Can Raeliana help Noah? Will Hatori change the kind of person she’s been? Why is Kai keeping his distance from Uka? Our readers dive into the meaty parts of a number of series this week with their reviews, which also include the final volume of a Sword Art Online spin-off! Check our our thoughts on these volumes and let us know yours in the comments section!

Daily Report About My Witch Senpai (Vol. 3) • Honey Lemon Soda (Vol. 6) • My Instant Death Ability Is So Overpowered, No One in This Other World Stands a Chance Against Me -AΩ- (Vol. 5) • Naruto 25th Anniversary Edition • No Longer Heroine (Vol. 7) • Steel of the Celestial Shadows (Vol. 3) • Sword Art Online Progressive: Canon of the Golden Rule (Vol. 2) • When I Became a Commoner, They Broke Off Our Engagement! (Vol. 3) • Why Raeliana Ended Up at the Duke’s Mansion (Vol. 7)

Naruto 25th Anniversary Edition, Manga Vol. 1

Twenty-five years! Incredibly, it’s been that long since volume one of the Naruto manga was originally released. And it’s a pleasure to take a step back in time with this convention exclusive volume (at least for now), which VIZ Media sold at Anime Expo and is advertising for sale again at San Diego Comic-Con. It features some tidbits from Masashi Kishimoto (including early sketches of characters and manga panels) and a very cool cover illustration showing Boruto and the adult Naruto looking back at the original cover of this volume. The work itself is especially fun to read if you know what will happen far down the road and even just later in this initial arc. It’s fair to say that even seven chapters in, Naruto already exhibits a lot of heart (especially in the Iruka-sensei chapter) but also that the world-building is still very basic and the storytelling relatively superficial; there was no guarantee at this point that Naruto would become a phenomenon. And with that mindset, it’s also interesting to examine how Kishimoto would develop his characters further (Kakashi perhaps changes most among the Team 7 members from the original vision) and add a thick, serious quality to the series, though the latter is already peeking through with Sasuke’s bitterness and violent scenes in these initial chapters. I don’t have to wonder if this series is going to become something great, but even if I didn’t know, I’d be drawn to what Kishimoto was starting to build here, which ultimately would be a ninja manga unlike any other, and one the great classics of shonen manga. ~ Twwk

Naruto 25th Anniversary Edition is currently only being made available at San Diego Comic Con 2024 at the VIZ Media booth.

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Daily Report About My Witch Senpai, Manga Vol. 3

Shizuka and Misono are back once again in what was supposed to be a two-volume series! As the two grow closer, they experience plenty of new firsts together! I was overjoyed when I heard the news that this series would be continuing, and be still my heart: this volume lived up to the enjoyment of the previous volumes, which I’ve read well over six times now! Eeeepp! This volume kicked off before our leads got married (which I didn’t realize initially), and I super enjoyed getting more glimpses into their dating life! While it’s not unusual to see two leads dating and seeing their dates, I felt this volume was wonderful purely because of how much it was fleshed out of their everyday life. It wasn’t simply dates, but just being together, which is why I think I enjoyed this volume so much especially. I loved seeing the brief moments where jealousy hit our leads’ hearts, the scenes of them finding hobbies together, and just how much thought and care went into moving in together. Plus, we met Dad! Yay! Someone who read this before me mentioned that the art had a “leveling up,” and I totally agree! I already deeply loved the art before now, but everything now feels cleaner and smoother with more whimsy. Our leads looked even more wonderful! Honestly, this was the perfect follow-up in this series, and I’m so excited to know there will be a volume four! Squeals! That ending was quite the cliffhanger! Ha! If you’ve read and loved the first two volumes, do yourself a favor and read this ASAP! It’s amazing, and I would highly recommend it! Can’t wait to reread it all over again! ~ Laura A. Grace

Daily Report About My Witch Senpai is published by Seven Seas.

