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The Fall 2025 Manga Guide After Dark (18+)
Welcome to the steamy side of ANN's Fall Manga Guide.
― Welcome to the steamy side of ANN's Fall Manga Guide. All of these titles are intended for readers 18 and older, ranging from spicy to something a bit more, and featuring a variety of tropes, groupings, and fetishes. Come find your next adult read - there's plenty to choose from. SEPTEMBER Let Me See the Real You, Senpai! Lauren Orsini, Rebecca...
Gunsmith Cats Omnibus Volumes 1 and 2 Manga Review
There are multiple reasons why Sonoda’s Gunsmith Cats keeps getting re-published, and why it remains one of my very favorite manga of all time.
― Kenichi Sonoda's unmistakable art style helped fuel my initial intoxication with anime and manga. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, along with Appleseed's Masamune Shirow and Akira's Katsuhiro Otomo, Sonoda's perky girls with enormous eyes and gravity-defy...
Baki The Grappler Volume 2-4 Manga Review
The art is both better and more violent with each volume. Expect punches that carve up the body like knife-edged cannonballs.
― After Baki's initial appearance and victory in his first “official” match, this story settles into an ever more hyperbolic tale of unregulated fighting. In each subsequent volume, Baki will be matched with an opponent whose skills are unreasonable, whose strength is demonic,...
The Fall 2025 Manga Guide
It's the final update for this season's Manga Guide! Come find your new favorite, whether it's a brand-new series or a rescued title.
― Welcome to Anime News Network's Fall 2025 Manga Guide! You may have seen one of our seasonal Anime Preview Guides, where a team of critics writes up each new anime television premiere as it airs at the beginning of a season. Now, doing something like that for manga ...
Interview with Cat's Eye, City Hunter Manga Legend Tsukasa Hōjō
To celebrate the English release of his beloved manga, Hōjō-sensei shared memories of his early work, including how his editor backed up City Hunter in the face of criticism.
― Tsukasa Hojo is an acclaimed mangaka with decades of experience writing and illustrating countless works. His series are beloved around the world, including esteemed titles like Cat's Eye, City Hunter, and Angel Heart to name ...
The Fall 2025 Manga Guide
Find your next must-read manga! The Fall 2025 manga guide updates with six new titles every day, from just-released comics to highly anticipated releases through November! Sponsored by Yen Press!
― Welcome to Anime News Network's Fall 2025 Manga Guide! You may have seen one of our seasonal Anime Preview Guides, where a team of critics writes up each new anime television premiere as it airs at the be...
The Mouth-Watering Delicious in Dungeon Exhibit Comes to NYC
The exhibit at the Chelsea Walls Gallery on 10th Street was inspired by a similar show in Japan and featured artwork spanning Kui's entire career thus far.
― Delicious in Dungeon was one of the breakout series of 2024, combining dungeon adventure with gourmet, locally-sourced meals. The arrival of an art exhibit centered on author Ryoko Kui in New York City was met with great excitement, and many fan...
Shindou-kun's Tight Squeeze Volume 1 Manga Review
Shindou-kun's Tight Squeeze may not be the most creative romance manga out there, explicit or otherwise, but if you're looking for a spicy good time, it more than fits the bill.
― I've read most of Seven Seas' releases under its Steamship imprint, in no small part because I've crusaded for years on the concept that those of us who were little girls reading Sailor Moon and Cardcaptor Sakura are now ad...
Drops of God: Mariage Volume 2-3 Manga Review
Who will find the blue-eyed white sauvignon blanc?
― We last left Shizuku and Issei facing a challenge from a secret cabal of wine experts whose self-appointed role is to preserve Yutaka Kanzaki's true goal – the perfection of the “mariage” of wine and food. In Volume two, to be seen as worthy of the challenge of finding “The Drops of God,” Issei and Shizuku must first pass a preliminary test, consis...
Overcoming Insecurities with Plus-Sized Misadventures in Love Manga Creator mamakari
After digesting so much comedy that punches down on people's weight, it's a refreshing change of pace when a story like Plus-sized Misadventures in Love! comes to flip the script
― After digesting so much comedy that punches down on people's weight, it's a refreshing change of pace when a story like Plus-Sized Misadventures in Love comes to flip the script and use its fat jokes in a wholesome, body-p...
Answerman - Defamation Versus Free Speech
The Ranking of Kings manga creator is suing a woman for defamation based on social media posts she made. Doesn't that violate free speech?
― Lawfully curious asks: A manga artist is suing a woman for defamation based on social media posts she made. Doesn't that violate free speech? Freedom of speech does not mean freedom from consequences, especially when it comes to defamation and hate speech. In c...
Reincarnated in a Mafia Dating Sim Volumes 1-2 Manga Review
While I wouldn't call this a villainess story, Francesca does seem to view it as such by the end of the second volume.
― Touko Amekawa is no stranger to writing strong heroines who set out to get what they want. You may recognize her as the author of 7th Time Loop, a story about a young woman named Rishe determined to use her memories of her previous six lives to make her seventh one end the cycle of...
