This has been a bountiful year for manga, in terms of both quantity and quality, and there’s more on the way! From time travel to outer space, survival stories to high school romances, there are plenty of new stories, some of which color outside the lines of the standard genres. Here’s a roundup of some promising new and upcoming manga. Each listing includes the total number of volumes released in Japan so far and whether the series is completed or ongoing. Again!! by Mitsurou Kubo. Kodansha Comics. 12 vols. Complete. Gr 8 Up–This shonen romance with a time travel twist, about a uniquely Japanese activity, by the cocreator of Yuri on Ice, has it all. Kinichiro is a decent guy, but he never made any friends in high school. Then on graduation day, he falls down a flight of stairs and mysteriously travels four years into the past. This gives him the opportunity to join the ouendan—a kind of cheer squad—hoping that maybe things will end up different this time. Meanwhile, the popular girl who fell down the stairs with him—and also went back in time—is having a very different experience. Two volumes are out so far in English with a third volume due this month. Astra: Lost in Space by Kenta Shinohara. Viz. 5 vols. Complete. Gr 8 Up–If there’s one thing we’ve learned from manga, it’s that school trips always go awry. This futuristic space camp is no exception. Shortly after eight high school students and a 10-year-old sibling are dropped off on Planet McPa, a huge orb sucks everyone up and deposits them in deep space, thousands of light-years away from where they are supposed to be. Fortunately, there’s a large, empty spaceship nearby, and everyone in the school group has a useful talent—even the impossibly ditzy female lead, Aries Spring. Shinohara has a straightforward art style and a lively imagination—in the first volume, the student-astronauts travel to a planet with incredibly strange flora and fauna. Beyond the survival aspect, though, there’s something fishy about the way everything is playing out, and some of the students suspect a conspiracy is afoot. The fourth volume is scheduled for September. Crisis Girls by Hiroaki Yoshikawa. Seven Seas. 2 vols. Complete. Gr 8 Up–The aptly named Crisis City is constantly under attack by everything from a giant penguin to mind-controlling cloned pumpkins, and it’s up to Kaede, the Crisis Girl, to battle them all (except for the hilariously inept demon girl Cococha, who would rather have tea than fight). Kaede is new and has a lot to learn, especially after her zombie army is wiped out, but fortunately, she has her guardian, Okabe, for support. This two-volume series deftly plays with the Japanese superhero genre, with ridiculous villains, cute puppies, and a charming female lead. The first volume came out in May, and the second will release in October. Fruits Basket Another by Natsuki Takaya. Yen. 3 vols. Complete. Gr 8 Up–The original Fruits Basket was one of the most popular shoujo manga ever in North America, rivaled only by Sailor Moon. Now Takaya returns to the saga of the Sohmas, but with a new cast. This time it’s a shy girl named Sawa who comes face-to-face with two very different classmates who are both from the Sohma family—one of whom is “prince-like.” While the love triangle sounds very similar to that of the original, it will be interesting to see whether the curse of the Sohmas will be part of the story as well. The first volume of Fruits Basket Another is due out in English in July. Little Witch Academia by Yoh Yoshinari & Keisuke Sato. Yen. 2 voles. Ongoing. Gr 4 Up–Atsuko “Akko” Kagari starts out as the only student at the Luna Nova Witchcraft Academy who doesn’t have any actual magical powers. Inspired by her hero, Shiny Chariot, she is determined to become a witch, and eventually she comes into possession of a powerful object to help her on her way. That’s not her only obstacle, though; she also has to show the world that witchcraft is a worthwhile pursuit. This manga is an adaptation of the anime. The first volume will be released at the end of June. Manga Art for Intermediates by Danica Davidson & Rena Saiya. Skyhorse. 1 vol. Complete. Gr 8 Up–This manga instruction book focuses on character design and costume, devoting much more attention to details such as how to draw a rose or shoelaces, or which way a kimono crosses over, than proportion or anatomy. Much of that was covered in the previous book, Manga Art for Beginners (by Davidson and artist Melanie Westin). This is a solid selection for those who have mastered the basics and are ready to move on to character work. It will be available on June 12. My Brother’s Husband by Gengoroh Tagame. Pantheon. 