In this week’s Reader’s Corner, we cover the simulpub premiere of Tower Dungeon, the final volume of God Bless the Mistaken, volume two of Pink & Habanero, and much, much more!

A Condition Called Love (Vol. 11) • Diary of a Female Lead: Shujinkou Nikki (Vol. 2) • Gazing at the Star Next Door (Vol. 4) • Glasses with a Chance of Delinquent (Vol. 1) • God Bless the Mistaken (Vol. 4) • Pink & Habanero (Vol. 2) • The Too-Perfect Saint: Tossed Aside by My Fiancé and Sold to Another Kingdom (Vol. 1) • Tower Dungeon (Vol. 1)

Glasses with a Chance of Delinquent, Manga Vol. 1

All Momo wants is a quiet high school life. Deciding to have a “makeover” and attend a new school, she thinks she is far from her bullies and can live out her dream. Even when she joins a new club, the “president,” Ichikura, seems like a normal and nice high school guy who wears glasses. However, she quickly finds out, when they have an encounter with her past bullies, that he used to be a delinquent himself! What’s going to happen to her peaceful high school life now?! I can’t even begin to describe how excited I am that Seven Seas physically printed this manga! I have reread this story digitally on K MANGA at least six times and can say that rereading it physically was everything! There was something incredibly special holding this story in my hands that had me slow down and appreciate the art, the dialogue, and the overall story. I felt myself falling in love with these characters all over again, and my heart felt so happy and light from being with them! However, one thing that stood out to me this time around is how Momo and Ichikura are both wanting to change. I mean, I feel I knew this, but seeing that unfold in the paperback volume as each of them struggle with how they’ve changed, while still feeling the same on the inside, was more eye-opening for me compared to my previous rereads. I feel like in the past I focused more on Momo wanting to change, but rereading this time makes me realize that Ichikura is the same way; it’s just more subtle than in her story. Plus it’s really hard not to laugh when Ichikura goes from “nerd” to “delinquent,” which makes me feel bad, but between how proud of himself he seemed to be and Momo freaking out, it made for a hilarious moment! I would highly and definitely recommend checking out this series if you love delinquent manga, and I’m looking for a fun story of characters falling in love and growing individually! ~ Laura A. Grace

Glasses with a Chance of Delinquent is published by Seven Seas Entertainment.

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Gazing at the Star Next Door, Manga Vol. 4

If I thought things couldn’t get more heartbreaking, uncertain, and emotional than volume three, then I thought wrong. Poor Chi is confused and hurt after Subaru kisses her and apologizes, leaving their friendship hanging by a thread. As Chi tries to overcome her heartbreak, she realizes more than ever she just misses her friendship with Subaru. On the flip side, could that kiss have meant more than just “practice” in Subaru’s eyes? Again, I reallyyyyy didn’t think this series could be even more painful than the previous volume, but the creator wanted to make sure that I felt pain for Chi and pain for Subaru, given the amount of times my heart felt like it was being stabbed! So. Very. Good! I’m not a fan of angst at all, nor am I a fan of the miscommunication trope (or lack of communication), but both are being so well written here that I can’t get enough! The storytelling is so engaging and really breaks your heart alongside the characters, and I felt this was especially true in regard to Subaru. The reveals in this volume specifically were 1,000 out of 10! Again, so very good! I continue to admire Chi and how she picked herself up, because, girl? The courage and strength you have to have to do what you did! No way could I do it! Yet here she is, being her amazing self by being an incredible friend to Subaru in light of everything that happened. And again with Subaru, I have never disliked him, but I think it was pure gold to get his backstory and see things from his POV. Really didn’t think I would feel such agony when reading because of his POV, but here we are. I really, really hope that the next volume releases quickly and is filled with hope for our leads! I don’t know how much more my heart can take for these two given how much they are hurting!  ~ Laura A. Grace

Gazing at the Star Next Door is published by Kodansha.

