It’s going to be MAY! Hello pollen, hello my face! Hello springtime allergies! Hello continued mask-wearing! This month sees some releases that fans who love fairy tale stories will be interested in, a newer English translated work of a beloved Shojo powerhouse, and also some volumes for fans of romance and a reminder that good things come in threes via the spicier side of manga. Jump in, and take a seat as we get into it!
For The Fairy Tale Lovers:
MY STEPMOTHER AND STEPSISTERS AREN’T WICKED Vol. 1
Fairy tale tropes are turned on their heads in this award-winning and comedic reimagining of the classic CINDERELLA story!
Out today in print/digital! See RETAILERS section:https://t.co/jE4CvVTwPN pic.twitter.com/zde6PQtlED
— Seven Seas Entertainment (@gomanga) May 2, 2023
My Stepmother and Stepsisters Aren’t Wicked
Story & Art by: Otsuji
Release Date: 05/02/2023
Format: Manga
Page Count: 130
Translation: Angela Liu
Adaptation: David Lumsdon
Lettering: Nova Lan
Okay, okay, okay… My Stepmother and Stepsisters Aren’t Wicked is a retelling of Cinderella. Yes, but no one told me that it was going to be such a hilarious read of a lovable family that welcomes a new member! Miya is the illegitimate child of a certain prominent family who enters the house when her mother passes away. She naturally assumes that all that awaits her is misery and an unhappy life of servitude but she and the readers will be shocked to their cores to learn that she is treated like a long-lost child. Indeed–this series by Otsuji subverts all the tropes and makes good on being a heartwarming story.
There is a lot to love with all the intense facial expressions of Miya’s new family members when they declare that she can call them mommy and when they build her an elaborate library inside the house. This manga is for period piece lovers as there is a grand mix of Western and Eastern fashion on the pages. Slice of life lovers with love how even the most mundane tasks around the household become building blocks in this new relationship growing on the page. My Stepmother and Stepsisters Aren’t Wicked is super comedic and subverts in all the great ways for lovers of Shojo and Josei fans.
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Isekai Goodness For All:
THE SAVIOR’S BOOK CAFÉ STORY IN ANOTHER WORLD (MANGA) Vol. 5
FINAL VOLUME! A woman transported to a fantasy world decides to open a book café in this charming isekai tale!
Out today in print/digital! See RETAILERS section:https://t.co/uCiFRYLy5Q pic.twitter.com/mVU5phtC7n
— Seven Seas Entertainment (@gomanga) May 16, 2023
Series: The Savior’s Book Café Story in Another World (Manga)
Story & Art by: Kyouka Izumi Oumiya Reiko Sakurada
Release Date: 05/16/2023
Format: Manga
Translation: Alexa Frank
Adaptation: Rebecca Schneidereit
Lettering: Jennifer Skarupa
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FINAL VOLUME!
Look, I am so very grateful to Seven Seas for bringing this series to us as it has become one of my favorites in the realm of isekai! Tsukina, who is in her 30s, is quietly enjoying life when one day she is transported into a new world: a fantasy one. (No Truck-kun this time!) The God of this world reveals to her that she is a “Savior” — an individual brought to this world with amazing magical powers who can bring great posterity or calamity. Yet adventuring and being involved is not Tsukina’s cup of tea. She just wants to stay out of the spotlight and run her book café. In just four short volumes, two other much younger Saviors come into the fold, and the narrative weaves together themes of agency, accountability, and being responsible not just for yourself but others.
The final volume brings the drama to a climax and to a beautiful close with Tsukina’s marriage to Il, the undercover sabotage from the enemy country resolved and Tsukina’s dreams finally being realized. I got everything I wanted from this final volume and series with a happy ending for Tsukina, savoring the joy and quiet at the end of all the unease and danger. Some readers and reviewers wanted the romance, which I always described as soft to develop to be more on the spicier side – and that’s valid if that is you. I have always appreciated the snippets of the light novel at the end of each volume as *spoiler alert* the snippet at the end of volume five contains a bit more of our favorite bibliophile couple’s time alone away from everyone else. I will miss this world I loved to be in, yet I am happy to see the final chapter completed and published (I dare say I’m still scarred from all the Tokyo Pop series I read as a teenager whose endings are still unknown by me at my big age now) Now that the series is complete: you can pick this series up for a short Isekai love fest about book lovers finding each other with just the right amounts of action, drama, and intrigue via magic with some impressive world-building on the page!
