There are a lot of questions in the volumes we’re reviewing this week: Will Akane win in the final round of the tournament? Is Days with My Stepsister really about that, and if so, is it still worth reading? There’s a Totoro film comic? Wait, what’s a film comic? And there’s another volume of Horimiya? We did into all these questions and more on this week’s Reader’s Corner!

Akane-banashi (Vol. 8) • Ako and Bambi (Vol. 3) • Dark Moon: The Blood Altar (Vol. 4) • Days with My Stepsister (Vol. 1) • The Eccentric Doctor of the Moon Flower Kingdom (Vol. 7) • Horimiya (Vol. 17) – Special Edition: A Piece of Memories • Itaewon Class (Vol. 3) • My Neighbor Totoro Film Comic: All-in-One Edition • Spy x Family: The Official Anime Guide—Mission Report: 220409-0625

Akane-banashi, Manga Vol. 8

Akane has made it to the final round of the Arakawa School’s annual tournament for junior apprentices, and now only three fellow students stand between her and the prize of a fast-tracked promotion to senior apprentice. The catch? There are multiple catches. One is that her old rival Hikaru has reappeared after rigorous training with a “heretical”—but stunningly effective—rakugo technique. Two is Kaichi, an innocuous-looking thirty-something who started his rakugo journey later in life than most, but whose raw talent and dedication to the craft impressed even ruthless Master Issho. And third? Akane has decided to perform the same skit her dad used in this event years ago, despite knowing it doesn’t play to her strengths… “Why are you doing rakugo?” is the question that connects all three of the central characters in this volume. Hikaru and Kaichi both have their unique answers, but the star of the story is unsurprisingly Akane (her name is in the series title, after all). She entered the world of rakugo fired by a burning desire to avenge her father’s unfair expulsion by demonstrating just how great his style of performing art was. But the more she grows as an artist, the more she comes to realize that her style and her dad’s don’t overlap well. It’s not a comfortable realization to face, because it leads to some very thorny questions about why she’s been training relentlessly for the last several years. Her means are now working at cross-purposes to her end goal, and if she can’t reconcile them she could very well crash and burn… ~ WacOtaku

Akane-banashi is published by VIZ Media.

READ Reviews of Akane-banashi: Vol. 1 // Vol.2 // Vol.3 // Vol.4 // Vol.5 // Vol. 6 // Vol.7

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Ako and Bambi, Manga Vol. 3

Ako and Bambi remains a lovely series and a uniquely crafted one in today’s manga landscape, but be warned: it may require a self-drawn diagram connecting all the characters and explaining who they are to keep you from being confused. At least one of the two points of confusion, though, resolves itself in volume three, as the series makes clear that Ako is a ghostly split personality, but not actually a ghost—she’s the physical detachment of Yamashiro, as made clearer by Bambi’s interactions with both girls and Azusa’s relationship with the latter. The mystery, now, shifts to whether the two can coexist and whether they should, with a really interesting new storyline involving a “guardian” for Yamashiro who pushes Bambi to consider his feelings toward Ako and whether his “kindness” toward her is best for the girl(s). The illustrations remain beautiful, absolutely lovely to simply pause and stare at, and the conversations between characters are cute and fun. But the second confusing point of the story remains—the characters are hard to tell apart and there are really too many for being just three volumes in; minor characters who become confidantes to more major ones haven’t had enough time to be developed out, so I’m constantly wondering, “Is this character the same as that character?” I hope the confusion resolves over time because if it does, this series has the potential to shine even brighter than it already has. ~ Twwk

Ako and Bambi is published by Yen Press.

Read Reviews of Ako and Bambi: Vol. 1 // Vol. 2

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Dark Moon: The Blood Altar, Manhwa Vol. 4

Sooha has been captured and it’s a racing game to find her before something happens. What that something is remains to be determined, but when each of our vampires dreams of Sooha asking to be rescued, they know the situation is more dire than they know. However, as they race to find her through a city overtaken by vampires, a flashback from the past awakens a power they never knew they had! I don’t even know how to start this review because the first two things that come to mind are: 1) Trust the process in information being revealed for a reason and things making sense later, and 2) This was so good! The flashback chapters were extremely compelling! The history of everyone, how things painfully unfolded, and it all leading up to this moment with an interesting villain—I could not put this book down at all! I know with volume three I let out a few audible “gasps,” but I’m pretty sure I had a lot when reading this volume! Everything was so well drawn and really brought the action forefront, but with this nagging mystery that has our guys racing to find answers. Of course with those “answers,” there are now even more questions, especially with that cliffhanger! I really liked the “mini” bad guys throughout the volume and how with a lot of different things going on, I never found myself overwhelmed. Confused at times because I didn’t know what things meant, sure, but that’s why I said this series reminds me to trust the reading process, because everything always makes sense by the end. Honestly, I’m still trying to process everything that happened because it was such a turning event for everyone! I think where it ended, all the characters are feeling the same, but unlike me, they have zero time to process anything. I’m very eager to read the next volume! I’ve definitely enjoyed the series so much, but this volume had a lot of twists that were shocking but also a lot of fun to read! ~ Laura A. Grace

Dark Moon: The Blood Altar is published by IZE Press, an imprint of Yen Press.

