Pick of the Week

MICHELLE: There’s a lot of good stuff on Midtown’s list this week, including new volumes of a few favorites like Slam Dunk and Dawn of the Arcana, but I must avail myself of the once-yearly chance to award my pick to Kaze Hikaru, now in its 20th volume. While I’m sad that this series doesn’t come out more frequently, I’m exceedingly grateful that it hasn’t been outright cancelled, because it’s quite an affecting read. The cross-dressing element of the story—a young woman has disguised herself as a warrior in order to fight alongside the Shinsengumi—doesn’t do much for me, but I love that very sad and complicated things can and do happen, which makes me keen to see just how closely mangaka Taeko Watanabe will follow history. Highly recommended.

SEAN: Lotsa good stuff this time around, but my obvious pick is for a series I’ll see for the last time. I’ve loved Bamboo Blade since it began, a sports manga that shows jaded girls, flaky girls, ambitious girls, and quite frankly dangerously insane girls, all of whom can throw off all that baggage and become awesome with the power of kendo in order to reach the top. For most of the series the top has been our heroine, Tamaki. And now she’s finally discovering that she still has something to reach for, and that kendo is not just about making her more sociable. I can’t wait to see the end, and will miss the series dearly when I do get to it.

KATE: Long-time readers of my blog know I’m a shameless promoter of Kaze Hikaru. And InuYasha. And Kekkaishi. So I’m going to deviate from my well-established pattern of promoting my favorite titles and recommend volume twenty-three of Slam Dunk. One of the things I like best about this series is the way Takehiko Inoue balances intense game play with slapstick humor. Hard-core sports fans will appreciate the skill with which Inoue renders the pick-and-roll and free throw, while ordinary otaku can can appreciate the goofy, anything-for-a-laugh moments that punctuate the practices, scrimmages, and games.

MJ: There really is a lot to choose from this week, but the title that most catches my eye is one I haven’t thought about in a while. I became an immediate fan when I read the first volume of Nabari no Ou back in 2009, but I let it fall off my radar a bit after the first few volumes. Then last week, I read this review of volume ten by Kate O’Neil at the Fandom Post, and it became suddenly clear that I needed to catch up. So this week’s must-buy for me is volume eleven of Nabari no Ou. I really look forward to digging in to this series again, especially now that I have a few volumes ready to marathon all at once. I’ll be sure to report back!

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Readers, what looks good to you this week?

MJ: Though Midtown Comics’ selection is pretty limited this week, I still find myself a bit torn. I’ve been a big fan of Tohru Fujisawa’s GTO: 14 Days in Shonan—much bigger than I’d ever expected, in fact—so that’s certainly a major draw for me. But I think my real vote goes to the second volume of another Vertical title—Shuzo Oshimi’s The Flowers of Evil. The series’ first volume offered up a thoughtful take on some of the awkward realities of teenage sexuality, portrayed with a level of honesty (especially regarding its young, male protagonist) that I really hadn’t anticipated. I was surprised by my own reaction to this series, and I am really looking forward to more.

SEAN: Tempted as I am to ignore Midtown’s list and pick one of the pile of Viz coming out everywhere else this week, I will refrain. Instead, let’s go with Vol. 13 of GTO The Early Years, which doesn’t get as much critical praise as its sequels, but is just as much fun. The first half is an epic high school battle involving what a man has to do. After that we get to see exactly what it’s like to be Onizuka’s mother (answer: not all that fun), and find out what the dangers are of claiming to your gang that you’re so badass you can defeat anyone and anything. And the last two chapters are filthy and hilarious. It may seem retro, but just like GTO, its heart is in the right place.

KATE: I second both of MJ’s recommendations—GTO: 14 Days in Shonan for being much funnier than it has any right to be, and The Flowers of Evil for being more complex and real than Sundome, the manga it most closely resembles. If I had to choose one of the two, Flowers nudges out GTO simply because it’s weirder and less formulaic than 14 Days in Shonan. The ending of volume two is amazing—it gives new meaning to the term “blow-out”—and pushes the plot in a new and unexpected direction.

