Manga Bookshelf's Weekly Features

SEAN: Gosh, I wonder… I suspect we will get a unanimous call for Don’t Call It Mystery, and honestly, I have to agree.

MICHELLE: Ironically, it’s no mystery whatsoever.

ANNA: Yes, i am HYPED!

ASH: I mean, I feel like I need to at least give a passing shout out to The Surgery Room… but, yeah, Don’t Call It Mystery is my pick this week, too.

KATE: Aye!

KATE: My pick of the week goes to Associate Professor Akira Takatsuki’s Conjecture, as it checks a number of boxes for me: supernatural elements, characters with weird but useful superpowers, and characters whose primary field of study is folklore. (I may be the only reader holding out for a manga on Charles Seeger. Just sayin’.) The story also gets high marks for having an original premise—something that seems to be in short supply lately.

MICHELLE: There are a good many things coming out next week that I’m interested in, but what I’m most looking forward to is BL murder mystery Manner of Death, because I’m always on the search for good mystery manga.

SEAN: Yeah, there’s a pile, with many things I’m reading. I could pick problematic fave Horimiya, or one by a favorite author, A Pale Moon Reverie. But I think I feel like hiding from my responsibilities in a library, so will choose The Dragon King’s Imperial Wrath: Falling in Love with the Bookish Princess of the Rat Clan.

ASH: I have definitely hid from my responsibilities in a library before, but the debut that’s really caught my attention this week is Associate Professor Akira Takatsuki’s Conjecture. I simply cannot pass up the premise of BL-adjacent folklore studies.

ANNA: I’m excited to read the second volume of Honey Lemon Soda!

SEAN: I used to obsessively follow Hana to Yume and LaLa titles back in the days when Tokyopop still existed, and as such I’m a sucker for my pick this week, Last Game. I hope it has messy, overcluttered art. Such nostalgia.

MICHELLE: Oh, man, and with teeny tiny asides in every panel! I will check out Last Game, but I think I’ll officially pick The Yakuza’s Bias, because it sounds fun and kooky.

KATE: My vote goes to Dark Gathering, if only to remind readers that Junji Ito isn’t the only artist cranking out horror stories.

ANNA: I cannot resist the siren call of old-school shoujo, Last Game is also my pick.

ASH: As much as I love Junji Ito, I also love that we seem to be getting more and different horror manga these days, so Dark Gathering has my attention this week. That being said, The Yakuza’s Bias looks like it could be a lot of fun, too.

KATE: I won’t lie: I love the cover of Soloist in a Cage! Though my inner critic is whispering, “Don’t judge this book by the you-know-what,” my gut is telling me, “Make it your Pick of the Week! It looks cool! And stylish!” So I’m going with my gut on this one; Soloist is my choice.

MICHELLE: I am absolutely in the same boat. The premise didn’t wow me but the cover definitely made me reconsider!

SEAN: No question for me, it’s the first Earl and Fairy light novel. Old-school shoujo LNs are so rare these days, and I really want people to read this. The manga was good too, if I recall.

ANNA: I’m also picking the Earl and Fairy light novel due to my extreme affection for old-school shoujo.

ASH: The cover of Soloist in a Cage caught my eye, too, and dystopian tales often do interest me… but I’m actually going to make The Art of Haikyu!! my pick this week!

SEAN: I mean, it’s Welcome to Demon School! Iruma-kun, right? This series has ALL the buzz.

MICHELLE: Absolutely. I’ve been waiting eagerly for this since it was announced.

ASH: Yup, I’m on board for this one, too! It seems like it should be a lot of fun, so I’m looking forward to finding out.

ANNA: I’m not going to go against this emerging consensus!

KATE: At the risk of becoming the most predictable member of the MB Battle Robot, I, too, am voting for Welcome to Demon School! Iruma-kun.

MICHELLE: There’s plenty of shoujo manga about a girl encountering a delinquent who is not as bad as his reputation suggests, but since Love, That’s an Understatement is from Fujimomo, creator of Lovesick Ellie, I feel sure it will be quirky and wonderful. Thus, it’s my choice this week.

SEAN: Tempting as it is to pick the Wiley business titles, my pick is clearly going to be The Apothecary Witch Turned Divorce Agent, a series I was excited for long before its license based solely on the title.

