SEAN: Can’t talk, manga.
ASH: For real.
SEAN: Yen On moved about half its books to this week, including the debuts. Ayakashi à la Mode is a one-shot fantasy novel. A girl abandoned at a shrine is raised by the spirits that dwell around it, most of whom are quite nice. Sadly, this girl also needs to learn not all spirits are nice.
ASH: This absolutely sounds like something I would read.
SEAN: Scarlet is the latest book by Mamoru Hosoda, who wrote Summer Wars, The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, etc. A princess trying to revenge her father fails, and ends up in the world of the dead. Can she get her revenge anyway?
ASH: I have enjoyed Hosoda’s previous works and I do appreciate a good revenge story.
SEAN: Why Run? My Summoned Beast Is Cute! (Naze Nigerundai? Boku no Shoukanjuu wa Kawaii yo) asks “what if the cute summoned familiar was actually a terrifying tentancled monstrosity? No one gets our hero’s aesthetic at all.
ASH: Awwwww.
SEAN: Also out in light novels: The Holy Grail of Eris 5 (the first volume since 2023, as the series switched publishers in Japan), I Got a Cheat Skill in Another World and Became Unrivaled in the Real World, Too 8, Secrets of the Silent Witch 8, Sentenced to Be a Hero 6, and Your Forma 7.
And now we get Yen Press and its 38 volumes of manga. Starting with How to Handle My Sassy Big Sis (Namaiki na Gyaru Ane wo Wakaraseru Hanashi), a seinen series from Tonari no Young Jump. A guy has an older stepsister who constantly disparages him. Then he’s told she may be the sort who’s secretly a tsundere, so he tries to actively cause that.
It’s Strictly Business (Eigyou desu kara) is a BL manga by the author of Cheeky Brat, Spring Storm & Monster, and Stray Cat & Wolf. No het romance this time, though! This runs in Hana to Yume’s BL spinoff Trifle. A guy tries to pick up the girls at his college, but fails miserably. Maybe if he contrasts himself with his cool clubmate? Or will that lead to something COMPLETELY different?
ASH: It just might!
SEAN: JUDGE Ultimate Verdict Edition is an omnibus of the previously released manga. Death game, creepy stuff, etc.
Let’s Go Nirvana! (Joubutsusasete yo!) stars a young yakuza trying to make a name for himself… till killers murder everyone in the family but him and the boss’ daughter! Now he has to hide by posing as a Buddhist monk! This runs in Kurage Bunch.
ANNA: OK, I find this premise amusing.
ASH: Right?! I am absolutely here for this.
SEAN: Mage of Leda (Leda no Majutsushi) is a fantasy manga from Aokishi. A pathetic orphan teen has had a terrible life. He knows the “I’ll teach you magic!” offer is shady. He takes it anyway.
ASH: Sometimes you just gotta do what ya gotta do.
SEAN: Pardon the Intrusion, I’m Home! (Tadaima, Ojamasaremasu!) is a shoujo manga from Koisuru Soiree. A young woman who tries to escape her OL life by otaku pursuits finds… her tiny apartment has been expanded, and now has two roommates! We have hot guy (kind ver.) and hot guy (annoying ver.) What’s a girl to do?
MICHELLE: Fall for the annoying one, I predict.
ANNA: I would like parts of my house to be magically expanded but do not need any more roommates.
ASH: Oooooooh.
SEAN: Servant Beasts is a Harta manga, meaning it’s sui generis. A beast man is bought by a witch who uses him like a servant, but his innate niceness gradually wears him down.
Spy Classroom 4th Period: Bonfire (Spy Kyoushitsu 4-bu: Kagaribi) starts adapting the next arc in the series. It runs in Comic Alive+.
Three Days of Happiness: The Complete Omnibus (Jumyou wo Kaitotte Moratta. Ichinen ni Tsuki, Ichimanen de) collects all three volumes of the manga adapting the novel also released by Yen. It ran in Media Works Bunko. A young man sells thirty years of his life for a happy present day.
