SEAN: Is it Yen week? (checks, sighs) Yup.

ASH: Here we go!

SEAN: In fact, we start with THIS week, as I missed Yen On’s one title in my last post. Lycoris Recoil: Ordinary Days is based on the hit anime, and is, as the title might suggest, a look at the less gun-battle side of the franchise.

Yen On has four debuts out NEXT week. We’ll start with I’ll Become a Villainess Who Goes Down in History: It Seems Turning into a High-Born Baddie Makes the Prince All the More Lovestruck (Rekishi ni Nokoru Akujo ni Naru zo: Akuyaku Reijō ni Naru hodo Ōji no Dekiai wa Kasoku suru yō desu!), a villainess title in the subgenre of “she’s trying to be a villainess on purpose” rather than “she’s trying to avoid her doom”. This had a hit anime recently.

ASH: I haven’t read many of them, but I am appreciating the villainess trend.

SEAN: The Only Thing I’d Do in a No-Boys-Allowed Game World: Reincarnated as a Yuri Ship-Sinker (Danshi Kinsei Game Sekai de Ore ga Yarubeki Yuiitsu no Koto: Yuri no Aida ni Hasamaru Otoko toshite Tenseishiteshimaimashita) is a series about a male yuri fan who gets reincarnated into the world of his favorite yuri game. The trouble is, all the girls are falling for him rather than each other! While I appreciate this is a comedy, you’ll pardon me if I treat it as radioactive.

ASH: Fair.

SEAN: Recommendations for Bad Children (Warui Ko no Susume) seems to be a dark series about two classmates, dealing with a school system that thrives on abuse and discrimination, who decide to start breaking the rules. I’ve heard this is good, but it’s not my genre.

ASH: Hmmm. Closer to some of the genres that I read, when I’m in the mood.

SEAN: Whoever Steals This Book (Kono Hon wo Nusumu Mono wa) is the novel that the manga (also licensed by Yen) was based on. A girl who doesn’t really care for books is forced to when some books trigger a curse on her hometown.

ASH: I am intrigued.

SEAN: Also from Yen On: Babel 3, Bofuri 15, and Playing Death Games to Put Food on the Table 3.

Yen Press also has debuts. Liar Liar is a manga based on the light novel, also from Yen. It runs in my nemesis, Comic Alive. As with Recommendations for Bad Children, it’s in the “the best way to inspire geniuses is to let them bully the crap out of the weak” genre, which always stars the weak, of course.

Sword Art Online: Ordinal Scale is the manga adaptation of the movie based on the omnipresent SAO franchise. It ran in Comic Walker.

Victoria of Many Faces (Tefuda ga Oume no Victoria) is the manga adaptation of the light novel Yen also releases. It runs in Flos Comic. A spy betrayed by her boss fakes her death and moves to another country, trying to live a quiet, happy life.

ASH: A quiet, happy life sounds really nice right now.

ANNA: I’m into that.

SEAN: Also from Yen Press: Assorted Entanglements 7, Bocchi the Rock! 6, Bungo Stray Dogs: Wan! 10, CLAMP Premium Collection Tokyo Babylon 6, Dead Mount Death Play 13, Detroit: Become Human – Tokyo Stories 2 (the final volume), The Executioner and Her Way of Life 6, God Bless the Mistaken 4 (the final volume), The Guy She Was Interested in Wasn’t a Guy at All 2, Handyman Saitou in Another World 6, Honey Lemon Soda 8, I May Be a Guild Receptionist, But I’ll Solo Any Boss to Clock Out on Time 4, I’m a Behemoth, an S-Ranked Monster, but Mistaken for a Cat, I Live as an Elf Girl’s Pet 11, I’ve Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years and Maxed Out My Level 14, Imitation 5, Is the Order a Rabbit? 2, Laid-Back Camp 16, Let This Grieving Soul Retire 9, Love of Kill 14 (the final volume), Mieruko-chan 10, Oshi no Ko 9, Reign of the Seven Spellblades 8, Riviere and the Land of Prayer 2, The Saga of Tanya the Evil 25, The Shiunji Family Children 3, So I’m a Spider, So What? 14, Sugar Apple Fairy Tale 4, The Three Body Problem: The Comic 2, The World’s Finest Assassin Gets Reincarnated in Another World as an Aristocrat 7, and Witch Life in a Micro Room 4.

MICHELLE: I’m going to try to get caught up with The Guy She Was Interested In… before it seriously gets away from me.

ASH: I was finally able to get my hands on the first volume! I’m looking forward to reading it.

SEAN: Viz Media debuts Mujina into the Deep, the latest title from Inio Asano, a Big Comic Superior title about a jaded man who has his life overturned thanks to a runaway kid and an assassin. I suspect this will be very different from Dead Dead Demon’s Dededede Destruction.

ASH: I suspect it will be intense in one way or another, as Asano’s work tends to be.

SEAN: They’re also re-releasing Hunter x Hunter in 3-in-1 omnibuses.

Also from Viz: Choujin X 8, Hirayasumi 4, Magilumiere Magical Girls Inc. 6, Mission: Yozakura Family 15, Rainbows After Storms 2, Rooster Fighter 7, and Twin Star Exorcists 33.

Tokyopop gives us Formerly, the Fallen Daughter of the Duke 6 and The Person I Loved Asked Me to Die in My Sister’s Stead 2.

Steamship debuts Loving Moon Dog (Koi Suru Moon Dog), a shoujo title from Hana to Yume Ai. It’s by the author of Skyblue Shore, which got culled as part of the Tokyopop collapse. A woman finds a doberman one day… who can turn into a hot guy! And is looking for a mate! This is actually a long-runner, and may be more shoujo than smutty despite the imprint.

