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. My favorite genres.
Readers of this column know I’m always down for a slice-of-life series, and it’s always great to see an LGBT manga that is suitable for teens.
Tropical Fish Yearns for Snow, volume 1
Written and Illustrated by Makoto Hagino
Published by Viz Media
Konatsu is doing her best to adapt to her new school, but being required to join a club has introduced additional pressures. Her friendly classmate Kaede invites her to join the Home Ec. Club, but Konatsu really wants to join Koyuki in the Aquarium Club. Can she afford to reject Kaede’s overture when she doesn’t even know if Koyuki wants to be her friend?
9. Something had to fill the “Food Wars” void.
Am I excited for this series? No. But, I do find it interesting how it follows in the footsteps of “Food Wars” so far as the “food-related sexualization of teenagers” is concerned. Hopefully this one manages to focus more on the food, like “Food Wars” did?
Gal Gohan, volume 1
Written and Illustrated by Mita Ori
Published by Seven Seas Entertainment
Get ready for food, fun, and fashion in this sexy new manga series about a cooking club! Okazaki Miku is a Gal: a fun-loving high school student who expresses herself through bleached hair, sexy clothes, and heaps of accessories. Unfortunately, she’s also flunking every class. When she asks her Home Economics teacher, Yabe Shinji, to help her bake bribery cookies for her disappointed teachers, she finds a new excitement in that small success, and Shinji is moved by her enthusiasm. Shinji decides to start a cooking club to better connect with his students, and Miku is first in line to join!
8. Different endings.
For the final volume of this series, we are getting two separate volumes this month: a “dark ending” and a “light ending.” This is fascinating, and I wonder what the thinking behind it was. We’ve seen similar stuff in the past, like how two different versions of Jason Todd’s death were made (one where he didn’t die), but I’ve never seen a book where there are two different official endings. Cool to see, for whoever has been following the book so far.
Btooom, Volume 26 (Dark Ending)
Written and Illustrated by Junya Inoue
Published by Yen Press
In this “bad ending” conclusion to the story, Ryouta casts aside his long acquaintance with Oda, and with it his hesitation, as he goes alone to confront his former friend and rival, who has taken Kaguya and Uesugi hostage. Meanwhile, Himiko and Kira hatch a plan to save their captured allies. But the choice Ryouta makes will have dire consequences for everyone involved, and even he might not emerge from this final battle unscathed…Who will be left standing as the curtain falls on this explosive drama?!
7. Manic Bunny Dream Girl.
I initially passed this one over completely, until I realized the anime and movie based on this series are highly regarded. It’s another case where there was originally a series of light novels that got adapted into a bunch of different formats, but if some of the adaptations are that well-regarded, this one has to retain at least some of that charm!
Rascal Does Not Dream of Bunny Girl Senpai, volume 1
Written by Hajime Kamoshida
Illustrated by Tsugumi Nanamiya
Published by Yen Press
Bunny girls do not live in libraries. This is simply common sense. And yet, that’s exactly where Sakuta runs into one in the wild. More bewildering is who the bunny girl is: Mai Sakurajima, an upperclassman and well-known actress currently taking a break from industry work. Wanting to find out more about the mystery surrounding Mai (and maybe get a little closer to her in the process), Sakuta launches an investigation to figure out what’s making this bunny girl invisible to everyone around them.
6. Return of a classic.
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As happens pretty much every month, here we have a large-format re-release of an older classic series. The innuendo of the title and that cover image don’t exactly intrigue me, nor does the fact that this story was a retelling of a light novel, but I’ll check it out since it used to be fairly popular in anime circles.
Dirty Pair Omnibus
Written by Haruka Takachiho
Illustrated by Hisao Tamaki
Published by Seven Seas Entertainment
A two-in-one manga omnibus about the classic science fiction characters by Haruka Takachiho and Star Wars: A New Hope manga artist Hisao Tamaki! Kei and Yuri, known as the Lovely Angels-or the notorious Dirty Pair, depending on who you ask-work as “trouble consultants” for the galactic Worlds Welfare and Works Association (WWWA). But in their pursuit of space-wide justice, they cause space-wide disaster! The chaotic (and strangely successful) exploits of these interstellar agents have charmed audiences since their debut in 1980. For the first time ever, this manga adventure for the iconic pair, created in Japan as a retelling of the first light novel, will be available in English, contained entirely in one omnibus!
