Happy February, VIZ fans! We’re celebrating Valentine’s Day with reviews of two sparkly shojo romance manga— and an exciting new English-first e-sports action comic by Ru Xu! But first, the news.
“Anime Month” Digital Sales Up To 50% Off
February is a month of many things: Black History Month in the United States, LGBT History Month in the UK and Ireland, Valentine’s Day, Femslash February, and also apparently Anime Month. From February 2 until February 29, complete series of classic anime like Inuyasha and Sailor Moon are available for less than $99 from Microsoft, Vudu or Apple. Check this blog post for a full list.
Fall 2024 titles announced
In a lengthy twitter thread compiled on the VIZ blog for posterity, VIZ announced their new titles for the fall 2024 season, including omnibus editions of classic series, spinoffs of currently popular titles, and series completely new to VIZ such as yuri manga Rainbows after Storms and shojo Colette Decides to Die. The list also includes Ai Yazawa’s Last Quarter, in English for the first time, and collections of early work by the creators of One Piece and Demon Slayer. I’m sure at least one of these titles will make its way to my fall pubwatches, at which point I will let you know which of them are worth your time. I’m excited!
VIZ Starts Promoting Select Book Releases For Some Reason
As an interesting shift in marketing strategy, VIZ made a blog post to promote three new book titles and encourage readers to purchase them from their local comic shops. The books being promoted are middle volumes in very popular shonen series, so I wonder why they decided those specific titles needed extra attention. Perhaps because those are the kinds of manga more likely to be found at a comic book shop? My nearest comic shop refuses to carry anything that isn’t floppies or trades from the American direct market (so, no manga or graphic novels from any publisher), and the one time I went in I heard the cashier say something about how girls never want to read “real” comics. But the next-nearest comic shop to me is actually well-stocked and run by a very friendly guy, so. I hope your local comic shop is of the latter variety, if you would like to purchase your VIZ books from there.
Enough news, it’s time to talk about…
What I’m Reading
Sakura, Saku, Vol. 2
Io Sakisaka
February 13, 2024
I covered volume 1 of this story in a past pubwatch, and I was happy to come back to it now! In this volume, Saku develops a crush and worries about her friend’s boyfriend not being a very nice person. I really enjoyed how Sakisaka zooms in on the small details to show Saku’s feelings as she notices things she likes about Haruki, like the shape of his shoulders and how kind he is to the people around him. I also enjoyed the resolution of the situation with Kotono’s boyfriend, and how it was ultimately up to Kotono to decide whether or not she wanted to stay with him after that. A very sweet shojo manga with a slowly building romance.
Status Royale, Vol. 1
Ru Xu
February 13, 2024
I’ve been reading this comic online since its release, and I’ve been a fan of Ru Xu’s work since her webcomic Saint for Rent. So I was excited to see the first volume in print! And I really enjoyed reading it again, especially now that I’ve watched a League of Legends mockumentary on Youtube and learned a little more about the e-sports world. Status Royale is an e-sports manga set in the near future, following two friends turned rivals in the Status Royale gaming scene. Ru Xu’s art is wonderful, appealing and crisp in black and white (though I love her color work in NewsPrints and Saint for Rent as well) and I found the author’s note about cyclical subculture internet drama very real. I also like the fairytale-inspired Status Royale gameplay, and how quickly the core cast’s distinct and memorable personalities are established. A really solid comic from a creator I’ve been following for a long time!
In the Name of the Mermaid Princess, Vol. 1
Story by Yoshino Fumikawa, Art by Miya Tashiro
February 6, 2024
This comic was entirely new to me, by which I mean I had not even heard of it before I saw it on the VIZ website. It is also a shojo manga, but a fantasy manga about fantasy racism and embracing diversity. In a country where all “unhumans” are demonized and banished, the princess Mio is born a mermaid. Her mermaid identity is a closely guarded secret, and she can’t leave the palace grounds or touch the saltwater she craves lest it awaken her mermaid powers. Mio is set to marry the prince of the neighboring country, so she has to take drugs that will “cure” her of her mermaid nature. Eventually her tutor helps her realize that she needs to stand up for herself and she learns to use her mermaid magic to heal people and starts falling in love with him. I feel like the diversity allegory is a little heavy-handed, but this appears to be for a younger audience so it’s probably fine for younger teenagers. I don’t understand why unhumans are banned from existing in Blognig if they’re very obviously useful, what with the healing powers and other abilities that could be very helpful to a military force. I did like the way Mio’s maid and butler are revealed to have more to them than meets the eye, as they balance their allegiance to the king with what they’ve learned about Mio from watching her grow up. The art is very sparkly and pretty, appropriately fairytale-esque, and Mio and her tutor Yuri are cute. The second half of the volume focuses on the story of an angel in a circus sideshow being manipulated by the ringmaster to stay there, which I think I buy more than the “ban all unhumans” law of Blognig. Overall I found this volume basically fine, but not particularly outstanding. Very lovely art though.
That’s a wrap for this month! Tune in next month for more VIZ news and reviews!
