Manga Bookshelf's Weekly Features

MICHELLE: Well, I don’t know about you guys, but my pick of the week is pretty darn clear. Complex Age all the way!

SEAN: Tempting as it is to be the LN fanboy I am and pick Psycome, I expect I’d regret that. So I too will pick Complex Age, which is a good deal of fun and more nuanced than I’d anticipated.

ASH: Complex Age is indeed an excellent choice, but my pick is the second omnibus of Goodnight Punpun. The first omnibus was incredibly surreal, emotionally wrenching, and one of the manga that’s left the greatest impression on me so far this year.

ANNA: Complex Age is by far the series I’m most interested in this week. Looking forward to reading it!

MJ: I’m with the Complex Age crowd this week. It’s definitely the title that intrigues me most!

SEAN: Tempted as I am to go with Magi, which is a wonderful default, I will throw my Pick of the Week over to the last omnibus of Neon Genesis Evangelion. A series that seemed for years like it would never end finally has, and as readers of the individual volumes know, this is an excellent conclusion. Go buy it, there’s color pages!

ASH: Though there are plenty of manga being released this week that I’m interested in, I’m actually going to go off list for my pick. Breakdown Press, a small comics publisher in the UK, recently published Red Red Rock and Other Stories, a collection of over a dozen short manga spanning the career of alternative manga creator Seiichi Hayashi. I just got my hands on a copy of the volume and am looking forward to reading it a great deal.

MICHELLE: I, too, am giving Magi a break this time and going with something else. I really enjoyed the first few volumes of Tokyo ESP, and now we’re starting up a new phase of the story. I’m interested to see what happens!

ANNA: If everyone else is giving Magi a break, I feel compelled to pick it, even though I am a gazillion volume behind in this series.

MICHELLE: There are quite a few titles that I will be picking up this week, but I shall award my pick to the third and final volume of QQ Sweeper. I’ve enjoyed this series a lot so far and I hope VIZ licenses the sequel!

SEAN: I have a love/hate relationship with Viz’s josei titles, as I love the fact that they deal with adults having adult issues, but frequently find that they tend towards the same “bastard boyfriend” tropes that also plague some of Viz’s shoujo titles. But I keep coming back for more, and that’s why the title I most want to see this week is Everyone’s Getting Married, another Petit Comic extravaganza.

ASH: With so many manga releases this week I’m having a little trouble narrowing it down to just one title, but in the end I would like to draw attention to the latest omnibus of Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service. It’s such a great series, mixing humor and horror in surprisingly effective ways. I’m glad that Dark Horse is giving the manga a new life in English!

MJ: I’m with Michelle, this week. Though there are a number of titles I’m interested in this week, the one dearest to my heart is the third volume of QQ Sweeper. This series is so perfectly my cup of tea. I was terribly sad to learn that this is the end, and echo Michelle’s hopes that Viz will be offering us its sequel!

ANNA: I love QQ Sweeper! But I’m very easily distracted by new series. So for that reason, I’m going to have to go with the new josei series Everyone’s Getting Married. Yay for more josei!

SEAN: Amidst what I suspect will be a sea of orange, I’m going to once again praise Shigeru Mizuki and recommend The Birth of Kitaro as my pick of the week. Like most Kitaro readers, I read this for Nezumi Otoko, who is amazingly awful in the best way. You too will believe a smelly yokai in a cloak will bilk rich frail men out of their life savings.

MICHELLE: I’m super grateful for the Kitaro, but honestly, my heart belongs to orange all the way. I’ve been waiting for this volume fairly desperately.

ASH: Wow, this is a tough week for me to choose just one release! The two manga I’ve narrowed it down to have both already been mentioned, as well—The Birth of Kitaro and orange. In the end, though, I think I’m going to have to go with Sean and pick the debut of the new Kitaro series in English. I was impressed by the first orange omnibus but am uncertain which direction the rest of the series might take while I already know that I love Kitaro.

ANNA: I’m going to go with orange too, even though I haven’t read the first volume yet, I’m sure future me would travel back in time to tell me to go with the second volume for pick of the week.

MJ: Like Anna, though I haven’t yet read the first volume of orange, I feel confident, based on the amount of chiding I’ve received for this failure, that it would absolutely be my pick. So I’m going with it.

MICHELLE: I’m sorry everything else coming out this week, but I only have eyes for Yotsuba&! volume thirteen. It’s been so long!

SEAN: I know I’m alone this week, but oh well. It’s Baccano! all the way for me. I’d get this for Isaac and Miria alone, but they’re just the tip of the iceberg. It does not have vampires, but it does have immortals!

