Manga Bookshelf's Weekly Features

MJ: It’s a slowish week for new manga releases, but there is at least one release I’m greatly looking forward to. To be more specific, I’m talking about Insufficient Direction, Moyoco Anno’s comic about her relationship with husband (and famous anime director) Hideaki Anno, out this week from Vertical. I was surprised by a few bits of Moyoco Anno’s personality when I interviewed her a couple of years ago at NYCC, and I expect to be surprised further by this (presumably humorous) look into her personal life. This is a must-buy for me this week!

ASH: Insufficient Direction is a must for me this week as well! I love Moyoco Anno’s manga (so much so that I hosted the Moyoco Anno Manga Moveable Feast last year) and am thrilled that we’re seeing more of her work released in English.

MICHELLE: I have a feeling this one might be unanimous! Insufficient Direction for me as well!

ANNA: I’m going to pick this too!

SEAN: Yup, it’s unanimous. Insufficient Direction for me as well.

What looks good to you this week?

ASH: It’s another good week for manga releases (granted, I think just about every week is a good week), but there are two manga that I’m particularly interested in this time around–the fifth volume in Hinoki Kino’s manga adaptation of No. 6 and the first volume of Kohske’s Gangsta. No. 6 keeps getting better with each volume so I’m looking forward to reading the next installment, but I think my official pick of the week will have to go to Gangsta‘s debut.

MICHELLE: This is ordinarily the spot where I’d be all “Pandora Hearts!,” and I am still looking forward to volume twenty, but since I haven’t had a chance to mention it in a while, this week I’m going with Blood Lad, my official “Surprise Favorite of 2013.” Some elements of the series aren’t really my thing, but its sense of humor is, and I’m glad we’re finally getting a bit more of it!

SEAN: I’ll be brief: Gangsta for me as well!

ANNA: I’m going to have to go for Gangsta too. It certainly looks like the most intriguing manga coming out this week.

MJ: I’m certainly interested in Gangsta, but I’m going to stand in solidarity with Michelle here, and proclaim my love for Blood Lad! I feel a little guilty about forsaking my beloved Pandora Hearts, but Blood Lad was such a stunning surprise for me, I can’t help but rejoice that we’re finally seeing the next chunky volume! I really can’t wait to read it.

What looks good to you this week?

MJ: There’s a lot to choose from this week, and I will certainly be checking out new volumes of Blue Morning, Knights of Sidonia, and more. But I’ll give my pick this week to Viz’s latest license rescue, Deadman Wonderland. Originally published (but not completed) by Tokyopop, this series missed me the first time around, so I’m grateful for an opportunity to hop on. I’ve been disappointed in some other recent entries into the “survival game” genre (if it is, indeed, a genre), so I’m anxious to try one that has elicited positive comments from my co-bloggers. That’s at least a very hopeful sign. Count me in!

MICHELLE: I feel like I have touted both Blue Morning and Knights of Sidonia several times each already, but they’re still my tandem picks of the week. (Even though I am glad Deadman Wonderland is back.) In terms of artwork and scope, Sidonia gets the edge, but I do still look forward to each new volume of Blue Morning quite a bit.

ASH: As for me, as much as I’m enjoying Knights of Sidonia, this week I think I’ll actually be going with the second volume of Crimson Spell. I’m still incredibly happy that SuBLime rescued this smutty and surprisingly humorous fantasy series. And after this volume, we’ll start seeing material that hasn’t previously been released in English.

SEAN: Sean Gaffney, Patron Saint of Lost Causes, would like to take this time to remind you all how funny Hayate the Combat Butler can be, and also how exciting and action packed it can get when it’s in the middle of a rare serious arc, such as the one here. Also, a harem where people are actually not sure who will win. I’ll pick it this week.

ANNA: I’ll have to go with Knights of Sidonia. I love that we are getting outer space giant mecha fighting alien manga. I love it every month it comes out!

What looks good to you this week?

SEAN: As always with the start of the month, there’s a lot of titles I could pick. So I’ll go with the one that only comes out about once a year due to a slow release schedule in Japan, Toradora!. Of all the romantic comedies starring a small tsundere girl and her put-upon not-boyfriend, this is my favorite, because for once nothing overbalances. The humor is just right, the heartwarming is there when needed, there’s lots of drama and character development, and even the romantic triangle is well-paced. If most tsundere love comedies make you recoil in horror, you should give this one a try anyway.

