Manga publishers kicked off the spring convention season with a flurry of new manga announcements, including something for everyone from eight to… over 18!
- Hakumei and Mikochi: The subtitle of this slice-of-life fantasy manga, “Tiny little life in the woods,” says it all: Set in a magical forest with talking animals and other strange creatures, it follows the adventures of two tiny women, Hakumei and Mikochi, who live in a tree and ride on beetles to get around.
- Chio-chan no Tsūgakuro (Chio’s School Road): This is a comedy manga about the eponymous heroine’s difficulties in getting to school, which range from construction to biker gangs to urgent physical needs. That may sound like a thin premise, but the eighth volume of this series was just published in Japan, and an anime is in the works.
- Interspecies Reviewers: The Interspecies Reviewers rate monster girls on how hot they are.
Choujin-Kokoseitachi wa Isekai demo Yoyu de Ikinuku Youdesu! (Super Human High Schoolers Are in Another World, But Seem to be Living in Comfort!): Yen Press has a penchant for licensing manga with lengthy titles, and they seem to be getting longer and longer. This manga is about a group of high school students who end up in a magical medieval fantasy world and basically take over: They introduce electricity, take over the economy of the city, and mount a resistance against the evil rulers.
Yen also announced it has licensed the light novel series Tsuujou Kougeki ga Zentai Kougeki de ni Kai Kougeki no Okaa-san wa Suki Desuka? (Do You Like Your Mom? Her Normal Attack is Two Attacks at Full Power), about a teenager who takes a survey and ends up entangled in a game world that’s part of a secret government scheme—and his mother is involved as well.
Viz had a full slate of manga, box sets, and art books announced at Anime Boston last week (see “VIZ Welcomes Spring with a Bounty of Manga, Art Books, Anime”), and here is more insight on those titles
- Dragon Ball: That Time I Got Reincarnated as Yamcha! This may be the ultimate Shonen Jump story: A boy trying to get close to a girl falls down a flight of stairs, died, and is reincarnated as Yamcha, one of the weaker characters. But this Yamcha can use his knowledge of the future to change his own fate. (Shonen Jump; Fall 2018)
- Dr. Stone: Confessing your love is always a scary moment in manga, but high school student Taru is literally petrified when he tries to confess to his crush: He is turned to stone, along with the rest of humanity. When he awakens, thousands of years later, he and a friend decide to use the power of science to re-start civilization. (Shonen Jump; Fall 2018)
- We Never Learn: Nariyuki, a penniless student, has to tutor the two smartest girls in his school in order to get a college scholarship. One girl is good at science but wants to study liberal arts; the other is a natural when it comes to literature but struggles with math. Both are cute, and in order to get his scholarship, Nariyuki has to get them both into their target schools. (Shonen Jump; Winter 2018)
- Abara: Complete Deluxe Edition: From the creator Tsutomo Nihei (Blame, Knights of Sidonia), this is a dystopian thriller set in a typical Nihei world: Humans have destroyed the environment and now live in an artificial city, but some humans mutated into Gauna (the term will be familiar to Knights of Sidonia readers) who can grow their own armor. With time machines, bio-engineering, and cybernetic enhancements, this sounds like a good read for sci-fi and cyberpunk fans. Viz is publishing it in a single hardcover volume with an additional short story. (Viz Signature; Winter 2018)
- Ran and the Gray World: Ran is the daughter of a sorceress who is impatient to grow up and follow her mother’s footsteps. When she takes on the form of an adult, with the help of some magic sneakers, Ran has magic powers but lacks the maturity to use them wisely, and her older brother Jin has to keep her out of trouble. Comedy gold! (Viz Signature, Fall 2018)
- Ao Haru Ride: Futaba’s junior high crush, Kou, moved away just as she realized she liked him. Now she’s in high school and he has returned—but has he changed? A classic shoujo romance setup! (Fall 2018)
- Radiant: Seth is an apprentice sorcerer fighting the evil beings, the Nemesis, who are both the source of his powers and a peril to mankind. While many of his colleagues hunt the Nemesis, Seth travels the world looking for their source, a place called Radiant, in order to destroy it. (Fall 2018)
- Record of Grancrest War: The world is threatened by Chaos, but instead of protecting it, the elite of this world are busy arguing among themselves. Siluca Meletes, a young mage, teams up with Theo, a young knight, to try to set things right—by any means necessary. (Fall 2018)
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