Unshelved

Manga Giveaway: Assassin’s Creed Giveaway Winner

October 4, 2017 by Ash Brown

And the winner of the Assassin’s Creed: Awakening manga giveaway is… Sean Kleefeld!

As the winner, Sean (who does some great writing about comics) will be receiving a copy of the first volume in Takashi Yano and Kenji Oiwa’s Assassin’s Creed: Awakening as published in English by Titan Comics. Since pirates feature very prominently in the series, I wanted to learn about some of the giveaway participant’s favorite pirates from manga. Perhaps unsurprisingly considering the popularity of the series characters from Eiichiro Oda’s One Piece were mentioned several times, but some lesser-known pirates can be found in the giveaway comments, too.

Some of the manga released in English featuring pirates:
Assassin’s Creed: Awakening written by Takashi Yano, illustrated by Kenji Oiwa
Basara by Yumi Tamura
Berserk by Kentaro Miura
Black Lagoon by Rei Hiroe
Bodacious Space Pirates: Abyss of Hyperspace by Chibimaru
Captain Harlock by Leiji Matsumoto
Captain Harlock: Dimensional Voyage written by Leiji Matsumoto, illustrated by Kouiti Shimaboshi
Cirque du Freak by Takahiro Arai
Elemental Gelade by Mayumi Azuma
The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass by Akira Himekawa
One Piece by Eiichiro Oda
Princess Knight by Osamu Tezuka
Queen Emeraldas by Leiji Matsumoto
Stone by Sin-ichi Hiromoto
Vinland Saga by Makoto Yukimura
Wanted by Matsuri Hino
Yona of the Dawn by Mizuho Kusanagi

I’m certain that the above list isn’t comprehensive, but I was a little surprised by how few series I was able to easily come up with that feature pirates! Still, it’s an interesting mix which includes historical pirates, fantasy pirates, space pirates, and more. Thank you to everyone who participated by sharing your personal favorites with me! I hope to see you all again for the next monthly giveaway.

Bookshelf Overload: August 2017

September 16, 2017 by Ash Brown

Over the last few months my manga buying habits have been slowly changing. In general I’m preordering less (which is rather unfortunate as that’s one of the best ways to support the manga industry), opting to wait to catch up on series until there’s a good sale of some sort. And so, in August I ended up finally picking up more of Akane Shimizu’s delightfully entertaining and educational Cells at Work! and Haruichi Furudate’s upbeat sports manga Haikyu!! among other things. As for older series that are new to me, I discovered that Izumi Tsubaki’s Oresama Teacher has a mix of humor and heart that I find irresistible. However, there were a few August releases that I was particularly looking forward to, like Delicious in Dungeon, Volume 2 by Ryoko Kui, Otherworld Barbara, Omnibus 2 by Moto Hagio, and the comic Fantasy Sports, Volume 3 by Sam Bosma. I also decided to give the anime Rampo Kitan: Game of Laplace directed by Seiji Kishi a try, mostly because I came across a set for a great price and because I have an affinity for all things even tangentially related to Edogawa Rampo.

Manga!
Assassin’s Creed: Awakening, Volume 1 written by Takashi Yano, illustrated by Kenji Oiwa
Blame!, Omnibus 4 by Tsutomu Nihei
Cells at Work!, Volumes 2-3 by Akane Shimizu
The Crater by Osamu Tezuka
Delicious in Dungeon, Volume 2 by Ryoko Kui
Drifters, Volume 4 by Kohta Hirano
Fruits Basket, Omnibus 3 by Natsuki Takaya
Girls’ Last Tour, Volume 2 Tsukumizu
Goodnight Punpun, Volume 7 by Inio Asano
Haikyu!!, Volumes 13-15 by Haruichi Furudate
Iceland by Yuichi Yokoyama
I Am a Hero, Omnibus 4 by Kengo Hanazawa
JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, Part 3: Stardust Crusaders, Volume 4 by Hirohiko Araki
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time by Akira Himekawa
Love and Lies, Volume 1 by Musawo
Nirvana, Volume 1 by Jin and Sayuki
Melody of Iron and Other Short Stories by Osamu Tezuka
Murciélago, Volume 3 by Yoshimurakana
My Love Story!!, Volume 13 written by Kazune Kawahara, illustrated by Aruko
Of the Red, the Light, and the Ayakashi, Volumes 6 by Nanao
Oresama Teacher, Volumes 2-13 by Izumi Tsubaki
Otherworld Barbara, Omnibus 2 by Moto Hagio
Queen Emeraldas, Volume 2 by Leiji Matsumoto
Record of the Glass Castle by Osamu Tezuka
She and Her Cat written by Makoto Shinkai, illustrated by Tsubasa Yamaguchi
Sweetness and Lightning, Volumes 6-7 by Gido Amagakure
Survival in the Office, Volume 1 by Risu Akizuki
Under the Air by Osamu Tezuka
What Did You Eat Yesterday?, Volume 12 by Fumi Yoshinaga
Wolfsmund, Volume 8 by Mitsuhisa Kuji
Yona of the Dawn, Volume 7 by Mizuho Kusanagi
Yowamushi Pedal, Omnibus 6 by Wataru Watanabe

