Manga Haul June 2023

About

While the book haul for this month is huge, my manga haul is actually normal. I believe all of my manga this month come from Amazon. Three of them are new, and one of them is from a marketplace seller pre-owned.

Black Cat, Vol. 16

This volume puts me at only two remaining. I’m grabbing them pre-owned as I manage to find them in reasonable condition at reasonable prices. It’ll be nice when this out of print collection is complete so I will be able to focus on another one. I’ll likely focus on Flame of Recca for my out of print collection after this one.

What is it?

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

The Titan’s Bride, Vol. 2 & 3

These volumes catch me up to the current releases. Volume four is supposed to come out sometime in December. I’ve already read these and posted reviews for them, so feel free to check out my reviews for all three available volumes.

One Two Three

Minor content warning for this series, it has dubious consent in some parts, so just beware if you are sensitive to that kind of thing. Also, it’s completely uncensored. There are no black/gray bars, no blurring, and no bright light to hide things. It is entirely explicit.

What is it?

A cute and sweet smutty BL isekai featuring size difference.

Yashahime: Princess Half-Demon, Vol. 1

I’m not in a rush to get all of these. They seem to be releasing rather slowly, and I’m in no hurry to read them. I still need to finish the anime, which is apparently very different.

A little extra information, because I’ve seen people confused about this. Yes, Inuyasha’s child is a quarter-demon. She is not the main character here. The half-demon for the title mostly refers to Towa, one of Sesshomaru’s twin daughters. Towa is the main character of the group in the same way Kagome is in Inuyasha.

What is it?

A sequel series to the renowned Inuyasha, starring the daughters of both Sesshomaru and Inuyasha.

The Titan’s Bride, Vol. 3

The Titan’s Bride, Vol. 3 by ITKZ
Series Name: The Titan’s Bride
Genres: BL, Fantasy, Isekai
Intended Age Group: Mature
Publisher: Seven Seas
Edition: Paperback 
ISBN: 978-1-68579-331-9
Rating: 4/5
Amazon Barnes&Noble RightStuf ThriftBooks

Description from the Book

Koichi has made the painful decision to return to his world. With their agreement satisfied and his decision made, Caius begins the magical process of sending him back. However, as the process begins, Kouichi watches as Caius’ physical form begins to fade. Unable to help him or ask why, the couple is dragged apart. What is wrong with Caius, and who, if anyone, will be able to help Kouichi in his hour of need?!

Personal & Info

It’s essentially a smutty romance, and not the censored kind, either. There are no black bars, blurring, or bright lights to block anything out. Do not read this manga if you don’t think you would like the smut sections, because there are a significant amount of them. You must be prepared for that going into it.

Characters

Kouichi Mizuki is a basketball star and very popular with the ladies. He is the one who gets summoned to another world.

Caius Lao Visteil is the prince of Tildant, the kingdom of titans. He summons Kouichi to his world because he must marry someone not of his own world.

Dr. Malthu is the palace doctor.

Baro Barrows is a canine beastman from Foval. He now works for Dr. Malthu as an assistant, and his nickname for Kouichi is Tiny.

Reiquerd Carlsine, also known as Reil, is an elf who chooses to study sex.

Dyne is Reil’s assistant. He appears to be a Titan, and does not show his face.

Story & Thoughts

This volume focuses significantly more on story than smut. It doesn’t bother me, but people reading it primarily for the smut might be a little disappointed. The first chunk of the book obviously relates to Kouichi’s decision, and finalizing whichever choice he makes.

After Kouichi makes his final decision, he and Caius try to settle into life together as a royal couple. Caius must resume his princely duties, and his busy schedule puts a strain on their relationship. On top of that, Kouichi feels inept at pleasing Caius. He lacks the capabilities necessary to keep up with Caius’ sexual drive and satisfy him. The second half of the book focuses on them tackling this issue.

The story finally introduces an elf character, and tells us more about elf culture. Reil is rather amusing. He comes off as sex obsessed and curious. I’m not sure I trust him, though. The few panels shown after they leave the Gate to the Spirit World make me suspicious. I have a feeling Caius and Kouichi are about to be angry after Reil’s last action. He likely doesn’t know what kind of offense he is doing, but it’s likely to be taken seriously by Caius and Kouichi.

