Manga Bookshelf's Weekly Features

SEAN: If Kodansha thinks they can trick me into picking them every week just by putting out some really interesting josei titles… well, they’re probably right. The most interesting thing to me this week is A Nico-Colored Canvas. Again, great cover art.

MICHELLE: Who knew that we’d be really excited to see the sort of stuff people have been asking for for decades? 100% A Nico-Colored Canvas for me.

KATE: Add me to the chorus of folks who are excited about A Nico-Covered Canvas; there is always room for more josei on my shelf! I’m also curious about Yashahime: Demon Half-Princess, even though the anime was a hot mess. (I gave up after four episodes.) Here’s hoping the manga does more than just recreate each episode beat by beat.

ASH: I’m definitely interested in A Nico-Covered Canvas, but my pick this week goes to To Strip the Flesh. Transmasculine characters are such a rarity in comics, I can’t help but be intrigued. I’ve heard great things about this particular manga, so I’m going in with pretty high hopes and expectations.

ANNA: I’m likewise intrigued by A Nico-Covered Canvas, it sounds great. I’m also very excited to be getting the next volume of Witch Hat Atelier, which will rocket to the top of my stack of to-read manga. However, due to print sports manga being almost as rare as josei, I’m going to go ahead and highlight soccer manga Blue Lock as my pick.

KATE: I freely admit that any manga title that includes the words “treacherous piano sonata” has potential, but Golden Gold‘s blend of horror and folklore sounds like a safer bet for me; I’m 100% less likely to nit-pick about the author’s musical knowledge (or lack thereof).

SEAN: One of the benefits of Kodansha Manga’s ludicrous digital manga release schedule has been a lot more josei. After so many high school romances with brooding boys, I want to read series about two adults, with a brooding MAN. And so my pick is Such a Treacherous Piano Sonata. Great cover, too.

MICHELLE: I share Kate’s trepidation about Such a Treacherous Piano Sonata, I’m afraid, so I’ll instead award my pick to the sixth and final volume of Wotakoi: Love Is Hard for Otaku. I really enjoyed the first two volumes then life happened and I got behind, so I look forward to starting afresh and devouring the whole story at once.

ASH: I seem to be on the same page as everyone else this week with a distinct interest in Such a Treacherous Piano Sonata, although I may have a higher tolerance of liberal interpretations of music in manga. That being said, I join Michelle this week in choosing Wotakoi as my pick, since it will be my last opportunity and I’ve really been enjoying the series.

ANNA: I’m going to throw caution to the winds and just go with Such a Treacherous Piano Sonata!

MJ: I’m pretty interested in X-Gender, but even though josei romance is very hit-or-miss for me, I am irresistibly drawn to Such a Treacherous Piano Sonata. I’m sure I’ll have plenty of musical nitpicks, but somehow the older I get, the more tolerant I become of such blasphemy, so I’ll give it a shot.

SEAN: Given the recent kerfuffle regarding Seven Seas, it feels awkward to pick a title of theirs for Pick of the Week. But the union has said they are not asking readers to boycott at this time. So I will be picking The Two of Them Are Pretty Much Like This, because I love the author, love the content, and it is one of my most anticipated titles this year.

MICHELLE: I really disliked The Flowers of Evil, but Blood on the Tracks has won me over to appreciating Shuzo Oshimi. So, this week I’ll pick Welcome Back, Alice and hope that it’ll be great.

KATE: I have a love/hate relationship with Shuzo Oshimi’s work: I think he’s a terrific artist, but I sometimes find his works just too… pervy, maybe?, so I’m going to pass on Welcome Back, Alice for now. The title I’m most excited about is The Men Who Created Gundam, which looks like a fun version of DMP’s old Project X series–think Cup Noodle with jokes and hijinks.

ASH: As far as debuts go, Seven Seas and Denpa seem to have the market cornered for me as I’m interested in most (but not all) of those releases. That being said, I’m probably most excited for the newest volume of What Did You Eat Yesterday? to come out.

ANNA: I’m not sure how I missed The Men Who Created Gundam because it sounds like a hoot. That being said I’m not going to pass up the chance to pick the latest volume of Yona of the Dawn.

KATE: I gotta admit that I’m pretty indifferent to what’s on offer this Wednesday; as Anna so aptly put it, it’s a “word salad” titles kind of week. If pressed, though, I’d pick Baby Bear’s Bakery, which sounds cute and inoffensive.

MICHELLE: I’m not super enthused by any of the debuts, either. I think I’ll award my pick to the fact that I will get to have a Yowamushi Pedal catch-up marathon, which sounds pretty fun to me!

