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Manga Bookshelf

Discussion, Resources, Roundtables, & Reviews

Unshelved

Manga Giveaway: Anonymous Noise Giveaway Winner

June 7, 2017 by Ash Brown

Anonymous Noise, Volume 1And the winner of the Anonymous Noise manga giveaway is… Chris!

As the winner, Chris will be receiving a copy of the first volume of Ryoko Fukuyama’s Anonymous Noise as published in English by Viz Media. Since the lead character of Anonymous Noise loves to sing, for this giveaway I asked that participants tell me a little about their favorite vocalist from a manga. The individual responses can be found in the giveaway comments, but (as usual) I’ve also compiled a list which includes additional titles as well.

Some of the manga released in English with notable vocalists:
Age Called Blue by est em
Anonymous Noise by Ryoko Fukuyama
Black Bard by Ichiya Sazanami
Beck: Mongolian Chop Squad by Harold Sakuishi
Cardcaptor Sakura by CLAMP
Clover by CLAMP
A Devil and Her Love Song by Miyoshi Tomori
Gravitation by Maki Murakami
Hatsune Miku: Mikubon by Ontama
Hatsune Miku: Rin-chan Now! written by Sezu, illustrated by Hiro Tamura
K-ON! by Kakifly
Kobato by CLAMP
Love Com by Aya Nakahara
Monthly Girls’ Nozaki-kun by Izumi Tsubaki
Nana by Ai Yazawa
One Piece by Eiichiro Oda
Otomen by Aya Kanno
Popcorn Romance by Tomoko Taniguchi
Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon by Naoko Takeuchi
Sensual Phrase by Mayu Shinjo
Solanin by Inio Asano
Utahime: The Songstress by Aki
Wanted by Matsuri Hino
Yokan by Makoto Tateno

The above certainly isn’t a comprehensive list but it does have an interesting mix of titles. I particularly appreciate the fact that not all of the manga included are necessarily considered to be music manga–characters with notable singing voices (both good and bad) make appearances in all sorts of stories. Thank you to everyone who participated in the giveaway; I hope to see you again for the next one!

Filed Under: Giveaways, Lists, UNSHELVED Tagged With: Anonymous Noise, manga, Ryoko Fukuyama

Bookshelf Overload: April 2017

May 11, 2017 by Ash Brown

I started at my new job in April, which has gone pretty well so far, but it has still been a bit of a stressful transition moving from one library to another. As a result, considering my tendency to stress-buy books, my personal library increased in size a fair bit. (Still, I did do a little better reigning myself in in April than I did in March.) Lately I’ve also noticed that my buying habits have changed somewhat, too. I’m not pre-ordering as much as I once was and so each month am playing more catch-up with past releases. Which is why I’ve only recently discovered that I tremendously enjoy series like Natsuki Takaya’s Twinkle Stars. As for more current releases that I was particularly excited about, the fifth omnibus of Inio Asano’s Goodnight Punpun and Wataru Waanabe’s Yowamushi Pedal were both published in April. I’ve apparently also been craving prose works. One of the more interesting projects that I’ve come across in a while is Keshiki, a series of eight chapbooks from a new publisher, Strangers Press, which are translations of short fiction by Japanese authors. (You’ll find them individually listed below in the section for novels, even though that’s not an entirely accurate categorization.)

Manga!
Aoharu X Machinegun, Volume 2 by Naoe
Earthian, Volumes 1-2 by Yun Kouga
Flying Witch, Volume 1 by Chihiro Ishizuka
Food Wars!: Shokugeki no Soma, Volume 17 written by Yuto Tsukuda, illustrated by Shun Saeki
Goodnight Punpun, Omnibus 5 by Inio Asano
Haikyu!!, Volume 10 by Haruichi Furudate
I am a Hero, Omnibus 3 by Kengo Hanazawa
Kase-san and Morning Glories by Hiromi Takashima
Love Com, Volume 4 by Aya Nakahara
Mobile Suit Gundam: Thunderbolt, Volume 1 by Yasuo Ohtagaki
My Hero Academia, Volume 2 by Kouhei Horikoshi
Nichijou, Volume 2 by Keiichi Arawi
Of the Red, the Light, and the Ayakashi, Volumes 4-5 by Nanao
Pet Shop of Horrors, Volumes 1-8 by Matsuri Akino
Record of Lodoss War: Lady of Pharis, Volumes 1-2 written by Ryo Mizuno, illustrated by Akihiro Yamada
Twinkle Stars, Omnibuses 1-2 by Natsuki Takaya
Yamada-kun and the Seven Witches, Volumes 10-12 by Miki Yoshikawa
Yona of the Dawn, Volume 5 by Mizuho Kusanagi
Your Lie in April, Volumes 10-11 by Naoshi Arakawa
Yowamushi Pedal, Omnibus 5 by Wataru Watanabe

Manhwa!
Lethe by Kimjin

Comics!
Afar by Leila Del Duca and Kit Seaton
Bird Boy, Volumes 1-2 by Anne Szabla
Cafe Suada, Volumes 1-5 by Jade Sarson
Creature Feature, Volume 1 by Kelly Matthews and Nichole Matthews
Diana’s Electric Tongue by Carolyn Nowak
Girl Town by Carolyn Nowak
Head Lopper, Volume 1 by Andrew MacLean
Henchgirl by Kristen Gudsnuk
In These Words, Chapter 16 by Guilt | Pleasure
The Meek by Der-shing Helmer
My Favorite Thing Is Monsters, Volume 1 by Emil Ferris
The Nameless City, Volume 2: The Stone Heart by Faith Erin Hicks
Pang, The Wandering Shaolin Monk, Volumes 1-2 by Ben Costa
Radishes by Carolyn Nowak
Small Favors by Colleen Coover
Sweaty Palms edited by Liz Enright and Sage Coffey

Artbooks!
Chain Reaction by Jo Chen

Novels!
At the Edge of the Wood by Masatsugu Ono
Belka, Why Don’t You Bark? by Hideo Furukawa
Bullfight by Yasuhi Inoue
Devils in Daylight by Junichiro Tanizaki
Friendship for Grown-ups by Naocola Yamazaki
Frontier by Can Xue
The Girl Who Is Getting Married by Aoko Matsuda
The Hunting Gun by Yasuhi Inoue
The Impossible Fairy Tale by Han Yujoo
The Longshot by Katie M. Kitamura
Mariko/Mariquita by Natsuki Ikezawa
Me Against the World by Kazufumi Shiraishi
Mikumari by Misumi Kubo
Punk Samurai Slash Down by Kou Machida
Record of a Night Too Brief Hiromi Kawakami
Spring Garden by Tomoka Shibasaki
Spring Sleepers by Kyoko Yoshida
Time Differences by Yoko Tawada
Transparent Labyrinth by Keiichiro Hirano
White Elephant by Mako Idemitsu

Anthologies!
Ground Zero, Nagasaki by Yūichi Seirai
Life of a Counterfeiter and Other Stories by Yasuhi Inoue
March was Made of Yarn edited by Elmer Luke and David Karashima

Poetry!
When I Grow Up I Want to Be a List of Further Possibilities by Chen Chen

Nonfiction!
Goodbye Things: The New Japanese Minimalism by Fumio Sasaki
The Tale of the Heike translated by Royall Tyler

Anime!
Bodacious Space Pirates directed by Tatsuo Sato
Tegami Bachi: Letter Bee, Seasons 1-2 directed by Akira Iwanaga

Film!
Tampopo directed by Juzo Itami

Filed Under: Bookshelf Overload, UNSHELVED

Manga Giveaway: Queen Emeraldas Giveaway Winner

May 3, 2017 by Ash Brown

Queen Emeraldas, Volume 1And the winner of the Queen Emeraldas manga giveaway is… Sofia!

