manga the week of

SEAN: Some newer series, some old favorites, and some back from the dead in Week 3 of the month of May.

DMP is releasing print volumes again, including two of their old non-BL series. Takasugi-san’s Obento gets a 2nd volume, and continues to charm readers and make Bunny Drop fans stare at it warily.

ANNA: I liked the first volume a lot, and I really hope it doesn’t go into Bunny Drop territory.

MJ: Agreed!

SEAN: And we have at last the return of Itazura Na Kiss, everyone’s favorite bitter black coffee of the shoujo manga world. Will its leads ever stop being so… themselves? Probably not, but here’s more of it, and I can’t wait.

MICHELLE: Yay yay yay yay yay!

ASH: I’ve heard nothing but good things about Itazura Na Kiss; I really should get around to reading it one of these days!

ANNA: A classic! I’m so glad to see more print volumes coming out from DMP. I need to order this!

MJ: Nice to see this back!

SEAN: Kodansha has the 3rd Air Gear omnibus, with 3 more volumes of the roller blading superhero-ish manga for your perusal.

They also have the 5th volume of Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex, which I should really try to catch up on.

ASH: It’s actually a pretty decent adaptation.

SEAN: Seven Seas has a pair of titles for their readers who prefer the more ecchi-oriented catalog of Seven Seas. Dragonar Academy has Vol. 2, and still reminds me of Zero’s Familiar too much – the annoying points of Zero’s Familiar.

Meanwhile, Kanokon has a 3rd omnibus, which ends the manga release. And thank goodness, as this is the last time I will have to avoid saying something about it.

MICHELLE: Nothing for me here.

SEAN: If I had to drop a series after Vol. 1 merely as I found the lead unlikeable, I’d never be reading a lot of series. Thus I will look forward to Vol. 2 of Vertical’s What Did You Eat Yesterday? and its very prickly lead guy – being a good cook only gets you so far with the reader, though.

MICHELLE: Yay yay yay yay yay!

ASH: I’m excited to see this one, too!

ANNA: My shopping list is growing this week! So excited for more great foodie manga!

MJ: MORE MORE MORE.

SEAN: Lastly, Vol. 2 of Gangsta drops, and I’m hoping it keeps to the high standard set by Vol. 1, as I enjoyed the debut volume quite a bit.

ASH: I really enjoyed the first volume of Gangsta and so look forward to reading more soon!

ANNA: I’ve read this already and enjoyed it! Gangsta is rapidly becoming one of my new favorite ongoing series.

SEAN: What manga are you rebelling against?

SEAN: First weeks of the month, man. I don’t know… June will be even worse, by the way.

First off, Dark Horse has its third Trigun Maximum omnibus, for those who missed it the first time around. Or just can’t get enough of Meryl and Milly. (And Vash, I suppose.)

Another title I don’t know much about from Gen Manga, called Android Angels. The cat eared girl on the cover really doesn’t play to my demographic, to be honest.

ASH: It has androids, so it has my attention!

MJ: I’m always interested to see what Gen is up to, if nothing else!

SEAN: This one is actually coming out this week rather than next, Amazon surprised me by moving the date up at the last minute. It’s also a highly anticipated title. Whispered Words is an omnibus from One Peace Books, better known to the yuri manga crowd as Sasameki Koto. It runs in Comic Alive, but for once don’t let that put you off – this is great stuff.

MICHELLE: Ooooh. Something just got added to my Amazon cart!

ASH: My copy has already arrived, and yes, this is great stuff.

MJ: MUST BUY.

SEAN: I’m starting to weary of the endless Alice spinoffs, but this new one, Love Labyrinth of Thorns, at least features Julius, one of my favorites of Alice’s many suitors.

Mayo Chiki 6. Mm. Yes. It has certainly reached 6 volumes.

There’s also Monster Musume 3, which has been a huge runaway success, to the point where I’m wondering if I got some other manga by mistake when I tried to read it. Oh well, no one ever said I had to be right all the time.

There’s also the first volume of Zero’s Familiar Chevalier, a sequel to the manga about everyone’s favorite tsundere. I’m not sure how long this will run – the author sadly passed away a while back, so I suspect the ending may be sudden.

Want Viz? We’ve got Viz! How about another Bleach 3-in-1, the first of many of that type of omnibus coming out this week.

Claymore hits Volume 24, and shows no sign of letting up anytime soon.

MJ: I’m good with that!

SEAN: High School Debut has its second 3-in-1. I’m trying to catch up on this series after losing track of it first time around, so this pleases me.

MICHELLE: *flaily Kermit arms*

MJ: Heeeee.

SEAN: Midnight Secretary hits Vol. 5, and I believe gets even further into family politics. But no doubt will still have hot vampire sex as well.

Naruto has an 8th 3-in-1, much like the holy trinity of Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke functions as a 3-in-1 with every chapter. Wait, isn’t this the academic conference?

Nisekoi 3 has been out digitally for ages, but now those who like print can catch up on the latest harem comedy.

MJ: I’m glad to have the opportunity to read this in print. Weirdly, I sort of like it.

SEAN: Otomen has reached its final volume, and it will be hard to top that cover. This is a title that’s gotten stronger as it’s gone along, even if the basic plot beat (new male character turns out to be secret otomen) was beaten into the ground. I’ll miss it.

ASH: I love that cover and I love this series. I’ll miss it, too.

SEAN: Phantom Thief Jeanne was a somewhat darker magical girl take in its first volume, and I expect things to continue in that vein with Vol. 2.

MICHELLE: I really enjoyed volume one, so I’m looking forward to this!

MJ: Me too!

SEAN: Psyren also ends with Vol. 16. This was one of those mid-range Jump series that never got quite as popular as I expected over here, but did well enough. Let’s hope it all wraps up nicely.

MICHELLE: One day I really will read Psyren.

