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The Tale of a Little Alchemist Blessed by the Spirits, Vol. 3

By yocco and Junsui. Released in Japan as “Outo no Hazure no Renkinjutsushi: Hazure Shokugyou datta node, Nonbiri Omise Keieishimasu” by Kadokawa Books. Released in North America by Airship. Translated by Andria McKnight. Adapted by Lex Reno. Everyone has their own pet things they don’t like in fantasy light novels. Well, pretty sure almost every right thinking person hates “welp, guess I gotta have slaves”, but leaving that as a given, there are others that grate on me, and one of them is front and center at the start of this third book. I’m sure it’s from some JRPG or other, but the whole “you are given a god-given talent at Age 5 and if the common wisdom is that it sucks you are abused, disowned, abandoned, or even straight…

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I’ll Become a Villainess Who Goes Down in History: It Seems Turning into a High-Born Baddie Makes the Prince All the More Lovestruck, Vol. 4

By Izumi Okido and Jyun Hayase. Released in Japan as “Rekishi ni Nokoru Akujo ni Naru zo: Akuyaku Reijō ni Naru hodo Ōji no Dekiai wa Kasoku suru yō desu!” by B’s-LOG Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Sarah Moon. Last time I was worried about what the series was going to do with Liz, but I ended up reading into the setting too much. Just like Alicia, I am far too aware of the otome game origins of this world, so I naturally assumed that Liz’s stubborn hyper-idealism and unconscious charm power were going to be near impossible to get rid of without sterner methods. As it turns out, though, Liz lives in reality like the rest of the cast do, and therefore all it…

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Re: ZERO ~Starting Life in Another World~, Vol. 29

By Tappei Nagatsuki and Shinichirou Otsuka. Released in Japan as “Re: Zero Kara Hajimeru Isekai Seikatsu” by MF Bunko J. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Dale DeLucia. I had heard, when I began the 7th arc in this series, that I would not enjoy it as much as the previous ones, as I’ve said in previous reviews. And yet I was unprepared for how much of an absolute grind this book was, especially in the first half. I suppose the reason that everything comes to a grinding halt is to show how important an ally Yoruna is going to be, and how it should be fairly easy to get her on their side, which a lot of people don’t want. But man, this really felt like…

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A Certain Magical Index NT, Vol. 6

By Kazumi Kamachi and Kiyotaka Haimura. Released in Japan as “Shinyaku To Aru Majutsu no Index” by Dengeki Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Alice Prowse. It is something of a shame that the light novels in this series don’t get any love in North America – well, at least the official releases, I’m sure hardcore Index fans are still swearing by the fan TL as they check out Genesis Index’s latest volume. They may be full of gobbledegook, posturing, and sophistry, but they’re very entertaining despite all that. In particular, before I started this review I glanced at my review of the previous book. First I got sad, as I realized we’re down to twice a year, so this gets even further behind the thirteen…

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Who Killed the Hero?, Vol. 3

By Daken and toi8. Released in Japan as “Dare ga Yuusha wo Koroshita ka” by Kadokawa Sneaker Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Kim Morrissy. This was well-written, and I enjoyed it, but I have to say that diminishing returns are starting to set in. I am wondering how many times we can go to the well of what it means to be a hero, and how many times we’re going to get a clever identity twist. The bulk of this book is written knowing that the reader will be trying to “work out” what is happening, so there are lots of false clues and real clues scattered throughout. More importantly, though, we’re back with the cast of the first book, and we get to see…

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Imperial Reincarnation: I Came, I Saw, I Survived, Vol. 6

By Masekinokatasa and Kaito Shinobu. Released in Japan as “Tenseishitara Koutei deshita: Umarenagara no Koutei wa Konosaki Ikinokoreru ka?” by TO Books. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Gwendolyn Warner. The author indicates, in the afterword, that they are already not a fan of harem series, and now that Carmine has a wife and two concubines they do not plan to add any more to the pile. This is a great shame, because in the same afterword the author talks about how much they love writing strong female characters, and we get another one here who is absolutely magnificent. Last time we introduced fantasy Mei Hatsume, this time we get a successful version of Leeroy Jenkins. She’s a Count, she was raised as a boy (though thinks…

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Manga the Week of 7/22/26

SEAN: Still hot, and be on the lookout for poison ivy. And manga. Hopefully you don’t drop your manga in the poison ivy. MICHELLE: And evil lettuce. ANNA: Yes, I’m scared of evil lettuce now. SEAN: Airship has the print debut of The Dangers in My Heart – The Novel (Boku no Kokoro no Yabai Yatsu), a light novel spinoff of the hot manga that looks at the main couple through the eyes of the other characters. Also in print: My Girlfriend Cheated on Me, and Now My Flirty Underclassman Won’t Leave Me Alone 2. They also have a digital-only debut. Reluctant Space Commander: From Death Wish to Galactic Hero! (“Koko wa Makasete Saki ni Ike!” o Shitai Shinitagari no Nozomanu Uchuu Gekokujou) stars a guy who wants to end…

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High School DxD: Funny Angel of Christmas

By Ichiei Ishibumi and Miyama-Zero. Released in Japan by Fujimi Fantasia Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Haydn Trowell. Yes, that’s right, we finally get a volume dedicated to Irina… well, a bit. She’s still not really getting as much screen time as the main cast, but at least there are events here that rely on her being who she is, which is a step up from “random girl says dialogue X”, her role in the last eight or nine books. Irina is very fortunate in that this is a harem series that we already know is going to end with multiple wives, and therefore she should be fine. Because really, she is the definition of the Unlucky Childhood Friend from these romcoms, the sort who…

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Spy Classroom Short Story Collection: From Inferno with Love

By Takemachi and Tomari. Released in Japan as “Spy Kyoushitsu” by Fujimi Fantasia Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Nathaniel Hiroshi Thrasher. We may have finally drained the Avian well dry (or maybe not – I hear there’s another spinoff just started that features them), but that doesn’t mean we’re going back to the main girls for these short stories. In fact, as the cover might suggest, the main girls, with one or two minor exceptions, don’t appear in this story at all. That’s because, despite the formatting, this really isn’t a short story collection at all, it’s a prequel, dealing with Inferno, the spy group Klaus was drafted into years ago, and how they trained him to be what he is today, as well as…

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