Unshelved

A Preliminary NYCC 2015 Schedule

October 3, 2015 by Sean Gaffney

Last year’s NYCC plans bore laughably little resemblance to what I actually did, due to the long lines for absolutely everything. Let’s see what I’m interested in, regardless of whether or not I’m able to attend it. And they remind everyone they do not clear rooms.

Thursday, October 8:
11:00 – 12:15 We Need More Diverse Comics (1A05)
1:45 – 2:45 The 7 Archetypes of Comics Shops (1B03)
4:00 – 5:00 Attack on Titan panel (1A18)
5:15 – 6:15 Sir Terry Pratchett (1A18)
5:15 – 6:15 LGBT in Comics (1A21)
6:45 – 7:45 Crunchyroll Industry Panel (1A24)
8:00 – 9:00 Fangirls Lead the Way (1B03)

Yes, obvious conflict there – not sure how packed Titans and Pratchett will be, and I also really want to see the LGBT panel. The comic shop one is simply as I get my manga at a great local shop in New Haven, so am interested to see if manga comes up. And there’s two good break points to tour the DR and meet people. You’ll notice I’m not doing the Kishimoto panel – I just never got into Naruto, and going to a Main Stage panel requires a lot of hoop jumping.

Friday, October 9:
11:00 – 12:00 Star Wars: A Galaxy of Fandom (1A24)
12:15 – 1:15 Viz Media Panel (1A24)
12:30 – 1:30 Gay Manga Panel (1A05)
2:45 – 3:45 Banned Comics! (1B03)
4:15 – 5:15 Archie Comics (1A05)
5:30 – 6:30 Vertical Comics (1A05)

Not sure I’ll get into Star Wars, but Viz will also be packed, so… Conflict with the Gay Manga panel, sigh. Archie will also be hard to get into, if past years are a good example – 1A05 does not look like a very large room. A surprisingly early night!

Saturday, October 10:
11:00 – 12:00 Yen Press (1B03)
12:15 – 1:15 Kodansha Comics (1A01)
1:45 – 2:45 Clueless 20th Anniversary (1A10)
2:45 – 3:45 Women in Geek Media (1A01)
4:15 – 5:15 Food and Comics (1A05)
7:45 – 9:15 Doctor Who Fan Screening (Empire Room)

I see Yen’s in the tiny room again. Going from Yen straight to Kodansha will be tough if there’s a line.

Sunday, October 11:
12:00 – 1:00 Heroic Counter-narratives (1A05)
2:30 – 3:30 Culturally Queer (1A24)

There’s a Classic Who panel as well, but it’s at 4pm, and there’s just no way, I’ll be fried. In any case, that’s a lot of stuff I want to see. I hope to be able to meet everyone there!

Bookshelf Overload: August 2015

September 6, 2015 by Ash Brown

Along with August comes 801 Day, and along with 801 Day comes boys’ love sales, so in addition to usual slew of preorders last month, I replenished my supply of BL manga and novels. I even managed to snag a few that I believe are technically out of print. As for newly-released manga with queer themes, Takeshi Matsu’s second collection of erotic gay manga in English is now available: Dr. Makumakuran and Other Stories. (I reviewed the volume a couple of days ago; it’s pretty great.) There were plenty of other preorders that I was happy to see released in August, too, including but certainly not limited to the next installments in the lovely hardcover editions of Kaoru Mori’s Emma and Hirohiko Araki’s Phantom Blood. And as I feared and expected, my artbook collection continues to expand. Last month I picked up the two volumes of Takehiko Inoue’s gorgeous Vagabond illustrations, Sumi and Water. Outside of manga, I was very excited for Haikasoru’s re-release of Otsuichi’s award-winning light novel Goth since I thoroughly enjoyed Tokyopop’s edition of Goth back in the day. Haikasoru’s edition uses the same translation at Tokyopop’s, but it also includes the newly-translated novelette “Morino’s Souvenir Photo,” which I’m looking forward to reading. I also picked up the anthology Press Start to Play specifically because it includes the short story “Respawn” by Hiroshi Sakurazaka (the author of All You Need Is Kill and Slum Online), but I was happy to discover that a bunch of other great authors, including Ken Liu, contributed to the volume as well. And, after some delay, Yurei: The Japanese Ghost by Zack Davisson has finally been published!

Manga!
Another by Hiro Kiyohara
Citrus, Volume 3 by Saburouta
Crushing Love by Ritsu Natsumizu
Depression of the Anti-Romanticist, Volumes 1-2 written by Yasuna Suginuma, illustrated by Riyu Yamakami
Dorohedoro, Volume 16 by Q Hayashida
Dr. Makumakuran and Other Stories by Takeshi Matsu
Embracing Love, Omnibus 3 by Youka Nitta
Emma, Omnibus 2 by Kaoru Mori
The First Stage of Love by Kazuhiko Mishima
Food Wars!: Shokugeki no Soma, Volume 7 written by Yuto Tsukuda, illustrated by Shun Saeki
Inuyashiki, Volume 1 by Hiroya Oku
Itazura na Kiss, Omnibus 1 by Kaoru Tada
JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, Part 1: Phantom Blood, Volume 3 by Hirohiko Araki
Love at Fourteen, Volume 3 by Fuka Mizutani
Love Bus Stop by Ritsu Natsumizu
Maria the Virgin Witch: Exhibition by Ishikawa Masayuki
Millennium Darling 2006 by Maki Naruto
My Hero Academia, Volume 1 by Kohei Horikoshi
Poison Cherry Drive by Motoni Modoru
Prison School, Omnibus 1 by Akira Hiramoto
Red by Sanae Rokuya
Sea View by Ayumi Kano
Tokyo Ghoul, Volume 2 by Sui Ishida
Ultraman, Volume 1 by Tomohiro Shimoguchi
Weekend Lovers by Kiriko Fuwa
Wolf Children: Ame & Yuki written by Mamoru Hosoda, illustrated by Yu

Comics!
The 6 Voyages of Lone Sloane by Philippe Druillet
Guardians of the Kingdom by Tom Gauld
Here by Richard McGuire
Hopeless Savages: Greatest Hits 2000-2010 written by Jen Van Meter
Lumberjanes, Volume 1: Beware the Kitten Holy created by Grace Ellis, Noelle Stevenson, and Shannon Watters
Pages to Pages by Lai Tat Tat Wing
This Tastes Funny by Suddenly Sentai
Thoughts From Iceland by Lonnie Mann
Wayward, Volume 2: Ties that Bind created by Jim Zub and Steve Cummings

Artbooks!
Sumi by Takehiko Inoue
Water by Takehiko Inoue

Light Novels!
Attack on Titan: The Harsh Mistress of the City, Part 1 written by Ryo Kawakami, illustrated by Range Murata
Don’t Worry Mama written by Narise Konohara, illustrated by Yuki Shimizu
Goth by Otsuichi
The Man Who Doesn’t Take Off His Clothes, Volumes 1-2 written by Narise Konohara, illustrated by Yuki SHimizu

Anthologies!
Press Start to Play edited by Daniel H. Wilson and John Joseph Adams

Nonfiction!
Global Manga : “Japanese” comics without Japan? edited by Casy Brienza
Yurei: The Japanese Ghost by Zack Davisson

Manga Giveaway: Yumi Tamura Giveaway Winner

September 2, 2015 by Ash Brown

And the winner of the Yumi Tamura Giveaway is… Olivia!