Comics!
Always Raining Here, Volume 2 by Hazel and Bell
By Chance or Providence by Becky Cloonan, colors by Lee Loughridge
Dates, Volume 2 edited by Zora Gilbert and Cat Parra
Fantasy Sports, Volume 3: The Green King by Sam Bosma
Fallen, Volumes 1-2 by Burukku Ogawa
How to Be Alive by Tara Booth
Mirror Mirror, Volume 2 edited by Julia Gfrörer and Sean T. Collins
Monster Pop!, Volumes 1-2 by Maya Kern
Moonshot, Volumes 1-2 edited by Hope Nicholson
Short Gay Stories by Hanna-Pirita Lehkonen
Sound of Snow Falling by Maggie Umber
Starfighter, Chapter 4 by HamletMachine
Titty-Time, Volume 2 by Amanda Lafrenais

Novels!
The Book of the Dead by Shinobu Origuchi

Anime!
JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Phantom Blood & Battle Tendency directed by Naokatsu Tsuda and Ken’ichi Suzuki
Rampo Kitan: Game of Laplace directed by Seiji Kishi

Manga Giveaway: A Variety of Vertical Comics Winner

September 6, 2017 by Ash Brown

And the winner of the Variety of Vertical Comics manga giveaway is… Michelle Gauthier!

As the winner, Michelle will be receiving the first volume of four manga series released by Vertical Comics: Ryo Hanada’s Devils’ Line, Chihiro Ishizuka’s Flying Witch, Riichi Ueshiba’s Mysterious Girlfriend X, and Keiichi Arawi’s Nichijou: My Ordinary Life. Since this giveaway focused on Vertical Comics, I asked participants to tell me a little about their favorite Vertical manga, too. Check out the giveaway comments for everyone’s detailed responses, and check out below for a list of some of Vertical’s manga.

Manga from Vertical Comics:
Arakawa under the Bridge by Hikaru Nakamura
Blame! by Tsutomu Nihei
Chi’s Sweet Home by Konami Kanata
Devil’s Line by Ryo Hanada
Dissolving Classroom by Junji Ito
Dream Fossil by Satoshi Kon
Flying Witch by Chihiro Ishizuka
The Flowers of Evil by Shuzo Oshimi
FukuFuku: Kitten Tales by Konami Kanata
The Garden of Words written by Makoto Shinkai, illustrated by Midori Motohashi
A Girl on the Shore by Inio Asano
The Gods Lie by Kaori Okazaki
Helvetica Standard Bold by Keiichi Arawai
Immortal Hounds by Ryo Yasohachi
Imperfect Girl written by Nisioisin, illustrated by Mitsuru Hattori
Mobile Suit Gundam Wing written by Katsuyuki Sumizawa, illustrated by Tomofumi Ogasawara
My Neighbor Seki by Takuma Morishige
Mysterious Girlfriend X by Riichi Ueshiba
Nichijou: My Ordinary Life by Keiichi Arawi
Ninja Slayer written by Yoshiaki Tabata, illustrated by Yuuki Yogo
Prophecy by Tetsuya Tsutsui
She and Her Cat written by Makoto Shinkai, illustrated by Tsubasa Yamaguchi
To the Abandoned Sacred Beasts by Maybe
Tokyo ESP by Hajime Segawa
Witchcraft Works by Ryu Mizunagi

