manga the week of

SEAN: First week of October, and therefore hope you like Viz. But first:

Diamond Comics has been messing with me, saying this wasn’t coming out and then saying it was. Amazon says 10/21, but they’re usually behind Diamond by 2 weeks. I don’t know when it’s actually coming out (this makes me nostalgic for Dark Horse releases days past). But it’s Oh My Goddess 48, the final, very last Oh My Goddess, except for all the omnibus releases. I’ll miss it.

Kodansha hits a milestone with the 50th volume of Fairy Tail, which I’ll be honest I’m just following on Tumblr for Gajeel/Levy moments.

Genshiken 2nd Season Vol. 7 continues to show us the world’s most unlikely harem comedy.

ASH: I’ve been enjoying this one! Hato is the best.

SEAN: One Peace gives us a 4th volume of Aquarion EVOL.

Seven Seas has the 5th and final volume of Kokoro Connect, a series I’ve greatly enjoyed. Given there are many light novels after the two that were adapted, my guess is the ending will be somewhat open.

And there’s a 5th volume of gore-filled Magical Girl Apocalypse, for those who felt Madoka Magica didn’t go far enough.

Vertical Comics have a new series debuting. Tokyo ESP, about a girl who suddenly finds she has… well, ESP. And she lives in Tokyo. Sometimes titles write themselves. This also had an anime last year.

MJ: I’m a sucker for ESP stories. So, yeah. This one’s for me.

And now here’s Viz. Assassination Classroom gets a 6th volume, and introduces the chief villain’s villainous son.

ANNA: Wow, I am so far behind with this series, even though I quite like it!

SEAN: Two big Viz shonen series come to an end next week, and sadly I expect this is the one folks won’t be talking about as much. But Claymore has been quietly awesome for some time, and the 27th volume is definitely worth a look.

MICHELLE: Some day I really will read all the volumes of Claymore that I have accumulated.

MJ: Yes! So happy to see this!

SEAN: The Demon Prince of Momochi House has a 2nd volume.

ASH: If nothing else, the first volume was pretty!

ANNA: It was! Even though it seems a bit too similar to Kamisama Kiss, I found it enjoyable.

SEAN: And Food Wars! is up to Volume 8, and still in the midst of its tournament arc, though there’s still time for teaching little kids to make food as well.

MICHELLE: Yay Food Wars!.

SEAN: Kamisama Kiss is at volume 19, and is edging towards romantic resolution, possibly? Have I said that before?

MICHELLE: It certainly feels that way.

ANNA: Such a good series! I hope this isn’t the last Julietta Suzuki we see over here.

ASH: I still actually need to read Kamisama Kiss.

SEAN: Library Wars: Love & War has its penultimate volume out next week, and I can confirm it DOES have quite a payoff, though it’s still not quite resolved.

MICHELLE: So much good stuff this week!

ASH: Penultimate volume! I hadn’t realized that.

ANNA: Library Wars! I love it so! I am also stoked that the anime has been licensed.

ASH: YES!!

SEAN: My Love Story!! is up to Volume 6, and still adorable.

MICHELLE: Like this!

ASH: Yes!

ANNA: YAY!

MJ: Same.

SEAN: Naruto has come to an end with its 72nd volume, though there are six novels and several spinoffs still to come. The ending was… controversial among fandom. Should be interesting.

A new debut from the creator of Dengeki Daisy, one of my favorite Shojo Beat series. QQ Sweeper has a bit more of a supernatural flair to it, but the sense of humor and “plucky heroine” style is the same.

MICHELLE: I’m curious about this one, definitely.

ASH: Same here.

ANNA: It is good!

MJ: I really enjoyed this first volume—hit all the sweet spots!

SEAN: So Cute It Hurts!! only has two exclamation marks, despite this being Vol. 3.

ANNA: Call me a sucker for fluffy shoujo series, but I like this. We haven’t had many cross-dressing shoujo series recently, so it certainly serves that niche.

SEAN: Toriko 30 has what many saw as one of the biggest surprises of the entire series, though no surprise as to what it entailed – it involves romance.

Twin Star Exorcists gives us a 2nd volume as well.

World Trigger has a 7th volume, and is doing far better than I expected it to based on the first few chapters.

Lastly, Yu-Gi-Oh 5Ds 8 continues to look like some bizarre library indexing system.

What are you planning to get next week?

SEAN: It’s a somewhat busy 5th week this time around, with a lot of stuff from Kodansha.

After a brief delay, I believe we now are getting the final volume of Shigeru Mizuki’s epic biography/history Showa next week from Drawn & Quarterly, covering 1953-1989.

ASH: I am so glad this series was translated.

SEAN: Speaking of giant omnibuses, the second COLOSSAL EDITION of Attack on Titan comes out next week. Use it to beat titans to death!

My Little Monster is now in double digits with the 10th volume. I think it’s actually near an ending as well, so things might be slowly trudging towards resolution.

ASH: I still love that there’s a pet chicken. Nagoya should get a series.

MICHELLE: I would read it! But yes, this series sadly only has twelve volumes.

SEAN: The Seven Deadly Sins, which I admit I lost track of, has also reached double digits.

And there’s a third volume of A Silent Voice, which I think could go in any number of directions right now, all interesting.

ASH: A Silent Voice has been very well written so far. I’m curious to see where it goes.

SEAN: Vinland Saga puts out its 6th omnibus, and they have openly said that this is sales-dependent in order to continue. Go buy it.

ASH: Yes, please do! Vinland Saga is such a great series!

ANNA: I am going to buy it, and if I could clone myself and buy it again I would!

SEAN: Seven Seas gives us a 2nd omnibus of Freezing, which is a very very VERY Seven Seas title, for what it’s worth. Fans of those other Seven Seas titles should go buy it right now.

Vertical has another Attack on Titan light novel, with the 2nd volume of Harsh Mistress in the City.

And lastly, Vertical Comics has the 14th volume of Knights of Sidonia. It’s announced it’s ending in Japan soon, will we get a happy ending? Is that even possible for a title like this?

MICHELLE: *makes grabbyhands* Also, it’s ending?! Granted, I’ve not read anything since volume 12, but it didn’t seem like it was winding down at all. Now I am very fretful that everyone is suddenly going to die.

ANNA: That seems like a reasonable fear.

