Manga Xanadu

It’s the last Wednesday of the month and just before a holiday, usually not a big week for manga releases. But considering that holiday leads into the biggest shopping weekend of the year, you’d think publishers would have a little more to try to entice readers out. Dark Horse Comics seems to be thinking that way a little with their only manga release; Satoshi Kon’s OPUS. Fans of the anime director have been waiting for this title not so patiently. Younger readers will want to pick up the fourth volume of Cardfight! Vanguard. I really enjoyed the first two volumes, and they do seem to be doing well for Vertical. I hope they can find more all ages gems like this one. Kodansha has been doing well by me lately, but not so much this week. I have the first volume of Attack on Titan Junior High, but I just haven’t been able to make myself read it. The preview chapter I read left me very underwhelmed, but I hadn’t read the beginning volumes at that time. Maybe the humor will improve now that I have a context and will find volume 2 more appealing. I’ll just have to try…

It takes all kinds to make a fandom, and manga is no exception. In fact, that is one of the things that makes manga so great. You can find something to suit just about any taste. The unfortunate part is that it means a lot of things will come out that you don’t care for. This week’s new releases is sadly filled with titles I really don’t care for. Seven Seas Entertainment has itself a niche in one such area I really like to avoid. It’s titles Dragonar Academy and surprise hit Monster Musume are the kind of male gaze I can do with out. Yen Press is Seven Seas’ sempai in this with High School DxD, and new titles Ani-Imo and Gou Dere Sora Nagihara. I try to walk past these titles quickly, trying not to look. Fortunately, these are just as many titles I love or would love to pick up. Kodansha prepares for the holidays with two Attack on Titan Box Sets for easy catch up. I enjoyed the first volume of Noragami, despite my initial feelings, so I’m looking forward to picking up volume 2. I am tempted by Seven Seas’ Devils and Realist. I just wish…

Kodansha pleases male gaze fans this week with new releases of Air Gear, Cage of Eden and UQ Holder. I wish there were more female gaze, non-YAOI titles available, but few to no publishers seem to appreciate us female gaze, non-YAOI inclined readers. Viz Media releases new volumes 07-Ghost and Rin-Ne. Remember Rin-Ne, the Shonen Sunday series that started as a simultaneous release, that just faded away without a word? It’s up to volume 16! What on earth keeps this series going? It’s not really that funny, and is only mildly entertaining at best, and what irks me most; no digital releases available. People are actually paying full price for this series. Amazing! Omnibuses have really taken off with manga publishers, as is evident on this week’s list. All three publishers with releases this week have at least one omnibus of an older series coming out. Dark Horse’s only release is an omnibus of Samurai Executioner. Kodansha has two with Air Gear and  Tsubasa, and Viz Media has Fullmetal Alchemist and Ranma 1/2. I think omnibuses are a great idea, especially for older titles with a lot of volumes. What would make them better is if they were also available…

It’s the beginning of the month, and that means Viz releases its torrent of shonen and shojo titles. Among the new releases are the debut of the shojo Kiss of the Rose Prince and the 2-in-1 omnibus of All You Need I Kill. For those who don’t want to pick up volumes one at a time, a prefer getting a bundle at a time, Viz has box sets just in time for the holiday season. The One Piece box set covers the “Skypeia” and “Waters Seven” arcs. This is worth looking at just for the “Waters Seven” arc, possibly the best one in the series. Vampire Knight is done, so now you can get rest of the series with the second box set. Seven Seas Entertainment releases several volumes, including the first print release of Lucifer and The Biscuit Hammer, a title originally only available in digital from Jmanga. Also out are new volumes of Sacred Blacksmith and Zero’s Familiar Chevalier, but its the new Alice in the Country of Clover Knight’s Knowledge vol 3 that’s gonna get the attention. I’m personally looking forward to  Attack on Titan vol 14 from Kodansha, Pokemon Adventures Volume 25 from Viz/Perfect Square, and…

Yen Press has the lion share of releases this Halloween week, but they don’t have the one title that will make me squee with joy. It’s Kodansha and their release of the second and final volume of Attack On Titan: No Regrets that has me ready to whip open my wallet. I REALLY loved the first volume, and can’t wait to see what is in store for Levi and his friends and see how Levi becomes so loyal to a man he is determined to kill. As I said previously, this is the big Yen Press release week, and there are a few titles from them I look forward to reading. A Bride’s Story vol 6, Inu X Boku SS Vol 5, Puella Magi Madoka Magica The Different Story Vol 3, and Umineko When They Cry Episode 4 Vol 2: Alliance of the Golden Witch are all regular reads for me. New this week is Barakamon, a title Yen pushed heavily at NYCC. The story combines the “fish out of water” story element with a Yotsuba&! as it tells of a young calligrapher from the city who moves to a rural island and learns the ways of the island from…

It’s another slow manga release this week. While Kodansha and Viz Media do have titles coming out, only Veritical and Seven Seas Entertainment has anything I’m actually interested in. Seven Seas continues to be a hit or miss publisher with me. Their licenses lately have tended to rely too much on the male gaze fan service, but it’s hard to fault them that since those are the titles that make it onto the New York Times Bestseller List. Hopefully, the more skeevy titles will continue to fund manga like Arpeggio of Blue Steel. Volume 2 comes out this week, and I’m still looking forward to it even through volume 1 is still sitting in my Amazon shopping cart. Witchcraft Works is the first manga to come out under the Vertical Comics imprint, which was just announced at New York Comic Con earlier this month. It’s a romantic comedy, but I still am interested in checking out volume 1. Vertical has steered me wrong yet, so I’ll trust if they say it’s good and funny. An anime of the manga has already been streamed by Crunchyroll earlier this year, so it’s got a built-in audience, and it seems to be selling…