MICHELLE: I’m going with the 3-in-1 edition of High School Debut. This is one of those series that I love with my whole heart, and I’m happy that those who missed it the first time will have another chance to check it out. One thing I particularly like about it is that you really get to know Yoh, the boyfriend, and that he talks about things with his friends. Sometimes you wonder what the cool-looking boy sees in the slightly daffy female lead, but here there’s no uncertainty about that.

ASH: Out of all the manga being released this week, the one that I am most curious about is the second volume of A Centaur’s Life. After a somewhat…awkward…first chapter, the series actually becomes rather charming and has already shown huge potential for some excellent world-building.

ANNA: I’m also going to have to go with High School Debut. This is a great shoujo series, and one of the rare cases where the daffy female lead is utterly endearing.

MJ: I’ve been just about convinced on A Centaur’s Life, thanks to Ash and a few influential comments from readers, but this week, I can’t help joining Michelle and Anna in their enthusiasm for High School Debut. I was initially pretty uninterested in this series, and then Michelle lured me in with her own copies of the series’ early volumes. It’s completely charming, and I think the 3-in-1 release may tempt me to pick up this series for my own library.

What looks good to you this week?

MJ: There’s not much for me in this week’s haul, so I decided to take a look at what’s been coming out digitally from Viz… and wow, the choices are abundant! Some of my long-time favorites are mid-release in Viz’s digital store, including Yumi Tamura’s Basara (now up to volume 18), CLAMP’s X (omnibus volume 4), Kentaro Yabuki’s Black Cat (volume 20), and Yoko Kamio’s Boys Over Flowers (volume 11). But I’ve got my eye on Here Is Greenwood, Yukie Nasu’s shoujo take on boys’ dormitory life, originally published from 1987-1991—possibly my favorite period for shoujo manga. I missed this series when it was first published in English, and was thrilled to see that it is now available in its entirety (nine volumes) at vizmanga.com. I guess I know what I’ll be picking up this week!

MICHELLE: I had no idea that Here Is Greenwood was available digitally, but now that I do I must enthusiastically endorse it. MJ, I think you would seriously love this manga. There’s also a thoroughly charming OVA of the series that I am lucky enough (and old enough) to own on VHS. It looks like even more Shojo imprint titles have been added while I wasn’t looking… Doubt!! (from the creator of Seiho Boys’ High School) and W Juliet, for example!

SEAN: I can’t help but agree here. Here Is Greenwood is one of my favorite old shoujo titles, filled with humor and heart and more humor. Having it digitally is a huge win, and I definitely endorse it as pick of the week.

ASH: Well, here I was all set to pick Attack on Titan for the week and you all had to go and complicate things for me! I think I’ll probably stick with that, but I’d also like to throw in my support for Here Is Greenwood and all the other great out-of-print shoujo manga Viz is now releasing digitally.

ANNA: I’m now convinced that I need to read Here Is Greenwood! I’m going to pick a different Viz digital title though, Firefighter! Daigo of Fire Company M. I’ve read the first couple volumes of this series, and I’m very happy that all the shonen firefighting struggles are now available in digital format. My main memories of the first couple volumes was that there was plenty of passion and shouting about fires! I’m going to be buying some of this series for my iPad for sure.

What looks good to you this week?

MICHELLE: Typically when a series I read is ending, I devote my pick of the week to its final volume, but not even that can compel me to rank Arisa above Goong: The Royal Palace this week. I am just so very grateful that Yen Press has resumed publishing this series that I will avail myself of every opportunity to encourage folks to check it out!

ASH: Oh, this is a tough week for me, there’s so much that I’m interested in! I’m very excited to read the next omnibus of Vinland Saga, I’m always glad to see more Ooku, and I’m curious to see how No Matter How You Look at It, It’s You Guys’ Fault I’m Not Popular! develops. But in the end, I think I’ll have to go with the most recent volume of one of the first manga that I ever read, Blade of the Immortal.

SEAN: As one might expect, my pick of the week is Book Girl And The Scribe Who Faced God, Part 2. The whole series has been terrific, even if the lead male has been intensely frustrating, and the sheer love of books and reading that drips through every page is worth its weight in gold. I hope the series does well enough that we can get a couple of the short story and side story collections, but even if we don’t, it’s been a terrific run of light novels.

MJ: Oh, what a choice! Being faced with any new volume of a Fumi Yoshinaga manga and not choosing it is a bit of a PotW nightmare for me, but if I’m being really honest, the truth is that I’m with Michelle all the way this week. There are few soapy things I love with the kind of fervor I feel for Goong, and anticipating a new volume is almost too much to handle. I, too, am grateful that Yen Press has continued this series–the last remnant of its once-generous catalogue of Ice Kunion manhwa. I simply can’t wait to dig in.

