manga the week of

SEAN: Merry Christmas! Have some manga. Since the publishers usually go quiet around Christmas and New Year’s, almost everything is frontloaded to next week. So be prepared to be completely buried.

The Shinji Ikari Raising Project has now officially passed its parent in volume count. It’s coming to an end soon, though. In the meantime, Dark Horse brings us Vol. 15.

Manga Dogs 2 will help us to ask the question, “can the three male leads get any stupider?”. I’m betting on yes.

ASH: I’m sure that’s probably the case, though they’re pretty stupid to begin with.

SEAN: Kodansha also has its 4th xxxHOLIC omnibus. The series was at its high point here, in my opinion.

MJ: Even if I don’t think it had a *low* point, exactly, I agree that this was a great period in the series.

SEAN: Seven Seas debuts a new yuri series with Citrus, which is from Comic Yuri Hime – nice to see a title from that magazine over here again. Expect melodramatic schoolgirls.

ASH: I’m always interested in more yuri in English, so I’ll be checking this one out.

SEAN: There’s the third volume of D-Frag!, one of the funnier series I’ve read this past year.

You thought Dance in the Vampire Bund was over? You thought all we had left was spinoffs starring David Rasche? You were wrong! Here’s Dance in the Vampire Bund II: Vamp Harder… erm, Scarlet Order.

Girls Und Panzer isn’t over, but there’s always room for one more spinoff series. Little Army follows Miho, the “hardened battle commander” of the original series, as she does tank battles in elementary school.

And Haganai has a second collection of side story comedy for those who feel the main series has too much plot, this one called Club Minutes.

Lastly (from Seven Seas – we’re a long way from the end), there’s a new Witch Buster omnibus, with Vols. 13 and 14.

Vertical has a new Mobile Suit Gundam the Origin, and I think Vol. 8 means we’re 2/3 of the way through. Is the cast still alive? (I’m so far behind on this.)

ASH: As far as we know the cast is still alive; the last few volumes have been an extended flashback, so who knows what will happen from here?

ANNA: I’m behind too, but I keep buying it!

SEAN: Vertical is also debuting two old favorites digitally, as next week sees Vol. 1 and 2 of Black Jack, as well as Apollo’s Song. Mmmmm, digital Tezuka…

ASH: Since so many of Vertical’s Tezuka title have gone or are going out of print, I’m very happy that the publisher found a way to give them some new life.

ANNA: I have much fondness for Black Jack.

MJ: I do, too. I’m so happy to see this coming out digitally.

SEAN: Viz has a 10th volume of Afterschool Charisma, one of the SigIkki survivors.

ANNA: Another one of those series I read three volumes of and mean to get caught up on one day.

SEAN: It’s December, so it’s time for the annual release of Dogs: Bullets and Carnage, with Vol. 9 dropping.

The other SigIkki survivor also has a new volume, as Dorohedoro reached its 14th. Ikki in Japan may be no more, but Dorohedoro will be moving to its replacement, so don’t expect it to end right away.

MICHELLE: Someday I really will read these last three.

ASH: Dorohedoro! Such a delightfully charmingly bizarre series.

SEAN: It’s been a while since we’ve been able to get excited about an Urasawa release. Now we see an omnibus edition of Master Keaton, which will feature incredibly dramatic insurance investigations. No, really, it’s excellent. Check this out even if you’re not a fan of insurance.

MICHELLE: I am so excited about this!!

ASH: I’m definitely interested in seeing more from Urasawa.

ANNA: I’m curious about this title for sure.

MJ: I’m in!

SEAN: Think we’re done? HAH! It’s Yen time. We’ll start with the Yen On line. We get the debut of a new series whose title screams “I am a light novel franchise”. It’s called Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? I’m going to guess the answer overall will prove to be “no”, this sounds pretty harem-ey.

ASH: I don’t know much about the series, but the title amuses me, so I might actually give this one a try.

MJ: Heh. Agreed.

SEAN: Spice & Wolf’s novels have been running since long before Yen On began, and as such, we get lucky Vol. 13 here. That’s the light novel, not the manga, which also ships next week, but is Vol. 10.

And Sword Art Online’s novels start everyone’s favorite arc, Fairy Dance. This is a 2-parter, FYI, the second ships in April. This is the novel, not the manga, which already began the Fairy Dance arc in August, but had Vol. 2 ship last month, which is not Vol. 2 of the light novels, though it adapts part of it.

MJ: I don’t hate Fairy Dance, so I’m happy to see this.

SEAN: On the manga front, we have the 2nd of the adaptation of Accel World, having had the 2nd light novel one month ago, which this manga volume does not adapt, as it’s still adapting the first one. Clear? Wait till next spring, when it will get REALLY confusing. Also, hooray for new math.

Alice is really hard to get a lead on, as Are You Alice? has hit Vol. 7 and still doesn’t know.

MJ: Heh.

SEAN: Barakamon seems like a countrified Yotsuba&!, which suits me just fine. The 2nd volume is out next week.

MICHELLE: I still need to check this one out.

MJ: I’m happy to see more of this!

SEAN: Bloody Cross has its 5th volume ship. I admit I finally moved on from this, but if you like supernatural action, it certainly fills that need.

Yen has 3 debuts this month! The first is a familiar author to many, Kaori Yuki. She’d been with Hakusensha for years, but recently moved to Kodansha and their eccentric Aria magazine. This was her debut there, Demon From Afar. That said, if you like the sort of thing she usually writes, this is more of that. But in hardcover!

MICHELLE: Huh. Interesting.

MJ: I’m definitely looking forward to this!

SEAN: The second debut is another author familiar to us, but that’s because of a recent release from Viz. Aya Shouoto had Kiss of the Rose Princess come out via Shojo Beat, and now we see Yen releasing He’s My Only Vampire, which, yes, runs in Aria as well. This combines vampires AND childhood friends.

MICHELLE: Huh. Well, more shoujo is a good thing!

ANNA: I agree!

MJ: I’ll give it a try, for sure.

SEAN: There’s a spinoff of harem manga High School DxD, focusing on two of the lead females: Asia and Koneko’s Secret Contract. My guess is this is similar to Haganai’s Club Minutes, aka plotless comedy.

Kingdom Hearts II Vol. 3 is really not helping Yen escape my mocking of their volume numbers.

The last debut is the one I’m most excited about: Love at Fourteen. The plot sounds familiar, with two childhood friends finding love in school. But it runs in Hakusensha’s Rakuen Le Paradis, a magazine I’d kill to see more licenses from, and is apparently very well written.

MICHELLE: I’m really excited about this one, too!

ANNA: This was totally not on my radar before, but it sounds interesting.

MJ: My response is *both* of Michelle & Anna’s responses put together.

SEAN: Spice & Wolf has its 10th volume ship this week! That’s the manga, not the light novel. The light novel ships Vol. 13 this week, as I said earlier. Be aware that in 2015, Yen will begin calculating Manga and Light Novel volume numbers in Base 8, as they worry readers may get confused. (I am old enough to know what Base 8 is, yes.)

ASH: Ha!

SEAN: Lastly (at LONG last!), we get the 6th volume of Tena on S-String, a mere 4 years after the 5th. The series is out digitally if you want to jog your memory.

Is this enough Christmas manga? Do you want more? Clap your hands if you want more!

MJ: *clap*? No?

SEAN: The second week in December brings us a wide variety of manga for perusing, but is already dominated by something that Fantagraphics released THIS week and I am therefore behind on.

Massive is an anthology of gay manga that, from what I hear, can be judged very well by its cover: if the idea of large, muscley men having sex with each other intrigues you, then this is an absolute must buy. It’s always great to see this sort of manga over here.

