Manga Bookshelf's Weekly Features

MICHELLE: There’s a healthy dose of sports manga due out this week—Ace of the Diamond, Haikyu!!, and Kuroko’s Basketball—as well as other favorites like Food Wars and Honey So Sweet, but I really have no choice but to avail myself of the final opportunity to pick Kamisama Kiss. This series has been consistently good across 25 volumes, and though a happy ending has been earned, I’ll be sorry to see it so. Sayounara, Kamisama.

SEAN: A lot of old favorites, and the shipper in me wants to pick Assassination Classroom, but I agree, Kamisama Kiss is absolutely the pick this week. I can never resist a wedding pic on the final volume of a shoujo manga!

KATE: At the risk of sounding like Manga Bookshelf’s resident picky eater, this week’s list doesn’t have any stand-out titles for me. There are plenty of decent continuing series — Assassination Classroom, Kurokuro’s Basketball — but nothing that I’m actively following. If I had to choose a title, though, my vote would go to Rave Master, since I missed it the first time around.

ASH: Although there are several manga that I’m looking forward to next week, such as the next installments of Haikyu!! and Yona of the Dawn, the release that I’m most curious about is the first volume of House of Brutes. In particular, I’m interested to see if it’s actually released at all considering the publisher’s current financial troubles. But I’ll be glad to see more of Gengoroh Tagame’s work released in English. (This is definitely different fare than My Brother’s Husband, though!)

ANNA: I’m a little torn, because there’s a ton of great manga coming out this week, with Yona of the Dawn always a highlight. But I’m also going to pick the final volume of Kamisama Kiss. It is such a jewel of a series, and even though all things must come to an end, I’m glad it is getting an appropriate send off with a special limited edition.

SEAN: Until a couple of days ago, this was an easy pick, as Frau Faust was greatly enjoyable. But a rival appears, and I’m afraid that it’s won me over… or should, I haven’t read it yet. Yes, my pick of the week is Shojo Fight!, which I’ve wanted licensed here for a while now. It’s digital only, but we can’t have everything. Also, potential Haikyu!! crossover fics?

KATE: I second Sean’s pick: more volleyball manga is a good thing, especially since Crimson Hero is out of print. I’m also curious about All Out!!, another digital-only sports title from Kodansha. I can’t claim to be a rugby fan, but my younger sister played on the Stanford women’s team and has fond memories of — and a few scars from — the experience. So as an act of sisterly loyalty, I’m also casting a vote for All-Out!!.

MICHELLE: Yep, it’s gotta be Shojo Fight! for me, too, though I am definitely looking forward to All-Out!! as well.

ANNA: Shojo Fight! is also my pick. Have we had an all sports manga pick of the week recently? It certainly sounds like an excuse to celebrate!

ASH: Well, were I a digital reader, I’m sure I would be joining you all in picking Shojo Fight!. Alas, I am still devoted to my print volumes. Happily, though this week is relatively light on physical releases, there is one manga in particular that has caught my eye–the debut of Frau Faust.

KATE: This week’s manga haul has something for everyone: new installments of digital-only releases like Tokyo Tarareba Girls, new volumes of perennial favorites like Nichijou and Master Keaton, and a handful of debuts like Kiss Me at the Stroke of Midnight and Sweet Blue Flowers. And while I’m intrigued by Sweet Blue Flowers, my vote goes to volume nine of A Bride’s Story, Kaoru Mori’s gorgeously illustrated chronicle of life on the Silk Road. What say the rest of the MB gang?

MICHELLE: Despite the handful of Seven Seas titles that I’m genuinely looking forward to, I really can only choose Sweet Blue Flowers. I’ve been looking forced to reading this series in English for years! (I even bought the Japanese volumes for a while!) Thanks, VIZ!

SEAN: It’s light novel week, so you know I want to say Baccano!. And there’s a bunch of other titles I want in this monster week. But as with Michelle, my choice goes to Sweet Blue Flowers finally getting the treatment it deserves. Can’t wait.

