Manga Bookshelf

Discussion, Resources, Roundtables, & Reviews

Sean Gaffney

A Certain Magical Index NT, Vol. 6

by

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 years it’s already behind Japan. Then I was amused, as I saw all my predictions about what was happening with Touma and what would be happening here, and boy was I wrong. As it turns out, Thor has the right idea, and Touma is not going to be undergoing any character development to become nuanced and realistic. He is a shonen manga hero, and this is a shonen manga series, in prose form. Just punch things righteously, dummy.

We pick up where we left off, with everything in chaos. Touma’s trying to run around and solve everything despite having been shot, and his gunshot wound keeps reopening. Mugino is being confronted with the corpse of her old teammate back from the dead, and … well, it’s Mugino, so you should know that wasn’t really going to work on her. Sorry, Frenda fans, she’s still dead. Accelerator is having to deal with the return of Kakine, who has discovered psychological warfare really works on someone as guilt-ridden as Accelerator is. Kakine’s bug-shaped minions are also chasing after Last Order, Fremea, Hamazura, Takitsubo, and Yoshikawa, an odd little combination. Fräulein Kreutune is going mad because she’s trying not to eat brains and failing. And, most importantly, it’s a cameo from Shokuhou Misaki! She’s in the novels at last! For about a page.

Given that I was very unhappy with Kakine’s return in the last book, I cannot begin to explain how delighted I am with Rhinoceros Beetle 05. Index has already dabbled in “clones of the original gain their own sentience and do different things” with the Misakas, of course, but this is even more old-school shonen, the minion who turns good and risks his very life and soul defending the girls from his former allies. I cheered this whole plotline. I also smiled awkwardly at Touma. His fighting had indeed gotten a lot more clever and analytical, and his idea on how to resolve Fräulein Kreutune’s issue is brilliant. But that has nothing to do with his HEART! It’s all about GUTS! And so yeah, Touma saves the girl, because that is what Touma does. He also has a big shonen “let’s hit each other with fists till we pass out” fight with Thor, who manages to be even MORE shonen. It’s kinda dumb, but you’ll be grinning.

Did I mention there’s a festival? There is! Next time, all the magic folks have gone home for now, so it’s time for an All-Science side book. I’ll keep reading it, even as the ending will likely come out here after I die.

Who Killed the Hero?, Vol. 3

by

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 what they were like as they started out on their journey. Unsurprisingly, the answer is “not great”. They’re abrasive, strong, and somewhat rotten personalities, with the exception of Ares, and he feels like he’s unable to corral them because they’re all so much better than he is. The real plot of this book may be fixing that mindset, which he does thanks to a real swell guy.

In a prologue, we see a princess open a coffin whose contents surprise her. We then cut to Zack, who is walking the city during a memorial festival when he is accosted by the same princess, who asks a very pointed question: Did he kill her brother? We then flash back to Ares and his team setting off to kill the demon lord, passing through Ludonia, where they can get some experience killing monsters and working as a team. Which they need, as they’re horrible at working as a team, mostly as Leon, Maria and Solon dislike each other intensely. Almost wiped out by an ambush, they’re rescued by Carlos, the prince of Ludonia – and the country’s hero, who defends it from demons, and who has an entourage that worships the ground he wanks on. Compared to Carlos, Ares is just this guy, you know? Still, unsurprisingly with this series, there’s more going on than what’s on the surface.

Ares remains the best part of this book. He and the author clearly define hero the same way, but there are others who see “hero” the same way you would define “savior” or “messiah”, and that’s a problem, especially when you have two heroes in the same castle. We also hear about shapeshifters, who can supposedly disguise themselves perfectly as a friend or ally, but who may or may not exist. It should not surprise anyone to learn that we are led to believe a certain thing about the traitorous shapeshifter, then have it go another way, and then have it go a mysterious third way. I felt Carlos’ story was very strong, although not as strong as Ares’. If there’s a weakness in the book it’s Erena, Carlos’ sister and the princess I mentioned earlier. She doesn’t get much to do for plot reasons, and the ending, which is meant to be more ambiguous and less triumphant than the first two books, also reads a bit like the author had hit a word limit.

There’s apparently a fourth book in the series just out in Japan, so apparently we can go to the well at least once more. I did enjoy reading this, but I would like the author to move on to other series, perhaps. Don’t overegg the pudding.

