It’s a big week in Reader’s Corner, with thrilling conclusions, shocking revelations, and some truly spectacular artwork! We’re celebrating the conclusion of Penelope’s main story in Villains Are Destined to Die, returning to the mysteries of the imperial palace in the manga adaptation of The Apothecary Diaries, and marveling at Kohei Horikoshi’s illustrations in My Hero Academia: Ultra Artworks. We’ve also got magical romance, secret identities, everyday adventures, and a Secrets of the Silent Witch volume that changes everything. EVERYTHING. There’s plenty to get excited about this week!
The Apothecary Diaries: Maomao’s Notes on the Inner Palace (Vol. 1) • My Hero Academia: Ultra Artworks • My Super-Cute Black Mage! (Vol. 2) • Secrets of the Silent Witch (Vol. 8) • Villains Are Destined to Die (Vol. 4) • Victoria of Many Faces (Vol. 4) • Walking Home with You (Vol. 1)
Walking Home with You, Manga Vol. 1
Who says walking home each day after school has to be boring? Shun might just be coasting through high school, after an injury in middle school has him pulling out of soccer and any other sports he’s interested in; but when he meets his senpai, Naoki, his days are about to get all the livelier as he unexpectedly finds himself caught up in the Hyper-Epic Heading Home Club! I wasn’t originally sure how much I would enjoy this, but this was so delightful to read! I was really struck by how Naoki truly finds such joy and excitement in the mundane things around her—it made me realize that I could do something similar in my own life. Granted, I would never think to come up with “Hyper-Epic Heading Home Club,” but that just sounds awesome, and I wish I had been part of it (even though I was a bus rider all through school—ha!) It was really interesting seeing Shun grow as a character! He was so wary of Naoki’s shenanigans originally because, as cool (or weird, ha) as her club sounded, I feel his reactions were extremely relatable! Seeing him grow from saying her stick couldn’t be a sword to later finding a stick that would be a cool sword and wanting to give it to her was deeply satisfying and happiness-inducing. These two characters take so many little adventures on their way home that I would definitely recommend this if you’re looking for a slice-of-life (and no romance?) manga where it shows that the simplest joys can come from some of the things we do every day; they just need a little bit of imagination and creativity added to them! Really looking forward to reading more of this one on Omoi! ~ Laura A. Grace
Walking Home with You is published on Omoi.
Villains Are Destined to Die, Novel Vol. 4
The ending that Penelope thought would come if she were on her deathbed slips from her grasp, and now she finds herself on the run from Ivonne to unlock the secret ending of hard mode. However, fulfilling the crazy game’s request once again shows this will be anything but easy and she might be entering the hardest part of this story yet. That was such an extraordinary ending to this series! Granted, I realize that we still have at least one more volume that will contain short stories, but since this volume wrapped up the main story, I’m calling it “the end.” Ha! I hope I can do this final volume justice in sharing all my (non-spoiler) thoughts because there was so much! One moment I’m crying, and the next I’m gasping at the reveal, and I’m even being so scared of what might happen to these characters I’ve come to care for! Well, except Derrick… However, sweet Winter! His story pained me so much, honestly. It made me desperately wish things could have been so different between him and Penelope and that, for once, he would have actually trusted her (and that she could actually trust him). On the flip side, Eckles was unhinged. I think out of all the love interests, he’s the one I’m most divided about. You can really see the effects of how toxic his and Penelope’s “relationship” had been, and how he is now an uncontrolled beast. Reynold didn’t have too much page time, but he was awesome, and I love how he really did become an excellent big brother in the end! Lastly, Callisto, the incredible hero: What a transformation he went through in this series! His love truly knows no bounds, and I could not help but cheer time and time again at how he knew what to say and do in countless situations, even if (and when!) Penelope would become super embarrassed! Truly, this story was gripping from volume one to now, as was this volume alone! I was on the edge of my seat the whole time, especially when Penelope was fighting a giant monster in the ocean and then a giant monster at the palace! There was never a dull moment, and I am eagerly looking forward to reading the short stories in the next volume! ~ 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 // Vol. 3
