Mangaversity: August 2026

Welcome one, welcome all, to Mangaversity! Join me as I trawl through the month’s manga releases and pick out what’s hot and what’s not. A perennial special thanks to Zack Davisson for pointing out that my initial name was bad and I should feel bad and that Mangaversity is superior.

July has been an absolute scorcher in my neck of the woods. We keep whipsawing between hot hot hot and rain rain rain. Makes me really appreciate the days when it’s cool enough and sunny enough that I can sit in front of my computer and type up these Mangaversity columns. I’m not being sarcastic either! There’s a window I sit in front of and having the right weather really makes the task easier.

What do I have for you this month? A lot of number ones, of course. It was a shockingly easy month to whittle down. Not sure if that means I’m getting better at this or if there were way less titles that caught my eye. I’m definitely being super judgy about some of these titles…Eh. Whatever. On with the lists!

Perennial Favorites:

My love for these titles are very well documented and you will not go wrong reading them, though some titles that get featured here come with more caveats than others (“Berserk,” for instance, gets my full endorsement, but is certainly not for everyone.)

Why aren’t these on the main list even though I love them? Well, there’s only so much I can say about some of these, especially the shonen titles publishing six times a year. I’d rather highlight some new, interesting, weird, and important titles there.

All that said, if you see a title here, assume it’s worth reading and that you should find a copy now. Right now! Go! I see you dawdling.

• Daemons of the Shadow Realm, Vol. 11
• Dandadan, Vol. 20
• Dogsred, Vol. 6
• The Elusive Samurai, Vol. 21
• The Legend of Kamui: Volume Four
• The Long Summer of August 31, Vol. 6
  • I dunno. I found this series weirdly endearing. Also a big fan of the way the author plays with the timeloop gimmick at the start of each chapter.

Deluxe Den:

With the manga explosion that’s occurred in the last few years, there’s been a corresponding increase in deluxe editions of beloved or classic or obscure manga. These books are ones I think are worth a gander but not necessarily a volume that needs a place on the main list. Some of these are personal favorites of mine, others are notable for one reason or another. All are getting the ~deluxe~ treatment.

• Ashita No Joe: Fighting for Tomorrow, Vol. 6
  • I just caught up and I could feel my brain expanding as I recognized so many tropes and references that I’m now actually getting.
• Battle Royale Deluxe Edition, Vol. 2
• Baki the Grappler (Perfect Edition) Vol. 21 & 22
• Hunter X Hunter (3-In-1 Edition), Vol. 7
• Pet Shop of Horrors: Collector's Edition Vol. 7
• Skip-Beat!, (3-In-1 Edition), Vol. 17
• Vagabond Definitive Edition, Vol. 6
• Witch Hat Atelier: Grimoire Edition, Vol. 2
  • Hopefully Kodansha did an extra large printing on this one and it releases on time!

Cat Corner:

I see a lot of cat manga when I do this column. It takes every ounce of willpower to not include at least two of these on the list each month. A few months back I realized: I can just make a new section and put the titles and covers here. Cat lovers unite!

• Cat + Crazy, Vol. 4
• Cat-Life Balance, Vol. 2
• Colori Colore Creare, Vol.1
• Me and the Alien Mumu, Vol. 4
• My Kitten Is a Picky Eater, Vol. 9

Caught My Eye:

These are the manga that didn’t make the cut for one reason or another that I still wanted to bring to your attention. Usually so I can make some kind of snarky remark or to help me remember to actually read the dang things so I can have an informed opinion.

• Centuria, Vol. 3
  • I’ve been told this gets really good. Thus far, it’s a decent manga that’s keeping me reading but I need that other shoe to really drop to fully get on board.
• Girl Crush, Vol. 8
  • Will this be the month I finally know if the covers match the vibes on the inside? Perhaps!
• I Don't Know Which Is Love, Vol. 5
  • Woah! A yuri harem manga that feels as trashy as the rest and probably better written than 90% of the slop in the genre (Rent a Girlfriend is on 432 and is depressing still being published chapters.)
• Ichi the Witch, Vol. 4
  • Really digging this so far. It’s a little overly complicated in that most Shonen-of-ways so far though. At least we’re back into the era of gremlin protags (a long tradition going back to and through “Ashita No Joe!”)
• Kingdom, Vol. 10
  • My kingdom for a month without Kingdom!
• Mao, Vol. 25
  • I’m waiting for Byoki to be back on a cover so I can put it in my cat section. Soon. Soooooon.

