Check it out: We’ve got volumes of three spin-off series this week—two from a popular isekai and the other from a beloved shoujo—in addition to premiere volumes and more! Check out our reviews below and let us know what you’ve been reading this summer!
Nue’s Exorcist (Vol. 1) • Sacrificial Princess and the King of Beasts Heir: White Rabbit and the Prince of Beasts (Vol. 1) • Sword Art Online: Ordinal Scale (Vol. 2) • Sword Art Online Re:Aincrad (Vol. 3) • Tsumiki Ogami’s Not-So-Ordinary Life (Vol. 1) • Veil: Calming Noir (Vol. 2)
Veil: Calming Noir, Manga Vol. 2
A young woman who never opens her eyes and a policeman who happens to always be around continue their adventures together in this wonderful sequel. The two continue to work together at the police station, but more and more they find each other enjoying the other’s company at their homes. Will they continue to grow closer as friends, or will their relationship grow into something more? This is one of the best manga licenses we’ve ever gotten in the US, and I won’t change my mind on that! Another incredible volume! So much so that I went back and read it all over again because the tension between these two is incredible! I guess one could maybe say “sexual” tension, but I don’t necessarily think that’s true? There is just something so compelling drawn in the way these characters touch each other and even the expressions they have. They give off this aura(?) where you’re holding your breath because you don’t know how the other is going to respond to them touching their hand or leg, so you catch yourself leaning in more, because you’re afraid if you even blink, you’ll miss the subtle change in expression or body language. Really, really compelling storytelling and art that I cannot get enough of! Granted, I would be lying if I didn’t admit that I strongly ship these two and hope for and look forward to their relationship going forward in a romantic direction. But even if it doesn’t, I would still feel satisfied reading this series. I am once again highly recommending Veil, especially if you love a focus on incredible art! This is definitely a series that needs to be on everyone’s TBR! ~ Laura A. Grace
Veil: Calming Noir is published by Udon Entertainment.
READ Veil: Temperature of Orange Vol. 1 Review
Nue’s Exorcist, Manga Vol. 1
Gakuro Yajima is a timid high schooler, more likely to accept (or even take on) the role of being a lackey than to fight back against a bully. He ultimately just wants peace—and you might understand his perspective if you could see the otherwise invisible spirits that he can see—many of which are malevolent, like the one who took his own father’s life. But Nue, a manga-loving, gaming, beautiful spirit who is trapped in a classroom in Yajima’s high school, has other plans for the talented young man. And thus begins a series that feels a bit like a crossover between, well, tons of series, including Bleach, Toilet-Bound Hanako-kun, and xxxHolic. Like those, there’s quite a lot of charm to Nue’s Exorcist. The drawings are sharp and beautiful, the humor is on point, and the characters are warm and easy to root for. But volume one is admittedly a little bumpy too. The character designs aren’t anything special, and the powers and rules of this world feel ill-conceived (there are explanations in between chapters about why things happen, which feel like they’re there to clean up mistakes or otherwise fill in gaps that should be explained through storytelling). Most obvious, though, is how strong the wish-fulfillment feel of the series is. Beautiful girls everywhere are embracing the meek Yajima, and all his classmates are jealous of him. Fanservice increases as the chapters go by, including lots of and lots of scenes featuring Yajima lying in laps and against bosoms. I hope the mangaka will lighten up a bit on these elements because the humor and characters are interesting enough to carry the tale. If the story can lean into those devices and away from the fanservice, and find a way to be both the school life and supernatural series that it wants to be, this new shonen series could be a winner. ~ Twwk
Nue’s Exorcist is published by VIZ Media.
Tsumiki Ogami’s Not-So-Ordinary Life, Manga Vol. 1
Are you a fan, like me, of the “timid boy x popular girl“ subset of romcom manga that has sprung up recently? Judging by how popular these themed series have been, there’s a good chance that you are! But like isekai before it, when a type is overrun with dozens of manga, how do newer series remain fresh and interesting? One way is to differentiate the story in some way: For instance, how about making the girl a demi-human? That’s the approach for Tsumiki Ogami’s Not-So-Ordinary Life, a charming new series from VIZ Media. The titular character is part of the species of mythfolk, which have become incorporated into the human world in this manga, and is specifically a werewolf. Tsumiki chooses to go to a school where other mythfolk also attend, and there she meets Yutaka, a boy who is anxious about showing his real self to his classmates and making friends with them (relatable!). He thinks Tsumiki might be a kindred spirit, but quickly discovers out that she’s way more willing to put herself out there than he is. He also finds out that she’s just generally quite different from him…and from their classmates overall. One thing that this new series does well is point out that mythfolk are not humans; they act with animal instincts and have different values than humans do. That leads to a couple of scenes that feel a little sexualized, but which are presented as being “animalistic” and aren’t particularly fanservicey. Case in point: Tsumiki lets another mythfolk, a womanizing vampire, suck her blood. It’s actually a fairly compelling scene because at once you see that Tsumiki (and the vampire character too, who proves to be surprisingly multi-faceted) has a different morality than humans, while Yutaka is learning about relationships and how to open himself up as well through the mythfolks’ ways. But don’t get me wrong—though the series has thoughtful moments, more than anything, it’s about the cuteness. And there are plenty of cute moments in volume one, from the introduction of Tsumiki’s siblings to literal roller coaster rides. I’m not sure what the future holds—will the series veer away from sweetness and toward more sexualized content? Will it stay the course and remain cute and fun? It’s hard to say, but I was captivated by these opening chapters and will keep reading to see where the series goes! ~ Twwk
Tsumiki Ogami’s Not-So-Ordinary Life is published by VIZ Media. Volume one releases on July 8th. The first three chapters are available to read free through VIZ.
