 Hey everybody, welcome back to another exciting edition of the Manga Geekdom. Today we're taking a look at the top 12 anticipated manga releases for the month of April 2023. Let's begin with Tista Volume 1. This one is finally licensed and coming out from Viz Media. This is a story written and drawn by Tatsuya Endo. You might know him as the mangaka of Spy Family. Tista takes us to New York City. The NYPD struggles to track down a serial killer known as Sister Militia, who has been targeting mobsters and other criminals in the Big Apple. No one knows who Sister Militia really is except a few residents of a Catholic orphanage. Her name is Tista, leading a dual life as the grim reaper of New York City and a university student trying to become a teacher. With only 9 chapters collected across 2 volumes, this will be a short but sweet edition to your shelf. It's time for another box set, this time the later half of Sweat and Soap. The second box set contains volumes 7 through 11 from Kintatsu Yamada and it includes as a bonus item a personal case of paper soap. Yeah you heard that right, paper soap. I gotta appreciate the consistent theme here from Kodansha. The first box set had sniffable stickers and now we have soap. If you don't know what this manga is about, it is a nice and popular slice of life slash romance series. We follow the character of Asako, she's living her dream working at the toiletry maker Lilia Drop. But she has a secret, the reason she loves the company so much is that she's ashamed of her body odor and their soap is the only thing that's ever helped her. So when the company's lead product developer, a perfuming genius approaches her in the lobby and wonders, what's that smell? She's terrified, but could it be that he likes it? But could it be that he likes her? And most surprising of all, she might just like him back. World End Salte Volume 2. This is a comedy fantasy adventure series released by Satoshi Mizukami. If you don't know who that is, he is actually one of my favorite mangaka, the author of such great works as Spirit Circle and Lucifer and the Biscuit Hammer. This is one of his brand new series. It first started publication back in 2020. So even though it's Volume 2, you're still in time. I recommend picking up Volume 1 and then going ahead and getting Volume 2 as well. In a world plagued by magical pollution, Salte, an orphan whose mother and father were killed trying to wipe out this blight, decides to follow in her parents' footsteps. But rather than cleansing the pollution, she wants to venture into it. Like the salvagers who reclaim treasure from its depths. Only she wants to travel farther to see if she can find the other side. Typically a lot of Mizukami works deal with a lot of science and fantasy elements, so I do recommend it. I think it's going to be worth your time. However, this isn't the only Mizukami series that we're going to talk about on this video. Sengoku Yoko. Volume 1 is finally coming out. It's another famous series from the same author, Satoshi Mizukami. This one, however, it's an action-adventure supernatural story. In this book, the world is divided into two factions, humans and monsters called Katawara. Despite being a katawara, Tama loves humans and vows to protect them from evil, even if it means fighting her own kind. Her step-brother Jinka, however, hates humans, despite mostly being one. The siblings are joined by a cowardly swordsman named Shinsuke, who wants to learn how to become strong. When the group uncovers a plot to experiment on humans and transform them into monsters, they vow to defeat whoever is behind it, even if it means battling an entire army of warriors. This one came out back in 2007 and ended in 2016, going for 100 chapters collected in 17 volumes. I'm super excited about this. I hope it sells well that Tokyo Pop keeps putting out this series, because I need to fill that Mizukami creator shelf of mine. Dead Dead Demons, Dead Dead Dead Destruction, Volume 12, the end of the beloved science fiction comedy slice of life series from Inio Asano. If you haven't read it, what are you waiting for? It's arguably one of Asano's best works. This is his second longest series after Good Night Poon Poon. Dead Dead Demons recently ended last year, so it's exciting to have another completed series on your shelf, especially from a high-profile creator like Inio Asano. And just in case you don't know, it follows the story of a large spaceship that appears over Tokyo three years before the story starts. However, it's not necessarily about that, and we follow two high school girls that are struggling with the mundane aspect of life amidst the chaos that has now descended on Japan. Sugar Apple Fairy Tale is finally coming out. This one is being published by Yen Press. This fantasy romance series is based on the light novel, the original story by Miri Mikawa and the art here by Yosorano Udon. In a world where fairies are bought and sold to the highest bidder, humans aren't exactly on friendly terms with the fairy folk. But friendships is exactly what Anne Halford seeks with Chao, her new fairy bodyguard, though he's not so keen on the idea at first. As his new master, Anne is tasking him with escorting her through a dangerous area, but with a reluctant bodyguard eager to escape of life of servitude, she'll have to deal with a lot more than she bargained for. Sugar Apple Fairy Tale just ended its first anime season, and I absolutely love that. I highly recommend this series. It's a nice romance series, but it also has some adventurous elements, and if you're looking for something a little bit different to spice up your shelf, I highly recommend adding Sugar Apple Fairy Tale to your collection. I recommended the first one. I had to do it for the second one, Tatsuki Fujimoto Before Chainsaw Man 22-26, being published by Viz Media. This is the other short story collection from Tatsuki Fujimoto, the mangaka of such hit series like Chainsaw Man and Fire Punch. This one includes killer mermaids, gender swapping, and a devilish little sister with the power