SEAN: If you saw Nisekoi is out but prefer your harem comedy a little more old-school, there’s the 2nd Ranma 1/2 omnibus, which features the debut of Shampoo.

The last of our final volumes next week, Strobe Edge hits Vol. 10. Will our heroine finally be able to get what love is? And will it be happy?

MICHELLE: And here are two more I’m eager for! It’s nice to be excited about things. :)

MJ: I’m still hooked on Strobe Edge.

SEAN: Lastly, not a final volume but a penultimate one, as Vampire Knight is almost at its conclusion. What will we do in a world without any vampire manga in our lives? Well, except for those dozen others. Regardless, this volume should prove as addicting yet confusing as the others.

What manga will you be catching up on at the Toronto Comic Arts Festival?

SEAN: As usual with a fifth week, it’s small, but not as small as you’d think!

Another DMP blast from the past, as we get the 2nd volume of Otodama: Voice From The Dead, the first having come out in 2010. Does anyone remember what it was like?

ASH: Wow, that is from a ways back!

MICHELLE: I thought I had read and reviewed this one, but evidently not!

SEAN: There’s also Vertical, with its debut of a new series that surprised me when they announced it. Cardfight Vangaurd is a card fighting game, along the same lines of Yu-Gi-Oh!, and has a large cult following. Its manga ran in KeroKero Ace magazine.

Everything else this week is Kodansha. We see the 12th Attack on Titan manga, and I greatly enjoyed it. Which may be the last time for a while, as having read the chapters on Crunchyroll, the series is getting into some very problematic areas for me.

ASH: I’ve been waiting for the print releases, so I’m interested to see where things head with this volume.

SEAN: Sankarea rolls on, and no one is permanently dead yet, nor has anyone consummated their harem relationship. Still, it’s a lot of fun and has some exciting sequences.

They also debut the 2nd series from Dessert magazine in 2 months, this one called Say “I Love You” (Kodansha left off the quote marks from the Japanese version, which I think is a shame). It has an anime I expect a lot of folks have already seen.

MICHELLE: I haven’t! But I’ll definitely be checking this one out.

SEAN: Vinland Saga hits its third omnibus, meaning I’m now 4 volumes behind. The curse of omnibus releases.

ASH: Vinland Saga has become one of my favorite series currently being released. What are you waiting for?

ANNA: Vinland Saga is wonderful. I agree with Ash, I’m surprised you aren’t reading it!

SEAN: Lastly, xxxHOLIC begins its sequel… or is it a reboot? What on Earth is going on here anyway? In any case, it has the Sean seal of approval, i.e. it does not mention Syaoran once.

MICHELLE: I must admit that I never actually finished the original xxxHOliC! But the omnibus releases will make it easy for me to finally get the final volumes I missed picking up. But, nevertheless, it’ll be a while before I read the sequel/reboot thing.

MJ: xxxHolic xxxHolic xxxHolic, that is all I have to say this week! Also, <3

SEAN: Are April Showers bringing manga flowers?

SEAN: The 4th week of April brings us a variety of stuff, even if the majority comes from Yen Press, who always enjoy getting a week mostly to themselves (Viz usually owns Week 1 for this purpose).

There’s not nearly as much Korean manwha coming out these days, so I can actually highlight it when it does appear. This week sees the 15th volume of Bride of the Water God, which I believe the Manga Bookshelf team has greatly enjoyed in the past.

MJ: I am so happy that this series continues to be published! It’s beautiful.

ANNA: I’m fairly indifferent to this series. I thought the first two volumes were lovely, but the plot was so thin that the book didn’t maintain my interest at all. But good on Bride of the Water God for being one of the few surviving translated manwha series!

SEAN: There’s also the 31st volume of Gantz, which I believe the Manga Bookshelf team has not particularly enjoyed in the past, but whose collected costumes in all 31 volumes could power the rubber and lycra industries for the next twenty years.

ASH: I enjoyed the first five volumes or so, but never quite got around to reading more of the series. The length makes the prospect a little daunting at this point…

SEAN: Kodansha gives us the 9th volume of Animal Land, which, like Zatch Bell (by the same creator) I keep hearing good things about but can never quite get into.

ASH: It took me a few volumes to really get into Animal Land, but I’m looking forward to seeing where it goes.

SEAN: Vertical has the 9th volume of Flowers of Evil, which is ending next month in Japan, I believe, so we should be getting near a climax.

MJ: All right!

ASH: I’ve been waiting for this entire arc to be released before reading it. And now the wait is over!

SEAN: One of the most contested manga of the last few years comes to an end with Vol. 10 of Bunny Drop. I understand this volume mostly features chapters devoted to Rin as a child, but will also have a flashforward past the end of the series, so be warned in advance. I look forward to an post-series interview from Yen Press regarding this title!

MICHELLE: I’ll be reading it, for the sake of completeness if nothing else.

MJ: I’m rather looking forward to it.

ANNA: I dropped it after the third volume because I just found the plot squicky.

ASH: I’m interested in reading this volume. Some of Bunny Drop was incredibly well done. Other parts of it…not so much.

SEAN: Unless Yen decides to surprise me at Sakuracon by announcing the Dice-Killing optional epilogue, this is likely the final volume of Higurashi: When They Cry, containing the final two volumes from the Festival Accompanying Arc. This is, at last, the good end. Not a series I ever thought I’d read, I have since become totally obsessed with it, and thank Yen for exposing me to its charms. Nipaa~!

I’ve also been pleasantly surprised by Inu x Boku SS, which manages to be less moe than I feared and with dark undertones that are handled rather subtly. I am eagerly awaiting this new volume.

As for the 3rd volume of WataMote… all right, fine, No Matter How You Look At It, It’s You Guys’ Fault I’m Not Popular!, the key is to try to balance the excellent art, humor and characterization with the fact that reading about the lead too much makes you lose faith in humanity and possibly the will to live.

MICHELLE: Ugh, no thanks. Life’s too short.

MJ: Heh.

