Circana Bookscan just published sales data for February 2025, and once again VIZ, Yen, and Dark Horse dominate the Top 20 Adult Graphic Novels List. As Brigid Alverson observes, this is the “second month in a row” that the list “consists entirely of manga and manhwa.” Many of the titles on the list are perennial best-sellers—Berserk, Jujutsu Kaisen, My Hero Academia, Solo Leveling—but there are a handful of new series muscling their way into the Top 20 including Kagurabachi and The Guy She Was Interested In Wasn’t a Guy At All. “Neither of these manga has an anime attached to them (yet),” Alverson notes, “so these strong second-volume sales indicate that readers liked what they saw and came back for more.”
NEWS AND VIEWS
Wondering what you’ll find at the comics shop this month? Katy Castillo has you covered with a complete list of all the new March releases. [Yatta-Tachi]
Ho, ho, ho… Titan just licensed Sanda, a futuristic adventure story in which a middle school student discovers he’s a direct descendant of Old Saint Nick. Look for volume one in September 2025. [Behind the Manga]
The crack team at No Flying No Tights recommends short manga series for readers of all ages, from tween-friendly titles like Little Witch Academia to more adult series like Pluto and BL Metamorphosis. [No Flying No Tights]
David and Jordan discuss Cyber Blue, a new Shonen Jump title with “robots, F-bombs, and no plot.” [Shonen Flop]
Bust out the garlic and the wolfsbane: the Manga Machinations gang review the latest volume of #DRCL: Midnight Children. [Manga Machinations]
Gee and Rae tackle Everyone’s Getting Married, a dramedy about a career woman who wants to trade her high-powered job for domestic bliss. [Read Left to Right]
Kory, Apryll, and Helen convene a roundtable on two recent titles: Sketchy and Last Quarter. [Manga in Your Ears]
Looking for something to read? Kara Dennison recommends Parashoppers, a new addition to VIZ’s Shonen Jump line-up. [Otaku USA]
This week’s must-read essay was penned by A.J. Mack, and focuses on In the Name of the Mermaid Princess, a series that “presents disability as a beautiful and powerful thing in and of itself, that shows that it is society that causes these problems and not the disabled person in question.” [Anime Herald]
REVIEWS
Remember Air Gear? Megan D. does, and has some thoughts about this extreme sports fantasy from the early aughts. Elsewhere, Johanna Draper Carlson reviews Friday at the Atelier, “an odd but strangely charming manga by Sakura Hamada”… Danica Davidson checks out the new Scholastic edition of Hikaru in the Light… King Baby Duck weighs in on Hiro Mashima’s latest effort, Dead Rock… the MB Battle Robot assembles for a new Bookshelf Briefs column… and Jocelyne Allen takes Jitenshaya-san no Takahashi-kun for a spin. (You might know this series by its English name: Takahashi from the Bike Shop, a new edition to the Yen Press catalog.)
New and Noteworthy
- 100 Ghost Stories That Will Lead to My Own Death, Vol. 1 (Kristina Elyse Butke, The Beat)
- The Art of Princess Mononoke (A Library Girl’s Familiar Diversions)
- Fall in Love, You False Angels, Vol. 1 (Lisa De La Cruz, The Wonder of Anime)
- The Real Musashi: The True Story of Japan’s Greatest Warrior (Sakura Eries, The Fandom Post)
- Rozen Maiden Collector’s Edition, Vol. 1 (WinterVenom, Behind the Manga)
- Vagabond: The Definitive Edition, Vol. 1 (Michael Guerrero, AiPT!)
Continuing, Complete, and OOP Titles
- Blood Blades, Vols. 2-3 (Onosume, Anime UK News)
- Detroit: Become Human: Tokyo Stories, Vol. 2 (Josh Piedra, The Outerhaven)
- The Guy She Was Interested In Wasn’t A Guy At All, Vol. 2 (darkstorm, Anime UK News)
- Honey Lemon Soda, Vol. 8 (Josh Piedra, The Outerhaven)
- Is the Order a Rabbit?, Vol. 2 (Ian Wolf, Anime UK News)
- Magical Girl Incident, Vol. 3 (Demelza, Anime UK News)
- Mieruko-chan, Vol. 10 (Josh Piedra, The Outerhaven)
- Moriarty the Patriot, Vol. 18 (King Baby Duck, The Boston Bastard Brigade)
- My Gently Raised Beast, Vols. 8-9 (Noemi10, Anime UK News)
- Otaku Vampire’s Love Bite, Vol. 2 (King Baby Duck, The Boston Bastard Brigade)
- Popcorn Romance (SKJAM! Reviews)
- The Shunji Family Children, Vol. 3 (Josh Piedra, The Outerhaven)
- Solo Leveling, Vols. 9-10 (Noemi10, Anime UK News)
- Solo Leveling, Vol. 11 (Demelza, Anime UK News)
- Takahashi From the Bike Shop, Vol. 1 (Sakura Eries, The Fandom Post)
- The World After the Fall, Vol. 9 (Josh Piedra, The Outerhaven)
0 Comments