#and I am so hoping that Arakawa has been saving it for here

[innerchorus]

Not tagging this with the series tags as it's just a silly little wish of mine, but here's one small yet very specific thing I want from the Team Arslan vs Team Hilmes confrontation: for Zandeh to get a trivial wound on his cheek like the one Kharlan was given by Sam.

[gofancyninjaworld]

I trust your tastes. Can we get some manga recommendations from you?

You can totally get recommendations, but I wouldn’t trust my taste! :D  After all, I used to love Bleach (we do not speak its name now).   I don’t read much manga, but over the years, it does add up.   I’ve restricted myself to what comes to mind in 15 minutes! :)

Stuff I’ve read through and treasure

ALL OF ONE’S OTHER WORKS. Nuff said.

Battle Angel Alita -- written and drawn by Yukito Kishiro.  I will lay my cards on the table: I am a total sucker for good stories about cyborgs.  And I do mean good. It’s so rare that authors put their humanity and agency at the centre of the character.  No fear here!  Alita is most certainly the protagonist, and we grow up with her, from an amnesiac castaway on a junk heap, through her many changes of career and fate, celebrating her increasing independence, her ferocity, and her humanity.  It’s a very interesting world with a truly vast sweep. Also, it’s nice to see someone who actually understands the physics of fighting.  Just a word of warning, Kishiro cannot write an ending to save his life and so far both installments suffer from having a rushed ending following hard on a good opening and a lush middle.

Full Metal Alchemist -- written and drawn by Arakawa Hiromu   Seriously, if I need to explain this one, have you been hiding under a rock? :D  If you have to tell a story about magic, this is how to do it. If you have to tell a story about conspiracies and secrets, this is how to do it.  The Elric brothers and their quest for the philosopher’s stone is just one of the great stories.  It’s got a great anime too: whichever way you go you won’t be disappointed. She’s currently working on a very different story,  Silver Spoon, that’s set in an agricultural college.  Also superb, but hit with hiatuses as she’s having family situations that take her away from the drafting desk.

Monster  -- written and drawn by Naoki Urasawa.  I took a day off work to finish this one. No good deed goes unpunished, so when the brilliant neurosurgeon Kenzo Tenma chooses to save a young boy who’d been shot in the head over operating on a wealthy politician, only trouble comes his way.  Which is a very mild way of saying that the ocean is wet.  Before I read this series, I thought I hated horror stories.  No, I just hated ones that leaned on disgust or shock value to horrify. Jonathan, the boy he saves, is truly one of the most evil characters ever penned, and Tenma’s pursuit of him to both clear his name and stop the horrors that boy spreads in his wake still gives me chills.

Stuff I’m still reading -- or want to finish

A Trail of Blood -- Oshimi Shuuzu.  Seriously creepy story about a boy traumatised by seeing his mother push his cousin off a cliff.  His cousin doesn’t die, but is left severely brain-damaged...and slowly, we’re watching this mother-son dyad spiral into something strange.  If you start, you will have trouble tearing your eyes away.  Still ongoing.

Battle Angel Alita: Mars Chronicle.  I’m just waiting for this story to finish so I can binge it in one fell swoop.

City Hunter -- written and drawn by Tsukasa Hojo.  I really can’t believe I’ve not finished this series yet!  I guess it’s because it just doesn’t feel right to read this one online. It’s one for me to find shelf space and budget to own.

Chainsawman  -- written and drawn by Tatsuki Fujimoto. This is to manga what junk food is to fine dining.  It’s trash but damn enjoyable trash. Violent, cheerfully gory and full of malign supernatural creatures and the mostly disposable humans trying to do something about them, somehow it’s also incredibly enjoyable.

Dämons -- written by Osamu Tezuka, drawn by Hideyuki Yonehara. I’ve only been able to review the first three volumes of this work, but if you’re into dark and gritty revenge quests, this one is for you.  Sadly, it’s never officially been released in English and no scanslation groups are currently working on it.

Dr. Stone -- written and drawn by Boichi.  Pretty good -- it’s set in a world that became petrified for some reason not as of yet fully explained and of its protagonist’s quest to restore humanity using the power of science!  I’ve gone in quite a ways but I’m waiting for it to finish so I can binge.