READ Reviews of Gazing at the Star Next Door: Vol. 1 // Vol. 2 // Vol. 3

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Diary of a Female Lead: Shujinkou Nikki, Manga Vol. 2

With the encouragement of her brother and her brother’s friend Sena, Aoi has made the big and daring step to ask her crush if they want to hang out! To help prepare her, Sena asks her to do a practice date with him, where she ends up having much more fun than she expected! Will she be able to have fun on her outing with her crush when she had such a fun time with Sena? And why is her crush acting sort of nervous around her when hanging out? This series is quickly becoming my go-to for pure shoujo fluff!! I loved this volume as much as the first, even though I was sad she ditched her glasses and then got all of these comments of how cute she suddenly is when she has always been cute! I think that will be my only “beef” with this series, because I love Aoi and Sena so much and was thriving seeing them start to develop feelings for one another! I don’t think I’ll tire of the “popular boy x shy girl” trope, because it is so wonderful to see romance bloom between them! I really, really loved the “practice date” they went on and was squealing at how much fun they were having together! Not only that, but seeing how Sena is falling for Aoi had me squealing and kicking my feet! I’m loving how supportive he is of Aoi even though there were signs he was jealous or at least a little bit upset about it! But then the ending and Aoi questioning her feelings—cue more squealing! I am VERY excited to see what happens next and hope both of them move forward in actually confessing, because alllll the signs are there that they like each other! Eeeeeppppp! ~ Laura A. Grace

Diary of a Female Lead: Shujinkou Nikki is published by Seven Seas Entertainment.

READ Diary of a Female Lead: Shujinkou Nikki Vol. 1 Review

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Pink & Habanero, Manga Vol. 2

Mugi is fully prepared to face the person blackmailing by herself until Kurose finds out and says they will face the person together. As they go about trying to make it look like they are a “couple” to entice the blackmailer to reveal who they are, Mugi begins to realize she might be beginning to have feelings for Kurose. How is she going to handle her blooming feelings and find out who the blackmailer is? Squeals! This volume was wonderful! While I did enjoy volume one a lot (purely because of how funny it was), I had deep reservations about Kurose and felt like his little sister was his “saving grace” that kept me from completely disliking his character. However, this volume has me officially locked in because I love his backstory, as it gives a glimpse as to why he acts the way he does! Not just that (which was amazing!), but if I’m really honest, I loved all his cute blushy moments!! That was exactly what I was looking for in this series originally!! Now that I’m seeing more into why Kei acts the way he does and a lot of super cute moments, I will definitely be keeping up with future volumes! Eeeeeppp! I adore Mugi and how she took her own small steps in being brave! However, my heart really hurt for her because of what her “friend” did. That was horrible!! I’m thankful Mugi is making friends, even if they are with people she wouldn’t have expected! The last chapter was a blast and I definitely was fangirling! Really, really enjoyed this volume and all the many fun and cute moments it had! I am very eager to read more! ~ Laura A. Grace

Pink & Habanero is published by Yen Press.

READ Pink & Habanero Vol. 1 Review

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A Condition Called Love, Manga Vol. 11

After Hotrau faces Non-chan and discovers that Hanaoi didn’t plan to actually cut her hair, she begins to think about her relationship with Hananoi and what to do. However, Hananoi begins to realize just how painful his actions have been for Hotaru, even in the past. Asking for more time before they talk about everything that’s happened, Hananoi aims to “make it right” and get help from those around him. Wow! This volume hit hard in the feels, considering everything that happened in volume ten! I honestly didn’t know what to expect, but I was very caught off guard by how focused it was on Hananoi! There were many times I felt myself tearing up, because the character growth in this volume alone was incredible! He has made baby steps in every single volume I think, but seeing how deeply he hurt Hotaru and taking people’s words/advice to heart (even if it was hard for him) showed so much of who he really is as Hotaru said at one point. And sweet Hotaru! I deeply missed her cute face, but I do think it was critical and very important to see Hananoi grow. When both of them reunited, my heart felt so full, and I wanted to cry because they were going to be okay. Even given spoilers I’ve heard and the worry I’ve felt from hearing them, these two continue to show how important and beautiful communication is. Even if words are hard to hear and hard to say, they can grow together as individuals and as a couple. I love it! Definitely one of the best volumes I’ve read in the series, even though it’s already been extremely good! I think there was just something very powerful in seeing so much of Hananoi’s transformation in this volume that it made this one a step up from the previous volumes. Can’t wait to read the next one! ~ Laura A. Grace

A Condition Called Love is published by Kodansha.