As the winner, Sofia will be receiving a copy of the first volume of Leiji Matsumoto’s Queen Emeraldas as published in English (and in hardcover!) by Kodansha Comics. Queen Emeraldas is a relatively recent example of a manga released in translation that is set in space. I happen to be rather fond of stories with space settings and so for this giveaway I asked that participants tell me a little about their favorite space manga. Check out below for a list of manga, but everyone’s detailed responses can be found in the giveaway comments.

Some of the manga with space settings released in print in English:
2001 Nights by Yukinobu Hoshino
A, A′ by Moto Hagio
Astra Lost in Space by Kenta Shinohara
Andromeda Stories written by Ryu Mitsuse, illustrated by Keiko Takemiya
Battle Angel Alita: Last Order by Yukito Kishiro
Bodacious Space Pirates: Abyss of Hyperspace by Chibimaru
Captain Harlock: Dimensional Voyage written by Leiji Matsumoto, illustrated by Kouichi Shimahoshi
Chronowar by Kazumasa Takayama
Earthian by Yun Kouga
Gankutsuou: The Count of Monte Cristo by Mahiro Maeda
Gin Tama by Hideaki Sorachi
Jyu-Oh-Sei by Natsumi Itsuki
Knights of Sidonia by Tsutomu Nihei
Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin by Yoshikazu Yasuhiko
Mobile Suit Gundam: Thunderbolt by Yasuo Ohtagaki
Moon Child by Reiko Shimizu
Phoenix by Osamu Tezuka
Planetes by Makoto Yukimura
Please Save My Earth by Saki Hiwatari
Queen Emeraldas by Leiji Matsumoto
Stellvia by Ryo Akitzuki
Saber Tiger by Yukinobu Hoshino
Saturn Apartments by Hisae Iwaoka
Terra Formars written by Yu Sasuga, illustrated by Ken-ichi Tachibana
They Were Eleven by Moto Hagio
To Terra… by Keiko Takemiya
Trigun by Yasuhiro Nightow
Twin Spica by Kou Yaginuma
The Two Faces of Tomorrow by Yukinobu Hoshino
The Voices of a Distant Star written by Makoto Shinkai, illustrated by Mizu Sahara

As usual, the above list is not at all comprehensive (and there’s even more available digitally), but it should hopefully provide a good launching point. I’ve personally read and am quite fond of many of the titles listed, but there are some that I have yet to try, too. Thank you to everyone who took time to share your favorite space manga with me! I hope to see you all again for the next monthly giveaway.

Filed Under: Giveaways, Lists, UNSHELVED Tagged With: Leiji Matsumoto, manga, Queen Emeraldas

Bookshelf Overload: March 2017

April 13, 2017 by Ash Brown

Well then, I managed to acquire a rather large number of books in March. Unexpectedly, most of them weren’t even manga. In part this was due to a bunch of comics that I had previously backed on Kickstarter showing up last month. I can also thank both online retailers and my local comic book store for offering some massive discounts throughout March. (On top of that, I have a tendency to buy books when I’m under stress. Seeing as I’m in the process of transferring from one job to another, there’s been a fair amount of added stress lately, too.) But as for the manga I picked up in March: I was particularly delighted to come across Mitsuru Adachi’s Short Program, which has been out of print for a while now. I also decided to give Kazune Kawahara’s High School Debut a try since I’ve been enjoying My Love Story!! so incredibly much. I was admittedly a little surprised to come across The Secret Devil-chan, Volume 1 by Emu, the first book to be released under Digital Manga’s new PeCChi imprint. The book has actually been available since September I think, but only directly from Digital Manga; I wasn’t sure if any of the publisher’s titles were still being released outside of it’s own web stores. And while 100 Manga Artists isn’t manga it certainly is manga-related. I didn’t realize it at first but it turns out the volume is actually a revised and updated edition of Manga Design which was released back in 2004 (and which I also own). I haven’t had a chance to closely compare the two, but 100 Manga Artists is nevertheless an interesting resource.

Manga!
Bungo Stray Dogs, Volume 2 written by Kafka Asagiri, illustrated by Sango Harukawa
Crimson Shell by Jun Mochizuki
Food Wars!: Shokugeki no Soma, Volume 16 written by Yuto Tsukuda, illustrated by Shun Saeki
Hana & Hina After School, Volume 1 by Milk Morinaga
High School Debut, Volumes 1-5 by Kazune Kawahara
Kaze Hikaru, Volume 24 by Taeko Watanabe
Kiss and White Lily for My Dearest Girl, Volume 1 by Canno
Maid-sama!, Omnibus 3 by Hiro Fujiwara
New Lone Wolf and Cub, Volume 8 written by Kazuo Koike, illustrated by Hideki Mori
One-Punch Man, Volume 11 written by One, illustrated by Yusuke Murata
The Prince in His Dark Days, Volume 3 by Hico Yamanaka
Persona 3, Volume 3 by Shuji Sogabe
Prison School, Omnibus 6 by Akira Hiramoto
The Secret Devil-chan, Volume 1 by Emu
Scum’s Wish, Volumes 1-2 by Mengo Yokoyari
Sherlock: A Study in Pink by Jay
Short Program, Volumes 1-2 by Mitsuru Adachi
Sweetness and Lightning, Volume 4 by Gido Amagakuure
That Wolf-Boy Is Mine, Volume 2 by Yoko Nogiri

