Bocchi the Rock!, Vol. 2 | By Aki Hamazi | Yen Press – I did not realize that the Bocchi anime only adapted about 1.5 volumes, so the school festival chapters took me by surprise at how quickly they came. It makes sense, though, as does Bocchi’s (seeming) character development—with someone with her personality flaws, it’s harder to read in a 4-koma style book, so we need to eventually have her grow a LITTLE more confident, though I’m sure she will relapse when the humor requires it. (I also remember the internet getting a bit upset that the anime toned down Bocchi’s breasts, which makes sense as I think it was only used for a gag and doesn’t really come up again.) In any case, without the music and voice acting this is merely “pleasant” rather than groundbreaking, but the cliffhanger ending promises more. – Sean Gaffney
A Certain Scientific Railgun, Vol. 18 | By Kazuma Kamachi and Motoi Fuyukawa | Seven Seas – I was not expecting the Railgun manga to turn into Bleach, but here we are. The Index series certainly has a lot of similarities to that famous shonen manga, and now its spinoff does as well. Mainly it’s the fact that this arc will likely read very well if you read all of it in one gulp, but since it’s been over a year since the previous volume I’ve forgotten everything that happened before. Making things more annoying, Mikoto is mostly entirely absent from this book except near the end, meaning that we hope you like the new cast herd that we introduced all in one gulp and counted on you checking the wiki to remember them. What’s worse, there’s likely another year till the next book. Sigh. – Sean Gaffney
I Don’t Know Which Is Love, Vol. 2 | By Tamamushi Oku | Yen Press – This continues to be lighthearted and fun, and you’re not really meant to be thinking of Mei as “cheating” on anyone by getting involved in steamy situations with every other girl around her. They may all be very attracted to her, but Mei knows deep down she’s too immature for anything more serious (though a cliffhanger implies she may have to mature fast). Basically, this series feels a lot like being next to a sushi conveyor belt, where each chapter focuses on a different “best girl” and shows off how well they bond with Mei and how easily she manages to hook them deeper… even if it’s clearly all accidental on her part. If you don’t care that she’s the yuri version of the “clueless harem protagonist,” this is definitely for you. – Sean Gaffney
Komi Can’t Communicate, Vol. 28 | By Tomohito Oda | Viz Media – As has become the case with this series’ final arc, the bits of the manga that star Komi and Tadano are fantastic, and interest me greatly. Komi wants to take their relationship further, but can’t get that across to Tadano, who is fine with taking things slowly—far too slowly, in her opinion. The rest of the manga is made up of the huge cast herd, with even more new characters being introduced this book, and I’ve long since stopped trying to remember who they are. It also has Yamai in a chapter, and that’s always a minus. Basically, the manga is too popular to end, but the creator has mostly run out of things to do. I expect the Manbagi romance to be resolved soon, which saddens my OT3-loving heart but I get it For the hardcore Komi fans. – Sean Gaffney
Minami Nanami Wants to Shine, Vol. 3 | By Bana Yoshida and Yuki Yaku | Yen Press – This was a good spinoff looking at Mimimi’s personality and goals by giving her something new to strive for. The modeling parts worked best, and I appreciate that the series doesn’t end with her backsliding and deciding it’s not for her. That said, I think the spinoff runs into the issue that the main series is still ongoing, and its romance, while killing off the Mimimi option, has not actually resolved yet. As such, this series is also not really allowed to resolve it beyond “maybe ever after,” making the ending feel a bit lukewarm. But I suppose that fits with Mimimi, who is fun and nice and has always been the “romantic runner-up” sort, so even when she gets a series where she’s the love interest it makes you look towards Hinami or Kikuchi. – Sean Gaffney
My Boss Is a Giant: He Manages My Every Need with *Enormous* Skill | By KamuC | Ghost Ship – I will grant this series this much: since it’s written for women and not for men, it does not really dwell for too long on the enormous thing being implied in the title, and there are few issues with big guy and tiny girl having sex. And they do have an awful lot of sex. This is complete in two volumes, both of which are in this omnibus, and each chapter is basically “half plot, half sex.” Unfortunately, a lot of sex dips into consent problems—for a while he seems to see their relationship as “only” sex, and she has to make it clear to him that sometimes she wants to, y’know, go to a nice restaurant or something. There’s also romantic rivals for her hand, both male and female, who are somewhat predatory. Mildly recommended for josei fans. – Sean Gaffney
We’re New at This, Vol. 15 | By Ren Kawahara | Kodansha Comics (digital only) – Last time I said that this couple wasn’t quite ready for children, but apparently they are disagreeing with me, as by the end of the book they have both agreed to try for a child. At least both of them realize what a big step that is and how difficult it’s going to be. Elsewhere in the book, we see more of their sexual antics, this time involving whether Sumika is too loud in bed or not, and there’s a very amusing chapter where they both realize that their incredibly satisfying and loving relationship can come across as just bragging when they talk about it with friends whose relationships are not as sweet, loving, and filled with hot sex. If the series is going down the baby route, I predict it ends at the birth—then again, the title will still work for parenthood. – Sean Gaffney
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