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Reign of the Seven Spellblades, Vol. 10

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By Bokuto Uno and Miyuki Ruria. Released in Japan as “Nanatsu no Maken ga Shihai suru” by Dengeki Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Andrew Cunningham.

Longer than usual content warning here: with this volume, the rating for these novels rises from Teen to Older Teen, and the content bears that out. There’s sexual references, discussion of a horrific sexual assault, discussion of a graphic and horrific torture and murder, a graphic amputation scene, use of a swear word that is far less problematic in the UK than in the US, and, worst of all, I’m going to have to discuss that series about the boy at the wizarding school with the scar again. Reader discretion is highly advised.

When I was about halfway through this volume, I pretty much knew what I was going to be talking about. There would still be a content warning, of course. After all, there’s not only a relatively explicit sex scene between Oliver and Nanao here, but also Leoncio is in this, so there’s a lot of talk of big dicks here. Oh yes, and Miligan is called a cunt. To be fair, she absolutely deserves that one, especially because I’m sure it’s in the British English sense. But yeah, the front half was filled with things to talk about. The “polycule” that our heroes have become, and how much I love it. Katie’s backstory was jaw-dropping, and really deserved me talking about it, as well as the fact that almost everyone has written her off as next to snap. The fights were all awesome, the election results were terrific. Teresa is growing up, and she hates it. That was great. . And I saw that the last half of the book was ALL battle against one of Oliver’s targets. Meh. A lot of fighting. Won’t have much to say.

Kee-rist.

I do appreciate that the series does give a real backstory and sympathy to some of its antagonists. We get Demetrio Aristedes’ backstory here, and like a lot of this series, it involves idealistic attempts to make things better turning into something horrific and tragic. That said, his backstory is dwarfed by what we finally get in this book: Oliver’s life to date. We get some adorable and heartwarming scenes with him and his parents, because gut punches don’t work if everything has been bad from the start. We get the brutal, graphic death of his mother, and see how she was betrayed by one of her closest friends (and oh boy, that’s a can of worms I can’t even get into in this review, it will have to wait.) We get his adoption by the Sherwoods, which unfortunately is because their patriarch sees him as an experiment rather than as a person. We see that, on the cover with Oliver and Demetrio, is Shannon Sherwood, and possibly wonder why she’s give n such an important placing. And then we find out why. Of all the horrific scenes in this volume, the flashback of Oliver being drugged and mind controlled to rape and impregnate Shannon is the worst, and it really throws their relationship into sharp relief. Oh yes, and there is, of course, Yuri. Whose story ends here, but at least the way he goes out is one of the few triumphant moments in this pummeling book.

Sigh. So OK, let’s talk Harry Potter. This series has been compared to those books from the very start, but we’re now ten volumes in, and “oh gee Guy and Katie sort of have a Ron and Hermione vibe” is not only the least of the comparisons, but also mostly wrong. It’s at its most obvious in this book in the flashback to the torture scene, when Darius, Oliver’s first victim from Book One, takes point to be the first to torture Chloe to death, and he revels in it in a way that HAS to remind people of Severus Snape. There’s also a definite James and Lily vibe to Edgar and Chloe, though (because this series glories in subverting Potter as much as it pastiches it) what the two of them do for Oliver is far darker and more interesting. I’m not sure where this series if going to end up, but there is absolutely no way it’s ending up with the next generation of the cast going off to school 15 years later.

As with Eighty-Six I am very concerned, and half convinced, this will end with nearly the entire cast dead. Hell, a lot of them will deserve it. With Eighty-Six I’m hoping that the main couple will make it out OK, but Seven Spellblades has a much higher bar to clear. I’ve joked before about the main six being a polycule, but it’s made explicit here. They’re family. They’re probably all going to be lovers soon (Oliver and Nanao are mostly there, only held back by his past trauma). They have a bond that deserves to live on. I desperately want them all to survive and make the worst a nice place. A swell place. A place where magic kids can play stickball in the street with their athames without fear of being consumed by anything. It’s not going to happen, I am aware. But God, it’s a great dream. Let these kids stop suffering.

Bibliophile Princess, Vol. 7

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By Yui and Satsuki Sheena. Released in Japan as “Mushikaburi-hime” by Ichijinsha Bunko Iris NEO. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Tara Quinn.

I suppose this was inevitable. Bibliophile Princess is coming off its strongest arc, one that had lots of action, drama, tragedy (that wasn’t actually tragedy, but let’s leave that aside for now), and romance. It came to a thrilling conclusion last time… and now we get the comedown the next day. Elianna has been overworking herself for the last couple of months, and tries to do so again to help Chris after she returns, and it all just catches up with her and she collapses. Unfortunately, this means that a good 3/4 of this volume is told from the POV of people other than Elianna, and that’s not really what I’m here for. I don’t really object to it, and we get some decent short stories here. But that’s what this feels like, a short story volume, interspersed with dollops of plot. Fortunately, unlike the third volume, this doesn’t feel like something we’ve read over and over again. Well, except for one thing, which I’ll get to below.

After the events of the last three books, Chris has a lot on his plate. What’s worse, the person behind all of this was the Queen’s brother, meaning she’s basically going to have to retire to avoid further trouble. As such, he needs to get married to Elianna even faster than he’d planned… and she’s been taken away to the Bernstein estates by her father and brother, who (of course) blame Chris for her being in this state at all. Fortunately, proposing to Elianna properly is the ONLY thing that goes well for him in this book. Elsewhere, we get a flashback where we learn Alan’s past as a plucky young orphan, Elianna catches up with family and reads a ton of books while her friend Anna reminds us of the romance she was plotted into a few books back. Oh yes, and there’s a library ghost (no, not Elianna) and a Halloween candy contest.

