Ah yes, May. The month that I know I will end up adding a tremendous amount of material of various types to my collection if for no other reason than this little event called the Toronto Comic Arts Festival.  I picked up so many comics at TCAF 2017! Fortunately, I budgeted for this well in advance. In addition to all of the new things in May, I also found some interesting older manga like Yukinobu Hoshino’s Saber Tiger and Seiji Horibuchi’s Shion: Blade of the Minstrel. (Also, a heads up for those who might be interested in the series, it looks as though The Story of Saiunkoku is likely going out of print.) As for May’s preorders, I was especially excited to see the most recent volumes of Nagabe’s The Girl From the Other Side, Izumi Tsubaki’s Monthly Girls’ Nozaki-kun, and Kanno’s Requiem of the Rose King, as well as the debuts of Haruko Kumota’s Descending Stories and Ryoko Kui’s Delicious in Dungeon. Also the first omnibus in Gengoroh Tagame’s My Brother’s Husband, one of my most anticipated releases for 2017.

Also in May, I received an early copy Yeon-sik Hong’s Uncomfortably Happily for review although the volume wasn’t technically released until June. Hopefully, my review of the manwha conveys just how much I enjoyed the work. Speaking of reviews, I’m currently working on an in-depth review Tomoyuki’s Hoshino’s ME, one of my most anticipated novels in translation of 2017. (This novel was also technically released in June rather than May, but I managed to snag an early review copy.) In general, I find Hoshino’s work to be challenging but ultimately rewarding. One of the other novels that I was particularly looking forward to this year was Inheritance from Mother by Minae Mizumura, whose previous work in translation I adored. Another May release worth mentioning is Shun Medoruma’s In the Woods of Memory, credited as the first novel by an Okinawan author to be translated into English.

Manga!
Bloom into You, Volume 2 by Nakatani Nio
Cat Eyed Boy, Volumes 1-2 by Kazuo Umezu
Cells at Work!, Volume 4 by Akane Shimizu
Delicious in Dungeon, Volume 1 by Ryoko Kui
Descending Stories: Showa Genroku Rakugo Shinju, Volume 1 by Haruko Kumota
Dreamin’ Sun, Volume 1 by Ichigo Takano
The Girl From the Other Side: Siúil, A Rún Volume 2 by Nagabe
Gangsta: Cursed, Volume 2 written by Kohske, illustrated by Syuhei Kamo
Girls’ Last Tour, Volume 1 by Tsukumizu
The High School Life of a Fudanshi, Volume 1 by Michinoku Atami
Haikyu!!, Volumes 11-12 by Haruichi Furudate
JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, Part 3: Stardust Crusaders, Volume 3 by Hirohiko Araki
Monthly Girls’ Nozaki-kun, Volume 7 by Izumi Tsubaki
Murciélago, Volume 2 by Yoshimurakana
My Brother’s Husband, Omnibus 1 by Gengoroh Tagame
My Love Story!!, Volume 12 written by Kazune Kawahara, illustrated by Aruko
Pet Shop of Horrors, Volume 10 by Matsuri Akino
Pet Shop of Horrors: Tokyo, Volumes 1-8 by Matsuri Akino
Requiem of the Rose King, Volume 6 by Aya Kanno
The Royal Tutor, Volume 1 by Higasa Akai
Saber Tiger by Yukinobu Hoshino
Shion: Blade of the Minstrel by Seiji Horibuchi
The Story of Saiunkoku, Volumes 1-9 written by Sai Yukino, illustrated by Kairi Yura
Sweetness and Lightning, Volume 5 by Gido Amagakuure
Yona of the Dawn, Volume 6 by Mizuho Kusanagi