Bought the final volume and had myself a good cry after reading because Tsukina IS LIVING THE DREAM! 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭 https://t.co/5ePm8sfLQK pic.twitter.com/MPyKKLVY8w
— Carrie "Silk Press SZN" McClain (@DivineBlkPearl) May 21, 2023
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HIGHLY ANTICIPATED:
DON’T CALL IT MYSTERY (OMNIBUS) Vol. 1-2 | Yumi Tamura | $24.99 | May 30, 2023
Also known as DO NOT SAY MYSTERY: a quirky, award-winning mystery manga from the #shojo powerhouse creator of BASARA and 7SEEDS—inspired a live-action series and film!https://t.co/WJmLmmJ0Jr pic.twitter.com/fhRK6ymLHO
— Seven Seas Entertainment (@gomanga) May 1, 2023
Who Made Me a Princess
Story by Plutus, Art by SPOON
Volume 1: May 16, 2023
Who Made Me A Princess is a web comic that I initially was caught up on (and adored!) and just fell behind on. With Seven Seas taking up printing more webcomics through their Tappytoons collab, I can restart my love for this Isekai princess tale. Athanasia, the forsaken princess of the Obelian Empire, has her life end with her execution at the hands of her own father. Her tragic tale is the plot of the popular novel The Lovely Princess. But now, a modern woman who read the book has just woken up as baby Athanasia herself. Determined to survive her doomed fate, infant Athanasia embarks on this new life with a plan: avoid attention and hoard valuables to fund her escape.
When her plan goes awry, she suddenly needs to charm her way into the good graces of her father, the beautiful tyrant emperor, so he doesn’t kill her again. With memories of the novel, she attempts to live the life of this tragic character and figures out to succeed in not having her head chopped off. Now, ‘the wake-up-in-a novel-you’ve-read-and-find-a-way-to-survive-even-though-you’re-a-doomed-character’ is a well-saturated sub-genre by now in 2023. I know this. You Know this. YET, this particular webcomic is one of the better ones in my opinion not just because of the stunning artwork but how the story really stays on track later down the line when the ‘disrupter character: the real princess enters the picture. It is also not an incredibly LONG series from what I remember and was paced well so I wasn’t internally screaming at my phone when reading while sitting in a doctor’s office. This printed English version features larger trim volumes with all full-color pages and even a foil cover finish!
Series: Don’t Call It Mystery (Omnibus)
Story & Art by: Yumi Tamura
Release Date: 2023/05/30/2023
Price: $24.99
Format: Manga
Page Count: 388
Translation: Caroline Winzenried
Lettering: Aila Nagamine
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Also known as Do Not Say Mystery: a quirky, award-winning mystery manga from the shojo powerhouse creator of Basara and 7SEEDS–inspired a live-action series and film!
Look, I will read anything Yumi Tamara puts out. Basara is one of my top five older shojo works (that needs to be reprinted, but Viz won’t let us be great). Don’t Call It Mystery centers on Totonou, a young college student who stands out—both for his bushy (?) hairdo and his finely-honed abilities of observation and deduction. When he is accused of murder, he puts his skills to work and uses his exceptional insights to find the real killer. Later on, Totonou can’t avoid getting caught up in one mystery after another.
Totonou is a truth seeker who tries to make sense of a chaotic—and often dangerous—world all while being his gentle and very blunt self. I love a good detective story and the first chapter reveals how calm and collected our protagonist is at a police station being accused of murder and pointing out all types of insightful bits of info. I can not say that I love all the character designs I’ve seen in the preview so far but I am intrigued with the sleuthing and the attention to detail in the narrative. I’ll check back in after reading and giving my report!
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WRAP UP:
This month also brings the third volumes of three newer series that certainly made a splash in the Josei, Seinen, and Bl genres for the more mature readers: Ladies on Top, Yakuza Fiancé, and The Titan’s Bride. And great news in continued success for the Danmei fans: Volume five of a certain series hit #4 on the New York Times Best Sellers list—the highest rank for a danmei novel ever!
That seems to be it for this month, see you all next time!