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

by

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 of herself as a girl), she is fantastic at battle but kinda dumb about everything else, and she thinks Carmine is the best thing since sliced bread. She’s ready to fight and die for him. Which is good, as everyone keeps trying to attack his Empire. Carmine will need Leeroy-chan, as well as Mei Hatsume, even though he finds it really hard to deal with both.

The volume divides neatly into two parts. The first half is all politics and strategy, as Carmine has the weddings for his other two brides while also feeling out all the envoys and representatives from other countries who came to them and seeing what they’re after. He does this even during his wedding night, much to the displeasure of a pouting but underage Nadine, who has to fall asleep on the bed. He meets a foreign prince, who seems difficult to deal with, a creepy mind-controlling noble, who seems VERY difficult to deal with, and also has to deal with the “I’m just a moe blob” merchant we met a few books ago, who is most definitely NOT a moe blob. In the second half of the book, Carmine takes his army out on the road again, to defend the Empire from invaders, and, like a lot of this series, everything goes really well until it doesn’t.

I was a little more interested in the battles this time around, possibly because of the presence of Leeroy – OK, I can’t keep calling her that. Because of the presence of Alumel de Severe, aka Count Ethiac. The chapter describes her as a meathead knight, which is true, but this is not to say she ONLY does “hit with sword”. When Carmine breaks down exactly what’s happening on the battlefield, she’s very quick to pick up on what he means. In fact, a bit more than what he means – she ascribes several things to him that aren’t actually his idea, but he lets it slide as she’s hard to deal with. (I’m sure he won’t regret that horribly later.) As a result, I was able to keep up myself, as I am also not one for endless Axis and Allies scheming back and forth. I also loved the reappearance of Valenriehl, and how in particular not only can Carmine not stand her to the point where he debates just killing her, but everyone else’s reaction is “I can’t believe you’re trying to work with that thing.” The author not only writes strong female characters, but they’re all fun. I actually do want Alumel as a concubine! (Not so much the mad scientist.)

Sadly, due to a nasty cliffhanger – again – all may be lost – again. There’s 11 volumes in Japan, though, so probably not.

Manga the Week of 7/22/26

by , , and Leave a Comment

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 it all after his girlfriend dumps him. He’ll join the Space Corps and have a noble death! The trouble is, he’s too good at Space Corps!

ANNA: I hate it when that happens!

ASH: Right?

SEAN: And in early digital we see Betrothed to My Sister’s Ex 3, There’s No Freaking Way I’ll be Your Lover! Unless… 8, and Too Many Losing Heroines! 8.

Ghost Ship has The Elf Sisters Can’t Wait for the Night 5 and Ero Ninja Scrolls 10.

Ize Press have two debuts. Seven Sundays is a BL title about a guy, Taeyang, who sees his ex again, only to find he has a kid… named after Taeyang!

ASH: Not to be confused with the BL title Seven Days.

SEAN: Solo Leveling: Ragnarök is a sequel to Solo Leveling. Further, deponent sayeth not.

ASH: The original, at least, is a popular series.

SEAN: Also from Ize Press: Finding Camellia 8, I Tamed My Ex-Husband’s Mad Dog 7, Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint 4 (the novel), Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint 11 (the manhwa), The Perks of Being an S-Class Heroine 8, Tomb Raider King 15, and The World After the Fall 14.

Another light J-Novel Club week. For light novels they have The Bladesmith’s Enchanted Weapons 5, The Dorky NPC Mercenary Knows His Place 5, and The Hero and the Sage, Reincarnated and Engaged 7.

And for manga there is Butareba -The Story of a Man Turned into a Pig- 8, Death’s Daughter and the Ebony Blade 9, and What’s with the Bag, Kamiyama-san? 3.

Kodansha Manga has a print debut. Smells Like Green Spirit is a BL title from Comic Be, with both volumes being released as one big one-shot. In a rural town, a boy is bullied for being gay. Then he finds a secret love with the school’s soccer star. Can they explore their love in a town like this?

MICHELLE: Sounds potentially interesting.

ASH: I am intrigued.

SEAN: Also in print: Blue Lock 32, Cells at Work! Lady 4, Gachiakuta 11, Kei X Yaku: Bound By Law 13, Lonely Deaths Lie Thick as Snow 3, and The Magnificent Bastard 3.

Digitally we have A Couple of Cuckoos 29, Fungus and Iron 9, and Medaka Kuroiwa is Impervious to My Charms 22.

One Peace Books has The Ossan Newbie Adventurer, Trained to Death by the Most Powerful Party, Became Invincible 2.