Dungeon Meshi --  written and drawn by Kui Ryoko.  A really good adventure story. Briefly,  Lauis is desperate to save his sister, who has been devoured by a dragon, before she’s digested and he leads a motley band (is there any other sort?) in that quest. Features lots of great recipes.  Ongoing series.

Golgo 13 --  ‘Finishing’ this manga about the assassin supreme, Duke Togo, is an impossibility. There are just too many stories.  Because the volumes are largely self-contained, this is a story I dip in and out of as and when I encounter one.

Lone Wolf and Cub -- Ridiculously, I’m just one volume short of reading the whole series.  But have I done so?  No. Because then this wonderful, heart-breaking story of the quest of a dispossessed samurai to take vengeance on those who wronged him would be over.

The Way of the House Husband  --  Slice-of-life about the adventures of a yakuza turned house husband.  This story is a scream.  You don’t need to read chapters in any particular order, so there’s no reason to not check it out!

Vertical World  -- written and drawn by Kuu Tanaka.  A story I recently started, it makes the best use of the vertical scrolling online format to describe a surrealist, nearly two dimensional world consisting of a tower that literally goes on forever.

Stuff I wandered away from but can still heartily recommend

Beastars  -- written and drawn by Paru Itagaki. I totally loved the anime of the first season and went to check out the manga.  This is a good, solid story set in a world where nearly all animals are sentient, sapient, and acculturated with predators and prey living in some uneasy harmony. And a wolf falls in love with a rabbit.  I just don’t find it grabs me as much in extended format.

My Hero Academia  -- written and drawn by Kōhei Horikoshi.  Make no mistake, there’s a damn good reason this story is popular.  It’s really a well-realised shonen series featuring the journey  from hopeful recruits to being the upstanding heroes of the world.  Don’t go in expecting One-Punch Man. I find it good, but not compelling.

Origin -- written and drawn by Boichi.  As you can tell by now, I do love good sci fi. Origin has a great premise, revolving around a self-aware robot trying to find out what it means to live a good life and is trying to pass as a human being.  But life isn’t easy.  The one thing that kicks me out is that I really hate the way he draws the women in this story.  So much so I find myself breaking off for weeks at a time.   I’ve taken it as a signal that perhaps I should just let this one sci-fi lie.  Your mileage will vary and if it’s not an issue for you, the story is a peach!

Futari Ecchi -- written and drawn by Katsu Aki.  I bet you weren’t expecting me to recommend a hentai manga, were you?  I’m surprised it’s still ongoing, but that should tell you something about it.  This story is kind. It is humane. It is warm and often funny without being farcical.  For myself ecchi isn’t a genre I’ve found hugely interesting and it’s become less interesting with time, but if this floats your boat, do check it out.

[psycho-alchemist]

What did you think of fma live action? Is it worth watching?

Thank you for asking!! Honestly I’m touched that someone would care what I have to say

First of all, I want to shout out gomboc123 once again (and wrongnote earlier in the evening) for streaming the movie. They absolutely didn’t have to, and regardless of whether people liked or disliked it, it was very thoughtful, and it was fun to watch the movie with other people! 

I went into the movie not expecting much. I actually didn’t plan on watching it at all, because I didn’t want it to ruin my mental image of the series, if that makes sense? But because I expected so little--and because I had nothing better to do with my evening--I decided to watch it. If you expect the movie to hold up to Brotherhood’s standard, then no, I do not recommend watching it. If you don’t have much time to watch movies and you’d have to sacrifice some study/sleep time to watch it, then no, I do not recommend it. But if you have low expectations or just want to know what happens, then sure, go for it. Even then I wouldn’t highly recommend it to anyone, since I wasn’t the hugest fan of it.

I am glad I found the time/attention span to watch the movie, just because I wanted to be able to analyze it and compare it to BH. Obviously it wasn’t going to hold up to BH’s standard, but I think the movie was disappointing on a few different levels. Without providing any spoilers to the actual story, here are my main issues with the film. Note that these points do include descriptions of some of the characters.