My Super-Cute Black Mage!, Manga Vol. 2
Aria is finally coming to terms with the fact that she can read the thoughts of her underclassman, Jade, when she touches him, and is finding a new normal as a prefect. However, when Jade’s childhood friend, Beryl, comes to visit him, Aria finds herself feeling new emotions as she encounters a new side of Jade that she hasn’t seen before. I didn’t think I would enjoy this more than the previous volume since I enjoyed that one so much, but I would say I did enjoy this one even more! As a friend said, the series has really found its stride, and I appreciated even getting a chapter from Jade’s perspective! Since we already know his inner thoughts, it wasn’t too surprising, butttt! Given a certain incident with a new character (who was hilarious and I hope we see again!) and how Aria is now starting to question her feelings, I think it really helped to grow even closer to him as a character and see how he’s being affected by this new change in Aria. You can really see how he struggles with his mouth and doesn’t always like how he speaks, but it’s sort of just happening and then he regrets it later. That was definitely fully shown in that last chapter: What do you mean that was his ideal self?! Ha! I never would have imagined how he would act—it was like we didn’t even know who Jade was! That leads me to say I continue to really, really like Aria because I think she’s fun as a heroine and love how she cares for the real Jade, foul-mouthed though he might be! Her unexpectedly rising to a challenge from the new character made me laugh, but also appreciative of them; I feel the romance is really starting to bloom now thanks to their declaration! It honestly makes me desperate for the next volume so I can see what will happen next, because I have zero doubts there are going to be a lot more hilarious shenanigans that are going to make me laugh and cheer for these two even harder than I already am! ~ Laura A. Grace
My Super-Cute Black Mage! is published by Yen Press.
READ My Super-Cute Black Mage! Vol. 1 Review
Victoria of Many Faces, Manga Vol. 4
Victoria and Nonna are on the run, and not a moment too soon as the people she used to work for send out assassins! However, even on the run, her heart seems to still be back in Ashbury, and she can only hope that maybe, on the slimmest of chances, Jeff will remember the promise they made to attend a festival in Cadiz, and they can reunite again. This was such a heartfelt volume that left me tearing up and crying at several points! Considering how heartbreakingly volume three ended, I am deeply thankful for how this one healed my heart. It was truly everything I had been hoping for, and I was thankful I wasn’t left feeling too anxious for a long period of time. (Honestly, more than one chapter was enough! Ha!) Thankfully, as brief as it was, I did like seeing Victoria and Nonna on their own in a different place—mainly because it was interesting to see what jobs they took and the disguises they used! Nonna was extremely cute, and Victoria, I am convinced, is beautiful in any disguise. I am unsure of what else to say about the rest of the volume because they would be massive spoilers, but the art felt lovelier than ever, especially thanks to how the artist portrayed so many tender moments. While the writing and storytelling were already excellent, I know the art deeply enriched all the emotions that the characters were feeling, putting me more in my feelings! Ha! It does seem that, with how this volume ended, we are entering what would be the beginning of the second light novel? A new mystery has unfolded, and while I originally was worried about how invested I would be once this arc wrapped up, I found myself extremely intrigued and eager to see where the story goes! Cheers to hoping that will get a new volume soon because I’m ready to see what adventure Victoria and her family will go on next! ~ Laura A. Grace
Victoria of Many Faces is published by Yen Press.
