Whether you’re gazing at a star, failing at god school, living in a cat’s eye, or wanting to be a receptionist in this magical world, we’ve got you covered! This week’s reviews include recent volumes of manga featuring girl rockers, soccer players, a shadow broker, and much more!

Agents of the Four Seasons (Vol. 2) • Bocchi the Rock (Vol. 5) • A Condition Called Love (Vol. 12) • The Eminence in Shadow (Vol. 12) • The Failure at God School (Vol. 1) • Gazing at the Star Next Door (Vol. 5) • Giant Killing (Vols. 4-5) • I Want to Be a Receptionist in This Magical World (Vol. 6) • Miri Lives in the Cat’s Eyes

The Failure at God School, Manga Vol. 1

Nagi’s family owns a shrine, but unfortunately, since the passing of her grandmother, there is no one able to run the shrine because, in her world, those who have divine powers are called “gods” or “Himiko.” If Nagi had those very powers like her shut-in brother, who uses his powers not related to the shrine, she would help restore her family shrine and help her community. Her wish is closer than she realizes, though, because after helping a young boy, she mysteriously gets a letter that she can attend a local god school! Oh my goodness, I loved this! This first volume was so wonderful purely because of how friendship-focused it was! I would also say Nagi as a heroine is equally wonderful, and I felt this volume was deeply compelling because of her heart for her family and community. She is earnest but can be blunt too. She’s also hardworking, and that especially shines when you see how bad she is in god school. (Truly, I feel bad for her, but she isn’t giving up! You got this, Nagi!) I felt she was so down-to-earth and found that even though there was humor sprinkled throughout, it felt very relaxing to read at the same time. Again, she’s earnest in everything she does even if she isn’t sure what her divine powers are just yet. She is easily a heroine who you can cheer for, especially when you see how she treats those around her. Truly, this first volume really exceeded my expectations, as I worried this would be an overhyped series I wouldn’t connect with, but I couldn’t have been more wrong! If you’re looking for a down-to-earth heroine and a strong emphasis on the theme of friendships, this is one I would highly recommend! I anticipate future volumes will continue to be focused on friendships, but I also anticipate that we will see more of the everyday shenanigans of being at a prestigious school where everyone has divine powers! I’m really looking forward to reading more! ~ Laura A. Grace

The Failure at God School is published by Yen Press.

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Gazing at the Star Next Door, Manga Vol. 5

Chiaki and Subaru’s friendship was shattered near the end of volume four, but thankfully both have decided to “start over” and go back to being friends! Chiaki may still love Subaru, but she’s just grateful that they can still be in each other’s lives. However, when Chi’s friend shows a video of her and Subaru, can they even go back to being friends? My heart feels like it’s going to explode with joy! After how heartbreaking the previous volume was, I never expected for me to be absolutely giddy when reading this volume! It was utter perfection, and everything I wanted happened, plus more! Honestly, I feel like I read wayyyyy too fast, but I couldn’t get enough and felt like I was riding on a personal high because of the happiness these chapters were bringing me! It was beautiful, heartfelt, emotional, and oh-so good! I’m not even sure if I can go into details of all that happens, because everything I want to say would be spoilers; but Subaru’s and Chi’s smiles resonated deep in my heart and were my absolute favorite thing! I love them so much and I’m trying not to worry that their happiness and my own will be short-lived because they are much happier, and I am definitely a very happy reader. Please, please, please watch over their happiness, Ammitsu!! Let this be the beginning of something that continues to be more and more beautiful as it goes on! Highly recommend! ~ 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 // Vol. 4

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I Want to Be a Receptionist in This Magical World, Manga Vol. 6

Nunnally is safe and sound, and back on dry land! However, not all is peaceful, because when Nunnally’s friend comes to her and asks for help going undercover at a local bar to find out more about her non-official boyfriend’s behavior, she might get more than she prepared for when Rockmann enters that same bar! Squeals! Is the romance about to be romancing?! I feel at least it has been confirmed in this volume that Rockmann definitely has feelings for Nunnally! I mean, someone could say that was confirmed in the last volume; but them “acting” like a married couple near the end, I feel, sealed the deal for me! Honestly, that entire last chapter was like yep, he loves this woman and there is no one else for him! Now if she could just return his feelings… I think that will continue to be really, really slow simply because of how competitive she is with him, but at least there were moments in this volume where she was questioning her feelings and what exactly they were! Very short-lived, but I’ll still take that acknowledgment! Ha! I also really enjoyed this entire volume! I liked things with Rockmann in the beginning, and later on where he wasn’t quite himself, as well as how this volume touches on there being a bigger picture—someone is still wanting a young woman with ice magic. It makes the series feel like a fun read where you enjoy the moment but also know there is danger coming soon too, so it’s not all “fun and games,” so to speak. Overall, it was a great volume, and I look forward to the next one! ~ Laura A. Grace

I Want to Be a Receptionist in This Magical World is published by Yen Press.