MICHELLE: I too recommend GTO: 14 Days in Shonan, but since that’s already been touted by my compatriots I will instead mention a title that’s due on August 7th according to Amazon, but which is absent from Midtown’s list, and that’s the debut volume of Lizzie Newton: Victorian Mysteries, a new manhwa coming from Seven Seas. I suppose its plot isn’t too original—headstrong lady is more interested in solving crime than in marrying advantageously—but it still sounds pretty fun to me!

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Readers, what looks good to you this week?

SEAN: It’s another tiny, tiny week at Midtown Comics, with only four titles to choose from. Given that, I will go with Sakuran from Vertical, Inc., despite it also appearing on this list two weeks ago. Comic readers who enjoy Love & Rockets type fare should give this book a try, though. It’s complete in one volume, contains some fantastic art, and has a strong plotline showing us someone who could easily use her looks and intelligence to rise to the top, and does—in spite of all her best efforts. It’s fascinating and raw, and probably the best Moyoco Anno title I’ve read to date.

MJ: I’m with Sean. I’ve been eagerly anticipating Sakuran‘s release since Vertical announced it last fall, and it’s my must-read manga this week. I can hardly wait to pick this up.

MICHELLE: See above re; Sakuran!

KATE: Since I’ve already plugged Sakuran both here and at my own site, I’ll make a pitch for the third volume of CLAMP’s X. One of the things I like best about the new VIZ 3-in-1 edition is the trim size. CLAMP’s gorgeous, swirling linework and epic battles finally have enough room to breathe, allowing readers to appreciate just how detailed (and gory!) it really is. I’m also enjoying the omnibus format; with an enormous cast and a profusion of subplots, X is the kind of story that’s best read in large installments. (I can’t keep track of the Seals and Dragons otherwise!) It’s frustrating to know that this series still doesn’t have a proper conclusion, but when the page-by-page journey is so engrossing, I almost don’t care.

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Readers, what looks good to you this week?

SEAN: It’s rare for me to recommend a manga purely on the basis of OH MY GOD IT’S SO ADORABLE, if only because there are so many other moe titles that ply on that trait that I dislike. Puyo’s alternate universe take on the 4th Haruhi Suzumiya novel, however, The Disappearance of Nagato-Yuki-chan is an exception. The artwork may not be perfect, especially at the start, but otherwise this is basically Haruhi reimagined as a cute romantic comedy starring Kyon and Yuki. (Don’t worry, Haruhi won’t stay away for long). Funny in a cute way, angsty in a cute way, and romantic in a very cute way, this is for everyone who thought that Haruhi’s story would be great if only everyone was simply nice to each other. And wait till you see Ryoko Asakura. (Of course, non-Haruhi fans likely won’t get the same value, but…)

KATE: Midtown Comics isn’t listing Sakuran among this week’s new arrivals, but the book’s official street date is July 17th, so Sakuran is my pick. I’ve always been torn about Moyocco Anno’s work: though I love her stylish art, I wasn’t crazy about the gender politics of Happy Mania and Flowers and Bees. Sakuran, however, made into an Anno convert. Not only is it beautifully illustrated, it’s told with humor, grit, and surprising sensitivity, given the subject matter. The story also boasts one of the fiercest, most complicated heroines in recent memory; Kiyoha isn’t someone I’d like to emulate (or even spend time with), but I came to admire her tenacity and survival skills.

MICHELLE: There are other worthy entries on this list, but I only have eyes for 13th Boy. As was my rationale with Ouran High School Host Club a few weeks ago, it’s impossible for me not to pick the final volume of a beloved series when it’s my last opportunity to do so. 13th Boy is easily one of the strongest, most interesting and surprising manhwa series to be released in America; if you’re at all curious about comics from Korea, you owe it to yourself to check it out.