Sacrificial Princess and the King of Beasts Heir: White Rabbit and the Prince of Beasts, Manga Vol. 1
If you are a fan of the shoujo series Sacrificial Princess and the King of Beasts and/or enjoy reading fantasy, then this sequel is your series! Prince Richard is the son of Leonhart and Sariphi, the previous leads in the main series, and lives out his days in happiness. However, when he finds out he needs to summon a divine beast to prove he is the heir of Leonhart, he decides he needs to go on a journey to prepare himself first. I’m so thankful this got published in English! I loved being back in this story world and getting to know Richard! He is SO earnest and deeply reminds me of Sariphi! Though there were a few moments that almost reminded me of Leo, and I was happy on both accounts! However, Richard really is his own unique self, and I deeply enjoyed following him on his new adventure. I was sad to know what led him to start it, but I’m enjoying his new “masters” a lot! Speaking of, Subaru and Ravi really are the perfect duo! They are very different, but I liked them equally: Ravi is pretty grumpy but is also caring; Subaru, on the other hand, is very kind but also can be sneaky (if that’s the right word). You can tell quickly though that they like Richard and want to help this young little beast. One thing I don’t think I anticipated was how action-packed this first volume would be! I should have prepared myself because the original series was, but for a new journey beginning, Richard really is experiencing a lot, and I almost felt a little bad for him! He’s got a big heart, though, and is really willing to give his all, and I think that really shined through at the end! Lastly, with respect to the original series, you’ll be pleasantly surprised to find two bonus stories centering around Sariphi! I was so excited! However, I didn’t appreciate how sad the second one made me. Ha! Very, very excited for the next volume as this is such a wonderful start to a new series! ~ Laura A. Grace
Sacrificial Princess and the King of Beasts Heir: White Rabbit and the Prince of Beasts is published by Yen Press.
Sword Art Online Re:Aincrad, Manga Vol. 3
Re:Aincrad seems to be setting itself up as a pretty faithful adaptation of the anime, at least in terms of the plot. Volume three picks up right where volume two left off, with Kirito heading off to find the missing Sachi. From there we see the destruction of Sachi’s team and the impact on Kirito of the deaths of so many players he’s known, the Christmas mini-arc when Kirito seeks an item that might be able to resurrect Sachi, and his encounter with Silica and promise to help her revive her dragon familiar. If you know the anime, you know what happens in detail; and if you don’t, I won’t spoil any more for you. What’s worth noting, however, is that the story hits the heart at least as well here as it does in the anime, if not more so. For example, when I watched Sachi’s friends getting wiped out in the anime, I saw them as background characters setting up a greater appreciation of Sachi; but here I felt like I connected with them a bit more, even if they weren’t really any more active in the story. This vividness is a tribute to Kimi and Mito Sato, the artist and compositor respectively for the series. If you have yet to experience Sword Art Online, you can hardly do better than to start with Re:Aincrad; and if you already love the story, here’s a chance to experience it again with both nostalgia and freshness. ~ NegativePrimes
Sword Art Online Re:Aincrad is published by Yen Press.
Read Sword Art Online Re:Aincrad Vol. 1 Review
Sword Art Online: Ordinal Scale, Manga Vol. 2
Someone is targeting players of the new augmented reality game, Ordinal Scale—including Klein, Kirito’s first friend from Sword Art Online. After Klein ends up in the hospital with a broken arm, Kirito and Asuna begin investigating and begin suspecting the #2 Ordinal Scale player, Eiji. Asuna discovers that she knew Eiji under another identity in SAO, but then has a traumatic experience during a group battle in OS. At that moment, something glowing flies from her AR headset to a drone flying overhead—and shortly therafter, her memories of SAO begin to fade… While the Ordinal Scale story arc doesn’t hit me as emotionally as a number of other SAO stories (Aincrad, the Sleeping Knights, Alicization, to name a few), it’s still a solid return to our good friends and an enjoyable read. Author Reki Kawahara always finds a new way to vary things up in this stories, in this case exploring the way that augmented reality blurs the line between the real and the virtual (and if you want a deeper exploration of augmented reality than OS offers, there’s always Kawahara’s other creation, Accel World). I’ll keep reading! ~ NegativePrimes.
Sword Art Online: Ordinal Scale is published by Yen Press.
“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.
