Welcome back, manga fans! Let’s get right down to it: I’m very excited about this month’s manga solicitations. Every major publisher announced a number of new titles, and many of them have piqued my interest. Let’s dig in!
10. Thanks Netflix!
I find it pretty significant that the first time this book is being translated into English is in a complete 3-in-1 edition. First off, I love when we can get an entire series in a single decent-sized, affordable hardcover book. Second, we almost never see this sort of thing outside of reprints of existing work. The reason, of course, is that there’s a new cel-shaded 3D-animated series coming to Netflix this year. Only Netflix could sway a publisher to do something like this.
Levius: 3-in-1 Complete Edition HC
Written and Illustrated by Haruhisa Nakata
Published by Viz Media
It’s the 19th century, and the world has entered the Era of Rebirth, recovering from the devastating flames of war. The sport of mechanical martial arts has galvanized the nations. Cybernetically augmented fighters turn their blood into steam and their bodies into brutal fighting-and killing-machines. Young Levius is one of those arena battlers, hell-bent on winning in order to simply survive.
9. Following the Naruto and DBZ mold.
“Fairy Tail” is one of those shonen manga that many people know about, but that they only get to after they’ve seen/read all the other major shonen properties. So it makes sense that the mangaka would follow the trends and create a new series where he is working with collaborators. Just as with Kishimoto’s “Boruto” and Toriyama’s “Dragonball Super,” expect this series to cater to fans of the original.
Fairy Tail: 100 Years Quest, volume 1
Written by Hiro Mashima
Illustrated by Atsuo Ueda
Published by Kodansha Comics
A wizard’s job is never done! Get fired up for the official sequel to Fairy Tail, with story and layouts by original creator Hiro Mashima himself. Natsu, Lucy, Happy, Erza, and the whole Fairy Tail guild are back in action! And they’ve decided to tackle the “100 Years Quest,” a job no one’s dared take on since the founding of the guild more than a century ago. A mysterious town, a baffling spirit, a ghastly new enemy…and a brand new continent to explore. When you’re with real friends, the adventures never stop!
8. High-drama slice-of-life!
If you’ve been following this column for a while, you’ll know that I’m a sucker for a high-drama coming-of-age slice-of-life story. This book? Check, check, check. It’s also by the creator of the well-regarded “The Gods Lie,” which I’ve been wanting to read forever. And look at that cover! The designs, the font choice, the way it instantly conjures emotions with such a simple setup. Really looking forward to this one.
Golden Sheep, volume 1
Written and Illustrated by Kaori Ozaki
Published by Vertical Comics
From the creator of the acclaimed The Gods Lie comes Kaori Ozaki’s latest series! Winter of junior year. Not quite able to become adults, we couldn’t stay as we were as children, either. Our tale explores a group of teenagers and their impatience and rebirth. Tsugu Miikura, a high schooler who loves to play guitar, due to family circumstances, moved away from the rural town where she had spent her childhood. After several years, she’s back in her old hometown. She reunites with her childhood friends-Sora, Yuushin, and Asari-the friends she’d buried a time capsule with back in elementary school. Tsugu is overjoyed to be with her friends once more, but the bonds that she thought would never change have in fact started to grow major cracks…
7. “Reminiscent of a European children’s book.”
This is another case of the cover really selling me on a book. I love the “Eurpoean children’s book”-style hatching Miyanaga uses, and the choice of angle really puts is in the world of the characters, in this strange mystical market. I hope the entire book feels like this cover.
Continued belowNicola Traveling Around the Demons’ World, volume 1
Written and Illustrated by Asaya Miyanaga
Published by Seven Seas Entertainment
The Demon World is a big place, but young Nicola and her demonic pal are off to explore it!
In a land populated by demons, Nicola stands out: she’s a human girl traveling with her demon friend Simon. The spirited Nicola often gets in over her head, but she’s got her own magic powers to help her out when things get tough! This beautifully drawn manga has a unique art style reminiscent of a European children’s book, and features an enchanting atmosphere like well-known tales The Moomins and Hilda.
6. Not what it says on the tin.
The only book on this list that isn’t a first volume, this one brings us up-to-date with the Japanese release. I adore this series. It follows a woman who helps out a young boy on a whim, after which the two end up forming a mother-son-type bond. The boy knows he has to hide it from his uninvolved father, just as the woman knows she would be seen as a pedophile and so hides their bond from her coworkers and suitors. That’s a key aspect of the series: their bond is strong, and they emotionally fulfill each other in ways they didn’t know they needed, but it is never sexual. So I’m not sure why the last line of every solicit wants us to believe that. In any case, I highly recommend this book to fans of these kinds of slow slice-of-life manga!
My Boy, volume 5
Written and Illustrated by Hitomi Takano
Published by Vertical Comics
Satoko Tawada first encounters beautiful 12-year-old Mashuu practicing soccer by himself in a park as she’s heading to work. Satoko, who had played soccer herself when she was younger, decides to help the kid prepare for his tryouts. When Mashuu doesn’t make the first team, Satoko continues to work with him, encouraging him not to quit and supporting him at the games. Their emotional connection strengthens as the two spend more and more time together, and fill the emptiness in each other’s lives. And when Satoko learns that Mashuu’s parents are largely absent, she starts to become more involved in his personal life. Have Satoko’s intense feelings for her young friend crossed the line from maternal to inappropriate?
