Manga Bookshelf's Weekly Features

SEAN: Something for everyone this week. I enjoyed Little Miss P, and have been waiting for more Satoko and Nada for some time. I have to go with one of my “comfort manga” titles, though, so this week I’m picking the 2nd Today’s Menu for the Emiya Family. So many mythical heroes not killing each other and eating yummy food!

MICHELLE: I hope VIZ does more in the digital-only vein, so I will support their inroads into that arena by picking The Right Way to Make Jump. Plus, Kohei Horikoshi is in it, apparently.

ANNA: I’m going to go with Satoko and Nada for my pick.

KATE: I’m torn between the second installment of Satoko and Nada and the first installment of At the Mountains of Madness. How’s that for tonal whiplash?

ASH: Likewise! The first volume of Satoko and Nada was terrific, but then so was Gou Tanabe’s previous Lovecraft adaptation. And so I’ll continue the tonal whiplash by picking something different still, The Monster and the Beast.

MICHELLE: In an unprecedented move for me, I’m picking a light novel this week! Restaurant to Another World has spawned various adaptations but I’ve experienced none of them. Still, it seems rather low-key and charming, which sounds lovely.

SEAN: So much I want to talk about… new Silver Spoon, new Hatsu*Haru, another silly isekai debut… for my pick, I’ll go with Animeta!. I’m a sucker for “manga/anime about breaking into the manga/anime industry”.

KATE: I’d be remiss if I didn’t plug Again!! and Silver Spoon, two of my favorite series, but this week, my heart belongs to Saint Young Men. Show some love for Kodansha and read it, since no one ever thought this one would be available in the US.

ASH: Hoo, boy, there’s so much coming out this week that I’m actively reading! Again!!, Gangsta, Golden Kamuy, and Silver Spoon are definite priorities for me, but I’ll be joining Michelle with the print debut of Restaurant to Another World as my official pick.

ANNA: I’m so far behind, but I’m gonna go with Gangsta as my pick!

MJ: Okay, I’ll go ahead and be the one to throw my whole heart at Silver Spoon. SILVER SPOON. SIIIIILVER SPOOOOOOOOON. What I’m saying is Silver Spoon.

SEAN: My pick this week, as I may have hinted in Manga the Week of, is Komi Can’t Communicate, which takes the standard ‘aloof beauty is just an introvert’ and takes it to eleven, as Komi seems to have an actual communication disorder. The manga is lighthearted but apparently really sweet. I want to read it.

ASH: I’ll admit, the manga I’m most curious about this week is actually I Married My Best Friend to Shut My Parents Up. Though it’s a story of a completely different type, the title and underlying premise immediately reminded me of Kaori Ekuni’s novel Twinkle Twinkle, which is a favorite of mine.

MICHELLE: Even though I’ve somehow already managed to get several volumes behind, it’s Ran the Peerless Beauty for me!

KATE: I’m also curious about Komi Can’t Communicate, but am otherwise underwhelmed by this week’s bounty!

ANNA: I’m going to check out Komi Can’t Communicate, but this week also represents a chance for me to get a little caught up on my stack of unread manga.

MJ: So, I’m going to go in a different direction this week and check out Crest of the Stars. I missed it the first time around, when Tokyopop was publishing it, and I’m in the mood for some great science fiction. That’s my pick this week!

MICHELLE: Last week it was hard to choose because of scarcity and this week it’s hard to choose because of abundance. I am very excited about new volumes of many shounen and shoujo favorites from VIZ, and am very tempted in particular to choose volume nineteen of My Hero Academia, but it’s my last chance ever to recommend the charming food manga Sweetness & Lightning, so I think that’ll have to be the one this time.

SEAN: I will therefore leap in and choose My Hero Academia 19 in your place. After the heavy drama and death of the previous arc, it’s nice to step back a bit and have fun, and this volume’s culture festival does just that. That said, you an bet Promised Neverland and Yona of the Dawn are right up there as well.

KATE: My Captain Obvious recommendation is volume 10 of The Promised Neverland, which remains gripping and suspenseful despite the author’s over-reliance on interior monologues to clue the reader into what’s happening. (Seriously, WE GET IT. Emma and Ray are wicked smart and can out-think their enemies.)

ASH: Lots of great manga are being released this week. One that hasn’t been mentioned yet, and one for which I am particularly excited, is the print debut of Classmates: Dou Kyu Sei. I honestly love Asumiko Nakamura’s work, so I’m thrilled to be able to add more of it to my shelves.

ANNA: If Yona of the Dawn is coming out, I can’t bring myself to pick anything else, so Yona for me!

