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Prince Freya, Vol 2

Prince Freya, Volume 2 by Keiko Ishihara I enjoyed the premise and setting of the first volume of Prince Freya, even though I thought there were a couple pacing issues. I was curious to see if the next volume would feel a little more settled, and I’m happy to report that this volume felt much more cohesive as Freya settles into her new life as Prince Edvard, fending off evil plots and throwing herself into the action as much as possible. The volume picks up as Freya as Edvard attempts to save the royal guard Mikal from being kidnapped, only to put herself in danger in the process. I’ll be honest, one plot point that I do enjoy about reverse harem scenarios where girls have to disguise themselves as boys…

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An Archdemon’s Dilemma: How to Love Your Elf Bride, Vol. 10

By Fuminori Teshima and COMTA. Released in Japan as “Maou no Ore ga Dorei Elf wo Yome ni Shitanda ga, Dou Medereba Ii?” by HJ Bunko. Released in North America digitally by J-Novel Club. Translated by Hikoki. This has been such a relaxed, somewhat sweet series that it actually can be startling when bad things happen. For the most part, the bulk of this book involves building a giant bath at Zagan’s castle, which he doesn’t really care about, but the rest of his increasingly large cast of women staying with him want very much. There’s discussion of the different kinds of baths, lots of teasing of various people who are still not quite hooked up with anyone yet, and a huge fight between Zagan and Barbatos, taking out large…

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Act-Age, Vol. 1

By Tatsuya Matsuki and Shiro Usasaki. Released in Japan by Shueisha, serialization ongoing in the magazine Weekly Shonen Jump. Released in North America by Viz Media. Translated by Camellia Nieh. In general, when you think of Weekly Shonen Jump, a certain type of series comes to mind. Lots of boys shouting at each other. Friendship/Training/Victory. Tons and tons of characters getting more and more powerful. Or you think of the goofy romantic comedies, usually involving a hapless guy and the bevy of girls who beat up/like him. But lately Jump has been going outside of its comfort areas quite a bit. And this new series (if you can call it new when it already has 112 chapters out in Japan) is certainly not the cliched Jump title. Indeed, the first…

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I Refuse to Be Your Enemy!, Vol. 2

By Kanata Satsuki and Mitsuya Fuji. Released in Japan as “Watashi wa Teki ni Narimasen!” by PASH! Books. Released in North America digitally by J-Novel Club. Translated by Tara Quinn. In my review of the first volume I said that light novel fans would be disappointed but romance fans should be happy. This volume dials back the romance (though it’s still there), and I’d argue that it may be fans of RPGs who get the most out of the series, as it’s become a military fantasy novel, which Kiara’s choice to become a spellcaster having far more of an impact on the plot than whether she likes Reggie or Cain. (It’s Reggie, btw. Of course it’s Reggie.) The cliffhanger is resolved fairly quickly, but the overall situation is not, as…

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Wandering Witch: The Journey of Elaina, Vol. 2

By Jougi Shiraishi and Azure. Released in Japan as “Majo no Tabitabi” by GA Novels. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Nicole Wilder. It did not escape my notice, when reading the first volume of Wandering Witch, that the best stories in it were the ones that focused on Elaina and her past rather than the ‘Elaina arrives at a strange town’ stories. Sadly, there is no more backstory here, just the wandering witch. Which should be fine. It’s why we picked up the series, after all. Look at the over! It’s the witch, smiling, drinking a cup of tea. This should be a relaxing, slow life series with a nice mix of humorous and serious stories. Unfortunately, I seem to have caught the author of a…

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Bookshelf Briefs 7/30/20

Blue Flag, Vol. 2 | By KAITO | VIZ Media – How do I already love these kids this much?! Blue Flag is the story of four friends in their third year of high school who care about each other but who are all also dealing with their own problems and trying to figure out what they want to do with their lives. I especially love Taichi and identify so much with the childhood memory he shares with Masumi—“I regretted my inaction so badly.” Taichi is always trying to become the sort of person who can act (and supports Futaba as she seeks to make the same change in herself). And thus, we are inexorably led to the cliffhanger of this volume, where Taichi gets the chance at a do-over,…

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Manga the Week of 8/5/20

SEAN: Get ready for a brutal month. Every week in August is huge. Soooo much stuff. ASH: Let’s go! SEAN: First of all, hey, remember when I somehow missed that Soul Eater: The Perfect Edition started from Square Enix on 7/28? That was 100% a thing I missed, because I am basically terrible. Soul Eater is fun. Please ignore the boobie ending. We start with J-Novel Club, which has several print volumes. We see Animeta! 4, How NOT to Summon a Demon Lord 11, the debut of the I Shall Survive Using Potions! light novel, and In Another World with My Smartphone 11. ASH: I plan on picking up Animeta! out of this group. SEAN: Digitally, there is Altina the Sword Princess 5, Campfire Cooking in Another World 7, Can…

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Last Round Arthurs, Vol. 2: Saint Arthur and the Red Girl Knight

By Taro Hitsuji and Kiyotaka Haimura. Released in Japan by Fujimi Fantasia Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Jan Cash. I’m not sure why it took almost a year between the first and second volumes of this series to come out, but fortunately it doesn’t really matter much. Even if you’ve forgotten what happened in the first book, the protagonists quickly steamroller over your doubts and get around to what Last Round Arthurs wants to be: Fate/Stay Night with Haruhi Suzumiya as Saber. I know I said this last time, but it bears repeating: this series is so unoriginal that it beggars belief. In the first volume, the author basically admitted that he was asked to make a Fate ripoff, and getting the guy who does…

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My Youth Romantic Comedy Is Wrong As I Expected, Vol. 6.5

By Wataru Watari and Ponkan 8. Released in Japan as “Yahari Ore no Seishun Rabukome wa Machigatte Iru” by Gagaga Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Jennifer Ward. The origins of this volume are rather tortured. Around the time that Season 1 of the anime was coming out, they had the author do an episode about the athletics festival, that was not in the novels. This was Episode 13 of Season 1. At the same time, he was asked to do exclusive stories for the BD/DVD releases, and decided to greatly expand this episode into one big novel (yes, despite the .5 in the title, this is NOT a short story volume). The story came out cut into thirds, one per release. It’s now being collected…

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