Dear readers, and friends, I must inform you first and foremost that there is definitely no dip in the backlog this month. In fact, it has risen considerably. But that’s okay ’cause I got some really cool stuff in this month that I’m eager to read / talk about (some of which I did in fact both read and write about!). Anyway, enough preamble let’s get into what I read for March!
Bold = completed series
Italic = dropped
= recommendation
Manga:
- 魔王城、空き部屋あります！ (Dengeki Maoh)
- Same Difference volume 1 (JP, reread)
- Gazing at the Star Next Door volume 3
– review - Bungo Stray Dogs Wan! volume 7
- Daisy Jealousy
- スキスキよしよし (Ciel)
- 嘘つきセンセーション (Ciel)
- Ogami-san Can’t Keep It In volume 5
- Duchess in the Attic volume 5
- Fushi no Kami: Rebuilding Civilisation Starts with a Village volume 6
- 鐵くんと最強の恋 (Dessert)
- クジャクのダンス、誰が見た？ (Kiss)
- 煙たい話 volume 5 (JP)
- A Condition Called Love volume 11
- Cherry Magic! Thirty Years of Virginity Can Make You a Wizard?! volume 13
- Spread Your Wings and Fly
- Mayonaka Punch (Young Ace)
- 神獣の執刀医 (Young Ace)
- Love Forty (Weekly Shounen Magazine)
- My Quiet Blacksmith Life in Another World volume 4
- The Reincarnation of the Strongest Exorcist in Another World volume 4
- You Talk Too Much, So Just Shut Up Already! volume 1 – review
- I Want to Love You Till Your Dying Day volume 1 – review
- The Failure at God School volume 1 – review
- Fall In Love, You False Angels volume 1 – review
- The Banished Former Hero Lives as He Pleases volume 5
- 氷魔法のアイス屋さんは、暑がり神官様のごひいきです。 (B’s-Log Comic)
- Bibliophile Princess volume 8
- Seirei Gensouki: Spirit Chronicles volume 11
- 本なら売るほど volume 1 – review
- Ascendance of a Bookworm Part 4 volume 1
- The Coppersmith’s Bride volume 5
- An Archdemon’s (Friend’s) Dilemma: How to Babysit a Crybaby Knight volume 2
- Oversummoned, Overpowered, and Over It volume 7
- The Invincible Little Lady volume 7
- Wolf Girl and Black Prince volume 4
- 白雪友芽とn人の夢彼氏 volume 1
- 推しと、オトナの練習はじめます (Ane Friend)
- Oblivion Battery volume 6 (JP)
- Mikane and the Sea Woman (Manga Plus)
- ヨシダ檸檬ドロップス volume 2
- 薬草師と竜の約束 (Kachi Comi)
- Twilight Out of Focus: Overlap
- No Longer Heroine volume 3
- My Special One volume 7
- Wind Breaker volume 8 – review
- 私の婚約者は、根暗で陰気だと言われる闇魔術師です。好き。 (Comp Ace)
- Wind Breaker volume 9
- A Man and His Cat volume 12
- If It’s You, I Might Try Falling in Love volume 1 (JP)
- The Summer Hikaru Died volume 5
- Taro Miyao Becomes a Cat Parent?! (Manga Plus)
- 86―エイティシックス― 魔法少女レジーナ☆レーナ ～戦え! 銀河航行戦艦サンマグノリア～ (Comic Alive)
- ソロフェッショナル～ソロ活男子とボッチ女子の攻防戦～ volume 1
- 俺様副社長のキスはチョコより甘い (Comic Tint)
- Hero Without a Class volume 2
- 新婚執事によるお嬢様への生涯の寵( Comic Tint)
- 珠子はダメになることにした (Comic Tint)
- あなたのキスで書きかえて (Comic Tint)
- A Condition Called Love volume 12
- Cherry Magic! Thirty Years of Virginity Can Make You a Wizard?! volume 14 (JP)
One Shot:
- Glasses Love (In Same Difference vol 1)
- 君に届くまでログイン中 (Ciel)
- Laws of the Universe (Manga Plus)
- Anti-Ghost (Manga Plus)
- 番犬くんの恩返し (Dessert Pink)
- Smile Restaurant of Hell (Manga Plus)
- ランチどきは恋しどき (Dessert)
- 東雲さんはほめてのばすタイプです。 (Dessert Pink)
- 恋はひとりで落ちられない！ (Dessert Pink)
- 成宮君をまるごと推したい！！ (Dessert Pink)
- The Art Room Rapunzel (Manga Plus)
- An Instant Smile for You (Manga Plus)
