Hockey, magic, first love, isekai, vampires, and mobsters—who says that manga isn’t a diverse medium? The light novels, manhwa, and manga we’re reviewing this week feature all those topics and more—and most of them are very, very good. Check out our thoughts on these series and let us know what you’re reading in the comments!

Babel (Vol. 3) • Dogsred (Vol. 1) • Fool Night (Vol. 4) • Insomniacs After School (Vol. 9) • My Secretly Hot Husband (Vol. 1) • Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint (Vol. 6) • Otaku Vampire’s Love Bite (Vol. 2) • The Way of the Househusband (Vol. 13)

Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint, Manhwa Vol. 6

What manhwa readers have long known that manga-only readers may not is that you don’t have to rely only on shoujo series for heart-pumping excitement. Perhaps no other series demonstrates this as much as Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint, which literally had me leaping to my feet in exhilaration in volume six. With Dokja walking such a razor-thin line, death always around the corner, and short time limits given to complete seemingly impossible scenarios, the action in this series is nonstop. Even as this volume finds the party trying to finish conquering enough stations, a new scenario also appears—and both involve a brand new reveal that deepens the tale and makes it all the more interesting. What an enthralling volume! Dokja, meanwhile, also shows a little more of his humanity, which to me is pretty key to his likeability—I can’t just fully enjoy him because he’s slaying these scenarios; I need him to have a heart, even if it’s hidden under the necessity to do anything it takes to survive. What you discover here, though, is that he doesn’t just intend to survive—he cares for his comrades, which leads to some philosophical questions (at least as it has to do with isekai or otherwise similar scenarios) in volume six. This is highly engaging stuff at both a visceral level and a higher one. If you’re a fan of Solo Leveling and other high-action series and aren’t yet reading Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint, do yourself a favor and pick up this series now. ~ Twwk

Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint is published by IZE Press.

READ Reviews of Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint: Vol. 1 // Vol. 2 // Vol. 4 // Vol. 5

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My Secretly Hot Husband, Manhwa Vol. 1

Letitia has been transmigrated to the world she now lives in, and if that wasn’t bad enough, she also has memories of her past life—which could result in her being burned at a stake and called a witch. And on top of that, her family is preparing to hand her off to marry the “Monster Lord,” who has a horrible reputation. Yet when she meets him, she quickly realizes that the rumors might not be true? And not only that, but why is her soon-to-be husband extremely hot?! I am beyond excited to be rereading this series in physical form because this was my favorite read of 2023, and it was just as exciting as the very first time I read it! This story is wonderful in every way, but one thing that really spoke to me when rereading was how incredible Letitia is. I mean, I knew she always was, but seeing how she’s a young woman who is “trapped” in the nightmares of her past life with worries about her present life and how she’ll survive really hit me. There are many times when we see her afraid, yet taking a brave stand to help those around her. She is a strong young woman who you can’t help but want to be like and be inspired by, thanks to how she pushes herself physically and mentally to do all she can. Furthermore, seeing her “scheme” and trick the devils around her is awesome and hilarious! I loved seeing her thrive as a girlboss and admired many scenes in which she is standing her ground and fighting back while Erden is away. Again, she is amazing! I would highly recommend this series if you’re looking for a really fun transmigration story with a slowborn romance and plenty of action with an epic girlboss female lead! I cannot wait to read volume two physically, as the story only will continue to amp up! ~ Laura A. Grace

My Secretly Hot Husband is published by IZE Press.

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Otaku Vampire’s Love Bite, Manga Vol. 2

