I was weak in July and succumbed to temptation. Barnes & Noble had its big 3-for-2 manga sale which, when combined with already discounted prices and additional coupons, meant I was able to get a ton of manga for an average of more than 50% off the cover price. So, I tragically took the opportunity to catch up on a bunch of series like Dorohedoro, Food Wars!, Haven’t You Heard? I’m Sakamoto, Monthly Girls’ Nozaki-kun, My Love Story!!, and more. While I was rather happy about this, my wallet was less than pleased (even if it did comparatively take less of a beating than it normally would otherwise). Oh, and then I somewhat unintentionally ended up with a used set of Yakitate!! Japan for an outrageously good price. None of that was really planned, though, so I’ll have to to keep my purchasing better in check over the next few months.

As for July’s manga preorders, I was especially excited for the second omnibus of Akiko Higashimura’s Princess Jellyfish (which was technically released at the end of June), the return of Kohske’s Gangsta, the absolutely enormous edition of Toshio Ban’s The Osama Tezuka Story: A Life in Manga and Anime, and the first volume of Leiji Matsumoto’s Queen Emeraldas. I was also excited to see that my copy of Yona of the Dawn, Volume 1 by Mizuho Kusanagi showed up early  (its official release date was in August), and I ended up enjoying Haikyu!!, Volume 1 by Haruichi Furudate even more than I thought I would. Netcomics’ two most recent releases–the full-color His House by Hajin Yoo (the creator of Totally Captivated) and Intense by Kyungha Yi–are some of the most beautifully designed and presented books that I’ve seen from the publisher. I’m also really looking forward to watching The Empire of Corpses, which is based on a novel by Project Ito and Toh Enjoe that hasn’t been translated into English. Considering that I love the work of both authors, I do hope that one day it will be, though!

Manga!
Ajin: Demi-Human, Volume 7 by Gamon Sakurai
The Ancient Magus’ Bride, Volume 5 by Kore Yamazaki
Dorohedoro, Volume 17-18 by Q Hayashida
Emma, Omnibus 4 by Kaoru Mori
Food Wars!: Shokugeki no Soma, Volume 10-12 written by Yuto Tsukuda, illustrated by Shun Saeki
FukuFuku: Kitten Tales, Volume 1 by Kanata Konami
Gangsta, Volume 7 by Kohske
Haikyu!!, Volume 1 by Haruichi Furudate
Haven’t You Heard? I’m Sakamoto, Volumes 2-4 by Nami Sano
Horimiya, Volume 2 by Hero
Knights of Sidonia, Volume 15 by Tsutomu Nihei
Monthly Girls’ Nozaki-kun, Volumes 2-3 by Izumi Tsubaki
My Love Story!!, Volumes 8-9 by Kazune Kawahara
My Neighbor Seki, Volumes 5-7 by Takuma Morishige
Mysterious Girlfriend X, Omnibus 1 by Riichi Ueshiba
Nichijou: My Ordinary Life, Volume 1 by Keiichi Arawi
Of the Red, the Light, and the Ayakashi, Volume 3 by Nanao
One-Punch Man, Volumes 4-7 written by One, illustrated by Yusuke Murata
The Osama Tezuka Story: A Life in Manga and Anime by Toshio Ban
Ouran High School Host Club, Volume 17 by Bisco Hatori
Princess Jellyfish, Omnibus 2 by Akiko Higashimura
Prison School, Omnibus 4 by Akira Hiramoto
QQ Sweeper, Volumes 2-3 by Kyousuke Motomi
Queen Emeraldas, Volume 1 by Leiji Matsumoto
Sweetness & Lightning, Volume 1 by Gido Amagakure
Wandering Island, Volume 1 by Kenji Tsuruta
Yakitate!! Japan, Volumes 4-26 by Takashi Hashiguchi
Yona of the Dawn, Volume 1 by Mizuho Kusanagi