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No Longer Heroine, Manga Vol. 7

Hatori has finally resolved herself that Hiromitsu is the only one she loves, and as a result, she doesn’t care if her best friend and Rita date. Yet after she says this, she, her boyfriend, best friend, and Rita are all invited on a winter trip where they will stay in close quarters. And it’s there that the truth of Hatori’s feelings will fully rise and be known. While I have for a very large part of this series found nothing redeemable about the characters or their actions (Hiromitsu is the only exception, I think, because the poor guy needs to just free himself from all this drama HA), I am very impressed by how Hatori has noticed how horrible her actions are. She is not a “good and proper” heroine, because she admits that she was more or less using Hiromitsu in the sense that, yeah, she loves him, but she wants Rita as backup and can’t let him go. That’s a lot to admit to yourself and even to your boyfriend who has put up with all your selfish antics before now! So in that sense, I really like how Hatori is seeing her actions for what they are! However, if I even remotely thought that things would be looking up because Hatori actually seems serious about staying away from Rita, Hatori’s friends have other ideas. Ha! And because of their influence, Rita himself is now making a new plan to get involved, and I think he’s going to “fight” for Hatori moving forward. Again, I feel bad for Hiromitsu because even though he was a playboy, he’s an incredible boyfriend to Hatori! But everyone is more or less conspiring against him and his relationship with Hatori, and I think that as much as Hatori may say she wants to be with him, I really think Rita is going to win Hatori’s heart in the end. I admire the deep effort Hatori put in at the end of this volume, but her emotions give her away every single time, and that has proven true throughout the entire series. All I can think is that this series is only about to get messier, and I’m here for it! ~ Laura A. Grace

No Longer Heroine is published by Yen Press.

READ No Longer Heroine Reviews: Vol. 1 // Vol. 2 // Vol. 3 // Vol. 4 // Vol. 5 // Vol. 6

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Honey Lemon Soda, Manga Vol. 6

After talking with Kai, Uka feels a new determination to talk to her Dad and explain how she really feels. When the truth is revealed, Uka can return back to high school and all her friends. Yet as she celebrates, she notices Kai is keeping his…distance? Is it intentional, and if so, what can she do to be there for him? I love Uka so much! Her stubbornness in this volume had me close to tears so many times in the first quarter! The way her friends rallied behind her, the way she protected what was important to her, and most importantly, the way she was so vulnerable, real, and transparent with her parents for the first time. She is amazing! There was a subtle shift in this volume, as it focuses on Kai and Uka entering into his world. She’s been making steps toward this moment, and I was so very proud of her for choosing to get to know him and learn about who he is. Even when she knew that he didn’t really want her to see things about his life, she still moved forward because she wanted to be there for him. (I did have to laugh because she was nicknamed Kai’s stalker by his “friends,” but baby girl was and is not a stalker. Ha!) It was interesting seeing Kai more closed off this volume, and I think another reviewer said it best: that it scares him to have someone enter into his heart. With how much he has helped Uka, how could she not want to do the same for him and simply be there for him? Their questioning of what they are to one another has me excited because change is coming, and I think it will only lead to good change! Another very well-done volume of a story which still continues to be one of my faves! ~ Laura A. Grace

Honey Lemon Soda is published by Yen Press.

READ Honey Lemon Soda Reviews: Vol. 1 // Vol. 2 // Vol. 3 // Vol. 4 // Vol. 5

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My Instant Death Ability Is So Overpowered, No One in This Other World Stands a Chance Against Me -AΩ-, Manga Vol. 5