Pass The Monster Meat Milady is Cooking Up a Delicious Anime Confection
A manga about food is a surefire way to leave one hungry enough for the juicy details regarding its creation. To satiate our appetite, ANN sat down with manga creator Chika Mizube and Melphiera voice actor Kanna Nakamura to get the inside scoop.
― A manga about food is a surefire way to leave one hungry enough for the juicy details regarding its creation. Surely, the first ten minutes of Pass the Mon...
Realities Merge at the 'Art of Manga' Exhibit in San Francisco
Some of manga's most iconic images are currently on display at the de Young Museum—from Tetsuya Chiba to Eiichiro Oda.
― On its opening day, San Francisco's de Young Museum welcomed patrons to the first large-scale manga exhibit in North America. “Art of Manga” is a visual buffet for experts and newcomers alike, immersing visitors into the same plane as the very panels they see before their eyes. Fan...
Baki The Grappler Volume 1 Manga Review
The fighting is utterly ridiculous, but so much fun, it is hard not to be entertained by this modern-day Lancelot whose strength is as ten because his heart is pure.
― This year at the American Manga Awards, Ashita no Joe: Fighting For Tomorrow won a very well-deserved Classic Manga Award. This post-war bildungsroman of a young man discovering himself through boxing is a moving tale. Now, we also hav...
Yokai Cats and Time Travel: Twenty-One Volumes of Rumiko Takahashi's Mao
Taking a more aggressive horror angle, Mao bridges time from the Heian Era to the Taishō Era to today, telling a story about insatiable greed for power and those who try to stop it.
― I always try to admit when I'm wrong. Mao, Rumiko Takahashi's current long-running manga series, didn't wow me with its first volume. I uncharitably compared it to earlier Takahashi works in both look and plot, and I ad...
Why Maison Ikkoku is the Greatest Love Story of All Time
Pride and Prejudice. Romeo and Juliet. The Notebook. These are some of the stories considered the greatest romances of all time, but to me, none of them compares to Maison Ikkoku.
― Pride and Prejudice. Romeo and Juliet. The Notebook. These are some of the stories considered the greatest romances of all time, but to me, none of them compares to Maison Ikkoku, Rumiko Takahashi's seminal love story. I...
May I Ask for One Final Thing? Volume 1 Manga Review
Sometimes you just want to see a perfectly prim Victorian-style lady haul back and beat someone's face in, all safely within the realm of fiction.
― By this point in pop culture history, we've probably all sat through as many villainess denunciation scenes as we can stomach. The story beats are as familiar as the back of your hand – the prim and proper, highly-ranked fiancée of a prince or similarly ...
Mansect Manga Review
Mansect is way too gross out for me to feel comfortable freely recommending it to any horror-lovers out there.
― Have you ever read a manga and thought, “Oh, this one's for the sickos (complimentary)”? Because those were exactly the words that immediately appeared in my head upon finishing Mansect. Originally published in 1975, this classic horror manga isn't for the faint of heart when it comes to i...
Welcome to Demon School! Iruma-kun: IruMafia Edition Volume 1 Manga Review
To hear Hiroja and original series creator Osamu Nishi talk about it, it seems that at least half of the entire point was Hiroja’s desire to draw everyone in natty suits.
― Alternate universes aren't just the stuff of fanfiction anymore. Or rather, they never have been; it's just that a lot of early fanfiction is rarely referred to as such. But how else would you describe 19th-century American humori...
Blade Girl Volumes 1-2 Manga Review
Blade Girl boldly sprints off of e-readers and onto the page, but can this print-on-demand release keep up?
― Back in April, I reviewed the first volume of Moare Ohta's Teppu—one of three initial offerings from the newly established Kodansha Print Club program. While I was thrilled to hold a copy of Ohta's underground classic in my hands, the quality of that print-on-demand release left me wanting. A...
Kagurabachi Manga Creator Takeru Hokazono Shares His Inspirations
From Hollywood's version of Japan to Marvel films, Takeru Hokazono shares what media made an impact on his hit manga series.
― While the Kagurabachi panel featuring creator Takeru Hokazono wasn't advertised as one of Anime NYC's biggest events, you couldn't tell by the crowd size, as the room was stuffed full of one of the most enthusiastic audiences at the convention. The truth is, Kagurabachi's pop...
This Week in Anime - To Boldy Shojo Where No TWIA Has Before
From Shugo Chara to Hot Gimmick, Chris and Steve decide to throw Rebecca a bone by looking at the shojo manga bundle offered by HumbleBundle.
― From Shugo Chara to Hot Gimmick, Chris and Steve decide to throw Rebecca a bone by looking at the shojo manga bundle offered by HumbleBundle. Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed by the participants in this chatlog are not the views of Anime News Net...
