Pick of the Week

MJ: It’s a fairly money-saving week for me, as there isn’t anything on the docket strongly compelling me to buy (except maybe the latest 07-Ghost), but it’s easy for me to make a recommendation. This week brings us the second-to-last 3-in-1 release of Hiromu Arakawa’s Fullmetal Alchemist, a long-time favorite of mine, and one of only two shounen series to have made my personal top ten back in 2011. As Sean mentioned in this week’s column, every volume of this series is essential, and this is because Arakawa’s writing is so deft, there’s almost nothing wasted. Everything is important, and everything leads us to the series’ well-earned conclusion. If you’ve avoided this series because of its popularity, or for any reason at all, this is a great time to reconsider! I truly love Fullmetal Alchemist.

SEAN: Being a tad uninspired myself, I too shall go with an old favorite, the third omnibus of Ranma 1/2. Nothing makes me feel 23 years old again quite like Ranma, which back in the mid-to-late 90s was everyone’s favorite obsession. I’m not sure it can catch hold for a new generation, but these early omnibuses, now unflipped and with higher quality scans, are a great way to find out. Also: my god, I hate Mousse.

ASH: Well, since both Fullmetal Alchemist and Ranma 1/2 have already been mentioned (two great series that I heartily enjoy), this week I’ll pick another shounen series which shows some promise. Granted, parts of The Seven Deadly Sins make me roll my eyes a bit, but I do have a weakness for well-choreographed, epic battles.

MICHELLE: As I mentioned in the column, I’m feeling in a bit of a Takahashi mood, and the title that most appeals to me this week is volume 15 of chronically low-key RIN-NE, which I always find pleasant and undemanding. Perhaps that sounds like damning it with faint praise, but sometimes that’s exactly the sort of read I’m looking for.

What looks good to you this week?

SEAN: There’s one obvious title that really leaps out this week: My Love Story!!. Anything from the High School Debut creator is worth a read, the premise sounds terrific, and even the cover is funny. Can’t wait for more silly shoujo.

ASH: My Love Story!! is my obvious pick this week as well. I haven’t read High School Debut, but thanks to an early shipment I’ve already read the first volume of My Love Story!!. It may very well be one of my favorite debuts of the year; I loved it.

MICHELLE: I have proclaimed my love for High School Debut for a long time, so I am beyond excited for My Love Story!!.

ANNA: I’m not going to go against the general trend here. I’m also looking forward to My Love Story!!

MJ: It was Michelle who hooked me on High School Debut several years ago, and it’s been a while since I’ve gleefully anticipated a new shoujo series to this extent, so you can count me on board for My Love Story!! as well!

What looks good to you this week?

ASH: Despite the variety of the manga being released this week, there aren’t many that I’m actively following with one exception: the debut volume of Attack on Titan: No Regrets (which I was happy to receive an early copy for review). Currently the only explicitly shoujo version of Attack on Titan, the series is the origin story of two of the most popular (and possibly most frequently shipped) characters, Erwin and Levi. It’s also pretty great; I’m looking forward to reading the next and final volume.

SEAN: No Regrets is excellent, but since it’s been picked, I’ll go with the new Sword Art Online:Fairy Dance manga volume. An adaptation of the novel due out in December, it’s apparently quite divisive, adding a harem element back to the story after being theoretically removed when Kirito and Asuna got together, and placing Asuna out of the action for a good chunk. We will see what it can bring to the table.

MJ: I’m firmly with Sean this week. Though I’m looking forward to the novel with more verve, I’m still interested in the manga adaptation of Sword Art Online: Fairy Dance. The second arc is likely to prickle my inner feminist somewhat, much as its anime adaptation did, but I like these characters and am looking forward to seeing how they are handled by the manga.

ANNA: I have to admit, there isn’t that much that appeals to me that is coming out this week. So I’ll go with one of the manga that’s on the top of my “to-read” pile, Vinland Saga Volume 3! What warm June day isn’t improved by manly Vikings pillaging things?

