Manga Xanadu

It’s like Noah’s Ark this week, as publishers march out their new releases 2×2 just before Anime Expo. Kodansha Comics releases the final volume of Maria The Virgin Witch. I’ve seen mixed reviews on this series, so it’s hard to tell whether this is good or bad. Fans will know either way this week. Also out from Kodansha is their Science of Attack On Titan reference book. This one might be interesting for new information about the world of Attack on Titan. Seven Seas debuts a new series, Non Non Biyori, a slice of life comedy about city girl Hotaru Ichijo and her having to readjust to a slower, rural life style. This series looks like it would fit in with the likes of Yotsuba& and Barakamon. Just in time for Anime Expo, Veritcal Comics releases the art book of creator Makoto Shinkai, Sky Longing For Memories. He is both a film director and manga artist. Vertical released his manga 5 CM Per Second, which also has an anime adaptation. The series has done extraordinarily well for Vertical. Other anime of his include Voices of a Distant Star, The Place Promised in Our Early Days, and Garden of Words, which Vertical…

 For the last week of the month, this is quite a haul from manga publishers! Fans of Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service can rejoice as they get their yearly volume with Vol 14 out from Dark Horse. Seven Seas Entertainment has a new volume for Toradora fans who have been waiting quite a while, though not as long as KCDS fans. Vertical Comics is one more step closer to the end of their surprisingly successful (to just about everyone) edition of Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin, with Vol 10 out this week. Only two more volumes after this. If I had to choose just one of Kodansha’s releases this week it would be really hard. I really enjoyed Let’s Dance a Waltz and can’t wait to find out what happens in volume 2. The same with Your Lie In April. The characters were so fun and refreshing in that one, I can’t wait to see how the recital goes. I binge read vols 2-4 of Noragami Stray God and am now hooked on the title. I really want to see Yato start to get somewhere. I really just have to have all of them. This week is Yen Press’ big week,…

A couple of long-awaited titles from Viz Media finally debut this week. Tokyo Ghoul has been on reader’s radars since it was announced, and even with the first volume being released digitally early, it doesn’t seem to have stifled reader’s desire for the print edition. I expect it to debut pretty high on the NYT bestseller list next week. Also out from Viz is the short story collection Fragments of Horror by Junji Ito, the master of Japanese horror manga. You have to really love horror and be able to stand disturbing or gory images to get through some of his titles, but for the true horror connoisseur, it is a must have. My must have this week is Master Keaton Vol 3. I still have read Vol 2, but that not because I don’t want to, it more like I’m saving it to savor it, like saving dessert for last, so you can enjoy every last bite. Seven Seas has quite the collection of releases this week. The first volume of Freezing Omnibus collects the first two volumes of the series and is very male gaze heavy. It’s that not your thing, you’ve been warned. Also coming out are…

And we go from feast to famine as this week’s list is tiny in comparison to last week. I love that we’re getting all these new licenses, but I really wish the release schedule was a little more even. It makes buying (and writing) about them much easier. Only three publishers have anything coming out, and Udon Entertainment’s title is only tangentially related. Of course I’m going to recommend Say I Love You Volume 8. This is an auto-response in my brain. I can’t not. Viz also releases their Shonen Sunday titles with a dash of Jump added for good measure. I would recommend Magi vol 12 and One Piece 3-In-1 Vol 12 which moves the series into one of the best (and longest) arc of the series, “Waters Seven.” I’m gonna give Udon Entertainment a shout out for their Manga Classics series. I’ve been enjoying them a lot, as well as finally reading the classic literature I never got to when I was in school. This time it’s Emma, another Regency romantic comedy by Jane Austin. I really enjoyed Pride and Prejudice, the first Jane Austin novel they adapted, so I expect to feel the same about Emma. Full…

It’s a good week for variety, with most of the major publishers releasing something. Perfect Square is an imprint of Viz Media for their all-ages titles, and gets mentioned here most often for their Pokemon Adventures titles. Back when Pokemon Black and White came out, Perfect Square released essentially chapter books just to get the title going quickly and later collected them into full volumes. They appear to be following the same pattern with Pokemon XY, the third volume of which is out this week. They are quick hits to keep younger fans who can’t wait happy. Older manga fans can be happy for Vertical Comics’ Ajin Demi-Human. I finally sat down and read the first four volumes and there were fantastic! I was afraid it would be gory, but it wasn’t really. It is a compelling tale with some great cliffhangers and tantalizing mysteries to keep you coming back, so you can be sure I’ll be picking up vol 5, out this week. Viz Media releases their shonen and shojo titles this week. One new title debuts, So Cute It Hurts. This is a gender bender rom-com that might actually be interesting. I wouldn’t mind checking it out at…

Last week of the month means a short list, but publishers sometimes save the best for last. Kodansha has a new series debuting this week. A Silent Voice started as a streaming title on Crunchyroll, so while readers asked, not many believed it would get a print edition from Kodansha. We were all pleasantly surprised when we got just that. The story of a deaf girl and her tormentor from elementary school that wants to reconnect has gotten a lot of praise from readers and critics as being powerful and a great read. It’s probably why it got the license. I know I want to read it too, but am hesitant after hearing other talk about how brutal the bullying seemed. But I will read it. Vertical has the second volume of the Attack on Titan Before the Fall novel series, Kuklo Unbound. The volume is an omnibus of the two remaining volumes and is the basis for Kodansha’s manga series Attack on Titan Before the Fall. This series is also unrelated to the first Before the Fall novel. I wish the first novel had gotten a manga adaptation. I really liked it and the main character Angel. But if…

