Andrea Ritsu

Another late one this month as I’ve been planning a trip to Japan for next month and not had time to sit down and cover this month’s releases and announcements, which is a shame because we’ve got some good stuff here.

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Manga – New Releases (November 2017)

Hana & Hina After School (Volume 3) by Morinaga Milk

Release Date: November 28th in North America (December 3rd in Europe)
Published by Seven Seas

The final volume in Morinaga Milk‘s story about two girls who are total opposites but find themselves working together and falling in love. Hana starts to see a future in her relationship with Hina, when suddenly Hina’s ex, Maiko, shows up. Hana is now struggling with the worries that this sudden reapparance of Maiko will put their relationship into a gamble.

Being the most prolific Girls Love author to western audiences, Morinaga-san don’t need any further introduction. With Hana & Hina After School she’s put out her longest ongoing series in English in a long time and I hope her fans are excited to see it conclude.

Kiss and White Lily for My Dearest Girl (Volume 4) by Canno

Release Date: November 28th in North America and Europe
Published by Yen Press

Ayake and Yurine’s relationship steadily grows more serious as they’ve started their second year in high school. Having now gotten to know Yukine and Towako of the gardening club, and being tutored into taking over for them as they graduate, things just keep on developing for Yurine.

Canno‘s romantic drama between Ayake, Yurine and the various couples they meet has been a success in both Japan and the west. If you’ve not yet picked up the series, I highly recommend doing so.

Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid (Volume 5) by Coolkyoushinjya

Release Date: November 14th in North America (February 1st in Europe)
Published by Seven Seas

Following the events of Volume 4, the life at the Kobayashi household has mostly returned to normal. Tohru begins patrolling the neighbourhood to maintain safety and security and we learn a thing or two about Elma’s past with Tohru before arriving on Earth.

Due to dropping the series with Volume 4, I can’t speak on too many details in this latest entry. But from what I’ve seen and heard it’s very much a back-to-basics volume. So if you were soured on the series due to recent events, maybe this might get you back into it?

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Manga – New Announcements (November 2017)

Éclair: Anata ni Hibiki Yuri Anthology

Release Date: April 17th 2018 in North America and Europe
Published by Yen Press

I am so glad this was picked up for localization. Éclair is a wonderful Girls Love collection featuring stories from some of the best authors in the genre at the moment. This includes all new stories by authors like Nakatani Nio (Bloom Into You), Amano Sakuya (Konohana Kitan) and Canno (Kiss and White Lily for My Dearest Girl) alongside plenty more.

We’ve not had an anthology release for the Girls Love niche localized in English before so I’m beyond excited that Yen Press is putting this one out. It’s probably the best entry point to read stories from a variety of authors you can find and hopefully it will lead to plenty more localized anthologies in the future as well.

My Solo Exchange Diary by Kabi Nagata

Release Date: June 5th 2018 in North America (TBA in Europe)
Published by Seven Seas

The sequel to this year’s smash hit My Lesbian Experience With Loneliness is coming out next year! Follow author Kabi Nagata‘s life as she struggles with her identity, family and more following having figured out have sexuality and made it known to the world.

There’s probably no book I would recommend more than My Lesbian Experience With Loneliness when it comes to English localizations of LGBT manga and I’m so glad it did so well that Seven Seas is putting out the next part in Kabi-san‘s autobiography. If you’ve not read the first book yet, pick it up in an instant.

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Though not fitting the Girls Love label, there’s also been several other LGBT localization annoucements as of late. First of, we’re finally seeing Chii‘s autobiographical manga, The Bride Was a Boy, about being a trans woman in Japan and getting married localized thanks to Seven Seas. They’re also putting out Ikeda Riyoko‘s classic manga Claudine, about a trans man in twentieth century France. Ikeda-san of course being most famous for The Rose of Versailles.

On top of this, VIZ Media announced they’d be putting out That Blue Sky Feeling, a story about what it’s like to be a gay boy in high school and finding your identity. Basically, the LGBT scene is truly in full bloom when it comes to localized manga as of late. Here’s hoping we’ll see even more going forward!