ASH: The release date kept moving around for this one, so don’t feel too bad. I’m thrilled that it’s finally here, though! Massive is one of my most anticipated releases for 2015. It includes manga, interviews, essays, and more. I can’t wait to get my hands on a copy!

MJ: Same here.

ANNA: I probably won’t be reading this, but I think it is very cool that it is being published.

SEAN: Kodansha has a third volume of Attack on Titan: Before the Fall. This is the manga, not the novel, for those who may be confused.

There’s also a fifth Battle Angel Alita: Last Order omnibus.

Seven Seas hopes you still like Wonderland (not to be confused with the Country of Hearts) with the 2nd volume of I Am Alice: Bodyswap in Wonderland.

Vertical gives us two types of supernatural action manga. The 2nd volume of Ajin possibly has less romantic comedy than I expect Witch Craft Works 2 will have, though I’ve been wrong about that sort of thing before.

ASH: I think you’re probably right this time.

SEAN: Arata the Legend has reached 20 volumes, which means if it weren’t licensed already, it would be totally unlicensable by now. But it is! Rejoice, Arata fans.

MICHELLE: I do like Arata, but I kind of can’t believe it’s gone on longer than Fushigi Yuugi. I guess that’s what happens when it’s shounen.

ANNA: I do have a deep and unwavering affection for Fushigi Yuugi. Sorry Arata!

SEAN: Deadman Wonderland has its sixth volume next week as well.

ASH: Tokyopop only made it to five volumes; Viz is starting to get into new material, now.

MICHELLE: Yep! I always think of this series in the same thought as the other final straggly releases TOKYOPOP managed to get out, including a volume of The Stellar Six of Gingacho. Probably no one will ever rescue that one, so I has a sad.

MJ: I’ve been kinda iffy on this series, but I am pretty happy that TP series’ are getting picked back up, so I consider it a win.

ANNA: I will pause to evoke the late, lamented series Demon Sacred and Sky Blue Shore

And there’s a 13th Itsuwaribito, and I begin to despair about this long string of worthy Viz shonen I don’t really follow.

And I am rewarded with a 9th volume of Magi, which I do follow, and which is excellent.

MICHELLE: It is. We need to start a campaign to get MJto read it.

MJ: Heh.

ANNA: I am hoarding stray volumes of this and do mean to read it one day.

SEAN: Are you getting a massive amount of manga next week? Or just Massive?

SEAN: December begins, and that can only mean one thing: More piles of manga.

Dark Horse has the 3rd volume of the New Lone Wolf and Cub, with whitewall tires and everything.

Who said DC Comics doesn’t release manga anymore? The Jiro Kuwata Bat-Manga is 350 pages of 60s shonen Bat-goodness, and looks to be amazing.

ASH: This is a really interesting bit of manga history. I was really surprised (and happy) to see DC pick it up!

MJ: Oh, wow, I had no idea this was in the works. Count me in!

ANNA: This sounds great. Really looking forward to it.

SEAN: Sankarea is almost finished, with the penultimate volume shipping next week. Will more main cast members die before this zombie romantic comedy staggers to its conclusion?

We get the 2nd volume of the Nightmare Trilogy from the Alice in the… series.

Is the harem complete in Knights of Sidonia 12? Or are more women waiting in the wings? Oh yes, and science fiction mecha battle horror manga as well.

MICHELLE: I am ashamed to admit that I have failed to catch up on Sidonia. I’m still buying it, though. That counts for something!

ASH: I like saving up a few volumes to read at a time; I’m about ready for another binge.

MJ: More Sidonia is always welcome!

ANNA: My Thanksgiving plans include a bit of a marathon read of Sidonia to get more caught up.

SEAN: On the Viz side, we have the manga they said couldn’t be released! No, the Jump editors had literally said this could not be released in North America. But times have changed, there’s an anime on the way, and here we are. Assassination Classroom may have a scary name, but at heart it’s a classic ‘teacher gets class full of misfits and teaches them how to band together’ sort of title. Kind of like GTO, if Onizuka were an alien with a smiley face for a head. I cannot wait for this.

MICHELLE: Huh, interesting! I am intrigued.

ASH: Looking forward to it!

MJ: Same!

ANNA: Really, I would buy the first volume for the title alone. I want to check this out.

SEAN: Dragon Ball gets its 7th 3-in-1 omnibus.

I enjoyed the second volume of Food Wars! and I think have gotten over its appalling first few pages. So let’s have more exciting shonen foodie manga with Vol. 3.

MICHELLE: I really am enjoying this one.

ASH: As am I.

ANNA: I’m a bit more on the fence about this title, but it does have an interesting premise and storyline to balance out the fanservice.

SEAN: Another penultimate volume (look, I just like saying penultimate, OK?), as Happy Marriage?! 9 inches closer to answering the question mark in its title.

ASH: Penultimate is a great word. I… like saying it, too.

ANNA: I feel like this series has fallen off in quality a bit, but I still enjoy reading it.

SEAN: The second Honey Blood is apparently the last of the main series, though there’s a side volume due out in February. Short shoujo supernatural goodness.

MICHELLE: Or not-so-goodness, as the case may be.

MJ: Heh.

ANNA: Aww, that’s too bad. I usually do enjoy shoujo supernatural titles. I think I will check it out though.

SEAN: Kimi ni Todoke… I feel kind of churlish for saying this, but does it feel we’re dragging our feet a little as the series hits Vol. 20? I do still like it, but wish the end was in sight.

MICHELLE: There is always something very satisfying when long, beloved manga series end. I still love Kimi ni Todoke, but I know what you mean, too.

ANNA: Nothing wrong with a consistently good long running shoujo title.

SEAN: Millennium Snow comes to an end with its 4th volume, and will hopefully manage to resolve the whole “impending death” thing once and for all.

ANNA: I want to go back and reread the first two volumes, then read the new releases. I did enjoy it when it first came out.

SEAN: Naruto may have finished in chapter format, but the collected volumes live on! Here’s the 68th.

Nura: Rise of the Yokai Clan is still marching towards its ending with the 24th volume.

There is also the 3rd Seraph of the End.

ANNA: I like this series! Not only due to the vampires, but because the light novel origins of the series ensures that there will actually be a decent amount of worldbuilding and backstory for the characters.

SEAN: If Food Wars! seems to mild and sedate for you, Toriko is always ready to take it one level higher, and its 25th volume drops next week.

In case you already miss Vampire Knight, Fleeting Dreams is a short story collection based on the series.

Voice Over! has come to the 8th volume, and is romance finally starting to stroll leisurely towards the reader?

MICHELLE: I find that I would kind of love for that to happen.

MJ: Sometimes the stroll is a bit too leisurely.

ANNA: I liked the first volume of this more than I expected to, but I don’t think I’ll be investing in reading more of the series. I think it might be good for younger teens though, and series like that are always welcome.

SEAN: Three volumes of World Trigger means I’m 3 volumes behind. Need to check this series out.

ANNA: I was lukewarm about the first couple volumes, but I can certainly see how someone else might enjoy the series.

SEAN: And a new shoujo series from Betsuhana, as we get the first volume of Yukarism. If you enjoyed Yurara, this is by the same creator.

MICHELLE: I’m really curious about this one! I haven’t read nearly as much Chika Shiomi as I should’ve. (But I bought all her stuff! That counts for something, right?)

ASH: I’m actually very excited for this one! Gender-bending, time travel, historical romance… this should be good.

MJ: I am so on board for this. I actually never read Yurara, but I loved Rasetsu, which stood better on its own than I ever expected.

ANNA: I REALLY like Chika Shiomi series. The art is great, and often there are some darker themes in her paranormal romance series that are quite intriguing. My favorite of her series so far is Night of the Beasts that was released by Go!Comi back in the day.

