If there’s one character who has defined this title since its second arc kicked off in vol. 9, it’s Phobos.  The sinister-looking and sounding “sister” of Clarion certainly made an impression when she first appeared.  That impression being, “SHE’S CLEARLY EVIL!  WHY CAN’T ANYONE BESIDES CLARION SEE THIS?!?!”  Much to my surprise, mangaka Koshi Rikudo […]

While the “Spy x Family” manga has been a best-seller up until now, it has taken its first proper steps towards world domination with the premiere of its anime adaptation a few weeks ago.  Which means that vol. 7 arrived just in time to catch this new wave of popularity.  Is it a good representation […]

The field test where Defense Force recruits get to show off their kaiju-killing abilities was meant to involve just that.  With the appearance of a humanoid, talking, one with the ability to resurrect defeated kaiju, the tables have quickly turned.  At least, that was the plan until Kafka Hibino showed up, took them out, and […]

Vol. 2 threw a surprising curveball into the series’ pleasant narrative with the demonizing of actual demons.  The creativity displayed by writer Kanehito Yamad and artist Tsukasa Abe continues through the remainder of the arc as Frieren goes to confront the demons’ leader Aura and her magical Scales of Obedience while Fern and Stark take […]

I didn’t start reading this volume from the beginning when I got it.  Instead, I flipped back to the “Notes on vol. 3” section for one specific reason:  To find out if “Eizouken” will continue to be published in English beyond this volume.  What I read told me that YES IT WILL!  Editor Carl Horn […]

Sapporo may be one of Japan’s northernmost cities, but the action in the city is heating up in this volume.  That’s because all of the major characters and their associated groups have converged on the town as they hunt for not one, but two tattooed convicts.  One has additional tattoos on his face and a […]

Depending on your point of view, vol. 16 was either a triumphant stomping of the Federation by Darryl Lorenz and his friends in the Nanyang Alliance, or 200+ pages of the antagonists of the series having their way with no consequences whatsoever.  Vol. 17 would seem like a good time to balance the scales, right?  […]

Last time, things started going off the rails again as the end-of-volume drama edged closer to self-parody than compelling.  This was only part of the reason why I was hesitant at first to crack this volume open.  I’ve talked before about how this series thrives on making the reader uncomfortable via the toxic relationship Seiichi […]

Vol. 7 had Minare and Mizuho heading out to Motomachi to help a shut-in get out of his room in order to get a story that they could use for the former’s radio show.  Everything was going (kinda, sorta) to plan until SUDDENLY OUT OF NOWHERE AN EARTHQUAKE HITS JAPAN!  Now everyone’s doing their best […]

We left off last time dealing with the story of the incredible shrinking mafioso.  Narancia was the shortest member of Bruno’s gang and he started to get a lot shorter after being hit with the Stand known as Tiny Feet.  His troubles only increase in this volume as he winds up having to deal with […]