Tag Archives: sumiko arai

The Guy She Was Interested In Wasn’t a Guy at All Vol. 3 does a great job of developing characters

With Aya’s encouragement and inspiration from a music festival they attend together, Mitsuki begins to pursue her passion for music in earnest! But when a certain video of her singing goes viral on social media, Mitsuki ends up becoming somewhat of a celebrity at school―and her newfound fame brings difficulties for both her and Aya…

Story: Sumiko Arai
Art: Sumiko Arai
Translator: Ajani Oloye
Letterer: Brandon Bovia

Get your copy now! To find a comic shop near you, visit http://www.comicshoplocator.com or call 1-888-comicbook or digitally and online with the links below.

Bookshop
Amazon


This post contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links and make a purchase, we’ll receive a percentage of the sale. Graphic Policy does purchase items from this site. Making purchases through these links helps support the site

Anime Expo 2025: Yen Press Heats Up Winter Releases with Fourteen New Licenses

During Anime Expo 2025, the largest anime convention in the United States, Yen Press announced fourteen new title acquisitions, offering everything from new and exclusive editions of fan-favorite classics to haunting mysteries, tales of romance, and more.

Releasing in December 2025 and January 2026, the lineup includes nine manga (The Guy She Was Interested In Wasn’t a Guy at All (Webstore Exclusive Edition), Battle Royal Deluxe EditionWonder BoyHinatsugimuraOut of the CocoonScenes from AwajimaPlease Look After the DragonImmortality and Punishment, and Animan), one manhwa (Beatrice), and four novels (About a Place in the Kinki Region1,000 Words to LiveNew Game Plus After Defeating the Last Boss, and Thou, as My Knight…).

The Guy She Was Interested In Wasn’t a Guy at All, Vol. 1 (Webstore Exclusive Edition)

By Sumiko Arai

Experience the vibrant, captivating story of the rock-loving pair-now in an exclusive, limited-edition hardcover only available from the Yen Press webstore! Fashionable and upbeat high schooler Aya falls head over heels for an employee at a local CD shop. He’s stylish with an air of mystery about him, and his taste in music is impeccable. Little does she know—this supposedly male employee is actually her female classmate Mitsuki! Mitsuki generally keeps to herself, but since her seat is right next to Aya’s, she can’t help but be extremely aware of the other’s crush. And although she’s afraid to reveal the truth, Mitsuki finds herself talking with Aya more and more.

The Guy She Was Interested In Wasn’t a Guy at All, Vol. 1 (Webstore Exclusive Edition)

Battle Royale Deluxe Edition

Art by Masayuki Taguchi
Story by Koushun Takami

The hyper-violent classic is back in a new edition! Forty-two middle school students are forced to fight to the death until there’s only one survivor! 

Battle Royale Deluxe Edition

Wonder Boy

By Kazumi Yamashita

A family, struggling to survive in Japan after the second World War. An orphan girl in London, working her fingers to the bone every day just to pay for the food on her table. A young man in a war-torn world, fighting without knowing his purpose for living. Across time and space, these strangers share just one thing in common—the wonder boy. A mysterious traveler who appears here and there throughout the ages, watching the triumphs and sorrows of humanity… 

Wonder Boy

Hinatsugimura

By Aki Shimizu

While looking for the ruins of a pre-WWII village deep in the mountain wilderness, a group of college students find themselves stuck thanks to a sudden thunderstorm. With no phone service, they decide to wait out the rain in a mansion. But little do they know, a ghastly fate awaits them… 

Hinatsugimura

Out of the Cocoon

By Yuriko Hara

Yuriko Hara, author of the atmospheric, eerily beautiful yuri Cocoon Entwined, brings us five haunting stories of love and attachment. Ranging from horrific to wistful, these captivating tales, featuring both yuri and Boys Love, are sure to ensnare readers. Fans of her previous workwill be especially delighted by the final piece, which provides an extra chapter of Youko and Hana’s story. 

Out of the Cocoon

Scenes from Awajima, Vol. 1

By Takako Shimura

Awajima Opera School—where countless girls from across the country flock in hopes of one day standing on the big stage. As they work toward achieving their dreams of stardom, their time at Awajima is filled with as much friendship and admiration as competition and jealousy. The precious feelings of girls who are at once both classmates and rivals, tenderly captured in the portraits of an ensemble cast! 