MICHELLE: I’m in the same boat as Anna this week, so I’ll go back a couple of weeks and pick one I skipped in favor of Tiger & Bunny—the second volume of Say I Love You.. I’ve enjoyed these new shoujo series from Kodansha, and this is what’s presently on top of my to-read pile.

What looks good to you this week?

MJ: Though I’m interested in a few of this week’s releases, including the latest from the author of Girl Friends, I’m unable to restrain myself from recommending the second omnibus volume of CLAMP’s xxxHolic. These volumes are some of my favorites in the early series, responsible for much laughter, tears, and for my everlasting Watanuki/Doumeki ‘shipping (seriously, if you are not on board by the end of volume six, there’s no help for you). In fact, I think I must reread them in honor of this release. If you never picked up this gorgeous and occasionally maddening series, now is your chance!

SEAN: I’ll chime in here, then, and make Gakuen Polizi my pick for this week. It’s got a lot of things that people like Morinaga Milk for: yuri tease (though a lot less than Girl Friends, obviously), broad comedy between an outgoing young girl and her more introverted friend, and of course high school antics (even though our leads are technically police officers). Sometimes you just want to read something FUN. This should fit the bill nicely.

MICHELLE: I’m going to have to cast my vote for the xxxHOLiC omnibus, too. Especially since this reissue will give me the opportunity to pick up the final few volumes of the series that I originally missed!

ASH: Vertical’s deluxe release of Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin is always worth mentioning, but my pick of the week actually goes to Battle Royale: Angels’ Border. In addition to a new translation of the original novel and The Battle Royale Slam Book (which was great), the manga makes the third Battle Royale release from Viz this year.

ANNA: Since no one else is picking Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin, I’ll have to go with that! Civil war! Mecha! Space! Char Aznable being evil! Seriously, what else does a reader need?

What looks good to you this week?

ASH: With only six new volumes of manga being released this week, you might think that it would be easy to pick just one, but no. I’m already following more than half of the series. Still, if I have to choose, I’ll once again go with Crimson Spell. I continue to be very happy that SuBLime rescued the series.

MICHELLE: You know, I never thought I’d say this, but Tiger & Bunny has really grown on me with recent volumes, so I’m gonna award its fifth volume my pick for this week. It’s fun, with easy-to-follow action and enough focus on characters to keep me interested. I’m surprised by how much I’ve come to like it considering how underwhelmed I was initially.

SEAN: I think I’ll go for the 2nd volume of Say “I Love You” this week. It’s rapidly going in directions I hadn’t expected, and it’s refreshing to see both a lot of casual sex happening in high school, and also some of the consequences, mostly mental and emotional, that come from that. Add to this our heroine’s natural introversion and you have something that’s more addicting now than it was in the first volume.

MJ: I’ve been staring at the shipping list with desperation, and I’ll admit that there’s nothing really crying out to me this week, so I’ll throw caution to the wind and go along with Sean and Say “I Love You.” I haven’t yet read the first volume, but his description here is compelling as hell, so I’m just going to have to check it out for myself. I’m sold.

What looks good to you this week?

SEAN:  There’s so much stuff coming out this week that it’s simply impossible to narrow it down.  So I apologize to the 87 other Shojo Beat titles I’m passing up this time.  But I have to go with the 2nd volume of Shigeru Mizuki’s Showa, which does a fantastic job of showing just how appalling and grueling to everyone involved the Second World War really was, and also what a personal toll it took on Mizuki himself, even if he does try to present it as comedically as possible.  One of the best manga history/biographies I’ve ever read.

MICHELLE: I, too, have had a hard time making a pick this week. I narrowed it down to two, but in the end the 16th volume of Natsume’s Book of Friends (thoroughly excellent though it truly is) got edged out by volume 71 of Eiichiro Oda’s One Piece. I mean, the fact that it’s still genuinely fun and exciting at volume freakin’ 71 surely qualifies it as a masterpiece, right?!

