Pick of the Week

SEAN: Despite the fact that I suspect this will be one of THOSE types of shoujo stories (see also: Hot Gimmick and its ilk), I cannot resist those big eyes staring at me… well, eye… and so I will make No Longer Heroine my pick this week.

MICHELLE: I am less lured in by No Longer Heroine itself than by the fact that it ran in a Margaret spinoff and I typically like Margaret shoujo. So, I’ll pick it too and we shall see!

KATE: There isn’t much on this week’s manga list that says, “Buy me!”, so I’m choosing another new arrival as my Pick of the Week: Jordi Lafebre’s Always Never, which chronicles a forty-year love story… in reverse. The artwork looks lovely, and the characters are my age (at least at the start of the book), which is a refreshing change of pace from high school angst and office lady romance.

ASH: Oh, that looks good, Kate! And like Sean and Michelle, I’m at least vaguely curious about No Longer Heroine. But since this is probably the last time we’ll see a final release for A Silent Voice, I’m making the second volume of the collector’s edition my pick. The series isn’t always an easy read due to the weight of it’s subject matter, but it is a consistently compelling and excellent one.

ANNA: I’m going to join with the general curiosity for No Longer Heroine!

MICHELLE: I’m not entirely sure it’ll be my thing, but Correspondence From the End of the Universe is certainly the most unique tittle to be coming out next week! For that, it deserves at least a look!

SEAN: My pick is the 8th and final volume of Sword Art Online: Girls’ Ops, a series that remained dedicated to its premise, which was to do a SAO series with the minimum amount of Kirito and Asuna. It succeeded, and I quite like it.

MJ: Wow, I do actually exist. And, okay, this may be the most predictable move of all my predictable moves ever, but I’m gonna copy Michelle here and go with Correspondence From the End of the Universe. Taking chances for the win?

KATE: I’m adding my voice to the chorus of folks buying Correspondence From the End of the Universe this week; it looks quirky (in a good way!).

ASH: While I’m still astonished (and glad) to have Harada’s manga being licensed in English (and so have my eyes on The Song of Yoru & Asa Encore), I join most everyone else in selecting Correspondence from the End of the Universe as my official pick. Gotta love SF josei.

ANNA: I’m not going to deny the tidal wave of support for Correspondence from the End of the Universe, that’s my pick as well.

SEAN: It’s a super quiet week for stuff, and I’m not attracted to the debuts this week, so I’ll pick the 2nd volume of Modern Villainess: It’s Not Easy Building a Corporate Empire Before the Crash, whose first novel I enjoyed far more than I expected to.

KATE: I sincerely hope Spriggan is as deliriously silly as its Wikipedia entry, because it sounds like it’s totally up my alley.

MICHELLE: I’m not especially excited for the debuts either, but there’s a pair of second volumes I’ve been eagerly anticipating! Blue Lock is very good, but Lost Lad London is excellent, making that my official pick for this week.

ASH: I’ll be joining Kate this week in picking Spriggan. I do like seeing these older, previously unfinished-in-English manga series having their licenses rescued. (And it does seem like a series I might enjoy.)

ANNA: I’ll make Lovesick Ellie 5 my pick for the week, it is consistently hilarious.

MICHELLE: I’m not wildly passionate about anything coming out this week, but I did think the first volume of Phantom of the Idol was fun, so this week I’ll choose the second.

KATE: I’ll join Michelle in recommending Phantom of the Idol. It’s a silly, escapist read that’s best enjoyed poolside with a fruity drink in hand.

SEAN: My pick this week is See You Tomorrow at the Food Court, because I sort of love the ‘honor student and delinquent are best pals’ dynamic.

ASH: I apparently really should check out Phantom of the Idol! But this happens to be a good week for for food-related manga, too. In addition to See You Tomorrow at the Food Court, there’s also Ramen Wolf and Curry Tiger and not one but two Delicious in Dungeon books, which is where my heart lies.

SEAN: I reviewed the 14th volume of The Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service in June 2015, and it is now August 2022. Even by Dark Horse standards, this is wack, yo. That said, I’m just grateful the 15th volume has come out at all, even as part of an omnibus. It’s definitely my pick. Now who was everyone again?

MICHELLE: And this is also the week we get a new Black Lagoon volume! Granted, the prior one did come out in 2020 but there was a five-year gap before that. That said, this week I’ll go for She, Her Camera, and Her Seasons because queer love triangle from Morning Two sounds very interesting.

