James Nicoll Reviews

2019’s Insomniacs After School, Volume One is the first tankōbon of Makoto Ojiro’s manga series. Serialized in Shogakukan’s seinen manga magazine Weekly Big Comic Spirits, Insomniacs After School has been ongoing since May 2019. The English translation of Volume One appeared in 2023.

Everyone at Ganta Nakami’s high school knows the tragic story of the girl who loved too much and the astronomy club that perished as a result. The lovelorn girl threw herself from a height. First the boy with whom she was infatuated languished and died. Then so did every other member of the astronomy club. The former school observatory is long disused, save only as a storeroom.

Or so almost everyone believes.

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2020’s Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End, Vol. 3 is the third volume of Kanehito Yamada and Tsukasa Abe’s secondary-universe fantasy manga. Frierenhas been serialized in Shogakukan’s Weekly Shōnen Sunday since April 2020. The 2022 English translation is by Misa ​“Japanese Ammo.”

Demons have managed to gain the upper hand over Graf Granat and his town. Elf mage Frieren, her human student Fern, and unconfident human warrior Stark are the only defenses left between the Graf’s subjects and zombification by Aura the Guillotine, a demon.

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Ichigo Takano’s¹ 2013 ReCollection is a modern fantasy manga.

Kaneda Katsumi wakes in unfamiliar surroundings. He cannot remember how he came to be where he is. On reflection, Kaneda realizes that he cannot remember anything, including his own name. He is in quite the pickle.

Luckily for Kaneda, God is on hand to help him.

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Witch Hat Atelier Volume 10 is the tenth tankōbon in Kamome Shirahama’s Witch Hat Atelier secondary-universe fantasy manga series. Titled Tongari Bōshi no Atorie in the original Japanese, Witch Hat Atelier has been serialized in Kodansha’s Monthly Morning Twomagazine since July 2016. First published in Japan in 2022, the English translation of Volume 10 was released later that same year.

When last we saw Coco and her colour-blind chum Tartah, they had been having what should have been a happy reunion with their pal, Custas. Too bad that he has made certain discoveries concerning magic and in consequence is less than pleased with his friends.

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2020’s Delicious in Dungeon, Volume 9 is the ninth tankōbon in Ryoko Kui’s secondary-world fantasy manga series. Originally published as Danjon Meshi, Delicious in Dungeonappears in Enterbrain’s Harta. Volume 9 was translated into English in 2021.

As Laios and his companions (half-elf mage Marcille, halfling security expert Chilchuck, dwarf fighter Senshi, and new party member cat-beastkin ninja Izutsumi) explore even deeper into the dungeon, random encounters facilitate informative flashbacks as well as giving Izutsumi a chance to show off a truly unique ability. Meanwhile, Team Laios’ frenemy Kabru has problems of his own.

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2015’s Toilet-Bound Hanako-kun, Volume 2 (Jibaku Shōnen Hanako-kun) is the second tankōbon of AidaIro’s¹ fantasy manga series. The series has been serialized in Square Enix’s Monthly G Fantasy since 2014. The English translation of Volume 2 appeared in 2017.

In volume one, Nene Yashiro made a series of discoveries. First, that the legendary Hanako was no myth but a very real magical entity. Second, that Hanako was a boy and not a girl. Third, that asking for magical favours without asking about fine print was a bad idea. Now semi-piscine, Nene is indebted to Hanako for saving her from the worst consequences of her wish.

Nene may not long survive her debt to Hanako.

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The Scales of Prometheus is the third tankōbon in Masamune Shirow’s Appleseed (originally Appurushīdo) near-future science fiction manga. Published as Purometeusu no ko tenbinin 1987, the English translation appeared in 1991.

Having survived World War Three and its aftermath and having played a crucial role in resolving the crisis in the previous tankōbon, Deunan Knute and her cyborg chum Briareos Hecatonchires continue their careers as two of would-be utopian world-government Aegis’ heavily armed enforcers.

This volume begins far from Aegis’ capital city of Olympus, in the shattered ruins of once vibrant New York City, where feral bioroid¹ Artemis is hiding.

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Witch Hat Atelier Volume 9 is the ninth tankōbon in Kamome Shirahama’s Witch Hat Atelier secondary universe fantasy manga series. Titled Tongari Bōshi no Atorie in the original Japanese, Witch Hat Atelier has been serialized in Kodansha’s Monthly Morning Two magazine since July 2016. First published in Japan in 2021, the English translation of Volume 9 was released in 2022.

Volume 9 begins with a mystery and a revelation. Unfortunately, they are unrelated to each other.

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Yuki Urushibara’s When a Cat Faces West (Japanese: 猫が西向きゃ, Hepburn: Neko ga Nishi Mukya) is a Japanese urban fantasy manga series. It was serialized in Kodansha’s seinen manga magazine Monthly Afternoon from April 2018 to December 2020. Volume One appeared in 2019. The English translation appeared in 2022.

Flow is a mysterious phenomenon that from time to time transforms the world in peculiar, often disturbing, and sometimes (but rarely) dangerous ways. If the people of Japan are to pursue their mundane goals, someone must deal with Flow. Hirota is a Flow Disposal expert.

One might think mitigating reality-warps would require advanced technology or perhaps magic. As Hirota’s brand new assistant Chima Kondo discovers, more often than not it involves Hirota’s cat, Shacho.

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2019’s Delicious in Dungeon, Vol. 8 is the 8^th tankōbon in Ryoko Kui’s secondary-world fantasy manga series. Originally published as Danjon Meshi, Delicious in Dungeon appears in Enterbrain’s Harta. Volume 8 was translated into English in 2020.

This volume follows two plotlines that will presumably be further developed in a future installment. Laios and his companions (half-elf mage Marcille, halfling security expert Chilchuck, dwarf fighter Senshi, and new party member cat-beastkin ninja Izutsumi) explore even deeper into the dungeon. Closer to the surface, the elven special-ops Canariesbegin to tackle the dungeon (which they believe poses a danger to everything around it). How this will affect the adventurers way down in the dungeon is not clear.

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