We are covering some of the hottest manga, novels, and manhwa available this week, with reviews of the new volumes of series like Overgeared, Villains are Destined to Die, and Ichi the Witch. Check out all our reviews below!
Ashita no Joe: Fighting for Tomorrow (Vol. 5) • Ichi the Witch (Vol. 2) • Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint (Vol. 10) • Overgeared (Vol. 10) • The Princess of Convenient Plot Devices (Vol. 7) • Villains Are Destined to Die (Vol. 3)
Ashita no Joe: Fighting for Tomorrow, Manga Vol. 5
Joe spent months battling personal demons after he accidentally killed his archrival Toru Rikiishi in a freak boxing accident. And he still carries a great personal burden: to defeat a boxer as powerful as Rikishi to prove to himself that he is not the lesser man. But boxers of that caliber are a rare breed, and absolutely none of them are on the traveling boxing circuit where Joe now finds himself. Down here, he is all but sleepwalking through bouts held in backwoods towns against has-been and never-were fighters who’d rather drink and gamble than train. Yet, at long last, a worthy opponent has appeared in the form of Carlos Rivera. He’s a Venezuelan boxer whose idiot Latin playboy persona hides a deadly serious—and dangerous—fighter underneath. Of course, given that he’s the pride of Yoko Shiraki’s gym and internationally ranked, it isn’t going to be easy for a carnie boxer to actually get a bout with him. It’s not as if Joe could just go up and knock on Yoko’s door… Ashita no Joe is back, and we see a subtly changed Joe in this latest release. “Subtly” very much being the key word. He certainly doesn’t shout from the rooftops that he’s a new man, and in many ways Joe is still very much his old self—but the differences are there. Joe is capable of a little self-reflection these days, more able to set his own goals and find his own path. His original personality of a wild mutt dog which would bite the hand feeding him just to prove to himself that he has teeth is slowly fading away. The small things are adding up for people other than Joe as well: Coach Danpei, Nishi, the pack of local kids, even the run-down neighborhood itself are changing for the better–but you need to pay attention to see it. This series is popularly associated with flawed heroes and gritty violence, manly tears and boiling blood. Sometimes I also see people write about its social critique of postwar Japan. But I’ve seen remarkably few people talk about just how smartly crafted the story is. This isn’t just “important” manga, this is good manga. ~ WacOtaku
Ashita no Joe: Fighting for Tomorrow is published by Kodansha.
Read Reviews of Ashita no Joe: Fighting for Tomorrow: Vol. 1 // Vol.2 // Vol.3 // Vol. 4
The Princess of Convenient Plot Devices, Light Novel Vol. 7
By volume seven of The Princess of Convenient Plot Devices, all the character development and mystery building in the plot has allowed the author to build a wonderfully engaging read around what seem to be minor events—a meeting, a practice duel, and a party. But that’s the appeal of this series—there’s tension in every event, and each character is part of mysteries big and small that continue to expand. Take Derek, for instance—how did a character who was becoming a real rival for Octavia’s affection suddenly lose his memory, like Sirius? Why is Sil so powerful when he transforms? And what exactly are the king and Edgar hiding? There are actually far more questions than that, and to think about any of them is fascinating. Volume seven begins the “Council of Feudal Lords Arc,” and though it’s just begun, I am at the edge of my seat, excited to see where the story takes us. I have such trust in the author by this point that I know we’ll be taken on quite an adventure—one that’s likely to lead to heartache multiple times over. Also notable about this volume is that several different characters have point-of-view chapters; I really enjoyed that about this series, which already had me comparing it to A Song of Ice and Fire for all the intrigue before taking on this shared element. It may be a while before we get the continuation of this arc in the next volume, but I am more than willing to wait—after all, this series is proving to be a masterpiece in the making. ~ Twwk
The Princess of Convenient Plot Devices is published by Yen Press.