KATE: I’m ecstatic that there’s a new installment of The Way of the Househusband, a series that’s continued to be funny, even though it’s built on the slenderest of premises. Count me in for volume eight!

ASH: I’m always game for a new volume of The Way of the Househusband, too! But this week I’ll join Sean in choosing The Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service because who knows when I’ll be able to pick it again? It’s such a great series.

ANNA: Way of the Househusband for me!

MJ: I’ve been reading so little lately, I feel a bit at sea here, but I think I’ll go along with Michelle’s pick, She, Her Camera, and Her Seasons, because a queer love triangle sounds like something I’d always enjoy!

ASH: I’ll admit, I’m having a hard time selecting just one release this week as my pick with the number of excellent new and continuing series being published. Debut-wise, Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou seems like the obvious choice, but I’m also thrilled to see more of Asumiko Nakamura’s work in translation, so Tales of the Kingdom is pretty high up there for me, too. And that’s not even mentioning all the others that I’m curious about…

SEAN: The pick this week is me traveling back in time twenty years and telling my younger self to put away those text files of fan translations and raw Japanese manga volumes, because Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou is finally here! You’ll just… have to wait a bit, younger self.

MICHELLE: That’s exactly how I read Sailor Moon and Fruits Basket back in the day! I still have the raw Japanese manga volumes somewhere. I’m not sure I will like Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou, though I’m curious about it, so instead I’ll pick the eleventh and final volume of Knight of the Ice.

KATE: Someone’s gotta raise the flag for Kaze Hikaru, so here’s my pitch: volume 30 has just come out. In the 10+ years VIZ has been releasing this series, I don’t know that it’s ever found the passionate fanbase it deserves, but Kaze Hikaru is one of the best shojo series available in English. There’s no time like the present to get started!

ANNA: There’s a bunch of manga coming out that I’m excited about. I always look forward to the annual release of Kaze Hikaru and Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou sounds great. But I’ll make my pick the final volume of Knight of the Ice, a josei title that is both hilarious and heartwarming.

SEAN: I feel a bit guilty for not picking One Piece 100, but I’ve gotten really far behind with it. I’ll go to the light novel well again and pick Though I Am an Inept Villainess: Tale of the Butterfly-Rat Body Swap in the Maiden Court. It sounds like what might happen if My Next Life As a Villainess was set in The Apothecary Diaries, and I’m down for that.

MICHELLE: Yeah, I made it through volume 92 and then sort of stalled out. I’ll choose fluffy BL isekai this week with The Other World’s Books Depend on the Bean Counter. Yes, there’s a josei debut this week, but it looks like it will probably be sad and my brain is just not here for that.

ASH: Novel-wise, I’m really looking forward to reading Tower of the Sun, having greatly enjoyed Tomihiko Morimi’s other works in translation. As for manga, The Girl From the Other Side: Siúil, a Rún is such a beautifully illustrated and haunting series, I’m so glad to see it getting a deluxe treatment.

ANNA: I’ll go with Our Love Doesn’t Need a Happy Ending, even though it might be depressing because hooray for josei.

MJ: It’s not a stellar week for me, but I’m low-key interested in The Other World’s Books Depend on the Bean Counter, so I’ll go along with Michelle’s pick this week. When all else fails, I defer to Michelle. She’s yet to lead me astray.

KATE: Any week that brings a new volume of Skip and Loafer is a good one in my book, so I’ll make that my pick. I’ll probably also buy Bomba, though I have a sinking feeling I might ultimately regret that decision, given that the most recent wave of Tezuka licenses have been fair-to-middling.

SEAN: There are so many of my favorite light novel series out next week it boggles the mind. I mean, Re:ZERO -Starting Life in Another World-, Ascendance of a Bookworm: Royal Academy Stories – First Year, *and* the final I’m in Love with the Villainess? Bet they’re all really long volumes too. I’ll pick the final I’m in Love with the Villainess, which has gone far beyond its initial gimmick.

MICHELLE: I’ve got to admit I’m pretty wary of Bomba, and much else on the list are new volumes of series I haven’t started yet. So, even though I’m far behind, I’ll also pick the final I’m in Love with the Villainess this week.