Manhwa!
Uncomfortably Happily by Yeon-sik Hong

Comics!
5 Worlds, Volume 1: The Sand Warrior written by Mark Siegel and Alexis Siegel, illustrated by Xanthe Bouma, Matt Rockefeller, and Boya Sun
Adventure Girlfriends, No. 1-2 by Morgan Shandro
Adventure Girlfriends: Vignettes by Morgan Shandro
Aim High Bird Friends by Linda Teaa
Banchan in Two Pages, Issue 2 by Robin Ha
Blinded by the Ice by Saicoink
Blindsprings, Volume 1 by Kadi Fedoruk
Blossom Boys by Tanaw
Butterfly Dream by PlumLi
The Disappearance of Melody Dean by Alexis Sugden
Eidoughlons: A Field Guide for the Aspiring Dumplingmancer by Jade Feng Lee
Electric Ant, Issue 2: Exquisite Corpses edited by Ryan Sands
Elements: Fire edited by Taneka Stotts
Expired Seafood, Volume 2: Tied Up by Various
Fujoshi Trapped in a Seme’s Perfect Body, Volume 2 written by Seru, illustrated by Joberu
Fujoshi Trapped in a Seme’s Perfect Body: Wedding Night written by Seru, illustrated by Kisumi
Go Gently edited by Christine Wong and Victor Martins
Half Moon Heroes, Issue 1 by Jade Feng Lee
Haunted: A Fairytale by Natalie Andrewson
Hearts for Sale by Miyuli
Hemlock, Issue 1 by Josceline Fenton
Hidden by Kou Chen
Love Debut by Deandra Tan
Mana, Volume 1 by Priya Huq
Martial Spirit by Dirchansky, Wai Au, and Kage
Oh Dear! Mr. Dear by Wai Au
Our Cats Are More Famous Than Us by Ananth Hirsh and Yuko Ota
Plant Fever Zine, Volume 1 by Various
Queen Street by Emmanuelle Chateauneuf
Ram-com by Emily Forster
Ramen Robot Cafe by Dandra Tan
Safe by Anna Sellheim
Shattered Warrior written by Sharon Shinn, illustrated by Molly Knox Ostertag
Shit and Piss by Tyler Landry
Smokescreen by A. C. Esguerra
So Pretty / Very Rotten by Jane Mai and An Nguyen
Starrytellers edited by Samantha Calcraft and Alisha Jade
Super Life on the Hill by Dirchansky, Kim Hoang, and Wai Au
(Tr)eat Yoself by Wai Au
Wax & Wane by Kelly Bastow and Caitlin Major
What Is A Glacier? by Sophie Yanow
You & a Bike & a Road by Eleanor Davis

Light Novels!
Tokyo Ghoul: Past by Shin Towada

Novels!
The Eternal Zero by Naoki Hyakuta
In the Woods of Memory by Shun Medoruma
Inheritance from Mother by Minae Mizumura
Kamikaze Girls by Novala Takemoto
ME by Tomoyuki Hoshino
Missin’/Missn’ 2 by Novala Takemoto
Notes of a Crocodile by Miaojin Qiu

Anthologies!
Monkey Business: New Writing from Japan, Volume 7 edited by Motoyuki Shibata and Ted Goossen

Nonfiction!
Manchu Princess, Japanese Spy by Phyllis Birnbaum

I started at my new job in April, which has gone pretty well so far, but it has still been a bit of a stressful transition moving from one library to another. As a result, considering my tendency to stress-buy books, my personal library increased in size a fair bit. (Still, I did do a little better reigning myself in in April than I did in March.) Lately I’ve also noticed that my buying habits have changed somewhat, too. I’m not pre-ordering as much as I once was and so each month am playing more catch-up with past releases. Which is why I’ve only recently discovered that I tremendously enjoy series like Natsuki Takaya’s Twinkle Stars. As for more current releases that I was particularly excited about, the fifth omnibus of Inio Asano’s Goodnight Punpun and Wataru Waanabe’s Yowamushi Pedal were both published in April. I’ve apparently also been craving prose works. One of the more interesting projects that I’ve come across in a while is Keshiki, a series of eight chapbooks from a new publisher, Strangers Press, which are translations of short fiction by Japanese authors. (You’ll find them individually listed below in the section for novels, even though that’s not an entirely accurate categorization.)