ASH: I’m joining in with Sean this week by picking a novel, but in my case it’s Another Episode S/0. Although, the volume does include the prequel manga as well, so I guess I’m covered either way. Despite feeling a little cheated by the original novel Another, overall I enjoyed it and am looking forward to reading more of the story.

ANNA: My pick is the third volume of Monthly Girls’ Nozaki-kun. I’m in the mood for something funny, and this series is hilarious.

MJ: Though I suspect I’d love Monthly Girls’ Nozaki-kun (and I’m about to try it out), I’m with Michelle this week. I’ve missed Yotsuba&!, and I’m happy to see it back again!

MICHELLE: Regrettably, I’m not too excited about anything coming out next week. However, I am planning to check out the debut volume of The Heiress and Chauffeur, so I reckon I’ll make that my official pick this week.

SEAN: No question about it, Oresama Teacher is what has me excited this week. Its combination of hilarity, delinquency, and brainwashing (yes, really) has been a must read the last few volumes. Go get it.

ANNA: I also pick The Heiress and Chauffeur. I’m always curious about new shoujo, and the historical setting for this manga sounds appealing.

ASH: It’s a little bit of a cheat for me since my copy arrived last week and I already know how gorgeous it is, but my pick this week is for Takeshi Obata’s artbook blanc et noir. I’ve always enjoyed Obata’s artwork, so having an entire book devoted to it great and Viz has done a fantastic job with it.

MJ: Yes, yes, yes, I gotta go with Ash this week! I own Obata’s gorgeous Hikaru no Go artbook, and I’m incredibly excited about this new one. It’s blanc et noir for me!

SEAN: Sorry, Planetes. Sorry, Sidonia. Sorry, Emma. Sorry, Horimiya. You’re all awesome. But my pick of the week has to be the 36th and final volume of The Wallflower. Through the years of the changeover from Del Rey, to the occasional tired pawing at character development, through the author’s complete and utter inability to write romance, I have supported you. I salute you, comedy shoujo manga that ran far too long.

MICHELLE: Similarly, I am offering apologies to Horimiya this week (and Yowamushi Pedal, too) and going with a series finale for my pick of the week, though in my case I’m going with Knights of Sidonia. Delightfully weird and worrying, this has been a fantastic series, and I hope the conclusion is a satisfying one, even as I wish it weren’t ending at all.

ASH: Wow, there are so many wonderful releases to choose from this week! I’m certainly looking forward to reading more of Yowamushi Pedal and finishing Knights of Sidonia, and I’m thrilled that Emma is being released again, but this is the last time that I can choose Planetes. I’m so happy to see the series back in print in an edition that’s worth upgrading to, so that’s my pick for the week!

ANNA: It is rare that there are so many great titles being released at the same time! I’m going to pick Emma, just because I feel like highlighting a great reprint project! I’m happy that this is back in print again!

MJ: So much to choose from! I’m so torn here, as I’mm excited for Emma, Yowamushi Pedal, *and* Horimiya, but in the end I think I must go with Knights of Sidonia, which has been a deep and longstanding love for me, the end of which I will surely mourn.

MICHELLE: I will undoubtedly procure and adore volume thirteen of Say I Love You., but I am most eager to read The Gods Lie, particularly after Ash pointed out it’s by the mangaka behind Immortal Rain, which I loved!

SEAN: I tend to be the light novel fan of Manga Bookshelf, and my attention is torn between two titles this month, one famous, one infamous. Best to err on the famous side, I think, so I’ll pick the 7th volume of Sword Art Online, Mother’s Rosary, which gives Asuna the focus she’s so richly needed.

ASH: It’s undoubtedly The Gods Lie for me! I’m very happy to see more manga by Kaori Ozaki available in translation (I was a big fan of Immortal Rain). This volume may very well be one of my most anticipated releases of the year!

ANNA: I have to go with The Gods Lie too. It wasn’t on my radar before I realized who the author was, but now I’m very very interested in checking out this title.

MJ: I am certainly interested in the latest Sword Art Online novel, but I’m afraid I must join this week’s landslide towards The Gods Lie. Somehow this was entirely off my radar, but what a great surprise!

SEAN: Much as I Am A Hero is award-winning and intriguing, I am not going to pick a zombie apocalypse as my pick of the week without reading it first. So let’s go with the default ‘second week of the month’ pick, Magi, which could always use more good publicity, as it’s consistently fun to read.

MICHELLE: Sound reasoning, Sean. Magi for me, too.

ASH: Okay, I’ll take the plunge and pick the debut I Am a Hero. I’m actually not especially interested in the zombie angle, but I’ve heard great things about the series from people whose opinions I trust. (I’m really looking forward to the next volume of The Ancient Magus’ Bride, too, though!)

ANNA: I gotta go with Magi too! One day I will get caught up, but I love the earlier volumes in the series that I’ve read.

