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Torture Princess: Fremd Torturchen, Vol. 5

By Keishi Ayasato and Saki Ukai. Released in Japan as “Isekai Goumon Hime” by MF Bunko J. Released in North America Yen On. Translated by Nathaniel Hiroshi Thrasher. I have been preparing myself since the start of the first book for the fact that this series, which has an awful lot of gore, death, and icky things happening to everyone in the world, is going to have characters I care about die in horrible ways. That said, the author knows how to keep us coming back, and while Hina may have spent one of the volumes on ice, for the most part the main cast has made it though with a lot of pain and maiming but with their essential selves intact. That changes big time in this volume, in…

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Blue Flag Vol. 3

Blue Flag Volume 3 by KAITO Blue Flag continues to be an incredibly nuanced and introspective look at teenage life with an unconventional love quadrangle that shows characters intersecting in different ways, producing moments of self-reflection. As the volume opens Taichi has redeemed himself from a trauma in his childhood by saving a kitten from being struck by a car – only for his old friend Toma to break his leg saving Taichi. Toma’s stuck in the hospital and unable to lead his high school team to victory in the baseball championships but one of the biggest conflicts in this volume isn’t due to physical pain as Taichi’s crippling insecurity causes him to lash out at the people around him. Having an event that he genuinely feels guilty about causes…

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Ao Haru Ride, Vol. 13

Ao Haru Ride Volume 13 by Io Sakisaka I have this issue sometimes when I really like a series and the final volume comes out, I tend to procrastinate reading it a little bit just because I don’t want the series to end. So the last volume of Ao Haru Ride has been sitting in my house for a couple weeks now before I decided to read it. This was a very satisfying concluding volume that showed the main characters settled into a relationship in a very adorable way that contrasts nicely with all the sadness and difficulty that they faced along the way. Futuba and Kou are now firmly a couple and dealing with new issues, such as her wanting more reassurance about his feelings for her, and figuring…

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I Shall Survive Using Potions!, Vol. 5

By FUNA and Sukima. Released in Japan as “Potion-danomi de Ikinobimasu!” by K Lanove Books. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Hiroya Watanabe. The series that makes me eat my words on a regular basis is back, and it continues to be the most FUNA series out there. Make My Abilities Average! may be more popular and have the anime, but this is straight no chaser stuff, with Kaoru, perhaps hearing me say last time that she was getting more normal, breaking out the personality traits that caused the 2nd volume to scare me so much. As with other works by the author, the attitude extends to every other woman she’s met (men are immune, with Emile being an exception), as Francette is eager to use her…

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In the Land of Leadale, Vol. 1

By Ceez and Tenmaso. Released in Japan by Famitsu Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Jessica Lange. I have to admit “it’s sort of like Overlord meets Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear” is not a sentence I thought I’d be typing, and yet here we are. In the Land of Leadale manages to use a bit of the premise and a few of the logistics of Overlord, but is decidedly non-evil in tone, and in the end is far more concerned about its heroine walking leisurely around this world and being superpowered. Indeed, its “isekai” premise doesn’t come up as often as I’d expect – it’s there mostly for Cayna to make comparisons about how things were in the game compared to her life in the land…

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Bookshelf Briefs 10/22/20

Arifureta: I Heart Isekai, Vol. 3 | By Misaki Mori, based on the novel by Ryo Shirakome | Seven Seas – This is keeping up a fast pace, not lingering too long on any one part of the novels that it’s making fun of. Everyone manages to be that much more over-the-top than they are in the source—though admittedly Kaori goes above and beyond in this regard—and the art also has little cute “we are angry” faces for everyone that look cute and scary at the same time. More to the point, despite all the gags, the I Heart Isekai series actually manages to keep the found-family bits that are also the best reason to read the main series, and its character attacks never feel malicious (again, Kaori comes close,…

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Manga the Week of 10/28/20

SEAN: BOO! Cross Infinite World gives us the 2nd volume of Another World’s Zombie Apocalypse Is Not My Problem!, which surprises me, as I thought it was a standalone. Dark Horse has the 6th volume of Mob Psycho 100. ASH: While I’m not quite as taken with the series as I was in the beginning, I’ve still been enjoying it. SEAN: There’s a triple dose of not-quite-porn from Ghost Ship, who have Destiny Lovers 4, Parallel Paradise 3, and To-Love-Ru Darkness 17. J-Novel Club debuts a new manga, Campfire Cooking in Another World, based on the light novel of the same name. They also have Can Someone Please Explain What’s Going On? 4, Der Werwolf 9, When the Clock Strikes Z 2 (a final volume, I think), and The White…

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High School DxD: Diablos of the Old School Building

By Ichiei Ishibumi and Miyama-Zero. Released in Japan by Fujimi Fantasia Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Haydn Trowell. Sometimes a series is released at exactly the right time to catch fan’s interest, gain momentum, and rise to the top of everyone’s list. Had High School DxD’s light novel come out in North America in 2014, around the same time as Yen On debuted Sword Art Online, I’ve no doubt it would have been quite popular. Indeed, the manga version came out around then, and I assume was probably popular. It’s got cute and sexy demons, battles between heaven and hell, harem building, some cool battle scenes, and lots of fanservice. That said, this is coming out in late 2020. It’s even late in being released…

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Ascendance of a Bookworm: I’ll Do Anything to Become a Librarian!, Part 3: Adopted Daughter of an Archduke, Vol. 2

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 digitally by J-Novel Club. Translated by quof. Let’s face it, Rozemyne has done a lot for the world she now lives in. From all of her printing achievements, which have the potential to change the world as everyone knows it, to even such things as shampoo, the footprint of Myne/Rozemyne is everywhere. However, there is a limit to what she can achieve. Ehrenfest is not going to slowly become modern-day Earth. What’s more, there is a disconnect between a) the way nobles think, b) the way Rozemyne thinks as a commoner who was raised into the nobility; c) the way Urano…

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