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recentanimenews · 3 years

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Manga the Week of 5/12/21

SEAN: Happy Mother’s Day! Let’s look for some manga that you can safely show to Mom.

Airship has two early digital releases, Adachi & Shimamura 5 and Failure Frame 2.

Debuting in print is Drugstore in Another World: The Slow Life of a Cheat Pharmacist. And we get the 2nd Muscles Are Better Than Magic as well.

ASH: I didn’t pick it up digitally, but am still vaguely intrigued by Drugstore in Another World.

MELINDA: I’m intrigued by the title alone.

SEAN: Dark Horse has a 6th omnibus volume for Gantz.

J-Novel Club has a few digital manga titles that I missed last time that are out this week. Apologies to An Archdemon’s Dilemma 5, Bibliophile Princess 2, and Record of Wortenia War 2. This is the danger of not adding “LLC” to your searches.

ASH: It can make a difference.

SEAN: As for this week, in terms of manga we have Ascendance of a Bookworm 7 and Mapping 2.

In terms of digital light novels, we get The Greatest Magicmaster’s Retirement Plan 9 and In Another World with My Smartphone 22.

Kodansha has a few print volumes next week. We get Don’t Toy with me, Miss Nagatoro 7, Sachi’s Monstrous Appetite 2, and Yuzu the Pet Vet 5.

MICHELLE: I still need to check out Yuzu.

ASH: I’ll have to admit the same.

MELINDA: And I.

SEAN: Digitally the debut is The Springtime of My Life Began with You (Kimi to Aoi Haru no Hajimari), a shoujo title from Dessert. The author’s had a lot of titles out over here, some from Kodansha (The Dorm of Love and Secrets, The Prince’s Romance Gambit) and some via Media Do’s many and varied company names (Heart Break Club). A popular guy is forced, as a punishment game, to ask out the quiet, shy girl in front of the whole class. The trouble is… he insists he really likes her!

ANNA: Those popular guys and their shenanigans!

MICHELLE: I know this concept is not the greatest, but I think the cover is pretty and enjoyed The Dorm of Love and Secrets, so I’ll be giving this a shot.

SEAN: We also get Ace of the Diamond 32, My Roomie Is a Dino 5, Nina the Starry Bride 2, Peach Boy Riverside 7, Saint Young Men 12, and Those Snow White Notes 4, voted “series most likely to get behind on” by Manga Bookshelf.

ANNA: I haven’t read the first volume so I’m sure I’m behind.

MICHELLE: Gah, so behind. It’s coming out especially quickly for some reason! I’m also in need of a mini-marathon on Ace of the Diamond.

SEAN: One Peace has the 2nd volume of isekai harem title Farming Life in Another World.

Seven Seas has FOUR debuts next week. We’ll start with My Alcoholic Escape from Reality (Genjitsu Touhi Shitetara Boroboro ni Natta Hanashi), the latest biographical manga from the creator of My Lesbian Experience with Loneliness, which promises to be as riveting as the previous book’s she’s given us. It ran in Matogrosso, put out by small publisher East Press.

ANNA: Oh wow.

ASH: They’re good but hard-hitting manga.

SEAN: Ride Your Wave (Kimi to, Nami ni Noretara) is a one-volume manga adaptation of the movie of the same name, and ran in Shogakukan’s Deluxe Betsucomi.

MICHELLE: Hm. It’s sports-adjacent, seems like.

SEAN: School Zone Girls is a title from Mag Garden’s MagComi about two troublemaking girls who’ve been together forever, but are they more than just friends? This seems to emphasize the comedy over the yuri.

Lastly, we get Thigh High: Reiwa Hanamaru Academy (Reiwa Hanamaru Gakuen), a Kodansha title from good! Afternoon, and is about an all-girls school… populated entirely by gorgeous crossdressing men. This one also seems to emphasize the comedy.

ASH: This could be hilariously good or hilariously bad – I’m not sure that I can resist finding out which.

MELINDA: I really don’t know what to expect from this.

SEAN: Also out: Dungeon Builder 4 and Uzaki-chan Wants to Hang Out! 5.

Square Enix debuts I Think Our Son Is Gay (Uchi no Musuko wa Tabun Gay), a Gangan Pixiv title about a mom who has realized that her son is keeping a secret. This is supposed to be very good.

ANNA: I’m curious.

MICHELLE: Same.

ASH: Really looking forward to this one.

