Manga Bookshelf

Discussion, Resources, Roundtables, & Reviews

Latest Picks

LATEST FEATURES, ESSAYS, COLUMNS, ROUNDTABLES, & REVIEWS

By

The Bladesmith’s Enchanted Weapons, Vol. 5

By Kazuma Ogiwara and CARIMARICA. Released in Japan as “Isekai Toushou no Maken Seisaku Gurashi” by Kadokawa Books. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Ryan Burris. While there are still bouts of humor in this series, it has not escaped my attention that each volume seems to be darker than the last, and this one was particularly dark. Dead adventurers, dead women and children, bandits everywhere, lots of justified hatred of nobles, and the realization that the city that our heroes live in really does have a lot of issues, and they’re desperately trying to force it to become a place that people might actually want to go. Which, frankly, it isn’t at the moment. The cast is also pretty static – we’ve met potential new characters,…

Read More

By , , and

Manga the Week of 8/5/26

SEAN: August comes, as it must to all men and manga. ASH: Must it, really? SEAN: Ablaze Manga has a 6th and final volume of Centaurs. Airship has a print debut. Space Orc: Barbarian Raider of the Stars, Aiming for the Queen! (Space Orc: Banzoku no Senshi wa Yoake no Ten wo Kake Joou wo Nerau) is pretty much what it sounds like. Can a guy make a name for himself enough to marry the Queen, even though he’s an orc? ASH: At the very least, he’s going to give it a go. SEAN: Also in print: 7th Time Loop: The Villainess Enjoys a Carefree Life Married to Her Worst Enemy! Short Story Collection, Reincarnated as a Dragon Hatchling 14, and Reincarnated As a Sword 19. ASH: So much reincarnation…

Read More

By

The Dorky NPC Mercenary Knows His Place, Vol. 5

By Toryuu and hamm. Released in Japan as “Kimo Ota Mob Yōhei wa, Mi no Hodo o Wakimaeru” by Overlap Novels. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Josh DM. Last time I mentioned that even if we saw the occasional good noble, we always had tons of evil nobles to go around. That also applies to mercenaries and military. John does meet the occasional good person, and gets along with them. But his power of being the main character means that assholes tend to flock to him, because this series has an agenda and that agenda is “stop saying you’re going to tell your mom”. Every terrible noble in this book seems to have one go-to out, which is “I am the child of an important person…

Read More

By

Betrothed to My Sister’s Ex, Vol. 3

By Tobirano and Mai Murasaki. Released in Japan as “Zutaboro Reijou wa Ane no Moto Konyakusha ni Dekiai Sareru” by M Novels f. Released in North America by Airship. Translated by Rymane Tsouria. Adapted by Zubonjin. Generally speaking, it can be hard to do a happily ever after for a series unless you end it. If the series is a success, you’ll need to continue it, and the best way to do this is conflict. For the first two volumes the conflict basically wrote itself. Marie hated herself so much that she had almost no will of her own, and Anastasia was faking her own death and wracked with guilt about it. There was a lot going on, but by the end of the second volume things seemed to be…

Read More

By

Too Many Losing Heroines!, Vol. 8

By Takibi Amamori and Imigimuru. Released in Japan as “Make Heroine ga Ōsugiru!” by Gagaga Bunko. Released in North America by Airship. Translated by Matthew Jackson. Adapted by Hayame. So yeah, Seven Seas has decided to put off the short story collection till the end of the year, so we are in fact getting the 8th book. Which feels like a pivotal one in many ways, ways which I should not talk about till after the picture to avoid too many spoilers. So what can I talk about? Well, Basori is on the cover, so as you may have guessed this is her focus book. She’s painfully earnest, somewhat painfully naive, and wears her heart on her sleeve so much it can be seen from space. This makes her a…

Read More

By

The Hero and the Sage, Reincarnated and Engaged, Vol. 7

By Washiro Fujiki and Heiro. Released in Japan as “Eiyū to Kenja no Tensei Kon: Katsute no Kōtekishu to Konyaku Shite Saikyō Fūfu ni Narimashita” by HJ Bunko. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Joey Antonio. I will admit, I was a little irritated by the end of this volume. The whole series has been building to an obvious climax, and we get it here. I’ve talked before about how absolutely nothing challenges our main couple in any fight… except, of course, when they are fighting each other. As such, it makes perfect sense who the final boss is going to be, and it also makes sense that for once Raid does almost die. I wish Eluria also got to do cool fight stuff, but the nature…

Read More

By

Reluctant Space Commander: From Death Wish to Galactic Hero!, Vol. 1

By Norasiro and John Dee. Released in Japan as “”Koko wa Makasete Saki ni Ike!” o Shitai Shinitagari no Nozomanu Uchuu Gekokujou” by TO Books. Released in North America digitally by Airship. Translated by Kim Davis. Adapted by Mark Brezinski. This book has so many flaws I don’t even know where to begin, so I might as well start with what I did like. The core plot and concept is a good one. Making Legend of the Galactic Heroes only staffing it with petty Japanese office workers is something that could be amusing. The series relies on “nobles good and get the good assignments, poor orphans bad and should know their place”, and knows that it’s something bad and needs to change. And… hrm, I’ve now come to the end…

Read More

By

Goodbye, Overtime! This Reincarnated Villainess Is Living for Her New Big Brother, Vol. 8

By Chidori Hama and Wan Hachipisu. Released in Japan as “Akuyaku Reijō, Brocon ni Job Change Shimasu” by Kadokawa Beans Bunko. Released in North America by J-Novel Heart. Translated by Rymane Tsouria. We’ve now caught up with the series in Japan, for the most part (I think the new volume comes out there this month), so it’s worth checking to see if this series is anywhere near a conclusion. The trouble is, if I’m being honest, the series could end anytime, but can also be stretched to 45 books. The conflict is “these two are so brocon/siscon that they will never allow anyone else to be a romantic partner”, with a side order of obliviousness on Ekaterina’s part. Once someone sits them down and says that they need to actually…

Read More

By

Zero Damage Sword Saint: I Enrolled in a Magic School and Wound Up in a Contract with the Demon Queen, Vol. 4

By Isle Osaki and kodamazon. Released in Japan as “Kougekiryoku Zero kara Hajimeru Kenseitan: Osananajimi no Oujo ni Suterare Mahou Gakuen ni Nyuugakushitara, Maou to Keiyakusuru Koto ni Natta ” by Overlap Bunko. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Stephanie Liu. I do appreciate that this series knows the lane that it’s chosen to drive in, and it’s not going to move out of it, even when circumstances indicate that it really, really should. Towards the end of this book there is a threatened apocalypse, hideously overpowered monsters, and a chapter with “despair” in the title, so you would assume that things are going to take a darker turn. And then you remember what series you’re reading, and realize that the closest we get to suspense in…

Read More

More Features & Reviews