MJ: Well, I have to join Ash this week in picking Classmates: Dou Kyu Sei. I read and reviewed this charming volume back in the days of JManga, and I’m thrilled that it’s back and finally getting a print release. Thanks, Seven Seas!

SEAN: It’s a week with a lot of series I’m not all that interested in, but there are some choices. I greatly enjoyed Ojojojo, which I’ve already reviewed. But I’ll go with Another World’s Zombie Apocalypse Is Not My Problem, another Cross Infinite World license that is (I believe) a shoujo-oriented webnovel (despite the zombies).

MICHELLE: I suppose I’ll go with All Out!! this week. I haven’t read any of the manga yet but the anime is a great deal of fun, with an adorably bookish lead who just happens to be physically imposing.

ASH: For me this week, Inside Mari is the series which holds most of my interest. Like I’ve mentioned before, the work is a fascinating exploration of gender that’s both compelling and at times very uncomfortable to read.

MJ: I’m sorry to say that there isn’t a lot that catches my eye this week. But that’s okay! I have a lot to catch up on, so I’ll probably focus this week on doing that instead of spending my money.

KATE: I’m with MJ: there isn’t much on this week’s list that appeals to me, so I’ll make a plug for Jiro Taniguchi’s Venice instead. It’s like visiting Venice without the tourist hoards; you can enjoy the city’s unique architecture and turquoise lagoon without the endless cries of gondoliers, shop owners, and tour group leaders to spoil your reverie. As an added bonus, the book is in color, allowing you to better appreciate Taniguchi’s superb draftsmanship.

MICHELLE: I mean, it has to be Blank Canvas doesn’t it?

SEAN: I love Blank Canvas, and have reviewed it. But I’m still going to make Ascendance of a Bookworm my pick, even though J-Novel Club has told me it’s more “for isekai lovers who also like books” than “for book lovers”. I just… reincarnated sickly little girl resolves to make her own paper, so she can make her own books, so she can fulfill her dream of being surrounded by books. That’s hardcore.

ASH: I suspect Ascendance of a Bookworm has a strong chance of being my pick once the print edition is released, but I adore Akiko Higashimura’s work so the debut of Blank Canvas is my choice this week, even considering that new volumes of 10 Dance and Ooku are coming out, too!

MJ: I feel like I’m supposed to be the one who gives the boost to Ooku or 10 Dance (how did I somehow blip over both of those during Manga the Week of??) but I’m also going Blank Canvas this week. Can I ever be forgiven?

ANNA: I’m going to join in on the Blank Canvas love!

SEAN: Pretty much Requiem of the Rose King for me. It consistently amazes.

ASH: Like Sean, it’s Requiem of the Rose King for me, too. I’ve actually been saving up a few volumes to read all at once because I’m always wanting more after I finish one. It’s such a dramatic and engaging series!

MICHELLE: I think I’ll have to buck the trend and go with the final volume of A Strange & Mystifying Story. The series started out with a couple of problems but improved dramatically by its third volume. Ever since, I’ve enjoyed it quite a lot! It contains one of my favorite BL couples, and though there’s a dramatic cliffhanger in need of resolution it’s their fate I most want to see.

ANNA: Requiem of the Rose King is so special, it is my automatic pick of the week.

MJ: I can’t possibly choose anything but Requiem of the Rose King. I send my apologies to everything else!

ASH: This week features the debuts of several series which I have been looking forward to a great deal — Diamond Is Unbreakable, Snow White with the Red Hair, Emanon — but Our Dreams at Dusk: Shimanami Tasogare happens to be one of my most anticipated releases of the entire year, so that’s my pick! I have heard nothing but wonderful things about the series.

SEAN: Having just read the first volume, the hype is entirely valid. I really want to read Snow White with the Red Hair as well, but the pick has to be Our Dreams at Dusk: Shimanami Tasogare.

MICHELLE: I plan to read both in the week they are released, which is saying something given the towering size of my to-read stacks, but yes, the edge must go to Our Dreams at Dusk this time.

KATE: I’ll carry the banner for Kenji Tsurata’s Emanon, which debuts this week. It’s a shame that Tsurata’s work isn’t better known in the US; though he isn’t prolific, his manga are beautifully drawn and populated by the kind of feisty, independent female characters that make any kind of story — mystery, adventure, romance — more enjoyable for grumpy old feminists like me.

ANNA: I’m not going to pass up the chance to celebrate a new shoujo title, so Snow White with the Red Hair for me!

MJ: There are a number of interesting titles debuting this week, but Sean is pretty persuasive, and I think I’ve gotta go with Our Dreams at Dusk: Shimanami Tasogare. I am a sheep.