Scenes from Awajima, Vol. 1

Please Look After the Dragon, Vol. 1

Art by Shoun MAKISE
Story by Yuki HIGASHIURA

Murakami is just your average college student—he attends class, works, and plays games on his days off. And it’s a day like any other when he comes across a stray in the park near his apartment. But instead of a cute, fluffy friend, Murakami finds himself face to face with…a real-life dragon?! Her name is Ilsera, and she’s on a training trip to become a fully fledged member of her species! Her only request is for Murakami to foster her during her time in the human world. And so Murakami somehow winds up with a strange new roommate… 

Please Look After the Dragon, Vol. 1

Immortality and Punishment, Vol. 1

By Kentaro Sato

A young man burdened with a heavy secret finds himself trapped, broke and alone, in a love hotel. As he falls deeper into despair, an echo of his past haunts him—“Live on so you can atone…” Meanwhile, chaos erupts on the streets as grotesque figures begin to appear all around the city. 

Immortality and Punishment, Vol. 1

Animan, Vol. 1

By TAKUYA OKADA

Are we the predators or the prey? When an unsuspecting father and daughter stumble upon a strange gathering of humanoid animals with a taste for fine cuisine, their worst nightmare is about to begin. Here, creatures who are not quite human—and not quite animal at that—raise humans as livestock and slaughter them to put meat on the table. Through this bizarre and horrific tale, society’s morals are put to the ultimate test: What does it truly mean to consume another living being? 

Animan, Vol. 1

Beatrice, Vol. 1

Art by Cierra
Original Story by Macherie

Princess Beatrice of Elpasa can do nothing but watch helplessly as Duke Alessandro of the Nosteros Empire invades her country and strips her of her status—but nobody could’ve have predicted she would take to the hard labor like a fish to water. Having grown up as a commoner named Chloe, the former princess is quick to reclaim her identity and chop off her long locks, eager to get a fresh start to her second life. Her past is hard to escape, however, as her intellect and charm catches the eye of Duke Alessandro himself! Will she be able to hide her identity as Beatrice, or is she fated to meet her end by his sword? 

Beatrice, Vol. 1

About a Place in the Kinki Region

By Sesuji

My friend is missing. Before he disappeared, he was working on a magazine about the paranormal—his first real job as an editor. With almost no budget, he’d resorted to digging through back issues and unused research material, looking for inspiration. As he did, a terrifying truth began to emerge about a certain place in the Kinki region. I have collected the relevant articles, interviews, and other excerpts in this book. And once you have understood everything, I would like to ask for your cooperation. I hope you will get in touch. 

About a Place in the Kinki Region

1,000 Words to Live

By Gyatei Murasaki

A collection of twenty-six shocking, awe-inducing short stories! A doctor tells a patient they can speak only one thousand words before their life ends. Someone’s boyfriend turns into a can of mackerel. A woman is in her sixth year of pregnancy. This mysterious world is full of laughter and tears and twists and turns sure to leave anyone reeling! 

1,000 Words to Live

New Game Plus After Defeating the Last Boss, Vol. 1

Story by Touwa Akatsuki
Art by Falmaro


Might the adventurer gave everything he had to defeat the Demonic Dragon, and while he emerged victorious, it cost him his life. After the blessing of the goddess resurrected him, he’s back at level one. That barely matters though, because he’s still ridiculously strong! He attracts the attention of many with his strength, and parties up with a harem of beautiful women! How will Might’s new adventures unfold?!

New Game Plus After Defeating the Last Boss, Vol. 1

Thou, as My Knight…, Vol. 1

Story by Rintaro Hatake
Illustrations by Hino

In this world, people known as Informationists sell their supernatural abilities for use in armed conflicts. When Tsushima Rindou, an ordinary Informationist, agrees to help a fallen noble named Holly defect from the Balga Empire, he isn’t expecting anything more than a typical escort mission. But there’s much more to his client than she’s letting on, and the Empire is intent on keeping her within its borders, dispatching their army and an elite group of Informationists to apprehend the duo by any means necessary. Can these two souls, bound only by a business agreement, survive the grueling journey and web of conspiracies that await? 