SEAN: Spice & Wolf’s novels have reached double digits, something which is entirely down to the economics examined through the series, and not at all for the moe and occasionally naked wolf-eared girls who also occupy the series. The novels recently ended with Vol. 17, so we’re over the halfway point.

ASH: I finally gave up on the novels a few volume back, but I’m glad that devoted fans are getting more of the series.

SEAN: I appear to be one of the few people out there who loved the first Sword Art Online manga omnibus, as those who had seen the anime and read the novels said it was very rushed. Luckily, here is the first novel so that I can compare them. I look forward to enjoying them even more. Wish Yen had the digital rights, though.

MJ: This is probably my most-anticipated release this week. I loved the anime adaptation of these novels, and I’m very excited to have the chance to read the source material!

SEAN: Lastly, we have the 2nd and final omnibus of the 3rd Umineko arc, Banquet of the Golden Witch. This should be the last of the truly doorstopping omnibuses – the series went from 5 volumes per arc to 6 after this, so further omnibuses will be 2-2-2 rather than 2.5/2.5. As for the content, after this ends you should have a lot more clues as to Beatrice’s true nature.

MICHELLE: Is that one kid still going “Uuu! Uuuuuu!!” all the time?

SEAN: She’s dead at this point in the arc (Umineko and Higurashi are the only two series where I can say that and have it not be a spoiler). The 4th arc will explore her life in depth, and explain the background of the “uu-uuu’ thing. It’s far more tragic and depressing than just an annoying tic. (Though admittedly, we aren’t there yet, and I admit it is a very annoying tic.)

What’s on your pull list from this group?

SEAN: Mid-April brings us a wide variety of titles, with something for absolutely everyone.

I often feel guilty for forgetting about Gen Manga’s releases, so will take the time to point out a new collection called Alive, which is apparently “a collection of melancholy love stories”, which will likely appeal to, well, indie comics fans.

ASH: Gen releases some interesting material; I like to support its print releases.

MJ: That actually sounds like it might be up my alley. I should check it out.

SEAN: I suspect that the Tournament Arc Fairy Tail has been doing is about to get totally derailed in Vol. 37, which is likely for the best. This has been around the right length for a tournament arc.

As for Missions of Love, this 7th volume will no doubt see everyone continue to not get together in the most soap opera way possible.

ASH: This series is such a guilty pleasure for me.

SEAN: And the volume that everyone has been waiting for (or at least people like me who enjoy amusing name/number jokes), No. 6 No. 6.

ASH: No. 6, No. 6! Not to be confused with No. 5, No. 5. That’s a different manga entirely.

MJ: Heh.

SEAN: A Certain Scientific Railgun is a rare case of a spinoff outdoing the original both in popularity and quality. We’ve caught up with Japan, so are back to only 1 volume every 8-9 months or so. Vol. 9 should be worth the wait, as Misaka finds herself without allies.

Devils and Realist is a new series from Seven Seas, and it seems to be more for the Alice crowd than the Monster Musume crowd, as it’s a josei manga from Comic Zero-Sum. It has a certain Black Butler tone to it judging from its description, and I suspect will please fans of that series as well.

ASH: I’m looking forward to giving this one a try. (I also really just like the cover of the first volume.)

MICHELLE: It *is* quite pretty.

ANNA: Huh, I hadn’t realized that this was a josei manga. The cover is pretty! I will likely check this out.

MJ: I am always up for anything from Comic Zero-Sum, I admit, though I’m not a fan of Black Butler, so we’ll see.

SEAN: And Love In Hell wraps up with its third volume. Can our hero and heroine live happily ever after in the hereafter? Or will we just have more amusing bloody injuries?

Meanwhile, World War Blue 5 continues to combine standard shonen fantasy manga with ‘spot the 80s Japanese gaming reference’.

Vertical has the 4th volume of grim yet worthy medieval manga Wolfsmund.

ASH: Grim might be putting it mildly, but if you like dark manga Wolfsmund is definitely worth checking out.

ANNA: I have too much to read! I do want to check this out one day.

And SigIkki yet lives, even if it’s down to 2 or 3 titles. Afterschool Charisma 9 will no doubt involve celebrity clones who just happen to look like hot bishonen. For some reason. I understand it’s gotten darker and more serious as it’s gone on.

MICHELLE: One day I will get caught up on this.

ANNA: I also want to get caught up on this!

SEAN: Dorohedoro has also gotten darker and more serious as it’s gone on, which is a surprise given it was already pretty damn dark, just not very serious. Poor En! What will happen to everyone now?

ASH: I’m always happy to see more Dorohedoro! It’s such a weird series.

SEAN: Lastly, it may have come out digitally on the 1st, but Vol. 3 of Sunny ships to stores next week. I always manage to be startled at how good it is, even if I can’t quite figure out what to say about it. I don’t expect that to change.

ASH: I’m glad to see Sunny, too. Viz’s deluxe hardcovers are a treat.

MICHELLE: It’s simultaneously accessible and impressive. I’m really looking forward to volume three!

ANNA: This manga really does deserve the deluxe production.

MJ: Yes! Yes!

SEAN: An Easter Basket of manga treats. What’re you seeking?

SEAN: After a large first week, things settle down a bit, but there are several tasty titles coming out next week.

Amazon had the 7th and 8th volumes of Ze bouncing around in release date hell for so long, I feel like these books have already come out five years ago. In any case, Vol. 8 is listed for next week, so let’s cross our fingers.

MJ: I… seriously did not realize that this series went on so long.

ASH: It does! Eleven volumes total. We should see the end of the series in English sometime in 2015.

SEAN: Between the clouds, the shirts, and the hair fluttering around the cover of Crimson Spell 3, it’s sort of hard to tell where the guys are, though I assume they’re fondling each other with dark, serious expressions. (As one normally wears when fondling.)

ASH: Fondling is serious business!