Seven Seas has a danmei finale, the third and final volume of The Wife Comes First: Qi Wei Shang.

There are no debuts, but we do get Betrothed to My Sister’s Ex 3, Grand Metal Organs 3, Hokkaido Gals Are Super Adorable! 5-6, KILLING ME / KILLING YOU 2, Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation 23, Pandora in the Crimson Shell: Ghost Urn 22, Perfect Addiction 2, Perfect Buddy 6, Tales of the Hundred Monsters Next Door 3, and The Titan’s Bride 9.

Square Enix Manga has a 2nd volume of A Howl of the Heart.

Tokyopop has a one-shot, 300 New Days With You (Wasureru Kimi to no 300 Nichi). This BL title that ran in Chara. A meteor leaves thousands with memory loss… including one half of the main couple here! Is it worth staying together if your other half suddenly has no interest as he doesn’t remember?

MICHELLE: Sweet and potentially sad BL is appealing.

SEAN: Retailers say Udon Entertainment has More than a Married Couple, but Not Lovers 3.

Viz Media debut Alice in Borderland Retry, a spinoff of the manga where Arisu finds himself back at the ol’ death game again. This ran in Weekly Shonen Sunday, and is complete in one omnibus.

The other debut is Taika’s Reason (Taika no Risei), the latest from the author of BEASTARS. It runs in Weekly Shonen Champion. Pets have been turning into anthros, and our heroine finds her pet dog has murdered her dad… so her mom decides to humanize him! Honestly, the BEASTARS author has gotten a bit too weird for me.

MICHELLE: Yeah…

ANNA: OK, not really into this.

ASH: Huh.

SEAN: Also from Viz: #DRCL midnight children 6, Boy’s Abyss 14, Bug Ego 2, The Climber 6, Kingdom 9, Moriarty the Patriot 20, The Mortifying Ordeal of Being Seen 2, Record of Ragnarök 19, Red River 3-in-1 8, Rooster Fighter 10, and Ultimate Exorcist Kiyoshi 2.

ANNA: Still glad Red River is being re-released!

ASH: Ditto! And I really need to get around to starting The Climber.

SEAN: And that’s it? What manga are you rolling around with in the middle of a field?

High School DxD: Funny Angel of Christmas

by

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 shows up again and the hero doesn’t even remember much about them. Or mistakes them for a boy. Fortunately, Issei’s memory is getting better, and the two of them have possibly the second sweetest relationship in this entire series. (Asia still exists.) Unfortunately, since he’s a demon adn she’s an angel, sex is out of the question, right? Well, surely there are ways around that…

So here it is, Merry Christmas, everybody’s having fun. And looking to the future, of course, because it’s only just begun. Issei and company are getting ready to celebrate the holiday by giving out presents to folks in the town, which has started to get a bit hammered by constant demon vs. demon battles. Helping out in this will be Irina’s father, who is a higher-up in the Church and is very much in favor of Issei x Irina – to the point that he and heaven have developed a separate dimension just for her and Issei to safely get it on. Unfortunately, sex will have to wait, not just because this is the sort of series that only relies on edging the reader, but also because someone is going around killing Church personnel, and it turns out to be connected to a cover-up in the past. One that might impact Issei and Rias in the future.

I’d mentioned in the last couple of reviews that Issei was getting a bit less perverse, and clearly the author noticed this as well, because it’s lampshaded here, with people wondering why he wasn’t busting out the humiliating sexist moves on his female opponents. But it’s because Issei, like the rest of the cast, is getting better at fighting, and can usually skate by with just punching things really hard like a normal shonen battle manga. As for Irina, she’s here to be the shiny innocent one – indeed, that’s ALSO lampshaded, as Michael says the reason that he picked her to head up his angel task force is she’s so kind and pure and etc. And dull, frankly, but they can’t ALL be like Akeno. As for the plot, well, erm, bad guys doing very well, actually. In terms of the fights the good guys win because they coordinate, but in terms of results achieved, not great.

We’re heading closer to the end of the series (I’ll believe Yen has the spinoffs and sequels planned when I see it). Asia’s the new club president. And so now it’s time for Xenovia to see if she can also become president… student council president. That is if the world doesn’t end first. We’ll find out!

Spy Classroom Short Story Collection: From Inferno with Love

by

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 hinting at their tragic downfall. It honestly may be the best collection to date, and despite the ending being as sad as you’d expect (I am thankful the writer did not go full Se7en on us, but it was close enough that I did not like it), most of this can best be described as heartwarming or funny. Mostly as Inferno have adopted a feral cat. Named Klaus.

