SEAN: Duck and cover, folks.
Kodansha gives us a 3rd Colossal Edition of Attack on Titan, which no doubt still remains a potent blunt instrument as well as a good way of catching up.
ASH: These volumes truly are colossal.
SEAN: And a 56th volume of Fairy Tail, which had one of my pairings become canon recently, and apparently other stuff is happening as well.
The first of three debuts from Kodansha next week, Happiness is from the creator of Flowers of Evil (and Inside Mari, and Drifting Net Café, for those who want to be reminded that there are iffy things the author has done too). It seems to combine school bullying and vampires, and runs in Bessatsu Shonen Magazine.
ASH: I’m not especially interested in vampires, but I’ll definitely be checking out this series.
MELINDA: I’d give this a look.
SEAN: The Prince in His Dark Days is an Aria title, so file it under shoujo-ish. This seems to involve some gender bending, and the author is better known for her BL. We’ll see what it’s like.
MICHELLE: This is already in my Amazon cart!
ASH: I’m very curious about this series!
ANNA: I’m curious too, but I will wait until you guys read it.
MELINDA: I’m absolutely on board for this!
SEAN: Sweetness and Lightning may have just finished its anime, but the manga goes in, with Vol. 2 coming out next week.
And Welcome to the Ballroom is from Weekly Shonen Magazine, and from what I can tell may be a sports manga, only the sport is ballroom dancing. Of the three debuts, this one excites me the most.
MICHELLE: And so are both of these!
ASH: It’s a strong week for Kodansha debuts; I want to read them all.
ANNA: BALLROOM DANCING MANGA! I am amazed.
MELINDA: So excited!
SEAN: Franken Fran has an omnibus of Vol. 5 & 6. It’s not for everyone, as many have discovered, but I do love its combination of excessive horror and excessive humor.
ASH: As do I.
And there’s a 7th volume of Servamp, which… OK, look, there’s a LOT of vampire titles this week. I have to save my bad jokes for other vampire titles down the list.
And Vertical has a 3rd volume of Devil’s Line. See what I mean? It’s just awash with vampires around here.
Yen Press takes up the rest of this list, but trust me, we aren’t almost done. First, there’s the digital line, with 6th volumes for Aphorism, Crimson Prince (not vampires, but demons), and Sekirei.
Yen On time. The 7th novel of Accel World will hopefully involve the nasty cliffhanger from the last volume, but will we really be free of the constant threat of the corrupting armor? And will Haru get actual self-confidence?
Since the last volume of Kagerou Daze was delayed, that means we get this 5th volume sooner than expected. This one should explain how Shintaro’s dead not-quite-girlfriend, Ayano, is connected to all this.
At last, we have the debut of Yen On’s first light novel series with no fantasy elements, My Youth Romantic Comedy Is Wrong As I Expected. You can tell it’s a light novel by that wordy title, just call it OreGairu. It comes highly recommended, I will see what the fuss is about.
MELINDA: I will check this out as well.
SEAN: And a 2nd volume of Overlord, as we continue to see how ‘trapped in a game’ works if you’re a villain.
And there is a 4th volume of Strike the Blood, which I continue to find very generic but enjoyable despite that.
On to Yen Press proper. We get a 3rd volume of Akame Ga KILL! preview ZERO.
And we get the final volume of Aldnoah Zero First Season. The Second Season is not yet licensed, as far as I can tell.
There’s a 2nd volume of the manga adaptation of The Boy and the Beast.
As you might guess from the cover, A Bride’s Story 8 will be focusing on Pariya, our favorite tsundere, and her own marriage – assuming she does not blush herself to death first.
ASH: Looking forward to seeing more of A Bride’s Story on my shelf.
MELINDA: This, always.
SEAN: Chaika the Coffin Princess is also ending with its 5th and final volume.
And if you like fanservice, have a 2nd volume of Demonizer Zilch.
There’s also a 5th volume of the heartwarming and sometimes creepy First Love Monster.
Fruits Basket’s collectors Edition gives us 2 more volumes with its 5th omnibus, and a new zodiac, of course, of course.
MICHELLE: And a nice Ayame pic on the back cover!
MELINDA: These are so beautiful, I could not be happier.
SEAN: He’s My Only Vampire has ended in Japan, but still continues here with Vol. 8.
Now that I’ve read its source, I expect The Honor Student at Magic High School’s 4th volume to make 100% more sense.
And speaking of LN adaptations, there’s the 2nd My Youth Romantic… I’m not typing that out again.
Of the Red, The Light, and the Ayakashi is adapting a game, but still intrigues me as we hit Volume 4. I’m in it for the savvy little sister.
MICHELLE: I’m intrigued, as well.
SEAN: Overlord’s 2nd manga is coming out the same day as its 2nd light novel. That’s never not confusing!
And Space Dandy wraps up with a 2nd volume. This is the trouble with anime tie-ins.
Strike the Blood has a 4th manga volume, coming out the same day as… see my entry on Overlord.
Triage X may be up to a 12th volume, but on the bright side, we’ve caught up with Japan.
Ubel Blatt has a 6th omnibus that is really its 7th. Still bitter.
ASH: Understandably so.
SEAN: And lastly, Erika Furudo continues to RUIN EVERYTHING as we get a 2nd Umineko: Dawn of the Golden Witch omnibus. Can we get a happy ending with Battler controlling things? Don’t bet on it.
Are you buried under the weight of all of this? If not, what are you getting?