sound promising.

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

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

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

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

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

MICHELLE: It is?! I never noticed.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

ANNA: Pretty darn sweet!

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

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

ASH: As am I!

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

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

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

ASH: My Love Story!! is the best.

MJ: Yes!!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

ASH: True that!

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

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

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

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

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

MICHELLE: And buy it I shall!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

MICHELLE: It definitely looks intriguing.

ANNA: That sounds interesting.

MJ: Hm, okay, I’m in.

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

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

ANNA: Yay! I enjoy this series.

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

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

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

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

Dark Horse has a 3rd Astro Boy omnibus.

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

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

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

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

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

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

MJ: So ready for this!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

MJ: Same.

ANNA: I will read this!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

MICHELLE: Yay! Volume one was a surprise delight!

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

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

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

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

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

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

ASH: And then some, most likely.

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

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

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

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

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

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

MICHELLE: Not really, no!