No, you aren’t hallucinating: the Feb/March Tokyopop releases still aren’t out at Midtown, or from Diamond. I’m not certain if the hole they fell into has anything to do with the deal TP made to leave HarperCollins for Diamond, but it’s not a good start, especially for those of us who buy our manga in comic shops. Hopefully we’ll see them soon.

Meanwhile, there’s Dark Horse, which has Volume 8 of its Evangelion AU manga The Shinji Ikari Raising Project. Which, despite the best effort of those of us with long memories of Eva fanfics in the 1990s, still does not feature the words ‘mighty oak’.

And Viz has its second week wave. The one I’m most interested in here is Vol. 17 of Hayate the Combat Butler, which may be trapped in twice-a-year ‘you sell badly’ land now, but has finally reached what may, along with Vol. 18, be the most important set of its run. Viz notes, in their ‘must not upset fans of the wacky comedy’ blurb on the back, that ‘the drama tag will be pulled’, and they’re not kidding – there’s some heartbreaking stuff coming up. It’s fantastic, and recommended.

Other than that, there’s other new Shonen Sunday titles. Arata, Kurozakuro, and Rin-Ne. Rin-Ne is my pick of those three, if only for its Takahashi ‘comfort food’ feeling. Detroit Metal City hits Volume 8, and will no doubt feature more humor that crosses the line, then goes back and assaults the line’s daughter. Fans of shoujo exorcists will be happy to hear there’s a new Rasetsu, though I believe this is the second to last volume. And we get a new volume of Dogs: Bullets & Carnage. Recommended for those who like bullets, carnage, or bullets and carnage. But, well, not dogs. For dog fans, stick with the just hiatused Inubaka.

What appeals to you?

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!

Sorry to sound rushed, but I’m away this weekend, and posting from a different computer, so this will be a brief recap of next week’s manga.

DMP has some new yaoi titles, including the 3rd volume of Blue Sheep Reverie, which used to be in Hakusensha’s Betsuhana back in the early 00’s, then moved to Nihon Bungeisha; and the 2nd omnibus release of Kizuna.

Seven Seas seems to be releasing the Strawberry Panic Complete Collection to Midtown, despite it coming out several months ago. Maybe it’s a Diamond thing? In any case, for those who want Catholic Schoolgirls In Trouble, this may be for you. Or not. :)

Viz has the 2nd Death Note omnibus, now with even more black, like the color of your soul.

Yen has the stuff I’m most interested in this week. I enjoyed Dragon Girl, being released in an omnibus here, so it’s nice to get the 2nd and final volume. Higurashi begins its ‘Answer’ arcs with the Eye-Opening Arc, the first of four books devoted to Shion Sonozaki and her past. We get a new Soul Eater, which I still read, and Sumomomo Momomo, which I don’t. And there’s Ichiroh!, yet another 4-koma manga from your friends at Houbunsha.