ASH: I’m curious about Bomba, for sure. And one of these days I really will get around to reading Skip and Loafer. But in the meantime, I’ll rely on my good ol’ standby Junji Ito and make The Liminal Zone my official pick.

ANNA: I feel guilty about not getting around to I’m in Love with the Villainess yet, so that’s my pick this week.

MJ: I’m not incredibly attached to anything this week, so I will give a little shout-out to volume 17 of To Your Eternity. I haven’t read any of the manga so far, but I’ve enjoyed the anime, so I’m going to guess I might also like to read it—maybe even more so.

SEAN: There are a lot of debuts I’m interested in this week, but I think I will go with the one with the coolest cover, the first volume of Box of Light. Spooky is hit-or-miss for me, but this looks like it just has a terrific vibe.

MICHELLE: Spooky josei sounds absolutely amazing. I’ll also check the Box of Light… box.

KATE: Michelle beat me to the punch with her pick, so I guess I’ll have to think outside the Box of Light (sorry–not sorry!) and choose something else. My vote goes to Shuji Takeya’s Hella Chill Monsters, even though it looks absolutely nothing like his gloriously weird Astral Project. I’ll be ecstatic if there’s at least one gratuitous reference to Albert Ayler.

ASH: Although I’m certainly interested in Hella Chill Monsters, mostly because of the tangential Astral Project connection that’s already been mentioned, my pick this week goes to Box of Light. I simply love to see more josei being released, and I have a particular soft spot for josei with a supernatural twist.

ANNA: Spooky josei sounds great to me, so Box of Light is my pick as well.

MICHELLE: A bittersweet novel featuring time travel sounds so appealing that this week I’ll choose Wait For Me Yesterday in Spring.

SEAN: There are some Vol. 2s I’m definitely interested in, such as Hiraeth and Hello Melancholic. That said, I’m also going to pick prose, as my pick is the 14th My Youth Romantic Comedy Is Wrong As I Expected. There’s an after story volume if Yen wants to nab it, but this final volume resolves everything and finishes Hachiman’s painful journey towards becoming someone who does not solve every problem by throwing himself on the grenade.

KATE: I’m not always excited about Serious Manga™, but Ash’s thoughtful review of Yamada Murasaki’s Talk to My Back convinced me that she’s the kind of historically important author whose work deserves a wider audience.

ASH: Thanks for the kind words, Kate! I’m glad to know that others are interested in Talk to My Back. It’s a great release of a great series and certainly my pick this week, too. Classic alternative manga is always something that intrigues me, but doubly so when the creator is a woman.

MJ: There’s a lot of interesting stuff in this week’s lineup, but I think I’m the most drawn to Moon & Sun, coming out from SuBLime. The cover and concept are very compelling to me, and though I could find myself disappointed, I think it’s worth the risk!

SEAN: July 4th is always rough for me, as I live next to neighbors who love to shoot off fireworks and I have dogs. So I need comfort manga. Thus I pick My Hero Academia 31, which… is not a comfortable volume in the series, but eh. We like what we like.

MICHELLE: I’m in much the same boat, but with kitties, so I agree that comfort manga sounds like just the thing. For me, I’ll pick the fourth volume of My Love Mix-Up!. I’m actually a little behind already, but I am positive that getting caught up will be nothing short of delightful.

ASH: This week I’m thrilled to be selected to pick Go For It Again, Nakamura!! I was absolutely delighted by the original manga, so I’m really looking forward to reading the sequel. I’m not sure if it counts as a comfort manga or not, but maybe!

ANNA: I’m picking the latest volume of A Sign of Affection, one of my absolute favorite currently running series.

KATE: I’m joining Ash on Team Nakamura this week; I also found Go For It, Nakamura!! delightful and am looking forward to reading the sequel.

MJ: Okay, I somehow missed Go For It Again, Nakamura!! on the list when we were going through the new releases, but now I realize that it’s a must-read! Count me in!

MICHELLE: I’m torn between Wandance and Burn the House Down this week. Sports-adjacent manga versus josei suspense/mystery. I think in the end, Burn the House Down has the edge, because I definitely want to support more genuine manga mysteries making their way into the English-speaking market!

SEAN: I’d feel guilty for picking Kodansha josei THREE weeks in a row, so my pick this week is the 5th volume of Unnamed Memory. The volumes may be super long, but it’s always a relief reading a fantasy novel not filled with anime and gaming cliches.

