Pick of the Week

SEAN: I am, of course, picking Urusei Yatsura. For reasons I have already stated. That said, I suspect I know where the other picks will be headed. Again. Which is fine, as I love that too.

MICHELLE: I haven’t read that title in question yet, and thus feel weird picking it, so I’m actually going for the second volume of Ran and the Gray World. Although there’s one character I could entirely do without, the premise is neat, Ran’s brother is pretty awesome, and the art is freaking gorgeous. I just hope the story goes in a direction that isn’t creepy.

MJ: I mean, do you even have to ask? There’s some good stuff on the list, but y’know. Silver Spoon. Always Silver Spoon.

ANNA: I feel the same way about Michelle about Ran and the Grey World, but I have read a little bit of Urusei Yatsura before, and while it might not be as polished as Takahashi’s other works, it is a true manga classic. I’m glad it is going to be in print again, so it is my pick.

KATE: I’m going to be predictable and recommend Silver Spoon again, but I’m also going to back Sean’s play with Urusei Yatsura. Hiromu Arakawa and Rumiko Takahashi are the undisputed Queens of Shonen and deserve some love from American readers!

ASH: I’m looking forward to reading more of Ran and the Gray World and of course Silver Spoon, too. But all else being equal, I tend to favor debuts for my official picks, so this week I’ll be choosing Urusei Yatsura. Though, I suppose technically it’s not a really a debut… but it will be the first time I’m reading it!

MICHELLE: Although it may not have the most original premise, the digital debut of My Sweet Girl appeals to me the most this week. I think that the word “boyish” is largely responsible for my interest.

SEAN: There’s an awful lot of yuri out this week. My Solo Exchange Diary is certainly on my list. But I think I’ll make Kase-san and Cherry Blossoms my pick this week, as it’s just that sweet.

KATE: Hmmmm… this is one of those weeks where I feel torn between recommending something fun and frivolous — here’s looking at you, Sleepy Princess — and recommending something more serious like the second installment of My Solo Exchange Diary. So I’ll split the difference and recommend the latest volume of Tokyo Tarareba Girls, a josei title that vividly captures the anxiety that single, unmarried women can feel in a coupled-up culture. It’s witty, rueful, and often cringe-inducing — I can’t tell you how many times I’ve yelled at the characters — but worth a read.

ANNA: I’m also intrigued by My Sweet Girl, I’m always up for more shoujo and it looks cute.

ASH: Kate has pretty much summed up my own feelings about this week’s releases! (And has phrased it better than I could have, too.) I’ll join her in recommending Tokyo Tarareba Girls as my official pick, but I’m sure that I’ll be reading Sleepy Princess in the Demon Castle and My Solo Exchange Diary pretty soon, too.

MJ: I’m don’t have a really obvious pick this week, so I think I’ll go along with Michelle and cling to the word “boyish” in that description of My Sweet Girl. Count me in for that.

SEAN: There’s a ton coming out that I’m interested in. Light Novel-wise, we have the 2nd Bakarina and the debut of Classroom of the Elite. And there’s the new Kino’s Journey manga. But yeah, there’s also a ridiculous amount of Viz. Including Oresama Teacher, which I still love to bits. It’s my pick.

MICHELLE: There are lots and lots of shoujo releases that I’ll be eagerly devouring, but since volume seventeen of My Hero Academia will mark the first time I’m all caught up on the series, I’m going with that!

ASH: It’s not manga, but I’m very excited for the chance to finally read the fourth and fifth Boogiepop novels, so the second omnibus in the series is my pick this week!

KATE: Yikes–that’s a lot of good stuff arriving in stores next week! If I had to single out one title for praise, it would be Inside Mari, a body-swapping story that takes the idea of waking up in someone else’s body seriously, rather than a set-up for tacky jokes about anatomy and clothing. The first volume was honest to the point of squirm-inducing, but it was also compulsively readable — just like Shuzo Oshimi’s other work (The Flowers of Evil, Happiness, The Drifting Net Cafe.)

MJ: I am a huge fan of the anime adaptation of Kino’s Journey and was devastated about the cancellation of the novel series way back when, so that has to be my pick this week. I don’t always love manga adaptations, but in this case, I can’t feel anything but excitement and so much hope. Maybe too much hope. Time will tell.