What looks good to you this week?

SEAN: My Pick of the Week is obvious to anyone who reads this site at all. It is Excel Saga. The final Excel Saga. You should all BASK IN ITS GLORY! BOW, FOOLISH MORTALS! BOW TO THE FINAL VOLUME OF EXCEL SAGA!

MICHELLE: Huh. I somehow feel this strange compulsion to choose Excel Saga. Weird. Anyway, my pick of the week is Excel Saga. No, wait, I meant to say NightS. Quite frankly, I don’t really know what it’s about, but I liked Kou Yoneda’s No Touching At All so much that I’m willing to bet it’ll be good.

ANNA: Actually there isn’t much that really excites me this week, but I recently went to my public library and picked up a ton of manga! So my pick of the week is the manga selection at your local public library!

ASH: Public library manga are always a great choice! But I think I’m with Michelle this week. The manga I’m most looking forward to is NightS. I really enjoy Kou Yoneda’s work, so I’m happy to see more of it being released in English. Though, I guess there’s some manga called Excel Saga being released this week, too?

MJ: In reality, I’m most likely with Michelle and Ash. I’ll be picking up NightS for sure. But in the interest of extending Sean’s giddy mood for at least another day, I’ll say only this: Save a manga critic. Buy Excel Saga.

What looks good to you this week?

ASH: Well, as Sean put it, I hope you like manga! Seems like there is a ton of guilty pleasures and other great manga being released this week. But even though there are plenty of titles that I’m interested in reading, my heart belongs to the most recent volume of Takako Shimura’s Wandering Son. It’s such a beautifully written and drawn series and I love the deluxe treatment that Fantagraphics has given it. Wandering Son is an incredibly important series to me personally; I’m still thrilled that it’s being released in English at all.

MICHELLE: I’m so behind on Wandering Son that I feel like a hypocrite picking it, so instead I’m going to pick a shoujo favorite: Natsume’s Book of Friends, now in its 15th volume. This series doesn’t come out too frequently, as we’re almost caught up to Japan, so each new installment is like a treasured gift. The series is warm and lovely, but not without its dramatic moments. I recommend it most highly!

SEAN: And I too will go with a shoujo favorite, as I pick the 18th volume of Kimi ni Todoke. Seeing the character development of the five other main leads (yes, yes, even Kento, though I admit it grudgingly) has been excellent, but seeing Sawako’s growth has been positively sublime. Every new volume of this series always gets devoured the day I get it, and this one will be no exception.

ANNA: I’m going to have to go with DMP’s Takasugi-san’s Obento. Food manga is one of those underrepresented genres for translation, so I always feel compelled to highlight it. This slice of life story centered around bento is sure to entertain anyone who enjoys the demonstration of care that goes into a well-designed lunch.

MJ: To bring this column full-circle, I’m going to go back to Ash’s pick, because it’s mine too. Though I’m thoroughly enjoying a number of the series whose latest volumes are being released this week, including Strobe Edge, Midnight Secretary, and the shoujo favorites mentioned by my colleagues, nothing comes close to my feelings for Shimura’s Wandering Son. Not only is it lovingly translated and produced, but I find it very personally gratifying—perhaps differently than Ash does, but with similar strength. This series made my list of best continuing series in 2012, and you can count on it appearing in 2013’s list as well.

What looks good to you this week?

In case you missed it, check out our Pick of the Year – 2013!

SEAN: ‘Tis Christmas, and a young child is looking under the tree for a manga that’s bigger than the average tome, one that has a gorgeous design and feel, and one that can amuse, delight, and possibly scare the pants off of them. Yes, that child is looking for Kitaro from Drawn and Quarterly, which is my pick for Christmas gift this holiday season. It’s a true classic whose influence is massive, it has Nezumi Otoko, one of manga’s truly great Dirty Cowards, and it’s just a giant pile of fun. Give your kid the gift of vintage manga! (And also a PS4, so they don’t whine.)

MICHELLE: At first I thought it would be very difficult to come up with the one gift I’d give a manga fan this Christmas, but then I remembered the one manga I simultaneously adored and was mightily impressed by—Taiyo Matsumoto’s Sunny! Sad, charming, uplifting, introspective, a page-turner… all of these adjectives apply. And if you were feeling really generous, you could pick up volume two as well!