As the winner, Olivia will be receiving a complete set of Yumi Tamura’s shoujo action thriller Chicago as published by Viz Media back in the day. I came across Chicago because Tamura was also the creator of Basara, a series that I love. And so for this giveaway, I asked that participants tell me about the mangaka whose work they always make a point to read. Check out the giveaway comments for the detailed responses, and check out below for the list of mangaka mentioned in addition to a selection of their works that are available in English!

Aki
The Angel of Elhamburg
Olympos
Utahime: The Songstress

Moyoco Anno
In Clothes Called Fat
Sakuran: Blossoms Wild
Sugar Sugar Rune

CLAMP
Cardcaptor Sakura
X
xxxHolic

Usamaru Furuya
Genkaku Picasso
Lychee Light Club
No Longer Human

Kyoko Hikawa
From Far Away

Kazuo Koike & Goseki Kojima
Lone Wolf & Cub
Path of the Assassin
Samurai Executioner

Mitsukazu Mihara
Doll
The Embalmer
IC in a Sunflower

Setona Mizushiro
After School Nightmare
Black Rose Alice
X-Day

Jun Mochizuki
Pandora Hearts

Kaoru Mori
Anything and Something
Bride’s Story
Emma

Takeshi Obata
All You Need Is Kill
Death Note
Hikaru no Go

Yayoi Ogawa
Tramps Like Us

Atsushi Ohkubo
B. Ichi
Soul Eater
Soul Eater Not!

Eiji Otsuka
The Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service
Madara
MPD-Psycho

Yumi Tamura
Basara
Chicago
Wild Com.

Arina Tanemura
Idol Dreams
Phantom Thief Jeanne
Sakura Hime: The Legend of Princess Sakura

Jiro Taniguchi
A Distant Neighborhood
The Summit of the Gods
The Walking Man

Osamu Tezuka
Astroboy
Dororo
Message to Adolf

Yana Toboso
Black Butler
Rust Blaster

Naoki Urasawa
Master Keaton
Monster
Pluto

Yu Yagami
Go West!
Hikkatsu!: Strike a Blow to Vivify
Those Who Hunt Elves

Fumi Yoshinaga
Not Love But Delicious Foods Make Me So Happy!
Ôoku: The Inner Chambers
What Did You Eat Yesterday?

For the sake of space, I’ve limited the lists of works to up to three releases each in English, but many of the creators have other manga available in translation, too. And hopefully we’ll continue to see more of all of these mangaka! Thank you to everyone who took the time to participate in the giveaway and share some great mangaka with me. Hope to see you all again for the next giveaway!

Random Musings: Five Years of Experiments in Manga

August 18, 2015 by Ash Brown

As of today, Experiments in Manga is now five years old! In some ways it feels like I’ve been writing here forever, and in other ways it seems like I’ve just started. When I first began Experiments in Manga, I had no idea how long it was going to last (honestly, I still don’t know), but I am rather pleased that I’ve been able to keep it going for so many years. And I find it especially impressive when I stop to consider all of the other things going on in my life right now.

What are some of those other things, exactly? Well, I and my partners all managed to survive our first year of parenthood, for one. (As did the little one, whose first birthday was last week.) That has certainly been a huge change in my life. I’m incredibly busy at work of late, too, since my supervisor retired in December and I’m still filling in for that position on top of my regular one. Another significant development is that I am now part of the leadership team for a new taiko performance group and I’ve more or less become an alternate for another semi-pro ensemble. I’ve actually been doing some teaching and composing for taiko, too. It’s all been rather exciting. And extremely challenging. And a bit exhausting.

There really doesn’t seem to be such a thing as “free time” anymore for me, and since Experiments in Manga is something that I do in my free time… Well, this past year is the first year that I’ve posted fewer things than I did in the year immediately preceding. Although I have been able to maintain a regular schedule, overall I’m reading less, and I’m writing less, too. I miss both things terribly (the reading especially), but I might have to cut back even more in the coming year depending on how things continue to progress and for the sake of my own sanity.

For example, I’ve decided to quietly retire the Discovering Manga and Finding Manga features. I enjoyed writing them, but I’m just not posting them frequently or regularly enough. (Which I then end up feeling guilty about.) But although I may be saying goodbye to those particular features, last year I actually introduced a new one that seems to be rather popular: Adaptation Adventures. I’ve only posted two so far—Udon Entertainment’s Manga Classics (which incidentally was one of my top posts from the last year) and The Twelve Kingdoms—but I’m hoping and looking forward to writing more.

Speaking of top posts, my Spotlight on Masaichi Mukaide was very well received. In fact, it wasn’t just one of the top posts from last year, it’s one of Experiments in Manga’s most frequently visited pages ever. It probably helped that the spotlight made the rounds on general comics sites in addition to catching the attention of manga enthusiasts. That single post may very well be the most noteworthy thing that I’ve ever written. Likely, I’ll never be able to top it. I’dbe lying if I tried to say that I wasn’t at least a little proud of it.

The most popular (or at least most frequently viewed) manga reviews at Experiments in Manga from the last year included the anthology Massive: Gay Erotic Manga and the Men Who Make It, Aki’s The Angel of Elhamburg, Mentaiko Itto’s Priapus, Aya Kanno’s Requiem of the Rose King, Volume 1, and Yaya Sakuragi’s Hide and Seek, Volume 1. (On a personal note, I am rather pleased that all five of those manga to one degree or another have a queer bent to them.)

As for my top non-manga reviews from the past year there was The World of the Shining Prince: Court Life in Ancient Japan by Ivan Morris, Haikasoru’s anthology Phantasm Japan: Fantasies Light and Dark from and about Japan, Frederik L. Schodt’s Manga! Manga!: The World of Japanese Comics, Seven Seas’ edition of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass by Lewis Carroll with illustrations by Kriss Sison, and Yu Godai’s Quantum Devil Saga: Avatar Tuner, Volume 1.

I’m actually pretty happy to see Avatar Tuner on that list; the novel was one of the books published in 2014 that left the greatest impression on me. As was Massive, for that matter. Last year was actually only the second time that I compiled a list of notable manga, comics, and prose, but I’ll likely compile another one for 2015 since I had so much fun putting together the first two. Plus, other people seem to enjoy them. That goes for my TCAF posts, too, which remain popular. As long as I attend TCAF, and as long as I’m still writing at Experiments in Manga, I plan on rounding up my experiences at the festival.

Another feature of sorts that I’ve continued to work on is my monthly manga review project—a recurring set of reviews that focuses on a specific series or genre. In November, I wrapped up my second project, “Year of Yuri”, a series of reviews featuring manga and comics with lesbian themes. For the following review project, I was feeling in the mood for some horror manga. But while I picked the genre, I let readers of Experiments in manga pick the series. It ended up being a tie between Setona Mizushiro’s After School Nightmare and Yuki Urushibara’s Mushishi, so I decided to review both series, alternating between them each month. At the moment, I’m about halfway through the project.

I still maintain that I write Experiments in Manga for myself, but it does give me great satisfaction and joy to know that other people read and appreciate it as well. Over the last year several readers have let me know that they’ve given a particular manga, comic, or novel a try simply because I wrote about it. I and Experiments in Manga have started to be referenced and cited in Wikipedia as well as other places online as well, including an Italian comics website. (Admittedly, while very cool, I also find this kind of terrifying.) As always, I would like to thank everyone out there who reads and supports my efforts here at Experiments in Manga. It’s truly appreciated. I hope that I can continue to improve and continue to provide content that is useful or at least occasionally interesting. Here’s to another year!