ASH: Well, since Sean has Showa covered, I think I’ll take this opportunity to pick one of this week’s debut titles: New Lone Wolf & Cub. Same author but with a different illustrator than the original, I know a lot of people who are excited for this series.

ANNA: There are so many good things coming out this week! I think I’ll have to highlight the rerelease of Millennium Snow just because it is so rare for a mangaka to go back and finish an unfinished series. (Excuse me for a minute while I give CLAMP the stinkeye over X/1999). I enjoyed Millennium Snow when it first came out, so the new omnibus followed by a third volume sounds like a treat to me.

MJ: I’m interested in pretty much everything that’s been mentioned so far, and had figured I’d put my vote behind the long-awaited third volume of Millennium Snow. But since Anna has taken care of that so nicely, I’ll give a little shout-out to the latest volume of Vertical’s Knights of Sidonia. I’ve been a fan of this beautifully-drawn, emotionally frenetic series since the beginning, and I’m always thrilled to pick up a new volume.

What looks good to you this week?

MICHELLE: Oh, jeez. Do I pick Goong, whose virtues I have extolled in the past, or My Little Monster, which includes a pet chicken. Aw, who am I kidding? Pet chickens all the way!

ANNA: I will pick Goong! I enjoy pet chickens as much as anyone, but manhwa soap opera is hard to resist.

ASH: I’m going with My Little Monster, too, and not just because of the pet chicken (though that certainly doesn’t hurt!) I enjoyed the first volume and am legitimately curious to see how the relationship between the two leads continues to develop.

SEAN: No question about my pick of the week: it’s the 20th volume of Soul Eater. We’ve got 6 volumes to the end now, so should be kicking into the final arc soon. And as I hinted in Manga the Week of, this volume may inspire nightmares.

MJ: So, despite the fact that “pet chickens” sounds almost as good as “talking cactus” (I say almost, because c’mon), I’m going stay true to my manhwa-loving heart and join Anna in choosing the 15th volume of Goong as my must-buy for the week. I have loved this series (and its difficult, bickering protagonists) for many years now, and I’m always happy to see them turn up on my doorstep, especially since Yen Press shifted to omnibus releases, making each volume substantial enough to tide me over ’til the next. Hurray for Goong!

What looks good to you this week?

SEAN: My pick of the Week is definitely the 10th volume of DMP’s Itazura Na Kiss. I know it’s bad for me. I know I will spend half the volume asking why Kotoko can’t think before she acts or apply herself to any chosen path. And I will spend the other half wondering how Naoki plans to be a doctor when he has all the empathy of a rock, and has the complete inability to understand how people with emotions might function. I will get annoyed and frustrated. But I don’t care. It’s Shoujo Manga Classic time.

MICHELLE: I don’t know how I could possibly describe the joys and frustrations of Itazura na Kiss better than Sean has done, so please allow me to say “me too, all the way!”

ANNA: I’m really torn, because this is one of those weeks where a ton of great manga is coming out! I’m happy to see Itazura Na Kiss being released in print again! Gangsta is becoming slightly addictive for me whenever I want a seinen fix. But since Itazura Na Kiss seems to be getting plenty of love I’m going to have to go with Volume 2 of What Did You Eat Yesterday?.

ASH: I’m torn this week, too, but since Anna chose What Did You Eat Yesterday? (which I’m looking forward to a great deal) I’ll pick Gangsta to make sure it gets on the list. It’s not so often you get a manga with such a diverse cast in addition to interesting characters and plenty of action. I enjoyed the first volume immensely.

