Manga Monthly: Monsters and Magical Girls in May

by Carrie Wood

It’s time for another round of Manga Monthly, where we continue to feature the hottest upcoming titles straight from Japan! From shonen classics to new-age shoujo there’s something for everyone in the May PREVIEWS! Be sure to note your favorites and then head to your local comic shop to pre-order today!

Dark Horse Comics gets us started with one of the all-time classics, Astro Boy! The Astro Boy Omnibus (MAY150105) collects what some consider to be legendary manga creator Osamu Tezuka’s most significant work. Built by a brilliant scientist to replace his lost son, but with powers beyond imagination, Astro Boy fights for the oppressed and helpless-human, alien, or robot! This is a great all-ages book for manga fans both young and old.

Kodansha continues their blockbuster franchise with an interesting reference book – The Science of Attack on Titan (MAY151438), featuring the (brazenly made-up) science of the Titans’ world! Tokyo University dropout Rikao Yanagita, head of the SciFi/Fantasy Science Research Institute and author of dozens of bestselling books on the science of scifi, manga, and anime, tackles the mysteries of Attack on Titan!

Why do Titans come from the south? Is the maneuvering gear dangerous? How were the walls built?

This book of "fantasy science" answers all the questions it would never occur to anyone to ask about Attack on Titan, such as: What do Titans have in common with bears? How many humans per day should a Titan eat to stay healthy and svelte? Why don't Titans have, you know, wieners?

Readers can get an eyeful of some real pirate booty with Bodacious Space Pirates: Abyss of Hyperspace (MAY151516) by Seven Seas Entertainment! Kato Marika is an ambitious 17-year-old student who is the president of the school's Space Yacht Club. Full of pep and enthusiasm, Marika takes charge, even if membership in the club is flagging.

Her true calling, however, is something a bit more daring. For in her spare time, the spunky teen moonlights as the captain of the Bentenmaru, an infamous ship full of rough and tumble space pirates who strike fear and delight in the hearts of many!

Have you heard about this next award-winning manga series? Seven Seas hopes you have – It’s Haven’t You Heard…? I’m Sakamoto (MAY151522)!

First year high school student Sakamoto isn't just cool, he's the coolest! Almost immediately after starting school, he began attracting everyone's attention.

The girls love him, and most of the boys resent him. There's even a boy in the class who works as a model, but who is constantly upstaged by Sakamoto!

No matter what tricks the other boys try to play on him, Sakamoto always manages to foil them with ease and grace.

Though Sakamoto may seem cool and aloof, he helps others when asked, such as in the case of the boy in his class who was being constantly bullied. No matter what difficulties Sakamoto encounters, he moves through his high school life with confidence and class!

Viz Media continues to publish some of the biggest upcoming names in manga, and My Love Story (MAY151631) happens to be one of them!

In this rom-com shoujo adventure, the gargantuan Takeo ends up falling for the petite Yamato after saving her from a molester on the train. And, much to his surprise, she ends up feeling the same way! In this fifth volume, Takeo's classmate Mariya is starting to fall in love with him, and Yamato is unsure of what to do about her new rival! Takeo's birthday is coming up though, and Yamato wants to make it special. Will she get her wish and have her first kiss with him?

Making its debut thanks to Viz is The Demon Prince of Momochi House (MAY151635)! On her sixteenth birthday, orphan Himari Momochi inherits her ancestral estate that she's never seen. Momochi House exists on the barrier between the human and spiritual realms, and Himari is meant to act as guardian between the two worlds. But on the day she moves in, she finds three handsome squatters already living in the house, and one seems to have already taken over her role!

Also debuting is the first volume of Twin Star Exorcists (MAY151641), courtesy of Viz. Rokuro is from a family of exorcists, but he'd rather be a singer, a soccer player or anything but an exorcist! He's forced to own up to his own incredible potential when new arrival Benio stirs his competitive spirit. But their rivalry gets a twist when they earn the prestigious title of "Twin Star Exorcists"- two supreme fighters fated to marry and birth the ultimate spiritual warrior!

Viz will also be rereleasing several volumes of two classic series, Naruto (MAY151636) and Bleach (MAY151638) in their second box sets! These two series helped define Shonen Jump in the early 2000s and – for many English readers – were some of the early series they would have seen airing on the likes of Cartoon Network for a long time. Now, it’s easier than ever to collect all of these volumes together in a slick-looking box set!

Yen Press meshes video games with manga with their release of Final Fantasy Type-0 Side Story (MAY151687). Set in the world of Final Fantasy XIII, this is the story of the man who would become the Reaper of the Icy Blade - Kurasame who would serve as the commander of Class Zero. Here unravels the glorious and tragic tale of the young man who would become one of the Four Champions of Rubrum and be feared as the Ice Reaper.

Prison School (MAY151692) makes its North American debut thanks to Yen Press! On the outskirts of Tokyo stands Hachimitsu Private Academy, a storied all-girls boarding school for elite young women full of potential and good breeding. But as the new school year rolls around, one tradition is going out the window: For the first time in the school's long history, boys are being allowed to enroll. But on the first day of school, only five boys make the cut. Kiyoshi Fujino, one of the lucky few, is thrilled by this discovery, his heart leaping with joy at the thought of being surrounded by all those girls, day in and day out. But little does he know of the shocking fate that awaits him!

Puella Magi Madoka Magica might be the most successful magical girl series since Sailor Moon, and Yen Press continues the story with the release of Homura’s Revenge (MAY151693).

If Madoka Kaname had known of the tragic transformation that would mark the end of her magical-girl journey, how would her story have unfolded?

In this telling of her story, Madoka remembers the outcomes of her previous timelines - but so does Kyubey. Even with the knowledge of her previous lives, can Madoka outmaneuver Kyubey and avoid her fate?

Yen Press will also be releasing the final volume of Soul Eater Not (MAY151696)! Ding-dong! DEAD-dong! Class is in session, and DWMA is preparing for the annual Death Festival held on Halloween.

But while Death City is abuzz with excitement and delight, something sinister is brewing within its shadows - and it seems the girls' carefree school days are in for a rude awakening with a shocking betrayal!

Can DWMA stop the nefarious witch Shaula Gorgon's schemes before it's too late? And will Tsugumi ever get to make her choice? It's a savage but super-fun conclusion!

That about wraps it up for another month full of manga – but our list here is barely scratching the surface of what the May PREVIEWS has to offer!

Check out the full catalog for more manga, including LBX, Pokémon, Fairy Tail, and more! And don’t forget to head to your local comic book shop to pre-order today! See you next month!