In a prologue, we see Guido, who we know well from the start of this series, coming across a terrifying monster who steals food and leaves it with kids. This turns out to be Klaus, who is ten years old and turns out to have been named by Guido. Klaus is feral, and I mean that sincerely. Over the course of the book, we get the other members of Inferno giving their brief opinions of Klaus (they like him, with the exception of the tsundere in the group), we get four stories. 1) Guido takes Klaus on his first mission, taking out a gang, as well as its leader who is busy trying to train his eldest daughter Sybilla to be a murderer; 2) Gerde takes Klaus on a mission to see who is killing a politician’s allies, and Klaus starts to gain empathy; 3) the twins take Klaus to another country to learn how to read people and also the fine art of triple crossing, and 4) Heide and Klaus go to see why their agents keep disappearing, and Klaus learns some unfortunate things. Well, unfortunate for him, Heide seems happy.

Heide was probably my favorite part of this book (and I was highly amused at the author writing it so that it made emotional and storytelling sense that they had sex, while at the same time leaving an out just in case it needs to be taken back later). Heide is an annoying older sister-style brat, but like a lot of those she is annoying out of love. Really, the whole group is great. Unfortunately, as Veronica points out, Klaus has gotten TOO close with them, too involved, and throughout this book we see her and Guido yelling at each other in the background, and we know how that turns out. The final story, written for this book (the other four were in Dragon Magazine) shows us where Klaus was when Inferno were wiped out, and the answer is “in a horror movie” essentially. Still, Klaus ends up taking the right lesson from his time with Inferno, and resolves to build a new family for himself. It’s really sweet, in a tragic spy sort of way.

Also check out the afterword, which has the author’s “stories that will never be written”, some of which are funny, and some of which are kind of creepy. The anime may have tanked this series,l but the books are still great.

Otherside Picnic, Vol. 10

by

By Iori Miyazawa and shirakaba. Released in Japan as “Urasekai Picnic” by Hayakawa Bunko JA. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Sean McCann.

(More spoilers than usual in this review.)

Since the famous Book 8, I’ve felt that this series is riding on a newfound confidence and swagger, and this volume does nothing to disabuse me of that feeling. Divided into three stories, the first shows us Sorawo’s conflicted and muddled feelings about her relationship with Toriko, and how normal tokens of affection such as a lap pillow can not only be twisted by jealousy but also turned into an Otherside encounter. In the second story they discuss Kozakura’s AI ghost story teller (which may be influencing things a lot more than expected), and then go meet Runa, who’s being let out of supernatural jail and being taken in by Tsuji, who still feels a bit dodgy. The final story decides things have not been scary enough, and makes up for that, with a terrifying journey into the Otherside involving bears, crows, lots of corpses, and the worst underground subway station out there. Fear not, though, they’re still constantly flirting with each other. In their own way.

I left out one part of the story, which is easily the funniest bit in the book. Toriko has decided she wants to meet Benimori, who Sorawo describes as a yokai who eats love stories. The idea that Sorawo finds a “normal” romance with Toriko to be scarier than any ghost story, to the point where she has in a way fashioned their relationship *into* a ghost story to make it palatable to her, really appeals to me. But that’s just from her point of view – we’ve talked before about how to others Sorawo and Toriko are just shamelessly flirting in front of everyone all the time. To Benimori, who lives very much in “the real world”, theirs is not a nue, it’s just a new love between two shy, awkward girls who still dance around their own pasts and their own feelings. Just because Sorawo doesn’t like to see it as a normal relationship doesn’t mean that normal relationshi0p advice can’t be good.

As the series has delved into a lot of the backstory back in the “real world”, we’ve seen the Otherside treks a bit less, so the back half of this book was a welcome change. That said, whoa baby a lot of that was pretty unnerving for me. It doesn’t help that it ties into Satsuki Uruma and her past with Toriko, who feels a bit ashamed of it but doesn’t deny it. And then there’s just the horror imagery – this is something else where I wonder how the manga will handle it, as there’s a lot of things that work best in the mind’s eye here. And it ends with a nasty little cliffhanger as well. Over the past few months, no one has made more of an impact on the Otherside than our two heroines, so naturally there are people who regard them as the greatest threat. They’re good at defending themselves against random horror – or not so random horror – but this feels more like they’re going to need to fend off assassins soon, which is a step up. Fun times!

And now we wait another 16-18 months again. Still compelling as hell.