ASH: For manga fans, or even general comics fans, a gift that I think will have broad appeal is Makoto Yukimura’s Vinland Saga. Kodansha’s first deluxe hardcover release looks great on the shelf, too. The series has badass Vikings, exciting battles, great art, and fantastic characters. And lots of snow; that’s seasonal, right? Also, if you get them hooked, the second omnibus will be on its way soon!

ANNA: If you are all nestled snug in your bed with visions of giant robots dancing in your head, there is no other book I would recommend than Gundam: The Origin. Any volume in this series comes with Vertical’s always excellent production values, the hardcover design makes it extra special, and the revisited first story of the Gundam saga is both epic and human in scale, as the great action in the space battles is balanced by the human trials and tribulations the human pilots go through.

MJ: I personally love Christmas for the sake of two of its particular attributes: beauty and nostalgia. And what manga embodies these glorious concepts more completely than the works of Moto Hagio? My gift pick this year goes all the way back to January’s highly-anticipated release of Hagio’s The Heart of Thomas. Lovingly translated by Hagio aficionado Matt Thorn, and gorgeously produced by the folks at Fantagraphics, this luxurious hardcover edition is undoubtedly the loveliest jewel in my personal collection—and for a fan of classic shoujo, that’s saying quite a bit. It’s the kind of manga that’s so pretty, I’d content myself with simply gazing at its artwork, were that all it had to offer. Fortunately, there’s a lot to love all around. A year later, it’s still my favorite new release of 2013.

What are your manga gift picks for this holiday season?

MJ: I know there’s a lot of manga on tap this week, but I can’t help it… my heart belongs to Pandora Hearts, and I fear it always will. Volume 18 hurt me as cruelly as it could, and as it turns out, that’s just the way I like it. More, more, more, please. I gotta have my fix.

MICHELLE: Ooh, how do you like your love? o/~ (I hope I’m not the only one who instantly got that song in my head!) Anyway, I’m definitely with MJ on this. The cliffhanger ending of volume 18 was too cruel to pass up on the 19th, though, now that I think about it, it’s all too likely that only more sorrow awaits.

SEAN: My pick this week is the 2nd and final volume of Summer Wars, which was a big surprise hit for me this fall. Combining rural love comedy with technopocalypse is not something you see every day, and it has some likeable, fallible lead characters. It’s also not afraid to go into dark places when it has to. If Vol. 2 is as good as Vol. 1, we’re in for a real treat.

ANNA: I’m going to have to go with Gundam: The Origin Vol. 4. I love this series, and I love Vertical for bringing it out in a deluxe hardcover edition.

ASH: Gundam: The Origin has consistently been one of my favorite releases this year, but my pick of the week goes to the eleventh volume Q Hayashida’s delightfully weird and strange manga series Dorohedoro. With its dark humor and quirky characters, Dorohedoro somehow manages to be incredibly violent and incredibly charming all at the same time.

What looks good to you this week?

ASH: It’s a somewhat quieter week for manga releases, but there’s still some good stuff coming out. I’m tempted to select the most recent volume of Tsutomu Nihei’s Knight’s of Sidonia as my pick of the week; the series has turned out to be great mix of sci-fi, horror, and romance. But I’ll have to admit, the manga that I’m probably most excited about this week is SuBLime’s rerelease of Ayano Yamane’s Crimson Spell. Occasionally I just really want to read some nicely drawn, smutty fantasy goodness.

ANNA: I’ll have to go with Knights of Sidionia, as I feel obligated to support awesome manga about mecha fighting aliens in space.

SEAN: I’ll go with Magi, the latest Shonen Sunday hit from Viz. It’s looking good so far, with this Arabian Nights adventure being exciting, heartwarming and funny.

MICHELLE: Since Knights of Sidonia has been safely covered, I’m also going to pick Magi. I enjoyed it from the beginning, but the interesting developments at the end of volume two sealed the deal. This could turn out to be a real favorite.

MJ: And I’ll circle partway back, at least. Though I’m interested in both Magi and Crimson Spell, I’m joining Anna this week in her support for volume six of Knights of Sidonia. I’ve never been a major fan of mecha, but this series has blown me away with its intense poignance and gorgeous artwork. I’m more than hooked.

What looks good to you this week?