The above list only includes the manga that have been released (or will be released very soon) under the Vertical Comics imprint which was launched in 2014, but Vertical began publishing manga well before then. (I’m fairly certain that Vertical’s first manga was Osamu Tezuka’s Buddha back in 2003, but I could be wrong.) Even before specifically devoting an imprint to manga and anime-related titles, Vertical has always had a strong catalog of titles which are well-worth reading. Thank you to everyone who shared your particular Vertical favorites with me! I hope you’ll all participate in the next giveaway, too.

Random Musings: Seven Years of Experiments in Manga

August 18, 2017 by Ash Brown

As of today, I have been writing at Experiments in Manga for SEVEN YEARS. And of those, four have been spent as a contributing member to Manga Bookshelf and its cohort of blogs. I have spent much of this past year trying to find a balance between my writing and reviewing and the multitude of other responsibilities requiring my focus and attention. I had to cut back significantly on my posting, more than I really would have liked, but was still largely happy with what I was able to achieve both with Experiments in Manga and in other areas of my life. Among other things, over the past twelve months I’ve been granted the rank of shodan in traditional Okinawan karate, was hired for a new job at a different library, and started teaching introductory taiko classes. It’s all been rather tumultuous. But perhaps most importantly, at least for the sake of this post, I am now able to celebrate the seventh anniversary of Experiments in Manga!

Unlike past years, there weren’t really any big projects or special features at Experiments in Manga this time around. In fact, much to my dismay, I actually even stopped writing in-depth reviews for a few months. However, I re-found some of my inspiration to write after reading and reviewing the eighth omnibus of Makoto Yukimura’s Vinland Saga after which I finally started to post long-form features a little more regularly again. Other reviews from the past year that were personally memorable or meaningful to me in some way include those for the marvelous children’s book Are You an Echo?: The Lost Poetry of Misuzu Kaneko, Yeon-sik Hong’s autobiographical manhwa Uncomfortably Happily, and most recently Kazuki Sakuraba’s soon to be released novel A Small Charred Face. I also continued two annual features that I especially enjoy, my random musings on notable releases for the year and my Toronto Comic Arts Festival adventures.

I started writing at Experiments in Manga seven years ago as a way to more actively engage with the online manga community. To some extent, I was successful with that. Not all of my experiences have necessarily been positive ones, but Experiments in Manga has given me the opportunity to meet and interact with a wide variety of people that otherwise I never would have. I especially cherish the friendships that have been fostered because of it. While I primarily write for myself, I also love sharing my excitement for manga and such with people; it makes me incredibly happy to know that at least from time to time others have found Experiments in Manga interesting, entertaining, or useful.

And so, while I am celebrating seven years of Experiments in Manga, it is with some amount of sadness that I am also announcing my semi-retirement from manga blogging. I will continue to regularly write at Experiments in Manga through the end of 2017, but once 2018 arrives I will no longer be actively posting here. However, I’ll still be a contributor at Manga Bookshelf, chiming in on the Manga the Week of and Pick of the Week features, and starting in January my quick takes on manga will be included as part of the Bookshelf Briefs. I’ll likely be a little more active on my Twitter account, too, using it as an additional outlet for my thoughts on a variety of topics. This all was an extremely difficult and even heart-wrenching decision for me to make, but while I remain conflicted, I do feel that it was ultimately the right choice. There are a number of different reasons behind it, but perhaps the most obvious is that the demands on my time only seem to increase with every year that goes by. And at this particular point in my life, I find I most want to return to my roots in music and to be able to devote more of my attention to studying, performing, and teaching taiko.

To conclude, I would like to thank everyone who has supported me and Experiments in Manga over these last seven years–my readers, colleagues, contributors, friends, family, publishers, industry contacts, the creators I’ve met, and anyone else who has taken the time to care, participate, comment, provide feedback, or share. Experiments in Manga truly couldn’t have lasted this long without your encouragement; I am incredibly grateful and appreciative of you all. Writing here has been an illuminating experience and I’ve learned a lot along the way. I’m also going to miss it tremendously. Experiments in Manga and I have had our ups and downs, but I am honestly proud of some of the things that I have been able to accomplish both with and through it. Going forward I won’t be writing as much, but I will certainly be reading even more and hope to continue finding ways to share my love of manga, Japanese literature, and all of the other wonderful things that mean so much to me.