MJ: Well, I’m with both Kate and Michelle this week. But since I’ll get another crack at Sakuran whenever it does show up on Midtown’s list, this week I’ll side with the final volume of 13th Boy. For some perspective on this pick, I think by now you all know how much I love the beautiful coats and shirtsleeves in Pandora Hearts (another of this week’s bounty), and just how much sway that holds with me… and I’m still picking 13th Boy. Make of that what you will.

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Readers, what looks good to you this week?

KATE: I only have eyes for one book this week: the long-awaited third volume of Summit of the Gods. This manliest of manga focuses on two Japanese climbers’ efforts to find out what happened to doomed explorer George Mallory, who disappeared during a 1924 attempt to reach the top of Mt. Everest. As one might expect of a series illustrated by Jiro Taniguchi, the artwork is superb; if you’ve ever wondered what it might be like to navigate a glacier or dangle from a rope above a yawning chasm, Taniguchi’s drawings will transport you to the Himalayas with the same vertigo-inducing accuracy as an IMAX film.

MICHELLE: I, too, am happy to see volume three of Summit of the Gods appear at long last, but I’ll throw a bit of love toward Alice in the Country of Clover: Chehsire Cat Waltz. Okay, true, the Bloody Twins Clover installment was nowhere near as good as the original Country of Hearts series, including as it did a variety of “what-if” scenarios pairing Alice up with various guys from the video game, but it seems as if Cheshire Cat focuses on her relationship with one guy. Maybe I’m wrong and it’ll disappoint again, but you can be sure I’ll be checking it out.

SEAN: Yeah, I’ll go with Cheshire Cat Waltz as well. It’s still more ‘romance’ oriented than the first series, but does at least make the effort to show that Alice is in a strange land filled with dangerous psychopaths who change moods at the drop of a hat. I hope they go a bit further into her reasons for being there – briefly hinted in the first manga’s ending – but in the meantime, I am content to see her wandering around with the hot guys as long as it keeps up the frisson of discomfort that makes it intriguing.

BRIGID: Summit of the Gods sounds pretty tasty, but it’s 95 degrees and I’m in the last stages of San Diego prep frenzy, so I need something light and amusing. I thought the first volume of Animal Land was kind of strange but interesting in an oh-Japan kind of a way, so I’ll swing for volume 5 this week. Since it springs from the fevered brain of the creator of Zatch Bell, I know I won’t have to take it too seriously, and that’s good enough for me.

MJ: Aside from Summit of the Gods, this week is pretty light for me, so as I’m weighing in last, I’ll to head over to NETCOMICS and recommend their Totally BL bundle, available through the end of the month. While NETCOMICS’ limited-time rental model is looking less and less attractive these days, next to other publishers’ iPad apps and other ownership-based digital venues like JManga (even eManga offers a “Keep” option for their titles), there are a number of Korean titles from NETCOMICS that I must continue to recommend, especially for BL fans. One of these is Hajin Yoo’s Totally Captivated, included in the NETCOMICS bundle along with the super-addictive Let Dai. If you’ve never given Korean BL a chance, this is the time to do so.

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Readers, what looks good to you this week?

SEAN: Given that there’s about 40 gazillion titles coming out this Wednesday at Midtown Comics, narrowing down a pick of the week is hard. I am therefore going to do what I usually do in these cases, which is assume my colleagues will pick the more ‘upscale’ titles and go for my own personal biases. Jiu Jiu is Viz’s latest Shojo Beat series, and it’s from Hana to Yume (and its spinoff), a magazine I adore. It combines shoujo romance with fantasy, as most of the currently licensed crop do (hey, you go with what sells), and features a heroine who is cool and can kick ass when required. Who could ask for anything more?

MICHELLE: Actually, even though I know I should pick the third volume of Wandering Son because it’s bound to be awesome, my heart is drawn unerringly—over other greats like One Piece and Ooku—to the 28th volume of Skip Beat!. I think it says a lot about the series that it inspires such loyalty and genuine expectation so long into its run. Also, I have successfully gotten a coworker addicted. Muahaha!