So I am starting to grow a bit weary of the Bernstein’s overprotectiveness towards their pride and joy. I mean, I absolutely get it. Elianna almost died several times in the last few books, all of it stemming from her position as Chris’ betrothed. And she did indeed desperately need to rest as she was nearing the verge of collapse. That said, this isn’t really framed as that. The writing still kind of frames it like “we’ll never let you marry our little girl!”, which feels more like a hoary old cliche, especially as it does not take Elianna’s own feelings into account. I hope she tells them what for at some point. As for the rest of the book that is not fluff, there’s Alan’s subplot, which… well, it very cliched, right down to the three people who secretly run the town, and the “I want to rape you because you are an androgynous hot teenage boy” threat. It wasn’t bad. I missed Elianna.

So this tides me over, yes, but I really hope we get a good, meaty plot again soon. Or a wedding. One of those.

The Apothecary Diaries, Vol. 10

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By Natsu Hyuuga and Touko Shino. Released in Japan as “Kusuriya no Hitorigoto” by Hero Bunko. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Kevin Steinbach.

It’s a very odd feeling reading this volume at the same time as the anime is adapting the second one. The setting of the first eight books (OK, minus Book 5) is entirely absent, as we’re still doing Maomao and Jinshi’s Excellent Adventure. This is not to say that there is not political wheeling and dealing – in fact, the climax of this volume depends on that fact. But this book is ten volumes in, and we’re not concerned with the ways of courtesans and court ladies anymore, but with potatoes, crops and insects. It would be the perfect book for a certain insect-loving court lady to make her triumphant return, but alas (Maomao does think of her, at least). And while we do get a bit of Maomao’s standard detective schtick, for the most part this book is a race against time against an all-powerful enemy… one that arrives near the end of the book and wipes out nearly everything. This is what Jinshi and Maomao have spent a while trying to avoid.

We’re still out in the West, where Maomao, Tianyu, and the quack doctor are theoretically there to maintain the Moon Prince’s health (because, lest we forget, he gave himself a horrific wound to show off the depth of his love), but in reality they’re there to try to figure out how to stop the impending famine. Arriving at a local village (and joined by Lahan’s older brother, who, since the quack doctor got a name in the last volume, becomes the new running gag), they find that the villagers don’t really care about the crops that much, as whether they’re good or bad the Governor will subsidize them. (Does this sound familiar?) There is one old man who is doing all the right things… because of a tragic backstory, of course. A tragic backstory that becomes very important as Maomao and company realize that the Biblical plague of locusts is coming towards them NOW.

The book is excellent, with a fantastic climax, and a nice twist showing that for all his supposed status Jinshi can still be used by others who are better at dirty politics. But you’ll pardon me if I talk about the romance in this one. For the most part, the romances in this series tend to be either “toxic but also the main draw” (Maomao/Jinshi), or are established couples. But we did see a hint of something purer in Book 6, which sadly could not really develop because Book 6 was a giant nightmare for them. Yes, Lishu is back, and she’s raising ducks in the West. And taking to them like… well, like a duck to water. Frankly, she looks far happier here than she ever was as a Consort. Her reunion with Basen, though it does not lead to an actual commitment (she claims to still be too weak for that, and she has a point), is so sugary it will give you diabetes, but that actually tastes really good next to the toxicity that is Maomao and her Moon Prince.

That said, the character I really want to see after this book is Gyoku-ou, who is being set up to be the next big antagonist. Cannot wait for Book 11.

Oh yes, and Chue is still practically perfect in every way. But you knew that, of course.

Death’s Daughter and the Ebony Blade, Vol. 7: Exordium

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By Maito Ayamine and Cierra. Released in Japan as “Shinigami ni Sodaterareta Shoujo wa Shikkoku no Tsurugi wo Mune ni Idaku” by Overlap Bunko. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Sylvia Gallagher.

Always lovely when I have to eat my words. You may remember at the end of the last review I did, where I said that Ashton’s death likely wasn’t permanent, as this was not that kind of series. Well. Um. Guess it is now? I feel a bit guilty, given I recently dropped a series (The Mythical Hero’s Otherworld Chronicles) for getting too dark and cynical, but in this volume Death’s Daughter also doubles down on the dark. The good news is that it’s not nearly as cynical, and gives us some hope that the series will not end with everyone slaughtered (the flashforwards to how various dead commanders will be remembered helps). the bad news is that Ashton’s death does not seem to be the sort that can be undone by magical means, and also lots of other regulars die here as well. The very bad news is that the author couldn’t cram all the plot into this book, so the 2nd part of Vol. 7 is still to come.

The final battle between the Asvelt Empire and the Kingdom of Fernest ends up being completely upended by the arrival of ghouls controlled by the new emperor, who is not remotely evil at all, of course. This has always been a “war is bad” series, but the ghouls also help to remind you that even though war is bad, there are still ways that it should be fought, and these corpses do not do any of that. This is also bad news for the United City States of Sutherland, who get a “become my vassals or be destroyed” message from the empire, with one of the states serving as an example of what will happen. Even the Holy Land of Mekia can’t deal with this, and the Seraph finds that the ghouls are not a product of mage tactics. As for Fernest, well, let’s just say a lot of the cast who’ve been around since Book 1 gets one last battle. And, um… where’s Olivia, anyway?

The reason I spoil that Ashton is found dead in this volume is that it happens right at the start of this book. We then spend almost the ENTIRE book waiting for Claudia and Olivia to find out about it. We don’t even see Claudia till 4/5 of the way through the novel, and Olivia, after a brief scene showing her happily training with Z, is also absent for the bulk of it. There’s two reasons for this. First, I get the sense that if Olivia and Claudia were actually present throughout this volume, there’s no way that the series couldn’t avoid killing them off too, which would make the end a bit bleaker than I think even the author wants. The other reason is, of course, to show their devastated reactions at the book’s climax, because otherwise this would feel a bit too much like “the book was just cut in half arbitrarily”. The counterattack needs to start next time, even if the romantic resolution isn’t going to happen anymore.

So what’s next? There’s certainly a lot more cast we can kill off, but I suspect the last book will have a bit less of that. Till then, oof. This was a punch to the gut.

