It’s rare these days that we get some indication about how well a manga title is selling for its publisher.  Which is why this article about Hiroaki Samura’s latest was a very pleasant surprise to read.  (Now only if some of that sales success can rub off on fellow digital-only seinen release “All-Rounder Meguru”…)  It’s […]

Hiroki Endo’s MMA-manga continues on in its own appealingly low-key fashion.  After the (perhaps unsurprising) finish to Maki’s match from the previous volume the focus shifts back to Meguru and his ongoing struggle to get better.  While he’s slowly developing his technique and refining his ability to copy moves on the fly from others, he […]

I think I preferred this series back when it was on the verge of becoming a trainwreck.  Even if “Ajin” was preparing to go off the rails at any moment, there was fun and excitement at the thought of seeing it happen.  This is compared to the series as it is now which is fairly […]

I went into this volume with high hopes regarding the promised origin of Principal Gakuho Asano.  What turned this once-caring educator into the ruthless victory-at-any-cost authoritarian that we’ve come to know in this series?  As it turns out, the reason why is pretty straightforward:  He felt responsible for the death of a student and changed […]

Honestly, I was worried that the direction of this new arc meant that this title’s best days were behind it.  Flipping the premise to put the Shadow Student Council in prison and the boys on the outside felt too obvious a way to mix things up for “Prison School” going forward.  The good news is […]

“Blade of the Immortal” certainly had plenty of irreverent moments strewn throughout its thirty-one volumes.  In reading mangaka Hiroaki Samura’s other works it becomes clear that’s his default mindset and he was doing his best to suppress it while working on his magnum opus.  While such irreverence can get a little wearying at times and […]

Kodansha Comics should be applauded for bringing an old-school (read:  originally published in the 70’s) manga to our shores.  Ditto for the fact that it’s coming from mangaka Leiji Matsumoto, who is probably better known for the anime spun off of his works out here than the manga they’re based on.  The art is also […]

Longtime readers will know that I’ve been very passionate about seeing the rest of Hiroki Endo’s excellent “Eden:  It’s An Endless World!” published in English.  Sadly, we’re coming up on the third anniversary of vol. 14’s publication and there’s been no word as to when (or even if) we’ll see vols. 15-18 in print.  Until […]

This volume actually starts out leading to a moment of triumph for Makoto.  After surviving the attack by an unfriendly vampire at the end of vol. 2, he uses his newfound instincts to track down the missing Yuuki and brings him back to the hospital.  Which is all well and good, until it’s revealed that […]

Here’s a new title from Seven Seas that I feel owes its existence on these shores due to the success of “The Ancient Magus’ Bride.”  That’s mainly due to the number of superficial similarities the two titles share.  Like that other great title, “The Girl From the Other Side” is about the relationship between a […]