MJ: I think we can all agree that Wandering Son is a must-buy. But since there will be much more of it to come, I’ll give my vote this week to a single volume release—the manga adaptation of Makoto Shinkai’s 5 Centimeters Per Second. I’m a fairly devoted fan of Shinkai’s work and vision, and as this adaptation is based on my very favorite of his films, it’s not a release I’m willing to miss. There are images from this melancholy film that are among my favorites in any medium—moments I carry with me day-to-day, even now. And while I expect I’ll find the manga’s strengths to be different than the film’s, it’s hard for me to imagine Vertical licensing this if it had no strengths at all. So, despite my usual skepticism over adaptations of this kind, I approach this manga optimistically.

BRIGID: Wow, so many good books to choose from! I’m loving Drops of God, so I’ll want vol. 4 of that, and I’ll be going for 5 cm too. But in the dog days of summer, I go for the simple pleasures, so my first choice this week will be vol. 1 of the Kitchen Princess omnibus. I’m ready for some sweet, sweet shoujo, and Kitchen Princess delivers, treading very familiar ground with the story of a cheerful orphan at an elite boarding school who solves everyone’s problems by cooking for them. It’s charming, funny, and broken up into short story arcs so I can pick it up and put it down whenever I like. Yeah, I’ve read it before, but summer is a good time for reruns, so bring it on!

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Readers, what looks good to you this week?

MJ: There’s quite a bit manga on its way to Midtown Comics this week, but despite the wide range of tasty-looking titles, making my pick is astonishingly easy. Natsume Ono’s House of Five Leaves is one of my very favorite titles currently running, and a new volume of that trumps nearly anything else the industry could put before me. I love this series’ idiosyncratic artwork, its passive protagonist, its ambiguous morality, and its meandering style. For me, this series is always a must-buy.

KATE: I second MJ’s recommendation; House of Five Leaves is my favorite Natsume Ono manga (it beats out Ristorante Paradiso by a whisker), and I never miss an opportunity to sing its praises. The other series on my mind this week is Alice in the Country of Hearts, which Yen Press rescued from licensing purgatory. I missed out on Alice when Tokyopop was publishing it, so I’m grateful for the opportunity to read it without bankrupting myself or resorting to scans. I’ve heard nothing but good things about this title’s shojolicious riff on Alice in Wonderland, so I go into the new two-in-one editions with high hopes.

MICHELLE: I’ll cast my vote for Yen Press’s license rescue of Alice in the Country of Hearts, which is hitting stores complete in three omnibus editions. Yes, I’ve read it already, but I had to rely on a somewhat dodgy translation for the final volume, so I’m looking forward to checking it out and seeing whether it makes any more sense (hopefully!) when handled by professionals!

SEAN: I know very little about Olympos other than that it’s a josei manga from Ichijinsha, and is apparently about Apollo and Ganymede. It’s always fascinating to see how Japan handles Western mythology, and the art for this series looks absolutely gorgeous. (The author also did Utahime, which DMP has.) It’s also nice to get a manga that’s complete in one, which this is, by virtue of it being an omnibus collecting both Japanese volumes. But I have to say, in a week which already features a lot of high-minded and worthy manga, Olympos simply looks *classy*. Looking forward to it.

BRIGID: Well, you guys grabbed the obvious choices, so let me chime in with a recommendation for a manga that is near the end of its run: Vol. 32 of Kekkaishi. I have only started reading this series, but what I have read I have liked a lot—it’s a shonen battle manga with a lot of personality. It has the usual ingredients—teenage boy with special powers, girl who is a childhood friend—but it also has some nice quirks (the main character longs to be a pastry chef) and the art is clear and easy to follow—even the fight scenes, which often lose me in shonen manga. It’s hard to jump in over 30 volumes into a series, but Viz has started issuing the earlier volumes as 3-in-1 omnibus editions, and the first 27 volumes are also available digitally. It’s a nice alternative if you’re just in the mood for some straight-up shonen manga.