Manhwa!
His House, Volume 1 by Hajin Yoo
Intense, Volume 1 by Kyungha Yi

Comics!
Alphabet edited by Jon Macy and Tara Madison Avery
Cook Korean! by Robin Ha
Dirty Diamonds, Volumes 1-6 edited by Claire Folkman and Kelly Phillips
Fantasy Sports, Volume 2: The Bandit of Barbel Bay by Sam Bosma
Kamikaze, Volume 1: Run, Rabbit, Run by Alan Tupper, Carrie Tupper, and Havana Nguyen
The Meat Cake Bible by Dame Darcy
Monstress, Volume 1: Awakening by Marjorie Liu and Sana Takeda
Southern Cross, Volume 1 by Becky Cloonan, Andy Belanger, and Lee Loughridge
Stand Still, Stay Silent, Volume 1 by Minna Sandberg
Summerland by Paloma Dawkins
We All Wish for Deadly Force by Leela Corman

Novels!
Legend of the Galactic Heroes, Volume 2: Ambition by Yoshiki Tanaka
The Vegetarian by Han Kang

Anime!
The Empire of Corpses directed by Ryoutarou Makihara

After the ridiculousness that was May’s Bookshelf Overload (thanks, TCAF!), the number of manga and other books that I acquired in June seems entirely reasonable. Last month I took advantage of a few good sales combined with gift cards to fill in some gaps in a few of my manga series. As I mentioned previously, Kazuo Umezu’s Drifting Classroom looks like it may be going out of print, so I made a point to complete my set. I also supplemented my recent haul of review copies from Kodansha. As for June’s preorders that I was particularly excited for (and dreading in some ways because they’re so emotionally intense) at the top of the list sits Goodnight Punpun, Omnibus 2 by Inio Asano and Orange, Omnibus 2 by Ichigo Takano. (I’d actually like to post some Random Musings about Orange, but it will probably be a while before I can get around to it.) June was also a good month for me for shoujo science fiction. I discovered Wrecked Hearts by Mathilde Kitteh and Luca Oliveri and imported Moto Hagio’s SF Art Works collection, both of which are great. (As a side note, if you’re interested in Wrecked Hearts and ordering directly from PEOW! Studio in Sweden is difficult, I recently discovered that it can also be ordered from Retrofit Comics in the United States.)

Manga!
Drifting Classroom, Volumes 9-10 by Kazuo Umezu
Emma, Omnibus 3 by Kaoru Mori
Everyone’s Getting Married, Volume 1 by Izumi Miyazono
Franken Fran, Omnibus 2 by Katsuhisa Kigitsu
Genshiken: Second Season, Volume 7 by Shimoku Kio
Goodnight Punpun, Omnibus 2 by Inio Asano
Inuyashiki, Volume 2 by Hiroya Oku
Kaze Hikaru, Volume 14 by Taeko Watanabe
My Little Monster, Volumes 11-12 by Robico
Noragami: Stray God, Volumes 8-9 by Adachitoka
Orange, Omnibus 2 by Ichigo Takano
Red Red Rock and Other Stories by Seiichi Hayashi
Say I Love You, Volumes 10-11 by Kanae Hazuki
Vagabond, Omnibus 6 by Takehiko Inoue
Yamada-kun and the Seven Witches, Volumes 5-6 by Miki Yoshikawa
Your Lie in April, Volumes 3-4 by Naoshi Arakawa

Comics!
Elf Cat in Love by James Kochalka
Hellbound Lifestyle by Kaeleigh Forsyth
I.D. by Emma Ríos
New World edited by C. Spike Trotman
Shadoweyes, Volume 1 by Sophie Campbell, colors by Erin Watson
Wrecked Hearts by Mathilde Kitteh and Luca Oliveri

Artbooks!
Seconda by Yeehun
SF Art Works by Moto Hagio

Nonfiction!
Bubishi: The Classic Manual of Combat translated by Patrick McCarthy
Shed & Frontlawn Zine by Graeme McNee, Ryan Cecil Smith, and An Nguyen

I will be the first to admit that  the amount of manga, comics, and other delights I acquired in May was kind of ridiculous, especially when compared to recent months in which I’ve deliberately tried to curb my spending. However, I expected and planned for a bump in May, mainly because the month includes my annual trip to TCAF. I picked up so many independent comics and zines while in Canada! And it made me very happy. I was also pleasantly surprised to receive an enormous box of review copies from Kodansha Comics at my new address. I really wasn’t expecting to see one so soon after the last box that arrived. (But thank you!) All that combined with a few preorders and other bargains meant that May was a big month for me.