I would never have wanted or expected the producers to fit 64 episodes into one movie. Ideally, 5 movies would have been awesome, but even 2 would have been maybe possibly doable. But the producers did this weird in-between thing, where they took tiny pieces of the plot from all over the series (as early as episode 1 and as late as episode 53) and tried to mush them together without actually making the story coherent.

The producers had to get rid of a lot of characters in order to make the story fit. That’s understandable, but I can’t say I understand why they threw out some characters. The Xing crew? Scar? Pride, Sloth, Wrath or Greed? Father and Hohenheim, the true main characters of the anime? Don’t know them, sorry.

Along the same vein, a couple characters got way too much screentime. My biggest grievance was with Tucker. He went from being a pretty minor villain to returning as a major villain and even getting his own melodramatic monologue. The screentime he got could have easily been redirected to one of the characters I listed above.

Riza and Alphonse really get the short stick in terms of character development. Alphonse is really submissive for some reason, and just passively goes along with the story. He doesn’t show much emotional or autonomy at all. He exists more as a little brother and not really as his own person. And don’t even get me started on his lack of emotion during the Nina scene.

Riza has always been more on the stoic side, but the film just makes her this :| person in the background who just watches everything Roy does. She lacks the depth that the anime gives her, and she’s largely turned into a damsel in distress, minus one scene near the end. Even one of her scenes defending Roy is reversed so Roy is saving her instead.

Remember how Brotherhood spent a LOT of screentime showing Roy’s struggle with giving into his broken anger or forgiving? Remember how long the characters spend trying to prevent Roy from turning into a vengeful monster? Well, fuck all that lol the producers didn’t give a shit

So those are my main vague criticisms. I would love to elaborate on them more, but I don’t want to spoil anything! All of that said, here are a few things I liked about the movie:

Watching it via stream was a fun experience, since I could discuss the movie with other people!

I was interested in watching the movie for the sole purpose of comparing it to Brotherhood, and I definitely think the movie renewed my appreciation for Arakawa-sensei’s storytelling.

Winry’s acting was really great. Her performance during the “Created Feelings” segment of the movie really sold the scene to me, when Edward/Alphonse’s performances felt lacking to me.

Hughes was fantastic, as always.

Hughes’ death scene had a really cool twist to it, and I think the way they shot and revealed the twist was really well-done. We were all screaming in the chat!

I hope this was helpful! This is all just my opinion, so if you want to watch the movie, then by all means please do! But if you’re short on time or don’t really like watching movies unless they’re really good, then hopefully this helps you decide. :)

[izayukam]