Volume five continues the three key plot threads that are occurring simultaneously at this point in the story. It opens with Aoi demonstrating her world-altering powers on a dragon, removing its powers of flight! (We also get Aoi’s account of the “Fate Score” system, which was missing from the anime.) Could she be someone who can actually stand up to Yogiri, our protagonist? Moments later, however, a mysterious black…thing…appears and actually kills the dragon, before flying off toward the tower where Yogiri is still wrapped up in the trial of the swordmaster. So now there are two powerful beings on a collision course with our main character. Sadly, we don’t get to see them actually meet yet in this volume, a moment I was really looking forward to. Meanwhile, Yogiri and his two companions make their way through the trial in the tower, killing anyone who threatens to kill them first—which is unfortunately a lot of people, because none of our central cast look particularly dangerous (and the trial is effectively a battle royale). They meet up with a dark elf who is searching for her missing sister; while she is unsuccessful at this point, she does find a number of her people who are being used for a horrifying purpose in the tower… After mercy-killing them, she continues on with the main characters, and all of them start making their way to the top of the tower, where a cataclysm is unfolding. Yes, the Dark God (i.e., the demon lord who threatens the world, and who the tower was built to keep sealed) is about to be unsealed, and his minions are arriving to hasten the event and prevent interference. Even worse, some of the heroes who have come to take the trial and/or stop the Dark God turn out to have been manipulated into bringing about his release against their will! How the DG is to be stopped, and what happens in the aftermath, are the key reveals of this volume, which I won’t spoil. The manga adaptation of the LNs continues to masterfully adapt the story, making the multiple plot threads easy to follow even as it switches between them and shows the connections. This volume is stronger than the previous one, with Yogiri being less of a pervert and the plot hurtling towards some of the best moments in the story. If this “Cosmic Horror meets Isekai” kind of story is your cup of tea, and you can overlook the story’s flaws (e.g., inappropriate humor), then this volume should be more satisfying than the previous one (which was one of the weakest in the series, in my opinion), building toward some of the best moments in the story. ~ NegativePrimes

My Instant Death Ability Is So Overpowered, No One in This Other World Stands a Chance Against Me -AΩ- is published physically by Yen Press under its J-Novel Club imprint, and digitally by J-Novel Club. It releases on July 30th.

READ Reviews of My Instant Death Ability Is So Overpowered, No One in This Other World Stands a Chance Against Me -AΩ-: Vol. 1 // Vol. 4

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Sword Art Online Progressive: Canon of the Golden Rule, Manga Vol. 2 (Final)

Our story picks up shortly after the assassination attempt on Kirito and Asuna in the previous volume. The duo make their way across a desert to a fortress of dark elves, both to find a certain amount of protection from whoever is after them and to find more information. Here they meet Kizmel, their dark elf NPC friend from an earlier (unreviewed) arc of Progressive, whom they take into their confidence. Together, the three of them are able to start piecing together the identities of those who are after them and, more importantly, who they’re connected to behind the scenes. But as they do so, Kirito begins to notice more and more ways in which Kizmel seems less like an NPC, and more like a real person… This volume is mostly another solid entry in the SAO franchise. A lot of the narrative is told wordlessly, with some excellent detailed art doing the work. And Kirito’s assessment of Kizmel is worth reflecting on at a time when, in the real world, differences between people and AIs are heavily misunderstood. The only flaw marring this volume is an all-too-stereotypical mixed bathing scene. If you can look past that, the worldbuilding and other details make for some fine storytelling. ~ NegativePrimes

Sword Art Online Progressive: Canon of the Golden Rule is published by Yen Press. It releases on July 30th.

READ Reviews of Sword Art Online Progressive: Canon of the Golden Rule: Vol. 1

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When I Became a Commoner, They Broke Off Our Engagement!, Manga Vol. 3

Anna has prepared for at least a year now to live as a commoner, and that moment has finally come. Her daily life may be very different now, but she tries her hardest to look on the bright side and use her cleaning magic to help her new real family, as well as cooking meals for them. However, as she has dreams of her old life, including her old fiance, she realizes it’s a lot harder to “move on” and adapt to this new life. I feel so conflicted on how to review this volume because the one thing I most desperately wanted to see wasn’t until the last chapter! Cue sob emoji! Everything up to that point was good, but it honestly wasn’t what I wanted to see the most, so I feel like I’m not fully appreciating this volume as much as I should be because wow! Anna really is taking everything in stride! I know she has had dreams where she wakes up with tears in her eyes, but I’m really amazed at how upbeat she is. And Klew! Little man is hands down the MVP of this volume! I’m so so so thankful Anna has him with her because his presence seems to bring comfort to her whether she realizes it or not! Going back though, I think a great takeaway from this volume was that while Anna seemed to admire and be jealous of Annette, she learned that things were far from perfect. I think it was a wake-up call for Anna that while things have been hard for her, it wasn’t just her and that Annette had things hard in her own way too. I’m going to give this manga another volume because I still enjoy it (and the art is amazing!), but I’m so desperately hoping we see more of a certain character in the next volume! ~ Laura A. Grace

When I Became a Commoner, They Broke Off Our Engagement! is published by Yen Press. It releases on July 30th.

