manga the week of

SEAN: February is here, and it’s even longer this year. Fortunately, there is manga.

ASH: Always!

SEAN: Viz debuts a new shoujo title, In the Name of the Mermaid Princess (Mio no Na no Moto ni). This runs in Ribon, and is about a princess who is betrothed to a prince she’s never met, and is worried about her own secret… she’s a mermaid! Um, naming the series that gives away the secret. But hey.

ASH: I’m still curious, even after the spoiler.

ANNA: Mermaid Princesses! How can she be engaged to someone who doesn’t know that she’s a mermaid? Is there a royal paranormal matchmaker that goes around arranging marriages between mermaids and human royalty? I have so many questions!

SEAN: Also from Viz: Chainsaw Man 14, Dragon Ball Super 20, The Elusive Samurai 10, My Special One 5, Natsume’s Book of Friends 29, Prince Freya 10, and Rainbow Days 8. Mmmm, that’s some good shoujo next week.

ASH: It really is! I’ve got some catching up to do.

ANNA: As always, I do too.

SEAN: Udon Entertainment gives us the 4th and final volume of Persona 4 Arena Ultimax.

Tokyopop has two debuts. The Prince Is in the Villainess’ Way! (Akuyaku Reijou no Okiniiri Ouji…… Jama) is based on an as yet unlicensed novel, and runs in Comic PASH!. A cool, stoic princess recalls her past memories… which are not from Japan, apparently, but show that she was once the princess from a neighboring kingdom! Who’s… about to be killed. Better get on that, I guess.

Since I Could Die Tomorrow (Ashita Shinu ni wa) is a josei biographical series that ran in Ohta Web Comic. A woman in her early 40s starts to get palpitations and feeling cold. Is she starting to go through menopause? This has gotten some award nominations.

MICHELLE: I’m glad manga like this exists.

ASH: Same! Although I’m still giving Tokyopop the side eye.

ANNA: Ugh, me too.

SEAN: Steamship has a third and final volume of I’ll Never Be Your Crown Princess!, but there is a sequel they’ve also licensed.

Square Enix Manga debuts The Angel Next Door Spoils Me Rotten (Otonari no Tenshi-sama ni Itsunomanika Dame Ningen ni Sareteita Ken), a manga based on the light novel series Yen is releasing. It runs in Manga Up!.

And they also have The Ice Guy and the Cool Girl 3.

ASH: I’ve enjoyed what I’ve read of the series, so far.

ANNA: Yes, such a nice, low stakes manga.

SEAN: Seven Seas has a horror manga debut, The Tree of Death: Yomotsuhegui (Yomotsuhegui – Shisha no Kuni no Kajitsu). The author of this series is popular in Europe, but I think this is their first title here. It’s from Monthly Young Magazine. An ex-cop who’s been in prison for getting revenge on the killers of his wife and daughter is now out, but society shuns him. Time to… go back for more revenge!

ASH: Oh! Horror and revenge? Seems like something I should take a look at.

SEAN: We also see Classroom of the Elite 9, Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation: Mo Dao Zu Shi The Comic 5, Soara and the House of Monsters 2, A Tale of the Secret Saint 5, and There’s No Freaking Way I’ll be Your Lover! Unless… 4.

One Peace Books has a 12th volume of The New Gate manga.

Debuting in print for Kodansha Manga is Gazing at the Star Next Door (Tonari no Stella), a Betsufure series from the creator of Ran the Peerless Beauty. A girl realizes, to her horror, that she’s a “Childhood friend romance”, and her crush is starting to become a famous actor! Can she confess before she becomes a well-worn trope?

MICHELLE: Well, not wild about the premise but Ran the Peerless Beauty was good!

ANNA: Hmmmmmm.

SEAN: We also get a massive 700-page hardcover re-release, Vinland Saga Deluxe. This has the first three volumes, bonus content, all the bells and whistles.

ASH: I’m debating whether or not to double-dip and splurge on the new edition. It does look very nice, though, and I do love Vinland Saga… so I’ll probably eventually give in.

SEAN: Also in print: Magic Knight Rayearth 2, The Moon on a Rainy Night 3, and Virgin Love 2.

For digital we get Abe-kun’s Got Me Now! 12, Chihayafuru 42, He’s Expecting 2 (the final volume), Life 12, Sayabito: Swords of Destiny 2, Those Snow White Notes 14, Watari-kun’s ****** Is about to Collapse 15, and The World is Dancing 4.

MICHELLE: Getting close to the end of Chihayafuru!

ANNA: Amazing!

SEAN: We get FIVE debuts from J-Novel Club. Duchess in the Attic (Yane Urabeya no Koushaku Fujin) is a new manga based on an as-yet-unlicensed light novel. The manga runs in Flos Comic, and is a “terrible things happen to our noble lady over and over, until she finally starts her comeback” sort of title.

The Exiled Noble Rises as the Holy King: Befriending Fluffy Beasts and a Holy Maiden with My Ultimate Cheat Skill! (Tsuihō Kizoku wa Saikyō Skill “Seiō” de Henkyō kara Nariagaru: Haikyōsha ni Nintei Sareta Ore da kedo Cheat Skill de Mofumofu mo Seijo mo Nakama ni Shichaimashita) is one of THOSE titles. It’s basically the guy version of Duchess in the Attic.

ASH: Ha!

SEAN: Nia Liston: The Merciless Maiden (Kyōran Reijō Nia Liston: Byōjaku Reijō ni Tenseishita Kami-goroshi no Bujin no Kareinaru Musō Roku) is one of those “Powerful warrior dies and is reincarnated” sort of titles. But our powerful warrior has been reincarnated as a sickly five-year-old. But that’s not going to stop her thirsting for battle.

ASH: Having met many five-year-olds in my time, I am not at all surprised by this.

SEAN: RVing My Way into Exile with My Beloved Cat: This Villainess Is Trippin’ (Akuyaku Reijō wa Camping Car de Tabi ni Deru: Aibyō to Mankitsu Suru Self Kokugai Tsuihō) is a title I’ve been waiting for ever since it was announced in Japan. Our villainess is, of course, exiled. But that’s fine! She’s got a camper van! AND a cat. What more would a young woman want?

ASH: Okay, that sounds like some pretty great life choices.

ANNA: I’m a little jealous.

SEAN: Sword Saint Adel’s Second Chance (Ken Seijo Adel no Yarinaoshi: Kako ni Modotta Saikyō Kensei, Hime o Sukuu Tame ni Seijo to Naru) is – stop me if you’ve heard this one before, possibly two entries up – about a warrior who regrets being unable to save the woman who showed him kindness… so now he’s back in time, as a woman this time, to try to save her properly.

ASH: But as a woman… I will admit to liking that twist.

SEAN: Also from J-Novel Club: The 3rd manga volume of The Conqueror from a Dying Kingdom, DUNGEON DIVE: Aim for the Deepest Level 6, I’m Capped at Level 1?! Thus Begins My Journey to Become the World’s Strongest Badass! 3, The Invincible Little Lady 5, Only I Know That This World Is a Game 3, Peddler in Another World: I Can Go Back to My World Whenever I Want! 6, and Seventh 6.

Debuting from Ghost Ship next week is Becoming a Princess Knight and Working at a Yuri Brothel (Kukkorose no Himekishi to nari, Yuri Shoukan de Hataraku koto ni Narimashita), which runs in Kissca. A salaryman in Japan is killed in a car accident. His soul is then isekai’d to another world… in the body of a Princess who’s about to be captured when her kingdom falls. Now our hero has to deal with a) being in a woman’s body, b) being in a fantasy isekai, and c) having to do sex work in a lesbian brothel.

ASH: That’s a lot to adjust to.

ANNA: Life does get complicated sometimes.

SEAN: Speaking of lesbian brothels, we also get the 4th volume of Asumi-chan is Interested in Lesbian Brothels!, and the 6th volume of PULSE.

And Airship has, in print, Berserk of Gluttony 8 (the final volume) and Sword of the Demon Hunter: Kijin Gentōshō 4.

While in early digital we see Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear 17 and Loner Life in Another World 8.

What manga are you reading outside your camper van?

SEAN: The end of January and the start of The Worst Month ™.

ASH: And an extra long one at that!

SEAN: We start with Airship, which in print gives us Irina: The Vampire Cosmonaut 7 (the final volume) and She Professed Herself Pupil of the Wise Man 9.

And in early digital we get Modern Villainess: It’s Not Easy Building a Corporate Empire Before the Crash 4 and Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation 26 (the final volume).

No debuts for Cross Infinite World, but several ongoing series: The Abandoned Heiress Gets Rich with Alchemy and Scores an Enemy General! 2, Fluffy Paradise 3, and Making Jam in the Woods: My Relaxing Life Starts in Another World 2.

ASH: If I were to read an isekai, one dealing with food and spirits is a more likely choice than a lot of other things.

ANNA: I do like the idea of making jam in the woods.

ASH: Right??

SEAN: Hanashi Media has two light novel debuts. The Dark Guild Master’s Smile Would Fit Best (Yami Guild no Master wa Kyō mo Hohoemu) stars a normal, peace-loving guy… who happens to run the biggest Dark Guild out there, because his subordinates have decided he needs to RULE THE WORLD. This sounds interesting.

My Pet Is a Saintess (Ore no Pet wa Seijo-sama) is the story of a young man who is devastated when his pet bird dies, then is isekai’d to a world where his pet bird is now a cute young girl, and he needs to be her fiance! This sounds less interesting.

ASH: I’m going to have to agree with these assessments.

ANNA: No thank you!

SEAN: Hanashi Media also has the 8th volume of The Fruit of Evolution: Before I Knew It, My Life Had It Made!.

Debuts are thin on the ground for J-Novel Club. But we see Fake It to Break It! I Faked Amnesia to Break Off My Engagement and Now He’s All Lovey-Dovey?! 2 (the final volume), Invaders of the Rokujouma!? 43, Karate Master Isekai 4, Min-Maxing My TRPG Build in Another World 8, My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom! 12, the 4th Peddler in Another World: I Can Go Back to My World Whenever I Want manga volume, the 6th Tearmoon Empire manga volume, This Art Club Has a Problem! 2, The Wind That Reaches the Ends of the World 2, and You Like Me, Not My Daughter?! 4.

Kaiten Books has a 7th volume of The Yakuza’s Guide to Babysitting.

We continue the debutless life with Kodansha Manga. In print, they have As a Reincarnated Aristocrat, I’ll Use My Appraisal Skill to Rise in the World 9, Cells at Work! Omnibus 2 (the final volume), Sailor Moon Naoko Takeuchi Collection 6, Seraph of the End: Guren Ichinose: Catastrophe at Sixteen 3, and Whisper Me a Love Song 7.

ASH: I really enjoyed the original Cells at Work!, so I’m glad to see it sticking around in print.

SEAN: Digitally we see A Couple of Cuckoos 15, Chihiro-kun Only Has Eyes for Me 9, Drops of God: Mariage 5, Getting Closer to You 6, The Great Cleric 12, and Yozakura Quartet 31.

Seven Seas has a debut! It’s Easygoing Territory Defense by the Optimistic Lord: Production Magic Turns a Nameless Village into the Strongest Fortified City (Okiraku Ryōshu no Tanoshii Ryōchi Bōei: Seisan-kei Majutsu de Na mo Nakimura o Saikyō no Jōsai Toshi ni), which is another one of those “reincarnated with a useless skill that’s really super awesome” books. And also had the light novel come out three weeks prior. It runs in Comic Gardo.

Also from Seven Seas: Didn’t I Say to Make My Abilities Average in the Next Life?! Everyday Misadventures! 4 (the final volume), The Hidden Dungeon Only I Can Enter 10, The Ideal Sponger Life 15, Magical Angel Creamy Mami and the Spoiled Princess 6, My Cute Little Kitten 2, My Senpai is Annoying 11, Pandora in the Crimson Shell: Ghost Urn 17, and Tokyo Revengers 17-18.

Lastly (yep – 5th week of the month, don’tcha know) we have Yen’s runoff from last week. Yen On has The Angel Next Door Spoils Me Rotten 6, Goblin Slayer Side Story II: Dai Katana 3 (the final volume), I May Be a Guild Receptionist, but I’ll Solo Any Boss to Clock Out on Time 2, and Looks Are All You Need 2. And they have Hell Mode: The Hardcore Gamer Dominates in Another World with Garbage Balancing 3 in the “J-Novel Club print” imprint.