Ice Explosion 2020

Let me share a little report of Ice Explosion 2020 here, at least, the Daisuke’s parts. It was a lively, warm and friendly send-off for him as much as a huge gift from him to his fans. It was happy, fun and emotional time. The venue was our familiar Shin-Yokohama Ice Arena, where Friends on Ice and Christmas on Ice had been held. The cast skaters are similar to the other two. Due to the lack of time so soon after the Nationals and the biggest holidays of Japan I was prepared to see another show exactly like those and tried to be understanding. Well, it did have the same format. Some group numbers, each individual programs, collaboration works with a live artist, even Mr. Gamada’s passionate MC style that comes with teasing with his heavy love to the skaters (or all the mankind). They are all there. But this is made of, for and about Daisuke Takahashi and celebrating the years of his singles competitive career and cheering for his new beginning as an ice dancer with Kana Muramoto. The first show of the Day 1, I found the seats are fully occupied though it was early afternoon of a weekday and pretty busy time of the year for homemakers. The opening: On the ice the images lightning flashed. Daisuke came out alone all in black. T-shirt, pants and his face buried in the hood of a thin, crisp and loose robe. aimlessly skating he was lost and powerless. In the dim lights he blindly let out white breath in the cold air a few times, once with his face up. It reminded his “Marnie” video he made in 2015. (It was the very first beauty I noticed in this show but sadly this visible breath never happened again on five other shows) Another being came over to give him power. And three pairs of other “animals” as well. According to the notes ran on the upper wall, he must have been given eyes of an eagle, ears of an wolf, strength of a bear and speed of a puma. Making him a brave soul. Now he raised up. All the skaters came out on the ice and he took charge. Music: “4 Powers” by Bravestar https://youtu.be/n0AsEcIRvq8 Now he is the leader of the pack. He gives them power... later it turned out that this was choreographed by Kenji Miyamoto but some of the movements I felt it was an homage to The Phoenix. This opening was so cool I wanted more. Music: “The Time is Now” by atreyu https://youtu.be/ss_JgjdxX40 After the opening two Chinese junior skaters, coached by Pang/Tong pair (I believe they are considered not a major group in China unlike nationally backed one around the gold medalist pairs of the Vancouver. Dai might have felt to give them encouragement for the long year friends). They skated alternatively, 13 years old girl in the early show and 16 YO boy for the evening. Then Kana Muramoto’s “Feeling Good”. I was thrilled when in the middle of the program she rose from lying position and skated straight to me. Enticing and sensuous, yet she got class. She got sense of movements like her new partner. She could connect with the audience. I can see Kana + Dai will be a bomb to the ice dancing with or without their numerical success. At the very end of the program Daisuke joined and they skated together just to finish. I got excited with fingers crossed. The very first official performance in public for the couple was really short. They looked great to present passionate movement together. In two seconds it was over and the applause came he moved away from the center back to his humble self and gave her his cute clapping. After individual programs of Keiji Tanaka (“pump it”- wonderful all through, good luck in the Worlds) and Kanako Murakami (”Boléro” ambitious music choice of Shae-Lynn’s Choreography) then Tanith and Ben’s (-simply fun!), Misha Ge (“Les Feuilles mortes ”- beautiful ), the collaboration pieces with a violinist Ms Emiri Miyamoto were presented. Akiko Suzuki’s Lavender pro, (splendid) team PIW and Andrew/Kaitlyn’s ”Time to Say Goodbye” choreographed by Kana Muramoto (my heart ached) and Shizuka Arakawa’s continental tango choreographed by Kanako Murakami (awesome). And the Meryl and Charlie skated to a great love song (no name at hand) Then, the last of the Act I had come. The two men from PIW team, Dai’s long time friend Hirokazu Kobayashi, also Yuta Onuma, and Elladj Balde started it to the strong tune of: Music: My Songs Know What You Did In The Dark by Fall Out Boy https://youtu.be/LkIWmsP3c_s After the short, athletic and artful skating and dancing, Ms. Miyamoto’s live violin stepped in and started very intense tune that grew into ... isn’t it? Isn’t it that? It’s coming, I know it’s coming.. here we go!! The intro of the Phoenix and Daisuke came in! The audience roared. The four guys made a formation of one line one behind another w Dai in the front, as the violinist quietly turned and walked out. And the Fall Out Boy’s song started and now the audience went wild. I love this group version. In and out to skate Daisuke could pour all his energy into the major dance movements w/o pacing to save it for the elements. (And after each of his all-out performances he still had a hard time getting up. But to his credit he completely nailed beautiful 3 Lutz on ALL the six performances!) The piece had more than a few screaming points and I prepared lozenge after Day 1 but it didn’t save my voice very well. Daisuke being one of the group didn’t water it down. It got more intense. More fire. He didn't try to blend in to the group like he used to do. He was even more Daisuke than any other time. The rest boys danced to Daisuke’s Phoenix or so I felt. I wish this to be one of his standard repertory or at least to be brought to a few more shows. And I seriously worry about the roof or the structural damage of the venue. The performers and the audience, even the