Comics!
Ancestor by Matt Sheean and Malachi Ward
Arclight written by Brandon Graham, illustrated by Marian Churchland
The Best We Could Do by Thi Bui
Big Mushy Happy Lump by Sarah Andersen
Bones of the Coast edited by Shannon Campbell, Jeff Ellis, and Kathleen Jacques
Check Please!, Year 2 by Ngozi Ukazu
Crossed Wires, Volume 1 by Iris Jay
Compass South written by Hope Larson, illustrated by Rebecca Mock
Daughters by Bianca Bagnarelli
Extended Play by Jake Terrell
For the Love of God, Marie! by Jade Sarson
Hit: 1955 written by Bryce Carlson, illustrated by Vanesa R. Del Rey
Honor Girl by Maggie Thrash
Ignition Zero, Volume 1 by Noel Arthur Heimpel
Lafcadio Hearn’s The Faceless Ghost and Other Macabre Tales from Japan written by Sean Michael Wilson, illustrated by Michiru Morikawa
Larimar by Michael K
Last Man, Volume 4: The Show by Bastien Vivès, Michael Sanlaville, and Balak
Letters for Lucardo, Volume 1 by Noora Heikkilä
No Exit by Annie Mok
O Human Star, Volume 2 by Blue Delliquanti
Perfect Hair by Tommi Parrish
Power & Magic by Joamette Gil
Pretty Deadly, Volume 1 by Kelly Sue DeConnick and Emma Ríos
Princeless: Raven the Pirate Princess, Volume 1 written by Jeremy Whitley, illustrated by Ted Brandt and Rosy Higgins
Sakana, Volume 1 by Mad Rupert
Secure Connect by Carta Monir
Spacejinx, Volumes 1-2 by Ocicatsy and Wensleydale
Sprawling Heart by Sab Meynert
Sticks Angelica, Folk Hero by Michael DeForge
Wayward, Volume 4 by Jim Zubkavich and Steve Cummings
The Whipping Girl by Nuria Tamarit
Wilde Life, Volume 1 by Pascalle Lepas
Witchlight by Jessi Zabarsky
The Woods, Volume 1 by James Tynion IV and Michael Dialynas
The Worrier’s Guide to Life by Gemma Correll
The Worst by Molly Mendoza

Artbooks!
100 Manga Artists edited by Amano Masanao and Julius Wiedemann
Infecta by Michael K
Otomo: A Global Tribute to the Mind Behind Akira by Various

Novels!
Dream of Ding Village by Lianke Yan
The Graveyard Apartment by Mariko Koike
Orbital Cloud by Taiyo Fujii
Pachinko by Min Jin Lee
The Silent Dead by Tetsuya Honda

Anthologies!
Revenge: Eleven Dark Tales by Yoko Ogawa

Anime!
Kyousougiga directed by Rie Matsumoto

Filed Under: Bookshelf Overload, UNSHELVED

Manga Giveaway: Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid Giveaway Winner

April 5, 2017 by Ash Brown

Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid, Volume 1And the winner of the Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid manga giveaway is… Kate!

As the winner, Kate will be receiving the delightful Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid, Volume 1 by Coolkyousinnjya as published in English by Seven Seas. At first I was a little hesitant about reading Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid, but ultimately I couldn’t deny the allure of dragons. And so for this giveaway, I asked that participants tell me a little about their favorite dragons from manga. I’ve collected some of the manga mentioned in the list below (along with some others), but be sure to check out the giveaway comments for everyone’s detailed responses.

Some of the manga with dragons available in English:
Akame ga Kill! written by Takahiro, illustrated by Tetsuya Tashiro
The Ancient Magus Bride by Kore Yamazaki
The Betrayal Knows My Name by Hotaru OdagiriCirque du Freak by Takahiro Arai
A Certain Magical Index written by Kazuma Kamachi, illustrated by Chuya Kogino
Crimson Spell by Ayano Yamane
Delicious in Dungeon by Ryoko Kui
The Demon Prince of Momochi House by Aya Shouoto
Dragon Ball by Akira Toriyama
Dragon Drive by Kenichi Sakura
Dragon Half by Ryusuke Mita
Dragon Knights by Mineko Ohkami
Dragonar Academy written by Ran, illustrated by Shiki Mizuchi
Fairy Tail by Hiro Mashima
Fruits Basket by Natsuki Takaya
From Far Away by Kyoko Hikawa
Fushigi Yûgi by Yuu Watase
Gate: Where the JSDF Fought written by Takumi Yanai, illustrated by Satoru Sao
High School DxD by Hiroji Mishima
The Key to the Kingdom by Kyoko Shitou
Kiss of the Rose Princess by Aya Shouoto
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time by Akira Himekawa
Legendz written by Rin Hirai, illustrated by Makoto Haruno
Lord Marksman and Vanadis written by Tsukasa Kawaguchi, illustrated by Nobuhiko Yanai
Magic Knight Rayearth by CLAMP
Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid by Coolkyousinnjya
Natsume’s Book of Friends by Yuki Midorikawa
Negima! by Ken Akamatsu
Petshop of Horrors by Matsuri Akino
Princess Mermaid by Junko Mizuno
Rave Master by Hiro Mashima
Read or Dream written by Hideyuki Kurata, illustrated by Ran Ayanaga
Record of Lodoss War: The Lady of Pharis written by Ryo Mizuno, illustrated by Akihiro Yamada
St. Dragon Girl by Natsumi Matsumoto
Tales of Zestiria by Shiramine
Tenryu: The Dragon Cycle by Sanami Matoh
That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime written by Fuse, illustrated by Taiki Kawakami
Time Stranger Kyoko by Arina Tanemura
Two Flowers for the Dragon by Nari Kusakawa
X by CLAMP
Übel Blatt by Etorouji Shiono
Yona of the Dawn by Mizuho Kusanagi
Zero’s Familiar written by Noboru Yamaguchi, illustrated by Nana Mochizuki

Well now, that ended up being a fairly lengthy list, and I know that it’s not comprehensive, but it’s certainly a start. Whether they’re familiars, sidekicks, primary characters, or the stuff of legend, all sorts of dragons can be found in all sorts of manga. Thank you to everyone who took the time to share your favorite dragons with me! I hope to see you all again for the next giveaway.

Filed Under: Giveaways, Lists, UNSHELVED Tagged With: Coolkyousinnjya, manga, Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid

Bookshelf Overload: February 2017

March 9, 2017 by Ash Brown

So, things got a little out of hand in February, mostly due to the fact that I came across a fair number of out-of-print and somewhat hard-to-find manga that I wasn’t able to pass up. Other than that I largely behaved myself. Most of the non-manga comics that I picked up last month were Kickstarter-related which just means that my wallet cried months (and in one case years) ago rather than in February. As for manga, I finally got my hands on The Girl from the Other Side, Volume 1 by Nagabe. Technically published in January, it’s one of my most anticipated debuts for the year. My copy of Jennifer Doyle’s Knights-Errant, Volume 1 (the most recent paperback from Chromatic Press) arrived after a short delay, too. When it came to actual February debuts, I was particularly curious about Kei Sanbe’s first first Erased omnibus and was thrilled that Two Hoses, a short erotic gay manga by Jiraiya, was simultaneously released in Japanese and in English. My copy of the gorgeous box set of Chiho Saito’s Revolutionary Girl Utena manga was one of the few that escaped the recall–most people will have to wait until April for the corrected version to be released. I also received an early copy of Ichi-F: A Worker’s Graphic Memoir of the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant by Kazuto Tatsuta which was released a few days ago; I’m currently working on an in-depth review which should hopefully be posted sometime next week. Ichi-F is an important work, so I’m very glad that it was translated.