ASH: Like Kate, I’m certainly looking forward to the next installment of A Bride’s Story, and there are plenty of other manga being released this week that I’ll definitely be picking up (such as Descending Stories), but I’ll be joining Michelle and Sean in choosing Sweet Blue Flowers as my official pick. Shimura’s Wandering Son was an incredibly important series for me personally, so I am thrilled that more of her work is be released in print.

ANNA: There are quite a few great series coming out this this week! I’m going to have to go with the last volume of Master Keaton. Urasawa is always at the top of his game, and I’m going to miss all the insurance investigation shenanigans.

MJ: I find myself echoing what others have said so far regarding Takako Shimura’s Sweet Blue Flowers. A real release of this series has been a long time coming, and I’m thrilled to see it finally hitting the shelves. I can’t wait to read it.

SEAN: It’s a light week with no first volumes. A few books I’m looking forward to, but I’ll be Don Quixote again and give my pick to Hayate the Combat Butler. All my other lost causes have either ended or been dropped, but Hayate is still there, trickling out.

KATE: Whoa… I reviewed the first volume of Hayate back in 2006, when I was writing for PopCultureShock. I remember enjoying it, reading a few more volumes, and then… well, I think I lost track of it. Sean’s comments, however, reminded me that VIZ has been good about continuing series that never quite found the audience they deserved. (See Kaze Hikaru.) So my vote goes to Hayate the Combat Butler as well.

MICHELLE: My pick this week goes to the final volume of Complex Age. It’s been riveting and it’s been truly upsetting, but my hope is that it’ll end on an empowering note, too. I’m looking forward to it!

ASH: I’ve never actually read any of Hayate the Combat Butler (although perhaps I should). However, I have read the first part of Complex Age and found it to be surprisingly relatable and personally meaningful. I’m a few volumes behind in reading the series, but I join Michelle in choosing the final installment as my pick this week. I’m very glad that Kodansha Comics brought the series to my attention.

ANNA: It is such a light week! Of the titles that are coming out, Complex Age is the series that I’m most likely to finish, although like Ash I need to catch up. That’s my pick as well.

MJ: I’m still in catch-up mode from the summer when I was directing an opera, and since there’s nothing on this week’s pack that really grabs me, I’m going to dig back into the stuff I missed and finally take a look at One Peace Books’ I Hear the Sunspot. It sounds like exactly my kind of BL (if it is, in fact, BL). So let the catching up begin!

MICHELLE: Last time I had the option to pick Skip Beat!, I said that it’d likely always be my pick when it comes out, due to its biannual release schedule. Well, not this time. As much as I deeply love it, this is my final chance to choose My Love Story!!, so I’m gonna do it. It’s brain balm of the best kind—warm and sweet but never sappy or boring. I will miss it very much.

SEAN: So much to love this week, and I want to pick Queen’s Quality, as I do love me some Motomi, but I agree with Michelle: there’s no question that the final volume of My Love Story!! is going to be my pick. Some have accused it of being too sweet and sappy, and they’re absolutely correct, but that’s what I want from this series. Mainline the sugar into my veins, please!

KATE: I’m torn between the final volume of My Love Story!! and the latest installment of One-Punch Man, which deserves to be a Naruto-sized hit in America.

ANNA: This is a great week for manga for me. Like everyone else, I feel compelled to pick the final volume of My Love Story!!, it is such a uniquely quirky series that is heartwarming without being cloying.

ASH: I’m in agreement with everyone else here. While there are quite a few things that I have my eyes on this week–Captain Harlock, Haikyu!!, Sweetness & Lightning–it’s My Love Story!! that has my heart.

SEAN: Despite the large number of manga available this week, my pick is the latest book in the Monogatari Series, the 2nd Nisemonogatari. I enjoy this series despite its fanservice, but this one may be challenging even with that. Toothbrushes out!

MICHELLE: As Sean predicted, the new releases that appeal to me the most are Kodansha’s digital sports manga. Days is shounen fun, but Giant Killing offers a seinen slant that makes it unique and my pick for this week.