The Manga Review: Freeze Frame

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I usually start The Manga Review with industry news, but the announcement that Pitchfork was being folded into GQ has been on my mind this week. Whatever its faults, Pitchfork was one of the few websites still offering idiosyncratic, thought-provoking music reviews in 2023. Their critics could be gratuitously nasty—Jeremy Larson’s scathing assessment of Greta Van Fleet’s Anthem of the Peaceful Army comes to mind—but I always appreciated their efforts to promote obscure artists, hold the music industry to account, and challenge the critical consensus around established acts like Sonic Youth. (Brett DiCrescenzo predicted their 2000 album NYC Ghosts & Flowers “will be heard in the squash courts and open mic nights of deepest hell.”)

We’ve seen something similar happen in the comics sector with CBR and Comics Alliance, two once-independent sites that were acquired by big media companies. For a brief moment, it seemed as if the acquisitions were a positive development, but over time, CBR and Comics Alliance’s owners phased out the in-depth journalism and serious criticism that defined the original sites in favor of click-bait articles, press releases, and toothless reviews. There are still a handful of great sites covering manga and anime—Anime News Network, The Beat, WWAC—but there’s less meaningful criticism overall, and fewer distinctive voices writing manga reviews. We need more of those spaces; they provide a meaningful alternative to the group-think and fan orthodoxies that prevail on Twitter, TikTok, YouTube, and Reddit, and the industry-cozy reviews on platforms such as CBR. Maybe this is the year YOU start your own site.

NEWS ROUNDUP

Everybody wants to go to Anime NYC 2024 it seems, as three-day passes for the annual convention sold out less than two hours after they went on sale… Yen Press published a list of its top-selling books of 2023… Azuki just announced four new titles… Hayao Miyazaki’s The Boy and the Heron is setting box office records around the world… and the Fifth Circuit just ruled that Texas cannot require book sellers to use a rating system when selling materials to libraries and schools. Brigid Alverson has the full details on this ongoing case.

ESSAYS AND PODCASTS

Tony Yao explains why My Girlfriend’s Child is a refreshingly honest look at the challenges facing teen parents in Japan and elsewhere. [Drop-In to Manga]

Kevin Lainez lists his five favorite manga of 2023. [Comic Book Review]

And speaking of best-of lists, Jordan and David announce the winners of the Shonen Flop Awards for 2023, “the most prestigious awards in canceled manga.” [Shonen Flop]

Also looking back on 2023 are Ray and Gee, who name their five favorite debuts of 2023. [Read Right to Left]

The Manga Machinations team devote their latest podcast to a discussion of Eldo Yoshimizu’s Hen Kai Pan. [Manga Machinations]

ICYMI: Lisa De La Cruz offers five recommendations for readers who share her love of BL manhwa. [The Wonder of Anime]

REVIEWS

Adam Symchuk gives high marks to Since I Could Die Tomorrow, an all-too-rare manga about a career woman in her forties… D. Morris declares Shiro Moriya’s Soloist in a Cage a promising debut… WWAC assembles an all-star team of reviewers to recommend manga and comics worth reading… and the gang at Beneath the Tangles offers an assortment of short and sweet reviews.

Manga the Week of 1/24/24

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

ASH: Hold on tight, folks!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

ASH: Saaaaaame.

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

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

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

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

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

MICHELLE: I have cleverly deduced what that might be!

ASH: Oh, myyyyyy.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Not too bad. What’s on your list?

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

ASH: I might just join you.

Raven of the Inner Palace, Vol. 5

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By Kouko Shirakawa and Ayuko. Released in Japan as “Kōkyū no Karasu” by Shueisha Orange Bunko. Released in North America by Airship. Translated by Amelia Mason.

This series, while telling the story of Jusetsu and her attempts to broaden her world, find out more about the Raven Consort in general, and escape, began as an anthology series to a large degree, which each chapter featuring a ghost story of the week for her to solve. That still happens at the start of the fifth book, with a court lady whose makeup box is upsetting people in the living quarters by being haunted by a ghost. But as this book goes on we realize that we’re past the halfway point of the series, and we can’t really focus that much on Jusetsu solving ghost crimes anymore. Or rather, the ghost crimes she’s solving are ones that affect her specifically. Because we’re getting to the bottom of what the Raven Consort position really is, and what happens to those who have been Raven Consorts, and let me tell you, it might be scarier than most of the stories we’ve read in this series to date.

Jusetsu is not the only one trying to figure out how to break the barrier stopping her from leaving and free the raven, the Emperor is as well. This is despite the fact that he (consciously) and Jusetsu (unconsciously) are in love with each other, and leaving the palace will mean never being able to return. The Emperor, towards that end, has now buckled down to the position of siring an heir – two of the consorts are now pregnant. He’s even inviting back old retainers who had previously been exiled for being on the wrong side of past conflicts, mostly as he finds it a lot more preferable to have any seeds of rebellion close to him rather than far away where he can’t do much. Meanwhile, Jusetsu gets the shamans needed to help her destroy the barrier, and even knows where she should probably go, thanks to several old folk tales about an underwater volcano. Unfortunately, that pesky God is still around…

Jusetsu was told, at the start of this series, that she had to be alone, not take retainers or bodyguards, and hold herself aloof. This from the previous Raven Consort. She has not remotely done that, and for the most part the consequences have been pretty good – close friendships, respect, people who like spending time with her. Unfortunately, we’re now seeing the pendulum swing the other way. Solving the problem of the makeup box, for example, even though it saved a life, just makes people think that she was the cause of the accident. And I suspect the cliffhanger at the climax of this volume is going to make leaving the palace more of a “fleeing for her life” sort of deal. That said, anything’s better than suffering the fate of all the Raven Consorts before her, whose souls are frozen in a sort of massive grudge to prevent exactly what Jusetsu has been doing. It’s a bit scary.

There are, I believe, two more volumes in the series, and I suspect we’re not going to have too many “let’s solve a mystery” chapters anymore. Where we will go remains intriguing.