While Yen Press has Cocoon Entwined 5, Goblin Slayer Side Story: Year One 10, The Princess of Convenient Plot Devices 4, The Red Thread 2, and Unnamed Memory 4.

MICHELLE: Nice to see another volume of Cocoon Entwined!

ASH: Yes, indeed!

SEAN: Small but tasty! Any titles catch your eye?

SEAN: After waiting for Yen Press to show up this year, we are finally here.

ASH: Hold on tight, folks!

SEAN: No debuts for Yen On, but we do see Banished from the Hero’s Party, I Decided to Live a Quiet Life in the Countryside 10, Hazure Skill: The Guild Member with a Worthless Skill Is Actually a Legendary Assassin 7, The Irregular at Magic High School 21 (a mere 15 months after Vol. 20), Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? 18 (a mere 16 months after Vol. 17), Kunon the Sorcerer Can See 2, The Princess of Convenient Plot Devices 4, Reign of the Seven Spellblades 10, and Sentenced to Be a Hero 2.

ASH: You know, if the titles were shorter, the list wouldn’t seem nearly as long.

SEAN: Three debuts for Yen Press, but one is sort of a “next arc” debut. Bride of the Barrier Master (Kekkaishi no Ichirinka) is the manga adaptation of the light novel Yen is also releasing, and it runs in B’s-Log Comic. A young woman in the shadow of her more powerful sister finally comes into her own power, but hides it so as to avoid making waves. Good luck with that.

Higurashi When They Cry: MEGURI (Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Meguri) is the manga version of the new anime’s Answer Arc, and runs in Young Ace Up. If you love Rika and Satoko, read this. If you love Keiichi, Rena and Mion… there are other arcs.

Witch Life in a Micro Room (Rokujou Hitoma no Majo Life) is a shonen manga from Gangan Joker about two young witches living together in a small apartment, and their attempts to get more important jobs to do.

Also from Yen Press: Apparently, Disillusioned Adventurers Will Save the World 4, Bocchi the Rock! 2, Bofuri: I Don’t Want to Get Hurt, so I’ll Max Out My Defense 7, Chained Soldier 6, Cheeky Brat 9, Chitose Is in the Ramune Bottle 5, CLAMP Premium Collection Tokyo Babylon 2, Daughter of the Emperor 6, Dead Mount Death Play 11, The Deer King 2, The Executioner and Her Way of Life 4, The Girl I Saved on the Train Turned Out to Be My Childhood Friend 5, Hakumei and Mikochi: Tiny Little Life in the Woods 11, Handyman Saitou in Another World 3, The Holy Grail of Eris 6, I Don’t Know Which Is Love 2, I’m a Behemoth, an S-Ranked Monster, but Mistaken for a Cat, I Live as an Elf Girl’s Pet 8, In the Land of Leadale 5, Maiden of the Needle 2, My Dear, Curse-Casting Vampiress 3, No Longer Heroine 5, Please Put Them On, Takamine-san 7, A Reincarnated Witch Spells Doom 3, Stray Cat & Wolf 2, Sword Art Online Progressive Scherzo of Deep Night 3 (the final volume), and Words Bubble Up Like Soda Pop 3 (also a final volume).

MICHELLE: I should probably check back in with No Longer Heroine at some point.

ASH: So. Many. Things. No wonder I forgot that a new edition of Tokyo Babylon was being released.

ANNA: With each rerelease of previously published CLAMP material, my anger and sadness about X/1999 never getting a conclusion grows exponentially!

ASH: Saaaaaame.

SEAN: Viz Media gives us Boy’s Abyss 4, How Do We Relationship? 10, and JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Part 6–Stone Ocean 2.

ASH: I ought to catch up with How Do We Relationship?; I really liked the earlier volumes I read.

SEAN: Udon Entertainment has a 2nd volume of Team Phoenix.

There is Lullaby of the Dawn 2, Sengoku Youko 5, and UNDEAD: Finding Love in the Zombie Apocalypse 2 from Tokyopop.

Steamship debuts a done-in-one omnibus, My Boss is a Giant: He Manages My Every Need With Enormous Skill (Kowamote Joushi no XL Size ga Hairimasen!), a josei manga from LoveParfait. The copy tries to sell it as “he’s a big guy, she’s a tiny girl”, but the titles will clue you in as to what he really has that’s enormous.

MICHELLE: I have cleverly deduced what that might be!

ASH: Oh, myyyyyy.

ANNA: I’m assuming like, elbows or ears?

SEAN: Square Enix has a 13rd volume of Soul Eater: The Perfect Edition.

Debuting from Seven Seas is Modern Dungeon Capture Starting with Broken Skills (Koware Skill de Hajimeru Gendai Dungeon Kouryaku), the manga adaptation of the light novels Seven Seas also releases. It runs in Comic Gardo.

They’ve also got Does it Count if You Lose Your Virginity to an Android? 3, Even Dogs Go to Other Worlds: Life in Another World with My Beloved Hound 3, Failure Frame: I Became the Strongest and Annihilated Everything With Low-Level Spells 7, My Stepmother and Stepsisters Aren’t Wicked 3, The Summer You Were There 4, Trapped in a Dating Sim: The World of Otome Games is Tough for Mobs 9, and Who Made Me a Princess 4.

One Peace Books has a 5th volume of Usotoki Rhetoric.

MICHELLE: Oh! I really need to catch up on this!

ASH: Same! I’ve enjoyed what I’ve read.

SEAN: Kodansha Manga has no debuts, but we get print volumes for A Condition Called Love 6, The Darwin Incident 3, The Ghost in the Shell: The Human Algorithm 4, The Great Cleric 7, I’m Giving the Disgraced Noble Lady I Rescued a Crash Course in Naughtiness 3, and The Iceblade Sorcerer Shall Rule the World 8.

While digitally we see Boss Bride Days 13, DAYS 39, Gamaran: Shura 16, Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug & Cat Noir 3, My Home Hero 12, Space Brothers 43, Teppu 5, and You’re My Cutie 7.

Again, no debuts for J-Novel Club. But we get new volumes: Ascendance of a Bookworm Arc 2 Volume 8 (the manga), Back to the Battlefield: The Veteran Heroes Return to the Fray! 3, D-Genesis: Three Years after the Dungeons Appeared 5, Doll-Kara 7, the 5th Endo and Kobayashi Live! The Latest on Tsundere Villainess Lieselotte manga volume, Gushing Over Magical Girls 9, I Shall Survive Using Potions! 9, I Surrendered My Sword for a New Life as a Mage 5, Isekai Tensei: Recruited to Another World 6, La Ragazza: Living with Francesca 3 (the final volume), and My Daughter Left the Nest and Returned an S-Rank Adventurer 11 (the final volume).

Ghost Ship has the 9th volume of Creature Girls: A Hands-On Field Journal in Another World.

Dark Horse gives us a 13th volume of Mob Psycho 100.

ASH: Yet another series I’ve been meaning to read but have fallen behind on.

SEAN: From Airship, in print, we see The Haunted Bookstore – Gateway to a Parallel Universe 7 (the final volume) and I’m the Evil Lord of an Intergalactic Empire! 6.

And there is an early digital release of Reincarnated as a Sword 14.

Not too bad. What’s on your list?

ANNA: Maybe I’ll just start to reread X/1999 and sob in a corner.

ASH: I might just join you.

SEAN: January’s heating up… or cooling down, depending on where you are.

It’s still not Yen Press’s time yet, so we begin with Viz Media. There are two debuts. Steel of the Celestial Shadows (Taiyou to Tsuki no Hagane) is from the creator of Kasane, and runs in Big Comic Superior. A samurai who is cursed to be unable to pick up a sword is near suicidal, but he’s rescued by a mysterious woman. This looks gorgeous.

ASH: Oh, wow, it does! And it’s definitely up my alley.

ANNA: I’m curious about this!

SEAN: Tokyo These Days (Tokyo Higoro) is the new title by Taiyo Matsumoto, and is recommended to all fans of the same. This ran in Big Comic Original Zoukan, and is the story of a retired editor trying to find what manga really means.

MICHELLE: Could be good!

ASH: I’m certainly a Matsumoto fan.

ANNA: I want to know what manga really means.

SEAN: Viz also has Dark Gathering 5, Golden Kamuy 31 (the final volume), One-Punch Man 27, Record of Ragnarok 9, Show-ha Shoten! 4, Ultraman 19, and Undead Unluck 14.

ASH: I really ought to catch up with Golden Kamuy.

ANNA: I need to start reading it in the first place!

SEAN: Tokyopop debuts Never Let Go (Kono Te wo Hanasanai de), a BL title from the magazine from RED. It’s an omegaverse series, and is the standard sort of “opposites attract” plot you see in those series.

There’s also a one-shot title, Send Them a Farewell Gift for the Lost Time (Loss Time ni Hanamuke o), a BL series about a man trying to break up with his boyfriend… but he keeps popping back up.

Tokyopop also has the third volume of Dead Company (a final volume).

Steamship has a 5th volume of Ladies on Top.

Seven Seas debuts a mature BL title, Love, a Kitten, and a Salty Dog (Koi to Neko to Salty Dog). The story of a vet and a college student who get closer while taking care of cats, it’s complete in one volume.

MICHELLE: Hm…

ASH: BL and cats has been a good combo in the past.

SEAN: In their Danmei line, we get Stars of Chaos: Sha Po Lang 2.

We also see The Masterful Cat Is Depressed Again Today 7, The Most Notorious “Talker” Runs the World’s Greatest Clan 6, My Wife Has No Emotion 6, Reborn as a Space Mercenary: I Woke Up Piloting the Strongest Starship! 6, The Saint’s Magic Power is Omnipotent 8, Slow Life In Another World (I Wish!) 6, What He Who Doesn’t Believe in Fate Says 3, and Yakuza Fiancé: Raise wa Tanin ga Ii 6. So many volume sixes!

One Peace Books has the 2nd manga volume of Villainess Level 99: I May Be the Hidden Boss But I’m Not the Demon Lord.

Kodansha Manga’s first print debut is Gachiakuta, a Weekly Shonen Magazine series about a young man, already living in poverty in a floating city, who is falsely accused of murder and sentenced to live on the surface, where things are much worse.

ASH: I’m at least vaguely intrigued by the setting.

SEAN: They also debut an omnibus of the first two volumes of King in Limbo (Limbo the King), a josei series from Itan. Years after a dangerous sleeping sickness devastated the world, it’s returning, and a retired military man must join up with the mysterious “King” once more to save the world again. From the creator of Apple Children of Aeon.

MICHELLE: How nice to see a josei series that is not a romance!

ASH: Oh! This absolutely has potential!

ANNA: Also curious about this!

SEAN: Also in print: Go! Go! Loser Ranger! 8, ORIGIN 2, Parasyte Full Color Collection 5, SHAMAN KING: FLOWERS 6 (the final volume), and Twilight Out of Focus 4.

Digitally we get Don’t Tempt Me, VP! 2, Gamaran 17, How to Treat a Lady Knight Right 2, Hozuki’s Coolheadedness 18, I Guess I Became the Mother of the Great Demon King’s 10 Children in Another World 9, Mermaid Melody Pichi Pichi Pitch: Aqua 3, Searching for My Perfect Brother 4 (the final volume), Tsugumi Project 4, We’re New at This 15, and The World of Summoning 3 (also a final volume).

No debuts from J-Novel Club, but we see The Apothecary Diaries 10, the 10th An Archdemon’s Dilemma: How to Love Your Elf Bride manga volume, Bibliophile Princess 7, Death’s Daughter and the Ebony Blade 7, Hell Mode 7, Holmes of Kyoto 16, the 3rd I’m Capped at Level 1?! Thus Begins My Journey to Become the World’s Strongest Badass! manga volume, Let This Grieving Soul Retire 3, Monster and Parent 3, Only the Villainous Lord Wields the Power to Level Up 4, Rebuild World 3 Part 2, and Reincarnated Mage with Inferior Eyes: Breezing through the Future as an Oppressed Ex-Hero 5.

ASH: The Apothecary Diaries is another series I really need to catch up on.

