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So I’m a Spider, So What?, Vol. 13

By Okina Baba and Tsukasa Kiryu. Released in Japan as “Kumo Desu ga, Nani ka?” by Kadokawa Books. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Jenny McKeon. This volume might be frustrating for some fans, as it is in many ways a recap of what happened in Books 3-5, only from the POV of the other side. I do not have this problem. For me, the recap is greatly appreciated as I can barely remember what happened in Book 12, much less nine books ago. More importantly is the fact that this is from the other side’s POV means we get a lot of White in this book, and she’s just as funny/terrifying (don’t delete where applicable, she’s both) as ever. She doesn’t care at all about many…

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Sabikui Bisco, Vol. 1

By Shinji Cobkubo and K Akagishi. Released in Japan by Dengeki Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Jake Humphrey. I admit that I was a little wary of this title. It got a HUGE amount of buzz when it first came out and when it was first licensed, which is all very well and good, but the last two times that happened it was The Detective Is Already Dead (which I bounced off of hard) and Osamake (which people stopped demanding the license of once they actually knew the plot). Not to mention that, let’s face it, this does not feel like a Dengeki Bunko light novel, it feels like a shonen manga. Even after I finished the book, I wanted to see what Jump or…

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My Friend’s Little Sister Has It In for Me!, Vol. 5

By mikawaghost and tomari. Released in Japan as “Tomodachi no Imouto ga Ore ni dake Uzai” by GA Bunko. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Alexandra Owen-Burns. This series has a tendency to be very metatextual, and we certainly get a lot of that in this book. Everyone may not think that they’re in a light novel series, but they certainly know the way said series tend to go, and they’re noticing that all the things happening around Akiteru pretty much line up with those sort of plots. That’s not good news for him, as he’s supposed to be fake dating Mashiro, who has already not-fake confessed to him. His uncle is clearly very aware of the things going on in his life, especially the presence of…

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Suppose a Kid from the Last Dungeon Boonies Moved to a Starter Town, Vol. 8

By Toshio Satou and Nao Watanuki. Released in Japan as “Tatoeba Last Dungeon Mae no Mura no Shonen ga Joban no Machi de Kurasu Youna Monogatari” by GA Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Andrew Cunningham. Because this series is such a broad comedy, I sometimes forget that it is actually trying to have a plot too. There’s more plot in this book than in any of the previous others, as we get a lot more information… well, OK, a little more information… about the Japanese research group that apparently kickstarted whatever this world is, and where they are now. Unsurprisingly, there’s mostly a bunch of loud awkward guys, even if here they’re powerful demon lords. On a more disturbing note, Alka continues to be the…

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Manga the Week of 1/26/22

The last week of January brings us no manga whatsoever!… OK, I lie, there’s a lot. ASH: You almost had me there! SEAN: Airship, in print, has the 8th volume of Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear. And in early digital we see Berserk of Gluttony 5 and She Professed Herself Pupil of the Wise Man 3. Dark Horse has the 3rd volume of Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken!. ASH: Which reminds me that I still need to read the first two, but I suspect that it’s a series that I’ll enjoy. SEAN: J-Novel Club has two debuts. The light novel debut is Forget Being the Villainess, I Want to Be an Adventurer! (Tensei Reijou wa Boukensha wo Kokorozasu). You can likely guess how this one goes. ASH: I do find it…

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Adachi and Shimamura, Vol. 8

By Hitoma Iruma and Non. Released in Japan by Dengeki Bunko. Released in North America by Seven Seas. Translated by Molly Lee. There was a three-year gap between the previous volume and this one, and you can sort of tell. There’s a bit of a priority shift in the way the story is being told. For one thing, while Adachi still gets the occasional POV scene, the book has finally admitted that it should be called “Shimamura and Adachi”. Shimamura gets 90% of the first-person narrative, and the entire book is about forcing her to confront how she feels about Adachi, what she wants to do in a relationship with Adachi, and what they mean to each other. The answer will not surprise you, because the book begins with a…

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My Happy Marriage, Vol. 1

By Akumi Agitogi and Tsukiho Tsukioka. Released in Japan as “Watashi no Shiawase na Kekkon” by Fujimi L Bunko. Released in North America Yen On. Translated by Kiki Piatkowska. Brief content warning: this book features an abusive family, and unlike other light novels we’ve seen to date in this genre, they do not vanish after the first 20 pages. The marriage, though, is not abusive. It’s rare that a book affects me so much that I think to myself that I may have to drop another, similar series for being thoroughly inadequate, but that’s sort of how I feel. After reading the first volume of My Happy Marriage, I suspect any time I try to get back into I’ll Never Set Foot in That House Again!, a book with a…

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Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End Vol 1

Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End Volume 1 by Kanehito Yamada and Tsukasa Abe I’m always curious about new Shonen Sunday titles since some of the series that I’ve enjoyed from the magazine just end up having more emotional and narrative depth than the more formulaic series in Shonen Jump. Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End is a deliberately paced fantasy story that examines the question of what happens next after a group of heroes succeeds in their ultimate mission. The party of friends on the verge of retirement includes character types that would not be out of place in any DnD campaign: Frieren, an elven mage, Himmel the Hero, Heiter the priest, and Eisen, a dwarf warrior. The manga opens as the companions have completed their ten year quest to defeat the Demon…

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I’d Rather Have a Cat Than a Harem! Reincarnated into the World of an Otome Game as a Cat Loving Villainess, Vol. 1

By Kosuzu Kobato and Hinano Chano. Released in Japan as “Sonna Koto yori, Neko ga Kaitai ~ Otome Game no Sekai ni Tensei Shimashita ~” on the Shousetsuka ni Narou website. Released in North America by Cross Infinite World. Translated by Jenny Murphy. As always, the first question you should be asking yourself is “what makes this different from every other villainess book?”. In this case, there are multiple answers. The first is that it is not just our nameless Japanese heroine who dies and reincarnates as the villainess, her entire family also died and has reincarnated as her villainess family! They all gained their memories when they were ten years old, so Amy has a built-in loving support structure. Secondly, she and her mother both agree that they want…

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