to end the world. I really enjoyed the first one. I really like Tatsuki Fujimoto's unique creations when it comes to short stories. Really really like that, and the art? This might be a little hot take here. I kind of prefer the art in the short stories a little bit more than the long running series. That's just me. Still, this is an awesome creative little book that I highly recommend. I wish we could get more and more of short story collections from mangaka. That would be great to add to our shelves. The Witch and the Knight will survive. This one is a drama fantasy series from Yenpres written by Dai Chikamoto and art by Gonbei Shinkawa. This one follows the Lord's son, Agradius, returning to his village after a long hunt. He is shocked to discover that all the laughter and clamor that he knew so well has disappeared. When he finds out that the cause of the tragedy is a witch living in the forbidden forest, he turns his despair into rage and sets off on a journey seeking revenge for those he loved. This sounds like a classic, awesome, badass fantasy series, and I'm excited to check it out. I did not know about this until I was making this video, so like you guys, I'm excited for it. I want to check it out. The art's pretty dope too. So yeah, I'll be adding this to my to read list. The Witch and the Knight will survive. Volume 1. Loves in sight. Volume 1. This one is from Viz Media, a comedy romance slice of life written and drawn by Uoyama. Love blossoms between a tough delinquent boy and a spunky girl with a vision impairment. Moryo, the Black Panther, has won over 100 fights. He's beloved by his goons and feared by the public. Now he faces his biggest challenge, yet when he meets Yukiko and falls in love at first sight, can Moryo outgrow his delinquent roots and turn over a new leaf for his unexpected love? While I do enjoy the premise for this and the art, I do have to point out that this is a four-panel manga, and if you don't know what that is, this is a yonkoma, a manga that is printed in comic strip format in four panels of equal size ordered from top to bottom. So it's more comedic and in short burst compared to the regular sequential art in other manga. Oh boy. Here is Boys Abyss published by Viz Media. Here's Volume 1, written and drawn by Ryo Minenami. Now I have to give a huge warning before I read the description. This manga has a lot of triggering content and it's not going to be for everybody, but I cannot disregard the fact that it is a hyped up release that a lot of people are excited for and are going to pick up, so I had to include it on this list. We follow Reiji who has a very miserable life and he's living in this town that is very toxic. The most interesting thing that's ever happened here is a double suicide down by the river. Reiji is taking care of his mother and his shut in brother as well as his ailing grandmother. His childhood friends treat him like a lackey and when a beautiful big city pop idol Nagi miraculously shows up at the local convenience store, Reiji is star struck. However, she offers him the ultimate way out of his claustrophobic existence. Will he succumb to temptation? So yeah, these are very heavy subject matters, not to be taken lightly. It's an engrossing dramatic read, but I will say it one ups itself as it goes on and you find out about more characters and their struggles and it's this heavy soap opera that happens. There are obviously other factors involved that I'm not going to spoil, but that's just a slight overview of Boy's Abyss. Then proceed with caution with a title like this. Demons of the Shadow Realm Volume 1, published by Square Enix and it's by Hiromu Arakawa. You might know her as the legendary bogica of such series as Fullmetal Alchemist. This one however, it's a little bit different. Deep in the mountains under the watchful eyes of two stone guardians, there is the isolated Higashi village. Like some of its residents, Yuru is content to live out his days foraging and hunting in the nearby woods. His idealic life however changes when the village comes under attack. Amidst the chaos, the young man is whisked away and forbidden to return to the only home and family he's ever known. And to ensure his safety, the two statues who once stood guard over the village have joined the fight, the divine left and right. As Yuru discovers commanding these demons is his birthright, but after losing everything dear to him, will he be up to the task of unraveling a conspiracy tying him and his twin to a prophecy that threatens the entire world. Arakawa's no stranger to you epic world building and great characters, so I have no doubt this will be another classic in the making. If you like some cool action adventure series, I do suggest picking up Demons of the Shadow Realm, Volume 1. And to close out this video we got Gleolia, I hope I said that right, Volume 1, the second printing. This is finally coming back into print, a lot of people are excited for it. This book is published by Glacier Made Books, a collection of short stories by indie manga creators, mostly drama and slice of life elements. And back in 2020 it only got 300 copies, so a lot of people have been waiting for this to happen, myself included, I will be picking up a copy as well. This anthology originates from a desire specifically to shine a light on the small press and indie manga scenes and the literary power that resides there. So yes please, more indie manga creations, I want to see more of that. Thank you to Glacier Made Books for making it happen, we got a second edition of that. So there you go guys, 12 anticipated manga releases that I think you should check out for the month of April. Let me know in the comment section which ones you're excited for and any other that I did not list here, let me know as well. Thank you so much for watching this video, truly do appreciate it, consider subscribing, hit the like button, share the video, really means a lot. I've got to go, thank you everybody once again, God bless, stay safe out there, I will catch all of you. See you on our next video.