Giveaway: Sparkler Monthly Giveaway Winner

August 5, 2015 by Ash Brown

And the winner of the Sparkler Monthly Giveaway is… AshLynx!

As the winner, AshLynx will get to choose one item from the Sparkler Online Shop in addition to receiving a copy of Tokyo Demons, Book 2: Add a Little Chaos written by Lianne Sentar and illustrated by Rem. I coordinated the giveaway to draw more attention to the Sparkler Monthly Year 3 Kickstarter campaign which I’m very happy to say was successful! I absolutely love the work being done at Chromatic Press and Sparkler Monthly, so I’m glad those efforts will be able to continue for at least another year. For the giveaway, I asked participants to tell me about some of their favorite Sparkler stories. Be sure to check out the Sparkler Monthly Giveaway comments for the detailed responses!

Finally, here’s the list of current ongoing series at Sparkler Monthly that will be able to continue thanks to the campaign’s success:

The Cat Lover’s Circumstances by LAMP and Aiwa
(Geeky Modern Comedy Audio Drama)

Gatesmith by Jen Lee Quick
(Dark Fantasy Western Comic)

Knights-Errant by Jennifer Doyle
(LGBT Historical Drama Comic)

Lettera by Studio Kosen
(Comedy Fantasy Adventure Comic)

Orange Junk by Heldrad
(Shoujo Romantic Comedy Comic)

Skyglass by Jenn Grunigen and Mookie
(Sci-Fi Musician Drama Prose)

Tokyo Demons by Lianne Sentar, Rebecca Scoble, Rem, and Romy-chan
(Urban Fantasy Adventure Drama Prose)

Windrose by Studio Kosen
(Historical Adventure Comic)

Witch’s Quarry by Jen Lee Quick
(LGBT Fantasy Adventure Comic)

The above list is only a selection of Sparkler Monthly‘s total output. It doesn’t include any of the stories that have already been completed or any of the new stories that will be added throughout the coming year. Thank you to everyone who shared their favorite Sparkler stories with me. (Sparkler fans are the best fans!) And if you don’t have a favorite yet, start exploring! With the range of formats, genres, characters, and stories, there’s bound to be something that you’ll find appealing. (And most of it’s free!) Personally, I haven’t been disappointed with anything from Sparkler Monthly and am thrilled that there will be even more content in the future.

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Bookshelf Overload: July 2015

August 2, 2015 by Ash Brown

Well, it didn’t take me very long at all to get back into the habit of bringing a ridiculous number of books into the house. On top of that, I think I’ve discovered a new addiction: artbooks. I picked up two in July—A Sky Longing for Memories: The Art of Makoto Shinkai (which I reviewed not too long ago) and Yuki Urushibara’s Mushishi artbook (which was recently published in Japan)—and I have an increasingly lengthy list of others that I’m eying. Matthew Meyer’s new yokai guide/artbook The Hour of Meeting Evil Spirits: An Encyclopedia of Mononoke and Magic is now available, which I’m very excited about. (His earlier book The Night Parade of One Hundred Demons was great.) July also saw me finally get my hands on the fifth and final volume of The Summit of the Gods by Baku Yumemakura and Jiro Taniguchi which I’ve been looking forward to a great deal. Another release that I was happy to see in July was the most recent paperback from Chromatic Press/Sparkler Monthly: Heldrad’s delightful Orange Junk, Volume 1, which I made a point to review. And since I just happened to mention Sparkler Monthly, I’d of course like to take a moment to give a shout-out to the Sparkler Monthly: Year 3 Kickstarter as it enters its final day!

Manga!
Aquarion Evol, Volume 3 written by Shoji Kawamori, illustrated by Aogiri.
Black Rose Alice, Volume 5 by Setona Mizushiro
The Color Of Love by Kiyo Ueda
Cross Game, Omnibuses 2-8 by Mitsuri Adachi
The Demon Prince of Momochi House, Volume 1 by Aya Shouoto
Fairy Tail, Volume 49 by Hiro Mashima
Let’s Dance a Waltz, Volume 2 by Natsumi Ando
A Liar in Love by Kiyo Ueda
Love Stage!!, Volume 2 by Eiki Eiki
Ludwig B, Volumes 1-2 by Osamu Tezuka
Maid-sama!, Omnibus 1 by Hiro Fujiwara
Maria the Virgin Witch, Volume 3 by Ishikawa Masayuki
My Little Monster, Volume 9 by Robico
My Love Story!!, Volume 5 written by Kazune Kawahara, illustrated by Aruko
Ninja Slayer Kills, Volume 1 by Kotaro Sekine
Noragami: Stray God, Volume 5 by Adachitoka
Say I Love You, Volume 8 by Kanae Hazuki
A Silent Voice, Volume 2 by Yoshitoki Oima
The Summit of the Gods, Volume 5 written by Baku Yumemakura Baku, illustrated by Jiro Taniguchi
Sunny, Volume 5 by Taiyo Matsumoto
Terra Formars, 7 written by Yu Sasuga, illustrated by Ken-ichi Tachibana
UQ Holder, Volume 5 by Ken Akamatsu
What Did You Eat Yesterday?, Volume 9 by Fumi Yoshinaga
xxxHolic, Omnibus 6 by CLAMP
Yamada-kun and the Seven Witches, Volume 3 by Miki Yoshikawa
Your Lie in April, Volume 2 by Naoshi Arakawa

Manhwa!
Behind Story, Volume 1 by Narae Ahn
Core Scramble, Volume 1 by Euho Jun
Give to the Heart, Volume 4 by Wann

Comics!
Adventures of a Japanese Businessman by José Domingo
Beautiful Darkness by Fabien Vehlmann, Kerascoët
Corto Maltese: Beyond The Windy Isles by Hugo Pratt
The Divine by Asaf Hanuka, Tomer Hanuka, and Boaz Lavie
Fantasy Sports, Volume 1 by Sam Bosma
High Crimes written by Christopher Sebela, illustrated by Ibrahim Moustafa
The Hourglass written by Itoshi, illustrated by Aldaria
Lost in the Snow, Volume 1 by Velvet Toucher
Orange Junk, Volume 1 by Heldrad
SuperMutant Magic Academy by Jillian Tamaki

Artbooks!
Mushishi Artbook by Yuki Urushibara
A Sky Longing for Memories: The Art of Makoto Shinkai

Novels!
The Decagon House Murders by Yukito Ayatsuji

Anthologies!
The Book of Tokyo: A City in Short Fiction edited by Michael Emmerich, Jim Hinks, Masashi Matsuie
Folk Legends from Tono: Japan’s Spirits, Deities, and Phantastic Creatures edited by Ronald A. Morse
Monkey Business International, Volume 5 edited by Motoyuki Shibata and Ted Goossen

Nonfiction!
The Hour of Meeting Evil Spirits: An Encyclopedia of Mononoke and Magic by Matthew Meyer
The Science of Attack on Titan by Rikao Yanagita

Anime!
Children Who Chase Lost Voices directed by Makoto Shinkai

Video Games!
Hakuoki: Demon of the Fleeting Blossom

License Roundup – SDCC/Otakon

July 26, 2015 by Sean Gaffney

Summer is always the biggest time for new announcements, and after a huge license post for AX, I took a break to find my newsfeed drowning in new licenses for SDCC, Otakon, and various other places. Let’s see what’s coming soon, OK?