Spider-Man: Shadow Warrior Manga Review
What the book lacks in story, it certainly makes up for with its creative artistic direction
― The world of common book superheroes is extremely malleable. For the most part, you can take a lot of traditional superheroes and put them into any unconventional setting. While you might need to jump through some logical leaps of why a character is in a completely different land or dealing with completely ...
Clevatess -Majū no Ō to Akago to Shikabane no Yūsha- Manga Review
Even though Clevatess isn't covering new ground in these first handful of chapters, I was surprised at how invested I was by the time I reached my chapter quota.
― The presence of dark fantasy stories is vast. It feels like I have read stories that have tackled your typical fantasy setting from every angle. I've seen it tackled from the perspective of kings, children, the hero, and, in this case, the...
No Character is Safe in Hell's Paradise
In our interview with creator Yūji Kaku, we learn that every character has a "bad end" route, even protagonist Gabimaru.
― Hells Paradise captured the hearts of many people thanks to its unique setting, likable characters, and gorgeous animation. A great deal of thought went into how the anime presented itself visually and how the story effectively communicated its various potential branching paths. ...
Li'l Miss Vampire Can't Suck Right Manga Volume 1 Review
Everything is focused on Luna and her day-to-day school life with her willing blood-bag Ootori.
― Vampires and anime, eh? An eclectic selection of anime shows feature vampiric protagonists, from the classic (Vampire Hunter D, Hellsing) to the more recent, but superb (Call of the Night), and the appallingly dreadful, best left forgotten (Vlad Love). Worryingly, the manga Li'l Miss Vampire Can't Suck R...
SANDA Volume 1 Manga Review
This is a series about how the innocence of children has become so coveted to the point of becoming perverse, so what better person to set things on the right path then Santa Claus himself.
― From the creator of BEASTARS comes a series about the mythological creature known as Santa Claus. I didn't know what to expect when I read that out loud, but it's about as wacky and zany as you would expect from...
This Week in Anime - The Best Manga in Young Magazine—U.S. Edition
Could English-language manga magazines be poised to make a comeback? Chris and Coop aren't sure, but Kodansha's English issue of Young is still a lot of fun!
― Could English-language manga magazines be poised to make a comeback? Chris and Coop aren't sure, but Kodansha's English issue of Young is still a lot of fun! Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed by the participants in this chatlog are...
Mechanical Marie Volume 1 Manga Review
Only one volume in, I’m already rooting for Marie and Arthur’s future happiness together.
― With an absurd premise that requires suspension of disbelief on several levels, Mechanical Marie is nevertheless a delightfully sweet and funny high society romcom that I thoroughly enjoyed from start to finish, leaving me eagerly anticipating not only the remaining five volumes in this short series, but also ...
Brain Damage Manga Review
If you like Junji Ito, it’s a good time to discover Shintaro Kago as well.
― All short story collections are mixed bags. That's not a pejorative statement about short stories by any means; it's simply the nature of the beast. Brain Damage, a collection of four horror tales by manga creator Shintaro Kago, defines this tendency. When it's good, it's very good, playing with horror and comedy in equal me...
Kill Blue Volumes 1-2 Manga Review
By its second volume, Kill Blue isn’t quite as good as it started.
― There are a lot of stories about second chances spanning all demographics of manga, anime, and light novels. In most of those cases, the protagonist of the story desperately wants a chance to go back and fix a mistake or rectify a problem, and many others wallow in the nostalgic notion that life was somehow better in high school. Bu...
This Week in Anime - American Manga Awards 2025
The winners of the American Manga Awards are in! Coop and Lucas take a look at them and share their thoughts.
― The winners of the American Manga Awards are in! Coop and Lucas take a look at them and share their thoughts. Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed by the participants in this chatlog are not the views of Anime News Network. Executive editor Lynzee Loveridge is a judge for the Ameri...
Farewell, Daisy: Jun Mayuzuki Short Story Collection Manga Review
Mayuzuki’s sheer unpredictability and gleefully ribald storytelling are a breath of fresh air.
― Jun Mayuzuki is one of my current favorite manga authors, mainly for her most recent work on the still-ongoing Kowloon Generic Romance (the excellent single-season anime adaptation concluded only last season). I jumped at the chance to review this collection of her early manga work, some of which predate ...
Double the Trouble, Twice as Nice Volume 1 Manga Review
In its first volume, Ichino's series is a lot of silly fun, utilizing familiar genre beats and making them enjoyable, even if they're nothing new.
― Ryo Ichino's Double the Trouble, Twice as Nice is, more or less, a combination of two familiar manga romance tropes: the adult who turns into a child and the hot guy pet. English-language readers will probably best remember them from Matsuri Hino's MeruP...
Bringing K-Comics to the Next Generation: Inside Ink Pop's Vision for Young Readers
As manga and manhwa surge in global popularity, Penguin Random House launched Ink Pop—a new imprint bringing age-appropriate manga, manhwa, and webtoons to young readers.