MELINDA: I’m excited to read this one!

SEAN: They also have By the Grace of the Gods’ 2nd manga volume.

SuBLime wins the title of the week competition with the debut of Dick Fight Island (8nin no Senshi), a long-running title from Libre Shuppan’s Be x Boy Gold. The synopsis… is pretty much not work safe, but can probably be guessed from the title.

ANNA: I don’t think anyone could buy that manga and be confused about what they’re getting.

MICHELLE: Snerk.

ASH: I likewise suspect that it is unlikely.

MELINDA: I mean. Well.

SEAN: They also have Vol. 2 of Don’t Be Cruel: plus+.

Speaking of BL, Tokyopop has a one-shot title, The Treasure of the King and the Cat (Ou to Neko no Himitsu), about a king investigating a series of disappearances who gets caught up in magic.

They also have Ossan Idol 3.

No debuts for Viz, but we get Fly Me to the Moon 5, Fullmetal Alchemist: Fullmetal Edition 13, Pokemon Sun & Moon 10, Rin-Ne 39, Splatoon 12, A Tropical Fish Yearns for Snow 7, and Yo-Kai Watch 17.

ASH: Some great ongoing series in that list!

SEAN: That’s it. See anything maternal? I Think Our Son Is Gay looks like the best choice. I’d avoid Dick Fight Island. Unless your mom loves BL.

By: Sean Gaffney

#Anime #News #Manga Bookshelf

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musicprincess655 · 6 years

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“Is that the last of it?”

Kazuya looked up to see Kuramochi standing in the door of Sawamura’s room, surveying everything they’d brought.

“It should be,” Kazuya said.

“Should I be concerned that every worldly possession you have could be carried over in one trip?”

Kazuya shrugged. It wasn’t like he needed a lot, and he didn’t own any furniture. He’d stuck Kuramochi with carrying the duffel bag full of his books and other heavy stuff because if he could get away with not carrying the heavy bag for a few blocks, he’d definitely go for that. Between the two of them, they’d managed to carry the three bags in one trip.

“Settling in okay?” Sawamura asked. He’d been hovering strangely, like he was trying to be a good host for company except Kazuya and Kuramochi didn’t exactly count as company.

“Yeah, I’m good,” Kazuya said, sitting down on the bed. So far, the only unpacking he’d done was to get his own sheets out and put them on Sawamura’s bed. There was no real point in getting anything else out when he’d just be moving it over to the next room when Sawamura came back from visiting his family anyway. “I don’t have to worry about you having done dirty things on this bed, do I?”

“What, like you never did that kind of thing in your own bed?” Sawamura asked, because Sawamura was weirdly shameless about some things.

“Sawamura!”

“What?”

“You’re not supposed to be shameless about it,” Kazuya said. “Get embarrassed properly, will you?”

“If you two are done talking about your dicks,” Kuramochi said. “Sawamura, isn’t there a convenience store down the street?”

“Yeah?”

“Go get me a sports drink.”

“What? Why would I do that?”

“Senpai privilege,” Kuramochi said. “I just carried Miyuki’s heavy ass books four blocks. You haven’t done shit.”

Sawamura went, but not without a grumble. Kazuya took the opportunity to snoop around Sawamura’s room, as if he wouldn’t have three weeks to do this at his leisure. Sawamura would be going back to Nagano for part of their long spring vacation, and he would be back after Masuko graduated and moved out, making sure that there would never be three of them trying to fit in the small two bedroom apartment. It would involve a little shuffling, but it would work out.

“He sure likes shoujo manga,” Kazuya muttered mostly to himself, inspecting Sawamura’s bookshelf. Kuramochi snickered, helping himself to Sawamura’s desk chair.

Kazuya looked over the plants Sawamura had growing on his windowsill with approval. Of course a country farm boy and nature witch would have a green thumb. There were more of these plants out in the shared space and on the tiny balcony. It gave the entire apartment a bit of a green cast, but it was peaceful. The lack of chaos magic hanging around was just a bonus.

Kazuya had always preferred people with neutral alignments, especially as pairs. They were the easiest to control and use, both in battles and in life. While living with Kuramochi had been easy otherwise, there was always a bit of chaos in the air, no matter how much Kuramochi kept it out of the apartment. For that reason alone, Sawamura would be easy enough to live with, even if he was a bit of a human disaster.