SEAN: Knights of Sidonia has reached its 8th volume, and I still only half understand what’s going on at any point in the narrative. But it looks nice, and manages to keep me riveted and longing for more. Just a confused kind of riveted.

ASH: I experienced a similar sort of riveting confusion reading Nihei’s Biomega, too.

MICHELLE: Sidonia is actually lots easier to decipher than Nihei’s BLAME!, if you can believe it.

MJ: I rather love being confused in this manner.

ANNA: I also love being confused by Nihei. This is very tricky for an author to pull off, but he manages it very well!

SEAN: I can’t believe Case Closed has hit 50 volumes. Kindaichi Case Files is burning with jealousy. BURNING.

MICHELLE: The phrase “BURNING” conjures up Prince of Tennis flashbacks.

SEAN: We’re at the penultimate volume of Dawn of the Arcana, a series I got behind on and never really caught up to. I hear it had some really nice things going on, though.

MICHELLE: Yep! I like this one a lot.

ANNA: This series is really good, I enjoy it.

SEAN: Deadman Wonderland 2 also hits from Viz, and will no doubt give new meaning to the word nihilistic, at least if my impression of the first volume continues into this one.

MJ: I. Hm. Yeah. I will read it, but I don’t know.

ANNA: I read the first 2 volumes or so from the Tokyopop translation and enjoyed it, although it is incredibly dark.

SEAN: Itsuwaribito has a long ways to go before it gets to its endpoint, but it has at least hit its double digits. Vol. 11 ships next week.

ASH: Almost halfway there!

SEAN: Lastly, the 5th volume of Magi comes out, and if it has as much of Morgiana kicking ass as the 4th one did, I will be very pleased.

MICHELLE: I’m a few volumes behind with Magi now; perhaps it’s time to get caught up.

SEAN: Anything appeal?

SEAN: Before we begin with next week’s books, apologies to Yen Press, as I accidentally forgot one of THIS week’s books in my last post. Wolf Children: Ame and Yuki is a deluxe omnibus hardcover based off the movie franchise, and in a similar vein to Summer Wars. It’s definitely worth your time.

MJ: I’ll definitely be reading it!

SEAN: Now let’s see what actually is out next week, and we’ll start with a long-awaited release from the purgatory of Dark Horse Poor-Selling Manga. Eden: It’s An Endless World has reached its 14th volume, a mere 2 1/2 years after its 13th. That said, it’s here now, and I’m sure it will be worth the wait for its many… well, selected fans.

MICHELLE: I am ashamed to admit that I actually completely forgot this series existed.

SEAN: There’s also the 4th Lone Wolf and Cub omnibus, for the finest in samurai revenge manga.

ASH: I’m still glad that Dark Horse found a way to keep this series in print. Plus, I can actually read the tiny text in the larger omnibus edition.

MJ: Agreed!

SEAN: And Dark Horse also has the 2nd Shinji Ikari Detective Agency, which I believe is also the final volume. This shoujo take on Evangelion ran in Kadokawa’s oddball shoujo magazine Asuka, and is for Shinji and Kaworu fans in particular.

This month’s Alice in the Country of Clover gives us a new love interest, in case we were tired of Blood or Elliot. Nightmare has sort of been an eccentric mentor to Alice in the previous books, we’ll see how he steps up into the role of lead male here, in his eponymous book.

MICHELLE: Ooh. I’ve always rather fancied Nightmare.

SEAN: I’m pretty sure this 5th Dance in the Vampire Bund omnibus wraps up the main series.

I’m not sure why the final Dictatorial Grimoire volume is separated out from the others with the Red Riding Hood suffix, but in any case, feel free to think of it as Vol. 3.

This volume of Strike Witches: Maidens in the Sky is also the final one for this particular series, but expect more Strike Witches spinoff manga soon.

Bleach has hit Vol. 60! Though if you take out the chapters involving someone showing off their Bankai, it’s actually only 15.

MJ: Heh.

SEAN: Dragon Ball is still in Full Color for this 2nd volume, and I think is still actually Dragon Ball Z. Someone needs to verify this for me.

The 8th and final Hana-Kimi omnibus will interest even fans who got it the first time around – this has the “After School” chapters that got a separate release in Japan, but I don’t think were ever published here until now.

ANNA: Oh! I have all the original volumes, but I might be picking this up if there are new extra chapters!

Happy Marriage?! gets halfway there with Vol. 5, so I guess we’re halfway to happiness? At least there’s sexy times now.

MICHELLE: This brings to mind an Anya quote about being “upside down and halfway to happy land.” :)

ANNA: I do enjoy this series!

MJ: As do I!

SEAN: I believe that with the publication of this volume of Hunter x Hunter, the 32nd, we are caught up with Japan, where its creator is on another extended hiatus.

I love Library Wars, and simply can’t wait to dig into this 11th volume. It’s gotten better as it’s gone along, too. Shoujo action at its best (well, OK, Dengeki Daisy is better, but not by much).

MICHELLE: Library Wars has definitely gotten better as it has progressed, to the point where I’m surprised by how much I like it now.

ASH: I always loved the premise of Library Wars and am happy to see the series starting to really live up to its potential.

ANNA: I have also always loved this series, even if it helps to suspend disbelief a lot at the idea of library censorship battles being fought with military action. It really does get better as it goes along.

SEAN: After One Piece 70 earlier this month, and Bleach 60, we naturally have Naruto 65, splitting the difference. Is Sasuke still evil?

And because today is Shonen Multiples Of Five Jump Day, here’s Nura: Rise of the Yokai Clan 20.

Sweet Rein 2 has taken a while to come out, but I’m hoping this volume of a Santa and her reindeer will be as quirky yet sweet as the first one.

MICHELLE: I’ll be reading it!

ANNA: This is a very cute series.

SEAN: Toriko, you are ruining Shonen Multiples Of Five Jump Day! Sheesh. Vol. 21 indeed… Go to your room!