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Readers, what looks good to you this week?

KATE: I’d be the first to admit that Honey Darling is silly. The plot hinges on the kind of illogical behavior and improbable coincidences that a first-semester film student would know better than to include in his script. (The nadir is a scene in which one character runs into the street asking strangers where the nearest animal clinic is. Hasn’t he heard of directory assistance? Or Google, for that matter?) If you can look past the contrivances, however, what you’ll discover is a sweet story with a good heart and a good sense of humor, in which two impossibly handsome guys fall in love with each other. Fans of smutty manga may be disappointed, as all the heavy breathing takes place in the final chapter, but readers who like a more straightforward romance will find Honey Darling agreeable.

MJ: I must say, I’m with Kate this week. I’ll admit there haven’t been a lot of titles for me to love in SuBLime’s lineup so far, which is to say that they’ve simply been Not to My Taste. I have been won over by a couple of books, however, and they’ve been the ones I least expected to enjoy—first Oku-San’s Daily Fantasies and now Honey Darling. It is silly, just as Kate says, and there’s nothing truly remarkable in its fairly conventional BL premise, but it’s a lovely example of sweet, sincere romance that doesn’t take itself too seriously. Simply put, Honey Darling is a pleasure to read.

MICHELLE: I’m also aboard the BL bandwagon, but I’m once again recommending Kazuma Kadoka’s Kizuna, which is seeing the release of its sixth and I think final volume. Kizuna was actually released in English before, by long-defunct CPM, but that publisher never got around to publishing the last volume. Though DMP repackaged the first ten, already-released volumes in two-in-one omnibus editions, they’ve left this final one as a standalone, meaning that all the folks who didn’t rebuy the series can just snap this one up! Pretty considerate, actually! Anyway, this BL story (with plenty of yakuza) has been a pleasure to read and I look forward to seeing how it all ends.

SEAN: Honestly, there’s nothing this week that screams Pick of the Week for me. So I will move away from manga and go with the 3rd collection of Floyd Gottfredson’s comic strips, Walt Disney’s Mickey Mouse Vol. 3: High Noon at Inferno Gulch. These volumes have been a revelation, showing a generation who had only seen the dull, squeaky clean corporate Mickey exactly why he was the darling of the 1930s. Pure rollicking high-adventure, they’re also filled with background material and essays by cartoon scholars such as editor David Gerstein. A must for any cartoon fan collection.

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Readers, what looks good to you this week?

MICHELLE: Ordinarily next week would be one of those impossible-to-choose weeks for me, featuring as it does series like Bakuman, Slam Dunk, Kimi ni Todoke, and Dawn of the Arcana, all of which are terrific. However, they’re all also still being released in English, which means I have plenty of time to recommend them in future. The same cannot be said for Ouran High School Host Club, which reaches its eighteenth and final volume at long last. I’ve followed this series for six years, throughout various ups and downs—I loved some of it, I liked some of it, and I grew frustrated by some of it—but I am really looking forward to its conclusion. I hope it’s as satisfying as it has the potential to be!

SEAN: What Michelle said. Ouran 18 for me as well. (Hey, sometimes even I have little to say.)

KATE: I’ve never been an Ouran gal, so my pick goes to another Shojo Beat title: volume three of A Devil and Her Love Song. I thought the first two volumes showed promise, but felt that the author sometimes didn’t quite know what to do with her prickly, truth-telling heroine. In the third volume, however, the story really clicks: the characters are fully realized, and the storyline begins moving more briskly. Though there are some melodramatic flourishes, A Devil and Her Love Song remains squarely focused on real teenage concerns: fitting in, staying true to one’s beliefs, and rejecting phoniness in all guises. Surely Holden Caulfield would approve.

