Akira and Amelia decide to adopt the not-so-0fierce demon kitty. Amelia heals him, and Akira names him Night. Akira and Night form a new pact as master and servant, which will allow the demon king to still be able to see everything with the link inherent between demon king and all demons, but will give Akira and Night special abilities. Night reveals that there are three other dungeons in the world, and each dungeon challenges a different aspect of the character's skills. A portal opens at the end of the labyrinth, and Akira decides to travel to the next labyrinth in the forest of the Elven people, where Amelia is being hunted by her twin sister.  With Akira caught right in the middle of the power struggle in the Elven kingdom, will he ever make it to the labyrinth to continue his development?

Alex continues her search for her sister, and only a select few people can remember her.  She gets help from a few other students who decide to recreate the gate spell, but this will be painstaking and take a lot of effort.  Meanwhile, Teacher ferrets out the one who betrayed the hunters, and he moves his group into a safe house with Mr. Roi, the eccentric teacher who has also been giving extra lessons to Alex.  We also learn about Nereshai, an ancient race of extremely powerful magic users, and the Sohrem, a group of powerful magical beings who have begun searching for new hosts within the school building.  Centuries ago, the Nereshai sealed the Sohrem, but that seal has been broken, and it's up to the students and teachers to put everything right and bring home those who have been forgotten.

Illustrated by Hiroyuki Aigamo

Akira has retreated back to the labyrinth his class went to in volume one, determined to gain maximum levels in as much as he can. He’s been in the labyrinth a month before he finds Amelia trapped inside a slime monster. She’s an elven warrior who has come to the labyrinth for the same reason, and the two decide to team up to defeat the most challenging monsters at the end of the labyrinth. Back in the castle, Kyosuke, another classmate whose class is samurai, wakes to find himself in the princess’s chamber, having just cut through six black crystals. He has no idea what he’s doing or what the crystals are until the next day when hero Tsukasa announces he’s going off to fight the demon king. The rest of the class ridicules him, all except six classmates, Kyosuke among them.

Tsugu moved away from her small town when she was in elementary school, but now, as a high school student, her family moves back.  After many years in the Osaka region (and Tsugu picking up the Osakan accent), Tsugu tries to reconnect with her group of friends from elementary school.  She finds that they none of them are in the same place they were when she moved away.  Tsugu has sprouted into a confident, gregarious, guitar player who tries not to let her misfortunes get her down.  Yuushin, the little boy who dreamed of being a hero, has resorted to bullying others, including his former friend Sora.   Sora has become ostracized and seriously thinks of ending his life because of the bullying.  Tsugu feels like she is still close to Asari, but several misunderstandings and rumors spread by Asari's other friends leave Tsugu unwelcome in Asari's social circle.  Tsugu tries not to let these tattered relationships get her down, and she works towards helping her friends remember their ideals they once had.

This series is impossible to summarize and review without spoiling, so if you don't mind, feel free to read on.

Satoru succeeds in saving Hinazuki from disappearing on what he calls X day, but she instead disappears the day after.  He discovers she is missing when his mom, a news reporter, is asked to keep the disappearance secret again, just like when he was twelve the first time.  Before he can do anything about all of this, his revival is over, and he is pulled back to when he is twenty-nine.  The police are searching for him as the main suspect in the murder he was trying to stop in volume one. Airi, his coworker, gives him a place to stay for the night, but this pulls her in to the real murderer's crosshairs.  Just as Satoru is backed into a corner, Revival happens again, and he is taken back to two days before X-day.  This time, he's come up with a very different plan to save Hinazuki.  

Illustrated by Chris Wildgoose, colored by Andrew May

​Three teens named Sam - Samir, Samuel, and Samantha - all stumble upon a budding alien life form in the woods on their way to school. The alien links their minds and is hungry to devour human psyches. Each of the three Sams is struggling with their own demons, especially their acceptance amongst their peers. Samuel runs a vlog that pleads with other teens not to be brainwashed by the acceptable narrative. Samir struggles with being the "perfect" Muslim and keeping his family together. Samantha is trying to get out of this small town and craves the fresh start where everyone won't know her past. And Chip, as they name the alien life form, feels their pains, their struggles, and is manipulated into carrying out their selfish agendas on friends, foes, and family.