2 vols. Complete. Gr 8 Up–Yaichi’s twin brother, Ryoji, moved to Canada after coming out as gay. As this story opens, Ryoji has died and his husband, Mike, has come to Japan to learn about Ryoji’s life there. Yaichi is negative at first, then just awkward, but before long, he and Mike develop an easygoing family relationship, nudged along by Yaichi’s winsome daughter Kana (who has a knack for always saying the right thing at a difficult moment). The first volume of this series made YALSA’s Top Ten Graphic Novels for Teens list; the second is due out in September. My Hero Academia by Kōhei Horikoshi. Viz. 18 vols. Ongoing. My Hero Academia: Vigilantes by Hideyuki Furuhashi & Betten Court. Viz. 3 vols. Ongoing. Gr 8 Up–My Hero Academia was a sleeper hit. With volume 13 releasing in June, it’s not a new series, but it sort of snuck up the charts as some of the more popular series ended or slowed down. It’s a school-for-superheroes story in the Shonen Jump mold, with the scrappy underdog facing off against the talented but overconfident jerk. Horikoshi dresses up the story nicely, though, with a large cast of characters, each of whom has a “quirk”—a superpower, but usually a very limited one. They are all working together to get through their superhero training and go on to save the world—but there’s plenty of interpersonal drama as well. My Hero Academia: Vigilantes, is a spin-off with a different cast, with members who aren’t talented enough to become official superheroes but use their quirks to help others anyway; the first volume is due out in July. The Promised Neverland by Kaiu Shirai & Posuka Demizu. Viz. 8 vols. Ongoing. Gr 10 Up–Another manga that is rapidly growing in popularity, The Promised Neverland is set in an orphanage where the children are well treated and watched over by a loving mother figure. Of course, all is not as it seems, and the three smartest orphans figure out why: it’s really a factory farm, and the children who are “adopted” are actually sent off to be eaten by monsters. Their only hope for survival is to escape, but under her calm exterior, “Mom” is pretty canny, and pretty soon it’s hard to know whom to trust. Don’t be fooled by the pretty cover—this is a dark survival story in an attractive package. The fourth volume came out this month. RWBY: Official Manga Anthology. Viz. 4 vols. Complete. Gr 8 Up–Each volume of this anthology features a collection of short stories about one of the lead characters of the animated series RWBY: Ruby Rose, Weiss Schnee, Blake Belladonna, and Yang Xiao Long. The emphasis is on the characters developing and learning to be leaders, so there are plenty of fights against the Grimms but also lots of silliness: Ruby slashes away at a giant bird in one story and bakes chocolate cookies in another. The first volume, starring Ruby, came out in May, and the second is due out in August. Viz also published a one-shot manga, simply titled RWBY, by Shirow Miwa (Dogs: Bullets and Carnage) that is also rated for teens and is a prequel to the series. Silver Spoon by Hiromu Arakawa. Yen. 14 vols. Ongoing. Gr 8 Up–This slice-of-life comedy manga by the creator of Fullmetal Alchemist is a delightful story about an aimless city boy finding his bliss in an agricultural school in the country. Ignored by his parents and unable to get into a top high school, Yugo Hachiken decides almost on a whim to go to Ooezo Agricultural School (aka Ezo Ag), mainly so he can live in a dorm but also because he figures he’ll get good grades there. His fellow students all have the motivation he lacks, and while they may struggle with math, they know a lot about food processing, cloning, and animal behavior. Students are expected to help tend the livestock, which leads to plenty of comic situations, and Arakawa includes fascinating details about animal care and agriculture. A warning for sensitive readers: the students are unsentimental about their work, casually beheading chickens and warning Hachiken not to get too attached to the piglets, no matter how cute they are. Two volumes have been released so far, and the third will be out at the end of June. Star Wars: Lost Stars by Claudia Gray & Yusaku Komiyama. Yen. 2 vols. Complete. Gr 8 Up–This manga is a Japanese adaptation of Gray’s novel of the same name. It’s set in the same world as the movies, but it’s not directly taken from any of them. Rather, it’s an independent story about two teens, Thane Kyrell and Ciena Ree, who grow up on Jelican and go to the Imperial Academy together. Although they are members of different social classes, their love of flying draws them together—but a shadowy hand is trying to force them apart. After they graduate, Thane joins the Rebel Alliance while Ciena rises through the ranks of the Empire. The art is straightforward, and a number of the major characters from the films make cameo appearances. The first volume published in May, and the second is scheduled for spring 2019. That Blue Sky Feeling by Okura & Coma Hashii. Viz. 2 vols. Ongoing. Gr 8 Up–When Noshiro transfers to a new school, he notices that everyone seems to be shunning a classmate, Sanada—because there’s a rumor going around that Sanada is gay. Noshiro reaches out and tries to make friends, but his efforts fall flat. When Sanada confirms that he is in fact gay, Noshiro isn’t fazed, but as he tries to connect with Sanada, his feelings grow deeper. The contrast between the bighearted Noshiro and the aloof Sanada is classic, but Sanada’s ex, Haru, adds a new dimension—an older man (he’s 26) who provides a friendly presence and tries to get Sanada and Noshiro to understand each other. In its portrayal of the characters’ mixed feelings, as well as the difficulties of being gay in high school (in the first few chapters, Sanada is repeatedly referred to as “a homo”), this story feels more realistic than most shonen romances, even if it does lean on the trope of the standoffish guy as the chief romantic interest. The first volume is due out in August.