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Strike the Blood, Vol. 21

By Gakuto Mikumo and Manyako. Released in Japan by Dengeki Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Jeremiah Bourque. For once I have actual things to talk about in this volume of Strike the Blood, which is fairly low on cool action sequences. And by “fairly low” I mean there are still about 50% action scenes in the book. However, Kojou being depowered means that he can’t participate in them – indeed, for once, HE is the damsel in distress, as he makes a Faustian bargain that ends up biting him in the ass… gosh, where have I heard that before? So it’s up to Natsuki to get the band back together, as all of the girls who are in love with Kojou and also superpowered (and…

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Chronicles of the Hidden World: How I Became a Doctor for the Gods

By Tamaki Itomori and Izumi. Released in Japan as “Kakuriyo Shinjuku: Isekaide, Kamisama no Oishasan Hajimemasu” by Kadokawa Beans Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Luke Hutton. Given the huge explosion of villainess stories we’ve had in the last few years, I’ve actually seen some people describing the genre as “isekai for girls”, which is ridiculous. Mostly it’s ridiculous because we already have a well-established isekai for girls genre, called, well, isekai. My god, it’s as if Fushigi Yuugi never existed. This sort of isekai usually involves a young girl transported to another world, discovering that she has powers no one else does, and also attracting the attention of a number of handsome young men, all of whom are usually either divine spirits of some sort…

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Manga the Week of 8/10/22

SEAN: There’s stuff! Coming out next week! Surprise! (You are not surprised.) Airship has the print debut of Irina: The Vampire Cosmonaut. ASH: Okay, I will admit to being curious about this one, more because of the cosmonauts than the vampires, but that’s an unexpected and potentially intriguing combination. MELINDA: Cosmonauts… yes. SEAN: In early digital we see The Case Files of Jeweler Richard 2 and The Most Heretical Last Boss Queen: From Villainess to Savior 3. Cross Infinite World has a debut: The Princess’ Smile: The Body-Double Bride Searches for Happiness with the Reclusive Prince (Hidenka no Bishou – Migawari Hanayome wa, Hikikomori Denka to Shiawase ni Kurashitai). A maid is asked to marry a prince… as a body double for her friend the princess. But then her boyfriend…

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Konosuba: God’s Blessing on This Wonderful World!: God’s Blessing on These Wonderful Adventurers!

By Natsume Akatsuki and Kurone Mishima. Released in Japan as “Kono Subarashii Sekai ni Shukufuku o!” by Kadokawa Sneaker Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Kevin Steinbach. After a couple of volumes where I felt that perhaps the page count did not justify the limited content within, this final book in the main KonoSuba series seems to be just right. The final battle against the Demon Lord contains just about everything you’d want in a KonoSuba book. Kazuma wins by being kind of scummy and tricky; Aqua wails and whines but is also kinda lovable; Megumin casts explosion so much that the overuse of magic makes her nose bleed (at least I hope it’s due to overuse of magic, as otherwise that’s one weird fetish); and…

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Der Werwolf: The Annals of Veight, Vol. 14

By Hyougetsu and Nari Teshima. Released in Japan by SQEX Novels. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Ningen. A new publisher for Der Werwolf made fans of the series briefly panic, as we’ve seen manga titles cancelled in the past when they jumped from one publisher to another. Fortunately, after a brief delay, the series is back with its 14th volume. Nothing has really changed now that it’s with Square Enix – cast is the same, artist is the same, it has the same “the entire book is one long chapter” style to it. And it still stars Veight’s daughter, although (as the author admits in the afterword) the balance between her own adventures and that of her dad is struggling a bit. This is The Annals…

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The Ideal Sponger Life, Vol. 7

By Tsunehiko Watanabe and Jyuu Ayakura. Released in Japan as “Risou no Himo Seikatsu” by Hero Bunko. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by MPT. This is a series that began with the premise that our hero was being isekai’d solely for his ability to breed the queen, hence the now ludicrously inaccurate title. There has been the occasional bout of really good sex over the past six books, though usually we cut away before it happens. That said, as I’ve mentioned before, if you’re reading this book for the sex, find some other series. Or is that true? Let’s face it, The Ideal Sponger Life has pretty much made its reputation on its political wrangling, as Zenjirou has to learn the ins and outs of a world…

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My Daughter Left the Nest and Returned an S-Rank Adventurer, Vol. 5

By MOJIKAKIYA and toi8. Released in Japan as “Boukensha ni Naritai to Miyako ni Deteitta Musume ga S-Rank ni Natteta” by Earth Star Novels. Released in North America digitally by J-Novel Club. Translated by Roy Nukia. I’ve said this before and I will say it again: I greatly appreciate that the publisher has let us know that the books are done in Japan and that this is not one of THOSE Daddy/Adopted Daughter series. Mostly because I can thoroughly enjoy the angst that both daddy and daughter are going through right now without having to worry about a future trap door. Belgrieve is worrying about the fact that his daughter has grown up, and he doesn’t know the right way to balance out being her dad vs. letting her go…

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Bookshelf Briefs 7/31/22

Catch These Hands!, Vol. 2 | By murata | Yen Press – The first volume in this series mostly focused on the grumpy-faced (and, let’s face it, grumpy in general) Takebe, but this second volume allows us a better look at her new girlfriend Soramori. She took the initiative in asking Takebe out… but has no idea what couples do on a date. Her attempts to figure this out, which involves a lot of overcompensating and thinking about the wrong things, are what drive the humor in this volume. The actual romance is still pretty much in neutral, but this makes sense given that we’re not even sure how Takebe really feels about all this. We’re also introduced to Takebe’s cousin, who also seems to be a bit obsessed with…

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Re: ZERO ~Starting Life in Another World~, Vol. 19

By Tappei Nagatsuki and Shinichirou Otsuka. Released in Japan by MF Bunko J. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Dale DeLucia. First off, for fans of Subaru/Emilia, this book is a full-course meal with chocolate trifle for dessert. After worrying when Emilia ended up getting kidnapped and forcibly married off to the worst man in the world (who, we are reminded here, killed her mother and “father”), Emilia spends most of this book kicking ass eight ways from Sunday. She’s joined in this by Subaru, who has his handy whip but more importantly has a increasingly analytical mind, as he, Emilia, and Reinhard (who is occasionally sent off the state in order to allow Subaru and Emilia to be cooler) to try to figure out why Regulus…

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