SEAN: It’s always harder to track down smaller publisher release dates, so I apologize to light novel publisher Hanashi Media for ignoring them till now. Next week they have a 7th volume of Another World Survival: Min-maxing My Support and Summoning Magic (Boku wa Isekai de Fuyo Mahou to Shoukan Mahou wo Tenbin ni Kakeru), which seems to have a bullied kid who was isekai’d with his high school class trying to get revenge against his bullies… sigh.

ASH: It really is hard to keep track of everything these days!

SEAN: Ghost Ship has a 16th volume of Parallel Paradise.

Airship sees the print debut of Modern Dungeon Capture Starting with Broken Skills (Koware Skill de Hajimeru Gendai Dungeon Kōryaku) which is, as you can see by the title, one of THOSE series. Dungeon crawls. Guy with awesome skills. Pixie showing her butt to the reader on the cover.

ASH: At least they make it easy to recognize the genre?

SEAN: They also have The Case Files of Jeweler Richard 6 and Though I Am an Inept Villainess: Tale of the Butterfly-Rat Body Swap in the Maiden Court 6, one of which is the most exciting volume of a light novel series I’ve read in a while, and other of which is The Case Files of Jeweler Richard.

ASH: Ha!

SEAN: They also have an early digital release for Trapped in a Dating Sim: The World of Otome Games is Tough for Mobs 11.

The lists are getting bigger! What are you fancying?

SEAN: The first 2024 manga list was a bit small. Will this week be any bigger?

We start with Airship, which has the print debut of Easygoing Territory Defense by the Optimistic Lord: Production Magic Turns a Nameless Village into the Strongest Fortified City (Okiraku Ryōshu no Tanoshii Ryōchi Bōei: Seisan-kei Majutsu de Na mo Nakimura o Saikyō no Jōsai Toshi ni), which is another one of those “reincarnated with a useless skill that’s really super awesome” books.

ASH: I mean, I like the underlying message. There are just SO MANY of these titles.

SEAN: They’ve also got the 9th volume of The Saint’s Magic Power Is Omnipotent.

In early digital volumes, we see Berserk of Gluttony 8 (the final volume) and Raven of the Inner Palace 5.

Dark Horse has the 3rd volume of its Hellsing reissue.

ASH: It is a very nice reissue.

SEAN: Ghost Ship has I’m Not a Succubus! 4 and a 5th volume of the Survival in Another World with My Mistress! manga.

It’s print week for J-Novel Club, and they gift us with Ascendance of a Bookworm 22 (the start of the final arc!), In Another World With My Smartphone 27, the 6th Seirei Gensouki: Spirit Chronicles manga volume, and the 3rd Tearmoon Empire manga volume.

ASH: Oh no, the final arc of Bookworm? I really do need to catch up sooner rather than later.

No digital debuts, but we see Ascendance of a Bookworm 29, the 14th Black Summoner manga volume, Campfire Cooking in Another World with My Absurd Skill: Sui’s Great Adventure 5, An Introvert’s Hookup Hiccups: This Gyaru Is Head Over Heels for Me! 5, The Mythical Hero’s Otherworld Chronicles 6, Record of Wortenia War 22, The Tales of Marielle Clarac 10, The Unwanted Undead Adventurer 12, and When Supernatural Battles Became Commonplace 9.

In print, Kodansha Manga has Shikimori’s Not Just a Cutie 15.

Their digital debut is I Left my A-Rank Party to Help My Former Students Reach the Dungeon Depths! (A Rank Party wo Ridatsu Shita Ore wa, Moto Oshiego Tachi to Meikyuu Shinbu wo Mezasu), a shonen fantasy harem manga from Magazine Pocket. The title is the plot.

Also out next week digitally: Ace of the Diamond 47 (the final volume, though there’s a 34-volume sequel), Cells at Work! Lady 4, The Fable 22 (also a final volume), Gang King 13, Girlfriend, Girlfriend 16 (also also a final volume), Nina the Starry Bride 11, That Time the Manga Editor Started a New Life in the Countryside (also also also a final volume), Those Snow White Notes 13, and WIND BREAKER 13.

MICHELLE: So here for Ace of the Diamond. I’ll be able to have a nice marathon up to the ending, too. Hopefully it did well enough that the sequel will get licensed, too.

ANNA: And I’m glad for another volume of Nina the Starry Bride although I need to get caught up!

SEAN: One Peace Books has the 5th manga volume of The Wrong Way to Use Healing Magic.

The debut from Seven Seas is The White Mage Doesn’t Want to Raise the Hero’s Level (Shiro Majutsushi wa Yuusha no Level wo Agetakunai) is a Comic Meteor title, and is a “sexy fantasy romcom”, at least according to the publisher. Looks like it might shift to Ghost Ship if things get a bit racier. Then again, it’s only 4 volumes, so maybe not.

Also from Seven Seas: A Certain Scientific Railgun 18, Crossplay Love: Otaku x Punk 7, Free Life Fantasy Online: Immortal Princess 6, Karate Survivor in Another World 5, My Cat is Such a Weirdo 2, My New Life as a Cat 4, Soloist in a Cage 3 (the final volume), and The Skull Dragon’s Precious Daughter 3.

ASH: I’ve been meaning to give Soloist in a Cage a try; I better get on that.

SEAN: Square Enix has the 16th manga volume for The Strongest Sage with the Weakest Crest.

The debut for SuBLime is Daisy Jealousy, a one-shot BL title from Magazine Be x Boy. This is the same author of Happy of the End and Yarichin Bitch Club. Feelings get complicated between two up and coming video game designers.

ASH: And also Escape Journey, I believe. I could pretty easily be convinced to read this one.

SEAN: Viz Manga debuts Pokémon Adventures: Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire, which… is a Pokémon manga, come on.

They’ve also got Case Closed 89, Dandadan 6, Fly Me to the Moon 21, Helck 7, Komi Can’t Communicate 28, Mao 15, and YO-KAI WATCH 22.

And yeah, that’s it. It always feels like a small week without Yen Press. What are you getting?

SEAN: It’s a new year, and this is the year we surely keep up with all the manga… right?

MICHELLE: Suuuuuuure.

ASH: Uh, yeah! No problem!

SEAN: We start with Viz, who have a new debut. Marriage Toxin is from ShonenJump+. An assassin has vowed to never settle down and get married. Then his clan declares his sister will marry a man and carry on the dynasty. But his sister is already in a happy relationship… with another woman. Now, to save her, he resolves to find a wife, even if it means dealing with a marriage swindler.

ASH: Interesting.

SEAN: Also from Viz: Blue Box 8, Kaiju No. 8 9, Kubo Won’t Let Me Be Invisible 11, Like a Butterfly 4, Moriarty the Patriot 14, Tamon’s B-Side 2, and Wolf Girl and Black Prince 5.

MICHELLE: I should really try to read Like a Butterfly and Tamon’s B-Side.

SEAN: Udon Entertainment has the 2nd volume of Robotics;Notes.

Steamship has a 2nd volume of I Can’t Refuse S.

Seven Seas has one debut, A Cat from Our World and the Forgotten Witch (Isekai Neko to Fukigen na Majo). Running in the seinen magazine Yawaraka Spirits, it stars an old witch, once powerful but now forgotten. She summons a cat from our world to hers… and in her world, the cat is HUGE! Can they bond with each other?

ASH: Certainly a type of cat manga we’ve not seen previously.

SEAN: Also from Seven Seas: Cinderella Closet 4, The Duke of Death and His Maid 10, Kemono Jihen 9, Malevolent Spirits: Monogatari 5, MoMo -the blood taker- 7, My Room is a Dungeon Rest Stop 7 (the final volume), and This Is Screwed Up, but I Was Reincarnated as a GIRL in Another World! 10.

And they have a new danmei novel, Thousand Autumns: Qian Qiu 3.

ASH: I have so much danmei to catch up on! Which is not a bad problem to have.

SEAN: One Peace Books gives us the 19th and final volume of Hinamatsuri.

Just one print volume for Kodansha Manga: Shonen Note: Boy Soprano 6.

ASH: I’ve been making a point to pick up this series as it’s been released.

SEAN: And for digital titles we get Blue Lock 23, How to Grill Our Love 6, Life 11, My Unique Skill Makes Me OP Even at Level 1 12, My Wife is a Little Intimidating 6, Our Fake Marriage: Rosé 3, and Shangri-La Frontier 14.

MICHELLE: I liked what I read of Blue Lock. I should get back to it.

SEAN: Kaiten Books has a 4th print volume for Gacha Girls Corps.

J-Novel Club has new volumes for the 11th manga volume of The Faraway Paladin, Knight’s & Magic 2, Sweet Reincarnation 9, The Tales of Marielle Clarac 10, Tearmoon Empire 11, and the 8th Welcome to Japan, Ms. Elf! manga volume.

From Ghost Ship we see Ayakashi Triangle 7 and Please Go Home, Miss Akutsu! 4.

And from Airship, in print (and same-day digital, must be contractual), we get Didn’t I Say to Make My Abilities Average in the Next Life?! 17.

And for early digital we have Sword of the Demon Hunter: Kijin Gentōshō 4.

Seems like everyone’s in holiday mode still. What are you reading?

SEAN: Ready to wrap up 2023? Scared of 2024? Let’s go.

MICHELLE: No and yes, respectively!

ANNA: I’m scared!

ASH: What meaning does time have these days anyway?

SEAN: Airship has new print volumes for Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation 25 and The Weakest Tamer Began a Journey to Pick Up Trash 5.

And for early digital we get Failure Frame: I Became the Strongest and Annihilated Everything With Low-Level Spells 9.

Two volumes from Cross Infinite World. We see the 4th volume of The Drab Princess, the Black Cat, and the Satisfying Break-up, and the 3rd and final volume of Revolutionary Reprise of the Blue Rose Princess.

From Ghost Ship we see Manga Diary of a Male Porn Star 4 and Welcome to Succubus High! 5.

A Christmas Day debut from J-Novel Club. I Could Never Be a Succubus! (Watashi wa Succubus Ja Arimasen) features Liz, a normal, upright, well-behaved noble woman at the academy. But she has a secret, and when the hero arrives at the academy… she asks for his underwear! Can she struggle against her true nature (it’s in the title)?

ASH: Spoilers!

SEAN: Also from J-Novel Club: 8th Loop for the Win! With Seven Lives’ Worth of XP and the Third Princess’s Appraisal Skill, My Behemoth and I Are Unstoppable! 2, Dahlia in Bloom: Crafting a Fresh Start with Magical Tools 8, the 4th manga volume of Did I Seriously Just Get Reincarnated as My Gag Character?!, Earl and Fairy 4, the 2nd manga volume of Hell Mode, My Instant Death Ability Is So Overpowered, No One in This Other World Stands a Chance Against Me! —AΩ— 8, My Magical Career at Court: Living the Dream After My Nightmare Boss Fired Me from the Mages’ Guild! 2, Now I’m a Demon Lord! Happily Ever After with Monster Girls in My Dungeon 7, and Young Lady Albert Is Courting Disaster 4.

ASH: That’s quite a few titles! (I think… or maybe just a few really long titles??

SEAN: The print debut for Kodansha Manga is My Ultramarine Sky (Gunjou no Subete), a BL manga from the creator of My Summer of You that ran in Gateau. It’s complete in one volume. Two boys who sat next to each other for two years in high school now find themselves in different classes.

MICHELLE: The cover, at least, has an appealingly wistful vibe.

ANNA: I sometimes enjoy wistful vibes.

ASH: Same.

SEAN: Also in print: Blue Lock 10, EDENS ZERO 26, Medaka Kuroiwa is Impervious to My Charms 4, Nina the Starry Bride 2, Ogami-san Can’t Keep It In 2, Shangri-La Frontier 9, Something’s Wrong With Us 18, Super Morning Star 2, and Welcome to Demon School! Iruma-kun 5.

ANNA: Gonna pick up Blue Lock for one of my kids, and as always I am delighted that Nina the Starry Bride is getting a print release!

SEAN: Digitally we see Boss Bride Days 12, Drops of God: Mariage 4, Even Given the Worthless “Appraiser” Class, I’m Actually the Strongest 9, Gamaran: Shura 15, Issak 5, My Home Hero 11, and Searching for My Perfect Brother 3.

One Peace Books has the 2nd volume of It Takes Two Tomorrow, Too.

ASH: I rather enjoyed the first volume.

