Welcome back, manga fans! Since Previews has a section of the catalog dedicated to manga, we’ll be highlighting that section’s most notable upcoming releases every month. Read on to see what stuck out to us!
10. International manga!
A few months ago I highlighted an Italian manga-styled book that was getting an English release. Now we have a French manga-styled book being published by Kodansha Comics, the American branch of one of the top manga publishers in Japan. There’s always debate over whether non-Japanese manga-styled books should be considered “manga,” but Kodansha doesn’t seem to make the distinction in this case. Which is great, because this book looks beautiful and sounds like a timeless adventure story!
Beyond the Clouds, volume 1
Written and Illustrated by Nicke
Published by Kodansha Comics
A boy with a talent for machines and a the mysterious girl whose wings he’s fixed will take you past the ordinary. In the tradition of the high-flying, resonant adventure stories of Studio Ghibli comes a gorgeous tale about the longing of young hearts for adventure and friendship! Young Theo works as a mechanic, putting his knack for machines to use in the industrialized city where he lives. But when he finds an injured, amnesiac a girl with wings, his life changes forever. Her name is Mia, and although Theo’s talents make quick work of repairing her injured wing, their quest to find her home will take them beyond the clouds and further than they would ever have imagined.
9. From the cross-cultural vault…
Transformers has a deep history in both Japan and the US, with much of the products created in one country eventually making their way to the other. This is one of the few things that, until now, has remained solely in Japan: a manga series serialized in “TV Magazine” during the first show’s original airing. Even if I have no connection to the Transformers franchise, I love when these sorts of things are pulled out of the vault.
Transformers: Classic TV Magazine Manga HC, volume 1
Written by Masumi Kaneda
Illustrated by Ban Magami
Published by Viz Media
THE CLASSIC TRANSFORMERS MANGA NOW AVAILABLE IN ENGLISH FOR THE FIRST TIME!
For eons, the Autobots and the Decepticons have been locked in a brutal civil war. The Autobots seek peace and coexistence, while the Decepticons seek power and control. Now, humans are caught in the middle as the battle between these two mighty factions comes to Earth! A collection of comics originally published in TV Magazine in Japan as a companion to the iconic animated series. Never before been published in English, this is sure to appeal to passionate fans of TRANSFORMERS as well as fans of classic manga art and storytelling.
8. Homegrown suspense.
I’ve heard good things about Oshimi’s other work, and this seems like just the kind of off-kilter suspense take on a slice-of-life story that he excels at creating. The idea of a “toxic parent” is horrifying in the most ordinary way, and I’m sure this series will capture all the conflicting feelings that entails.
Blood on the Tracks, volume 1
Written and Illustrated by Shuzo Oshimi
Published by Vertical Comics
From the creator who brought you notable works such as The Flowers of Evil, Happiness, and Inside Mari, comes a new suspense drama centering on the theme of a toxic parent. Dive into this latest thriller by master storyteller, Shuzo Oshimi! Ordinary middle school student Seiichi Osabe receives love and care from his mother Seiko. Until one summer an incident changes the family dynamic forever. This is a story of a mother’s love that has gone too far…
7. Your monthly dose of “wtf, Japan.”
Please read the publisher’s description. Nothing I can say will top that.
Continued belowSweat and Soap, volume 1
Written and Illustrated by Kintetsu Yamada
Published by Kodansha Comics
In an office romance, there’s a fine line between sexy and awkward… and that line is where Asako – a woman who sweats copiusly – met Koutarou – a perfume developer who can’t get enough of Asako’s… er, scent. Don’t miss a romcom manga like no other! Yae’s living her dream, working at the toiletry maker Lilia Drop. Little do her coworkers know, the reason she loves the company so much is that she’s ashamed of her body odor, and their soap is the only thing that does the trick. So when the company’s lead product developer, a perfuming genius, approaches her in the lobby and wonders what “that smell” is, she’s terrified… but could it be… that he likes it? And, even more surprising to Yae… does she like him?The hilarious ups and downs of an office romance at a personal care products company are the subject of this sexy, strange romp. Sweat and Soap combines the odd-couple chemistry of Wotakoi, the “too real!” workplace comedy of Aggretsuko, and a heavy dollop of office steaminess!
6. A classic returns!
It’s always cool to see an old popular series return with a new printing, and the current “large hardcover” trend is ideal for this sort of re-release.
Saiyuki HC, volume 1
Written and Illustrated by Kazuya Minekura
Published by Kodansha Comics
The boys are back, in 400-page hardcovers that are as pretty and badass as they are! This hit adventure – which blends mythology from around the world into a classic adventure story – has been out of print for years, and this collector’s edition is a fitting celebration of its return! Genjo is a Buddhist priest in the city of Shangri-La, which is being ravaged by yokai spirits that have fallen out of balance with the natural order. His superiors send him on a journey far to the west to discover why this is happening and how to stop it. His companions are three yokai with human souls. But this is no day trip-the four will encounter many discoveries and horrors on the way, and on the road, Genjo will wonder…can he really trust his supernatural companions?
5. Single-volume autobio!
While perhaps an odd choice for the first English translation of Tsuge’s work, “The Man Without Talent” looks to be a fascinating depiction of a fledgling cartoonist’s struggles. Between this, “Blank Canvas” (which also has a new volume out this month), and my #1 pick this month, it’s a great time for autobiographical stories about mangaka.