“Are you going to be okay alone with Ryou?” Kazuya asked. Kuramochi stopped spinning the desk chair around.

“Yeah,” he replied. “Now that we’re good on rent money, it should be fine. I just wish we had enough to expand the grocery budget. I’m getting so sick of eating chicken for every meal. Even omurice is getting old.”

“Never thought I’d hear that from you,” Kazuya laughed. “And you two will be fine? Living together, I mean?”

“Of course,” Kuramochi said. “We made it through the end of the semester, didn’t we? Everything from here on out is the easy part.”

“That reminds me, how did that project for Ochiai end up?” Kazuya asked. Kuramochi grinned.

“Ryou-san was actually a lot more helpful than he thought he could be,” he said. “Between him and what I could find in the library, I had a really interesting project. He really came through for me.”

Something in Kuramochi’s expression, something soft, gave Kazuya pause.

“You two seem to be getting along well,” he said carefully.

“It’s been nice,” Kuramochi agreed easily, going back to spinning his chair around.

“Please tell me you aren’t fucking the demon,” Kazuya said, because he wasn’t really in the mood to root around for answers. Kuramochi didn’t even slow his spinning.

“Technically, the demon is fucking me.”

“Gross.”

“You asked.”

Kazuya let him spin in silence for another minute. As much as he wanted to laugh about Kuramochi managing to get himself into feelings for a demon, he knew he’d be the one picking up the pieces when Kuramochi got his heart broken. And he was in no mood to see his best friend in pain.

“You know he’s going to leave, right?” Kazuya said. That got Kuramochi to stop spinning.

“He’s staying until Haruichi finishes his contract with Furuya,” he said.

“Which they’ve both said could end at literally any time,” Kazuya pointed out. “And he’s basically admitted he’s leaving. He’s not…you’re getting tangled up in something that’s not going to last.”

“You think I don’t know that?” Kuramochi asked. “You think I don’t know it would be a lot easier if I didn’t feel a thing for him? It’s not like I planned for this to happen.”

“Then why are you…?”

“Because he’s worth caring about,” Kuramochi sighed.

“He’s not worth breaking your own heart,” Kazuya said softly. “You deserve better than that.”

“I wish it wasn’t like this,” Kuramochi admitted. “I wish…well, I don’t wish he wasn’t a demon. It’s who he is, and I don’t want him to be anything but himself. But I wish that didn’t mean he has to leave.”

There was nothing Kazuya could say to that. He didn’t have any magic words to make this all better. It sucked, because he was going to have to watch Kuramochi lose someone he cared about, and he was helpless to stop it.

The door banging open made them both jump.

“I’m back!” Sawamura called. Leave it to Sawamura to break up a low mood.

“You better have that sports drink,” Kuramochi called, with just a little too much edge to be genuine, not that Sawamura would notice. He was too busy complaining about the wrestling hold Kuramochi had him in, anyway.

“Here, it’s right here!” Sawamura choked out, holding up a convenience store bag with shaking arms. Kuramochi pounced, letting Sawamura go.

“Thanks for this,” Kuramochi said, opening the drink and taking a long swig. Sawamura came to stand in front of Kazuya, holding another sports drink.

“For me?” Kazuya asked coyly, but he was flattered.

“You just would’ve complained if I hadn’t gotten you one,” Sawamura grumbled. Kazuya laughed, taking the offered drink. Who was he to turn down free stuff?

“Were you two snooping around in my room?” Sawamura squawked, as if he’d just realized the error of leaving Kazuya and Kuramochi alone in the apartment.

“Yes, your collection of shoujo manga was truly riveting,” Kazuya said drily. Sawamura’s eyes narrowed until they looked like cat’s eyes.

“Miyuki Kazuya!”

“There’s nothing you can do about it when you’re gone,” Kazuya retorted, though he left the room to sit on the couch instead. “And don’t use my full name.”

Sawamura flopped on the couch next to him, still grumbling about overbearing senpai.

“Well, I’m out,” Kuramochi said, wiping the last of his drink from his mouth. “I have better things to do than hang out with you losers during my spring break.”

“Like what?”

“Like playing videos games until I feel my eyes go numb,” Kuramochi said. “The way the gods intended for breaks to be spent.”

“Don’t go blind,” Kazuya called at his retreating back. He caught Kuramochi flipping him off as he shut the door behind him, and the act made him cackle.

“I should get going too,” Sawamura said. “My train leaves soon.”