SEAN: What appeals to you in this rather large list?

SEAN: The last week of the month is usually a nice breather after the deluge of the previous three weeks, giving us a chance to catch up on the piles of manga still out there. But there are still a few tasty bits of manga for (American) Thanksgiving.

We’ll start with the tastiest, the long-awaited release from Dark Horse of Satoshi Kon’s Opus. It’s an omnibus of the original 2-volume Japanese release, and also apparently fairly metatextual. It’s also by Satoshi Kon, which is reason enough to buy it.

ASH: Oh! I knew this one was in the works, but hadn’t realized it was being released so soon!

MJ: Wow, this snuck up on me!

ANNA: This does sound interesting.

SEAN: From the sublime to the ridiculous, as Kodansha has the 2nd omnibus release of Attack on Titan Junior High. A lot of fans of the regular Titan series I think found this humor a bit too broad for their tastes, but I loved it, and appreciated the focus it gave to some of the minor characters from the main series. For anyone who likes comedy gag manga.

ASH: I agree. The first omnibus was surprisingly entertaining.

SEAN: Fairy Tail has its 44th volume, and we’re only 4 months behind Japan now!

There’s also the 2nd volume of xxxHOLIC Rei, where I keep hoping they’ll ignore that something is clearly wrong with this universe and keep giving me wonderful short unconnected supernatural stories.

MJ: I’m totally on board with whatever is wrong with this universe, and definitely looking forward to this volume! Hurray!

SEAN: If Syaoran shows up, I’m blaming you.

ANNA: I never thought the day would come when I would be very ambivalent about a CLAMP book, but here we are.

MICHELLE: I’m not exactly ambivalent about it, but I never finished the first xxxHOLiC, so Rei is sort of putting the cart before the horse for me.

SEAN: Cardfight!! Vanguard has its fourth volume come out from Vertical Comics. I hear the manga and anime are quite different.

Lastly, we have a digital only release (the physical volume is out in February), but it’s one we have been waiting almost 20 years for. The final volume of Neon Genesis Evangelion drops next week, and fans keep wondering if its finale will be slightly less apocalyptic and bleak than the anime or movies. We’ll find out soon.

Anything whet your appetite as you wait for all that turkey?

SEAN: So. Many. Books.

ASH: Woo!

SEAN: Kodansha has the 5th volume of shoujo romance My Little Monster, which is still dealing with social ineptness in the best way.

MJ: I feel like I’m really missing out by not reading this. I probably have to fix that.

MICHELLE: I do honestly think that you would like it.

ASH: You should!

ANNA: Now I feel like I should be reading this! But I have far far too much manga to get caught up on.

SEAN: And the 2nd volume of Noragami, which I’m hoping kicks things into gear now that we have a 3rd cast member.

ASH: By the end, I rather enjoyed the first volume. Looking forward to seeing how the series develops.

SEAN: Seven Seas has another Devils and Realist, which I’m hoping keeps the denial in addition to all its handsome devils.

ASH: This series has actually really started to grow on me.

ANNA: I liked the first volume well enough but haven’t picked up the others for whatever reason.

SEAN: Dragonar Academy 4 has dragons and fanservice, possibly not in that order.

Kokoro Connect was surprisingly serious about its body swapping, even if at times the exposition felt a bit stilted. I look forward to seeing where the second volume goes.

Monster Musume 5 has monsters and fanservice, possibly not in that order.

ASH: Since both things are fairly constant, I’m not sure there can be much of an order…

SEAN: Prophecy is our first new title, a seinen title involving a masked man who predicts crimes… which then happen. This looks pretty grim, but is supposed to be a real page-turner.

MJ: Oooo, I like the sound of that.

MICHELLE: Me, too! Something just got added to my shopping list!

ASH: I’ll be checking it out!

ANNA: I’m intrigued but am reserving judgement until you guys check it out.

SEAN: Viz, as always in the 3rd week of the month, has its ‘Signature’ series titles. We have another volume of Gangsta, which I’m starting to like even more than Black Lagoon, its spiritual predecessor.

ASH: I think I do, too, actually.

SEAN: Ooku hasn’t come out in ages, so a 10th volume is very welcome.

MJ: Yay, yay, yay! And more yay!

MICHELLE: What she said.

ASH: And another yay for good measure!

ANNA: Yet another yay for Ooku!

SEAN: And I know the Manga Bookshelf crew will be ecstatic with a 13th volume of Real.

MJ: Truth.

MICHELLE: I am performing the Baby Groot dance as we speak.

ASH: Real is a phenomenal series. If you’re not already reading it, give it a try!

ANNA: It is really great.

SEAN: I’ve never played the games, but one can’t deny the overwhelming popularity of the Resident Evil franchise, and here we have the first volume of a manga adaptation called The Marwha Desire, which ran in Akita Shoten’s Weekly Shonen Champion.

Terra Formars 3 is also coming out.

Yen On has a 2nd volume of the light novel Accel World, whose first volume I enjoyed, and whose protagonist is intriguing, so I will see where it goes from here.

MJ: I’m on board for this, definitely!

SEAN: The big light novel out next week, though, is even more well-known in the anime and manga fandom. A Certain Magical Index has become a giant franchise, whose anime is already out over here, and whose manga spinoff, A Certain Scientific Railgun, has sold quite well indeed. Now see where it all began, with this first volume.

Ani-Imo is a shoujo title from Aria, a magazine known for odd shoujo titles. Do you like bodyswapping? Do you like suggestions of incest? Then you’ll love this title, whose creator has been doing ‘saucy’ shoujo for years.

MJ: I was right there… until “incest.” Just. No.

MICHELLE: That’s an odd shoujo title for sure. Even the cover art looks like it’s meant for some other demographic.

ANNA: Yeah, I don’t think so.

SEAN: Anything I could have said about BTOOOM! I got out with the previous 7 volumes, so… 8.

Durarara!! continues adapting the third novel with the 2nd volume of the Yellow Scarves arc. (That can be confusing. Welcome to light novel adaptations, here’s your accordion.)

Another debut with Gou-dere Sora Nagihara, which ran in Hakusensha’s Young Animal Arashi. It’s pretty ecchi, and involves an otaku’s 2D fantasy girl coming to life and not being quite the shy, demure girl he was expecting.

Speaking of ecchi, another volume of High School DxD is here.

Higurashi: When They Cry ended last year, and Rika finally got her happy ending, provided she doesn’t do anything foolish like bike in front of a truck. (cough) Please enjoy Higurashi’s “epilogue”, the Dice-Killing Arc.

Jack Frost has reached its final, 11th volume! No more head-raising antics!

The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya also has its 20th and final volume, though the spinoffs are still running. Forever doomed to be in the shadow of the novels and anime, it’s probably for the best it ends here as it runs out of novel to adapt.

Milkyway Hitchhiking is a new manwha from the creator of One Fine Day, and is also in full color. It seems to be episodic tales connected by a time-space cat.

MJ: Wahoo! I loved One Fine Day, so I am very enthusiastic about this.

MICHELLE: Oh! I forgot this was coming out. It looks like very much my sort of thing.

ASH: Space-time kitty!

ANNA: This does sound quite appealing.

SEAN: Pandora Hearts 22… MJ?

MJ: You know me so well. I will be eating this up with a spoon.

SEAN: As well as the Pandora Hearts artbook, Odds & Ends… MJ?

MJ: It’s beautiful! Truly. Really, truly. And I offer proof (thanks to Sean).

SEAN: Soul Eater’s covers are still nearly black, which tells me things are still not looking good for our heroes as we head towards the story’s climax.

And there’s also the 4th volume of Soul Eater NOT!, which I believe is also a final volume. Who will Tsugumi choose as her girlfr… um, partner?