KATE: A new manga by Hiromu Arakawa? Count me in!

ASH: Hiromu Arakawa is where it’s at for me this week, too, so Daemons of the Shadow Realm is my pick. That being said, I am intrigued by Wiley’s entry into manga publishing although its not the first time we’ve seen business-oriented titles released. (Does anyone else remember Bringing Home the Sushi from the ’90s?)

ANNA: As a fan of Lovesick Ellie I’m also extremely interested in Love, That’s an Understatement.

SEAN: Tempting as it is to pick one of Yen’s 7 new titles, this is the last time I get to pick Dead Dead Demon’s Dededede Destruction, so it has to be that. My hope is for the end of the series to not have the death of all of humanity. Gonna be tough.

MICHELLE: The lure of josei manhwa calls to me, and so What’s Wrong with Secretary Kim? is my choice this week.

KATE: I agree with Michelle: grown-up manwha for me too!

ANNA: Me too! What’s Wrong with Secretary Kim? sounds quite interesting.

ASH: I definitely plan to be reading What’s Wrong with Secretary Kim? at some point, but my pick this week goes to I Hear the Sunspot: Four Seasons. I’ve really been enjoying the series, so I’m looking forward to picking up the most recent installment.

ASH: While it’s the opposite of a debut, my pick this week goes to the final volume of The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess. I’ve certainly been enjoying Akira Himekawa’s adaptation of the titular video game, but it also makes me wish that some of the team’s original work would be licensed, too.

KATE: March Comes in Like a Lion. (I mean…. what else did you think I’d pick?!)

SEAN: Apparently it came out and immediately sold out, so I won’t be able to read it yet, but my pick this week has to be March Comes in Like a Lion, the long, long, LONG awaited shogi and angst masterpiece.

ANNA: March Comes in Like a Lion! I hope one day I will be able to order and read it!

ASH: Oh! The ship actually came in? I won’t get my hands on my copy for quite some time yet it seems, but I’m excited for March Comes in Like a Lion, too!

MICHELLE: I’m kind of in “I’ll believe it when I see it” territory on this one, but what the heck. Count me in for March Comes in Like a Lion!

MJ: I mean… it’s obviously March Comes in Like a Lion.

SEAN: Tempting as it is to go with the manga featuring what looks like the dumbest dog ever on the cover (Lovely Muco), I will instead go with Tista. I’ve heard the author’s pre-Spy x Family stuff can get pretty dark, but I’m willing to try it, mostly because it looks hella cool.

KATE: After living with a smart, stubborn dog for 13 years–one who was intent on herding me everywhere, and woke me up at 5:45 am every morning–I fantasize about owning a cheerful, dim, and uncomplicated pooch! I’m not quite in the right spot to adopt a new dog right now, so Lovely Muco sounds like the next best thing.

MICHELLE: Cinderella Closet has a premise that doesn’t exactly thrill me—transform with the power of makeup!—but it gives me a little bit of a Princess Jellyfish vibe and it ran in Margaret, so I’ll take a chance by picking it this week.

ASH: More often than not, I choose a debut for my pick of the week, but this time I’m going to try to actually make good on my promise to catch up with My Love Mix-Up!, so that series gets my vote.

ANNA: I’m also going to go with the lure of the new and pick Cinderella Closet!

MICHELLE: I really loved The Last of Us, and one thing I can enthusiastically plug this week is HBO’s official companion podcast, in which the creator of the game, his co-showrunner, and the original voice of Joel go through each episode offering up all kinds of extra detail and interpretation.

SEAN: I’m running behind on this series, which everyone I know has already read, but The Locked Tomb has been my reading in between light novels lately (which is to say, about a chapter a day). Gideon the Ninth was fantastic, and I’m halfway through Harrow the Ninth, which is confusing but also fantastic. “Lesbian necromancers in space!”, as the pull quote says.

ANNA: I’m currently watching the k-drama Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha on Netflix. It is about a dentist who moves to a small town and gets involved with the quirky community in unexpected ways. I’m around halfway through, which is when I assume the hero’s psychological trauma appears to make everyone start crying after several solid episodes of rom-com antics.

MICHELLE: That reminds me that live-action version of The Full-Time Wife Escapist is on Netflix now and is also a great deal of fun!