MJ: Oh, this series, this series… seconding Michelle’s grabbyhands.

SEAN: So what appeals to you as the leaves turn to brown?

SEAN: Did I mention Yen’s digital rollout makes next week even longer? 30 titles. 30. Let that roll around your head for a while.

Before we get to Yen, let’s talk Devil Survivor, a new Kodansha series based off of an RPG that’s apparently quite popular. Lots of demons here.

Seven Seas has a 12th volume of Haganai: I Don’t Have Many Friends, whose fandom I’ve heard has completely imploded with the latest LN revelations. Luckily, this is the manga, and we’re a number of volumes from that.

Vertical Comics has the penultimate 11th volume of Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin. So happy this series came out over here.

ANNA: Yay for Gundam: The Origin! I need to go on a reading binge and get caught up on this series.

SEAN: And Vertical also has My Neighbor Seki 4, which is nothing like Gundam but also delights me.

ASH: As it should! My Neighbor Seki is wonderful.

SEAN: Viz Digital has a debut that I believe is another JManga rescue, though I’m not sure about that. Chocolate Cosmos is a Ribon series about a young girl looking for love, so it’s definitely for Beat fans. I think there was a translation competition that centered around it.

MICHELLE: Ooh, I didn’t know about this one! It’s by Nana Haruta, mangaka of Cactus’s Secret, which came out a few years ago.

ANNA: That sounds really interesting, I will have to check it out!

MJ: Same here!

SEAN: And now on to Yen Press. We’ll start with the Yen On line. Kagerou Daze’s first novel was rather diffuse and obtuse – somewhat deliberately – and I am both interested in the 2nd volume and hoping I get more of a handle on it.

Kingdom Hearts has a new novel as well, Chain of Memories. Are Mickey Mouse and company still in this series?

I don’t know if MJhas had the time to read Pandora Hearts: Caucus Race yet, but if not, she’s now even more behind, as the 2nd novel is out next week.

MJ: MJhas not, and she’s a little bit wary of a Pandora Hearts novel series, but she’ll most likely succumb.

SEAN: The debut novel this month is Strike the Blood, which is an action fantasy series with vampires, and thus perfect for Yen, really.

Yen Digital rolls out more debuts, most comedic. Demon King Ena-sama Goes to a Manga School seems a bit self-explanatory.

If the creepy humiliation vibe of Kakegurui – Compulsive Gambler didn’t put you off, a 3rd volume is here for you.

My Monster Girl’s Too Cool For You seeks to hit on a popular recent trend, and for once seems to begin with a rejection rather than a sudden love confession.

The Royal Tutor was slighter than I was expecting, but decent enough, and a 3rd volume of that is here as well.

ASH: Wow, I’m behind. I didn’t realize we were already up to volume three!

SEAN: And we get complete in 3 separate volumes a series called Shut-in Shoutarou Koninami Takes On The World, whose name alone makes one think of Scott Pilgrim.

Finally, we get Yen’s copious print volumes. A 2nd Big Hero 6, based on the American movie. (I always love seeing Japanese adaptations of Western media.)

Black Bullet gets a manga series to go with the light novel we saw last month. I expect the lolicon tendencies I saw in the novel would bother me more in the manga.

Bloody Cross has an 8th volume.

And there’s a 2nd volume of possibly too cliched for its own good fantasy series Chaika the Coffin Princess.

Demon From Afar is up to Volume 4, which means by now the entire cast must have all died at least three times, right?

After a couple of Final Fantasy Type-0 side stories, we now have the Type-0 manga proper.

Surprise hit (at least with me) He’s My Only Vampire gets a 4th volume.

And a 4th Love at Fourteen will continue to alternate between “they’re so adorable!” and “…are you really going there?”

MICHELLE: I’m going to be catching up on this series soon!

ASH: I need to catch up, too, but I did enjoy the first couple of volumes.

SEAN: Not everything is about Madoka Magica, but the new spinoff certainly is: Suzuna Magica begins next week.

After the relative popularity of Higurashi and Umineko, it’s time for another Ryukishi07 sound novel getting an adaptation, this one somewhat lighter in tone – at least at first. Rose Guns Days is an alternate universe action thriller with lots of fistfights and “ladies of the evening”, and should be a ton of fun.

Spice & Wolf gives us an 11th manga volume. Don’t get it mixed up with the light novels.

Sword Art Online Progressive’s manga also has a third volume, though it’s still adapting the first light novel. Expect underwear. Lots of underwear.

MJ: I wish I liked these manga adaptations better. Alas.

SEAN: Triage X has hit double digits, a feat that makes me want to cry blood, but hey.

And a third (fourth) omnibus of Ubel Blatt, whose Volume Zero still haunts the list-obsessed.

Umineko: When They Cry has a 2nd omnibus for its 5th arc. Dlanor A. Knox is on the cover. I love Dlanor. So much better than Erika, whose presence sadly continues to permeate this arc, infecting it with her detective skills.

Lastly (at long last), a 10th omnibus of Until Death Do Us Part. Still not quite caught up with Japan, in case you were wondering.

Does anything in this huge pile appeal to your inner soul?

SEAN: If you like tiny weeks where you can take a break from reading all the manga in the world, this is the week for you.

ASH: No, no, Sean. It’s not a week for taking a break, it’s a week for catching up!

MJ: In fact, from the looks of things, that’s my task for the week as well!

SEAN: Dark Horse is re-releasing the Astro Boy volumes in giant 700-page omnibuses, not only larger in size and page count (this is 700 pages), but with added extras and gewgaws. The first is out next week (if you get it from Diamond).

MICHELLE: The original volume three (possibly included in this omnibus) has the story that inspired Naoki Urasawa’s Pluto. It’s really good!

SEAN: Seven Seas has a 2nd volume of quiet country life gag manga Non Non Biyori.

And a 3rd volume of action/thriller/comedy vampire manga Servamp.

Viz has a 4th volume of Master Keaton, which I am very fond of despite some problematic areas.

MICHELLE: And speaking of Urasawa! I am determined to get caught up on this title.

MJ: Hey, I should buy this so that I no longer have any excuse not to return the little volume Michelle loaned me! :D

ASH: I’ve been collecting since I’m an Urasawa completist, but I need to get caught up, too!

ANNA: Me too! I have the third volume stashed somewhere.

SEAN: And an 8th volume of Terra Formars, where there is far less fondness.