Everyone’s least favorite arc of Sword Art Online, Fairy Dance, has its 2nd manga volume ship.

MJ: Heh, I haven’t enjoyed the manga as much as the novels (or the anime), but I’ll take it.

SEAN: Lastly, Triage X marches on, with its 8th volume out next week.

That’s not too much. Surely you can buy all of that in one week, right?

SEAN: After the deluge of the last two weeks, I am relieved to say that next week is at least a LITTLE quieter. Unless you’re Kodansha.

Speaking of which, apologies to Kodansha and Viz– I missed two of their titles that are out this week. The 2nd Heroic Legend of Arslan is already out! Go get it, it’s good! And Viz has All You Need Is Kill, the manga based off of the novel (as opposed to the earlier comic based off the novel).

ASH: I really enjoyed the original All You Need Is Kill novel, so I was happy to get my hands on the manga omnibus. I haven’t finished reading it yet, but am already very confident in recommending it over the graphic novel adaptation.

MJ: I can’t believe I haven’t picked this up yet, considering the artist. What have I been doing with my time??

ANNA: I feel guilty I haven’t started reading the Heroic Legend of Arslan yet.

SEAN: On to next week. Dark Horse has its second omnibus of Samurai Executioner, which pretty much lives up to its name.

Drawn & Quarterly has the 3rd big volume of Shigeru Mizuki’s Showa, this one covering the years 1944-1953. It is an absolute must read.

ASH: Agreed.

MJ: Oh, yes.

SEAN: Kodansha time, and they have a lot. Air Gear does not have QUITE the same gravitas as Showa, but at Vol. 32 I don’t think it has anything to prove, really.

And there’s also the 4th Air Gear omnibus.

Cage of Eden is down to its final quarter, and I suspect we will start getting answers soon, or at least fewer baffling questions. And more naked bathing as well, of course.

After reading Ubel Blatt, seeing the more mild and cute fanservice from The Seven Deadly Sins seems like a relief. The 5th volume arrives next week.

Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle has a 2nd omnibus. Will you be caught up in time for its new sequel starting up next year?

MICHELLE: Eh? I was totally ignorant of that. I never did finish the first one!

MJ: Hurray!

SEAN: UQ Holder offers more Akamatsu goodness. Will there be more Negima teases in Vol. 3?

SubLime gives us the 2nd volume of False Memories, which would appear to involve a Burger King crown of some sort.

Viz has 07-GHOST 13. Buy it or it will be unlucky! You don’t want bad luck, do you?

MICHELLE: I believe Anna vowed to get caught up with this series last time there was a new volume. Did you fulfill your pledge, Anna?

ANNA: I’m also feeling guilty for not fulfilling my pledge! But I did buy the missing volume 5 that was preventing me from getting caught up, and I started reading it only to get distracted (as usual) by shoujo manga from Viz. Maybe I will fulfill my pledge this month. It could happen!

SEAN: I believe that the 9th volume of the Fullmetal Alchemist omnibus is the final one, in which case it contains one of the best endings in shonen manga. But you should know this already.

MICHELLE: Yep.

ASH: Such a great series.

MJ: I can’t believe just how happy it makes me to consider new readers finishing this series for the first time.

SEAN: Lastly, Rin-Ne keeps chugging along with its 16th volume.

MICHELLE: I wish I could be excited about RIN-NE, but it’s always pleasant, at least.

SEAN: Which manga cries out for you to buy it?

SEAN: November does not have quite as many books as October, but that’s only due to Thanksgiving week providing a minor break. The other three weeks try harder to drown us in books.

Dark Horse finishes off its Trigun re-release with the 5th Trigun Maximum omnibus, depriving me of additional attempts to mock Nightow’s art style, at least until the next Blood Blockade Battlefront comes along.

Attack on Titan 14 focuses more on Levi and Hange, for fans of those two (no, it doesn’t have any shipping fuel).

ASH: I found the thirteenth volume of Attack on Titan to be particularly good, so I’m looking forward to reading the fourteenth.

SEAN: The third and final volume of Alice in the Country of Clover: Knight’s Knowledge will no doubt see if Alice and Ace can resolve their respective psychoses and find peaceful happiness. God, I hope not. They’re far less interesting that way.

Seven Seas has been hyping their print release of Lucifer and the Biscuit Hammer, and with good reason: it’s an excellent series, with a nice take on ‘what if the superheroes who had to save the world wanted to destroy it instead?’ It’s come out digitally twice, but get it in print, it’s worth it.

ASH: I plan on checking this series out!

ANNA: Huh, this wasn’t on my radar before, but this sounds interesting!

MJ: What Anna said!

SEAN: The Sacred Blacksmith lost me with Vol. 5, so I have no further jokes to spend on Vol. 6.

And the penultimate volume of Zero’s Familiar Chevalier, which will hopefully be able to wrap things up nicely by the final volume, as the author has passed away, making more series unlikely.

Vertical has the 5th volume of seinen foodie manga What Did You Eat Yesterday?.

MICHELLE: Yay!

ASH: Yay, indeed!

ANNA: Triple yay!

MJ: There cannot possibly be enough YAY!

SEAN: The rest is all Viz. Black Rose Alice was pretty dark in its first volume. Will this second one lighten things up a bit, or continue on its gothic pace?

MICHELLE: I found this quite a unique take on vampire mythology, so I’m looking forward to volume two.

ASH: Although I was sad to see the story leave Vienna so soon, I loved the first volume of Black Rose Alice and am very curious to see how it continues to develop.

ANNA: I enjoyed the first volume too. It has an interesting take on vampires, which is quite tricky to pull off. Also the thematic tone of this series sets it apart from other supernatural manga.

MJ: I’m so happy to be reading this series, and I can’t wait to dig into the second volume!

SEAN: Bleach hits Vol. 62, and I think a person is fighting with another person somewhere in it. At points they brag about how they can’t be defeated, I’m guessing.

MICHELLE: Ha!

SEAN: Blue Exorcist looks like it was getting ready to head into a darker arc last time, and I think that’s what we’ll get here. Can’t wait, this is always good.

There’s also a 5th D.Gray-Man 3-in-1, speaking of shonen series with a high female readership. In fact, in North America I’d argue D.Gray-Man has an almost exclusively female readership…

Dengeki Daisy is almost over! Waaaah! Here’s the 15th, penultimate volume.

MICHELLE: I haven’t always loved this one, but I’ll miss it when it’s gone.

ASH: I’ll miss it, too.

ANNA: I love this series. This is one of those manga that’s going to have a permanent place on my bookshelves.

SEAN: High School Debut has its 4th 3-in-1 as well.

MICHELLE: Getting closer to the one with new material!

ANNA: There’s a volume coming out with new material? I am excited!

MJ: Wait, what? New material? Ooh.

MICHELLE: Yep! The fifth omnibus will contain volumes 14 and 15, which I believe will contain short stories published after the series officially ended.

SEAN: Kiss of the Rose Princess is this month’s new series, from Shojo Beat. It’s an Asuka series, so I expect it’s most likely fantasy, and also probably reverse harem. Am I right?

MICHELLE: I don’t know yet, but I’ll check it out.

ANNA: Surprising no one, so will I.

MJ: Surprising… also no one. Me too.

SEAN: And for non-reversed harems, here’s the 6th volume of romantic comedy Nisekoi.

Did you not pick up One Piece? Shame on you. Here’s a 2nd giant Box Set so you can catch up all at once. Now. I’ll wait here all night if necessary.

The 5th and final volume of Phantom Thief Jeanne should wrap everything up, though I’m not sure if it will be happy or bittersweet.

ANNA: The ending of Phantom Thief Jeanne is bonkers in the best possible way.