SEAN: There’s a ton coming out, mostly Yen Press. I suspect MB will focus on Silver Spoon and YowaPeda, so I will go with the first omnibus of the 8th and final arc of Umineko When They Cry. Barring a side story license (don’t hold your breath), this is the end for Battler, Beatrice and company, but the final arc – both game and manga versions – is very controversial among fans. Can’t wait to read it – despite the cover art from hell.

MICHELLE: It’s gotta be Yowamushi Pedal for me, although Sean has informed us that the Inter High *still* isn’t over.

ASH: Yup, Sean knows us well. Yowamushi Pedal is one of the releases I’m particularly looking forward to this week, but I’m even more excited for more Silver Spoon. I greatly enjoyed the anime adaptation of Silver Spoon and the original manga remains just as strong if not stronger.

MJ: I mean. Obviously it’s Silver Spoon. I hate being so predictable, but there it is.

KATE: You and me both! I’m 100% on team Silver Spoon this week, as it’s quickly become one of my all-time favorite coming-of-age stories with great cartooning, great characters, and great dialogue. I know I sound like a broken record, but I want more people to read this delightful series, if only so that Yen Press (or another publisher) will rescue Arakawa’s other farm manga from licensing purgatory.

MICHELLE: I’ve wanted to read Saint Young Men for probably a decade. I had given up all hope of it being licensed here, so my gratitude to Kodansha is immense. I simply can’t even consider picking anything else.

ANNA: Me too, I’m absolutely amazed it is being translated.

SEAN: Yeah, Saint Young Men is my pick this week because it’s an Easter Miracle we’re even getting it.

KATE: I’m 200% on board with Saint Young Men, but I also think it’s worth reminding MB readers that VIZ will be releasing digital versions of the first seven volumes of Banana Fish. For folks who missed it the first time around, or who saw the anime and wondered how it compared with the source material, the new digital edition is a wallet-friendly way to dive into the manga.

ASH: Typically I can safely ignore digital releases since I have more than enough print manga to keep me busy, but when something like Saint Young Men is licensed even I have to take note! It’s definitely my pick, but I sincerely hope it might get a physical release in the future. We’ve proof that miracles can happen!

MJ: I feel like me choosing Saint Young Men while Kate is the one to bring up Banana Fish is the shocking plot twist nobody saw coming, but that is what’s actually happening, right now, today. I’m very happy that Viz is releasing digital versions of Banana Fish (though what I really want is a fancy, deluxe print edition), but Saint Young Men is something I genuinely thought we could never see in North America, and I can’t let that go. Not even for Eiji Okumura. And that’s saying something.

SEAN: Some good stuff this week: a 2nd Ran the Peerless Beauty, the Restaurant to Another World novel, a new Dead Dead Demon’s Dededededestruction and Golden Kamuy, but I’m going with the pretty debut, Go with the Clouds, North-by-Northwest, because man, it looks pretty.

MICHELLE: And it appears to be a mystery! Thus, it’s my pick as well.

ANNA: I’m halfway into the second volume of Ran and the Grey World and I’m probably going to drop that series, so I’m hoping that Go with the Clouds, North-by-Northwest has a better story to go with the beautiful art.

ASH: While I’m certainly interested in Go with the Clouds, North-by-Northwest, a new Junji Ito collection is being released upon the world in English this week. I can’t help it, Smashed is my pick! (Though I would guess it will likewise be visually striking, but for entirely different reasons…)

KATE: I’m gonna need a bigger boat–that’s an amazing manga haul! Ran and the Gray World didn’t do much for me, but I’m loving just about everything else on the MB Battle Robot’s shopping list, from the latest Dead Dead Demon’s Dedededestruction to Go With the Clouds, North-by-Northwest and Smashed.

MJ: I was a huge fan of the artwork in Ran and the Gray World, so I’ll join a number of my colleagues here and go with Go With the Clouds, North-by-Northwest as my pick this week! I’m very interested in this!

MICHELLE: Well, I guess I’ll be predictable and go for the big debut this week—Witch Hat Atelier looks very charming. I desperately hope that, unlike a certain other seinen series with a young female protagonist with magical powers, there are no adult creepers in sight!

SEAN: I agree, but I think the rest of MB will as well, so I’ll go for O Maidens in Your Savage Season, though I may be jumping the gun as only Kodansha’s own site lists it as coming out this week. It has a great pedigree, though, and I can’t resist a title like that.