SEAN: No debut manga from Seven Seas, but we do see Berserk of Gluttony 9, Chronicles of an Aristocrat Reborn in Another World 8, Correspondence from the End of the Universe 4, Drugstore in Another World: The Slow Life of a Cheat Pharmacist 8, Dungeon People 3, Even Though We’re Adults 7, Futari Escape 4 (the final volume), I Got Caught Up In a Hero Summons, but the Other World was at Peace! 7, Reincarnated as a Sword: Another Wish 5, She Professed Herself Pupil of the Wise Man 10, and Though I Am an Inept Villainess: Tale of the Butterfly-Rat Body Swap in the Maiden Court 4.

Square Enix Manga has the 9th volume of Cherry Magic! Thirty Years of Virginity Can Make You a Wizard?!.

MICHELLE: Gotta catch up on this!

ASH: I’m behind, too, but have been enjoying the series.

SEAN: Steamship releases its first light novel, a one-shot. Loyal Soldier, Lustful Beast (Gunjin wa Ai no Kemono) stars a noblewoman who is in love with her manservant. Then she is called upon to be the King’s Concubine. Surely they’ll have to give up on their love… right?

ASH: Oh! I missed that Steamship was going to release light novels.

Tokyopop debuts Mitsuka. This ran in from RED. A host at a host club is supposed to sweet talk his female clients… but all he can think about is the hot male prostitute who introduced him to gay sex. This is definitely a “dubious consent” title, BTW.

From Viz: If you enjoy Spy x Family but wish it were in prose, why not read Spy x Family: Family Portrait, a short story collection?

They’ve also got Cat-Eyed Boy: The Perfect Edition 2 and Fist of the North Star 11.

ANNA: Cool.

ASH: Most excellent.

SEAN: Remember when the last week of the year had no releases at all? I do, but I’m old. What are you buying?

SEAN: It’s almost Christmas, so get your Noddy Holder screams ready.

No debuts for Viz, but we do see Alice in Borderland 8, Insomniacs After School 4, Love’s in Sight! 5, Mission: Yozakura Family 8, Persona 5 11, and Rooster Fighter 5.

From Square Enix we see Daemons of the Shadow Realm 3, The Great Jahy Will Not Be Defeated! 7, and Otherside Picnic 8.

Two manga debuts from Seven Seas. Breakfast with My Two-Tailed Cat (Nekomata to Asa Gohan) is a slice of life manga from Matogrosso. A man and his wife achieve their dream of retiring to the countryside, but then she dies. To stave off loneliness, he befriends a yokai cat, and the two of them turn this into a foodie manga.

MICHELLE: Huh. Potentially interesting!

ASH: Yokai, cats, and food? I’m in!

SEAN: Obey Me! The Comic is a josei title from MAGKAN. It’s based on an otome game (but is not, for once, in the “reborn in an otome game” genre) and also had an anime. A human is an exchange student at a school for demons! Can they escape?

ASH: Josei, you say?

SEAN: I mean, the audience is adult women, but it’s sort of for BL fans, but not quite BL… honestly trying to assign the big four genres to Mag Garden titles is like trying to catch fog.

ASH: Ha!

ANNA: I enjoy josei, otome games, and weird things from Mag Garden.

SEAN: Seven Seas also gives us Dance in the Vampire Bund: Age of Scarlet Order 10, Homunculus 5-6, Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid 13, Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid: Kanna’s Daily Life 11, Toradora! 11 (only one year after 10! The artist is improving!), and Uzaki-chan Wants to Hang Out! 10.

ASH: I really need to get started on Homunculus.

SEAN: One Peace Books has a 3rd volume of Parallel World Pharmacy.

Kodansha Books has the 4th volume of My Unique Skill Makes Me OP Even at Level 1.

Kodansha Manga debuts She’s My Knight (Ikemen Kanojo to Heroine na Ore!?) in print. The three volumes in this series were previously released digital only. It’s a shoujo title from Palcy that’s basically “what if Kashima and Hori were the stars of Nozaki-kun?”.

ASH: Okay, I’m sold on it based on that description.

SEAN: Also in print: Drifting Dragons 15, I Was Reincarnated as the 7th Prince so I Can Take My Time Perfecting My Magical Ability 9, In the Clear Moonlit Dusk 6, Orient 18, Quality Assurance in Another World 5, Rent-A-Girlfriend 22, The Seven Deadly Sins Omnibus 13, and That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime 23.

ASH: I have a small stack of Drifting Dragons ready for me to read; better get to it!

SEAN: The digital debut is Don’t Tempt Me, VP! (Amayakasanaide Fuku Shachou: Danna-sama wa SSR), a josei manga from Ane Friend about an OL, deep in debt thanks to her horrible ex, getting a proposition from her company’s vice-president: marriage. It’s an 18-rated title, FYI.

ANNA: Alright!

SEAN: Also digital: Gamaran 16, Rocopon 2, TenPuru -No One Can Live on Loneliness- 9, and Ya Boy Kongming! 14.

Two debuts from J-Novel Club. The Crown of Rutile Quartz (Rutile Quartz no Taikan: Ō no Tanjō) starts off with a humble commoner finding out he’s really a prince… and that the rest of the royal family is dead. Oh, and they’re at war. This looks like a military fantasy type book, I like those.

ASH: I often do, too, especially when there’s court intrigue to go along with.

SEAN: Finding Avalon: The Quest of a Chaosbringer (Saiaku no Avalon) is a villainess book, only it’s a villain, similar to Reincarnated as the Piggy Duke. Can our hero lose weight and get powerful fast?

Also out from J-Novel Club: Black Summoner 15, the 4th A Cave King’s Road to Paradise: Climbing to the Top with My Almighty Mining Skills! manga volume, The Conqueror from a Dying Kingdom 6, Fake Saint of the Year: You Wanted the Perfect Saint? Too Bad! 3, I Only Have Six Months to Live, So I’m Gonna Break the Curse with Light Magic or Die Trying 3, My Quiet Blacksmith Life in Another World 8, My Stepmom’s Daughter Is My Ex 9, the 6th Rebuild World manga, and the 5th Young Lady Albert Is Courting Disaster manga.

Ghost Ship has an 8th volume of Sundome!! Milky Way.

Dark Horse has a 2nd volume of the Hellsing re-release.

Airship, in print, gives us I Swear I Won’t Bother You Again! 4, Raven of the Inner Palace 4, A Tale of the Secret Saint 5, and Though I Am an Inept Villainess: Tale of the Butterfly-Rat Body Swap in the Maiden Court 5.

ASH: I’m so far behind on everything, but still interested in reading Raven of the Inner Palace at some point.

SEAN: And in early digital we see Irina: The Vampire Cosmonaut 7 (the final volume), Though I Am an Inept Villainess: Tale of the Butterfly-Rat Body Swap in the Maiden Court 6, and Yes, No, or Maybe? 2.

Are you hanging up your stocking on your wall? It’s the time when every Santa has a ball.

SEAN: It’s a bit early, but this is Yen Press week, because of the holidays. That said, they’re at the end this time around.

Two print books from Airship: Disciple of the Lich: Or How I Was Cursed by the Gods and Dropped Into the Abyss! 6 and Free Life Fantasy Online: Immortal Princess 5.

And for early digital we see The Haunted Bookstore – Gateway to a Parallel Universe 7 (the final volume) and She Professed Herself Pupil of the Wise Man 9.

ASH: At the very least, I still love the basic concept of The Haunted Bookstore.

SEAN: Ghost Ship has Peter Grill and the Philosopher’s Time 11 and World’s End Harem 16 – After World.

J-Novel Club has some print titles. We get Infinite Dendrogram 19 and the 16th and final volume of Marginal Operation.

Three digital debuts for J-Novel Club. D-Genesis: Three Years after the Dungeons Appeared (D Genesis: Dungeon ga Dekite 3-nen) is based on the light novel J-Novel Club is already putting out. The manga runs in Comp Ace.

The Diary of a Middle-Aged Sage’s Carefree Life in Another World (Arafō Kenja no Isekai Seikatsu Nikki) is about a 40-year-old guy who loves the VRMMO he’s playing… then when he beats the final boss, the boss curses him to die and be reborn as his character!

ASH: Succession planning at its finest.

SEAN: Forget Being the Villainess, I Want to Be an Adventurer! (Tensei Reijou wa Boukensha wo Kokorozasu) is also based on the light novel J-Novel Club previously released. It runs in Flos Comic.

Also from J-Novel Club: Chillin’ in Another World with Level 2 Super Cheat Powers 12, the 2nd The Conqueror from a Dying Kingdom manga, Full Clearing Another World under a Goddess with Zero Believers 10, Full Metal Panic! Short Stories 9, the 10th How a Realist Hero Rebuilt the Kingdom manga, I Parry Everything: What Do You Mean I’m the Strongest? I’m Not Even an Adventurer Yet! 4, Lady Rose Just Wants to Be a Commoner! 5, A Late-Start Tamer’s Laid-Back Life 8, the 10th The Magic in this Other World is Too Far Behind! manga, The Magician Who Rose From Failure 6, My Instant Death Ability Is So Overpowered, No One in This Other World Stands a Chance Against Me! 14 (the final volume), and the 3rd Now I’m a Demon Lord! Happily Ever After with Monster Girls in My Dungeon manga.

Kodansha Books has Spring Comes Riding in a Carriage, the latest in the Maiden’s Bookshelf series, based on the story by Riichi Yokomitsu.

ASH: This series is great; I’m really glad it’s being translated.

SEAN: Kodansha Manga has quite a few debuts. How I Met My Soulmate (Unmei no Hito ni Deau Hanashi) is a shoujo title from Dessert. the story of a college student looking for… well, her soulmate, it’s by the creator of Waiting for Spring.

MICHELLE: Oh! I liked Waiting for Spring.

SEAN: There’s also a new print release of the first volume of Magic Knight Rayearth. If you have not read it yet, do so. (It ran in Nakayoshi.)

ASH: Despite the number of different releases it has had, I somehow haven’t actually read it yet.

ANNA: Aww, maybe I’ll dig out my old Viz volumes.

SEAN: Pass the Monster Meat, Milady! (Akujiki Reijou to Kyouketsu Koushaku – Sono Mamono, Watashi ga Oishiku Itadakimasu!) is a shoujo title from Palcy. A young woman can’t seem to find a fiance in noble society, just because she likes eating monsters and mutant plants. I mean, god forbid a girl have hobbies.

MICHELLE: Right?!

ASH: Ha! Surprisingly, she wouldn’t be the first to have this particular interest.

ANNA: Amazing!

SEAN: Also in print: Saving 80,000 Gold in Another World for My Retirement 4.

Digitally we get The Dawn of the Witch 7 (the final volume), The Fable 21, Gang King 12, Giant Killing 40, Guilty 13 (the final volume), Medaka Kuroiwa is Impervious to My Charms 9, That Time the Manga Editor Started a New Life in the Countryside 3, and Those Snow White Notes 12.

Two debuts from Seven Seas, with similar sounding titles. I Married My Female Friend (Onna Tomodachi to Kekkon Shitemita) is from Comic Yuri Hime, by the creator of Doughnuts Under a Crescent Moon. Two women agreed to get married if they hadn’t found anyone in the next five years. They do… and maybe love comes after?

The Secret of Friendship (Tomodachi no Hanashi) is a one-shot from the author of My Love Story!!. A shy girl and a popular girl are best friends, and no guy has been able to come between them… yet. This ran in Betsuma.

MICHELLE: Ooh.

ASH: Count me intrigued!

SEAN: Seven Seas also has The Ancient Magus’ Bride 19, Chillin’ in Another World with Level 2 Super Cheat Powers 7, COLORLESS 5, Dai Dark 6, Don’t Call it Mystery 5-6, Ex-Yakuza and Stray Kitten 4 (the final volume), Hitomi-chan is Shy With Strangers 7, Marmalade Boy: Collector’s Edition 4, Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid: Elma’s Office Lady Diary 7, Mushoku Tensei: Roxy Gets Serious 10, and The Saint’s Magic Power is Omnipotent: The Other Saint 3.

MICHELLE: Already more Don’t Call it Mystery!

ASH: So many series in this batch I need to catch up on.

ANNA: Ack, me too!

SEAN: Square Enix gives us The Ice Guy and the Cool Girl 2 and My Isekai Life 10.

ASH: The Ice Guy and the Cool Girl is pretty cute.

ANNA: Agreed!

