Blue Box, Vol. 8 | By Kouji Miura | Viz Media – After a couple of volumes that have been heavy on the sports, it makes sense that we get one heavy on the romance. Sadly, that also comes with the most dreaded of romcom manga tropes: the “helpful” friend who vows to get the couple together but has the wrong idea who the couple is. This is already leading to a heaping helping of misunderstandings… except those were already off the charts because Taiki was forced to play the Prince during the culture festival, and ended up accidentally kissing Hina because of a stage issue and because of the manga author wanting it. I think we’ve got at least another two-three more volumes now before the actual couple we want to see gets together. And that’s assuming we don’t just get another tournament arc instead. Good stuff, but man. – Sean Gaffney
Gabriel Dropout, Vol. 13 | By Ukami | Yen Press – Oh no, it’s time for a new school year, which means it’s time to change classes. This is devastating news for Vigne, who discovers that she can’t survive thirty seconds without Gab next to her, but it’s not great news for Gabriel either, as Michael has transferred to the school, and is cozying up to Gabriel and saying they’re “more than friends.” Vigne is devastated by this new guy who’s taking her place in Gabriel’s life. Fortunately, we have Raphiel watching this with us, and she not only finds the whole thing hilarious, but decides not to spoil the “guy” thing as that will just make things funnier. Needless to say, everyone’s favorite gay angels and demons do not appear to have to worry about anything just yet. Also, snowball fights and common colds, but c’mon. It’s all about Vigne. – Sean Gaffney
Kubo Won’t Let Me Be Invisible, Vol. 11 | By Nene Yukimori | Viz Media – The penultimate volume of this series continues to walk very, very slowly towards its ending, which is clearly going to be happening on the upcoming class trip. I do appreciate all the struggle that Shiraishi has had in the past, so seeing him manage to successfully say “no, I don’t want to spend our free time with our gang of friends, I want to spend it with you specifically” is nice to see. I also liked seeing Saki and Akina discussing Kubo’s tortured romance—she has at last admitted that she does like someone, which… well, they already knew—and Saki’s realization, like so many other younger relatives, that jealousy of Shiraishi actually stems from her fear of Kubo abandoning her. There damn well better be a confession in the end. – Sean Gaffney
Like a Butterfly, Vol. 4 | By suu Morishita | Viz Media – I love this author, but boy, you really have to have a lot of patience if you’re going to enjoy these two introverted goobers try to have a simple conversation. It gets the anguish of teenage romance, where even asking to walk someone home is filled with peril and danger. But this does mean that the asking can take 10-15 pages, as this is not a Hana to Yume title and the panels are beautiful but uncluttered. This is the culture festival volume, and I am a bit disappointed we did not see more of Suiren’s class, whose “bowling” puzzled me till I realized the pins were the size of a person. That must have been a lot of fun. There’s also a haunted house, misunderstandings because of embarrassment, all the usual. For fans of this author. – Sean Gaffney
Marriage Toxin, Vol. 1 | By Joumyaku and Mizuki Yoda | Viz Media – I’m not quite sure what to call this genre, mostly as I don’t want to spoil the twist within it, but let’s go with Romcom. An assassin specializing in poisons, who is great at his job but terrible at social interaction, finds that his sister is being forced to get married and carry on the family’s line… despite being gay and having a girlfriend. Now Gero decides, for the sake of her happiness, to try to get a partner. The trouble is… he really IS very terrible at social interaction. Fortunately, his next job has his target turn out to be an expert matchmaker, one who will absolutely set him up with the perfect partner. This proves to be an adept combination of humor and action, with perhaps the latter better than the former. Worth a look. – Sean Gaffney
The Secret of Friendship | By Kazune Kawahara and Aiji Yamakawa | Seven Seas –I love Kazune Kawahara and Margaret titles, so it was a foregone conclusion that I’d like this very much. Eiko and Moe are best friends. Outwardly, Moe is the cute one, though her personality made it difficult for her to make friends until Eiko came along and appreciated her straightforward nature. Eiko, meanwhile, is kind, sincere, and very insecure. When Moe breaks it off with her latest boyfriend, Tsuchida, his friend Narugami decides that Eiko is to blame and starts to harass her, only to end up falling for her instead. I liked the parallels between Moe and Narugami, two prickly people each trying to protect their friend and each, ultimately, beguiled by Eiko’s radiant inner beauty. The story is perfect as it is, but I can’t help but wish there was more of it. – Michelle Smith
Tales of Wedding Rings, Vol. 13 | By Maybe | Yen Press – I believe this was originally supposed to be the last volume, but apparently it did well enough to warrant a final arc. Having defeated the bad guy, and realizing that politics is going to take up most of his time now, the Ring King and his brides all head on back to Japan for a honeymoon. Part of this involves, amusingly, all of them transferring into his class at school, just in case anyone is reading this title for that sort of genre. But they aren’t. They’re reading this to see him boff his remaining wives, and we’re likely going to go in order of appearance, as Nefritis is getting everything just right for her to have a perfect first time, including a hot springs holiday. Honestly, the epilogue really should just be a lot of “and then they had sex.” Frustrated readers deserve that much. – Sean Gaffney
Tamon’s B-Side, Vol. 2 | By Yuki Shiwasu | Viz Media – The most interesting part of this may be Utage’s utter devotion to being a FAN and not a girl/stalker/what have you. Sure, she’ll be his housekeeper, give him advice, and try to lift his spirits, but those are all part of the love she has for Tamon as an idol figure that she worships. When it sometimes seems that he might actually be starting to think of her as a real woman, she backs off and shuts him out to an extent. We also meet another member of his idol group, whose personality in this volume at least is “raging asshole.” I’m sure that will change—we already see signs he’s thinking of Utage because she’s rude to him rather than idolizing him—but at the moment I want him to fall off a cliff. The humor is still the main reason to read this—it’s hysterical much of the time. – Sean Gaffney
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