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