SEAN: May day, may day! ASH: Danger, danger! SEAN: We start with Airship. In print, they have a 4th volume of There’s No Freaking Way I’ll be Your Lover! Unless… The digital debut is a one-shot light novel, True Love Fades Away When the Contract Ends – One Star in the Night Sky (Unmei no Koibito wa Kigen Tsuki). This is from the author of Making Jam in the Woods, I’d Rather Have a Cat Than a Harem, and The Apothecary Witch Turned Divorce Agent. A young woman trying to avoid getting married meets a young man with the same goal. Can they solve the problem by pretending to be in a relationship? ANNA: Can they pretend to be married AND make jam in the woods? ASH: I don’t see…
LATEST FEATURES, ESSAYS, COLUMNS, ROUNDTABLES, & REVIEWS
By Sean Gaffney, Anna N, Michelle Smith and Ash Brown
Manga the Week of 5/8/24
By Sean Gaffney
Making Jam in the Woods: My Relaxing Life Starts in Another World, Vol. 3
By Kosuzu Kobato and Yuichi Murakami. Released in Japan as “Mori no Hotori de Jam wo Niru: Isekai de Hajimeru Slow Life” by Kadokawa Books. Released in North America by Cross Infinite World. Translated by Jade Willis. The author says in the afterword that the webnovel version of this series ended with the second book, and that this third volume was an “after story” written for the published books. That might be a bit of a surprise given that this book ends with Margaret and Mark’s wedding, which you would have expected to end the series proper, and also that it manages to (mostly) resolve the other open-ended romance in the series. But it also does explain some things, like the total lack of conflict in this volume. If this…
By Sean Gaffney
Once Upon a Witch’s Death: The Tale of the One Thousand Tears of Joy
By Saka and Chorefuji. Released in Japan as “Aru Majo ga Shinu Made: Owari no Kotoba to Hajimari no Namida” by DENGEKI no Shin Bungei. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Richard Tobin. I rarely begin a review by noting whether the series is continuing in Japan or not, but it actually makes a difference in how we’re supposed to take this story in this case. Yen is releasing this as a one-shot, and Dengeki seems to have had no desire to release any more since this came out in Japan in December 2021. But if this is the only volume, then the plot sort of becomes irrelevant. It’s not a story of how a girl tries to gain powerful “tears” in order to avoid her impending…
By Sean Gaffney
Haibara’s Teenage New Game+, Vol. 6
By Kazuki Amamiya and Gin. Released in Japan as “Haibara-kun no Tsuyokute Seishun New Game” by HJ Bunko. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Esther Sun. There’s always been an element of drama to this series, which has sort of waffled between teen romcom and teen angst at times. But this volume pretty much jettisons the humor entirely, and any romance we get is of the tortured variety. This is also to be expected. Natsuki may have 7 extra years on the rest of the cast, but that does not make him any less of a dumbass when trying to see feelings that are so close to his nose that they’re invisible to him. We also not only get a nice round of high school bullying here,…
By Sean Gaffney
A Livid Lady’s Guide to Getting Even: How I Crushed My Homeland with My Mighty Grimoires, Vol. 1
By Hagure Metabo and masami. Released in Japan as “Buchigire Reijō wa Hōfuku wo Chikaimashita. Madōsho no Chikara de Sokoku wo Tataki Tsubushimasu” by HJ Novels. Released in North America by J-Novel Heart. Translated by Rymane Tsouria. I’ve read quite a few bad books in my day. Some are so boring or annoying I don’t even finish them, hence they don’t get reviewed. Some are so hilariously bad I can do a “funny” review of how bad the book is. But it’s rare that I’ve come across a book so bad it makes me angry. In fact, ironically, it makes me livid, which is something that we almost never see from Ellie, the antagonist of this book. She spends almost the entire book in a sort of stoic indifference, and…
By Sean Gaffney
Tearmoon Empire, Vol. 12
By Nozomu Mochitsuki and Gilse. Released in Japan as “Tearmoon Teikoku Monogatari” by TO Books. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Madeleine Willette. The cliffhanger ending to the last volume already told us that Bel had returned “from the dead”, so it’s not a surprise to see her on the cover, though it is a bit of a surprise to see her looking older. Mia is also stated to have grown, and for once the narrator, usually snarky, has to assure us that it’s height this time rather than the usual fat jokes. We are told that Mia is now sixteen, which is nice to hear, but also ominous, as it was when Mia turned eighteen that she was captured by the revolution in her first timeline….
By Sean Gaffney, Michelle Smith, Anna N and Ash Brown
Manga the Week of 5/1/24
SEAN: End of April, start of May, it’s all the same to me. Just one straggler from Yen On: Once Upon a Witch’s Death: The Tale of the One Thousand Tears of Joy (Aru Majo ga Shinu Made: Owari no Kotoba to Hajimari no Namida), a one-shot light novel. A witch apprentice learns she is cursed to die in one year unless she collects one thousand tears of joy. ASH: I really do appreciate one-shots, these days. Also, i get a kick out of the fact that the basic premise is essentially the opposite of Blade of the Immortal. SEAN: Tokyopop debuts a new series, Watch Dogs Tokyo. This Kurage Bunch series is based on a game, it takes place in future Tokyo, where a management system has helped everyone’s…
By Sean Gaffney
The Exiled Noble Rises as the Holy King: Befriending Fluffy Beasts and a Holy Maiden with My Ultimate Cheat Skill!, Vol. 2
By Yu Okano and TAPIOCA. Released in Japan as “Tsuihō Kizoku wa Saikyō Skill “Seiō” de Henkyō kara Nariagaru: Haikyōsha ni Nintei Sareta Ore da kedo Cheat Skill de Mofumofu mo Seijo mo Nakama ni Shichaimashita” by Earth Star Novels. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Alex Honton. Ugh. …fine, I guess I have to go into more detail. Last time I was unimpressed with the writing and hero but there were enough interesting ideas that I would read a second volume. It became rapidly apparent as I got about 30 pages into this new volume that this was a mistake, as the book writes out its most interesting character and replaces her with another, less interesting blonde who gets to be there in order to give…
By Sean Gaffney
Chitose Is in the Ramune Bottle, Vol. 6
By Hiromu and raemz. Released in Japan as “Chitose-kun wa Ramune Bin no Naka” by Gagaga Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Evie Lund. It does sometimes occur to me that my reviews are, of course, telling you my own opinions, which frequently do not match up with the opinions of other light novel fans. So let’s get this out of the way fast: I really loved this book, and was on the edge of my seat reading it. This is despite the fact that I can easily see about ten different reasons why it would piss off most readers who are not me. First of all, it’s 406 pages of nothing but teenage angst. You had better be ready for people to be sobbing, hating…