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Shortcake Cake, Vol 4

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Shortcake Cake Volume 4 by suu Morishita

I’m growing more and more fond of this series. I enjoy the steady, slice of life way the plot unfolds, the great sense of place that is grounded in the boardinghouse setting, and most of all the silent moments between the characters that are filled with meaning. I swear, a 4 panel layout of characters from Shortcake Cake just glancing at each other would be a long drawn out speech about feelings in a less well-executed manga.

Switching back and forth one’s object of affections isn’t really anything new, but as Ten starts to reassess her feelings for Riku, Chiaki comes down with a severe case of second male lead in a Korean drama syndrome, where he basically speaks to Ten about his feelings for her in incredibly oblique riddles that she is totally unable to pick up on. Oh, the foolishness and frustration of teenage shoujo manga love! Chiaki and Ten’s fake relationship to fake out Rei gives her an excuse to dismiss his declarations of affection, which Chiaki conveniently times for when Rei is around. Ten realizes her emotions are shifting and thinks to herself that if she was reading a story where she was the protagonist, she wouldn’t like it, because the main character contradicts herself and is selfish. She thinks of her current life being “a bad book” but it seems to more like just what anyone would expect from a teenager not very practiced at friendship. Ten’s self awareness goes a long way in making her sympathetic as she attempts to figure out her suddenly very complicated romantic life.

Chiaki and Riku also attempt to negotiate the strange new undercurrents in their friendship. Ten starts a summer job and in a fraught decision, the trio decide to go to a beach together during their vacation. This volume very much felt like summer, and as Ten goes home she starts to get more clarity over her emotions. I enjoyed the way Ten is self-reflective throughout the book, she seems to be making a decision that will carry over to the next volume, but she’s put in a lot of emotional work behind the next step on her journey.

Is It Wrong To Try To Pick Up Girls In A Dungeon? On The Side: Sword Oratoria, Vol. 9

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By Fujino Omori and Kiyotaka Haimura. Released in Japan as “Dungeon ni Deai o Motomeru no wa Machigatte Iru Darou ka? Gaiden – Sword Oratoria” by Softbank Creative. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Dale DeLucia.

I’ve talked before about how I regret that the publisher talked the author into using the title this series has, as opposed to the original title Familia Myth. Granted, I see the publisher’s point, Familia Myth is not the most eye-catching title in the world. But DanMachi’s title puts the emphasis on Bell and his harem, even in these side stories dedicated to Loki’s crew. Whereas Familia Myth emphasizes the family aspect of the series, and I honestly think that that’s handled better than the harem. This 9th volume of Sword Oratoria interlaces with the 8th volume of the main series, showing us some scenes we’d seen from Bell’s POV in a new light when we get Aiz’s inner monologue. Interspersed with this are flashbacks to the time when Aiz first joined Loki Familia, and… let’s just say that “she was a little terror” doesn’t even begin to describe little Aiz and her desire for strength above all else, including her own safety.

Given that the cover art heavily implied it, I was expecting this volume to be heavy on Aiz’s backstory and emotional journey, and I wasn’t wrong. We’re still not quite sure what happened to her parents or precisely who they were, but we definitely get her first year with Loki’s familia sketched in here. Aiz is driven by a desire to kill monsters and get stronger, and does not care about anything else. She’s a bratty kid, and a lot more emotional than you’d expect from the stoic Aiz we know and love. In fact, this also applies to the current Aiz, who is in the dragon-scale worshiping village that she, Bell and Hestia ended up in the 8th DanMachi. In my review of that book I said I wanted to find out someday why Aiz was so FURIOUS at this village worshiping the scale, and here we find out exactly why… and maybe also why she has such trouble with Bell’s “not all monsters are evil” fight, which I’m fairly certain will be the subject of the next Sword Oratoria book.

I was expecting Aiz to get development, but I was also delighted with what this book did for Riveria. The “team mom” of the Familia, she’s been that way for so long that it’s easy to forget she wasn’t always that way, and nothing brings out her more emotional and angry sides quite like a 7-year-old with a death wish who won’t listen to a word she says. Little Aiz does not understand what everyone else does, which is that the look in her eyes is not only worrying but terrifying, and Riveria does not want her to go into the dungeon and get massacred by a really strong monster (which almost happens right at the end). As we’ve cone to expect with DanMachi in general, the plot beats are very cliched – we literally get a “you’re not my mom!” scene here – but that doewsn’t make it less heartwarming.

Also this plus one or two hilarious scenes of “why we never give Aiz alcohol” make this one of the strongest books in the entire series. Highly recommended.

Bookshelf Briefs 6/25/19

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Again!!, Vol. 9 | By Mitsurou Kubo | Kodansha Comics – Victories are always hard-won in Again!!. Nothing is tidy. Nothing goes right the first time. In this volume, Imamura and the ouendan help the drama club for the school festival, since they essentially poached the new members the drama club would have gotten in this reality. They were originally going to put on a musical Imamura wrote called “I Want to Die,” despite the school’s attempts to shut that down. That is, until, their club advisor collapses and might actually die, at which point they feel compelled to perform the sanitized “I Want to Live” version instead. After initially feeling left out of this version, Imamura ends up being proud of it, and catches a glimpse of a place he might belong in this world. He’s fallen in love, too, and could be happy here. Now the question is… will he be allowed to stay? – Michelle Smith

Caterpillar Girl and Bad Texter Boy | By Sanzo | Yen Press – Sometimes there’s a manga with a premise so bizarre my curiosity can’t help but be piqued. Caterpillar Girl and Bad Texter Boy is one of those manga. It’s also a surprisingly good tale, the strangeness of which can be taken at face value as well as as an overt metaphor. Believing she’s too good for him, Akane rejects Suzume’s confession of love. Miserable, Suzume makes drastic wish from a local god which transforms her into a caterpillar-like creature. The main characters in Caterpillar Girl and Bad Texter Boy are all dealing with some major issues surrounding love, trust, and self-worth, and they definitely don’t always handle them in the best or healthiest ways. The result is a manga that can be incredibly dark and bittersweet. There are some inconsistencies in the story’s internal logic regarding which wishes can and cannot be fulfilled, but I still rather enjoyed this peculiar manga. – Ash Brown