SEAN: The 5th Ranma 1/2 omnibus introduces Ukyou Kuonji, who is another character who invites controversy. Well, they all do, really. It’s that kind of fandom.

Have you had enough 3-in-1 omnibuses yet? No? Good, here’s Skip Beat! with its 9th.

Spell of Desire’s first volume was solid but didn’t wow me. I’m hoping for more wow in this second one.

MICHELLE: And more kittens!

ANNA: I’ve read this already and I continue to enjoy this series.

MJ: I talked about this a bit in Monday’s Off the Shelf. I’m not exactly *wowed*, but optimistic about this series.

SEAN: Tegami Bachi, you’ve hit Volume 17. As ever, I have no idea what to say about you. You seem to have caught up with Japan now.

Ultimo hits double digits even as it’s been announced it’s ending soon.

Lastly, if the One Piece box set wasn’t enough for you, here’s one for Vampire Knight.

If you were expecting the manga deluge to end, more fool you. What suits you from this tsunami of manga?

SEAN: I think Yen Press has set a record for most volumes released in a single week. (At least for that publisher… I suspect Viz has it beat overall there.) Let’s start with what isn’t Yen, though.

Blade of the Immortal is perilously close to finishing, and it also hits its 30th volume this week from Dark Horse. Wasn’t it the last series still published in 32-page floppies to give in and go volume-only?

ASH: I’m not certain, but I think that’s true. Either way, I’m very happy that Dark Horse continued to release the series. Nearly two decades later, this is the penultimate volume in English!

ANNA: That’s pretty epic! I loved the artwork in the first few volumes of this series, but I didn’t really stick with it for the long haul. No question that this is a big achievement.

SEAN: Attack on Titan: No Regrets has its 2nd and final volume, in which Levi’s two childhood friends survive and go set up a nice house somewhere, no doubt. Wait, no, this is Attack on Titan.

ASH: I rather enjoyed the first volume of this spinoff, so I’ll be picking up the second volume, too.

SEAN: I’ve gotten too far behind on Fairy Tail to make jokes about its plot, so hey! Fairy Tail 43!

There’s a double dose of Alice this week, from two different publishers. Seven Seas gives us the 6th volume of my favorite spinoff of the series, Alice in the Country of Joker: Circus and Liar’s Game.

Vertical has The Garden of Words, one of the more optimistic works by Makoto Shinkai. That’s not saying much, of course. I reviewed it here.

MJ: As a Shinkai fan, I’m a pretty interested in this. I’ve enjoyed manga adaptations of his films in the past, including 5 Centimeters Per Second. So, yeah. I’m on board.

ASH: Me, too! (Though, I’ll admit I haven’t actually gotten around to watching the anime, yet…)

SEAN: In case you missed the digital release of Another, the horror novel Yen put out last year, we now have an omnibus print edition under the Yen On label.

MJ: This looks interesting to me as well!

SEAN: Alice in the Country of Diamonds ~Wonderful Wonder World~ is part artbook, part guide to the PSP game, and part fan thing, with interviews, manga, etc. If you like Alice, it’s all here.

Barakamon is an anticipated new series from Yen, about a calligrapher who is sent to a remote island after losing his temper; the plot is basically “fish out of water”, but it’s apparently quite well done.

MJ: Again, I’m interested. This actually is turning out to be a pretty intriguing week!

MICHELLE: I was just reading the description for this on Yen’s site the other day. It definitely looks appealing!

ASH: This is one of the series from Yen that I’ve been most looking forward to reading.

ANNA: This does sound really intriguing.

SEAN: Black Butler hits its 18th volume, and I’ll bet you two to one that Ciel and Sebastian are investigating something-or-other.

Bloody Brat gives us a 2nd volume of wacky antics with the cast of Blood Lad, to contrast with the wacky antics already present in the main series.

MJ: Always up for more wacky antics in this universe.

MICHELLE: Me, too. It just suits my humor. I actually found that the main series is funnier than the spinoff, at least in the first volume, but I’ll actually be reading volume two this evening for… reasons.

SEAN: A Bride’s Story is now an annual release, but that’s more ‘caught up with Japan’ than anything else. It’s still a terrific title everyone should read.

MJ: It’s been a while, indeed. This can’t come too soon.

ASH: Anything by Kaoru Mori is always a must for me. (Also, Yen is bringing back Emma!)

ANNA: I need to get caught up on this series. I agree that anything by Kaoru Mori is a must have.

SEAN: Doujinshi Anthologies (non-porn) are a staple of popular Japanese franchises, but we rarely see them over here. Yen has made a few exceptions, and after seeing The Misfortune of Kyon and Koizumi a while back, we now have The Celebration of Haruhi Suzumiya, which binds together three similar volumes into one big omnibus.

Inu x Boku SS had quite a plot twist last time, one that leaves the series seemingly with no one left to carry on. Where it goes from here will be the big reason to read this 5th volume.

Given the author drew the Time-Killing Arc, one of my favorite Higurashi arcs, I wish I liked Judge better than I do. Survival Game is just not my favorite genre. Here’s the penultimate volume.

Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days has its fourth volume, and yeah, I got nothing.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – the gag manga The Melancholy of Suzumiya Haruhi-chan, whose 8th volume ships this week, is a better adaptation of the source than the main manga. Not more accurate. But better.

No Matter How I Look At It, It’s You Guys’ Fault I’m Not Popular! has its 5th volume ship, and the only thing that makes me more uncomfortable than reading it is having to type out its full title. Still good, just cringe inducing.

ASH: Yeah, it can be a bit hard to read, but it is a good series.

SEAN: Hey, remember Oninagi? Had 3 volumes out about 5 years ago from Yen? Not very good? Ever wonder where that final fourth volume ever got to? Well, wonder no more. Here ‘tis.

ASH: Oh, wow, I’m not familiar with this series at all! It’s still great to see it being completed in English, though.

ANNA: I’m going to sit in the corner and whimper for all the unfinished series I’d like to see completed in English.

SEAN: Another Madoka Magica tie-in also wraps up, this being A Different Story.

I was surprised to see the dark fantasy series Ubel Blatt licensed, but unsurprised to hear it will be coming out in omnibus form, given its length. This first one collects Vol. 0 (a special prologue) and 1, but is labeled 0 to confuse everyone.

MJ: I’m cautiously interested. “Dark fantasy” can go either way for me.

MICHELLE: Same here. I must say, too, I’m kind of relieved that series I don’t follow about are wrapping up; I always feel guilty when I’ve nothing to say about them.

SEAN: Lastly (at long last), there the 2nd omnibus of Umineko When They Cry: Alliance of the Golden Witch. We’re getting closer than ever to defining what magic is, which in turn will help us to understand Beatrice. And by we, I mean the reader. Not Battler, he’s still useless.

Despite all these titles, is there nothing here that can satisfy you? And if so, why? Look at them all.

SEAN: Another week, another pile. Here we go.

I may not really enjoy Gantz, but it certainly sells in comic shops, and is popular enough that the author’s new title was just announced at NYCC. We’re still a few volumes from the end over here.

Animal Land, an underrated Kodansha title, has reached Vol. 10. I always mean to go back and check this out, but never do.

MICHELLE: I honestly had no idea this was still going.

SEAN: If you still haven’t gotten the first four Attack on Titan volumes, Kodansha has a nice box set of them for you.

No. 6 has hit Vol. 9, and there are many Manga Bookshelf peeps excited about that.

ASH: I’m looking forward to it! (I just hope the manga’s ending is handled better than the anime adaptation’s was.)

SEAN: Sankarea has also hit Volume 9, and has pretty much ceased to be a fanservice-filled romantic comedy entirely. At this point you wonder who will remain alive at the end.