MJ: While there are quite a few favorites of mine on the list this week, I’ll give my vote to volume three of GTO: 14 Days in Shonan. From my write-up at Off the Shelf: “What I found pretty spectacular about 14 Days in Shonan, is that it features a main character who spends a lot of time telling other people just how much of a badass he is, while actually being a badass … I enjoyed these volumes so much more than I expected, I find myself wishing I had some kind of award to give out for it, or something. It’s been a while since my expectations were so neatly trounced.” I realize that simply repeating myself is a lazy way to make my pick, but really, that gets to the crux of it. I (very unexpectedly) loved the first two volumes of this manga, and I can’t wait to read more!

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Readers, what looks good to you this week?

MJ: There’s not much to choose from at Midtown Comics this week, but making my pick is astonishingly easy, perhaps only because I came so late into the world of manga. The truth is, I’ve always wanted to read Genshiken, and this new omnibus release from Kodansha Comics has finally made it easy for me to actually conceive of doing so. I look forward to finally picking this series up!

SEAN: It’s a very slim week this week, so instead of highlighting something revolutionary or cutting-edge, I will go for one of my comfort manga again. The Wallflower will not win any points for originality—or indeed for resolving its plot—but it’s always so much fun, and I always enjoy seeing what wacky situations the cast will find themselves in this time. Everyone needs a manga that you just turn your brain off and read, and this is a good one. Plus Sunako kicks ass when she wants to.

KATE: Looking over the final shipping list of the month is like opening a half-empty refrigerator: there’s bound to be something worth trying, but it takes a little imagination to find it. This week, however, the manga offerings are just too meager, so I’m going to recommend the first Wonder Woman trade instead. For me, the big draw is the artwork: Cliff Chiang depicts WW not as a voluptuous pin-up, but as a tall, lean warrior who just happens to look a lot better in a strapless unitard than the rest of us mortals. I don’t have any difficulty imagining this WW kicking ass and taking names.

MICHELLE: It’s not on the Midtown list, but according to Amazon, volume three of GTO: 14 Days in Shonan is due out this Tuesday. I wasn’t sure what to expect from this tale of a former delinquent with a talent for getting through to troubled teens, but it turns out it’s a lot of fun. I enjoyed volume two more than the first, as a matter of fact, which certainly bodes well for this next installment!

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Readers, what looks good to you this week?

KATE: If you buy only one manga this week, make it The Flowers of Evil. I was fully prepared to hate this series with every fiber of my feminist being, as the plot summary made it sound like Sundome: The Revenge. What I discovered, however, is that Shuzo Oshimi is a far more accomplished storyteller than Kazuto Okada. Oshimi paints a sympathetic portrait of his hero, oddball bookworm Takao Kusuga; Kusuga is the kind of earnest kid who feels uncomfortable with normal boy stuff, but isn’t confident enough to ignore his peers’ snickering. Kusuga unwittingly becomes the toy of Sawa Nakamura, an angry, confused girl who threatens to expose Kusuga as a “pervert” unless he acquiesces to her demands. The dynamic between Kusuga and Nakamura is expertly rendered; though Nakamura’s motives for blackmailing Kusuga aren’t directly explained, we can see how important it is for her to find someone—anyone—her shares her predilections. A queasy yet fascinating exploration of teenage sexuality.

SEAN: When Yen press announced Until Death Do Us Part at NYCC, I was quite excited. For one thing, it was 15 volumes and still going, and I wasn’t expecting any more licenses of long series that weren’t Naruto-esque. For another, it simply feels like it will do well here. It has swordfighting, it has future prediction, and it has lots and lots of excitement and action. It may not win any prizes for depth, but that’s never stopped me before. And it’s an omnibus, so you get two volumes in one.

MICHELLE: Having not yet read The Flowers of Evil, and having probably touted Pandora Hearts a time or two in the past, I’ll cast my vote for the fifth volume of Saturn Apartments, from VIZ’s SigIkki lineup. I’ve described the series as a low-key dystopia, as it somehow manages to charm whilst depicting a pretty bleak future for humanity. It doesn’t come out very frequently, but when it does, it’s something to be happy about.