DAYS, Vol. 14 | By Tsuyoshi Yasuda | Kodansha Comics (digital only) – It’s only volume fourteen and Seiseki has made it to nationals. By sports manga standards, that might seem very quick, but actually, one of the things I like best about DAYS is that the main character, Tsukamoto, never takes anything for granted and always pauses to appreciate things, like the random chance of meeting Kazama and ending up on a team with these guys, or the excitement of taking a long bus ride as a team, or the fun of getting to stay in a hotel with Western beds. In between, there’s soccer aplenty, as the third years play against the younger students in an attempt to imbue them with some passion, but the overall feeling is one of “be sure to enjoy this moment,” which I really like. We get a glimpse here, but the tournament will really get underway next time! – Michelle Smith

Food Wars!: Shokugeki no Soma, Vol. 30 | By Yuto Tsukuda and Shun Saeki | VIZ Media – I continue to be torn about Food Wars!. I really did like some aspects of this volume, like Soma recognizing Erina’s superior skill and having her taste every component of his dish in their team challenge while simultaneously spurring her on to greater creative heights. I was happy with the outcome, and am curious about what the power structure at Totsuki will be like going forward—will Soma and Erina really be on the Council of Ten? However, I just can’t overlook that a major plot point in this volume involves Azami’s “spiritual essence” pulsating outward every time he tastes something delicious, causing multiple students in the audience to disrobe. I get that there needed to be a gimmick so that Azami could not refute the deliciousness of Soma and Erina’s two-course meal, but I just wish it wasn’t this. Sigh. – Michelle Smith

Hakumei & Mikochi: Tiny Little Life in the Woods, Vol. 6 | By Takuto Kashiki | Yen Press – I really enjoy each volume of this series, but it can’t be denied that it’s hard to fill even a brief with enough words for a review. Hakumei gets a haircut, but it grows back to its normal scruff fairly soon after. The couple also build a new outdoor kitchen with a brick oven for Mikochi, who is always looking for more and better ways to cook. Probably my favorite chapter in here was the one where Sen goes to the bar and runs into Conju, who is very drunk and very talkative, and we get a nice contrast of extrovert and introvert. For the most part, the series delivers more of the same, a peaceful, easy fantasy that will make you smile. Which is what I ask it to do, so that’s good. – Sean Gaffney

Hatsu*Haru, Vol. 7 | By Shizuki Fujisawa | Yen Press – This has rapidly turned into one of my favorite shoujo manga, even as it comes up with relatively obvious plot beats and complications. It succeeds because of the strength of its cast. Kai wants things to progress now that he’s dating Riko, but a kiss may be a little too much to ask, even with the help of both Ayumi AND Einstein. Meanwhile, an accidental remark by Miki’s sister has Kiyo feeling very self-conscious of her height… and realizing that Riko is not opening up about her own issues puts a “you never talk to me about anything” rift in their friendship. Meanwhile, the one weak link in the series—Tarou and Kagura—had better get an arc dedicated to them soon or else they’re never going to grab the readers. Still great. – Sean Gaffney

The Ideal Sponger Life, Vol. 2 | By Tsunehiko Watanabe and Neko Hinotsuki | Seven Seas – After the first volume introduced the hero and heroine and had them working to achieve their objective (an heir) by having sex (which they do), this second volumes gives us what I think most readers will stick around for: oodles of political intrigue. Zenjiro is finally introduced to most of the major nobles of the area in a dinner party of the damned, and has to navigate being polite but also not overly subservient—and how to accept gifts by not accepting them. He does a very good job, as everyone admits. He may not be able to fend off the need for a concubine or two, though—monogamy is relatively unheard of in this world. Fortunately, he and Aura still really love each other, which counts for a lot. – Sean Gaffney

Satoko and Nada, Vol. 2 | By Yupechika | Seven Seas – There’s a lot more Nada than Satoko in this second volume, which should not be surprising—she’s the one who is “foreign” to Japanese eyes, whereas Satoko’s realization that you can’t get milk bread in America runs a distant second. This is not to say that this volume isn’t great fun, letting the reader learn about Saudi customs (there’s an arranged marriage coming up that it’s hinted will take up a lot of the third book) and also lets her try things that she could never get away with back home (like riding a bike). Satoko is also doing things, like getting a cafeteria job on campus, and her role in this second volume is to become more outgoing—it’s said that she’s gotten better at presentations since she was paired with the gregarious Nada. READ THIS. – Sean Gaffney

Takane & Hana, Vol. 9 | By Yuki Shiwasu | Viz Media – I loved the fact that this series did not decide to embrace all the usual “we’re living together” tropes—indeed, the best scene in the book has Takane running into Hana dressed only in a towel coming out of the shower, and her reaction (and subsequent teasing) had me cheering. Hana’s been informed by Takane’s grandfather that this is necessary for his growth, so they reluctantly decide to go through with it. But that doesn’t make it any easier given that he’s still a lot older than her and she’s still in school. It also gives Okamon the push to confess to Hana, though honestly I’m not expecting much there. This series continues to be very funny and makes me root for the couple despite its problematic age issues. – Sean Gaffney

Whenever Our Eyes Meet…: A Women’s Love Anthology | By Various Artists | Yen Press – The reason to get this anthology is that all of its content is dedicated to adult women out of school and at the workplace. This is so refreshing it almost drowns out the actual content. It helps that the initial story, featuring an artist accepting a commission from a singer who wears a horse’s head mask to hide her face, is a nice start. But the rest of the stories are also quite good, with some being fleeting encounters and some turning into lasting relationships. I also liked the story of the up-and-coming woman who’s doing a presentation and finds her old coworker is her cab driver. Sometimes this risks being just another anthology, but in the end I enjoyed it. – Sean Gaffney

Kaiju Girl Caramelise, Vol. 1

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By Spica Aoki. Released in Japan as “Otome Kaiju Caramelise” by Media Factory, serialization ongoing in the magazine Comic Alive. Released in North America by Yen Press. Translated by Taylor Engel.

As a lot of people know, manga magazines/genres in Japan tend to be loosely divided into four categories: shonen (for boys), shoujo (for girls), seinen (for men), and josei (for women). There are more of these, of course, such as magazines for little kids, but for the most part those are the typical genres. I say “loosely” divided as over the years it’s becomes easier for readers and creators to cross over into titles they might not be expected in. More and more women are reading Jump, and not just for BL fantasies. Guys are enjoying Betsufure titles. This comes up because the creator of Kaiju Girl Caramelise had previously been serialized in shoujo magazines such as Princess. As she says in the afterword, when she got a title for Comic Alive, which is a media-oriented seinen magazine, she thought at first she’d need to make it more obviously for guys. Her editors explained that no, this story really works best as shoujo, do it that way even though we’re Comic Alive. And they were right.