MJ: I’ll go with Anna this week, because though I’m interested in these other series, there is really no option for me that could eclipse the second volume Fumi Yoshinaga’s What Did You Eat Yesterday? I finally picked up a copy of the first volume a week or so ago, and I’ll never wait that long again (yes, I pre-ordered volume two). This series is an amalgamation of everything I love best about Yoshinaga’s work—lovingly-written dialogue, charmingly believable relationships, and FOOD. This is a book I will likely consume the second it hits my front porch. It’s absolutely my week’s must-buy manga.

What looks good to you this week?

ANNA: Did you get your mother manga for Mother’s Day? Is it time to go shopping for yourself? There are a lot of mid-series volumes coming out this week, does one of them end up in your shopping bag? In the absence of any new series to pounce on, I’m probably going to have to highlight 07-Ghost which I’ve fallen shamefully behind on.

MICHELLE: Same here. I wish I could extoll its virtues more enthusiastically, but at least I haven’t given up on reading it someday!

ASH: There may be fewer manga to choose from this week, but one of those choices is Blade of the Immortal, so I’m happy!

SEAN: I’ll go with the debut of Monster Soul, which looks very shoneney.

MJ: I am also going to go with Monster Soul! As I mentioned in this week’s column, I so enjoyed Hiro Mashima as a person during his last appearance at New York Comic Con, I’ve regretted never really getting into his work. It seems to me that this is my chance!

What looks good to you this week?

MJ: I’m going to surprise myself a bit here by going for a title I hadn’t even heard about before this week’s column! That would be volume one of Whispered Words, out this week from One Peace Books. What this basically boils down to is that pretty much every yuri manga that Sean has ever recommended has turned out to be something I loved. So why would this be any different? This has quickly become my must-buy item for the week!

SEAN: Whispered Words is fantastic, and you won’t regret it, particularly as it gets more serious. Your picking it allows me, even though my real POTW is obviously that as well, to pick the final volume of Otomen. I’ve enjoyed mocking it almost as much as I have reading it, but the fact remains that this series has been filled with tons of funny, romantic, heartwarming moments about how men and women can do whatever the hell they want without worrying about gender roles. Also, Ryo. Ryo forever in my heart.

MICHELLE: It is Whispered Words 100% for me! I’d actually heard of Sasameki Koto, but missed the news of its license, so this is a very pleasant surprise for me, too. I hope it does well enough for One Peace to publish the full series.

SEAN: The 2nd omnibus, with Vols. 4-6 is scheduled for November and available for preorder! My guess is the last 3 volumes will be in a 3rd omnibus in Spring 2015.

MICHELLE: Ah, there it is! Somehow I missed it! Even more securely my pick of the week, then!

ANNA: It seems like everyone else has the yuri fans covered, but I couldn’t help noticing that there’s a great shoujo series ending with the 10th volume of Strobe Edge. This is one of those series that got better and better as it went along, and the concluding volume is very satisfying. It is my pick!

ASH: I’ll be joining Sean this week in picking the final volume of Aya Kanno’s Otomen for all of the reasons that he outlines. Also because Ryo carrying Asuka princess-style on the cover is one of the most perfect things ever. Hopefully the series has done well enough for Viz that the publisher might consider releasing more of Kanno’s work–I’ve particularly got my eye on her manga inspired by Shakespeare’s Richard III.

What looks good to you this week?

MJ: I’m the one with an obvious choice this week, so I’ll start things off by reiterating what I said in Wednesday’s column: xxxHolic, xxxHolic, xxxHolic! By now, everyone knows that I was an enormous fan of this series—of its glorious artwork, its dark tone, and its spaztastic hero, Watanuki. I am also one of the few fans of the series who did not hate the ending, or the major plot event that this new continuation seems to be ignoring. But hey, I’m fine with that, too! I’ll go along with anything that gives me more of this series. So bring it on, xxxHolic: Rei!

ANNA: I’m going to have to go with Vinland Saga, a manly manga about vikings killing people that manages to have really interesting characters and plot development along with the marauding.

