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Otherworld Barbara, Vols. 1-2

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By Moto Hagio | Published by Fantagraphics

otherworldIt’s 2052 and Tokio Watarai, a dream pilot, is coming home to Japan for the first time in three years. Although his ex-wife and son are in Japan, he’s actually returning for a job involving a girl who’s been sleeping for seven years since being found with her parents’ hearts in her stomach. Her name is Aoba, and when Tokio enters her dream it’s all about an island called Barbara in which kids can fly and cannibalism factors in to funeral rites. Soon, he learns that his son, Kiriya, actually invented Barbara. So how is Aoba able to dream about it?

That introductory paragraph actually simplifies the story greatly. There’s also Tokio’s horrid ex-wife Akemi and the creepy priest Johannes whom she loves and who could possibly be Aoba’s grandfather but also head of an American orphanage in which cloned children were created, including one called Paris who comes to Japan and believes Kiriya might be a boy he knew called Taka. There’s Kiriya’s massive angst, his dreams of Mars, his dream conversations with Aoba, the girl Laika who fancies him, a psychiatrist who treated Aoba who is killed by a tornado she created, his identity-swapping and cross-dressing fraternal twin children, anti-aging research (potentially conducted upon the residents of Barbara) including a suit that turns Aoba’s grandma into a young woman who calls herself Marienbad and has a fling with Tokio, Daikoku’s ominous hinting that Kiriya will kill Tokio someday, parental regrets, etc.

By the end of the first volume, so very many plot threads are in the air that I was not at all sure that Hagio-sensei would be able to make everything make sense in the end. To use just one example: If Barbara is just a dream—and, indeed, no such island actually exists—then how is it possible that the blood of its residents is used for anti-aging medicine? And yet we see evidence that such advances are already in the works. And because of all this plot stuff, there’s not a lot of time for building solid relationships. There is angst aplenty, especially courtesy of Kiriya, but the whole Marienbad/Tokio hookup, for example, is just extremely random. The strongest bond, though, is definitely the love Tokio feels for his son and his regret over having been a crappy father.

Happily, the second volume does make with the answers, starting almost immediately. Not everything is answered with absolute certainty—one particular narrative thread takes a completely unexpected and surprisingly poignant turn. Even 90% of the way through, I would’ve said there was no way Otherworld Barbara would be able to make me cry, and yet it did. I won’t reveal how, but I loved the devastating consequences of a desperate act on Tokio’s part, and how it led him to have faith that Aoba’s dream of Barbara really could be shaping a vision of the future. That ending makes everything else worthwhile. Too, I enjoyed the contrast between Hagio’s uncomplicated, light-filled artwork and the dark and weird story she told.

Ultimately, Otherworld Barbara is definitely worth reading. Thank you, Fantagraphics, for releasing it!

Otherworld Barbara is complete in two 2-in-1 editions.

Review copies provided by the publisher

The Devil Is a Part-Timer!, Vol. 8

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By Satoshi Wagahara and 029. Released in Japan by ASCII Mediaworks. Released in North America by Yen Press. Translated by Kevin Gifford.

Well, I’d talked about how much I love the daily life scenes in this series, and that’s still true. The author even throws in a classic one right at the beginning just to soften us up. But yeah, those days are, if not gone for good, at least gone for now. Because one of Maou’s larger flaws is tending to act impulsively and worry about consequences after the fact, and so the events of the 6th book are coming back at him with a vengeance. I won’t say that he ends the book completely defeated, but what with most of the cast being captured or incapacitated in some way, things aren’t looking good. I also said in the review of Vol. 6 that I suspected we’d be headed back to Enta Isla, and while we aren’t there yet, it’s very clear that we’re setting up a book or two over there next time. Fortunately, despite all these events, the writing remains first rate.

Yes, that’s a new girl on the cover, and if you think she looks like Alas Ramus, you’re on the right track. Her personality seems to be ‘hyperactive child’, despite appearing to be about 13 or so, and Maou has a lot more trouble dealing with her, which doesn’t bode well for his fatherhood skills when Alas Ramus grows up. (Can Alas Ramus grow up?) Of course, Maou is a little bit stressed out, mostly as Emi and Alas Ramus returned to Enta Isla for a visit and have not come back, despite it being well past the time she said she would. Leaving aside the wisdom of Emi returning to Enta Isla after the events of the previous books (Emi is fairly straightforward, so I can see her doing this), the absence makes Maou realize just how much Emi is a part of his life now. Of course, he doesn’t realize this right away, but takes most of the book, and a few talking tos by Chiho and Suzuno, in order to grasp it. Oh yes, and the worst part – he’s trying to get a motor scooter license (for the job, of course), and was so stressed he failed the exam! Which means more expenses.

Emi’s absence is not just noted by the fantasy characters, of course. First of all, if this takes much longer she’s going to need to look for a new job, as she’s currently AWOL at the call center. Secondly, Rika is very upset about the whole thing, and she runs to Ashiya is case he knows anything and ends up caught up in the attack on Japan that the forces of evil have launched to destroy Maou’s “demon generals”. The book balances on an edge as to whether Ashiya is going to tell her all about them or not, but of course he’s spared the choice by the bad guys showing up. The last half of the book has a lot of cool fight scenes, which if they ever do Season 2 of this series will look quite good animated, and Chiho gets to act cool. Still, there’s no getting around that Maou is in trouble, Emi is in trouble, Ashiya is in trouble, and those who can help are either too human or too injured. Excellent stuff, but now we have to wait to see what happens next.

Bookshelf Briefs 8/28/17

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Black Clover, Vol. 8 | By Yuki Tabata | Viz Media – This one’s all fighting, but the fighting is really good. There’s, if not genuine casualties, at least genuine damage (I wonder about Kahono’s voice in the future), and a minor villain who’s easy to hate and makes you root for Asta to pound him into sand. Noelle also gets to level up, and we get a lot more attention paid to Finral and Vanessa, two of the Black Bulls we hadn’t really seen beyond surface impressions. Vanessa is ‘the older drunk girl,’ and it’s hard not to think “Fairy Tail ripoff,” but she’s quite likeable, and Finral’s “I am secretly terrified” is also relatable. And through it all there’s Asta, carrying on and never giving up even when all common sense tells him it’s useless. This has actually gotten quite good, if still unoriginal. – Sean Gaffney

