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Hereditary Triangle Manga Review
Despite a middle act that flirts with melodrama, there’s a thoughtful maturity to much of this short series as its cast explores complex emotions and questions about grief, change, and regret.
― Hereditary Triangle is technically a two-volume series, but the Yen Press edition politely collects them into a single volume, allowing readers to sink fully into the world of this quiet but compelling drama....
Be My Worst Nightmare! Volume 1 Manga Review
This wouldn’t be my first recommendation for high school-set, moderately explicit BL, but I also wouldn’t universally tell you to steer clear.
― Don't you just hate it when your dreams might be telling you something you don't want to hear? That's what Sayo Hoshikawa is afraid is happening to him. Despite his surface-level anger at his classmate Mashiba for things like “being tall” and “girls confessi...
Hikaru in the Light! Manga Review
Even if you can see where Hikaru's plot is going five miles away, none feels hackneyed.
― At times, Hikaru in the Light felt like a season of American Idol to me. We feel the intensity of the competition through its characters' hopes and aspirations, the glow of the stage, and the harsh rules laid down by the competition's judges and producers. It requires the winning idols an extraordinary cut above...
Corpse Blade Volume 1 Manga Review
I desperately wanted to make a pun somewhere about how this volume just isn’t as fleshed out as it needs to be, but its problems run deeper than that.
― Do zombie apocalypse stories ever really go out of style? It's like a pendulum—usually spurred by one super-successful title, they'll go in full force for a while. Then maybe there's a brief lull when audiences start feeling sick of what's become an ...
Welcome to Ghost Mansion Manga Volume 1 Review
Welcome to Ghost Mansion has a promisingly spooky premise that could develop later on, but its first steps don’t have it hit the ground running like it should.
― There exists an interesting premise within the initial volume of Nebukuro's debut manga. As a story about a landlord who rents an apartment out to the undead, there is potential in making this an enveloping, spooky story about the things th...
The Revenge of My Youth Manga Review
This manga knows how to use its tried-and-true premise about redoing the past to its advantage, giving us a start of a story that makes for a leisurely read even if it comes off as cliche at times.
― There's no going through life without regret. And there's certainly no avoiding those moments where every mistake, error, goof, and flub comes rushing back through your cerebral cortex like a never-endin...
I Want to Love You Till Your Dying Day Manga Review
This story is hard to recommend based on the first volume, but it really gets better after this point.
― I Want to Love You Till You're Dying Day feels like a small story with grand ambitions. It's very humble and almost quiet in its approach to storytelling. Not a lot happens throughout this first volume, but every few pages you'll see an image or a character make a comment alluding to something muc...
Fall in Love, You False Angels Volume 1 Manga Review
If there’s a theme to be traced in this volume, it’s the idea of when it’s okay to be two-faced.
― When is it safe to be yourself? That's maybe a more intense question than you'd expect from Fall in Love, You False Angels, which is unquestionably a romantic comedy. But that doesn't mean that it lacks any heavier subtext, and the story of Otogi and Toki can be read in such a way to facilitate discussi...
Helena and Mr. Big Bad Wolf Volume 1 Manga Review
Despite its title, this series has less in common with fairy tales and more with classic children’s literature, complete with plucky orphans, gruff-but-kind adults, and alarmingly tragic backstories.
― Despite its title, this Taiwanese manhua has less in common with fairy tales and more with classic English children's literature, where spunky kids befriend gruff-but-kind adults over a shared hobby or...
Vagabond Definitive Edition Volume 1 Manga Review
Inoue’s art is startlingly good. His keen eye for composition and posing, already put to amazing use in Slam Dunk, almost makes the characters leap from the pages.
― At its core, this initial three-volume collection of Takehiko Inoue's (Slam Dunk) adaptation of Eiji Yoshikawa's fictionalized biographical novel Musashi is about the terrible life decisions made by two seventeen-year-old boys. Full of h...
Mecha-Ude: Mechanical Arms Manga Review
Everything in Mecha-Ude Volume 1 is so close to the anime that, at times, it almost feels like reading through storyboards.
― During Fall 2024, here on ANN, I reviewed studio TriF's debut anime series Mecha-Ude as it aired weekly. Overall it was a great 12-episode show, densely packed with enough plot to fuel a series twice its length, elevated by wonderfully kinetic action animation heavily influenc...
Tokyo Alien Bros. Volume 1 Manga Review
By the end of the first book (of three), my initial interest had turned to boredom, and I couldn't see much of a point to what I'd read so far.
― Having read the first book of the Tokyo Alien Bros. manga, I confess I'm baffled, and not for the obvious reasons. The scenario isn't outlandishly way-out. Instead, it's very simple: two alien brothers living in modern Tokyo, posing as humans. Nor is the st...
Love and the Highly Sensitive Person Manga Review
This is a sincere but not-too-sappy tale of love and acceptance, both for oneself and others.