KATE: I’m backing Michelle’s play by picking Giant Killing and Days, too. I’d love to see even more sports manga available in English, and supporting Kodansha’s digital publishing efforts seems like the best way to encourage them to be bolder in their licensing choices. We need manga about golfing, running, synchronized swimming, mountain biking, kayaking, sailing, speed skating, agility training, sled dog racing… the possibilities are endless!

MICHELLE: I’m still holding out hope for Mitsuru Adachi’s Rough, too. (Though not from Kodansha, obviously.)

ASH: Were I a digital reader this would be a great week of releases for me with new volumes of Giant Killing, Saki, and Space Brothers coming out. Limiting myself to print releases though there’s not much that I’m super-excited about, but I am very curious about the debut of Kigurumi Guardians.

ANNA: There’s not a ton out there that I’m reading this week, although I’m very happy that more sports manga is being released. I’m picking Altair: A Record of Battles volume 3, because that’s what I’m most likely to read… someday!

MICHELLE: It is happy cruelty that this week I am forced to choose between Chihayafuru and What Did You Eat Yesterday?, both of which I love intensely. I think we will probably see another volume of Chihayafuru before volume thirteen of WDYEY, as it won’t even come out in Japan until next month, so that gives Yoshinaga the slight edge this time. But really, get them both.

SEAN: My pick this week is the final volume of Blood Lad, which I’ve definitely enjoyed more than I expected to. It feels like it’s just about the right time to end it, too. Also, Fuyumi cover!

ANNA: Chihayafuru is an easy pick for me. I am so happy this series is being translated!

KATE: There’s only one manga on my plate this week: volume two of Delicious in Dungeon. It reads like an episode of Martha Stewart Living crossed with a MMPORG, mixing action scenes with tips on how to get the most of giant scorpion meat. (Who knew it was good for tempura?)

MICHELLE: Oh, I didn’t even mention that or Yowamushi Pedal! So much great stuff this week.

ASH: There really are so many great manga being released this week, making it extremely difficult to choose just one! So, I’ll cheat a little and pick a subgenre instead–give me all the food manga you’ve got! Both What Did You Eat Yesterday? and Delicious in Dungeon are very high on my list and I’m definitely looking forward to sinking my teeth into them. (Not literally, of course.)

KATE:: For most readers, this week’s pick is a no-brainer: it’s the final volume of Tokyo Ghoul, which reaches its gory climax with volume fourteen. I never got on the Tokyo Ghoul train myself, so I’m more inclined to pick the latest installment of I Am a Hero, an even gorier series that manages to breathe fresh life into an undead concept by putting an unreliable narrator in the center of the action. (For the curious, I reviewed volume one.)

SEAN: Well, I mean, Tokyo Ghoul: re starts in October, so… in any case, I’m going to pick the 5th and final volume of Akuma no Riddle, a yuri manga that takes place at a school but is not like the 80 other yuri manga being released that take place at schools. I enjoyed this more than I expected, and I think it will benefit from a mass reread.

MICHELLE: There isn’t a whole lot that appeals to me this week, I’m afraid. So, even though I haven’t started the series yet, I’ll pick the fifth volume of All-Rounder Meguro to show support for Kodansha’s digital sports manga offerings.

ASH: Although I haven’t actually played very much of any of the games in the franchise, the release that I’m probably most curious about this week is the Assassin’s Creed manga adaptation, largely because I’ve greatly enjoyed Oiwa’s past adaptations.

ANNA: There isn’t a whole lot out there that is appealing to me this week either, but I’m probably going to check out Cosplay Animal in the hopes that it is fun and trashy, so that’s my pick.

SEAN: The title I find most intriguing this week is Nirvana, which is a reincarnated in another world title with a female lead (a rarity), and apparently borrows from both Hindu and Buddhist mythology. I’m in!