Skip Beat!, Vol. 39 | By Yoshiki Nakamura | VIZ Media – What an uplifting volume of Skip Beat!. Saena’s flashback comes to a close and Kyoko’s feelings about her mother have settled somewhat. She has accepted that she’s always going to want to attain her mother’s love, and even more calmly determined to achieve her acting goals. And so now we move into the next arc, where Kyoko is evidently going to be auditioning for a role on the samurai drama Moko will have a part in whilst also investigating a Love-Me case involving an actress using shady means to eliminate the competition. There’s some good stuff with Ren and Sho in this volume, but mostly it’s about Kyoko declaring her ambitions with clear-eyed focus, and I will never not love that. – Michelle Smith

Toriko, Vol. 39 | By Mitsutoshi Shimabukuro | Viz Media – As always, the more that Toriko is about strange and bizarre foods and the preparation thereof, the better it is. As such, I definitely enjoyed the first half, showing us Komatsu and company managing to do the impossible once again through his sheer power of food love (I also enjoyed the joke where he briefly got his old, volume one nose back), more than the second half, which featured Toriko and Starjun doing a lot of shonen battle moves in their face-off against the battle wolf. We also get some backstory for Neo and his all-devouring appetite, which gives a nice dose of creepy horror in an otherwise standard shonen series. Toriko is still enjoyable, but I admit I am counting down till its end. – Sean Gaffney

What Did You Eat Yesterday?, Vol. 12 | By Fumi Yoshinaga | Vertical Comics – How much you enjoy volume twelve will likely depend on how much you can tolerate the petulant antics of Mr. Kohinata’s boyfriend, Wataru, also known as “Gilbert,” who throws a tantrum for a stupid reason and runs off to hide in a café for a month waiting to be found. This does lead to the most tension-filled moment in the series for some time, in which Mr. Kohinata makes a pass at Shiro, and though I’m disappointed that Shiro even considers it, he’s obviously unwilling to jeopardize his relationship with Kenji. Of course, there is cooking throughout, though some recipes seem strange to me (cabbage and sardine spaghetti?) and a new clerical worker at the law firm who has figured out Shiro’s sexual orientation, but doesn’t seem inclined to broadcast the information. Still extremely good, even with Wataru and the sardines. – Michelle Smith

Yowamushi Pedal, Vol. 6 | By Wataru Watanabe | Yen Press – Oh, how I do love this series. The initial drama involves Onoda being involved in a crash and ending up in last place and having to pass one hundred riders in order to rejoin his teammates and take over pulling them up the mountain so that Makishiba, who has been waiting for another climber to rely on so he could give attaining the mountain checkpoint his all, can race one last time against Toudou from Hakone. Toudou is a comical character, but I absolutely loved the joy he and Makishiba experienced just to be facing off against each other again. Dialogue isn’t deep (think “Sharghh!!”) but the mutual respect and gratitude is. Also, I am 1000% positive doujinshi exists for this pairing. Can’t wait for the next volume! – Michelle Smith

My Week in Manga: August 21-August 27, 2017

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My News and Reviews

I was away last week traveling for work as well as for yet another family wedding (this year has been full of them), but I still managed to post a review before it was all said and done. It’s several month’s later than I really intended it to be since the manga was actually released back in May, but I’ve finally reviewed the first omnibus of My Brother’s Husband by Gengoroh Tagame. The manga was easily one of my most anticipated releases for 2017. I’ve actually been collecting the series in Japanese (even though my reading comprehension of the language isn’t quite where it needs to be yet), but I am incredibly happy that it’s being translated into English. I’m not sure when the second and final omnibus is scheduled to be released, but there’s not question that I’ll be picking it up once it’s available.

Quick Takes

Assassin's Creed: Awakening, Volume 1Assassin’s Creed: Awakening, Volume 1 written by Takashi Yano and illustrated by Kenji Oiwa. There have been numerous Assassin’s Creed comic adaptations published by Titan Comics, so including Yano and Oiwa’s Awakening  as part of its catalog seems an obvious choice to make even though the publisher doesn’t typically release many manga. Admittedly, I’ve not played very much of any of the Assassin’s Creed video games (although what I have played I’ve largely liked) and I’m not especially familiar with Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag, the installment upon which Awakening is loosely based. What primarily drew me to the series was the involvement of Oiwa, one of the creators behind the manga adaptations of Otsuichi’s Goth and Welcome to the N.H.K., both of which I greatly enjoyed. Awakening alternates between two stories taking place in different time periods which turn out to be deeply connected to each other although the depth of that connection isn’t immediately clear. The first, and the one I prefer, is set in the early eighteenth century and follows Edward Kenway, a pirate captain who gets caught up in the conflict between the Templars and Assassins. Centuries later, that conflict is still ongoing, impacting the life of Masato Yagyu and his family in unexpected ways.

The Backstagers, Volume 1: Rebels without ApplauseThe Backstagers, Volume 1: Rebels without Applause written by James Tynion IV, illustrated by Rian Sygh, and colors by Walter Baiamonte. I believe The Backstagers first came to my attention when it was featured on a list of ongoing comics series which included trans characters. And indeed, one of the characters in The Backstagers–and an important main character at that–is a transguy, something that is almost unheard of in mainstream comics. (Also of note, the series’ co-creator and illustrator is also trans, which I hadn’t initially realized.) That was enough to make me interested in the series, and the first volume was more than enough to make me a fan. The Backstagers is set at an all-boys high school and largely follows the stage crew of the drama club. Jory, a recent transfer student, who at first he thought he wanted to be an actor ultimately finds himself swept up in the magic of what happens behind the scenes. Quite literally, actually. The Backstagers is a tremendous amount of high-energy fun with brightly colored artwork and sparkles, blushing, and flowers galore. The comic is also delightfully queer and diverse, breaking down gender stereotypes by presenting a wide variety of masculinities. I absolutely loved the first volume of The Backstagers and definitely look forward to more.

Nirvana, Volume 1Nirvana, Volume 1 by Jin and Sayuki. Due to her selflessness and devotion to volunteer efforts, Yachiyo Hitotose has become known as the Modern-Day Florence Nightingale. While on a trip to help those in need overseas, Yachiyo’s flight crashes and she suddenly finds herself reincarnated in another world known as Gulgraf. Believed to be the new embodiment of the divine goddess Sakuya, the bringer of light, Yachiyo has naturally taken upon herself to rescue and protect the residents of Gulgaf from the powers of darkness. As well-meaning as she is, Yachiyo will still need plenty of help if she wants to make a difference, especially as there are those who already want her dead. And so she sets off on an adventure, traveling across the world in search of allies as she learns to control the new powers she has been granted. Nirvana does seem to at least in part be be inspired by Buddhist and Hindu mythologies and mysticism–which honestly is what compelled me to give the series a try–but at this point they seem to be used mostly as a veneer and to provide the series’ most basic narrative structure and worldbuilding. I wasn’t as captivated as I was hoping to be with Nirvana, but I was still entertained by the first volume which takes a much more comedic approach than I was expecting.