Kuroe has suffered her entire life from some sort of illness that causes her to grow kaiju parts, particularly claws and tail, when she’s experiencing feelings of love or passion. Needless to say, this doesn’t win friends or influence people, and so in high school she’s a sullen loner who avoids everyone and is given the cruel nickname “Psycho-tan”. (Kudos to Yen for the footnote explaining the nickname in Japanese, btw.) Given that this IS a shoujo title, she quickly captures the attention of the hottest boy in class, and ends up “tricked” by him into going on a date with her to get expensive pancakes. Unfortunately, his being nice to her, listening to her advice, and holding her hand puts her repressed feelings into overdrive, and she quickly runs away before turning into a full-blown Godzilla-style Kaiju, rampaging through Tokyo and horrifying everyone. The metaphor is about as subtle as a truck.

Despite the unsubtlety, this first volume is a lot of fun. The artist had previously done Beasts of Abigaile, which I also enjoyed. Kuroe is intelligent and likeable, if also somewhat blunt and caustic. Arata is a nice guy (no, not like that) who so far has no idea that the girl he likes transforms into a 30-story-tall monster when she thinks about them dating. There’s a third girl introduced in the standard “oh, he has a girlfriend of course he does… wait, no” sort of way, and she’s amusing in a fangirl sort of way – let’s hope SHE never finds out the truth about Kuroe, as I don’t think this series needs to go down a yuri road. And as always in series with troubled teens, I am always appreciative of a concerned parent, as Kuroe’s mother knows the truth about her condition and wants Kuroe to be happy despite it.

This is, as you’d expect, a fairly lighthearted series, but it’s also sweet in its own way. It’s just started in Japan, so I wouldn’t expect new volumes every two months, but it’s worth checking out.

Re: ZERO ~Starting Life in Another World~, Vol. 10

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By Tappei Nagatsuki and Shinichirou Otsuka. Released in Japan by Media Factory. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Jeremiah Borque.

As with my review of the 9th volume, I recommend that this review not be read by anyone who’s only seen the anime or manga versions of Re: Zero.

The first half of this book is merely good, as it has to set up the basics of what will be the next arc. Subaru and Emilia arrive back at the mansion only to find that the other half of the village – the one with Ram – is not there. Instead they’ve ended up at the Sanctuary, an area deep in the woods that is the home to demi-humans. Headed over there, Subaru quickly runs afoul of the Witch Echidna, who is able to wrap him around her little finger despite the obvious handicap of being dead. Her tomb is home to a trial that Emilia must take – and, it appears, Subaru is able to take it as well, as he quickly gets sucked into the first of the three tests it involves. Which is good for the reader, as it involves confronting and accepting his past… a past that we’ve been almost entirely ignorant of till now.

So yeah, as expected, Rem is still in a coma and no one remembers her, and it appears that this is going to be the case for the entire arc. I suspect that Rem fans are not going to be too happy with the bright side, which is that this will allow Emilia to get more character development that she didn’t get in the previous arc. Unfortunately, as with Subaru’s character development in the last few books, this is going to begin with a certain amount of frustration – while Subaru is pretty much able to pass the first test with flying colors, Emilia fails the “confront your past” part every single time. I expect a future book will tell us why, but till then, sobbing on the ground and calling out for Puck (who is also absent, for reasons we don’t yet know) is not a good look for her.

The main reason to read this book is the chapter where Subaru confronts his past, which means that we actually get to know his past. His parents are both fantastic in their own way, two people who you read about for ten seconds and immediately understand “yes, these are absolutely who his parents would be”. Subaru suffered as a kid from what a lot of us do, which is being above average in academics and athletics to a certain age, but then starting to fall behind others. Subaru, who was measuring himself by his “perfect” father and coming up short, overcompensated by being more boisterous and doing more crazy, dangerous things at school – something that eventually lost him his friends and made him decide to stop going to school altogether. The trial allows him to do something that he can’t do in real life – say goodbye to both his parents, and assure them that he’s stopped standing still and is moving forward. The entire sequence is terrific.

Unfortunately, Re: ZERO still has its main gimmick in play. And so at the end of the volume Subaru is brutally murdered, and we see a face that I’d honestly totally forgotten about doing the killing. I’m not sure how far back he’ll go, but I suspect we won’t be seeing the first stage of the trial all over again. Also, his idea to take the trial FOR Emilia as her knight is a bad one, and I hope it gets scrapped. In any case, this is a fantastic new volume of an excellent series. Man, remember when I hated Subaru? It seems so long ago now…

Silver Spoon, Vol. 9

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By Hiromu Arakawa. Released in Japan as “Gin no Saji” by Shogakukan, serialization ongoing in the magazine Weekly Shonen Sunday. Released in North America by Yen Press. Translated by Amanda Haley.

What I said about farming last time goes double for this volume, as there’s a pile of new information here about pigs, horses and everything in between. The pigs are getting ready to be butchered, and this time the entire school pools its money together to buy three of them. Despite having raised them from little piglets, this time around Hachiken is going to see Bacon’s journey all the way through to… well, bacon. As such, we get a very detailed observation of a pig butchering, so a word of warning for those of you who are squeamish. It is quite interesting, though, and long exposure to the procedure shows all the kids bouncing ideas off each other at a very fast pace (for future selling, etc.) – something that the teachers credit Hachiken for, as his ignorance in farm matters but raging curiosity leads the other kids to think of things they may not have otherwise.

We’ve been watching Hachiken grow over the course of this series, and this volume is excellent at showing the reader how far he’s come and showing him how far he still needs to go. In order to help Mikage study, he breaks down and asks his brother for help, and finds out his study guide notes are his for the taking – provided he goes back home to get them, as he left them in his old room. (In the interim, Shingo has somehow gotten married to a Russian woman, on the spur of the moment, showing again how different he and Hachiken are.) Hachiken’s return at first impresses us – his old middle school classmates note his new abilities and relaxed countenance, even as they get fake angry when they hear there are girls he speaks to. Sadly, going home means another fight with his father, one where Hachiken for once does not back down and defends what he sees as his Dad berating his classmates. It’s a great scene, and leads to his mother journeying up to the school herself to see what Hachiken is doing there.