As for some of the highlights from May: Kazuo Umezu’s manga series The Drifting Classroom appears as though it may be going out of print. Volume 11 is becoming particularly difficult (and expensive) to find, but I was able to nab a stray Canadian copy. After a several-year delay, Masahiko Matsumoto’s Cigarette Girl was finally released by Top Shelf last month. Likewise, it’s been a few years since Drawn & Quarterly published its initial collection of Shigeru Mizuki’s Kitaro, but now there’s The Birth of Kitaro which I loved. There are several other May release which I’m excited about and hope to review in the future, too, including Lianne Sentar and dee Juusan’s short comic Shut In Shut Out from Chromatic Press/Sparkler Monthly, Requiem of the Rose King, Volume 4 by Aya Kanno from Viz Media, and Another: Episode S/0 from Yen On which contains both Yukito Ayatsuji’s novel and Hiro Kiyohara’s manga. My in-depth review of Yui Sakuma’s Complex Age, Volume 1 should be posted later this week as well; I didn’t anticipate that it would resonate with me as much as it did. Oh, and the Dororo anime is now available, too!

Manga!
As Many As There Are Stars by Miecohouse Matsumoto
Attack on Titan, Volume 16 by Hajime Isayama
Bakuman, Volumes 3-5 written by Tsugumi Ohba, illustrated by Takeshi Obata
Bleach, Volume 1 by Tite Kubo
Cigarette Girl by Masahiko Matsumoto
Complex Age, Volume 1 by Yui Sakuma
The Drifting Classroom, Volume 11 by Kazuo Umezu
Fairy Tail, Omnibus 2 by Hiro Mashima
Fairy Tail, Volumes 52-54 by Hiro Mashima
Forget Me Not, Volume 2 written by Mag Hsu, illustrated by Nao Emoto
Genshiken: Second Season, Volume 8 by Himoku Kio
Inuyashiki, Volume 3 by Hiroya Oku
JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, Part 2: Battle Tendency, Volume 3 by Hirohiko Araki
Kiss Him, Not Me, Volumes 3-4 by Junko
Kitaro, Volume 1: The Birth of Kitaro by Shigeru Mizuki
My Little Monster, Volume 13 by Robico
Noragami: Stray God, Volumes 10-14 by Adachitoka
Ouran High School Host Club, Volumes 4-16 by Bisco Hatori
Paradise Residence, Volume 2 by Kosuke Fujishima
Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth, Side: P3, Volume 2 by So Tobita
Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth, Side: P4, Volumes 1-2 by Mizunomoto
Planetes, Omnibus 2 by Makoto Yukimura
Real Account, Volume 2 written by Okushou, illustrated by Shizumu Watanabe
Requiem of the Rose King, Volume 4 by Aya Kanno
Say I Love You, Volumes 12-13 by Kanae Hazuki
The Seven Deadly Sins, Volumes 12-14 by Nakaba Suzuki
A Silent Voice, Volume 7 by Yoshitoki Oima
Tract by Shintaro Kago
UQ Holder, Volume 7 by Ken Akamatsu
What Did You Eat Yesterday?, Volume 10 by Fumi Yoshinaga
Yamada-kun and the Seven Witches, Volumes 7-8 by Miki Yoshikawa
Your Lie in April, Volumes 6-7 by Naoshi Arakawa
Ze, Volume 11 by Yuki Shimizu