My Brother’s Husband, Omnibus 1

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My Brother's Husband, Omnibus 1Creator: Gengoroh Tagame
Translator: Anne Ishii
U.S. publisher: Pantheon Books
ISBN: 9781101871515
Released: May 2017
Original release: 2015-2016
Awards: Japan Media Arts Award

Gengoroh Tagame is an extremely influential manga creator known worldwide for his work in sadomasochistic, homoerotic fantasies. More recently, however, he has garnered a significant amount of attention for his series My Brother’s Husband, a four-volume manga aimed at general audience which directly addresses homophobia and other forms of discrimination in Japanese culture–one of the first works of its kind created for a prominent, mainstream magazine. My Brother’s Husband began serialization in Monthly Action in 2014 and would go on to win a Japan Media Arts Excellence Award in 2015. The series is one of the very few manga which I have made the point of collecting in the original Japanese, but I was absolutely thrilled when it was licensed for an English-language release. Translated by Anne Ishii, who has been instrumental in bringing Tagame’s work as a whole to English-reading audiences, the first omnibus in Pantheon Books’ hardcover edition of My Brother’s Husband was published in 2017 and is equivalent to the first two Japanese volumes released in 2015 and 2016.

Yaichi is a single father in Japan raising his young daughter Kana. Following the unexpected death of his estranged twin brother Ryoji, his brother’s Canadian husband Mike Flanagan arrives to meet the family and pay his respects. Yaichi’s life is suddenly upended–out of touch with Ryoji for years, he had never entirely come to terms with the fact that his younger brother was gay, but with Mike around it becomes something impossible for him to ignore. As for Kana, she is absolutely delighted to discover an uncle who she never knew existed and manages to convince her father to allow Mike to stay in their home while he’s in the area. As the days pass, the three of them become closer despite the occasional awkward clash of cultures; Mike’s kindhearted, gentle nature combined with Kana’s infectious exuberance and curiosity force Yaichi to reflect on his own learned attitudes and preconceived notions regarding homosexuality as well as confront the gulf that formed between him and Ryoji because of them. Through Mike, Yaichi is finally able reconnect with and learn more about his brother and who he was.

My Brother's Husband, Omnibus 1, page 110Tagame’s message of kindness, love, and acceptance in My Brother’s Husband is not at all subtle. At times it may come across as obvious or even like preaching to the choir for some readers, but the manga is really intended more for those who, like Yaichi, have casually conformed with and promulgated a culture of discrimination and misinformed stereotypes within society without putting much thought into it than it is for those who have personally experienced the negative effects of that discrimination. Even so, My Brother’s Husband still has plenty to offer that will appeal to a wide audience. The series is in turns heartwarming and heartbreaking, an honest and earnest exploration of family and the complex and often complicated relationships that exist between people. It’s a beautiful and moving story supported by strong, expressive artwork. Unsurprisingly, considering his artistic background, Tagame particularly excels in the realistic portrayal of adult masculine forms, but Kana’s cute character design can be quite effective as well. The backgrounds in the manga are fairly simple, the focus of Tageme’s illustrations is definitely on the characters, their facial expressions and body language adeptly conveying their thoughts and feelings, helping to establish the emotional core of the manga.

I unequivocally love the three lead characters and the development of their relationships in My Brother’s Husband. One of ways this is frequently accomplished in the manga which I particularly appreciate is through the sharing of meals and food, a natural and important way that people form connections in real life which serves to further cement those that exist in My Brother’s Husband. In addition to providing the series’ primary point of perspective, Yaichi is also probably the most well-rounded character. He has his flaws, but he is also a devoted and caring father who is willing to challenge his own internalized prejudices, initially for the sake of his daughter but ultimately for himself and the others, like Mike, he has come to care about as well. Seeing Yaichi slowly grow as a person and become more accepting over the course of the first omnibus of My Brother’s Husband has been wonderful. Mike, while overall coming across as a less nuanced character, is still a very positive and sympathetic portrayal of a gay man, his incredible patience and understanding adding to what makes him so immensely endearing. And of course there’s Kana, too, who can so easily love others despite their differences, her youth and innocence allowing her an amount of freedom and flexibility that’s not as easily accessible to adults who have already become set in their ways. I am very much looking forward to the continuation and conclusion of the story of these three in the second omnibus of My Brother’s Husband.

Skip Beat! Vol. 39

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Skip Beat! Volume 39 by Yoshiki Nakamura

This shortish storyline dealing with Kyoko’s mother is one of my least favorite Skip Beat! episodes, perhaps because Nakamura is so good at portraying Saena as cold and distant in a way that would damage anyone’s psyche, that the efforts to humanize her by detailing the events that led up to her abandonment of her daughter still fall short of making her a character that I feel any sympathy for. But part of what makes Skip Beat! so entertaining for so long is the way many of the characters have been emotionally damaged in different ways, and there’s no easy fix for getting over trauma.

As Kyoko progresses through the series it is fascinating to see how her reactions to setbacks both change and stay the same, but the end result is that she becomes a stronger person. Kyoko’s control and composure when confronting her mother demonstrates how much more resilient she’s become, and her response to the encounter is to dedicate herself to becoming successful with her own goals.

One of the reasons why I like Skip Beat! so much is that Ren Tsuruga often is placed in what is sometimes a more feminine position for shoujo manga tropes. In this volume in particular, he’s left waiting and worrying about a terse text from Kyoko, and he ends up pretending to casually drop by to check on her. Patient waiting is the best way to deal with Kyoko when she’s still so emotionally fragile, but it’ll be interesting to see what happens when they are both ready for a relationship.

While Kyoko has come pretty far, it is clear that maintaining her rage at Sho is her safe space. I don’t think that it is a coincidence that after the confrontation with her mother, she ends up in a confrontation with Sho. Seeing how gently Kyoko and Ren interact with each other is certainly a big contrast to all the yelling and shin kicks that occurs when Kyoko and Sho are in the same room. As the volume seems to be setting up another acting challenge for Kyoko, I’m looking forward to seeing what she is able to accomplish next with all the emotional turmoil behind her.

Manga the Week of 8/30/17

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SEAN: STUFF!

ASH: Lots of stuff!!

SEAN: J-Novel Club starts us off, with a second volume of color-coded heroine series Demon King Daimaou.

And also a second volume of Infinite Dendrogram, which seems to be… just about a gamer in a VR world. What, he’s not trapped or anything? Pff.

Another Del Rey rescue bites the dust with the 21st and final volume of Alive.