― It's always refreshing to see romances that explore uncommon perspectives and relationships, telling love stories that don't often get told. It's even more refreshing when they do it with as much kindness and empathy as Love and the Highly Sensitive Person does. This one-shot, PG-rated BL follows the hairs...
Re-Living My Life with a Boyfriend Who Doesn't Remember Me Volumes 1-2 Manga Review
Even questionable execution can’t rob the plot of its key point: Oriana’s desperation to save Vincent’s life.
― Time loops are fickle things. As any reader of the isekai subgenre can tell you, most of them only grant memories to the person doing the looping – as far as everyone else knows, they're living their lives for the first time. For Oriana, the heroine of Re-Living My Life with a Boyfriend Who...
Living With Him Manga Review
If you want something a little less spicy and a little bit more wholesome, there’s plenty here to make your heart flutter as a smile creeps across your face.
― I've never been to Japan, so I can't comment on how its society at large views same-sex relationships. But there seems to be a consistent theme in these stories where people never seem to entertain the notion that two guys could be romanticall...
Hell is Dark with No Flowers Volume 1 Manga Review
Somewhere between xxxHoLiC and Hell Girl lies Hell is Dark with No Flowers.
― Somewhere between xxxHoLiC and Hell Girl lies Hell is Dark with No Flowers. If you think I've made that comparison before, you're right – Matsuri's Phantom Tales of the Night can also be described that way. But Hell is Dark with No Flowers, based on the novel of the same name by Yoru Michio, is the better use of the descrip...
Firefly Wedding Volume 1 Manga Review
It isn’t a perfect way to phrase it, but Firefly Wedding’s first volume feels like it lands somewhere in between Yakuza Fiancé and Yakuza Lover.
― It isn't a perfect way to phrase it, but Firefly Wedding's first volume feels like it lands somewhere between Yakuza Fiancé and Yakuza Lover. That's not because there's a yakuza element to the story, at least not in those terms; set during what appears to ...
RuriDragon Volume 1 Manga Review
In spite, or perhaps because of how laid-back it is about Ruri’s seemingly bizarre circumstances, RuriDragon really feels like something special.
― Honestly, the fact that I'm even here reviewing RuriDragon at all is something of a minor miracle. While the manga debuted in Shonen Jump to pretty much immediate success, it quickly ran into trouble when its author, Masaoki Shindo, started suffering from...
Galette Manga Magazine Volume 1 Review
This is not a one-for-one version of the original Japanese volume; it is an adapted edition for the English-reading audience.
― In the mid-2010s, the runs of two of the three existing quarterly yuri manga magazines, Pure Yuri Anthology Hirari published by Shinsokan and Tsubomi published by Hobunsha came to an end, leaving some yuri artists with unfinished series and no place to serialize them. Some o...
Crescent Moon Marching Volumes 1-6 Manga Review
Crescent Moon Marching becomes a story of how young Mizuki understands what it means to be passionate about music and how crucial it is to improve yourself while understanding others.
― Originality is a tough thing to come by. The great Salvador Dali once said that those who imitate nothing produce nothing. Considering the infinite artists, musicians, writers, and other types of pen-wielders who have...
Ashita no Joe: Fighting For Tomorrow Volume 1 Manga Review
While it would be a lie to say that Ashita no Joe doesn’t show its age, it’s still a solid story, and one that’s very much worth reading.
― To call Ashita no Joe one of the most culturally significant works to ever exist within the realm of anime and manga would be a bit of an understatement. It served as the inspiration for many a boxing manga, and its anime adaptation is one of the most iconic work...
There's No Freaking Way I'll Be Your Lover! Unless... Volumes 1-6 Manga Review
If you're looking for a GL harem, this is a safe enough bet; just be aware of the dubious consent issues going in.
― Are you looking for a harem? A single, ordinary person surrounded by a bevy of beauties, all of whom want them? Typically, that ordinary person would be an unfortunate young man, dull as a potato, but There's No Freaking Way I'll Be Your Lover! Unless…, based on the light novels of the...
Scars Volume 1 Manga Review
Between Kyonosuke's past trauma, trouble at school, and zero support at home, Scars is a story about the world's worst coming-of-age.
― Based on the cute character designs, I didn't expect this comic to get so dark so fast. Between Kyonosuke's past trauma, trouble at school, and zero support at home, Scars is a story about the world's worst coming-of-age. The title refers to scars both physical and p...
Re:Anima Volume 1 Manga Review
Re:Anima tamps down any hope that it'll do much that's new with its familiar-feeling ideas. So far, it seems happy to be one more genre potboiler, to take or to leave.
― The kindest way to describe this science-fiction action manga is as competently average. It's a likable, lightweight read, with lively action scenes, but the first book is also laughably tropey and flimsy. The book has a note from cr...