Manga!
Anonymous Noise, Volume 1 by Ryoko Fukuyama
Bakune Young, Volumes 1-3 by Toyokazu Matsunaga
Cantarella, Volumes 1-10 by You Higuri
Captive Hearts of Oz, Volume 1 written by Ryo Maruya, illustrated by Mamenosuke Fujimaru
Dawn of the Arcana, Volumes 8, 10-11 by Rei Toma
Erased, Omnibus 1 by Kei Sanbe
FukuFuku: Kitten Tales, Volume 2 by Kanata Konami
The Ghost in the Shell, Volumes 1, 1.5, 2 by Masamune Shirow
The Girl from the Other Side, Volume 1 by Nagabe
Grey, Volumes 1-2 by Yoshihisa Tagami
Haikyu!!, Volume 9 by Haruichi Furudate
Happiness, Volume 3 by Shuzo Oshimi
Ichi-F: A Worker’s Graphic Memoir of the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant by Kazuto Tatsuta
JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, Part 3: Stardust Crusaders, Volume 2 by Hirohiko Araki
The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons/Oracle of Ages by Akira Himekawa
The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, Volume 1 by Akira Himekawa
Magia the Ninth, Volume 2 by Ichiya Sazanami
Maison Ikkoku, Volumes 1-15 by Rumiko Takahashi
Monthly Girls’ Nozaki-kun, Volume 6 by Izumi Tsubaki
Musashi #9, Volumes 1-9, 13-15 by Miyuki Takahashi
Persona 3, Volume 2 by Shuji Sogabe
Revolutionary Girl Utena by Chiho Saito
Ten Count, Volume 3 by Rihito Takarai
Two Hoses by Jiraiya

Comics!
Another Castle: Grimoire written by Andrew Wheeler, illustrated by Paulina Ganucheau
Big Kids by Michael DeForge
Chernozem by Aud Koch
Enough Space for Everyone Else edited by J. N. Monk and Lee Black
Knights-Errant, Volume 1 by Jennifer Doyle
A Land Called Tarot by Gael Bertrand
Mae, Volume 1 by Gene Ha
Magical Beatdown, Volumes 1-1.5 by Jenn Woodall
Mahou Shounen Fight!, Volume 1 by JD Saxon and Dusty K. Smith
My Monster Boyfriend edited by C. Spike Trotman
Namesake, Volume 2 by Isabelle Melançon and Megan Lavey-Heaton
Sorcery 101, Volumes 1-2 by Kel McDonald
Yes, Roya written by C. Spike Trotman, illustrated by Emilee Denich

Artbooks!
Sketches & Studies by Aud Koch
The Legend of Zelda: Art & Artifacts by Nintendo

Novels!
Decapitation: Kubikiri Cycle by Nisioisin
The Name of the Game Is a Kidnapping by Keigo Higashino
The Stones Cry Out by Hikaru Okuizumi

Anthologies!
The Accusation: Forbidden Stories from Inside North Korea by Bandi

Filed Under: Bookshelf Overload, UNSHELVED

Manga Giveaway: Tokyo ESP Giveaway Winner

March 1, 2017 by Ash Brown

Tokyo ESP, Omnibus 1And the winner of the Tokyo ESP manga giveaway is… AshLynx!

As the winner, AshLynx will be receiving the first omnibus in Hajime Segawa’s manga series Tokyo ESP as published in English by Vertical Comics. Tokyo ESP is a relatively recent example of a manga that’s about psychics and espers. The subgenre doesn’t seem to be quite as common as it once was in translation, but it’s certainly still around. And so for this giveaway, I asked that participants tell me a little about their favorite espers and psychics from manga. Mob from Mob Psycho 100 was mentioned the most frequently (I really hope an English-language publisher will license that series soon!), but there are other really great characters mentioned in the giveaway comments, too!

Some of the psychic/esper manga available in English:
A, A’ by Moto Hagio
Akira by Otomo Katsuhiro
Alive: The Final Evolution written by Tadashi Kawashima, illustrated by Adachitoka
Baoh by Hirohiko Araki
Betrayal Knows My Name by Hotaru Odagiri
Beyond the Blindfold by Sakura Tsukuba
A Certain Magical Index written by Kazuma Kamachi, illustrated by Chuya Kogino
A Certain Scientific Accelerator written by Kazuma Kamachi, illustrated by Yamaji Arata
A Certain Scientific Railgun written by Kazuma Kamachi, illustrated by Motoi Fuyukawa
Clover by CLAMP
Descendants of Darkness by Yoko Matsushita
Drug & Drop by CLAMP
Domu by Otomo Katushiro
ES: Eternal Sabbath by Fuyumi Soryo
From the New World written by Yusuke Kishi, illustrated by Toru Oikawa
Ghost Hunt by Shiho Inada
Hands Off! by Kasane Katsumoto
I.O.N. by Arina Tanemura
Jihai by Toshimi Nigoshi
Kimagure Orange Road by Izumi Matsumoto
Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service written by Eiji Otsuka, illustrated by Housui Yamazaki
Legal Drug by CLAMP
Lucifer and the Biscuit Hammer by Satoshi Mizukami
Mai, the Psychic Girl written by Kazuya Kudo, illustrated by Ryoichi Ikegami
Maoh: Juvenile Remix by Megumi Osuga
Mistress Fortune by Arina Tanemura
The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya written by Nagaru Tanigawa, illustrated by Gaku Tsugano
Night Head Genesis by You Higuri
Please Save My Earth by Saki Hiwatari
Psychic Power Nanaki by Ryo Saenagi
Psycho Busters written by Tadashi Agi, illustrated by Akinari Nao
Psyren by Toshiaki Iwashiro
Rasetsu by Chika Shiomi
Spiritual Police by Youka Nitta
Telepathic Wanderers written by Yasutaka Tsutsui, illustrated by Sayaka Yamazaki
To Terra… by Keiko Takemiya
Tokyo ESP by Hajime Segawa
Tokyo Babylon by CLAMP
Wild Com. by Yumi Tamura
X by CLAMP
Yurara by Chika Shiomi
YuYu Hakusho by Yoshihiro Togashi

That’s quite a list, and I’m certain that’s not all of the manga with psychics and espers to have been released in English. Even so, I think there’s a nice variety of genres and even types of psychics represented, and you’ve got to start somewhere. Thank you to everyone who participated and shared your favorite espers with me. I hope to see you again for the next giveaway!

Filed Under: Giveaways, Lists, UNSHELVED Tagged With: Hajime Segawa, manga, Tokyo ESP

Bookshelf Overload: January 2017

February 9, 2017 by Ash Brown

Looking at the much more reasonable Bookshelf Overload for January after the absurdity that was December’s is kind of strange. I feel like I must have missed something, but no, the list below is all of the media that made its way onto my shelves (or at least into the house) in January. Granted, this does not include everything that was actually purchased in January–some of that is still in the mail. Even some of my most anticipated January release have yet to arrive for one reason or another (I’m looking at you The Girl on the Other Side). On the other hand, some of February’s releases made their way into my hands early. 2017 is apparently off to an appropriately chaotic start. Anyway. Two of the manga released in January that I was most looking forward to that actually managed to arrive on time were Kore Yamazaki’s The Ancient Magus’ Bride, Volume 6 and Junji Ito’s Dissolving Classroom. Another cool thing that I discovered in January but which was actually published in October was the USCA English Edition anthology. USCA is an independent manga magazine in Japan so anyone interested in alternative manga in translation will likely want to track the anthology down. (I found my copy through Seite Books’ online store.) I was also happy that Chan-wook Park’s film The Handmaiden (which is inspired by Sarah Water’s novel Fingersmith) received a physical release in North America. I never did get around to writing a quick take, but I saw the film in the theaters and it was excellent. Sadly, the DVD seems to be a pretty bare-bones release.