The Man Without Talent
Written and Illustrated by Yoshiharu Tsuge
Published by New York Review Comics
A Japanese manga legend’s autobiographical graphic novel about a struggling artist and the first full-length work by the great Yoshiharu Tsuge available in the English language! Yoshiharu Tsuge is one of comics’ most celebrated and influential artists, but his work has been almost entirely unavailable to English-speaking audiences. The Man Without Talent, his first book ever to be translated into English, is an unforgiving self-portrait of frustration. Swearing off cartooning as a profession, Tsuge takes on a series of unconventional jobs-used camera salesman, ferryman, and stone collector-hoping to find success among the hucksters, speculators, and deadbeats he does business with. Instead, he fails again and again, unable to provide for his family, earning only their contempt and his own. The result is a dryly funny look at the pitfalls of the creative life, and an off-kilter portrait of modern Japan. Accompanied by an essay from translator Ryan Holmberg that discusses Tsuge’s importance in comics and Japanese literature, The Man Without Talent is one of the great works of comics literature.
4. Beep beep boop bop?
One of the few good side effects of Netflix’s world domination has been that their anime acquisitions inspire English translations of the original manga. I haven’t watched Hi Score Girl, but this concept sounds like a lot of nostalgic fun.
Hi Score Girl, volume 1
Written and Illustrated by Rensuke Oshikiri
Published by Square Enix Manga
Hi Score Girl, Rensuke Oshikiri’s love letter to arcade gaming, finally comes to print! Read the manga that inspired the Netflix Original anime series! The year is 1991, and the world is on the cusp of the golden age of 2-D fighting games. And on the outskirts of town, in a shady arcade that’s a second home to delinquents and businessmen, one girl descends with dignity into her seat at the game cabinet… Her name is Akira Oono, and she’s about to humiliate hardcore gamer Haruo Yaguchi, who fancies himself something of an arcade king, at Street Fighter! Will Haruo ever live down losing to a girl from his class?!
3. LGBT rock band stories!
This book’s publisher, Sublime, frequently publishes “boy’s love” stories (Boy’s Love = BL, therefore the publisher’s name is stylized as suBLime). Most of those books are pornographic depictions of gay relationships, they focus on the sex, and they are aimed towards adult heterosexual women. This book, however, seems to want to tell a genuine romance story, and it’s about gay bandmates, something I don’t think I’ve ever seen in fiction but sure as hell lived through in real life. The series has been well received, so I’m excited to check this one out!
Continued belowGiven, volume 1
Written and Illustrated by Natsuki Kizu
Published by Sublime
Sometimes a song can save your life. Love of music unites the four members of the band Given: hotheaded guitarist Uenoyama, playboy drummer Akihiko, gentle bassist Haruki, and Mafuyu, a singer gifted with great talent and burdened by past tragedy. Their struggles and conflicts may drive them apart, but their bond to the music – and to each other – always brings them back together again. Ritsuka Uenoyama is bored with it all-with school, with his basketball club, and even with his one true passion: playing guitar. Until the day he finds his favorite hidden napping spot occupied by a strange boy cradling a broken-stringed guitar. At first, Uenoyama is nonplussed by Mafuyu Sato and his slightly odd behavior, but when, on a whim, he asks the other boy to sing, the power of Mafuyu’s voice pierces him to the core.
2. More heartwarming cat books!
Fun fact: I’m allergic to cats. Other fun fact: I kind of love cats. Seeing them depicted in manga is a joy, without any of the sniffling, and that’s probably why I’ve featured multiple cat manga in these columns. This one looks completely heartwarming, and apparently it’s had great surprise success in Japan!
A Man and His Cat, volume 1
Written and Illustrated by Umi Sakurai
Published by Square Enix Manga
The top manga launch in Japan in the first half of 2018, A Man and His Cat was also voted one of the top ten manga of 2018 by Japanese bookstore employees nationwide. Having won hearts and topped charts in Japan, this hotly anticipated series about an older gentleman and his unique, adorable cat is available in English for the first time! In the pet shop he calls home, a chubby, homely cat whiles away the hours listening to coos of delight from potential pet parents… but he knows it’s not him they’re fussing over. Even as his price drops with each passing day, no one spares the kitty a glance. Having all but given up on life, the feline dejectedly awaits his first birthday, when he’ll officially be past his sell-by date. So when an older gentleman comes into the shop and wants to take him home, the kitten himself is most shocked of all! Will the man and the cat find what they’re looking for… in each other?
1. New Inio Asano.
Inio Asano’s “Goodnight Punpun” was one of the greatest longform comics I’ve ever read. His current “Dead Dead Demon’s Dededede Destruction” is an incredible exploration of very modern issues. Any new Asano work is something to celebrate, and I’m curious how his nihilistic human drama stories will work with something that seems like it takes cues from his own life. This is the one he’s stated that he most wanted to see translated to English, and that he considers his best work yet. Also, this one’s only 8 chapters, so it should be complete in this volume!
Downfall, volume 1
Written and Illustrated by Inio Asano
Published by Viz Media
From the Eisner-nominated, best-selling author of Goodnight Punpun and solanin comes a dark look at what happens when living the life of your dreams becomes your downfall.
Selling copies is the only thing that matters. So what if your manga series just ended and you have no idea how to start the next one, your marriage is breaking up, your pure love of manga has been destroyed by the cruel reality of the industry and nothing seems to fill the sucking void inside you… Find the secret combo for a new hit manga series and everything will be okay. Right?
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Anything I missed? What are YOU looking forward to? Let me know in the comments!