KATE: Hmmmm… If I were picking a manga on the strength of the title alone, Am I in Love Or Just Hungry would get my vote — we’ve all been there — but Sean makes Nirvana sound interesting, so I think I’ll follow his lead this week and choose Adventures in Reincarnation, too.

MICHELLE: There are a few titles that I’m somewhat interested in, but what I’m looking forward to the most is seeing whether the lead couple of The Full-Time Wife Escapist actually makes any progress. So, that’s my pick this week!

ASH: I’m a bit more curious about Nirvana now that I know a little more about it, but I must say that after three years since the last volume, it’s Drifters that really has my attention. It’s not a series that necessarily makes much sense, but it’s certainly bombastic with energetic action sequences and outrageous characters. (At least if I recall correctly; it’s been a while… )

ANNA: I’m intrigued by Nirvana after seeing everyone talk about it more, but the manga I’m probably most likely to get and read this week is Altair: A Record of Battles Volume 2, once I read volume 1 that is!

MICHELLE: It’s that time of year again! I’m very interested in the conclusion of Otherworld Barbara as well as I Hear the Sunspot and She and Her Cat, but I am simply unable to pass up my annual chance to squee about Kaze Hikaru. I agree with AshLynx, who expressed a wish that VIZ would start making the annual release a 2-in-1 volume. Otherwise we won’t catch up to where Japan is now until I’m retired!

SEAN: I can’t break with the yearly tradition. It’s definitely Kaze Hikaru as my pick. My goal is for it to sell well enough that we might see it… dare I hope… TWICE a year!

ANNA: Kaze Hikaru all the way for me as well. I love that series!

KATE: Add my name to the chorus of folks recommending Kaze Hikaru. I’m glad VIZ continues to publish new installments, but second Michelle’s request for a slightly faster release schedule. The East Coast will be underwater before we get the final volume here in the US!

ASH: Despite its slow release schedule, I’ve still somehow managed to fall behind with Kaze Hikaru. And so while I do plan on reading it because I do like the series, my pick this week (perhaps surprisingly) actually goes to Twinkle Stars. Although the series is a little trope-worn in places, I found the first two omnibuses to be both compelling and emotionally resonant.

SEAN: No real dilemma for me this time – my pick this week is the 2nd and final Queen Emeraldas omnibus. It’s Wagnery delicious!

MICHELLE: In the Wagnerian spirit, I should warble about my decision for at least ten minutes or so, but… Yep. Same.

KATE: I’m fresh out of Wagner jokes, so I’ll keep it simple: Queen Emeraldas is my pick of the week, too. If you like Star Wars or Blade Runner, you owe it to yourself to check out Leiji Matsumoto’s work; his sci-fi stories are as richly imagined as anything in the George Lucas or Ridley Scott canon.

ANNA: I read the first volume of Queen Emeraldas and it was a bit too bleak for my mood at the time. But even though I didn’t connect with this space opera as much as I expected to, it is undoubtedly the most important manga coming out this week, so it is my pick as well!

ASH: There are actually a few releases that I’m very interested in this week, such as the next volume of Descending Stories, but like everyone else here it’s the finale of Queen Emeraldas that gets my official pick. I simply can’t resist a dramatic, classic space opera!

MICHELLE: I’m a bit torn for my pick this week. Waiting for Spring is a shoujo debut I’ll be checking out, but it’s an unknown quantity. I’ve been burned before, so I think I’ll play it safe this week and go with Princess Jellyfish.

SEAN: I think I’ll play it safe too, because nothing makes me happier this week – in fact, I reviewed it already so it’s already made me happy – than the new Monthly Girls’ Nozaki-kun.

KATE: I’m torn between the compulsively readable Princess Jellyfish and The Hound and Other Stories. Although I’ve never been especially interested in H.P. Lovecraft’s writing, I do have a soft spot for horror manga. A quick glance at the preview suggests that Gou Tanabe’s artwork is crisp and atmospheric, so I’m leaning ever-so-slightly towards Hound for my pick of the week.

