In a recent poll, Japanese retailer Honya Club asked bookstore workers, “What manga should we read in 2015?” Topping the list of recommendations was The Ancient Magus’ Bride (which has been licensed by Seven Seas) and My Hero Academia. On the strength of the cover art alone, I’d love to see Takadaike no Hitobito licensed:
Is the end in sight for Golgo 13? Creator Taiko Saito has hinted that his long-running adventure series is entering the home stretch. Golgo 13‘s first chapter debuted in 1968—47 years ago!
Otaku USA interviews Patrick Macias about Hypersonic Music Club, a joint collaboration between Macias and Japanese illustrator Hiroyuki Takahashi.
Scott Green previews Happiness, a horror manga from the creator of Flowers of Evil.
Alenka Figa lists five anime and manga with solid, nuanced queer characters.
And speaking of queer manga, the Huffington Post interviews Graham Kolbeins about Massive: Gay Erotic Manga and the Men Who Make It.
Wondering how to discover great new manga? Justin Stroman posts a comprehensive guide to the US manga market.
Heart of Manga host Laura M. lists the current serializations in YOU, a josei magazine for older female readers.
The Manga Bookshelf crew discuss next week’s new manga.
VIZ just announced two more digital license rescues from the CLAMP catalog: The One I Love, an anthology of short stories, and Wish, a four-volume series about a man who rescues an angel from a tree.
Stop the presses—Attack on Titan has been bumped from this week’s New York Times Manga Best Seller list by Akame Ga Kill!, Soul Eater, and Black Butler.
Reviews: If you haven’t subscribed to Sparkler Magazine, Melinda Beasi’s enthusiastic review of The Ring of Saturn might just persuade you to give it a try. Melinda also joined fellow MB bloggers Sean Gaffney and Anna N. in compiling this week’s Bookshelf Briefs.
Kate O’Neil on vol. 10 of Afterschool Charisma (The Fandom Post)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 2 of Assassination Classroom (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Ash Brown on vol. 2 of Attack on Titan: Junior High Omnibus (Experiments in Manga)
Anna N. on vol. 3 of Black Rose Alice (Manga Report)
Megan R. on Boys Over Flowers (The Manga Test Drive)
Lori Henderson on vols. 43-44, 46-47 of Case Closed (Manga Xanadu)
Nick Smith on vol. 1 of Drug & Drop (ICv2)
James on Golgo 13 (Kotaku)
Ken H. on vol. 7 of From the New World (Sequential Ink)
Jocelyn Allen on How Are You? (Brain vs. Book)
Alex Hoffman on In Clothes Called Fat and Pink (Sequential State)
Nick Smith on Jaco the Galactic Patrolman (ICv2)
Anna N. on vol. 1 of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, Part One: Phantom Blood (Manga Report)
Helen on vols. 1-3 of Millennium Snow (Organization Anti-Social Geniuses)
Laura on Pearl Pink (Heart of Manga)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 9 of Umineko: When They Cry (A Case Suitable for Treatment)