Anything here catch your eye?

SEAN: The second week of the month is always the oddest, in my opinion. Not drenched in Shonen Jump, Shojo Beat or Yen titles, it tends towards Viz’s Shonen Sunday, Seven Seas, and a few oddities. Let’s see what’s out next week.

xxxHOLIC gets its 7th and final omnibus, as the series grinds to a halt, crushing the reader within its mandibles and slowly killing them over the course of a hundred years time. I think MJfeels differently.

ASH: This will be my first time reading the ending, so I’m not sure exactly how I’ll feel about it yet.

MJ: MJfeels differently, indeed.

SEAN: Seven Seas gives us a 6th volume of comedy and not-quite-harem series D-Frag!, which will continue to make fun of bald heads, large breasts, and its supposed hero.

There’s also an omnibus of the series Dictatorial Grimoire, containing all three volumes. I remember enjoying it more than it possibly merited, mostly due to a side character I really liked.

ASH: Dictatorial Grimoire was a mess, albeit an entertaining one.

SEAN: A third volume of Love Stage!! tells us that in the future, sunglasses will be edible.

MICHELLE: *snerk*

SEAN: Viz has a 23rd volume of Arata the Legend, which is turning into Shogakukan’s answer to Hunter x Hunter in Japan, as it’s on another hiatus.

Yay, it’s time for the twice-a-year release of Hayate the Combat Butler! Vol. 26 is back to all comedy all the time, but it also deals with the fallout from the End of the World arc, namely Nagi not being able to live in the mansion anymore.

The 10th Ranma 1/2 omnibus does not advance the plot (nothing does, really), but it has Ryouga’s depression and Ranma’s confidence finally meet head on and become legitimate attacks, which should not surprise anyone.

Lastly, we get a 2nd volume of Aya Kanno’s Requiem of the Rose King, where Richard III and Henry VI meet and are both really pretty at each other. (It’s much better than that sounds, I’m sorry, I just can’t help it.) The 3rd volume should involve less of a wait than this one did.

ASH: Kanno does pretty so well. And oh, the drama! Really looking forward to more of this series.

MICHELLE: Volume one was really interesting and I’ve been looking forward to continuing!

ANNA: I enjoyed the first volume greatly, and this is by far what I’m most looking forward too this week.

MJ: i really need to get into this!

So what’s appealing to you this week?

SEAN: School’s back in session. Do you have all your manga supplies? The old favorites? The new series? The zipatone? Let’s see what you might want to pick up.

Dark Horse still knows we like our samurai manga with the 6th New Lone Wolf & Cub.

ASH: I’m still catching up with the old school Lone Wolf & Cub, but I’m picking up this series, too.

SEAN: Kodansha debuts a new series called Ninja Slayer Kills, based off of a concept by two Americans who I suspect are imaginary. It also has a novel series later this year from Vertical, and seems to be very much in the ‘flashy action sequences’ genre.

ASH: Actually, I think Vertical has one of the other manga adaptations. But, yes, lots of action.

SEAN: Kodansha also has the fourth volume of Yamada-kun and the Seven Witches. We’re still running a few witches short.

ASH: This series has been a lot of fun so far.

SEAN: Slightly creepy power imbalance aside, I really enjoyed the first volume of The Ancient Magus’ Bride from Seven Seas, so the 2nd volume coming out pleases me greatly.

ANNA: I enjoyed the first one too. I like these low-key fantasy series, they remind me of the type of thing CMX used to put out (RIP).

ASH: The first volume was one of my favorite debuts this year, so I’m definitely looking forward to the second!

MJ: I will have to catch up with this one for sure!

SEAN: And a 6th omnibus of Dance in the Vampire Bund, which combines lolis and vampires to devastating effect, or so I hear.

Now it’s time for our slate of Viz. There’s new 3-in-1s of Dragon Ball (the 10th), Naruto (the 12th, and One Piece (the 13th). Good buys if you want to save shelf space.

Kimi ni Todoke has a 22nd volume, and I really hope that a plot point suggested by the cliffhanger happens, for the sake of my own sanity.

MICHELLE: Volume 21 was great, if painful, so I am very much looking forward to another installment.

ANNA: I have around 3 volumes now I need to read to catch up. I think I was staying away from the emotional trauma. I do love this series.

MJ: I live for this kind of pain.

SEAN: Kiss of the Rose Princess 6… I admit I’ve lost track of this series. Anna?

ANNA: What’s going to happen with the Junk Rose Princess and her Four Fake Rose Knights? Now that some of Anise’s Rose Knights are powered up even more, will this throw off the dynamics in this fun and frothy reverse harem manga? Is Anise’s father really as evil as he seems? How does one engineer Rose people? How many cards can Anise collect? I don’t know but I want to find out!!!!!

SEAN: Komomo Confiserie is the new series from Maki Minami, author of Special A and Voice Over. Given that title, I’d expect food to be involved. Always love stuff from this author.

MICHELLE: I loved Voice Over! way more an I expected to, and am looking forward to Komomo Confiserie quite a lot!

ANNA: I liked Voice Over, but not enough to complete the series. On the other hand I love food manga so I will be checking this out.

ASH: Food! Pastries! Cakes!

SEAN: Nisekoi barrels along with an 11th volume, being the rare Jump romantic comedy that doesn’t die in North America (see Strawberry 100% for the fate of prior comedies of that sort).

After getting a few volumes out digital-only, print readers are now able to experience the gloriousness that is One-Punch Man, with its first two volumes coming out together.

ANNA: One-Punch Man is the best. It totally deserves the print edition and I hope more readers discover it because it is hilarious.

ASH: I’ve been holding out for the print edition; can’t wait to finally read it!

MJ: Same here!

SEAN: Seraph of the End gets a 6th volume. Vampires? Still? Dunno.

ANNA: Not surprisingly, I enjoy this a bunch. It has more world building than most vampire manga. Looking forward to this volume.

SEAN: Skip Beat! has a 35th volume, edging closer to the longest shoujo series in North America (Boys Over Flowers still tops it right now, I think).

MICHELLE: You are right; if you include Jewelry Box, Boys Over Flowers has 37 volumes. Also, yay Skip Beat!.

ANNA: Skip Beat! is so great. May it go on for 35 volumes more!

MICHELLE: Hear, hear!

