Another short shipping list, another week of solvency… My top picks for this week:

I, Otaku: Struggle in Akihabara, Vol. 2 (Seven Seas): As one might guess from the title, I, Otaku is a meta-manga about fandom in all its various permutations: anime fanatics, figurine collectors, fujoshi. Though the slapstick and obsessive behavior need no editorial intervention to comprehend, the dialogue is peppered with references to singers, actors, and other figures in the Japanese public eye. Not to worry—translator/adaptor Ed “MangaCast” Chavez has provided copious notes to let the uninitiated in on the jokes. At last year’s New York Anime Fest, Ed assured me that volume two will be even funnier than volume one as Sota and Kenji take a gig at a magazine called Boys’ Heaven. Sounds like a perfect chaser for the first two installments of Fujoshi Rumi (Media Blasters) to me.

My Heavenly Hockey Club, Vol. 5 (Del Rey): Saying My Heavenly Hockey Club isn’t my favorite Ai Morinaga title is a bit like saying Great Expectations isn’t my favorite David Lean movie—it’s still a fun series, even if it isn’t quite on par with her best work. My chief criticism of Hockey Club is its repetitiousness: midway through volume one, Morinaga fell into a predictable routine of road trips, forfeited games, and wacky hijinks, even as she sent her team of misfits to increasingly exotic locations. Still, the artwork is a big step up from Duck Prince and Your and My Secret, and Morinaga’s try-anything-for-a-laugh approach hits the bull’s eye more often than not—though I’m wondering if she’s jumped the bear shark in volume five with an abominable snowman sighting. I’ll just have to wait and see…

The Palette of 12 Secret Colors, Vol. 3 (CMX): Thanks to routine abuse by Gene Shalit and Michael Medved, words like “gentle,” “sweet,” and “charming” pack all the critical punch of “nice” and “good.” Yet this all-ages adventure story about a female palette (i.e., magician who manipulates color) is gentle, sweet, and charming without being twee or preachy. True, Palette would have been more effective in color—a point manga-ka Nari Kusakawa freely concedes—but the stylish art and appealing cast help offset this obvious limitation of the storytelling. Highly recommended whether you’re a shojo fanatic, a shonen junkie, or a parent in search of an all-ages title that will entertain your tween without offending your sensibilities.

HEY, BIG SPENDER…
Over at Sporadic Sequential, John Jakala notes that Thing From Another World is running a variety of promotions on manga and graphic novels, from free shipping on orders of $25 to $10 discounts on orders worth $50. (A tip: check out the Nick-and-Dent section, where you’ll find a wide selection of Dark Horse titles at 50% off list. The copies aren’t cosmetically perfect, but when you could assemble the full run of Lone Wolf and Cub or Reiko the Zombie Shop for a fraction of the retail price, who’s complaining?) Click here for more information. And from now until June 1st, RightStuf is discounting all Viz manga by 33%, a promotion that extends to pre-orders on summer and fall series like Black Lagoon, Cat-Eyed Boy, One Pound Gospel, Real, Slam Dunk and the snazzy VIZBIG Edition of Vagabond. Enter coupon code bang when you checkout to have the discount applied to your order.

Have a money-saving tip you’d like to share with other manga maniacs? Send me an email and I’ll post it in a future edition of the Weekly Recon.

SHIPPING THIS WEEK
Apothecarius Argentum, Vol. 5 (CMX)
Appleseed, Vol. 2: Promethean Unbound (Dark Horse)
Berserk, Vol. 23 (Dark Horse)
I, Otaku: Struggle in Akihabara, Vol. 2 (Seven Seas)
Legend, Vol. 2 (Yen Press)
Minima!, Vol. 2 (Del Rey)
My Heavenly Hockey Club, Vol. 5 (Del Rey)
One Thousand and One Nights, Vol. 4 (Yen Press)
The Palette of 12 Secret Colors, Vol. 3 (Viz)
The Reformed (Del Rey; click here for the PCS review)
Rurouni Kenshin VIZBIG Edition, Vol. 2 (Viz)
Street Fighter II, Vol. 2 (UDON Entertainment)