The Best New Manga of December 2016

Psycho Pass: Inspector Shinya Kogami, Vol. 1, by Midori Gotu and Natsuo Sai
In the dystopian state of the anime Psycho-Pass, sensors are constantly scanning the brains of citizens to evaluate their mental states. When someone is deemed likely to commit a crime, special police officers called Enforcers round them up. The Enforcers themselves have high Crime Coefficients—in other words, they are latent criminals—and are supervised by Inspectors, which makes for a interesting dynamic. In the anime, Shinya Kogami is an Enforcer, but in this manga, a prequel, he is an Inspector. In the first volume, he and his team of Enforcers set out to solve an odd medical crime. It’s basically a manga version of the ensemble procedural in a futuristic setting, and since the setup is explained at the beginning, you don’t have to have seen the anime to enjoy it.

Bungo Stray Dogs, Vol. 1, by Kafka Asagiri and Sango Harukawa
Another ensemble detective story of sorts, Bungo Stray Dogs is the basis for the anime that started streaming on Crunchyroll earlier this year. The lead character, Atsushi Nakajima, has just been expelled from an orphanage when he stops a stranger from committing suicide. That stranger, Osamu Dazai, brings him into the Armed Detective Agency, whose members all have supernatural powers and use them to solve crimes and carry out missions no one else will touch. The supernatural detective agency isn’t an entirely new premise, but Bungo Stray Dogs brings some original twists to the genre, including a host of literary allusions—”Bungo” means “literary language,” and some of the characters are named after famous authors and characters.

Case Study Vanitas, Vol. 1, by Jun Mochizuki
Mochizuki, the creator of the shonen fantasy manga Pandora Hearts, turns to a steampunk Paris for her next series, this one featuring a vampire, Noé, who travels to the City of Lights to find the Book of Vanitas, a clockwork grimoire (spell book) with mysterious properties, and quickly gets tangled up with the book’s current owner, a vampire named Vanitas. Mochizuki creates a world of steampunk technology, gaslit streets, and willowy dudes in quasi-Victorian gear, complete with a backstory and ancient conflicts, making this a satisfying read for fans of supernatural intrigue.

Tokyo Ghoul, Vol. 10, by Sui Ishida
The adventures of Ken Kaneki continue as our half-ghoul, half-human hero learns to embrace his ghoul side, which he once rejected. With the adventure of the Aogiri Tree behind them, Ken and his companions continue their search for the answers to the enigma of Ken’s identity—but the “Doves” of the Commission of Counter Ghouls continue their pursuit of the ghouls as well. Tokyo Ghoul has a large cast of quirky characters and a mysterious backstory that is coming out a little at a time, making it a compelling read that just gets better from volume to volume.

Assassination Classroom, Vol. 13, by Yusei Matsui
Yusei Matsui continues to hilariously subvert all the shonen tropes in this Pepto-Bismol pink volume. As it opens, the assassin known as the Grim Reaper has imprisoned Koro Sensei and his students in a concrete cell with anti-Koro-Sensei metallic bars, and used Miss Vitch as bait to lure Mr. Karasume into a trap. It’s a classic locked-room problem, with no visible means of escape—unless you’re Koro-Sensei and his resourceful students. Back at school, Koro-Sensei offers career advice to the students (while dodging their assassination attempts) in case they succeed and the world doesn’t get destroyed, and then he has to deal with a meddling mom who wants to get her son out of Class 3-E. Even 13 volumes in, this series is a fun, fast ride, losing none of the momentum it had in the beginning.

Blame, Vol. 2, by Tsutomu Nihei
Tsutomu Nihei’s cyberpunk manga continues with Kyrii and Cibo traveling through the cavernous spaces of the City looking for the Net Terminal Gene that controls its chaotic growth—and is the key to stopping it. When they are attacked, help comes from an unlikely source—and the outcome is a surprise as well. With plenty of action and suspense and a ruined dystopian future setting, Blame is a modern sci-fi classic. It was first published by Tokyopop; Vertical has brought it back in a new, larger-format that really lets Nihei’s art breathe.

Haikyu!! Vol. 6, by Haruichi Furudate
Shoyo Hinata is living his dream of being a high school volleyball player, but there are still many obstacles to overcome. He and the rest of his Karasuno High School teammates have prevailed in the first rounds of the qualifying tournament for nationals, but now they are heading for their toughest challenge yet—a rematch with one of their arch-rivals. With rivalries, alliances, and plenty of heart, Haikyu!! mixes the sport of volleyball with classic shonen manga tropes, and at the same time, brings the reader—even those who never have watched volleyball before, let alone played—into the game at a deeper level than most sports manga.

Blue Exorcist, Vol. 16, by Kazue Kato
The paradox at the heart of Blue Exorcist is that the hero, Rin Okumura, is the son of Satan, and has inherited his powers—yet he is striving to become an exorcist so he can defeat the Prince of Darkness. In this volume, the exorcists are concerned about a new uptick in demonic activity, and Rin’s twin brother Yukio, the more human of the two, must contend with the strange fire in his eyes, which he conceals from the others as he struggles to control it.

Danganronpa: The Animation, Vol. 3, by Takashi Tsukumi and Spike Chunsoft
The weirdest school-trial manga ever continues as the students of Hope’s Peak Academy team up to prove one of their companions innocent and another guilty in a high-stakes classroom court where the losers—either the guilty party or those who choose the wrong defendant—will be put to death. Overseen by the insane black-and-white bear Monokuma, the students live in constant terror and are pitted against one another as the plot gets thicker and thicker. Danganronpa started as a video game and, as the title of this manga suggests, is an anime as well, but it works pretty well as a manga, as long as you’re ready for a crazy school slay ride.
What manga are you reading this month?