Manga Bookshelf's Weekly Features

MICHELLE: I’ll cast my vote for the fourth and final volume of Glitch. Not that I have managed to read any of the earlier volumes yet, but it’s still the most compelling release for me this week.

SEAN: There’s a new Tearmoon Empire, tra-la, tra-la, let’s avoid the guillotine together!

ASH: This week I’m going to go with raunchy romantic comedy danmei with a delightfully ridiculous premise. It’s You’ve Got Mail: The Perils of Pigeon Post for me!

KATE: This is one of those weeks where I’m overwhelmed by how many titles are being released but underwhelmed at the selection. If I had to make a choice, though, my vote would go to volume four of the new deluxe edition of Tokyo Babylon. Yes, Dark Horse and Tokyopop have both issued their own editions of this CLAMP classic, but the new Yen Press version looks pretty snazzy and is giving me Borders-in-2006 vibes.

SEAN: My pick this week is the final manga volume of Bakemonogatari. Starting off as an impossible attempt to have a manga version live up to NISIOISIN’s prose and SHAFT’s anime style, the author and Oh!Great managed to make a unique story that, especially in the last half of the series, carved out its own path, trying to show the fates of almost everyone in the series (it would be very hard to show all of Nadeko’s fate, can’t blame it there) since it can’t go on for 40 more books. Oh, and kept it absolutely filled with blatant fanservice. I really loved this series.

MICHELLE: Of course I am happy about Don’t Call It Mystery, but the most intriguing release this week is Even If There’s No Rainbow Tomorrow. The retro vibes of its cover are lovely, too.

KATE: I’m torn between two titles this week: The Summer Hikaru Died, an atmospheric blend of body horror, BL, and fantasy with fabulous artwork, and Don’t Call It a Mystery, a series that defies easy description, but reminds me a little of Columbo (with better hair).

ASH: All excellent choices, for sure! (As well as some excellent descriptions.) I would be remiss if I didn’t at least mention Oba Electroplating Factory since I had somehow forgot about it until my comic shop let me know it was in my box to pick up. But as for this week’s debuts, I’m most intrigued by the prospect of reading Hell Is Dark with No Flowers. A horror novel series featuring yokai? Yup, that one has my name on it.

ANNA: I’m going to make Don’t Call It Mystery my pick, in the hope that will prompt me to get caught up on it!

MICHELLE: Kaze Hikaru! I am tempted to say “Enough said,” but there’s also the third and final volume of Guardian that’s very high on my list.

SEAN: Yeah, we only get to do this once a year, so it’s definitely Kaze Hikaru this week. Though I am also interested in <Guardian.

ANNA: Kaze Hikaru, no question!

ASH: As far as debuts go, I find The Concierge at Hokkyoku Department Store is the one that intrigues me the most. But, yeah, I shall also join in with a hearty Kaze Hikaru!

KATE: Do I even need to say it? Kaze Hikaru! The release schedule is frustrating, but I’m grateful that VIZ has stayed the course with this lovely, lively, and sometimes heartbreaking series.

SEAN: My pick this week is the final volume of Yokohama Kaidachi Kikou, a series that I never thought would get licensed and I am delighted that it did.

MICHELLE: I’ve been playing a lot of Monster of the Week lately, so a story about a supernatural consultant who’s investigating a creepy house with a creepy room is right up my street. The Strange House for me!

KATE: I second Sean’s pick: Yokohama Kaidachi Kikou was on my radar for YEARS before it was licensed, and it’s better than I’d hope it would be. Like Station Eleven, this is a story about a post-apocalyptic world where the few survivors find meaning by hanging on to small but important rituals. I know I’m making it sound like a major downer, but Yokohama Kaidachi Kikou isn’t the least bit depressing; if anything, I find each new volume makes me feel just a little more hopeful about the future.

ASH: Yokohama Kaidachi Kikou is absolutely a solid choice. And now that the series has been fully released, I plan on spending some time with it. But I’m also going to second Michelle’s pick; The Strange House sounds like something I should be reading, too.

ANNA: I’m convinced to give Yokohama Kaidachi Kikou a try!

MICHELLE: I don’t have the best track record in terms of actually reading the danmei titles that interest me, but Peerless is really appealing. Bonus points if it has a satisfying mystery element.