Comics!
Always Raining Here, Volume 1 by Hazel and Bell
Avialae, Chapter 1 by Lucid
Bad Company, Part 2 by Guilt | Pleasure
Before the Snows Come by Kat Verhoeven
Cautionary Fables and Fairy Tales: Asia Edition edited by Kel McDonald and Kate Ashwin
Foundations of Chinese Civilization: The Yellow Emperor to the Han Dynasty by Jing Liu
Foxfire by Carolyn Gan
GQutie, Issue 1 by Ronnie Ritchie
Human Plantation by Various
If There Be Magic by Kez
Is This a Fetish?: A Weird Aesthetic Zine by Sfé R. Monster
Leveret written by Andrew Wheeler and illustrated by Tory Woollcott
Life on the Hill 5 by Love Love Hill
Magical Beatdown, Volume 2 by Jenn Woodall
Muddlers Beat, Volume 1: Literally Everything Is Outside My Comfort Zone by Tony Breed
Nameless & the Scientist, Volumes 1-2 by Amei Zhao
Portals, Chapter 1: Twenty Minutes by Kori Michele Handwerker
The Prince and the Swan, Volumes 1-2 by April Pierce and Gareth Cj. Wee
Pupa: A Bug Anthology edited by Lawn and Saicoink
Romeo X Julien, Act 1: The Family by Marina
Shitty Horoscopes: The Anthology by Amrit Brar
Shut In Shut Out written by Lianne Sentar, illustrated by dee Juusan
This Will Be Worth It by Sfé R. Monster
Those Spaces Between by Kez
Up Until Now by Akimiya Jun
Valley of the Silk Sky, Part 1: The Long Run by Dylan Edwards
Wayward, Volume 3: Out From the Shadows created by Jim Zub and Steve Cummings

Artbooks!
Samurai 2.0: A Tribute to Men by Various
Take My Revolution!: A Revolutionary Girl Utena Fanzine by Various
Yuko Shimizu by Yuko Shimizu

Novels!
Another: Episode S/0 by Yukito Ayatsuji
Horses, Horses, in the End the Light Remains Pure by Hideo Furukawa
The Secret Biwa Music That Caused the Yurei to Lament by Isseki Sanjin

Anime!
Dororo directed by Gisaburō Sugii

April was a fairly reasonable month when it came to the number of manga and other books that I acquired, but by far my biggest acquisition was a house! It took nearly six months and a lot of stress to get everything to align properly, but I was finally able to close on the house that my family and I have had our eyes on since the the beginning of the process. We aren’t moved in yet, though we hope to be by the end of May. One of the (many) reasons that I’m especially excited about the new place is that it’s large enough that I’ll be able to devote an entire room to books. Now I’ll finally have a place to properly house my absurdly large library.

Anyway! Back to April’s manga. I happened across a bunch of Kaze Hikaru volumes for only a dollar each at my local comic book store, which made me very happy. As for preorders, there were several April releases that I was particularly happy to see, including Kaori Ozaki’s The Gods Lie (I loved Ozaki’s series Immortal Rain/Meteor Methuselah, so am glad to have the opportunity to read more of her manga) and the newly revised and expanded edition of The Passion of Gengoroh Tagame (I reviewed the original collection back when it was first released). However, what I think is probably one of the most notable and most important manga from April is Rokudenashiko’s What is Obscenity? I believe the official release date was technically in May and my copy simply arrived early, but that certainly didn’t stop me from reading and reviewing it.

Manga!
The Ancient Magus’ Bride, Volume 4 by Kore Yamazaki
I Am a Hero, Omnibus 1 by Kengo Hanazawa
The Gods Lie by Kaori Ozaki
Guardians of the Louvre by Jiro Taniguchi
Kaze Hikaru, Volumes 12-13, 15-18 by Taeko Watanabe
Library Wars: Love & War, Volume 15 by Kiiro Yumi
Midnight Stranger, Volume 1 by Bohra Naono
Of the Red, the Light, and the Ayakashi, Volume 2 by Nanao
The Passion of Gengoroh Tagame by Gengoroh Tagame
What is Obscenity?: The Story of a Good For Nothing Artist and Her Pussy by Rokudenashiko
Yowamushi Pedal, Omnibus 2 by Wataru Watanabe

Comics!
Broken Frontier edited by Frederik Hautain and Tyler Chin-Tanner
The Nameless City by Faith Erin Hicks
Two Keys, Volume 1 by Chloe Chan and Aliena Shoemaker
Vertoscope edited by Nechama Frier and Ten Van Winkle

Artbooks!
Bearutus by Cauro Hige
Blanc et Noir by Takeshi Obata
Living with Yuko Shimizu by Yuko Shimizu

