Merry Christmas to all

I love the holidays, especially Christmas. Getting together with family and friends, yummy food galore, and last but not least, manga. The end of the year and into January is usually a hot time for new releases and this year looks to be no exception. How does one keep up with so many releases you might ask? The sad truth is, I don't. Out of the 1100 or so manga I own, almost 200 of them have not been read. Sad but true. So do I stop buying new titles? Nope, I plow right on with reckless abandon happily getting further and further behind. So with that in mind, here are some cool new releases that will make your Christmas even merrier.

Battle Angel Alita Last Order Vol 8 Angel's Vision
This is one of the first manga I ever read. Along with OMG! it was one of the first on my bookshelf and remains one of my favorites. It doesn't come out all that often (only twice a year) so when it does, it is something to celebrate. To call this series "extremely violent" would be putting it mildly. This ones not for kiddies. Travel along with Alita as she fights to discover her past, ripping anyone who gets in her way limb from limb.

Next is the latest installment of Ghost in the Shell Stand Alone Complex Volume 3 White Maze. Are there vampires roaming the streets of Niihama? Motoko and section 9 are going to find out. What dark secrets lie in wait.

Just when you thought it couldn't get any weirder, it did. Gacha Gacha is back with the next revolution. Nintendo might have every ones attention with the wii but they've got nothing on a video game system that can turn your average guy into a cute little honey. How will Akira handle being able to change gender at will; or accident if the wind blows the wrong way. Please pass the pepper!

What would you do if a well meaning alien accidentally "kissed" you (ran you over with an intergalactic space ship). but it gets better, as an apology, they reconstruct your body back perfectly to the way it was except for one little tiny detail. They mistook your gender and reconstructed you as a girl. whoops! They say they can't fix it? What?! Then to make matters worse, they broadcast an apology to the entire planet telling what they did and who they did it to. To top it off, you just confessed your feelings to the girl you like but now you're a girl too and the media is hounding you night and day for an interview. what's a boy.... er I mean girl to do. Find out in this cute new gender bending calamity, Kashimashi volume 1.

5th in the stack is Pastel volume 5. Mugi and Yuu's budding relationship continues on down the road, With a few speed bumps along the way. leave it to Mugi, ever the gentleman (most of the time) to persevere.

The last two in the stack I haven't read yet, so you'll have to wait, but not for long. School Rumble volume 4 and The Wallflower volume 10. Pretty boys vs the queen of darkness. It's gonna be good.

That's it for this week. Have a merry Christmas and happy new year. Maybe this next year I'll finally keep my new years resolution of getting caught up. One can wish.