SEAN: There’s also an 18th volume of Tegami Bachi.

Lastly, you thought there would be no Yu-Gi-Oh? Foolish mortal! Here’s Vol. 7 of Zexal.

What manga makes you want to learn logarithm tables? (None of them, I imagine, unless you have the old Math Girls manga volume.)

ASH: I in fact DO have the old Math Girls volume!

MJ: Same! :D

SEAN: For a last week of the month, there’s a lot of stuff due out, particularly from Kodansha Comics.

The 16th Attack on Titan comes in a regular edition, and also a Special Edition with a set of AoT-themed playing cards.

ASH: It’ll be interesting to see how the special edition does for Kodansha.

SEAN: And there’s a 5th volume of the prequel Attack on Titan: Before the Fall.

Fairy Tail also has a spinoff, with the first volume of Blue Mistral, which I believe focuses on Wendy.

Inuyashiki is the new series running in Evening magazine from the author of Gantz. Its protagonist being an old man is unusual, its science fiction with horror/gore plot is not, at least not for this author.

ASH: Although I didn’t follow Gantz to the end, I am rather curious about Inuyashiki.

ANNA: Huh, I’m cautiously curious about this. Will wait for Ash’s review though!

SEAN: Let’s Dance a Waltz comes to an end with the third and final volume. Less fat-shaming in your next series, please.

MICHELLE: I second that request.

ASH: Yup. Also, I didn’t realize the series was so short!

ANNA: So glad I didn’t read this.

SEAN: Maria the Virgin Witch has an epilogue with Exhibition.

ASH: Maria the Virgin witch was such a quirky little series.

SEAN: Say “I Love You” has volume 9 coming out, and it’s become one of my favorite “shosei” series.

MICHELLE: Mine, too! Looking forward to this one.

ANNA: I need to get caught up! It is very good.

SEAN: And Your Lie in April has a 3rd volume. Lies indeed; it’s August, not April. You can’t trick me, manga!

ASH: Wait, it’s not April?

SEAN: There are a few titles coming out that are not Kodansha. Seven Seas has an Alice book, with White Rabbit and Some Afternoon Tea. After being an antagonist for so long in these books, Peter White finally gets his chance to be the love interest.

ANNA: Is it extra traumatic?

SEAN: I realize the title might put some people off, but Bodacious Space Pirates was a fantastic novel/anime series, and Bodacious Space Pirates: Abyss of Hyperspace is a manga adaptation of the feature film they made. I’m greatly looking forward to it.

ASH: Should hopefully be fun!

ANNA: If nothing else, that title is fabulous.

SEAN: Also greatly looking forward to the 4th omnibus of Lucifer and the Biscuit Hammer. Buy this please. Make Sean proud of you.

ASH: I will make you proud, Sean!

SEAN: Vertical has a 6th volume of Supernatural thriller Ajin. Be warned, it’s caught up with Japan.

And Vertical also has a novel spinoff of Attack on Titan. Harsh Mistress of the City is another one that takes place before the main manga, I believe.

ASH: It’s also illustrated by Range Murata which will be of particular interest to a few people I know.

ANNA: I didn’t know that! Interesting!

SEAN: So what are you getting next week?

SEAN: (flat stare) OK, I have not seen this much manga coming out in one week in about 7-8 years. This is getting completely ridiculous.

If you somehow have missed bloggers banging the drum for the Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service over the last several years, there is a good chance to catch up now, as an omnibus of the first 3 volumes is out next week from Dark Horse. Seriously, this series is ridiculously good, y’all. (note: this may not be out everywhere next week, check your Diamond listings)

ASH: I’m glad to see this series getting some more love from Dark Horse again.

SEAN: Kodansha has an 18th volume of Cage of Eden, coming ever closer to the end of the series, where surely it will answer all the questions we have so far! (cough)

And there’s a 6th volume of the increasingly popular series Noragami.

ASH: There was quite a cliffhanger at the end of the fifth volume, so the sixth is on my reading list.

SEAN: Lastly, the penultimate 35th volume of The Wallflower, a series that many thought would never end! Will it romantically resolve anything? Don’t hold your breath. I wouldn’t hold your breath in Vol. 36 either.

MICHELLE: I certainly thought it would never end!

ANNA: I am amazed.

SEAN: One Peace Books has a 3rd volume of Aquarion Evol.

And also a light novel, which I think might have an associated manga later, though I’m unsure. It’s called The Rising of the Shield Hero, and as you can guess, is fantasy-based.

ASH: Yup. One Peace Books is planning to release the manga as well.

SEAN: Seven Seas gives us a 3rd volume of yuri potboiler Citrus.

And a 2nd of Clay Lord: Master of Golems, which I found more interesting than I’d expected.

Vertical has a 6th volume of popular fantasy series Witchcraft Works.

Viz gives us new Dorohedoro, which always makes me happy, and always makes me want to do a giant reread. This is the 16th volume, meaning it easily wins the SigIkki wars for supremacy.

ASH: Dorohedoro! I’m long overdue for another binge read.

SEAN: And if you prefer zombies to… well, I guess Dorohedoro has zombies as well, sort of, but if you prefer more traditional zombies, there’s a second Tokyo Ghoul.

ASH: I haven’t read any of Tokyo Ghoul yet, but the series seems to be doing quite well for Viz.

SEAN: The new manga reboot of Ultraman is so amazing that it actually runs in a magazine called “Monthly Hero’s”. You may expect… Tokusatsu shenanigans, I would expect.

MICHELLE: Ugh, that apostrophe bugs me.

SEAN: Yen On has a whopping six new titles for us, including the debut of Black Bullet, a future dystopia series. If you enjoyed the ‘young man with loli not-quite-sister’ aspect of No Game No Life but wished it were more depressing, this may be for you.

The fourth volume of A Certain Magical Index reintroduces us to Kaori Kanzaki, the girl with huge sword from the first volume, and also shows us Touma’s parents for the first time… sort of.

The Devil Is A Part-Timer! has Volume 2, as we start to see where we go now that the forces of good and evil are pretty much settled on Earth and dedicated to minor squabbles.

ASH: This series amuses me greatly.

SEAN: Is It Wrong To Try To Pick Up Girls In A Dungeon? has a 3rd volume, and the anime has now passed it, so we get to see what was left out of the adaptation.

