We’ve got the kids from Karasuno. We’ve got Star Wars. We’ve got Bocchi and the girls. What more could you ask for? Well, if that’s not enough, this week’s reviews also cover the latest volumes of SHY, Your Forma, and I Want to End This Love Game, as well as the premiere of a new villainess series. Oh, and did I mention we also review the final volume of the Oregairu manga? Whew. There’s so much goodness in Reader’s Corner this week. Check out our thoughts below!

Bocchi the Rock (Vol. 3) • Haikyu!! (3-in-1 Edition) (Vol. 1) • I Want to End This Love Game (Vol. 3) • My Youth Romantic Comedy Is Wrong, As I Expected @ comic (Vol. 22) • SHY (Vol. 7) • Star Wars: The High Republic: The Edge of Balance (Vol. 3) • The Villainess Is the Heroine’s Biggest Fan (Vol. 1) • Your Forma (Vol. 6)

My Youth Romantic Comedy Is Wrong, As I Expected @ comic, Manga Vol. 22 (Final)

The @ comic adaptation of Oregairu has concluded after a ten-year run! Faithful to the original LNs rather than to the anime, My Youth Romantic Comedy Is Wrong, As I Expected @ comic has become better and better as mangaka Naomichi Io has honored Wataru Watari’s story while making modifications appropriate to the medium. Alas, Naomichi-sensei has also had to deal with the relatively poorly developed climax and too-long denouement of the story’s last arc, with the result that the final manga volume—as with the LNs and anime—is a bit of a letdown. Too many emotions riding too high for too long means that we’re emotionally spent by the time this volume hits. The new relationship between Yukino and Hikigaya doesn’t land as well as it should, nor do the goodbyes to Hiratsuka and Yui reach our hearts as they should. But even though this final volume is one of the weakest in the series (even Naomichi’s art, which has improved so dramatically over the years, seems to take a step back in volume 22), it’s still not terrible. The final pages are sentimental, appropriate to Hikigaya’s character, and at least end this beautiful series on a nice note. I also appreciate the inclusion of Naomichi’s insights to wrap up the volume. I’ve said it many times and I will say it once again (and indeed, for a final time!): this manga is the best way to experience Oregairu‘s final arc. More than that, @ comic is so well done that it’s not merely a great adaptation—it’s a great manga, period. There are spin-offs out there (yet to come stateside), but for all intents and purposes, Oregairu is now complete. And as much love as I have for the original light novels and the anime, it feels absolutely fitting that the wonderful manga closes it out. So long, Hiki, Yukinon, Yui, Irohas, and the rest! It has been a joyous ride. ~ Twwk

My Youth Romantic Comedy Is Wrong, As I Expected @ comic is published by Yen Press. It releases on August 20th.

^{READ Reviews of My Youth Romantic Comedy Is Wrong, As I Expected @ comic: Vol. 3 // Vol. 4 // Vol. 13 // Vol. 16 // Vol. 17 // Vol. 18 // Vol. 19 // Vol. 20 // Vol. 21}

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SHY, Manga Vol. 7

The action intensifies as the confrontation between our young heroes and the villainous band, Amarariruku, splits off into multiple battles. Fortunately, Great Britain’s more experienced hero, Stardust, shows up to take on Stigma, the band’s corrupt leader. Surely this will make for a quick end to things so that ninja princess Ai Tennoji can reunite with her sister, right? Uh…maybe not. Even experienced heroes can hit a bit of a rough patch, after all, especially when a new enemy appears out of nowhere. Behind their back. Wielding big spiky things. Ouch. Meanwhile, Ai’s reunion with her infinitely more talented little sis doesn’t exactly go to plan either, with the plot twists coming thick and fast. What an explosive volume! Mangaka Bukimi Miki mentioned in an early volume that he was new to drawing action and, well, you certainly couldn’t tell with this volume. The action fairly leaps off the page! The twists are good too, as is the backstory on the ninja village and the sisters’ upbringing, though questions remain as to their radically different paths in life. The previous volume seemed to set this one up as the climax of the battle against Amarariruku (at least for now), but this volume reveals that there’s a whole lot more going on here and the battle is by no means near its end. While the core storyline continues to be quite gripping, the same can’t be said for Mian Long’s subplot, and the lack of any backstory or insight into Stardust here, despite his taking center stage for a few chapters, seems like a missed opportunity. Then again, SHY is up to volume 25 in Japanese, so there will be plenty of time to enrich these characters down the road. And for now, the central FLs are shouldering the burden of interest for the series quite well, though I do hope Spirit comes back soon. Looking forward to the next installment! ~ claire

SHY is published by Yen Press.