ASH: I’ll definitely want to read the next volumes of Monthly Girls’ Nozaki-kun and Princess Jellyfish as soon as I get my hands on them, but like Kate The Hound and Other Stories is what gets my official pick this week! (I tend to enjoy well-drawn horror manga.)

ANNA: New series are always something to celebrate, but I remember being totally amazed that Princess Jellyfish was licensed! Happy about the latest volume!

SEAN: So the Kodansha digital debuts I mentioned are actually moved to the 18th. This means my pick shall me an “older” digital-only title, The Full-Time Wife Escapist. The escapes are the best part.

MICHELLE: In the Kodansha digital realm, I’m definitely looking forward to the fourth volume of The Full-Time Wife Escapist. My real pick, though, is the second volume of Dreamin’ Sun, as I enjoyed volume one quite a bit.

KATE: Oof — this is some slim pickings. My suggestion: skip the manga aisle this week and watch GLOW instead. It’s a valentine to 80s pop culture that recognizes what a weird and sometimes awful decade it was. Great performances, snappy dialogue, and a big, appealing cast of characters made GLOW five of the best hours of TV I’ve seen this year.

ANNA: I find The Full-Time Wife Escapist such a fun series. I enjoy the unconventional not romance combined with slice of life activities and occasional discussions about the economy. That’s my pick!

ASH: While I’m curious to see where Dreamin’ Sun is heading, my pick this week is the final Legendary Edition of Akira Himekawa’s all-ages The Legend of Zelda manga. Up until this point I had resisted collecting the series, but the new edition’s larger trim sizes, additional content, and great design makes for an immensely appealing package.

MICHELLE: I’m happy about Days and Haikyu!! and Honey So Sweet, but the debut of Plum Crazy! easily snags my pick for this week. It hadn’t even been on my radar before Sean’s column, but now I’m desperate to read it. And the best part is that the series is sixteen volumes long and still ongoing!

SEAN: I am definitely looking forward to cat manga, and there’s a pile of Viz I want to read as well. My pick this week, though, is Appleseed Alpha, a manga interpretation of the recent movie. Deunan and Briareos were some of the first manga characters I really grew attached to, and I want to read this new hardcover omnibus even if Shirow isn’t writing it.

KATE: Call me a crazy cat lady if you must, but my vote also goes to Plum Crazy!. Cats doing cute things = manga gold.

ASH: There’s definitely a variety of things that I’m interested in and will be making a point to read this week, but since a new volume is released so rarely, my official pick will be going to Berserk. I don’t find the most recent story arc as viscerally compelling as some of the earlier ones but, if nothing else, Miura’s artwork can still astonish.

ANNA: Honey So Sweet has been so consistently adorable, that is my pick this week.

SEAN: I’ll be honest, most of my attention this week is focused on novels, what with Combat Baker and Nisemonogatari. But I picked a novel last week, so this week my pick is Land of the Lustrous, a new Kodansha series with gem wars but sadly not Steven.

MICHELLE: I’m looking forward to the second volumes of series whose debut volumes I liked a lot. Ordinarily, I’d pick Giant Killing, what with it being sports manga and all, but Flying Witch has an amusing kitty, and that gives it the edge this time.

KATE: I share Michelle’s enthusiasm for manga featuring cute animal sidekicks., but my vote goes to the digital-only release The Emperor and I, a comedy about a family living with an Emperor penguin. The story unfolds in short chapters of three to nine pages, so the formula isn’t as rigid as a 4-koma title; it feels a little bit like reading a collection of Sunday comic strips. Not sold? Here’s what I had to say about it back in May.

ASH: For me, my pick could be nothing other than Vinland Saga this week. The series has been consistently compelling from the very beginning. It’s also had great female characters from the start, but the most recent story arc allows the women in the series to shine like they haven’t before.

ANNA: I agree with Ash, I am very happy that new volumes of Vinland Saga are coming out after the series was paused for some time. It is rare for a series to combine great historical background with a truly compelling story and evocative art. Vinland Saga is my pick!