In case manga was not enough Alice for you, Seven Seas has the light novel Alice in the Country of Diamonds: Bet on My Heart. Blood is the love interest du jour, I believe.

ANNA: I wonder if this series will ever run out of card suits and have to incorporate an additional organizational system drawn from other games like Jenga or Yatzee.

Arpeggio of Blue Steel impressed me more than I expected, and I am eager to see if the second volume can keep it up.

Thought you’d read all of Dance in the Vampire Bund, had you? Never! There are still the… Secret Chronicles. (makes scary woooo gestures with fingers)

Haganai 9 won’t get you many friends, but it should still provide a lot of laughs and some heart as well.

Seven Seas debuts the manga version of No Game, No Life. With the light novel out next year, this series is getting a lot of push. It looks pretty fanservice-heavy, but hey.

Vertical also has a new debut with Vol. 1 of Witchcraft Works. I reviewed it over here.

ASH: I’m rather curious about Witchcraft Works.

SEAN: Viz is releasing an 18-volume Black Bird Box Set, which… why? I thought we were done! (weeps)

MJ: NO… no… nooooooo…

MICHELLE: I know what I’m getting MJfor Christmas!

MJ: *stare of death*

MICHELLE: Dude. That’s harsh.

MJ: It was the mildest response I could come up with.

ANNA: Not a fan of Black Bird but hey, at least we have a series to point people to if they really enjoy wound licking.

SEAN: And Monster gets a 2nd omnibus Perfect Edition.

MICHELLE: I have fond memories of Monster

ANNA: I might buy these omnibus editions for myself as a holiday present!

SEAN: For Hayao Miyazaki fans, Princess Mononoke: The First Story is a must buy, being the original early 80s idea he had for the eventual movie to come.

And for alt-manga fans, you can’t go wrong with a new volume of Sunny.

ASH: That’s true!

MJ: Finally, something for me to get excited about this week!

MICHELLE: Same here! I was beginning to despair.

ANNA: Alt-manga isn’t my favorite thing, but Sunny is great.

SEAN: Lastly, there’s a new Vagabond, still trundling along even after 3 dozen books.

ASH: I’ve really been meaning to catch up with Vagabond; Inoue does some fantastic work.

ANNA: I love the 3 in 1 Vagabond editions.

SEAN: Is there a book here that’s right for you?

MICHELLE: Just one, apparently!

SEAN: With only ten new volumes, this is the lightest week of the month. Let’s all enjoy it.

First off, one I missed from last week, mostly as Amazon just announced they were shipping it early a few days ago. The second Whispered Words omnibus, containing Vols. 4-6, is out this week. If you like a well-written yuri story with lots of fun and angst and romance, this is the book for you.

ASH: The story is great! And it has karate, too! (I just hope the copy editing has improved with this volume…)

MICHELLE: Me, too. It was seriously bad.

SEAN: Now for next week. We’ll start with Dark Horse, who have the 16th Bride of the Water God volume, which is on my list of “I always forget this exists” titles.

MICHELLE: I actually forgot Whispered Words existed, so don’t feel bad.

MJ: I’d almost forgotten both, and that makes me sad!

ANNA: I didn’t know anything about Whispered Words, but if more high quality yuri is being translated into English, that can only be a good thing.

SEAN: Kodansha releases the quotation mark challenged Say “I Love You”, so I will put them back in. This is Volume 4.

ANNA: I really enjoyed the first two volumes of this. Time to get caught up!

ASH: I’m enjoying this series as well.

SEAN: SubLime has a new Blue Morning volume, a series that I believe our Manga Bookshelf team has enjoyed in the past.

MICHELLE: I really enjoy both of these series, and will be reviewing both of these in brief form in the coming weeks.

MJ: Blue Morning is definitely on my list for the week.

SEAN: Vertical has a new series debut with Volume 1 of Ajin. You can also see this on Crunchyroll’s manga site. It’s from Kodansha’s good! Afternoon magazine, and seems to be quite dark. I suspect this is more in the Wolfsmund vein than the Chi’s Sweet Home one. One of the creators also has High-Rise Invasion coming out via Manga Box.

MJ: Interesting!

ASH: I’m very curious about Ajin and am looking forward to giving it a try.

SEAN: And we also have the 11th and final Flowers of Evil, which proved to be a lot more popular than anyone had expected, I think, though never an easy, friendly read.

MJ: I fell out of this a while back, but I kind of miss it.

ASH: I’ve been saving up all of the volumes of the final arc to read all at once, and here it is, the series end. I’m preparing to be devastated in one way or another.

SEAN: With the 52nd volume of Case Closed, you now have one volume for each week of the year if you want to do a reread.

Deadman Wonderland has a 5th volume, and I suspect the plot has really begun to pick up by now. (Look, sometimes these are generic. I can’t read everything.)

I do read Magi though, and love it to bits. Buy Volume 8. If not for me, then for Viz, who needs another big Shonen Sunday title.

MICHELLE: Magi is excellent, with capable storytelling and character development. I think MJ, in particular, should read this one! :)

ANNA: I have a couple stray volumes of this sitting around my house, and need to fill in a bit before starting to read this series. I’ve only heard good things though, and I look forward to reading it!

SEAN: Lastly, we have another big series ending, as the 19th volume of Vampire Knight is so important that Viz released it apart from the other Shojo Beat titles. It also comes in regular and deluxe versions, with a mini-artbook for the latter. I enjoyed this a lot more than I expected to, but I’m glad it’s ending, as it was running out of plot.

MICHELLE: I think the last volume I read was 13, but I think I’ll make a push and finally finish this one up. For the sake of completeness, if nothing else.

ANNA: It might seem odd to people who are familiar with my love of vampire-based shoujo manga, but I haven’t read this complete series. I started reading it, got about 5 volumes in, stopped, and have been piling up sporadic volumes here and there with the intention of doing a big series read at some point. One day, this will happen!

SEAN: Anything strike your fancy here?

SEAN: Manga. Lots. Let’s go.

It wasn’t on Amazon 2 weeks ago, but now I see there is a release for Volume 9 of Ze. A series whose release dates are almost as convoluted as its content.

ASH: I was wondering what was going on with Ze‘s releases.

SEAN: Sadly, Kodansha did not stick with the original title for this series, GDGD-DOGS. But Manga Dogs works just as well, and for fans of Missions of Love it’s by the same author, and has another reverse harem.

MICHELLE: Huh. While Missions of Love was not for me, I kind of liked Toyama’s I Am Here!. Still, I dunno… the temptation is pretty faint.

ANNA: I like reverse harem as much as the next gal, but this isn’t really on my radar.

SEAN: And there’s also the 9th volume of Missions of Love as well, featuring the most likeable, well-adjusted cast in all of shoujo.

ASH: Ha!

SEAN: And the 5th volume of Vinland Saga, which is unlikely to get a shoujo spinoff in Aria anytime soon, unless Ylva ends up going to high school in Japan or somesuch.

ASH: I… would actually read that. (And I’m definitely reading Vinland Saga!)

ANNA: I would also read that! Vinland Saga is so well-executed, each new volume is a treat.

SEAN: Seven Seas has the first volume of Magical Girl Apocalypse, which seems to be for folks who thought Madoka Magica to be too light-hearted and cheerful. But hey, Akita Shoten license! A rarity these days.

And there’s a 2nd Strike Witches: 1937 Fuso Sea Incident.

Vertical has an 11th volume of Knights of Sidonia, which I hope will have more cute romance and action sci-fi (and perhaps a bit less tragic horror?).

ASH: One can never tell with Knights of Sidonia.

MICHELLE: I absolutely must get caught back up on this series. Looks like we’ll be caught up to Japan fairly soon, too.

