The B-Rank Adventurer with a Scary Face Becomes a Father for the Hero and His Friends, Vol. 1 | By Cogeme and Enji – Is the trope of being transported into a video game world critical to The B-Rank Adventurer with a Scary Face Becomes a Father for the Hero and His Friends? Arguably, no. However, the flashes of his former life do explain why Gray has chosen to lead his current one as he has. Family is obviously important to him. It’s not clear at this point what exactly happened to his previous family, other than something tragic. But whatever that tragedy was, it has encouraged him to now live in such a way that he doesn’t regret what he has or, perhaps more importantly, hasn’t done. And so when he sees the opportunity to help a group of orphaned kids, he does. It’s an act later to be revealed as only the latest in a string of admirable exploits. This first volume is a lot of fun, balancing domestic bliss, humor, and adventuring. – Ash Brown
Colette Decides to Die, Vol. 4 | By Alto Yukimura| Viz Media – This series continues to do a careful balancing act between the romance between Colette and Hades, the supernatural pantheon stuff going on, and Colette’s apothecary duties and how they impact others. Here she visits her old stomping grounds, and while she finds you can go home again, that does not mean that things are going to be just as remembered. New assistants may struggle and carry bitterness in their hearts, and even your coworkers may forget to tell you they’re getting married. In the second part of the omnibus, we meet a small otter who was once Poseidon’s assistant, but being small, clumsy and meek meant he got fired. Getting him trained and up to speed proves difficult—he really *is* small and clumsy. Meanwhile, Hades is cool and sexy, and Colette is cute and spunky. This is perfect shoujo. – Sean Gaffney
Even If There’s No Rainbow Tomorrow | By Noriko Kihara | KUMA – Chitose and Shinogu meet at random on a talk app that pairs you with a stranger. Shinogu listens patiently when Chitose complains about work, and after they get a little closer, suddenly turns up at Chitose’s workplace, at which point he discovers Chitose is both gay and a drag queen. This first impression doesn’t go well, but when faced with returning to his “boring and joyless” life, Shinogu returns to apologize. Most of the volume goes like this, really. Shinogu is nominally straight, so wary Chitose has convinced himself nothing is going to happen, but each time Shinogu upsets Chitose, he is desperate to apologize, and at some point realizes he wants more. Does he have a realization about his sexuality? Nope. But this is still one of those stories where you can clearly see why the guys are good for each other, and I enjoyed it quite a bit. – Michelle Smith
My Dress-Up Darling, Vol. 14 | By Shinichi Fukuda| Square Enix Manga – It has been forever since I checked into this series, but I knew fifteen was the last one, and the second anime season was fantastic. The third will be the last, be it a TV series or movie. I hear from fans this was torture to read weekly, with the poor communication between Marin and Gojo just absolutely crippling everything going on in the series. But that makes the big climax, when Gojo confesses to her, all the sweeter, and leads to a series of heartwarming and also hilarious chapters, as Marin’s now absolutely overflowing with love (as you’d expect from this series, it’s a very horny love that still does not really go above PG-13 rated). Now that she knows what he’s thinking, she never wants to be apart from him—ever. Can’t wait for the finale. – Sean Gaffney
Rainbows After Storms, Vol. 5 | By Luka Kobachi | Viz Media – Good news, we have finally moved beyond the “we’re both dating but we’re keeping it a secret” tagline that began every chapter. That said, we also introduce the dreaded rival, and this one is a kohai rather than a sempai. Nanoha seems to be somewhat oblivious to her feelings, but given that Chidori can and will angst and overthink things at the drop of a hat, that may not be a good thing. They’re both also dealing with that kiss, which has left them feeling awkward around each other—the main reason to read this book is the war between “I want to keep this a secret as I worry about the reaction” and “I want this to be in the open because otherwise I will never feel confident I am yours.” All this plus Chidori in a sexy “ghost nurse” costume. What more could one want in a yuri manga? – Sean Gaffney
Rock Is a Lady’s Modesty, Vol. 1 | By Hiroshi Fukuda | Yen Press – I suspect the bulk of the readers for this volume will have seen the anime first. This first volume gets through the first three episodes, and while there’s no major differences, it’s a different experience in black-and-white art than it is animated. The anime already overemphasized the fact that Lilisa and Otoha sweat a lot when they play, but the manga makes it clear that this was, if anything, toned down—the sweating in this manga is clearly the author’s fetish (along with the yuri BDSM subtext), and you will need to be prepared for everyone absolutely dripping with sweat after a song. This first volume is mostly concerned with Lilisa and her quest to be a good rich girl warring with the rawk! that is in her soul. Otoha’s backstory is left a mystery—and it will be for a while. Great fun. – Sean Gaffney
Ruridragon, Vol. 2 | By Masaoki Shindo | Viz Media – The core of this volume is that Ruri’s biggest problem may not be her dragon powers (she works hard over the course of the book to get her lightning under control), but her introverted nature, which makes her not want to seek out others or interact with them unless she has to. This puts her up against the blunt and aggressive Maeda… who is somewhat annoyed that Ruri seems completely unable to pick up any social cues unless they are literally laid out in front of her. (Yes, I know there’s a word for this, but unless there’s a diagnosis in-manga, I feel uncomfortable using it.) Fortunately, after getting it laid out in front of her, Ruri proves to be surprisingly adept at things like organizing a sports festival. Grades, though, may be a far bigger issue. This is wonderful. – Sean Gaffney
Spy x Family, Vol. 14 | By Tatsuya Endo | Viz Media – Another volume that seems to be overbalanced towards the back half, though I do appreciate the look at Anya’s ability to excel when she puts her mind to it in something she’s interested in (or perhaps comes from her mysterious past). The dance in the middle of the book, though, shows us more about the fact that not only did Henry and Martha know each other, they have a past together. This leads us to another prolonged flashback, and you know what happens in those prolonged flashbacks—war is hell. There’s also an extra dose of tragic love that cannot be, as the war and the pair’s crossed wires mean that Henry ends up marrying someone else. Spy x Family is known for its comedy and action, and with good reason, but when it decides to get sad and serious it’s just as fantastic. A strong volume that doesn’t hold back. – Sean Gaffney
A review copy for My Dress-Up Darling was provided by the publisher.
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