The Best New Manga of November 2017

Battle Angel Alita Deluxe Edition, Vol. 1, by Yukito Kishiro
Daisuke Ido loves Alita for her mind, not her body, because when he first encounters here, she doesn’t have a body: He finds her disembodied head in the vast junkyard that is now the planet Earth. He takes the (still living) head home, names her “Alita” after his recently deceased cat, and supplies her with a new body, although it’s not immediately clear where he gets the parts. In fact, Alita’s suspicions on that point are what gets the action started, when she sees Ido in danger and reflexively shifts into martial arts mode. Since almost everyone in this story is a cyborg, they can just keep fighting even when they have lost most of their body parts—mechanical arms and legs fly everywhere. In the first fight, Alita is reduced to her head, a couple of wires, and one boob (of course!); Ido fits her out with a new more fight-ready body, and we’re off on a series of bloody but surprisingly entertaining adventures. Battle Angel Alita was originally published by Viz, but now that Kodansha has the license, they are reissuing it as a deluxe hardcover two-in-one omnibus edition with a larger trim size, offering 400 pages of glorious Alita action.

Akira 35th Anniversary Box Set, by Katsuhiro Otomo
Otomo’s dystopian sci-fi classic was one of the first manga translated into English, but surprisingly, this box set presents it in right-to-left format for the first time, in deluxe hardcover two-in-one omnibus volumes. It’s an appropriate treatment for a story that spawned an equally acclaimed anime and brought many American readers and creators into the manga fold for the first time. Set in the post-apocalyptic city of Neo-Tokyo, Akira is a story of motorcycle-riding rebel teens and shadowy figures conducting sinister experiments with supernatural powers. In addition to the complete series, this box set includes an art book and a patch bearing an image of the iconic pill. It’s a mammoth set for a mammoth series in manga history.

ACCA, Vol. 1: 13-Territory Inspection Department, by Natsume Ono
Nastume Ono is best known to her English-language readers as the creator of moody, loosely drawn manga such as Ristorante Paradiso, not simple, and House of Five Leaves. ACCA is a thriller about government bureaucracy and a coup d’etat, featuring a number of dapper male characters and drawn in Ono’s very recognizable style, so while the subject matter may be a bit different from what has been seen here previously, there’s a lot here for Ono fans to like—and for newcomers to her work to enjoy.

Tokyo Ghoul Illustrations: zakki, by Sui Ishida
Most art books are simply collections of covers, chapter openers, promotional art, and miscellaneous sketches, with minimal annotation. Tokyo Ghoul Illustrations: zakki, on the other hand, is a real delight for Tokyo Ghoul fans as it includes all those things plus Ishida’s commentary—why he did it this way, what his editors did and didn’t like, and what happened when his software froze in the middle of a drawing. It’s a fascinating look at the thinking behind this very smart manga, and a rich archive of its visual aspects.

My Hero Academia, Vol. 10, by Kohei Horikoshi
My Hero Academia is a superhero shonen manga that includes a lot of familiar features but winks at the reader from time to time as well, making for a funny, action-packed read. The basic plot is pretty standard: in a world where almost everyone has a super power, Midoriya is one of the 20 percent who don’t. To compensate, he becomes a sort of superpower otaku, studying the details of everyone else’s powers—which are called “quirks” because they are very specialized and only useful in certain situations. When one of the greatest superheroes grants Midoriya his superpower, our hero goes off to superhero school, where his class includes (of course) the kid who has been bullying him since elementary school, Bakugo. In this volume, Bakugo has been kidnapped by the league of supervillains, and while the grownups try to figure out what to do, the students hatch their own rescue plan. Like One-Punch Man, My Hero Academia takes its subject seriously enough to get the action scenes right while offering a slyly funny take on the superhero genre.

Children of the Whales, Vol. 1, by Abi Umeda
Children of the Whales sounds like it would be an undersea fantasy, but in fact it is the opposite: it’s set in a sea of shifting sands, and the whale in the title is the Mud Whale, a castle/island complex where a clutch of survivors of a mysterious incident are drifting alone across the arid landscape. There are two kinds of people on the Mud Whale: the Marked, who have magic powers but very short lives, and the Unmarked, who live longer and therefore have become the elders and rulers of the community. Although there are only about 150 of them altogether, they still have factions, rebels, and political intrigues. A whole new dimension appears, however, when a girl from another island is brought to the Mud Whale and the outside world begins to intrude in violent ways. Umeda builds up the world slowly, with sensitive characters and charming designs, then ramps up the action in the second half of the volume.

Forbidden Scrollery, Vol. 1, by Moe Harukawa and ZUN
Forbidden Scrollery is a manga spinoff of the Touhou Project, a series of shooter games all set in the self-contained world of Gensokyo, shared by humans and yokai, who are enemies of one another. The heroine of Forbidden Scrollery, Kosuzu Motoori, has a collection of magical books and the ability to translate them into any language. While Motoori is curious about the outside world, the dark magic that the books carry puts her and others in danger, allowing the yokai to intrude into the human realm. The story is a mix of action and fantasy, and it’s not necessary to know anything about the games to enjoy this manga.

To Your Eternity, Vol. 1, by Yoshitoki Oima
This manga starts with an orb that can take on any shape but seems to be compelled to continually evolve. It goes quickly from a rock to moss to a wolf, which becomes the companion of a boy living alone in a frozen wilderness. When the boy dies, it takes on his shape—but it must continue to travel, to evolve, and to die and be reborn in order to gain any human qualities. The next phase of its journey brings it to a village where a young girl is about to be sacrificed to the local god—and for the first time, we see a flicker of humanity. Oima is the creator of the acclaimed A Silent Voice, a story about bullying and forgiveness, and this new series has a very different setting but the same skillful depiction of human society and emotions. With its beautiful art and intriguing premise, it’s definitely a keeper.

A Polar Bear in Love, Vol. 1, by Koromo
In this goofy all-ages story, a polar bear falls in love with a seal, but the seal—apparently more tuned in to the ways of nature—is afraid that the polar bear regards it as a tasty snack, not the love of a lifetime. With simple lines and a comedic premise, this manga is a good, lighthearted read for the dark days of winter.

What new manga are you looking forward to in November?