I love that Baro basically becomes Kouichi’s best friend. They study and play basketball together. I think it’s amazing Baro is crushing on Kouichi, too, but he doesn’t want to break up the relationship with Caius. Baro’s had a lot of character growth in a short time. I hope he sticks around as a main character. Kouichi seems to like him as a friend, so an ongoing best buds relationship for them would be great.

The sections that show what is happening back on Earth make me sad. It’s unfortunate the universe has to heal itself in this particular way. The bonus comic relevant to these parts with the button is really sweet, though.

The Titan’s Bride, Vol. 2

The Titan’s Bride, Vol. 2 by ITKZ
Series Name: The Titan’s Bride
Genres: BL, Fantasy, Isekai
Intended Age Group: Mature
Publisher: Seven Seas
Edition: Paperback 
ISBN: 978-1-68579-331-9
Rating: 4/5
Amazon Barnes&Noble RightStuf ThriftBooks

Description from the Book

Kouichi and Caius have been caught up in a beastman’s trap! While traveling through Foval looking for the illusive Raisa fruit that will cure Kouichi of his raging illness, Caius certainly doesn’t expect an ambush. Some shady beastmen think they’ll be an easy heist, but unfortunately for them, stealing Kouichi away was the worst choice these thieves could ever make. As a captured Kouichi still suffers through the unbearable heats brought on by the Karina fruit, he’s left to wonder – will he and Caius ever reunite and return home?!

Personal & Info

It’s essentially a smutty romance, and not the censored kind, either. There are no black bars, blurring, or bright lights to block anything out. Do not read this manga if you don’t think you would like the smut sections, because there are a significant amount of them. You must be prepared for that going into it.

This volume has some more interesting images for the smut. It uses some transparent style images where you can see through Caius to get a visual of what’s going on with Kouichi. And what I mean by that is you can see how far he is stretching and see inside.

Characters

Kouichi Mizuki is a basketball star and very popular with the ladies. He is the one who gets summoned to another world.

Caius Lao Visteil is the prince of Tildant, the kingdom of titans. He summons Kouichi to his world because he must marry someone not of his own world.

Dr. Malthu is the palace doctor.

Baro Barrows is a canine beastman from the later parts of volume one. He plays a bigger role in this one. His nickname for Kouichi is Tiny.

Story & Thoughts

This volume holds up well after the first one. It continues where the cliff hanger leaves off, and finishes the events in Foval. There is some sketchy consent again in the early parts, so use your own digression to judge if that bothers you. It seems like it’s a horrendous act at first, but the story makes it clear a little later that it was a cultural misunderstanding.

I love that this one goes more deeply into the lore of the world. Kouichi is curious to learn more about the community of Tildant and how the world of Eustil works. The system for prosperity is explained in a little more depth, so some things Kouichi heard Caius say in the first book make a little more sense. There also appear to be another type of people not yet named that are shown a little in this volume. They look like angel or bird people. Maybe we’ll learn more about them later.

Caius and Kouichi are finding their stride, and they seem good together. They’re more comfortable around each other, and they both care significantly about the other’s well-being. That’s a positive, but there’s also the negative that Kouichi is starting to miss his friends and worry about his family.

We see more glimpses of Kouichi’s backstory connecting the relevance of his worries. The first volume has a tiny flashback without much context. We get all the context for it this time. It becomes more relevant to the story as Kouichi explains to Caius what his life is like back home, and because it will affect his decision. He makes a choice, but nothing is carried out, yet, so I doubt it’s the final one.

I’m enjoying everything about this series. The lore is great, the romance is sweet, the smut is, well, smutty. I like the world and the characters. It’s all engaging enough to keep me interested. I’d generally describe the series as cute, funny, and erotic.

The Titan’s Bride, Vol. 1

The Titan’s Bride, Vol. 1 by ITKZ
Series Name: The Titan’s Bride
Genres: BL, Fantasy, Isekai
Intended Age Group: Mature
Publisher: Seven Seas
Edition: Paperback 
ISBN: 978-1-63858-810-8
Rating: 4/5
Amazon Barnes&Noble RightStuf ThriftBooks

Description from the Book

Senior Kouichi Mizuki is about to take his final exams and graduate from high school, when he suddenly finds himself in a world of titans. Not only is he no longer anywhere near home, but one of these giants, Prince Caius, has claimed Kouichi as his bride! Thanks to a disturbing, world-ending prophecy, the prince’s upcoming nuptials cannot be with anyone of his world. Since Caius has no plans to send Kouichi back to earth, he is wholeheartedly set on taking Kouichi as his “wife”!

