Now I’m well past what may be considered my ‘prime manga reading years’ (given that most manga readers can’t buy beer yet …legally) and perhaps the wrong gender, but even from my point of view — not 180° opposite the intended audience but probably, say, 167° — there is a clear winner this week for

The Pick o’ the Week

Kitchen Princess
Manga by Natsumi Ando
Story by Miyuki Kobayashi
Published by Del Rey
Previously reviewed: vols 1 & 2

I haven’t read this one yet, but I saw it in our back room yesterday–waiting to be shelved–and snapped it up even before our customers had a chance at it.

Sorry girls. It’s a perk of the job.

To be fair, we did have one other copy and we’ll likely see a replacement for the one I snagged before Friday, so I’m not really putting any customers out (any other customers… I’m still the number one purchaser of manga from my store by a wide margin; thank several gods for my well-worn employee discount)

But I bought this one within 10 minutes of setting eyes on it. To give it higher praise I’d have to use quite a few more words.

Also purchased this week –
- Johnny Bunko: an older title (by scant days, but still a skosh older) that would have been the pick of its week if I were posting this feature on a more regular basis
- VB Rose vol 2: actually coming out next week but came in early as filler on a lower slot of a T’pop Sgt. Frog cardboard merchandiser — and so, likely available at a retailer near you also
- Kannazuki no Miko: which if it is too much like the anime version is likely going to suck a little, but how can I say no to a title that combines bubblegum Yuri with giant robots? In fact, I take that back: there is no way a yuri title with giant robots can suck. That’s almost the precise defintion of ‘guilty pleasure’ and while it might be bad, it is still a guaranteed sale to this (middle-aged, alcoholic, otaku) microdemographic.

Also worth a look: Gin Tama, Gon, High School Debut, Love*com, Nana, Nodame Cantabile, and Sand Chronicles.

Damn. since when have I been reading so much shoujo?

Full list after the break.
##

Manga (and manga-ish) New Releases:
11th Cat 5 - Kim, Yen Press $10.99 ::
Absolute Boyfriend 6 - Watase, Viz Shojo Beat $8.9 ::
Adventures of Duan Surk (novel) 4 - Fukuzawa, Otokita, Tokyopop $10.99 ::
Archlord 5 - Park, Tokyopop $9.99 ::
Black Cat 14 - Yabuke, Viz Shonen Jump $7.99 ::
BODY 1 - Mimori, Viz Shojo Beat $8.99 ::
Brave Story 4 - Miyabe, Ono, Tokyopop $9.99 ::
Cherry Juice 3 - Fukushima, Tokyopop $9.99 ::
Chronicles of the Cursed Sword 21 - Yeo, Park, Tokyopop $9.99 ::
Clamp no Kiseki 11 - Clamp, Tokyopop $19.99 ::
Color of Rage - Koike, Kano, Dark Horse $14.99 ::
Crimson Hero 8 - Takanashi, Viz Shojo Beat $8.99 ::
D. Gray-Man 9 - Yazawa, Katsura, Viz Shonen Jump Advanced $7.99 ::
Dr. Slump 15 - Raiku, Toriyama, Viz Shonen Jump $7.99 ::
Fairy Cube 1 - Yuki, Viz Shojo Beat $8.99 ::
Fantamir 3 - Seo, Tokyopop $9.99 ::
Gatcha Gacha 7 - Tachibana, Tokyopop $9.99 ::
Gin Tama 6 - Nakamura, Sorachi, Viz Shonen Jump Advanced $7.99 ::
Gon 4 - Tanaka, CMX $5.99 ::
Good Luck 5 - Kang, Tokyopop $9.99 ::
Good Witch of the West 6 - Momokawa, Ogiwara, Tokyopop $9.99 ::
Heavenshield 1 - Blackman, Tokyopop $10.99 ::
Hell Girl 2 - Eto, Del Rey $10.95 ::
High School Debut 3 - Kawahara, Viz Shojo Beat $8.99 ::
Hikaru no Go 12 - Hotta, Obata, Viz Shonen Jump $7.95 ::
Hunter x Hunter 20 - Sakuragi, Togashi, Viz Shonen Jump Advanced $7.99 ::
Initial D 30 - Shigeno, Tokyopop $9.99 ::
Kannazuki no Mino 1 - Kaishaku, Tokyopop $10.99 ::
Kaze Hikaru 9 - Tamura, Watanabe, Viz Shojo Beat $8.99 ::
Kindaichi Case Files 17 - Yozabura, Sato, Tokyopop $9.99 ::
King of Thorn 4 - Iwahara, Tokyopop $9.99 ::
Kitchen Princess 6 - Ando, Kobayashi, Del Rey $10.95 ::
Knockout Makers 2 - Hashimoto, Tokyopop $9.99 ::
Kurohime 5 - Nakamura, Katakura, Viz Shonen Jump Advanced $7.99 ::
Little Queen 6 - Kim, Tokyopop $9.99 ::
Love*Com 6 - Kano, Nakahara, Viz Shojo Beat $8.99 ::
Monochrome Factor 2 - Sorano, Tokyopop $9.99 ::
Nana 10 - Ragawa, Yazawa, Viz Shojo Beat $8.99 ::
Naruto 29 - Kishimoto, Viz Shonen Jump $7.95 ::
Nodame Cantabile 13 - Ninomiya, Del Rey $10.95 ::
Prince of Tennis 25 - Ueda, Konomi, Viz Shonen Jump $7.95 ::
Queen’s Knight 11 - Kim, Tokyopop $9.99 ::
Rhysmyth 2 - Andora, Chan, Tokyopop $9.99 ::
S.A (Special A) 4 - Minami, Viz Shojo Beat $8.99 ::
Sakura Taisen 7 - Masa, Hiroi, Tokyopop $9.99 ::
Sand Chronicles 2 - Nakajo, Ashihara, Viz Shojo Beat $8.99 ::
Satisfaction Guaranteed 7 - Saenagi, Tokyopop $9.99 ::
Shaman King 16 - Takei, Viz Shonen Jump $7.95 ::
Short Sunzen 2 - Sakurai, Tokyopop $9.99 ::
Skip Beat! 12 - Nakamura, Viz Shojo Beat $8.99 ::
Whistle! 19 - Kamio, Higuchi, Viz Shonen Jump $7.99 ::

Also of Note:
Adventures in Graphica: Using Comics and Graphic Novels to Teach Comprehension grades 2-6 - Thompson, Stenhouse $18.5 ::
Big Book of Illustration Ideas 2 - Walton, HarperCollins $49.95 ::
Drawing Workbook - Bays, F&W Publications $19.99 ::
Force: Character Design from Life Drawing - Mattesi, Butterworth-Heinmann $29.95 ::
Ornamental Arts of Japan: 60 Full Color Plates - Audsley, Dover $15.95 ::
Punch Line Stickies: 100 Cartoon Captions to Write & Leave Behind - Lundgren, Sterling $4.95 ::
Rivals: The New Power Game Between China, India, Japan, and the United States - Emmot, Harcourt $26 ::
The Japanese Alphabet - Mandel, Abbeville Press $29.95 ::
The Simple Art of Chinese Brush Painting - Lei Lei, Sterling $14.95 ::