MJ: This week, I’m with Kate. While I’m certainly enthusiastic about new volumes of Nabari no Ou and Pandora Hearts, and I’m looking forward to checking out Puella Magi Madoka Magica, this week’s must-buy is The Flowers of Evil. As I mentioned in last week’s Off the Shelf, I went into volume one of The Flowers of Evil with the expectation that it was most likely Not For Me, but it rather emphatically was for me. As Kate indicates, it succeeds on the strength of its characterization, and the fact that both of its leads are immediately sympathetic, or at least relatable. This kind of honest storytelling is absolutely the key to my heart. This series is not to be missed.

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Readers, what looks good to you this week?

SEAN: Many interesting releases this week, but I have to go with an old favorite. Sailor Moon has hit its 5th volume, which in this 12-volume re-release means we get to the end of the ‘R’ arc here. The manga may lack some of the characterization highs of the anime – the other four senshi in particular suffer in this volume as the focus is on other characters – but its action, coherence and occasional emotional brutality – Chibi-Usa’s transformation into Sailor Chibi Moon ends up being heartbreaking – are top-notch. And Pluto actually gets a lot more characterization here than in the anime, being far more than just a stoic ‘guardian’ of time. Any fan of manga should be getting this.

KATE: Since I’ve plugged InuYasha more times than I can count, I’m going off-list to highlight an awesome graphic novel that’s arriving in stores on Wednesday: Princeless. This Eisner-nominated kids’ comic is funny, edgy, and utterly feminist in its outlook — even though it stars a princess who’s imprisoned in a tower. That princess, sixteen-year-old Adrienne, is a blast of fresh air: she dismisses fairy tales as “full of plot holes,” and dispatches would-be suitors with withering assessments of their intelligence. When she finds a sword stashed under her bed, she enlists the help of a dragon to escape. (And that’s just in the first few pages!) Like the best kids’ comics, the script works equally well for kids and adults, offering a good mixture of teachable moments and laugh-out-loud scenes.

MICHELLE: I’m with Sean on this one. Somehow, I never did get around to watching the ‘R’ arc of the anime, so I’ve been enjoying getting a better handle on that storyline, since I’m actually able to read it in English now! I’ve definitely been enjoying Pluto, too, but I’ve got to say… what really makes me happy is that the conclusion of the ‘R’ arc means the start of the ‘S’ arc is just around the corner, and ‘S’ introduces some of the most beloved characters in the series. MJ, I hope you find a way to keep up with this series, because I dearly want to know what you think of what’s coming next!

BRIGID: OK, I’ll be different and go with Starry Sky. I know, I know, it’s based on a game, but the idea of an astronomy student reminiscing about her old school friends—who are somehow tied into a four-seasons theme—seems like a good choice for a lazy day. I’m not expecting to be blown away by this, but I think I’ll enjoy reading it more than a late volume of a series I haven’t been following. (Actually, Sailor Moon was my first choice too but I didn’t want to just go with the crowd.)

MJ: Like Brigid, while Sailor Moon is probably my first choice this week, I’ll seize the opportunity to talk about something different, though I may sorely regret it. Back September of 2010, I read the first volume of Hinako Takanaga’s The Tyrant Falls in Love and kinda hated it. Several months later, I read the second volume and kinda loved it. Though I haven’t yet gone any further in, I’m seriously considering picking up the rest of the series, including volume six, which was released this week. Which will be it? Love or hate? Your guess is as good as mine, but I think I may risk it.

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Readers, what looks good to you this week?

Disclosure: MJ is currently under contract with Digital Manga Publishing’s Digital Manga Guild, as necessitated for her ongoing report Inside the DMG. Any compensation earned by MJin her role as an editor with the DMG will be donated to the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund.