other skaters dancing at rink side shook the entire house. The Act II started with “Welcome to the Ice Dance World” to the music of Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast medley”. Two of the ice dancing couples, Meryl/Charlie and Tanith/Ben and the baby couple just hatched, Kana/Dai. Kana in white, looking pure and fresh, found and picked up a red rose. It is the key item of time limit of the curse for true love to break in the original story. Maybe it didn’t have so much role in THIS program but later on it earned a very nice story to cherish in my memory. She gracefully skated and left the rose in the back, and the two senior couples showed their craft and what ice dancing is made of. (Throughout the show the three couples displayed variety of lifts seemingly to educate the newcomers and help creating their own) Dai came in with the rose. Still in the boots for singles but he swiftly reached to Kana and presented the flower. Instead of staying there to check her reaction he ran to the other end of the rink and showed off his ballet jump. But now he saw her dancing with the two other guys. He didn’t know what to do and turned to the two other ladies. (←←One of my favorite moments I can’t get enough) They quickly checked and touched up his hair and clothes and gave a cheer-up clap in the back to send him back to her. And then this brand new couple got together and started skating while the two other couples (and the audience as well) gave them parental smiles... After that show went on with: Keiji (Hip Hip Chin Chin) Kanako, Akane and Kiki (PIW crews, Dancing Hero of from 80’s Bubble age ) Chinese Jr. Group performance (Soothing) Elladj (Love it) Kaitlyn/Andrew (Adorable) Then the violinist Emiri Miyamoto with Akiko, Misha and 4 of PIW crews presented Wild West number, “Roundtable Rival” by Lindsey Stirling. The Great Emiri time! I believe I was excused to keep watching her and her “dancing” while playing instead of skaters because at the end the skaters weren’t credited. Only the violinist’s name announced. (But skaters were really lovely) Followed by Shizuka Arakawa’s “One Day I’ll Fly Away” and Meryl/Charlie’s Queen, the last solo of Dai. The recorded narration in his soft voice was played first. I try to put it in English as close as possible to his original. (Words are from my memory and a few peoples’ tweets. Sorry for the missing or mistaken parts.) “My figure skating life that started when I was eight years old, now has reached 25 years, quickly. In days, those years count about 9000 days. Looking back I feel them both long and short. Lots of scenes come back from my memories. Sometimes I had tears of regret, sometimes I shared tears of joy with my buddies. All the experiences are my treasures. With these memories I am now closing the final curtain of my competitive life as a singles skater. But at the same time, the curtain of my new life as a competitor is opening. There must be a lot of walls stand in the path and I am going to go over one by one and I am hoping to see and looking forward to the new sceneries beyond. I am grateful to all the people around who had supported me and also all of you in the audience who had cheered for me and given me courage at any time. Thank you so very much. And I hope I will have your support to continue.” He came out once again on the ice in a casual, living-room wear of a long camel colored cardigan sweater on a white T shirt and black pants. While preparing the performance to start, somewhat similar words from Daisuke were running on the upper wall screen in English. And it ended with these words, “I hope to continue my dream with all of you by my side.” And he skated to “9000 Days” from the movie Invictus. https://youtu.be/UjCW9ktWB88 His beautiful skating that floats over the ice, unprepared gentle lifting and soft landing of his jumps, (Salchow and Lutz), movement of his arms connected to his back and shoulders. All were organically harmonized. They were all there, those other things Dai always had been giving that he skipped during The Phoenix. In a way for some reason I relate this piece to the final skating of Genji’s wailing in Hyoen. He put everything with his deep emotion, only this is full of thankfulness. He was smiling all through the program. I have never seen that before. At the end of it all the skaters came to give a huge group hug. The circle around him got so tight and he went completely out of sight. The show ended. The applause at the end of this was somewhat subdued. Clapping endlessly most of his fans in the audience choked and no one felt like screaming out. Instead, I imagine, many were hugging the banner and their own memories and inwardly shout thanks like I did. The lights were up and now fun time of finale. The music for finale “Ever Again” and grand finale “Celebrate”. Each time he tried 4T and fell. (Pretty nice try though) The very last one when he fell he got on his stomach and cover his face with his both hands, mighty cute (again). The very last day Kana found something within the front row of the audience on the north side, the opposite of the front. She went over to Daisuke and talked to him and two went over to that corner of north almost to the west. They gave something to the one of the guests and the people around pleasantly reacted. Later I found this on a few tweets: they saw the banner of K7/D1 to cheer up for both Kana and Dai. Kana found it first and went to Dai, bashfully telling him something. He saw it too and made a broad smile and they gave her the rose they used in the show. I hope TV Tokyo will show it when they air the complete version. I will add a few bits more if I can, but I have to go to the gate to catch my flight. Thank you very much for reading.

