Blank Canvas: My So-Called Artist’s Journey, Vol. 5 | By Akiko Higashimura | Seven Seas – It shouldn’t take most readers by surprise that the final volume of Blank Canvas is heart-rending, but even knowing that it will be doesn’t lessen the manga’s impact; Higashimura utilizes a masterful combination of humor, honesty, and heartbreak. Blank Canvas captures so incredibly well the complexity and multifaceted nature of people, their feelings, and their relationships. The series is in large part about Higashimura’s growth as an artist and as an individual, especially the influence of one person particularly important to her development, but through the process of the manga’s creation it’s also an opportunity for her to confront some of the regrets in her life. In Higashimura’s own words, “As an adult, I...
Nov 3, 2020 • Subscribe
More like this
Bookshelf Briefs 10/11/20
As Miss Beelzebub Likes, Vol. 10 | By Matoba | Yen Press – While there is a tiny bit of forward movement with some of the couples in…
Bookshelf Briefs 11/20/23
#DRCL Midnight Children, Vol. 1 | By Shin'ichi Sakamoto | Viz Media - This is one of those books that I wouldn't normally pick up except for that…
Bookshelf Briefs 11/16/20
A Bride’s Story, Vol. 12 | By Kaoru Mori | Yen Press – Being at a yearly schedule for this series is bad, but it could be worse:…
Bookshelf Briefs 7/11/20
How Do We Relationship?, Vol. 1 | By Tamifull | Viz Media – This title has a lot of things going for it, once you get past the…
Bookshelf Briefs 2/25/20
DAYS, Vol. 16 | By Tsuyoshi Yasuda | Kodansha Comics (digital only) – Usually with sports manga I can find some emotional beat to highlight, but this volume…
Bookshelf Briefs 2/1/20
Anonymous Noise, Vol. 18 | By Ryoko Fukuyama | VIZ Media – It took a while for me to get into Anonymous Noise, and I still wouldn’t call…
Bookshelf Briefs 2/16/20
Black Clover, Vol. 19 | By Yuki Tabata | Viz Media – The nature of these volumes is they tend to be between 9-11 chapters no matter what,…
Bookshelf Briefs 2/20/21
Chihayafuru, Vol. 24 | By Yuki Suetsugu | Kodansha Comics (digital only) – Hooray, I’m finally caught up again on Chihayafuru! This volume finds Chihaya and friends lending…
Bookshelf Briefs 9/2/20
Yay! Sean’s back! Barakamon, Vol. 18 + 1 | By Satsuki Yoshino | Yen Press – I had thought this was something like an epilogue to the series,…
Bookshelf Briefs 2/11/22
Boy Meets Maria | By PEYO | Seven Seas – Taiga is a high school student who falls in love at first sight with a fellow drama club…
Bookshelf Briefs 7/30/20
Blue Flag, Vol. 2 | By KAITO | VIZ Media – How do I already love these kids this much?! Blue Flag is the story of four friends…
Bookshelf Briefs 1/25/20
Again!!, Vol. 12 | By Mitsurou Kubo | Kodansha Comics – For better or worse, Again!! has always been unpredictable. I appreciate that it didn’t always follow the…
Bookshelf Briefs 9/20/22
Don’t Toy with Me, Miss Nagatoro, Vol. 11 | By Nanashi | Kodansha Manga – I haven’t actually briefed this for a long time. Since I did, in…
Bookshelf Briefs 4/25/20
Caste Heaven, Vol. 1 | By Chise Ogawa | SuBLime – I have to wonder why I read this. The warning signs are right there on the back…
Bookshelf Briefs 4/9/20
The Dorm of Love and Secrets, Vol. 2 | By Nikki Asada | Kodansha Comics (digital only) – Five years ago, an elite and a laidback high school…
Bookshelf Briefs 3/7/20
Ao Haru Ride, Vol. 9 | By Io Sakisaka | VIZ Media – Ao Haru Ride is probably the most straight-up dramatic shoujo that I am reading at…
Bookshelf Briefs 7/3/20
Akashic Records of Bastard Magical Instructor, Vol. 9 | By Hitsuji Tarou, Tsunemi Aosa and Kurone Mishima | Seven Seas – Forgot to review the previous volume of…
Bookshelf Briefs 5/28/20
Dr. STONE, Vol. 11 | By Riichiro Inagaki and Boichi | Viz Media – Balloons! Yes, Dr. STONE is taking it upon itself to do something it does…
Bookshelf Briefs 12/17/20
Chainsaw Man, Vol. 1 | By Tatsuki Fujimoto | Viz Media – It’s a little hard to live up to the hype that this title has gotten on…
Bookshelf Briefs 9/10/20
BL Metamorphosis, Vol. 2 | By Kaori Tsurutani | Seven Seas – The balance in this series is nearly perfect. You’d expect, given the premise, that there would…
Bookshelf Briefs 6/20/21
As Miss Beelzebub Likes, Vol. 12 | By Matoba | Yen Press – When you have a main couple as innocent and naive as this one, it’s going…
Bookshelf Briefs 3/18/20
Dr. STONE, Vol. 10 | By Riichiro Inagaki and Boichi | Viz Media – Dr. STONE thrives on ridiculous ideas, of course, but that does not mean that…
Bookshelf Briefs 6/19/20
A Centaur’s Life, Vol. 18 | By Kei Murayama | Seven Seas – If you enjoy the way that the series can turn on a dime and drop…
Bookshelf Briefs 6/8/20