Judging by the Cover:

After a good run, it was time to retire my WTF section. It was basically the same three books (or types of books) each month. So, instead, I’m selecting volumes with excellent and/or baffling covers and putting them here. Will there be snark? Time will tell.

• Centaurs, Vol. 6
  • Couldn’t get enough of how joyous these covers are.
• Doggo, Vol. 2
  • What is even going on here? Who gave this dog a gun?

The List:

12. Yearly Tradition Nozaki-Kun

It’s been over a year since the last volume and I would be remiss if I let it off the main list. I’ve been promised betrayal. Betrayal!! More “Let’s Fall in Love!” More of the utterly absurd miscommunications (though some resolution and forward momentum would be nice!) Season 2 wen Doga Kobo? WEN!?

Monthly Girls' Nozaki-Kun, Vol. 17
Written and Illustrated by Izumi Tsubaki
Translated by Leighann Harvey
Lettered by Rachel Pierce
Published by Yen Press

We've had love, friendship, misunderstandings, and now--Betrayal!? Nozaki's in need of material for his manga. And in moments like that, what are friends for, if not mining for plot ideas? So spin the wheel, and let's see... Hori it is! But uh oh, things might not work out quite so easily this time... Meanwhile, Seo is off playing cupid, and Kashima is suffering from shoujo-manga-phobia!

11. You Thought It Was Just a Manga but It Was Me, PROSE!

This is definitely a cheat seeing as how it’s not really manga but a book about manga. However, it’s Araki so I’m giving it a pass and shouting it out here. The man has made so many iconic villains that any craft book he puts out is worth your time.

Manga in Theory and Practice: How to Create Villains
Written and Illustrated by Hirohiko Araki
Published by Viz Media

Manga in Theory and Practice: How to Create Villains gives you a front-row seat as Hirohiko Araki, creator of the globally popular manga JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, shares the techniques of making a great villain, examines his own work, and breaks down the four basic structures of manga. With commentary from his editor, investigations of characters like DIO, and a study of the panel layout of The JOJOLands, this book will be a crucial part of your manga development.

10. The Hugest Grain of Salt

Is anyone else getting the vibe that the description is…maybe a bit more sanitized than the work? That or whoever wrote the copy thinks that “prostrate” is the active verb form of prostitution. The vibe I’m getting from “Blood-Crawling Princess” is that it sits firmly in the exploitation film genre. Definitely a revenge tale - which I do quite enjoy - and I’m quite intrigued by the geopolitical intrigue promised by setting this at the start of a rebellion. I’m just…worried about how lurid it’ll all be. Tread lightly, folks.

The Blood-Crawling Princess of a Ruined Country, Vol. 1
Written and Illustrated by Yuki Azuma
Translated by Giuseppe Di Martino
Lettered by Chris Burgener
Published by Yen Press

Princess Evita lives a modest and happy life in a small country. But when the neighboring country attacks, the kingdom's land is taken, her family is mercilessly killed, and Evita is forced into prostitution. Going by the name "Priscilla," she prostrates herself one day before the feudal lord's third son, when the knell of rebellion sounds out...

9. Black Bolt Will Be Your Bellhop

You’d think this would be a “Petshop of Horrors” situation. An anthology with a meta-narrative about the hotel. From what I can gather, though, it’s more like John Wick’s The Continental but with anime characters instead. That still sounds super fun! Sign me up. Just…maybe don’t put a hit out on me.

Hotel Inhumans, Vol. 1
Written and Illustrated by Ao Tajima
Published by Seven Seas

A luxury hotel has certain standards: exquisite dining, flawless comfort, unforgettable entertainment. And also: the latest weapons, forged identities, and perfect body disposal. This is a hotel where the guests are professional assassins, and the concierges never say no. At the boundary between life and death, killers arrive with wishes they cannot entrust to anyone else. Each request is answered without judgment, and every stay becomes a story of violence, regret, warmth, and beauty.

8. Tangible Illusions, Like a Titanium Daydream

Whenever Io Sakisaka releases a new work, I like to pay attention. She’s one of those known quantities in Shojo that I’ve never quite read but have always meant to. Her work has a soft feel but a harshness beneath that is what I look for in a Shojo story. That’s all to say: I don’t know what the heck is going on here or if it’ll be anything but another high school love triangle story. However, I have some faith that Sakisaka has enough juice left in the tank to give it a good spin and characters you want to follow.

Daydream Darling, Vol. 1
Written and Illustrated by Io Sakisaka
Published by Viz Media

Daydreamy Iroha is too shy and anxious to talk to her high school classmates, so she finds solace in confiding in upperclassman Sou, who is always encouraging and supportive. With such a great friend by her side, Iroha just may have found a dream come true!

