Light Novel and Manga Haul July 2023

About

I was expecting to barely have enough books to even do a manga haul this month. My self control obviously needs work.

The books in this haul are a mix of Amazon orders, new and used, and purchases from my local store.

Comics

Avatar: The Last Airbender: The Rift

This is the fourth omnibus in the recommended reading order for the Avatar comics, at least as far as I know. I think this is the library edition. For most of the Avatar comics, the paperbacks seem to be the individuals, and the hardcovers tend to be the omnibus library editions.

What is it?

A comic omnibus of The Rift that continues the story from the TV show, Avatar: The Last Airbender.

Light Novels

The Scum Villain’s Self-Saving System: Ren Zha Fanpai Zijiu Xitong, Vol 1

This book is a danmei, which is a genre that is exploding in popularity right now. Danmei is essentially the Chinese equivalent to Boys Love. I generally love stories with BL couplings, so I got this book to try some danmei.

I specifically chose this one to try, because it’s rather short as a series. It only has four volumes in total. The series is a trilogy, with a fourth book that covers content for both past and future. So, if I like the series, it won’t be a huge commitment to finish it.

What is it?

From what I can tell, it’s a historical isekai BL romance.

Manga

The Apothecary Diaries, Vol. 8

The Apothecary Diaries is a fantastic series and I highly recommend it. The review for this volume is already available. Volume nine will release on August, 15th.

What is it?

A Chinese inspired historical mystery romance.

Flame of Recca, Vol. 18, 19, & 22

Flame of Recca is out of print, but I started my collection in middle school, so I want to finish it. The remaining volumes are higher in price, so they likely will not be seen in my hauls very frequently. I also will be purchasing them out of order from here on out, because it’ll be entirely based on what I find at reasonable prices based on availability.

What is it?

An action adventure featuring supernatural powers and magic items with a similar vibe to Yu Yu Hakusho.

Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End, Vol. 5

I love this series. I’m a little behind on the English releases, but I’m trying to catch up. My goal is to catch up to the current releases before I watch the anime. There’s still time before that airs.

At the time of this post, reviews for the first four volumes are available. Five should be up in the near future.

What is it?

A fantasy story about an Elf mage coming to terms with how long her lifespan is compared to those around her.

Inuyasha VIZBIG Edition, Vol. 5

I’ve already read the Inuyasha manga, but I’ve never had my own physical copies. I’m working on that with these editions. It’s not a high priority, though, so I won’t be getting them often. Reviews for this series will likely wait until I feel like doing a re-read, which will probably be a good while.

Recently, I’ve also started getting the sequel series, Yashahime. I haven’t read any of it, yet, but reviews for it will be up eventually.

What is it?

A Japanese time travel adventure romance with demons.

Noragami Omnibus, Vol. 6 (volumes 16-18)

I’m getting these as they release, and I have plenty to get started on whenever I feel like it. This series is one of the manga I’m looking forward to reading the most. I just haven’t found the right time to start it.

What is it?

An urban fantasy focused around gods and the spirit world.

Tail of the Moon, Vol. 15

This is the final volume of the Tail of the Moon series. It completes my collection, so after all these years, I can finally finish reading it. This series will be on the short list for manga I will be reading.

What is it?

A romance story about an incompetent ninja girl sent to woo Lord Hanzo.

Manga Haul March 2023

About

This haul also contains some comics, because I figure they are similar enough to share the same post. Any time I get comics, they will be in the manga hauls. They will be in the manga section of the index as well whenever I review any.

All of these are Amazon purchases, except for Noragami and Detective Conan.

Comics

Avatar: The Last Airbender: The Lost Adventures & Team Avatar Tales

This is the first comic omnibus recommended to read for this series. The Lost Adventures are stories that take place during the events of the TV show. Team Avatar Tales takes place later. A reading list I looked at implied that section should be read way way later, but I doubt it matters. My guess is they were both put in this book because they can be read close together.

This is the hardcover library edition. It looks like the library editions might be the best ones to get. Some of the comics only have the library editions as hardcovers. They seem to have more content than the paperback versions, too. At least, that’s what the descriptions seem to imply.

What is it?

A comic omnibus of The Lost Adventures & Team Avatar Tales building more onto the story from the TV show Avatar: The Last Airbender.

Avatar: The Last Airbender: The Search

From what I gather, this is the third omnibus in the reading order. I got the third before the second because it was cheaper at the time. I think this one is the library edition. There’s another version of the omnibus, but it looked like it was paperback only. This one is hardcover, and the description implied it had more content than the other version.

What is it?

A comic omnibus of The Search that continues the story from the TV show Avatar: The Last Airbender.

Manga

Black Cat, Vol. 14

I only need four more volumes for this series: 15, 16, 18, and 20. They’re out of print, so my collection for these advances slowly with pre-owned copies.

What is it?

An action adventure starring an ex-assassin gunman turned bounty hunter, and supernatural powers.

Detective Conan, Vol. 2 (Japanese Edition)

This book is a late birthday gift. With this volume, I now have one through three of this series in Japanese. I like to look through them every so often to see which words and phrases I can pick out. It’ll be a while before I can actually read them, but they are good motivation to keep me learning the language.

What is it?

A mystery series in which a secret organization turns the protagonist into a child via medicine.

Flame of Recca, Vol. 14 & 15

I think there are about eighteen more volumes in this series. Slowly, but surely, I’m working my way to getting them all.

These are out of print, so I buy all of them pre-owned.

What is it?

An action adventure featuring supernatural powers and magic items with a similar vibe to Yu Yu Hakusho.

Noragami Omnibus, Vol. 4 (volumes 10-12)

I can probably start reading these any time now. As long as I don’t read them one after the other and work them into a rotation, it should be okay. I just don’t want to catch up to the release and have to wait. At this point, I’ll just add them into my rotation whenever I feel like getting around to them.

What is it?

An urban fantasy focused around gods and the spirit world.

Tail of the Moon, Vol. 13

This series is almost complete. There are only two more volumes left, and then I can put it on my list of things to read.

What is it?

A romance story about an incompetent ninja girl sent to woo Lord Hanzo.