What Happened After My Place Got So Humid It Grew Magic Mushrooms And I Ate Them And Got Super Horny! - Volumes 1-2 Manga Review (18+)
Sometimes, it doesn't matter how detailed or long the title is; you shouldn't judge a book by its cover.
― Sometimes, it doesn't matter how detailed or long the title is; you shouldn't judge a book by its cover. A title like What Happened After My Place Got So Humid It Grew Magic Mushrooms And I Ate Them And Got Super Horny! prompts a lot of questions, and the answers are surprising. It sounds like o...
Dracula's On the Night Shift Manga Review
Despite ostensibly being a manga about a vampire working a night shift, DotNS isn’t the What We Do in the Shadows-esque comedy/slice-of-life series you might expect at first glance—because it’s not really a comedy/slice-of-life series at all.
― There's plenty of anime and manga about vampires trying to blend into human society out there, but not as many of them are terribly concerned with how their v...
JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Shining Diamond's Demonic Heartbreak Vol. 1 Manga Review
This manga strives to answer the burning question I'm sure some fans were asking: Whatever happened to Hol Horse?
― The shifting, generation-crossing story setup of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure pretty well lends itself to spin-offs and crossovers with itself. Part 4, Diamond is Unbreakable had a better part of its plot driven by characters returning from Stardust Crusaders (and earlier!) to ostensibly co...
The Teen Exorcist Volume 1 Manga Review
This volume is, as happens with introductory books, mostly set up for Masahiro’s eventual understanding of himself.
― Due to the vagaries of English localization, you may not immediately associate this with its parent series: The Teen Exorcist is a manga reworking of the light novel series Shonen Onmyoji, which clocks in at an impressive fifty-six volumes. The light novels have never been officially ...
Praise Me When I'm a Good Boy Manga Review
It genuinely makes me happy when I come across a story that treats BDSM dynamics with the reverence they deserve!
― I chose to review a lot of stories dealing with different types of sexual proclivities because I'm always curious about how these types of dynamics are portrayed in media. BDSM (relationship dynamics revolving around bondage, discipline, dominance, submission, sadism, etc.) in particula...
My Classmate Ren-kun is Kinda Scary Manga Review
My Classmate Ren-kun is Kinda Scary is, in a word, frothy.
― The narrator of this story isn't the romantic lead. That's probably the most interesting aspect of the book – it's narrated by a mostly nameless girl (we learn her name in the author's afterword, but never in the story proper) as she observes the boys on either side of her in class. It works fairly well as a framing device, particularly sin...
Our Aimless Nights Manga Review
By no means is this a deep, page-turning tale of love and lust, and it's not really meant to be.
― The risk in naming your manga Our Aimless Nights is that the adjective is already giving too much away. This two-volume manga has its narrative meandering around in certain areas, although this serves as a good thing. Teenage romances with all of their awkward tendencies are never exactly straightforwar...
Kowloon Generic Romance Volumes 7-8 Manga Review
With both anime and live-action drama adaptations promised for 2025, now is unquestionably the right time to discover your Absolute Self and read the original first.
― Later volumes of After the Rain's Jun Mayuzuki's masterful sci-fi mystery romance are impossible to review without massively spoiling earlier volumes, so if you've not read the first few installments of Kowloon Generic Romance, be warn...
Yokai: The Art of Shigeru Mizuki Artbook Review
Although nominally an artbook, this might be just as easily described as a collection of folklore.
― “Shigeru Mizuki,” translator and scholar Zack Davisson says in his introductory essay, “lived in a vibrant fantasy world where every tree, every blade of grass was infused with spiritual energy.” If any one thing comes through in this collection of Mizuki's artwork, it is this – there's a deeply roote...
My Sister Took My Fiance and Now I'm Being Courted by a Beastly Prince Volumes 1 & 2 Manga Review
My Sister Took My Fiancé and Now I'm Being Courted by a Beastly Prince is off to a solid start. It may not be wholly innovative, but Cordelia is a good heroine and nobody's fool, except when it comes to herself, and she's wholly cognizant of that.
― Life is not easy for Cordelia. The daughter of a noble in the kingdom of Liobern, Cordelia isn't so much unremarkable as she is less outwardly beautiful ...
My Journey to Her Manga Review
Unlike a lot of similar narratives, this isn't about the anguish, coming out, or transphobia. That's not to say those things aren't present, but they aren't the point.
― There are so many falsehoods perpetrated about what it means to be transgender, so many scare tactics employed by people who fear those who are different, that it's important to highlight any authentic own-voices narratives that are ...
The Fragrant Flower Blooms With Dignity Volumes 1-3 Manga Review
Author Saka Mikami 's main theme is the exploration of how uninformed judgments of others, especially when fuelled by humanity's innate tribalism, lead to unfair treatment and social ostracization.
― The Fragrant Flower Blooms With Dignityis one of those heart-warming romance manga where if you're not grinning with delight by the end of the first volume, there's probably something broken in your soul...
