Another manga-heavy month. I started a bunch of these series because I heard about them in Mangasplaining!

War in the Blood by Arthur Cary

An intimate, feature-length documentary following two patients through groundbreaking ‘first in-human’ trials for CAR T-cell therapy, a treatment described as the beginning of the end of cancer.

If you're not good with seeing blood/needles, please avoid. I cried so much because it is very raw, human, educational, and at the intersection of life and death.

Way of the Househusband vol.6 by Kousuke Oono

Amanda Haley (translation), Jennifer LeBlanc (english adaptation and editor), Bianca Pistillo (touch-up art and lettering), Alice Lewis (design)

Playing Yakuza makes me appreciate the jokes in this series even more! Shiba inu neck flab scrunching is A+

Requiem of the Rose King vol.14 by Aya Kanno

I forgot to copy down the credits, but I presume: Jocelyne Allen (translation) !!!

This story arc gives me anxiety because soooo manyyy thingsss cann goooo wrongggggggg and you know things WILL go wrong / things have always been going wrong.

Haikyu!! vol.7 by Haruichi Furudate

Adrienne Beck (translation), Erika Terriquez (touch-up art & lettering), Fawn Lau (design), Marlene First (editor)

Crows go go go! Continues to be a pleaser. Excited to see the wheels of the "growth" cog turn for all the different characters, within a game. Glad that the 3rd year got to set ;_;

Tokyo Tarareba Girls vol.1 by Akiko Higashimura

Steven LeCroy (translation), Rina Mapa (lettering), Sarah Tilson (editing)

I was a bit shocked at how strongly the message of deeply embedded the mentality of "need to be married with man by 30s" was, to the point that I found it kind of annoying, but I suppose that's still a strongly held belief that I purposefully purged out of my own life. In that respect, I am like the guy at the bar who finds them annoying and that I should empathize more. I expected the guy to be more ikemen...he looks weird to me?

Cells at Work and Friends vol.1 by Kanna Kurono / Mio Izumi / Supervised Akane Shimizu

??? I have no idea who did the translation or lettering because it's not on the credits page ?? Production by animaru

I started reading this because the premise sounded like a socially awkward jock himbo trying to make friends, so it delivered exactly what I wanted, haha. Except the himbo in this case is a killer T cell so there's a layer of immunology baked in.

The shorts are pretty funny because the guy's turmoil is all about trying to uphold his macho demeanor, even though he is fluffy inside. Not dissimilar to Otomen in some ways.

It was fun to see the writer's storyboards and compare them to the final version.

Sera and the Royal Stars vol.1 by Jon Tsuei (writer), Audrey Mok (artist), Raul Angulo (colorist), Jim Campbell (letterer), Karina Plaja (assistant colorist), Tim Daniel (designer), Jayden Wassel (special book design)

Since I've been reading a lot of manga lately, the pace of this felt very rushed in comparison, but I think it's a stylistic thing with western action comics. It wasn't obvious to me that Antares is associated with Scorpius/Scorpii (etc.) since I don't know much about stars or constellations, and that caused some confusion for me. I really like the character designs and Audrey Mok's art!

Love me, Love me not vol.12 by Io Sakisaka

Nancy Thistlethwaite (adaptation/editor), JN productions (translation), Sara Linsley (touch-up art & lettering), Yukiko Whitley (design)

Nice to see the story wrap up!! Nothing too special happens but it's a feel good ending.

Ajin: Demi Human vol. 1-16 by Tsuina Miura (story) Gamon Sakurai (art)

Ko Ransom (translation), Risa Cho and Hiroko Mizuno (production) Vol 16 has Ko Ransom (translation), Daniel Joseph (editor), Risa Cho, Hiroko Mizuno, and Lorina Mapa (production)

The premise reminds me of X men in the sense that there's a human vs demi human power struggle with both sides fearing each other.

Someday I will read the conclusion...just 1 more vol. I really like the sense of whirl/snap/flow that the artist is capable of doing with the bandage-y shadowy people. I can feel the movement!

Sato is really messed up (I suppose all the demi humans would be perceived as messed up because of what their bodies are capable of) but I do find him to be a charismatic antagonist.

Also very interesting how the the support staff and CSP assets are specifically credited for elements of the comic.

Hitorijime my Hero vol.1 by Memeco Arii

Anne Lee (translation), Michael Martin (lettering), Lauren Scanlan (editing), Phil Balsman

I was very confused while reading this comic. Probably because they introduce 5+ characters at once I couldn't tell the characters apart and they also change hair style/colour...and there's a timeskip...??? The pair dynamic is not my taste but I think people who like the Sekaiichi or Junjou series would find this series appealing!

The author draws themselves as a bikini-wearing bunny getting bitten by deadline dog

City vol.1 by Keiichi Arawi

Jenny McKeon (translation), Grace Lu and Hiroko Mizuno (production)

I can't quite put my finger on how to describe this series, but I find it to be very random and has very Japanese-style cartooning and humour.

This broccoli thing also made me laugh cause it's so bizarre.

The duck lip chapter was disturbing but also fit in with the book's vibe.

Otomen vol.9 by Aya Kanno

JN Productions (Translation and adaptation), Mark McMurray (Touch-up art and lettering), Fawn Lau (design), Amy Yu (editor)

I feel betrayed that the author doesn't like glasses characters hahahahaha.

I love this

Blissful Land vol.1 by Ichimon Izumi

Christine Dashiell (translation), Carl Vanstiphoutl (lettering), William Flanagan (editing)

DOGGGGGG! IDK how accurate this is to 18th century Tibet, but I I do love Moshi Rati's accessories/skirt (always drawn to be fanned out while siting) and her fangirling of weaving and thread dying!!

The author sometimes simplifies the boy's face in a way that's kind of strange to me (like googly eye) but maybe I'll come to understand why later.

Today's music post: 草蜢/Grasshopper did a cover of 少年隊/Shonentai's ABC and here's a mash up of both. I'm surprised at how similar the voices are.