Spice & Wolf has ended in Japan, I think, apart from side stories. But it’s still chugging away here in North America with its 15th volume.

And Sword Art Online has a 5th volume. Now that everyone is finally free from the game of death and their lives are back to normal, surely they’ll never play another MMORPG again, right? Hah.

Yen Press has several digital-only releases coming out as well. The 3rd Handa-kun continues to elaborate on the high school years of the Barakamon protagonist.

We get the first two volumes of Kakegurui – Compulsive Gambler, a Gangan Joker series about a school whose student council base everything around, well, gambling. I know next to nothing about it, so am intrigued.

And the first two volumes of The Royal Tutor, a GFantasy series that has, well, royalty and a tutor for same. It seems to be more lighthearted than serious, and may have BL overtones, given the magazine it’s in and the author’s prior works.

ANNA: Hmmmmmm….

SEAN: And Today’s Cerberus has volumes 3 and 4. Despite having dog girls, cat girls, and wolf girls, I found it more enjoyable than you’d expect.

So, that’s Yen On and Yen Digital sorted out, now for Yen Press proper. We’re about halfway through Ani-Imo with the 4th volume. Is it any less creepy?

Despite Handa returning to the city at the end of the last Barakamon, the series continues on with its 6th volume.

It’s been 11 volumes of BTOOOM!. Can you believe it? 11 volumes.

MICHELLE: Siiiiiiiiiiiiiigh.

SEAN: The Devil Is A Part-Timer! High School!! is an alternate universe spinoff of the main series which… well, I’m sure you can guess.

Emma has a 2nd omnibus. What will happen to our heroine now that she’s left to go north? And can William ever find her? And can everyone continue to be repressed?

ANNA: Cheers to Emma being back in print, it is such a special series.

ASH: Cheers, indeed!

SEAN: Our long national nightmare is over with the 4th and final volume of Gou-dere Sora Nagihara.

High School DxD shows us we must stay ever vigilant, however, with a 6th volume and no end in sight.

The 2nd Is It Wrong To Try To Pick Up Girls In A Dungeon? manga volume continues to confuse Amazon’s systems and these lists.

Has Madoka Magica been getting you down? Does your favorite girl keep dying? Try Puella Magi Homura Tamura, a wacky 4-koma version of the series that will probably not remind you of Sunshine Sketch too much.

RustBlaster (no space) is a one-volume manga from the creator of Black Butler, featuring vampires. It may therefore take the new crown of ‘most obvious license ever’.

Lastly, a second volume of Trinity Seven, with slightly less “look, breasts!” on the cover than the first.

I… wow. If you’re not getting SOMETHING next week, we may have to check your pulse.

MICHELLE: I think I may not be getting anything! But mostly ‘cos I already own Emma and Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service.

ANNA: I’m not getting anything either! I need to whittle down all the stacks of unread manga I already have.

ASH: I… most definitely have a pulse. (And soon to be even more overloaded bookshelves.)

SEAN: If you want a quiet week with not much manga, next week is pretty much the only week in August you’ll get it, so enjoy.

Kodansha has its 5th Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle omnibus, which I think is busying itself by walking around the X continuity.

ANNA: You know what would be nice? If X/1999 walked around its own continuity and actually had an end to the series. That would be nice!!!!!

ASH: YES.

SEAN: X Vol. 19: everyone mysteriously vanishes into a hole in the plot except Nokoru, Suoh and Akira, and the series reboots itself as CLAMP Detectives: The Adult Years. With plenty of Utako as well. …OK, perhaps that’s only *my* version of X.

MICHELLE: I fully support this version. My life needs more grown-up Suoh in it.

MJ: I am probably a rare CLAMP fan in that I’m not super-anxious for them to finish X, but I’m not opposed to Sean’s ending here. :D

SEAN: Seven Seas gives us a 2nd volume of angsty coming-of-age story Evergreen, from the Toradora! author.

And a 7th volume of bestselling, anime-producing monster fetish manga Monster Musume. Watch out for snakes.

Sublime hopes you are still embracing the 3rd omnibus of Embracing Love.

ASH: I certainly am! This omnibus includes part of the series that wasn’t previously released in English.

SEAN: Viz gives us the 10th volume of Deadman Wonderland – are they out of prison yet?

And a 15th Itsuwaribito, which is part of the Shonen Sunday imprint! As is…

Magi, which has its lucky 13th volume. Shonen Sunday! It’s an imprint too! You can see it, next to the Jump and Beat titles. Well, sort of next to them. Down the hall. And a stairway. Next to the boiler room. (Buy Sunday titles.)

ANNA: I need to fill in my collection and read more of this series!

MICHELLE: Yay, Magi! And I concur; the Shonen Sunday imprint has a lot of good stuff, like Kekkaishi, Cross Game, and all of the Rumiko Takahashi!

SEAN: Does anything here tickle your fancy?

SEAN: As the thermometer creeps towards triple digits, we can turn only to manga for comfort. Luckily, there’s a pile of it next week.

I think I mentioned this title before, as it’s gotten moved back a few times, but Bruno Gmuender has a new gay manga volume coming out, Dr. Makumakuran and Other Stories.

ASH: You have mentioned it before, but I think it’s really coming out this time!

SEAN: Dark Horse has an artbook, which I normally don’t cover, but this is The Art of Satoshi Kon, so yeah, let’s mention that.

Drawn and Quarterly’s amazing series Showa by Shigeru Mizuki comes to a close with the final omnibus, covering the years 1953-1989. This series has just been jaw-dropping, and everyone who loves manga at all – or even wants to know Japanese history – should be reading it.

MICHELLE: I has a shame.

ANNA: Me too.

SEAN: Kodansha gives us a 9th volume of The Seven Deadly Sins.

Seven Seas has a new Devils and Realist, the 6th volume. It also has a 7th volume of Dragonar Academy.

But I don’t care about either of those, because YAY! I always love it when a license request of mine is picked out, and this one is particularly awesome. Haven’t You Heard? I’m Sakamoto is a trippy comedy that fans of My Neighbor Seki will thoroughly understand, about a high school student who is super cool in everything he does – preternaturally so. I will be hammering on folks to read this.

ASH: I’m really looking forward to giving this one a read!

ANNA: This does sound funny.

SEAN: Viz has its usual giant pile of Jump and Beat stuff. Assassination Classroom has hit five volumes, and he’s not dead yet. Thank goodness.

