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Ayakashi and the Fairy Tales We Tell Ourselves

By Kosuzu Kobato and Meij. Released in Japan on the Shousetsuka ni Narou website. Released in North America by Cross Infinite World. Translated by Dawson Chen. This is one of those books that I probably would not have picked up if I didn’t already know the author. Kosuzu Kobato has basically never written anything I’d dislike, This is also complete in one volume, so it’s a good book to take a flyer on. And, unsurprisingly, I enjoyed it. The plot, though, actually ended up being a lot quieter than I expected. There were dark hints in this book that the heroine has bad ayakashi causing her harm (which leads to a reputation of being clumsy). There’s the heroine’s tragic past, as well as the hero’s tragic past. And there’s these…

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The Do-Over Damsel Conquers the Dragon Emperor, Vol. 6

By Sasara Nagase and Mitsuya Fuji. Released in Japan as “Yarinaoshi Reijō wa Ryūtei Heika o Kōryaku-chū” by Kadokawa Beans Bunko. Released in North America by Cross Infinite World. Translated by piyo. As I write this, we are less than a day away from the premiere of the anime version of this series. As such, I wish to make it clear that I am well aware of the problematic nature of this series. We’ve discussed it before. The series opens with incest, and then it ends up hitting “I’m going to marry a ten-year-old”. It is the definition of “oh dear”. And I am here to tell you that the author is absolutely reveling in it. Given a chance to, say, have a timeskip, or perhaps move away from the…

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Invaders of the Rokujouma!?, Vol. 45

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. After the events of Vol. 43 (44 being a SS volume), you will not be surprised to hear that this is a very serious affair. There’s almost no humor to be found, and even the romance, with the exception of Elfaria (who joins everyone else in the cast in trying to make it clear, but not TOO clear, that he’s the only one for her) is absent. The reason for this is that after the events of the last book, Koutarou is depressed and uncertain how to go forward. It’s a good reminder how little time this series has taken place in – we’re only about…

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The Villainess and the Demon Knight, Vol. 1

By Nekota and Asahiko. Released in Japan as “Akuyaku Reijō to Kichiku Kishi” by Ichijinsha Melissa. Released in North America by Steamship. Translated by Christina Chesterfield. Adapted by Arisia Santiago. A word of warning before we begin: this is a sexually explicit book – in fact, that’s pretty much the book’s main purpose. That said, I’m not going to be reviewing the sex writing. It’s fine, particularly if you are a fan of what I believe the kids today call “dubcon”. I will say that there is, in my opinion, a bit too much of it, though honestly there’s also a bit too much of the book in general. This book is 413 pages. It’s Loner Life sized. it’s Tanya the Evil sized. That’s possibly too much, especially since I’d…

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A Late-Start Tamer’s Laid-Back Life, Vol. 11

By Yuu Tanaka and Nardack. Released in Japan as “Deokure Tamer no Sono Higurashi” by GC Novels. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by A.M. Cola. I’ve mostly given up on trying to make sure these reviews don’t repeat themselves. I can manage it with books where the plot is “awkward teens in love” or “Guy with a +2 Sword of Awesome and His Catgirl Maid Harem”, but this is one of those slow life books that genuinely IS a slow life book, and it doesn’t even have the decency of being a reincarnation or an isekai. This is a game, and the only reason we know that the series will eventually end is that Yuno took two weeks off his job just to play it all the…

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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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