SEAN: I enjoy supporting my local josei, or in this case my local shoujo/josei hybrid, so my pick is the first volume of Say “I Love You” from Kodansha. I reviewed it here. As you can see, I wasn’t over the moon about it, but rare is the shoujo series I fall in love with right away. Most take a few volumes to draw me in. I’m hoping this is the same.

MICHELLE: I’m definitely glad we’re getting more xxxHOLiC, but it feels a bit like cheating to pick it when I never managed to finish the original, so instead I’ll join Sean in picking Say “I Love You”. Honestly, I don’t know a great deal about it, but it’s new shoujo from Kodansha, and there really hasn’t been enough of that, so perhaps buying this will encourage them!

ASH: This week is an easy decision for me. I’m in total agreement with Anna. No question about it, my pick is Vinland Saga. With exciting battles and fantastic character development, the series is incredibly engaging and one of my favorite manga being released right now.

What looks good to you this week?

SEAN: Given I have the least surprising pick of the week, I guess I will go first. This is probably the last chance for me to urge you all to give Higurashi: When They Cry a try. Umineko has more depth, but also is a lot more depressing and filled with broken suffering people. Higurashi also has those people, but the entire story is about the power of friendship and learning to trust each other and managing to work past your issues and deal with your past without letting it rule you… or, in the case of Miyo Takano, letting it rule you after all. It’s been quite a ride. Let’s see how it ends.

ASH: I’m not sure if my pick will be surprising or not, but I’m going to go with the final volume of Bunny Drop. I loved the early series, and there are some great things about the later part, too, but it’s been a long time since a manga has been able to make me so incredibly angry. It wasn’t so much the direction that the story turned that upset me as it was how Unita handled it. I felt cheated. And yet I’m intensely curious about this volume of short stories.

MICHELLE: I have mixed feelings about how Bunny Drop turned out, certainly, but volume ten is still the only thing coming out this week that appeals to me, so I guess it’s my pick by default.

MJ: My pick may indeed be surprising, but I’m leaning overwhelmingly toward the first volume of the light novel series Sword Art Online. I do not watch much anime, but my husband introduced me to the anime adaptation of this series (available on Crunchyroll, for those who might be interested), and I absolutely loved it—particularly the first arc, “Aincrad,” which is the subject of this novel. Though the series’ second arc features more “damsel in distress” than I would like, I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to re-experience my favorite storyline in its original format. I’m so glad to see this being published in English!

What looks good to you this week?

ASH: There’s plenty of variety in the manga being released this week and quite a few titles I’m interested in, all of which are very different from one another. Each volume of the dystopic No. 6 is better than the last, Dorohedoro continues to somehow be both incredibly dark and incredibly charming, and I’m very glad to see the next volume of Sunny, too. However, the manga that I’m probably most curious about this week is the debut of Utako Yukihiro and Madoka Takadono’s Devils and Realist.

SEAN: There’s a lot to love this week, and yes, someone pick Dorohedoro for me, because I can’t resist the magnetic pull of A Certain Scientific Railgun. This current plot has removed all the allies that Misaka has, leaving her on her own against a powerful enemy. Supposedly this is the work of fellow 5-th level Misaki (don’t you hate it when romanization leaves you with two almost identical names?), but is she the real enemy here? Yes, there’s some annoying fanservice with Kuroko, though her amnesia should tone that down, and yes, I suspect Touma may save the day again. Still, if you like kickass teen girls with esper powers, here’s where to get them.

ANNA: I have to admit, my mind has not been on manga recently because I’ve been embarking on a massive reread of Ed Brubaker’s Captain America series, and I am probably most anticipating Winter Soldier fighting giant bear Ursa Major in a gulag in Captain America: Prisoner of War. But on the manga side of things I have to say that I’m most interested in Sunny volume 3 and the new series Devils and Realist. I think I’m going to have to go with Devils and Realist because the lure of the new! All shiny and full of potential! (Also Winter Soldier FOREVER!)

