Spring Manga Recs

At the beginning of the year, I did a big rundown of my favorite manga of 2022. I’m now back at the end of the first quarter to talk about my favorite manga of this spring, in the hopes it’ll be a shorter list. Let’s find out together. As a distinction, I want to include continuing series in this article, not just new books from this spring.

I want to start out by praising Cinderella Closet by Wakana Yanai. I really enjoyed this book. Now, I say this with all due respect to Higashimura-sensei, because I love everything she did with her hit series, this is not a dig: Cinderella Closet is like if Princess Jellyfish cut to the chase. We have a plain Jane lead from the country living in Tokyo who falls in love with a handsome man, helped out in her quest to be pretty by a crossdressing beauty. The exact relationships are different, but it’s the same map. That said, there are two things different here that are key to its success: First, that (although not directly confirmed with the character), it appears that Hikaru is or could be genderqueer, and not just a “totally cis man who likes to crossdress for non-gendered reasons”; Two, there’s a much more direct and open acknowledgement of the love triangle from the outset, at least by Kurotaki. That second one is especially cool because Kurotaki is acknowledging a genderqueer person as his romantic rival, rather than writing Hikaru off as “not a threat” like can happen to other queer romantic interests of women that men are going after in manga. I spent a lot of time on those details, but that’s just the cool things that hooked me. The book really looks great, has a lot of wit and humor, and is solidly put together. It’s a great, powerhouse first volume for any romance. Oh, and starring college age characters. It’s always nice to have a romance with not children.

Dandadan by Yukinobu Tatsu continues to be fantastic, with volume three out this past month. I kinda underplayed it when I talked about it last time, this book is seriously amazing. Structurally, it’s hard to explain how the series has the momentum it has at three volumes, since there’s still no call to action. It’s just them wrapping up consequences from the initial adventure, and racking up more fallout along the way. There are so many moments in the story that look like a fever dream, without context but also with sometimes. I’m a JoJo stan, so believe me when I say this otherwise straightforward-looking manga gets weird in a way that the Bizarre Adventure would understand. It’s incredibly funny, with great action, extreme and satisfying whiplash between tones and emotional beats, and some deeply compelling characters pulling you through it all. This book knows what it’s doing, and it sticks to its guns all the way. And since I’m here, if it helps you decide to try this book out, I’ll remind you that Yukinobu worked as an assistant to Tatsuki Fujimoto on Fire Fist and Chainsaw Man.

Asumi-chan Is Interested in Lesbian Brothels by Kuro Itsuki had its second volume drop recently, and just oh my god, right? It’s hard to top how amazing a start the first volume was, and this sophomore entry builds on everything perfectly. I can’t stress enough how this is one of the absolute best books I’ve ever read! It’s incredibly funny, the characters are all immediately fully realized, and it’s definitely the sexiest book I’ve ever read. Anything and everything you could want from an erotic yuri romcom is this book. Without just saying it’s great over and over, the biggest highlights this volume include: Finding out how much game Asumi actually has, if she had the courage; learning more about Ouka-senpai, in a way that also broadens the world; and the introduction of Nanao, who will prove to be one of, if not the top, most interesting points in the story.

I started off a Weekly Thoughts yelling at the top of my lungs about Coffee Moon by Mochito Bota, and I stand by that sentiment. Just like Asumi-chan, this is one of the best books I’ve ever read, and they came out around the same time as each other in the States. Like, once again, I have a hard time coming up with thoughts other than, “This book is great, all the characters are amazing, its so thematically powerful and thorough.” So, Chiaro is probably the standout character this volume, if only because she pushes the story forward narratively in a way Pieta would never have been able to do alone; she makes a strong contrast with Danae, who’s role in the first volume was to explore the premise and fun of the time loop alongside the reader and Pieta, as if the whole thing was normal. The way it all comes together is wonderful, as it pushes the themes of the story forward in a way that a boring plot-insert character can’t. The third volume will be the last, and I’m really looking forward to it. Chiaro also teaches us what a coffee moon is this volume, and it’s pretty neat.