ASH: It’s been a long time since I’ve read the beginning of Alive. Now that the series has been completed, maybe it’s time I revisit it.

SEAN: Aho Girl was amazingly stupid but amusing, so I look forward to Volume 2.

On the digital front, Altair: A Record of Battles has a 3rd volume.

And on the Michelle front, there’s a 4th DAYS.

MICHELLE: Heh, you know it! Also, I really do need to read Altair.

ASH: Same!

ANNA: I haven’t read the first volume of Altair yet, but I will!

SEAN: The title that nobody remembers (even Amazon, who hasn’t listed it), we get a 3rd DEATHTOPIA from the creator of Cage of Eden.

More Michelle volumes with a 5th Giant Killing.

MICHELLE: Seinen sports manga is such fun!

ASH: I want this series in print so, so much! The anime adaptation was great, too.

SEAN: House of the Sun got of to a fast start but slowed down after that. Here’s a 6th book.

MICHELLE: I’ve started this series but struggled to connect with the characters. I haven’t given up, though.

SEAN: Briefly back to print for a debut. Kigurumi Guardians is a shoujo title from Nakayoshi, but its creator, Lily Hoshino, is better known for her BL titles. No surprise then that this manga has a lot of pretty boys.

MICHELLE: I’m hoping this is fun.

ASH: Hoshino’s manga can be a little hit-or-miss for me, but I’m definitely curious.

ANNA: Hmm, I am curious too!

SEAN: Another forgotten by Amazon digital title, B&N lists a 29th Space Brothers volume. Apologies for forgetting to mention the first 28 or so. It’s a great series.

ASH: Yes!

SEAN: Seven Seas has a sea of titles next week, including three debuts. The first is Absolute Duo. It’s based on a light novel. It’s from Comic Alive. It takes place at an academy filled with fighting. My lineface can possibly be seen from space, but I’ll add it just in case. :|

MICHELLE: Heehee.

SEAN: Akashic Records of Bastard Magical Instructor is another debut this week. It’s based on a light novel. It’s from Shonen Ace. It takes place at an academy filled with fighting. :|

MICHELLE: *snerk*

SEAN: A Certain Scientific Accelerator has hit its 6th volume, and despite ALSO being a spinoff of a light novel title that runs in an otaku-oriented magazine and taking place at an academy filled with fighting, I quite enjoy it.

Theoretically, Don’t Meddle with My Daughter should get points for at least NOT being based off a light novel or taking place at an academy of fighting students. However, it runs in Young King and apparently has two doujinshi sequels by the author that are actual porn, so let’s just say my hopes are not high. It’s about a retired superhero mom who returns to action to protect her daughter, who is now taking over the family business, so to speak. Oh yes, it’s also by the creator of Dance in the Vampire Bund. It’s almost the perfect anti-Manga Bookshelf title.

MICHELLE: Sounds like it.

ANNA: It could be the Manga Bookshelf Kryptonite.

SEAN: And along the same lines, we have a 12th Monster Musume, which can be very ecchi. And not only that, but…

Yes, we’ve hit the trifecta of vaguely H titles, an 8th Pandora in the Crimson Shell! BINGO!

On the Vertical front, there is a 9th Cardfight!! Vanguard, which has fights… with cards! (Yeah, yeah, shut up.)

Vertical also has the 2nd Nisemonogatari novel, Tsukihi Phoenix, which features the youngest of the Araragi siblings, though honestly Karen’s toothbrushing scene will likely get all the attention. Also, are fans still going to be dagnabbit mad? Probably.

Yen has some digital titles, with new Corpse Princess (12), Gesellschaft Blume (2), IM: Great Priest Imhotep (2), and Saki (12). Something for everybody.

ASH: Saki!

SEAN: And of course there’s always a Yen straggler, and next week it’s Dimension W’s 7th volume. Why they always delay one or two books to the next week, I dunno. It’s one of those manga mysteries.

As you can see, there is much to choose from, though my colleagues may be staring at this and saying “Yeah, um…” So what are you getting?

Cosplay Animal, Vol. 1

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By Watari Sakou. Released in Japan by Kodansha, serialized in the magazine Dessert. Released in North America digitally by Kodansha Comics. Translated by Rose Padgett.

Of of the more encyclopedia manga reference sites out there, Baka-Updates, has its listings of manga divided into tags, and I’ve frequently found myself looking at the work of a specific author or genre and wondering which tags were commonly used. In addition to the obvious ‘shonen’, ‘shoujo’, etc, there are things like ‘love triangle’, ‘strong female lead’, etc. And a lot of the shoujo titles tend to have the word ‘smut’ attached to them. These are the shoujo titles that run in order-skewing magazines like Sho-Comi or Dessert where the relationship expands to include sex fairly rapidly, and includes it often. A few years back you’d never have seen these sorts of titles over here, but now we have a certain number of them, mostly from Viz; Ai Ore, Butterflies Flowers, and the like. That said, while I have seen young women surrendering to passion, driven by their desires, and having a grand old time in these books, I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a heroine quite as horny as Rika in Cosplay Animal.

Rika is a college girl with a fetish for costumes, particularly school uniforms – and I mean fetish, we hear over and over again about how much it turns her on. One day she posts to a hookup site and starts talking with a high school boy who’s having relationship issues, and as they talk she texts a picture of her in her old school uniform. She decides to go see him, and finds that not only is he super hot, he also works as a waiter – another uniform! Of course, at first he thinks she’s a high school girl. Then, when he finds out the truth, he finds her fetish a bit lame. But eventually they work things out, and now Rika is dating a guy who will not only agree to have sex with her in a uniform, but can give her multiple orgasms. The end! Only, of course, not the end.

This volume has only Cosplay Animal’s first-chapter, which is clearly a one-shot, and its one-chapter sequel, also clearly meant to be a one-shot. Something about the series made the editors reward it with a longer run, and I’m pretty sure it’s Rika, who is simply straight up ridiculous. The series verges on being completely horrible but it isn’t quite, and what makes it compulsively readable is that Rika really is that over the top – if she were a more realistic, emotionally fragile young shoujo heroine this would be tasteless. As it is you can’t even get offended because of the silliness. That said, the manga cannot sustain this pace forever, and I can’t help but notice that it ran for 14 volumes. Something is going to have to give to fill up that space. I hope the character development is just as whacked out as the start was.