READ Reviews of Victoria of Many Faces: Vol. 1 // Vol. 2 // Vol. 3 (Twwk) (Laura)
The Apothecary Diaries: Maomao’s Notes on the Inner Palace, Manga Vol. 1
I have to admit that I wasn’t too impressed with the opening chapters of the manga adaptation of The Apothecary Diaries. The story moves too quickly, and the artwork is rather underwhelming. But once the manga settles into its rhythm, I found it hard to put down. The story follows Maomao, a young apothecary’s daughter who is kidnapped and finds herself working as a servant in the imperial palace, where her knowledge of medicine and poisons soon catches the attention of Jinshi, a beautiful and mysterious palace official. Before long, she’s drawn into solving mysteries involving the emperor’s consorts and others living within the palace walls. Maomao is one of the great anime, light novel, and manga protagonists—sharp, funny, incredibly intelligent, and completely herself—which sometimes mean trying out poisons for fun and often means getting herself dangerously close to being executed. Her interactions with Jinshi are especially entertaining, with the chemistry between the two providing some of the manga’s best moments. This is a double-length volume, so there’s a lot of story packed into these pages, including several genuinely compelling mysteries and a fascinating look at the customs, politics, and daily life of the inner palace. The adaptation itself is fairly unremarkable, especially compared to the excellent anime, but the source material is so strong that it hardly matters. I was absolutely riveted by the end and reminded once again just how good The Apothecary Diaries really is! ~ Twwk
The Apothecary Diaries: Maomao’s Notes on the Inner Palace is published by VIZ Media.
Secrets of the Silent Witch, Light Novel Vol. 8
For seven volumes—plus spin-offs and side stories—Secrets of the Silent Witch has quietly featured a melancholy and at times devastating tone beneath the adventures and student council proceedings, but here in volume eight, the series goes full broke: This is the volume in which the vast implications of the secretive machinations involving Duke Clockford and Prince Felix, as well as Monica’s secret mission, are propelled to the forefront. It’s pretty mind-blowing, y’all—and it is emotional. I couldn’t put this volume down; it was insanely exciting, sad, moving, and thoughtful. There’s almost too much happening; like Monica, I wish I could put a plug in all this and let the story continue on as always, but it’s clear now that the character development up to this point was adequate for the story to take a jump forward. And now, with multiple more volumes out in Japan, here’s hoping that we get them all in quick order because I can’t wait to see what happens next! ~ Twwk
Secrets of the Silent Witch is published by Yen Press.
READ Reviews of Secrets of the Silent Witch: Vol. 1 // Vol. 2 // Vol. 3 // Vol. 4 // Vol. 5 // Vol. 6 // another (I) // Vol. 7 // another (II)
My Hero Academia: Ultra Artworks, Artbook
MHA fans, rejoice! My Hero Academia: Ultra Artworks is a large, colorful, beautiful collection of art from magazines, volumes, spin-offs, and extra material—and it is worth owning for any fan of the manga and, dare I say, fans of manga in general. I was really blown away by the beautiful art and epic scenes on virtually every page. While the artbook is split into several sections according to source (and a final index featuring explanations by Kohei Horikoshi), I would say for those unfamiliar, the art is divided into several categories: cute, encouraging, epic, and AU. There are cute illustrations aplenty for those who really treasure the series characters; encouraging illustrations—generally of multiple characters in Class I-A—as they show the power of teamwork; action-packed scenes and dark solo artwork of the villains; and lots of alternate universe art that the series is known for. There aren’t many extras (other than the captions by Horikoshi-sensei), and I would categorize this release ultimately less as a traditional artbook and more of an archive that seems definitive, though MHA fans will be able to spot any works that are missing. Either way, the large, hardcover release is deeply engaging and worth flipping through multiple times. It is fantastic. Plus ultra! ~ Twwk
My Hero Academia: Ultra Artworks is published by VIZ Media.
“Reader’s Corner” is our weekly celebration of manga, light novels, and visual novels—the creative works most closely tied to anime, yet with a magic all their own. Each week, our writers share their honest take on what they’re reading: new releases as they hit shelves, so you’re always in the loop on the latest manga and light novel news, alongside older titles we revisit because they’re just as unforgettable—for better or worse.