There a good selection of titles from publishers this week. One publisher that sort of faded away is back; Netcomics. The manhwa heavy publisher was among the first to offer titles digitally, and rented chapters as well as selling volumes. Their first title back was Give to the Heart, which has volume 3  coming out this week. Joining it is Sweet Blood, a gender-bender/BL vampire title, and a license rescue, Chiro Volume 1 Star Project. This title was originally published by Udon Entertainment under their short-lived manga line. Hopefully it will do better this second time around. Vertical Comics has a hefty title this week with Dream Fossil The Complete Stories of Satoshi Kon. The collection of short stories by the manga creator and anime director has been highly anticipated by fans. Vertical has proven time and again they know how to not only pick great content but present it in a way that makes it worth the price. It’s a Yen Press heavy week, with the publisher releasing the majority of its titles. This week debuts the manga versions of two popular light novels, A Certain Magical Index and Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in…

Dark Horse Comics debuts a new manga this week that has had tongues a-waggin’! Panty and Stocking With Garterbelt is a manga adaptation of the anime by the same name. The mix of mature language and situations with cute and cartoony art will hit readers with right about of shock and humor and appeal to Dark Horse’s main demographic. To appeal to a different type of reader they are also releasing Drug and Drop Vol 2 this week. A continuation of Legal Drug, it features two hot guys solving supernatural problems. Another must for CLAMP fans, and a different kind of gaze for others. The title I’m most interested in this week is Heroic Legend of Arslan Vol 3. I wasn’t sure if I was going to like this series initially, but I should never have doubted Hiromu Arakawa. I loved the series right from the start and torn through the first two volumes. Waiting for the next one has been difficult, but it great to have more Arakawa art to love. I would really like to get the new Ranma 1/2 2-in-1 Editions, but space has really become a concern for me. Even 2-in-1s, which don’t take up as much space are still…

Most of the manga that comes out is rated Teen and up, but there are still some titles that are rated for all ages. Perfect Square is Viz Media’s imprint for all such titles, and this week sees the release of one of the most anticipated of the year. Legend of Zelda A Link to the Past is an adaptation of the Nintendo Game Boy Advance game of the same name. It was serialized in Nintendo Power magazine, and has seen print since 1993. It’s been on Amazon’s best-selling manga list since it first announced in February as a pre-order. How will it do as an official release? Also from Viz is the deluxe edition of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure Part 1 Phantom Blood Vol 2 which follows the adventures of the first Joseph Jostar. It’s pretty amazing the third part of this series, thought to be the best, barely sold 10 years ago, but the first part is not only selling incredibly well, it’s doing it as a hardcover at twice the price! Two of Seven Seas Entertainment’s new titles are coming out this week. Ancient Magus’ Bride is one that a lot of fans have been looking forward to,…

Kodansha and Seven Seas Entertainment is getting the lion’s share of releases this week. Kodansha releases more of their newer titles with Maria The Virgin Witch Vol 2 which seems to have a lot going on under the surface. Noragami: Stray God has been doing well, so I expect to see vol 4 hit the NYT bestseller list in the next few weeks. The third volume of xxxHolic Rei is released just as it is announced in Japan that CLAMP will resume work on the series. Good timing for Kodansha. Dark Horse got stuck with the still on hiatus series Gate 7, but then, with Dark Horse’s sometimes glacial release schedule, who would notice? Seven Seas releases a new Alice in the Country of title; Alice in the Country of Clover: The March Hare’s Revolution. Elliot has done pretty well in the Alice pairings. How many does this make now 3? 4? 5?? A Certain Sceinetific Railgun Vol 10 is released this week, catching the series up with its Japanese counterpart. It’s a good thing Yen Press has the main series, A Certain Magical Index coming out in both light novel and manga formats to tide fans over until the…

Lots of titles debuting this week. Kodansha starts out with two new titles. Let’s Dance A Waltz is by Natsumi Ando, the mangaka of Kitchen Princess, and the recently ended Arisa. I have yet to read an Ando title, though Kitchen Princess is on my “someday” list, but I’ll definitely give the first volume of this series a try. Your Lie In April was Kodansha’s last announced license of 2014. It’s a music title that has been compared to Nodame Cantabile, which was only partially published by Del Rey back in the day. I’m looking forward to giving this volume a try as well. Seven Seas has two debuts as well. 12 Beast is another monster girl title, and is by the same mangaka as their runaway hit Monster Musume.  I expect this title to do just as well, I just won’t be experiencing it first hand. Clay Lord: Masters of Golems is much more my type. It’s a fantasy with plenty of adventure and competition. Yen Press is the serious player this week with four new light novels and 2 new manga debuting. Yen On gets a big push with Devil is a Part-Timer, Kagerou Daze, No Game, No Life, and…

It’s another short week, but with some variety at least. Digital Manga Publishing’s last Tezuka kickstarter before officially starting the “Tezuka World” kickstarters, Captain Ken is released to the general public this week. Backers have already received their books and rewards, so now it’s everyone else’s turn to pick up this space western. Set on Mars, the new frontier, a mysterious gunslinger, Ken, and his sidekick-gadget-horse Arrow, arrive on the red planet and they end up getting caught between the Earthling settlers and the Martian natives. If you missed the kickstarter, now is your chance pick up vol 1. Dark Horse has a new series starting this week as well. Oreimo Kuroneko is a spin-off of the original Oreimo, also published by Dark Horse, and features Ruri “Kuroneko” Goro as the protagonist; a big otaku who prefers action/fantasy and dresses in Goth Lolita. While the series title sounds off-putting, the actual plot seems interesting. Vertical Comics makes the week though with the release of the second volume of their all ages comedy My Neighbor Seki. I loved the first volume and can not wait to get the second and see what new misadventures await Seki and Yokoi. Seriously, this series is…