Bookshelf Briefs 1/16/2024

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A Cat from Our World and the Forgotten Witch, Vol. 1 | By Hiro Kashiwaba | Seven Seas – Jeanne, an elderly witch, summons Torata, an ordinary house cat, to protect her from the local villagers who view her very existence as a threat. Through a series of flashbacks, we learn more about both characters: Jeanne has been harassed, imprisoned, or shunned for her magical powers, while Torata recently lost his kindly human owner. Can these two wounded souls forge a meaningful connection? All signs point to yes, though the maudlin plotting and cartoon bad guys dampened my enthusiasm for their friendship; both characters’ backstories are so overwrought that the reader feels more cudgeled into submission than persuaded that Jeanne and Torata deserve our sympathy. At least the cat is cute. – Katherine Dacey

Gold Kingdom and Water Kingdom | By Nao Iwamoto | Seven Seas This was a very odd series, with an art style that I’ve seen before in Japanese magazines, especially josei and seinen, but rarely licensed over here. It’s unique. As for the plot, it was a good story, but I’m also pleased it was complete in this volume. Two kingdoms, each with their own issues, arrange a truce, and a wedding between their two countries. Unfortunately, both countries sabotage said wedding. It’s up to the groom from the Water Kingdom and the bride from the Gold Kingdom to try to pretend that this was exactly as planned so that they can find a way to avoid war. There’s some nice intrigue, and an action-filled ending of sorts. It’s a series I’m happy I read, though I’m unlikely to come back to it too much. – Sean Gaffney

My Hero Academia, Vol. 36 | By Kohei Horikoshi | Viz Media – This is one of those volumes that is almost entirely drowned out by its cliffhanger ending, which shows Bakugo with a fatal injury to his heart. Now, we all read shonen manga, so we know he’s not REALLY dead, but the question is how long that will be up in the air. That said, my favorite part of this otherwise all-action volume was seeing All for One have to briefly struggle… against Jiro, riding on top of a flying Tokoyami (and apparently having too sexy an ass for him to handle). Now that most fans read the series weekly, it’s easier to have instant reactions, and I loved the one brief, shining moment when it gave the impression that All for One would be taken down by the cool rocker girl. Still, yeah, Bakugo’s dead. Totally. What now? – Sean Gaffney

Neighborhood Story, Vol. 1 | By Ai Yazawa | Viz Media This was such a deeply nostalgic experience, even though I’d never read it before. Anyone who’s read Paradise Kiss will want to get this. Taking place a generation before that story, it’s still drenched in fashion and style, and the complicated, messy shoujo art is also very indicative of the early 1990s, when it first appeared. Our heroine, Mikako, clearly has a thing for her childhood friend Tsutomu, but his own popularity with girls and her desire to be her own woman cause them to constantly push each other away. Well, OK, more like she’s doing 90% of the pushing. Mikako is an amazing ball of fun, and I love the “Waaaaarrrp!” she shouts as she runs off very fast (I think this was in ParaKiss as well). It’s not all fun and games, but this was an absolute joy to read. – Sean Gaffney

365 Days to the Wedding, Vol. 1 | By Tamiki Wakaki | Seven Seas When reading this, I remarked on Twitter that it was an Izuku Midoriya/Yui Kodai AU fanfic from AO3, and that’s not too far off. Two workers at a travel agency are horrified to find it’s opening an office in Russia, and single people are more vulnerable to being sent abroad to start it. So Rika decides that she and Takuya will pretend they’re getting married in order to avoid the issue. There’s just one slight problem, which is that they’re both deeply introverted. Takuya’s deepest relationship is with his cat. Rika tends to enjoy looking at maps more than dealing with others. But the two of them have a nice chemistry, and are slowly starting to enjoy each other’s company. This has about ten or so volumes to it, so won’t resolve immediately, but this is a good start. – Sean Gaffney

Tsugumi Project, Vols. 1-2 | By ippatu | Kodansha Comics – In this post-apocalyptic thriller, a plane full of convicts parachute into Japan in search of a secret weapon; the first to successfully retrieve it earns his freedom. What they discover is a strange wilderness populated by apemen and monsters with nary a human in sight. The hero, Leon, is a stock action type—stoic, resourceful, and determined to succeed at all costs—as is his on-again, off-again companion Doudou, a motor-mouthed bumbler with a knack for getting into trouble. The real star of the show is the artwork, as ippatu has a flair for drawing stunningly beautiful creatures and wastelands; among his most striking creations is a humanoid with the face and torso of a young girl and the body of an ostrich, an elegant gloss on the ancient Roman harpy. If only the rest of the story didn’t feel so rote. – Katherine Dacey

The Two of Them Are Pretty Much Like This, Vol. 4 | By Takashi Ikeda| Seven Seas – This is the final volume of the series, and as you’d expect, there’s no big ending climax or great revelations. Wanko gets a good role this time that looks like it might actually work out, Ellie decides to collaborate with her friend on a new project. (Said friend was in love with her as well, which seems to be news to Ellie.) Even the “drama” in this series is not all that dramatic—they deal with a potential stalker, but it’s just someone who is dealing with gender identity issues and wanted to know how Ellie made such a good “man.” Aheh. And there are any number of chapters that just open with our two ladies in bed together, sleeping peacefully and happily. A definite feel-good series; I’m so glad we got to see it. – Sean Gaffney

We Started a Threesome!!, Vol. 1 | By Katsu Aki | Seven Seas As with other briefs this week, reading this was an exercise in nostalgia, as Katsu Aki’s art style has not changed one iota since he began his career, meaning this really reads like a late ’80s/early ’90s series, even though it’s only from a few years ago. As for the plot, childhood friends Lia, Suisei, and Emito are in a polyamorous marriage. Lia has past trauma, Suisei suspects he’s only in this because he’s good in bed, and Emito is a sheltered young man who worries the others are carrying him. Honestly, given the cover, and the sheer amount of sex in this volume, it’s a lot more serious than I expected. That said, the seriousness is all “soap opera” stuff, albeit with some attention paid to poly dynamics, as well as a possible repressed attraction between the two guys. Recommended for fans of the author. – Sean Gaffney

An Introvert’s Hookup Hiccups: This Gyaru Is Head Over Heels for Me!, Vol. 5

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By Yuishi and Kagachisaku. Released in Japan as “Inkya no Boku ni Batsu Game de Kokuhaku Shitekita Hazu no Gal ga, Dō Mitemo Boku ni Beta Bore Des” by HJ Bunko. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Satoko Kakihara.