Thou, as My Knight..., Vol. 1

The Guy She Was Interested In Wasn’t a Guy at All Vol. 1 is a great start with great art

Fashionable and upbeat high schooler Aya loves listening to rock, but no one else seems to share her interest…until she meets a cool, stylish employee at a CD shop. Dressed in black from head to toe, he has this air of mystery about him, and his taste in music is impeccable. Aya falls hard for him―not knowing her crush is actually her female classmate Mitsuki! For her part, Mitsuki generally keeps to herself and avoids standing out at school. But given that she sits right next to Aya, Mitsuki’s all too aware of the other girl’s feelings, and she’s afraid to reveal the truth. So why does she find herself talking with Aya more and more…?

Story: Sumiko Arai
Art: Sumiko Arai
Translator: Ajani Oloye
Letterer: Brandon Bovia

Get your copy now! To find a comic shop near you, visit http://www.comicshoplocator.com or call 1-888-comicbook or digitally and online with the links below.

Bookshop
Amazon
Kindle


Yen Press provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review
This post contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links and make a purchase, we’ll receive a percentage of the sale. Graphic Policy does purchase items from this site. Making purchases through these links helps support the site

The Guy She Was Interested In Wasn’t a Guy at All Vol. 2 is choppy in the story but has awesome art

Aya’s found out that the guy she was interested in isn’t a guy at all—and she’s also realized that she just can’t keep her cool around Mitsuki! The two haven’t quite put a name on their complex, earnest feelings, but they only grow as the pair continues to bond over the music they love. With their senior year at hand, future plans are coming into question…and Aya’s thrown for a loop when a mysterious woman shows up and wants Mitsuki to go overseas!

Story: Sumiko Arai
Art: Sumiko Arai
Translator: Ajani Oloye
Letterer: Brandon Bovia, Rachel J. Pierce

Get your copy now! To find a comic shop near you, visit http://www.comicshoplocator.com or call 1-888-comicbook or digitally and online with the links below.

Bookshop
Amazon
Kindle


This post contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links and make a purchase, we’ll receive a percentage of the sale. Graphic Policy does purchase items from this site. Making purchases through these links helps support the site

The Guy She Was Interested In Wasn’t a Guy at All Vol. 2 is choppy in the story but has awesome art

Aya’s found out that the guy she was interested in isn’t a guy at all—and she’s also realized that she just can’t keep her cool around Mitsuki! The two haven’t quite put a name on their complex, earnest feelings, but they only grow as the pair continues to bond over the music they love. With their senior year at hand, future plans are coming into question…and Aya’s thrown for a loop when a mysterious woman shows up and wants Mitsuki to go overseas!

Story: Sumiko Arai
Art: Sumiko Arai
Translator: Ajani Oloye
Letterer: Brandon Bovia, Rachel J. Pierce

Get your copy now! To find a comic shop near you, visit http://www.comicshoplocator.com or call 1-888-comicbook or digitally and online with the links below.

Bookshop
Amazon
Kindle


This post contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links and make a purchase, we’ll receive a percentage of the sale. Graphic Policy does purchase items from this site. Making purchases through these links helps support the site

The Guy She Was Interested In Wasn’t a Guy at All Vol. 1 is a great start with great art

Fashionable and upbeat high schooler Aya loves listening to rock, but no one else seems to share her interest…until she meets a cool, stylish employee at a CD shop. Dressed in black from head to toe, he has this air of mystery about him, and his taste in music is impeccable. Aya falls hard for him―not knowing her crush is actually her female classmate Mitsuki! For her part, Mitsuki generally keeps to herself and avoids standing out at school. But given that she sits right next to Aya, Mitsuki’s all too aware of the other girl’s feelings, and she’s afraid to reveal the truth. So why does she find herself talking with Aya more and more…?

Story: Sumiko Arai
Art: Sumiko Arai
Translator: Ajani Oloye
Letterer: Brandon Bovia

Get your copy now! To find a comic shop near you, visit http://www.comicshoplocator.com or call 1-888-comicbook or digitally and online with the links below.

Bookshop
Amazon
Kindle


Yen Press provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review
This post contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links and make a purchase, we’ll receive a percentage of the sale. Graphic Policy does purchase items from this site. Making purchases through these links helps support the site

Yen Press announces 15 new titles for October 2024

Yen Press has announced the release of fifteen new titles, including nine manga, five novels, and a box set. These fifteen titles are set to release in October 2024.