Manga!
Aoharu X Machinegun, Volume 2 by Naoe
Earthian, Volumes 1-2 by Yun Kouga
Flying Witch, Volume 1 by Chihiro Ishizuka
Food Wars!: Shokugeki no Soma, Volume 17 written by Yuto Tsukuda, illustrated by Shun Saeki
Goodnight Punpun, Omnibus 5 by Inio Asano
Haikyu!!, Volume 10 by Haruichi Furudate
I am a Hero, Omnibus 3 by Kengo Hanazawa
Kase-san and Morning Glories by Hiromi Takashima
Love Com, Volume 4 by Aya Nakahara
Mobile Suit Gundam: Thunderbolt, Volume 1 by Yasuo Ohtagaki
My Hero Academia, Volume 2 by Kouhei Horikoshi
Nichijou, Volume 2 by Keiichi Arawi
Of the Red, the Light, and the Ayakashi, Volumes 4-5 by Nanao
Pet Shop of Horrors, Volumes 1-8 by Matsuri Akino
Record of Lodoss War: Lady of Pharis, Volumes 1-2 written by Ryo Mizuno, illustrated by Akihiro Yamada
Twinkle Stars, Omnibuses 1-2 by Natsuki Takaya
Yamada-kun and the Seven Witches, Volumes 10-12 by Miki Yoshikawa
Yona of the Dawn, Volume 5 by Mizuho Kusanagi
Your Lie in April, Volumes 10-11 by Naoshi Arakawa
Yowamushi Pedal, Omnibus 5 by Wataru Watanabe

Manhwa!
Lethe by Kimjin

Comics!
Afar by Leila Del Duca and Kit Seaton
Bird Boy, Volumes 1-2 by Anne Szabla
Cafe Suada, Volumes 1-5 by Jade Sarson
Creature Feature, Volume 1 by Kelly Matthews and Nichole Matthews
Diana’s Electric Tongue by Carolyn Nowak
Girl Town by Carolyn Nowak
Head Lopper, Volume 1 by Andrew MacLean
Henchgirl by Kristen Gudsnuk
In These Words, Chapter 16 by Guilt | Pleasure
The Meek by Der-shing Helmer
My Favorite Thing Is Monsters, Volume 1 by Emil Ferris
The Nameless City, Volume 2: The Stone Heart by Faith Erin Hicks
Pang, The Wandering Shaolin Monk, Volumes 1-2 by Ben Costa
Radishes by Carolyn Nowak
Small Favors by Colleen Coover
Sweaty Palms edited by Liz Enright and Sage Coffey

Artbooks!
Chain Reaction by Jo Chen

Novels!
At the Edge of the Wood by Masatsugu Ono
Belka, Why Don’t You Bark? by Hideo Furukawa
Bullfight by Yasuhi Inoue
Devils in Daylight by Junichiro Tanizaki
Friendship for Grown-ups by Naocola Yamazaki
Frontier by Can Xue
The Girl Who Is Getting Married by Aoko Matsuda
The Hunting Gun by Yasuhi Inoue
The Impossible Fairy Tale by Han Yujoo
The Longshot by Katie M. Kitamura
Mariko/Mariquita by Natsuki Ikezawa
Me Against the World by Kazufumi Shiraishi
Mikumari by Misumi Kubo
Punk Samurai Slash Down by Kou Machida
Record of a Night Too Brief Hiromi Kawakami
Spring Garden by Tomoka Shibasaki
Spring Sleepers by Kyoko Yoshida
Time Differences by Yoko Tawada
Transparent Labyrinth by Keiichiro Hirano
White Elephant by Mako Idemitsu

Anthologies!
Ground Zero, Nagasaki by Yūichi Seirai
Life of a Counterfeiter and Other Stories by Yasuhi Inoue
March was Made of Yarn edited by Elmer Luke and David Karashima

Poetry!
When I Grow Up I Want to Be a List of Further Possibilities by Chen Chen

Nonfiction!
Goodbye Things: The New Japanese Minimalism by Fumio Sasaki
The Tale of the Heike translated by Royall Tyler

Anime!
Bodacious Space Pirates directed by Tatsuo Sato
Tegami Bachi: Letter Bee, Seasons 1-2 directed by Akira Iwanaga