Generally speaking, I enjoy these “sweet love story” light novels, enough so that I’m reading several in the genre, but they have their flaws, and this 5th volume of An Introvert’s Hookup Hiccups shows off a big one: the lead couple is simply far too earnest. You would think that would not be an issue, especially since they’re now a genuine couple, but that’s exactly the crux of the problem. After spending the last quarter of the last book groveling and apologizing to each other for their mutual deceit, they both realize that other people were involved in this dare as well, and the other people realize it too, and (while not as bad as our leads) they are also very earnest people. And so the entire first THIRD of this book consists entirely of apologies. It is, frankly, exhausting, repetitive, and mildly annoying. Get back to being accidentally smooth with each other, please.

So yes, the book opens with Nanami’s best friends apologizing to them for the dare. Then they apologize to their families for the dare. And then Nanami’s mother apologizes to them because she knew about the dare. Then they go apologize to the guy who confessed to her while they were fake going out. Honestly, this was the most interesting apology, if only as Yoshin and Shibetsu are bonding so closely and so quickly you want to check the genre of the book you’re reading. After this, though, it’s all sweetness all the time, as they go to cheer Shibetsu on in his basketball tournament, visit a trampoline park (where Yoshin learns that sports bras exist and what they do), meet Hatsumi and Ayumi’s boyfriends, go to an indoor pool at night, and end up having a surprise wedding photo shoot, which they only put up token resistance for.

Yoshin spends a good deal of this book wondering if he’s really doing enough for his relationship, or thinking about his future and how to be a breadwinner, etc. The irony, of course, is that he’s way ahead of most of the cast when it comes to honest love and communication, and lacks the “this is too embarrassing” gene that most light novel guys tend to have. I think he’s probably going to be good no matter what he chooses to do. We also get a better look at the two boyfriends, as I said. I mentioned in an earlier review they both sound like they’re starring in light novels of their own. It’s still not wrong. The book lightly glides over the “stepbrother/stepsister” one, and the other one has a big age difference. There’s parental pushback, but not for the reason you might think. Basically, they’ve got a few more problems than the sickly sweet Yoshin and Nanami, who (it is literally pointed out) will be married the day they graduate high school and likely having their first child nine months later. The book is sweet and not sleazy, but these kids are quite horny for each other.

So yeah, the series could have ended fine as of Book 4, and I could have done without Apology Tour 2023, but this gives readers what they want. That cliffhanger suggests that the initial premise is not entirely gone, however…

Ascendance of a Bookworm: I’ll Do Anything to Become a Librarian!, Part 5: Avatar of a Goddess, Vol. 8

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By Miya Kazuki and You Shiina. Released in Japan as “Honzuki no Gekokujou: Shisho ni Naru Tame ni wa Shudan wo Erandeiraremasen” by TO Books. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by quof.

Most of the time, summarizing each plot of a typical volume of Bookworm can be difficult, and I inevitably leave things out, because these are chunky books and a ton keeps happening. That’s true here as well, but it’s a lot easier to summarize: War. We saw the start of it at the end of the previous book, but this one sees the full consequences: Rozemyne, with the help of Dunkenfelger’s battle-happy soldiers, invades Ahrensbach in order to save Ferdinand, while Ehrenfest prepares for Ahrensbach, or rather the more easily manipulated bits of Ahrensbach, to invade them, while Georgine herself goes incognito in order to assassinate Sylvester. Hell, even Hannelore, normally the scared fluffy bunny of this series, is in armor, ready for battle, and controlling a group of nasty looking fantasy Dobermans. As for Rozemyne herself, she’s going to basically do anything to get her “family” back together, even if that means becoming the Aub of her greatest enemy’s territory.

I hate to be a broken record, but Bookworm really does alternate viewpoints well. It’s a common feature in Japanese light novels, but usually the way that it’s done as like My Next Life As a Villainess does it: we get a scene from our heroine’s perspective, and then we see the same scene from the perspective of someone else who was in the scene, showing what they felt about everything. With Bookworm, the POV switches really are necessary, because Rozemyne’s lack of common sense (both because she’s used to the ethics, morals and customs of 21st century Japan and also, let’s face it, because she’s bonkers in general) really does need to be underlined… and Rozemyne’s POV is just as important, because sometimes she’s really in over her head. Everyone in this world is a lot more used to death and bloodshed than she is, and the dismay and nausea she feels when seeing stabbing victims is only going to increase as the series goes on.

And then there’s Ferdinand. There is a thing that happens a lot in series, where we have a heroine who is very obviously coded as asexual and everyone loves the fact that we finally have an asexual heroine… until the author ends up hitting the romance switch, at which point the asexuality slowly recedes. Bloom Into You is an obvious example, as is (sorry, anime onlies) The Apothecary Diaries. Bookworm may actually be one of the few to pull that trigger, though, as even though Ferdinand is clearly in love with Rozemyne, and everyone else in the land is horrified and appalled at the shameless way they’re all over each other, Rozemyne keeps emphasizing the fact that Ferdinand is family and of course that’s why she’s overthrowing a country for him. It’s mind-boggling, at least until you see Ferdinand going “welp, OK, in that case let me take all my limiters off” and you remember that he’s just as eccentric, perhaps even more, than she is. Towards the end, Rozemyne whines that Ferdinand never taught her about courtship or love or anything, and her attendants point out that’s because he’s a man, and this is a thing women tell to other women. Alas, Rozemyne was a book gremlin who looked 8 years old and spent years inside a magical cocoon. And now there’s war, and I get the sense it’s probably too late.

There are a number of scenes after the main action, which ends about 2/3 of the way through the book. We get an extended flashback dealing with our main villain, Georgine, who is treated far more sympathetically than Detlinde ever was. You can see why she’s doing this, though it does not extend into sympathy. We also get scenes from other territories showing us how the war is going in their area, meaning we get to see Brigitte again. We get to see Philine and everyone else at the temple and orphanage hunker down in what has essentially become a bomb shelter. We see Effa and the rest of Myne’s family taken to her library to shelter, and get Effa’s conflicted feelings on her birth daughter and how far she’s gone compared to their normal commoner life. And we see Gunther defending the borders, and just generally being a good soldier and dad. Both to his family and his troops. These stories were all very welcome and helped flesh out what is otherwise a “run at full speed” storyline.

