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Spy Classroom: Monika’s Thin Veneer

By Takemachi and Tomari. Released in Japan as “Spy Kyoushitsu” by Fujimi Fantasia Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Nathaniel Thrasher. Don’t worry, this is still Erna’s arc. I’m sure she’ll get the next cover. But each of these books has featured one of the main characters going beyond, finding new ways to live, new ways to be a spy, and new ways to cope with what they are inside, and then getting ushered off the stage for a while. Last time it was Sara, who spends this volume in prison, being tortured. (I was going to bitch once more about how fiction makes people believe torture works great, but the convoluted plot this series always has makes it work.) And this volume it’s Monika, who…

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BLADE & BASTARD: Saga of the Unknown Adventurers

By Kumo Kagyu and so-bin. Released in Japan as “Blade & Bastard” by Dre Novels. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Sean McCann. I think this may be the 6th time I’ve said this, but I have never played or delved into Wizardry. And so far this hasn’t really been too much of a problem. There’s the vague annoyance of the parenthetical telling you that someone’s mental well-being is really something you should roll for, i.e. all the “hit points”. There’s the hilarity that sometimes comes when one of the ridiculously named spells is accidentally something familiar – TILTOWAIT in this book just kept making me think of the amusement park ride Tilt-a-Whirl. But in this volume, I really get the sense that the author is talking…

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Invaders of the Rokujouma!?, Vol. 48

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. I had not realized that it had been over a year since the last volume of Rokujouma. The author apparently had heart issues that left them in the hospital for a while. As such, it’s something of a relief to hear that the series is coming to a close soon – thought I’ll take “soon” with a grain of salt, given I originally thought this was gonna end at Volume 29. This is also the 50th book in the series, counting the two .5 volumes, and I was wondering if we’d get an old-fashioned short story volume of fluff to celebrate. But no, we’re in the…

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Heroine? Saint? No, I’m an All-Works Maid (And Proud of It)!, Vol. 7

By Atekichi and Yukiko. Released in Japan as “Heroine? Seijo? Iie, All Works Maid desu (ko)!” by TO Books. Released in North America by Airship. Translated by Matthew Jackson. Adapted by Michelle McGuinness. Last time I talked about the fact that this world is still trying hard to re-rail things so that they go the way the game wants them to, and that’s still true, but it’s also astonishing how many “doubles” this has led to, and in some cases triples and quadruples. We have Celesty, of course, now Melody, maiding it up. And reincarnated. And not Cecilia, at least not anymore. There’s Serena, a walking, talking, living doll who Melody accidentally and unknowingly put the soul of her dead mother inside. There’s Celedia, who is really an evil minion…

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Royal Spirits Are a Royal Pain! Give Me a Regular Romance, Vol. 4

By Rei Kazama and Fujiazuki. Released in Japan as “Tensei Reijō wa Seirei ni Aisarete Saikyō Desu…… Dakedo Futsū ni Koi Shitai)” by TO Books. Released in North America by J-Novel Heart. Translated by okaykei. First of all, I feel the need to apologize to Karla, who I clearly jinxed in my last review. Thanks to her family, not only is she no longer a candidate for Prince Andrew’s hand, she’s barely in the book at all. She’s not particularly happy about this of course, and I think is quietly trying to get herself disowned as well. In the meantime, this is good news for Monica and Susanna, the other two candidates. First of all, because hey, Andrew is a catch and you get to be Empress, but also because…

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The Twelve Kingdoms, Book Six: A Thousand Miles of Wind, the Sky at Dawn, Part 2

By Fuyumi Ono and Akihiro Yamada. Released in Japan as “Kaze no Banri, Reimei no Sora” by X Bunko White Heart. Released in North America by Seven Seas Entertainment. Translated by Kim Morrissy. Adapted by Monica Sullivan. This is a book – well, the whole series is, but especially this book – with a message. This whole volume shows us what life is like in a city, and indeed a county, that is so used to corruption and venality that it doesn’t even matter that the new queen is supposed to be better than the old one, things will still continue. We see, over and over in this book, the normal law-abiding folks turning away whenever there’s something horrible going on – or worse, cheering it on – because they’re…

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Nia Liston: The Merciless Maiden, Vol. 10

By Umikaze Minamino and Katana Canata. Released in Japan as “Kyōran Reijō Nia Liston: Byōjaku Reijō ni Tenseishita Kami-goroshi no Bujin no Kareinaru Musō Roku” by HJ Bunko. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by okaykei. If you have been following A Livid Lady’s Guide to Getting Even: The Anime, and felt that she was perhaps going a bit TOO far and getting a bit TOO evil, may I recommend the latest volume of Nia Liston? In which Nia gets very angry, and gets her revenge. But it’s the sort of revenge that may actually make everything better, and, while she confesses this is a surprise to her, no bad guys actually die who are not giant insects. Ah yes, that reminds me: if you like to see…

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Manga the Week of 9/9/26

SEAN: As September crawls along, let’s see what manga and light novels offer us. Yen On moved half its releases back two weeks, so we don’t have quite as much as usual. We get Death March to the Parallel World Rhapsody 25, The Irregular at Magic High School 27, Legend of the Far East’s Savior 2, Lord of Mysteries 4, Playing Death Games to Put Food on the Table 6, Spy Classroom 11, To Sir Without Love, I’m Divorcing You 2 Part 1, and The Vexations of a Shut-In Vampire Princess 11. ASH: I imagine sharing the wealth with the other weeks of the month will make some things easier for some people somewhere. SEAN: Viz debuts The Amazing Digital Circus, a manga adaptation of the popular web series. It…

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From Corporate Drone to Mincemaster! One Order of Dragon Coming Right Up!, Vol. 1

By Minato Minato and Tsukito. Released in Japan as “Makikomarete Shoukan Sareta Genkai OL, Guild Shozoku no [Mamono Kaitai Jou] toshite Funtouchuu ~Dragon desu ka? Mochiron Sabakemasu!~” by Mag Garden Novels. Released in North America by Cross Infinite World. Translated by piyo. I mean, it’s FINE, I guess. I enjoyed reading it. I’ll read more. The main characters are all likeable enough. But god, I do not think I have ever come across a light novel with as little originality as this one, a LN that feels like someone completed a Mad Libs for Isekai and wrote the book based on the results. There’s an office lady so ground down from overwork that the only surprise is that it’s a normal summoning and not “dead from work”. There’s her opposite…

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