KATE: Looking over Midtown Comics‘ brief shipping list, I’m not particularly interested in Blood Blockade Battlefront—though I admit it’s fun to say—and I haven’t read FLCL yet, so my pick is volume seven of The Story of Saiunkoku. I realize that “spunky” is one of the most abused adjectives in the manga critic’s lexicon, but Shurei, Saiunkoku‘s heroine, is spunky in the best sense of the word: she’s smart, determined, and upbeat without being Pollyannish. That she’s surrounded by an agreeable cast of bishonen makes Saiunkoku a special treat; no matter what your preference, there’s a cast member who will make your heart sing. (I’m a Minister Ko partisan, FWIW.) I’ve fallen a little behind with this series, but the release of a new volume offers me a fine incentive for diving back in.

SEAN: Yeah, I think I’m going to have to give Midtown’s list a pass this week. Half of what I’m getting is last week’s order late, anyway. I am excited for the appearance of Shigeru Mizuki’s NonNonBa from Drawn & Quarterly, though, which Diamond says it is shipping to me this week. We’re in a bit of a yokai renaissance right now, what with Natsume’s Book of Friends, Nura: Rise of the Yokai Clan, and Kamisama Kiss. But no one can possibly top the creator of Gegege no Kitaro for yokai, both in scares, laughs, and pure strangeness. This book is half-autobiographical, and also touches on what life was like growing up in pre-World War II Japan. It’s a must buy.

MJ: Technically, I’m with Kate. The one book I know I’ll enjoy from this week’s tiny list is The Story of Saiunkoku. It’s one of my favorite currently-running shoujo series—probably one of my top three or four, in fact. But since Kate has already recommended it so thoroughly (my heart is singing already), I’ll throw my vote to FLCL. This is a bit of a risky pick for me. I enjoyed the anime series when I first saw it several years ago, despite the fact that it contains a number of elements that generally lose with me (mecha, maids, and a sort of fetishization of teen depression are just a few). And though I don’t tend to have a lot of confidence in manga adapted from anime (as opposed to the other way around), I’ll give this one a shot.

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Readers, what looks good to you this week?

The Battle Robot is short-staffed today, but MJ, Michelle, and Sean grab a moment to make their picks from this week’s haul at Midtown Comics.

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MJ: There’s quite a bit to choose from at Midtown Comics this week, but my choice is immediately clear. I’ll be picking up the fourteenth volume of Yuki Obata’s We Were There , and it really can’t arrive too soon. Volume thirteen had me teetering on the brink of finally losing faith in the series’ core relationship, and I’m anxious to see at this point where it’ll lead me next. Will I continue to feel that Nanami should let her first love go, once and for all, or will it convince me that there’s still something there to fight for? I simply must know! There aren’t many romance series that can still keep me on the hook the way this one does, and I’m grateful to see this volume in print after half a year’s wait.

MICHELLE: I, too, am happy about the arrival of We Were There‘s fourteenth volume, ‘cos it gives me the opportunity to finally get caught up on that series, once and for all, but I am going to have to award my pick to volume four of Toshiaki Iwashiro’s Psyren. After getting off to a hesitant start, this sci-fi series from Shonen Jump has really won me over. Possibly this is due to the fact that it’s very much like what Bokurano: Ours would be if it were shounen and involved spiky-haired boys trying to get stronger so that they can protect those they care about. Though Psyren may rely on a few shounen staples, it’s still genuinely interesting and intriguing. Look for my review of this volume in next week’s Bookshelf Briefs!

SEAN: My pick of the week is rather odd, as it’s more a pick that’s about perspective rather than enjoyment. But this week gives us the third Love Hina omnibus, aka the best thing out there for showing how far anime fandom has come in the last ten years. Almost everything that Love Hina brought to the art of ‘shonen harem manga’ has now been utterly run into the ground, even by its own creator. As a result, this manga that was revolutionary back in 2003 when it came out in North America now looks even more dated than K-On! will in 10 years. And sadly, the one influence on fandom it had that continues to exist today is Naru punching Keitaro, as fans argue about how abusive (vs. comedic) this is actually meant to be to this day. That said, this omnibus has Vol. 9, which has one of my favorite chapters, dealing with Seta and Haruka.

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Readers, what looks good to you this week?