MICHELLE: While I continue to have a sad about the unfinished shoujo series TOKYOPOP left behind, I just can’t with the “animals as love interest” genre.

ANNA: I’m also sad about Skyblue Shore but I’m with Michelle on skipping this.

SEAN: Steamship also has the print release of The Villainess and the Demon Knight (light novel) 2.

Square Enix Manga has Dragon and Chameleon 2.

Seven Seas debuts Fate/Kaleid Liner Prisma Illya: The Complete Manga Collection, which collects both volumes of the first manga spinoff of Fate that is “what if Ilya were a magical girl?”. Fans of Ilya will be happy, fans of Rin will be happy but also annoyed, probably.

ASH: Ha!

SEAN: Also from Seven Seas: Hate Me, but Let Me Stay 3, Lonely Castle in the Mirror 5 (the final volume), Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation 20, My Boyfriend is a Dog 2, Nakamura-san, the Uninvited Gyaru 2, The New Recruit 2, Royal Tailor: Clothier to the Crown 3, Tokyo Revengers: A Letter from Keisuke Baji 3, Uzaki-chan Wants to Hang Out! 12, and Wild Roses and Pretenders 2 (the final volume).

They also have a danmei title: the 3rd volume of Peerless.

One Peace Books has the 4th manga volume of Villainess Level 99.

Kodansha Manga debuts in print I Want to Love You Till Your Dying Day (Kimi ga Shinu made Koi wo shitai), a yuri title from Comic Yuri Hime. A girl at a school for assassins hasn’t been the same since her roommate died. Then she meets an adorable new classmate who can turn her frown upside down! Oh yes, she first meets said classmate covered in blood.

ASH: Seems right.

ANNA: These things happen.

SEAN: Also in print: As a Reincarnated Aristocrat, I’ll Use My Appraisal Skill to Rise in the World 13, Battle Angel Alita Mars Chronicle 10, My Noisy Roommate 2, Saving 80,000 Gold in Another World for My Retirement 9, and Twilight Out of Focus 6 (the final volume so far, but I won’t be surprised if we get another sequel).

And digitally we see Having an Idol-Loving Boyfriend is the Best! 6 (the final volume) and My Boyfriend in Orange 14.

J-Novel Club, in print, has Black Summoner 4, Hell Mode 7, My Instant Death Ability Is So Overpowered, No One in This Other World Stands a Chance Against Me! 7, Reborn to Master the Blade 5, and Reborn to Master the Blade 5. (Light novel and manga, respectively.)

There are two digital debuts, both light novels. Knock Yourself Out! The Goddess Beat the Final Boss in the Tutorial, So Now I’m Free to Do Whatever (Ato wa Gojiyuu ni Douzo! Tutorial de Kamisama ga Last Boss Taoshichatta no de, Watashi wa Suki Houdai Ikiteiku) is one of the “I’m a guy reincarnated in a girl’s body” titles we’ve seen on occasion. A goddess wants her to defeat the final boss… and the immediately does so herself, using our heroine’s powers. Now what?

Pens Down, Swords Up: Throw Your Studies to the Wind (Ken to Mahou to Gakureki Shakai: Zense wa Gariben datta Ore ga, Konyo wa Kaze Makase de Jiyuu ni Ikitai) has a reincarnated as a noble guy. He spent his past life doing nothing but study, so wants to be a swords and magic sorta guy this time around. Sadly, you have to study to be able to do that.

ASH: A valuable lesson to be learned!

SEAN: Also from J-Novel Club in light novels: The Diary of a Middle-Aged Sage’s Carefree Life in Another World 5, Duchess in the Attic 3, The Frontier Lord Begins with Zero Subjects 7, The Legendary Witch Is Reborn as an Oppressed Princess 3, Magic Stone Gourmet 8, and The Otome Heroine’s Fight for Survival 4.

And from J-Novel Club in manga: The 100th Time’s the Charm 3, The Banished Former Hero Lives As He Pleases 5, Bibliophile Princess 8, Duchess in the Attic 5, Fushi no Kami 6, My Quiet Blacksmith Life in Another World 4, and Seirei Gensouki 11.

I’ve been ignoring Yen Press’s Korean imprint Ize Press forever, and I apologize. I’m trying to get better about putting Chinese and Korean titles in this list, even if I can’t point to a magazine and genre and say “ah ha!”. So let’s see what Ize has this week.

The debut is Kill the Villainess (Angnyeoreul Jugyeo Jwo), which is a webtoon but otherwise fits the villainess genre precisely. There’s just one hitch: our villainess is trying really hard to go back to her life in Japan, so all these love interests are a pain.

Also from Ize Press: A Business Proposal 8, Solo Levelling 11, The Star Seekers 6, Tied to You 4, Unholy Blood 5, Villains Are Destined to Die 7, The Villainess Turns the Hourglass 6, and The World After the Fall 9.

Ghost Ship has The Cursed Sword Master’s Harem Life 2, Into the Deepest, Most Unknowable Dungeon 10, and Might as Well Cheat 9.

Dark Horse Comics has Danganronpa 2: Chiaki Nanami’s Goodbye Despair Quest 2.

And Airship, in print, has Didn’t I Say to Make My Abilities Average in the Next Life?! 19, Sword of the Demon Hunter 8, and Too Many Losing Heroines! 3.

And we get one early digital release: I’m the Evil Lord of an Intergalactic Empire! 8.

That sure was a Yen week. Adding Ize didn’t help. What are you reading?

ASH: This column.