SEAN: I’m going to go with a rare pick I know absolutely nothing about. But the cover is just so darn cute! Noss and Zakuro is my vampire mom and daughter pick.

ASH: I’m with you both… and for many of the same reasons. But if I have to pick only one, the cuteness of the Noss and Zakuro cover has me slightly more interested in vampires this week.

ANNA: I’m going to pick Let’s Get to Villainessin’: Stratagems of a Former Commoner just because I like the word Villainessin’.

SEAN: It’s always hard to avoid picking the Fantagraphics title when it comes out, mostly as it only comes out about once a year. But this one, combining Tezuka with the author of Bambi and Her Pink Gun, would likely have been my pick regardless. This week is Search and Destroy week.

MICHELLE: Sometimes I just want fluffy, slashy hijinks and I think From Two-Bit Baddie to Total Heartthrob: This Villainess Will Cross-Dress to Impress! fits that bill quite well.

ASH: That does sound like it could be fun, but I fall into Sean’s camp this week. Dororo is my favorite Tezuka manga, so I’ve been looking forward to Kaneko Atsushi’s contemporary reimagining Search and Destroy ever since the license was announced.

ANNA: I’m with Michelle this week, From Two-Bit Baddie to Total Heartthrob: This Villainess Will Cross-Dress to Impress! sounds fun.

MICHELLE: Well, if I can’t have more Mitsuru Adachi, I can an at least be happy that my favorite sports manga, Haikyu!, is being released in a 3-in-1 format!

ASH: There are definitely some solid choices among this week’s releases, but the one I’m probably most looking forward to is Captain Momo’s Secret Base. I actually don’t know much at all about what it’s about, but I do know it’s by Kenji Tsuruta and that’s enough for me.

ANNA: I’m with Ash, Captain Momo’s Secret Base sounds interesting.

SEAN: It feels odd to have me pick the gender title, but I admit that the premise of Just Like Mona Lisa intrigues me, and I’ll be checking it out. So I’ll make that the pick.

SEAN: I can’t pass up a Double Bookworm. This week I’ll pick the penultimate volume of Ascendance of a Bookworm as well as the 4th Fanbook.

MICHELLE: I adored the whimsy of Tokyo Tarareba Girls, so I am very much looking forward to Tokyo Tarareba Girls Returns 2, even with a different cast!

ASH: As much as I enjoy Ascendance of a Bookworm, I’m absolutely with Michelle this week in picking Tokyo Tarareba Girls Returns 2. I have yet to go wrong with Akiko Higashimura manga.

ANNA: I’m not going to go against this emerging swell of support for Tokyo Tarareba Girls Returns 2.

MICHELLE: I enjoyed the first volume of Kimi ni Todoke: From Me to You: Soulmate, so I’ll make the second volume my pick this week.

SEAN: I’ll pick Viz as well but for me it’s the new volume of Blue Box, a series I think works much better in volume format, so you can take a break from teens being teens every other month. Great sports/romance combo.

KATE: All the cool kids are reading Medalist (or so I hear), so I’m going to add that to my ever-growing list of Series I Want to Read, But Just Haven’t Found the Time to Do So.

ASH: I’ll probably wait until its print release to actually read it, but the debut I’m most curious about this week is actually Soup Forest: The Story of the Woman Who Speaks with Animals and the Former Mercenary. A wholesome woodland romance sounds really nice, actually, and there’s food, too!

ANNA: I’m all in for Like a Butterfly this week!

SEAN: Lots of BL and beloved authors to choose from this week, but I’m going to go with the latest of one of my favorite light novel series, Though I Am an Inept Villainess. This is supposed to be a “lighter” volume, we’ll see if that’s true.

MICHELLE: I am torn between Terano-kun and Kumazaki-kun and My Noisy Roommate, so maybe I can get away with picking both.

KATE: I’m intrigued by Kaina of the Great Snow Sea, not least because Tsutomu Nihei is credited as the author, so I’ll make that my POTW.

ANNA: I’m going to go with Mermaid Prince, just because I’m always curious about Kaori Ozaki series.