[recentanimenews]

Bookshelf Briefs 3/19/19

Behind the Scenes!!, Vol. 6 | By Bisco Hatori | Viz Media – This is coming to a close soon, and you can sort of tell—despite the plot complication showing us that Goda still really wants to direct, there’s just not a lot of special effects work here. Instead, we see the romantic pairings start to resolve, though resolve does not, in this case, mean “start a relationship.” I like this, as it shows how it can be difficult but not impossible to carry on working and being friends with someone after you’ve been rejected. Ruka, though, may have a tougher row to hoe here, and I have a suspicion that her arc is going to be the resolution of the series. Which is in the next volume, hopefully coming out a bit sooner than the year between books five and six. – Sean Gaffney

Dr. STONE, Vol. 4 | By Riichiro Inagaki and Boichi | Viz Media – This is a Shonen Jump series, and I think that fans of Dr. STONE are simply going to have to accept that we are not dealing with science, but with SCIENCE!, shouted like the Thomas Dolby song. In other words, leave your disbelief at the door, it is not welcome here. Meanwhile, we do find out why the girl wears a watermelon on her head—she’s half-blind without glasses, which don’t exist here. Glass is important, as it will allow Senku to help save the girl, but before he can do that, there’s a tournament arc coming up, which everyone enters with lots of “we will fix the bouts” plans which all get torpedoed instantly. This series is pure dumb fun, almost JoJo-esque at times. – Sean Gaffney

Everyone’s Getting Married, Vol. 9 | By Izumi Miyazono | VIZ Media – Despite the fact that Asuka suggested that she and Ryu break up at the end of the previous volume—having seen how he flourished in Washington, DC and not wanting to hold him back—there was really zero chance that the series would end without them tying the knot. Apparently, they had a three-year separation where they were still in love but focusing on work and didn’t talk at all. They meet again at their friends’ wedding and suddenly it’s proposal time! It’s pretty anticlimactic, but there were things about the final volume I did like, like Kamiya assuming Asuka was crying over the breakup only to find her clear-eyed and also that Asuka came to appreciate her challenging job and changed her mind about quitting to be a full-time homemaker. I’d probably read something else by this author. – Michelle Smith

Fate/Zero, Vol. 8 | By Gen Urobuchi, Type-Moon, and Shinjiro | Dark Horse – Given this is the eighth of fourteen total volumes, we are at last starting to cull some of the cast, and thank goodness it involves Caster and his master being taken down, though honestly I could have done without the “Jeanne forgives me for killing all those little kids!” bit. We also get to see how overpowered Gilgamesh really is, as if we didn’t know that already, and find that the Lancer/Sola-Ui team is also getting removed from the equation. We do finally get more Tokiomi, at last, but ugh, he’s a really horrible father, even if you aren’t a Sakura fan. Since I am, I regard him with revulsion, even as I know that Kariya is on the losing end here. Well-written apocalypse manga. – Sean Gaffney

Fullmetal Alchemist: The Complete Four-Panel Comics | By Hiromu Arakawa | VIZ Media – This slim volume collects not only the four-panel comics from the 27-volume Fullmetal Alchemist manga series—about which I’d forgotten everything save for a memory that Alphonse was drawn very cutely—but also those included in DVD releases for the first anime and Brotherhood and “rare strips from Japan.” The contents are organized by source. Some strips are more amusing than others, of course. Jokes about Edward’s height became tiresome, but I did like quite a few of them, particularly one in which a gorilla dude is disappointed that a lion dude doesn’t have toe beans and the one featuring some sheep terrorism. The volume is certainly cute and a must-have for completists, but not earth-shattering. It does make me want to reread the series, though! – Michelle Smith

Golden Kamuy, Vol. 8 | By Satoru Noda | Viz Media – Sometimes Golden Kamuy ditches its dark humor or its politics or its action adventure or even its food. Yes, sometimes it’s pure horror, and that’s what we get for a lot of the first half of this volume, which is stomach-churning. I imagine anyone who would have truly been upset by this long since dropped the title, but Edogai (who premieres at the start of the volume and is dead by the end of it) is a real piece of work, and leads to some of the grossest art in the series. Thankfully, it’s not all taxidermy gone wrong, and there is a bit of food, as well as an exciting and lethal mining adventure. But I must admit, I’m hoping the next volume steps back just a bit from seeing how horrifying it can get. – Sean Gaffney