READ Reviews of I Want to Be a Receptionist in This Magical World: Vol. 1 // Vol. 2 // Vol. 3 // Vol. 4 // Vol. 5

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A Condition Called Love, Manga Vol. 12

Hotaru and Hanaoi have made up and are officially a couple again! Not that they broke up before, but after working through everything that happened in previous volumes, they both are ready to start afresh. Yet why doesn’t everything feel the same as before where they kissed and held hands? I love this series so much! What a very wonderful volume! I loved seeing Hotrau share her feelings and being the one to “initiate.” You go, girl!! However, my favorite chapter might have been when Hananoi makes his “first friend.” That double-page spread of him and his friend laughing together was so touching! Beautiful, beautiful developments when it comes to relationships and friendships! And speaking of friendships, seeing Satomura again and her getting a whole chapter to shine was wonderful! I truly hope for happy and wonderful things for her, especially with Yao! That last chapter stirred some nostalgia(?) for the first volume and how far these two have come together. I really, really loved it, though that cliffhanger! I need the next volume because I never imagined that Hotaru would say what she did! Eeeepp! Still love this series so much and would continue to highly recommend it! ~ 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 // Vol. 9 // Vol. 10 // Vol. 11

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Giant Killing, Manga Vols. 4-5

They say a tie game is like kissing your sister, but when you’re longtime punching bag East Tokyo United, playing the defending league champions to a 2-2 draw is like kissing your not-related-by-blood adopted sister who is also Miss Japan (granted, don’t go doing that either, but you get the point). That game puts a spark of hope back into the fanbase and proves that the players still have some genuine hunger to win left in them. But years of ingrained defeatism aren’t forgotten overnight, and a bad start to the season has caused most of the team to revert to their self-destructive habits under pressure. Tatsumi has his own pressure to deal with as well, as the hardcore ETU fans are still bitter from his sudden departure ten years ago. ETU’s losing streak has pushed their patience to the breaking point, and the upcoming game against Nagoya—coached by the only person they hate even more than Tatsumi—might be our oddball coach’s last chance to save his job… These volumes go into the broader “ecosystem” of a professional sports team. As important as the on-field battles between ETU and their various opponents are, those soccer games in turn provide grist for a variety of struggles off the field. In particular, the independently organized supporter’s group known as “The Skulls” takes a prominent role as their complicated relationship with the official arms of East Tokyo United—and the other ETU fans—begins to be explored. It’s an angle I haven’t really seen appear in other sports series, and it helps give the story some variety. That same variety is crucial for keeping someone like me, who is indifferent to soccer, engaged and entertained. So even if sports manga aren’t your thing, I’d say this series is still worth a shot.
~ WacOtaku

Giant Killing is published by Kodansha.

READ: Review of Giant Killing, Vols. 1-3

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The Eminence in Shadow, Manga Vol. 12

Oho? What’s that I see up author Daisuke Aizawa’s sleeve? Is it an exciting and cool new angle to his series? Why yes, yet it is! While I shouldn’t ever be surprised at the routs that The Eminence in Shadow takes, I admit that volume twelve—which instead of concluding the Oriana arc, moves it along an entirely new direction—caught me unaware, but in the best of ways. I won’t spoil this new arc except to mention that it adds a cool sci-fi element to the series and, really for the first time in the dozen volumes thus far, dives into the lore and mechanics behind how Cid was isekai’d. It also adds a new dimension to the series. Badumptss! You’ll get that joke after reading this volume! And if you don’t find it funny, that’s okay—there’s a surprising number of laughs in the actual manga; it should be commended for featuring so much levity, because the volume twelve chapters are so packed with plot development and action scenes. And again, the new angle introduced here is captivating. This is a fun volume in one of the best light-novel-to-manga adaptations ever created. Another win for this amazing series! ~ Twwk

The Eminence in Shadow is published by Yen Press.

