<![CDATA[Manga in the Middle - REVIEWS]]>Mon, 06 Apr 2026 09:17:03 -0700Weebly<![CDATA[Kiss the Scars of the Girl]]>Wed, 01 Apr 2026 16:01:31 GMThttps://mangainthemiddle.weebly.com/reviews/kiss-the-scars-of-the-girl
At Manga in the Middle we (my students and I) are BIG fans of this manga referred to lovingly by my students as the Green Lesbians. Well, Kiss the Scars of the Girls could be affectionately called the Vampire Lesbians. My micro-review? It's cute. The art is appealing. The girls are adorable. The story is a mix of sweet and bloody. These are vampires, after all, at an all-girls boarding school where everything changes when you turn 14. You're assigned a Big Sister who teaches you to start hunting (and how to outsmart/run Vampire Hunters).

This first volume sets up the setting, characters, some conflicts and the central pairing: sweet Emille and her prickly mentor, Eve. Volume 1 is fine, content-wise for middle school.

VERDICT: If you need more sapphic fantasy manga (and who doesn't) purchase for your collection. If you're limited on funds, I would suggest purchasing series like Whisper Me a Love Song and The Guy I was Interested in Wasn't a Guy At All first.
]]><![CDATA[Spacewalking with You by Inuhiko Doronoda]]>Tue, 10 Feb 2026 18:09:01 GMThttps://mangainthemiddle.weebly.com/reviews/spacewalking-with-you-by-inuhiko-doronoda
Spacewalking with You is wholesome, important, and engaging. 

This is a high-school slice-of-life story centered on two very different--but equally endearing--neurodivergent teens.
Uno (an Autistic teen) and Kobayashi (a teen with ADHD) become friends, learn from each other, and become true friends over the course of these two volumes. This series does not talk about school accommodations or diagnoses, but instead centers on real-life adaptations to survive and thrive in school, jobs, and social landscapes.
Reading this series will break your heart and then heal it! VERDICT: Must buy for both MS and HS libraries for its representation, male friendship, and the healthy way it models communication. 

]]><![CDATA[Kusonoki's Flunking Her High School Glow-Up by Mitsuki Mii]]>Wed, 24 Sep 2025 19:03:13 GMThttps://mangainthemiddle.weebly.com/reviews/kusonokis-flunking-her-high-school-glow-up-by-mitsuki-miiPicture
This adorable manga has all the elements that will attract middle school readers: an engaging, colorful cover, relatable school events, and a high school protagonist (!). Main characters Kusoniki and Shizuki were shy, introverted classmates in middle school who self-labeled as "library lurkers". It's now the beginning of high school and they've both undergone a glow-up. For Shizuki (our male narrator of volume 1), it's both a physical and social transformation. Kusonoki is still struggling with her confidence and asks for Shizuki's help.

I'll be curious if this series goes deeper into the importance of character, actions, friendship, etc. to go beyond the surface level of looks and popularity. That being said, I really enjoyed this title. 

Kodansha rates this as 13+ and Volume 1 is a strong purchase for MS. Verdict: Buy this one, y'all. I have volumes 2 and 3 on order; I'll add an addendum after I read them!
]]><![CDATA[Sasaki and Miyano by Shou Harusono]]>Mon, 16 Dec 2024 16:47:51 GMThttps://mangainthemiddle.weebly.com/reviews/sasaki-and-miyano-by-shou-harusono

I love this series. That's it. That's the review.

More? Okay. Sasaki and Miyano is an extremely sweet, boys' love romance set in high school. It plays into a lot of boys' love tropes---there is a taller, masculine character and a shorter, 'cuter' character---but it toys with those tropes by making the reading of boys' love manga PART of the story!

Miyano is a BL fan (for the stories!) and through a series of events starts sharing his manga with upperclassman Sasaki. Sasaki realizes he has feelings for Miyano (fairly quickly) and confesses to him. But, our sweet Miyano--even as a huge BL fan--doesn't realize that he himself is living in a BL story. It takes him a while to figure himself out. Sasaki gives him space and time, while maintaining a positive friendship.

This is a slooowwww burn...with an equally adorable anime adaptation. 