KATE: I was disappointed in the second season of Picard, but the new season is a blast; sure, it’s got plenty of fan service, but the old gang have such great chemistry together that I can forgive some of the show’s clumsier references to characters and events from the original Next Generation series.

ASH: I finally got around to reading R. F. Kuang’s The Poppy War trilogy and am just about finished with the third book. An award-winning epic fantasy partly inspired by twentieth-century Chinese history, the series can be brutal but it’s also excellent. I already have more of Kuang’s work lined up ready to read (Babel: An Arcane History) and on pre-order (Yellowface).

MJ: In anticipation of its season two *hopefully* coming out in April sometime, I’ve been rewatching the first season of Link Click, a Chinese animated series about a trio who run a unique time travel service, available from Crunchyroll (originally licensed by Funimation before they merged). The English subtitles are… well. Um. But the story is so good and the characters so compelling, we’ll take what we can get. Check out the trailer for season one here and the opening theme here. It was one of our greatest finds during the pandemic and I’m pretty hyped up for the new season.

SEAN: There’s a lot of stuff I’m interested in this week: new titles that run in odd shoujo magazine Asuka and odd magazine in general Harta; any number of light novels in series I follow closely; and (always) Spy x Family. But I’m going to make it Insomniacs After School, which has an anime due out in a couple weeks, and whose cover makes it look pretty cool.

KATE: I’m backing Sean’s play this week and making Insomniacs After School my pick of the week, too; early reviews have been universally positive, and the storyline has great potential.

MICHELLE: I’m intrigued by Insomniacs, but the siren song of sports manga cannot be denied, especially sports manga where I have a lot of catching up to do. Thus, it’s Yowamushi Pedal for me!

ANNA: I’m buying Yowamushi Pedal for my kids, but I’m also very curious about Insomniacs After School, so I’m going to go with that!

ASH: I will likewise chime in with my support of Yowamushi Pedal, but my official pick for the week goes to Insomniacs After School, too. Awkward friendships, astronomy, and an abandoned observatory? Count me in!

MICHELLE: Although I’m tempted to pick the jerk/paragon danmei, my love for Therapy Game is strong, and it’s The Dragon’s Betrothed that wins the week for me.

SEAN: Given the way that Kageki Shojo!! left off last time, it’s definitely my pick this week, mostly as I want to see if Sarasa destroyed her career.

ASH: Kageki Shojo!! is always a good pick, but like Michelle, I’m feeling the BL love this week. In addition to The Dragon’s Betrothed, there’s not only one but two titles by Minta Suzumaru. And from to different publishers, too!

ANNA: I’m very excited for volume 5 of Matcha Made in Heaven! Digital josei for the win!

SEAN: I am definitely pleased that we’re getting one final look at the characters in orange, still a top-tier “use hand-wavingly explained time shenanigans to fix things” series. As such, my pick this week is orange -to you, dear one-.

KATE: While I’m also pleased to see another chapter in the orange saga, my vote goes to Ayashimon, as it looks like a hoot, sending up cliches about yakuza *and* yokai manga.

MICHELLE: It’s definitely orange -to you, dear one- for me, though I’m also eager to get caught up on The Ancient Magus’ Bride.

ASH: I am absolutely reading everything that’s been mentioned so far, but orange has become something of a touchstone series for me, so it’s latest epilogue is my pick this week, too.

ANNA: There’s a lot of great manga coming out this week, but if there’s a new volume of Yona of the Dawn coming out that’s always going to be my pick.

KATE: Holy smokes–a new volume of Versailles of the Dead?! In 2023?! I reviewed the first volume in 2018. File this under Better Late Than Never, I guess. It’s not the best zombie manga I ever read, but it definitely earns style points for its outrageous plotting and gorgeous costumes; the undead never looked better!

SEAN: One of the “this will never get a full release in English” titles now finally has a full release in English, and it’s an excellent one as well. The final volume of Urusei Yatsura is my pick.

MICHELLE: It’s The Invisible Man and His Soon-to-Be Wife for me. They had me at “detective agency.”

ASH: I certainly interested in The Invisible Man and His Soon-to-Be Wife, but I’ll be joining Kate this week in picking Versailles of the Dead. It’s an odd zombie manga, but it’s a stylish one.

ANNA: I’m going for The Invisible Man and His Soon-to-Be Wife, as it sounds most intriguing.