― As manga and manhwa surge in global popularity, Penguin Random House has launched Ink Pop—a new imprint dedicated to bringing age-appropriate manga, manhwa, and webtoons to young readers in the U.S. The line, which debuted this su...
Short Game: Mitsuru Adachi's High School Baseball Collection Manga Review
Mitsuru Adachi’s short and sweet baseball anthology is an absolute home run!
― While piecing together Slam Dunk's English publication history last year, I spoke with a few industry veterans about the challenges faced by sports titles in the North American market. One of those experienced pros was Ed Chavez, the publisher of Denpa. As we chatted about these sports-specific hurdles, Chavez and his team...
Tower Dungeon Volume 1 Manga Review
Nihei’s eye for composition shapes many scenes with bizarre yet effective angles that truly conjure an air of terrifying verticality.
― I can only imagine that Tsutomu Nihei recently got into roguelike fantasy RPGs, and that must have inspired his latest manga, which is in many ways quite different from his usual work. Best known in the west for Blame! and Knights of Sidonia, his manga tends to be fu...
I Wanna Be Your Girl Volume 1 Manga Review
This is a nuanced story that deftly explores what it means to become an ally while diving into the teenage trans experience.
― Over the years, I've seen imprints come and go—most often because they were founded on half-cocked ideas that just didn't have the opportunity to fully form. With the release of Ink Pop's first manga title, Umi Takase's I Wanna Be Your Girl, I believe this brand-new imprint h...
Teppeki Honeymoon Volume 1 Manga Review
Sakae and Ena's relationship walks a very fine line in this book.
― Meca Tanaka is no stranger to shoujo manga – she debuted in 1998 and has been consistently creating manga ever since. Teppeki Honeymoon is the latest of her works to be translated into English; Viz released both Meteor Prince and The Young Master's Revenge, Tokyopop translated Pearl Pink back during the publisher's first incarnation,...
Alternative [Self Liner Note] Manga Review
For those of you who love 90’s alt rock, this one-shot manga might prove to be your cup of (pennyroyal) tea.
― This one-shot manga fell into my lap because, well, of course it would. I love guitars, I love anime and manga about guitar players. And when you've got 90's grunge music thrown into the mix, you've got the most obvious pick in the world. Manga creator Chiaka Yagura's Alternative [Self Liner...
Dinosaur Sanctuary Manga Creator Itaru Kinoshita Wants to Show a Different Side of the Prehistoric
How does a triceratops sit? What are dinosaurs like as they enter old age? Itaru Kinoshita spoke with ANN about his passion for prehistory and how he's bringing dinosaurs to life.
― After a rousing panel with special appearances by “real” dinosaurs, Dinosaur Sanctuary manga creator Itaru Kinoshita sat down with ANN to speak more on his journey as a manga artist, why he chose to humanize dinosaurs, an...
A Celebration of 25 Years: An Interview with Manga Creators PEACH-PIT
From Rozen Maiden to Shugo Chara! Jewel Joker, PEACH-PIT has captivated manga readers for decades.
― Celebrating twenty-five years together, the manga artist duo behind PEACH-PIT made their long-awaited return to Anime Expo 2025 after a decade away. In addition to their anniversary, Anime News Network had the well-timed opportunity to speak to them after ANN's first interview with them twenty years a...
Yaiba Omnibus 1 Manga Review
While the anime is great looking enough that I imagine it'll be most people's preference for experiencing this series, the manga has just enough of its own strengths to be worth checking out on its own.
― With the new Yaiba anime currently on air, and quickly proving to be one of the most impressive looking action shows of the year, the folks at Viz Media have also seen fit to release the original ma...
Senpai no Kohai Manga Review
Hanakage Alt’s Senpai no Kohai is, in its slender volume, a beautifully sweet love story.
― Sayuri knows that it's hopeless to fall in love with a straight woman. That's an academic consideration, of course, when in her final year of college, she fell head over heels for Risa. The adorable first year consumed all of Sayuri's thoughts, no matter how hard she tried to avoid them, and when she graduated...
Ultraman: Along Came a Spider-Man Volume 1 Review
In this, Spider-Man and Ultraman are kindred spirits, and I'm not quite sure what I expected their connection to be but I like this angle as a way to bridge these two very different characters.
― Ultraman: Along Came a Spider-Man is a solid start for an Ultraman and Spider-Man that hits most of the notes you would expect. The premise here is simple enough and totally in keeping with crossover tales o...
Spider-Man: Kizuna Manga Review
Spider-Man: Kizuna is a rather cartoony story, but succeeds at highlighting the appeal of Spider-Man in a traditional Japanese manga.
― With great power comes great responsibility! These words permeate throughout most, if not all, Spider-Man media, as it is the very mantra of the character himself. The ethos of Spider-Man revolves around a perfectly normal guy being pushed into situations where he is...
I Made Friends with the Second Prettiest Girl in My Class Volume 1 Manga Review
There’s the potential for a stronger story if the rest of it can continue leaning into the exploration of social expectations that this first volume presents, and it’s planted enough seeds that I think it could get there.