ANNA: I have to go for the shoujo, but I can’t choose between Ao Haru Ride and Shortcake Cake because they are both so good! They are my picks of the week!

MICHELLE: There are a few digital volumes from Kodansha that I’ll be reading, but my official pick is the debut of For the Kid I Saw in My Dreams. MJreviewed it in our latest Off the Shelf column and I am definitely intrigued.

SEAN: I’ll be going for another in the Monogatari Series this week. Koimonogatari is a bit of a fakeout, allegedly about Senjogahara trying to stop the possessed Sengoku but in reality it’s a character study of minor-villain-returned Kaiki Deishuu. The novels not from Araragi’s POV are always great.

ASH: Like Michelle, For the Kid I Saw in My Dreams is my pick this week. I enjoyed Erased, so I’m curious to read another dramatic mystery by Sanbe.

ANNA: I agree, For the Kid I Saw in My Dreams is intriguing to me this week.

MJ: I’m definitely on board with all the interest in For the Kid I Saw in My Dreams, which I reviewed in last week’s Off the Shelf, but I feel like it’s my job to say, “CLAMP still exists” so I’ll make the new omnibus edition of Wish my pick for the week. I’m looking forward to a new translation, and Dark Horse always does a beautiful job with these omnibuses, so I’m sure it will look fantastic.

SEAN: It’s rare that I dive into BL, much less make it a Pick of the Week. And I am, I admit, really excited for delinquent/cat manga Nyankees. But the cover and premise of 10 Dance just looks SO good that it’s turned my head. I’m buying it, and it’s my pick this week.

MICHELLE: I absolutely concur. Anytime we get BL about grown men pursuing their professional goals, I will be 1000% here for it.

ASH: That all pretty much sums it up for me, too! I’m prepared to be delighted by the debut of Nyankees (and the most recent volume of Monthly Girls Nozaki-kun), but it’s 10 Dance that has really caught my attention this week.

KATE: Word.

ANNA: I concur!

MJ: I only have eyes for 10 Dance. Sorry, cats!

MICHELLE: It’s been eight months since our last serving of father-daughter culinary adventures, so my enthusiastic pick this week is for volume eleven of Sweetness & Lightning, a series I once described as “eyebleach in manga form.”

SEAN: It has to be Dead Dead Demon’s Dededede Destruction for me, a series that gets more riveting with each volume, though I think the ‘lighter and fluffier’ promise the author made about this one may be leaving town soon.

KATE: Since Sean has beat the drum for Dead Dead Demon’s Dedededestruction, I’ll recommend the second volume of Wandering Island instead. The first volume arrived in stores way back in 2016, and barely registered with manga readers. That’s a shame, because Kenji Tsurata’s artwork is flat-out terrific, as is his plucky aviator heroine Mikura. A few critics caviled about the fanservice and the plot, but this Grumpy Old Feminist gives it two thumbs way up.

ASH: There are a lot of great manga being released this week; I’ve got my eye on every series that’s been mentioned so far. I’ll take the opportunity to highlight one more, though, since it’s been more than three years since the release of the first volume of Die Wergelder in English. The series is essentially a pinky violence film in manga form. Steeped in extreme brutality and exploitative eroticism, it’s understandably not for everyone.

ANNA: I’m going to joint with Sean in picking Dead Dead Demon’s Dededede Destruction. I procrastinated reading this series for a long time, and once I tried it I was absolutely riveted.

MJ: I’ll admit that I don’t have a solid pick this week, and even with the title I’m most interested in, I’m already eleven volumes behind. But I’ll just go ahead and back Michelle up here on Sweetness and Lightning. I think I really do need to check it out.

SEAN: It’s hard this week for me to pick between my perennial lost cause Hayate the Combat Butler and the final volume of Spirit Circle. I think I’ll go with the latter as Hayate will no doubt still be coming out ten years from now.

MICHELLE: Seeing as how there’s not much else that calls out to me, my pick this week is volume seven of Lovesick Ellie. I was a little concerned about the direction the series was taking in the last volume, so here’s hoping that this next one offers some reassurance.