5. A title so good, it deserves the #5 slot.
Yeah, I don’t have much to say about this one other than “look at that title.”
Look at that title.
My Father is a Unicorn, volume 1
Written and Illustrated by Monaka Suzuki
Published by Seven Seas Entertainment
Learning to live with a step-dad can be tough, especially if your new dad is a unicorn! Issei Uno is still in high school when his mom remarries. His mom’s new husband, Masaru, is a nice enough guy, he just happens to be a unicorn. Sometimes in the form of a talking horse, sometimes in the form of a beautiful man, Masaru is determined to run the household while his wife is away and win Issei over. For better or worse, now Issei is stuck teaching this unicorn man how to be a good dad in this idiosyncratic comedy about the magical connection of family.
4. Short stories!
Short story collections can be a lot of fun, especially when from a single mangaka. I appreciate the diversity in what’s included, as well. Those sorts of things are what I appreciate most in an anthology.
Seven Little Sons of the Dragon
Written and Illustrated by Ryoko Kui
Published by Yen Press
Ryoko Kui, the master storyteller behind the beloved manga series Delicious in Dungeon, pens seven brand-new tales that will delight fantasy fans and manga devotees equally. Covering a broad range of themes and time periods, no two stories in this collection are alike!
3. LGBT story of a generation.
Hi. I’ve been loving this series. It’s a slice-of-life LGBT story (hey, where have I heard that before?) about finding a group of people that you connect with and who can accept you for who you are. Best of all, it’s only four volumes, which means this is the final volume!
Our Dreams at Dusk: Shimanami Tasogare, volume 4
Written and Illustrated by Yuhki Kamatani
Published by Seven Seas Entertainment
The beloved coming-out and coming-of-age manga about a broad LGBT+ community. Not only is high schooler Tasuku Kaname the new kid in town, he’s also terrified that he’s been outed as gay. Just as he’s contemplating doing the unthinkable, Tasuku meets a mysterious woman who leads him to a group of people dealing with problems not so different from his own. In this realistic, heartfelt depiction of LGBT+ characters from different backgrounds finding their place in the world, a search for inner peace proves to be the most universal experience of all.
2. Fancy re-release.
Everybody likes a nice fancy re-release. CLAMP was every middle school girl’s favorite manga collective in the early aughts, and this was one of their top series. While I’m curious about the series, this box set is far beyond my price range. Still: fans, take note!
Continued belowMagic Knight Rayearth 25th Anniversary Box Set, part 1
Written and Illustrated by CLAMP
Published by Kodansha Comics
The tale of three Tokyo teenagers who cross through a magical portal and become the champions of another world is a modern manga classic. This box set includes three volumes of manga covering the entire first series of Magic Knight Rayearth, plus the series’s super-rare full-color art book companion, all printed at a larger size than ever before, on premium paper featuring a newly-revised translation and lettering, and exquisite foil-stamped covers. This limited-edition hardcover box set contains the complete first arc of CLAMP’s masterwork Magic Knight Rayearth, with a new translation, new designs, and a color art book, all at a super-large size with gold foil. The centerpiece of any CLAMP collection!
1. Feline fantasies!
A large collection of comedy short stories combining ordinary stories about a cat, switching off with fantastical stories about that same cat in different comedic scenarios. If the rest of my comments throughout this post haven’t already clued you in, this is absolutely my jam.
What’s Michael? Fatcat Collection, volume 1
Written and Illustrated by Makoto Kobayashi
Published by Dark Horse Comics
True-to-life daily cat scenarios and off-the-wall crazy feline fantasies combine in this epic manga collection! Makoto Kobayashi’s hilarious series returns in a set of oversized collections, starting with our first Fatcat Collection! What’s Michael? FatCat Collection Volume 1 contains the out-of-print original What’s Michael? Volumes 1 to 6. Over 500 pages of tumultuous fun, including the out-of-print volumes Michael’s Album, Living Together, Off the Deep End, A Hard Day’s Life, Michael’s Favorite Spot, and Michael’s Mambo.
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Anything I missed? What are YOU looking forward to? Let me know in the comments!