Toilet-bound Hanako-kun: Second Stall

By AidaIro

A new deluxe collection of Volumes 11 through 20 of Toilet-bound Hanako-kun wrapped in one frightful package! Pick up where the first box set left off and follow Hanako, Nene, Kou, and company on their adventures, all the way until the beginning of the school festival. Don’t “stall” any longer and make room on your shelf for this supernatural selection!

Toilet-bound Hanako-kun: Second Stall

Horimiya, Vol. 17: A Piece of Memories

Story by HERO, Art by Daisuke Hagiwara

School may have finished, but there is no end to the sweet “awww”-inspiring tale of Hori and Miyamura! Snapshots of Hori, Miyamura, and the gang’s lives; a brand- new story by the original author, HERO; and the Hori edition of the final story revealed at the 2021 traveling Horimiya exhibition have all been collected into this volume celebrating the original series’s finale!

Horimiya, Vol. 17: A Piece of Memories

86—EIGHTY-SIX: Operation High School

Art by Suzume Somemiya, Story by Asato Asato, Character Design by Shirabii, Mechanical Design by I-IV

The Republic of San Magnolia is enjoying peaceful days, having not been invaded by the neighboring empire’s Legion weapons. This is the story of Shin, Lena, and their friends as normal students attending Eighty-Six Private High School, where they’ll partake in club activities, the culture festival, a fireworks festival, and more! A story of heartwarming romance and glorious youth that could never have happened in the original 86 unfolds!

86—EIGHTY-SIX: Operation High School

Reign of the Seven Spellblades: Side of Fire

Story by Bokuto Uno, Illustration by Ruria Miyuki

Alvin Godfrey, a failure of a mage, entered Kimberly Magic Academy unsure of himself. Unable to cast a single spell, he was mocked by his peers. Yet he faced the darkness of Kimberly, made friends—and in time, became the student body president. Set five years prior to Reign of the Seven Spellblades, this is a scorching account of how Godfrey earned his famous nickname, Purgatory.

Reign of the Seven Spellblades: Side of Fire

Blade & Bastard (manga)

Story by Kumo Kagyu, Art by Makoto Fugetsu, Character Design by so-bin

Deep in the unexplored reaches of the dungeon, a corpse is discovered—one that shouldn’t exist. After Iarumas is resurrected, his memories of life before death are gone, and he spends his days delving into the dungeon to retrieve the bodies of dead adventurers. Can they be revived like him? Or will God reduce them to piles of ash on the altar? Either way, Iarumas collects his finder’s fee. And though his skills earn him some grudging respect, he’s also scorned for his cold, utilitarian attitude. The living keep their distance—while Iarumas consorts primarily with the dead. That is, until he meets Garbage, a feral young swordswoman who’s the sole survivor of a massacred party. With Garbage by his side, Iarumas ventures deeper, scouring the dungeon for clues to his past, avoiding monsters, traps, and the inevitability of a permanent ashen demise.

Blade & Bastard (manga)

Lycoris Recoil

Story by Spider Lily, Art by Yasunori Bizen

Japan—a nation where vicious crime and terror have been all but eliminated. And who keeps the peace? Cute schoolgirls, of course! Those uniformed youths you see on street corners and in stylish cafés may just be agents of Lycoris, with pistols in their purses and missions on their minds…

Lycoris Recoil

Is the Order a Rabbit?

By Koi

Lured in by the promise of cute bunnies, Cocoa stops by Rabbit House Café for a drink—only to find out it’s the very place she’ll be living…?! Inside, she meets small-but-aloof Chino, militaristic Rize, calm and traditional Chiyo, and Sharo, a normal girl who overflows with elegance. Watch the girls’ friendship deepen as the café bursts with cuteness and laughter from all directions!

Is the Order a Rabbit?

The Small-Animallike Lady Is Adored by the Ice Prince

Story by Hisui, Art by Mugi Sawai

I’m Liliana, the daughter of an earl, and I’m in a terrible bind. For some reason, when the “Ice Prince,” Prince William, hosted a party to find his bride, I was the lucky guest he chose to wed! Except…living a life as royalty is just about the last thing I want. So my goal is to break off my engagement—the sooner the better! But why is it that His Highness’s attitude only grows sweeter day by day…?