There are also three unrelated short stories at the end of this, which in fact take up more room in the volume than the main series. Cockblocked! is memorable mostly for the title, and features a girl trying to have sex with her older tutor but having difficulties due to a past family trauma. Servants of the Flesh deals with two young people in different schools, one male, one female, who have the same reaction to being called ignorant virgins a while back – to learn EVERYTHING IT IS POSSIBLE TO KNOW ABOUT SEX. Of course, they are still virgins. Sparks fly when they meet each other trying to help a friend at each of their respective schools, and end up being super hot once they both take their giant nerd glasses off. Again, it’s the sheer ludicrousness that makes the short work, though it gets buried in sex info because of the leads. The Touch of an Angel, the Kiss of a Devil is the most ‘normal’ story in the book, and therefore the dullest. I wonder if it was the author’s first, it seems so generic.

Cosplay Animal is a fun manga to read, but be warned: do not have any expectations of it being anything other than pervy shoujo froth. If that’s what you’re looking for, Rika is here for you.

My Big Sister Lives in a Fantasy World: The Strongest Little Brother’s Commonplace Encounters with the Bizarre?!

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By Tsuyoshi Fujitaka and An2A. Released in Japan as “Neechan wa Chuunibyou” by Hobby Japan. Released in North America digitally by J-Novel Club. Translated by Elizabeth Ellis.

Well, we’ve reached the 5th volume, which is usually around when a lot of light novel series decide to give us a series of interconnected short stories, and that’s the case here, as our heroes’ club advisor (who is the villain from the prior book, returned to be a counselor for Yuichi for reasons I won’t bother to get into as they’re stupid) explains that the other villains will probably have a rest period before they try to attack again and restart the main plot. Of course, Yuichi is who he is, so this doesn’t mean that his life becomes a normal romantic school comedy. Every week brings a fresh new series of supernatural things for him to punch, rivals to take down, and girls to rescue. Why? Well, because he is who he is, trained by his older sister.

As I’ve discovered with a lot of these short story books, the rule of thumb is that the longer the story, the better it is. This means the book gets better as it goes along, as the final two stories are definitely the longest and best. But it also means you start by wading through a lot of drek. The first story (and connected prologue) attempts to show us that Kanako and her writing career is still relevant to the plot, but I’m fairly sure that’s not the case – mostly it’s there to make fun of light novels. We then get a story of a yokai who tries to seduce men, but looks like a little girl, which at least keeps the lolicon jokes down to a mere 2-3 per page, but is otherwise meh. The third story introduces a friend/lackey of Mutsuko, who has new powers she wants to test on Yuichi. The main thrust of the story is that the girl is very fat, which Yuichi seeks to remind us of constantly. I was more amused by her constantly slipping into different types of over the top speech patterns – it reminded me of the otaku from Oregairu, and distracted me from the endless fat comments. The other yokai stories are so dull I’ve already forgotten them.

The last two stories, though, are decent, and help to make the book at least get a low passing grade. The story with Yoriko attracting the attention of a delinquent, and then a yakuza with a thousand men at his command, is merely an excuse to see how ridiculous things can get, which honestly is why I read this series in the first place, so I was quite pleased – they got very ridiculous. Also, their mother is Kasumi Tendo – I was very disappointed she didn’t say “Ara, ara”. The final story deals with spirits, and whether Yuichi can punch them with his manly fists of justice (answer: of course he can). It’s more of a hodgepodge than the previous story, seeming content to throw plot ingredients into a nabe pot and see what comes out, but it was also fun, even if the ending was slightly predictable (I say slightly only because I guessed the wrong ghost).

The cliffhanger may be the most interesting part of the book (which doesn’t speak well of it), seeming to introduce Yuichi’s next major foe, a protagonist from a different world who honestly reminds me of the hero from Little Apocalypse. (Boy, wouldn’t that be a crossover?) Also, don’t think I didn’t notice Natsuki simply vanishing midway through the book. We’ve only got two more to go in this series, so keep reading if you’re a fan. Otherwise, skip it.

Bookshelf Briefs 8/21/17

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Behind the Scenes!!, Vol. 4 | By Bisco Hatori | Viz Media – I’m still vaguely enjoying this series, but I must admit I’m far more into it for the special effects department and studies about film-making and acting than I am regarding the main characters. Izumi’s amnesia really doesn’t seem like anything other than a necessary plot twist to drag things out a bit… and even then, he still gets the cookies in the end. More amusing is the brief cameo by Ranmaru’s parents, who are the opposite of what everyone was expecting, including the reader. But perhaps most importantly for the female readers of this manga, Goda cuts his hair! I enjoy this while reading it, but it feels like a “victory lap” series, the sort of thing an author writes after finishing a big hit. – Sean Gaffney

Descending Stories, Vol. 2 | By Haruko Kumota | Kodansha Comics – I knew that somewhere along the way we were going to get an extended flashback showing us the youth of Yakumo, but I wasn’t expecting to see it so soon, or for it to take up the majority of this volume. It’s told very well, making both Bon and Shin very sympathetic and likeable, and also introducing another woman who will no doubt become even more important in the third volume. More to the point, though, the series still at its heart continues to be about rakugo, and we see several examples of the art throughout the book, showing what’s good about it and what its flaws are—and also showing us how far Yotaro has to go to remotely get near competent. Not falling asleep would be a good start. – Sean Gaffney

Haikyu!!, Vol. 14 | By Haruichi Furudate | Viz Media – Answering my question from last time, Daichi is not THAT injured, but injured enough so that he has to sit out the rest of the match—he’s lost a tooth. And so we get to see Ennoshita come in to take his place, which means that most of this book is about Karasuno struggling to regain its rhythm with a new person where their captain should be, and said new person trying to find a way to help them and not completely panic. (We also see the complete panic—Yamaguchi gets a point, but chickens out rather than do the serve he’s been training on. I expect more of this later.) And of course we get to see Karasuno move on to the next game, and I expect the next book will start by showing us who their opponent will be. – Sean Gaffney

Maid-sama!, Vols. 17-18 | By Hiro Fujiwara | VIZ Media – Maid-sama! ends at last. Much of what happens here is fairly predictable. Misaki rescues Takumi from England, but not before he realizes that his Walker relations aren’t actually that bad. There’s a proposal, and intense studying for exams, and Misaki realizing that she no longer needs to hide the fact that she works in a maid café. The bits that aren’t predictable are sometimes ridiculous, like the fact that Takumi supposedly befriended some pigeons who helpfully obstruct the paparazzi, but also sometimes nice, like a small moment (a single panel, really) in which a study-fatigued Misaki lets herself lean on Usui and tells him a few of the things that’re distracting her, trusting him to get them done. Also, Suzuna and Hinata make progress! This definitely wasn’t my favorite series, but it had its moments. – Michelle Smith