― Although I enjoy my share of high school rom-coms, I'll admit that I was a bit wary of this one going in. While you can't always tell much about a series based on its title, light...
Unico: Awakening and Unico: Hunted Manga Review
This story is like a child's imagination come to life.
― Osamu Tezuka is a legend in the world of animation and manga. Not only is this man responsible for some of the most iconic series of all time, but his stylistic influences can still be felt to this very day. Many of his franchises, like Astro Boy, continue to persist into the modern day with adaptations or re-creations. So when I heard that one...
Nue's Exorcist Volume 1 Manga Review
Nue’s Exorcist is the sort of book that’s more fun the less you think about it.
― The history of the nue is long in Japanese yokai lore, dating back to at least the Heian period, when it was described in Heike Monogatari as a chimera-like creature composed of bits and pieces of snake, chicken, tiger, tanuki, and monkey. Different variations on the theme followed, but manga fans may best know it as th...
Spacewalking With You Volume 1 Manga Review
This American Manga Awards nominee is an unflinchingly honest and compassionate look into the lives of two neurodivergent teens just trying to get through life.
― Recently, I've found myself searching for works that leave me with a sense of catharsis—stories that send me through emotionally wrought tunnels and leave me coming out of it like I'd just gotten something off my chest. Thanks to a strong r...
Small-town Horror: Interview with The Summer Hikaru Died Creator Mokumokuren
Ahead of The Summer Hikaru Died anime's premiere at Anime Expo today, dive into the series' creeping horror with manga creator Mokumokuren!
― Manga creator Mokumokuren is having a good year. Their debut manga The Summer Hikaru Died was recently tapped for an anime adaptation, but not before making multiple entries on top manga lists, in the U.S. and Japan. Dripping with the sticky heat of summer, Th...
CITY Volume 1 Manga Review
CITY revels in the casual charms of our lives, delights in our mundanity, and provides more than a few chuckles along the way.
― The first volume of CITY is a delightful slice of life slapstick romp that asks very little of the reader while eliciting a lot of great feelings. CITY is a simple work at face value. Three young women – Midori, Ayumu, and Wako – all go to Mont Blanc University in a city na...
Cosmic Censorship Volume 1 Manga Review
Confusion works decently well to keep readers on their toes, although if you like to fully understand what's going on at any given time, this may not be the book for you.
― According to the dictionary, a “censor” is, among other things, a wartime official who reads all communications to delete classified or dangerous information. That's not too far off from the way we more typically see “censor” and ...
BLACK BLOOD Manga Review
If you are or have ever been a connoisseur of the clang-clang, rest assured that Kuku gets it, and has provided a book that delivers.
― The surface-level selling points of a story can often be all it needs. The premise of Hayate Kuku's BLACK BLOOD certainly lends itself to the potential of denser themes: the nature of the human soul, the validity of suppressed and manipulated emotions that make peopl...
Senpai is an Otokonoko: My Crossdressing Classmate Volume 1 Manga Review
This is the sort of series I fully expect to see evolve over its ten-volume run. It’s as much about learning comfort levels and respect as it is about learning who it is you are or want to be.
― Note: I will be using he/him pronouns in this review, since as of this volume, that's what Makoto uses. Gender can be a performance. Because of socially mandated gender norms, that's true even if you identify...
Watari-kun's ***** is About to Collapse Volume 1 Manga Review
This book felt like watching somebody slowly wind a guitar string. Are they tuning the instrument, or do they want the wire to snap?
― Have you ever finished reading a volume of a manga where you just feel unnerved by the end? When I first picked up Watari-kun's ****** Is About to Collapse, I was expecting a semi-tragic story about two siblings trying to persevere in a new environment after losing th...
This Week in Anime - Anime News Network's Summer Manga Reading List
Chris and Coop searched their shelves for your next manga beach read!
― Chris and Coop searched their shelves for your next manga beach read! Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed by the participants in this chatlog are not the views of Anime News Network.Spoiler Warning for discussion of the series ahead. @RiderStrike @BWProwl @LucasDeRuyter @vestenet Coop School's out for summer, Chris! Wit...
Outsiders Volume 1 Manga Review
Outsiders is a book that should have been better.
― Does this sound familiar? A teenage girl with a sense of being disaffected and socially dislocated, one day discovers that there's a whole supernatural world right under her nose, and becomes involved with a hot werewolf and a handsome vampire. It's not just Twilight that uses that setup, although it probably remains the most famous example of the p...
This Week in Anime - Manga to Show Your Pride
Happy Pride! Steve and Lucas browse through some queer manga in celebration.
― Happy Pride! Steve and Lucas browse through some queer manga in celebration. Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed by the participants in this chatlog are not the views of Anime News Network.Spoiler Warning for discussion of the series ahead. @RiderStrike @BWProwl @LucasDeRuyter @vestenet Lucas Steve, I know you an...