Bookshelf Overload: July 2017

August 16, 2017 by Ash Brown

I ended up picking up a few more things than I had initially planned to in July (including more anime series than usual). Partly to blame was the huge month-long anniversary sale at RightStuf. Granted, some of the items that I ordered during the sale didn’t arrive until August, so they won’t be found in the list below. Also not represented (although perhaps they should be) are the books that I bought as replacements for some of the materials that I already owned but lost to water damage from a radiator leak last month. But as for the manga to arrive in July that do appear on the list below that I was especially happy to see, there was Kentaro Miura’s Berserk, Volume 38 (the previous volume was published in 2013), Shigeru Mizuki’s Kitaro and the Great Tanuki War (technically released in June), and Izumi Tsubaki’s Monthly Girls’ Nozaki-kun, Volume 8 (which continues to be a delight). I also finally got around to picking up Tetsu Kariya and Akira Hanasaki’s Oishinbo, A la Carte: Izakaya: Pub Food, the final volume of the series to be published in English. July had a fair number of interesting debuts in store for me, too, including Gou Tanabe’s H.P. Lovecraft’s The Hound and Other Stories (a nice addition to the horror manga available in translation), Yuki Fumino’s I Hear the Sunspot (a truly lovely manga), and Haruko Ichikawa’s Land of the Lustrous, Volume 1 (which, if nothing else, has stunning artwork).

Manga!
The Ancient Magus’ Bride, Volume 7 by Kore Yamazaki
Berserk, Volume 38 by Kentaro Miura
Blame!, Omnibus 2 by Tsutomu Nihei
Bungo Stray Dogs, Volume 3 by Kafka Asagiri
Don’t Be Cruel: Plus+, Volume 1 by Yonezou Nekota
Food Wars!: Shokugeki no Soma, Volume 18 written by Yuto Tsukuda, illustrated by Shun Saeki
Fruits Basket, Omnibus 2 by Natsuki Takaya
Hana & Hina After School, Volume 2 by Milk Morinaga
H.P. Lovecraft’s The Hound and Other Stories by Gou Tanabe
I Hear the Sunspot by Yuki Fumino
Kitaro and the Great Tanuki War by Shigeru Mizuki
Land of the Lustrous, Volume 1 by Haruko Ichikawa
The Legend of Zelda: Legendary Edition, Omnibuses 3-5 by Akira Himekawa
Love Com, Volumes 5-13 by Aya Nakahara
Million Tears, Volume 1 by Yuana Kazumi
Monthly Girls’ Nozaki-kun, Volume 8 by Izumi Tsubaki
Oishinbo, A la Carte: Izakaya: Pub Food written by Tetsu Kariya, illustrated by Akira Hanasaki
Princess Jellyfish, Omnibus 5 by Akiko Higashimura
Samurai Crusader, Volumes 1-3 written by Hiroi Oji, illustrated by Ryoichi Ikegami
Twinkle Stars, Omnibus 3 by Natsuki Takaya
Your Name, Volume 1 written by Makoto Shinkai, illustrated by Ranmaru Kotone

Comics!
The Backstagers, Volume 1 written by James Tynion IV, illustrated by Rian Sygh
Blood Brothers: Hermanos de Sangre written by Fabian Rangel Jr., illustrated by Javier Martin Caba
Electric Ant, Issue 1: Your First Kiss edited by Ryan Sands
For When You Can’t Sleep at Night by Skye Ali
Husband & Husband, Volume 1 by Aaron Ferrara
Living Space by Elise Schuenke
Loved & Lost written by Tyler Chin-Tanner
Ravina the Witch? by Junko Mizuno
Rutabaga the Adventure Chef, Book 2: Feasts of Fury by Eric Colossal
Stages of Rot by Linnea Sterte