READ Reviews of The Princess of Convenient Plot Devices: Vol. 1 // Vol. 2 // Vol. 3 // Vol. 4 // Vol. 5 // Vol. 6
Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint, Manhwa Vol. 10
Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint is relentless. You especially feel that energy in volume ten; while Dokja is focused on just the final Catastrophe—and we don’t get to the meat of that showdown in this volume—there’s still plenty of action and developments, from discussion about Sangah’s newfound power to a character suddenly abandoning the group to the appearance of a new, powerful goblin who may shake up the entire story. ORV barely gives you time to breathe, though that’s a welcome vibe and part of what makes the series so exciting; the other parts are here in spades too: morally gray characters and beautiful illustrations. This series is just a pleasure to read—and this volume, like all the rest, left me wanting for more! ~ 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 // Vol. 6 // Vol. 7 // Vol. 8 // Vol. 9
Ichi the Witch, Manga Vol. 2
In my review of volume one, I wrote that I was “hoping that Ichi the Witch continues the strong beginning and turns into something special.” While volume two continues to bring the energy and humor that were present in volume one, I’m unfortunately not convinced that this series will ever be that “something special” I was hoping for. This volume begins with Ichi continuing his initial work collecting majiks—this time fighting against a fabulous shark-type majik that freezes people, and then dealing with internal politics as he goes against the cutest majik yet to date. Aesthetically, it’s all very pleasing. However—and I know it’s very early in the run—the story itself hasn’t revealed anything of interest to me. It’s very bland compared to the Mashle-like humor and mishmash of action-oriented and cute artwork. Ichi himself is pretty bland; he’s very typical for a shonen hero—courageous, full of integrity, and uniquely himself. But he doesn’t stand out from the hundreds of others who have graced the pages of Shonen Jump. And his personal philosophy of “death for death” doesn’t really make sense to me—he just seems to kill everything in his path. So, while it’s very possible that this series firms up into something worth continuing, I’m not willing to stay around long enough to see if that happens. So long, Ichi! ~ Twwk
Ichi the Witch is published by VIZ Media.
Read Ichi the Witch Vol. 1 Review
Overgeared, Manhwa Vol. 10
I wouldn’t say a lot of thought has been put into Grid’s character development over the course of Overgeared, or into the RL part of his existence, but I’ve still found those aspects of this action-adventure series to be fascinating—and volume ten digs into both a little more than we’ve seen in previous issues. Grid has gathered another ally (two, actually) and fights off a considerable foe from his past, as he works to build up a city that’s been given over to him and, more generally, consolidate power. Despite this volume featuring less action than most, all this is surprisingly compelling. My mind was taken to gaming, where you do have to focus on farming and building infrastructure, even if all you want to do is conquer. And as I noted, we see the growth in Grid—even though I don’t think he sees it in himself. Grid is getting more depth to his character—or maybe it was there all along? His jokes, vengeful qualities, and cut-to-the-chase nature make him seem superficial to his colleagues, and the readers too—but as we see his decision-making, it reveals some growth in character, though perhaps qualities that were somewhat hidden to us all along. I love seeing that depth in a series that’s mostly just about smashing and crashing. Oh, and as I mentioned, the little blips of real life we get to see are fun too, with Grid’s parents making an appearance, and Ruby and “Sexy Schoolgirl” meshing his real life with game life. These are fun layers that add to an already-enjoyable series—one that continues to impress, volume after volume! ~ Twwk
Overgeared is published by Ize Press, an imprint of Ize Press.
READ Reviews of Overgeared: Vol. 1 // Vol.2 // Vol. 3 // Vol. 4 // Vol. 5 // Vol. 7 // Vol. 8 // Vol. 9
Villains Are Destined to Die, Novel Vol. 3
Poor Penelope. All she is trying to do is get a love interest to 100% and say “I love you,” but this game is making it harder and harder for that to happen. With all the love interests’ love meters behind locks and everyone not reached the percentages she had hoped they would, she jumps at the chance when Winter asks her to go on a “date.” The problem is, this is no date at all, and despite what might have started pleasantly enough by helping others in need, she finds herself on a dangerous island that leads her almost to death’s door. What a whirlwind of emotions I felt when reading this volume! I’m not even honestly sure how much I can recall because of how overwhelmed I was for Penelope at so many points! From Winter’s betrayal (which thankfully didn’t gut me the same way the manhwa did, but which left me no less angry) to Eckles’ real colors showing to everything at the end, I felt myself on the verge of tears nonstop. However, I will say that I loathe Derrick’s character with my entire being; even more so than I did before this volume. On the flip side, I never imagined Callisto and I would share the same opinion of Penelope, but seeing him in that investigation had me internally yelling in agreement with everything he said. Also, the romance scenes with him were absolutely swoonworthy, even if also heartbreaking at times. I do want to also mention that Reynold might have been in the dog house for a long time, but he is now one of my favorite love interests, despite there being nothing romantic between him and Penelope. He really has shown that he cares for her and values her as his sister. Lastly, I will mention that if you are reading the manhwa, this volume went slightly past where volume eight ended, thankfully! (It was definitely not anywhere near as intense as that cliffhanger!) Overall, this was an extremely engaging and heartbreaking volume! I can only hope the next one will prove to have more happiness for my best girl! ~ Laura A. Grace
Villains Are Destined to Die is published by IZE Press.
READ Reviews of Villains Are Destined to Die: Vol. 1 // Vol. 2
“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.