Film!
Tampopo directed by Juzo Itami

Well then, I managed to acquire a rather large number of books in March. Unexpectedly, most of them weren’t even manga. In part this was due to a bunch of comics that I had previously backed on Kickstarter showing up last month. I can also thank both online retailers and my local comic book store for offering some massive discounts throughout March. (On top of that, I have a tendency to buy books when I’m under stress. Seeing as I’m in the process of transferring from one job to another, there’s been a fair amount of added stress lately, too.) But as for the manga I picked up in March: I was particularly delighted to come across Mitsuru Adachi’s Short Program, which has been out of print for a while now. I also decided to give Kazune Kawahara’s High School Debut a try since I’ve been enjoying My Love Story!! so incredibly much. I was admittedly a little surprised to come across The Secret Devil-chan, Volume 1 by Emu, the first book to be released under Digital Manga’s new PeCChi imprint. The book has actually been available since September I think, but only directly from Digital Manga; I wasn’t sure if any of the publisher’s titles were still being released outside of it’s own web stores. And while 100 Manga Artists isn’t manga it certainly is manga-related. I didn’t realize it at first but it turns out the volume is actually a revised and updated edition of Manga Design which was released back in 2004 (and which I also own). I haven’t had a chance to closely compare the two, but 100 Manga Artists is nevertheless an interesting resource.

Manga!
Bungo Stray Dogs, Volume 2 written by Kafka Asagiri, illustrated by Sango Harukawa
Crimson Shell by Jun Mochizuki
Food Wars!: Shokugeki no Soma, Volume 16 written by Yuto Tsukuda, illustrated by Shun Saeki
Hana & Hina After School, Volume 1 by Milk Morinaga
High School Debut, Volumes 1-5 by Kazune Kawahara
Kaze Hikaru, Volume 24 by Taeko Watanabe
Kiss and White Lily for My Dearest Girl, Volume 1 by Canno
Maid-sama!, Omnibus 3 by Hiro Fujiwara
New Lone Wolf and Cub, Volume 8 written by Kazuo Koike, illustrated by Hideki Mori
One-Punch Man, Volume 11 written by One, illustrated by Yusuke Murata
The Prince in His Dark Days, Volume 3 by Hico Yamanaka
Persona 3, Volume 3 by Shuji Sogabe
Prison School, Omnibus 6 by Akira Hiramoto
The Secret Devil-chan, Volume 1 by Emu
Scum’s Wish, Volumes 1-2 by Mengo Yokoyari
Sherlock: A Study in Pink by Jay
Short Program, Volumes 1-2 by Mitsuru Adachi
Sweetness and Lightning, Volume 4 by Gido Amagakuure
That Wolf-Boy Is Mine, Volume 2 by Yoko Nogiri

Comics!
Ancestor by Matt Sheean and Malachi Ward
Arclight written by Brandon Graham, illustrated by Marian Churchland
The Best We Could Do by Thi Bui
Big Mushy Happy Lump by Sarah Andersen
Bones of the Coast edited by Shannon Campbell, Jeff Ellis, and Kathleen Jacques
Check Please!, Year 2 by Ngozi Ukazu
Crossed Wires, Volume 1 by Iris Jay
Compass South written by Hope Larson, illustrated by Rebecca Mock
Daughters by Bianca Bagnarelli
Extended Play by Jake Terrell
For the Love of God, Marie! by Jade Sarson
Hit: 1955 written by Bryce Carlson, illustrated by Vanesa R. Del Rey
Honor Girl by Maggie Thrash
Ignition Zero, Volume 1 by Noel Arthur Heimpel
Lafcadio Hearn’s The Faceless Ghost and Other Macabre Tales from Japan written by Sean Michael Wilson, illustrated by Michiru Morikawa
Larimar by Michael K
Last Man, Volume 4: The Show by Bastien Vivès, Michael Sanlaville, and Balak
Letters for Lucardo, Volume 1 by Noora Heikkilä
No Exit by Annie Mok
O Human Star, Volume 2 by Blue Delliquanti
Perfect Hair by Tommi Parrish
Power & Magic by Joamette Gil
Pretty Deadly, Volume 1 by Kelly Sue DeConnick and Emma Ríos
Princeless: Raven the Pirate Princess, Volume 1 written by Jeremy Whitley, illustrated by Ted Brandt and Rosy Higgins
Sakana, Volume 1 by Mad Rupert
Secure Connect by Carta Monir
Spacejinx, Volumes 1-2 by Ocicatsy and Wensleydale
Sprawling Heart by Sab Meynert
Sticks Angelica, Folk Hero by Michael DeForge
Wayward, Volume 4 by Jim Zubkavich and Steve Cummings
The Whipping Girl by Nuria Tamarit
Wilde Life, Volume 1 by Pascalle Lepas
Witchlight by Jessi Zabarsky
The Woods, Volume 1 by James Tynion IV and Michael Dialynas
The Worrier’s Guide to Life by Gemma Correll
The Worst by Molly Mendoza

