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A Tale of the Secret Saint ZERO, Vol. 5

By Touya and chibi. Released in Japan as “Tensei Sita Daiseijyo ha, Seijyo Dearuko Towohitakakusu ZERO” by Earth Star Novels. Released in North America by Airship. Translated by Sarah Burch. Adapted by Melanie Kardas. Well, here we are back in the past again, with six-year-old Serafina. We’re still quite a few years away from her death, but the series has been teasing that it’s going to get dark, and this book continues that trend… though in an odd way. We open with an ominous scene of a demon waking and finding someone who smells “quite delicious”. No prizes for guessing who that is… and then we have the entire rest of the book, with the demon’s actual meeting with Serafina coming right at the end, in order to provide the…

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Bookshelf Briefs 6/22/26

A Certain Scientific Railgun, Vol. 20 | By Kazuma Kamachi and Motoi Fuyukawa | Seven Seas – So between the last volume and this one, the series ended in Japan, and if my count is right this one will be the penultimate volume. The plot of this arc continues apace, but I’ll be honest, I’m not interested in it. The main cast has always been why I read this series. Fortunately, they get things to do. We see Mikoto’s compassion and we start to see why Kuroko falls for her so hard (canonical). We see Kuroko starting to be a part of Judgment. We see Saten and Uiharu meet, see Uiharu struggling to not be a 90-pound weakling, and see Saten start to fall for her (not canonical). And yes,…

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Dahlia in Bloom: Crafting a Fresh Start with Magical Tools, Vol. 12

By Hisaya Amagishi and Hachi Komada. Released in Japan as “Madougushi Dahlia wa Utsumukanai” by MF Books. Released in North America by J-Novel Heart. Translated by A.M. Cola. It has not escaped my attention that the Lucia and the Loom spinoff series to Dahlia in Bloom has not had a volume out in Japan for the last three years. I was reminded of it with the plot for this book, 2/3 of which revolved around Jonas, Guido’s attendant and one of the many suitors in the Lucia partner sweepstakes. You’d assume that, with a much larger role for Lucia than actually happens here, this should be something happening in that series. And yet, here we are, Lucia is back to being a minor character, and every man in the series…

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The Condemned Villainess Goes Back in Time and Aims to Become the Ultimate Villain, Vol. 8

By Bakufu Narayama and Ebisushi. Released in Japan as “Danzaisareta Akuyaku Reijō wa, Gyakkō-shite Kanpekina Akujo o Mezasu” by TO Books. Released in North America by Airship. Translated by Alyssa Niioka. Adapted by Vida Cruz-Borja. So yeah, I get to deliver a big apology here. I was fuming at the end of the 7th book in the series, which I saw as throwing away most of the good character development that we’d seen at the start of the volume as if someone accidentally set Fermina’s switch to ‘good’ and now it was back to ‘evil. As it turns out, the author was doing this deliberately, and it played into the start of THIS book, which shows us what happened between all that character development and the big brutal ending. Which…

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Manga the Week of 6/24/26

SEAN: School’s out for most kids by this point, so let’s give them some manga reading! ASH: The time has come! SEAN: Airship has print releases for I Like Villains, so I Reincarnated as One 2 and I’m the Evil Lord of an Intergalactic Empire! 11. And for early digital we get a 17th volume of She Professed Herself Pupil of the Wise Man. Retail sites say that Denpa Books has the 8th volume of Heavenly Delusion. ASH: I should probably try to catch up since I enjoyed the earlier volumes. SEAN: Ghost Ship gives us The 100 Girlfriends Who Really, Really, Really, Really, REALLY Love You 18. ASH: Still actually need to start this series. SEAN: Hanashi Media has a 4th volume of I’m Just a Villager, So What?….

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Private Tutor to the Duke’s Daughter: The Star Rod, Herald of Dawn

By Riku Nanano and cura. Released in Japan as “Koujo Denka no Kateikyoushi” by Fujimi Fantasia Bunko. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by William Varteresian. Last volume I started with the plot synopsis to avoid instant spoilers, but there’s no need for that here. The last volume featured several big surprises, not least of which was Lydia taking a curse meant for Allen and almost dying, a state that she pretty much stays in this entire book, so Lydia lovers may be a bit sad. (Good news about the next in the series, fear not.) But again, I think we were all expecting that. We were also expecting Allen’s reaction, and the theme of this book is that everyone knows what he’s going to do, they just…

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Once Upon a Witch’s Death: The Curtain Rises on a Neverending Story

By Saka and Chorefuji. Released in Japan as “Aru Majo ga Shinu Made: Hateshinai Monogatari no Maku ga Agaru” by DENGEKI no Shin Bungei. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Megan Turner. I guess I should start with something of a content warning. If you are deeply religious… well, you’re likely not reading Japanese light novels. But it did not escape my attention that a large chunk of this book gives the word “messianic” a whole new meaning. To be fair, Meg Raspberry being the greatest thing since sliced bread is not new to this series. However, she’s taking her act on the road now, and there’s a section in the Middle East where we learn about an all-loving savior who used prayer to heal the world….

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Re: ZERO ~Starting Life in Another World~ Short Story Collection, Vol. 5

By Tappei Nagatsuki and Makoto Fugetsu. Released in Japan as “Re: Zero Kara Hajimeru Isekai Seikatsu: Tanpenshuu” by MF Bunko J. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Sarah Moon. I tend to enjoy these collections quite a bit, mostly as they are the exact opposite of a “let’s just throw together all the bookstore exclusives” short story collections we see from other light novel series. Most of these were taken from my nemesis Monthly Comic Alive, to be fair, but they are very much canon to the main series, and the author uses them to give us characterization and backstory that they can’t put into the main series itself. It also teases future events, or ties in with the present volume coming out in Japan. Basically, much…

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New Game Plus After Defeating the Last Boss: All These Beautiful, Problematic Girls in the First Town Have Gotten Really Attached to Me… , Vol. 2

By Touwa Akatsuki and Falmaro. Released in Japan as “Last Boss Toubatsu Go ni Hajimeru Nishuume Boukensha Life: Hajimari no Machi de Wakeari Bishoujotachi ga Mechakucha Natsuite Kimasu” by Fujimi Fantasia Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Kamishiro Taishi. And here’s where we find out why this series didn’t last past the second volume, and any goodwill I had towards it quietly vanishes. There’s a reason that writers love to create conflict for their characters: unless it’s handled well, everyone getting along is boring. Rearguard has a similar problem, but usually moves at a fast enough clip that it can avoid the worst of it. This book, though, really doesn’t pick up till about 2/3 of the way into it. Not great. And there’s also Falmaro’s…

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