Fist of the North Star Volume 14 Manga Review
Can you recreate the magic of the relationship between Kenshiro, Raoh, Toki, and Jagi?
― Fist of the North Star Volume 14 provides Kenshiro with the most interesting set of villains of the post-Raoh era by digging into a familiar bag of tricks. This volume, almost more than any other, has me split on how to feel about the events. It is equal parts novel ideas and the same old, familiar, and unique. T...
Magical Girl and The Evil Lieutenant Used to Be Archenemies Manga Review
The late Cocoa Fujiwara never got to finish this story. Even if you don’t love the series, that’s a tragedy, and for readers, it means knowing that you’re embarking on a journey without a finish.
― The late Cocoa Fujiwara never got to finish this story. Even if you don't love the series, that's a tragedy, and for readers, it means knowing that you're embarking on a journey without a finish – when the...
Fist of the North Star Volume 13 Manga Review
Fist of the North Star Volume 13 is a strong package, but at the same time I wouldn't blame someone for feeling like there are diminishing returns in this latter era of the run.
― Volume 13 is an odd mixture of elements and novel concepts that dazzle visually while being all right otherwise. I hate to sound like a broken record, but many of the same strengths and weaknesses seen here have been with t...
Manga Biographies: Charles M. Schulz Manga Review
Big fan of the Peanuts gang? Discover how Snoopy’s creator, Charles M. Schulz’s love for art at a young age led to his career drawing a comic strip known by every American household.
― Despite growing up with the Peanuts comic strip and owning a minimum of five pieces of Snoopy merchandise, I admittedly knew very little about Charles M. Schulz prior to reading this manga biography. During San Diego C...
Fist of the North Star Volume 11-12 Manga Review
Fist of the North Star volumes 11 and 12 usher in a new era for the series, which is more divisive than previous arcs but still of incredibly high quality.
― Fist of the North Star volumes 11 and 12 usher in a new era for the series which is more divisive than previous arcs but still of incredibly high quality. As I said in the last review, we have been to the mountaintop of the series and are now be...
Sister and Giant: A Young Lady Is Reborn in Another World Volumes 1-2 Manga Review
Sister and Giant has moments of being better than it ought to be, but on the whole, it is a bit schlocky.
― You all know the story: a Japanese schoolgirl is killed by some form of transportation and ends up getting to live out the rest of her life in a fantasy world, often with magical RPG-inspired power. Along the way, she finds love and friendship, and even though she's dead in one world, it's in t...
SPY×FAMILY Volumes 11-12 Manga Review
While most of Anya's schemes go hilariously sideways, now is her time to shine.
― It's hard to go wrong with an Anya-centric storyline. As wonderful as it's been to get Loid's difficult past and to see Yor steal the spotlight, Anya remains one of Spy x Family's most endearing characters, as well as the one it's easiest to get an entertaining plot out of. She's the ultimate wild card, a little kid who...
Pupposites Attract Volume 1 Manga Review
This is the dog-person equivalent to many of the cat-person manga out there.
― For whatever reason, there's much more of a history of cat manga in English translation than dog manga. That doesn't mean that there aren't any—Doomsday With My Dog and Inubaka: Crazy for Dogs both have English editions, and that's not even counting series like Yuzu the Pet Vet with its periphery focus on canines. (We perh...
Riviere and the Land of Prayer Manga Volume 1 Review
It feels like it's supposed to be an episodic series where our leads go out and solve problems—but it's hard to do that when the story doesn't establish the rules of its world.
― Despite being raised Catholic and going to a Catholic high school, I don't consider myself a very religious person. The idea of praying for a better life can be found throughout multiple religions and there is a certain leve...
In Another World, My Sister Stole My Name Volume 1 Manga Review
In Another World, My Sister Stole My Name is a nice twist to the typical isekai villainess story.
― It's an old saying that you can choose your friends but not your family. But what do you do when your family steals your friends? That's the situation Ichika finds herself in as part of her isekai experience, and not necessarily in the way you're thinking. (Or would be thinking, had you not read the ti...
Mermaid Prince Manga Review
Ozaki's take on the aquatic beings is a fascinating blend of horror and fantasy imagery. The mermaid is equally beautiful and terrifying, and that sums up Mugi's feelings about his new situation and the creature.
― There's a bittersweet quality to most of Kaori Ozaki's works, at least those translated into English – Immortal Rain, The Gods Lie, and The Golden Sheep – and Mermaid Prince is no exceptio...
Excellent Property, Rejects for Residents Manga Volume 1 Review
From the creator of Heaven's Lost Property comes another story about a young man having a chance encounter with an angel-like being!
― From the creator of Heaven's Lost Property comes another story about a young man having a chance encounter with an angel-like being! However, unlike Heaven's Lost Property, we seem to have dialed back on the fan service in exchange for having more comedy and potential...