SEAN: SuBLime debuts Pink Heart Jam, which ran in a magazine called Mellow Kiss. A country boy comes to college and wants to see if he’s gay. He gets help figuring that out from another guy.

ASH: Makes sense, really.

SEAN: And we get the 3rd and final volume of MADK.

From Tokyopop we get Acid Town 3, The Black Cat & the Vampire 2 (the final volume), and If My Favorite Pop Idol Made It to the Budokan, I Would Die 4.

Viz Media debuts Demon Slayer: Kimetsu Academy (Kimetsu Gakuen!), for those who thought Attack on Titan High School was the best version of the series (i.e. me). It runs in Saikyou Jump.

There’s also Akane-Banashi 3, Call of the Night 14, Mashle: Magic and Muscles 14, One Piece Omnibus Edition 33, Pokémon: Sword & Shield 8, Yakuza Lover 11, and Yashahime: Princess Half-Demon 4.

And now it’s Yen time. Are you ready?

ASH: Not really, believe it or not.

SEAN: Starting with Yen On, Anime Bungo Stray Dogs: Novel Version is a novelization of the anime that was based on the light novels. I can’t even.

ASH: Huh.

SEAN: Blade & Bastard is a print version of the light novel released digitally by J-Novel Club, based on the old Wizardry RPG.

It’s back, despite Yen On’s prayers that Dengeki Bunko would just let them ignore the series. A Certain Magical Index NT (Shinyaku Toaru Majutsu no Index) is finally here, and the NT stands for New Testament. World War III is over, and Touma is missing presumed dead. Now what?

And Suzume is (sigh) a Makoto Shinkai movie that he also wrote this novelization for. A young girl finds doors connecting past, present and future.

ASH: Not entirely unexpected at this point.

SEAN: Also from Yen On: Bofuri: I Don’t Want to Get Hurt, so I’ll Max Out My Defense 11, Death March to the Parallel World Rhapsody 20, The Girl I Saved on the Train Turned Out to Be My Childhood Friend 5, Hollow Regalia 3, I Got a Cheat Skill in Another World and Became Unrivaled in the Real World, Too 4, I’m the Villainess, So I’m Taming the Final Boss 7, Ishura 5, Magical Explorer 6, No Game No Life 12, Spy Classroom Short Story Collection 2, and That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime 17.

In more sensible Bungo Stray Dogs news, Bungo Stray Dogs: Dazai, Chuuya, Age Fifteen (Bungou Stray Dogs: Dazai, Chuuya, Juugo-sai) is a manga based on the spinoff light novel (OK, slightly more sensible), and runs in Shonen Ace.

ASH: Slightly.

SEAN: Fruits Basket: Complete Anime Natsuki Takaya Illustrations is a sort of artbook-ish manga volume, with the author’s sketches for each anime episode and commentary.

My Poison Princess Is Still Cute (Boku no Dokuhime wa Kyou mo Kawaii) runs in Big Gangan. A demon princess who spreads poison on the battlefield. A human knight who can revive from death. Why not marry them off? And what if they’re stupid cute?

ASH: Awwwww.

SEAN: Also from Yen Press: Cross-Dressing Villainess Cecilia Sylvie 5, The Do-Over Damsel Conquers the Dragon Emperor 2, The Fiancee Chosen by the Ring 5, Gabriel Dropout 13, Game of Familia 2, The Geek Ex-Hitman 3 (the final volume), Glitch 2, Hirano and Kagiura 4, I Got a Cheat Skill in Another World and Became Unrivaled in the Real World, Too 4, I’m Quitting Heroing 4, The Illustrated Guide to Monster Girls 2, Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? Memoria Freese 2, Love of Kill 13 (the final volume), Lust Geass 7 (the final volume), My Instant Death Ability Is So Overpowered, No One in This Other World Stands a Chance Against Me! —AΩ— 3, My Mate Is a Feline Gentleman 2, Overlord: The Undead King Oh! 11, Re:ZERO -Starting Life in Another World-, Chapter 4: The Sanctuary and the Witch of Greed 7, Secrets of the Silent Witch 2, Shy 5, Slasher Maidens 9, So What’s Wrong with Getting Reborn as a Goblin? 4, Studio Apartment, Good Lighting, Angel Included 4, Tales of Wedding Rings 13, Toilet-bound Hanako-kun 19, Touring After the Apocalypse 4, The Witches’ Marriage 2, What This World Is Made Of 3 (the final volume), and Yowamushi Pedal 24.

WALL OF TEXT! See anything there?

MICHELLE: Glitch!

ASH: A lot of words. I saw a lot of words.

ANNA: Gotta get Yowamushi Pedal for my kids.

SEAN: Oh by gosh by golly, it’s time for mistletoe and manga!… doesn’t rhyme.

First off, apologies to ABLAZE. I’ve mentioned before that I have trouble sometimes tracking down the smaller publisher books, especially when Amazon’s search is so wonky. They released One Hundred Tales, a collection of short stories from the Godfather of manga, Osamu Tezuka. It looks terrific.

ASH: Oh! I knew this was on the way but hadn’t realized it was out yet. There are so many wonderful small publishers to try to keep track of these days.

ANNA: Cool!

SEAN: Now back to the end of the alphabet. The most exciting title of the week for me is Neighborhood Story (Gokinjo Monogatari), the classic shoujo manga from Ribon which spawned, as a sequel which stands alone, Paradise Kiss. A story about fashion, art, and childhood friends suddenly getting popular, it’s a must read. It’s also 300 pages, so I’m guessing it will be 4-5 volumes rather than the original 7.

MICHELLE: So excite.

ASH: Yes, very!

ANNA: I am so happy to have a chance to read this.

SEAN: Also from Viz: Blade of the Moon Princess 2, Boruto: Naruto Next Generations 18, Chainsaw Man 13, Ima Koi: Now I’m in Love 8, Kaguya-sama: Love Is War 27, My Hero Academia 36, Rainbow Days 7, Sakamoto Days 10, and Yona of the Dawn 40.

ASH: I’m a bit behind in my reading of Yona of the Dawn, but am so glad we’re getting a shojo series of such length in English!

ANNA: New Yona is always welcome.

SEAN: Udon Entertainment has Persona 4 Arena Ultimax 3.

Square Enix gives us The Girl I Like Forgot Her Glasses 7 and My Clueless First Friend 4.

Two debuts from Seven Seas. My Dog is a Death God (Yasashii Shinigami no Kaikata) is a josei series from Comic Elmo. A death god has been sent to the human world to find patients at a hospital with regrets and save their souls before they pass on. This looks good, if tear-jerking.

MICHELLE: It absolutely does, on both counts.

ASH: Gotta love a new josei series!

ANNA: We’ve been getting so many intriguing new josei releases recently.

SEAN: We Started a Threesome!! (3 Partner Hajimemashita!!) runs in eBigcomic4, which seems to be an online spinoff of Big Comic. It’s from the creator of Futari Ecchi, aka Manga Sutra, which Tokyopop attempted to release before realizing it was 89 volumes long. This is not 89 volumes long. Two men and a woman have always been childhood friends, and now they’re a married couple… throuple.

ASH: Not a relationship type often featured in licensed manga.

SEAN: And they’re doing an omnibus of Tomo-chan Is a Girl! with the first 3 volumes.

Their danmei side has The Husky and His White Cat Shizun: Erha He Ta De Bai Mao Shizun 4.

ASH: I’m happy to see danmei doing so well.

SEAN: Also from Seven Seas: 7th Time Loop: The Villainess Enjoys a Carefree Life Married to Her Worst Enemy! 4, Backstabbed in a Backwater Dungeon: My Party Tried to Kill Me, But Thanks to an Infinite Gacha I Got LVL 9999 Friends and Am Out For Revenge 4, Dungeon Builder: The Demon King’s Labyrinth is a Modern City! 8, The Eccentric Doctor of the Moon Flower Kingdom 4, Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation: Mo Dao Zu Shi The Comic 4, How Heavy are the Dumbbells You Lift? 13, Killing Stalking: Deluxe Edition 5, LES MISÉRABLES 7-8 (the final volumes), and Yakuza Reincarnation 8.

One Peace has the 4th manga volume of The Wrong Way to Use Healing Magic.

KUMA seems to have put out The Ruthless Commander and his Reincarnated Warhorse (Shouwaru Boukun Kishu to Nagasare Senba), a oneshot from on Blue about a reincarnated horse and his commander… wait, it’s BL? I sense shenanigans.

ASH: Somehow missed hearing about this one entirely until now.

SEAN: Kodansha, in print, debuts an omnibus of the first three volumes of Fairy Tail. For those who hadn’t read it before.

They’ve also got BAKEMONOGATARI 20, Blood on the Tracks 15, The Hero Life of a (Self-Proclaimed) “Mediocre” Demon! 8, The Summer With You: The Sequel (the third in this series), To Your Eternity 19, Tying the Knot with an Amagami Sister 2, and WIND BREAKER 3.

ASH: I was just thinking about To Your Eternity the other day.

SEAN: Digitally the debut is Sayabito: Swords of Destiny, a series that runs in good! Afternoon from the creator of Is Love the Answer? about two people who travel around after a war trying to locate the human weapons used to fight it.

And there’s Chihayafuru 41, The God-Tier Guardian and the Love of Six Princesses 11, Life 10, Shangri-La Frontier 13, Tying the Knot with an Amagami Sister 11, and The World is Dancing 3.

Kaiten Books has a 5th volume of The Yakuza’s Guide to Babysitting in print.

J-Novel Club has FIVE debuts next week. The Brilliant Healer’s New Life in the Shadows (Isshun de Chiryou shiteita no ni Yakudatazu to Tsuihousareta Tensai Chiyushi, Yami Healer to shite Tanoshiku Ikiru) has both the light novel AND manga (from GA Comic) release next week. A young man who has (sigh) been kicked out of his adventuring party starts an underground healing clinic, and suddenly he’s the bee’s knees.

Butareba -The Story of a Man Turned into a Pig- (Buta no Liver wa Kanetsu Shiro) is about a man who dies after eating raw pig liver and is reincarnated into a fantasy world as a cute l’il pig. He’s saved by a girl who can read minds.

ASH: Huh.

ANNA: That’s a very specific concept right there.

SEAN: The Frontier Lord Begins with Zero Subjects (Ryoumin 0-nin Start no Henkyou Ryoushusama) is a slow life series. After a war, the hero is rewarded with his own lands… an empty plain of grass. Can he survive with the help of the cute girl that always shows up in these situations?

You Were Experienced, I Was Not: Our Dating Story (Keiken Zumi na Kimi to, Keiken Zero na Ore ga, Otsukiai Suru Hanashi) is about a nerdish guy who confesses to a beautiful girl… and she accepts? And then they go to his room? Wait, what? I’ve heard this tries to negotiate its skeezy premise pretty well and isn’t just him teaching her the joys of chastity.

Also next week: the 2nd I’ll Never Set Foot in That House Again! manga, the 11th Infinite Dendrogram manga, Making Magic: The Sweet Life of a Witch Who Knows an Infinite MP Loophole 5, and the 5th Oversummoned, Overpowered and Over It! manga.

Ghost Ship has the 8th volume of The 100 Girlfriends Who Really, Really, Really, Really, REALLY Love You.

ASH: I’ve been lead to believe that I really, really, really need to try this series.

SEAN: Denpa has Under Ninja 3 coming out soon.

Dark Horse has another in its H.P. Lovecraft manga series, this time with The Shadow Over Innsmouth (Innsmouth no Kage), which ran in Comic Beam.

ASH: Looking forward to checking this out; the adaptations released so far have been great.

SEAN: In print, Airship gives us Classroom of the Elite: Year 2 7, Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear 16, The Most Heretical Last Boss Queen: From Villainess to Savior 5, and There’s No Freaking Way I’ll be Your Lover! Unless… 3.

And in early digital we get The Saint’s Magic Power is Omnipotent 9.

Any holiday favorites?

SEAN: The end of November, the start of December, and the time when the stores are far too full.

ASH: It can get a bit crowded at times.

SEAN: We start with Airship. In print, they’ve got How a Realist Hero Rebuilt the Kingdom 17 and Sword of the Demon Hunter: Kijin Gentōshō 3.

And for early digital we have The Weakest Tamer Began a Journey to Pick Up Trash 5.