KATE: There’s nothing on this week’s list that floats my boat, so I’m going to recommend a title that was released just a few days before Christmas: ABARA. It’s a beautiful, haunting, and strange manga that’s stayed with me longer than any of Tsutomu Nihei’s other series — and that’s saying something, considering Nihei has at least *two* series in which a talking bear is a significant character.

ASH: ABARA is indeed an engaging manga and probably my favorite work by Nihei to be released in English so far. But this week I’m with Sean in picking the final volume of Spirit Circle. I’ve really been enjoying the series.

MJ: There’s nothing that really draws me in this week, so I’m going to use my pick to boost the signal about something cool going on in another area of publishing right now, which is the Kidlit for Trans Rights auction ending tonight at midnight. Some of the prizes you can bid on are very writer-specific, like query or first pages critiques from agents, but there are also a slew of signed books and annotated copies from authors to bid on, and it could not be for a better cause. If you’re a fan of children’s, middle grade, or YA books, check it out!

ASH: It’s the first week of the new year and I’m already behind! So many great manga were released last year and it seems that trend will continue this year as well. For me the debut that’s caught my eye this week is Kakuriyo: Bed & Breakfast for Spirits. A yokai and food manga? There’s no way I could resist.

SEAN: I’m interested in that as well, and also new volumes of Kaguya-sama: Love Is War and One-Punch Man. But after a humdinger of a volume last time, I’m going to be picking up The Water Dragon’s Bride the moment I get it, so that’s my pick this week!

MICHELLE: Yes, yes, yes! The Water Dragon’s Bride has always been good, but volume seven was especially so and even thinking of one particular moment gives me geekbumps. Can’t wait for volume eight!

KATE: I’m still excavating my pile of unread manga, too! If I had to choose something — and death was not an option — my pick would go to the third volume of Dr. STONE, an awesomely silly Shonen Jump title with a hero so dumb he makes a ham sandwich look good by comparison. I know, I know — I’m not doing a good job of selling it — but it’s a fine bit of escapism if you need it. Lord knows I do!

MJ: I’m firmly with Ash this week, since basically everything about Kakuriyo: Bed & Breakfast for Spirits sounds like my kind of manga. Count me in for this!

ANNA: I’m interested in Kakuriyo: Bed & Breakfast for Spirits, but I’m so invested in the complex story of Water Dragon’s Bride, that it has the edge. That’s my pick!

SEAN: This week is a bit light on stuff, so it’s a good time for the pick of the year. I’ve already talked about Silver Spoonin other end of year wrapups, so let me take the time to praise two other series I love to bits, both from Viz: The Promised Neverland and Yona of the Dawn. Each are the top of their genre, shonen and shoujo respectively, and also great manga for teens.

MICHELLE: If someone had asked me to name the best shounen and shoujo series that I read this year, I would have the exact same picks as Sean (with My Hero Academia and Takane & Hana as runners-up). So, instead I’ll highlight my favorite josei and seinen releases of the year—Chihayafuru and Giant Killing, both brought to us by Kodansha’s digital-first initiative. It’s been really neat to see sports manga from a more grown-up perspective, and I recommend each series heartily.

ASH: When it comes to the end of the year, I usually try to get away with picking a publisher as a whole. This year, Seven Seas has continued to impress me with the variety found in its catalog, everything from autobio comics like The Bride Was a Boy, to classics like Devilman (in multiple incarnations), to the publisher’s first BL offering Go For It, Nakamura!, and so much more.

ANNA: The titles that first came to mind for me for pick of the year were Water Dragon’s Bride and Yona of the Dawn, truly excellent shoujo series. It has been a great year of shoujo in general, and I’m also thankful that we are also getting titles like Ao Haru Ride translated in English. I finally got around to reading three volumes of Inio Asano’s Dead Dead Demon’s Dededede Destruction last night and thought it was amazing. I’m going to recommend Dead Dead Demon as my pick for the year.

KATE: I agree with Ash: my pick of the year is not a series but a publisher. Seven Seas has emerged as one of the boldest US publishers, licensing classic and queer-friendly manga, all while keeping their original readership happy by providing a steady stream of monster girl series and light novels. The company’s monthly licensing survey is another brilliant strategy, as it gives fans a say in what Seven Seas publishes. So my hat’s off to Seven Seas!

