January has arrived with more political strife around the world (C-SPAN almost went feral thanks to the votes for the Speaker of The House here in the states) and winter storms all trying to make names for themselves. So far it has been a long, wet start to the new year and hopefully, our spirits can be brought up with some new releases to read and chat about. There’s a lot to take in this month: some hotly anticipated second helping of you-can’t-miss-this-series coming our way, some intriguing titles with historical settings, and more! Jump in, and take a seat as we get into it!
For Those Who Dare To Love Time Travel:
SWORD OF THE DEMON HUNTER: KIJIN GENTŌSHŌ (MANGA) Vol. 1
A warrior of feudal Japan must pursue a demon through time in this epic fantasy series. Original light novels also from Seven Seas + anime soon!
Out today in print/digital! See RETAILERS section:https://t.co/ykVoiIcBrL pic.twitter.com/v2eFpDj3YB
— Seven Seas Entertainment (@gomanga) January 24, 2023
Series: Sword of the Demon Hunter: Kijin Gentōshō
Story & Art by: Motoo Nakanishi & Yu Satomi
Release Date: /01/24/2023
Format: Manga
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Raise your hands if you, too love your comics and manga that deal with time travel! I see you Geriatric Millennials who grew up watching Inuyasha! The synopsis of this series tells us that a young warrior, Jinta, has dedicated his life to the protection of a priestess in a remote mountain village in the Edo period of Japan. Yet the first pages of the manga start the story a different way: there’s a teenager who is doing her shrine maiden duties in the modern age. She notices another person approaching her, a teenage boy in a school uniform carrying a long oblong item, wrapped in cloth. When she confirms the name of the shrine and her name, the name given to all shrine maidens at that location, he bursts into tears and thanks her, then leaves. It is here that Miyaka-chan, the teen girl who met the mysterious young man, first encounters the man and his incredible one-hundred-and-seventy-year journey through time and his duty fighting demons. Based originally on light novels, this new series might appeal to fans of the action and fantasy genres as well as period pieces. From just the first chapter alone, I’ve seen some incredible pages of artwork like Jinta entering a shrine in the past, framing him within the archways, giving him big Main Character energy. This is one I’ll certainly have to read and report back on!
A Slice of Historical Genre, Anyone?
THE KNIGHT BLOOMS BEHIND CASTLE WALLS Vol. 1 | Masanari Yuduka | $13.99 | January 10, 2023
A charming "slice-of-castle-life" manga series! A young girl works hard as a lowly squire—to achieve her dream of becoming a heroic knight!https://t.co/j9JcVMDqCp pic.twitter.com/DTviTWpJR5
— Seven Seas Entertainment (@gomanga) January 3, 2023
Series: BARBARITIES
Story & Art by: Tsuta Suzuki
Release Date:/01/17/2023
Format: Manga
Translation: Jacqueline Fung
Lettering: Nicole Roderick
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Oh, hi. It’s me. I’m back to shoot the breeze about stunning BL manga with artwork you won’t soon forget! Last month, I gushed about anticipating Entangled with you: The Garden of 100 Grasses. (Aki Aoi’s self-contained Boys’ Love fairy tale with serious Beauty and The Beast vibes) WHEW. I ate this volume up for breakfast with enough for seconds. Mini review: Incredibly moving, Entangled with you: The Garden of 100 Grasses is slowly paced yet a gorgeous tale on first loves, finding surprises in everyday life and just overall soft representation in the monster-lover sub-genre of manga. Aoi’s manga is poetic in the way this fairy-tale inspired story starts and ends with two souls finding their way to each other and staying at each other’s side with room for additional stories to spare. The artwork will leave you swooning just as fast and hard as you read along to find stories tinged with a bit of darkness, longing and endings that will surprise you. End review!
I’m laughing cause I saw the preview for BARBARITIES and thought to myself, Seven Seas is coming for my wallet once again! Gorgeous BL? Introducing me to new mangaka? So in Tsuta Suzuki’s manga, we are given a romance in a place inspired by Renaissance Europe with the age-old opposites attract! So you’ve got the ultra-charming Adam: the blond, dashing nobleman who is assigned to be the bodyguard of Lord Montague who needs his services when his life is threatened. Viscount Adam Canning is charming and can woe the pants or pantaloons out from anyone. He may have started out trying to do his best at being serious and levelheaded…and focused on the task at hand.