MICHELLE: *snerk*

SEAN: Lastly, will our heroine be able to hold onto her princely voice at last and move up in the voice acting world? Here’s Vol. 4 of Voice Over: Seiyu Academy to tell us.

There’s pretty much something for everybody here. What are you getting?

SEAN: Lots of things to enjoy in the very busy final week of the month, from a variety of publishers.

I’m not entirely certain who Kintaro is or why he’s so incredible, but 801 Media’s The Incredible Kintaro is here to preach the good word to BL fans everywhere.

ASH: I have it on very good authority that The Incredible Kintaro is one of the most ridiculous BL manga to have been recently released in English.

ANNA: I am looking forward to seeing someone review this! How ridiculous is most ridiculous? Inquiring minds want to know!

SEAN: I have to think that Castle Mango is a very unthreatening name for a castle, and hope it’s not a really sexy yaoi euphemism. Vol. 2 is being released from DMP.

MICHELLE: Thanks for consistently making me giggle with this column, Sean!

ASH: I don’t think it’s a euphemism, but it is the name of a love hotel…

ANNA: That seems logical, I suppose.

SEAN: When Kodansha says they’re doing a speedup, they don’t mess around. Fairy Tail has been coming out so fast it’s almost too hard to keep up, and here’s Vol. 36.

There’s also a new shonen debut, the 4th one this month and the only one not connected with another Kodansha property. The Seven Deadly Sins is the new hot ticket in Japan, so it’s no surprise that it’s getting a release over here. A fantasy adventure manga with holy knights and fanservice, as you’d expect from Shonen Magazine, it should appeal to Fairy Tail fans.

ASH: I’ve heard good things about this one, so I’m interested in giving it a try.

SEAN: Readers may be surprised that I did not reserve the feature image for this post to Vertical’s What Did You Eat Yesterday?, the new seinen manga about a gay couple and the meals that they eat. The reason I did not is I have a sneaking suspicion the Pick of the Week will be unanimous, and therefore the image should be saved for that. As evidence, see the comments below.

MICHELLE: (incoherent “eeeeeeeeeeeee” noise)

ASH: Eeeeeeeeexcitement!!!

ANNA: Sooooooo Eeeeeeeeeexcited!

MJ: I am down with the flu, but I must perk up just a little to join in on this little celebration. Woooooo! *cough* Woo.

SEAN: And there’s a giant pile of Yen, starting with Vol. 4 of fantasy headtwister Are You Alice?

For those who enjoy Blood Lad but wish it was more of a 4-koma series, we bring you the first volume of spinoff Bloody Brat.

MICHELLE: Normally, this wouldn’t be my sort of thing, but I enjoy the humor in Blood Lad so much that I’m gonna give Bloody Brat a try.

SEAN: And if that’s not enough blood for you, have some more with Bloody Cross 2, along with a plethora of religious imagery.

MICHELLE: I was moderately intrigued by volume one, so I’d say it merits checking out the second installment.

SEAN: I keep forgetting about the Kingdom Hearts releases from Yen, so my apologies. This time around we have the 3rd volume of bafflingly named Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days.

The new Madoka Magica spinoff, A Different Story, seems to star Kyouko and Mami, and ties into the movie. We shall see how different the story really is.

Soul Eater 19 promises a battle between Black*Star and the corrupted Death The Kid, and if I recall correctly will finally give us an origin story for Liz and Patti.

Lastly, Yen debuts Sword Art Online, a fantasy about MMORPGs based on a light novel series (which debuts from Yen next month). The 2 volumes of the debut arc, Aincrad, seem to have been combined into one omnibus for North America.

MJ: I’ll also mention, I guess, that I’ve seen some of this anime, so I’m actually a little excited about both the light novel and the manga.

SEAN: What manga are you discussing over the dinner table?

SEAN: There are no quiet weeks for the month of March, each week having a surprisingly robust group of manga coming out. Here’s what’s next week.

Genshiken returned after a hiatus, never a good sign, and with a ‘next generation’ cast that almost immediately brought back the previous generation, an even worse sign. Despite this, it’s been incredibly entertaining, always remembering to focus on the people rather than the otaku. Vol. 4 of Season 2 comes out next week.

MICHELLE: Will I lose my manga badge if I admit I’ve never read Genshiken?

ASH: I only got around to it after the omnibuses were released, but I’m glad that I did. I’m enjoying the second season, too.

ANNA: I will have to lose my manga badge too, because I have never read it either.

MJ: I’ve had this on my “to read” list forever. Perhaps I can finally start picking up the omnibus release.

SEAN: Speaking of returning after a hiatus with a next-gen cast, UQ Holder is Ken Akamatsu’s new work for Kodansha after the abrupt end of Negima. The series takes place in 2086, and magic is now known to the world after the events of Negima. The main cast (with perhaps one exception) is not from Negima, however, but a new crew getting ready for some adventure. Expect action, humor, and gratuitous nudity.

And while CLAMP has indeed gone back to the well and restarted their old series xxxHOLIC, we aren’t getting that new run yet. Instead, here’s the first omnibus putting back into print the old series that came out 11 years ago – an eternity in manga boom years! – from Del Rey Books, who also published Negima. And Genshiken.

MICHELLE: Ooh! I somehow missed out on buying the last couple of volumes of the first run of xxxHOLiC, and now they’re pretty expensive. Maybe I’ll pick up the final omnibus instead.

MJ: This makes me very happy!

SEAN: Seven Seas reminds manga bloggers who don’t follow the series that casual readers who don’t follow manga bloggers can’t get enough of Dance in the Vampire Bund. The spinoff The Memories of Sledge Hammer has Vol. 2 arrive, and still does not star David Rasche.

MJ: Heh.

SEAN: They are also bringing you Vol. 5 of Mayo Chiki, which is what it is, and no amount of my wishing it was more like Railgun or Toradora will change that.

