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Invaders of the Rokujouma!?, Vol. 42

By Takehaya and Poco. Released in Japan as “Rokujouma no Shinryakusha!?” by HJ Bunko. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Warnis. One of the strengths of the Rokujouma series has been the attention paid to its major antagonists. Even from the start, the villains got opportunities to show us their point of view, be sympathetic in some way, shape or form, or at least show why people trust them despite their being Obviously Evil. That stays true to the present books, as Ralgwin, despite being one of the main bad guys, is a Good Boss, cares about his underlings, and even fires one of his strongest supporters just so that she’ll be away from the bad stuff when it happens. Unfortunately, the bad stuff is absolutely going…

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Earl and Fairy: A Gentle Proposal

By Mizue Tani and Asako Takaboshi. Released in Japan as “Hakushaku to Yōsei” by Shueisha Cobalt Bunko. Released in North America by J-Novel Heart. Translated by Alexandra Owen-Burns. If you’re looking at that subtitle and thinking to yourself “Oh good, we’re going to move past the shoujo “bad boyfriend but so hot” tropes and have them get together, I have some very bad news for you. This series is 3 volumes into a 33-volume run (in Japan, I’m not expecting miracles from JN-C), and the closest you’re going to get in this volume is Lydia saying she will “think about” falling in love with Edgar. And honestly, it would be far too fast right now, given where the characters are. This is an old series that came out back in…

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Bookshelf Briefs 10/2/23

Komi Can’t Communicate, Vol. 26 | By Tomohito Oda | Viz Media – This book starts to put in the effort of getting us to know and care about the new cast, and sort of half succeeds, mostly when we get an extended sequence devoted to them. The “princess knight” protecting Komi works quite well. The soccer player who runs into Manbagi is clearly being positioned as a “pair the spares” boyfriend for her after Tadano’s rejection, but right now he’s such a basket case that isn’t happening. Fortunately, the best reason to read this is Koomi and Tadano as a couple, and they’re absolutely adorable—even if Komi is so pretty that neither his mother nor sister believe he’s actually dating her. This series has gone on too long, but…

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My Magical Career at Court: Living the Dream After My Nightmare Boss Fired Me from the Mages’ Guild!, Vol. 1

By Shusui Hazuki and necomi. Released in Japan as “Black Madōgushi Guild o Tsuihō Sareta Watashi, Ōkyū Majutsushi to Shite Hirowareru: White na Kyūtei de, Shiawase na Shinseikatsu o Hajimemasu! ” by SQEX Novels. Released in North America by J-Novel Heart. Translated by Mari Koch. As we have seen a large increase in the number of light novels written for women over the last few years, we have also seen that a great deal of them tend to involve an overworked, exhausted office lady escaping the terrible job she has by getting summoned to another world, or rescued by an improbable coincidence, or even simply dying and being reborn elsewhere. The original Japanese title of this book references “black companies”, the workplaces that violate labor standards but are nevertheless there…

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From the Vault: Mitsukazu Mihara’s The Embalmer

This month, I’m reaching into the PopCultureShock vault for a review of Mitsukazu Mihara’s The Embalmer, one of those offbeat titles that Tokyopop published back in the aughts. It’s not hard to see why Tokyopop thought there was an audience for Mihara’s work, as she played an important role in defining the Gothic Lolita aesthetic, both through her contributions to the Gothic & Lolita Bible, and through her manga. Tokyopop licensed five of her works—Doll, Haunted House, IC in a Sunflower, Requiem in Phonybrian, and The Embalmer—but they didn’t really catch on with North American readers. That’s a pity, as titles such as The Embalmer, Doll, and IC in a Sunflower were anything but cookie cutter, tackling difficult subjects with sensitivity and style. (Well, most of the time; some of the stories…

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I Want to Escape from Princess Lessons, Vol. 1

By Izumi Sawano and Miru Yumesaki. Released in Japan as “Kisaki Kyōiku kara Nigetai Watashi” by PASH! Books. Released in North America by J-Novel Heart. Translated by Camilla L. I went into this wanting to like it. I’d heard rumors that it was being disparaged on forums because it had one of THOSE shoujo boyfriends. You know, controlling, possessive, etc. The sort that seemed to be in every title from Viz Media circa 2002. The rumors are not QUITE true… OK, they’re maybe half true, but that’s not why this book doesn’t work. The book doesn’t work, chiefly, because its heroine is a dimbulb, and not in the fun way. She wants to be Katarina Claes, but she’s just too manic, too aggravating, and the eccentricities that are supposed to…

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The Manga Review: September in the Rain

When Crunchyroll purchased retailer Right Stuf in 2022, the streaming giant posted a notice at its site reassuring consumers that this “acquisition aims to serve anime fans and collectors an even wider array of merchandise for online purchase including manga, home video, figures, games, music and everything in between.” The full impact of this decision, however, didn’t hit customers until last week, when Crunchyroll announced that it would be closing down Right Stuf and folding it into the new Crunchyroll Store, prompting fans to express concern about unfulfilled orders, and lament the end of Right Stuf’s discount programs. Over at ANN, Nicholas Dupree and Steve Jones rounded up reactions and offered their own two cents on what this decision means for anime and manga fans. I can’t say that I’ll miss…

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Ascendance of a Bookworm: I’ll Do Anything to Become a Librarian!, Part 5: Avatar of a Goddess, Vol. 6

By Miya Kazuki and You Shiina. Released in Japan as “Honzuki no Gekokujou: Shisho ni Naru Tame ni wa Shudan wo Erandeiraremasen” by TO Books. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by quof. This is another Bookworm volume that’s more relaxed and peaceful than others. The last book promised a huge upheaval in Rozemyne’s life, and this volume is all about how that upheaval is going to affect everyone around her. Its pretty much got everything you’d want in a Bookworm volume… well, OK, there’s a long, long, extended story told from Detlinde’s point of view. That was nightmarish to read. But other than that. The most amusing thing about the volume is the fact that everyone knows that something is going to happen soon to knock everything…

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Manga the Week of 10/4/23

SEAN: It’s the start of October, let the Halloween manga commence. ASH: Boo! (As in what a ghost would say; I’m not in the habit of booing manga, Halloween or otherwise.) SEAN: Airship has one print release, Classroom of the Elite: Year 2 6. And for early digital we get Adachi and Shimamura 11 and Reincarnated as a Dragon Hatchling 5. Denpa Books said Today’s Menu for the Emiya Family 5 should be out about now. Rider’s on the cover. Delicious recipes are within. Two debuts from J-Novel Club. The one with the light novel title is 8th Loop for the Win! With Seven Lives’ Worth of XP and the Third Princess’s Appraisal Skill, My Behemoth and I Are Unstoppable! (Loop 8-shūme wa Shiawasena Jinsei o: 7-shūbun no Keiken-chi to…

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