The war’s not over yet, and I suspect the next book will show us Sylvester vs. Georgine. You won’t regret reading this. (Well, unless Rozemyne/Ferdinand bothers you, but if that’s the case I assume you dropped this already.)

The Manga Review: Out With the Old, In With the New

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Between the bad weather and the bad news from all over the globe, the first twelve days of January have felt more like the End Times than a fresh start. One thing that’s helped lift my spirits: browsing the best-of-2023 lists at Anime News Network, Anime UK News, Asian Movie Pulse, The Beat, The Comics Journal, From Cover to Cover, Okazu, and The School Library Journal. Though a few manga appeared on multiple lists, there was no real consensus among critics about the year’s best—a refreshing development, as best-of lists can sometimes feel more like an echo chamber than an expression of individuals’ own taste. Go, read!

NEWS ROUNDUP

Brigid Alverson pores over the December 2023 Circana Bookscan data for insight into end-of-year manga sales. Not surprisingly, Chainsaw Man, Jujutsu Kaisen, and Spy X Family all posted strong numbers, as did Demon Slayer and One Piece… Beckett Collectibles announced that it will rate, bag, and board manga, just as it does for floppies and trading cards… The Simpsons won an Emmy for poking fun at Death Note…  Makoto Ojiro, author of Insomniacs After School, will unveil a new series on February 5th… and Kia Asamiya is also launching a new series which, true to form, he describes as “retro future sci-fi action” and features the “Symphonica Waffe,” some sort of intergalactic weapon.

ESSAYS AND PODCASTS

Erica Friedman explains why she loves doujinshi, comparing it to a “schmaltzy mid-20th century American movie in which, oh, I don’t know, Rosemary Clooney or Donald O’Connor says, ‘Hey kids, let’s put on a show!'” She elaborates: “The appeal of that idea is the youthful energy of a bunch of enthusiasts who get together and make a thing. Well…in many ways, doujinshi is a different example of that ideal.” [Okazu]

In their first new episode of 2024, the Mangasplainers discuss one of last year’s best new titles: Kyoko Okazaki’s River’s Edge. (N.B. The podcast and the book itself contain some NSFW material.) [Mangasplaining]

Ed Pisko, Jim Rugg, and Geof Darrow explore the work of Taiyō Matsumoto. [Cartoonist Kayfabe]

Should ANN have pulled its controversial review of My Pancreas Broke, But My Life Got Better? Tony Yao weighs in. [Drop-In to Manga]

Over at Women Write About Comics, Kayleigh Hearn, Masha Zhdanova, and Carrie McClain dish the dirt on Asa Mitaka, “the HBIC” of Chainsaw Man‘s current story arc. [WWAC]

ICYMI: That Manga Hunter explores the complicated, frustrating discourse around “good enough shoujo.” As they explain, this term applies to “a series that’s not technically” shoujo or josei “but shares enough traits that it gets a pass. It’s well… good enough except in the only way that matters: targeting a female audience.” [That Manga Hunter]

REVIEWS

Before we get too deep into 2024, I wanted to highlight two recent reviews that you might have missed. The first is Tegan O’Neil’s in-depth essay about Osamu Tezuka’s One Hundred Tales and the second is Helen Chazan’s thoughtful critique of Shin’ichi Sakamoto’s Innocent. Both reviews demonstrate why they are two of the smartest, sharpest voices in comics criticism right now. If they haven’t been on your radar, both essays are an excellent introduction to their writing. Go, read!

Here are this week’s new review links:

Manga the Week of 1/17/24

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

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

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

ANNA: I’m curious about this!

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

MICHELLE: Could be good!

ASH: I’m certainly a Matsumoto fan.

ANNA: I want to know what manga really means.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Steamship has a 5th volume of Ladies on Top.

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

MICHELLE: Hm…

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

ASH: Oh! This absolutely has potential!

ANNA: Also curious about this!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

ASH: Ha!

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

The lists are getting bigger! What are you fancying?

The Springtime Chime of Marielle Clarac

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By Haruka Momo and Maro. Released in Japan as “Marielle Clarac no Harurin” by Ichijinsha Bunko Iris NEO. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Philip Reuben.

It’s been a while since we’ve last seen Marielle Clarac, but she’s still worried about whether she’s too childish. That said, I don’t think she has too much to worry about. Since the start of this series, she’s improved by leaps and bounds. She’s able to listen to people when they tell her she’s going too far or saying too much. Best of all, Simeon is learning when it’s a good idea to just let her off the leash and do whatever she wants. Marielle is featuring in a Murder, She Wrote knockoff, where everywhere she goes she can’t help but get involved in dangerous situations. There’s no murder here, but the same thing applies. That said, this is more than just a thriller or a mystery this time. It’s also a gothic ghost story, complete with creepy castle and ghosts that are said to curse those lying within. Now, neither Simeon nor Marielle believe in ghosts. But Marielle loves the IDEA of believing in ghosts a lot…

Marilee is dealing with a lull in her book series at the moment. People still like her books, but they want something a bit more bittersweet. A bit more adult (no, not like that). Unfortunately, despite her vigorous nighttime activities with her husband, Marielle is not sure she is mature enough to understand the appeal of a bittersweet love. She and Simeon, however, have bigger things to worry about. The prince’s uncle has recently passed away, and his wife asked asked Severin to come along and help her with a problem she’s having. Going along are Julianne, Simeon, and Marielle. Once there, they find that Laetitia, the Duchess, wants to leave the duchy and return to the town she grew up in. And take her daughter with her, despite the fact that her daughter doesn’t know that town at all. And what’s more, she wants to do it IMMEDIATELY. Why? Could it be… ghosts?