Iroha avoids the awkwardness she feels around her classmates by sitting outside and talking to Sou, the handsome boy she met at the library. However, one day a boy from her class discovers the secret she's been keeping from everyone. Has Iroha found her perfect match in Sou, or just an illusory love?

7. Nani?!!

I’ve been hearing nothing but praise for the anime adaptation of this. Seven Seas had a sleeper hit on their hands and damn if I’m not curious. Manga about making manga? Creatives getting others hyped to be creatives?! If this has even a tenth the charm of Bocchi the Rock, then we’re set for a good time.

Draw This, Then Die! Vol. 1
Written and Illustrated by Minoru Toyoda
Published by Seven Seas

Yasumi Ai, a first-year high schooler living on the remote island of Izu Ōshima, has one obsession: manga. When she discovers that her long-idolized but reclusive favorite manga creator, Hoshino-sensei, will make a rare appearance at Comitia, Ai doesn't hesitate--she has to meet her hero. But that single decision sets off a chain of encounters that will shatter her assumptions about art, genius, and what it truly means to create.

6. Terrible Title, Excellent Series

I must admit. I am recommending this adaptation purely on the strength of the anime adaptation from earlier this year. Holy shit folks. What a series. A meditation on life, our particularly voyeuristic moment, the predatory nature of the ruling class, and what survival looks like in a world built around death. It’s a brilliantly directed show (with one or two pacing hiccups in the middle) that subverts the “death game” archetype without being sneering or gleefully lurid. Still brutal, it retains the tragic element of these characters, crafting an atmosphere of dread and sadness rather than tension and bloodlust.

Oh, and everyone just calls it Shiboyugi because “Playing Death Games to Put Food on the Table” suuuuuuccckkkksssss, even if it’s way more accurate.

Now, I don’t know how much of the quiet contemplation and uncomfortable reckoning with our own complicity in the actions of the series is present in the original light novels or in this adaptation. It might not be there and this will be a bog-standard, Kakegururi-style schlock fest. It’s worth the risk, though.

Don’t you want to play a game?

Playing Death Games to Put Food on the Table, Vol. 1
Written and Illustrated by Banzaikotobukidaienkai
Based on the Book by Yushi Ukai
Original Character Designs by Nekometaru
Translated by Kevin Yuan
Lettered by Amethyst Xuan
Published by Yen Press

Player Name: Yuuki. Age: 17. Occupation: Death games. She has entered a genuine life-or-death show business where all the participants have to be female, and where one must put their life at stake to strike it rich. Show no mercy, strut your stuff, and break the line between life and death! Aim for an unprecedented 99-win streak--for fun and for keeps!

5. Manzai! Manzai!

The finale is here, folks! One of my favorite manga of the last few years comes to a close, in part because I think I might be one of the few people who actually found it funny. I know plenty of people were happy to see Obata let loose and damn if the man isn’t a hilarious illustrator. It may not have been enough for people, as it sounds like sales weren’t what the publishers wanted. 

I presume they told Asakura to wrap things up a couple volumes back. It’s why we’ve been cramming in so many backstories into this one tournament. If you’re in for the long haul, you’re gonna save it for the future! That or Asakura didn’t know where to go after this and thus ground the pacing to get it all out before saying goodbye.

Whatever the case, bask with me in the glory of this finale. Find out if One-Way Ticket to the Top can cinch the gold! I mean, they probably will. It’s the finale, after all.

Show-Ha Shoten!, Vol. 11
Written by Akinari Asakura
Illustrated by Takeshi Obata
Published by Viz Media

One-Way Ticket to the Top just finished putting on the greatest performance of their lives! But was their act funny enough to take home the Wara-1 Koshien gold? Azemichi and Taiyo's entire comedy journey has led them to this very moment! A whole new generation of comedians is born in this gripping conclusion of Show-ha Shoten!

4. Novel Adaptation

Helllllll yeah. We got an adaptation of an honest to goodness novel this time. Let’s go! Look at that hippie! Look at that American Gothic-ass framing! This is gonna be good.

Chiisakobee, Volume 1
Written and Illustrated by Mochizuki Minetaro
Based on the Book by Shūgorō Yamamoto
Published by Andria McKnight

After a fire burns down his family business and claims the lives of his parents, the young heir and master carpenter Shigetsugu vows to rebuild the failing venture with his late father's words in mind: "No matter how much the times change, what's important is for our kind to have compassion and dedication."

And then Ritsu, a housemaid with no relatives to rely on, comes rolling into his life with a group of children from a welfare facility who have nowhere to go, thus begins the dramatic last-ditch way-of-life story of a shaggily bearded carpenter!