Yeah, I’m starting with Udon Entertainment. Known over here in North America mostly for their deluxe expensive artbooks, and the occasional foray into children’s titles, Udon quietly blew everyone’s mind at SDCC with the announcement of the Rose of Versailles manga, thought to be one of the impossible licenses (you know, like Legend of Galactic Heroes). Originally running in Shueisha’s Margaret back in the 1970s, if you’ve seen any anime that has a woman with a sword, it’s influenced by this. It is, even with all we have to get through, the most important title we heard about at these two cons.

In more modern manga news, Udon also has the license to Steins;Gate, the annoyingly punctuated manga based on an anime series. It’s a 3 volume series that ran in Media factory’s Comic Alive. And, in a complete 180 from typical Comic Alive stuff, they’ve also license rescued Sugar Sugar Rune, which came out back in the Del Rey days but has since fallen out of print. It ran in Kodansha’s Nakayoshi.

Sekai Project is a translator.publisher mostly of visual novels (such as Clannad, which comes out this October), but they too have decided to enter the manga business, with another anime tie-in. Gate – Jietai Kare no Chi nite, Kaku Tatakeri runs in Alpha Polis’s eponymous magazine, and is 7+ volumes. Not sure of too much about it, but the artist clearly likes drawing ‘wartime’ stuff, judging by past titles.

As is traditional during con season, Seven Seas announced a title online, as they don’t do cons. Secret no Mukougawa is 3+ volumes, runs in Comic Alive, and is the only thing the author has done not tagged in Manga-Updates as ‘Borderline H’. Which is not to say it isn’t trying hard.

Vertical had three new licenses to discuss. One is a big cult favorite, though I’ve found it difficult to get into: Mysterious Girlfriend X, a 12-volume series that ran in Kodansha’a Monthly Afternoon, and has been available digitally on Crunchyroll. It’s well-written and cute, but there’s a big drool fetish in this series that’s hard to get past if it’s not your thing.

The title I find most interesting is Kami-sama ga Uso o Tsuku, a one-shot that also ran in Afternoon. It apparently features soccer, which always sends warning bells in my head ever since Sasameke. That said, I think this may be more along the lines of Vertical’s recent quiet teenager drama titles. The author may also be known to older fans for Immortal Rain, a Tokyopop title.

And we also have Devil’s Line, a 5+ volume series that runs in Morning spinoff Morning Two, which fans may recall is where Saint Young Men began. I suspect this title will do very well for Vertical, as it has vampires. (resets ‘days since running gag’ counter to zero)

Kodansha announced a few things as well. At SDCC the news was they were releasing Kosuke Fujishima’s Paradise Residence. This has been running for a few years, but it’s always been taking breaks as the artist was more involved with his main title – a little thing called Oh My Goddess!. But that’s over with, so he can now get back to his girls’ dorm manga, which has run in both Afternoon and its sister title good! Afternoon.

Kodansha had hinted, after Rose of Versailles was announced, that they too had a classic manga announcement, and it ended up being Leiji Matsumoto! Queen Emeraldas will be two hardcover omnibuses, and comes from the 1978 shonen manga that ran in Kodansha’s Weekly Shonen Magazine. If this sells well, maybe someone can get Harlock or Yamato (both Akita Shoten, I think), or perhaps Viz can try Galaxy Express 999 again. Please let it sell well. Space opera manga is desperately needed.

Soredemo Boku wa Kimi ga Suki is also a shonen title, running in Bessatsu Shonen Magazine. It seems to be a romantic drama.

Lastly, Complex Age looks intriguing. The story of a 34-year-old newly married woman who loves to dress up in costume, you’d think this would be more suitable for Kiss or Be Love, but it’s actually a seinen title, running in Morning. This will apparently come out here in a larger format, and I’m really interested.

Viz is the last publisher to talk about, and they had a couple of exciting titles to talk about. The biggest is Oyasumi Punpun, an Inio Asano title that has long been desired by fans, particularly after Viz released Solanin and What a Wonderful World. It’s 13 volumes, ran in Young Sunday, then when that died moved to Big Comic Spirits, and is incredibly well written and incredibly bleak. I suspect this will get a nice Viz Signature treatment.

I always love seeing titles from Hakusensha’s LaLa DX, particularly as its schedule lends itself to shorter series. Ojou-sama no Untenshu is only 2 volumes long, but should fit right in with those who love Shojo Bat. It also takes place in the Taisho era, and seems really cute.

Lastly, I would be remiss if I did not mention, if only for MJ’s sake, that Viz will release a Takeshi Obata art book sometime next year, with Death Note, Hikaru no Go, and Bakuman no doubt included. Art!

Which of these has you most excited? (Rose of Versailles for me, though there’s some competition.)

AX 2015 Licensing Roundup

July 6, 2015 by Sean Gaffney

So AX 2015 has come and gone, and everyone remembers it as the con where everyone’s dreams came true. Each company had a title that made everyone’s jaw drop, down the line. The ‘impossible’ titles. And there were lots of others as well. Particularly from Yen Press, who dropped 22 titles on us.

I will start with Tokyopop, who had a panel to announce they were back, sort of, and might be getting back into manga, sort of, but had no titles to actually announce. As for its attempting to get creators to sign up with them again, see this.

Let’s move on to Viz Media. The big, BIG announcement here was from Haikasoru, Viz’s science-fiction novel imprint, who announced the acquisition of the first three Legend of Galactic Heroes novels, with more coming if sales are good. It’s possible that this may be too old a property for many readers, but for anime fans of a certain age, this is HUGE. One of the most famous space operas out of Japan. Oh yes, and the anime was licensed as well.

Viz’s Shojo Beat imprint also had two licenses, by some of its more famous mangaka. Bisco Hatori’s Urakata!! is her newest LaLa series, about a drama club. And Matsuri Hino has Shuriken to Pleats, about a young ninja girl who has to start over as a normal high school student, also running in LaLa. Neither of these is particularly surprising, but both are welcome returns for best-selling authors.

Seven Seas was not at AX, but took the weekend to announce a new title of their own. Angel Beats: Heaven’s Door is a prequel to the anime series, and is apparently by the folks behind Air, Kanon, and Clannad, so I expect it might be depressing. It runs in Dengeki G’s magazine, and is ongoing with 8 volumes in Japan.

Vertical was next, and I will admit that their big surprise was possibly the least shocking of the big con surprises. But still made me very happy. Nichijou is a gag manga famous for being wonderfully strange, and inspired an equally strange yet adorable anime. It runs in various Kadokawa magazines, including Shonen Ace, and is 9+ volumes. It is worth the purchase, especially if you enjoy My Neighbor Seki.

There’s also Fuku Fuku Nya~n, which is the latest in a series of Nya~n titles about an old woman and her cat that technically is a josei title, but really is more of a cat lover’s title. It’s by the author of Chi’s Sweet Home. Lastly, Vertical announced a new Attack on Titan novel, Lost girls, which has short stories focusing on, among others, Mikasa and Annie, who also get the cover.

Mangagamer is not a manga company, but I would feel remiss if I did not mention that they have licensed the Umineko When They Cry visual novels, which will be released arc by arc on Steam. They’re working with Witch Hunt, the Umineko fan translators, to refine and improve translation, and will, again, have an option of updated sprites. No release date set yet that I saw. Umineko is more cynical and difficult to read than Higurashi, but also has more depth and better writing.

