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Tearmoon Empire, Vol. 1

By Nozomu Mochitsuki and Gilse. Released in Japan as “Tearmoon Teikoku Monogatari” by TO Books. Released in North America digitally by J-Novel Club. Translated by David Teng. It’s been a while since I’ve been so entertained by a light novel debut. The premise of the story already had me half-won over, to be honest. Mia Luna Tearmoon is this world’s Marie Antoinette, a spoiled young princess who only cares about herself and thus, when the revolution comes (a revolution she unwittingly instigated), she is sent to the guillotine. But then… she wakes up ten years earlier, right as rain! Now she has a firm goal: change history! So far so normal, right? It’s a familiar plot to fanfic writers, so familiar it has a name – “Peggy Sue”, after the…

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Bookshelf Briefs 2/25/20

DAYS, Vol. 16 | By Tsuyoshi Yasuda | Kodansha Comics (digital only) – Usually with sports manga I can find some emotional beat to highlight, but this volume really is just a bunch of soccer. Not that that’s a bad thing. Seiseki has progressed to the second round of the All Japan High School Soccer Tournament and their opponent is Ichiboshi Academy, whose unpredictable playing style proves challenging. Tsukamoto takes a bit of a backseat this time as Yasuda-sensei focuses on some older players like Oshiba, whose experience gets him past Ichiboshi’s impressive defence and allows him to score the first goal of the game, and Usui, who is shockingly bested by Ichiboshi as they score a goal of their own. It may not be deep, but it is fun,…

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Daytime Shooting Star, Vol 5

Daytime Shooting Star, Volume 5 by Mika Yamamori As the student/teacher romance in Daytime Shooting Star progresses I find myself thinking, “Oh, that’s cute” and “Stop being so inappropriate Shishio!” very often and simultaneously. Most of this volume is taken up with the old shoujo staple of a school festival. It is the perfect opportunity to shake things up as teens run cafes, put on plays, and engage in high stakes emotions. Mamura in particular is popular as a mostly silent butler at the cafe. Suzume does her best to serve coffee but she’s flustered when Mr. Shishio shows up and sits in her section, accompanied by her uncle. Mamura is in full protective mode, making a comment to Shishio that “A teacher has no business seducing his students” before…

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I Refuse to Be Your Enemy!, Vol. 1

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 Molly Lee. Despite the fact that, if you look at forums and message boards, you’d think “otome game villainess” novels were the new vampire or Alice trend, we haven’t actually had too many legally licensed over here yet. My Next Life As a Villainess, aka Bakarina, it a very broad comedy, almost a parody, of the genre. Accomplishments of the Duke’s Daughter just has the manga so far, and seems more interested in the politics and worldbuilding than it does in anything else. This new series, though, may be the purest form of the genre I’ve heard of. It’s not subverting anything…

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Hayate the Combat Butler, Vol. 35

By Kenjiro Hata. Released in Japan as “Hayate no Gotoku!” by Shogakukan, serialized in the magazine Shonen Sunday. Released in North America by Viz. Translated by John Werry. The revelation that Viz Media has licensed the newest manga by Kenjiro Hata, Tonikaku Kawaii (aka Fly Me to the Moon) for release this fall came as a big surprise to the huge number of Hayate the Combat Butler fans… OK, really, there’s just two of us now, but we were surprised! After all, Hata’s Hayate the Combat Butler still has about fifteen volumes left to release, but continues to come out at the “we won’t cancel it, but we hate you” two-volumes-per-year schedule. Fly Me to the Moon may begin and end while Hayate still coming out. Still, for those who…

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Neon Genesis Evangelion: Anima, Vol. 2

By Ikuto Yamashita. Released in Japan as “Shin Seiki Evangelion Anima” by Kadokawa Shoten, serialized in the magazine Dengeki Hobby. Released in North America by Seven Seas. Translated by Nathan Collins. Adapted by Peter Adrian Behravesh. It occurred to me as I was reading this second volume, and glancing at most of the color pages, that this was written to be serialized in Dengeki Hobby, a (now defunct) magazine devoted to fans of the plastic model kit. It therefore should come as no surprise to me that the book is a lot more concerned with the Evas and how they function than the inner workings of the actual cast. There are some moments where that’s not the case – Misato’s grief at Kaji’s fate here is well handled, as is…

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Manga the Week of 2/26/20

SEAN: It’s the end of February at last, and we celebrate with a huge pile of stuff. Are you ready? ASH: Always! SEAN: Cross Infinite World has a 2nd volume of light novel The Eccentric Master and the Fake Lover. Dark Horse has a 4th deluxe hardcover for Berserk. ASH: The hardcover edition really is impressive — I’m slowly replacing my paperback copies. SEAN: A couple of Volume 2s from Ghost Ship: Destiny Lovers 2 and World’s End Harem: Fantasia 2. J-Novel Club has another shoujo light novel out next week: Tearmoon Empire (Tearmoon Teikoku Monogatari). This is from TO Books, and stars a selfish princess who is about to be guillotined by an angry populace when suddenly she wakes up in the past! It’s time to change the future…

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No Game No Life, Vol. 10

By Yuu Kamiya. Released in Japan by MF Bunko J. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Daniel Komen. This volume begins with our heroes, [ ], having abdicated the throne (the country is now ruled by the business class, with Steph reduced to talking to potted plants – and Plum, who is about as helpful as one) and living life as sellers of medicine. In particular, their breast enhancer, although temporary, is quite popular. It also attracts the attention of the Dwarves, one of the few races we haven’t really dealt with yet, and they summon Sora and Shiro to their underground city to throw down. Fortunately, our heroes have a new dwarf ally, Tilvilg. Unfortunately, she lacks the natural genius ability that all dwarves have, and…

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Silver Spoon, Vol. 13

By Hiromu Arakawa. Released in Japan as “Gin no Saji” by Shogakukan, serialized in the magazine Weekly Shonen Sunday. Released in North America by Yen Press. Translated by Amanda Haley. There’s always a careful balancing act that an author has to keep up when writing a character whose failures are hilarious. On the one hand, you can’t overegg the pudding – you need to contrast this hilarity with moments where they actually succeed. If done right, this can be extremely heartwarming. The first half of the manga deals with the equestrian competition, with Hachiken actually competing this time, and his “slow, steady and have fun” approach actually does pretty well, especially as it allows Mikage to dazzle. And of course the beauty of it is that it sets things up…

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