READ: Reviews of SHY Vol. 1 // Vol. 2 // Vol. 3 // Vol. 4 // Vol. 5 // Vol. 6

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Bocchi the Rock, Manga Vol. 3

You know what a new volume of BTR means, right? It’s time for a new epic goal and new hilarious characters! Kessoku Band is not missing a beat as the girls set their sights on the next stage of pursuing their dreams of musical fame: the Unidentified Riot stage, to be exact, a music festival for indie bands looking to break into the national scene. This means tons of practice, more songwriting, music videos, and expanding their fanbase in order to qualify for the festival. Time to hustle! At least, you might skim through this volume and think that this is the next phase of their journey as a band, but actually it isn’t. What’s really going on in this volume is what we’ve been waiting for throughout the first two volumes and the entire anime series: the girls are starting to become an actual band. They’re starting, that is, to live up to their name, kessoku, which means bond, unity, union, solidarity. Up until now, each member has had her own reasons for coming together at Starry, and those reasons haven’t always jived. Sure, they did a little bit of band stuff together earlier, like that fateful group photo, but let’s be honest, the girls have mostly been acquaintances at best. This begins to change here though, as they synch up their efforts and get to know each other a bit more. This is helped along by their encounter with another young rock band, rivals not just in music, but also for the attention of their drunken, but at times surprisingly helpful, senpai, Kikuri Hiroi. The rival lead singer, in particular, sees Bocchi’s ability (and is both threatened by and drawn to it) much more clearly than her Kessoku bandmates, and it’s really quite nice to see our closet thrasher get a little more respect. The jokes continue to land, while the references to the Japanese indie music scene abound, and thanks to an excellent translation and translator’s notes section, we English speakers get to enjoy both to the fullest. If you’ve been on the fence about whether or not to read the manga after enjoying the anime, this volume is sure to convince you to read on. BTR just keeps getting better and better! ~ claire

Bocchi the Rock is published by Yen Press.

READ: Review of Bocchi the Rock Vols. 1 & 2

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The Villainess Is the Heroine’s Biggest Fan, Light Novel Vol. 1

Being transmigrated into one’s favorite novel doesn’t sound all that bad…until you realize you’re now the villainess! To make matters worse, you’re stuck with talking how the original villainess did, who spoke so rudely, mean, and stuck up. Mary Bell might have a tongue that could lead to downfall if she gets cast out like the original villainess, but she’ll do everything she can to avoid that and instead live a quiet life with the original plot unfolding! If I can summarize this first volume in one sentence, it would be a question Mary asks herself: “How could I avoid a predestined catastrophe with these disobedient lips?” It has been a long time since I ignored my manga TBR just so I could devote any time I had to reading a light novel! The premise of someone being transmigrated into a villainess is not new, but what was new (at least for me) is that the female lead can’t control the original villainess’s mouth to save her life. Ha! I feel that usually in these situations, the “new” villainess will naturally change the previous villainess’s mannerisms and way of speaking, but our girl here is out of luck because that tongue does nothing but cause chaos, making this a fun delight to read! I don’t know how many times I laughed because the words Mary wanted to say never came out in the way she intended. Ha! It definitely causes interesting situations to arise, especially when it involves the “heroine” Aria, who is the sweetest heroine! Oh my goodness, I love her and was easily cheering alongside Mary for this new “hobby” to succeed! She is so so so kind, and there were even times when I got upset with Mary because I was like, “How dare you make her sad by saying no she can’t have X thing?!” Ha! Truly, the story was engaging from start to finish, and I deeply love the main cast of characters! I would highly recommend this series if you’re looking for a new villainess series to try with a running theme of music and finding one’s purpose! Such a fun story! ~ Laura A. Grace

The Villainess Is the Heroine’s Biggest Fan is published by Editio Publishing.

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Your Forma, Light Novel Vol. 6

One thing I appreciate about Your Forma is that the author is unafraid to let the story go where it will, even if it puts author Kikuishi in a complicated spot—and readers in an uncomfortable one. Indeed, discomfort runs throughout volume six from beginning to end, starting with Echika and Harold carrying through on their decision no longer to be a part of one another’s lives to keep Harold’s secret safe and Echika from harm. Harold purposely decreases his capabilities in order to be reassigned, and it’s turning him more and more into a typical Amicus. Now, however, might not be the best time to lose his unique abilities as the team seeks to uncover what appears to be a massive conspiracy involving The Alliance. As to be expected for this series, volume six excels as a thriller, the type that still exists in the novel world (though not often enough in LNs) and is now rarer in films. Some of the choices made by the characters feel dumbed down, but generally, the story unfolds naturally and believably against a realistic vision of the future. The most exciting part of all, though, is the relationship between Echika and Harold. Echika is probably the most “anime” thing about Your Forma, fitting well into the tsundere archetype, while Harold is compelling as an A.I. unit that is almost human but still a robot, making crucial and sometimes cruel decisions in that role. The slowly building tension in volume six has as much to do with the pair’s emotional distance from one another as it does with the plot at hand. The volume is further bolstered by Kikuishi dedicating considerable character development to other team members like Totoki, Bigga, and cover boy, Folkine. And that discomfort I mentioned? It lasts right to the very end, setting up a captivating storyline moving forward. This is another terrific volume in an excellent sci-fi light novel series. ~ Twwk

Your Forma is published by Yen Press.