ASH: There is a sad logic to that.
SEAN: Thus Spoke the Rabbit (Usagi wa Kaku Katariki) is a fantasy manga from Comic Fuz. Man-eating rabbits have ravaged a city. Only a wolf girl and a bunny girl can save them now.
What Six Survivors Told… (Ikinokotta 6-nin ni Yoru to) is a horror manga from Harta. During a zombie crisis, six people hide in a mall.
MICHELLE: Intriguing.
SEAN: Also from Yen Press: The Adventure of Black Cat Nyango 2 (the final volume), Agents of the Four Seasons: Dance of Spring 5, Assorted Entanglements 10 (the final volume), Blade & Bastard 5, Daughter of the Emperor 14 (the final volume), Dead Mount Death Play Side Story: Phantom Solitaire’s Art of Disguising Oneself as a Supernatural Being 3, The Eminence in Shadow 15, The Failure at God School 4, From Old Country Bumpkin to Master Swordsman 6, The Holy Grail of Eris 12, Land 3, Magia Record: Puella Magi Madoka Magica Side Story 8, Merit and the Egyptian God 2 (the final volume), Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury—Vanadis Heart 2, Murciélago 27, My Lover Is Just Too Innocent to Handle 2, My Super-Cute Black Mage! 2, Overlord: The Undead King Oh! 14, A Pen, Handcuffs, and a Common-Law Marriage 2, Scenes from Awajima 3, Sentenced to Be a Hero 2, Shino & Ren 2, The Terrifying Students at Ghoul School! 2, Unnamed Memory 8, Victoria of Many Faces 4, Void: No. Nine 2, and Yowamushi Pedal 29.
MICHELLE: I need to read Scenes from Awajima.
ASH: I’ve picked up my copies! (But haven’t actually read them yet…)
SEAN: Meanwhile, in non-Yen manga, There’s Viz, and the Black Torch Complete Box Set, collecting all five volumes.
And Pokémon: Sun & Moon Complete Manga Box Set, which has 12 volumes.
And in non-box sets, we get Dorohedoro Illustrations: Mud and Sludge, a 350-page hardcover guide to Dorohedoro.
ASH: I never expected this to be licensed here and so went out of my way to track down a copy of the Japanese edition when it was first released. Really good stuff.
And we also see JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Part 7–Steel Ball Run 9 and Splatoon: Squid Kids Comedy Show 6 (the final volume).
Retailers say Udon Entertainment has Hidetaka Tenjin’s Artistry of Gundam, an artbook. They said this in April too.
ASH: Hmmm.
Tokyopop debuts Aoharu Once More, a BL title that’s from from Red (still the most annoyingly titled magazine ever). Two boys almost get together in high school, but don’t. Now they’re adults, can they finally fix things?
They also have Apprentice Nail Artist in a Foreign Land 2, Beneath the Falling Camellia Blooms 2, and My Contract With the Apothecary Monster 3.
Square Enix debuts Boyish Girlfriend (Boyish Kanojo ga Kawaisugiru). A guy is surprised to find his tomboyish, male clothes wearing girlfriend in cat ears and a maid outfit for the school festival. Now he’s hooked on her looking girly. This runs on the Manga Up! app.
ASH: I’m cautiously curious.
SEAN: Seven Seas has some danmei. Joyful Reunion 5 and Silent Reading: Mo Du 4.
They also have a non-Airship novel, Beacon of Light in the Dark Sea 2.
Give Me a Hug, Mr. Frog! (Hug Shite! Kaeru-san) is a one-shot BL manga from Kurofune Pixiv. A student council president falls for the mystery boy in the frog mascot costume at a local cafe.
ASH: No judgement here.
SEAN: The Misdeeds of an Extremely Arrogant Villain Aristocrat (Kiwamete Gouman Taru Akuyaku Kizoku no Shogyou) runs in Kadocomi, and adapts the light novel also released by Seven Seas.