Stay By My Side After the Rain Volumes 1-3 Manga Review
Stay By My Side After the Rain is a remarkably well put together story. While each volume is more or less self-contained, they all build together to form a picture of two people overcoming their hurdles and finding happiness together.
― If there are two persistent narratives that queer fiction is beholden to, they're coping with homophobia and coming out. Both are real and significant in fiction and ...
Uglymug, Epicfighter Manga Chapters 1-10 Review
OK, what if someone was transported to another world but they were ugly? No seriously, that's it.
― OK, what if someone was transported to another world but they were ugly? No seriously, that's it. Is the story going to be some kind of biting social commentary about how beauty is in the eye of the beholder and how we don't give people a chance due to their physical appearances? Maybe the story is a c...
Rockin' Out With Sumiko Arai, The Guy She Was Interested In Wasn't a Guy at All Manga Creator
In her first-ever English-language interview, Green Yuri creator Sumiko Arai talks about WLW stories, the inspiration for her characters, and what's on her music playlist.
― When Sumiko Arai launched The Guy She Was Interested In Wasn't a Guy at All on her Twitter account in 2021, she couldn't have predicted its meteoric rise in popularity. From social media to Pixiv Comic, the four-page serializatio...
This Week in Anime - Manga, Translation, and the Rise of Machines
Lucas and Coop discuss the insidious rise of AI in the translation space.
― Lucas and Coop discuss the insidious rise of AI in the translation space. Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed by the participants in this chatlog are not the views of Anime News Network.Spoiler Warning for discussion of the series ahead. One Piece and JoJo's Bizarre Adventure are available at Viz/Shonen Jump App.
Ka...
New Saga Volume 1 Manga Review
If you had the ability to go back in time and relive one of the most difficult journeys of your life, what would you do differently?
― If you had the ability to go back in time and relive one of the most difficult journeys of your life, what would you do differently? If you sacrificed everything for the sake of taking down an ultimate evil, do you think it's possible to accomplish the same goal witho...
Edo Era's Brave Firefighters: Interview with Oedo Fire Slayer Novelist Shogo Imamura & Mangaka Shinobu Seguchi
Discover the history behind Oedo Fire Slayer in our interview with author Shōgo Imamura and manga creator Shinobu Seguchi.
― Japan's history is teeming with everyday heroes, and there may not be a stronger example than the Edo period's firefighters. Known as hikeshigumi, community firefighters rose to meet a 17th-century challenge: protecting the fragile wooden and paper homes in what would become th...
Does It Count If You Lose Your Virginity to an Android? Volume 1 Manga Review
This manga asks and answers the question “What if the loveable loser in a sexbot comedy was a woman?” The answer won’t surprise you.
― If you've been reading manga for any length of time, you've probably encountered some version of the hapless, yet relatable, loser protagonist. He's a guy with no friends and a weird hobby, or the woman who looks super cool and together on the outside, but when she st...
Night of the Living Cat Volume 1 Manga Review
This manga has an amusing idea that could make for a funny one-shot manga or a spoof trailer, but feels ludicrously overstretched here.
― Night of the Living Cat will soon hit the screens as an anime series in July, with at least one huge name attached: Takashi Miike, on board as the “Chief Director.” You may know Miike from the live-action films of Ichi The Killer and other manga. I'll always rememb...
Dra-Q Volumes 1-2 Manga Review
Dra-Q is a hard series to recommend with its skin-deep characters and a plot that sometimes feels like the creator was just flying by the seat of their pants.
― Kodansha's copy for Dra-q, Chiyo's dark comedy/romance/horror manga series, says that it's perfect for fans of Dandadan and Call of the Night. While I wouldn't necessarily agree with the latter – the only real commonality they share is vampir...
The 13th Footprint Volume 1 Manga Review
The 13th Footprint’s first volume is mainly a setup, but it’s a lesson in how to do it well.
― While nothing else he's created has quite lived up to Erased's level of excellence, it's not for lack of trying on Kei Sanbe's part – both of the other mystery titles previously released, Island in a Puddle and For the Kid I Saw in my Dreams are very good. But The 13th Footprint's first volume comes closest...
They Were Eleven Manga Review
They Were Eleven is indisputably a classic, a beautiful example of how manga can transcend literary snobbery to be classified as literature in its own right.
― Of all classic shōjo manga creators, Moto Hagio has had the most success in English. Part of the Year 24 Group, which includes Keiko Takemiya (To Terra…), Riyoko Ikeda (The Rose of Versailles), and Yasuko Aoike (From Eroica with Love), Hagio h...
Dogsred Volumes 1-2 Manga Review
I can't wait for more people to discover this absolute slapshot of a classic in the making.
― About thirty-five years ago, a young mangaka from Kagoshima took Japan by storm with a little story about a relatively obscure sport—basketball. Fast-forward to today, it's pretty safe to say that this artist's love letter to shooting hoops became something of a Slam Dunk with its readers. While reading thro...