SEAN: I’ve been told that Summertime Rendering is supposed to have a Higurashi feel, so I will probably check it out, though three hardcovers in the same week is a bit much.

ASH: I’m certainly interested in everything that’s been mentioned so far, but I’ll be joining Kate in selecting Baby Bear’s Bakery as my official pick this week. I’ve seen a few preview pages and it seems like it should be delightful.

ANNA: I’ll join with Kate in picking the hopefully cute Baby Bear’s Bakery!

MJ: Like Kate, I’m having kind of a “meh” week here, but Baby Bear’s Bakery does indeed sound cute, so I’ll go for that as well!

SEAN: The me that knows I should be interested in worthy, intellectual manga that’s won awards knows that I should be picking Lost Lad London, even as the me that also loves reading complete and utter trash gravitates towards the second volume of Loner Life in Another World.

MICHELLE: Real mystery manga is in pretty short supply, so I am fairly enthusiastic about trying Lost Lad London. The chaotic fluff seemingly offered by Phantom of the Idol deserves an honorable mention, as well.

KATE: After getting burned last week by Crazy Food Truck (seriously, Food Truck is Manga Hall of Shame Material), I’m going to listen to my inner manga critic and choose something more high-minded: Lost Lad London.

ASH: Lost Lad London is one of my top picks this week, too. But I’m also very curious about Let’s Go Karaoke! and am happy to finally see the publication of the collector’s edition of A Silent Voice after it was delayed. It should be an excellent release of an excellent series.

ANNA: I’m not going to deny it, I’ve been swept away by the excitement for Lost Lad London, so that’s my pick as well.

MICHELLE: I never did manage to read Mushishi and am excited by the prospect of following a Yuki Urushibara series from the beginning. I don’t know how I feel about the “stuck in the body of a twelve-year-old” part and I kind of doubt there will actually be any kitties, but When a Cat Faces West is still my top choice this week.

SEAN: Ever since I first read Short Cuts years ago, I’ve always loved Usamaru Furuya’s strange, dark works, and therefore I’m definitely making my pick this week The Music of Marie.

KATE: I whole-heartedly second Michelle and Sean’s picks, but I freely admit that my less responsible self thinks that Crazy Food Truck looks like a lot of fun–a kind of mash-up of Mad Max: Fury Road and The Great Food Truck Race. Paging George Miller!

ASH: These all sound intriguing for different reasons, but this week I’m throwing my lot in with Sean and The Music of Marie. More than a decade ago (I can’t believe I just typed that), I was the host of the Usamaru Furuya Manga Moveable Feast, so perhaps this is an obvious pick for me. I never thought we’d get to see more of Furuya’s work in English, though!

ANNA: There are many intriguing titles coming out this week, but the one I see myself reaching for first is The Untouchable Midori-kun. I’m always curious about josei manga and idol singers!

SEAN: As always, I’m a sucker for Villainess novels, so my pick this week is Modern Villainess: It’s Not Easy Building a Corporate Empire Before the Crash. It will be nice to read about a villainess using capitalism rather than magic to achieve her goals, as well as a rare villainess story that takes place in Japan.

KATE: I’m torn between two titles this week: the final volume of Apple Children of Aeon, which is quiet, lovely, and haunting, and the first volume Cat + Gamer, which is heartwarming and adorable, if a little predictable: who knew cats were mischievous? (My cats are both staring at me, so I had to tone down my word choice, lest I upset my Overlords.) If I had to pick one, though, my vote would go to Apple Children, as there is a positive glut of cat manga at the moment.

MICHELLE: I’m most intrigued by Mizuno and Chayama, though I admit I’m not exactly excited about “corporations versus the government.” Also, why did the cover of This Vampire Won’t Give Up! have to be kind of cute? I know it’ll be smutty fluff but now it looks potentially like fun smutty fluff.

ASH: Mizuno and Chayama is the debut that I’m most curious about this week, though Cat + Gamer is a series I’m interested in, too. I’ll admit, I’m actually not sure which one I’ll end up getting around to reading first!

ANNA: Are there vampires around? I’m sure the manga that my fellow reviewers are picking are much better than This Vampire Won’t Give Up!, but I’m going to pick it anyway perhaps because of the exclamation point in the title.

MICHELLE: Because I have enjoyed two previous series by Rei Toma, and specifically because Anna said it’s “a bit too sad,” now I’m really interested in getting caught up on The King’s Beast, so I’ll make that my pick this week.

KATE: Against my better judgment, I’m picking Daisuke Igarashi’s Witches, an anthology of “tales of witches and dark magic set around the globe and in outer space.” Don’t get me wrong: I love Igarashi’s artwork–it’s gorgeous!–but he can’t end a series worth a damn. Here’s hoping that his storytelling skills are better suited to the short story format.