READ When I Became a Commoner, They Broke Off Our Engagement! Reviews: Vol. 1 // Vol. 2

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Steel of the Celestial Shadows, Manga Vol. 3

 Sorcerers, fortune-tellers, disappearances, hexes, folklore, Ryudo Konosuke’s metal-warping curse, and the Tokugawa Shogunate’s sudden obsession with clearing the capital of casteless buskers and beggars—these all hint at something being very rotten in the state of Japan. The good news is that Ryudo and Aki have driven off the murderous manzai troupe that came after them at the end of volume two and have a lead on who ordered Tsuki’s kidnapping. The bad news is that now they’re running a gauntlet of assassins with freakish “gifts” as they flee across Edo. This unlikely duo seeks a mysterious young sorcerer-lord who rules Japan’s magical underworld from an elegant palace in Kyoto, but it will take all the skills they have—and more—simply to ensure they don’t end up as a feast for the maggots at Edo’s public execution ground… Volume three of Steel of the Celestial Shadows is structured like a shonen battle manga, where character developments take place during duels dominated by fantastical power-sets, but it plays by seinen manga rules. Those with Entomophobia might want to know going in that the centerpiece of this volume is a desperate battle with a “Gifted” (the series’ term for individuals with magic powers) who ruthlessly wields swarms of the nastiest insects Japan has to offer, all of which Daruma Matsuura draws in intricate detail. The magical abilities on display all clearly go up a level in this volume as well, though the series gives me reason to believe that future fights will remain centered around the intelligent use of strengths and weaknesses rather than devolve into waiting for our heroes to unlock their next flashy power-up. All in all, after three volumes of this seinen supernatural mystery/period piece/battle manga, I’m fully hooked! ~ WacOtaku

Steel of the Celestial Shadows is published by VIZ Media.

Read reviews of Steel of the Celestial Shadows: Vol. 1 // Vol.2

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Why Raeliana Ended Up at the Duke’s Mansion, Manhwa Vol. 7

Stakes are high, and even though Raeliana knows what happens next due to having read the novel of the world she now lives in, she can’t help but worry for Noah. As she and Sir Taylor go to find him, they hear an explosion, leading to her expecting the worst! With a rush of emotions after confirming his safety, she bares her heart, all while the “heroine” plans a foolproof way to take Raeliana out once and for all. This volume was perfection in every single way! There was not a moment that I wasn’t deeply invested in, when I wasn’t leaning forward to read more! I honestly don’t even know what to highlight as my favorite part because I loved it all! Wait, there was one moment, and that was near the beginning! But! Certain people were injured, but the way a certain someone expressed their feelings right after… It was so good! An incredible and emotional buildup that left me smiling, almost crying, and overwhelmingly happy! Goodness, it. Was. Good! Everything after that just seemed to get even better, and I didn’t even know that was possible! The way that Noah fully trusts Raeliana, how affectionate they were, and oh my goodness, the way Raeliana almost got taken out! We have finally met Beatrice! Well, Raeliana has, and it was not the reunion I expected at all! That was super intense, and I was so relieved that Raeliana was okay! Stay away from our best girl, Beatrice! There was lots and lots of humor in this volume, which I think is sort of usual for this series, but it felt especially funny this time around! I’m hoping that it wasn’t me just riding on some emotional high because of all the good things happening, because while there were many fun moments, the ending definitely made it known that there are hardships ahead. I believe these two will have the happiest of endings, though, because they are so strong together! Definitely one of my favorite reads this month for sure! ~ Laura A. Grace

Why Raeliana Ended Up at the Duke’s Mansion is published by Yen Press.

READ Reviews of Why Raeliana Ended Up at the Duke’s Mansion: Vol. 1 // Vol. 2 // Vol. 3 // Vol. 4 // Vol. 5 // Vol. 6

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“Reader’s Corner” is our way of embracing the wonderful world of manga, light novels, and visual novels, creative works intimately related to anime but with a magic all their own. Each week, our writers provide their thoughts on the works they’re reading—both those recently released as we keep you informed of newly published works, and those older titles that you might find as magical (or in some cases, reprehensible) as we do.