Pick of the Week: Pictures and Desperados

by , , , and Leave a Comment

SEAN: Inklore has some yuri, and I like yuri (is it yuri if it’s Korean?), so I will make Sora & Haena! my pick this week.

MICHELLE: I’m intrigued by Strange Pictures, but potentially more inclined to read the original novel, instead. (A subsequent novel, Strange Houses, is very much up my street, pun intended.) So, instead I’ll go with the BL angst of Forest of the Rabbits.

KATE: I share Michelle’s interest in <i<Strange Pictures, but am also eyeing Drops of God: New World for some over-the-top representations of wine growing (and wine tasting).

ANNA: Out of everything coming out this week, I think I’m most intrigued by Renjoh Desperado, so that’s my pick!

ASH: I’ve been meaning to read the Strange Pictures novel for what seems like ages now, along with Strange Houses and, more recently, Strange Buildings. So I’ll make the manga adaptation my pick this week, hoping to jumpstart some of the related reading. Though I will admit to being curious about Renjoh Desperado, too!

The Devil Princess, Vol. 4

by

By Harunohi Biyori and Geso Umiu. Released in Japan as “Akuma Koujo” by K Lanove Books. Released in North America by Airship. Translated by Julie Goniwich. Adapted by Emlyn Dornemann.

I’ve talked before about the sort of series that has a clear ending but keeps going as the publisher wants it to. I’m not sure that’s what’s going on here – the author seems to indicate they had this in mind at the start – but it’s pretty blatant, complete with an “End of Part One” at the finale. Yulucia spends most of this book marching towards the demon lands, where the demons are getting ready to invade humanity, and where her not-quite-ex-boyfriend is currently being held after being summoned. Once she gets there, she’s quickly so insanely powerful that everyone else just immediately agrees to do what she says – well, almost everyone. But she still has to go after a really tasty soul, and ends up dimension hopping, which does not have an easy fix. So while I have no doubt we’ll end up back in this world eventually, for now Yulucia looks to be playing around in one far more familiar to readers.

This series remains mostly half-horror half-comedy, and the funny bits still work well. Yulucia’s description of her entourage that goes with her to the demon lands is hysterical, and Nia’s accidental slaughter of 1/3 of the demon forces is darkly funny. That said, there are a few bits here that are even emotionally heartwarming. One of the bad guys is (like several people in this series) isekai’d from Japan, in this case via truck, and he’s made a deal with a demon so that he can get a chance to return to his newly wedded wife before she moves on and marries someone else. The resolution to this, which I was sure was going to be about as cynical as this series can get most of the time, proved touching. Even Yulicia’s “taking care of” her sister, which is kind of appalling, is at least appalling in a kind of sweet way?

If that sounds ambiguous it’s because this is still, at heart, a series that wants to be horror. Yulucia is after tasty souls. Some of her friends are also. Her relationship with the Demon Beast could be defined as “toxic” even in the most romantic sense. And the reason the series works well at showing this off is that she really is also the Saint who heals thousands at a time, or the goddess who can stop a major war just by talking to the other side, and be so gorgeous that some men just faint when they see her, and both her main love interests feel incredibly inadequate when they try to stand by her. (Oddly, the other sweet romance in this book ends up being between two of its most pathetic people, who decide to simply abandon the plot of this series and go be pathetic but happy together.) As for Yulucia? She’s a nightmare, but she does love her family… in her own way.

So next time we start… a new life? Transfer students? Not sure, but I’ll be here to see what’s next. A dark fantastic comedy.

7th Time Loop: The Villainess Enjoys a Carefree Life Married to Her Worst Enemy! Short Story Collection

by

By Touko Amekawa and Wan*Hachipisu. Released in Japan as “Loop 7-kaime no Akuyaku Reijou wa, Moto Tekikoku de Jiyuukimama na Hanayome (Hitojichi) Seikatsu wo Mankitsusuru” by Overlap Novels f. Released in North America by Airship. Translated by Amy Osteraas. Adapted by Vida Cruz-Borja.

Oh God, microstories. My old nemesis. (Yes, I know Monthly Comic Alive is supposed to be my nemesis, but I feel that was a me-from-20-years-ago nemesis. Sorry, Monthly Comic Alive.) It was going to be hard enough to review this, given it’s been almost two years since the last book and I’ve forgotten so much about the series. But now I find that most of the stories are the 3-5 page ones you get as freebies when you buy it at a certain chain store, or ones published exclusively to the web. It’s also the most recent volume in Japan, where it came out over a year ago, so get ready for me to forget even more of this when the 7th volume comes out whenever. On the bright side, the stories do remind us of the main reason why people enjoy this series and it got an anime. and it’s not the hair. Well, not JUST the hair.

