Arifureta: I Heart Isekai, Vol. 1 | By Misaki Mori, based on the novel by Ryo Shirakome | Seven Seas – This pretty much delivery exactly what it promises, going through the first three Arifureta light novels in the style of a gag comic. There’s lots of Hajime and Yui being sickeningly in love, Shea getting beaten up, Tio being a pervert, etc. We even get golem-Miledi advertising Arifureta Zero, on sale in all good stores. It’s actually pretty fun, and keeps a good balance, not being too perverse while still staying true to the original, which is pretty perverse, and not hitting the same one-note gags—or if it does, pointing that out. Fans of the original should have a lot of fun with this spinoff. – Sean Gaffney Arpeggio...
Dec 14, 2019 • Subscribe
More like this
Bookshelf Briefs 12/21/19
Daytime Shooting Star, Vol. 3 | By Mika Yamamori | Viz Media – There’s less humor and more romantic drama in this volume, but that’s OK as the…
Bookshelf Briefs 12/29/19
As Miss Beelzebub Likes, Vol. 8 | By Matoba | Yen Press -Aside from the cute slice-of-life aspects of the series, much of it revolves around the fact…
Bookshelf Briefs 12/5/19
Anonymous Noise, Vol. 17 | By Ryoko Fukuyama | Viz Media – I had thought this would be a race to the finish, but honestly it’s feeling more…
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 7/19/23
Delicious in Dungeon, Vol. 12 | By Ryoko Kui| Yen Press - And here we are at the apocalypse. Marcille is being sweet-talked by the lion/book into essentially…
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 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 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 9/13/21
A Certain Scientific Railgun: Astral Buddy, Vol. 4 | By Kazuma Kamachi and Yasuhito Nogi |Seven Seas – Despite the cliffhanger from the last book, Junko and Gunha…
Bookshelf Briefs 12/29/22
Catch These Hands!, Vol. 3 | By murata | Yen Press – This volume takes us back to Takebe’s initial thought process: all her former gang friends have…
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 12/16/22
Blue Box, Vol. 1 | By Kouji Miura | Viz Media – Sports manga always sell well in Japan, and high school romantic comedies are also popular. So…
Bookshelf Briefs 12/16/21
In which Sean valiantly goes it alone yet again. Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End, Vol. 1 | By Kanehito Yamada and Tsukasa Abe | Viz Media – This is…
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 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 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 4/2/24
Frieren: Beyond Journey's End, Vol. 10 | By Kanehito Yamada and Tsukasa Abe | Viz Media - Ah, Macht. He may be trying to be a demon who…
Bookshelf Briefs 3/1/22
Hello, Melancholic!, Vol. 1 | By Yayoi Ohsawa | Seven Seas – Minato Asano is great at playing the trombone, but ostracization in junior high has rendered her…
Bookshelf Briefs 8/21/23
Blue Box, Vol. 5 | By Kouji Miura | Viz Media - Sometimes trying to be kind can just look like mixed signals. That's what Taiki's having to…
Bookshelf Briefs 5/14/23
Insomniacs After School, Vol. 1 | By Makoto Ojiro | Viz Media - The anime to this manga is currently airing this season, though I haven't watched it…
Bookshelf Briefs 4/18/24
Blue Box, Vol. 9 | By Kouji Miura | Viz Media - This is still a sports-lite volume of the series, which is good news for the reader…
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 10/17/23
Blue Box, Vol. 6 | By Kouji Miura | Viz Media - A lot of things are finally done in this book. We get Hina's confession, and Taiki's…
Bookshelf Briefs 5/18/21
Doughnuts Under a Crescent Moon, Vol. 1 | By Shio Usui | Seven Seas – It’s always worth buying a new yuri volume that features two adults, and…
Bookshelf Briefs 2/10/23
Blue Box, Vol. 2 | By Kouji Miura | VIZ Media - Blue Box continues to strike a great balance between being a sports manga and being a…
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 3/1/23
Blue Box, Vol. 2 | By Kouji Miura | Viz Media - The combination of sports manga and romcom is the series' main strength, as we saw from…
Bookshelf Briefs 10/2/23
Komi Can't Communicate, Vol. 26 | By Tomohito Oda | Viz Media - This book starts to put in the effort of getting us to know and care…
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 4/4/22
Falling Drowning, Vol. 1 | By Yuko Inari | Kodansha Comics (digital only) – On the surface, Falling Drowning looks like cookie-cutter shoujo. Our protagonist, a high school…
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 8/16/22
HIRAETH ~The End of the Journey~, Vol. 2 | By Yuhki Kamatani | Kodansha Manga (digital only) – In the first volume, we met a girl who’s desperate…
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 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 1/16/2024
A Cat from Our World and the Forgotten Witch, Vol. 1 | By Hiro Kashiwaba | Seven Seas - Jeanne, an elderly witch, summons Torata, an ordinary house…
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 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 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 6/14/23
The Full-Time Wife Escapist, Vol. 11 | By Tsunami Umino | Kodansha Comics (digital only) - The copious adulting continues in this volume to the point where it's…
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 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 5/21/23
Catch These Hands!, Vol. 4 | By murata | Yen Press - When two people who already know each other well decide—or are trying to decide—to be a…
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…
Bookshelf Briefs 3/16/23
Confessions of a Shy Baker, Vol. 1 | By Masaomi Ito | TOKYOPOP - Initially, Confessions of a Shy Baker felt to me like a discount knockoff of…
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 7/7/22
Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End, Vol. 4 | By Kanehito Yamada and Tsukasa Abe | Viz Media – I never briefed the second and third volume of this series,…
Bookshelf Briefs 7/15/22
Blue Lock, Vol. 1 | By Muneyuki Kaneshiro and Yusuke Nomura | Kodansha Comics – I had initially assumed Blue Lock would be another heartwarming story about a…
Bookshelf Briefs 3/25/22
Anyway, I’m Falling in Love with You, Vol. 2 | By Haruka Mitsui | Kodansah Comics (digital only) – For the most part Anyway, I’m Falling in Love…
Bookshelf Briefs 3/31/21
Black Clover, Vol. 24 | By Yuki Tabata | Viz Media – New arc, new villains, new desperate fighting, new nameless characters being killed to give our named…
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,…