Aria of the Beech Forest Volume 1 Manga Review
It's clear that Yugiri Aika researched traditional Irish culture or cuisine – if you've ever wanted a very simple recipe for colcannon, this book has it.
― Witches, who practice herbal magic and wear pointed black hats, are often relegated to the realms of folklore, trotted out once a year on Halloween. Then they ride their broomsticks across the sky, cavort with black cat familiars, and lay traps fo...
Father, I Don't Want This Marriage Volume 1 Manhwa Review
If you enjoy a villainess-good tale filled with lovely art of a royal fantasy world, try this.
― Like Not Sew Wicked Stepmother's release before it, Father, I Don't Want This Marriage's source novels were translated and previously published by WordExcerpt. For unexplained reasons, this Korean novel translation outfit has ceased to make its books available outside of the serialized format available on...
This Reincarnated Cross-Dressing Princess Won't Be Looking for a Fiancé Manga Review
The single greatest flaw here is that the story would have worked better spread out over two volumes.
― Even though we are all ostensibly accustomed to the trend of light novels and their adaptations revealing the entire premise and half the plot in their titles, it still feels like this one is determined to toss as many buzzwords as possible into its own. We have a princess who is reincarnated, both...
GOGOGOGO-GO-GHOST! Manga Volume 1 Review
It's hard to read this first volume and not feel yourself rooting for Akechi and Masako and they pursue petty and supernatural revenge.
― GOGOGOGO-GO-GHOST! ("What you hear when your Danny Phantom DVD has a smudge," said my partner, chuckling upon seeing the title) has a fascinating introduction. In the first chapter, we're introduced to our main character, an office worker named Ushiro Akechi, who g...
Alley: Junji Ito Story Collection Manga Review
One of Ito's trademarks is how unsettling he's able to make ideas that sound simple on paper, and the stories of Alley are no different.
― By now, Junji Ito's name is so ubiquitous not just in manga but in horror overall that it almost feels pointless to explain who he is. The four-time Eisner Award winner has created iconic horror manga after iconic horror manga. His latest work to get an English re...
The Poetry of Ran Volumes 1-2 Manga Review
This manga is unimpactful, and if not for the beautiful, meticulously detailed art, I’d say nothing about it stands out at all, either for better or for worse.
― Consisting of a whopping two volumes from start to finish, The Poetry of Ran is a bite-sized high-fantasy manga about a warrior called Ran. To be more specific, the manga begins with Ran arriving in a small village. Per the request of the vi...
Occult Detective Club: Graveyard of the Death Dolls Manga Review
This is a solid work of 1986 horror, with art that mimics the basic shoujo manga style of the period, twisted just so to make it upsetting.
― There is one abiding rule that horror stories need to follow: do not pull your punches. That goes for whatever demographic you're writing for, and in my opinion, nothing will ruin a horror story faster than an ending that wraps everything up too neatly. Sadly, ...
Just Like Mona Lisa Volume 1 Manga Review
Tsumuji Yoshimura's romance drama centers on non-binary Hinase, a teen who has no gender in a world where most people choose by age 12.
― My ex once described gender as soup—it's fluid, can swirl all over the place, and can be enjoyed at one's leisure. However, depending on how you approach it, it can also be exceedingly messy. We unfortunately live in a world where many people fail to understand wha...
Gannibal Manga Volume 1 Review
This rollercoaster of a horror manga is a genuinely exciting page-turner by the last stretch of the volume
― A gruesome horror series whose English release was originally funded via Kickstarter, Gannibal is the definition of "niche." That's the sort of specially targeted appeal that's looked forward to by fans of any good gore. However, the pacing of horror is also paramount to paying it off in execu...
My Name Is Shingo Perfect Edition Volumes 1-2 Manga Review
This science fiction horror story from the early days of computers and robotics is fascinating, even as it takes its time getting to where it's going.
― If you're only familiar with Kazuo Umezz's previously released titles from Viz's current Perfect Edition run, My Name is Shingo may surprise you. That's not because it's more science fiction than horror or features a central romance, but because this...
Let's Do It Already! Volume 1 Manga Review
Let's Do It Already's first volume is frothy, but this still reads like a fluffy shoujo romance. It's less of a sexy comedy than its copy implies, but it's still a fun read if you're a genre fan.
― Ah, high school love – when some teens begin navigating the waters of relationships and their physical components, eager to learn what their bodies can do and do it with the people they're crushing on. The...
This Monster Wants to Eat Me Volume 1 Manga Review
Is Shiori a friend, foe, love interest, or some combination of all three? With the sexual meaning of “eat” also present in the text, it's hard to know.
― Yuri mermaid horror. That's not word salad, it's the genre identifiers for Sai Naekawa's manga This Monster Wants to Eat Me, a dark literary folktale about a high school girl and the mermaid who's protecting her until she reaches the perfect stage o...
River's Edge Manga Review
For most of us who have lived through high school, the idea that it's "the best time of our lives" is a lie perpetuated by people who have forgotten high school.