Manga!
The Ancient Magus’ Bride, Volume 6 by Kore Yamazaki
Black Clover, Volume 1 by Yūki Tabata
Bloom into You, Volume 1 by Nakatani Nio
The Demon Prince of Momochi House, Volume 7 by Aya Shouoto
Dissolving Classroom by Junji Ito
Food Wars!: Shokugeki no Soma, Volumes 14-15 written by Yuto Tsukuda, illustrated by Shun Saeki
Franken Fran, Omnibus 4 by Katsuhisa Kigitsu
Haikyu!!, Volume 8 by Haruichi Furudate
Love Com, Volumes 1-3 by Aya Nakahara
My Love Story!!, Volume 11 written by Kazune Kawahara, illustrated by Aruko
Yona of the Dawn, Volume 4 by Mizuho Kusanagi
USCA English Edition by Various

Comics!
Angel Catbird, Volume 1 written by Margaret Atwood, illustrated by Johnnie Christmas and Tamra Bonvillain
Devil’s Candy, Chapters 1-2 by Rem and Bikkuri
Gorgeous by Cathy G. Johnson
Kim & Kim, Volume 1 written by Magdalene Visaggio, illustrated by Eva Cabrera and Claudia Aguirre
NewsPrints by Ru Xu
O Infante by Daniela Viçoso
The Perks of Being a Monster by Cathy Nguyen Le and Siobhan Noel Keenan
Root Bound by Cathy Nguyen Le and Siobhan Noel Keenan
#SeniorYear by Cathy Nguyen Le and Siobhan Noel Keenan
Samurai, Son of Death written by Sharman Divono, illustrated by Hiroshi Hirata
Siegfried, Volumes 1-2 by Alex Alice
Yours by Sarah Ferrick

Artbooks!
Undone by Kori Michele Handwerker
Zodiac! edited by Binglin Hu

Nonfiction!
Critical Chips: 10 Contemporary Comics Essays edited by Zainab Akhtar
Now with Kung Fu Grip! by Jared Miracle

Anime!
Chi’s New Address directed by Mitsuyuki Masuhara
Harmony directed by Michael Arias and Takashi Nakamura
Paranoia Agent directed by Satoshi Kon

Film!
The Handmaiden directed by Chan-wook Park

Filed Under: Bookshelf Overload, UNSHELVED

Manga Giveaway: Please Tell Me! Galko-chan Giveaway Winner

February 1, 2017 by Ash Brown

Please Tell Me! Galko-chan, Volume 1And the winner of the Please Tell Me! Galko-chan manga giveaway is… Dawn!

As the winner, Dawn (whose Anime Nostalgia Podcast is well-worth checking out, by the way) will be receiving the first volume in Kenya Suzuki’s delightful manga series Please Tell Me! Galko-chan as published in English by Seven Seas. The series is somewhat unusual in that it is a full-color manga, so I asked participants in the giveaway to tell me a little about some of the color manga that they’ve read. Check out the giveaway comments for everyone’s detailed responses, and check out the list below for some great full-color manga! (I decided to include a few full-color manhwa on the list, too.)

Some of the full-color manga (and manhwa!) available in print in English:
Aaron’s Absurd Armada by MiSun Kim
Chi’s Sweet Home by Konami Kanata
Fluffy, Fluffy Cinnamoroll by Yumi Tsukirino
Guardians of the Louvre by Jiro Taniguchi
His House by Hajin Yoo
Joan by Yoshikazu Yasuhiko
Lethe by Kimjin
Maka-Maka: Sex, Life, and Communication by Torajiro Kishi
Milkyway Hitchhiking by Sirial
The Monkey King by Katsuya Terada
Please Tell Me! Galko-chan by Kenya Suzuki
Rohan at the Louvre by Hirohiko Araki
Unico by Osamu Tezuku
Void’s Enigmatic Mansion by HeeEun Kim
The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past by Shotaro Ishinomori

As far as full-color print releases in English go, I believe the above list is actually pretty comprehensive, but there may have been a few that I missed. (If you can think of one, let me know!) There are also some full-color manga and manhwa that have been licensed in English for digital release, too. Thank you to everyone who participated in the giveaway by sharing your experiences with color manga and manhwa. I hope that 2017 is a bright and colorful year for you all, and I hope to see you again for the next giveaway!

Filed Under: Giveaways, Lists, UNSHELVED Tagged With: Kenya Suzuki, manga, Please Tell Me Galko-chan

Bookshelf Overload: December 2016

January 12, 2017 by Ash Brown

Well, December happened, as I knew it would. I took advantage of a large number of holiday and end of year sales and made good use of coupons and gift cards, so my wallet is happier than it would have been otherwise, but I still managed to pick up an absurd number of things. This includes an unusual amount of anime for me, such as the Amazon-exclusive limited edition of Cowboy Bebop which was on super sale at one point. (This will replace the bootleg copy I unintentionally bought when I was much younger and didn’t know any better or how to tell the difference.) Probably the manga release I was most excited for in December was the return of Makoto Yukimura’s Vinland Saga. (I’ll hopefully have a review of the eighth and most recent omnibus to share in the near future.) I’m also especially happy to have the deluxe edition of Junji Ito’s Tomie and the conclusion of The Ghost and the Lady by Kazuhiro Fujita on my shelves. And, of course, more of Inio Asano’s Goodnight Punpun, Haruichi Furudate’s Haikyu!!, and Izumi Tsubaki’s Monthly Girls’ Nozaki-kun are always welcome. Fans of Mentaiko Itto will also want to be aware of the poster collection recently released by Bruno Gmünder. It’s labeled as “1,” so there may very well be more to come. (Ahem.) As for comics, Reindeer Boy by Cassandra Jean is a lot of fun and I recently read and highly recommend The One Hundred Nights of Hero by Isabel Greenberg.

Manga!
Aoharu X Machinegun, Volume 1 by Naoe
Blood Blockade Battlefront, Volumes 1-7 by Yasuhiro Nightow
Bungo Stray Dogs, Volume 1 written by Kafka Asagiri, illustrated by Sango Harukawa
Dragon Voice, Volumes 1-10 by Yuriko Nishiyama
Fruits Basket, Omnibus 1 by Natsuki Takaya
Gangsta: Cursed, Volume 1 written by Kohske, illustrated by Syuhei Kamo
The Ghost and the Lady, Volume 2 by Kazuhiro Fujita
Giganto Maxia by Kentaro Miura
Goodnight Punpun, Omnibus 4 by Inio Asano
Haikyu!!, Volume 7 by Haruichi Furudate
Happiness, Volume 2 by Shuzo Oshimi
He’s My Only Vampire, Volumes 1-3 by Aya Shouoto
Holy Corpse Rising, Volume 1 by Hosana Tanaka
Hunter x Hunter, Volumes 1-8 by Yoshihiro Togashi
Kiss of the Rose Princess, Volumes 1-2 by Aya Shouoto
Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic, Volumes 1-2 by Shinobu Ohtaka
Monthly Girls’ Nozaki-kun, Volume 5 by Izumi Tsubaki
New Lone Wolf and Cub, Volume 6 written by Kazuo Koike, illustrated by Hideki Mori
One-Punch Man, Volume 10 written by One, illustrated by Yusuke Murata
Ōoku: The Inner Chambers, Volumes 11-12 by Fumi Yoshinaga
Pandora Hearts, Volumes 20-22 by Jun Mochizuki
Persona 4, Volumes 4-5 by Shuji Sogabe
The Prince and His Dark Days, Volume 2 by Hico Yamanaka
Seven Princes of the Thousand Year Labyrinth, Volume 1 by Yu Aikawa
Sweetness and Lightning, Volume 3 by Gido Amagakure
Tomie by Junji Ito
Vinland Saga, Omnibus 8 by Makoto Yukimura
Welcome to the Ballroom, Volume 2 by Tomo Takeuchi

