North American Anime and Manga Releases for October

October brings a generous wave of new anime and manga to North American shelves, with a little something for every kind of fan.

On the home video front, the standout is a beautiful Blu-ray release for the acclaimed mystery Odd Taxi, alongside the first half of Spice and Wolf: Merchant Meets the Wise Wolf, available in both standard and limited editions. Sports fans can grab a box set collecting the back half of Blue Lock’s first season.

The manga and light novel lineup is especially rich this month. Long running favorites continue with new volumes of The Apothecary Diaries, Welcome to Demon School! Iruma-kun, and The Angel Next Door Spoils Me Rotten. Newer hits are well represented too, including fresh volumes of Marriagetoxin, Boruto: Two Blue Vortex, and Astro Royale.

There is also plenty for readers who love a slice of life or romance, with titles like Our Dining Table and Otonari Complex arriving, plus ongoing series such as The Fable rolling out in omnibus form.

My take: Months like this are a joy and a danger to the wallet in equal measure. Between the Odd Taxi Blu-ray and a stack of cozy manga, October offers a wonderful mix of the prestige and the comforting. My reading pile is about to grow.