5. The best of the light novel world has entered the manga world.
Nisioisin is a legend in the Japanese light-novel world. I actually read the best-selling author’s novels way back when I was first getting into manga (“Death Note: The Los Angeles BB Murder Cases” and “Zaregoto: The Kubikiri Cycle,” for those wondering) and really enjoyed them at the time. The significant thing to note is that back in 2008, very few Japanese light novels were translated, so it’s telling that TWO of his novels not only got translated, but found their way into 14-year-old me’s reading pile.
Now his biggest and supposedly best series, “Monogatari,” is being adapted as a manga, so I’m expecting it to be great! I just hope that it’s an interpretation of the original source material, instead of directly adapting the existing anime adaptation. Either way, I’m checking this volume out!
Bakemonogatari, volume 1
Written by Nisioisin
Illustrated by Oh! great
Published by Vertical Comics
From the bestselling novel series by renowned author NISIOISIN, comes the manga adaptation of the Monogatari series, with artwork by Oh! great! One day, high-school student Koyomi Araragi catches a girl named Hitagi Senjougahara when she trips and falls. But the girl, much to his surprise, doesn’t weigh anything! At all. She says an encounter with a so-called “crab” took away all her weight… Monsters have been here since the beginning. Always. Everywhere…
4. From Kickstarter to print publisher.
I like to highlight the books that blur the line of what exactly can be considered a “manga.” This is one of those books.
Independently made by Asian-American creator Mira Ong Chua, this book was originally published through Kickstarter, where it became one of those mega-successful projects that raises 1400% of its goal. Now Seven Seas is bringing it into the bookstore market. That alone is enough to justify its spot on this list, to say nothing of its beautifully simple premise: “A lesbian romcom graphic novel about love, revenge, and getting your bike back.”
Continued belowRoadqueen: Eternal Roadtrip to Love
Written and Illustrated by Mira Ong Chua
Published by Seven Seas Entertainment
The original Girls’ Love/yuri graphic novel that exploded on Kickstarter! Leo’s the hottest senior at Princess Andromeda Academy, and her adoring fangirls have one goal: to beat her in a road race so she’ll go out with them. Unfortunately, the only thing Leo loves more than breaking hearts is her faithful old bike, Bethany. But the arrival of mysterious new student Vega upends her daily routine forever. This sharp and hilarious lesbian romcom is a bold new book for both yuri manga fans and readers hungry for English-original LGBT+ fun.
3. My kind of comedy.
A comedy about a yakuza man who becomes a stay-at-home husband. With that, the cover, and the dumb pun of a title, I really didn’t need much convincing to check this out.
The Way of the House Husband, volume 1
Written and Illustrated by Kousuke Oono
Published by Viz Media
He was the fiercest member of the yakuza, a man who left countless underworld legends in his wake. They called him “the Immortal Dragon.” But one day he walked away from it all to walk another path-the path of the househusband! The curtain rises on this cozy yakuza comedy!
2. Cats! In the Louvre!
Cats! The Louvre! Supernatural happenings! Complete in one volume! This seems like a perfect storm of oddities to throw together, and the pages I’ve seen online carry with them a strong sense of atmosphere.
Cats of the Louvre
Written and Illustrated by Taiyo Matsumoto
Published by Viz Media
The world-renowned Louvre museum in Paris contains more than just the most famous works of art in history. At night, within its darkened galleries, an unseen and surreal world comes alive-a world witnessed only by the small family of cats that lives in the attic. Until now…
1. Code Black.
I’ve only heard good things about “Cells at Work” (just ask the Multiversity Manga Club). Where the original series focuses on the day-to-day maintenance of the body, Code Black looks at the more adult side of things: heart trouble, substance abuse, erectile dysfunction. This spin-off series is a smart way to cover logical topics for the concept without alienating the younger audience of the original, and I’m interested in how it handles these issues..
Cells at Work: Code Black, volume 1
Written by Shigemitsu Harada
Illustrated by Issei Hatsuyoshiya
Published by Kodansha Comics
In this new spinoff of the hit manga, a newbie Red Blood Cell is one of 37 trillion working to keep this body running. But something’s wrong! Stress hormones keep yelling at him to go faster. The blood vessels are crusted over with cholesterol. Ulcers, fatty liver, trouble (ahem) downstairs… It’s hard for a cell to keep working when every day is a Code Black! This story stars a fresh-faced Red Blood Cell and his friend, the buxom White Blood Cell, as they struggle to keep themselves and their world together through alcoholism, smoking, erectile dysfunction, athlete’s foot, gout…it’s literal body horror! Whoever this guy is, he’s lucky his cells can’t go on strike!
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A very exciting month. Was there anything I missed? What are YOU looking forward to? Let me know in the comments!