I missed the first volume, but recently I was able to get ahold of Studio Apartment, Good Lighting, Angel Included by Matoba, and I’m so thrilled with it. I am a big fan of Matoba’s previous work, As Miss Beelzebub Likes, and this builds off of that success. Not just because the main character, Shintaro, is the Beelzebub character Mullin as a child. The story has a strong open with all the sweetness and humor you could expect, and the first volume in particular succeeds by taking its time. This book knows it has the goods and insists that you snuggle in and get invested. I’m already very smitten with it. I am annoyed that yuki-onna is translated as “snow woman phantom,” because that’s just too long, but I won’t let it stop me. The biggest strength of this book as a romance is that it’s clearly focused on the characters and their relationships, rather than on love as a magical force. Like, love as an emotion still has that quality to at least one character, because it feels that way, but it’s not a purely sentimentalist narrative where the existence of emotions triumphs over everything. It’s a very mature and nuanced approach, especially for a high school harem setup.

I have not been enjoying My Hero Academia for a while now, and that’s sad for me. I really wanted to keep riding high on that saccharine superhero hit, and it just hasn’t been working for me. So I’m really happy I’ve discovered Shy by Bukimi Miki. It’s set in a world where each country has a hero, and we follow Japan’s hero, the titular Shy, aka Teru Momijiyama. While the book can and does have fun with the idea of a shy person being a public figure, that is far from the main focus. The whole thing is infused with that pure spirit of heroism and do-gooder idealism that make the genre great. I was hooked right where I was supposed to be, in the climax of the first chapter. She has a classic hero-in-crisis story, where Teru questions if she can call herself a hero, and snaps out of it when she sees a little boy trying to run into a burning building. She’s like, yeah, I’m scared, but heroes fight fear; “I don’t want you seeing this shameful side of me, because…I’m Shy!” Like, yeah, that’s the stuff! Do it to me! Superheroes! We’re two volumes in right now, and it’s really shaping up to be a great book. The whole cast is great, the villains execute the themes perfectly, and I’m excited to see what comes next.

I discussed Doughnuts Under a Crescent Moon by Shio Usui a bit in a Weekly Thoughts, and I want to talk about it more. It recently came to an end, and it finished strong. All throughout, the series has an earnestness as it confronts these heavy issues of depression and repression, and still remains a light, charming read to perk you up. In this last volume, the big hurdle was Hinako confronting her mother, the source of a lot of her issues. It was a really wonderful scene, because it wasn’t the explosive fight it could have been. Hinako has grown a lot, and she still loves her mother dearly, so she’s able to see her as a person rather than an enemy. There’s still anger, of course, but also a desire from both of them to come through the other side with love and understanding. It’s a great moment for the series, a wonderful place for a romance to end on. I also like that it becomes an example of asexual representation, which I did not read it as until the very end. I still need to do a reread to see how much of that is my misunderstanding and how much is a lack of statements or reference to the character’s asexuality. I mean, the fact that neither one, at any point, thought about or wished for physical affection is a hint, and I’m a simpleton.

I just got into Candy and Cigarettes by Tomonori Inoue, because for a while I thought it was a different book I had decided to put off for budget reasons. I had an opening one week, and I should have tried it out earlier. It’s a great crime drama that arguably has a lot of cookie cutter elements, and it keeps itself fresh with the simple premise of a fifth-grader assassin working with a retired cop. Young and old, buddy cop pairing, role reversals, all that jazz. Besides a particular stunt that sticks in my craw, I especially like how the fights in the series aren’t based on this eleven-year-old girl being superhumanly strong; you can see how she uses her weapons to greatest effect and make the best use of her size and agility. Smart fights are always great. I’ll always come down hard on the sort of stale, conservative, Death Wish mentality that makes up the central premise of this book, but I’ll also always admit that it can often make for great entertainment. This book delivers.

Helck by Nanaki Nanao caught me by surprise. It’s not the sort of book I normally read, or at least it has resemblances to books I tend not to like. It’s a fantasy adventure story, where the demons have to elect a new Demon Lord through a tournament, where a human hero named Helck has entered, much to the chagrin of the elite Demon Lord Vermillio the Red. It’s a really great example of action adventure, with a lot of comedy retained from the initial presentation as an action comedy. Because it starts off leading with the comedy, it’s easy to accept the premise of Helck’s strength that lies at the heart of the narrative. Once you’re running with that, it’s easy for the story to pull you into the increasingly serious stakes. It even delivers on a lot of surprise appearances, because the early chapters get you to assume you know where the character’s stand. It’s a blast to read, and it’s a story that feels like it could go anywhere and it wouldn’t surprise you. Check it out.