READ: Reviews of Dark Moon: The Blood Altar: Vol. 1 // Vol. 2 // Vol. 3

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Horimiya, Manga Vol. 17 – Special Edition: A Piece of Memories

Did you think that Horimiya was over? Think again! Volume seventeen of the beloved series adds a little more to the series and closes it with almost the same feeling of finality that the graduation chapter in volume sixteen did. Described as “snapshots” of the characters’ lives through high school (and even middle school in one chapter!), volume seventeen serves a similar capacity to the Missing Pieces anime season, putting “episodes” that might feel like filler into the series, but which actually serve to expand and add depth to Horimiya overall. In this volume, that includes three side stories previously not included in other volumes; four brand-new chapters; and the lovely “final chapter” shown from Hori’s perspective rather than Miyamura’s (which was the case in volume sixteen). What’s more, there are a couple of neat moments of fanservice at the beginning and end of volume seventeen which frame the special edition from a future perspective and which Horimiya fans will absolutely eat up. This manga is a treat. And there’s more! As a “bonus track,” this boxed set (a flimsy box, but a box nonetheless) also includes the Hero x Daisuke Hagiwara Horimiya Memorial Book, a short art book featuring full-color birthday and holiday illustrations for many of the characters. It is a treasure and, combined with the additional manga, a must-own for any fan of this beloved series. ~ Twwk

Horimiya is published by Yen Press.

READ Reviews of Horimiya: Vol. 1 // Vol. 16

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Spy x Family: The Official Anime Guide—Mission Report: 220409-0625, Guidebook

Much like its companion manga guide, Spy x Family: The Official Anime Guide is a fun collectible and cool reference that’s lovingly made. Covering the first season of the series, the guidebook features a double-sided poster (one side with the domestic Forgers and the other with the trio in action), color galleries, character reports, episode breakdowns, and interviews galore with the theme song musicians, directors, cast, and more! While it doesn’t feature stunning original illustrations, the graphic design is carefully laid out, and it’s very cool to see tons of promotional illustrations that came from all manner of commercials; artbook fans will appreciate the loving care put into the book. The best part of this guide, however, is the interviews. The one with the main cast is so much fun, but my favorite is Atsumi Tanezaki’s (Anya) extensive interview with mangaka Tatsuya Endo, which follows up on a radio interview she conducted with him earlier; the two are adorably opposites, and the tone conveyed in their back and forth is as much fun as the responses. This and the other interviews are the primary “new” content in this book, as the synopses and other information from the first half—while fun to peruse and nice to have neatly organized in one place—add nothing new to the series, and actually feel doubly old because this only covers season one when season two and a movie have released since. Still, this is a lovely collectible for any fan of the show and something to tide us over until a new season is announced! ~ Twwk

Spy x Family: The Official Anime Guide—Mission Report: 220409-0625 is published by VIZ Media.

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My Neighbor Totoro Film Comic: All-in-One Edition, Manga

With its My Neighbor Totoro Film Comic: All-in-One Edition, Studio Ghibli once again provides a nostalgic, valuable, and altogether unexciting release. A film comic, for those unaware, is a manga that takes stills from an anime and puts them in book form together with the piece’s dialogue. So what you get is more or less a collection of screenshots for the classic movie, My Neighbor Totoro, from beginning to end. Not exactly scintillating stuff, despite the beautiful source material. But while I don’t think most readers will find this riveting, there are some upsides: there’s a pages-long glossary that explains how to pronounce the many onomatopoeias in the volume, and the hardcover is pretty cool, with a Kodak yellow binding that screams “Cinema!”—it helps the volume truly feel like a collectible. And other than Studio Ghibli collectors, who have come to understand that the famed studio is stuck in the 80s with its merchandise, there’s one other major audience for this book: children. I do think that young children (ages 4-7) will find this book to be charming. After all, it’s an adaptation of one of the most whimsically sweet movies ever made. I think parents, too, may appreciate showing this book in a form that may feel somewhat familiar to them since it has a dated look. If you fit in those categories—collector, parent, or child—consider picking this up. If not, ride your catbus past it, and to the next collectible merchandise stop. ~ Twwk

My Neighbor Totoro Film Comic: All-in-One Edition is published by VIZ Media.