VERDICT: A lovely, Queer romance to have in your collection. Yen Press rates it as teen (13+) and I think it's a great fit and buy for a MS collection. It's ongoing; the 10th volume comes out in January 2025.

[There is a spin-off series, Hirano and Kagiura, which I think is EVEN BETTER. They are both great buys!]
]]><![CDATA[Ima Koi: Now I'm in Love by Ayuko Hatta]]>Mon, 02 Dec 2024 19:32:36 GMThttps://mangainthemiddle.weebly.com/reviews/ima-koi-now-im-in-love-by-ayuko-hatta

This shojo series has been on my TBR list for a while and I finally dove in and ordered a copy. Protagonists Mizusawa and Yagyu are first year HS students (rough equivalent of American 10th graders) making this a 'younger' HS series and (so far) a nice fit for middle school readers.

Their 'meeting' is a bit intense: Yagyu protects Mizusawa from a passenger groping her on the subway. Calling it a 'meeting' is a bit generous as it takes a while for Yagyu to remember Mizusawa! She persists, though, in both thanking him and then trying to learn more about him. Their romance develops from there...

I enjoyed this title and Mizusawa is a plucky protagonist who is figuring out how dating and relationships work. Volume 1 is a good fit for middle school--there is no sex, violence, or language. The only CW would be for the groping/SA that happens on the first pages when Mizusawa is so shocked, she's unable to speak. It is very quick and not explicit. A younger reader may not even know what is happening.

​VERDICT: Not a must buy, but a nice addition if you have a big audience for romance manga. I would call this 8th grade+.
]]><![CDATA[The Guy She Was Interested in Wasn't a Guy At All by Sumiko Arai]]>Thu, 14 Nov 2024 17:36:03 GMThttps://mangainthemiddle.weebly.com/reviews/the-guy-she-was-interested-in-wasnt-a-guy-at-all-by-sumiko-arai

There are so many things about this manga to grab your students' attention! First, that cover. The interesting perspective, the vibrant background and the title that promises some kind of gender exploration are all WINNERS in terms of engagement.

When you open up this title, you'll see that the color scheme continues and is green, black, and white throughout. It's gorgeous!

The story? That's a winner too. Aya has a crush on the clerk of a cool music store she visits. In Aya's eyes, "he's" dreamy, with his cool clothes, black nail polish, hoodies, and masks. (The clerk is likewise smitten with Aya. ) BUT, the clerk is actually Aya's female classmate, Mitsuki! The first volume captures their budding relationship (identities ARE revealed) and the thread is the music they both love. [There are playlists on both Apple and Spotify that tie-in to the manga!]

The book does include some playing with gender presentation ideas, but to be clear, both of the MCs are cis high school girls.

VERIDCT: BUY THIS FOR YOUR MIDDLE SCHOOL LIBRARIES. We need more female/female love stories and this one is edgy enough to be appealing and still super sweet. The publisher age rating is teen (13+). I would call it 7th grade+.
]]><![CDATA[VERSUS by ONE and Kyoutarou Azuma]]>Fri, 25 Oct 2024 15:45:45 GMThttps://mangainthemiddle.weebly.com/reviews/versus-by-one-and-kyoutarou-azuma
Full honesty: I purchased VERSUS for the library on the recommendation from a comic book store owner that it would be 'the next big thing'---I was not expecting to like it myself. I read it and I DID like it!

First, why 'the next big thing'? Well, the story for VERSUS was created by ONE, the same person who brought us the hugely popular manga One-Punch Man AND Mob Psycho 100! For that reason alone, it's worth a purchase and I also think the first volume is fine for Middle School. There IS violence, but it is cartoon-like violence, unlike, for example Jujutsu Kaisen gore.

I don't want to tease too much of the plot as there are some twists and turns but the basic beginning set up is that there are a group of Heroes set on defeating the Great Demon King and his generals. It's yes, a shonen-battle manga! 

VERDICT: If shonen battle manga are huge in your library (and I'm betting they are), then buy this one! The first volume is a reasonable purchase for middle school collections--I'm not sure why it's rated older teen. When the second volume comes out, I'll review again.
]]><![CDATA[Blue Lock: Episode Nagi by Muneyuki Kaneshiro and Kota Sannomiya]]>Fri, 18 Oct 2024 13:11:42 GMThttps://mangainthemiddle.weebly.com/reviews/blue-lock-episode-nagi-by-muneyuki-kaneshiro-and-kota-sannomiya

EPISODE NAGI!