“Don’t want to miss your train,” Kazuya said. “I should be good here.”

“Masuko-senpai is taking his couch when he leaves, but my parents said our neighbors are getting rid of theirs, so I’ll bring a replacement with me when I come back,” Sawamura promised. “You won’t be too lonely here by yourself?”

“Masuko-san will be here too,” Kazuya pointed out. “And how come he gets a senpai but I don’t?”

Sawamura rolled his eyes.

“Because you haven’t earned the title of senpai,” he waved his hand dismissively. “And it’s not like he’s here a whole lot. It can get pretty lonely here.”

“I’m fine with being on my own,” Kazuya said. “I can finally sleep off this semester in peace. And I didn’t realize I had to earn the title of senpai.”

“You’re not that much older than me,” Sawamura argued. “And you never act like a proper senpai.”

Somehow, they’d leaned in while they were talking until their noses were nearly brushing. They’d been this close before, but it was usually when Kazuya had an arm around Sawamura’s shoulders, teasing him to Hell and back for whatever had caught his fancy that time. This time, they were both surprisingly quiet, and it gave Kazuya enough time to really look at Sawamura.

Those eyes of his really were something else. Kazuya had never seen a color like them. Bright gold and huge, they would’ve been haunting on literally anyone else. Maybe they were still haunting on Sawamura. They held so many expressions, Kazuya couldn’t even identify them all.

“Sawamura,” Kazuya said, nearly in a whisper because of the hushed atmosphere.

“Yeah?”

“You should…” Kazuya sighed. “You should go catch your train.”

“Yeah, I should,” Sawamura said, leaning back out of Kazuya’s space. Kazuya took a deep breath, turning to watch Sawamura shoulder his overnight bag. “You sure you don’t need anything else?”

“I have to go to the grocery store because your kitchen is pathetically understocked, but no, I should be fine,” Kazuya said.

“Good,” Sawamura said. “Oh! I almost forgot! Give me your LINE ID, I’ll send you a message when I get there safely.”

“Why would you need to know that?”

“It’s a thing friends do!” Sawamura looked affronted. “You’re supposed to care whether I live or die, you know!”

“I don’t have LINE,” Kazuya said, because it was easier than admitting that he actually did want to know that Sawamura had made it home safe, even though there was a basically zero chance of him dying en route.

“How do you not have LINE?” Sawamura asked. “How do you survive in modern society?”

“I’ve been doing just fine so far,” Kazuya protested. Sawamura looked like he was considering hauling him up by his collar, but he let all his breath out instead.

“Fine,” he said, looking extremely put upon. He pulled his phone out of his pocket, tapping at it. “Give me your email, then.”

Kazuya typed it into the phone Sawamura held out for him to take.

“You better not spam me,” Kazuya warned. “I have better things to do than read a million messages about whatever cute dog you saw while you were tramping through the woods.”

“Too late!” Sawamura beamed. “I already have your email. You can’t stop me now.”

“I can block you.”

“Miyuki Kazuya, you wouldn’t dare!”

Kazuya cackled, clutching at his sides. Sawamura really was the best sometimes.

“Go catch your train, Sawamura,” he said. Sawamura nodded, turning and leaving. The apartment fell into a state of quiet. It wasn’t uncomfortable, though. It was just peaceful. Kazuya looked around at the main space again. This would be a nice place to live, he decided.

He headed for Sawamura’s room that would be his for the next three weeks. It was time to start sleeping off this school year.

#miyusawa #kuraryou #fydna #dailydaiya #daiya no a #ace of diamond #dna #my writing #magic au #elt

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recentanimenews · 5 years

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Bookshelf Briefs 6/19/19

Anonymous Noise, Vol. 14 | By Ryoko Fukuyama | Viz Media – Well, that didn’t last long. In a series about the heroine singing in a band, when she can’t sing if she’s dating one of the guys she likes, it’s best to end it. Or at least that’s what Momo thinks, anyway. Time to see who wins the battle of self-sacrifices. Elsewhere, it’s dawning on the band that they need to think past high school, and Haruyoshi is waffling about the direction he wants to go next. I won’t spoil how this is resolved, but it’s sort of hilarious *and* touching. And of course there’s Nino’s part in all this, as she has to deal with a breakup as well, in addition to trying to find her voice—again. Anonymous Noise never seems to lack for things to happen, and it continues to putter along smoothly. – Sean Gaffney