READ Reviews of The Eminence in Shadow (Manga): Vol. 1 // Vol. 2 // Vol. 3 // Vol. 4 // Vol. 5 // Vol. 6 // Vol. 7 // Vol. 8 // Vol. 9 // Vol. 10 // Vol. 11

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Bocchi the Rock, Manga Vol. 5

Festival season is over, and now it’s time to record an EP! Riding high on a spluttering wave of confidence, Bocchi volunteers to arrange a song herself. Does she know what she’s in for? Nope. Will she survive? Uh…maybe??? Volume five is rich in fresh new things. First, there’s the wealth of revelations about our beloved Bocchinoko: Turns out she’s actually pretty good with bugs, and she gets her anxiety from her grandma. There is also a spate of new characters! A couple of new kouhai start working at Starry and happen to be mega KSB Stans. They’re basically like Kita and Nijika cranked to eleven, and they completely overwhelm both Bocchi and Ryou, who bond further in the midst of their overwhelm, which is pretty sweet to see. Meanwhile, at school, Bocchi is developing a bit of a following among the first years. A long-distance, flaneur-type following, but still, it’s something. They call her Hippie-senpai and consider it good luck to have a candid photo of her as their lock screen. That’s right, Hitori is now a charm in-world as well as in real life, thanks to the mega popularity of the anime—which, by the way, is now confirmed to be getting a second season! But the best bit of freshness in this volume comes at the end, in the form of a bonus special dedicated wholly to Nijika and her big sis Seika. Honestly, this extended chapter alone is worth the price of entry. Finally, we get to encounter the Ijichi Sisters in full surround sound, including scenes of their family history that reveal just how far they have come together. I’m not crying, you’re crying! (Seika for best girl in BTR!) ~ claire

Bocchi the Rock is published by Yen Press.

READ Reviews of Bocchi the Rock: Vols. 1 & 2 // Vol. 3 // Vol. 4

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Agents of the Four Seasons: Dance of Spring, Manga Vol. 2

Lady Hinagiku, the Agent of Spring, and her devoted guard, Sakura, flee to safety after having succeeded at last in reintroducing Spring to the world. The plot thickens as perilous flashbacks intercut their journey to the homeland of Summer and her guard, filling in a little of the missing ten years during which the cherry trees failed to blossom. The pacing works really well, interspersing quiet moments on the road with the high melodrama of past betrayals, unhealed wounds, and loves that verge on obsession. It’s a page-turner, for sure, and the emotions are quite fraught, to the point where no character comes across as being completely well. Where volume one was all mystery and intrigue, this volume is all tragedy-in-the-making. I hope I’m wrong, but it does feel like watching a train wreck in slow motion—completely gripping, but perhaps a bit of a guilty pleasure at the same time. The art continues to be beautiful in a delicate way, while the blankness in the eyes of the two female leads and the inscrutable sunglasses of Winter’s guard feel increasingly appropriate as they all dance around the traumas of their pasts. Are any of these characters capable of a happy ending? The twists and turns are well done, with the final revelation being a real shocker that promises a tale of psychological depth in the next volume—we can hope, at least. Buckle up, kids. This ride’s gonna get bumpy. ~ claire   

Agents of the Four Seasons is published by Yen Press. 

READ: Review of Agents of the Four Seasons, Manga Vol. 1

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Miri Lives in the Cat’s Eyes, Light Novel

Listless college student Youichi has a secret: He can see people’s pasts by gazing into their eyes. But only when one of two conditions is met: Either their eyes are filled with tears, or they have just died. When his neighbor, a fellow student and star of the Drama Club, is murdered, Youichi finds himself in the role of amateur detective, with nothing but a few hazy images from her eyes to guide him—and a certain young woman named Miri with whom he connects across time through the eyes of his cat, Saburou, who once belonged to her. Does “murder mystery, time travel, supernatural power detective novel set in a college Drama Club” sound like too much? Well, it isn’t! This novel is so tightly, yet seemingly effortlessly, woven by author Taiga Shiki into a smoothly functioning whole that it swept me up and kept me turning the pages until the last had sadly been laid bare. There is some mad skill at work here, balancing and harmonizing the diverse genre elements so effectively! Meanwhile, the twists and turns make for a veritable feast, and I’ll admit that I didn’t see the ending coming. The cast of characters is a fun array of types: not too tropey, but vivid and easy to imagine. The episodes of deductive reasoning are just about Sherlock-worthy, and while the narratives outlining the theatrical plots played by the Club were a tad long, there were payoffs subsequently for persevering through their length. No dramatic reference is without significance here, and let’s just say it’s worth noting that every play mentioned is a tragedy, with the exception of As You Like It, which nevertheless boasts some of Shakespeare’s most tragic lines. So be prepared! And go throw yourself into this marvelous production. It’s certainly worth the read! ~ claire

Miri Lives in the Cat’s Eyes is published by Yen Press.

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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.