Kodansha Comics had three announcements. In the non-earth-shattering ones, Real Account is a Weekly Shonen Magazine series combining the increasingly popular survival game genre with social media. Maga-Tsuki is a harem comedy from shonen Sirius that will likely fulfill every fan’s fanservice needs. And oh yes, one more thing, Kuragehime.

Kuragehime, aka Princess Jellyfish, has been one of THE most demanded josei series of the last few years. It runs in Kodansha’s KISS magazine, and involves a shy girl who loves jellyfish and her meeting with a beautiful young… woman? It inspired a popular anime, and everyone assumed it would not be licensed here as a) it’s josei and b) it’s 15 volumes and counting. Kodansha is doing it in 2-in-1 omnibuses, with a larger trim size. And Crunchyroll Manga also announced it will have it digitally, starting July 15.

That’s a lot of stuff. What could be left? Oh right, Yen. Let’s break this down into three waves.

First, digital-only series. There’s supernatural/horror titles (Aphorism, Corpse Princess, Renaissance Eve), another survival game series (Seishun x Kikanjuu), harem comedies (the popular yet polarizing Sekirei), straight-up mysteries (Black Detective), and even gambling manga (Kakegurui). There’s also series where I have no idea at all: Ore no Kanojo ni Nani ka Youkai is by the Working! author, and Manzen Maou Shoujo Ena-sama… I don’t even know. The big one here, though, even if it is only in digital format, is Saki. This long-running mahjong manga with yuri subtext has been an underground favorite ever since the anime came out, and it’s nice to see it getting a NA release.

In actual print, we’ll start with Handa-kun, the prequel to Barakamon. It had been previously announced as digital only, but I guess is popular enough that it’s now getting a regular release. For Log Horizon fans, the popular spinoff West Wind Brigade has been licensed. Sword Art Online’s manga continuations have been licensed – both Phantom Bullet and Mother’s Rosario, which run concurrently in Japan. Phantom Bullet’s artist also does Sacred Blacksmith.

There are a few Dragon Age titles, which usually are a bit more fanservicey than most. Kamigoroshihime Zilch seems to be about a teen who’s told he’s secretly incredibly powerful. And Saenai Heroine no Sodatekata, better known as Saekano, is based on a light novel, though Yen have only announced the manga, which is an odd combination of harem manga and visual novel creation. Fans of Genshiken might like this. Lastly, as it wouldn’t be a con without something from Comic Alive being licensed, Taboo-Tattoo seems to be a manga with lots of girls fighting – indeed, I can’t really find much else about it except that.

But Sean, you’re thinking, where is the jaw-dropping Yen Press title? Well, for that, let’s turn to the light nvoel imprint, Yen On. First, there’s a sequel to the horror novel Another, called Episode S. The second one, Yahari Ore no Seishun Rabu Kome wa Machigatteiru, is very surprising for two reasons. First, it’s owned by Shogakukan, who usually do not let their books fall outside Viz’s purview, even if Viz isn’t actually doing novels at the moment. Secondly, it’s the first Yen On title to be announced that does not involve some element of fantasy or supernatural – it’s a straight up romantic comedy. It also sells like hotcakes in Japan, and has a very popular anime, which likely explains why Yen moved past 1 and 2 above. They’ve also licensed the manga.

But there is also Baccano!. From the author of Durarara!!, this is actually Narita’s first series, about a group of mobsters in 1930s New York who get caught up with a group of immortals. Baccano! is one of those series whose anime was FAR more popular in the West than in Japan, where it bombed. It has a huge online fandom in areas such as Tumblr, and fans had been begging Yen for the novels. I was not expecting this at all – I love Baccano!, particularly the characters of Isaac and Miria, who are very… themselves. Everyone is flipping out over this, and I really hope it sells incredibly well.

Lastly, there is Crunchyroll manga. In addition to the Princess Jellyfish release I mentioned above, we have Fukigen na Mononokean (another supernatural title), Takahashi-san ga Kiite Iru (a gag comedy about an eavesdropping girl), Kuzu no Honkai (a romantic drama seinen series about pretend lovers), and Amaama to Inazuma (a child-rearing manga which should interest those who enjoyed Bunny Drop but disliked the road it went down). I like the variety of series they’re getting, and will definitely be checking these out.

There’s also SDCC next week, but I expect, while there will certainly be some titles announced there, it will be quieter than this week. AX has let everyone exhausted but happy, even those who didn’t attend it.

Bookshelf Overload: June 2015

July 5, 2015 by Ash Brown

After the ridiculousness that was May, I was able to rein in my purchases somewhat for June. Somewhat. There were a few releases that I was particularly looking forward to, like Fragments of Horror, a new collection of short horror manga by Junji Ito, Taiyo Fujii’s debut novel Gene Mapper, which I recently reviewed, and Ping Pong: The Animation. And I’m happy to see Netcomics continue to release new series, such as Hyekyung Baek’s Chiro: The Star Project and Seyoung Kim’s Sweet Blood. But what I was really excited about in June was the fact that I was able to find a complete set of Akimi Yoshida’s Banana Fish for less than some of the individual volumes are going for these days. I’ve been wanting to reread the series, but it’s becoming increasingly difficult to track down. Another out-of-print find was Shiho Inada’s Ghost Hunt, a manga based on a light novel series Fuyumi Ono who, among other things, is the creator of The Twelve Kingdoms, which I love.

Manga!
Ajin: Demi-Human, Volume 5 by Gamon Sakurai
Banana Fish, Volumes 1-19 by Akimi Yoshida
Duck Prince, Volumes 1-3 by Ai Morinaga
Eden, Volume 1 by Bash
Fragments of Horror by Junji Ito
Ghost Hunt, Volumes 1-11 by Shiho Inada
Master Keaton, Volume 3 written by Hokusei Katsushika, Takashi Nagasaki, illustrated by Naoki Urasawa
Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin, Volume 10: Solomon by Yoshikazu Yasuhiko
New Lone Wolf and Cub, Volume 5 written by Kazuo Koike, illustrated by Hideki Mori
Nyotai-ka!, Volume 4 by Ru-en Rouga
Passion, Volumes 2-3 written by Shinobu Goto, illustrated by Shoko Takaku
Servamp, Volume 2 by Strike Tanaka
Tokyo Ghoul, Volume 1 by Sui Ishida
Twittering Birds Never Fly, Volume 2 by Kou Yoneda
La Vie en Rose by Sakurako Yamada
Ze, Volume 10 by Yuki Shimizu
Zipang, Volumes 1-2 by Kaiji Kawaguchi

Manhwa!
Chiro: The Star Project, Volume 1 by Hyekyung Baek
Sweet Blood, Volume 1 by Seyoung Kim

Comics!
Bessatsu Rose Tear by Nozmo and Saicoink
Curvy, Volume 1 by M. Magdalene
Demon, Issues 1-14 by Jason Shiga
The Hues, Volume 1: Spectrum by Alex Heberling
In These Words, Chpater 13 by Guilt|Pleasure
Last Man, Volume 2: The Royal Cup by Bastien Vivès, Michael Sanlaville, and Balak
Shirtlifter #5 edited by Steve MacIsaac
The Usagi Yojimbo Saga, Omnibus 3 by Stan Sakai