Haikyu!!, Vol. 31 | By Haruichi Furudate | Viz Media – It’s not going to be easy for Karasuno, who lose the second set here, and need to find a way to regain the momentum. That said, the other team is really good. Here we see how everyone has evolved to use their bad habits for good—Kageyama’s drive to win and succeed no longer is at the expense of everyone else, and Tsukishima’s insults and sneering are almost weaponized, too. The art is also getting more assured, showing off some really nice angles and making you want to go see a volleyball game in real life. But I gotta admit, in the end this is a lot of pages about a volleyball game in progress, which means I enjoyed it but don’t have a heck of a lot to say. – Sean Gaffney

The Quintessential Quintuplets, Vol. 2 | By Negi Haruba | Kodansha Comics – This series runs on—in fact its main reason for being is—pulling a shell game to see which heroine will win. As such, we need to balance out the heroines. Since Miku got so much attention last time, we move to the others. Nino is upset that Futaro can read her like a book. Itsuki bonds with his younger sister at an arcade, and gets the “wow, we look like a family” picture. And Ichika, the short-haired twin, has to deal with an acting audition being at the same time as a festival, meaning she has to break a promise with her sisters. This isn’t all that original, but I like everyone—even Nino, who’s written to be unlikable here. A fun romantic comedy where I’m still not sure who wins. (My money’s on Itsuki.) – Sean Gaffney

Tomo-chan Is a Girl!, Vol. 3 | By Fumita Yanagida | Seven Seas – This may be rising up to become one of my favorite 4-koma manga of all time, as it moves from strength to strength. This despite the revelation that Carol’s mother had her when she was thirteen years old (which is commented on as creepy in the text). We find that, just as Tomo takes after her mother, so do Misuzu and Carol with their respective mothers. As for Tomo and Jun, well, she stays the night at his place, and later on bonds with him while dressed in a nice dress and wig (so he doesn’t know it’s her). They’re adorable and awkward. We also get to see what good friends our main trio are coming, and while I like Jun, and wish I could see more of Kosuke, I’m delighted with that. Excellent title. – Sean Gaffney

By: Sean Gaffney

[recentanimenews]

Manga the Week of 11/22/17

SEAN: The November Crush continues, and there’s no respite. Let’s dive right in.

We start with novels, as Haikasoru has the 5th volume of Legend of the Galactic Heroes.

MICHELLE: Every time I say I really will read this series and every time I mean it, but every time I fail to accomplish it.

ASH: I’m a little behind myself, but I am enjoying the series.

ANNA: I have the first book but I haven’t read it yet.

SEAN: J-Novel Club has the slightly less dignified 6th volume of I Saved Too Many Girls And Caused the Apocalypse.

Kodansha is digitally still giving us Del Rey rescues – here’s Princess Resurrection 20.

There’s also a new pile of their current digital-only series. We have Elegant Yokai Apartment Life 3, I’m in Love and It’s the End of the World 2, Kasane 7, Real Girl 7, Space Brothers 30, and Until Your Bones Rot 2.

Print has some heavy hitters as well, starting with the Deluxe Edition of Battle Angel Alita. This is the first series, which old-timers will recall came out from Viz back in the pamphlet comic days, though I believe this is a new translation/orientation. This is also a hardcover omnibus.

Cells at Work! has a 5th volume out next week.

MICHELLE: I have missed learning about neutrophils and the like.

ASH: I get such a huge kick out of this series.

ANNA: We have a couple volumes at my library!

SEAN: And we get a 2nd Kiss Me at the Stroke of Midnight, whose first volume I found… needed to be more quirky.

MICHELLE: Heh. I will at least be checking this out.

SEAN: And if you enjoyed the anthology Neo Parasyte f, you’ll love the 2nd volume, Neo Parasyte m.

ASH: I’m looking forward to this! Moto Hagio is one of the contributors, among other things.

SEAN: One Peace has a 12th volume of Maria Holic, which somehow remains popular, I suppose.