He’s also tutoring Mikage, and tutoring is all it is, much to the frustration of her friends and the joy of his. (The frustrating of teenage hormones is a constant refrain in this manga, usually used to make things more lighthearted.) Mikage is trying, but there’s no miracle cure – no matter how much Hachiken breaks it down into horse anecdotes, this is going to be hard for her. (I laughed when the group suggested he become a teacher, and Mikage correctly pointed out he would die trying to help each student at maximum power.) There’s no turning back now, though, especially since her parents are selling some of the horses to help pay for her to go to college. The need for money is a constant theme of this series, which is also why it’s so jarring when Hachiken asks his father about any debt they may have, and finds that he is far better off than everyone else – they’ve even saved for his college. His is not a farming family. (Hachiken is also savvy enough to realize that he needs a real accountant for their growing business translations, and turning to Tamako was very smart of him.)

Can Mikage get into college? Can she afford to? Can she and Hachiken admit their feelings to each other without their parents or male classmates killing him? Can Shingo survive telling his parents he has a new Russian bride? Can Valentine’s Day be the celebration that Christmas absolutely wasn’t? These questions and many others will be answered in the next volume of Silver Spoon.

Restaurant to Another World, Vol. 2

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By Junpei Inuzuka and Katsumi Enami. Released in Japan as “Isekai Shokudou” by Shufunotomosha. Released in North America by Seven Seas. Translated by Elliot Ryouga. Adapted by Nino Cipri.

I admit that I worried, given the basic content on this series, whether I’d be able to write a full review of any further volumes. It’s not quite true to say there’s still no plot – there is one, barely – or characterization – that’s half the reason to read this – but the reason to get this series is still “I like to read about people eating food and discussing how delicious it is”, and that is what you get. Some of our regulars are back for new chapters, we get some new regulars (though the other waitress from the anime, Kuro, is still absent) and some new dishes. We also hear more about how the food from the Restaurant is beginning to seriously affect the fantasy world it interacts with, as more and more people are not content with waiting seven days but want to try and recreate a bit of what they’ve experienced. The setting may be RPG fantasy, but the food is slowly leveling up.

We do find out a bit more about Aletta, the demon girl who showed up and was hired as a waitress at the end of the first volume. As a waitress, she’s mostly invisible, which is expected given the nature of the chapters – she’s not there to talk about the food, the customers are after she serves them. But we do see some chapters devoted specifically to her – her amazement at the modern-day soap and shampoo that she gets from the still unnamed Master, her reluctance to eat potatoes after having to subsist on only them for so long, and her eventual job as housekeeper for Sarah, the adventurer whose story opened the first book, who doesn’t care that she’s a demon and is happy to have someone take care of things while she’s away. She’s also a good shill for cookies.

Elsewhere, the food company heir brings along his most trusted employee to try to recreate the pizza he’s served by the restaurant; some fairies who are very wary of the door experience some delicious crepes that change their mind (though I disagree with their saying only sweet crepes are good); a demon with the head of a lion tells us about nearly dying in the arena as a gladiator before the restaurant gave him some much needed strength (via katsudon, of course). There’s one chapter that has a predictable but utterly welcome fakeout. In fact, a lot of the series feels like comfort food to me in general. You’re not getting any surprises here – the dwarfs say “By my axe!”, because that’s what fantasy dwarfs do. Likewise, the elves are somewhat prissy, the princesses regal yet cute, etc. The menu doesn’t change, but it’s delicious to read.

The cover of the third volume suggests we’ll meet our new waitress soon, so there may be more plot on the way there. But if it’s descriptions of food and drink you want, both Western *and* Eastern, you acn’t go wrong with this series.

Little Miss P

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By Ken Koyama. Released in Japan as “Seiri-chan” by Enterbrain. Released in North America by Yen Press. Translated by Taylor Engel.

I will admit that of all the surprising licenses that I saw Yen announce at Anime NYC, this was probably the most surprising. Mr. Men and Little Miss have been around forever, and I have seen pastiches of them before (see the Doctor Who series that came out recently). And Japan has anthropomorphized seemingly everything, from battleships to countries. So the concept should not be that startling, but somehow the idea of a giant period wandering around punching women when it’s that time of the month still made me blink. But, having finished this volume (complete in one, I believe), it’s actually handled pretty well. While there’s humor involved, the humor is more subdued than I expected, and Little Miss P tends to be a lot more sympathetic than you’d expect given that they’re punching women all the tie and taking their blood. It’s a manga that’s trying to show off what happens to women every month, how it can vary from person to person, and how to cope with it.

The book is divided into chapters, each one dealing with a different woman and their encounters with Little Miss P, a walking, talking period. Little Miss P shows up when it’s that time of the month, punches them in the uterus, draws their blood with a giant syringe, and then usually stays around to chat now that the woman in each chapter is feeling miserable. We see a housewife who’s been trying to get pregnant, a convenience store clerk with low self-esteem, two magical girls (one of the more bizarre chapters, but it does show off how different women can have different types of periods), etc. We go back to the Edo Period, when menstruating women had to go sleep in a shed apart from their home; meet two high school drama geeks who bodyswap so each can see how the other half lives; and watch a woman in a new relationship try to bond with the man’s young daughter, who’s just gotten her first period.

The best story is probably the last one, which shows a “fictionalized” version of how Japan first brought out disposable sanitary napkins, showing the woman behind it fighting against men who don’t want to fund it because it’s not something they care about. There’s a lot of analysis of how the marketing was handled, and how careful everyone had to be to make it accessible but not offensive. It was really good. On the downside, while I was entertained by Little Miss P, and certainly the use of the character made this more marketable than simply “a short story collection about various women and their periods” would have been, sometimes it was a bit annoying. And adding the male versions, with Mr. Libido and Mr. Virginity, fell completely flat for me, with the exception of the bodyswap chapter, where it actually worked in context.

I wouldn’t pick this up for the concept – a little Little Miss P goes a long way. But for a series of short stories about women dealing with that time of the month, it was very readable.

Manga the Week of 6/26/19

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SEAN: The last week in June is just as packed as the one before, believe it or not.

Bookwalker starts us off with the 8th volume of The Ryuo’s Work Is Never Done.

Dark Horse has the 2nd Berserk Deluxe Edition and a new HP Lovecraft Collection, At the Mountains of Madness.