Cross Infinite World debuts A Young Lady Finds Her True Calling Living with the Enemy (Oguni no Kōshaku Reijō wa Tekikoku nite Kakusei Suru), a light novel about a woman married off to another country as part of war reparations, who has to fend for herself because everyone seems to hate her.

They also have Fluffy Paradise 2 and So You Want to Live the Slow Life? A Guide to Life in the Beastly Wilds 3.

Ghost Ship itself has no debuts, but there are two Mature BL titles that would likely fit here. Anyhow, the Rabbit Is Infatuated with the Puppy (Nanse Usagi wa Koinu ni Muchuu) runs in LiQuille, and is complete in one volume. An introverted office worker who plays MMOs as a beautiful bunny girl goes to an offline meetup with his wolf partner. Will sparks fly when they find out who they really are?

ASH: Mature BL, you say?

SEAN: Training Mister Sakurada (Sakurada-senpai Kaizou Keikaku) is also a one-shot, it ran in Reijin Uno!. A playboy who loves to sleep around with other women one day wakes up in a hotel to find his subordinate there… ready to show him the wonders of kinky gay BDSM. This was censored in Japan, but apparently will be uncensored here.

ASH: Interesting! I wonder how they went about doing that.

SEAN: Actual Ghost Ship has Into the Deepest, Most Unknowable Dungeon 7 and World’s End Harem: Fantasia 10.

J-Novel Club has two debuts, both manga. I Want to Escape from Princess Lessons (Hikyouiku kara Nigetai Watashi) is based on the light novel also released by JNC, and runs in Comic Pash!.

The Invincible Little Lady (Douyara Watashi no Karada wa Kanzen Muteki no you desu ne) is also based on a light novel released by JNC, and runs in Dra-Dra-Sharp#.

Also from J-Novel Club: The Frontier Lord Begins with Zero Subjects: Tales of Blue Dias and the Onikin Alna 2, How a Realist Hero Rebuilt the Kingdom 18, the 2nd The Magician Who Rose From Failure manga volume, Moon Blossom Asura: The Ruthless Reincarnated Mercenary Forms the Ultimate Army 2, the 2nd My Daughter Left the Nest and Returned an S-Rank Adventurer manga volume, Perry Rhodan NEO 16, Private Tutor to the Duke’s Daughter 10, The Saga of Lioncourt 6 (the final volume), and the 10th The Unwanted Undead Adventurer manga volume.

Kodansha Books has the 3rd volume of Saving 80,000 Gold in Another World for my Retirement.

Kodansha Manga has an omnibus edition of Cells at Work!, with the first three volumes.

ASH: I am glad to see this remaining in print; the original series is a lot of fun. (And educational, too!)

SEAN: Also debuting, My Lovesick Life as a ’90s Otaku () is a josei manga from Kiss. A divorcee thinks back to her high school days, when she was a huge otaku but trying to hide it. She especially tries to hide it from her crush, a basketball ace who despises otaku.

MICHELLE: 100% here for this.

ANNA: Me too!

ASH: Josei, nice!

SEAN: Also in print: As a Reincarnated Aristocrat, I’ll Use My Appraisal Skill to Rise in the World 8, Beyond the Clouds 5 (the final volume), and the Naoko Takeuchi Collection version of Sailor Moon 5.

Digitally, we see Boss Bride Days 11, DAYS 38, Drops of God: Mariage 3, Gamaran: Shura 14, Hozuki’s Coolheadedness 17, My Home Hero 10, Otherworldly Munchkin: Let’s Speedrun the Dungeon with Only 1 HP! 8, and Teppu 4.

One Peace Books gives us Farming Life in Another World 9.

Seven Seas has a new danmei novel out, Heaven Official’s Blessing: Tian Guan Ci Fu 8. This is the final volume, and also comes in a Special Edition and a B&N Exclusive Edition.

ASH: Special and exclusive editions seem to becoming more prevalent.

SEAN: The manga debut is Gold Kingdom and Water Kingdom (Kin no Kuni Mizu no Kuni), a josei title from Flowers (!). Two nations at war pretend to resolve things by marrying off the most beautiful woman in one nation to the smartest man in the other… and then they both send pets instead. Can the two royals find love? Or at least pet snuggles? This is complete in one volume.

MICHELLE: Woo, more josei!

ANNA: OK, this sounds cute and if it is complete in one volume then I can’t fall too far behind in it.

ASH: I’m here for it, too.

SEAN: Seven Seas also has How NOT to Summon a Demon Lord 17, The Invincible Shovel 6, The Kingdoms of Ruin 7, Life with an Ordinary Guy Who Reincarnated into a Total Fantasy Knockout 2, The NPCs in this Village Sim Game Must Be Real! 5, No Matter What You Say, Furi-san is Scary! 5 (the final volume), Reborn as a Barrier Master 5, and A Stepmother’s ‏Märchen 2.

Square Enix Manga has the 10th volume of The Apothecary Diaries.

Tokyopop debuts Bergamot & Sunny Day, a one-shot BL title from Canna. A man who’s bad with relationships finds himself in bed with the owner of the cafe he goes to.

They’ve also got A Gentle Noble’s Vacation Recommendation 7 and Sengoku Youko 4.

Udon has a 5th volume of Daigo The Beast: Umehara Fighting Gamers!.

Two debuts from Viz. The 6th “arc” of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure debuts, with Stone Ocean. This one stars Jotaro’s daughter Jolyne.

ASH: Woohoo!

SEAN: There’s also Tekkonkinkreet: Black & White 30th Anniversary Edition, a 624-page hardcover for anyone who hasn’t already read this classic.

ASH: This is a really great work. VERY glad to see it coming back in print, and in a hardcover, too!

SEAN: We wrap up with Yen, which has a few titles. Debuting from Yen On is Agents of the Four Seasons (Shunka Shūtō Daikōsha), a fantasy about Winter, Spring, Summer and Fall as lovers.

Also from Yen On: Goblin Slayer 16, Liar Liar 2, and Wolf & Parchment: New Theory Spice & Wolf 7.

And there’s a 2nd volume of Scribbles.

ASH: I somehow missed this was a series! Gotta love Kaoru Mori’s illustrations.

SEAN: Are you hiding from capitalism? Buy these anyway.

SEAN: Duck or bump, folks.

No debuts for Yen On, but a lot of ongoing titles. We see 86 ~Eighty-Six~ 12, Chitose Is in the Ramune Bottle 5, The Misfit of Demon King Academy 2 (in their J-Novel Club print series), The Genius Prince’s Guide to Raising a Nation Out of Debt (Hey, How About Treason?) 11, Higehiro: After Being Rejected, I Shaved and Took in a High School Runaway 5, High School DxD 12, Our Last Crusade or the Rise of a New World 12, Rascal Does Not Dream of His Student (the 12th in the series), Sabikui Bisco 6, Sword Art Online Alternative Gun Gale Online 13, Wandering Witch: The Journey of Elaina 12, and You Can Have My Back 2.

ASH: That is a fair amount! I’m not sure I’m actively reading any of the relevant titles, but I’m still glad to see the collaboration with J-Novel.

SEAN: For Yen Press, we start with 15 Minutes Before We Really Date (Maji de Tsukiau 15-funmae), which ran in pixiv Ace. Two childhood friends have grown up together, and everyone assumes they’re a couple, except they aren’t. What if they tried it?

ASH: What if, indeed.

SEAN: Higurashi When They Cry: GOU Comic Anthology is what it sounds like, an anthology of comic manga by various artists based around the modern retool of Higurashi, Higurashi GOU.

Kiss the Scars of the Girls (Shoujo-tachi no Kizuato ni Kuchizuke wo) is a yuri title from Comic Newtype that is basically “what if the cast of Maria-sama Ga Miteru were vampires?”.

Lord Hades’s Ruthless Marriage (Hades-sama no Mujihi na Konin) is a shoujo series from Asuka about Lord Hades, king of the underworld, who sadly now has an arrow in his head from Eros. Only true love can remove it… and there are many candidates.

ANNA: Hmmmmmm.

ASH: Count me curious!

SEAN: One More Step, Come Stand by My Side (Ato Ippo, Soba ni Kite) is a collection of one-shots that ran in Comic Beam. They’re apparently very good.

ASH: I like one shots; they’re harder to fall behind on reading.

SEAN: Rascal Does Not Dream of Logical Witch (Seishun Buta Yarou wa Logical Witch no Yume wo Minai) is another two-volume omnibus of the manga adaptation of the 3rd light novel of this series. It ran on Comic Walker.

Reborn to Master the Blade: From Hero-King to Extraordinary Squire (Eiyuu Ou, Bu o Kiwameru Tame Tenseisu – Soshite, Sekai Saikyou no Minarai Kishi) is also from their J-Novel Club in print imprint. The manga runs in Comic Fire.

The Shiunji Family Children (Shiunji-ke no Kodomotachi) is a seinen title from Young Animal. Do you like “incest but not really?” then you’ll love this.

MICHELLE: …

ANNA: I do not like it!

SEAN: When I Became a Commoner, They Broke Off Our Engagement! (Kizoku Kara Shomin ni Natta no de, Konyaku wo Kaishou Saremashita!) is a shoujo title from Flos Comic. A young woman finds out that she was switched at birth by a fairy! You know what that means. Disowned, engagement broken, left to starve in the streets, etc. Those are some lovely cookies on the cover.

ASH: They really are.

SEAN: Also from Yen Press: Associate Professor Akira Takatsuki’s Conjecture 2, Banished from the Hero’s Party, I Decided to Live a Quiet Life in the Countryside 6, Bungo Stray Dogs 23, Bungo Stray Dogs: Wan! 6, Call the Name of the Night 3, The Demon Sword Master of Excalibur Academy 4, The Eminence in Shadow 8, Goblin Slayer 13, Honey Lemon Soda 4, I Kept Pressing the 100-Million-Year Button and Came Out on Top 4, Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? On the Side: Sword Oratoria 21, Let This Grieving Soul Retire 7, Love and Heart 9, [Oshi No Ko] 4, The Reformation of the World as Overseen by a Realist Demon King 2, Saint? No! I’m Just a Passing Beast Tamer! 2, Shadows House 5, Sugar Apple Fairy Tale 2, Sunbeams in the Sky 3 (the final volume), Touge Oni: Primal Gods in Ancient Times 2, Tsubaki-chou Lonely Planet 5, Val x Love 15, Yokohama Station SF 3 (the final volume), and Your Turn to Die: Majority Vote Death Game 4.

MICHELLE: I should check back in with Honey Lemon Soda and Tsubaki-chou Lonely Planet.

ANNA: Oh yeah, I have some volumes stacked up in my house. Gotta catch up!

SEAN: Debuting from Viz Media is Takopi’s Original Sin (Takopii no Genzai), a done-in-2-in-1 omnibus from Shonen Jump +, and an award-nominated work. A naive alien here to spread happiness meets a depressed, abused girl.

They’ve also got Choujin X 4, Dark Gathering 4, Heart Gear 2, Jujutsu Kaisen 21, Mobile Suit Gundam Thunderbolt 20, Seraph of the End 28, and Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead 12.

Udon Entertainment debut Team Phoenix, a Bessatsu Shonen Champion series that asks the question “what if the most iconic characters in Tezuka’s manga became space pirates?”.

ANNA: This sounds like a good question to ask.

ASH: Huh! I hadn’t thought to ask it myself, but I’m glad that someone did!

SEAN: Square Enix has Beauty and the Feast 11 (the final volume), Ragna Crimson 11, and SINoALICE 5.

Seven Seas has three debuts. ENNEAD is a BL webtoon inspired by Egyptian mythology, and comes in two versions: paperback (Teen rated), and hardcover (mature rated).

ASH: Now, that’s an interesting approach!

SEAN: Lonely Castle in the Mirror (Kagami no Kojou) appears to be a death game manga without the death. It runs in Ultra Jump.

ASH: Oh, I hadn’t realized that Mizuki Tsujimura’s novel had a manga adaptation!

SEAN: Orb: On the Movements of the Earth (Chi – Chikyuu no Undou ni Tsuite) is a Big Comic Spirits title that’s won oodles of awards. It’s about the age of reason meeting heresy. This is an omnibus of the first 2 volumes.

ANNA: OK, I’m curious about this.

ASH: Oodles of awards, you say? I am likewise intrigued.