MJ: I was all set to go with volume three of Sunny this week. It’s a series I’ve loved wholeheartedly since its debut volume, and it’s hard to imagine what could top it. Trouble is, I admit I’ve been lured—lured by my beloved Comic Zero-Sum and Seven Seas’ Devils and Realist. While I’m still skeptical that anything described (by Sean last week) as resembling Black Butler could truly be to my liking, I can’t help wanting to find out. Has Seven Seas finally got my number? We shall see!

MICHELLE: I could be daring and go for something new, but I’m reasonably certain that any time Sunny is an option, I’m going to go for it. It’s so well done, heart-warming and funny and thoughtful and all those good things. I really cannot recommend it more highly.

What looks good to you this week?

MICHELLE: Since I don’t have too many more chances to plug it, I’ll cast my vote for the second-to-last volume of Dawn of Arcana. I’ve really enjoyed this shoujo fantasy series, especially how the relationship between the romantic leads has developed. It definitely has a better plot than I was expecting, and I think it has reread potential.

ASH: My pick of the week goes to Ayano Yamane’s smutty and surprisingly humorous boys’ love fantasy Crimson Spell. With the third volume we’ve now reached the part of the manga that has never been seen before in English! I’m still very happy that SuBLime rescued this series.

ANNA: I’ll have to second Michelle’s choice. Dawn of the Arcana is a great shoujo series that should be more hyped up!

SEAN: I’m going with Magi again. I’ve always been a huge Arabian Nights fan, and this pastiche is a lot of fun, particularly now that they’ve added Sinbad.

MJ: My only strong choice this week is the eighth volume of Tsutomu Nihei’s Knights of Sidonia, out this week from Vertical. So often this manga is referred to as “confusing,” but I rather like the way that Nihei manages to lead me ever forward, not always with clarity so much as control. I am compelled as though in a dream, and that works for me stunningly well, as it turns out. I’ll be sticking with this series for the long haul.

What looks good to you this week?

MICHELLE: I’m going to have to go with volume eleven of Library Wars: Love & War this week. I still struggle with the overall premise and the depiction of a supposedly elite military unit, but I can’t help but enjoy each volume and the slow burn of Iku’s growing relationship with her commanding officer. It’s become a series I genuinely look forward to.

SEAN: Since Michelle got Library Wars… it’s rare I recommend a pick of the week that I don’t actually read, but really, the release of Eden: It’s An Endless World 14 is really exciting. The story of a world in chaos following a worldwide pandemic, it’s incredibly well-written, and also filled with depressing things happening to nice people, so naturally I couldn’t get through it, because I never read that sort of series. Except when I do. In any case, many people I respect love this, so check it out.

ANNA: I am also very fond of Library Wars, but since Michelle already gave it a shout-out, I’m going to have to go with the Hana Kimi omnibus. Sure, a plucky cross-dressing heroine and a surly yet secretly empathetic hero have been done to death in shoujo manga, but Hana Kimi is one of the best examples. I’ve kept the series on hand since it came out for my every third year ritual rereads, and I enjoy it every time.

ASH: Well, because Library Wars has already been mentioned several times I guess that instead I’ll choose…wait, who am I kidding? I’m still going to pick Library Wars. I’m enjoying the series much more than I actually think I should be. Maybe it’s because I’m a librarian myself, but I get a kick out of the manga’s version of librarianship. It’s certainly one of the more unusual portrayals that I’ve come across.

MJ: So, apparently I’m the only person at Manga Bookshelf who does not read Library Wars. And really, I wish I did, because there isn’t a lot strongly compelling me otherwise this week. I will take a moment, though, to give a shout out to the 4th omnibus edition of Lone Wolf and Cub. I missed this classic the first time around, and have been very grateful to get a second chance at it—especially in its new, larger format! Readable text becomes so much more important to me as my poor eyes get older. If, like me, you never gave the original editions of Lone Wolf and Cub a try, now’s the time to start!

What looks good to you this week?