Pick of the Week

MICHELLE: It’s all about the W’s for me this week. Wotakoi and Whisper Me a Love Song are high on my list, but I’m most excited to continue the story of Wave, Listen to Me. The digital releases paused to allow the print version to catch up, so it has been a long time! Honorable mention to non-W Blue Flag, as well.

SEAN: I’ll go with a double dose of light novels this week. Ongoing, no question it’s the new Ascendance of a Bookworm that has my pick. But we’re also seeing the debut of In the Land of Leadale, which has intrigued me since it first was announced, if only for the gorgeous covers. (Remember around four years ago, when we were desperate for any light novels with a female protagonist? Those days are happily long gone.)

KATE: Achoo! It’s Sneeze for me, as I’m really curious about Naoki Urasawa’s short game. I’ve enjoyed Master Keaton and Pineapple Army, two series that are more anthologies than epic sagas, so I’m cautiously optimistic about Urasawa’s ability to tell a self-contained story.

ASH: My wallet will certainly be hurting this week; I’m reading so much of what is being released! In addition to everything that everyone else has mentioned so far, I’ve also got my eyes on the (print) debut of Heaven’s Design Team.

ANNA: There’s a lot of manga coming out this week that sounds interesting, but I think for me more Blue Flag is what I’m most excited about.

SEAN: Was feeling kind of blue this week, so thought I might go for the adorable-looking Cutie and the Beast as my pick instead, but then I thought, so what? Let’s go with the manga I’ve been most excited for, that is miles ahead of the others. Blue Period is my pick.

MICHELLE: These are definitely the two titles I am most excited about this week! I must agree with Sean that Blue Period generates the most excitement, though, so I will also pick that one.

ASH: It’s the debut of Blue Period and Cutie and the Beast for me, too, this week! Quite different series from each other, I expect, but I’m looking forward to reading both of them.

ANNA: To be honest, I’m probably most excited for Cutie and the Beast, it sounds like an adorable distraction.

MELINDA: There’s not a lot luring me in this week, with the exception of Blue Period, which sounds like exactly my kind of manga. So here’s hoping!

KATE: What Ash said!

MICHELLE: I’m excited by all the final volumes out next week. I’m definitely interested to read the conclusions of Ao Haru Ride and The Demon Prince of Momochi House, but most look forward to the resolution of To Be Next to You, a shoujo offering of Kodansha’s digital-first initiative. I’ve really enjoyed what I’ve read by Atsuko Namba and look forward to more in the future.

SEAN: Lotsa Viz I’m getting, and I’m tempted to pick Yona (always my default). But I really loved Sexiled, and want to see more by the author, so I will go with A Lily Blooms in Another World, despite having read a very similar book 3 weeks ago.

KATE: With Halloween around the corner, I’ll put in a word for the new digital edition of Junji Ito’s Dissolving Classroom, a weird, funny, and icky collection of short stories about the siblings from hell. Plot-wise, Ito’s manga doesn’t have much to do with Kazuo Umezu’s similarly titled Drifting Classroom, but it shares the same penchant for over-the-top gore and WTF? moments.

ASH: Despite already owning the first trade paperback edition of Blade of the Immortal, I can’t resist picking up the new deluxe release in all its glory. But I’ll also be turning my eyes towards the debut of another dark, action-packed series this week – Chainsaw Man.

ANNA: There’s a bunch of manga coming out this week that I’m excited to read, but the one I’m most excited about is the final volume of Ao Haru Ride, which has managed to tell a compelling story of teen romance developing despite past tragedy.

SEAN: There are a few other titles I’m interested in this week, including the new one by the Barakamon author, but there’s no doubt about it: Pretty Boy Detective Club is absolutely the one I want to read most.

MICHELLE: I really must agree. There are definitely other things I am happy about too, but this is really the standout. I’ve never read anything by NISIOISIN before, but cannot resist pretty boy detectives!

MELINDA: There’s not a lot that interests me this week, but the one thing that does catch my eye puts me on the same wavelength with my colleagues so far. It’s Pretty Boy Detective Club for me!