ASH: There are plenty releases this week that I’m looking forward to, including the two that have been mentioned so far, but my pick actually goes to Kitaro’s Yokai Battles. It’s been so long since the last volume was released, and I’m always delighted by the series.

KATE: My comic shop got Witch Hat Atelier last week and it’s every bit as good as I hoped it would be. I’m getting a strong Miyazaki vibe from it — no squicky seinen overtones, no sappiness. If anything, it reminded me of Howl’s Moving Castle, as it has the rhythms and dramatic conflicts of a great children’s fantasy novel.

MICHELLE: That’s a very encouraging comparison!

ANNA: I think I’m going to throw in for Witch Hat Atelier as well, it sounds very appealing!

MJ: I feel like a sheep, but honestly I’m all about Witch Hat Atelier, especially since Kate has confirmed an absence of smarm which, like Michelle, was the only question giving me pause. So that’s my pick, too!

SEAN: I mean, can I pick Viz’s releases as a unit? If not, I will certainly pick My Hero Academia as a unit. With Vol. 18 of the main series (which wraps up the “Overhaul” arc), the 4th Vigilantes, and the debut of the light novels, there’s enough here to satisfy any fan.

ASH: Viz really has most of my attention this week, too! But as previously mentioned, it’s the Shojo Beat fantasy titles that are holding my heart. If I can only pick one of them it would be Yona of the Dawn, but I’m also very much enjoying The Water Dragon’s Bride.

MICHELLE: Oh, man. Decisions! I really do love both of the shoujo titles singled out by Ash, but my Academia love knows no bounds. Ultimately, I have to go with “What Sean said.”

KATE: I won’t lie: The Promised Neverland is 100% pure manga crack, and I’m jonesing for my next fix. The story gets darker with every turn, but Emma’s pluck, brains, and heart make me optimistic that at least SOME of the escapees will eventually find their way to safety.

ANNA: I’m with Ash, Viz’s shoujo fantasy titles are always something to celebrate.

MJ: I’m going to go with the latest volume of Ao Haru Ride! I feel like I should be on the Promised Neverland bandwagon, but I’m a sucker for Viz shoujo, so here we are.

MICHELLE: There are a lot of new volumes for series I haven’t started yet this week, which makes me feel kind of weird about picking them. Still, there’s no way I’ll ever resist a series called Dragon Goes House-Hunting, so I’ll choose the second volume with the certainty that someday I really will read it.

SEAN: Same here, so I will pick a 5th volume of Kakafukaka, a digital josei manga whose overall subdued mood and frustrating but fascinating characters I’ve really come to enjoy.

ASH: Despite the number of series being released this week, there are actually relatively few that I am actively following (at least at the moment). Inside Mari is one exception to that, however, so that’ll be my pick this time.

ANNA: My pick of the week is the stacks of unread manga in my house. Maybe I’ll get caught up on a series or two!

MICHELLE: Honestly, that should be my pick every week!

MJ: I’ve been sick for the past week, so I’ll join the catch-up group this week! I’ve got quite a backlog to get through.

SEAN: I have not been able to remotely keep up with Kodansha’s digital-only titles, but I do appreciate them when they give us lots of series that may not have sales that justify a print license. So I’ll make my pick this week Ran the Peerless Beauty, a shoujo series that looks cool and cute. Let’s hope that’s not the slang term for “peerless”, though.

ASH: I’m always happy to see a new volume of Gangsta, but this week the release I’m most excited about is Total Eclipse of the Eternal Heart. I adored Go For It, Nakamura!, so I’m thrilled to see more of the creator’s work in translation.

MICHELLE: I’m definitely going to be checking out both of the titles mentioned already, but I’ll go with the debut of Love in Focus this time. I enjoyed the mangaka’s previous series much more than I expected to. Too bad this one is also quite short!

KATE: Again with Again!! for me. I love the way Mitsurou Kubo resists tidy resolutions for her characters’ dilemmas. Everyone learns lessons in Again!!, but no one has the kind of radical epiphanies that lead to big moments of triumph or change; seven volumes in, it’s still an open question whether the ouendan will survive Imamura and Usami’s tempestuous leadership. Crack pacing and a great cast of supporting characters make this uncertain state of affairs something to savor, rather than something to endure, and crisp artwork helps sell the time-travel angle. I can’t recommend this enough! (Or should that be Enough!!?)

MJ: There are a number of releases that intrigue me this week, including Ran the Peerless Beauty and Love in Focus, but BL horror from Opera wins the day for me. My pick is Total Eclipse of the Eternal Heart.

ANNA: There are so many interesting manga series coming out this week, but it has been such a long time since I’ve seen a new volume of Gangsta. That’s my pick!