MICHELLE: Having a series finale in the mix makes my pick so much easier! I am eager for more Food Wars! and Honey So Sweet especially, but the one can’t-delay title for me this week is volume 15 of Library Wars. It has occasionally been a bit frustrating, but its charms have kept me hooked ’til the end.

SEAN: It is absolutely Library Wars for me. It has romance, it has action, it has resolution, it has epilogues, it has character growth, and it has amusing facial expressions. Who could ask for anything more?

ANNA: I have to agree, I love Library Wars in general for being a series that is so much better than its premise about librarians fighting censorship with guns, but I also love it as a librarian. Never has my profession been so cool in popular culture.

ASH: Likewise, I’m all about Library Wars this week! The series can at times be somewhat ridiculous, but as another librarian and as a fan, I enjoy its action, comedy, and romance tremendously.

SEAN: The Pick of the Week is obviously the title I’ve been anticipating the longest – Nichijou. While most slice-of-life comedies use weirdness in order to advance the humor of the situation, Nichijou at times does the opposite, sometimes not even bothering to have a proper punchline but just reveling in being strange. Loved the anime, can’t wait for the original.

MICHELLE: I definitely intend to check out Nichijou, but since it’s my last opportunity to pick My Little Monster, I can’t let it go to waste, especially since volume 13 hopefully features more glimpses of these beloved characters as adults. I can definitely see myself rereading this series in the future!

ASH: Likewise, I’m very interested in reading Nichijou, but my pick lies elsewhere: The Passion of Gengoroh Tagame is definitely not something for everyone, though. However, I am glad to see this important collection return to print. The original release was by PictureBox back in 2013 (which I reviewed), but Bruno Gmünder’s revised and expanded hardcover edition includes additional material, so I’ll be happily picking up the volume again.

ANNA: There’s a ton coming out this week, but as a die-hard shoujo fan, I could only pick Boys Over Flowers Season Two. When I read the first few chapters I was a little worried it would be a bad sequel, but Yoko Kamio’s great storytelling skills totally drew me in.

MJ: I don’t have a strong pick this week, but I do intend to check out Nichijou, so I’ll bring things full circle here and join Sean on that.

MICHELLE: It’s almost here! It’s almost here! How could I be anything but asquee about Princess Jellyfish being almost here?!

MJ: This! This! So much this! And yet… I just have to be the one person here who will give my pick to the final (final, I said, FINAL) volume of my beloved Pandora Hearts. I’m sorry, I just gotta. Sweet Pandora Hearts, I will miss you.

SEAN: There is far too much coming out this week, and normally I’d be picking Shoulder-a-Coffin Kuro easily. But yeah, the need to pick Princess Jellyfish cannot be denied – it’s such an obvious Pick this week. So I will pick it.

ANNA: I feel like we’ve been waiting for Princess Jellyfish forever! I am so excited it is finally coming out. If I could double or triple pick one title for pick of the week, this would be it!

ASH: I’m not at all sorry to say that Princess Jellyfish is my pick, too! I really enjoyed the anime adaptation and am looking forward to reading the original manga series a great deal.

SEAN: Though I sometimes regard reading Inio Asano as being like that required 19th century literature book in 8th grade – you know it’s worthy, but you’d rather something slightly less bleak – I have to admit that Goodnight Punpun has me intrigued, as even for Asano fans this one has more buzz than usual. And it’s a big omnibus, so good value for money.

MICHELLE: It’ll be a while before I am ready for more Asano — which is a compliment, really, given the impact A Girl on the Shore left with me, so I’m looking elsewhere. I’ll be picking up Paradise Residence, I think, but probably it’s no surprise that my real squee lies with volume 14 of Takehiko Inoue’s Real.

ASH: One way or another, it’s Viz that’s getting my pick this week. Like Sean, I am intrigued by the debut of Goodnight Punpun, and like Michelle, I am very excited for the most recent volume of Real. I don’t think I can bring myself to pick just one!

MJ: I’m pretty much where everyone else is this week! I can’t possibly turn down more Asano, so I’m definitely going for Goodnight Punpun, but a new volume of Real? That’s such a gift! I gotta get both.

ANNA: Goodnight Punpun and Real coming out in the same week is an embarrassment of riches. I can’t pick just one either!

MICHELLE: Is there really any doubt? Legend of the Galactic Heroes!

ASH: No doubt here! It may not be manga, but it’s Legend of the Galactic Heroes for me this week, too.

SEAN: It is absolutely Legend of the Galactic Heroes, as I have said before. Cannot wait for this epic classic novel series, so influential on so many other anime and manga.

MJ: See above, re: Legend of the Galactic Heroes.

ANNA: What’s happening? Could it be a unanimous pick for Legend of the Galactic Heroes? I think it is!