ANNA: I need to get caught up too! I am so pleased that we have so many manga titles set in SPACE!

MJ: This!!

SEAN: The rest is Viz. If you didn’t pick up the 2nd Food Wars! When it came out digitally, it’s now available in print. I’m hoping for slightly less naked food reactions, but I know there will be some.

ASH: I still prefer my manga in print, so I’ve been waiting to pick up the second volume until now.

MICHELLE: I’m actually kinda looking forward to this.

ANNA: I thought that there were glimmerings of an interesting title here, but I have to admit when I read the first volume I was put off by all the upskirt panels and naked food reactions.

MJ: I’m cautiously optimistic.

SEAN: Happy Marriage?! continues to be a very ironic title as we hit Vol. 8.

MICHELLE: This series has grown on me, so I’ll definitely be checking out volume eight.

ANNA: I think it has gotten a bit meandering as the series go along, but I’ll still read every volume shortly after it comes out.

SEAN: Then there’s Honey Blood, which (say it with me, folks) has vampires in it! The cover art makes me go >_> a bit, but I’m hoping that the relationship in this series is not as unequal as it first seems.

ANNA: Did someone say supernatural shoujo!? I hope this is more like Midnight Secretary than Black Bird. Will be checking it out for sure.

SEAN: Heartwarming supernatural shoujo #1: Kamisama Kiss, which has gotten up to Vol. 16, and shows no sign of ending anytime soon.

MICHELLE: Yay! I like it, but I think I still prefer the author’s Karakuri Odette.

ANNA: I actually like it more than Karakuri Odette! This series is consistently charming.

SEAN: I was a huge fan of the first My Love Story!!, despite the multiple exclamation marks, and look forward to seeing where it goes from here.

ASH: I absolutely loved the first volume of My Love Story!! So much so, here are a few extra !!! for good measure.

MICHELLE: My Love Story!! is a glorious thing. Volume two has been in my Amazon cart for a few weeks now.

ANNA: I have read this volume and loved it just as much as the first!!!!!!!!!

MJ: Definitely looking forward to this… so sweet.

SEAN: Naruto seems to be finally grinding to a slow halt, but that still leaves several volumes to go. And several more times for Sasuke to turn evil.

Heartwarming supernatural shoujo #2: Natsume’s Book of Friends, which has gotten up to Vol. 17, and shows no sign of ending anytime soon.

MICHELLE: Yay! I suppose this means I am a sucker for heartwarming supernatural shoujo.

SEAN: Nura: Rise of the Yokai Clan has started its final arc, but that’s going to be a few volumes as well. Here’s the 23rd.

If you missed One Piece the first time around, the 3-in-1 is the perfect catchup, and it’s at Vol. 10.

Oresama Teacher is not supernatural, and I wouldn’t call it consistently heartwarming, but if you want funny shoujo, this is the manga for you, and I adore it. Here’s Vol. 17.

MICHELLE: Maybe it’s the lack of heartwarmitude that makes me only like this one. I catch up on it periodically, but I don’t love it.

ANNA: I do love it, just because it is so ridiculous. This is the only long-running comedy title that has consistently captured my interest.

SEAN: The new arc in Toriko will apparently focus on Komatsu rather than Toriko, as it’s a cooking battle. Should be fun.

Voice Over: Seiyu Academy is over halfway done, and I’m hoping we see a bit more fleshing out of the male lead soon beyond “CATS”.

MICHELLE: *snerk* I do like the cat bits, though. And, surprisingly, I’m rather enjoying Voice Over.

SEAN: Lastly, we get the debut of a new Jump title as well as its 2nd volume, as Viz pushes a fast start to World Trigger. It’s at 8+ volumes in Japan, so has broken the “early Jump cancellation” curse. Should be interesting.

ASH: I’ve recently heard some good things about World Trigger. And two volumes at once? I may have to check it out.

MICHELLE: Whereas I have heard precisely zero things about it! I’ll wait for Ash’s review to decide.

ANNA: I know nothing about this but I will be reading it!

MJ: I’ll be checking this out for sure.

SEAN: Are you exhausted yet? What manga here makes you want to take it home?

SEAN: There are sixty-five different manga titles coming out in October. The mind reels. Luckily, this October 1st is really September 30th in book publishing terms, so the four titles featured here do not add to that total (which is good, as it would then be sixty-nine, and I’d feel obliged to make a tasteless joke) and also allow the reader to have a brief respite.

For those of you who are looking for gay manga written by an actual gay man, Priapus is likely the title for you. The premise is somewhat comedic – Zeus sends an emissary to turn all the men of the world gay so that the population dies off, as he is tired of violence and hatred. Thus we have a lot of straight men suddenly questioning their sexuality. The cover certainly makes it look like a lot of fun.

MJ: I’m definitely interested in this. In fact, it may be the only thing this week I really have my eye on.

ASH: I’m extremely excited for Priapus! I’m also very happy to see Bruno Gmünder’s Gay Manga line continue to expand.

MICHELLE: Hm, I’d been unaware of this one before now. Could be fun!

ANNA: This does sound like it might possibly be hilarious.

SEAN: Fairy Tail has its 42nd volume, which no doubt will have the answer to the ultimate question of life, the universe, and everything.

My Little Monster hits Volume 4. Can our screwed up cast figure out how to balance love, school, future careers, and not irritating the heck out of each other? We’ll likely not find that out here, but it should be fun anyway.

ASH: I’ve been rather enjoying My Little Monster.

MICHELLE: Me, too!

SEAN: Lastly, we have the 7th volume of the amazing Vertical release, Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin. This one apparently features the Battle of Loum, and it’s a must read, assuming you aren’t horribly behind on it as I am. In which case, buy it anyway and save it for a rainy day.

ASH: The Origin is still one of the manga with the best presentation and design in English right now. The contents are pretty good, too.

ANNA: I have a few volumes stacked up of this, but this is one of those titles that I faithfully buy even if I am behind. Such a lovely edition!

Are you taking a break? Or buying something?

SEAN: I’ve been joking about the large amount of manga coming out last month and this month, but a look at what’s coming in October tells me I should have held back. October is vicious. That said, next week has a far greater amount of manga than usual on 4th weeks of the month, so let’s take a look.

MICHELLE: I just really cannot be bummed about that.

SEAN: Dark Horse has a 6th Lone Wolf & Cub Omnibus, which unsurprisingly has nothing to do with Spice & Wolf at all.

ASH: That it does not.

SEAN: DMP has a trio of new BL manga releases. Apple & Honey is apparently quite heartwarming, A New Season of Young Leaves is a schoolboy romance, and Twittering Birds Never Fly seems to be the darkest and most psychological of the three.

ASH: I’m really happy to see A New Season of Young Leaves finally being released after being delayed so many times. It has the same author as Seven Days (which I loved), so I have high hopes for the manga.

MJ: Oh, I also loved Seven Days… I will have to check this out.

SEAN: Kodansha has a 3rd xxxHOLIC omnibus, which hopefully continues to show off Watanuki, one of the best male leads they’ve ever had.

MJ: Hurrah! I will always applaud xxxHolic.

SEAN: One Peace books has two volumes of a new series that could not be farther away from its previous license, Whispered Words. Raqiya: New Book of Revelation is a seinen manga from Kodansha’s Morning magazine, and deals with God returning to Earth, sort of.

ASH: It also deals with heavily armed heretical cults. And lots of things explode, too.

ANNA: Explosions and cults sound good!

MJ: Agreed!

SEAN: I enjoyed the first volume of D-Frag! more than I expected, with its focus on the weird rather than the cute. I’m hoping for more with Vol. 2.