ANNA: Who would I be to stop this wave of enthusiasm for Pretty Boy Detective Club? I’ll just go with the flow this week.

ASH: As curious as I am about Pretty Boy Detective Club, I think I may actually be even more curious about Yoshi no Zuikara: The Frog in the Well Does Not Know the Ocean. I enjoyed Barakamon a great deal, but somehow missed that another manga by the creator was going to be released in English!

MELINDA: In a stunning turn of events, I’ll begin this week’s column. I have only one cry to let out into the world, and that would be… “SILVER SPOOOOOOOOOOOON.” What I’m saying is that my pick is Silver Spoon.

SEAN: Technically I know I should be picking the final Silver Spoon, or the new A Bride’s Story, or a new Baccano!, or any other number of Yen Press stuff. But after seeing Erica’s review of the first volume of I’m in Love with the Villainess!, that’s gone to the top of my “books I want to know more about”. Despite 2020 being the year of villainess stories, this is still apparently a cut above.

MICHELLE: For the longest time, I wasn’t especially tempted by light novels, but lately there have been a few to catch my eye. And after reading Erica’s review, I immediately went to Amazon and pre-ordered the digital edition of I’m in Love with the Villainess!. The prospect of genuine character growth and development within a fantasy isekai (plus yuri!) is really calling to me.

KATE: Oof–this is a lot to take in! I’m going to join Melinda in reminding everyone to buy the final volume of Silver Spoon, which has been a consistently great series from beginning to end, with vivid characters, real-life drama, and just enough poop jokes to prevent the whole thing from being too heavy, but I’m also going to shamelessly plug the newest installment of A Bride’s Story. Kaoru Mori costume drama = win.

ASH: As I anticipate being able to declare A Bride’s Story my pick in the future, and to grant that honor to I’m in Love with the Villainess! when it’s released in print (yes, I have it preordered), and that this is the last time I’ll be able to choose Silver Spoon, that’s the series I will go with this week! It’s such a great manga for all the reasons Kate has already described, plus it makes me oddly nostalgic for the area of the United States I grew up in. If you haven’t given Silver Spoon a try yet, this is the time.

SEAN: Despite my thinking that this series is a good example of why you shouldn’t use comedic sociopaths in a serious manga, the pick clearly has to be Maison Ikkoku anyway. It’s iconic, beloved, and Kyoko vies with Madoka from KOR as the most beloved anime heroine by men of a certain age. I’m quite happy Viz is bringing it back.

MICHELLE: Yep, it’s Maison Ikkoku for me, too, but honorable mentions for Ping Pong and The Way of the Househusband!

KATE: I’m voting a straight VIZ ticket, too, Michelle! Maison Ikkoku, Ping Pong, and The Way of the Househusband are all on my short list for this week.

ASH: VIZ has an incredibly strong showing this week! The second half of Ping Pong is most likely the first volume that I’ll be reaching for, but I’ll definitely be reading everything that’s been mentioned so far!

ANNA: I agree, this is a great week for Viz. I’m excited about many of the titles that have already been mentioned, but I do especially enjoy that classic manga is getting released, so I’m going to go with Maison Ikkoku.

MEINDA: I want to care about other things, but this week, my heart belongs to Maison Ikkoku.

MICHELLE: I’m happy to get more of Ace of the Diamond and Giant Killing, two long-running sports favorites of mine, but last week my love for Spy x Family eclipsed all else and I neglected to mention another long-running favorite has a new volume! And thus… Skip Beat! 44 is my belated pick.

SEAN: I should be picking Fly Me to the Moon out of loyalty to the Hayate creator, but I’ve got to admit, my eyes are drawn more to antique-shop mystery novel series Holmes of Kyoto, so that’s my pick for the week.

KATE: I’m feeling a little sentimental for the aughts, so my pick goes to CLOVER, a swoon-worthy sci-fi tale that doesn’t make a lot of sense but sure looks nice. By my count, this is the third edition of this series, which has passed from Tokyopop to Dark Horse to Kodansha, so I’m curious to see how the material is presented this time around.