Ao Haru Ride, Vol. 5 | By Io Sakisaka | Viz Media – Sadly, going to the festival turns out to not happen—again—as Kou is once again being drawn away from Futaba, this time because he’s trying to help a distant friend with personal problems. And also possibly because Futaba is hanging out and chatting with Toma, who’s handsome and nice and also has fallen head over heels for her, something Futaba realizes not one bit. And so much of this volume returns us to the halcyon days of Kou being avoidant and difficult. At least Futaba angsting over telling her friends about her feelings for Kou is quickly nipped in the bud. I do really like the reverse costume cafe they do. (They’re right; Murao does look amazing as a butler.) Will this cliffhanger affect anything? Oh, probably. – Sean Gaffney

Ao Haru Ride, Vol. 5 | By Io Sakisaka | VIZ Media – Futaba and Kou had gotten close to confessing their mutual feelings, and he even invited her again to the summer festival they didn’t get to attend in junior high. But then he suddenly cancels and is incommunicado for the rest of summer vacation. When school resumes, it seems he’s actually in good spirits, but is preoccupied with his phone. Eventually it emerges that he’s helping a former classmate get over the death of a parent, and though Futaba thinks this is admirable, she nonetheless feels left out. The fact that this classmate is female is obvious but is held as a reveal until the final page. Meanwhile, a male rival must be introduced too, and so we meet Toma Kikuchi, a boy who Futaba accidentally groped, who comes to like her after realizing she’s perceptive, honest, and not as tough as she might appear. Standard shoujo, but still enjoyable. – Michelle Smith

As Miss Beelzebub Likes, Vol. 6 | By Matoba | Yen Press – No one seems to be more surprised than the artist that this series has reached six volumes, which results in a meta gag when Azazel’s assistant Samyaza appears, and they note it’s far too late in the series to introduce someone like him. He bounces off Mullin well, though—perhaps a bit too well for Beelzebub’s taste, as she worries that they’re both too shippable with each other. Elsewhere, the exchange diary between Belphegor and Azazel is actually not a half-bad idea, but too many cooks spoil a bit of the pie. Unfortunately, there’s more Eurynome as well, and trying to indicate she’ll eventually be shipped with Samyaza does not balance out her continued lust for young boys. Read it if you already are. – Sean Gaffney

A Certain Scientific Accelerator, Vol. 9 | By Kazuma Kamachi and Arata Yamaji| Seven Seas – As it turns out, the girl that Last Order ran into in the previous volume, despite giving off immense “I am a secret villain” vibes—mostly to Last Order, to be fair—turns out not to be a villain. She is, however, a twin, and it’s her sister who seems to have the villain card as well as the tragic past. It’s also startling to see the princess from the previous book captured fairly easily (possibly as Accelerator is healing so AWOL this book), and the cliffhanger, which involves repeated use of the food/death metaphors that litter the book, is really chilling. That said, if there’s one thing that defines this volume of the series, it’s the big ol’ fight in the middle of it, which is very well done. – Sean Gaffney

Dead Dead Demon’s Dededede Destruction, Vol. 5 | By Inio Asano | Viz Media – I admit I avoided reading this for a while. I still expect it to end with everyone either dead or depressed. I mean, it’s Asano. But as always, when I finally started to read it it was fantastic. The art alone is a main reason to read this. Plus, now that everyone is in college, relationships are allowed to develop more naturally. Unfortunately, in both cases this may end up being a mistake. Oran has bonded with the alien in disguise, and hides him by saying he’s her boyfriend… something that may be coming true. As for Kadode, I was sort of hoping that graduation would mean the end of the crush on her teacher, but apparently it means there’s nothing standing in the way anymore. Will either girl find happiness before the end of humanity that continues to be implied here? – Sean Gaffney

My Solo Exchange Diary, Vol. 2 | By Nagata Kabi | Seven Seas – The sequel to My Lesbian Experience with Loneliness ends with the second volume; the conclusion of the series is just as achingly and brutally honest as its beginning. Kabi’s struggle with anxiety and depression continues through its highs and extreme lows. The success of her autobiographical manga ultimately compounds the issue for her as she starts to feel guilty about some of the things that she’s said about family members and has to deal with the consequences of revealing so much of herself to a public audience. A central portion of the second volume of My Solo Exchange Diary is devoted to Kabi’s stays in two different hospital wards—part of her ongoing efforts to get her life back on track. Due to the subject matter of My Solo Exchange Diary, the series isn’t always the easiest to read, but it is still an approachable, compelling, and noteworthy work. – Ash Brown