ANNA: I can’t believe I am so far behind on this series. It needs to stop coming out so fast.

SEAN: Black Rose Alice also has its fifth volume, though be warned, we’re coming up on the series’ hiatus in Japan. Perhaps the author ran out of spiders?

MICHELLE: This is one of those cases where I’m both happy and sad to see a new volume.

ASH: Same.

ANNA: This is such a great, surreal series. Totally worth reading even if it is on hiatus.

SEAN: Bleach is in no danger of running out of volumes with its twelfth 3-in-1.

Food Wars! has a 7th volume. Will the demand for amazing curry take out half the class? I’m hoping at least Soma and Megumi make it past the first round.

JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure brings its first arc to a close with the 3rd omnibus of Phantom Blood. Happy ending? Sad ending? I can’t say, but I can guarantee it will be over the top.

ASH: Guaranteed.

ANNA: This series is so weirdly wonderful.

SEAN: It’s August, and you know what that means! It’s time for our yearly release of Kaze Hikaru, with Vol. 23. I am delighted that Viz has not given up on this shoujo title.

ANNA: If there was justice in the world, this would rocket up the manga best seller lists. Just a great, thoroughly researched gender bending romance series.

SEAN: Maid-sama! was a very popular series with Tokyopop back in the day – popular enough to get a license rescue, as the first two volumes come out (with brand new translation) as an omnibus from Viz. I do have vague worry, though – I suspect Usui’s behavior will go over a lot less well than it did in 2009.

MICHELLE: Yeah, I wonder how I’ll react to Maid-sama! this time around. It took a few volumes for me to warm up to it before, and even that was fairly begrudging, since it’s one of those shoujo that features random beach volleyball tournament chapters. Now I am even older and more crotchety.

ASH: I never read it the first time around, but I know quite a few people who were happy about its rescue.

ANNA: I read the first several volumes of the old release and it’ll be interesting to revisit it.

SEAN: The big Shonen Jump debut this week is My Hero Academia. In a world where the majority of people have superpowers, how does someone who doesn’t have any fit in? If your answer is ‘bullied’, congrats, you know your manga.

Naruto is almost over! Except for the sequel manga and the countless spinoff novels. But here’s Vol. 71, which is just straight-up Naruto.

One Piece is at Vol. 75, but is not even close to being over.

MICHELLE: Thank goodness!

SEAN: So Cute It Hurts!! has a second volume. Will her story become as exciting as his story? Or is it the other way around?

ANNA: I just read this and it does focus more on her story, which is what I was hoping after reading the first volume. Also, wacky hijinks.

SEAN: Spell of Desire comes to an end with its fifth volume. I admit I didn’t find this as compelling as Midnight Secretary, but I know Anna liked it.

ANNA: I did like it! But I think I will generally like any josei disguised as shoujo, because that’s how I roll.

SEAN: Toriko’s 29th volume will I suspect bring an end to this particular round of fights, but likely not an end to the current battle.

Voice Over! Seiyu Academy comes to an end with its 12th volume, but fear not, a new Maki Minami series debuts next month.

MICHELLE: I have been hoarding volume 11 of Voice Over! so I could read it and the final volume back-to-back. I hope there are kitties and a happy ending, and suspect that isn’t too far off-base.

SEAN: And there’s a 3rd omnibus of the original Yu-Gi-Oh!.

There has to be something here for everyone. What about you?

SEAN: It’s become almost musical, the way manga comes out. Huge week… quiet week. Huge week… quiet week. The occasional 5th week trips up the manga dancer with the brief shift into 5/4 time. How is our quick-quick-slow week?

Dark Horse is doing it again, folks. Here is the first omnibus volume of a seinen manga series called Oh My Goddess!, about a young man who calls the wrong number and gets a goddess as his girlfriend. Perhaps you’ve heard of it when it was released by Dark Horse before. And before that. And before that. And before that. This will have the first three volumes, for those who have been curious but never tried it before. All three of you.

Kodansha has a 49th volume of Fairy Tail, which I’m surprised isn’t getting omnibus volumes as well, frankly.

ANNA: Fairy Tail is not on my radar, but I am stunned it is up to 49 volumes. Wow.

SEAN: There’s also a 2nd volume of A Silent Voice. Volume 1 was excellent writing but very hard to actually read, being filled with realistically flawed and terrible kids (and teachers). Will the second volume give us some glimpses of light amongst the darkness?

ANNA: This sounded a bit too grim for my tastes, which is why I haven’t read the first volume yet.

MICHELLE: Yeah. I am glad something like that exists but I still am in the “I read manga ‘cos it’s fun” camp.

ASH: The first volume was incredibly well done and one of the best things that I’ve read this year, but yeah, not the happiest of stories.

MJ: I suspect I would like this.

SEAN: And a third volume of Yamada-kun and the Seven Witches. Will we actually get witches this time?

ASH: We shall see!

SEAN: Seven Seas has a fourth volume of Magical Girl Apocalypse, for those who thought Madoka Magica wasn’t violent or cynical enough.

Lastly, Vertical is giving readers who missed earlier Chi’s Sweet Home volumes a chance to catch up with an omnibus of the first 3 volumes. As they’ve only released this once before, I’ll give them a pass here.

ANNA: Actually, I have not read Chi’s Sweet Home before, and I know it is both very good and popular, so I might finally check out this series!

MICHELLE: You should!

ASH: You really should! Plus, the omnibus has a larger trim size and some additional content, too.

MJ: Yes, yes!!

SEAN: I can’t tell a waltz from a tango, but can you tell what you’re buying this week?

SEAN: Oooooh man, here we go again. Let’s just buckle down.

We’re aaaaaalmost done with Dark Horse’s release of Gantz, but not quite. Vol. 36.

ASH: So close!

SEAN: Kodansha has a 9th My Little Monster, which hopefully will continue the development the 8th volume had.

MICHELLE: Yay!!!

SEAN: Seven Seas gives us a 5th volume of SF action series Arpeggio of Blue Steel, my favorite of the ‘young girls and military’ licenses.

Viz has another volume of its Monster Perfect Edition, the 5th. Expect happiness and rainbows.

ASH: This is the volume with the epic library scene, isn’t it? And who doesn’t love libraries?

