Manga Bookshelf's Weekly Features

ANNA: It is hard for me to focus on anything after Thanksgiving break, because I’m really looking forward to even more vacation time, but one thing that keeps me warm is thoughts of excellent fantasy stories like Twelve Kingdoms and Fushigi Yuugi: Byakko Senki, so those are my picks for the week!

MICHELLE: I’m also glad to see another volume of Fushigi Yuugi: Byakko Senki coming out with less of a wait than last time, so I’ll make that my official pick this week!

ASH: The Twelve Kingdoms, absolutely! I’m also curious about Bone Ash as Tow Ubukata has previously written some interesting things, but I probably won’t have time to read it any time soon.

SEAN: Yeah, it’s hard to go wrong with a new volume of Twelve Kingdoms.

SEAN: I’ve heard very good things about A Curtain Call for You, and as a former drama student it naturally calls out to me. It’s definitely my pick this week.

KATE: Though I’m always down to buy another coffee table book, I only have eyes for one new arrival this week: A Witch’s Life in Mongol. Great artwork, great storytelling, and a great heroine make this series a real standout in a very crowded market.

MICHELLE: I’ve been under the weather this week and what sounds most appealing is actually some pleasant shoujo. I liked the first volume of Tsubaki-chou Lonely Planet, so I will go with that.

ASH: This week I’m most interested in splurging on The Art of Manga, which just so happens to feature some of my favorite creators. (And I’m in the wrong party of the country to be able to actually go see the associated exhibit.)

ANNA: I’m with Ash, I’m very curious about The Art of Manga!

MICHELLE: There’s nothing that strongly calls to me this week, but the cover to Afterglow is striking, so I’ll pick that on that basis.

SEAN: I’m going to pick One Last Hurrah! The Grayed Heroes Explore a Vivid Future, as I love the idea of senior citizens headed out on adventures and still kicking ass.

ASH: I’ll admit to being curious about Tease Me Harder. Kinky yet wholesome josei? Yup, I’ll read that.

ANNA: Ok, I’m going to have to pick the Witch Hat Atelier coloring book, I love the art in this series, so the coloring book sounds fun.

SEAN: I’m not sure if I’ll enjoy it, as this isn’t normally my thing, but making Kingdom my pick this week just because, wow, finally.

KATE: I’m with Sean: I don’t know if Kingdom is for me, but all the cool kids have been pestering VIZ to license it for years. I’m planning to pick up the first volume this week, too.

MICHELLE: Sure! Count me in!

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

ASH: I am absolutely here for Kingdom… but I’m also going to give a shout-out to Yokai: Shigeru Mizuki’s Supernatural Parade because I adored the first artbook so much.

MICHELLE: One week, it’s a new volume of Real that wasn’t on my radar, and the next it’s a new volume of Skip Beat!, a perennial favorite and my official pick this week. (That said, I’m looking forward to Cupid Is Struck by Lightning, too.)

SEAN: I’m going to go with Fired? But I Maintain All the Software!, if only as this sort of genre (teaching overstressed office workers to do things that make them happy) is a rarely seen one over here.

ANNA: I find the premise of i> Fired? But I Maintain All the Software! so amusing, but I can’t pass up a new volume of Skip Beat!

ASH: Mushishi is a touchstone series for me, so the new deluxe release is absolutely my pick this week. It’s been out of print for such a long time; I’m thrilled that new reader will have a chance to hold it in their hands.

SEAN: I mean, Real. Duh.

MICHELLE: Yep. I even hauled all of the other volumes out for a reread.

ANNA: No question!

KATE: I think it’s unanimous!

MICHELLE: Unambiguously!

ASH: Let’s keep it Real.

SEAN: It’s the end of My Hero Academia, so of course that’s my pick this week, even though I know that the final chapter, exclusive to the volume, will no doubt reignite appalling ship wars.

MICHELLE: I’m with Sean. I’m not as enamored of this series as I once was, but I still would like to finish it, so I shall soon be embarking upon a marathon.

KATE: NANA! There’s a whole generation of readers who haven’t had the pleasure of reading this fervid paean to female friendship. Buy a copy for your favorite Young Person today!

ANNA: I’m with Kate, bring on the angst in NANA!!

ASH: Likewise! The re-release of NANA is where it’s at for me. It really is such a great series; I’m very glad it’s getting attention again.

SEAN: It’s always hard to get anything new out of the isekai premise, so I will give Isekai Metaller a lot of credit and make it my pick this week. (Also, Judas Priest > Iron Maiden.)

MICHELLE: I’m not super excited by anything, really, but Sensei’s Mail-Order Food looks potentially cute, so I will go with that, this week.

ASH: I’m vaguely curious about Isekai Metaller, but I’m actually really looking forward to reading Sensei’s Mail-Order Food. I simply can’t pass up the combination of Asumiko Nakamura, BL, and food manga!

KATE: The end times must be coming because Sean and I are once again choosing the same title. Heavy metal isekai for me, please!

MICHELLE: I’ve been looking forward to Our Dining Table: Seconds, Please! since I learned it had been licensed, so that is absolutely my pick this week!