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The Eccentric Doctor of the Moon Flower Kingdom, Manga Vol. 7

Per Keiun’s request, Koyou is at the village with the epidemic, but there are no signs of Keiun. Doing her best not to worry, she pours all her energy into finding a cure, but with no results. With a stroke of luck though, who does she run into? Shoushin! Together they explore even more options in hopes that working together, they’ll find a cure. When she feels very certain she knows the cause and treatment, she finds no one willing to listen to her. I love this series so much, but this is definitely my least favorite volume of the series thus far. It was not badly written, as Koyou is amazing as ever and I admire her determination to never stop looking for a cure! Plus, when she feels extremely certain of what is happening and why the sickness is spreading, she learns from her interaction with her last patient (and what a wise man told her) and changes how she would have initially handled the open hostility towards her. When it comes to Shoushin, he has always rubbed me wrong, and his backstory definitely explains why. I think it’s “villains” like him who are some of the scariest and most compelling characters there are, because while I really want Koyou to stay away from him, I don’t utterly dislike him either. He makes me uncomfortable, and I really hate how we see that he is sort of “playing god” and “giving out” trials to people to see how they’ll react/respond. Lastly, I will say that this volume did have an extremely triggering moment that left me very unsettled. Spoiler: There is a grown man who makes it known that he physically wants Shoushin, who at that time is a child. A child. Someone could say he was a preteen, but that doesn’t excuse that this man obviously did things with a child in bed and has some kind of one-sided lust/”affection” for him. I will continue reading this series because I love it, but I know this is the only volume I will only reread the beginning and the end of because the middle is too upsetting for me. ~ Laura A. Grace

The Eccentric Doctor of the Moon Flower Kingdom is published by Seven Seas.

^{READ Reviews of The Eccentric Doctor of the Moon Flower Kingdom: Vol. 1 // Vol. 2 // Vol. 3 // Vol. 4 // Vol. 5 // Vol. 6}

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Days with My Stepsister, Manga Vol. 1

What if you took the premise from The Angel Next Door Spoils Me Rotten, except that instead of living next door to one another, these loner teens live together, and instead of having zero connection before learning to take care of and care for one another, they’re…step-siblings?! You were with me until that last bit, weren’t you? In volume one of Days with My Stepsister, Yuuta discovers that the new sister who’s moving in when his dad remarries isn’t a little kid like he expected, but a beautiful girl his age who also attends his school. Neither wants to get in the other’s way, but they start to bond and help one another, even as Yuuta discovers that Saki’s reputation isn’t good. That summary itself sounds benign; indeed, volume one of the light novel (which I reviewed) and the initial episodes of the anime (from what I’ve heard) likewise set the story up to seem as if it might truly be about forming a family, but the series hints at and perhaps wants us to embrace sibling romance. The manga is way less subtle in this aspect than the other media, and moves much more quickly than those pieces: in one way, that’s a real negative, as the slowness of the former series are part of what brought them acclaim; but in another, it’s a positive, because the manga barely beats around the bush—this is a romance series. Whether or not the ultimate conclusion is that siblings do or should end up together is something I don’t know and can’t guide you on. I can say, however, that the character development is nicely done—though, again, things move a little too quickly (not the romance per se but just action in general). If you’re willing to give this series a chance and see where it leads, I also promise you that the setup could be far worse than how it is arranged in this so-far thoughtful series, if that helps at all. I might recommend, though, that you try out the light novel instead. ~ Twwk

Days with My Stepsister is published by Yen Press.

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Itaewon Class, Manhwa Vol. 3

The awful artwork isn’t getting any better, but Itaewon Class’s story—which was already compelling in the first two volumes—is, and that makes this series worth reading despite its amateurish vibe. Volume three begins with the resolution of the confrontation at Saeroyi’s establishment, which will ultimately cause him to close shop for two months, but more importantly brings together the newly-introduced characters from volume three—Yiseo and Geunsoo—with the ones established in volume one. Their meetings here lead to somewhat peculiar and sometimes explosive scenes while establishing the greater story to come. It’s that mix of the two types of scenes that makes Itaewon Class so engaging; the chapters and short arcs are exciting, but the story doesn’t over-rely on them. For instance, the secret that Royi’s crush is hiding from her seems at first like it’ll play a major role for volumes and volumes, but that storyline is more or less wrapped up in volume three, serving to establish character rather than becoming a tired storyline. Meanwhile, Royi becomes even more lovable, rising to consideration as an all-time great protagonist already because of his integrity, strength, and courage. The other characters are also becoming compelling, particularly the young ones, Yiseo and Geunsoo. If I wasn’t all-in before, I am now—this is a series that you just can’t put down. ~ Twwk

Itaewon Class is published by Yen Press.

READ Reviews of Itaewon Class: Vol. 1 // Vol. 2

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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.