MJ: There’s been a lot to love this year in manga, and like my colleagues, I’m impressed with what Seven Seas has become. But I can’t deny that this year, my heart belongs to Silver Spoon. There’s honestly no other series that’s captured my attention so completely this year. It’s funny, original, and charming in a way that is entirely unique to its creator. I maintain a manga lending library in my voice studio, and I had the pleasure just a week or so ago of introducing Fullmetal Alchemist to a pair of 16-year-old twins for the first time. Since I hadn’t read the series in so long, I gave myself a quick refresher read of the first few volumes, and I was reminded all over again of what a masterful storyteller Hiromu Arakawa is, and how emotionally rich her characters and relationships are. Silver Spoon is obviously a very different manga, but I’m struck by how much her artistry has continued to deepen and mature. Each new volume is an absolute pleasure to read. Silver Spoon has to be my Pick of the Year!

MICHELLE: Hm… I think this week I’m going to go with Elegant Yokai Apartment Life. I started watching the anime recently and it’s charming and weird, which has vaulted the manga to the top (well, near the top, at least) of my to-read pile.

SEAN: I’ve heard good things about Invitation from a Crab, and am also interested in After the Rain. My pick, through, is for the 8th and final Kagerou Daze light novel. The books may be very short, and based on a series of songs, but they’ve also got disparate characters uniting and trying to change their fate – something I’m a sucker for.

ASH: The quirky and artsy Invitation from a Crab is definitely one of my top picks for this week, the other being the deluxe release of Abara.

ANNA: Abara wasn’t on my radar at all before but I’m curious about it! That’s my pick!

MJ: Like Ash, I’m pretty torn between Invitation from a Crab and Abara, and I’m not sure I can choose just one.

SEAN: There are a pile of things out this week I’m interested in. The final After Hours, new volumes of Horimiya, Silver Spoon and Yowapeda. But I’m sorry, I cannot resist a croc in a top hat. Especially when it’s secretly a foodie manga. Crocodile Baron is my pick this week.

MICHELLE: And I can’t resist sports manga, so it’s totally Yowapeda for me!

ASH: I’m definitely looking forward to the most recent (and far too infrequent) release of Yowamushi Pedal, but my pick this week goes to The Golden Yarn. I’m curious to see if The Ancient Magus’ Bride holds the same sort of dark charm in prose as it does in manga.

ANNA: I almost have to pick Crocodile Baron just for the cover, but I am nothing but steadfast in my championing of romance, so I’m going to go with Ne Ne Ne as my pick.

MJ: SILVER SPOON! SILVER SPOON! SILVER SPOON!

KATE: At the risk of sounding like a broken record, I’m throwing my weight behind Silver Spoon again, if only to remind everyone that it’s REALLY good, and they should be reading it.

MICHELLE: It’s a big VIZ week, which means new volumes of many favorites for me. I’m excited for new installments of Yona of the Dawn and Takane & Hana in particular, but it’s the series finales that are primary contenders this week. I have definitely enjoyed reading Kuroko’s Basketball and am a little bummed it’s ending already (30 volumes seems short for a sports manga nowadays!) but, really, there’s no contest. It’s gotta be Kimi ni Todoke. I love this series so very much and kind of can’t believe it’s going to be over.

SEAN: I’m definitely interested in We Never Learn, the new Jump romantic comedy, but yeah, no real contest. The final volume of Kimi ni Todoke is one I’ve been both waiting for and wanting to avoid. I expect it to be very good.

ASH: Viz primarily has my attention this week, too. I’m following several of the series with new releases, but I’ll have to admit I’m a bit behind on just about all of them. Queen’s Quality is probably the manga that’s up next for some catching up, though, so I’ll make that one my pick.

ANNA: There are so many great series coming out this week. I have to pick the manga that I read immediately, it doesn’t even have time to rest in the to-be-read pile by my bed. That manga is Yona of the Dawn which is consistently wonderful.

KATE: My vote goes to the latest installment of The Promised Neverland. Emma is the best reason to read TPN: she’s the big beating heart of this dystopian adventure story, but also its brains. Her courage and determination are hard to resist, making it easier to soldier through the onslaught of grim plot twists.