This is a mega-sized volume with the conclusion of the Death Busters arc, and inclusion of two side stories.  Mistress 9 tries to use Chibi Usa's hostia and the stolen Mythical Silver Crystal to provide enough power to Master Pharaoh 90 to merge with Earth and make it their new home planet, However, Mistress 9 wasn't counting on her host's body being so difficult to control. And, after Mistress 9 awakened, no one thought the final Sailor Scout would awaken.  The conclusion is sweet and wrapped up pretty tidy, but the final pages, of course, hint that the peace they just achieved is threatened again.  There are also two side stories in this volume, contributing to its girth.  Chibi Usa's second Picture Diary, "Beware of Tanabata," is a side-adventure where an enemy uses popular Sailor Moon watches to manipulate the emotions of young girls. The second side story is "The Love of Princess Kaguya."  This beautiful story focuses almost entirely on Luna, and her falling in love with Kakeru, a human astro-physicist who saves her from being run over by a car.  Kakeru and his childhood friend, Himē, both pledged to become astronauts and travel to the moon to see if the Princess Kaguya from legend really lives there.  A new enemy manipulates Kakeru and puts his life in danger, while Himē is chosen for a NASA mission to save the Earth from a comet barreling towards it.

Eric Bittle is now team captain, and his secret boyfriend, Jack Zimmerman plays for an NHL team, the Falcons! Bitty and Jack have to navigate a long-distance relationship, and dating in secret starts to take its role on Bitty. He doesn’t want to jeopardize Jack’s career in a sport that is not known for being accepting of LGBTQ+ lifestyles. Slowly, the couple start to come out within their safe spaces, like to their friend group and a few other key people. Jack’s team manager believes the Falcons will be supportive, and she turns out to be right. Time marches on, and it’s suddenly Bitty’s senior year. He has a tough time breaking in one of the freshmen who can’t seem to come to terms with who he is. Bitty has to repair damage done to his relationship with his parents with the way they found out about Him dating Jack. When it’s time to write his senior thesis, Bitty’s supportive housemates disconnect the oven and warn every kitchen on campus not to let him come bake until his writing is finished. Not only does he have that looming over his head, but championships are fast approaching, and a win could validate everything Bitty has built and expressed over the last four years at Samwell.

Vol 2 of Sheets

Summer is coming to a close for Marjorie and Wendell almost a full year after they first meet.  Marjorie is about to go into eighth grade, and she is feeling a little uneasy.  After being a social outcast all of seventh grade year, her former bully Tessi and her friends have made it their mission to make Marjorie popular.  The eighth grade class also has a repeater student - Eliza, the daughter of the PE/Student Government teacher, Mr. Duncan, who "isn't quite ready for high school," according to her dad.  Eliza is obsessed with "ghost photography," and strives to capture the supernatural with her old-style camera.  Eliza increasingly feels like a ghost amongst her peers - she's outcast, made fun of, and hardly ever invited to any social gatherings.  Her obsession with ghosts makes her the laughing stock of the school.  Marjorie's social obligations and school work leaves her with less time to hang out with her other-worldy pals, so Wendell starts sneaking out.  He runs into Eliza, who doesn’t recognize Wendell as a ghost. 

Illustrated by Hiroyuki Aigamo

This has a really long, very Japanese title, but it's overall a fun story. Akira’s entire class gets suddenly transported to another world where they are tasked with fighting the Demon King and saving the kingdom. Each pupil, upon entering the world, was given skills and a job class that best suited them. Tsukasa, the class president and star athlete, was obviously the hero, and he has to lead the charge against the Demon King. Akira, however, is an assassin, and his stats are much, much higher than Tsukasa’s as the hero. Not everything is as it seems in this world, and Akira uses his max level [conceal presence] skill to find out what’s really going on.  He befriends the commander of the guard and trainer of the Class, and uncovers a plot that speaks of more sinister intentions than just fighting a Demon King.