Given that this series started with Marielle being (according to herself) being the sort to be unnoticed and only listen to others, it’s really great to hear her give a few smacktalk speeches in this book. There’s a lot of people not communicating with each other in this one, and (of course) there’s also international intrigue, again. (No Lutin, though.) Honestly, for once Simeon is the more worrying one. When Marielle is in danger (again, yes, it’s that sort of series – at least she’s not successfully kidnapped this time) he grows terrifying in his desire to punish those responsible, but even scarier is his rage when some other man finds his wife attractive. The best part of the book might be how, in acquiescence of his wife’s wishes, he does an interrogation while holding his riding crop. The Simeon of only two or three books ago would never have done this. They really are in love.

There are suggestions that Marielle imagine what being a mother is like towards the end of this book, but I don’t think the series is ready to go there right now, if ever. It’s far more content watching Marielle sneak around in disguises she brought herself, find clues that her husband already knew about, and get in and out of peril. We wouldn’t have it any other way.

The Best and Worst Manga of 2023

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This weekend’s Nor’easter provided me a swell opportunity to finish my long-gestating Best and Worst Manga list for 2023. One of the things that tripped me up was the sheer volume of new work published last year; when I first started reviewing manga in 2006, it was hard to imagine a market that offered a title for every conceivable reader, from the Chainsaw Man enthusiast to the the romantic, the oenophile, the foodie, the soccer fan, the gore hound, the isekai buff, and even the middle-aged manga critic. Though I made a concerted effort to be as thorough as possible, I freely admit that my picks barely capture the sheer quantity and diversity of last year’s new releases. Instead, I focused on the titles that stayed with me weeks and months after I first read them, from the exuberant One Hundred Tales to the unnerving The Summer Hikaru Died. For additional perspective on 2023’s best and worst manga, I encourage you to check out the well curated lists at Anime News Network, Anime UK News, Asian Movie Pulse, The Beat, The Comics Journal, From Cover to Cover, Okazu, and The School Library Journal.

Best New Manga: Okinawa
Story and Art by Susumu Higa • Translated by Jocelyne Allen • Lettering by Patrick Crotty and Kayla E. • Fantagraphics
There are books that critics like, and books that readers like. I’d put Okinawa squarely in the first category, as it has all the hallmarks of a Serious Manga™: slightly naïve artwork, historically important events seen through the eyes of ordinary people, and detailed footnotes explaining the story’s cultural and linguistic nuances. If I sound a little cynical, I was; I put off reading Okinawa for months after its release because so many reviewers rehearsed the same talking points about how “harrowing,” “heartbreaking,” “complex,” and “haunting” it was. After reading Okinawa, however, I have to admit the critics were right: Okinawa is a deeply moving exploration of the island’s fraught relationship with Japan and the United States. It’s also a tribute to Susumu Higa’s parents, whose memories of World War II pervade many of Okinawa’s most affecting stories; a celebration of Okinawan resilience and spirituality; and the best manga I read in 2023.

Best New Drama: River’s Edge“Story and Art by Kyoko Okazaki • Translated by Alexa Frank • Vertical Comics
River’s Edge offers a gritty portrait of adolescence before chat rooms, cell phones, and social media, focusing on the slackers and misfits at a Tokyo high school. Haruna Wakakusa, the protagonist, is caught between her fierce sense of justice and her ambivalent feelings towards her on-again, off-again boyfriend Kannonzaki, a horny, hot-headed loser who bullies weaker classmates. Over the course of the story, Haruna forges an unlikely friendship with one of Kannonzaki’s targets, an aloof young man whose popularity with the girls belies his true sexual orientation. Okazaki’s spare, stylish linework is ideally suited to the material, as the character’s exaggerated facial features and ungainly proportions remind the reader of how confusing, weird, and uncomfortable it is to be on the physical cusp of adulthood. Okazaki also nails the casual cruelty and cluelessness of adolescence: her characters’ impulsiveness, selfishness, and inexperience often compel them to betray each other in small (and big) ways that feel true to life even when the plot teeters on the brink of melodrama.

Best Classic Title: One Hundred Tales
Story and Art by Osamu Tezuka • Translated by Iyasu Adair Nagata • Lettering by Aidan Clarke • ABLAZE
Over the course of his long career, Osamu Tezuka published three series based on the legend of Doctor Faustus, among them One Hundred Tales (1971), which ran in Weekly Shonen Jump. Tezuka takes a few liberties with the original story: his hero is not a brilliant scholar in search of knowledge but a lowly samurai who’s been sentenced to death for his employer’s misdeeds. In a fit of desperation, he sells his soul to a witch and is reborn as Fuwa Usuto, a dashing young man who wants two things: love and power. What follows is a rowdy picaresque, as Fuwo ventures into the lair of an alluring demon, saves his daughter from an arranged marriage, and insinuates himself into the house of a foolish daimyo in his quest to become more worldly and powerful. These episodes provide Tezuka ample opportunity to insert pop-cultural sight gags—Christopher Lee and Astro Boy both make fleeting appearances—but they also showcase Tezuka’s flair for character design and panel structure; the artwork is fluid and playful, equally suited to moments of exquisite silliness and heartbreaking sadness as Fuwo stumbles towards transcendence.

Best New Horror Series: The Summer Hikaru Died
Story and Art by Mokumokuren • Translated by Ajani Oloye • Lettering by Abigail Blackman • Yen Press
The Summer Hikaru Died begins with a familiar scene: two high school buddies are clowning around outside a convenience store, trading good-natured barbs. But something’s off, and midway through a seemingly ordinary conversation Yoshiki realizes that he’s talking to an impostor who’s the spitting image of his friend Hikaru. Though the mystery of what happened to the real Hikaru is resolved quickly, many questions remain: is it possible for Yoshiki to befriend “Hikaru” even though he has no real memories of their relationship? And what, exactly, is “Hikaru”? Mokumokuren resists the temptation to provide simple answers, relying instead on suggestion to create a tense, atmospheric story that skillfully blends elements of body horror, BL, and fantasy in a fresh, unsettling way.