ASH: Both the first Lovecraft collection and the first deluxe edition of Berserk were great!

SEAN: Denpa’s debut is actually a reissue of sort. Super Dimensional Love Gun, by cult favorite Shintaro Kago, was put out a couple of years ago by hentai publisher Fakku. Now Denpa is re-releasing it, and we get a digital version to boot. It’s a collection of Kago’s work, meaning it’s trippy as hell.

ASH: It really is.

MJ: I tend not to go for hentai, but the title of this collection is hard to resist, as is its description as “trippy as hell.”

SEAN: I’m not sure Super Dimensional Love Gun is hentai, despite its old publisher. Kago is not really something that arouses so much as morbidly fascinates.

Denpa also has the 2nd Today’s Menu for the Emiya Family, for those who want more of the Fate/Stay Night Golden Ending.

J-Novel Club, novel-wise, has An Archdemon’s Dilemma 6 and In Another World with My Smartphone 15.

On the manga end, they debut A Very Fairy Apartment, an Overlap title that has the protagonist discover, well, the apartment is full of fairies. It’s a 4-koma, and going for cute, I suspect.

There’s also the debut of the manga adaptation of I Shall Survive Using Potions!.

Kodansha has a print debut, sort of, with Card Captor Sakura: Collector’s Edition 1. New translation, new scans, new bells and whistles, etc.

MICHELLE: Different still from the Dark Horse translation? Sheesh.

ASH: From what I’ve seen, it does look like a really nice release. I haven’t decided if I’m going to double-dip or not yet, though.

ANNA: Yeah, I’m glad when series can stay in print but sometimes I wonder what the point is.

MJ: I really loved the Dark Horse edition, and it’s hard to justify buying it again as much as I adore the series. It’s SO TEMPTING, though.

SEAN: Also in print is Fire Force 16, a complete box set of Princess Jellyfish, the 5th Sailor Moon Eternal Edition, and (for real, I think) Tokyo Tarareba Girls 7.

ASH: Akiko Higashimura’s work is so good! I’m glad that Princess Jellyfish is getting even more love.

And also Witch Hat Atelier 2, which deserves its own line as it’s so awesome.

MICHELLE: It’s definitely on my list!

ASH: The first volume was gorgeous. I’m looking forward to the next volume.

ANNA: I still need to unearth and read the first volume, the stacks of manga in my house are out of control.

SEAN: Digitally we see Ao-chan Can’t Study 8, Asahi-sempai’s Favorite 4, Can You Just Die My Darling? 9, Elegant Yokai Apartment Life 14, My Boy in Blue 10, Tokyo Alice 12, and the 7th and final The Walls Between Us.

One Peace has a 3rd Hinamatsuri.

ASH: The first two volumes were ridiculous in a good way.

SEAN: Seven Seas has no debuts, but quite a bit of ongoing. We see the 2nd Ancient Magus’ Bride Supplement, the 4th Arifureta manga, Dragon Goes House-Hunting 3, Hour of the Zombie 9, the print edition of the 6th Make My Abilities Average! novel, The Ideal Sponger Life 2, the 2nd Reincarnated as a Sword novel digitally, and Satoko and Nada 2. Been waiting for more of Satoko and Nada.

MICHELLE: I’ll definitely be picking up Satoko and Nada and I remain curious about Dragon Goes House-Hunting, as well.

ASH: Satoko and Nada is so good! I’ll be picking up the Ancient Magus’ Bride supplement, too.

ANNA: Haven’t read Satoko and Nada, but I did get it for my library!

SEAN: Vertical has a new Monogatari Series, this one a short story collection so big it got split in two. Koyomimonogatari: Calendar Tale 1 has the first six short stories.

The Comics end of Vertical has To the Abandoned Sacred Beasts 8.

Viz has a digital-only debut with The Right Way to Make Jump!, a series that is about… well… creating manga in a Jump! style.

Yen digital has a 23rd Corpse Princess. They’ve also got Vols. 1-7.5 of My Youth Romantic Comedy is Wrong As I Expected’s novel out digitally as a catchup.

Yen has FOUR new debuts. The first is Little Miss P (Seiri-chan), a josei title from Enterbrain about the adventures of an anthropomorphic period. As in menstruation. It is apparently quite fun.

MICHELLE: …

ASH: I’ll admit, I’m curious. I do tend to like Enterbrain titles, and I’m always looking for more josei.

ANNA: Huh. I wonder, it could be good or terrible with that premise.

MJ: I don’t know how to feel about this. I mean, it probably is fun, but I dislike periods quite a lot, so it’s hard to feel jovial about them.

SEAN: Kaiju Girl Caramelise is a new title from the creator of Beasts of Abigaile, though this one runs in seinen magazine Comic Alive. It’s about a girl with an illness that makes her body do weird things, and they guy she falls for hard.

ANNA: Beasts of Abigaile was pretty fun so I am curious about this.

SEAN: KonoSuba is quite popular, and the most popular character is arguably Megumin, so why not have a spinoff? Konosuba: An Explosion on This Wonderful World! is based on the light novel (due out from Yen later in the year), and features Megumin and all the rest of your favorites from the Crimson Magic Clan! And Yunyun.

And The Monster and the Beast (Bakemono to Kedamono) is not by Natsume Ono, though the art style may fool you. It’s a BL title from Kadokawa’s Asuka Ciel, and seems to be the male equivalent of Beauty and the Beast Girl.

MICHELLE: This one looks really nifty.

ASH: I plan on checking it out!

MJ: It sounds like my thing just from the art style alone.

SEAN: And lastly, there’s a 3rd manga volume for Sword Art Online Alternative: Gun Gale Online.

What manga are you sitting and reading immediately?

The Hero Is Overpowered But Overly Cautious, Vol. 1

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By Light Tuchihi and Saori Toyota. Released in Japan as “Kono Yuusha Ga Ore TUEEE Kuse Ni Shinchou Sugiru” by Kadokawa. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Matt Rutsohn.

As I was reading this book, the one thing that came to mind over and over was that this was aimed squarely at the KonoSuba crowd – at least here in North America. It’s not QUITE accurate to describe it as “KonoSuba if Aqua were the narrator”, but it’s probably a decent starting point. Ristarte is a young, somewhat shallow goddess whose job it is to summon heroes and assist them in saving worlds. This time around, though, the world she has to save is in need of a very, VERY strong hero. So she summons Seiya Ryuuguuin, a handsome Japanese man whose stats are much better than the other starting heroes. It does say that his personality is “overly cautious”, but Rista just glosses over that. As it turns out, he IS a very capable hero… it’s just that his personality is appalling, and, as we said, he’s overly cautious. Will he even bother to save the world? And will Rista go bald before he does?

