The Best New Manga of May 2015

Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, by Shotaro Ishinomori
Link, a blond lad of indeterminate age, is awakened in the middle of the night by a princess’s telepathic calls for help, and within the space of a few panels, we are plunged into sword-fighting, knight-bashing action. Shotaro Ishinomori, creator of the classics Cyborg 009 and Kamen Rider, created these stories in the early 1990s for the American magazine Nintendo Power, and they look more like American comics than manga; they are in color, they read left to right, the trim size is large, and beyond that, the paneling and flow of the comic feel Western. The comic starts at the beginning of the story, so it’s easy for non-gamers to follow.

Rosario + Vampire, Season II, Vol. 14, by Akihisa Ikeda
School’s out! Ikeda’s vampire action series winds up after a total of 24 volumes—10 for the original Rosario + Vampire, 14 more for Season II. Average guy Tsukune Aono is the only human student at a boarding school for monsters. That sounds dangerous, but the girls all like him, and he soon becomes involved with a female vampire, Moka Akashiya, whose personality changes radically depending on whether or not she is wearing a rosario around her neck. As you might expect from this description (and the covers), the series is heavy on the fights and fanservice, with the battles reaching a climax in the last few volumes.

Drug & Drop, Vol. 2, by CLAMP
CLAMP’s original series Legal Drug is about a mysterious drugstore where two young men, Kazahiya and Rikuo, stock the shelves by day and run strange errands for the owner, the mysterious Kakei, at night. It’s basically a framing tale for stories about Kazahiya’s supernatural adventures. CLAMP put the series on hiatus in 2003, and picked it up again in 2011 with a new name: Drug & Drop. The new series delves into the main characters’ pasts a bit more; in the first volume, Kazahaya had a terrible dream about his sister and went to another CLAMP character, Watanuki (from xxxHoLIC), for help. In this volume, he meets an angel. CLAMP excels at drawing beautiful settings and backgrounds, and this is a really lovely manga.

One Piece, Vol. 74, by Eiichiro Oda
Jump on board for another round of adventures with Luffy D. Monkey and his band of pirates, stars of the bestselling manga in Japan. This volume features Usopp, one of the less talented members of the Straw Hat Pirates, taking part in what has become an ongoing battle. One Piece delivers lots of action, comedy, and imaginatively drawn heroes and villains, and while it’s not an easy series to jump into midstream, every volume is a fun read.

A Silent Voice, Vol. 1, by Yoshitoki Oima
This new series from Kodansha has gotten a lot of good buzz, and the anime is currently being serialized on Crunchyroll. The story begins with a deaf girl, Shoko, being bullied in her new school, a boy named Shoya taking the lead. She’s finally so tormented she has to transfer to another school, and the bullies turn on Shoya. When they meet again, six years later, Shoko has a deeper understanding of what she has been through and is anxious to make amends. This manga won the New Creator prize in the Tezuka Osamu Cultural Awards and was nominated for a Manga Taishō award by Japanese booksellers.

Is it Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? Vol. 1, by Fujino Omori and Kunieda
This Yen Press series debut is set in a monster-dungeon filled and features a 14-year-old adventurer, Bell Cranel, who is fighting his way through this strange world while having romantic adventures. Based on the light novels of the same name, this series promises fantasy action and plenty of bumbling romance.

A Certain Magical Index, Vol. 1, by Kazuma Kamachi and Chuya Kogino
Part of a hugely popular franchise of light novels, anime, and manga, A Certain Magical Index is set in Academy City, a place where everyone is working to refine their supernatural powers. Touma appears to be one of the less gifted students, but his life gets turned upside down when a girl named Index drops in and makes herself at home. Not the most original plot, perhaps, but the characters are likable, the setting is interesting, and the art is solid.

Sword Art Online Girls Ops, by Reki Kawahara, art by Neko Nekobyou
This manga is a spinoff of Sword Art Online, a series of manga and light novels about players trapped inside a massive multiplayer online role playing game. As you might guess, this offshoot focuses on the female characters, who go off on an adventure of their own.
What new manga are you reading in May?