ANNA: I’m going to go with Changes of Heart (Honnou Switch). I’m always up for new josei, and this looks interesting.

SEAN: I’m going to pick the debut of Kubo Won’t Let Me Be Invisible, which combines the genres of “girl teases the guy she likes” and “girl makes introvert dudebro have actual social skills”, so sort of Takagi Meets Tomozaki.

ASH: The release I’m most looking forward to this week is undoubtedly Witches. Along with Kate, I’m confident that the illustrations should be magnificent, if nothing else. Daisuke Igarashi’s Children of the Sea started out so strongly, and parts of that series have stuck with me, so I’m curious to see what this collection will have to offer.

SEAN: I’ve always regarded Sacrificial Princess and the King of Beasts, aka Fruits Basket for fantasy readers, so I’m going to make its final volume my pick. If you don’t mind “pure-hearted girl fixes everyone around her by virtue of being really swell”, this is a great one.

MICHELLE: I am curious about a few of this week’s debut series, but I’m not confident enough in any of them to fully endorse them as a pick this week. Thus, I’ll be safe and go with Cherry Magic!, since I know I really liked its first volume.

KATE: I was tempted to pick Boys of the Dead–who doesn’t love ZOM-BL?–but I have a feeling the marketing of this title is more clever than the actual manga, so my vote goes to A Galaxy Next Door. I adored Sweetness and Lightning, so I’m board with whatever food-flavored drama Gido Amagakure is dishing out this time around. (Sorry–couldn’t result a terrible pun or three of my own.)

ASH: Quite a few interesting debuts being released this week! Like Michelle, I’m not sure how some of them will actually play out, but I am intrigued. Two I’m particularly curious about simply because of their creators–A Galaxy Next Door and Blackguard (Ryo Hanada’s evolution as a creator since Good-bye Geist has been interesting to see). However, my pick this week goes to Sensei’s Pious Lie a series that was first brought to my attention a few years ago by Jocelyne Allen’s review.

ANNA: There’s honestly not a ton coming out this week that really appeals to me, so because I sometimes like chaos, I’m going to go with Boys of the Dead just because it sounds plenty wacky.

KATE: I only have eyes for one series this week: the delightful Skip and Loafer, a manga that portrays the inner life of a Serious Girl with humor and heart. If I had a thirteen-year-old daughter, this would be required reading in my house, not least because it suggests that being smart, ambitious, and unabashedly nerdy aren’t obstacles to romance, even if those qualities can make that pathway more complicated.

SEAN: Skip and Loafer is terrific, and this is also a week with a new Kageki Shojo!!. That said, it’s A Bride’s Story all the way for me, as Mr. Smith slowly works his way back the way he came so we can see everyone again.

MICHELLE: I really need to read both Skip and Loafer and Kageki Shojo!!, and I’m also happy about a second volume of The Scum Villain’s Self-Saving System, but what appeals to me most at the moment is Medalist. Some fresh new sports manga just sounds perfect.

ASH: There are some great releases this week! In addition to the titles already highlighted, I’d like to mention two more. It took years of waiting, so long that I didn’t expect to actually see either of these in print, but the beginning of The Faraway Paladin and the end of No. 5 will now be available in my preferred format!

ANNA: I’m going to go with Kageki Shojo!!. One day I will read it!!!

MJ: I wasn’t sure what my pick would be this week, but Kate won me over with her praise for Skip and Loafer, so that’s going to be the winner for me! Thanks, Kate, for making my mind up for me!

SEAN: Surprising no one, I’m staying on brand for this week’s pick, as The Magical Revolution of the Reincarnated Princess and the Genius Young Lady is hitting a lot of what I want in both a villainess story and a reincarnation story. What if we ignored the guys and started a cottagecore magic industry?

MICHELLE: I admit that I’m mostly going off the cover for this one (plus aliens!) but Nighttime for Just Us Two looks so cute that I can’t resist picking it this week.

KATE: I’m excited to see that Titan Comics will be publishing Eldo Yoshimizu’s latest Hen Kai Pan. Though his debut series Ryuko was a little uneven plot-wise, it had imaginative, eye-popping action sequences and great artwork throughout. Hen Kai Pan looks equally dazzling, with an interesting and timely environmental theme lending some gravity to the proceedings. Count me in!

ASH: Oh! Thanks for that reminder, Kate! I’d forgotten that another work by Yoshimizu was being released. The artwork in Ryuko was very striking. That being said, my pick this week goes to My Brain is Different; I like seeing the variety of biographical and autobiographical manga being released these days.