And there’s another Witch Buster omnibus on the manwha front, as Vols 9-10 are due out next week.

On the Viz front, we have the final volume of March Story, which is not quite manwha – the creator is Korean, but the story itself ran in the Japanese Sunday GX, home of Black Lagoon. I never did get around to reading it, but always heard good things.

MJ: I’m looking forward to this! I’ve enjoyed it from the start!

SEAN: Lastly, it has been a full year since the last volume of Vagabond, so Vol. 35 had better be worth the wait. Oh wait, it’s still an Inoue manga, of course it is.

MICHELLE: Someday, I will read more Vagabond. I just seem to prefer basketball!Inoue, though I know Anna disagrees with me! :)

ASH: I adore Inoue’s work and Vagabond is fantastic. I’ve actually read the novel that the series is based on, too. They’re both epic, and I love Inoue’s interpretation.

ANNA: Vagabond is the best. I pine for more VizBig editions of this excellent series.

SEAN: Sadly, there are no Irish manga this week, just Japanese (and Korean). What are you getting?

SEAN: There’s a lot of new titles here next week, so it’s a great one if you want to start off a series. Even if two of those are spinoffs of an already existing series. And one is a re-release omnibus. Details, details!

I honestly keep forgetting Drifters exists. It’s one of those manga titles Dark Horse puts out once in a blue moon. That said, I believe I’ve enjoyed both volumes that have come out to date, and it’s different enough from Hellsing while still attracting fans of its author. Let’s see if I remember what happened before when I read Vol. 3.

MICHELLE: I had completely and utterly forgotten about Drifters.

ASH: I’ve been looking forward to the next volume of Drifters. It’s a bombastic series and I’ve been getting a kick out of Hirano’s liberal reimaginings of historical figures.

MJ: I was just thinking about picking up Drifters! Good timing, I guess.

SEAN: The BL manga debut of the week is Deadlock from DMP, involving going undercover in a prison to make contact with the one man who can possibly make our hero feel all squishy inside. Or something. In any case, the cover does indeed look sultry.

MJ: Is it wrong that this sounds enticing to me? I think that must be terribly wrong.

SEAN: Kodansha has most of next week’s debuts (and indeed this month’s, as we shall see). First we have Attack on Titan: Before the Fall, a manga adaptation of the novel prequel to everyone’s favorite military vs. monsters series. Different artist, but the titans are still pretty horrible.

ASH: So far it seems to be a fairly decent entry point for readers who gave up on the original Attack on Titan manga because of the art but who are still interested in the franchise. (I’m also looking forward to reading the Before the Fall novels later this year.)

SEAN: If you’re in the mood for something lighter, there’s an omnibus of the first two volumes of Attack on Titan: Junior High, which is exactly what it sounds like, and is actually quite funny.

ASH: It’s true!

MJ: Okay, I might have to check that out.

SEAN: Lastly, our shoujo debut next week is My Little Monster, a Dessert title about a girl trying to blaze through high school with top grades so she can lead an International Life of Success, and the incredibly weird boy who gets in the way of that.

MICHELLE: Hmm… Maybe.

MJ: I’m also maybe on this.

SEAN: In non-debut Kodansha titles, we have Vol. 4 of Sherlock Bones. So far, there is no sign of a dog that looks like Lucy Liu. This saddens me.

MICHELLE: Is there an otter that looks like Benedict Cumberbatch?

MJ: Heh.

SEAN: SubLime has the 2nd Embracing Love omnibus, which has possibly the best BL synopsis I’ve seen in months: the two leads are so exhausted after a 10-day sex bout that it’s affect their work as adult film stars. With a description like that, it cannot possibly fail.

ASH: Embracing Love is actually one of my favorite BL series. I’m happy that SuBLime rescued this one.

SEAN: As for Vol. 2 of Hide and Seek, it looks as if one of the men is breaking the other one’s wrist on this volume’s cover. Sad to see true love end so badly.

ASH: I’m also a fan of Yaya Sakuragi manga, so it looks like this is a good week for me from SuBLime!

07-Ghost is a thing that still comes out. I still can’t really think of much to say. Seems filled with dark intrigue. Vol. 9 ships next week.

MICHELLE: I must shamefully report that I still haven’t progressed beyond the first volume. But I will one of these days!

MJ: I will speak up for Anna here and say, “yay!”

SEAN: There’s a 17th volume of Arata the Legend, which is timely given that Fushigi Yuugi just finished. Can it pick up the audience desperate for more Watase? (Or did it have them already?)

MICHELLE: I do like Arata, but it’s a series I tend to forget about between releases. Then when one shows up, I’m like, “Oh yeah! Arata exists!”

SEAN: Assuming there are still some people who have not yet read Fullmetal Alchemist (and I despair of a universe that allows such people to exist), the 7th 3-in-1 is out from Viz.

ASH: With the omnibuses getting close to the end of the series, they’re a great way to go for people just getting into Fullmetal Alchemist.

MJ: Yes, yes, yes. I’m always going to push this series.

SEAN: Lastly, the big reissue this week is Viz’s first omnibus of Ranma 1/2, the title that basically WAS Viz back in the 1990s. It was the title that, along with Sailor Moon, started the 2nd wave of North American fandom, and many folks – including myself – got into anime and manga due to Ranma. The artwork is apparently miles better than the third-generation xeroxes we used to have, and the translation, while still no doubt filled with Shampoo-isms and Kuno babies, will be touched up a little. Also, unflipped. Find out for yourself what the fuss was all about, newbie fans!

MICHELLE: I must confess that I have never read or seen any Ranma. Well, aside from the briefest glimpse of an anime episode. So I’m definitely looking forward to checking it out!

ASH: I already own the entire series, but the reissue does look tempting!

SEAN: You no buy manga this week? Sean kill! (cough) Sean is no Shampoo, that’s for sure. What are you getting this week?