Novels!
Gosick, Volumes 1-2 by Kazuki Sakuraba
Legend of the Galactic Heroes, Volume 4: Strategem by Yoshiki Tanaka
Your Name by Makoto Shinkai

Anime!
Captain Harlock Space Pirate: The Complete Series directed by Rintaro
Death Parade: The Complete Series directed by Yuzuru Tachikawa
Gangsta: The Complete Series directed by Shukō Murase
Gosick: The Complete Series, Part 1 directed by Hitoshi Nanba
The Story of Saiunkoku: Season 1, Parts 1-3 directed by Jun Shishido
Space Dandy, Seasons 1-2 directed by Shinichirō Watanabe
Yona of the Dawn, Parts 1-2 directed by Kazuhiro Yoneda

Manga Giveaway: The Royal Tutor Giveaway Winner

August 2, 2017 by Ash Brown

And the winner of The Royal Tutor manga giveaway is… Black_wind!

As the winner, Black_wind will be receiving a copy of The Royal Tutor, Volume 1 by Higasa Akai as published in English by Yen Press. I have a particular fondness for court intrigue, so for this giveaway I asked participants to tell me a little about their favorite member of royalty from a manga since it often seems as though you can’t have one without the other. Be sure to check out the giveaway comments for everyone’s detailed responses as well as the list below for even more manga!

Some of the manga available in English featuring royalty:
ACCA 13 by Natsume Ono
Andromeda Stories written by Ryu Mitsuse, illustrated by Keiko Takemiya
The Angel of Elhamburg by Aki
Attack on Titan by Hajime Isayama
Basara by Yumi Tamura
Crimson Spell by Ayano Yamane
Dawn of the Arcana by Rei Toma
Emma by Kaoru Mori
The Heroic Legend of Arslan by Hiromu Arakawa
Iono-sama Fanatics by Miyabi Fujieda
Ludwig II by You Higuri
Princess Knight by Osamu Tezuka
Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon by Naoko Takeuchi
No Need for Tenchi! by Hitoshi Okuda
Ōoku: The Inner Chambers by Fumi Yoshinaga
Red River by Chie Shinohara
Requiem of the Rose King by Aya Kanno
The Rose of Versailles by Riyoko Ikeda
The Royal Tutor by Higasa Akai
The Seven Princes of the Thousand-Year Labyrinth written by Yu Aikawa, illustrated by Haruno Atori
The Story of Saiunkoku written by Sai Yukino, illustrated by Kairi Yura
Sugar Sugar Rune by Moyoco Anno
Two Flowers for the Dragon by Nari Kusakawa
Vinland Saga by Makoto Yukimura
Yona of the Dawn by Mizuho Kusanagi

As usual, the above certainly isn’t an exhaustive list, but it should at least provide some interesting starting places for readers looking for a bit of royal flair in their manga. Thank you to everyone who participated in the giveaway and shared your favorite members of royalty with me. I hope to see you again for the next giveaway!

Bookshelf Overload: June 2017

July 13, 2017 by Ash Brown

After the ridiculousness of May’s Bookshelf Overload, the number of manga, comics, and other books that I picked up in June seems completely reasonable. But even though it was a small month, it was still a great month. First of all, one of the manga I was most looking forward to this year was released–Kabi Nagata’s My Lesbian Experience with Loneliness. (Although the work is more than deserving of it, I won’t be doing a formal, in-depth review, but I did write a Quick Take of it a few weeks ago.) I was also particularly excited for the debut of Satoru Noda’s Golden Kamuy and the continuation of Makoto Yukimura’s Vinland Saga in June. Hirohiko Araki’s Manga in Theory and Practice: The Craft of Creating Manga should also present an interesting read once I finally get the chance to get around to it. Currently, though, I’m reading Kazuki Sakuraba’s novel A Small Charred Face. It isn’t due to be released until September, but the folks at Haikasoru were kind enough to send me an advanced copy. I really enjoyed Sakuraba’s Red Girls: The Legend of the Akakuchibas and have been looking forward to the translation of A Small Charred Face for quite some time. So far, it’s been fantastic; look for a review to come soon!