This bold and ambitious reinterpretation of Shūgorō Yamamoto's classic historical novel Chiisakobee is brought to life with the full flourish of Minetaro Mochizuki's bohemian brush!

3. Shattering the Illusions

One of the biggest lies anime and manga tends to perpetuate is that everyone in Japan is, more or less, the same. It’s not intentional, and lord know most American media does the same for here (though it's a little different because of America’s self-image as a “melting pot” etc. etc. whatever. I think you get my offhand point.) However, as someone who only really knows “what Japan and Japanese people are like” from these sources, the image in my head is a far cry from the reality of what Japan is actually like

Case in point: “Half is More.” Set in contemporary Japan, it deals with the racism and othering that comes from being visibly “not Japanese.” I feel like it would be good reading alongside “Okinawa” and, yes, “Golden Kamuy,” for expanding one’s understanding of the country and then go watch Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken! for a vision of a future that feels like a more accurate representation of Japan’s demographic make-up, if not an idealized, soft sci-fi version.

I’m treading lightly because I haven’t read the manga yet, but my hope is that it inspires more conversations about this aspect of Japanese society and our perceptions of it (as well as seeing all the parallels to the good old U.S. of A.)

Half Is More, Vol. 1
Written and Illustrated by Yoiko Fujimi
Published by Viz Media

Side-eyes. Confusion. Whispers. Giggles.

Being a mixed-race Japanese person isn't easy, and that's especially true for Kazumi Mandanda Yoneyama and her brother. Despite being born and raised in the Land of the Rising Sun and having a Japanese mother, the siblings, who share a Black French father, are treated as outsiders. But knowing they have as much right to belong as anyone else, they and their mixed-race friends search for ways to cope and find wholeness in their half-Japanese identities.

In a country as homogeneous as Japan, Kazumi and others like her must continue to put one foot in front of the other and contend with feelings of otherness every day. As they navigate this road rife with trials and pitfalls--microaggressions, misunderstandings, social transgressions, and racism--it becomes clear that self-acceptance isn't simple.

This is a story of hope and the search for coexistence, dedicated to all those struggling with their identity.

2. This is Not a Pipe Machine

Moving from the ultra-serious to the ultra-silly, this manga looks bonkers. I want to know so badly where this is all going and how it all fits together. I mean, time-machines, samurai in just his undies, and a time machine shaped like a pipe? And THEN you get space robots?!! Just give me the book already.

That said, Manga Maverick Books has been pretty bad about release dates. “Fishgod” got pushed by at least four months from initial solicitations (that or I was going by tentative dates the whole time) so who knows what the delay on this could be. At least it’s not as bad as Denpa…

The Pipe Machine, Volumes 1-2
Written and Illustrated by Takuji Umihara
Published by Manga Maverick Books

Get in the Pipe Machine!

Saburo is a normal kid--or at least he tries to be, but the bizarre finds its way to him with alarming precision. First, a weirdo with a samurai haircut clad in just undies is hanging around his town, then his father builds an honest-to-god time machine that looks like a giant metal smoking pipe. A quick test of the pipe time machine flings the poor boy into the outer realms of space where robots, space captains and a girl who looks very similar to a friend at home await him.

Keep all limbs in the pipe and prepare for a funny, fast-paced, and very bizarre adventure in the Pipe Machine!

1. Tell Me a Story

Did you watch the amazing season one adaptation? Are you jonesing for more “Akane-Banashi?” Well, do not read this volume’s description then. Big spoilers for a huge turning point in the manga that had me jumping out of my seat when I first read it.

If you are caught up, you know what I mean and you know how exciting the manga gets from here on out. I promise I resisted putting this as my number one but if I had to put this volume at the top. I’ve been waiting months. Months!

Akane-Banashi, Vol. 17
Written by Yuki Suenaga
Illustrated by Takamasa Moue
Published by Viz Media

Three years have passed since the dissolution of the Shiguma School. Akane, who suddenly vanished from the world of Japanese rakugo, is discovered to be practicing rakugo in...Paris? What sort of performance will she put on in a city synonymous with art itself? As the purpose of her training abroad becomes clearer, "Shiguma's Art" grows ever closer. Then, back in Japan, Akane pushes forward as a futatsume, and her long-awaited first performance since she vanished is about to begin!

Mangaversity: July 2026

Look! The crevasse!

House of Ideas, Powers of SecretsElias Rosner

Mangaversity - House of Ideas, Powers of Secrets

House of Ideas, Powers of SecretsElias Rosner