SEAN: Orange Complete Series Box Set contains the 5 main volumes, plus the two that came after, in one handy box.

ASH: Very nice.

SEAN: Also from Seven Seas: Anti-Romance 2 (the final volume), Delinquent Daddy and Tender Teacher 2, The Dragon Knight’s Beloved 6, I’m the Evil Lord of an Intergalactic Empire! 3, The Knight Captain is the New Princess-to-Be 2, Last Game 3, School Zone Girls 5, Tokyo Revengers 15-16, and The Two of Them Are Pretty Much Like This 4 (the final volume).

MICHELLE: I enjoyed Anti-Romance volume one, so looking forward to the conclusion.

ASH: I should really give that one a read.

SEAN: One Peace Books has Parallel World Pharmacy 2.

Kodansha Books has a 4th volume of Am I Actually the Strongest?.

Kodansha Manga debuts in print ORIGIN, which comes from the artist of Dr. Stone and creator of Sun Ken Rock. I think it will be more like the latter than the former. In the near future, a space railroad has a serial killer running amok. Trying to stop them… is Origin. This ran in Young Magazine.

Also in print: A Condition Called Love 5, Fire Force Omnibus 7, The Great Cleric 6, I’m Giving the Disgraced Noble Lady I Rescued a Crash Course in Naughtiness 2, Medaka Kuroiwa is Impervious to My Charms 3, Wandance 7, Wave, Listen to Me! 10, and When Will Ayumu Make His Move? 14.

MICHELLE: Also gotta catch up on Wandance!

SEAN: The digital debut is How to Treat a Lady Knight Right (Ima Made Ichido mo Onna Atsukaisareta Koto ga Nai Onna Kishi o Onna Atsukai Suru Manga), which might seem familiar – it’s another rescue from everyone’s favorite punching bag, Sol Press. This ran in Suiyoubi no Sirius, and is basically for anyone who loves blushing, because god, this series is riddled with it.

ASH: Ha!

SEAN: Also digital: The Café Terrace and Its Goddesses 10, A Condition Called Love 13, A Couple of Cuckoos 14, Gamaran 15, Issak 4, Searching for My Perfect Brother 2, and Those Snow White Notes 11.

Four J-Novel Club debuts next week: two manga, two light novels. 8th Loop for the Win! With Seven Lives’ Worth of XP and the Third Princess’s Appraisal Skill, My Behemoth and I Are Unstoppable! (Loop 8-shume wa Shiawase na Jinsei wo: 7-Shuubun no Keikenchi to Daisan Oujo no “Kantei” de Kakusei shita Ore wa, Aibo no Behemoth to Tomo ni Musou suru) is the manga adaptation of the LN also out from J-NC. It runs in Comic Pash!.

Fake It to Break It! I Faked Amnesia to Break Off My Engagement and Now He’s All Lovey-Dovey?! (Konyaku Haki wo Neratte Kioku Soushitsu no Furi wo Shitara, Sokkenai Taido datta Konyakusha ga “Kioku wo Ushinau Mae no Kimi wa, Ore ni Betabore datta” to Iu, Tondemonai Uso wo Tsuki Hajimeta) is a light novel about a woman who is tired of her seemingly uncaring fiance, so fakes amnesia to break off the engagement. The trouble is, he tells her that she was madly in love with him!

From Old Country Bumpkin to Master Swordsman: My Hotshot Disciples Are All Grown Up Now, and They Won’t Leave Me Alone (Katainaka no Ossan, Kensei ni Naru: Tada no Inaka no Kenjutsu Shihan Datta noni, Taisei Shita Deshitachi ga Ore o Hōttekurenai Ken) is a light novel series about a humble sword instructor who is now invited to the royal capital by his former students. What can they learn from an average guy like him? I’m getting S-Ranked Daughter vibes from this.

The Oblivious Saint Can’t Contain Her Power: Disgraced No Longer, I’m Finding Happiness with the Prince! (Mujikaku Seijo wa Kyou mo Muishiki ni Chikara wo Tarenagasu – Koushaku-ke no Ochikobore Reijou, Totsugisaki de Shiwase wo Tsukami Toru) is a manga based on an unlicensed light novel. Disgraced daughter with no magic power, abused by her family, married off to another kingdom, turns out to have a ton of power really. You know the drill.

There’s also the third Dragon Daddy Diaries: A Girl Grows to Greatness manga volume, DUNGEON DIVE: Aim for the Deepest Level 5, Haibara’s Teenage New Game+ 5, I Want to Escape from Princess Lessons 2, I’m Not the Hero! 2, The Ideal Sponger Life 14, Reincarnated Mage with Inferior Eyes: Breezing through the Future as an Oppressed Ex-Hero 4.5, The Retired Demon of the Maxed-Out Village 2, and Villainess Level 99: I May Be the Hidden Boss but I’m Not the Demon Lord 3.

ASH: A strong showing from J-Novel this week.

SEAN: Dark Horse Comics debuts Innocent, a legendary manga that ran in Young Jump about 10 years ago. The story of Charles-Henri Sanson, the executioner of the French Revolution, it’s coming out in three omnibuses, this contains Vol. 1-3. It’s an absolute must read.

ANNA: This was not on my radar before, but now I’m curious!

SEAN: The creator also wrote #DRCL Midnight Children, out recently from Viz. Their art is amazing.

ASH: This is a series I’ve been waiting for!

SEAN: No print from Airship, but we do get an early digital debut. Easygoing Territory Defense by the Optimistic Lord: Production Magic Turns a Nameless Village into the Strongest Fortified City (Okiraku Ryōshu no Tanoshii Ryōchi Bōei: Seisan-kei Majutsu de Na mo Nakimura o Saikyō no Jōsai Toshi ni) is another one of those “reincarnated with a useless skill that’s really super awesome” books.

Are you thankful for manga? I’m thankful I finished typing this up. It took two hours.

ASH: Only two?!

SEAN: The leaves are dropping like flies, and so is the manga.

ASH: Ah, my favorite time of year.

SEAN: We start with Airship, which has two print books: Adachi and Shimamura 11 and Reincarnated As a Sword 13.

Early digital titles are Free Life Fantasy Online: Immortal Princess 5 and I Swear I Won’t Bother You Again! 4.

Denpa Books… sure, let’s go with this week, though I may be wrong… has Mobile Suit Gundam: Char’s Counterattack: Beltorchika’s Children (Kidou Senshi Gundam Gyakushuu no Char – Beltorchika Children). This is an alternate telling of the famous movie story that ran in Gundam Ace about a decade ago.

ASH: Denpa books come out whenever Denpa books come out.

SEAN: Ghost Ship has a 6th volume of Ayakashi Triangle.

And in “not quite Ghost Ship, but it’s Mature so let’s put it here”, there’s The Dangerous Convenience Store, a manwha webtoon about a part-time convenience store worker and the gangster who protects him.

ASH: Even if it’s mature, it looks pretty cute; I love the color palette on the cover.

ANNA: I mean, it does sound cute but Mature can mean many different things.

SEAN: J-Novel Club has some print editions next week, as we see An Archdemon’s Dilemma: How to Love Your Elf Bride 15, Ascendance of a Bookworm 21, and I Shall Survive Using Potions! 8.

ASH: Bookworm, you say? (I am so far behind, but still excited to see it coming out in print.)

SEAN: The digital debut for J-Novel Heart is Jeanette the Genius: Defying My Evil Stepmother by Starting a Business with My Ride-or-Die Fiancé! (Kakure Saijo wa Zenzen Megenai: Gibo to Gimai ni Ie wo Oidasareta no de Konyaku Haki Shite Moraou to Omottara, Shinshi datta Konyakusha ga Hageshiku Dekiai Shitekuru Yо̄ ni Narimashita!). The title is the plot.

We also see Ascendance of a Bookworm 28, Housekeeping Mage from Another World: Making Your Adventures Feel Like Home! 7, I’m Giving the Disgraced Noble Lady I Rescued a Crash Course in Naughtiness: I’ll Spoil Her with Delicacies and Style to Make Her the Happiest Woman in the World! 2, the 6th Isekai Tensei: Recruited to Another World manga volume, and To Another World… with Land Mines! 8.

No new titles for Kodansha Manga, but we get Cardcaptor Sakura: Clear Card 14, Hitorijime My Hero 14, SHAMAN KING: FLOWERS 5, and A Sign of Affection 7 in print.

ASH: I really need to give A Sign of Affection a try.

ANNA: It is so good!

SEAN: And digitally we have Ace of the Diamond 46, Cells at Work! Lady 3, The Fable 20, Gang King 11, The Great Cleric 11, and That Time the Manga Editor Started a New Life in the Countryside 2.

One Peace Books has the 5th volume of Captain Corinth.

Before we get into actual Seven Seas debuts, it’s time for Christmas Present buying, so we get a lot of box sets next week. The Ancient Magus’ Bride – Season 1 Box Set (Vol. 1-9), Dai Dark – Vol. 1-4 Box Set, and Made in Abyss – Season 1 Box Set (Vol. 1-5). They’ve also got a 2nd full color edition of Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid.

ASH: Oooh, The Ancient Magus’ Bride and Dai Dark sets come with posters.

SEAN: Actual debuts. 365 Days to the Wedding (Kekkon Surutte, Hontou Desu ka? – 365 Days to the Wedding) is a Big Comic Spirits title from the creator of one of the great unlicensed Shonen Sunday titles, The World God Only Knows. Two employees of a travel agency are horrified to find they may be transferred to Russia. To avoid this, they’ll have to get fake married!

MICHELLE: Hm.

ASH: People have gotten married for worse reasons.

ANNA: Alright!

SEAN: Cat on the Hero’s Lap (Yuusha no Hiza ni wa Neko ga Iru) is an Ura Sunday title that’s another cat manga. A hero needs to defeat the demon lord… or would if he could get up. But he’s petting a kitty!

MICHELLE: Additional hm.

ASH: Cat gravity manga!

SEAN: Sheep Princess in Wolf’s Clothing (Ookami no Kawa o Kabutta Hitsujihime) is a yuri title from Manga Life Storia. A wolf-eared butler saves the life of a sheep-eared princess, and becomes her tutor. Can love bloom?

ASH: Signs point to yes.

SEAN: We also see The Duke of Death and His Maid 9, Lazy Dungeon Master 6, The Tale of the Outcasts 8 (the final volume), Time Stop Hero 8, and The Weakest Tamer Began a Journey to Pick Up Trash 4.

From Square Enix we see Mr. Villain’s Day Off 2, The Strongest Sage with the Weakest Crest 15, and Tokyo Aliens 5.

SuBLime debuts Love Nest 2nd, which is, well, a sequel to Love Nest. It ran in Dear+.

They also have the 4th and final volume of Megumi & Tsugumi.

The debut from Tokyopop is Lullaby of the Dawn (Yoake no Uta), a BL title that runs in the magazine from RED. Cursed young man doomed to be corrupted and die meets pure young lad.

Tokyopop also has Dead Company 2 and Ossan Idol! 7.

Viz debuts a new shoujo title, Sakura, Saku, the latest work of Io Sakisaka, so naturally it runs in Betsuma. A girl is trying to thank a boy who helped her once, so tries to give a thank you note to his younger brother. This does not work. Described as a “bittersweet” love story.

MICHELLE: I’m all for bittersweet!

ASH: Passing along notes through a younger sibling never works.

ANNA: I am HYPE for this!!!!!

SEAN: We also see Blue Exorcist 28 (the first volume in 18 months), D.Gray-man 28 (the first volume in 28 months), Disney Twisted-Wonderland 2, Fly Me to the Moon 20, Helck 6, Mao 14, Sleepy Princess in the Demon Castle 22, and Wolf Girl and Black Prince 4.

ASH: I should read more Sleepy Princess in the Demon Castle; it’s a fun series.

ANNA: Me too!

SEAN: Lastly, Yen Press has an artbook, AidaIro Illustrations: Toilet-bound Hanako-kun 2.

ASH: Nice!

SEAN: Don’t worry, Yen Press will smash us in the face next time. In the meanwhile, what are you getting?

SEAN: November is here, and all the manga that comes with it. This and December are always the big ones.

We start with Viz Media, who don’t have any debuts. But they do have Black Clover 33, Blue Box 7, The Elusive Samurai 9, Kubo Won’t Let Me Be Invisible 10, Like a Butterfly 3, My Hero Academia: Team-Up Missions 4, My Special One 4, One Piece 104, and Queen’s Quality 18.