SEAN: The author and I have had mixed success to say the least, but I will give them another shot, and make my pick this week The Lying Bride and the Same-Sex Marriage Debate.

ASH: I’m definitely interested in both of those titles, but the release I’m most excited about this week is Kamudo. Ever since meeting Akira Himekawa at TCAF ages ago, I’ve wanted to read some of their original work. I’m so glad to finally have the chance!

ANNA: I’m going to go for the latest volume of Otaku Vampire’s Love Bite as a reminder for me to get caught up!

KATE: I second Ash’s pick; Kamudo has a knock-out cover! I’ll also mention Moan: Junji Ito Story Collection for anyone who wants a head start on Halloween.

ASH: The last few years have been somewhat astonishing with the number of seemingly unlicensable manga being licensed. Baki the Grappler is one of the most recent… although I guess it’s technically a license rescue? Either way, I’m eager to give this series of absolute martial arts mayhem a try.

SEAN: I don’t know where I’ll find the room for another big artbook, but The Art of Rumiko Takahashi: Colors 1978–2024 is hard to resist.

ANNA: I’m always happy to see a license rescue, Baki the Grappler for me!

KATE: I second Sean’s pick; Takahashi was my introduction to manga, so I feel a moral obligation to buy this book!

MICHELLE: I struggle to decide between the two Tsukasa Hojo debuts, but a trio of sisters in unitards (with scarves for unnecessary belts) is really serving up ’80s nostalgia for me, so Cat’s Eye it is!

SEAN: I am very familiar with the City Hunter manga, as I got the original Japanese volumes years ago so I could look at the art and wonder what they were saying. As such, I too will pick Cat’s Eye, which I am far less familiar with. Sexy girls, I hear!

ANNA: I can’t decide! I’m picking both Cat’s Eye AND City Hunter.

KATE: I might just have to come out of semi-retirement; it’s rare that we get TWO eighties classics in a single week! I second Anna’s picks.

ASH: Who am I to go against the trend? I am absolutely here for City Hunter and will definitely be reading Cat’s Eye, too. It’s an exciting week!

SEAN: I didn’t even know it existed till two weeks ago, but Miss Ruki is absolutely my pick this week. It’s wonderful to see titles like this come out over here.

ANNA: I agree, I was similarly unaware, but have preordered this and am looking forward to reading it!

MICHELLE: I agree 100%.

KATE: Add me to the Miss Ruki fan club—I just ordered myself a copy!

ASH: I actually did know about Miss Ruki—mostly because New York Review Comics releases some really interesting things, so I make a point to keep an eye out for them—but there’s no way I’m going to miss out on 1980s josei regardless of the publisher.

ASH: While there are multiple ongoing and debut manga being released this week that I’m interested in, there’s only one that I have on my “must read as soon as I get my hands on it” list and that’s Land. I only learned about it recently and I actually don’t know much about the plot, but the artwork that I’ve seen is beautifully evocative.

SEAN: I think I’ll go with Bride of the Death God, which looks tragic, or sweet, or both.

MICHELLE: The fourth volume of March Comes in Like a Lion for me!

ANNA: I’m also stoked for March Comes in Like a Lion!, happy to see a new volume!

MICHELLE: I’m very intrigued by Adabana, but I can’t pass up the yearly opportunity to pick Kaze Hikaru!

ASH: Kaze Hikaru is always a worthy pick! But I’ll go ahead and make the debut of Adabana my official selection this week. I haven’t read the creator’s other work, but I have heard good things about this one. (I also happen to really like the cover.)

ANNA: I cannot resist the opportunity to celebrate the annual release of Kaze Hikaru!

SEAN: I admit I am about 30 volumes beyond on Kaze Hikaru, but I am in agreement with it being the pick.

KATE: I only have eyes for Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear this week… NOT! (Remember that annoying tic from the 90s?) Like everyone else, I’m naming the latest volume of Kaze Hikaru as my official POTW, but I’m also delighted to see that there’s a new installment of Skip & Loafer.

SEAN: Generally my Villainess novels tend to be on the Japanese end – Chinese villainesses tend to be villains, and thus danmei. Less familiar with Korean villainesses, so I will enjoy a rare light novel from Ize Press, Villains Are Destined to Die as my pick this week.

MICHELLE: I am all about Farewell, Daisy. Sometimes my heart just wants sparkly retro-style shoujo, and this book appears poised to deliver on that.

KATE: My pick is the final volume of Leviathan, which comes out this week as well. It’s a great sci-fi/horror story that shamelessly borrows elements of Memories, They Were 11! and The Drifting Classroom, but manages to breathe new life into the haunted spaceship genre. Best of all: it’s short—just three volumes—making it perfect for commitment-phobes.

ANNA: I’m going to go with the latest volume of Nina the Starry Bride, because I’m always up for fantasy shoujo!

ASH: Well, based on Kate’s recommendation, I should apparently read Leviathan! As for debuts, I actually am curious about Futari Switch, though I’m not sure a have a lot of confidence in that pick being the right one.