While this came out after the 6th book in Japan, the stories here only go up to the fourth book. They’re even grouped by book, i.e. the Vol. 1 extra stories, then 2, etc. Among the more interesting ones, we see some flashbacks to Rishe’s past as a merchant, as as a maid, and rescuing Raul and learning to be a hunter. We see a number of stories where Rishe and Arnold go out “in disguise” to go shopping, or scout some area, etc., which shows how very bad at it they are. There’s an AU where this is a Magical Academy story, which honestly seems a lot more relaxed and pleasant than this one is. The largest story, written for this book, has Rishe and Arnold on another trip, and this time they’re pretending they’re already married. Which leads to, well, the reactions that we’ve gotten from Rishe the entire volume, if I’m being honest.

If you read this series to enjoy Rishe being clever and badass, with perhaps an action scene or two, feel free to skip this one and wait for the next, as there’s none of that here. If you read this series to see Rishe blush and get embarrassed around her very hot fiance, then this is going to be catnip for you, as that’s all it is. Story after story of Rishe being in love, not wanting to admit it, and blushing and getting embarrassed. That said, this author does excel at making this as cute, adorable and sexy as possible, so it never feels boring even if it is a bit repetitious. There’s also some stories about Theodore and Oliver as well, which don’t really add depth, but that’s the trouble with microstories. Everyone is who they are in the main books.

And now we wait for the next book. But boy, those kids are cute, aren’t they?

Manga the Week of 7/15/26

by , , and Leave a Comment

SEAN: Mid-July, and everyone’s buying manga to take on their vacation.

ASH: Vacation? What’s a vacation?

SEAN: Yen On has a ridiculous amount of light novels to start us off. There aren’t any debuts, though we do get Love Unseen Beneath the Radiant Night Sky (Gokusai no Yoru ni Kakeru Kimi to, Me ni Mienai Koi o Shita), a one-shot sequel to 2025’s Love Unseen Beneath the Clear Night Sky. It’s got an anime currently airing.

ASH: I haven’t read the first book, but that is an evocative title.

SEAN: They’ve also got A Certain Magical Index NT 6, Date a Live 16, Hell Is Dark with No Flowers 5, High School DxD 18, I’ll Become a Villainess Who Goes Down in History 4, I’ve Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years and Maxed Out My Level 18, Liar, Liar 8, Our Last Crusade or the Rise of a New World 16, Re:ZERO -Starting Life in Another World- 29, So I’m a Spider, So What? Ex 2, Spy Classroom Short Story Collection 5, Sugar Apple Fairy Tale 10, The Unimplemented Overlords Have Joined the Party! 6, Who Killed the Hero? 3, and The World Bows Down Before My Flames 4.

Retailers are arguing with Yen Press, who says this isn’t out till August. But retailers have it out next week, so let’s go with that. Mobile Suit Gundam the Witch from Mercury―Vanadis Heart (Kidou Senshi Gundam: Suisei no Majo – Vanadis Heart) is a spinoff of the popular Gundam anime, and runs in Gundam Ace. Taking place 5 years after the anime, it stars two women dealing with forbidden cargo.

ANNA: I feel like I should read more Gundam manga than I actually have.

ASH: I’ve only read The Origin, but I greatly enjoyed it.

SEAN: Viz Media has Akira Falling in Love 3, Beyblade X 6, Case Closed 99, Destroy All Humans. They Can’t Be Regenerated. 8, Firefly Wedding 7, I Want to End This Love Game 7, Kirby Manga Mania 9, Star Wars Visions: Tsukumo, and Yaiba: Samurai Legend 5.

ANNA: Reminder to me to get caught up on Firefly Wedding!

SEAN: Tokyopop gives us The Unwanted Bride Loves the Crown Prince With All Her Heart 4.

Titan Manga debut Strange Pictures (Hen na E), a mystery series that runs in Manga Action. What seem to be random pictures end up being clues to terrible things.

MICHELLE: I am always interested in mystery manga.

ANNA: Me too!

ASH: I enjoy a good mystery manga; I have the original novel on my shelf to read, too!

SEAN: SuBLime debut Forest of the Rabbits (Usagi no Mori), a BL manga from Craft. Two childhood friends grow up and start to deal with their gay feelings. Angst ensues.