YET, when he meets Lord Montague’s nephew, Joel, Adam is immediately smitten. Joel is a serious gentleman, one who is known for his passion to root out corruption and crime. It is very much a dashing viscount tries to woo a serious nobleman type of story via BL with all the right period pieces with lots of comedic bits thrown in. In just the preview alone, I found what artwork I read to be very flirty? Perhaps, steamy is the better word here, which is ideal given its older teen rating (Age 17+ and up). I’m here to see if Joel falls for the devilishly handsome viscount and if Adam has finally met his match AND I’m also here for the mysteries and mess they end up together!
Series: The Knight Blooms Behind Castle Walls
Story & Art by: Masanari Yuduka
Release Date:/01/10/2023
Price: $13.99
Format: Manga
Translation: Margaret Ngo
Lettering: Rai Enril
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Oh, this one caught my eye for sure as it blends slice-of-life and fantasy with very detailed artwork with an intriguing story! Rosa is a kid who dreams of taking up the honor of being a knight! Before she can get close to that goals she first must care out tasks as a squire. That means she’s been given grunt work: cleaning up after the horses, assisting with the maintaining of shields and weapons, and carrying around fresh water to places needed. It is all tough work and she’s basically grinding, hoping to be great and eventually build up muscle and stamina.
Masanari Yuduka’s manga series, The Knight Blooms Behind Castle Walls introduces Page Rosa Scalae and her role in the bigger picture of Castle Claustra. Her work and her life, no matter how small and mundane is important in the everyday life of the castle and in her journey of one day becoming a knight. She has the heart of a hero and this beautifully illustrated tale is worth reading to see her struggle and learn new life lessons. What I especially loved was the illustrations behind the scenes: like the ones that show how her attic room is arranged and entered and the detailed look at how the castle, the place she lives is a stronghold early on in the volume.
THE HIGHLY ANTICIPATED “BIG THREE” :
- PULSE Vol. 2 | Ratana Satis| $19.99 |Mature Readers| January 3, 2023
- THE TITAN’S BRIDE Vol. 2 | ITKZ | $14.99 | Mature Readers | January 3, 2023
- YAKUZA FIANCÉ: RAISE WA TANIN GA II Vol. 2 | Asuka Konishi | $14.99 | OLDER TEEN +17 | January 31, 2023
PULSE Vol. 2 (For Mature readers)
Lynn will only accept a heart transplant on one condition. Mel gets a shock when Lynn shows up on her doorstep…to move in with her?!
This full-color Girls’ Love/#yuri webtoon is out today in print! See RETAILERS here:https://t.co/dmXX1P9gxg pic.twitter.com/ydgiDIUXNb
— Seven Seas Entertainment (@gomanga) January 4, 2023
We’re back at it with volumes two for three terrific series for those who love romance and love things spiced up from the usual shoujo fare. For the BL lovers, January brings a second volume of The Titan’s Bride with Kouichi and Caius attempting to survive ambushes, kidnapping, and..ahem…unbearable heat. For the GL lovers, PULSE drops a (drama) bomb in the ever-developing new relationship (situationship?) between Lynn and Mel that you’ll need to read to believe.
Yet, I am most head over heels for YAKUZA FIANCÉ. I haven’t recovered from the twisted relationship between these two teens that is unlike anything else I’ve ever seen via manga. Yakuza princess Yoshino must marry the prince of a rival family–Kirishima who is now smitten with her and never fails to bewilder her. There’s trouble in the Yakuza underworld with a disappearance and these two have to stick together to help bring about a hopefully happy ending for the young woman involved. Just inject this into my veins. I can not get enough of Asuka Konishi’s second series translated into English and I’m happy that Seven Seas has prioritized it in its printing schedule.
WRAP UP:
Here’s a twitter thread from the publisher with release dates for upcoming titles: both print and early digital releases!
No new word on the street from the Seven Seas Union in the new year but the publisher did tweet out a link for applications for a new editor position for light novels. The following week, they tweeted out that the job listing was closed as they were now going through applications. I’m super curious on how often they put out job postings now with the existence of the union?
Lastly, did you catch our site’s Favorite manga of 2022 List? We’ve got a few Seven Seas titles on there. Any releases from the publisher from last year that you’d recommend? Let me know, I know I’m always missing some great books!
WWAC’s Favorite Manga of 2022 https://t.co/oSHV9UG3WW
— WWAC (@wwacomics) January 10, 2023
That’s it for now, see you next month!
