The Best New Manga of January 2017

Sherlock: A Study in Pink, by Steven Moffat, Mark Gatiss, and Jay
Benedict Cumberbatch makes his manga debut in this close adaptation of an episode of the BBC television series. This new Sherlock Holmes lives in modern-day London, prefers to communicate via text, and sticks nicotine patches to his arm rather smoking a pipe, but the classic elements are still there: A perplexing mystery and Holmes’s uncanny ability to read people and situations by picking up on the smallest details. This is the first story in the series, so it features Watson (a former army doctor who served in Afghanistan) meeting Holmes for the first time, moving in with him—and getting pulled in to the investigation of a suspicious string of suicides. This story originally ran one chapter at a time in the Japanese magazine Young Ace, and Titan published it as single-issue comics before compiling them into this volume. Next up will be Sherlock: The Blind Banker, which will also be released as single issues and then a complete volume.

The Ghost in the Shell, Vol. 1, by Masamune Shirow
Kodansha Comics is reissuing a classic cyberpunk manga in advance of the controversial film adaptation. Masamune Shirow’s story is set in 2029 and follows the adventures of a special-ops task force that targets corruption, terrorism, and other evils. In the world of Ghost in the Shell, humans can benefit from cybernetic prostheses that replace their body and even part of the brain, allowing them to plug in to larger networks. Major Motoko Kusanagi, the leader of the task force, is a sophisticated cyborg—but as we all know in 2016, anything computerized can be hacked. Ghost in the Shell is a fast-moving, complex story filled with intrigue and action, with just enough humor to keep it from getting too heavy.

Nichijou, Vol. 6, by Keiichi Arawi
Nichijou is sort of a surrealistic version of Azumanga Daioh. It revolves around a group of schoolgirls, one of whom is a robot, and their oddball teacher and principal. On one level, it’s a gag manga, but the gags have a sort of dream logic about them, with outlandish things popping up that somehow work, rather than seeming totally random. The clean-lined art sets a deadpan tone that contrasts nicely with the goofy humor. In this volume, a teacher makes a startling discovery and another character goes on a rampage over wooden cubes—so it’s another ordinary day at Tokisadame High School.

Haikyu!!, Vol. 7, by Haruichi Furudate
Furudate’s volleyball saga continues with the return of an old rival: Back in volume 2, the rookie-heavy Karasuno team had a practice game with another school, Aoba Johsai, a team that includes most of Tobio Kageyama’s. When he was in middle school, Kageyama alienated the other players with his arrogant attitude, and one of the big shifts early in the series was his newfound ability to collaborate with the raw but talented Shoyo Hinata. In that early game, Aoba Johsai’s team was startled by Kageyama’s new attitude, but the game also showed up some of Karasuno’s weaknesses. In the volumes that followed, the team has built up its strength, bringing back some players who were out for various reasons and finally getting a real coach. Now they are back playing Aoba Johsai, this time for real in the inter-high match. Furudate’s kinetic depictions of volleyball play make this a dynamic series, with plenty of behind-the-scenes emotion to keep it interesting to all shonen fans, even those who don’t care much for sports.

One-Punch Man, Vol. 10, by ONE and Yusuke Murata
One-Punch Man is a superhero comic that relies on a couple of gags—the hero’s ridiculous strength, his smart-but-clueless sidekick, outlandish villains, and equally outlandish superheroes. Yusuke Murata’s art elevates it from a gag comic to a real story, but the whole concept works best in short bursts. This volume picks up the storyline about a villain who is targeting superheroes, then veers off into another story about an escalating series of centipede monsters. The last third or so of the book is taken up with three bonus manga: Tornado gets the day off, Saitama enters a costume contest, and Blizzard challenges Saitama and his crew to a duel (of sorts). The stories are peppered with crazy characters, such as a superhero modeled after a pineapple and a former pet turtle who was flushed into the sewers and ended up as a three-headed behemoth.

Legend of Zelda: Legendary Edition, Vol. 2, by Akira Himekawa
This volume is subtitled “Oracle of Seasons and Oracle of Ages,” and as that implies, it includes two different stories. In the first, Link meets up with Din, who controls the seasons, and when she is abducted by the evil Onox, the seasons of Hyrule are disrupted. Similarly, when the Oracle of Ages is possessed by a sorceress in the second story, the flow of time is disrupted. In both tales, which follow the games pretty closely, Link has to rescue the Oracles. This is a two-in-one reissue of Akira Himekawa’s older Legend of Zelda manga in a beautiful new edition, with a larger trim size and classic-looking cover. Note to Zelda fans: The new series Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, also from Akira Himekawa, launches in English in March.

Tokyo Ghoul: Void, by Shin Towada and Sui Ishida
This prose novel adds to the main story of Tokyo Ghoul, bridging the six-month gap between volume 8 and volume 9 with a new tale of the struggle between the ghouls and the Commission on Counter Ghoul. This also fills in the story of what the lead character, Ken Kaneki, was up to after he left the 20th Ward. This is the second of three Tokyo Ghoul novels being published by Viz; the first, Tokyo Ghoul: Days, came out in October.

Blade of the Immortal Omnibus, Vol. 1, by Hiroaki Samura
Dark Horse is bringing back a classic manga in omnibus format. As a samurai for an evil master, Manji killed 100 good men. Now he is cursed with immortality—his body harbors “sacred bloodworms” that can heal any wound. In order to shake the curse, he must kill 1,000 evil men. This isn’t a slasher manga, though—while it is spectacularly violent, it’s also a beautifully drawn and carefully plotted story. Dark Horse first started publishing the series in 1996, in the early days of English-language manga, and unlike most manga nowadays, it is flipped so it reads left to right, with the panels rearranged as needed for a better flow. This hefty three-in-one omnibus is a deep dive into the story at an affordable price.

Big Order, Vol. 1, by Sakae Esuno
Esuno is the creator of Future Diary (originally published by Tokyopop and now available digitally from Viz), and Big Order looks like another sci-fi/fantasy manga with an interesting twist. Teenager Eiji Hoshimiya has a heavy responsibility—he believes he brought about a catastrophe by making a wish. Ten years later, he is one of a handful of individuals, called Orders, who have superpowers that can change the world. Because of his guilt, he refuses to use his superpowers—until he has to save his stepsister. That kicks off this complex story, in which the Orders team up to change the world—and prevent an even greater catastrophe in the future. This 10-volume series was adapted into an anime, which streams on Crunchyroll.