Manga!
After Hours, Volume 1 by Yuhta Nishio
Dorohedoro, Volume 21 by Q Hayashida
Erased, Omnibus 2 by Kei Sanbe
Golden Kamuy, Volume 1 by Satoru Noda
Goodnight Punpun, Omnibus 6 by Inio Asano
Liselotte & Witch’s Forest, Volumes 1-3 by Natsuki Takaya
My Lesbian Experience with Loneliness by Kabi Nagata
Pet Shop of Horrors, Volume 9 by Matsuri Akino
Prison School, Omnibus 7 by Akira Hiramoto
The Royal Tutor, Volume 1 by Higasa Akai
Sweetness and Lightning, Volume 5 by Gido Amagakure
Ten Count, Volume 4 by Rihito Takarai
Vagabond, Omnibuses 10-12 by Takehiko Inoue
Vinland Saga, Omnibus 9 by Makoto Yukimura
The Water Dragon’s Bride, Volume 1 by Rei Toma

Comics!
Bara Emergency, Collection 1 by Nero O’Reilly
Boundless by Jillian Tamaki
Boy, I Love You edited by Kou Chen, Emily Forster, and Eric Alexander Arroyo.
Combed Clap of Thunder by Zach Hazard Vaupen
Cosmic Commandos by Chris Eliopoulos
Deanthology: Collected Works of Dechanique, 1995-2016 by Deanna Echanique
Destiny, NY, Volume 1 written by Pat Shand, illustrated by Manuel Preitano
Let’s Speak English by Mary Cagle
Not Drunk Enough, Volume 1 by Tessa Stone
Siegfried, Volume 3 by Alex Alice
Space Battle Lunchtime, Volume 2 by Natalie Riess
Steam Clean by Laura Kenins

Novels!
The Great Passage by Shion Miura
The Sacred Era by Aramaki Yoshio
Slow Boat by Hideo Furukawa
A Small Charred Face by Kazuki Sakuraba
Sound! Euphonium by Ayano Takeda

Nonfiction!
The Cultural Revolution: A People’s History, 1962―1976 by Frank Dikötter
Manga in Theory and Practice: The Craft of Creating Manga by Hirohiko Araki

Manga Giveaway: Summer Spookiness Winner

July 5, 2017 by Ash Brown

And the winner of the Summer Spookiness manga giveaway is… Olivia!

As the winner, Olivia will be receiving copies of Ghost Diary, Volume 1 by Seiju Natsumegu and In/Spectre, Volume 1 by Chasiba Katase as published in English by Seven Seas and Kodansha Comics respectively. For this giveaway, I asked that participants tell me a little about their favorite manga which includes Japanese folklore, ghosts, or urban legends in some way. Yuki Midorikawa’s Natsume’s Book of Friends and Adachitoka’s Noragami: Stray God were the two most frequently mentioned series (and they are great!) but everyone’s detailed responses can be found in the giveaway comments. And, as usual, I’ve created a list of related manga below, as well.

Some of the print manga available in English incorporating Japanese folklore:
Anomal by Nukuharu
Bleach by Tite Kubo
Death Note written by Tsugumi Ohba, illustrated by Takeshi Obata
Durarara!! written by Ryohgo Narita, illustrated by Akiyo Satorigi
The Demon Prince of Momochi House by Aya Shouoto
Forbidden Scrollery by Moe Harukawa
Gate 7 by CLAMP
Ghost Diary by Seiju Natsumegu
Ghost Hunt by Shiho Inada
Ghost Talker’s Daydream by Saki Okuse
Hanako and the Terror of Allegory by Sakae Esuno
In/Spectre by Chasiba Katase
Inu x Boku SS by Cocoa Fujiwara
Inuyasha by Rumiko Takahashi
Kamisama Kiss by Julietta Suzuki
Kekkaishi by Yellow Tanabe
Kitaro by Shigeru Mizuki
Mail by Housui Yamazaki
Mushishi by Yuki Urushibara
Natsume’s Book of Friends by Yuki Midorikawa
NonNonBa by Shigeru Mizuki
Noragami: Stray God by Adachitoka
Nightmare Inspector: Yumekui Kenbun by Shin Mashiba
Nura: Rise of the Yokai Clan by Hiroshi Shiibashi
Nurse Hitomi’s Monster Infirmary by Shake-O
Oninagi by Akira Ishida
Pet Shop of Horrors by Matsuri Akino
Phoenix by Osamu Tezuka
RIN-NE by Rumiko Takahashi
Shirahime-Syo: Snow Goddess Tales by CLAMP
Soul Eater by Atsushi Ohkubo
Tale of a White Night by Tooko Miyagi
That Wolf Boy Is Mine! by Yoko Nogiri
Tokyo Babylon by CLAMP
xxxHolic by CLAMP
Yokai Girls by Kazuki Funatsu
Yokai Rental Shop by Shin Mashiba