Nirvana, Vol. 1 | By Jin & Sayuki (Zowls) | Seven Seas – This new series feels like a cross between a standard reincarnation manga—a girl dies in a plane crash and is resurrected as the reincarnation of a goddess—and Magi, featuring a lot of the same Middle Eastern feel of that series. As you can tell by its presence in a Bookshelf Brief, I don’t have as much to say about it as I normally would, but that doesn’t mean it’s bad—it’s a decent series, with some nice fights and interesting backstory. The plot is clearly going to be “let’s gather together all the scattered heroes,” the sort of thing that could run for three volumes or twelve depending on how well it sells. And Yachiyo is likeable enough, though I suspect her “must help others at all costs” will get into major trouble down the road. – Sean Gaffney

Yona of the Dawn, Vol. 7 | By Mizuho Kusanagi | VIZ Media – With the expanding cast, working together with pirates, and Yona genuinely being badass and intimidating, Yona of the Dawn continues to evoke the Basara feels, and that is very much a compliment. As the volume opens, she and Yun have infiltrated a human trafficking operation by posing as merchandise, and though her dragons are on hand to rescue her, it’s Yona who terrifies and then neatly kills the head bad guy. It’s super satisfying! I also loved that when she later has a surprise run-in with Su-won, she’s terrified, yes, but also thinking of seizing the moment to get revenge for her father. She’s come such a long way, and now I’m even more excited to see where the story goes from here! – Michelle Smith

My Week in Manga: August 14-August 20, 2017

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My News and Reviews

It’s been a while since there have been two features posted at Experiments in Manga within the same week in addition to the usual My Week in Manga, but that’s exactly what happened last week. First there was July’s Bookshelf Overload which, minus the replacement copies for some of my recently water-damaged books, provides a list of the manga and other media that I picked up last month. (Normally I post the Bookshelf Overload feature in the second week of the month, but I switched things up a little in order to post my review of Kazuki Sakuraba’s A Small Charred Face sooner rather than later.) Last week was also Experiments in Manga’s seven-year anniversary! I wrote a little about the past year and, with some amount of sadness, also announced my upcoming (semi)-retirement from manga blogging. I’ll continue to post here at Experiments in Manga for the rest of 2017, but once 2018 arrives most of my short ramblings on manga will be found over at Manga Bookshelf (and probably at my Twitter account, too).

Quick Takes

H. P. Lovecraft’s The Hound and Other StoriesH. P. Lovecraft’s The Hound and Other Stories by Gou Tanabe. While I am very aware of Lovecraft’s work and influence (the Cthulhu Mythos in particular was tremendously popular among a certain segment of my friends for quite some time), I’ve actually only ever read a single collection of his short horror stories. I largely enjoy their bizarre creepiness, and so I immediately took note when I learned that Dark Horse would be releasing a volume of some of Tanabe’s manga adaptations of Lovecraft stories. Plus, I was simply happy to see more mature horror manga being licensed. The Hound and Other Stories collects the adaptations of three of Lovecraft’s stories from the early 1920s: “The Temple,” “The Hound” (the only one of which I had read the original), and “The Nameless City.” Of the three, “The Temple” was the most successful for me, Tanbe’s deliberately disconcerting artwork perfectly conveying the narrative’s dark and increasingly claustrophobic sense of dread. The Hound and Other Stories is actually the first volume in a series. Nothing official has been announced regarding the translation of future volumes, but Dark Horse has indicated that the possibility is there. I know I’d certainly be interested in reading more of Tanabe’s work, Lovecraftian or otherwise.

Hana & Hina After School, Volume 2Hana & Hina After School, Volume 2 by Milk Morinaga. I’m not as interested in schoolgirl yuri manga as I am in those that feature adult women–which seem to be very few and far between in translation–but I will still happily read them. Which is probably a good thing seeing as most of the yuri manga that has been published in English tend to be set in either middle or high school. (To be fair, that can be said of numerous other genres as well.) Hana & Hina After School definitely falls into that category, and I certainly have been enjoying the manga. While it’s clear that Hina and Hana care for each other a great deal, the romance in the series is actually a little slow to develop, though it does feel more natural that way. Hina recognizes that she has a crush on Hana, and has known for some time, but Hana tends to be a little more oblivious. Hana & Hina After School concludes with the next volume; I would be incredibly surprised if the ending isn’t a happy one, but both Hina and Hana will need to fully come to terms with their feelings before that happens. In general, Hana & Hina After School is a cute and sweet series, but I do appreciate that Morinaga also incorporates some of the real-world concerns faced by people in non-heterosexual relationships.

Samurai Crusader: The Kumomaru Chronicles, Volume 1Samurai Crusader: The Kumomaru Chronicles, Volumes 1-3 written by Oji Hiroi and illustrated by Ryoichi Ikegami. At this point I’ve read most of the manga available in English with which Ikegami has been involved, Samurai Crusader being one of the few exceptions up until now. Hiroi is probably best known as the creator of Sakura Wars, which I’m not particularly familiar with. (I believe Samurai Crusader is the only other manga of Hiroi’s to have been released in English.) Samurai Crusader is currently out-of-print and can be a little tricky to find, but the series can usually be found for a fairly reasonable price. (Note that the individual volumes aren’t numbered and after the first are given unique subtitles instead; Samurai Crusader is followed by Way of the Dragon and Sunrise Over Shanghai.) Taking place in the 1930s with the Second World War looming on the horizon, Samurai Crusader is an tale of action and adventure spanning the globe and featuring Ernest Hemingway as the a sidekick to the series’ protagonist Kumomaru, a noble young man who finds himself fighting against those intent on world domination. Samurai Crusader is admittedly outrageous and over-the-top, but that’s also a large part of why the series is so highly entertaining.

Queen Emeraldas, Vol. 2

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By Leiji Matsumoto. Released in Japan by Kodansha, serialized in the magazine Weekly Shonen Magazine. Released in North America by Kodansha Comics. Translated by Zack Davisson.

These Emeraldas stories we see in this second omnibus tend to be fairly stand-alone and separate from one another, connected only by the interlocking narration of our titular heroine – indeed, sometimes the narration gets so interlocking it’s hard to tell when the chapter breaks are, which I’ve no doubt is somewhat on purpose. This is a long, endless journey through space. There’s no real destination, there’s no particular character development – Emeraldas is who she was at the start, and Hiroshi Umino may be hiding his identity behind a fake name, but is still essentially the same as well. So what you get in this volume is the delight of the scenery along the way, with Matsumoto’s sparse yet compelling art portraying a vision of space that its readers long to visit, even though they know that, since they aren’t Emeraldas, it’s likely they’ll end up as dead as most of the people in this book.