Speaking of series I can’t kill with fire from my mind, Seven Seas has a 3rd How to Build a Dungeon.

And also a 2nd Red Riding Hood and the Big Sad Wolf.

Their debut is Slumbering Beauty, which comes from Yumi Unita, the creator of Bunny Drop. It runs in Rakuen Le Paradis, which will always get my attention, and is apparently a “modern day fairy tale”. (No wife husbandry this time around, please.)

MICHELLE: I’m very interested in this one!

ASH: As am I! (Also, I didn’t realize it was a series until just now.)

ANNA: Huh, I liked Bunny Drop until I know how the story was going to end, so I’m curious about this.

SEAN: Vertical also has a big debut. We can’t get Saint Young Men just yet, but we can get the author’s other hit, Arakawa Under the Bridge. It’s very strange, and ran in Square Enix’s Young Gangan. I believe Crunchyroll also has it digitally.

MELINDA: I’m so on board for this.

ASH: I greatly enjoyed the anime adaptation, so I’m very excited to read the original manga. Hopefully this may help pave the way for more of Nakamura’s work in translation.

ANNA: Strange manga from Vertical is my (occasional) jam!

SEAN: And not to be outdone, Viz gives us the debut of Children of the Whales (Kujira no Kora wa Sajou ni Utau). a dark mystery that appropriately runs in Akita Shoten’s Mystery Bonita. It looks very swank.

MICHELLE: “Dark mystery” is right up my alley.

ASH: If nothing else, the first volume’s cover art is gorgeous, but the story sounds intriguing as well.

ANNA: Will be checking this out for sure.

SEAN: Viz also has a 5th Mobile Suit Gundam Thunderbolt (Gundam manga two weeks in a row? Go back in time and tell the fans in 1999 that this is a thing.)

And rejoice, there is a 13th volume of Ooku! It’s down to once a year, but the anticipation makes it better.

MICHELLE: Verily, I rejoice.

MELINDA: As doth I!

ASH: Forsooth!

ANNA: Indeed.

SEAN: Lastly (for Viz), if you like Tokyo Ghoul, there’s an artbook out called Illustrations: zakki.

And now for Yen, starting with the light novels. If you like Re: Zero but hate Subaru, you’ll love this spinoff series, Re: Zero EX. This first volume focuses on the past of Crusch and Felis.

We are getting many light novels in the coming months with very, very silly premises, and this may be one of the most interesting. So I’m a Spider, So What? is a standard “class of students are transported to fantasy world and given cool powers” work. However, our heroine is a spider. Which is considered a monster, so she has to fear for her life. Just the word ‘heroine’ makes me happy here.

MELINDA: I feel like if there’s a chance for me to get into light novels, this would be it. Can it do the job?

ASH: It is nice to have a heroine for a change of pace!

SEAN: And if you wanted to see more of the cast of your name, there’s a book of stories out next week called Another Side: Earthbound.

Yen Press has the complete in one omnibus Corpse Party: Book of Shadows, a sequel to the kill em off mystery series.

Forbidden Scrollery debuts. Technically a fantasy with lots of yokai and pretty art, it’s also a spinoff of the popular bullet hell game Touhou. I am hoping you don’t need any backstory to enjoy it.

ASH: I didn’t realize it was a spinoff, but the yokai definitely have my attention. Also, the book-related magic.

MELINDA: I like yokai and pretty art.

SEAN: Kakegurui: Compulsive Gambler has a 3rd print edition.

Log Horizon: The West Wind Brigade has been losing my attention lately, so I hope its 7th volume steps up its game.

If you want to read all of Pandora Hearts, and you love packaging, get the PandoraBox, which features all the volumes enclosed in a gorgeous trunk.

MELINDA: I can’t possibly justify this purchase, but I can recommend!

SEAN: Comic Gene is known for weird series, and the last debut next week certainly falls in that category. A Polar Bear in Love is the adorable tale of the titular polar bear and his love for a seal. Fun ensues.

Lastly, we get the 2nd your name manga.

Think we’re done? We’re not remotely done! Tune in the week after next for even worse November madness!

By: Sean Gaffney