First things first, if you hate tsukkomi, drop this title right now. About 90 percent of it is 1) Seiya does a thing; 2) Rista screams “Why are you doing the thing?!?!” over and over again. This can get a bit irritating after a while, and honestly I would normally wish that Rista would simply be quiet and accept Seiya a bit more… except he really does inspire shouting. He’s not socially inept per se, but he doesn’t care about politeness of niceties, and his paranoia and need to be prepared have led him to attack allies just as much as he does enemies. He’s not a very likeable person, and you can absolutely see why Rista is the narrator. That said, she’s a bit flighty herself, and also frequently pauses to imagine herself and Seiya in a romantic mood, as he is quite handsome. But just being around Seiya for more than five minutes will tell you this isn’t going to happen.

The humor is mostly character-driven, which is good. There are a number of other goddesses that show up, including one who hints that Seiya’s past may not just be “typical Japanese guy” (in fact, we learn absolutely nothing of his past). There’s also two dragonborn teens whose job it is to help the hero on his quest and also grow and get stronger… except Seiya is so ludicrously strong that they’re reduced to carrying his things, which crushes their spirit. That said, there are hints that Seiya is not, in fact, a complete monster, he’s just completely unable to frame an action in any way that makes him look kind of helpful. (The author hopes to develop this in the second book, showing that they are well aware of how exasperating it can be.) There’s enough here for me to try a second volume, but I do feel that the Cautious Hero was more exhausting than humorous at the end of the day.

And I will admit, sometimes when he says “I’m perfectly prepared” he does look a bit cool.

Bookshelf Briefs 6/19/19

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Anonymous Noise, Vol. 14 | By Ryoko Fukuyama | Viz Media – Well, that didn’t last long. In a series about the heroine singing in a band, when she can’t sing if she’s dating one of the guys she likes, it’s best to end it. Or at least that’s what Momo thinks, anyway. Time to see who wins the battle of self-sacrifices. Elsewhere, it’s dawning on the band that they need to think past high school, and Haruyoshi is waffling about the direction he wants to go next. I won’t spoil how this is resolved, but it’s sort of hilarious *and* touching. And of course there’s Nino’s part in all this, as she has to deal with a breakup as well, in addition to trying to find her voice—again. Anonymous Noise never seems to lack for things to happen, and it continues to putter along smoothly. – Sean Gaffney

Ao Haru Ride, Vol. 5 | By Io Sakisaka | Viz Media – Sadly, going to the festival turns out to not happen—again—as Kou is once again being drawn away from Futaba, this time because he’s trying to help a distant friend with personal problems. And also possibly because Futaba is hanging out and chatting with Toma, who’s handsome and nice and also has fallen head over heels for her, something Futaba realizes not one bit. And so much of this volume returns us to the halcyon days of Kou being avoidant and difficult. At least Futaba angsting over telling her friends about her feelings for Kou is quickly nipped in the bud. I do really like the reverse costume cafe they do. (They’re right; Murao does look amazing as a butler.) Will this cliffhanger affect anything? Oh, probably. – Sean Gaffney

Ao Haru Ride, Vol. 5 | By Io Sakisaka | VIZ Media – Futaba and Kou had gotten close to confessing their mutual feelings, and he even invited her again to the summer festival they didn’t get to attend in junior high. But then he suddenly cancels and is incommunicado for the rest of summer vacation. When school resumes, it seems he’s actually in good spirits, but is preoccupied with his phone. Eventually it emerges that he’s helping a former classmate get over the death of a parent, and though Futaba thinks this is admirable, she nonetheless feels left out. The fact that this classmate is female is obvious but is held as a reveal until the final page. Meanwhile, a male rival must be introduced too, and so we meet Toma Kikuchi, a boy who Futaba accidentally groped, who comes to like her after realizing she’s perceptive, honest, and not as tough as she might appear. Standard shoujo, but still enjoyable. – Michelle Smith

As Miss Beelzebub Likes, Vol. 6 | By Matoba | Yen Press – No one seems to be more surprised than the artist that this series has reached six volumes, which results in a meta gag when Azazel’s assistant Samyaza appears, and they note it’s far too late in the series to introduce someone like him. He bounces off Mullin well, though—perhaps a bit too well for Beelzebub’s taste, as she worries that they’re both too shippable with each other. Elsewhere, the exchange diary between Belphegor and Azazel is actually not a half-bad idea, but too many cooks spoil a bit of the pie. Unfortunately, there’s more Eurynome as well, and trying to indicate she’ll eventually be shipped with Samyaza does not balance out her continued lust for young boys. Read it if you already are. – Sean Gaffney

A Certain Scientific Accelerator, Vol. 9 | By Kazuma Kamachi and Arata Yamaji| Seven Seas – As it turns out, the girl that Last Order ran into in the previous volume, despite giving off immense “I am a secret villain” vibes—mostly to Last Order, to be fair—turns out not to be a villain. She is, however, a twin, and it’s her sister who seems to have the villain card as well as the tragic past. It’s also startling to see the princess from the previous book captured fairly easily (possibly as Accelerator is healing so AWOL this book), and the cliffhanger, which involves repeated use of the food/death metaphors that litter the book, is really chilling. That said, if there’s one thing that defines this volume of the series, it’s the big ol’ fight in the middle of it, which is very well done. – Sean Gaffney

Dead Dead Demon’s Dededede Destruction, Vol. 5 | By Inio Asano | Viz Media – I admit I avoided reading this for a while. I still expect it to end with everyone either dead or depressed. I mean, it’s Asano. But as always, when I finally started to read it it was fantastic. The art alone is a main reason to read this. Plus, now that everyone is in college, relationships are allowed to develop more naturally. Unfortunately, in both cases this may end up being a mistake. Oran has bonded with the alien in disguise, and hides him by saying he’s her boyfriend… something that may be coming true. As for Kadode, I was sort of hoping that graduation would mean the end of the crush on her teacher, but apparently it means there’s nothing standing in the way anymore. Will either girl find happiness before the end of humanity that continues to be implied here? – Sean Gaffney