ANNA: I’m going to go with Nighttime for Just Us Two just because of the whole alien angle.

MICHELLE: There is soooo much good stuff coming out this week and there’s really only one thing that beats Yona of the Dawn with such ease, and that is the latest installment of Skip Beat!. I sometimes feel like I should pick something else for the sake of not repeating myself, but this truly vaults to the top of my to-read stack every single time.

SEAN: Man. New Kaguya-sama, Queen’s Quality, Skip Beat!, Snow White with the Red Hair, Spy x Family, AND Yona of the Dawn. I am tempted to simply make my pick “Viz”. But in honor of the start of the anime this week, I will pick Spy x Family.

KATE: As a certifiable Middle-Aged Person, I am 100% rooting for the protagonist of Sakamoto Days, even if he’s “legendary hitman.”

ASH: It really is a Viz sort of week, isn’t it? As the debut, I’ll join Kate in picking Sakamoto Days, but I’m actively reading just about everything that Sean mentioned, too.

ANNA: I’m with Michelle this week, my heart belongs to Skip Beat!!

SEAN: While I realize it may be too bleak for me to actually read, I can’t help but make HIRAETH -The End of the Journey- my pick this week. If nothing else, I’m sure its depression will be GORGEOUS.

MICHELLE: I’ve just learned that the tenth and final volume of The Night Beyond the Tricornered Window came out last Tuesday so obviously I must make that my pick this week. I love BL with lots of non-romantic plot and boy, does this qualify. In fact, there hasn’t really been any romance at all. I’d be surprised if that changes, as this final volume will presumably be fraught with curses and cult leaders.

KATE: I think Anna said it best when she described HIRAETH -The End of the Journey as “the type of critically acclaimed work that I think I will read but don’t get around to because I’m not in the mood for despair right now.” That sounds about right–I certainly want to support the author of Our Dreams at Dusk, but I’m not sure if I handle anything more serious than The Way of the Househusband at the moment.

ASH: HIRAETH is definitely something I’ll be keeping an eye out for if it ends up being released in print. Meanwhile, I’ll make Josee, the Tiger and the Fish my pick this week, though it sounds like another volume that you might need to be in the right mood to read.

ANNA: My pick for this week is my stack of unread manga!

MICHELLE: I’m not wildly enthusiastic about anything this week, but I did enjoy This Wonderful Season with You enough to make Deko-boko Bittersweet Days my pick of the week. Even if it is TOKYOPOP.

SEAN: I have heard so much good buzz about Catch These Hands! that it’s definitely my pick this week. I will punch the yuri into you!

KATE: My pick: the final volume of Blue Giant, an entertaining series about a self-taught saxophonist who honks, squawks, and improvises his way to jazz greatness. If you haven’t tried it, now’s a great time to pick it up, both for the terrific cartooning and for the author’s impressive knowledge of music; Blue Giant is one of the only music manga that didn’t make my inner musician cringe. Now that’s saying something!

ASH: Blue Giant is a solid choice, for sure! However, my pick this week actually goes to The Song of Yoru & Asa, another manga that’s at least tangentially related to music, but that comes with far more content warnings. That being said, I’m also really looking forward to giving Catch These Hands and Run on Your New Legs a try, too!

ANNA: I do enjoy sports manga, and for that reason Run on Your New Legs is my pick!

MJ: It’s a tough choice for me this week, because I’m tentatively interested in a lot of stuff, but not overwhelmingly obsessed with anything. Still, Catch These Hands sounds too cute to pass up, so I think I’ll be going along with Sean this week!

SEAN: We have a wealth of choices this week. I could pick the much requested Chitose Is in the Ramune Bottle, as the resident light novel person. There’s My Wandering Warrior Existence, the latest from Nagata Kabi. But I think I’ll pick something away from my tastes with Orochi: The Perfect Edition, which is from 1969 (a rarity in licenses these days) and was licensed pre-,manga boom and dropped, but is now being released again (also a rarity). It looks scary as hell.

MICHELLE: I’m taking my final chance to pick Fumi Yoshinaga’s epic Ōoku: The Inner Chambers. Though it’s been repeatedly heartbreaking to fall in love with various characters along the way, only to have them meet their cruel fate one way or another, it’s also been wholly fascinating and I look forward to seeing how she wraps it all up.

KATE: Gotta go with Sean on this one: classic horror FTW!

ANNA: Since this is my last opportunity to pick Ōoku: The Inner Chambers. I’m going to join with Michelle for her pick.

ASH: Echoing everyone else here, but I have to join in with giving Ōoku: The Inner Chambers a shout out for its final volume and a cheer for the debut of Orochi.