SEAN: Sooooo much stuff. Let’s break it down. Oh, and apologies for last week, the date of Wallflower 32 got shoved back to May after I’d written the post. This is the danger of last minute date-changes. I will discuss it in May, and no doubt Michelle will have the same “it’s still going?” reaction.

MICHELLE: That is probably true.

SEAN: As for this week, let’s start with a Fantagraphics title from Inio Asano, Nijigahara Holograph. This single-volume release is dark, tragic, and creepy, and should immensely please Asano fans. Hey, if it sells well, maybe Viz will take a flyer on Oyasumi Punpun.

ASH: This is one of my most anticipated releases for 2014! I’ve been looking forward to getting my hands on a copy ever since it was announced.

ANNA: I am very excited about this! I enjoy Asano’s works very much, and Fantagraphics editions are always a treat.

MJ: This is definitely a draw for me. Everything about this sounds compelling.

SEAN: Did you enjoy Jiro Tanaguchi’s The Walking Man but wish it took place 300 years earlier? Than you’ll love the same author’s Furari, out from Ponent Mon.

MICHELLE: Ooooh! I really like Jiro Taniguchi!

ASH: It’s always nice to see more Taniguchi.

MJ: Agreed!

SEAN: You cannot stop the Alice in the Country of Hearts spinoffs! They are endless! Here’s March Hare, a 2nd series focusing on Alice pairing up with Eliot.

ANNA: I can take or leave new spinoffs, but sometimes they are fun.

SEAN: Seven Seas also has the 6th volume of Haganai: I Don’t Have Many Friends, featuring the tight group of not-friends getting involved in further not-friendship events.

I’ve enjoyed The Sacred Blacksmith far more than I was really expecting, and hope Vol. 4 keeps me happy despite my general distrust of manga fantasy-oriented stories.

Senran Kagura ended up being pretty much exactly what I was expecting, but the 2nd volume should give us more of that as well.

Vertical’s From the New World gives us a 3rd volume as well, speaking of popular titles I try to say as little as possible about.

ASH: I haven’t read beyond the first volume yet, but I have been told the fanservice was toned down considerably in the second.

SEAN: There’s no blood on the cover of Black Bird 18, and the protagonists are smiling, so we must have reached the final volume! Black Bird sold a pile, so let’s give a round of applause to this title I never warmed to but others most certainly did.

MICHELLE: I hear Strong Bad’s voice in my head, going “It’s over!”

ANNA: I’m sure that this was a financially remunerative title for Viz, so that’s nice even though I really never connected with this series.

MJ: Oh, Black Bird… I really won’t miss you.

SEAN: Blue Exorcist is always a treat, and I’m sure Vol. 11 will live up to the anticipation and not advance any of the potential romances I read it for.

MJ: Hee!

I fell behind with D.Gray-Man’s omnibuses, so should see if I can pound through them now that the 3rd one is coming out.

I can’t even remember if this Dragon Ball 3-in-1 is the original series, Z, or the color edition. Or the VizBIG edition. But hey, it’s Dragon Ball, surely someone hasn’t read it yet. Somewhere. Perhaps in outer Mongolia.

Oh hey, look, a new volume of Fushigi Yu– (Sean is trampled by the rest of the Manga Bookshelf team rushing forward to squee.)

MICHELLE: Hmm, did I just step on something squishy?

ANNA: If trampling is the best way to express my love for this series, I will be right back as I need to put on my trampling boots!

MJ: SO MUCH LOVE. Sorry about the trampling.

SEAN: Ow. Moving on to Midnight Secretary? (cheers but no violence) Excellent. Vol. 4 is approximately halfway through this series, and I expect things will take a darker turn round about now.

ANNA: I do enjoy Midnight Secretary quite a bit!

MJ: As do I!

SEAN: Nisekoi continues to try to catch up to its digital releases with the 2nd print volume. Do you like Jump harem comedies? Sure we all do! Well, a good 40% of us, perhaps…

MICHELLE: Now I’m hearing the voice of Sally Struthers!

SEAN: One Piece hits another milestone with its 70th volume. Donflamingo steps up to what seems to be the next ‘big villain’ role here, and it promises to be a lot of fun.

MICHELLE: Somehow I’ve gotten a couple volumes behind on One Piece. Clearly I need to rectify that!

SEAN: Comedy volume of the week has to go to Oresama Teacher 16, which is filled with idiots being idiotic. Each volume takes it to a new level.

ANNA: This manga never fails to make me laugh.

SEAN: License Rescue of the week absolutely goes to Phantom Thief Jeanne, the one remaining Tanemura title that was out of print after CMX went under. Kudos to Viz for picking it up!

MICHELLE: Despite owning the full CMX run (and watching VHS fansubs of the anime long ago), I have not actually read this series. Perhaps the VIZ edition will compel me.

ANNA: This is my favorite Tanemura series, because it is absolutely bonkers. And Jeanne makes failed attempts to turn rhythmic gymnastics equipment into deadly weapons, which is always good for a laugh.

MJ: I’m definitely looking forward to having a chance at this!

SEAN: We’ve hit the 2nd to last volume of Psyren, which is good, as it feels like it’s just about time to start wrapping things up. Given it’s a Jump series, I’m not sure how sudden the ending will be, but…

MICHELLE: Some day I’ve gotta catch up on this.

SEAN: What’s Rin-Ne 14 doing among all these Shueisha titles? Take your Shogakukan-ness to the 2nd week of the month where it belongs! Wait, likely it’s here so that it doesn’t get in the way of that week’s OTHER Takahashi release…

MICHELLE: I’m torn. Do I like RIN-NE enough to cheer for it?

SEAN: Skip Beat! 3-in-1 hits Vol. 7, which I think means it’s still dealing with Black Moon rather than Box R.

Strobe Edge 9 is also a penultimate volume. How much worse can things get than they already are? Well, it *is* a romantic comedy…

MICHELLE: No question about these two. *Cheer!*

ANNA: I’m impatient for Strobe Edge to wrap up, but I do enjoy it!