SEAN: There are a large number of things to pick from (even larger if you realize I forgot to add Fairy Tail 33 to that list – whoops) – and I think I will make my choice Volume 32 of Skip Beat!. It’s quite impressive how invested the author has kept her readers in Kyoko’s success, given that this is well over the average length of a shoujo series, and we’re still only slowly edging towards romance. And yet it’s addicting. Once you start reading, it’s very hard to stop. So I’ll keep reading.

MICHELLE: My passionate love for Skip Beat! is thoroughly well documented by now, so instead of seconding Sean this time I will take my final chance to recommend Slam Dunk, whose 31st and final volume comes out on Tuesday. This is the quintessential sports manga, with an uncouth hero who finds the place he belongs, a place to be needed, and eventually becomes a real asset to his teammates. I’m going to be sad when this one is over.

ANNA: I love Skip Beat! too, but I’m going to have to join Michelle with picking the final volume of Slam Dunk. This is a special series, and I’m grateful I got to read it in English despite the fact that sports manga generally don’t sell all that well.

ASH: Skip Beat! and Slam Dunk are both fantastic choices that I could easily get behind, but I’ll think I’ll mix it up a bit by picking Dengeki Daisy this week. The series is a peculiar amalgam of romance, comedy, and cyber espionage, but I’ve become rather fond of it and look forward to the release of each new volume.

MJ: I’m going to add to the Vizfest we have here this week, with a rather surprising pick. I thought initially I’d be putting my hat in for Mayu Shinjo’s delightful Demon Love Spell, which has been a favorite for me since its launch. Instead, I find myself gravitating towards an unlikely choice—volume two of Maki Minami’s Voice Over! Seiyu Academy. After having registered my dread of its second volume just last week, I picked up my early copy and read it. As it turns out, the end of volume two features a shift in premise that suddenly commands my interest. It’s nothing new—just another well-worn shoujo trope—but one that is executed with the style and panache of, say, an addictive K-drama. Count me in!

What looks good to you this week?

ASH: There are a few interesting things being released this week, but there is one volume that especially stands out for me: Kyoko Okazaki’s Pink. Originally published in 1989, the manga is of the earliest successes from one of the most influential mangaka in josei. I was greatly impressed by Okazaki’s Helter Skelter, also released by Vertical this year, so I’m particularly looking forward to reading Pink.

MICHELLE: Pink is definitely the one I’m looking forward to the most. I am also amused by how innocuous its cover looks, given the plot synopsis!

SEAN: I am looking forward to Pink, which sounds great. My Pick, though, is for the 9th volume of Attack on Titan. It really is quite a pivotal volume, with all the various plot bits that have been dropped over the last several books coming together and making sense. Plus we get a great cliffhanger into what looks like an even more pivotal Volume 10. This is not the runaway breakout hit of 2013 for nothing.

ANNA: I am also very much looking forward to Pink. I’m so glad Vertical has decided to bring out some quality josei titles!

MJ: Well, I pretty much already declared Pink as my pick of the week, and I have no good reason to contradict myself, so my choice this week is clear. I really enjoyed Helter Skelter, and I’m thrilled that we’re seeing more Okazaki this quickly. Thanks, Vertical!

What looks good to you this week?

MJ: Once again, there’s quite a bit on this week’s shipping list, including a new volume of the much beloved Yotsuba&!, but one title stands out clearly from the crowd for me. That would be volume two of Taiyo Matsumoto’s Sunny, due out this week from Viz. From my review of the first volume: “The book’s structure and pacing seem so in tune with a child’s sense of time—that feeling of impatience on top of the endless landscape of imagination. These kids have more reasons than most to escape into their fantasy worlds, but they spend just as much time being shuffled along the familiar routines of childhood. Meals, school, sleep, play—their daily lives are similar to most young kids, but with an edge of anxiety most of us were privileged to do without. And it’s these points of anxiety that make Sunnyfeel moving and real, and not a nostalgia piece in the slightest.” Yes, I will be buying this. I really can’t wait.

MICHELLE: I’m with MJ on this. I reviewed volume two for this week’s Bookshelf Briefs and it was every bit as masterful and moving as volume one. Perhaps more so. Really, I find words inadequate to describe its greatness, so just go read it already.

ANNA: I’ll have to join in on the love for Sunny, this is clearly the standout title for the week.

ASH: It’s Matsumoto’s Sunny for me this week, too. I had the pleasure of being at TCAF for the series’ English debut, and I’ve been looking forward to the second volume’s release ever since.

SEAN: I’m picking Yotsuba&!, because I dislike unanimity, and also it’s hella fun.

What looks good to you this week?