Artbooks!
100 Manga Artists edited by Amano Masanao and Julius Wiedemann
Infecta by Michael K
Otomo: A Global Tribute to the Mind Behind Akira by Various

Novels!
Dream of Ding Village by Lianke Yan
The Graveyard Apartment by Mariko Koike
Orbital Cloud by Taiyo Fujii
Pachinko by Min Jin Lee
The Silent Dead by Tetsuya Honda

Anthologies!
Revenge: Eleven Dark Tales by Yoko Ogawa

Anime!
Kyousougiga directed by Rie Matsumoto

So, things got a little out of hand in February, mostly due to the fact that I came across a fair number of out-of-print and somewhat hard-to-find manga that I wasn’t able to pass up. Other than that I largely behaved myself. Most of the non-manga comics that I picked up last month were Kickstarter-related which just means that my wallet cried months (and in one case years) ago rather than in February. As for manga, I finally got my hands on The Girl from the Other Side, Volume 1 by Nagabe. Technically published in January, it’s one of my most anticipated debuts for the year. My copy of Jennifer Doyle’s Knights-Errant, Volume 1 (the most recent paperback from Chromatic Press) arrived after a short delay, too. When it came to actual February debuts, I was particularly curious about Kei Sanbe’s first first Erased omnibus and was thrilled that Two Hoses, a short erotic gay manga by Jiraiya, was simultaneously released in Japanese and in English. My copy of the gorgeous box set of Chiho Saito’s Revolutionary Girl Utena manga was one of the few that escaped the recall–most people will have to wait until April for the corrected version to be released. I also received an early copy of Ichi-F: A Worker’s Graphic Memoir of the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant by Kazuto Tatsuta which was released a few days ago; I’m currently working on an in-depth review which should hopefully be posted sometime next week. Ichi-F is an important work, so I’m very glad that it was translated.

Manga!
Anonymous Noise, Volume 1 by Ryoko Fukuyama
Bakune Young, Volumes 1-3 by Toyokazu Matsunaga
Cantarella, Volumes 1-10 by You Higuri
Captive Hearts of Oz, Volume 1 written by Ryo Maruya, illustrated by Mamenosuke Fujimaru
Dawn of the Arcana, Volumes 8, 10-11 by Rei Toma
Erased, Omnibus 1 by Kei Sanbe
FukuFuku: Kitten Tales, Volume 2 by Kanata Konami
The Ghost in the Shell, Volumes 1, 1.5, 2 by Masamune Shirow
The Girl from the Other Side, Volume 1 by Nagabe
Grey, Volumes 1-2 by Yoshihisa Tagami
Haikyu!!, Volume 9 by Haruichi Furudate
Happiness, Volume 3 by Shuzo Oshimi
Ichi-F: A Worker’s Graphic Memoir of the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant by Kazuto Tatsuta
JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, Part 3: Stardust Crusaders, Volume 2 by Hirohiko Araki
The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons/Oracle of Ages by Akira Himekawa
The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, Volume 1 by Akira Himekawa
Magia the Ninth, Volume 2 by Ichiya Sazanami
Maison Ikkoku, Volumes 1-15 by Rumiko Takahashi
Monthly Girls’ Nozaki-kun, Volume 6 by Izumi Tsubaki
Musashi #9, Volumes 1-9, 13-15 by Miyuki Takahashi
Persona 3, Volume 2 by Shuji Sogabe
Revolutionary Girl Utena by Chiho Saito
Ten Count, Volume 3 by Rihito Takarai
Two Hoses by Jiraiya

Comics!
Another Castle: Grimoire written by Andrew Wheeler, illustrated by Paulina Ganucheau
Big Kids by Michael DeForge
Chernozem by Aud Koch
Enough Space for Everyone Else edited by J. N. Monk and Lee Black
Knights-Errant, Volume 1 by Jennifer Doyle
A Land Called Tarot by Gael Bertrand
Mae, Volume 1 by Gene Ha
Magical Beatdown, Volumes 1-1.5 by Jenn Woodall
Mahou Shounen Fight!, Volume 1 by JD Saxon and Dusty K. Smith
My Monster Boyfriend edited by C. Spike Trotman
Namesake, Volume 2 by Isabelle Melançon and Megan Lavey-Heaton
Sorcery 101, Volumes 1-2 by Kel McDonald
Yes, Roya written by C. Spike Trotman, illustrated by Emilee Denich