- Cupid 13 (Manga Plus)
- Trapped in an Instant (Manga Plus)
- Where Love Dwells (Manga Plus)
- The Beast at the Top (Manga Plus)
- The Robot Who Inherited Trillions (Manga Plus)
- My Sister, My Stuck Butt, and Me (Manga Plus)
- ファーストデートは金婚式で (The Hana to Yume)
- 雪嵐と恋嵐 (The Hana to Yume)
- 閃光シンドローム (The Hana to Yume)
- Sculptor Girl (Manga Plus)
- Soft Focus En Rose (In Twilight Out of Focus: Overlap)
- Wind Breaker Video Game Special Chapter
- From Hitman to Hitmaker (Manga Plus)
- 綾瀬さんを笑わせたい (Weekly Shounen Sunday)
- Tracing the Waning Moon (Manga Plus)
- Spring Returns to Aoi’s Room (Manga Plus)
- My Destiny on the 222nd Day (Manga Plus)
- Dark Side Hero (Manga Plus)
- Head Shot (Manga Plus)
Light Novels:
- Management of a Novice Alchemist volume 4
- Lucia and the Loom: Weaving Her Way to Happiness volume 3
- Duchess in the Attic volume 3
- D-Genesis: Three Years After the Dungeons Appeared volume 8
- A Cost Life in the Woods with the White Witch volume 2
- By The Grace of the Gods volume 15
- The Banished Former Hero Lives as He Pleases volume 4
- Fiancée No More: The Forsaken Lady, The Prince, and Their Make-Believe Love volume 3
So this month I read 61 manga (26 JP, 35 Eng), 8 light novels and 31 one shots. That’s compared to 63/15/20 last month, so more or less the same. The decrease in light novel reading is plain and simple, I was struggling with motivation. As I’ve written about here before, I fell behind with much of what I was following last Summer and despite trying to keep up I’ve not been able to regain that lost ground and I think I burnt myself out a bit last month trying. It’s fine though, I’ll get back to it next month and read some of my favourites.
Because March is my birthday month and I got an influx of stuff I’d been waiting for, the backlog saw a big rise from 794 to 905 but I’m not too unhappy about that since I know I’ll read it down over time.
This month also saw me give up on reading several things in English and swap to Japanese instead. Cherry Magic was actually just because I wanted the drama CD edition of #14 and it was a happy accident that #13 had just come out in English so I could carry on. I readily admit I bought If It’s You, I Might Try Falling in Love in Japanese due to the frustration and inability to get Yen Press titles at the minute. At least those that aren’t my review requests. Since they switched distributor in December I’ve not been able to find any of the light novels I’d ordinarily be buying and the manga selection is also slim pickings. There are a few series where I only own Volume 1 in English and intend to swap over too. It sucks since I DO want to support the English market it’s just so much stress trying to get my hands on this stuff — and ultimately far more expensive for the trouble. I’m still hoping it will get better in a few months, but right now I’m very disillusioned with our industry. I’ve been picking up some Viz stuff lately that is potentially going the same way since trying to get their titles can also be a headache, but they’re not as bad as the new YP distribution.
Anyway, my complaining aside it has been a pretty good month reading-wise. Looking forward to seeing what April brings!