Although the above list certainly isn’t comprehensive, I do think it shows a nice variety of titles. It should also hopefully provide a good starting place for someone who might be interested in manga which include elements of Japanese folklore. Thank you to everyone who shared your personal favorites with me by participating in the giveaway! I hope you’ll stop by again for the next one as well.

Bookshelf Overload: May 2017

June 22, 2017 by Ash Brown

Ah yes, May. The month that I know I will end up adding a tremendous amount of material of various types to my collection if for no other reason than this little event called the Toronto Comic Arts Festival. I picked up so many comics at TCAF 2017! Fortunately, I budgeted for this well in advance. In addition to all of the new things in May, I also found some interesting older manga like Yukinobu Hoshino’s Saber Tiger and Seiji Horibuchi’s Shion: Blade of the Minstrel. (Also, a heads up for those who might be interested in the series, it looks as though The Story of Saiunkoku is likely going out of print.) As for May’s preorders, I was especially excited to see the most recent volumes of Nagabe’s The Girl From the Other Side, Izumi Tsubaki’s Monthly Girls’ Nozaki-kun, and Kanno’s Requiem of the Rose King, as well as the debuts of Haruko Kumota’s Descending Stories and Ryoko Kui’s Delicious in Dungeon. Also the first omnibus in Gengoroh Tagame’s My Brother’s Husband, one of my most anticipated releases for 2017.

Also in May, I received an early copy Yeon-sik Hong’s Uncomfortably Happily for review although the volume wasn’t technically released until June. Hopefully, my review of the manwha conveys just how much I enjoyed the work. Speaking of reviews, I’m currently working on an in-depth review Tomoyuki’s Hoshino’s ME, one of my most anticipated novels in translation of 2017. (This novel was also technically released in June rather than May, but I managed to snag an early review copy.) In general, I find Hoshino’s work to be challenging but ultimately rewarding. One of the other novels that I was particularly looking forward to this year was Inheritance from Mother by Minae Mizumura, whose previous work in translation I adored. Another May release worth mentioning is Shun Medoruma’s In the Woods of Memory, credited as the first novel by an Okinawan author to be translated into English.

Manga!
Bloom into You, Volume 2 by Nakatani Nio
Cat Eyed Boy, Volumes 1-2 by Kazuo Umezu
Cells at Work!, Volume 4 by Akane Shimizu
Delicious in Dungeon, Volume 1 by Ryoko Kui
Descending Stories: Showa Genroku Rakugo Shinju, Volume 1 by Haruko Kumota
Dreamin’ Sun, Volume 1 by Ichigo Takano
The Girl From the Other Side: Siúil, A Rún Volume 2 by Nagabe
Gangsta: Cursed, Volume 2 written by Kohske, illustrated by Syuhei Kamo
Girls’ Last Tour, Volume 1 by Tsukumizu
The High School Life of a Fudanshi, Volume 1 by Michinoku Atami
Haikyu!!, Volumes 11-12 by Haruichi Furudate
JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, Part 3: Stardust Crusaders, Volume 3 by Hirohiko Araki
Monthly Girls’ Nozaki-kun, Volume 7 by Izumi Tsubaki
Murciélago, Volume 2 by Yoshimurakana
My Brother’s Husband, Omnibus 1 by Gengoroh Tagame
My Love Story!!, Volume 12 written by Kazune Kawahara, illustrated by Aruko
Pet Shop of Horrors, Volume 10 by Matsuri Akino
Pet Shop of Horrors: Tokyo, Volumes 1-8 by Matsuri Akino
Requiem of the Rose King, Volume 6 by Aya Kanno
The Royal Tutor, Volume 1 by Higasa Akai
Saber Tiger by Yukinobu Hoshino
Shion: Blade of the Minstrel by Seiji Horibuchi
The Story of Saiunkoku, Volumes 1-9 written by Sai Yukino, illustrated by Kairi Yura
Sweetness and Lightning, Volume 5 by Gido Amagakuure
Yona of the Dawn, Volume 6 by Mizuho Kusanagi