Personal & Info

This was on my list of things to read that I never thought would get localized. I’m glad it did, though, because now I can read it without having to import it or wait until I learn Japanese.

I knew going into this that it was explicit, and it very much is. It’s essentially a smutty romance, and not the censored kind, either. There are no black bars, blurring, or bright lights to block anything out. However, I had no idea what to expect from the story.

I can never tell if an explicit story is going to be good until I read it. A large number of them tend to focus too much on the smut, and not enough on the story quality. For me to enjoy explicit stories, I need to like the characters and engage with the story. This one is definitely worth the read, in my opinion.

Do not read this manga if you don’t think you would like the smut sections, because there are a significant amount of them. You must be prepared for that going into it.

Characters

Kouichi Mizuki is a basketball star and very popular with the ladies. He is the one who gets summoned to another world.

Caius Lao Visteil is the prince of Tildant, the kingdom of titans. He summons Kouichi to his world because he must marry someone not of his own world.

Medina Nall Rosas is Caius’ former fiancée, and one of his closest friends.

Dr. Malthu is the palace doctor.

Story & Thoughts

The setting is interesting. It’s not a world where titans are dominant instead of people. It’s a fantasy world, by the name Eustil, with multiple kingdoms and races. The main three types of people mentioned are titans in Tildant, elves, whose kingdom is not named in this volume, and beast men in Foval. The story implies humans, also known as halflings, were around at one point, but are no longer common, if they are around at all.

It has sketchy consent in the beginning, so use your own judgement regarding that. But, almost immediately, it’s clear the romance is sweet. Caius is caring and affectionate, and Kouichi wants Caius to be happy, even if it means being with someone else. The story is full of sappy stuff like that, and the characters are genuinely likable. It makes a good counterbalance to the smut.

If there’s something to complain about, I think it would be the pacing. It seems like both a lot and nothing are happening at the same time. They set a time limit of a month, and that month just seems to fly by. It might’ve been cool to learn more about the culture of the titans in that month. Some is mentioned, but not a whole lot. More of Kouichi adjusting to the culture and standard size difference would also be nice.

Maybe Kouichi trying to make friends, too. It seems like he doesn’t really know anyone there and doesn’t make an effort to. I don’t blame him for wanting to go with Caius when he has to travel. He would have no one to talk to, and what would he even do? Of course, most of these things are likely to get expanded on as the story progresses in other volumes.

There are little pictures between the chapters as some added details and funny bits. Between those and the sweet and adorable story, I find myself smiling while reading this. Obviously the smut doesn’t hurt, either. I will definitely be reading more of this series. Beware the cliffhanger at the end of the volume.

Manga Haul April 2023

About

My haul is a little small this month. This is closer to what it is usually like, though. There are only five books this month. All of these are either new or used from Amazon, or from my local book store.

Flame of Recca, Vol. 16 & 17

I’m still slowly working my way through getting the volumes for this series. These put me approximately half way through the total volume count. It looks like they might be more expensive from here on out, so they might not pop up in my hauls as frequently.

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. 4

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, and I don’t think there is a release date, yet, aside from just, “this year,” so I’m not too worried about it.

Reviews for volumes, one, two, and three, are already available.

What is it?

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

Soul Eater: The Perfect Edition, Vol. 1

I love Soul Eater, but my first exposure was the anime. I hear the manga is significantly better. Either way, I already planned on getting the manga eventually. The perfect editions are hardcovers, and I see no reason not to get a favorite series in hardcover, so these are the ones I will be going with.

What is it?

A fantasy setting where people are trained to be warriors called meisters and wield weapons, that are actually people who become the weapon. They collect tainted souls in hopes of someday turning their weapons into their ultimate form to be used by Death himself. Sometimes this task involves saving the world.

This series is said to be in the same universe as Fire Force, which I have not yet read.

The Titan’s Bride, Vol. 1

I’ve heard good things about this series. I didn’t think it would get a localization, so I’m glad it did. If it didn’t, I was set on ordering a Japanese copy after I learned enough of the language to be able to read it. My BL collection is slowly expanding.

What is it?

An erotic, uncensored, BL isekai with a size difference theme.