Best New Cat Manga: Nights With a Cat
Story and Art by Kyuryu Z • Translated by Stephen Paul • Lettering by Lys Blakesly • Yen Press
Though there are dozens of great pet manga now available in English, Nights with a Cat has something genuinely new to offer: simple, observational storytelling that doesn’t shamelessly tug on the heartstrings or anthropomorphize our furry companions. The series explores the relationship between Fuuta and Kyuruga, his roommate’s cat. As someone who’s never lived with a cat before, Fuuta is fascinated by Kyuruga, marveling at Kyuruga’s anatomy—his pupils, his sandpaper tongue, his retractable claws—as well as Kyuruga’s ability to silently materialize in surprising places. Kyuryu Z doesn’t play these moments for laughs, choosing instead to emphasize how strange and amazing cats really are with illustrations that capture the fluidity of Kyuruga’s movements and the changeability of his moods. Recommended for new and long-time cat owners alike. (Reviewed at Manga Bookshelf on 5/21/23)

Best Ongoing Series: Go With the Clouds, North by Northwest
Story and Art by Irie Aki • Translated by David Musto • Vertical Comics
After a two-year wait, a new installment of Go With the Clouds, North by Northwest arrived in stores this fall, demonstrating once again why this odd, delightful, and occasionally thrilling story deserves a bigger audience. Strictly speaking, Go With the Clouds is a murder mystery, but Aki Irie refuses to observe the basic tenets of the genre, frequently interrupting her story for interesting diversions: a fitful romance between supporting characters, a brief lesson on Icelandic geography, a casual conversation between Kei, the main protagonist, and his trusty jeep. What prevents the story from being twee or mannered is its matter-of-fact tone. In the first chapter of volume six, for example, Kei uses ESP to track a kidnapping victim through the streets of Reykjavik by chatting up parked cars around the city, a goofy gambit that works thanks to Irie’s superb pacing and commitment to character development; Kei’s methodical approach suggests that his ESP is something he uses on an everyday basis, not something that manifests per the plot’s demands. Swoon-worthy art and twisty plotting add to the series’ considerable appeal. (Volumes one and two reviewed at The Manga Critic on 8/30/19).

Most Disappointing New Series: #DRCL: Midnight Children
Story and Art by Shin’ichi Sakamoto • Based on Bram’s Stoker’s Dracula • Translation Caleb Cook • Touch-Up & Lettering by Brandon Hull • VIZ Media
Let’s face it: Bram Stoker’s Dracula sucks, marred by turgid prose and a convoluted form. In the hands of other creators, however, Stoker’s ideas have thrilled, titillated, and shocked six generations of horror buffs. The introduction to #DRCL: Midnight Children suggests that Shin’ichi Sakamoto might be one of those creators, as he offers the reader a claustrophobic, suspenseful riff on Dracula‘s most famous chapter, “The Voyage of the Demeter.” The rest of volume one, by contrast, is a fever dream of short, incoherent scenes that bump up against each other like commuters on a rush-hour train. Anyone familiar with Stoker’s original novel will recognize the characters’ names but wonder why Sakamoto re-imagined Renfield as a nun who’s chained up in a dormitory room or Mina Murray as a short, scrappy redhead who’s an expert wrestler. (Also: a dead ringer for Anne of Green Gables.) It’s a pity that the story is so fragmented and overripe, as Sakamoto has a fertile imagination; the first volume is filled with hauntingly beautiful renditions of Dracula himself that instill a sense of awe and fear that’s missing from the rest of the story.

Tearmoon Empire, Vol. 11

by

y Nozomu Mochitsuki and Gilse. Released in Japan as “Tearmoon Teikoku Monogatari” by TO Books. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Madeleine Willette.

(This review gets a bit spoilery about the fate of one of the main characters, be warned. Though I try to glide over it.)

We’ve seen Tearmoon Empire be a fun comedy, and we’ve seen it be an action thriller, and we’ve seen it be a romance as well. But we really have not seen it as a dark tragedy. Or rather, it’s only been seen in flashbacks to the bad future, where we see the consequences of Mia being unable to save everyone and getting executed. And that’s tended to be more along the lines of “my God, what have I done?” The latter half of this book, though, goes as closely as this series is likely to get into the tragedy mode, and I’m kicking myself that I did not pick up on the ominous foreshadowing in the last volume, which I cheerfully thought was “oh boy, secrets are going to be told once this arc gets finished!”. Unfortunately, this leads to the question of “why won’t secrets actually be told?”, and the answer is possibly “because the person with the secrets is now dead.”

We pick up where the last book left off, with the race between Mia, on her “slow but steady wins the race” horse, and Xiaolei, on her “fastest in the land” horse. If you’re suspecting we’re seeing a retelling of the Tortoise and the Hare fable, you’re pretty much dead on. Mia is, of course, trying her best NOT to win, for various reasons, but we already know how that’s going to go. She does, however, manage to unite the tribes. Which is good, as unfortunately while this was going on Citrina was kidnapped by the Chaos Serpents, led by Abel’s older sister Valentina. Mia goes to rescue her, and oddly she is allowed to take other people with her, such as Abel and Dion. Why, it’s almost like the Serpents’ goal is not merely to kill off Mia but something far more sinister…

This is the second book I’ve read recently that felt like a final volume of the series, enough so that the author needs to assure us it’s not the end. The cliffhanger ending helps, as we’re introduced to what appears to be yet another Tearmoon from the future (?). As for the book itself, Mia is pretty great in it (I always enjoy a good “I won’t let the villains die, that would be too easy on them, they will have to live on” plot), but honestly the emotional lifting is done by Citrina and Bel. I joked on Twitter that since Mia had changed the future so that she doesn’t suffer, Citrina had become Tearmoon Empire’s designated woobie, and it’s not wrong. The other reason that this feels like a final volume is that we get a ton of flashforwards to “the good future”, the one Mia will eventually get to, with everyone alive and married off. It’s nice to actually *see* Grandma Mia rather than just hear about her. As for Citrina… well, I suspect the start of Book 12 will help. At least, I hope so.

I haven’t even mentioned the other high point of the volume, where Valentina tells us what the Chaos Serpents actually are. This was one of the best in the series. And again, the arc ended at the end of the book! Keep it up!