Hina has been kidnapped by her father’s aide, Viktor, leaving her new friends shocked and worried about her well-being. Thankfully, she quickly returns unharmed, but with lots of tears over having been forced to leave even temporarily. However, their relief might be short-lived, as Viktor demands to live with Kyuta, and Hina finds out that Kyuta may need help with costumes for a college festival. She decides to do everything she can to help him, but when a “customer” arrives and befriends Hina, there just might be more danger lurking than any of them realize. The earlier part of this volume didn’t hit quite the same as volume one, and I can’t exactly pinpoint why? I’ve seen a few reviewers mention that it wasn’t as funny and was darker, and I think that might be it? Still a wonderful volume, and I will eagerly look forward to the next volumes! I would just say my enjoyment level wasn’t quite as high when reading volume one, is all. There was definitely lots of exciting development, though, and the one that had me squealing the most is Kyuta’s development! His blushy face! And his niceness! And him not being able to focus! I loved, loved, loved it all, and I’m so excited to see him continue to fall for Hina! On the flip side, I loved how Hoshino helped Hina realize her feelings for Kyuta are not “Mao”! I found her development in this volume specifically very, very good, as she is starting to realize that she is feeling differently about Kyuta than if she were just a fangirl. I deeply enjoyed seeing her slowly change, but yet still compare Mao to Kyuta when she hopes Kyuta will say the same thing! That feels so relatable! Also, Kyuta opening her coffin only to see an overwhelming amount of Mao merch made me laugh! I love her so much! Overall, definitely a super enjoyable volume that has me eager to see what happens next! ~ Laura A. Grace

Otaku Vampire’s Love Bite is published by Shojo Beat.

READ Otaku Vampire’s Love Bite Vol. 1 Review

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The Way of the Househusband, Manga Vol. 13

One of the things that thrills me most about The Way of the Househusband is how the mangaka finds such a variety of ways to get laughs out of the “fish out of water” gag that is central to the series. For instance, Kousuke Oono brings in a large variety of minor characters to help fill out scenarios, like the puffy, cute tracking dog and the bearlike enforcer in volume thirteen. And because Oono now has such a large cast, the story is able to pull in laughs from many different angles, like that same dog being involved in a story about fluffy pancakes. And all of it is funny. My favorite from this volume is the story of Miku finding out that Tatsu is a fanboy of a middle-aged cook-turned assassin-turned memoir writer. But every chapter is hilarious, and the laughs build on one another until you’re left gasping for air because you’re laughing so hard. Well, that’s me at least, but I’m confident that readers will continue to find this series hilarious, too. Thirteen volumes in and the humor still continues to hit panel after panel. What a series! ~ Twwk

The Way of the Househusband is published by VIZ Media.

READ Reviews of The Way of the Househusband: Vol. 3 // Vol. 4 // Vol. 5 // Vol. 6 // Vol. 7 // Vol. 8 // Vol. 9 // Vol. 10 // Vol. 11 // Vol. 12

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Fool Night, Manga Vol. 4

Volume four is the point at which I believe we’ll look back at Fool Night and say this is when a creative and interesting series became a great one. The individual pieces—grotesque imagery, great sorrow, characters who are steadily growing on you, and a meaningful story—come together in this volume, which moves away from a “monster of the week” approach to dive deeper into this morbid world of Fool Night. Ivy’s killing spree is made public, leading to mass demonstrations against the transfloration process. Meanwhile, Kamiya and Yatsuka, after making a deal that keeps them from being suspended for a great length of time or worse, investigate Ivy’s origins by going to Paupertown, a slum where transfloration keeps the impoverished alive. What a remarkable volume! Now that the world has been built out through the previous three volumes, the story moves forward with conspiracies and politics befitting of this desperate and dystopian world. There’s so much sorrow here—not just in Kamiya’s situation, though that constantly feeds the tone of the tale—but particularly in this volume both Ivy’s backstory and the ongoing one involving a father and daughter, which puts faces to the situation of the people in this world and, because Fool Night is interested in the themes of corruption and utilitarianism, of the weakest in our society and world. What a powerful series this is becoming! But it’s not overwhelmingly dark—at least not always—because of the characters. Hourai’s humanity (with all its complexities) emerges more and more as the volumes progress (in part because we grow to understand her more and because as part of her story, she’s coming to terms with who she’s become), and we come to know Yatsuka much better—I’ve done a one-eighty with him, going from disliking him to embracing him entirely. If there’s one criticism of this volume, however, it’s in the detective story. The clues and roads the characters go down are just fine, but it all comes together too quickly and without the same rationale that the main detective has typically displayed. Still, there’s so much good about the series to nitpick much about that point. I think we’re seeing a masterpiece in the making—jump on board now if you haven’t already! ~ Twwk

Fool Night is published by VIZ Media.