Light Novels!
Attack on Titan: Kuklo Unbound by Ryo Suzukaze
The Doll by Guilt|Pleasure
Passion: Forbidden Lovers by Shinobu Gotoh

Novels!
Gene Mapper by Taiyo Fujii
The Sign of the Chrysanthemum by Katherine Paterson

Anthologies!
Drawn & Quarterly: Twenty-Five Years of Contemporary Cartooning, Comics, and Graphic Novels edited by Tom Devlin
A String of Flowers, Untied… : Love Poems from the Tale of Genji by Murasaki Shikibu
The Voice and Other Stories by Seicho Matsumoto

Nonfiction!
Tales from the Western Generation: Untold Stories and Firsthand History from Karate’s Golden Age by Matthew Apsokardu
A Year in Japan by Kate T. Williamson

Anime!
Ping Pong: The Animation directed by Masaaki Yuasa

Film!
The Mystery of Rampo directed by Rintaro Mayuzumi and Kazuyoshi Okuyama
Rampo Noir directed by Akio Jissoji, Atsushi Kaneko, Hisayasu Satō, Suguru Takeuchi

Manga Giveaway: Assassination Classroom Giveaway Winner

July 1, 2015 by Ash Brown

And the winner of the Assassination Classroom manga giveaway is… wandering-dreamer!

As the winner, wandering-dreamer (whose review blog Narrative Investigations I happen to really enjoy) will be receiving Assassination Classroom, Volume 1 by Yusei Matsui as published by Viz Media. Since Assassination Classroom features a rather unusual teacher, I was curious to hear about some of the other great teachers that other people have encountered while reading manga. Be sure to check out the giveaway comments for everyone’s detailed responses!

Some of the manga available in English featuring teachers:
Anything and Something by Kaoru Mori
Aqua by Kozue Amano
Aria by Kozue Amano
Assassination Classroom by Yusei Matsui
Blue Exorcist by Kazue Kato
Cardcaptor Sakura by CLAMP
Dr. Slump by Akira Toriyama
Fullmetal Alchemist by Hiromu Arakawa
Future Lovers by Saika Kunieda
GTO: Great Teacher Onizuka by Toru Fujisawa
GTO: 14 Days in Shonan by Toru Fujisawa
Hana-Kimi by Hisaya Nakajo
Hikaru no Go written by Yumi Hotta, illustrated by Takeshi Obata
Kobato by CLAMP
Moon and Sandals by Fumi Yoshinaga
Naruto by Masashi Kishimoto
Negima! by Ken Akamatsu
Oresama Teacher by Izumi Tsubaki
The Royal Tutor by Higasa Akai
S.S. Astro: Asashio Sogo Teachers’ Room by Negi Banno
Sunshine Sketch by Ume Aoki
Ultras by est em

There are some really great teachers included in the manga listed above, but I’m sure that there are plenty more. Thank you to everybody who participated in the giveaway and shared your personal favorites with me. I hope to see you again for the next giveaway!

Bookshelf Overload: May 2015

June 7, 2015 by Ash Brown

So, over the last few years, I’ve come to expect that May will have a very large number of comics and manga that I want to buy and I try to plan accordingly. I generally fault attending the Toronto Comic Arts Festival for most of this. Being exposed to so many great creators makes me want to bring home their work. And on top of that, I have the usual slew of preorders to deal with in May, too. I made some great out-of-print finds last month as well. I was very happy to finally complete my collection of Yayoi Ogawa’s Tramps Like Us, for one. Although I believe it was technically released in April, my copy of Menatiko Itto’s Priapus arrived in May (which I promptly reviewed). As for other May preorders, I was very excited for the beautiful license rescue of Kaoru Mori’s Emma. Though I haven’t read it yet, I was also pleased to see Tadao Tsuge’s Trash Market, a collection of short manga from an important Garo mangaka, released. I continue to be incredibly grateful that Shimura Takako’s Wandering Son is being translated into English. I have no idea when the next volume is scheduled to be published, but the eighth volume is now available. (Review to come soon!) I’ll be reviewing Kaiju’s The Ring of Saturn in the very near future as well since it was recently released in print. May also saw the publication of two of the best comics that I’ve read so far this year: Noelle Stevenson’s Nimona and Yoshitoki Oima’s A Silent Voice, Volume 1.

Manga!
Alice in the Country of Clover: Cheshire Cat Waltz, Volumes 6-7 by Mamenosuke Fujimaru
The Ancient Magus’ Bride, Volume 1 by Kore Yamazaki
Aquarion Evol, Volume 2 written by Shoji Kawamori, illustrated by Aogiri
Attack on Titan: Junior High, Omnibus 3 by Saki Nakagawa
Black Rose Alice, Volume 4 by Setona Mizushiro
Cretian Cow by Gengoroh Tagame
Dorohedoro, Volume 15 by Q Hayashida
Dream Fossil by Satoshi Kon
Drug and Drop, Volume 2 by CLAMP
Emma, Omnibus 1 by Kaoru Mori
Fairy Tail, Volume 48 by Hiro Mashima
Food Wars!: Shokugeki no Soma, Volume 6 written by Yuto Tsukuda, illustrated by Shun Saeki
Gangsta, Volume 6 by Kohske
The Heroic Legend of Arslan, Volume 3 by Hiromu Arakawa
JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, Part 1: Phantom Blood, Volume 2 by Hirohiko Araki
Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past by Shotaro Ishinomori
Love Stage!!, Volume 1 by Eiki Eiki
Lucifer and the Biscuit Hammer, Omnibus 3 by Satoshi Mizukami
Maria the Virgin, Volume 2 by Ishikawa Masayuki
My Little Monster, Volume 8 by Robico
My Neighbor Seki, Volume 2 by Takuma Morishige
Noragami: Stray God, Volume 4 by Adachitoka
Peach Girl, Volumes 1-8 by Miwa Ueda
Peach Girl: Change of Heart, Volumes 1-10 by Miwa Ueda
Priapus by Mentaiko Itto
Say I Love You, Volume 7 by Kanae Hazuki
A Silent Voice, Volume 1 by Yoshitoki Oima
The Seven Deadly Sins, Volume 8 by Nakaba Suzuki
Terra Formars, Volume 6 written by Yu Sasuga and illustrated by Ken-ichi Tachibana
Tramps Like Us, Volumes 7-10, 13-14 by Yayoi Ogawa
Trash Market by Tadao Tsuge
Wandering Son, Volume 8 by Shimura Takako
What Did You Eat Yesterday?, Volume 8 by Fumi Yoshinaga
Witchcraft Works, Volume 4 by Ryu Mizunagi
xxxHolic: Rei, Volume 3 by CLAMP
Yamada-kun and the Seven Witches, Volume 2 by Miki Yoshikawa

Manhwa!
Give to the Heart, Volume 3 by Wann

Comics!
Bookhunter by Jason Shiga
Cry to the Moon by Various
An Entity Observes All Things by Box Brown
Hot/Cold by Alisha Jade
I Grew Up Beautiful by Alisha Jade
Ink for Beginners: A Comic Guide to Getting Tattooed by Kate Leth
King City by Brandon Graham
Mighty Star and the Castle of the Cancatervater by A. Degen
MTS by Alisha Jade
Nimona by Noelle Stevenson
Sea Urchin by Laura Knetzger
Second Quest written by Tevis Thompson, illustrated by David Hellman
Shades of A by T. A. Kimpton
A Stray in the Woods by Alison Wilgus
Sunstone, Volume 1 by Stjepan Sejic
The Ring of Saturn by Kaiju
Towerkind by Kat Verhoeven
Usagi Yojimbo: Senso by Stan Sakai
Valor edited by Isabelle Melançon, Megan Lavey-Heaton
Weeping Flower, Grows in Darkness by Kris Mukai
Wonderland written by Tommy Kovac, illustrated by Sonny Liew
Wuvable Oaf by Ed Luce
Zero by Ken Nimura