Anthologies!
In Light of Shadows: More Gothic Tales by Kyōka Izumi

Nonfiction!
Straight from the Heart: Gender, Intimacy, and the Cultural Production of Shōjo Manga by Jennifer Prough

Well, while still not as large as some previous months, March did end my streak of smaller monthly hauls, but I swear I have some legitimate excuses! First of all, Kodansha Comics apparently remembered my mailing address and the fact that I read and review manga. It’s been about half a year since I last received any review copies, but it was a big box so it should keep me happily occupied for some time. A bunch of Kickstarter rewards arrived in March as well, but since those were already paid for, they didn’t impact my budget for March, just my shelf space. As for the other March arrivals that I was particularly excited about, at the top of the list is Princess Jellyfish, Omnibus 1 by Akiko Higashimura (which I just reviewed earlier this week). A few of Viz Media’s March releases also had my attention and wallet, such as Real, Volume 14 by Takehiko Inoue, the first Goodnight Punpun omnibus by Inio Asano, and Yoshiki Tanaka’s novel Legend of the Galactic Heroes, Volume 1: Dawn. And I’m very happy to have Ken Liu’s first short story collection The Paper Menagerie and Other Stories in my hands. The volume includes his award-winning story “Mono no Aware” which I first read in The Future Is Japanese and which was my introduction to his work. Hopefully I’ll find some time to actually read (and review) the collection soon!

Manga!
Attack on Titan, Volumes 17-18 by Hajime Isayama
Attack on Titan: Before the Fall, Volume 7 written by Ryo Suzukaze, illustrated by Satoshi Shiki
Crime and Punishment by Osamu Tezuka
Fairy Girls, Volume 1 by Boku
Fairy Tail: Blue Mistral, Volume 2 written by Hiro Mashima, illustrated by Rui Watanabe
Fairy Tail: Ice Trail, Volume 1 by Yuuskuke Shirato
Forget Me Not, Volume 1 by Nao Emoto
Goodnight Punpun, Omnibus 1 by Inio Asano
I’ve Seen It All, Volume 3 by Shoko Takaku
Kiss Him, Not Me, Volume 2 by Junko
LDK, Volume 2 by Ayu Watanabe
Livingstone, Volumes 1-2 written by Tomohiro Maekawa, illustrated by Jinsei Kataoka
Maga-Tsuki, Volume 1 by Hoshino Taguchi
Ninja Slayer Kills, Volume 2 by Koutarou Sekine
Noragami: Stray Stories, Volume 1 by Adachitoka
Otouto no Otto, Volume 2 by Gengoroh Tagame
Paradise Residence, Omnibus 1 by Kosuke Fujishima
Persona 4, Volume 2 by Shuji Sogabe
Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth Side: P3, Volume 1 by So Tobita
Princess Jellyfish, Omnibus 1 by Akiko Higashimura
Prison School, Omnibus 3 by Akira Hiramoto
Real, Volume 14 by Takehiko Inoue
Real Account, Volume 1 written by Okushou, illustrated by Shizumu Watanabe
A Silent Voice, Volume 4 by Yoshitoki Oima
Storm Fairy by Osamu Tezuka

Comics!
Anatomy of Melancholy: The Best of a Softer World by Joey Comeau and Emily Horne
The Art of Charlie Chan Hock Chye by Sonny Liew
Bulldogs written by Dale Lazarove, illustrated by Chas Hunter and Si Arden
Curveball by Jeremy Sorese
Dates: An Anthology of Queer Historical Fiction Stories edited by Zora Gilbert
Dream Tube by Rebekka Dunlap
Food Porn edited by Gina Biggs
Cuttings: A Johnny Wander Collection by Yuko Ota and Ananth Panagariya
Lucky Penny by Yuko Ota and Ananth Hirsh
The Young Protectors, Volume 1 written by Alex Woolfson, illustrated by Adam Dekraker and Veronica Gandini

Novels!
Legend of the Galactic Heroes, Volume 1: Dawn by Yoshiki Tanaka
United States of Japan by Peter Tieryas
Six Four by Hideo Yokoyama

Anthologies!
The Paper Menagerie and Other Stories by Ken Liu

Anime!
My Neighbor Seki directed by Yūji Mutoh