― For most of us who have lived through high school, the idea that it's "the best time of our lives" is a lie perpetuated by people who have forgotten high school. Kyoko Okazaki's bleak single-volume story River's Edge is not interested in g...
Mysterious Disappearances Volume 1 Manga Review
Mysterious Disappearances' first volume probably won't blow you away. But how it plays with urban legend and classic Japanese literature hopefully hints at more interesting usages to come.
― What does the original manga version of Mysterious Disappearances offer that the anime does not? Nipples. Specifically, Sumireko's nipples, in both adult and child forms. (Notably, in her youngest form, they're l...
My Picture Diary Manga Review
In the Eisner-nominated work, Maki Fujiwara chronicles her daily life with her husband, lionized mangaka Yoshiharu Tsuge. Though deceptively simple at first glance, a foundation of abuse is slowly revealed.
― At first blush, Maki Fujiwara's My Picture Diary does what it says on the tin. It tells the story of her daily life as a housewife and mother, spending time with her daily activities, noting the...
I Want You to Make Me Beautiful! – The Complete Manga Collection Review
The benefit of being committed to such a simple setup is that the story knows exactly what it needs to do to invoke the maximum emotional response for this type of story.
― I Want You To Make Me Beautiful is a simple story that does everything it sets out to do. At its heart, it's a straightforward story about moving on from the pain of a bad breakup and reinventing yourself into something better. Th...
Street Fighter Masters Volume 1: Fight to Win Graphic Novel Review
Honestly, you're getting a solid collection of character art with some disposable comic stories where you might get to enjoy some out-of-context obscure CAPCOM cameos.
― As a lifelong fan of Street Fighter, it's easy to get excited about the potential of seeing my favorite fighters doing stuff in different mediums. The flip side is that Udon Entertainment's hold on the comic treatment of the characte...
You and I Are Polar Opposites Volume 1 Manga Review
You've probably read some version of this story before, but I doubt that you've ever seen it be this adorable.
― You've probably read some version of this story before, but I doubt that you've ever seen it be this adorable. You and I Are Polar Opposites is based on the tried-and-true formula of a thousand romantic comedies: Suzuki is a popular girl, and Tani is the class nerd. She's bright and perky,...
Before You Discard Me, I Shall Have My Way With You Volume 1 Manga Review
This steamy manga's appeal is going to depend on how much you can stomach a female protagonist who kicks off the romance by assaulting her former fiance.
― This is a tricky one. Before You Discard Me, I Shall Have My Way with You is, to all appearances, a story that opens with a sexual assault. Agnès has been betrothed to Crown Prince Lucilleur since childhood, and she's been in love with him just as...
Healer for the Shadow Hero Volume 1 Manga Review
Healer Nanna's powers have one very unique caveat: she has to have sex with the person to heal them. See why Rebecca Silverman calls it "a cute story, decently racy, and generally good, fluffy fun."
― One of the fun things about Seven Seas' Steamship line of racy manga aimed at a female audience is finding which romance tropes are prevalent in any given release. While every genre has its tropes and s...
Made in Abyss Volumes 11-12 Manga Review
Some older mysteries inch closer to resolution as the true nature of the Abyss slowly comes into view, and long-posed questions start to be answered.
― Sometimes, being a fan of Akihito Tsukushi's acclaimed Made in Abyss series means acclimating to suffering. Like many Western devotees, I was introduced to this bizarre, squishy, disturbing world via the 2017 first season of Kinema Citrus' fantastic a...
Nude Model: Tsubasa Yamaguchi Short Stories Manga Review
Each story is like a dark portal into a realm of human sexuality that society usually sweeps under the rug, but I can't look away.
― Nude Model delivers on the promise of its lurid title. This manga, consisting of three equally intense short stories, is charged with eroticism and danger, with epiphanies lurking around every corner. Created by Tsubasa Yamaguchi, Nude Model is nothing like her most wel...
Ragna Crimson Manga Volume 11 Review
Ragna Crimson volume 11 effectively ends the first major arc of the manga and encapsulates all of the strengths and struggles of what has come thus far.
― Ragna Crimson Volume 11 effectively ends the first major arc of the manga and encapsulates the strengths and struggles of what has come thus far. The volume is essentially broken into three pieces: the battle, a flashback with Ultimatia and Wolteka...
Godzilla: Here There Be Dragons Graphic Novel Review
It's kaiju and pirates in this ahistorical take on the dragons found on old treasure maps—but it doesn't quite deliver on its fantastic elevator pitch.
― The elevator pitch for Godzilla: Here There Be Dragons is fantastic—a voyage of Sir Francis Drake to find the Dead Bishop's treasure, only to find forbidden seas filled with the kaiju of the Godzilla franchise, presented as a pirate's tall tale by a...