ASH: Even considering some of the other interesting releases coming out this week, I’m in complete agreement with Kate. Clover has such a distinctive artistic approach from CLAMP, I’m looking forward to seeing its newest deluxe treatment.

ANNA: I’m intrigued by Clover too, but I’m also all CLAMPed out. I’m going to take the opportunity to celebrate Skip Beat!!

MELINDA: Okay, this is seriously off-brand for me, but even though I fully anticipate buying the new edition of CLOVER, I’m going to take a risk and check out Fly Me to the Moon. I wasn’t a Hayate fan, particularly, and this seems ] likely to backfire on me in a fanservicey way, but I’m so intrigued by the premise, I just gotta take a look.

SEAN: I’m getting a wide variety of stuff this week, from dark yuri light novel Roll Over and Die to cute pet manga With a Dog AND a Cat, Every Day Is Fun. But the honeymoon is still not quite over for me. My pick this week is the 2nd volume of SPY x FAMILY, which is badass and adorable in equal measures.

KATE: Cute pet manga for the win! I’m on team Dog AND a Cat this week, but I won’t lie: I’m also excited for Knight of the Ice and SPY x FAMILY, as well as Makeup is Not (Just) Magic: A Manga Guide to Cosmetics and Skin Care.

MICHELLE: I’m in the same boat as Sean. I’m genuinely looking forward to With a Dog AND a Cat and new volumes of various shoujo and shounen favorites, but I fell for Spy x Family so quickly and so completely that I can’t wait for volume two!

ASH: The first volume of Spy x Family was such a delight! The second volume is one of my top picks this week, too. (I’ll also be reading just about everything Kodansha is releasing in print.)

ANNA: There’s a lot of good stuff coming out this week, but as long as ice-skating josei is an option, Knight of the Ice is going to be my pick!

MELINDA: There’s a lot more for me to like this week than some, but I’ve heard that With a Dog AND a Cat, Every Day Is Fun, and I could use a bit of that these days!

MICHELLE: I’m very happy about more Ooku and Rose of Versialles and excited to check out The Ancient Magus’ Bride: Jack Flash & Faerie Case Files, but it didn’t take long for me to really care about the cast of Blue Flag, and I am desperate for the next volume even though it may well tear my heart out. In the best way, of course.

SEAN: Lots out this week for me, but I’ll make the final volume of Bloom Into You my pick. A rare series that gets better every volume.

ANNA: I’m excited about many of the volumes Michelle already mentioned, but if there’s a new volume of Rose of Versailles out that is always going to be my enthusiastic choice.

ASH: There are so many things being released this week that I’m interested in (including everything that’s been mentioned so far), making it very difficult to pick just one. But I’ll take this moment to highlight the release of Venus in the Blind Spot since a best-of collection Junji Ito’s work could never be a bad choice.

MELINDA: I don’t have incredibly strong feelings this week, except for continued gratitude that we’re seeing new volumes of Rose of Versailles and Ooku. And since I’ve said many times “Yoshinaga always wins,” I guess I’ll go for Ooku!

KATE: I got nothing new to add to the list: I’m excited about Junji Ito’s latest short story collection, and excited for another installment of The Rose of Versailles.

ASH: While there are quite a few manga being released this week, many of them great, my pick will likely be obvious. It’s a long time coming, but the second deluxe, hardcover volume of Rose of Versailles is here in all its glory! (Though, I will admit to being curious about My Papa’s Persimmon Tree, too, not having heard about it previously.)

ANNA: Rose of Versailles for me too. I still can’t believe we have it in English, even though I’m reading it!

KATE: Even if UDON hadn’t given The Rose of Versailles the royal treatment, I’d still feel morally obligated to buy it–I mean, they did the impossible and got the license, right?! The fact that the edition is so nicely packaged and well translated is just the icing on the cake for me.

