Welcome back, manga fans! I tried to strike a nice balance between first volumes and series that are a bit farther along this month. I think I did a pretty good job. And, to everyone’s shock and my own, #1 on the list is an Isekai. Yeah! You read that right. What a topsy-turvy world we’re living in, isn’t it?
10. New to Me, At Least
“New Game” is a series I’ve been hearing about for years now and just never got around to reading. I still haven’t. I’m not much of a “Cute girls doing cute things” reader. However, this seemed like the perfect opportunity to recommend it to y’all and branch out of my usual recs. There are only so many weird sci-fi titles I can put here before I lose all credibility as a picker of diverse titles.
New Game! Vol. 13
Written and Illustrated by Shoutarou Tokunou
Published by Seven Seas Entertainment
Aoba Suzukaze may look like a middle schooler, but she’s actually a character designer fresh out of high school. Not only is she working for the company that put out one of her favorite games, she also gets to spend her days modeling and creating characters. Follow her adorable shenanigans in this 4-panel slice-of-life as she learns the ropes of the industry and gets to know her co-workers.
9. An Apple a Day Keeps the Ryuk Away
If you don’t know “Death Note,” you’ve either been living under a rock or…well, living under a rock. Even if you have never encountered it, you’ve likely heard the name and have a vague understanding of what the titular Death Note is. “Death Note’s” popularity and notoriety is legendary, both in and out of the anime/manga world. As such, this doesn’t need much of a sell. It’s more “Death Note” but focused instead on some new characters, which is the perfect way to follow-up a completed work with a definitive end.
Is it good? I dunno. But it has to be better than “Platinum’s End.”
Death Note: Short Stories
Written by Tsugumi Ohba
Illustrated by Takhiro Obata
Published by Viz, LLC
Kira’s story is over, but the Death Note’s is not…In this imaginative and complete collection of Death Note short stories penned by the series’ creators, discover tales of lives irrevocably changed by the sinister influence of the Death Note, with surprising and thrilling answers to the question of what it truly takes to use the Death Note…or fight it.
8. Taking the L to Murdertown
I’m a sucker for detective stories. Long-time readers of this column, and anyone who has heard me sing the praises of “Gotham Central,” know that. I’ll give any of them a shot; even real duds like “i Tell c.” So, while details are scarce on “Lost Lad London,” and the cover isn’t particularly engrossing, I’m gonna give this one a shot. It helps, too, that the protagonists look to both be Black. That’s a rarity in manga and should be celebrated.
Lost Lad London, Vol. 1
Written and Illustrated by Shinya Shima
Published by Yen Press
A murder on the London Underground and a mysterious bloody knife draw a regular university student and a grizzled New Scotland Yard detective into a web of crime and suspense…
7. Why Are So Many Manga Titles So Bad?
Not only is the title evocative of the wrong kind of story it seems to be trying to tell, it’s just a bad title. It’s so long and thuddingly literal. That said, the description makes me interested in seeing where this series is going. It’s a romance comic that features a potential trans romantic love interest and a potentially bi lead. I say potentially because blurbs are not indicative of the text and who knows what the story wants to say.
Who knows if it can even say what it wants to say well? I worry it could end up being reductive. I worry it will end up taking what should be a nuanced look at gender, sexulaity, societal expectation and the difficulty of figuring out how and if you like someone as a hormonal teen and simplifying it to be pat or portray easy answers. Or even worse that it will fall flat on its face. But that’s all doomsaying. We won’t know ‘till we read it, right?
Continued belowI Think I Turned My Childhood Friend Into a Girl, Vol. 1
Written and Illustrated by Azusa Banjo
Published by Seven Seas Entertainment
It’s a familiar story: a popular high school student gives their plain friend a makeover and transforms their life. But this time, the path to a new life isn’t quite so straight and narrow. Kenshirou Midou has loved cosmetics all his life, keeping his obsession secret from almost everyone except for his childhood friend Hiura Mihate. One day, Kenshirou gets permission to practice applying makeup on Hiura, and the results are earth-shattering: Hiura’s appearance transforms from a plain, undersized boy to a pretty, petite girl, and Kenshirou discovers just how freeing it is to apply his passion! Yet he’s not the only one who finds the process liberating. Hiura likes the makeup, and the subsequent “dress-up” in feminine clothes, and decides to start wearing the girls’ uniform to school. Kenshirou doesn’t understand if he’s unlocked something in Hiura, or if he’s simply seeing a new side to his childhood buddy that he never noticed before. What are these feelings bubbling between them now-is this attraction truly new?
6. Three Volumes in One Month??? Must be Summertime
I had a hard time parsing the previews for this title but it looks like the first three volumes, of a planned six, are releasing at the same time. I chose to pick just volume one but if it’s true, and you like this volume, good news! There are two more available right away. Why’d I pick it though? Well, it’s got that good, good sci-fi hook, an appealing art style that reminds me of Sonny Boy, and, well, an OLM adaptation (the ODDTAXI and Pokemon anime studio) coming out soon. What better time to highlight the original source material!?
Also, it’s coming to Disney+??? That’s wild, y’all. This shit is Seinen and a Shonen series would barely be allowed in the Mouse’s house.