Seven Seas has a third volume of Dance in the Vampire Bund: The Memories of Sledge Hammer, and yet I betcha he still hasn’t said “Trust me – I know what I’m doing” anywhere in it.

I enjoyed the first volume of Girls Und Panzer more than I expected, with its focus on the tanks and teamwork rather than the cute. I’m hoping for more with Vol. 2.

Series based on Alice in Wonderland are to the last two years what vampires were to the two years before that. Here’s I Am Alice: Body Swap In Wonderland, from the author of Dictatorial Grimoire. I’m hoping for some nice snark.

ASH: Oh, I had missed the Dictatorial Grimoire connection. It should have interesting character designs then, if nothing else.

SEAN: World War Blue has got to be running out of old-school video games to turn into fantasy kingdoms, given it’s up to Vol. 7.

If you enjoyed the first volume of the Accel World light novel from Yen On, perhaps you will also be entertained by its manga equivalent. I look forward to seeing if our hero’s weight is drawn purely for comedy or not.

MJ: I’m interested in this, and your question, too.

SEAN: Are You Alice Volume 6? Or are you any one of 10,000 other Alice titles?

ASH: Heh.

SEAN: I suspect Bloody Cross 4 will be the volume that finally makes me decide to continue with the series or not. Let’s hope it’s a good one.

The Disappearance of Nagato Yuki-chan has its 6th volume of being mild, adorable, and having minimal conflict. Can it keep this up?

Each adaptation of a Durarara!! light novel seems to get its own separate manga series, so this 3rd series adapts the 3rd novel. After focusing on Mikado and Anri in the first two, Masaomi should get focus here.

I love GA Art Design Class, probably more than it deserves, and definitely more than any other bloggers out there. Don’t care. Cannot wait for Vol. 6.

And for the rest of the Manga Bookshelf team who aren’t waiting for moe slice-of life art school antics, there’s Goong 16.

MICHELLE: *Kermit flailing arms!*

ANNA: SQUEEEEEEEEEEEE!

MJ: SO MUCH SQUEE.

SEAN: And for those angry at GA for taking up all the artist’s time, there’s a 4th volume of the much darker series by the same artist, Shoulder-a-Coffin Kuro.

And speaking of dark, Soul Eater’s covers are going to be pure black before too long.

If you’ve only been following the Spice & Wolf light novels, why not check out the manga? It’s up to Vol. 9! I understand there is some spice, and perhaps even a wolf (or wolf girl).

ASH: No swordsmen or young children in carts?

SEAN: Lastly, we get a 7th omnibus of the thrilling epic action movie manga Until Death Do Us Part.

MICHELLE: I really need to get caught up with this. I liked the first volume much more than I expected to.

SEAN: That’s a lot. What’s for you?

SEAN: Given the beginning and end of September have far more manga than is really sensible, it makes sense that there are also weeks where very little comes out. This is one of those weeks.

Guidebooks are quite popular in Japan, but have never sold well in North America for some reason. Kodansha hopes that changes with the publication of Attack on Titan Guidebook: INSIDE & OUTSIDE. I think this omnibuses two separate guides from Japan, and will tell you far more than you could imagine about the world of the Titans.

ASH: I’m rather curious to read this one, especially since Kodansha has been so adamant about only publishing manga until now.

SEAN: Actually, back in the Del Rey days they released guidebooks for Tsubasa.

Kodansha also has the 5th volume of Genshiken 2nd Season, which continues to fascinate with its attempts to grab a new BL audience while still courting its old one via the harem antics.

MJ: So, I never picked this up, because I’d never read the original Genshiken and so on… but I do sort of want to let them attempt to grab me as a BL audience. That’s always fun. So. Hm.

ASH: Well, I can say that I’ve been enjoying the second season!

SEAN: Speaking of Attack on Titan, for those who enjoyed Kodansha’s release of Before the Fall, the prequel series, the novel it was based on comes out via Vertical, who have said it’s selling even better than hotcakes – and you know how well hotcakes sell.

MJ: Mmmmm, hotcakes.

ASH: Mmmmm, light novels. If I recall correctly, Vertical has already had to order a second printing of Before the Fall, and it hasn’t even been released yet!

SEAN: The final volume of Bokurano: Ours from Viz has been anticipated for so long that I made the joke about it back a month ago when Ikigami ended. So go look at that entry instead.

MICHELLE: I should muster my fortitude and finish Bokurano. I think I will have to do it on a sunny day amidst frolicking unicorns or something, just to keep my spirits up.

SEAN: Viz also has the second volume of Terra Formars.

So, ignoring that deliberate silence, what will you be picking up next week?

SEAN: School is back in session, and we have some manga to help keep you occupied and away from your homework.

First off, apologies to Viz for leaving off one of their titles last week – Dawn of the Arcana 13, the final volume, should have been there. I know it’s quite popular with the MB writers, or at least is always on the ‘I should catch up with that’ list.

MICHELLE: Indeed, it is quite good!

ANNA: This is one series I read as it was coming out, and I enjoyed it a bunch.

SEAN: Dark Horse is putting out another CLAMP omnibus, this one containing Legal Drug, which deals with two young men at a drugstore who get involved in the supernatural. This should have all the initial manga – Dark Horse has also licensed the sequel, starting in 2015.

ASH: I think I still have my old Tokyopop volumes of Legal Drug kicking around somewhere, but I’m definitely interested in the sequel series.

MICHELLE: Me too, on both counts! The sequel, Drug & Drop, is also seinen, which is an intriguing demographic change.

ANNA: I’m really interested in the sequel series. Now if only X/1999 had an actual ending….

MJ: I am pretty excited about this. It’s got a new translation, so that’s something alluring for those of us who still have our old Tokyopop editions, but yeah… the real draw is the series’ continuation, which I’ve been longing to see for myself.

SEAN: DMP brings you Wolf Magic, which I don’t think has much to do with wolves, but…

ASH: …but there is a florist!

SEAN: Kodansha has the 19th volume of Battle Angel Alita. Has it escaped the tournament yet?

ASH: I’m really not sure that it has.

SEAN: There’s also the 4th Seven Deadly Sins manga, which is starting to really flesh out its cast of Sins, though I wish it would give Elizabeth a bit more to do.

The final Sherlock Bones manga is out, meaning there are no Holmes pastiches coming out in the manga world at all. This must be remedied soon.

ASH: Sherlock Bones was a surprisingly entertaining series.

SEAN: From SubLime comes another volume of His Favorite, which I still haven’t read but whose covers make it look like it’s a ton of fun. More BL comedy mangas are needed.

MJ: I kind of fell away from this series, but the covers do always make me want to jump back in!

SEAN: The penultimate volume of From the New World ships from Vertical. Surely it’s an old world by now. It’s been 6 volumes.

07-GHOST has a dozen volumes now, meaning my chances of catching up now are slimmer than ever. Anna has kept up though, right?

MICHELLE: I keep saying “one day,” but I really mean it.

ANNA: You know what? I just bought Volume 5, which was the one gap in my stack of 07-Ghost Volumes. I am saying it now, SEPTEMBER WILL BE THE MONTH I CATCH UP ON THIS SERIES!!!!!! Look for frequent and often 07-Ghost updates from me!!!!! 07-GHOST ALL THE TIME!

MICHELLE: READ ALL THE 07-GHOSTS!

SEAN: And Arata the Legend is up to Vol. 19! Sorry, Fushigi what?

MICHELLE: Arata is pretty fun, but won’t take the place of either Fushigi in my heart.

ANNA: I do love me some Fushigi.

SEAN: Lastly, I will have a LOT to say about it in my inevitable review, but suffice it to say if you get ANY two volumes of Hayate the Combat Butler, get Vol. 24, out next week, and the one before it. The series’ high point.

What manga are you tuning your hickory sticks to?