Artbooks!
Sketches & Studies by Aud Koch
The Legend of Zelda: Art & Artifacts by Nintendo

Novels!
Decapitation: Kubikiri Cycle by Nisioisin
The Name of the Game Is a Kidnapping by Keigo Higashino
The Stones Cry Out by Hikaru Okuizumi

Anthologies!
The Accusation: Forbidden Stories from Inside North Korea by Bandi

Looking at the much more reasonable Bookshelf Overload for January after the absurdity that was December’s is kind of strange. I feel like I must have missed something, but no, the list below is all of the media that made its way onto my shelves (or at least into the house) in January. Granted, this does not include everything that was actually purchased in January–some of that is still in the mail. Even some of my most anticipated January release have yet to arrive for one reason or another (I’m looking at you The Girl on the Other Side). On the other hand, some of February’s releases made their way into my hands early. 2017 is apparently off to an appropriately chaotic start. Anyway. Two of the manga released in January that I was most looking forward to that actually managed to arrive on time were Kore Yamazaki’s The Ancient Magus’ Bride, Volume 6 and Junji Ito’s Dissolving Classroom. Another cool thing that I discovered in January but which was actually published in October was the USCA English Edition anthology. USCA is an independent manga magazine in Japan so anyone interested in alternative manga in translation will likely want to track the anthology down. (I found my copy through Seite Books’ online store.) I was also happy that Chan-wook Park’s film The Handmaiden (which is inspired by Sarah Water’s novel Fingersmith) received a physical release in North America. I never did get around to writing a quick take, but I saw the film in the theaters and it was excellent. Sadly, the DVD seems to be a pretty bare-bones release.

Manga!
The Ancient Magus’ Bride, Volume 6 by Kore Yamazaki
Black Clover, Volume 1 by Yūki Tabata
Bloom into You, Volume 1 by Nakatani Nio
The Demon Prince of Momochi House, Volume 7 by Aya Shouoto
Dissolving Classroom by Junji Ito
Food Wars!: Shokugeki no Soma, Volumes 14-15 written by Yuto Tsukuda, illustrated by Shun Saeki
Franken Fran, Omnibus 4 by Katsuhisa Kigitsu
Haikyu!!, Volume 8 by Haruichi Furudate
Love Com, Volumes 1-3 by Aya Nakahara
My Love Story!!, Volume 11 written by Kazune Kawahara, illustrated by Aruko
Yona of the Dawn, Volume 4 by Mizuho Kusanagi
USCA English Edition by Various

Comics!
Angel Catbird, Volume 1 written by Margaret Atwood, illustrated by Johnnie Christmas and Tamra Bonvillain
Devil’s Candy, Chapters 1-2 by Rem and Bikkuri
Gorgeous by Cathy G. Johnson
Kim & Kim, Volume 1 written by Magdalene Visaggio, illustrated by Eva Cabrera and Claudia Aguirre
NewsPrints by Ru Xu
O Infante by Daniela Viçoso
The Perks of Being a Monster by Cathy Nguyen Le and Siobhan Noel Keenan
Root Bound by Cathy Nguyen Le and Siobhan Noel Keenan
#SeniorYear by Cathy Nguyen Le and Siobhan Noel Keenan
Samurai, Son of Death written by Sharman Divono, illustrated by Hiroshi Hirata
Siegfried, Volumes 1-2 by Alex Alice
Yours by Sarah Ferrick

Artbooks!
Undone by Kori Michele Handwerker
Zodiac! edited by Binglin Hu

Nonfiction!
Critical Chips: 10 Contemporary Comics Essays edited by Zainab Akhtar
Now with Kung Fu Grip! by Jared Miracle

Anime!
Chi’s New Address directed by Mitsuyuki Masuhara
Harmony directed by Michael Arias and Takashi Nakamura
Paranoia Agent directed by Satoshi Kon

Film!
The Handmaiden directed by Chan-wook Park