Manhwa!
Uncomfortably Happily by Yeon-sik Hong

Comics!
5 Worlds, Volume 1: The Sand Warrior written by Mark Siegel and Alexis Siegel, illustrated by Xanthe Bouma, Matt Rockefeller, and Boya Sun
Adventure Girlfriends, No. 1-2 by Morgan Shandro
Adventure Girlfriends: Vignettes by Morgan Shandro
Aim High Bird Friends by Linda Teaa
Banchan in Two Pages, Issue 2 by Robin Ha
Blinded by the Ice by Saicoink
Blindsprings, Volume 1 by Kadi Fedoruk
Blossom Boys by Tanaw
Butterfly Dream by PlumLi
The Disappearance of Melody Dean by Alexis Sugden
Eidoughlons: A Field Guide for the Aspiring Dumplingmancer by Jade Feng Lee
Electric Ant, Issue 2: Exquisite Corpses edited by Ryan Sands
Elements: Fire edited by Taneka Stotts
Expired Seafood, Volume 2: Tied Up by Various
Fujoshi Trapped in a Seme’s Perfect Body, Volume 2 written by Seru, illustrated by Joberu
Fujoshi Trapped in a Seme’s Perfect Body: Wedding Night written by Seru, illustrated by Kisumi
Go Gently edited by Christine Wong and Victor Martins
Half Moon Heroes, Issue 1 by Jade Feng Lee
Haunted: A Fairytale by Natalie Andrewson
Hearts for Sale by Miyuli
Hemlock, Issue 1 by Josceline Fenton
Hidden by Kou Chen
Love Debut by Deandra Tan
Mana, Volume 1 by Priya Huq
Martial Spirit by Dirchansky, Wai Au, and Kage
Oh Dear! Mr. Dear by Wai Au
Our Cats Are More Famous Than Us by Ananth Hirsh and Yuko Ota
Plant Fever Zine, Volume 1 by Various
Queen Street by Emmanuelle Chateauneuf
Ram-com by Emily Forster
Ramen Robot Cafe by Dandra Tan
Safe by Anna Sellheim
Shattered Warrior written by Sharon Shinn, illustrated by Molly Knox Ostertag
Shit and Piss by Tyler Landry
Smokescreen by A. C. Esguerra
So Pretty / Very Rotten by Jane Mai and An Nguyen
Starrytellers edited by Samantha Calcraft and Alisha Jade
Super Life on the Hill by Dirchansky, Kim Hoang, and Wai Au
(Tr)eat Yoself by Wai Au
Wax & Wane by Kelly Bastow and Caitlin Major
What Is A Glacier? by Sophie Yanow
You & a Bike & a Road by Eleanor Davis

Light Novels!
Tokyo Ghoul: Past by Shin Towada

Novels!
The Eternal Zero by Naoki Hyakuta
In the Woods of Memory by Shun Medoruma
Inheritance from Mother by Minae Mizumura
Kamikaze Girls by Novala Takemoto
ME by Tomoyuki Hoshino
Missin’/Missn’ 2 by Novala Takemoto
Notes of a Crocodile by Miaojin Qiu

Anthologies!
Monkey Business: New Writing from Japan, Volume 7 edited by Motoyuki Shibata and Ted Goossen

Nonfiction!
Manchu Princess, Japanese Spy by Phyllis Birnbaum

Manga Giveaway: Anonymous Noise Giveaway Winner

June 7, 2017 by Ash Brown

And 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!

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

Manga Giveaway: Queen Emeraldas Giveaway Winner

May 3, 2017 by Ash Brown

And 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.

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

Manga Giveaway: Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid Giveaway Winner

April 5, 2017 by Ash Brown

And 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.

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