Queen’s Quality, Vol. 7 | By Kyousuke Motomi | Viz Media – We’re down to twice a year for this series now, the same as Japan, but it’s making those volumes count. We get lots of Fumi being awesome (toilet brush or no), lots of romantic sizzle between her and Kyutaro, overcoming self-loathing and doubt, and a whole lot of testicle jokes. In case you wondered what all the “golden ball” stuff was. The beauty of this artist is that she’s not afraid to have things get completely silly even in the middle of a dramatic fight, and alternatively have the silliest moments give way to drama. We also get a lot more insight into Kyutaro’s late parents here. But, and the cliffhanger doesn’t quite tell us, will someone finally realize that Fumi + Fuyu = Fuyumi? – Sean Gaffney

Ran the Peerless Beauty, Vol. 4 | By Ammitsu | Kodansha Comics (digital only) – Ran and Akira are now officially a couple, and this volume features milestones like calling each other by first names, going on a real first date, holding hands, and Christmas. While it cannot be denied that the plot is fairly formulaic at this point, there’s still something special about Ran the Peerless Beauty. Part of it, I think, is that we see just as much of Akira’s emotions as we do Ran’s, and it’s often the case that when she’s nervous or embarrassed or unsure, he confesses that he’s right there with her. Too, Ammitsu’s art is very expressive. I loved a particular smirk of Akira’s (after purloining a strawberry) very much but actually laughed out loud at the panel in which her father finally comprehends that Akira is Ran’s boyfriend. I hope this one gets a print release so it might reach a wider audience. – Michelle Smith

Sweetness & Lightning, Vol. 12 | By Gido Amagakure | Kodansha Comics – I wasn’t prepared for the final volume of Sweetness & Lightning to make me verklempt, but that’s because I didn’t know the final chapter would see Tsumugi going off to college in Hokkaido. Before this, we got a sequence of chapters with Tsumugi at various ages, where we see her growing in independence and culinary skill. And, finally, heading out to experience life on her own. It’s very nice! Too, I really appreciated that nothing about the finale hinges on whether Inuzuka and Kotori might get together now that she’s somewhere in the neighborhood of 30. It’s clear that Tsumugi would like that, but to the end, this is the story of a father and daughter and how they have stuck together after the loss of someone they love. I enjoyed it very much. – Michelle Smith

Takane & Hana, Vol. 9 | By Yuki Shiwasu | VIZ Media – I know it’s contrived and rather over-the-top, but the meddling chairman forcing his grandson and the Nonomura family to live together really works for me. In order to convince Takane to go along with it, Hana has to honestly confess that she wants to live with him, something she later reiterates to Okamon, who is very worried about her whole situation and finally ends up confessing. I’m not sure Hana and Takane are really getting closer—for every sweet study session there’s a misguided, extravagant bedroom redecoration—but the whole setup does at least put a fresh spin on their arrangement and provides, in the chairman’s words, “a place for you two to become certain about each other.” This series continues to be a lot of fun. – Michelle Smith

By: Ash Brown

#Anime #News #Manga Bookshelf

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recentanimenews · 7 years

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My Week in Manga: June 12-June 18, 2017

My News and Reviews

It’s been couple of months since there’s been an in-depth review here at Experiments in Manga (I mostly blame TCAF 2017), but last week I was very pleased to write about Yeon-sik Hong’s award-winning manhwa Uncomfortably Happily which was just released by Drawn & Quarterly this past Tuesday. It’s an engrossing and relatable memoir about the time Hong and his wife moved from the city of Seoul to the countryside of Pocheon. Normally I would have posted May’s Bookshelf Overload last week, but because I wanted to feature Uncomfortably Happily close to its release date, I’ll be posting it later this week instead.

As for other interesting things to read online, The OASG interviewed a few cosplayers about their opinions on Yui Sakuma’s Complex Age, a manga in which cosplaying takes a very important role. (I’ve fallen a little behind in reading the series, but the first volume in particular left a huge impression on me.) Matt Thorn’s blog, which had been dormant for so long, has a couple of new posts now, too: Before the Forty-Niners takes a look at the early history of shoujo manga while Who’s to Judge Tezuka’s Rivals? delves into even more shoujo manga history by looking at some of Osamu Tezuka’s contemporaries.