ANNA: Honestly this is the one title this week that I’m happy about, because I do want to tackle reading Monster at some point. Sometime after I read all my stockpiled volumes of 20th Century Boys.

SEAN: And a 5th Resident Evil, with puppies and kittens.

Lastly, Terra Formars 7, with love and peace for all. Please do not try to read all three Viz releases at once this week. You will die.

ASH: That is a distinct possibility.

SEAN: And now Yen. Light novels first. The 4th Accel World should resolve the cliffhanger from the last one. Will Chiyuri be a traitor? I highly doubt it.

The debut this week is the highly anticipated Durarara!!. Yen has had the manga for some time now, but the novels are also excellent.

MICHELLE: Hm! I liked the manga more than I thought I would, but drifted away when the Saika Arc started.

ASH: I really should give at least one of the versions of Durarara!! a try at some point.

SEAN: Log Horizon’s 2nd volume will hopefully give us the hinted plot from Vol. 1 about the twins, if the cover doesn’t lie.

And there’s a 2nd No Game No Life, which I hope will have less naked 11-year-olds and more awesome mind games.

On the manga side, we have the 4th Accel World manga, still not the novel.

A third Akame Ga KILL! will live up to its name, if the previous two are any indicator.

Black Butler hits a new milestone with Vol. 20. It’s sad when a series catches up with Japan, isn’t it?

MICHELLE: I continue to read this, even though I am not madly in love with it.

ANNA: I stopped after the first couple volumes.

SEAN: A Certain Magical Index’s manga will continue to adapt Novel 1 with Vol. 2. Really, we need graphs and charts.

The Devil Is A Part-Timer! joins the growing list of manga adaptations of light novels also coming out, with Vol. 2 of the main manga. Wait till next month, it gets more confusing.

ASH: Heh. That it will.

SEAN: And now we get DRRR’s manga, which has a 3rd volume of the Yellow Scarves arc. At least that novel won’t be out till 2016.

Final Fantasy Type-0 Side Story, Vol. 1: The Ice Reaper is one of those manga whose title pretty much sums it up. I think the Main Story manga came out with the English release of the game.

First Love Monster is another one of those Aria shoujo titles, which means we’ve no idea what we’re going to get. The artist has done some Book Girl manga adaptations.

MICHELLE: It looks sort of kooky, but that might be fun!

ANNA: I will wait to see if Michelle likes it before reading it!

SEAN: Inu x Boku SS has an 8th volume – will it reset again? Or just give us more yokai action?

More manga adaptations of light novels, as we get a 2nd Kagerou Daze, which finishes adapting the first LN and starts the 2nd.

Karneval oddly ended up on the worst manga of the year list at SDCC, though I found the first omnibus more… diffuse than anything else. Vol. 2 will have more focus, maybe?

ASH: More focus would be good.

ANNA: I was curious about the first volume, but now I’m sort of glad I skipped it.

SEAN: Another Puella Magi Madoka Magica spinoff begins, with Homura’s Revenge. Can’t be a depressing manga with a title like that!

Prison School is a much anticipated omnibus that many said was too ecchi to actually get a North American release. But no, here it is. I wonder what it’s about?

ASH: B-but it’s by the creator of Me and the Devil Blues! (I’ll admit, I’m curious about this one.)

So I Can’t Play H! has a 2nd volume, and gloriously no light novel license yet, meaning I only have to worry about this for the moment.

Lastly, we get the final – I checked this time – volume of Soul Eater NOT!, bringing the Soul Eater franchise as a whole to a close.

Is there something in this giant list that catches your eye?

SEAN: Mid-July is a good-sized week, but not completely overwhelming like the first/third weeks tend to be. Let’s see what’s happening.

Dark Horse has the second volume of Oreimo spinoff Kuroneko, marketed to the six remaining Oreimo fans who didn’t scream in anger at the end of the main series.

Kokoro Connect has proven to be a fast favorite of mine, and so I am very happy to see the fourth volume from Seven Seas.

Magika Swordsman and Summoner is the new series debut of the week. It’s fantasy, it has a magical school, our hero is bullied by the students for his status, he amasses a crew of girls who like him, *and* it runs in Comic Alive. If ever a series screamed “License me, Seven Seas!”, this is it. And so they did.

The Sacred Blacksmith also has a new volume, its eighth.

For BL fans, there is the second volume of Love Stage!! from SubLime.

MICHELLE: I wasn’t entirely sold on volume one, but I’m at least willing to check out the second.

ASH: I actually still need to read the first volume…

MJ: Same here.

SEAN: And also a 2nd volume of The World’s Greatest First Love.

I’m loving Vertical’s My Neighbor Seki as much as I thought I would, and the arrival of a third volume fills me with glee.

ASH: My Neighbor Seki is an incredibly delightful series!

ANNA: I haven’t read this yet and I feel guilty.

MJ: I second the glee!

SEAN: The rest is Viz. I believe that Vol. 17 is the final volume of 07-GHOST, though Anna can likely confirm that. Bye, 07-GHOST! You were a good license rescue that I fell so far behind on I may never catch up.

MICHELLE: I still intend to read it, one of these days!

ANNA: I also have not caught up on this series and feel even more guilty, because I liked the first few volumes.

SEAN: Case Closed has Vol. 55, which is not the final volume, or even close to the final volume. It’s a long series is what I’m saying.

The 9th Ranma 1/2 omnibus has one of my favorite arcs of the series, where Akane gets so mad she declares that Nabiki can be Ranma’s fiancee instead, and the fallout that happens is magical. Oh, and we’ll also meet Pantyhose Taro, who… I will not spoil.

There is an 18th volume of RIN-NE, where the plot finally comes into focus and nothing will be the same anymore… OK, I can’t even type that with a straight face.

MICHELLE: I still like RIN-NE, though, particularly when I’m in the mood for something not mentally challenging.

SEAN: Lastly, a 7th volume of superhero manga with BL tease Tiger & Bunny.

Is there a favorite here for you?

SEAN: It’s a new fiscal year, and that brings a new pile of books, mostly from Viz. What have we got?

DMP print release dates give me a migraine. Twittering Birds Never Fly 2? I guess?

ASH: I can never tell when something will actually be released by DMP anymore.

MICHELLE: Me, neither. I’ll perk up when Itazura Na Kiss 11 gets here.

SEAN: Kodansha gives us a 5th volume of Ken Akamatsu’s immortals fighting each other manga UQ Holder.