The Color of the End: Mission in the Apocalypse Volume 1 Manga Review
The Color of the End is one of the stronger “girls after the apocalypse” manga out there, more bitter than sweet and filled to the brim with loneliness.
― “Girls after the apocalypse” has become a subgenre of post-apocalyptic fiction. Whether alone, in pairs, or with their pets, young women traversing a ruined world have carved a niche in science fiction manga and anime, perhaps relying on the juxtap...
The Spring 2025 Manga Guide After-Dark (18+)
Welcome to the steamy side of ANN's Spring Manga Guide, where all the titles are for adults with a little something for almost every taste.
― Welcome to the steamy side of ANN's Spring Manga Guide. All of these titles are for readers 18 and older, from spicy to something a bit more, and featuring a range of tropes, groupings, and fetishes. Come find your next adult read - there's plenty to choose fr...
My Kitten is a Picky Eater Volume 1 Manga Review
If you like cats and stories about people taking care of cats, My Kitten is a Picky Eater will be a purr-fect fit for you.
― If you've ever owned a pet, then you've almost certainly learned that oftentimes, the best way to their heart is, of course, through their stomach. Such is the core of Migiri Miki's My Kitten is a Picky Eater (henceforth Picky Eater), which follows a new kitten owner—Mano—whose...
This Week in Anime - Can't Beat the Classics
Chris and Coop explore the sadly underpopulated world of classic manga in English.
― Chris and Coop explore the sadly underpopulated world of classic manga in English. Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed by the participants in this chatlog are not the views of Anime News Network.Spoiler Warning for discussion of the series ahead.
While Discotek Media's Blu-ray release of Aim for the Ace sli...
The Spring 2025 Manga Guide
Now updated with May titles like Kindergarten Wars and JoJo's Bizarre Adventure Part 7: Steel Ball Run. Sponsored by @yenpress!
― Welcome to Anime News Network's Spring 2025 Manga Guide! You may have seen one of our seasonal Anime Preview Guides, where a team of critics writes up each new anime television premiere as it airs at the beginning of a season. Now, doing something like that for manga is t...
Shimazaki in the Land of Peace Volume 1 Manga Review
Every time I turned the page, I was worried about what would happen because the answer could've ranged from a gorgeous scenery shot to a violent execution.
― If there's one thing I can command Shimazaki in the Land of Peace for, it's the first volume's ability to create this incredible layer of consistency from beginning to end. Every time I turned the page, I was worried about what would happen beca...
Mask Danshi: This Shouldn't Lead to Love Volume 1 Manga Review
The biggest strength of this volume is the way it works with Sayama’s anxiety.
― Anxiety isn't always treated seriously in fiction. That could be because it's unique to everyone who deals with it; even if the same basic things make multiple people anxious, reactions and coping mechanisms will be different. In the case of Sayama, one of the protagonists of Mask Danshi: This Shouldn't Lead to Love, he ...
Manga in The Crosshairs: The State of Manga Bans in 2025
Coop Bicknell interviewed librarians across the country about how the latest Executive Orders and lists targeting LGBTQ+ are affecting students' ability to read age-appropriate comics.
― Back in 2005, I'd often find myself racing my friends to the public library around the corner from our middle school. Once we walked through the building's double doors, our obnoxious chattering would drop and we'd ...
The Spring 2025 Manga Guide
This is the final update for the regular Spring Manga Guide, but don't worry - there's more to come!
Sponsored by @yenpress! ― Welcome to Anime News Network's Spring 2025 Manga Guide! You may have seen one of our seasonal Anime Preview Guides, where a team of critics writes up each new anime television premiere as it airs at the beginning of a season. Now, doing something like that for manga is tric...
Sponsored by @yenpress! ― Welcome to Anime News Network's Spring 2025 Manga Guide! You may have seen one of our seasonal Anime Preview Guides, where a team of critics writes up each new anime television premiere as it airs at the beginning of a season. Now, doing something like that for manga is tric...
The Legend of Kamui Volume 1 Manga Review
The start of a legendary manga franchise, The Legend of Kamui is rife with social conflict and violence that isn’t for the faint of heart, but an excellent must-read for manga fans hungry for historical epics and political commentary.
― With each and every passing day comes another hardship. A family of farmers accompanied by
genin (outcast) assistants are working in the fields. A young genin child s...
Hunter × Hunter Omnibus Manga Review
Twenty-seven years after Hunter X Hunter's debut in Shonen Jump magazine, we can witness the start of Togashi's legendary manga again with this sleek omnibus edition of the first three volumes.
― Yoshihiro Togashi's decision to pen Hunter x Hunter a few years after infamously closing the book on Yu Yu Hakusho meant one thing: you can take the mangaka out of battle shonen, but you can never take the b...
A Sinner of the Deep Sea Manga Series Review
Akihito Tomi's A Sinner of the Deep Sea takes Andersen's tale and reframes it, asking what would have changed if the mermaid had a best friend who wouldn't just sit back and let her die.