Comics!
Babybel Wax Bodysuit by Eric Kostiuk Williams
Battles by Jenn Woodall
Canopy by Karine Bernadou
Centralia 2050, Chapters 1-2 by Michelle Stanford
A City Inside by Tillie Walden
Diesel Ignition by Tyson Hesse
Dirty Diamonds, Issue 7: Imagination edited by Claire Folkman and Kelly Phillips
The End of Summer by Tillie Walden
Forest Dew by Heldrad
Hot Dog Taste Test by Lisa Hanawalt
I Love This Part by Tillie Walden
Little Kinano by Yeehun
Mondo by Ted McKeever
Oath: An Anthology of New (Queer) Heroes edited by Audre Redpath
The One Hundred Nights of Hero by Isabel Greenberg
Panther by Brecht Evens
RAV, Volume 2 by Mickey Zacchilli
Reindeer Boy by Cassandra Jean
Rosalie Lightning by Tom Hart
Small Town Witch written by Alex Singer, illustrated by Jayd Aït-Kaci
Somthing Terrible by Dean Trippe
Spidersilk, Volume 1 by Pamela Kotila
SuperCakes by Kate Leyh
That Which Wills: Virgo Rising, Book 1 written by Alex Singer, illustrated by Jayd Aït-Kaci

Artbooks!
BLKBT by C Lijewski
Burl & Furl edited by Irene Koh, Ricardo Bessa, Paul Reinwand, and Kevin Jay Stanton
Poster Book 1 by Mentaiko Itto

Novels!
The Borrowed by Chan Ho-Kei
Memoirs of a Polar Bear by Yoko Tawada
Moshi Moshi by Banana Yoshimoto
Orochi no Yaiba written by Itoshi, illustrated by Aldaria
Outlet by Randy Taguchi

Anime!
Cowboy Bebop directed by Shinichirō Watanabe
Detroit Metal City directed by Hiroshi Nagahama
My Love Story directed by Morio Asaka
Natsume’s Book of Friends, Seasons 3-4 directed by Takahiro Omori
The Perfect Insider directed by Mamoru Kanbe
Persona 4: The Animation directed by Seiji Kishi
Terror in Resonance directed by Shinichirō Watanabe
Yurikuma Arashi directed by Kunihiko Ikuhara
Young Black Jack directed by Mitsuko Kase

Filed Under: Bookshelf Overload, UNSHELVED

Manga Giveaway: Kuroko’s Basketball Giveaway Winner

January 4, 2017 by Ash Brown

Kuroko's Basketball, Omnibus 1And the winner of the Kuroko’s Basketball manga giveaway is… Coco!

As the winner, Coco will be receiving a copy of the first Kuroko’s Basketball omnibus, created by Tadatoshi Fujimaki and published in English by Viz Media. Tournaments often play a large part in sports manga like Kuroko’s Basketball but they can also be incorporated into other genres in interesting ways, too. For this giveaway, I asked that participants tell me a little about their favorite tournament manga. I’ve collected some of the responses in the list below (combined with some additional titles), but be sure to check out the giveaway comments for all of the detailed replies.

Some of the tournament and competition manga licensed in English:
Air Gear by Oh!Great
Angelic Layer by CLAMP
Battle Angel Alita: Last Order by Yukito Kishiro
Crimson Hero by Mitsuba Takanashi
Cross Game by Mitsuru Adachi
Dragon Ball by Akira Toriyama
Eyeshield 21 written by Riichiro Inagaki, illustrated by Yusuke Murata
Fairy Tail by Hiro Mashima
Food Wars!: Shokugeki no Soma written by Yuto Tsukuda, illustrated by Shun Saeki
Haikyu!! by Haruichi Furudate
Hikaru no Go written by Yumi Hotta, illustrated by Takeshi Obata
Hunter x Hunter by Yoshihiro Togashi
King of Cards by Makoto Tateno
Kuroko’s Basketball by Tadatoshi Fujimaki
Let’s Dance a Waltz by Natsumi Ando
My Hero Academia by Kohei Horikoshi
The Prince of Tennis by Takeshi Konomi
Real by Takehiko Inoue
Reborn! by Akira Amano
Revolutionary Girl Utena by Chiho Saito
Shaman King by Hiroyuki Takei
Slam Dunk by Takehiko Inoue
Toriko by Mitsutoshi Shimabukuro
Welcome to the Ballroom by Tomo Takeuchi
Yakitate!! Japan by Takashi Hashiguchi
Your Lie in April by Naoshi Arakawa
Yowamushi Pedal by Wataru Watanabe
YuYu Hakusho by Yoshihiro Togashi
Yu-Gi-Oh! by Kazuki Takahashi

The above list is not by any means comprehensive, but it’s not a bad place to start looking for some tournament manga to read. Perhaps unsurprisingly, sports manga seems to predominate but there are a few other interesting titles in there as well. As always, thank you to everyone who took the time to participate in the giveaway and share your favorite manga tournaments with me! I hope to see you again for the next giveaway. (Oh, and happy new year!)

Filed Under: Giveaways, UNSHELVED Tagged With: Kuroko's Basketball, manga, Tadatoshi Fujimaki

Bookshelf Overload: November 2016

December 16, 2016 by Ash Brown

In an interesting trend, I seem to be picking up more and more non-manga comics lately. And in some months–take November as an example–the number of non-manga comics that I purchase even manage to rival the number of manga proper that find their way to my shelves. As for my manga acquisitions in November, I was very happy to almost complete my print collection of Kyoko Hikawa’s From Far Away which is now largely out of print. (I still need to find a nice copy of the fourteenth volume for a reasonable price.) I was also very excited for the release of Mentaiko Itto’s second collection of gay erotic manga in English The Boy Who Cried Wolf, the latest in Bruno Gmünder Gay Manga line. November saw the debut of Ichiya Sazanami’s absolutely ridiculous Magia the Ninth which I can’t claim to be the best manga out there, but I loved it and was delighted by all of its music history in-jokes. Major holiday sales began in November, too. Those will have a larger impact for me (and my wallet) in December, but a few purchase (mostly anime) have already started to arrive. Also of note, I picked up the Lone Wolf and Cub boxset for a steal when it was initially listed at the wrong price. It’s a really lovely collection of the six Lone Wolf and Cub films from the early 1970s. Surprisingly, none of which I’ve actually seen yet.