Light Novels!
The Devil Is a Part-Timer, Volume 1 by Satoshi Wagahara

Novels!
The Master Key by Masako Togawa

Nonfiction!
Gay Erotic Art in Japan, Volume 1: Artists from the Birth of Gay Magazines by Gengoroh Tagame

Anime!
Free!: Iwatobi Swim Club directed by Hiroko Utsumi
Ghost Hunt by Rei Mano
Golden Boy directed by Hiroyuki Kitakubo
Horus: Prince of the Sun directed by Isao Takahata

Manga Giveaway: Ema Toyama Twosome Winner

June 3, 2015 by Ash Brown

And the winner of the Ema Toyama Twosome is… Coco!

As the winner, Coco will be receiving two manga by Ema Toyama: Manga Dogs, Volume 1 and Missions of Love, Volume 1. Both of those series feature protagonists who are professional storytellers, a mangaka and cell phone novelist respectively. So, for the manga giveaway, I asked participants to tell me a little about their favorite characters in manga who are writers. Check out the Ema Toyama Twosome comments for all of the characters mentioned, and check out the list below for all of the manga mentioned and then some!

Manga available in English featuring writers of various types:
Author’s Pet by Deathco Cotorino
Awaken Forest by Yuna Aoi
Bakuman written by Tsugumi Ohba, illustrated by Takeshi Obata
Barefoot Waltz by Romuko Miike
Blood Alone by Masayuki Takano
Fairy Tail by Hiro Mashima
Fruits Basket by Natsuki Takaya
Gerard & Jacques by Fumi Yoshinaga
Gravitation by Maki Murakami
Honey Blood by Miko Mitsuki
Junjo Romantica by Shungiku Nakamura
Kiss All the Boys by Shiuko Kano
Kinoko Inu: Mushroom Pup by Kimama Aoboshi
Kodocha: Sana’s Stage by Miho Obana
Liberty Liberty! by Hinako Takanaga
Love Machine by Amayo Tsuge
Manga Dogs by Ema Toyama
Me & My Brothers by Hari Tokeino
Missions of Love by Ema Toyama
Monthly Girls’ Nozaki-kun by Izumi Tsubaki
No One Loves Me by Yugi Yamada
Not Love But Delicious Foods Make Me So Happy! by Fumi Yoshinaga
Otomen by Aya Kanno
R.O.D.: Read or Die written by Hideyuki Kurata, illustrated by Shutaro Yamada
R.O.D.: Read or Dream written by Hideyuki Kurata, illustrated by Ran Ayanaga
The Times of Botchan written by Natsuo Sekikawa, illustrated by Jiro Taniguchi
The Strange Tale of Panorama Island by Suehiro Maruo
Two of Hearts by Kano Miyamoto
Utsubora: The Story of a Novelist by Asumiko Nakamura
La Vie en Rose by Sakurako Yamada
Welcome to the N.H.K. by Kendi Oiwa
Yukarism by Chika Shiomi

The above list isn’t quite comprehensive, but it does include most of the manga available in print that I know of that have characters who are writers. While compiling the list I was struck by how many boys’ love titles feature authors. I’m not entirely sure why that profession seems to be particularly popular in that genre, but there you have it. Thank you to everyone who shared your personal favorites with me; I hope to see you again for the next giveaway!

Manga Giveaway: Yamada-kun and the Seven Witches Giveaway Winner

May 6, 2015 by Ash Brown

And the winner of the Yamada-kun and the Seven Witches manga giveaway is… Anna!

As the winner, Anna will be receiving a copy of Yamada-kun and the Seven Witches, Volume 1 by Miki Yoshikawa as published by Kodansha Comics. There seem to have been quite a few manga released recently that feature witches, so for this giveaway I asked participants to tell me a little about their favorite witches in manga. Check out the giveaway comments for all of the detailed responses, and check out below for a list of additional witchy manga!

Some manga featuring witches that have been licensed in English:
The Ancient Magus’ Bride by Kore Yamazaki
Berserk by Kentaro Miura
The Big Adventures of Majoko by Tomomi Mizuna
Cowa! by Akira Toriyama
Dragon Knights by Mineko Ohkami
The Good Witch of the West written by Noriko Ogiwara, illustrated by Haruhiko Momokawa
Himeyuka & Rozione’s Story by Sumomo Yumeka
Innocent W by Kei Kusunoki
Knights by Minoru Murao
Kurohime by Masanori Katakura
MÄR by Nobuyuki Anzai
Maria the Virgin Witch by Masayuki Ishikawa
Princess Knight by Osamu Tezuka
Puella Magi Kazumi Magica: The Innocent Malice by Magica Quartet
Puella Magi Madoka Magica by Magica Quartet
Record Of Lodoss War: The Grey Witch written by Ryo Mizuno, illustrated by Yoshihiko Ochi
Rosario+Vampire by Akihisa Ikeda
Rosario+Vampire: Season II by Akihisa Ikeda
Shoulder-a-Coffin Kuro by Sato Kiyuzuki
Soul Eater by Atsushi Ohkubo
Soul Eater Not! by Atsushi Ohkubo
Spell of Desire by Tomu Ohmi
Sugar Sugar Rune by Moyoco Anno
Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle by CLAMP
Ultra Maniac by Wataru Yoshizumi
Umineko: When They Cry written by Ryukishi07
Witchcraft Works by Ryu Mizunagi
xxxHolic by CLAMP
xxxHOlic: Rei by CLAMP
Yamada-kun and the Seven Witches by Miki Yoshikawa
Zone-00 by Kiyo Kyujyo

Thank you to everyone who participated in the giveaway and shared your favorite witches with me. I hope to see you again for the next one!

Bookshelf Overload: April 2015

May 3, 2015 by Ash Brown

April saw a fair number of manga, comics, and other books making their way onto my shelves courtesy of some excellent sales and a handful of Kickstarter rewards. Once again, I mostly stuck to preorders this month, though as always a few other purchases slipped in as well. A few months ago I wrote a Spotlight on Mitsukazu Mihara which reminded me that I’ve been meaning to pick up the rest of The Embalmer that never made it into English, and so I now have the last three volumes of Shigeshōshi. I also got my hands on Aki’s The Angel of Elhamburg, which I reviewed a couple of days ago. As for the manga that were actually released in April, I was particularly curious about Naoshi Arakawa’s Your Lie in April, Volume 1 (which I reviewed earlier this month) and I was thrilled to finally see Blade of the Immortal, Volume 31: Final Curtain, the last volume in Hiroaki Samura’s long-running epic (review to come!). As for other books, I’m looking forward to reading Ken Liu’s first novel The Grace of Kings. (His award-winning short story “Mono no Aware” was one of my favorite contributions to the anthology The Future is Japanese from Haikasoru.) And I’m currently reading and enjoying one of Haikosoru’s most recent releases, Red Girls: The Legend of the Akakuchibas by Kazuki Sakuraba, so expect a review of that novel in the near future as well.