― We all know the story: a mermaid ventures to the surface, falls in love with a human man, and ultimately ends up dying because of it. Hans Christian Andersen's literary fairy tale The Little Mermaid has become the ...
The Spring 2025 Manga Guide
The Manga Guide moves into April with new releases like Kaiju No. 8: B-Side, Fabricant 100, Detectives These Days are Crazy, and more. Sponsored by @yenpress!
― Welcome to Anime News Network's Spring 2025 Manga Guide! You may have seen one of our seasonal Anime Preview Guides, where a team of critics writes up each new anime television premiere as it airs at the beginning of a season. Now, doing som...
AMNERO Anthology Volumes 1 and 2
What would happen if Vash from Trigun had a jaded, loudmouth sidekick with a lactation problem?
― The AMNERO anthologies are less like serialized web novels and more like collections of individual chapters written by Hyocoro. Therefore, the first volume doesn't necessarily have a strong narrative flow. The first chapter feels like the pilot to the series, building up a sort of rescue mission that get...
Hellsing, Drifters Creator's Exhibition is a Horrifyingly Good Time
The large-scale exhibition chronicled Hirano's work from Hellsing to Drifters, including life-size recreations of props and costumes and some impressive interactive photo areas!
― Last year, I finally crossed Hellsing Ultimate off my backlog, but my experience with the manga was close to zero when I made my way to he Kouta Hirano Super Expo inside the Sunshine City shopping center in Ikebukuro. The ...
Luciole Has a Dream Volume 1 Manga Review
We don't know precisely what happened or what will happen, but watching Lu's world unfold on the page is immersive in a way that the best fantasy should be.
― With most manga, whether you read them digitally or in print, it comes down to personal preference, or maybe budget and space concerns. But every so often one comes along that simply begs to be read in print. Luciole has a Dream is absolutely o...
The Spring 2025 Manga Guide
With over 100 manga, K-comics, light novels, and adult titles, you'll want to check back every day to find your next page-turner!
― Welcome to Anime News Network's Spring 2025 Manga Guide! You may have seen one of our seasonal Anime Preview Guides, where a team of critics writes up each new anime television premiere as it airs at the beginning of a season. Now, doing something like that for manga is...
Teppu Volume 1 Manga Review
Moare Ohta’s Teppu is a bonafide cult sensation, but is this print-on-demand release punching under its weight?
― In early December, Kodansha USA announced the establishment of their Kodansha Print Club program—a print-on-demand service that gives select digital-only titles the chance to shine in print. The publisher capped off this news by revealing the program's first trio of titles—Narumi Shigemat...
With You, Our Love Will Make it Through Volume 1 Manga Review
With You, Our Love Will Make It Through isn’t for everyone, but if it’s in your area of interest, I think it does a good enough job.
― Yes, this is a furry romance manga, and yes, it fits the criteria for young adult fiction. But those two things don't need to be either mutually exclusive or a terrible warning, and to be perfectly honest, any reservations I have about this story don't arise from the ...
Hereditary Triangle Manga Review
Despite a middle act that flirts with melodrama, there’s a thoughtful maturity to much of this short series as its cast explores complex emotions and questions about grief, change, and regret.
― Hereditary Triangle is technically a two-volume series, but the Yen Press edition politely collects them into a single volume, allowing readers to sink fully into the world of this quiet but compelling drama....
Be My Worst Nightmare! Volume 1 Manga Review
This wouldn’t be my first recommendation for high school-set, moderately explicit BL, but I also wouldn’t universally tell you to steer clear.
― Don't you just hate it when your dreams might be telling you something you don't want to hear? That's what Sayo Hoshikawa is afraid is happening to him. Despite his surface-level anger at his classmate Mashiba for things like “being tall” and “girls confessi...
Hikaru in the Light! Manga Review
Even if you can see where Hikaru's plot is going five miles away, none feels hackneyed.
― At times, Hikaru in the Light felt like a season of American Idol to me. We feel the intensity of the competition through its characters' hopes and aspirations, the glow of the stage, and the harsh rules laid down by the competition's judges and producers. It requires the winning idols an extraordinary cut above...
Corpse Blade Volume 1 Manga Review
I desperately wanted to make a pun somewhere about how this volume just isn’t as fleshed out as it needs to be, but its problems run deeper than that.
― Do zombie apocalypse stories ever really go out of style? It's like a pendulum—usually spurred by one super-successful title, they'll go in full force for a while. Then maybe there's a brief lull when audiences start feeling sick of what's become an ...
Welcome to Ghost Mansion Manga Volume 1 Review
Welcome to Ghost Mansion has a promisingly spooky premise that could develop later on, but its first steps don’t have it hit the ground running like it should.
― There exists an interesting premise within the initial volume of Nebukuro's debut manga. As a story about a landlord who rents an apartment out to the undead, there is potential in making this an enveloping, spooky story about the things th...
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