Seven Seas has a trio of books. The second volume of 12 Beast is minimally interesting to me, but may interest those who like fantasy and harems.

ASH: It should at least hopefully be a hit with the Monster Musume crowd.

SEAN: Oddball slice-of-fantasy-life manga A Centaur’s Life is up to Volume 6.

Pandora in the Crimson Shell combines one of my favorite authors with one of my favorite artists, but I have heard the result is… well. We shall see. I expect I will not love this as much as Excel Saga.

MJ: I dunno, the title just makes me feel like I should be reading something by Jun Mochizuki.

SEAN: The ninth volume of What Did You Eat Yesterday? will, I suspect, have far less fanservice than Pandora in the Crimson Shell, unless you count food as fanservice.

ASH: The food definitely counts as fanservice.

MICHELLE: Oh, I had forgotten this was coming out so soon! Yay!

ANNA: Woo hoo!

MJ: This, this, this this, THIS.

SEAN: The rest is Viz, starting with Vol. 64 of Bleach. Bleach has gone from one of the big 3 shonen series to a series where even fans are screaming “Just die already!”, but it seems to still sell well.

ANNA: That is certainly many, many volumes. I did enjoy the first 13 volumes of Bleach.

MJ: Every once in a while I think it might be fun to check out what’s happening in Bleach these days. And then I don’t.

SEAN: So well that we are getting another giant Bleach box set, with Vol. 22 through Vol. 48. Use it as a very short pole vault!

D.Gray-Man has its 7th 3-in-1 omnibus as well.

As if two series weren’t enough, there’s more Aya Shouoto starting next week, with The Demon Prince of Momochi House. Like Kiss of the Rose Princess, this ran in Kadokawa’s Asuka magazine.

ASH: The cover is pretty, and there are yokai!

MICHELLE: That looks like Tomoe from Kamisama Kiss!

ANNA: Is there a shoujo series featuring yokai? SIGN ME UP!

MJ: Okay, yes.

SEAN: And Kiss of the Rose Princess is exactly like Kiss of the Rose Princess, unsurprisingly. Here’s the 5th volume.

ANNA: I like it. I will not claim it is profound, but it is a good manga to read when I do not feel like thinking very hard.

SEAN: My Love Story!! has shot up in popularity thanks to its anime, and the 5th volume hopefully translates into even more manga sales.

ASH: It wasn’t popular before?! It should be. Still loving this series.

MICHELLE: Yay, again! I had no idea there was an anime.

ANNA: Such a great series! I hope the anime inspires more people to check out the manga.

MJ: Same here!

SEAN: Naruto also has a giant box out next week, with Vol. 28-48.

Nisekoi, one of my favorite modern harem comedies, hits double digits.

And with the 11th 3-in-1 of Skip Beat!, I think we’ve caught up with the single volumes.

MICHELLE: Just about. Volume 34 came out in April.

SEAN: We’ve just heard that Sunny will be ending in Japan soon, but in the meantime, enjoy its 5th volume. (Lotta 5th volumes next week.)

ASH: Viz has been doing a really lovely job with this series.

MICHELLE: I need to get caught up on Sunny.

ANNA: I’m glad VIz still breaks out the impressive packaging and design for series like this that totally deserve it.

MJ: This is such a beautiful series.

SEAN: Twin Star Exorcists is the newest Jump Square series, from the author of popular yet unlicensed Binbougami-ga!. I’ll let you guess what it’s about.

World Trigger is up to Volume 6, meaning it’s passed the 2-3 volume ‘culling’ stage of many Jump series.

Lastly, get in touch with your past life with the 3rd Yukarism.

MICHELLE: Yay, yet again. I wasn’t sold on this series after the first volume, but enjoyed the second a great deal.

ANNA: I like anything by Chika Shiomi and this series is no exception.

MJ: I’m with Anna here.

SEAN: Do you have manga for your summer vacation?

SEAN: Since next week is a light week (despite being July 1st, it doesn’t count as a first week of July), I thought I’d do the manga in reverse order. And hey, coincidentally, that makes the image line up properly, too! Funny, that.

So we start with Vertical, who have the 5th volume of fanservice and ladies being awesome fantasy Witchcraft Works.

ASH: I’m a bit behind in this series, but I did enjoy the first few volumes.

SEAN: Seven Seas finally have a 7th volume of Toradora! for us (blame Japan, the series comes out very slowly over there), which resolves the horrible cliffhanger from… February 2014. Ah, the joys of monthly series that are caught up. I’ve reviewed it here.

The Seven Seas debut this week is Non Non Biyori, a sweet city-girl meets countryside story that I’ve heard described as Higurashi without all the murder and conspiracy, and seemingly light on fanservice. I’m looking forward to this a great deal.

MICHELLE: Hmm.

ASH: I know quite a few people looking forward to this manga.

ANNA: I don’t know. I will wait and see what the early reviewers say about this one.

MJ: Also “Hmm.”

SEAN: And there can’t be a month going by without an Alice in the Country of Hearts, this one a short story collection called Junk Box.

ANNA: I really liked the first Alice series and have just resigned myself to the fact that the spin-offs are not going to be as good as the main series.

SEAN: Attack on Titan is such a big seller for Kodansha that even the non-fiction books are getting licensed (almost unheard of after a few character guides bombed over here). This one is The Science of Attack on Titan. The author apparently specializes in looking at fantasy worlds and figuring out how they would work. Also, vampi—I mean, Titans!

ASH: Attack on Titan is the only series that has been able to convince Kodansha to break its “manga only” rule.

SEAN: And we have the third and final volume of Maria the Virgin Witch. There’s a one-shot collection of side stories in Japan, but I’m not sure Kodansha has picked that up.

ASH: Kodansha has! Exhibition is currently scheduled to be released in August.

SEAN: Finally, there’s the 9th Lone Wolf & Cub omnibus from Dark Horse, who curse the fact that I’m not starting with them as always.

Did reversing this make something stand out more for you?

MICHELLE: Alas, no. Just one thing to anticipate your review of!

ASH: Reversing the order made me realize that there was an actual order…

ANNA: I’m happy that this week is so light, because maybe I can catch up on my stacks and stacks of unread manga.

MJ: I can do nothing but be miffed on Lone Wolf and Cub’s behalf.