Uesugi-kun Wants to Quit Being a Girl (Uesugi-kun wa Onnanoko wo Yametai) is a shoujo manga from Ciao Plus. A short, cute boy finds girls don’t even see him as a male. He prays at a shrine… and wakes up transformed INTO a girl! This could go one of two ways, I’m hoping for the good way.
ANNA: I mean, it is good to be cautious.
ASH: Agreed on all points.
SEAN: Yuri Yuri Panic: A Case of Extreme Cuteness Has Occurred! (Yuri Yuri Panic: Toutosugiru Jian ga Hasseishiteimasu!) is a yuri manga from Monthly Web Action. An introverted, plain Jane girl suddenly finds the most popular girl in school… wants to marry her!
ASH: Oh, my!
SEAN: Also from Seven Seas: DEAR. DOOR 4, The Delinquent and the Transfer Student 2, Kageki Shojo!! 16, Magical Buffs: The Support Caster is Stronger Than He Realized! 7, Roses and Champagne 4, and What It Means to Be You 5.
One Peace Books has Teppeki Honeymoon 3, which they advertise, in the blurb, “Readers can enjoy a character-driven romance featuring exciting action, clean language, and content that remains free of sexual material, nudity, and fan service.” Which makes me wonder who is now paying for One Peace Books to stay alive, and if they’re Evangelicals or something. O_o
MICHELLE: Wow.
ANNA: Yikes. I dunno, anytime I see “clean” in the marketing I am dubious.
ASH: Huh.
SEAN: Kodansha Manga’s print debut is another spinoff. Cells at Work! Cat (Hataraku Saibou Neko) seems to be half “blood cells inside a cat” and half the owners of the cat. It ran in Shonen Sirius.
ASH: I was not expecting Cells at Work to cross with a cat manga, but I am also not complaining.
SEAN: Also in print: Blue Lock 34, Cells at Work! Lady 5 (the final volume), Gachiakuta 12, Mushishi Collector’s Edition 3, and What If I Said, “I Love You”? 2.
ASH: I’m still ecstatic that Mushishi is back in print.
SEAN: And guess what got bumped? Witch Hat Atelier: Grimoire Edition 2 should be next week, maybe?
ANNA: I just got the first one a few days ago (not sure what the delay was) and it is gorgeous.
ASH: It really is!
SEAN: For digital we get A Couple of Cuckoos 30, Medaka Kuroiwa is Impervious to My Charms 23, and Yamaguchi-kun Isn’t So Bad 13.
J-Novel Club has some print titles. We see The Misfit of Demon King Academy 8, Safe & Sound in the Arms of an Elite Knight 2 (manga version), and The Water Magician Arc 1 2.
The debut is a manga, seemingly a one-shot, but there’s definitely a sequel. Reset is a J-Novel Knight title, ergo BL, and ran in Chara. Two basketball players get into a relationship, but the codependency may be ruining everything.
ASH: Codependency does have that tendency.
Other manga out next week: Fluffy-Eared Realm Restoration: Taking It Slow with My Cool Big Brother 2 (the final volume), Imperial Reincarnation: I Came, I Saw, I Survived 5, and The Unwanted Undead Adventurer 13.
Digital light novels from JNC include By the Grace of the Gods 18, Cooking with Wild Game 35, EXP Is Golden 5, Finding My Way to (You) in This MMO World 2, From Two-Bit Baddie to Total Heartthrob: This Villainess Will Cross-Dress to Impress! 6, From Villainess to Healer 7, The Poison King: Now that I’ve Gained Ultimate Power, the Bewitching Beauties in My Harem Can’t Get Enough of Me 8, and The Tiny Witch from the Deep Woods 5.
Hanashi Media also has a light novel: I’m Just a Villager, So What? 5.
Airship has one print light novel, Chronicles of an Aristocrat Reborn in Another World 3.
And for digital they have I Got Married to the Girl I Hate Most in Class 4 and Survival in Another World with My Mistress! 10.
Assuming you kept reading after the Yen Press stuff, what are you buying?
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