MJ: Seconded!

SEAN: Lastly, Tegami Bachi has also reached 16 volumes, and as ever I have next to nothing to say about it.

That’s a lot of manga. What will you get this week, and what will you put off?

SEAN: This is a very small end of the month, which is good, as it gives me time to pick out two titles I forgot to mention last week, and one digital only title that made its big debut this Tuesday.

Dark Horse has Blood Blockade Battlefront 5 and Blood-C 3 coming out this week, so they should have been on last week’s list. Honestly, I find both titles so uninspiring that I often forget they exist, which may explain why I didn’t include them. But here they are.

Fairy Tail ended its last volume in a really nasty place, and I’m pretty sure that all the reader is thinking right now is REVENGE. We’ll see if they get it. Also, would Lucy lose quite so many fights if she were a male protagonist? (A reminder that she, and not Natsu, is the protagonist.)

I’m finding that reading The Wallflower is much like reading Ranma 1/2. The moment you take it seriously or hope it is heading into a final arc, you get extremely ANGRY with it. Best just to let Vol. 32 roll off of you and be amusing.

MICHELLE: Man, is that series still going?!

ASH: It is! Though it’s been a while since I’ve read any of it.

SEAN: The big release this week is Vertical’s manga autobiography of Moyoco Anno – or rather, of her relationship with Uber-Otaku and Evangelion overlord Hideaki Anno. Insufficient Direction simply looks like a giant pile of fun, and I have very high hopes for it.

MICHELLE: Oooooh.

ASH: I’m always happy to see more Moyoco Anno manga in English, so I’m very excited for this release.

ANNA: I am also very excited!

MJ: As am I!

SEAN: Lastly, Viz is finally releasing the first collected volume of One-Punch Man digitally. The rumor is that a print release may follow, but I’m not holding my breath. But that shouldn’t matter – you should buy this, as it’s an awesome title that mocks superheroes and shonen cliches in the best way.

MICHELLE: After having read Bakuman, I can’t help but envision this concept being pitched at the Shueisa serialization meeting! It’s good to hear it doesn’t take itself too seriously.

ASH: I’ll hold my breath as long as it takes to get a physical release! (In the meantime, I’ll be reading it digitally.)

ANNA: I’m looking forward to reading this too, it sounds great.

MJ: I’ve been keeping up with Derek’s weekly recaps, so my expectations are a bit tempered, but perhaps I’ll be pleasantly surprised!

SEAN: Any manga plans this week?

SEAN: Assuming that you are able to get out of your house and are not snowed in, there’s a lot to like in this 2nd week of February.

Does anyone here remember Hey! Class President from DMP? Vol. 3 came out back in September 2010. Well, here’s Vol. 4, despite the fact that he surely should have graduated by now.

Do you like tournament arcs? Do you wish that they came out in giant omnibuses so that you could get EVEN MORE TOURNAMENT ARC per volume? Then you will love the 3rd Battle Angel Alita: Last Order omnibus from Kodansha.

ASH: Ancient Martian martial arts and space karate! What’s not to love?

SEAN: Do you like tournament arcs? Do you wish that they came out in giant omnibuses so that you could get EVEN MORE TOURNAMENT ARC per volume? Then you will love the 9th Negima omnibus from Kodansha.

MICHELLE: *snerk* Somehow, this has left me wondering when/whether The Prince of Tennis will get the omnibus treatment.

MJ: This whole conversation just made me smile. Though I mostly don’t like tournament arcs. Unless they are about Go. Apparently.

SEAN: Sankarea looks like it may be taking that big step towards full-blown horror, but will it find the time to be silly and have harem antics? Find out with Volume 5.

Blue Morning 4 is filled with tortured embraces and flowers blooming from nowhere.

MICHELLE: It’s so good!

MJ: I’m looking forward to this!

SEAN: Meanwhile, in Crimson Spell 2, our heroes would prefer to merely glare at the reader. Both of these from SubLime.

ASH: I’m still incredibly happy about this license rescue.

SEAN: Knights of Sidonia looks like it may be taking that big step towards full-blown horror, but will it find the time to be silly and have harem antics? Find out with Volume 7.

MICHELLE: Also so good.

ASH: Yes, it is!

MJ: More Sidonia, more!

SEAN: Deadman Wonderland manages to combine the survival game genre with a prison drama, as a young man who is the sole survivor of a brutal massacre is convicted of being the cause and sent to Japan’s Next Top Prison.

MICHELLE: I liked the first volume of this, back when it was a TOKYOPOP title. I’m looking forward to being able to revisit it and hopefully get more of the story.

ASH: I enjoyed what TOKYOPOP released, too, though I preferred the earlier volumes over the latter ones.

ANNA: I also enjoyed the first few volumes of this, and it makes sense that it is going to be reissued, what with the anime tie-in. I really really wish someone would license rescue old Tokyopop titles like Demon Sacred and Sky Blue Shore though.

MICHELLE: Oh, me too x 1000.

MJ: I’m grateful for this one because I missed it the first time around. Count me in on Demon Sacred, though!

SEAN: Hayate the Combat Butler 23 finally begins to get dramatic (no, seriously, it does), but will it be able to actually resolve the Athena plot? Or will we wait another 6 months with a nasty cliffhanger?

The last VIZBIG InuYasha is looking like it may be the last VIZBIG edition period, but it was a nice way to get a very long series.

MICHELLE: I have still not finished InuYasha. One of these days.

SEAN: Our heroes are separated as of the end of the 3rd Magi volume. Can we get them back together in this 4th book? Let’s hope so, I love shonen teamups.

MICHELLE: I’ve been really impressed by Magi so far. Hooray for more.

SEAN: Lastly, the 4th volume of Tiger & Bunny continues to attract a very devoted audience.

MICHELLE: That’s very diplomatic.

SEAN: What’s your poison this week?