Also from SuBLime: May I Have a Taste? 2.

MICHELLE: I do like some BL angst.

ASH: Same.

SEAN: Square Enix Books has Final Fantasy VII Rebirth: Material Ultimania, a huge hardcover guide to the game.

And Square Enix Manga have (Christ alive) The Strongest Sage with the Weakest Crest 31.

ASH: I somehow missed that this had surpassed thirty volumes.

SEAN: Seven Seas has some danmei, as we get After the Disabled God of War Became My Concubine 3.

And they have some manga. Catnaps, Catnaps Everywhere! (Acchikocchi Necchi!) is the latest one-shot from this cat-obsessed author.

ANNA: I enjoy cats, naps, and catnaps.

ASH: Likewise.

SEAN: Marriage to the Wolf: An Interspecies Union (Ookami e no Yomeiri: Ishu Konintan) is a BL title from onBLUE. It’s another “let’s save the village by arranging a marriage between a young boy and X”, where the manga solves for X. X is a werewolf here.

Mistress Kanan is Devilishly Easy (Kanan-sama wa Akumade Choroi) is a Weekly Shonen Magazine title, and has had a recent anime. It’s coming out in 2-volume omnibuses. Kanan, a demon, tries to eat a high school boy’s soul… but she’s a bit too pathetic.

Also from Seven Seas: The Big Apple 6 (the final volume), Glasses with a Chance of Delinquent 7, Hunting in Another World With My Elf Wife 7, Kaiju Kamui 3 (the final volume), Malevolent Spirits: Mononogatari 15, My Cute Cousin Always Gets Her Way 3, and Tease Me Harder: A Sweet and Kinky Romance 3.

One Peace Books has the 13th and final volume of Higehiro: After Being Rejected, I Shaved and Took In a High School Runaway.

No debuts for Kodansha Manga. We do see DRAGON CIRCUS 1 (remember there was a 0), Drawing From Your Memory 2, The Drops of God: New World, Honey Bee & Lemon Balm 2 (the final volume, though there’s a sequel), Last Samurai Standing 5, and Parasyte Paperback Collection 8.

ASH: I had in fact forgotten there was a Volume 0 of DRAGON CIRCUS.

SEAN: Digitally they have And Yet, You Are So Sweet 14, The Café Terrace and its Goddesses 22 (the final volume), I Have a Crush at Work 15 (the final volume), and Ya Boy Kongming! 24.

J-Novel Club have a bunch of print. The debut is The Water Magician (Mizu Zokusei no Mahoutsukai), based on a light novel they’re also releasing. This is the manga, which runs in Comic Corona. Guy is isekai’d to the middle of nowhere with weak water magic. Can he make it… STRONG water magic?

ASH: Time will tell.

SEAN: Also in print: Ascendance of a Bookworm Fanbook 6, The Brilliant Healer’s New Life in the Shadows 7, Campfire Cooking in Another World with My Absurd Skill 6 (the manga version), Gushing over Magical Girls 11, I Shall Survive Using Potions! 11, Isekai Tensei: Recruited to Another World Light Novel Omnibus 5, Making Magic: The Sweet Life of a Witch Who Knows an Infinite MP Loophole 6, and My Quiet Blacksmith Life in Another World 8.

No debuts digitally. For light novels, we see After-School Dungeon Diver 5, Cooking with Wild Game 34, Goodbye Overtime! 8, Imperial Reincarnation: I Came, I Saw, I Survived 6, Lady Bumpkin and Her Lord Villain 8 (the final volume), Otherside Picnic 10, and Zero Damage Sword Saint 4.

The sole digital manga is Imperial Reincarnation: I Came, I Saw, I Survived 4.

Inklore debuts Sora & Haena! (Sora Haena!), a manhwa about two girls who try to help each other with studies and finding a boyfriend, but may find they’re more suited to each other than to any boys.

Ghost Ship debut I’m Fine With Being the Second Girlfriend (Watashi, Nibanme no Kanojo de Ii kara), a manga based on an as-yet unlicensed light novel. it runs in Dengeki Comic Regulus. Did you like Toradora! but wish it had a lot more sex? That’s basically what this is. A couple dates while pining after other people.

Ghost Ship also has Booty Royale: Never Go Down Without a Fight! 17-18, Creature Girls: A Hands-On Field Journal in Another World 15, and Might as Well Cheat: I Got Transported to Another World Where I Can Live My Wildest Dreams! 11 (the final volume).

