Nate’s Lucky Day (Yo-Kai Watch #1) by Noriyuki Konishi

Translated by Tetsuichiro Miyaki 3 stars A fun manga with plenty of humor. I enjoyed watching the show so thought I’d give the manga a try. In the first volume, we’re introduced to Nate, shown how he meets his yokai butler, Whisper, and how he befriends various yokai including the ever-popular Jibanyan. As with the…

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That Time I Got Reincarnated As a Slime Volume 1

Story by Fuse Adapted by Taiki Kawakami Characters by Mitz Vah Translated by Stephen Paul 4 stars I’ve been enjoying the anime so far and thought I’d give the manga a try. The first volume covers the first 5 episodes of the anime. The show sticks pretty closely to the manga from what I remember….

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Insomniacs After School Volume 1 by Makoto Ojiro

Translated by Andria Cheng 4 stars A sweet, low-stakes manga featuring unexpected friendship, life after dark, and an adorable cat. Ganta Nakami can’t sleep. When he discovers classmate, Isaki Magari’s secret hideout, they bond over their shared sleep issues. They form their own secret club and start fixing up the old observatory to make a…

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Cat + Gamer Volume 2 by Wataru Nadatani

Translated by Zack Davisson 5 stars Another fantastic volume featuring Riko and Musubi. I love the humor in these books so much. Cat lovers will easily relate to this series. This volume of slice-of-life adventures sees Riko dealing with Musubi as he levels up, clears ideal surfaces for napping, tries new tasty treats, and gets…

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Polar Bear Café: Volume 1 by Aloha Higa

2.5 stars A cute manga with plenty of puns in both Japanese and English. Fun slice-of-life adventures featuring Polar Bear, Panda, and all their friends. I have not watched the anime of this, but honestly if you have some non-traditional entity running a café, there’s a good chance I’m going to want to read it….

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Shuna’s Journey by Hayao Miyazaki

Translated by Alex Dudok de Wit 3 stars A standalone tale loosely based on the Tibetan folktale, “The Prince Who Turned into a Dog”. This book is all Miyazaki. Stunning settings, a strong woman with agency and determination, fascinating creatures, rich backgrounds, and intentional ambiguity. Slow-paced story that puts more emphasis on the visuals than…

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Ms. Koizumi Loves Ramen Noodles, Vol. 1 by Naru Narumi

4 stars A fun, gentle read, especially for ramen lovers. An interesting way to learn about different kinds of ramen and its components (sauce, broth, noodles, toppings etc.). Definitely recommend for those who like Food Wars!: Shokugeki no Soma, Vol. 1 but what something with less fan service. Fun characters, wonderful art style. I really enjoyed this…

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Food Wars!: Shokugeki no Soma, Volume 2

by Yuto Tsukuda Illustrated by Shun Saeki Translated by Adrienne Beck 3.5 stars Another entertaining volume in the Food Wars series. In this one, we learn more about how Totsuki works, specifically the shokugeki and the Council of Ten. As always, the food looks amazing. I love when they go into detail on how a…

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The Art of Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind: Watercolor Impressions

by Hayao Miyazaki 4 stars A beautiful collection of artwork from the manga, film, and conception of Nausicaa. It showcases various elements that inspired the story and its evolution along with comments from Miyazaki. These often describe the context or struggles in creating the piece. Some of them were quite relatable and slightly humorous as…

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Komi Can’t Communicate by Tomohito Oda

Translated by John Werry 2 stars Tadano just wants to blend in at school. But when he meets Komi and discovers her difficulty talking to people, he resolves to help her, even when it puts unwanted attention on him. For me, this one was just okay. Based on the title, I assumed the story followed…

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