Manga!
The Boy Who Cried Wolf by Mentaiko Itto
A Bride’s Story, Volume 8 by Kaoru Mori
Devils’ Line, Volumes 1-2 by Ryo Hanada
From Far Away, Volumes 4-12 by Kyoko Hikawa
Gate: Where the JSDF Fought, Volume 1 written by Takumi Yanai, illustrated by Satoru Sao
Haikyu!!, Volumes 4-6 by Haruichi Furudate
In/Spectre, Volume 1 by Chasiba Katase
JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, Part 3: Stardust Crusaders, Volume 1 by Hirohiko Araki
La Corda d’Oro, Volumes 1-7 by Yuki Kure
Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic, Volumes 3-4 by Shinobu Ohtaka
Magia the Ninth, Volume 1 by Ichiya Sazanami
Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid, Volume 1 by Coolkyoushinja
Please Tell Me! Galko-chan, Volume 1 by Kenya Suzuki
Prison School, Omnibus 5 by Akira Hiramoto
Sunny, Volume 6 by Taiyo Matsumoto
To the Abandoned Sacred Beasts, Volumes 1-2 by Maybe
Urotsukidoji: Legend of the Overfiend, Volume 1 by Toshio Maeda
Yona of the Dawn, Volume 3 by Mizuho Kusanagi

Manhwa!
His House, Volumes 2-3 by Hajin Yoo
Intense, Volumes 2-4 by Kyungha Yi

Comics!
The Boy in Pink Earmuffs, Volumes 1-3 by Jay Fuller
Cucumber Quest, Book 1 by Gigi D.G.
Fujoshi Trapped in a Seme’s Perfect Body written by Seru, illustrated by Joberu
Habitat by Roy Simon
How to Survive in the North by Luke Healy
I Thought You Hated Me by MariNaomi
Jane Eyre adapted by Crystal S. Chan, illustrated by SunNeko Lee
Laid Waste by Julia Gfrorer
Lovers in the Garden by Anya Davidson
Miss Priss is Missing! by Jay Fuller
Narrow Road, Issues 1-2 written by Zack Davisson, illustrated by Mark Morse
No Mercy, Volume 1 written by Alex de Campi, illustrated by Carla Speed McNeil and Jenn Manley Lee
Oh Joy Sex Toy, Volume 3 by Erika Moen
Queer: A Graphic History written by Meg-John Barker, illustrated by Julia Scheele

Novels!
Legend of the Galactic Heroes, Volume 3: Endurance by Yoshiki Tanaka
The Moai Island Puzzle by Alice Arisugawa
Mr. Turtle by Yusuke Kitano

Anthologies!
The Black Cat Takes a Stroll: The Edgar Allan Poe Lectures by Akimaro Mori
Invisible Planets: Contemporary Chinese Science Fiction in Translation edited by Ken Liu

Nonfiction!
A Brief History of the Martial Arts: East Asian Fighting Styles, from Kung Fu to Ninjutsu by Jonathan Clements

Anime!
Haikyu!!, Season 1 directed by Susumu Mitsunaka
Karate Master directed by Osamu Dezaki
Parasyte: The Maxim directed by Kenichi Shimizu
The Vision of Escaflowne directed by Kazuki Akane

Film!
Lone Wolf and Cub directed by Kenji Misumi, Buichi Saito, Yoshiyuki Kuroda

Filed Under: Bookshelf Overload, UNSHELVED

Manga Giveaway: Kodansha Comics Collection Winner

December 7, 2016 by Ash Brown

Happiness, Volume 1Nekogahara: Stray Cat Samurai, Volume 1
The Prince in His Dark Days, Volume 1Welcome to the Ballroom, Volume 1

And the winner of the Kodansha Comics Collection manga giveaway is… Amaya!

As the winner, Amaya will be receiving not one but four of Kodansha Comics print debuts from 2016: Shuzo Oshimi’s Happiness, Hiroyuki Takei’s Nekogahara: Stray Cat Samurai, Hico Yamanaka’s The Prince in His Dark Days, and Tomo Takeuchi’s Welcome to the Ballroom. As I was reflecting back on the manga of 2016, I found that I was particularly impressed by the increased variety in Kodansha Comics titles. And so, for this giveaway, I asked that participants tell me about their favorite 2016 Kodansha Comics manga, debuts or otherwise. Akiko Higashimura’s Princess Jellyfish seems to have garnered the most love and attention, but be sure to check out the giveaway comments for everyone’s excitement over all of the great manga released by Kodansha Comics this year!

Kodansha Comics 2016 print debuts:
Attack on Titan: Lost Girls written by Koji Seko, illustrated by Ryosuke Fuji.
Attack on Titan Coloring Book by Hajime Isayama
Attack on Titan Anthology edited by Ben Applegate and Jeanine Schaefer
Cells at Work by Akane Shimizu
Complex Age by Yui Sakuma
Fairy Tail: Twin Dragons of Saber Tooth by Kyouta Shibano
Fairy Tail: Zero by Hiro Mashima
Fire Force by Atsushi Ohkubo
Forget Me Not written by Mag Hsu, illustrated by Nao Emoto
The Ghost and the Lady by Kazuhiro Fujita
Happiness by Shuzo Oshimi
In/Spectre by Chashiba Katase
Interviews with Monster Girls by Petos
Maga-Tsuki by Hoshino Taguchi
Nekogahara: Stray Cat Samurai by Hiroyuki Takei
Neo Parasyte F by Various
Paradise Residence by Kosuke Fujishima
Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth, Side: P3 by So Tobita
Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth, Side: P4 by Mizunomoto
The Prince in His Dark Days by Hiko Yamanaka
Princess Jellyfish by Akiko Higashimura
Queen Emeraldas by Leiji Matsumoto
Real Account written by Okushou, illustrated by Shizumu Watanabe
Spoof on Titan by Hounori
Sweetness and Lightning by Gido Amagakure
That Wolf-Boy is Mine! by Yoko Nogiri
Welcome to the Ballroom by Tomo Takeuchi

As always, thank you to everyone who took the time to participate in the giveaway and for sharing your favorite Kodansha Comics manga with me. 2016 was a great year for manga and 2017 looks like it should be pretty darn good, too. But before we get to that, I hope to see you again for this year’s last giveaway!