The Invisible Man and His Soon-to-Be Wife by Iwatobineko is a really sweet new heteromance. It’s about the budding relationship between a blind woman, Yakou, who works for the invisible man, a private detective named Tounome. It’s really charming and effective with that simple premise. The author did interviews with students in a student org for blind people on campus to prepare for the book, and it shows in the way Yakou is portrayed. Iwatobineko described being nervous to admit that she decided to do the book just because it sounded cute, thinking the blind people she interviewed would think it shallow, but I actually like that. Sensitivity is important, of course, but you don’t need a special reason to include a disabled character, or make them the star. The story is also notable for being done in “black and white and blue,” with blue backgrounds and other highlights in an otherwise black and white palette. It’s pretty effective. I like that both characters present challenges to the usual sorts of expressions romance manga relies on, with Yakou’s eyes always closed and Tounome not being visible at all, and they still pull everything off. Also, I just like that Jarashi, the beastwoman bodyguard in the office, is a bobcat. You don’t see a lot of bobcats in fiction, and they’re neat animals.

I forgot to talk about Box of Light by Seiko Erisawa last time, and that’s my bad. It’s about a convenience store between life and death; apparently, everyone who approaches death comes to some place like that convenience store to spend their potentially last moments in a more relaxed, familiar setting. It’s a fascinating book, with an odd premise and a lot of one-shot stories about what’s really important in life. The world of the store itself is also interesting, with tons of depth waiting to be explored. Each element could easily be done wrong, and this book carries them out and balances them perfectly. It’s a quiet book with a lot to say. I especially feel the need to suggest this one because I think it could easily be overlooked. Don’t do that. Check it out.

Lightning round: I picked up Drip Drip by Paru Itagaki pretty late. Since it made a big splash last year, I don’t want spend too much time on it. It’s a great book that deserves all its praise. It’s got a clear, definite voice, it goes straight in for the kill, and it looks amazing. Everyone was right to say it was one of, if not the, best book of last year; while it doesn’t hit all my own sweet spots enough for it to be my absolute favorite, I do see how it gets that reputation, and it’s certainly one of the best books I’ve read in a while. Dinosaur Sanctuary by Itaru Kinoshita continues to be a fun educational manga, as does Heaven’s Design Team by Hebi-Zou, Tsuta Suzuki, and Tarako. If you’re looking to learn about biology and zoology while having fun, check both of them out. Run Away With Me, Girl by Battan has a much stronger second volume, which is great to see. They’ve now titularly ran away, and it made great use of the introduction of Komari. Ladies On Top by Nejiganameta is a fun and surprisingly charming romance with two of the cutest leads around. Somehow still no suggestion that the lady can be on top during more vanilla sex, but you know, I’m not going to say no to a pegging story, whenever we finally get there. Maririn, the newly introduced nonbinary character, is great, though with little page time, and I hope we see more of them. Crossplay Love: Punk x Otaku by Toru continues to be really good, despite my fears that the romance may not ever come to fruition. The author promised they’d make progress in volume four, so I still say check it out, because it’s adorable and hilarious. Kemono Jihen by Sho Aimoto is still great, and it’s really coming into its own now. The first volume came out last fall, and we already have four out; it’s on a fast schedule, and I’d say it’s worth checking out.

That’s been my spring in manga. Didn’t get this entry any shorter, I see. I’ve looked ahead on the release calendars, and the rest of the spring and summer are looking really promising, as well. I’m behind on a few series that really bother me, namely Pompo the Cinefile by Shogo Sugitani, Murciélago by Yoshimurakana, and Otaku Elf by Akihiko Higuchi. Somehow, the bookstore stopped carrying them, and I haven’t been in a position to order them on top of my other purchases. And there’s other longer term series I’m missing out on, like Laid Back Camp by Afro and New Game by Shotaro Tokuno, that I need a deep dive to get back on track. Hopefully I’ll have progress to report there, but even if I don’t, I’m sure there will be plenty to talk about this summer!