Manga Monthly: Start Your Year Right With Manga

Welcome back to Manga Monthly! We’ve got a really excellent crop of new books headed your way from a number of different publishers, ranging from new reprints of classic content and brand-new series entirely. Be sure to check out the full lineup in your January PREVIEWS and order yours at your local comic shop!

Kodansha gets us started this month with the third volume of Cardcaptor Sakura: Clear Card (JAN181761)! This story continues right where CLAMP’s original Cardcaptor Sakura series left off, and follows our heroine as she’s just starting middle school.

The Clow Cards have turned transparent and are totally powerless – what’s a magical girl to do? This series just started airing as a new anime, so there’s no better time to get caught up!

Captain Harlock has been one of the most recognizable anime characters in history, and now fans can see where his story began with the release of Captain Harlock Classic Collection (JAN181869), courtesy of Seven Seas Entertainment. This marks the first time that the original story has been released in English.

After a mysterious sphere collides with Tokyo, legends seemingly born of the ancient Mayan civilization appear. In truth, however, the beings are alien invaders known as the Mazone, plant women who wandered the earth in bygone ages - and have now returned to make it theirs. With a ragtag crew of renegades at his side, only the space pirate Captain Harlock has what it takes to save the planet.

Seven Seas will also be debuting the first volume of Crisis Girls (JAN181871) this year! This is a devilishly funny comedy, where monsters and magical girls collide! Maple is a little girl with a big responsibility. When zombies rise and monsters stomp the streets, this little powerhouse rises to the occasion, using her own ghoulish gifts to protect the world and have a fun time doing it!

For those looking for a slightly more grounded comedy, be sure to check out City (JAN182037) from Vertical Comics! This new story comes from Keiichi Arawi, best known for his work on the slice-of-life series Nichijou. City follows Nagumo, a penniless college student. She is in debt and her landlord is trying to shake her down for rent. Asking her friends no longer works! They know her deal and they do not have the cash to prop her up, even temporarily. So what is she supposed to do under these circumstances? Well maybe bullying would help. Maybe petty theft? Neither one is realistic. Maybe getting a job would settle things... But that means working and not having fun in the big city. Life in the city is an adventure. Thankfully it's a fruitful and entertaining one at that!

The Legend of Zelda may be best-known as a video game series, but the manga adaptations are just as good! The third volume of The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (JAN182047) will be headed your way soon, thanks to Viz Media.

Link and Midna continue their journey towards Death Mountain as they seek a power that can prevent Hyrule from being taken over by the Shadow King. Can they stop the creeping forces of Zant? Find out in this epic story!

If you like rom-coms, be sure to pick up Kaguya-Sama, Love is War (JAN182042) when the first volume arrives later this year, courtesy of Viz Media. Kaguya Shinomiya and Miyuki Shirogane are two geniuses who stand atop their prestigious academy's student council, making them the elite among elite. But it's lonely at the top and each has fallen for the other. There's just one huge problem standing in the way of lovey-dovey bliss-they're both too prideful to be the first to confess their romantic feelings and thus become the "loser" in the competition of love! And so begins their daily schemes to force the other to confess first!

Who doesn’t love mermaids? The debut volume of Mermaid Boys (JAN182080) will be heading your way soon, thanks to Yen Press. The mermaid prince, Nasu, is incredibly popular with all of the girls of his kingdom, who line up to be his bride. But Nasu has fallen in love with a human girl, Nami – and now he seeks to turn himself human in order to date her instead!

That wraps it up for this edition of Manga Monthly, but this just scratches the surface of the great manga series available to order in your PREVIEWS catalog. Be sure to pre-order your favorites at your local comic shop and stay tuned for more great manga soon!