MICHELLE: To properly express my gratitude to UDON, I can’t really pick anything else! (But speaking of gratitude, gotta give honorable mention to Chihayafuru and Byakko Senki!)

SEAN: There’s some of my favorite series due out this week. Oresama Teacher, Yona of the Dawn… that said, yes, it’s Rose of Versailles, and likely will be again in 2 weeks when the 3rd volume comes out. (You may thank COVID for these wacky release dates.)

MELINDA: Can there be any question? This week, it’s The Rose of Versailles!

SEAN: It’s a relatively quiet week this week, and none of the debuts interest me (Shaman King’s been delayed anyway). As such, I’ll be picking the 2nd volume of BL Metamorphosis, a sweet and charming series that I definitely want to read more of.

KATE: I second Sean’s recommendation! I thought the first volume of BL Metamorphosis was one of the best things I’ve read this year: it’s warm and funny, but also surprisingly moving in its depiction of the budding intergenerational friendship between Ichinoi and Urarara. BL Metamorphosis also scores points for taking the women’s interest in BL seriously, rather than playing it for cheap laughs or portraying them as a pair of out-of-control fujoshi who are shipping men left and right.

MICHELLE: I haven’t yet read the first volume of BL Metamorphosis, and thus picking the second feels somewhat disingenuous, but since the alternative is once again proclaiming my love for sports manga, I will add my voice to the chorus.

ASH: You are in for an absolute treat, Michelle! I don’t think I can phrase it better than Kate already has, but BL Metamorphosis has likewise been one of the best manga series I’ve read recently and certainly one of my favorites.

MELINDA: I’ve still failed to acquire the first volume of BL Metamorphosis, but I know I would love it. So I’m making the second volume my pick for the week, just based on that certainty and the testimony of my colleagues!

ANNA: I’m with Melinda and everyone else!

ASH: While the weekly floodgates of manga appear to have been reopened, there’s one release in particular that has my attention this week – Naoki Urasawa’s Mujirushi: The Sign of Dreams. I actually don’t know much about the manga beyond its creator, but that’s enough for me to pick it up.

KATE: What Ash said! Any week that brings us a new Naoki Urasawa title is a good week in my book.

SEAN: Urasawa is another one of those authors that I know I should love but I simply can’t get into their stuff. As such, I’ll go with Barakamon this week, as I thought it was over and now there is one more and this makes me happy.

ANNA: Urasawa for me! I’m always intrigued by his work.

MICHELLE: I’m for sure intrigued by Mujirushi, but after a spectacularly awful week personally, I find that the low-key shoujo comforts of That Blue Summer appeal to me the most.

MELINDA: I’m going to go with Mujirushi: The Sign of Dreams, though Urasawa can be hit-or-miss with me. But the title makes it sound like Probably My Thing, so that’s good enough for me.

MICHELLE: Despite not loving The Wize Wize Beasts of the Wizarding Wizdoms as much as I’d hoped to do, I am still really looking forward to Nagabe’s Love on the Other Side short story collection. Perhaps the inclusion of the word “poignant” on the back cover blurb indicates there will be fewer disturbing stories. Not that disturbing stories are a bad thing, but given the state of the world at present, it’s sweetness that I crave.

SEAN: Not too hard for me: the 2nd volume of A Man and His Cat is definitely my pick this week. I want to see if it can keep up the balance between man and cat.

ANNA: I’m also curious about Nagabe’s Love on the Other Side, so that’s my pick!

KATE: I also have a bad case of A Man and His Cat-scratch fever this week.

ASH: I enjoyed the first volume of A Man and His Cat, and I’m also really looking forward to the next installment of Blank Canvas, but I’m thrilled that more of Nagabe’s work is being released, so my pick this week goes to Love on the Other Side.

MELINDA: I’m ashamed to say I still haven’t read the first volume of A Man and His Cat, so though I’m sure I’d love it, I can really only give my pick to Love on the Other Side. It’s nice to find myself interested in multiple titles this week, though, which has been happening less and less often.