If you’re wondering where this takes place in the Harlock/Emeraldas/GE999 canon, the answer is “slightly early”, as we get a few shots here of Emeraldas observing (and really, that’s pretty much all she does) a short, teeth-filled man who faithful readers know is Tochiro, who will eventually be the love of her life. For the moment, though, the reader merely observes him dealing with life in a very Wild West-influenced outer space – much as Emeraldas is a grand Wagnerian opera, there’s also a large chunk of Hollywood Western to it as well. Of course, we’re not actually telling the story of Tochiro and Emeraldas yet, so which they interact, they eventually move on, just as everyone else does. Emeraldas is an anthology, and as such rarely stops to take on backstory. Still, it’s great to see him.

The series ends with a few short stories. The second one feels very much like the rest of the book, and is quite poignant. The first one… does not. I’m sure that in a collector’s sense the Matsumoto fan is delighted with its presence in this book, if only for the sake of completeness. As someone who’s read the rest of the series, however, the story of Emeraldas and her goofy female pirate crew running into Harlock and his male crew in an effort to find a treasure map feels like finishing off dinner at a 5-star restaurant with a bag of Doritos. I’m not sure if this story came out well before the rest of the book – I’ve been burned saying things like that before. But it FEELS like an earlier work, and while it’s quite funny in places, and it’s nice to see Harlock, I found its presence in the end simply jarring.

But that does not take away from the grandeur of the main work, and it’s been a treat reading Queen Emeraldas in English. It’s even more of a treat knowing that more is coming, as we have Harlocks both new and classic in the near future. Can a Galaxy Express 999 re-release be far away? (OK, probably, yes, it can.) In any event, classic manga lovers, fans of space opera, or even pirate kids will greatly enjoy this series. Long may she sail through the stars, narrating gravely as she goes.

Paying to Win in a VRMMO, Vol. 4

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By Blitz Kiva and Kuwashima Rein. Released in Japan as “VRMMO wo Kane no Chikara de Musou suru” by Hobby Japan. Released in North America digitally by J-Novel Club. Translated by Elizabeth Ellis.

Despite the fact that everything I either wanted or predicted would happen in my previous reviews turned out to be wrong, this ended up being probably the strongest volume in this series to date. Once again Ichiro is somewhat sidelined, this time by design – both parties have asked him to stay out of their design battle, which he does. In addition, I had predicted doom if Nem ever met Iris in real life – and lo and behold, that happens right at the beginning of the book. It’s OK, though, because this book ends up being a bit of a character piece, looking deeply at the life of a rich woman with tremendous talent but few friends or social skills, and a bipolar teenager (she says so herself, I might add) with a lot of drive and slightly more friends and social skills, but far less talent and likely headed for burnout.

The parts devoted to Nem are quite good, if a tad predictable, and I appreciate that she has the self-restraint to crush Iris in the game rather than Airi Kakitsubata in real life. As for Iris, I’m starting to see why the author mentions fans after the first volume wondering where she was. She’s such a car wreck in action, with astounding highs and devastating lows, that everyone around her defines her mood swings as her most well-known trait. I also appreciated the narrative acknowledging that as she is, she likely doesn’t have what it takes to make it as a designer – that may change now that she’s friends with Megumi, but even Ichiro admits that she falls short on the talent side. (Speaking of design, I appreciate the detail that these books go into showing off the careers of Iris and Megumi and what goes into creating custom fashion – there’s a lot of little anecdotes that help the whole thing feel more realistic.) And best of all, Iris still isn’t remotely showing signs of falling for Ichiro. I love that she still regards him as really annoying more than anything else.

The battle itself is closer than you’d expect, but Nem is a newbie to the world of NaroFan, while Iris is more familiar with “how would a gamer react” rather than “how would a normal human react”, so she comes very close, though in order to do so she does end up humiliating Sakurako, whose new character ends up being exposed a bit too much for her comfort. (There are also a few lines where Iris mocks the “old” Megumi, and Megumi and Sakurako’s reactions make me wonder if the author was poking at his editors for saying that the light novel reader hates women over 25.) Even Felicia is getting development, showing that she’s ready to break away from her cousin and achieve great things on her own in the game, something which ironically finally garners praise from him that she’d long coveted.

As I said, the only one who seemed to stay exactly the same is Ichiro, though you might argue that for once he appreciated his tactlessness a bit more than usual. Still, the cliffhanger leading to the next book seems to indicate that we’ll see more of him in it. The series is only six volumes long, so I’m quite happy to see what happens next. I wasn’t even as irritated by Ichiro this time around as I normally am, although that could also be a flaw in the work, given who he is.

She and Her Cat

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By Makoto Shinkai and Tsubasa Yamaguchi. Released in Japan as “Kanojo to Kanojo no Neko” by Kodansha, serialized in the magazine Afternoon. Released in North America by Vertical Comics. Translated by Kumar Sivasubramanian.

The first thing that occurred to me after I finished She and Her Cat was that I felt that it would have been a much better book without the cat. I later changed my mind, but it has to be said that those who pick this up thinking it’s another cute animal book like Chi’s Sweet Home will be brutally disappointed. The cat exhibits some signs of cleverness in it, but is pretty much just a cat in the end, and the relationship with a kitten is the weakest part of the volume. That said, the volume is still absolutely worth getting because of the titular She, an office lady named Miyu who lives in her apartment with her cat and her regrets, possibly not in that order. Her life is laid out for us by Makoto Shinkai, who apparently created this in 1999 as a 5-minute animation and then expanded on it with both this manga and another anime series.

The reason I came to appreciate the cat is the way that the cat is also serving as the eyes of the reader… but because it’s a cat, doesn’t really understand much from Miyu other than surface emotions such as depression, exhaustion, or happiness. We understand more as a reader, having lived through similar moments in our lives, but the empathy comes from seeing Miyu’s life in miniature, rather than through any monologue that she has. There are a few scenes we see without the cat, and they are conveyed normally through dialogue – the only way we see into Miyu’s head is via either the words she says or the cat’s thoughts. She starts off cheery if harried, then suffers through a deep depression as things at work go sour and she’s reminded that her other friends have married by now.

Because this was written by Makoto Shinkai, I was uncertain if it was going to have a happy ending or not. But he specializes more in bittersweet than anything else, so though Miyu may entertain suicidal thoughts while under the bridge towards the end, things mostly work out thanks to a Neko Ex Machina. I like the fact that we end with her life swinging back up again, doing a lot better at work, and rejecting the proposal of a co-worker because she doesn’t love him, rather than because getting married is what she has to do now. Miyu finds being an adult as hard as the rest of us do, but she’s muddling through with the help of her cat, and I think it’s very inspiring to those who deal with feelings of inadequacy and worthlessness. And of course there are also scenes of Miyu playing with her cat, rest assured.