Summertime Rendering, Vol. 1
Written and Illustrated by Yasuko Tanaka
Published by Udon Entertainment Inc.
Hearing the news of the passing of his childhood friend Ushio, Shinpei returned to his hometown in the remote island of Hitogashima to attend her funeral. Little does he know that it is the beginning of a summer full of mystery and horror! No one is prepared for the time twisting adventures ahead that defies life and death!
5. Welcome to Haunted Tours Japan
Look at that cover. It’s GORGEOUS. That’s all I needed to sell me on this. Seriously. The story looks like it’ll either be lightly spooky or heavily scary but I don’t care. I’m here for the lush backgrounds I assume will be inside and the promise of friendship born through shared scares.
Nightfall Travelers, Vol. 1
Written and Illustrated by Tomohi
Published by Seven Seas Entertainment
Two girls explore their haunted hometown in this beautifully illustrated manga. Akane, a member of her school’s newspaper club, has a new assignment: write about the “haunted” places in her sprawling town. She decides to invite the new (and seemingly lonely) transfer student to come with her on her ghost hunt, sparking a friendship between them. As the two girls embark on their own little adventure down labyrinthian staircases, across cryptic sidestreets, and through dark and foreboding tunnels, they discover that there might be some truth to all the spooky stories, after all!
4. Delays Delays Delays
I try to avoid resolicits but Denpa gets hit by them enough that I use them as opportunities to highlight the books I missed during previous months. “Heavenly Delusion” is one I’ve talked about before but now that I’ve FINALLY been able to read the first two volumes, I can say it’s well worth the wait. As the somewhat inscrutable description below indicates, it’s kinda bonkers but kept grounded by Ishiguro’s clean and kinetic art. If you like sci-fi or post-apocalypse titles, this is the title for you.
Continued belowHeavenly Delusion, Vol. 4
Written and Illustrated by Masakazu Ishiguro
Published by Denpa Books
Ninjas are deployed globally to fight international threats of different kinds, engage in politics, and deal with warfare.
3. Music to My Ears
Another title where the cover absolutely sold me. It’s got a classic Shojo manga look to it, almost like a Moto Hagio title, or even the more detailed work of Kamome Shirahama. It seems like it comes from a prolific but relatively unknown-in-the-US creator from the alternative scene. I think this was even published in the magazine Garo when that was still around. Anyway, it’s a romance with a fantasy bent and I bet it’s going to make me cry. That’s enough for it to make it to #3.
The Music Of Marie
Written and Illustrated by Usamaru Furuya
Published by One Peace Books
Pirito is a utopia protected by the mechanical goddess Marie, who looms large as she orbits the skies above. Down in the factory town of Gil, Pipi’s heart yearns for Kai, but as the only one who can hear Marie’s ever-present music, will he be able to accept Pipi’s affection? Delve into the beginnings of Usamaru Furuya’s soaring fantastical worldview with this masterful, early work from the prolific creator who brought you Lychee Light Club, Genkaku Picasso, No Longer Human, and more! Now collected as one volume, The Music of Marie, a story of sublime love, will pluck at your heartstrings until the very end.
2. WITNESS ME EAT
What can I even say about this book? It’s Food Truck Mad Max. If you’re not on board for that, then this title isn’t for you. As for me, I can’t wait to see the empanada wars.
Crazy Food Truck, Vol. 1
Written and Illustrated by Rokurou Ogaki
Published by Viz LLC
The owner of a food truck in a postapocalyptic world nearly runs over a naked girl sleeping in the middle of the desert. When he gives her a lift, he inadvertently takes on her baggage too-an armed militia hot on her trail…and her even more problematic appetite. If one doesn’t take him out, the other surely will!
1. I Could’ve Sworn I Talked About This Title Before
I think I had put this book on my short list one month but had to cut it. That’s OK because now I can talk about it at the #1 spot. Yes, this is the Isekai I was talking about. And yes, Ghost Ship comic is taking the #1 spot; vol. 3 of one in fact. And technically it’s an adaptation of a light novel, so this one had to be really good to break the top. So…is it? To be honest, as with many of the manga that make my lists, I don’t know!
I don’t have the money or the time to keep up with all these titles and, unfortunately, my library doesn’t carry this one. However, the original work made it into this article on the best (and worst) Isekai light novels, and from what I can glean from the description, as well as the very tasteful cover, this is a series with a lot to say about our world and on the Isekai genre as it currently stands.
So, yes, I will be reading this for the plot and I think you all should too.
JK Haru is a Sex Worker in Another World, Vol. 3
Written by Ko Hiratori
Illustrated by J-Ta Hamada
Published by Ghost Ship
Haru’s high school days were cut short when she was killed in an accident and transported to another world where working in a brothel is her only option. One day she runs into some boys playing Kick the Can and learns that it’s a popular competitive sport. Their team needs to win this year’s tournament or the group of friends will be broken up. In this world where so much is forbidden to women, can she help them win and experience a moment of the kind of youthful joy that was lost to her?
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Anything I missed? What are YOU looking forward to? Let me know in the comments!