READ Reviews of A Condition Called Love: Vol. 1 // Vol. 2 // Vol. 4 // Vol. 5 // Vol. 6 // Vol. 7 // Vol. 8

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The Too-Perfect Saint: Tossed Aside by My Fiancé and Sold to Another Kingdom, Manga Vol. 1

Philia has done everything in her physical power to be the best saint she can by helping and providing to the fullest for the sake of her country’s people. However, many feel that she is doing too much and taking away people’s jobs, with even her parents thinking she is an eyesore compared to her beautiful younger sister, who is also a saint. The second prince and her soon-to-be ex-fiancé feel the same, so he sells her off to another country in need of a saint! Will Philia be treated better or worse in this new country? When I read the first two chapters of this first volume, I was very nervous about how much I was going to enjoy this volume. Her family and the second prince were awful! My heart went out to Philia as we saw all she wanted was people’s love, and thought that if she worked extremely hard, they would give her their love. Unfortunately. that never happened because she was always compared to her sister, who thankfully is wonderful! Yes, you read that right, her sister is wonderful and does not follow the common trope in shoujo right now where the sister is horrible. Mia loves her sister deeply, and I was so excited to see that because it feels very uncommon in manga right now. Philia herself was completely amazing! My heart desperately wants her to know she is valued and cherished! I feel bad she had to leave her sister and her homeland, but the overwhelmingly warm and beautiful reception has me so thankful she is in a much better place (hopefully). Overall, I very very much loved this volume and will certainly be reading more! I can’t wait to see the moment Philia smiles, because I have no doubts that the people surrounding her in her new home will show her how lovely and wonderful she really is! ~ Laura A. Grace

The Too-Perfect Saint: Tossed Aside by My Fiancé and Sold to Another Kingdom is published by Seven Seas Entertainment.

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God Bless the Mistaken, Manga Vol. 4 (Final)

God Bless the Mistaken is one of the most creative, sweet, and charming series to premiere over the past several years, but in volume four, it concludes—and not entirely satisfactorily. In the previous volumes, this sci-fi, slice-of-life mashup had settled into exploring one bug in each chapter, while bit by bit digging into the pasts of the two primary characters. Volume four, however, must ditch the structure to bring the story to an apt ending. Kon receives most of the focus here, which makes sense since his story was already more developed than Kasane’s and kind of brings the entire story together. But as would be expected, it still feels rushed and out of place compared to the previous chapters, which were brilliantly thought out and well-paced. Kasane’s past is revealed a little more, but there’s no real conclusion for her. Shucks. Readers of the series will want to pick up this volume to finish it off, but I think they’ll all feel as I did—that it’s a real shame we didn’t get another two, three, or ten volumes and a more proper ending. ~ Twwk

God Bless the Mistaken is published by Yen Press.

READ Reviews of God Bless the Mistaken: Vol. 1 // Vol. 2 // Vol. 3

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Tower Dungeon, Manga Vol. 1 (Simulpub Ch. 1 & 2)

The Dragon Tower. A floating stone structure the size of a mountain, summoned by black magic and filled with bizarre monsters and the wreck and ruin of failed attempts by long-forgotten civilizations to discover its secrets. Its mere existence mocks all logic, its mere presence is said to portend disaster for all surrounding lands. Yet it is to this place that our hero, a young farmhand named Yuva, whose unassuming personality belies his staggering strength, is sent as a royal army conscript. The princess of his country has been kidnapped by a necromancer, who was last seen ascending the tower with her in tow, and a full-scale assault is underway to get her back or die trying. At first it looks like Yuva will get off relatively easy with an assignment to perform grunt work far from danger at the army’s base camp. But then his good-natured eagerness to help out accidentally lands him a mission hauling critical supplies to the very front line of battle, and things start going farther downhill the farther up the tower stairs he climbs. . . By Crom, this is no Isekai or ordinary anime fantasy—Tsutomu Nihei (author of BLAME, Aposimz, and Knights of Sidonia) has given us Conan the Barbarian in manga form. Just with a mild-mannered Japanese protagonist instead of a two-fisted proto-Texan hammer-throwing Hyboreans in his hunt for a feast, a fight, or something more intimate. If you’re confused by how it can be Conan with no Conan, let me explain. The original Conan stories by Robert E. Howard were often flat-out weird and felt no obligation to explain their weirdness, and the world of Tower Dungeon has the same vibe. Tolkien’s immense appendices, Herbert’s exacting ecologies, and Sanderson’s meticulous magic systems are nowhere to be seen. The monsters and mysteries are simply there, inhabiting a world that looks something like a Dark Souls game drawn in Dr. Seuss’ art style (if the good doctor abandoned childish whimsy for gothic horror). If you’re a fantasy fan ready to embrace the strange and not afraid of being thrown straight into the deep end, this is a series tailor-made for you. ~ WacOtaku

Tower Dungeon is published by Kodansha through their K-Manga service. A print release is scheduled for July 2025.

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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.