Quick Takes

Blossom Boys by Tanaw. I don’t exactly remember how I came across Blossom Boys, but it may have been thanks to one of Tanaw’s Yuri!!! on Ice fanworks. Tanaw is an illustrator and comics creator based in the Philippines. Blossom Boys had its start as part of a webcomics class that Tanaw decided to take and was finished a year later. It’s a charming boys’ love story that is earnest, adorable, sweet, and even a little surprising. Reese is a university student who wants nothing more than to be loved. He’s desperate for someone to ask him out–it doesn’t really matter who they are or what their gender is–and so he is ecstatic when he unexpectedly receives a bouquet of flowers in the middle his math class. Thus begins Reese’s endearingly awkward relationship with Prince, a florist whose peculiarly stern demeanor is the complete opposite of Reese’s bubbly demeanor. Although Blossom Boys does have an overarching story, many of the individual chapters can be fairly episodic. Tanaw also experiments with different illustration styles, palettes, and techniques over the course of the comic. What holds Blossom Boys together instead is its delightful characters and sense of humor. I enjoyed the comic a great deal and I’m glad to have found it; I would definitely be interested in reading more of Tanaw’s work.

My Lesbian Experience with Loneliness by Kabi Nagata. Before it was picked up by a manga publisher, Nagata released the majority of My Lesbian Experience with Loneliness on Pixiv. The manga is an autobiographical and very personal account of Nagata’s struggles with her mental wellness and sexuality. My Lesbian Experience with Loneliness is a powerful work which has been met with well-deserved acclaim. Nagata is forthright, frankly portraying her experiences in a way that is both accessible and disarming. Even though the subject matter is quite serious (self-harm, eating disorders, anxiety, and debilitating depression are all discussed), the pink-hued artwork in the manga is actually rather cute. My Lesbian Experience with Loneliness outlines a turning point in Nagata’s life. On the verge of giving up on life, feeling so incredibly isolated and alone, Nagata makes the impulisve decision to hire a lesbian escort. Ultimately the whole affair doesn’t really solve any of Nagata’s problems and even amplifies some of those that already existed, but it does encourage her to look critically at who she is and the source of her suffering. That’s the story that Nagata captures in My Lesbian Experience with Loneliness and the story with which so many readers have found they could identify. Admittedly and understandably, it’s not always an easy read, but it is a very good one.

Short Program, Volumes 1-2 by Mitsuru Adachi. My introduction to Adachi’s work was through the baseball manga series Cross Game and its anime adaptation. I only recently discovered that Adachi’s first manga to be translated into English was actually Short Program. The series is a collection of short manga taken from a variety of magazines from all of the major demographics (shounen, shoujo, seinen, and josei) spanning from the late 1970s to the early 2000s. Viz Media only ever published the first two volumes of Short Program; it would have been nice to have seen the rest of the series released as well, but since the stories are largely unrelated to one another, at least it’s not like readers will be left with a cliffhanger or otherwise unresolved narrative. For the most part, the short manga of the first two volumes of Short Program are quirky romances, often with twist endings that add a little surprise to what would otherwise be fairly straightforward and even mundane stories. Adachi successfully works within a number of different genres in Short Program–some of the stories are comedies while others are thrillers, some are unabashedly romantic while others are intentionally disconcerting. Overall, Short Program is a solidly engaging and consistently entertaining series.

The Leavers by Lisa Ko. Although Ko has written numerous short stories and essays, The Leavers is her debut work as a novelist and the winner of the 2017 PEN/Bellwether Prize for Socially Engaged Fiction. It’s a particularly timely novel, too, examining the impact of illegal immigration on the families both directly and tangentially involved. The Leavers follows two entwined lives, alternating perspectives between them. First there is Deming, a young man who has yet to find his place in the world. After his undocumented mother Polly suddenly disappears when he is ten, Deming is fostered and adopted by a white couple who rename him Daniel, never knowing what happened to her. The second is narrative is that of Polly herself, telling the story of her background, how she came to the United States from China, and eventually what really happened to her before and after she was gone from her son’s life. The Leavers is in turns compelling and tedious, engaging and exasperating. The issues explored are important ones, but the telling of the character’s stories, especially Deming’s, can sometimes be frustratingly unfocused. Granted, this may also be a deliberate reflection of Deming’s own obscured state of mind.

By: Ash Brown

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