Manga!
Ajin: Demi-Human, Volume 4 by Gamon Sakurai
Alice in the Country of Clover: Cheshire Cat Waltz, Volumes 1-5 by Mamenosuke Fujimaru
Alice in the Country of Joker: Circus and Liar’s Game, Volumes 6-7 by Mamenosuke Fujimaru
The Angel of Elhamburg by Aki
Attack on Titan, Volume 15 by Hajime Isayama
Attack on Titan: Before the Fall, Volume 4 written by Ryo Suzukaze, illustrated by Satoshi Shiki
Black Lagoon, Volume 10 by Rei Hiroe
Blade of the Immortal, Volume 31: Final Curtain by Hiroaki Samura
Dengeki Daisy, Volume 16 by Kyousuke Motomi
Fairy Tail, Volume 47 by Hiro Mashima
Food Wars!: Shokugeki no Soma, Volume 5 written by Yuto Tsukuda, illustrated by Shun Saeki
Genshiken: Second Season, Volume 6 by Shimoku Kio
Gyo: The Death-stench Creeps by Junji Ito
Karneval, Omnibus 1 by Touya Mikanagi
Let’s Dance a Waltz, Volume 1 by Natsumi Ando
Library Wars: Love & War, Volume 13 by Kiiro Yumi
Lone Wolf and Cub, Omnibus 8 written by Kazuo Koike, illustrated by Goseki Kojima
Love at Fourteen, Volume 2 by Fuka Mizutani
My Little Monster, Volume 7 by Robico
My Love Story!!, Volume 4 written by Kazune Kawahara, illustrated by Aruko
Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin, Volume 9: Lalah by Yoshikazu Yasuhiko
New Lone Wolf and Cub, Volume 4 written by Kazuo Koike, illustrated by Hideki Mori
Prophecy, Volume 3 by Tetsuya Tsutsui
Sankarea: Undying Love, Volume 11 by Mitsuru Hattori
Shigeshōshi (The Embalmer), Volumes 5-7 by Mitsukazu Mihara
Servamp, Volume 1 by Strike Tanaka
The Seven Deadly Sins, Volume 7 by Nakaba Suzuki
SOS by Hinako Ashihira
Terra Formars, Volume 5 written by Yu Sasuga and illustrated by Ken-ichi Tachibana
UQ Holder, Volume 4 by Ken Akamatsu
Wolfsmund, Volume 6 by Mitsuhisa Kuji
The World’s Greatest First Love, Volume 1 by Shungiku Nakamura
xxxHolic, Omnibus 5 by CLAMP
Your Lie in April, Volume 1 by Naoshi Arakawa

Comics!
Brody’s Ghost, Volume 6 by Mark Crilley
Empowered: Unchained, Volume 1 by Adam Warren and others
Grey Is…, Volume 1 by dee Juusan
O Human Star, Volume 1 by Blue Delliquanti
Sonnet written by Emily Cheeseman, illustrated by Lindsey Rodgers
The Usagi Yojimbo Saga, Omnibus 1-2 by Stan Sakai

Novels!
Adonis written by EAB, illustrated by Toluenesister
Dandelion Dynasty, Volume 1: The Grace of Kings by Ken Liu
Red Girls: The Legend of the Akakuchibas by Kazuki Sakuraba

Anthologies!
The Cape and Other Stories from the Japanese Ghetto by Kenji Nakagami
The Legends of Tono by Kunio Yanagita

Nonfiction!
Daughters of the Samurai: A Journey from East to West and Back by Janice P. Nimura

Anime!
DD Fist of the North Star directed by Akitaro Daichi

Bookshelf Overload: March 2015

April 5, 2015 by Ash Brown

Compared to most other months, the number of manga that I had to find space for in March was relatively reasonable. I mostly stuck to preorders for manga, the major exception being the set of the now out-of-print City Hunter that I found. There were a few impulse buys when it came to novels and nonfiction, though. I did finally get my hands on Ajin: Demi-Human, Volume 3 by Gamon Sakurai. Technically released in February, my replacement copy arrived in March. (I’m pretty sure the first one that was sent to me was lost in a snow bank somewhere; I never saw it.) As for the manga that were actually released in March, I was particularly happy to see the third and final volume of Yaya Sakuragi’s boys’ love manga Hide and Seek. (I recently reviewed the first volume, which I enjoyed a great deal.) I’m always glad to see a new installment of Fumi Yoshinaga’s What Did You Eat Yesterday?, the seventh volume is the most recent addition to the series in English. But the manga I was most looking forward to in March was Aya Kanno’s Requiem of the Rose King, Volume 1. Actually, I was almost afraid to read it because I was worried that I would be disappointed. Fortunately, I loved the manga and can’t wait for the next volume.

Manga!
Ajin: Demi-Human, Volume 3 by Gamon Sakurai
Alice in the Country of Joker: Circus and Liar’s Game, Volumes 1-5 by Mamenosuke Fujimaru
Aquarion Evol, Volume 1 written by Shoji Kawamori, illustrated by Aogiri
Barakamon, Volume 3 by Satsuki Yoshino
Butterflies, Flowers, Volume 1 by Yuki Yoshihara
Cage of Eden, Volume 17 by Yoshinobu Yamada
Captain Ken, Volumes 1-2 by Osamu Tezuka
City Hunter, Volumes 1-5 by Hojo Tsukasa
The Drifting Classroom, Volume 8 by Kazuo Umezu
Hide and Seek, Volume 3 by Yaya Sakuragi
Knights of Sidonia, Volume 13 by Tsutomu Nihei
False Memories, Volume 1-2 by Isaku Natsume
Maria the Virgin Witch, Volume 1 by Ishikawa Masayuki
Master Keaton, Volume 2 written by Hokusei Katsushika, Takashi Nagasaki, illustrated by Naoki Urasawa
Manga Dogs, Volume 3 by Ema Toyama
Requiem of the Rose King, Volume 1 by Aya Kanno
Seraphim: 266613336 Wings by Mamoru Oshiii and Satoshi Kon
Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle, Omnibus 3 by CLAMP
What Did You Eat Yesterday?, Volume 7 by Fumi Yoshinaga
Yamada-kun and the Seven Witches, Volume 1 by Miki Yoshikawa

Comics!
100 Crushes by Elisha Lim
Grey Is…, Volume 1 by dee Juusan
In These Words, Volumes 1-2 by Guilt|Pleasure
Just So Happens by Fumio Obata
Last Man, Volume 1: The Stranger by Bastien Vives, Michael Sanlaville, and Balak
Only Words written by Tina Anderson, illustrated by Caroline Monaco
Sam Zabel and the Magic Pen by Dylan Horrocks
Stallion by Kôsen
Wayward, Volume 1: String Theory written by Jim Zubkavich

Novels!
Ascension by Jacqueline Koyanagi
Genocidal Organ by Project Itoh
I Want to Kick You in the Back by Risa Wataya
The Kappa Child by Hiromi Goto

Nonfiction!
The Book of Yokai: Mysterious Creatures of Japanese Folklore by Michael Dylan Foster
The Fall of Language in the Age of English by Minae Mizumura
How to Take a Japanese Bath written by Leonard Koren, illustrated by Suehiro Maruo
Miyamoto Musashi: His life and Writings by Kenji Tokitsu

Anime!
Dear Brother, Boxes 2-3 directed by Osamu Dezaki