This week, finally all caught up on my yearly goals, I decided to take it easy and just read manga. So that’s what I did! First up was 怪獣８号, which I’ve had in my library for a while now. My sister asked me if I had any predictions for what might be “the next big thing” and that was my immediate answer just based on what I’ve heard about it here and there. I checked to see if it was getting translated and apparently vol. 1 had come out in English literally a week beforehand, so I took it as an opportunity to finally read it myself (and also buy her a copy). As soon as I started reading it I immediately remembered why I had put it on hold when I first got it — no furigana and the first few pages are pretty dense, and there were several pages that could have passed as Chinese. Fortunately at this point it was nothing I couldn’t handle. I liked it quite a lot and grabbed a few more volumes so I can keep going.

Next I read 魔女と野獣, another that’s been on my backlog for a while. Based on the cover (which features a woman and a man) I figured she was the witch and he was the beast — but apparently she’s the beast and the two of them are witch hunters. The introductory arc was pretty nuts and there’s been some pretty interesting worldbuilding so far.

Last up, I just finished ミステリと言う勿れ vol. 2 a few minutes ago. What I expected to be the conclusion to another standalone story pivoted pretty hard at the very end and went in a totally unexpected direction that got an audible gasp out of me. There was another standalone chapter that would honestly be an incredible feat of translation if they ever decide to put out an English version of this series, and then one which sets up the next arc (good thing I have vol. 3 and 4 ready to go). Really good all the way through, at times quite hilarious. I want to read more josei manga this coming year and this is definitely on the list.