My Solo Exchange Diary, Vol. 2 | By Nagata Kabi | Seven Seas – The sequel to My Lesbian Experience with Loneliness ends with the second volume; the conclusion of the series is just as achingly and brutally honest as its beginning. Kabi’s struggle with anxiety and depression continues through its highs and extreme lows. The success of her autobiographical manga ultimately compounds the issue for her as she starts to feel guilty about some of the things that she’s said about family members and has to deal with the consequences of revealing so much of herself to a public audience. A central portion of the second volume of My Solo Exchange Diary is devoted to Kabi’s stays in two different hospital wards—part of her ongoing efforts to get her life back on track. Due to the subject matter of My Solo Exchange Diary, the series isn’t always the easiest to read, but it is still an approachable, compelling, and noteworthy work. – Ash Brown

Queen’s Quality, Vol. 7 | By Kyousuke Motomi | Viz Media – We’re down to twice a year for this series now, the same as Japan, but it’s making those volumes count. We get lots of Fumi being awesome (toilet brush or no), lots of romantic sizzle between her and Kyutaro, overcoming self-loathing and doubt, and a whole lot of testicle jokes. In case you wondered what all the “golden ball” stuff was. The beauty of this artist is that she’s not afraid to have things get completely silly even in the middle of a dramatic fight, and alternatively have the silliest moments give way to drama. We also get a lot more insight into Kyutaro’s late parents here. But, and the cliffhanger doesn’t quite tell us, will someone finally realize that Fumi + Fuyu = Fuyumi? – Sean Gaffney

Ran the Peerless Beauty, Vol. 4 | By Ammitsu | Kodansha Comics (digital only) – Ran and Akira are now officially a couple, and this volume features milestones like calling each other by first names, going on a real first date, holding hands, and Christmas. While it cannot be denied that the plot is fairly formulaic at this point, there’s still something special about Ran the Peerless Beauty. Part of it, I think, is that we see just as much of Akira’s emotions as we do Ran’s, and it’s often the case that when she’s nervous or embarrassed or unsure, he confesses that he’s right there with her. Too, Ammitsu’s art is very expressive. I loved a particular smirk of Akira’s (after purloining a strawberry) very much but actually laughed out loud at the panel in which her father finally comprehends that Akira is Ran’s boyfriend. I hope this one gets a print release so it might reach a wider audience. – Michelle Smith

Sweetness & Lightning, Vol. 12 | By Gido Amagakure | Kodansha Comics – I wasn’t prepared for the final volume of Sweetness & Lightning to make me verklempt, but that’s because I didn’t know the final chapter would see Tsumugi going off to college in Hokkaido. Before this, we got a sequence of chapters with Tsumugi at various ages, where we see her growing in independence and culinary skill. And, finally, heading out to experience life on her own. It’s very nice! Too, I really appreciated that nothing about the finale hinges on whether Inuzuka and Kotori might get together now that she’s somewhere in the neighborhood of 30. It’s clear that Tsumugi would like that, but to the end, this is the story of a father and daughter and how they have stuck together after the loss of someone they love. I enjoyed it very much. – Michelle Smith

Takane & Hana, Vol. 9 | By Yuki Shiwasu | VIZ Media – I know it’s contrived and rather over-the-top, but the meddling chairman forcing his grandson and the Nonomura family to live together really works for me. In order to convince Takane to go along with it, Hana has to honestly confess that she wants to live with him, something she later reiterates to Okamon, who is very worried about her whole situation and finally ends up confessing. I’m not sure Hana and Takane are really getting closer—for every sweet study session there’s a misguided, extravagant bedroom redecoration—but the whole setup does at least put a fresh spin on their arrangement and provides, in the chairman’s words, “a place for you two to become certain about each other.” This series continues to be a lot of fun. – Michelle Smith

Animeta!, Vol. 1

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By Yaso Hanamura. Released in Japan by Kodansha, serialization ongoing in the magazine Morning Two. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by T. Emerson.

Learning how to be an animator is the name of the game here (the title even reads “Animator” when read out loud), though it’s not quite as bad as the foodie manga that are out these days – there are a few interstitial pages of instructions about pencil type, etc. but for the most part this is meant to entertain. Well, entertain and warn. Our heroine is Miyuki Sanada, a freshly graduated girl who was sort of wandering through life without much of a purpose until she saw a magical girl anime that CHANGED HER LIFE. Now she wants to be an animator, and has decided to try out at the studio that created it. She gets past the first stage, so must have some drawing chops, but she’s woefully unprepared for what lies beyond. And even if she gets hired, it’s just gonna be cleaning and inbetweening, and the wages aren’t enough to live on. Can her love of anime be enough to power past all the reasons to get a better job?

And so the thrust of Animeta! is twofold. On the one hand, you see that this is not a career for those who are really good at drawing and need a career. It’s thankless, the pay isn’t great unless you’re a god-tier animator, and, as Miyuki finds out, everyone seems to be better than her. She’s a pure newbie, so doesn’t even know what cleaning and inbetweening are, and her drawing speed is far too slow for what they need to do. What’s worse, her instructor is of the “I am going to be as blunt and rude to you as possible to see if you quit” school of teaching, though rest assured we do see the heart of gold underneath. Everyone else in the company is wondering why Miyuki was hired at all, but… we the reader know she has that certain something. And yes, it’s something beyond “I really love anime!”.

That’s the thing I liked best about this first volume, which is mostly introductory; it’s got a great balance in Miyuki. Her love of anime may be what keeps her going, along with a few notes from a “mysterious” helper (mysterious to her, we guessed), and I liked her perspective at the end when the crew are looking for mistakes in the animation and she keeps pointing out the things that were really great. But there are also signs that with proper development she could be a real talent. It’s why the director hired her (he saw her quick memory when some change was dropped), and also why the woman teaching her is also intrigued – she may not be very good at inbetweening, but her art shows that she might be better when it comes to key animation – what inbetweeners dream of graduating to.

So Animeta! is a fun workplace manga, and you want to see Miyuki succeed. It’s out digitally at the moment, but a print release is due in the fall. Recommended for those who imagine Noa Izumi from Patlabor as an animator.