For fans of Makoto Shinkai, this is an obvious buy. I’d also recommend it for those who find themselves muddling through the day somehow, and wondering if it’s OK to be living like this. Even if the reader doesn’t have a cat, they may find an answer here anyway. (Also, why don’t you have a cat? Cats are awesome!)

Manga the Week of 8/23/17

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SEAN: I can’t. I just can’t. How on earth is this much stuff coming out?

MICHELLE: And still none of it is 7SEEDS or Silver Diamond!

ANNA: Or Demon Sacred!

SEAN: Dark Horse gives us the 26th volume of the Vampire Hunter D novels.

ASH: I somehow managed to forget that the novel series was still ongoing.

SEAN: J-Novel Club has a 2nd volume of adorable family series If It’s For My Daughter, I’d Even Defeat a Demon Lord. Oh please stay an adorable family series…

Yes, there’s still more Del Rey rescues, with Princess Resurrection 17.

Somehow there is a new Animal Land out, Vol. 12. Only 9 months after 11! Is the series back on track?

ASH: Maybe?! The ending seems so close and yet so far away.

SEAN: Kodansha gives us a 4th volume of Chihayafura digitally. Will our ragtag bunch of karuta misfits get it together?

MICHELLE: Yay!!!!

ANNA: So excited!

SEAN: And there’s a 4th manga volume of Clockwork Planet, whose novel I enjoyed more than I did the adaptation.

Domestic Girlfriend hits Vol. 5 digitally as well.

As does Fire Force, which is print, and still not as good as Soul Eater, IMO.

Inuyashiki 8 comes out in print as well. It’s ended in Japan recently.

And Land of the Lustrous hopes to make slightly more sense with Vol. 2, but it will look gorgeous no matter what.

ASH: I’m looking forward to the beautiful mess.

ANNA: Maybe I’ll check it out from the library just for the pretty….

SEAN: The first debut next week is Love & Lies, which North American readers may find slightly familiar if they read it on the Mangabox app. It’s also got an anime coming out. The premise involves a Japan where everyone automatically gets an arranged marriage at 16.

Kodansha has a 2nd volume of Real Girl, meaning I should read the first, but TOO MUCH MANGA.

MICHELLE: I missed the first one, as well.

SEAN: The second debut next week is another of THOSE isekai adaptations. That Time I Got Reincarnated As a Slime is based on a novel Yen will be starting this December, and Kodansha’s adaptation runs in Shonen Sirius. The premise is… what the plot says.

ANNA: We live in interesting times.

SEAN: Lastly (for Kodansha), we get a 2nd digital volume of Tzuredure Children.

On to Seven Seas, who blissfully only have two releases next week. A Centaur’s Life has its own anime adaptation going on, which seems to be adapting a lot more than I expected, including scenes I was sure it would cut. This is the 12th volume.

There’s also a 6th volume of yuri potboiler Citrus.

Vertical has reached a dozen volumes of What Did You Eat Yesterday?. Will there be egg dishes? (Do eggs come in dozens in Japan?)

MICHELLE: !!!!!! I love when there are surprise things that weren’t on my radar.

ASH: I’m always read for more What Did You Eat Yesterday!

ANNA: Woo hoo!

SEAN: The rest of the list is Yen. They have a bunch of light novels. The 4th Asterisk War may not be the best of them, but my guess is that it’s the shortest.

A Certain Magical Index’s 12th volume is a ‘downtime’ book, with much of it taken up by wacky shenanigans. I suspect the cliffhanger will be less wacky, though.

The Devil Is a Part-Timer! has an 8th volume, and may finally be returning to Enta Isla for a bit.

Goblin Slayer’s 3rd volume features goblins being slayed.

The Irregular at Magic High School has a 5th volume that I would also classify as ‘downtime’, but we do get a Beach Episode out of it.

KonoSuba’s 3rd volume will, one hopes, be completely ridiculous.

Rokka: Braves of the Six Flowers has a 2nd volume, where we see how long they can extend the “one of us is a traitor” plotline.

And Sword Art Online’s 11th volume shows the ongoing adventures of Kirito and Eugeo training to become knights, this time complete with cute squire girls.

Yen manga also has one or two or twenty titles. Anne Happy has a 6th volume, and may be caught up with Japan by now.

Aoharu x Machinegun also gives us a 6th print volume.

ASH: The first volume was fun and I’ve been meaning to read more, I just haven’t gotten around to it yet.

SEAN: We have reached the final Blood Lad! You can tell it’s the final one as it’s not an omnibus, ending with a single-sized 9th volume. I will miss this underrated series.

BTOOOM! has an 18th volume, and I haven’t missed it at all, but it’s not going anywhere yet.

Delicious in Dungeon’s first volume was enjoyable enough, though I worry it will leave me with very little to review. Definitely getting its 2nd volume, though.

MICHELLE: I kept meaning to read the first, but now I’ll just have to review the first two together.

ASH: I loved the first volume and am looking forward to the next a great deal.

SEAN: There is also a 3rd Demonizer Zilch, which I keep forgetting Yen puts out.

More series whose premise I just couldn’t get past, we have a 7th First Love Monster.

Girls’ Last Tour will have an adorable post-apocalypse in Volume 2.

ASH: I didn’t find the characters overly compelling, but I did really like world and environment of the series.

SEAN: High School DxD is not dead, it merely seems like it after this recent hiatus. It returns with Vol. 9.

Kiss and White Lily for My Dearest Girl has a 3rd volume of what will no doubt be adorable yuri stories.

Log Horizon: The West Wind Brigade does not have yuri, but it does have Soujiro, so there’s a tradeoff. This is Volume 6.

Murcielago’s 3rd volume will no doubt have yuri, but if you see “If you liked Murcielago, you may also like Kiss And White Lily for My Dearest Girl”, something is screwy with Amazon’s algorithms.

ASH: HA! Someone may be in for a surprise.

SEAN: Re: Zero’s 2nd arc has its 2nd manga volume, and no doubt features Subaru dying.

Rokka also has a manga adaptation, and it’s up to Vol. 3.

Vol. 3s are popular these days! We also have a 3rd Spirits & Cat Ears.

And double digits for Trinity Ten… um, I mean Seven.

Ubel Blatt also hits double digits with its 9th omnibus. If that makes no sense, you don’t know Ubel Blatt.

Lastly (thank GOD), a 6th omnibus for Yowamushi Pedal.

MICHELLE: Yay! This is a good week!

ASH: Yay, indeed! Yowamushi Pedal isn’t released nearly as often as I wish it was.

SEAN: You must be getting SOMETHING from this morass. What is it?