ASH: I had somehow forgotten that One Piece had broken triple digits.

SEAN: Steamship debuts Revenge: Mrs. Wrong (Revenge – Kaedama Kon), which ran in Cheese!. A woman sends her sister out to substitute for her on dates when she can’t be bothered, but that’s going to change soon when the sister decides to get some of her own back.

Seven Seas has two debuts. Black Night Parade (Black Night Parade) is from the creator of Saint Young Men and Arakawa Under the Bridge. A man is kidnapped by a Santa who is in charge of all the naughty children, and now the man must work at his workshop. This runs in Ultra Jump.

ASH: Oh! I had missed that we were getting another Hikaru Nakamura manga! It sounds suitably ridiculous.

SEAN: My Pancreas Broke, But My Life Got Better (Suizou ga Kowaretara, Sukoshi Ikiyasuku Narimashita) is the latest autobiographical title from Nagata Kabi, detailing her attempts to give up alcohol entirely during COVID lockdown.

ASH: Heavy for sure, but likely worth checking out.

SEAN: Seven Seas is also releasing My Lesbian Experience With Loneliness: Special Edition, a deluxe hardcover with new cover art and a bonus chapter.

ASH: Wow!

SEAN: Also from Seven Seas: Classroom of the Elite 8, Let’s Buy the Land and Cultivate It in a Different World 5, Made in Abyss Official Anthology 5, Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid: Fafnir the Recluse 3, My Girlfriend’s Child 3, No Longer Allowed In Another World 4, This Is Screwed Up, but I Was Reincarnated as a GIRL in Another World! 9, and Who Made Me a Princess 3.

One Peace Books has the 3rd manga volume of The Death Mage.

Kodansha has been listening to my whining a bit, and has fixed their calendar to be more obvious about print/digital releases. The print debut is Virgin Love (Shojo Koi. – Shojo no Shouko-san), a josei series about a 26-year-old virgin woman who moves into an experimental “singles” house to try to do something about that. This runs in the nearly unknown magazine Ar.

ANNA: Alright for josei!

ASH: Yes, indeed!

SEAN: Also in print: Am I Actually the Strongest? 5, The Darwin Incident 2, EDENS ZERO 25, I’m Standing on a Million Lives 16, L♥DK 23-24 (it got bumped), Lovely Muco! 3, The Moon on a Rainy Night 2, Noragami Omnibus 8, Peach Boy Riverside 13, The Seven Deadly Sins: Four Knights of the Apocalypse 10, Shangri-La Frontier 8, and Welcome to Demon School! Iruma-kun 4.

MICHELLE: I’m already so far behind on Iruma-kun!

SEAN: Digitally the debut is He’s Expecting (Hiyama Kentarou no Ninshin), a josei series from Be Love imagining a future where men can also give birth. Needless to say, the prejudices and stereotypes have not magically vanished.

ANNA: Even more josei!

ASH: Nice.

SEAN: Also digital: Blue Lock 22, Hitorijime My Hero 14, How to Grill Our Love 5, Life 9, Matcha Made in Heaven 7, My Unique Skill Makes Me OP even at Level 1 11, My Wife is a Little Intimidating 5, Piano Duo for the Left Hand 8, and Undead Girl Murder Farce 4.

Sorry, Kaiten Books, missed you last week: they have a digital release of The Bottom-Tier Baron’s Accidental Rise to the Top 3.

J-Novel Club has one digital debut, from the Heart imprint: Marriage, Divorce, and Beyond: The White Mage and Black Knight’s Romance Reignited (Saishō Hosa to Kurokishi no Keiyaku Kekkon to Rikon to Sonogo: Henkyō no Chi de Futari wa Fūfu o Yarinaosu). The Black Knight is the heroine, who has to get married to pass on her awesome Black Knight powers. There is a perfect match for her… but she does NOT want to marry a noble!

And we also see Back to the Battlefield: The Veteran Heroes Return to the Fray! 2, Backstabbed in a Backwater Dungeon: My Trusted Companions Tried to Kill Me, But Thanks to the Gift of an Unlimited Gacha I Got LVL 9999 Friends and Am Out For Revenge on My Former Party Members and the World 5, the 4th manga volume of Fushi no Kami: Rebuilding Civilization Starts With a Village, The Greatest Magician’s Ultimate Quest: I Woke from a 300 Year Slumber to a World of Disappointment 2, Karate Master Isekai 3, Magic Stone Gourmet: Eating Magical Power Made Me The Strongest 3, The Misfit of Demon King Academy 5, Peddler in Another World: I Can Go Back to My World Whenever I Want! 5, and A Royal Rebound: Forget My Ex-Fiancé, I’m Being Pampered by the Prince! 3 (the final volume).

ASH: Titles have so many words these days, it’s actually hard to tell how long that list actually is (or isn’t).

SEAN: Ghost Ship has an 8th volume of 2.5 Dimensional Seduction.

Dark Horse is bringing back a classic manga: Hellsing! This is a new edition with a different translation and a new design, but still 1-volume paperbacks.

ASH: Interesting.

SEAN: Airship has some print for you. Loner Life in Another World 7 and Reborn as a Space Mercenary: I Woke Up Piloting the Strongest Starship! 7.

And in early digital we get Disciple of the Lich: Or How I Was Cursed by the Gods and Dropped Into the Abyss! 6 and The Most Heretical Last Boss Queen: From Villainess to Savior 5.

Is that enough? There’s more coming soon.

SEAN: This is that odd “is it October or November?” part of the manga calendar, so expect weirdness.

ASH: I always do.

SEAN: To start, Airship has no early digital releases announced… so far… and the only print title is Reincarnated as a Dragon Hatchling 5.

EDIT: Surprise, they put them up at the very last moment! Early digital for Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear 16 and There’s No Freaking Way I’ll be Your Lover! Unless… 3.

Cross Infinite World debuts three Volume 1s in their light novel line. I Guess This Dragon Who Lost Her Egg to Disaster Is My Mom Now (Saigai de Tamago o Ushinatta Dragon ga Nazeka Ore o Sodate Hajimeta) is a rather bizarre not-quite-reincarnation story, where an adventurer on the verge of death after (sigh) being betrayed by his own party ends up in the nest of a dragon who lost her egg… and suddenly he turns into a young girl to be her new daughter.

ASH: Huh.

SEAN: Making Jam in the Woods: My Relaxing Life Starts in Another World (Mori no Hotori de Jam wo Niru: Isekai de Hajimeru Slow Life) is a slow life isekai, as the Japanese title suggests. Margaret dies and is reincarnated in a new world, where she’s rescued by an elderly noblewoman. Sure, she has a destiny… but she’d much rather just eat.

ANNA: I’m not usually into isekai but I find the idea of a manga devoted to making jam in the woods amusing.

ASH: Same!

SEAN: Third Loop: The Nameless Princess and the Cruel Emperor (Nanashi no Ōjo to Reikoku Kōtei: Shītagerareta Yōjo, Konse de wa Ryū to Mofumofu ni Dekiai Sarete Imasu) stars a girl so abused she doesn’t even has a name – she’s “Princess That”. She also loops back in time and suffers the same abuse again. But this time… suddenly people seem to love her!

Ghost Ship debuts Inside the Tentacle Cave (Inbi na Doukutsu no Sono Oku de). This runs in Comic Vamp, and is about an evolving monster that develops a taste for sexual assault. Whee.

MICHELLE: Um.

ANNA: No thank you.

ASH: Oh, my!

SEAN: They also have the 12th and final volume of SUPER HXEROS and the third and final volume of World’s End Harem: Fantasia Academy.

It’s a very quiet week for J-Novel Club, who have Record of Wortenia War 21 and The Troubles of Miss Nicola the Exorcist 2.

ASH: For a moment there, I inexplicably conflated The Troubles of Miss Nicola the Exorcist with Nicola Traveling Around the Demons’ World, but I’m pretty sure the two are unrelated.

SEAN: Kodansha Books gives us As a Reincarnated Aristocrat, I’ll Use My Appraisal Skill to Rise in the World 3.

Kodansha Manga has the print version of Ogami-san Can’t Keep It In, meaning once again I assumed something was a digital exclusive and was wrong. These lists, man, I dunno, I’m getting depressed. Anyway, see last week for details.

ASH: Boo, for bad metadata! Hooray, for print! (At least in general, I don’t actually know much about this particular series.)

SEAN: Also debuting in print is Witch Hat Atelier Kitchen (Tongari Boushi no Kitchen), a Morning Two series for everyone who wanted the hot guys in WHA to cook things.

ANNA: Really???? This sounds amazing.

ASH: Aaah!! I had somehow totally forgotten about this!

SEAN: Also in print: As a Reincarnated Aristocrat, I’ll Use My Appraisal Skill to Rise in the World 7, I Was Reincarnated as the 7th Prince so I Can Take My Time Perfecting My Magical Ability 8, Quality Assurance in Another World 4, Saving 80,000 Gold in Another World for My Retirement 3, and The Iceblade Sorcerer Shall Rule the World 7.

Digitally (at least, it looks exclusively digital), we debut Rocopon. Running in Young Magazine Web, this comedy tells the story of an alien hired by Earth as an assassin who’s getting a bit too blase and half-assed, so he’s getting a partner.

Also digital: Having an Idol-Loving Boyfriend is the Best! 4, Hozuki’s Coolheadedness 16, SHAMAN KING: THE SUPER STAR 7, and Saint Cecilia and Pastor Lawrence 12.

Seven Seas says it’s been at least 3 or 4 weeks since they last debuted a cat book, so we get My Cat is Such a Weirdo (Uchi no Neko ga Mata Hen na Koto Shiteru). This biographical series runs in Comic Essay Gekijou, so is technically josei, but, I mean, it’s ‘cat’. The genre is ‘cat’. It’s in full color, and is about how cats are weird.

MICHELLE: Looks cute!

ASH: Gotta love a good cat manga.

SEAN: Seven Seas also has The Ancient Magus’ Bride: Wizard’s Blue 7, Bite Maker: The King’s Omega 9, CANDY AND CIGARETTES 6, Crossplay Love: Otaku x Punk 6, The Great Snake’s Bride 2, His Majesty the Demon King’s Housekeeper 5, Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear 7, Re:Monster 7, Sheeply Horned Witch Romi 2, and Yokai Cats 6.

ASH: Speaking of cats. And yokai! (At least I’m always speaking of yokai.)

SEAN: Square Enix has the 10th volume of My Dress-Up Darling.

ASH: I really need to catch up with this series; I greatly enjoyed the earlier volumes I read.

SEAN: Udon Entertainment theoretically has Robotics;Notes debuting, though don’t be surprised if, like Denpa titles, the release date on Amazon is wrong. This is from the creators of Chaos;Head, Steins;Gate, and other punctuational franchises. It ran in Mag Garden, and is about a girl who loves robots and a boy who loves video games.

Viz Media has one release: Fullmetal Alchemist 20th Anniversary Book. This hardcover contains the author’s companion manga she drew as she did the series, and the thoughts of everyone involved in the franchise.

ASH: Oh! It’ll be nice for the companion manga to be collected in one place.

SEAN: Yen On has a light novel debut: A Misanthrope Teaches a Class for Demi-Humans (Jingai Kyoushitsu no Ningengirai Kyoushi). A young man traumatized by his past just wants a quiet life teaching in the mountains… but his students are all mermaids, werewolf, and rabbit girls. The copy goes out of the way to say this is NOT a fantasy or an isekai. I’m hoping it’s a bit like Interviews with Monster Girls.

ASH: I’m impressed that it’s become important enough to explicitly note something isn’t isekai.

SEAN: Yen Press debuts I May Be a Guild Receptionist, but I’ll Solo Any Boss to Clock Out on Time (Guild no Uketsukejou desu ga, Zangyou wa Iya na node Boss wo Solo Tobatsu shiyou to Omoimasu). The light novel came out from Yen last month, and proved too difficult for Amazon’s algorithms. Guild girl wants to avoid overtime, so clears all the dungeons herself. The manga runs in Dengeki Daioh.

And they’ve also got Me and My Beast Boss 2 and The Villainess Stans the Heroes: Playing the Antagonist to Support Her Faves! 2.

For a 5th week of the month this was a lot. Anything for you?