I’m going to an anime convention the weekend after next, so I decided to start looking at what manga I’m excited about, and to check out what new releases have been published recently. The library I work at has a good manga selection, but not necessarily the new releases I’m interested in. I’ve been reading Spell of Desire by Tomu Ohmi, We Were There by Yuuki Obata, Honey So Sweet by Amu Meguro, and Kokoro Connect by Sadanatsu Anda.
Anonymous Noise, Vol. 2 by Ryoko Fukuyama – May 2, 2017
Volume 1 came out at the beginning of March, and 3 and 4 will come out in July and September. I’m curious about the music aspect, as one of my favourite manga series is Nana, where one of the protagonist’s is a rising rock star. I think it would depend on the depth of the other elements.
Music and longing collide in this ballad of unrequited love!
Nino Arisugawa, a girl who loves to sing, experiences her first heart-wrenching goodbye when her beloved childhood friend, Momo, moves away. And after Nino befriends Yuzu, a music composer, she experiences another sad parting! Both boys promised Nino that they would find her one day through her singing, so she holds on to that hope and continues to reach out with her voice. Now in high school, Nino serendipitously reunites with Yuzu, but she yearns to see Momo again…
The Royal Tutor, Vol. 1 by Higasa Akai – May 23, 2017
This was published digitally in 2015, and is now getting a physical copy. I love the art style of the characters! I don’t tend to like fantasy or historical manga, I enjoy romantic, contemporary much more, so we shall see if I read this.
Accepting the post of royal tutor at the court of the king of Granzreich, Heine Wittgenstein is a little professor with a big job ahead of him! Each of the kingdom’s four princes has a rather distinct personality. Does their diminutive new instructor have what it takes to lay down some learning? It’s a comedy of educational proportions!
Girls’ Last Tour, Vol. 1 by Tsukumizu – May 23, 2017
This just looks really cool post-apocalyptic story, about two young girls, plus it’s published by Yen Press, who’s manga I tend to really enjoy. It’s a short series, too, as it’s only four volumes long.
Civilization is dead, but Chito and Yuuri are still alive. So they hop aboard their beloved Kettenkrad motorbike and aimlessly wander the ruins of the world they once knew. Day after hopeless day, they look for their next meal and fuel for their ride. But as long as the two are together, even an existence as bleak as theirs has a ray or two of sunshine in it, whether they’re sucking down their fill of soup or hunting for machine parts to tinker with. For two girls in a world full of nothing, the experiences and feelings the two share give them something to live for…
Everyone’s Getting Married, Vol. 5 by Izumi Miyazono – June 6, 2017
The blurb is for volume 1, which I own but haven’t read yet. I’m excited to start this series and see how I enjoy it! I love Josei series about marriage and romance, so I’m interested to read this take on that common story.
Successful career woman Asuka Takanashi has an old-fashioned dream of getting married and becoming a housewife. After her long-term boyfriend breaks up with her to pursue his own career goals, she encounters popular newscaster Ryu Nanami. Asuka and Ryu get along well, but the last thing he wants is to ever get married. This levelheaded pair who want the opposite things in life should never get involved, except…
your name. (light novel) by Makoto Shinkai – May 23, 2017
your name., Vol. 1 (manga) by Makoto Shinkai and Ranmaru Kotone – Jun 20, 2017
I saw this move this month, and I really enjoyed it. I feel like there is more to learn about these characters and their body swapping. The movie was insanely popular, so I’m not surprised there is a light novel as well as a manga series coming out.
Mitsuha, a high school girl living in a rural town deep in the mountains, has a dream that she is a boy living an unfamiliar life in Tokyo. Taki, a high school boy living in Tokyo, dreams that he is a girl living in the mountains. As they realize they are changing places, their encounter sets the cogs of fate into motion. The light novel is written by director Makoto Shinkai of the animated film Your Name.
My Brother’s Husband, Vol. 1 by Gengoroh Tagame – May 2, 2017
Yaichi is a work-at-home suburban dad in contemporary Tokyo; formerly married to Natsuki, father to their young daughter, Kana. Their lives suddenly change with the arrival at their doorstep of a hulking, affable Canadian named Mike Flanagan, who declares himself the widower of Yaichi’s estranged gay twin, Ryoji. Mike is on a quest to explore Ryoji’s past, and the family reluctantly but dutifully takes him in. What follows is an unprecedented and heartbreaking look at the state of a largely still-closeted Japanese gay culture: how it’s been affected by the West, and how the next generation can change the preconceptions about it and prejudices against it.
That Wolf-Boy is Mine! by Yoko Nogiri – Volume 4 came out in March 2017
After some traumatic experiences, Komugi Kusunoki transferred from the city to start a new life in rural Hokkaido. But on her first day of school, the school heartthrob Yū Ōgami blurts out, “You smell good!” Despite the hijinks, Komugi tries to adjust to her new school, but it’s not long before she stumbles across Yū dozing off under a tree. When she attempts to wake him up, he transformed…into a wolf?! It turns out that Yū is one of many other eccentric boys in her class year–and she’s the only one who knows their secret…
Emma Kristensen 