The Small-Animallike Lady Is Adored by the Ice Prince

I’ll Become a Villainess Who Goes Down in History: It Seems Turning into a High- Born Baddie Makes the Prince All the More Lovestruck

Story by Akari Hoshi, Art by Izumi Okido, Character Design by Jyun Hayase

“Screw all your lip service! I’ll go down in history as a villainess!”

Me, the same girl who hates all those prim and proper heroines, got reincarnated as the villainess in the world of my favorite fantasy dating sim! It’s my dream come true, so I’m going to leave my mark on history by becoming the world’s greatest villainess! But to do that, I’ll need to get a lot stronger and smarter. Just one problem—the harder I try to be evil, the harder the prince falls for me! At this rate, will I ever get to earn my place in history?!

I’ll Become a Villainess Who Goes Down in History: It Seems Turning into a High- Born Baddie Makes the Prince All the More Lovestruck

Kusunoki’s Garden of Gods

Story by Enju, Illustration by ox

Deep in the countryside, Minato Kusunoki is left in charge of a terrifying house overflowing with evil spirits—or at least, it was full until his extraordinary ability cleared them all out! Instead, a procession of unique and peculiar gods is drawn to the comfort of the purified Kusunoki residence, and Minato spends his days relaxing in the company of his spiritual neighbors. What else lies in store for Minato as he lives peacefully surrounded by gods?

Kusunoki’s Garden of Gods

Love Is Dark

Story by Ao Juumonji, Illustration by BUNBUN

Sosei Takarai just wanted to be a regular high schooler. He goes to school every day, hiding a job he doesn’t even enjoy, until the class idol, Asumi Shiramori, inexplicably asks him out. Sosei is over the moon, but with all his free time after school and on weekends taken up by his job, he barely gets to see Asumi, let alone go out on dates with her. Then one day, he spies his mysterious classmate Kuchina Hitsujimoto at his workplace. Why is she there? Sosei, after all, is as an assassin. His romantic entanglements are bittersweet and painful, and the closer Sosei gets to his dream of normality, the further away it seems. A dark rom-com about a boy who kills and a girl who takes lives with a touch.

Love Is Dark

The World Bows Down Before My Flames

Story by Hiyoko Sumeragi, Illustration by Pikazo Mika, Background Painting by mocha

Homura wants to set something, anything, on fire. She may finally get her chance when she’s summoned to another world that’s desperate enough to ask her for help! Along with a group of similarly offbeat high school girls who all have their own powers, Homura incinerates evildoers and reins in the chaos caused by the Demon Lord’s resurrection. What’s going to happen when she inevitably gets a little carried away? Will her flames of justice burn down the whole world?

The World Bows Down Before My Flames

In My Seventh Life, I Met a Monster Princess

Story by sammbon, Illustration by nama2e

Hugo is stuck in a time loop, forced to relive the same life up until the moment he is slain by one of his relatives. But after swearing revenge on his murderous family during his seventh reset, he meets a beautiful girl. According to rumor, this girl is a monster in human flesh, but he agrees to become her servant all the same. The birth of their partnership heralds an intertwining of fates, and Hugo’s life will never be the same again…

In My Seventh Life, I Met a Monster Princess

Lethal Dose of Love

By Yosumi

He’ll never forget him—his ex-classmate Yuu, that is. College student Ryousuke was absolutely devastated when Yuu confessed his feelings and then promptly disappeared from his life without waiting for a reply. After desperately searching for years, Ryousuke is overjoyed when they suddenly meet by chance. His happiness is soon eclipsed by the fact that Yuu walks off into the arms of another man…

Lethal Dose of Love

The Guy She Was Interested In Wasn’t a Guy at All

By Sumiko Arai

Fashionable and upbeat high schooler Aya falls head over heels for an employee at a local CD shop. He’s got an air of mystery about him, great style, and an impeccable music taste. Little does she know—this supposedly male employee is actually her female classmate Mitsuki! Mitsuki generally keeps to herself, but since her seat is right next to Aya’s, she can’t help but be extremely aware of the other’s crush. Revealing the truth is out of the question for Mitsuki—but perhaps getting closer to Aya wouldn’t be so bad…

The Guy She Was Interested In Wasn’t a Guy at All