Read Reviews of Fool Night: Vol. 1 // Vol. 2 // Vol. 3

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Insomniacs After School, Manga Vol. 9

Are we hitting a lull? Just one volume after the one I declared my favorite, Insomniacs After School feels like it’s in a weird spot. There’s very little character development in volume nine, which has the students worrying about exams before planning the meteor shower makeup party. None of it feels like a big deal. It’s regular life, which is an important part of the series, but even these daily moments feel like “Been there, done that.” Worse is that the storytelling is sloppy in this volume; Magari’s parents, who punished her so severely when she went on the trip with Nakami, are suddenly okay with her going out with him for a club activity late at night (possibly all night long)? They only barely question having Nakami visit her daily while she’s sick? It’s a little unbelievable. I’m hoping this is indeed a lull rather than a portent of declining quality for the rest of the series. And these irksome points aside, the volume is still charming because of the lovable characters and nostalgic art. I just hope that the writing soon returns to the same high level as the art. ~ Twwk

Insomniacs After School is published by VIZ Media.

READ Reviews of Insomniacs After School: Vol. 1 // Vol. 2 // Vol. 3 // Vol. 4 // Vol. 5 // Vol. 6 // Vol. 7 // Vol. 8

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Babel, Light Novel Vol. 3

Kuji Furumiya, author of Babel, ends volume three by observing that the story just told was “peaceful in its own way.” Well, you can take it from me that Kuji Furumiya is a big liar. If there’s any word that comes to my mind to describe this volume, it is “tense.” Shizuku has been separated from Erik and spirited away to the kingdom of Kisk. There, amidst the intrigue of the court and threat of war with the powerful nation of Farsas, Shizuku is tasked with proving that she has a viable solution to the illness sweeping the continent—the mysterious disease that deprives children of their innate vocabulary and language. Coming as she does from a world (ours) where all language must be learned from the ground up, Shizuku has a head start in figuring out how to teach language anew to the unfortunate children. But before long, pedagogy takes a back seat to hidden and open violence… I have a lot to say about this book, more than I can probably fit in this review. In short, if you liked the previous volumes, as I did, this one has more of what you like. The author (who in an afterword explains they wanted to write about a “powerless” protagonist) manages to avoid a number of typical light novel cliches. In particular, the war between Farsas and Kisk does a great job of highlighting how none of the people involved—including those Shizuku (and we) might think of as friendly—are wholly sympathetic. They are pragmatic leaders and loyal subordinates each trying to achieve different goals, which means characters we kind of liked in the last book are trying to kill characters we kind of like in this one, and vice versa—resulting in a satisfying tension. One content warning: Part of the plot revolves around a curse that can be alleviated (though not cured) by losing one’s virginity, with the nonconsensual and extramarital activity this implies. Overall, though, this is an enjoyable read, which keeps picking up the pace as it progresses, and I hope that volume four is not the last in the series, as the afterword seems to imply! ~ NegativePrimes

Babel is published by Yen Press.

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Dogsred, Manga Vol. 1

At the junior national championships for figure skating, Rou Shirakawa—still recovering from the death of his mother—gives the performance of a lifetime. But after receiving his scores, a most curious thing happens: He starts destroying the rink and with it, his dreams of Olympic glory. Fast-forward a few days, and now he and his twin sister are moving in with their grandfather in rural Hokkaido, where happenstance will lead Rou to playing a game of hockey and discovering that his skills and mental fortitude might find a home with a different sport. If this sounds like the setup for a typical sports manga, well, you’re reading that right (at least for volume one). But it’s done so well! Rou and his sister are written with a depth that I’m eager to see fully explored; the future teammates (and/or perhaps rivals) are already being splendidly built up; and with some rule explanations, hockey has become more exciting to me than it has in years! But most of all, what leads me to believe that this could become something special is the mangaka, creator of Golden Kamuy, is already bringing his off-kilter humor, interesting character designs, and excellent of tension to his new series. Volume one is really good, folks. This looks to be a winner. Goal! ~ Twwk

Dogsred 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.