Episode Nagi is a spin-off of the dynamic and popular Blue Lock series. Nagi was a character introduced later in the Blue Lock series and IMO, is a fan favorite. Episode Nagi will only solidify this! In this first volume, we get a developed backstory that was only teased at in the original manga/anime run.

Nagi--with his large, wet eyes--really just wants to be left alone to play games on his phone. Even eating seems like a digestive hassle to him. Enter Reo--a popular and wealthy student--who sees Nagi make an amazingly athletic move with his falling phone and becomes convinced they can win the World Cup together. Reo convinces Nagi to play soccer with him and the boys begin a real friendship. This first volume finds them entering Blue Lock and getting through the preliminary test.

For those students familiar with Blue Lock lore, this volume hits hard emotionally because we know what's coming. BUT, this volume also works as an introduction to Blue Lock and someone can actually start with this series, if they want--making it an ideal purchasing choice. {Also, it's already a movie--so anime bump!}
VERDICT. Buy it for your MS libraries! There is one F-bomb, that is not gratuitous, but adds to the emotional story-telling in one scene. I would call this grade 7+.
]]><![CDATA[Run on Your New Legs Volumes 2 + 3 by Wataru Midori]]>Sun, 23 Apr 2023 21:12:40 GMThttps://mangainthemiddle.weebly.com/reviews/run-on-your-new-legs-volumes-2-3-by-wataru-midori
Manga in the Middle LOVES Run on Your New Legs (see review of Volume 1 here). Volumes 2 and 3 only improve on the first volume. This story of a former middle school soccer star who starts high school after a serious accident is a MUST BUY for middle school collections!
In Volume 2, we get more page time with Kikuzato's mother, who is understandably protective of her son after his accident and amputation. How this conflict is resolved is very well done--and feels earned/authentic. We also see Kikuzato joining the track and field club at his school. In Volume 3, we explore his new club friendships and check in with his old middle school soccer teammate, who is NOT thriving (athletically or socially) without Kikuzato.
Two more quick points I love about this series!
~~It addresses the COVID pandemic! Volume 3 finishes in Spring 2020 with the cancellation of regional sports tournaments.
~~Like all well done sports manga, it makes me care about the minutiae of a sport I've never cared about before--in this case, sprinting!
]]><![CDATA[A Sign of Affection by suu Morishita]]>Fri, 06 Jan 2023 13:51:03 GMThttps://mangainthemiddle.weebly.com/reviews/a-sign-of-affection-by-suu-morishita
A Sign of Affection by suu Morishita is an engaging (and adorable) romance series featuring a deaf, female protaganist, Yuki, and a male world traveler/adventurer named Itsuomi. They have a 'meet cute' moment in the start of Volume 1 and start spending more time together. It's clear that Yuki is crushing on Itsuomi early on. Whether or not Itsuomi is interested in Yuki as a friend because of his fascination with new languages and experiences or if he genuinely cares about her is more of a slow build. 

The way Yuki's signing and her understanding of the conversations around her is interestingly done. Disability positive titles are always a clear need for every format, including manga! The mangaka is not Deaf, but collaborates with a Deaf Sign Language Expert, Yuki Miyazaki.

I'm four volumes in and I really love this series. Is it an okay fit for middle school? Yes. However, it definitely has an older feel to it as the characters are college-aged (but there is no content four volumes in which makes this a non-fit for MS). [Absolute, MUST BUY FOR HIGH SCHOOL.] For MS, if you already have several more age-matching romance series and your students are clamoring for more, you could certainly buy this one. However, if you're just starting to collect romance manga in your middle school, I'd start with Those Not-So-Sweet Boys, Fruits Basket, and Weathering With You.

Tiny note: Don't be put off by the covers, which have a bit of a dated look for me (which is not an opinion shared by everyone and some love the covers). Regardless, the interior black/white artwork is GORGEOUS, which everyone seems to agree on. ❤
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