I’m still reeling from the financial impact of last week’s shipping list, so I was relieved to discover that this week’s haul is much more modest. Yaoi fans make out best this week, with three new titles aimed squarely at them: Kirepapa (Aurora Publishing/Deux), a series about an overly protective father and his gay son; Part-Time Pets (Aurora Publishing/Deux), a catboy extravaganza; and U Don’t Know Me (NETCOMICS), a Korean drama about two childhood friends who reunite as teenagers, only to discover a growing attraction to one another. The first two titles seem like paint-by-numbers exercises in boys’ love, but the always reliable, always eloquent Melinda Beasi had high praise for U Don’t Know Me:

It is honestly stunning how much complexity Rakun is able to bring to these characters and their lives in a single volume, and to such great effect. U Don’t Know Me takes just about every cringe-worthy yaoi cliche in the book… and makes it actually a rich, real part of the story. Even the explicit sex scenes (and there are quite a lot of them) are an essential part of the story’s emotional fabric and it’s pretty difficult to imagine it being effectively told without them.

Also arriving in stores this week: the latest chapter in the Code Geass saga, Nightmare of Nunnally (Bandai Entertainment); new volumes of Berserk (Dark Horse), MPD-Psycho (Dark Horse), and Mushishi (Del Rey); and the third volume of Mick Takeguchi’s amiably incomprehensible Bound Beauty (Go! Comi).

Word to the wise: because of the Memorial Day holiday, new books will ship on Thursday, May 28th.

NEW SERIES/ONE-SHOTS

• Code Geass: Nightmare of Nunnally, Vol. 1 (Bandai Entertainment)
• Kirepapa, Vol. 1 (DMP)
• Part-Time Pets (DMP)
• U Don’t Know Me (NETCOMICS)

CONTINUING SERIES

• Berserk, Vol. 29 (Dark Horse)
• Bound Beauty, Vol. 3 (Go! Comi)
• Divine Melody, Vol. 2 (DrMaster)
• King of Cards, Vol. 7 (CMX)
• The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, Vol. 2 (Yen Press)
• MPD-Psycho, Vol. 9 (Dark Horse)
• Mushishi, Vol. 7 (Del Rey)
• Teru Teru x Shonen, Vol. 5 (CMX)