^{READ Reviews of Your Forma: Vol. 1 // Vol. 2 // Vol. 3 // Vol. 4 // Vol. 5}

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Star Wars: The High Republic: The Edge of Balance, Manga Vol. 3

Lily returns with the strength to move forward despite her padawan’s death, as does Arkoff, fresh off a spin-off volume, though he is also given a possibility of closure involving his own padawan’s failure. Lily and Arkoff, along with other Jedi, are trying to counter the attack by Nihil while continuing to unravel the terror that lies beneath the surface of all the violence that’s been occurring. I had a high opinion of this series at first but found faults in the second volume, and unfortunately, volume three is worse still. Honestly, it’s all very perplexing: even with two-and-a-half years between this volume and the last in which to write and develop the series, I get the sense that neither the writers nor artist truly understand the essence of Star Wars, what makes it special, and what makes it what it is. Yes, the story includes a fun droid and cute furry creatures (a la Ewoks, but perhaps a little more indebted to cute manga characters like Piwi), and there are familiar designs and talk of the Force, but if you take away these elements and the Star Wars branding, The Edge of Balance doesn’t feel like anything other than a regular manga sci-fi work. And it fails even as that. It doesn’t earn the moments of high emotion, like in the reunion between Arkoff and Azlin, because the story is too confusing (are the Nameless the real bad guys? Wait, there’s like a fourth level of antagonist that’s the real concern?) and it moves far too quickly—why are we only getting 154 pages of manga after almost three years of waiting? Within a few dozen pages, one Jedi leaves for another planet, arrives, hatches a plan, makes a friend, destroys an assault force, lets one antagonist escape to the planet that he, the Jedi, came from (and where the baddie engages in battle and escapes again), and then arrives back where he started. Too much story in too little space; there’s no room for it to breathe. All in all, this is perhaps the most disappointing Star Wars manga volume I’ve read (and I’ve read them all). Still, I hold out hope because I like the general story (if not the approach) and unlike some fans, I’ve enjoyed the bits and pieces I’ve seen developed out of “The High Republic” storyline. It appears that at least one more volume is scheduled for release as well as another spin-off, so here’s hoping the writers and artist find their way and create a fuller, better, and more Star Wars-centric experience before it’s too late to save this series. ~ Twwk

Star Wars: The High Republic: The Edge of Balance (manga) is published by VIZ Media.

READ Reviews ofStar Wars: The High Republic: The Edge of Balance: Vol. 1 // Vol. 2 // Precedent

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I Want to End This Love Game, Manga Vol. 3

After a “too cute” first volume and a second volume that showed a little more depth, I was expecting volume three of I Want to End This Love Game to continue the adorable goodness of this new series. But what I found instead is a manga that’s hit a wall that it might not know how to scale. The titular “love game” involves Miku trying to make Yukiya fall for her and vice versa, while neither wants to give in and show their true feelings, which of course amounts to actually liking each other. That’s a hard premise to keep up without getting old fairly quickly. So what’s a series to do? Well, in volume three, the story begins to abandon its wholesome quality, with Yukiya and Miku becoming surprisingly physical. There’s still no fanservice and the tone of the series remains very light, but their actions are those you’d see late in the run for a romcom series—after a couple finally begins going out—rather than right at the beginning. It’s a strange juxtaposition and a worrying one because tonally the series won’t continue to make sense if these two become more intimate with one another while continuing their game. And what I dearly desire is for that cute atmosphere to continue since that’s what has made this series a treasure. But lines like “We’ve grown up just a little bit” after the two share a particularly intimate moment make me think that either the series is going to head down a more adult road or that it’s going to try to carry on in this dichotomous way. My hope, though, is that I’m wrong and that I Want to End This Love Game will move back toward its more innocent—and better—path. ~ Twwk

I Want to End This Love Game is published by VIZ Media.

READ Reviews of I Want to End This Love Game: Vol. 1 // Vol. 2

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Haikyu!! (3-in-1 Edition), Manga Vol. 1

I’ve watched it in theaters. I’ve conducted watch-along interviews about it. I’ve even cosplayed it. But I’ve never read the manga. Until now, I’ve only been a Haikyu anime viewer. Well, that’s changed now that VIZ Media is releasing an omnibus edition of the new classic—and I’m so glad I’m diving into this original form of the series! While the anime excels by capturing the intense action on the court, it has pacing issues; volume one of this collection hints at how it should avoid that problem through the magic of manga, panels that cause us to linger when needed and move along when we should. Of course, the pacing isn’t all there is to the series—the real magic is in how Haruichi Furudate writes dozens of characters we immediately gravitate towards and then love more and more as the series unfolds. The first several volumes introduce most of the significant Karasuno team members, but of course, particularly focus on the leads—Kageyama and Hinata—as they leave middle school behind and find a way to work together and learn to become part of a team as they join the volleyball club. Furudate-sensei masterfully draws readers in by mixing youthful silliness with more serious feelings and themes like disappointment, failure, and loneliness in building his characters. In just three volumes, you’ll be hooked. Really, it may only take about 40 pages, but these three volumes feel right all bound together, ending with the full team, more or less, presented—and thus the reason for all of us to cheer along throughout this long sports series. ~ Twwk

Haikyu!! (3-in-1 Edition) is published by VIZ Media.

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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.