ASH: All strong choices, for sure, but I’ll be joining Anna this week in picking Mermaid Prince; I’ve really enjoyed Kaori Ozaki’s past work and so look forward to reading more.

MICHELLE: The final volume of Shonen Note: Boy Soprano gets my vote this week! Maybe I’ll also finally manage to read Our Dreams at Dusk at some point!

SEAN: Out of Yen Press’s many debuts this week, This Monster Wants to Eat Me is the one I want to read the most. Some yuri with a darker tinge.

ASH: I’m definitely interested in both of those, too, but I generally have very good luck with Harta manga and so will go with this week’s other mermaid manga A Sinner of the Deep Sea as my official pick.

ANNA: My pick is going to be both josei series coming out this week, Sweet for Sweets and Foreigners and Royal Tailor: Clothier to the Crown, because it is so rare to have multiple josei out in the same week!

SEAN: This week is about digital favorites hitting print for me, so my joint pick of the week is Ascendance of a Bookworm: Short Story Collection and the latest Tearmoon Empire.

MICHELLE: After reading Sean’s glowing praise of Sketchy‘s first volume, I am going to choose the second volume of same this week!

ASH: There are definitely a few really great ongoing series with new volumes this week, but my pick goes to The Untamed: The Official Artbook. One of the things that makes the live-action adaptation of Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation so great is its visuals, so this should be great, too.

KATE: Any week that gives us new installments of Even Though We’re Adults and Akane-banashi is a good one in my book!

ANNA: Picks are thin on the ground for me this week, but I will admit I am curious about True Love Fades Away When the Contract Ends – One Star in the Night Sky.

MICHELLE: In a week with new Iruma-kun and Chihayafuru, not to mention a couple of shoujo debuts, I still think Second Hand Love looks the most appealing!

SEAN: Agreed, though I’m also definitely interested in The Fragrant Flower Blooms With Dignity and Let’s Do It Already!.

ASH: Everything mentioned so far is of interest to me, too, but Second Hand Loveis the release I’m most excited about this week. Having previously enjoyed Talk to My Back, I’m really looking forward to the chance to read more of the creator’s work.

ANNA: I’m going to go all in on The Fragrant Flower Blooms With Dignity just because I really like the cover. Feeling extra shallow this week.

SEAN: A somewhat barren week for me, I think I’ll go with By a Twist of Fate, I’m Attending the Royal Academy in Disguise, as I’d like a nice revenge novel to wash the taste of the Livid Lady one out of my mouth.

MICHELLE: Ditto. But having just reread Antique Bakery, one of my very favorite series, I’m in the mood for more Fumi Yoshinaga, so I’ll cast my vote for What Did You Eat Yesterday?.

ASH: Ah, such a good series! While none the debut releases this week tend to excite me, I am definitely looking forward to the next installment of What Did You Eat Yesterday? as well quite a few of the other ongoing manga like Usotoki Rhetoric and JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure.

ANNA: Count me in for the general affection for What Did You Eat Yesterday?.

MICHELLE: Of this week’s offerings, HIrayasumi looks the most interesting to me, but I’m also pleased to see another volume of Tokyo These Days coming out. Now if I could only find time to read it!

SEAN: My eyes, as always, are drawn to a Harta title. As such, my pick this week is Friday at the Atelier, which looks more interesting than the synopsis I gave it.

ANNA: I gotta go with Nina the Starry Bride due to my general love of fantasy shoujo. Also it is very pretty.

ASH: It’s a novel rather than a manga, but this week I’m most curious about The God of Nishi-Yuigahama Station. Seeing as it deals with death and grief, I don’t anticipate it being a light read; the premise sounds like the book could be rather compelling, though.

KATE: You know me: my pick of the week is almost always (a) animal-oriented (b) old-school and slightly trashy or (c) Eisner bait. Tokyo These Days falls squarely into the third category, but don’t let that deter you from picking it up. It’s haunting, funny, weird, and joyful, offering a glimpse of what it’s like to work in the manga industry behind the scenes. Oh, and it has some of the best artwork in any Japanese comic being translated for the US market. And if I *still* haven’t persuaded you to buy it, I have one more ace up my sleeve: at three volumes, it’s easy to jump on the Tokyo train right now and be fully caught up by the time the final installment is published later this year.