When February has 28 days, shipping dates often go all weird. And this is not an exception. Midtown’s list notes no Tokyopop books, showing they’re MIA for another week. However, it *does* have the blitz from Viz, showing that Viz does know that it’s March already.
Moreover, in addition to Midtown’s early list, I’m now starting to rely on my own awesome comic shops’ list, now that they have Facebook. They tell me I have a title from Seven Seas coming on the 2nd. Since I’ve no interest in the 2nd Inukami omnibus (another harem manga based on a light novel series), I will assume that it is the first volume of Toradora!, which I *am* getting despite the fact that it is… another harem manga based on a light novel series. DON’T YOU DARE JUDGE ME!
*cough* Anyway… the rest of the field is devoted to Viz Media. On the shonen side, there are new volumes devoted to Bleach, which I note only as it has the climax of the Mayuri/Syazel fight, and two more loathsome characters it’s difficult to find. It’s really great, despite Kubo’s usual pacing issues. There’s Hoshin Engi, and Hunter x Hunter (is it caught up with the hiatus yet?), as well as Yu-Gi-Oh GX and Ultimate Muscle for those fans who like the goofy game-esque fun that V-Jump gives you. Oh yes, and Stan Lee’s Ultimo. My pick, however, is the 4th volume of Toriko, which will continue to be about the manliest food ever.
On the shoujo/josei side, there’s plenty of awesome stuff. The debut this month is Oresama Teacher, another great Hana to Yume title, this one about a delinquent girl headed to a new school to try to stay on the straight and narrow, but will find that things aren’t always as easy as it seems. I loved the author’s last series (which I will avoid mentioning for decorum’s sake), so this should be a big one for me. We also have new Kamisama Kiss, and on the LaLa side we have Library Wars 4 (which I still enjoy) and La Corda D’oro (which comes out every once in a blue moon, so grab it). And for the josei fan in you, there’s more Butterflies, Flowers, which I’m sure will continue to be as funny and squirmy as ever.
All this and more can be yours!
But only if the Price is right!I still like Library Wars, even if the premise is kinda of WTF for a manga…Well not Medaka box WTF but…
I'm going to go out on a limb and predict that Oresama Teacher crashes, bad, in the sales. It's a delinquent fighting manga in shoujo drag. The art's too rough-edged and the story too hot-blooded for the shoujo-reading crowd, and… well, I don't really read enough fighting manga to accurately predict what that crowd will think of it. Maybe they'll get past the tradedress and the threat of romance? It kind of reminds me of Cheeky Angel and rumor has it that that title did really crap sales, only lasting to the end of the run due to editorial favor (due to the political/social cachet of the transgender subject matter) and herd immunity from it having been published during manga's "seven fat years" in North America.
Seriously?! I had no idea that Oresama Teacher was licensed. I love this title. It's zany and funny, full of excellent facial expressions and quirky characters. After reading the less than stellar reviews of … that other series…I was worried Viz wouldn't license it. Hurrah!I hope it does fairly well.
Oh, don't get me wrong, I like it – more than, hrm, I think Sean was the one pushing for a Medaka Box license, right? It's a delinquent manga with a shoujo angle, which means it takes the scenic route on its way through the inevitable sorting algorithm of evil, fight-ladder-climbing, and befriending.