MJ: I feel like a traitor to Takeshi Obata, but I’m also going to make Queen’s Quality my pick this week. Like Ash, I have some catching up to do there!

MICHELLE: So do I!

SEAN: Tempting as it is to rest on my laurels and pick A Bride’s Story, I suspect the rest of Manga Bookshelf has me covered there. So I’ll pick Katanagatari: Sword Tale, Nisioisin’s new tale about swords. It’s long but very dense.

KATE: At the risk of becoming the most predictable member of the MB gang, I’m going to nominate both Blissful Land and A Bride’s Story. Let’s face it: you can never have enough beautifully drawn manga about life along the Silk Road. My inner historian is salivating at the prospect!

MICHELLE: Even though I’m sure I’ll love A Bride’s Story, the sad fact is that I haven’t yet read it, so I feel weird picking volume ten. I guess I’m going to go with the latest Ace of the Diamond because the most recent volume had the formerly brash protagonist earnestly declaring how much he loves and respects his teammates. I’m a sucker for that sort of thing.

ASH: A Bride’s Story is a lovely tale and visually stunning. (Michelle, you really should give it a try!) It’s definitely my pick of the week, though I am also interested in Yoshitaka Amano: The Illustrated Biography, which should likewise be a beautiful volume.

ANNA: I’ll have to go with A Bride’s Story too, it is such a special series!

MICHELLE: Another week with several really strong contenders for pick of the week! Shojo FIGHT! and Beasts of Abigaile will definitely be near the top of my to-read pile, but the big contest is between Ooku and Wotakoi. In the end, I am going to go with Wotakoi this time. I love Ooku a lot, but I know I’ve picked it before, and Wotakoi is appealing from a lifting-one’s-spirits sort of angle.

SEAN: Unsurprisingly, I’m looking at novels this week. I Want to Eat Your Pancreas has the award-winning cred, and though I expect I may get depressed after reading it, that’s my pick.

ASH: For ongoing series, Ooku and Wotakoi are both very high on my list as is the continuation of I Hear the Sunspot. But my pick this week officially goes to the debut of Ran and the Gray World, which looks like it should be absolutely wonderful.

ANNA: I’m going to go with Ran and the Gray World too. I’m going to check it out!

MJ: Fumi Yoshinaga always wins for me, so I’ll be the one to pick Ooku. It’s always a wonderful treat to see it turn up on the list!

KATE: Sorry to be bringing up the rear — I’m in paper grading purgatory right now! My pick of the week is Good Dog, Cerebus! which looks like the kind of cute, fluffy escapism I’m craving at the moment. My second pick — if I’m allowed one — would be PEZ, which looks gorgeous.

SEAN: A ridiculous amount of stuff, as I said. I’m interested in Bakarina, and the final volume of Frau Faust. There’s always a place in my picks for Requiem of the Rose King too. That said, given it’s been TWO AND A HALF YEARS since the last volume, I feel I can only pick Yotsuba&! this week.

KATE: Any week that brings us new installments of Delicious in Dungeon and Yotsuba&! is a good week! ‘Nuff said.

SEAN: Right, and Delicious in Dungeon, which gets more disturbing and dark by the volume (in a good way).

MICHELLE: Oh, man. So much great stuff this week! Since some of my other faves have been acknowledged, I reckon that frees me up to go with the final volume of Frau Faust, which I am looking forward to very much. It wasn’t until I’d read the first few volumes of Frau that I went to check out Kore Yamazaki’s The Ancient Magus’ Bride, and I love it so much that it now makes me sad Frau Faust is so short. Oh well. I bet it’ll be a humdinger of an ending.

ASH: Delicious in Dungeon is definitely one of my favorite series currently been released, but then so is Requiem of the Rose King. It seems like it’s been longer since I’ve had the chance to read Requiem of the Rose King though, so I’ll happily make that my official pick.

MJ: I absolutely have to go with Requiem of the Rose King. I missed my chance to flail with excitement during the last “Manga the week of,” so I’ll do that here instead. *flail*

ANNA: Requiem of the Rose King is such a special series, any week it comes out it will always be my pick.