KOYOMIMONOGATARI, Part 1 | Nisioisin

Presented in two parts with covers that will form a diptych, Calendar Tale, narrated by our titular hero, sends us to various earlier points in the story where certain events had yet to occur-when, for instance, the shady 'expert' Oshino was still in town, and the ex-legendary vampire Shinobu hadn't tired of sulking in a corner. Weaving in a motif of ways, paths, roads, and streets-walks of life-the nostalgic vignettes hark back to the 'case files' feel of the series-launching Monster Tale, but with a twist. Not all oddities are supernatural: stones and flowers; sand and water; the wind and the tree can just be plain weird without being aberrations. In this installment, say hello from the future to class president among class presidents Hanekawa, acid-tongued girlfriend Senjogahara, cheeky lost child Hachikuji, smutty athlete Kanbaru, pathologically shy Sengoku, and justice-loving martial artist Karen, young ladies who love to make our young man sweat.