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Brunhild the Dragon Princess

By Yuiko Agarizaki and Aoaso. Released in Japan as “Ryu no Hime Brunhild” by Dengeki Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Jennifer Ward. No, this isn’t a direct sequel to Brunhild the Dragonslayer, and thank the Lord that the author decided against the weird “Brunhild wanders through Hell” plot they mentioned in the afterword. In fact, this takes place long before the first book. That said, you will find the cast of characters familiar. As if this was a Tezuka series, we see the main characters of the first book recast in the second book, as if they’re a company of actors. That said, there’s a totally different plot for the characters, and a lot of the thing that we thought we understood from the first…

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Duchess in the Attic, Vol. 1

By Mori and Huyuko Aoi. Released in Japan as “Yane Urabeya no Kōshaku Fujin” by Kadokawa Books. Released in North America by J-Novel Heart. Translated by piyo. This is the sort of book that I call an “eat your veggies first” book. You know there’s good stuff coming. You want to get to the cool, good stuff. But you have to get the setup for all the cool, good stuff. And sometimes, even though it’s good for the book, it just tastes horrible. The first quarter of this book made me grind my teeth – which is entirely intentional on the part of the author, I assure you. This book has a message, and that message is “the sexist patriarchy is awful”. This is a message, by the way, that…

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Manga the Week of 10/9/24

SEAN: As we creep closer to Halloween, what manner of manga awaits us? (Await us?) Airship has a print debut for Witch and Mercenary (Majo to Yōhei). Everyone knows witches are evil. Witches should be dead. Everyone but the witch, who’s wondering why everyone seems to hate her. So she hires a mercenary to go with her on adventures. ASH: I mean, that’s fair. SEAN: And they also have the 2nd volume of The Mimosa Confessions. While early digital has the 15th volume of Reincarnated as a Sword. Dark Horse has the first of the deluxe hardcover editions for Trigun Maximum. This has the first 3 volumes. Debuting from Ghost Ship is Monster Marriage Shop (Monster no Konkatsuya-san), a Monthly Action title. A matchmaking advisor not only handles humans, but…

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86 –Eighty-Six– Alter. Vol. 1: The Reaper’s Occasional Adolescence

By Asato Asato and Shirabii. Released in Japan by Dengeki Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Roman Lempert. On the bright side, this is one of the short story volumes coming out in the same order it came out in Japan – this book was released after the 12th volume. So I don’t have to worry about events in this book spoiling future volumes of the main series that came out here first (Re: Zero, Index,. etc.). On the down side, I doubt I’ll have to worry about that anyway, as I think this is definitely one of the short story books you do NOT have to read in order to appreciate the main series. It’s made up of various stories that were released as bonuses…

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Victoria of Many Faces, Vol. 1

By Syuu and Nanna Fujimi. Released in Japan as “Tefuda ga Ōme no Victoria” by MF Books. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Andria McKnight. There is a commonly used expression that goes “when all you have is a hammer, everything starts to look like a nail”. That can apply to jobs as well. If you’ve been doing a job for almost twenty years, particularly if you’ve been doing it since you were eight years old, you get into certain habits. You look at people differently, you always check for easy exits and verify that no one has searched your room. And when problems crop up, even if they’re not necessarily problems you have to worry about, you try to solve those problems in the way you’re…

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I Could Never Be a Succubus!, Vol. 4

By Nora Kohigashi and Wasabi. Released in Japan as “Watashi wa Succubus Ja Arimasen” by Hero Bunko. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Roy Nukia. Once I’ve reviewed about two or three volumes in a series, I really should not have to worry about new readers when I write these things. New readers are not going to start a title like this with Vol. 4, it’s only going to be read by those who read the first three volumes. That said, I also know there are some folks who read my reviews just as a matter of habit, and may not know about this series. So, as such, fans of the series can skip to below the cut. Everyone else: Christ alive. This volume is absolutely drenched…

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From Desk Job to Death Beam: In Another World with My Almighty Lasers, Vol. 1

By Nekomata Nuko and Cut. Released in Japan as “Saikyō Death Beam o Uteru Salaryman, Isekai o Yuku” by HJ Bunko. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Nolan Good. “Excuse me, sir? Can I interest you in reviewing a fantastic debut light novel?” “Aren’t you Aqua from KonoSuba?” “Don’t be silly, sir, I’m nowhere close to being as well-written as Aqua!” “…uh-huh. What do you have?” “This is a new series about a young man who’s accidentally killed by a beautiful young goddess–” “You?” “(clearing throat)–and is transported to a new world with fantastic powers!” “…what makes this different from 80 other books?” “It has laser beams and beast people!” “There are many other books with beast people, but I’ll grant you the laser beams. So he…

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Matcha Made in Heaven, Vols 7-9

Matcha Made in Heaven Volumes 7-9 by Umebachi Yamanaka Time to check in on this low-key extremely slow-burn josei series! Chaco and Isshin are continuing with their faux marriage of convenience, which has of course led them to develop feelings for each other. Isshin is an intense, grumpy tea-making perfectionist, while Chaco is much more free spirited. Despite growing up in a family of tea producers, she’s been away for so long that she’s not super familiar with the business, so her support of Isshin also means that she’s connecting with her roots in a new way. After a separation where Isshin is working in the corporate tea business, he returns home. Chaco is excited to take their relationship to the next level, but childhood friend Jin appears with a…

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Raven of the Inner Palace, Vol. 7

By Kouko Shirakawa and Ayuko. Released in Japan as “Kōkyū no Karasu” by Shueisha Orange Bunko. Released in North America by Airship. Translated by Amelia Mason. Adapted by T. Burke. Probably the most startling thing about this final volume of Raven of the Inner Palace is how little Jusetsu is in it, and when she appears, it’s not really her actions that save the day, just her actual presence. She’s spent her life being a vessel for a higher power, and being involved in a God vs. God battle is something that she has to get dragged into or else bad things will happen. But it’s not what she herself wants. Honestly, I think she’s still flailing around trying to figure out what she wants until this final volume, and…

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