Rooming With My Two Lovers Volume 1 Manga Review
Rooming With My Two Lovers does something that I wish a lot more BL stories would do: the characters sit down and have a proper conversation like adults.
― Rooming With My Two Lovers is a series that I wouldn't say I liked when it started. In many ways, it falls into the typical conventional trappings you'd see in most other adult BL stories. There is this emphasis on teasing and gaslighting in a way...
My Ultramarine Sky Manga Review
My Ultramarine Sky is a slow burn, which may drag for some readers, but it's ultimately a very rewarding reading experience.
― Nagisa Furuya excels at writing gentle, yearning BL stories. Her previously released titles, The Two Lions from Seven Seas and My Summer of You from Kodansha, have demonstrated this knack, and My Ultramarine Sky is no exception. The story follows two friends, Kai and Ren, who...
A Kingdom of Quartz Manga Volume 1 Review
Sometimes, with an exceptional manga, all it takes is a few pages to fall hopelessly in love.
― Sometimes, with an exceptional manga, all it takes is a few pages to fall hopelessly in love. That was my early experience with Canadian mangaka BOMHAT's first published manga A Kingdom of Quartz. I'd describe it as Witch Hat Atelier meets Haibane Renmei by way of The Ugly Duckling. Initially published (wi...
Blood Blade Volume 1 Manga Review
Fans of The Case Study of Vanitas and Undead Girl Murder Farce are likely to find much to enjoy in this classic monsters-turned-manga characters tale.
― Chapter two of this dark supernatural fantasy begins with the words, "Why does Vlad the Impaler look like a young girl?" The obvious, facetious answer that immediately springs to mind is "because Japan." If Oda Nobunaga can be reborn in multiple form...
Kowloon Generic Romance Manga Volume 1-6 Review
What started as a lushly drawn nostalgia piece about a long-gone city soon delves into sci-fi mystery material and a burgeoning sense of dread.
― This is one of those mystery-focused manga that's almost impossible to discuss without some significant spoilers for at least the first volume. Author Jun Mayuzuki holds her cards incredibly close to her chest, so if there's even a chance you'd consider rea...
The Blue Wolves of Mibu Volume 1 Manga Review
Soon to be an anime series, The Blue Wolves of Mibu is a safe bet for fans of the Shinsengumi historical subgenre.
― The Shinsengumi is pretty inescapable in Japanese fiction, and I fully admit that most of my reading about them in the manga and visual novel sphere has been on the shōjo side – the Hakuouki franchise and the incomparable Kaze Hikaru, in particular. But there's undoubtedly more than ju...
Love, a Kitten, and a Salty Dog Manga Review
Love, a Kitten, and a Salty Dog is, by and large, a pleasant read, but it feels like a story that was shoved into a one-volume format when it might have benefitted from having two.
― BL series about veterinarians seems to be a budding, if not booming, subgenre. Alongside Therapy Game and Honey Darling we now have Seven Seas' release of Love, a Kitten, and a Salty Dog. Like Honey Darling (released by ...
Tokyo These Days Volume 1 Manga Review
Taiyo Matsumoto turns his talents to exploring the manga field from various creative angles and the inescapable hold creative work (and manga, in particular) has on us.
― Many authors and illustrators have tried to write about what it means to work in a creative field. For my money, John Kendrick Bangs' 1896 novel A Rebellious Heroine best captures the writing life, and that's illustrious company for...
My Boss Is a Giant: He Manages My Every Need With Enormous Skill! Manga Review
Unfortunately, the steamy story is undermined by abandoned plot threads leaving fairly non-graphic sex scenes to entice readers.
― The title says it all as far as major content warnings go with this one: it's a romance manga about a woman who becomes involved with her boss. It's hardly novel in the genre, but it's also one of those tropes that doesn't work for all readers, so the good news is that yo...
Tekkonkinkreet: Black & White 30th Anniversary Edition Manga Review
Taiyō Matsumoto's Tekkonkikreet is a powerful manga, one unique and beautiful in its off-beat presentation and heartbreaking/warming in its characters and themes.
― I knew next to nothing about Taiyō Matsumoto or his work before reading Tekkonkikreet, and with the manga in question, I only knew of Treasure Town, coming across it when looking up cool anime cities. I'm glad I ended up going in blind to...
Pokemon Adventures: Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire Volume 1 Manga Review
This manga is best read with prior knowledge of the characters and the base games, but inside is a worthwhile, fast-paced adventure.
― I will always take advantage of any opportunity to talk about the Pokémon Adventures manga because I genuinely think it is fantastic. Composed of dozens of volumes, the Pokémon Adventures manga series is the closest thing that fans have to a dedicated expansion of the...
The White and Blue Between Us Manga Review
This is only a one-volume story, and it simply doesn't have the space to give us the needed depth of emotion, especially for lead character Mishima.