Yona of the Dawn, Vol 18

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Yona of the Dawn Volume 18 by Mizuho Kusanagi

At long last, a Zeno volume! I’m going to attempt to talk around some major spoilers, but I found this volume both immensely satisfying and surprising. Zeno, as the smiling and enigmatic Yellow Dragon has always been a bit apart from Yona and the rest of her companions. He just pops up one day without much backstory, and his power of regeneration as a shield in battle was hidden for many volumes. Now the reader finally sees his power unleashed, and I wasn’t expecting Kusanagi to take a detour into action-centric body horror, but she certainly did. As Zeno is hurt and regenerates, he is able to tap into powers of strength that were previously undemonstrated but he does so at a great personal cost. In the hands of a lesser artist, his stand on the battlefield would be much more difficult to execute.

Most of this volume ends up being an extended flashback where we see the original four dragons and the Crimson Dragon King. Kusanagi is so clever with character designs, body language, and expressions, we can see how traces of the original dragon warriors remain in their reincarnated versions in Yona’s present day. In the end, the reader is left feeling like Zeno is fully integrated into the group, knowing the hidden meaning behind his smiles that initially seemed too easy. The depth of story that Kusanagi has built up over 18 volumes is considerable, I’m always putting each volume of Yona of the Dawn wondering how it is going to get even better, and it never fails to deliver.

Outbreak Company, Vol. 9

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By Ichiro Sakaki and Yuugen. Released in Japan by Kodansha. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Kevin Steinbach.

Honestly, returning to Japan for a visit was an obvious plotline. So obvious, in fact, that the anime (which I haven’t seen) apparently also used it in an original story. This time Shinichi hears that his light novel author dad is hospitalized and worries, so he asks if he can return to Japan, despite the fact that the Japanese government recently tried to kill him. But there’s been a regime change since the series began, and maybe he’s not quite as wanted? So he returns, with Minori as his guard, Myusel and Elvia also has his bodyguards (and disguised), and Petralka hiding in the luggage so she can come too. Fortunately, his dad is fine. Unfortunately, that leaked soccer game footage has led to everyone in it being wanted by most major world governments. As a result, Minori is captured by the Russians, while Shinichi and the others are menaced by Chinese and Americans. And worst of all, his sister has turned into a tsundere!

The first three-quarters of this book is set up for comedy, and it’s decent comedy, with only one of two instances of “dur… boobs!” from our hero. Shinichi’s parents are just as over the top as they were in the first novel, and his dad in particular is amusing and reminds me very much of Shinichi himself. As for the little sister, you can see why she’s frustrated with her entire family, but also why “Shinichi’s gone to India to find himself” did not really fly. Not sure how much more we’ll see of her, but she’s cute. The sections in Akiba are also fun, with Petralkas getting lured in by gatcha games, Myusel maid fangirling, and Elvia really REALLY wanting some expensive artbooks. It’s only as they get surrounded by more and more people who recognize them that you realize how foolish it was to return (and really, Minori should have realized this would happen) and things get very serious very fast.

We are unlikely to see more Outbreak Company animated, which is a shame, as the car chase that is towards the end of the book is top tier, and shows Elvia, Myusel and Shinichi all being pretty damn badass. The book ends on a cliffhanger as, having returned home for lack of other safe havens, they are surrounded by more bad guys. There are also a few other odd hints here and there that Japan and Eldant may be meshing together a bit as, while magic mostly does not seem to work here as it does there, there are moments where that does not seem to be the case – in particular, moments where the girls who can’t speak Japanese are acting like action heroes. Also, how much of an international incident is everyone going to make of this? And is Minori OK? We never saw her after she was captured. It’s a good thing this series is light-heated in nature…

Outbreak Company is a fast-paced comedy that also has some really good character beats. I still enjoy it.

Arifureta: From Commonplace to World’s Strongest, Vol. 9

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By Ryo Shirakome and Takayaki. Released in Japan as “Arifureta Shokugyou de Sekai Saikyou” by Overlap. Released in North America digitally by J-Novel Club. Translated by Ningen.

The last few Arifureta reviews have begun with me discussing some aspect of Hajime’s personality, but for the most part, after realizing he now has a way to return to Japan, Hajime’s character arc seems to be coming to an end. There is discussion here about how he can possibly fit in back home after all the changes he’s gone though, but Hajime’s attitude to this is basically “can’t do anything about it now, so will see what happens when it happens”. There’s also a side story towards the end of the book that shows that he’s not really as changed as everyone may think, as we see much of his core character even as a bullied high school student. Instead of discussing Hajime, I’d like to focus on the two characters who get the most attention during this volume (the first of a two-parter), and that’s Kouki and Shizuka. Who are suffering from the same problem but going in two very different directions.

The function of this final dungeon, aside from the snow and ice and a bunch of bigfoot monsters, is to make those who try to conquer it confront their negative traits. This starts as whispers in the ear, and ends with a full on “my evil twin” confrontation. We don’t actually see Kouki’s battle in this volume, but I’m going to go out on a limb here and say he’s not going to pass. In fact, I’ll even go further: I don’t think Kouki as an antagonist is going to be resolved in the series. I’m not sure it will get to the point where he’s an outright villain like Eri, but Kouki sees the world, and those around him, in black and white, and as long as he keeps doing that he’s never going to accept that Hajime isn’t “bad” in some way. It can be very frustrating to the reader – and indeed the other cast members, all of whom know exactly what his inner turmoil is but refuse to bring it up as they know once they do he’ll snap and that will be it. Expect snapping next book.

As for Shizuku, who is getting yet another picture on the cover, she not only has to confront her repressed love for Hajime, which has been bubbling up for some time, but also her repression of everything else in her life. We see her backstory as a girl who wants to do feminine things but has an amazing talent for kendo, and as a result is slotted in as ‘tomboy’ by almost everyone. Her friendship with Kouki’s who’s more an annoying little brother than anything else, also causes her to be ostracized, and it’s only Kaori who’s able to save her. (This also gives insight as to why she’s so willing to put up with Kaori’s eccentric behavior bordering on stalking towards Hajime – and why she refuses to admit her own feelings.) In the end, Shizuku’s main issue is that she needs to be more selfish. She takes a good first step at the end.

As noted, this turns out to be a two-parter, and the author says he’ll show the other cast members confronting their dark selves, including Kouki. I suspect they’ll conquer the dungeon, but the question is what will they do about the rest of the plot, which takes a back seat here aside from occasional mentions of Eri. The latest volume comes out in Japan next week, so we may need to wait a few months to find out.