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Filed Under: Giveaways, UNSHELVED Tagged With: Happiness, Hico Yamanaka, Hiroyuki Takei, manga, Nekogahara, Prince in His Dark Days, Shuzo Oshimi, Tomo Takeuchi, welcome to the ballroom

Bookshelf Overload: October 2016

November 11, 2016 by Ash Brown

October brought quite a few interesting things to my shelves. The University of Hawaii Press, which publishes some excellent Japan-related materials, had a major sale celebrating its 69th anniversary. So as not to go overboard (which would have been incredibly easy to do) I limited myself to five books. I was especially excited that Modanizumu: Modernist Fiction from Japan, 1913-1938 was included in the sale–it’s been on my wishlist since I wrote my spotlight on Kaita Murayama a couple of years ago. Kodansha Comics continues to impress me with the range and variety of manga that it’s publishing this year. Some of the great Kodansha manga from October included (but certainly wasn’t limited to) the shoujo tribute anthology Neo-Parasyte F, The Ghost and the Lady, Volume 1 by Kazuhiro Fujita and of course Princess Jellyfish, Omnibus 3 by Akiko Higashimura. (Technically, that last one is a November release; my copy just arrived early). High on the list of other October manga for which I was particularly excited there’s Blue Morning, Volume 6 by Shoko Hidaka (actually released in September, but I finally got my hands on a copy) and Kitaro Meets Nurarihyon by Shigeru Mizuki. As for non-manga October releases, I’m hoping to make time to read the second novel in Ken Liu’s Dandelion Dynasty trilogy, The Wall of Swords, sooner rather than later. (The first volume, The Grace of Kings, was one of my favorite books from last year.) I must also mention the wonderful children’s book and poetry collection Are You an Echo?: The Lost Poetry of Misuzu Kaneko which I recently reviewed and highly recommend.

Manga!
Ajin: Demi-Human, Volume 8 by Gamon Sakurai
Attack on Titan: Lost Girls, Volume 1 by Ryosuke Fuji
Blue Morning, Volume 6 by Shoko Hidaka
Cells at Work!, Volume 1 by Akane Shimizu
Dawn of the Arcana, Volumes 1-7, 9, 12-13 by Rei Toma
The Ghost and the Lady, Volume 1 by Kazuhiro Fujita
I Am a Hero, Omnibus 2 by Kengo Hanazawa
Interviews with Monster Girls, Volume 1 by Petos
Kitaro Meets Nurarihyon by Shigeru Mizuki
My Love Story!!, Volume 10 written by Kazune Kawahara, illustrated by Aruko
Nekogahara: Stray Cat Samurai, Volume 1 by Hiroyuki Takei
Neo-Parasyte F by Various
Platinum End, Volume 1 written by Tsugumi Ohba, illustrated by Takeshi Obata
Princess Jellyfish, Omnibus 3 by Akiko Higashimura
Samejima-kun and Sasahara-kun by Koshino
The Secret Sakura Shares by Akira Hagio
Sweetness &Lightning, Volume 2 by Gido Amagakure
Ten Count, Volume 2 by Rihito Takarai
Yona of the Dawn, Volume 2 by Mizuho Kusanagi

Manhwa!
Goong: The Royal Palace, Volumes 2-7, 9-10 by Park SoHee

Comics!
Adulthood Is a Myth by Sarah Andersen
Eat Me by Megan Rose Gedris
Godzilla in Hell by James Stokoe
Food Baby by Lucie Byron
Hotblood!: A Centaur in the Old West by Toril Orlesky
Humanescent written by Jacques Nyemb
Kill 6 Billion Demons, Volume 1 by Tom Parkinson-Morgan
Love! Love! Fighting! by Sharean Morishita
Romeo X Julien, Act 2: The Lovers by Marina
Tetris: The Games People Play by Box Brown

Artbooks!
Fat Mermaids edited by Paige Hall
Hotblood! Foundry: Materials Book (1871-2016) by Toril Orlesky

Novels!
Deep Red by Hisashi Nozawa
Dandelion Dynasty, Book 2: The Wall of Swords by Ken Liu

Anthologies!
Modanizumu: Modernist Fiction from Japan, 1913-1938 edited by William Jefferson Tyler
Three-dimensional Reading: Stories of Time and Space in Japanese Modernist Fiction, 1911-1932 edited by Angela Yiu

Nonfiction!
Are You an Echo?: The Lost Poetry of Misuzu Kaneko written by David Jacobson, illustrated by Toshikado Hajiri
Bodies of Evidence: Women, Society, and Detective Fiction in 1990s Japan by Amanda C. Seaman
Reading Food in Modern Japanese Literature by Tomoko Aoyama
She Changed Comics: The Untold Story of the Women Who Changed Free Expression in Comics by Various
Whisky Japan: The Essential Guide to the World’s Most Exotic Whisky by Dominic Roskrow

Anime!
Monthly Girls’ Nozaki-kun directed by Mitsue Yamazaki
Natsume’s Book of Friends, Seasons 1-2 directed by Takahiro Omori
Escaflowne: The Movie directed by Kazuki Akane

Filed Under: Bookshelf Overload, UNSHELVED

Manga Giveaway: Sweetness & Lightning Giveaway Winner

November 2, 2016 by Ash Brown

Sweetness & Lightning, Volume 1
Sweetness & Lightning, Volume 2

And the winner of the Sweetness & Lightning manga giveaway is… Joseph Miller!

As the winner, Joseph will be receiving a copy of the first two volumes of Gido Amagakure’s manga series Sweetness & Lightning as published in English by Kodansha Comics. In addition to being a food manga, which I generally enjoy, Sweetness & Lightning is also a series about family. In particular, the father-daughter relationship between Kōhei and Tsumugi is a major part of the story. Kōhei is a great dad, so for this giveaway I asked that participants tell me a little about their favorite fathers and father figures from manga. Be sure to check out the giveaway comments for all of the detailed responses!

Some of the manga available in English with notable dads and father figures:
Baby & Me by Marimo Ragawa
Barakamon by Satsuki Yoshino
Bokurano: Ours by Mohiro Kito
Bunny Drop by Yumi Unita
Dragon Ball by Akira Toriyama
Fairy Tail by Hiro Mashima
Fake by Sanami Matoh
Fate/Zero written by Gen Urobuchi, illustrated by Shinjiro
Fullmetal Alchemist by Hiromu Arakawa
Gugure! Kokkuri-san by Midori Endou
Hide & Seek by Yaya Sakuragi
Lone Wolf & Cub written by Kazuo Koike, illustrated by Goseki Kojima
Master Keaton written by Hokusei Katsushika, Takashi Nagasaki, Naoki Urasawa
My Brother’s Husband by Gengoroh Tagame
My Neighbor Totoro by Hayao Miyazaki
Neon Genesis Evangelion by Yoshiyuki Sadamoto
One-Punch Man written by One, illustrated by Yusuke Murata
Only Serious About You by Kai Asou
Otomen by Aya Kanno
Ouran High School Host Club by Bisco Hatori
Persona 4 by Shuji Sogabe
Real by Takehiko Inoue
Sweetness & Lightning by Gido Amagakure
Tiger & Bunny by Mizuki Sakakibara
Tokyo Ghoul by Sui Ishida
Vinland Saga by Makoto Yukimura
Wandering Son by Takako Shimura
Yotsuba&! by Kiyohiko Azuma

As usual the above list certainly isn’t comprehensive but it does provide a variety of manga to explore. Thank you to everyone who participated in the giveaway and shared some of your favorite manga dads with me! I hope you see you all again for the next giveaway.

Filed Under: Giveaways, UNSHELVED Tagged With: Gido Amagakure, manga, Sweetness and Lightning

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