― So many love stories in fiction begin or end with a lie. That's not surprising when you think about the genre; its very nature means that any antagonistic actions need to be either ridiculously huge (kidnapping, war, etc.) or small enough to be a fixtu...
Ako and Bambi Volume 1 Manga Review
From one the creators behind Horimiya, an up-and-coming writer meets a ghost haunting his new apartment, but there are still mysteries lingering behind her death.
― You may recognize HERO as one of the creators behind Horimiya, and for some readers, that will be enough to merit picking this up. But Ako and Bambi's first volume stands on its own two feet even without that endorsement, and it is striki...
God Bless the Mistaken Volume 1 Manga Review
Bloom Into You's Nio Nakatani is no one-trick pony as she takes on a gentle slice of magic realism life tale in God Bless the Mistaken.
― Sometimes, a creator works on a series that is so good that it risks shadowing all of their other works. For Nio Nakatani, that series is Bloom into You, and fans of that one might find themselves a little dismayed that God Bless the Mistaken isn't a similar gentle...
Smoking Behind the Supermarket with You Volume 1 Manga Review
The award-winning manga hinges on the humorous rapport between an overworked salaryman and the biker-chic woman who smokes behind the supermarket.
― Let me start by admitting that I think cigarette smoking (in fact, any kind of nicotine inhalation, whether cigar smoking, e-cig vaping, or snuff… uh… snuffing?) is gross. It's not just the myriad of horrific health complications, nor the hideous stench ...
holoX MEETing! Volume 1 Manga Review
This is probably a must-buy for holoX fans. However, I think it also functions perfectly well on its own.
― VTubers have exploded as a form of online entertainment in the past couple of years and it makes sense why. On a corporate and professional level, they have tapped into the appeal of mainstream idol cultures. This has given birth to various forms of media, from music to animations and even mang...
Taking Care of God Manga Review
Like the best science fiction, Taking Care of God posits an absurd situation to illuminate our present or near future: how will we care for our aging population?
― Fans of Chinese sci-fi may recognize the name Cixin Liu, the Hugo award-winning author of the short story that inspired this manga. The 2019 theatrical adaptation of his novel The Wandering Earth broke records as the highest-domestic-gross...
All You Want, Whenever You Want Manga Review
If you want your BL to be equal parts graphic raunchiness and sweet romance, All You Want, Whenever You Want is the perfect recipe.
― If there's one thing I very much appreciate about Tokyopop's current incarnation (apart from the fact that they've been doing quite well with their BL licensing choices), it's how they list content warnings on their product pages. Rather than simply noting that a book ...
Whoever Steals This Book Volume 1 Manga Review
A manga about fiction coming to life, Whoever Steals This Book's art for each new fictional world is distinct and captivating.
― Fiction about fiction is a weird, woolly, postmodern fantasy genre I tend to enjoy. The best examples from the Western comic oeuvre I can think of would either be Neil Gaiman's The Sandman or Mike Carey's The Unwritten. Both play with the structures and tropes of fantasy st...
Gazing at the Star Next Door Volume 1 Manga Review
Gazing at the Star Next Door takes on a coziness and warmth that many other series lack. If you like sweet shoujo goodness, this is a series to pick up.
― With this second series released in English, Ammitsu has officially become one of my favorite creators. In Gazing at the Star Next Door, she takes the childhood friend trope, combines it with the celebrity romance, and somehow manages to come out w...
In the Name of the Mermaid Princess Volume 1 Manga Review
Yoshino Fumikawa and Miya Tashiro's manga tackles ableism and racism via a fantasy lens.
― In the kingdom of Blognig, it doesn't do to be anything but human. People born with animal features are not tolerated, even though they're a perfectly natural occurrence. Even if neither parent has them, and according to both law and custom, such "unhumans" are transported to other, more tolerant countries. Pos...
Gachiakuta Manga Volume 1 Review
Gachiakuta looks like a promising entry to satisfy readers with Mad Max-esque itch.
― From the outset, Gachiakuta's heavily graffiti-inspired art is striking – with deceptively simple and immediately cool-looking character designs depicted with clean, thick line-work contrasting with a grimy, lived-in world. The opening chapter, in particular, plays with perspective and warped proportions to instantl...
All About My Two Dads Manga Review
Together, the two men struggle with the highs and lows of raising a child in a story that, despite its title, is much more about being human than anything else.
― Ask any parent, and they'll tell you – raising a child isn't easy. It doesn't matter what your gender or sexual orientation is or if it's your first or fifth baby; every child is their own person. Roji's All About My Two Dads takes this tru...
Steel of the Celestial Shadows Volume 1 Manga Review
This slow-burn supernatural series will test reader's patience, but the reveal is worth the wait.
― Perspective is everything. That's more than just a pat statement in the case of samurai Konosuke Ryudo, who has suffered (as he sees it) from an inability to interact with metal since childhood. In his mind, it's a curse – he's a samurai who can't use a steel blade, a man who can't even get a close sha...
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