This week is a good week for shojo readers. Kodansha releases the 4th volume of Say I Love You, their new shojo title that I was surprised I not only liked but also managed to distinguish itself from other titles by taking a more direct approach to teens, their relationships and feelings. Viz Media has a lot of shojo titles I like, and this week releases three that are high on my list. My Love Story is a new series that I’m hoping will end my bad luck with romantic comedies. Volume 2 is out this week. Natsume’s Book of Friends is a title I would call a comfort manga. It’s relaxing story and engaging characters is perfect to relax to after a rough day. Volume 17 is out this week. Happy Marriage?! is a shojo for a more mature crowd. I’ve enjoyed watching Chiwa’s and Hokuto’s relationship get over the bumpy spots and grow. It’s sad that the series is almost done with Volume 8 now out, but I’m looking forward to a Happy Ending. It’s not all shojo this week, as the title of this post says. Seven Seas Entertainment releases a title that has me curious but…

With September having five Tuesdays, most of the big releases will hit next week. That leaves this week open for some of the smaller titles to get the attention. Kodansha’s My Little Monster is a series I’m continuing to enjoy. The unusual relationship between Shizuku and Haru is a lot of fun to watch, and the uncertainty of where it will be at the end of each volume makes it stand out from many of the other shojo titles out there. Volume 4 comes out this week. Vertical’s Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin has proven there is not only a market for Gundam manga, but that premium hardcovers will be coveted too. The series passes the half way point with Volume 7‘s release. This week welcomes back an old publisher to print. Netcomics has been missing from the print releases for a while. They were one of the first publishers to rent chapters online and to put other publisher’s titles online digitally. Finally they release a new print volume of a new series, Give to the Heart. The premise has a bit of a Bride of the Water God feel, with a Water God trying to win a human woman’s…

Manga makes its triumphant return this week, and it’s all thanks to Yen Press. While Seven Seas Entertainment does have some titles coming out, it’s Yen that getting a cut of my paycheck. After far, far too long, we finally get the next Durarara!! series. Yellow Scarves Arc is the third manga series and is based on the third light novel. So why hasn’t Yen licensed the light novel series again? It’s gonna be hard to read this first volume, because I will then have to wait for the rest! Spice and Wolf is another series I’ve come to love, so getting a new volume is always exciting. This week’s it’s volume 9, and even though the light novels are further ahead in volumes, I’m happy to wait for the manga. I love the art, and the interactions between Holo and Lawrence. I will read the light novels someday, but for now the manga has my full attention. I’m also curious about Void’s Enigmatic Mansion volume 1. I get a comeuppance vibe from it, with a tag live about granting one’s greatest wish and it not what you expected. I do enjoy those kinds of stories and it’s getting to be that season again…

Wow. I thought I was stretching it last week. This week there is hardly any manga being released. Kodansha and Viz Media are about the only companies with anything coming out, and barely any at that. So let’s spotlight some related-but-not-manga titles. Kodansha releases the first to 2 books about Attack on Titan. Attack on Titan Guidebook: Inside and Outside is a look behind the scenes of the manga and anime. At nearly 400 pages, it features interviews with creator Hajime Isayama, his editor and staff of the anime adaptation, concept art from both the manga and anime, and an exhaustive guide to the characters and world of Attack on Titan. There is even a papercraft kit to make your own Colossal Titan head! This is a must for any Attack on Titan fan. Vertical, Inc. isn’t just a manga publisher. They also print novels, so it’s of no surprise that their leap onto the Attack on Titan bandwagon was to get the light novel series, Attack on Titan Before the Fall. This first novel is a prequel not only to the Attack on Titan series, but also to the manga of the same name as well. This first novel…

It’s a slow release week this week, so it’s all about the titles I want to catch up on, but other shinies keep distracting me! Kodansha has picked up the pace lately by adding many titles I want to read. I’ve read the first volume of Sherlock Bones and did enjoy it, but 2-4 have been languishing on the shelf waiting for me to pick them up. With the release of volume 7, the final volume, I may as well just wait and read the whole rest of the series in one go! Seven Deadly Sins vol 4 comes out this week, adding to another growing stack of unread shonen. I have a lot of those I keep meaning to wheedle down, but then things like new Attack on Titan volumes come out and I’m off after the shiny things again. Viz Media is my usual point and click into a virtual basket, but this week there is only one title that I am of course woefully behind on. 07-Ghost vol 12 comes out this week, bringing the series only 5 volumes from finishing, and me 7 volumes behind. At least it has an end in sight and I unlike so many shonen titles….

This week has some interesting titles coming out, as well as ending. Kodansha has just one title; Noragami: Stray God Vol. 1. This title was announced to some excitement last year, as it also has an anime that was streamed on Funimation, giving it name recognition that may help move the volume. We’ll have to see if it makes to the NYT bestseller list next week. Vertical Inc., releases the 4th volume in their foodie series, What Did You Eat Yesterday? Seriously, if you’re not reading this series, why not?! It has something for everyone, foodie or not, and Vertical always puts out great editions. Viz Media says good-bye to two of its titles. Midnight Secretary, the josei-as-shojo ends this week with Vol. 7. I did enjoy the first two volumes with caveats, but am still interested in reading more. It’s on the to-read list. Dawn of the Arcana, a true shojo also ends it’s run with Vol. 13. I have the first two volumes that have been languishing in my to-be-reviewed pile for a while now. Maybe this is a good time to pick them up and finally check them out. Finally, Time Killers by Kazue Kato comes out….