Manga Monthly: Favorite Series Continue On

by Carrie Wood

Welcome back to another edition of Manga Monthly! This month’s lineup takes a look at some of the most popular new manga out of Japan, including some continuations of already-legendary series. Look for these titles in the February PREVIEWS and be sure to pre-order your favorites at your local comic shop!

Dark Horse gets us started this month with Hatsune Miku: Acute (FEB170091)! Acute, like the three angles of a triangle. Acute, as in the three sharp points. Acute is the tragic relationship between three Vocaloids: Miku, Kaito, and Luka!

Once they were all friends making songs-but while Kaito might make a duet with Miku or a duet with Luka, a love song all three of them sing together can only end in sorrow!

The second season of Attack on Titan is on its way, and now’s a good time to catch up on the manga – Kodansha is getting ready to release the 21st volume (FEB171764)! Locked in desperate battle with the man-eating Titans, the Survey Corps gets closer than ever before to Eren's basement and unlocking the mysteries of their walled world. But to get there, they will have to make a terrible choice with life-altering consequences for every surviving human soldier.

The next volume of Animal Land (FEB171763) is also on the way thanks to Kodansha. Orphaned after her parents were killed by Lynxes, Monoko is the only tanuki (raccoon dog) in her village without a family, until she finds a human baby in a river. In Animal Land, a world inhabited solely by animals, this human child is a mystery. This baby is Monoko's only chance at having a family and she is determined to raise the human child as her own. Animal Land is a quirky story about Monoko and the mysterious human baby.

Seven Seas Entertainment kicks off a brand new series with their debut of Dreamin Sun (FEB171850)! Shimana Kameko lives in a home where she feels she doesn't belong. Her mother is dead, her father has remarried, and her six-month-old baby brother takes up everyone's attention. Kameko skips school and runs away to a nearby park where she literally stumbles over a mysterious man in a kimono. The stranger, Fujiwara Taiga, offers Kameko a place to stay, on three conditions. The first condition is that Kameko tell him why she ran away from home. The second is that she fetch the stranger's lost apartment key (he is locked out!). The third condition is to have a dream. Kameko meets the conditions, moves in, and begins a journey of romance and self-discovery.

Tokyopop continues to expand their lineup of family-friendly Disney-inspired titles with the first new volume of Disney Manga: Magical Dance (FEB171997)! A young girl joins a dancing competition with her fellow students and soon realizes that she has two left feet! She spends a lot of time practicing but is discouraged by her results. Because of the young girl's passion and dedication, Tinker Bell appears to grant her a wish. When Tinker Bell casts a spell on a magical card, the young girl enters the magical world of Disney and learns the joys of dancing!

Naruto might have ended, but the story continues with the first volume of Boruto: Naruto Next Generations (FEB172092) from Viz! Years have passed since Naruto and Sasuke teamed up to defeat Kaguya, the progenitor of chakra and the greatest threat the ninja world has ever faced. Times are now peaceful and the new generation of shinobi have not experienced the same hardships as their parents. Perhaps that is why Boruto would rather play video games than train. However, one passion does burn deep in this ninja boy, and that is to defeat his neglectful father!

The Yu-Gi-Oh! franchise just celebrated its 20th anniversary, so there’s no better time to join the fun with Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc V (FEB172093) from Viz! Yuzu Hiiragi and her father run a dueling school that's seen better days.

If only they had a star teacher to bring in new students! When a rogue Duelist known as Phantom appears in the city, Yuzu may have found a savior, but Phantom will have to deal with the Leo Corporation's special forces before he can get into any community service!

Yen Press also continues to expand their manga catalog with the next volume of A Certain Magical Index (FEB172124)! A nun with the ability to decipher the legendary magical tome, the "Book of the Law," has been kidnapped! Touma Kamijou is off to rescue her, but something unexpected happens! The next volume in the popular series that combines science, magic, and school action!

That wraps it up for this month, but be sure to pick up the February PREVIEWS catalog to check out the full lineup of manga available to order this month! Stay tuned for more manga in next month’s edition of Manga Monthly!