February was a rather reasonable month for me when it came to additions to my collection, though I did end up with a little bit of everything. After a small delay, Persona 4, Volume 1 by Shuji Sogabe was finally released which I was particularly curious about, so I made sure to review it. I’ll have a review posted of Mechademia, Volume 10 in the very near future as well, which may be of interest to those looking for a scholarly approach to the study of Japanese pop culture. I finally got around to importing Takako Shimura’s Illustration Works, an artbook that includes some Wandering Son material among other artwork. (I don’t expect that we’ll ever see an English-language release, but it’s mostly illustrations, anyway.) As for February releases, some of the things that I was most excited about weren’t manga-related at all. The most recently translated volume in Keigo Higashino’s Detective Galileo series, A Midsummer’s Equation, is now available, for one. (I also discovered that another of Higashino’s works, Journey under the Midnight Sun, was released in translation a few months ago, but only in the United Kingdom. I’m not sure if there will be a North American release or not, but either way I’ve got some catching up to do!) And surprising no one who is aware of my obsession with Lianne Sentar’s Tokyo Demons, I’m also thrilled that the collection of the series’ sexually-charged short stories Know What You Want has now been released! I should hopefully have a review of that one at some point, too.
Manga!
A Bride’s Story, Volume 7 by Kaori Mori
Ding Dong Circus and Other Stories, 1967 to 1974 by Sasaki Maki
Does the Flower Blossom?, Volume 2 by Shoko Hidaka
Franken Fran, Omnibus 1 by Katsuhisa Kigitsu
Hey, Class President!, Volumes 1, 4-5 by Kaori Monchi
JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, Part 2: Battle Tendency, Volume 2 by Hirohiko Araki
Ouran High School Host Club, Volumes 1-3 by Bisco Hatori
Pandora Hearts, Volume 10 by Jun Mochizuki
Persona 4, Volume 1 by Shuji Sogabe
Tomodachi x Monster, Volume 1 by Yoshihiko Inui
Manhwa!
Behind Story, Volume 3 by Narae Ahn
Artbooks!
Guin Saga Artbook by Naoyuki Kato
Illustration Works by Takako Shimura
Novels!
Journey under the Midnight Sun by Keigo Higashino
A Midsummer’s Equation by Keigo Higashino
Silence by Shusaku Endo
Anthologies!
Mechademia, Volume 10: World Renewal edited by Frenchy Lunning
Tokyo Demons: Know What You Want by Lianne Sentar
Anime!
Free! Eternal Summer directed by Hiroko Utsumi
Library War directed by Takayuki Hamana
Seems a small month for you. I’m personally trying to downsize big time though, trying to sell almost 200 manga on my end. And yet, it will not stop me from getting more Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service or Osamu Tezuka goodness. I think I also got into Seven Deadly Sins last month.
It is indeed a small month. I’m actually deliberately trying to keep them small for a while here in preparation for changing financial responsibilities and a move in the near future. I’m probably going to try to downsize my collection even further, too, which I tend to do periodically anyway. But yeah, I can’t seem to entirely quit the manga-buying habit yet. :)
EEEK~ Shimura Takako art book?! That rules. I am SOO jealous!
It’s really quite lovely! I wish that more of Shimura’s manga would be released in English.