Ace of the Diamond, Vol. 26 | By Yuji Terajima | Kodansha Comics (digital only) – The fall season has begun! Furuya is wearing the ace number and…
Bookshelf Briefs 7/21/20
Glaeolia, Vol. 1 | Edited by Emuh Ruh and zhuchka | Glacier Bay Books – One of the newest and smallest publishers of manga in English translation is…
Bookshelf Briefs 10/20/22
Anti-Romance, Vol. 1 | By Shoko Hidaka | Seven Seas – I was a big fan of Shoko Hidaka’s series Blue Morning. She excels at depicting complicated relationships…
Bookshelf Briefs 1/4/20
Dead Dead Demon’s Dededede Destruction, Vol. 7 | By Inio Asano | Viz Media – Every time a new volume of this fantastic series comes out I avoid…
Bookshelf Briefs 1/20/21
Goodbye, My Rose Garden, Vol. 3 | By Dr. Pepperco | Seven Seas – Last time I said that this series never quite tipped over into melodrama, but…
Bookshelf Briefs 3/28/20
The Ancient Magus’ Bride, Vol. 12 | By Kore Yamazaki | Seven Seas – I’m still really enjoying reading The Ancient Magus’ Bride, but there’s no denying that…
Bookshelf Briefs 1/16/20
Anonymous Noise, Vol. 18 | By Ryoko Fukuyama | Viz Media – Welp, I was wrong. Romantically, the final pairing is not what I expected. That said, romance,…
Bookshelf Briefs 8/19/20
In which we extend our profound sympathies to Sean, languishing without internet thanks to a hurricane and his crappy ISP. The Dorm of Love and Secrets, Vol. 4…
Bookshelf Briefs 5/19/20
After-School Bitchcraft, Vol. 1 | By Yu Shimizu and Kazuma Ichihara | Yen Press – Afterschool Boobcraft would be a better title for this supernatural romance about Ririki,…
Bookshelf Briefs 10/22/20
Arifureta: I Heart Isekai, Vol. 3 | By Misaki Mori, based on the novel by Ryo Shirakome | Seven Seas – This is keeping up a fast pace,…
Bookshelf Briefs 4/20/23
The Ancient Magus' Bride, Vol. 17 | By Kore Yamazaki | Seven Seas - It's been a long time since I reviewed this series, but I have been…
Bookshelf Briefs 9/30/20
Accomplishments of the Duke’s Daughter, Vol. 6 | By Reai and Suki Umemiya | Seven Seas – Another series down to “once a year” release—I had to jog…
Bookshelf Briefs 12/1/20
Cutie and the Beast, Vol. 1 | By Yuhi Azumi| Seven Seas – This looked cute, and gave off a very My Love Story!! vibe, but I was…
Bookshelf Briefs 4/18/20
Bloom Into You, Vol. 7 | By Nakatani Nio | Seven Seas – The majority of this volume is devoted to Sayaka, who finally works up the resolve…
Bookshelf Briefs 5/7/20
The Ancient Magus’ Bride, Vol. 12 | By Kore Yamazaki | Seven Seas – As much as I continue to love this series overall, this particular volume had…
Bookshelf Briefs 11/30/21
Gabriel Dropout, Vol. 10 | By Ukami | Yen Press – Possibly the best chapters in this volume of Gabriel Dropout are the ones dealing with hypnosis, as…
Bookshelf Briefs 11/4/22
Artist | By Yeong-shin Ma | Drawn & Quarterly – Two years after Yeong-shin Ma’s critically acclaimed manhwa Moms was released in English comes a second major work,…
Bookshelf Briefs 11/12/24
Blue Box, Vol. 12 | By Kouji Miura | Viz Media - Of course, I was right. This is the confession volume. But that's not really a spoiler,…
Bookshelf Briefs 11/30/19
Let us give thanks for a hearty helping of briefs! Beastars, Vol. 2 | By Paru Itagaki | Viz Media – If there was any doubt after reading…
Bookshelf Briefs 9/11/23
I Don't Know Which Is Love, Vol. 1 | By Tamamushi Oku | Yen Press - If you have been reading all those ridiculous harem comedies, the sort…
Bookshelf Briefs 12/11/23
The 100 Girlfriends Who Really, Really, Really, Really, REALLY Love You, Vol. 8 | By Rikito Nakamura and Yukiko Nozawa | Ghost Ship The first half of this…
The 100 Girlfriends Who Really, Really, Really, Really, REALLY Love You
Bookshelf Briefs 11/14/21
Dead Dead Demon’s Dededede Destruction, Vol. 10 | By Inio Asano | Viz Media – The end of this volume states in big, bold letters that there’s twelve…
Bookshelf Briefs 11/30/22
Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End, Vol. 6 | By Kanehito Yamada and Tsukasa Abe| Viz Media – The plotline of this volume is a dungeon crawl of sorts, where…
Bookshelf Briefs 8/11/21
Sean is our hero as he shoulders the burden of this column solo. D-Frag!, Vol. 15 | By Tomoya Haruno | Seven Seas – This manga is here…
Bookshelf Briefs 2/2/24
Bakemonogatari, Vol. 20 | By NISIOISIN and Oh!Great | Kodansha Manga - This continues to take all the remaining arcs that Oh!Great wasn't going to have time to…
Bookshelf Briefs 2/2/21
All Sean, all the time. The Ancient Magus’ Bride, Vol. 13 | By Kore Yamazaki | Seven Seas – The series is still striking a good balance between,…
Bookshelf Briefs 2/28/24
Blue Box, Vol. 8 | By Kouji Miura | Viz Media - After a couple of volumes that have been heavy on the sports, it makes sense that…