ASH: Wandance is the debut I’m most likely to read first out of this week’s releases, but it’s not every day that a new imprint is launched, so Steamship is my official pick. (That’s allowable, right?)

ANNA: Count me in for Wandance this week! Also excited to see what else will be coming out from Steamship.

SEAN: If Kodansha thinks they can trick me into picking them every week just by putting out some really interesting josei titles… well, they’re probably right. The most interesting thing to me this week is A Nico-Colored Canvas. Again, great cover art.

MICHELLE: Who knew that we’d be really excited to see the sort of stuff people have been asking for for decades? 100% A Nico-Colored Canvas for me.

KATE: Add me to the chorus of folks who are excited about A Nico-Covered Canvas; there is always room for more josei on my shelf! I’m also curious about Yashahime: Demon Half-Princess, even though the anime was a hot mess. (I gave up after four episodes.) Here’s hoping the manga does more than just recreate each episode beat by beat.

ASH: I’m definitely interested in A Nico-Covered Canvas, but my pick this week goes to To Strip the Flesh. Transmasculine characters are such a rarity in comics, I can’t help but be intrigued. I’ve heard great things about this particular manga, so I’m going in with pretty high hopes and expectations.

ANNA: I’m likewise intrigued by A Nico-Covered Canvas, it sounds great. I’m also very excited to be getting the next volume of Witch Hat Atelier, which will rocket to the top of my stack of to-read manga. However, due to print sports manga being almost as rare as josei, I’m going to go ahead and highlight soccer manga Blue Lock as my pick.

KATE: I freely admit that any manga title that includes the words “treacherous piano sonata” has potential, but Golden Gold‘s blend of horror and folklore sounds like a safer bet for me; I’m 100% less likely to nit-pick about the author’s musical knowledge (or lack thereof).

SEAN: One of the benefits of Kodansha Manga’s ludicrous digital manga release schedule has been a lot more josei. After so many high school romances with brooding boys, I want to read series about two adults, with a brooding MAN. And so my pick is Such a Treacherous Piano Sonata. Great cover, too.

MICHELLE: I share Kate’s trepidation about Such a Treacherous Piano Sonata, I’m afraid, so I’ll instead award my pick to the sixth and final volume of Wotakoi: Love Is Hard for Otaku. I really enjoyed the first two volumes then life happened and I got behind, so I look forward to starting afresh and devouring the whole story at once.

ASH: I seem to be on the same page as everyone else this week with a distinct interest in Such a Treacherous Piano Sonata, although I may have a higher tolerance of liberal interpretations of music in manga. That being said, I join Michelle this week in choosing Wotakoi as my pick, since it will be my last opportunity and I’ve really been enjoying the series.

ANNA: I’m going to throw caution to the winds and just go with Such a Treacherous Piano Sonata!

MJ: I’m pretty interested in X-Gender, but even though josei romance is very hit-or-miss for me, I am irresistibly drawn to Such a Treacherous Piano Sonata. I’m sure I’ll have plenty of musical nitpicks, but somehow the older I get, the more tolerant I become of such blasphemy, so I’ll give it a shot.

SEAN: Given the recent kerfuffle regarding Seven Seas, it feels awkward to pick a title of theirs for Pick of the Week. But the union has said they are not asking readers to boycott at this time. So I will be picking The Two of Them Are Pretty Much Like This, because I love the author, love the content, and it is one of my most anticipated titles this year.

MICHELLE: I really disliked The Flowers of Evil, but Blood on the Tracks has won me over to appreciating Shuzo Oshimi. So, this week I’ll pick Welcome Back, Alice and hope that it’ll be great.

KATE: I have a love/hate relationship with Shuzo Oshimi’s work: I think he’s a terrific artist, but I sometimes find his works just too… pervy, maybe?, so I’m going to pass on Welcome Back, Alice for now. The title I’m most excited about is The Men Who Created Gundam, which looks like a fun version of DMP’s old Project X series–think Cup Noodle with jokes and hijinks.

ASH: As far as debuts go, Seven Seas and Denpa seem to have the market cornered for me as I’m interested in most (but not all) of those releases. That being said, I’m probably most excited for the newest volume of What Did You Eat Yesterday? to come out.

ANNA: I’m not sure how I missed The Men Who Created Gundam because it sounds like a hoot. That being said I’m not going to pass up the chance to pick the latest volume of Yona of the Dawn.