Floating World Comics have a 2nd volume of Boat Life (the first came out in 2022).

ASH: I was somehow unaware of this!

SEAN: Denpa Books have a debut, and they had it at AX. Renjoh Desperado runs in Gessan, and it’s the story of a woman trying to find her man – with sword in one hand and gun in the other, as this world is filled with bandits and scoundrels.

ANNA: Ok, I’m a little curious about this!

ASH: I’ll admit to being curious as well.

SEAN: Retailers also say they have the 5th and final volume of Nana & Kaoru: Black Label.

Airship has two print light novels: The Condemned Villainess Goes Back in Time and Aims to Become the Ultimate Villain 8 and I Got Married to the Girl I Hate Most in Class 3.

Digitally, they have an early debut. Space Orc: Barbarian Raider of the Stars, Aiming for the Queen! (Space Orc: Banzoku no Senshi wa Yoake no Ten wo Kake Joou wo Nerau) is pretty much what it sounds like. Can a guy make a name for himself enough to marry the Queen, even though he’s an orc?

They’ve also got The Tale of a Little Alchemist Blessed by the Spirits 3 and Trapped in a Dating Sim: Otome Games Are Tough For Us, Too! 5.

And Ablaze have Centaurs 5, Gannibal 5, Get Schooled 5, Savage Garden Omnibus 3 (the final volume), and Terror Man 4. So say retailers, at least.

What’s your beach reading?

The Tanaka Family Reincarnates, Vol. 7

by

By Choko and kaworu. Released in Japan as “Tanaka-ke, Tensei Suru” by Dragon Novels. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Sasha Schiller.

As this series has gone on, the circle of ‘this person is completely bonkers’ gets larger and larger. At first, at the start of Book 1, it was just Emma. Then it enclosed her brothers, her father, and eventually even her mother. Then it took in their immediate family and close friends in their territory. Then they went to the capital and we saw that the King was a bit bananas himself, as well as Emma’s friends, who are all more normal than Emma, but that’s by a matter of degree. And now we get this book, where an invading army, with the help of some monsters that allow people’s fears to get out of hand, see everyone in Emma’s country as perverts who are being led by Emma, who they deem a “debutart”, which I assume has an equally awkward Japanese equivalent, but basically they spot her leering at the old men. What this ends up meaning is that, as expected, the invasion dies on its ass, mostly as everyone is now convinced Emma has broken everything. Just as planned?

We pick up where we left off, with our main party facing off against a passel of Rainbow Raccoons, who basically hit up against people’s fears. Unfortunately, while they kill most of them, one gets away and teams up with another monster sent in by the invading Empire, a fire fox, which basically burns people with flames that are all in their heads but convinces their brains that it’s reality… forever. This proves to be a much harder monster to take out, requiring both more references to obscure Japanese foodie culture and also Emma having to pretend that she’s the Saint so that everyone’s beliefs can turn her healing into reality. Unfortunately, as everyone worships Emma already, apart from her family, this doesn’t go quite the way she wants.

This book has a few bits that did not quite work for me. The climax to the battle really probably is much funnier if you recognize whatever brand of instant noodles the monsters are meant to be, and while I got that’s what they were going for, it was a lost in translation climax for me. The backstory for Juana was overly convoluted for me, and I kinda wanted it to get into more of a trans narrative than it was prepared to get into – which is to say it mostly ignored that part. That said, there was also the usual pile of fun. The climax of the book, with Emma discovering how to get all the cotton they need, is absolutely wonderful, and very Emma – for once you can see just why Joshua is infatuated with her. There’s also a strong anti-war message in this book, as all the Tanakas are dedicated to not only stopping the invasion but making it as hard as possible to ever think of war breaking out again. This is a humans vs. monsters world, they want to keep it that way.

So good stuff, and next time we’ll start a new arc. For those who like very silly books.

Looks Like a Job for a Maid! The Tales of a Dismissed Supermaid, Vol. 3

by

By Yasuaki Mikami and Kinta. Released in Japan as “Maid nara Touzen desu. Nureginu wo Kiserareta Bannou Maid-san wa Tabi ni Deru Koto ni Shimashita” by Earth Star Novel. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Sylvia Gallagher.

I’m enjoying this series more and more with each volume. It’s interesting to contrast this with Heroine? Saint? No, I’m an All-Works Maid!, which Seven Seas is putting out and whose anime is currently airing. Melody is a maid otaku with literal OP magic powers, so her maid tasks are impossible in many different ways. For Melody, what drives her to a near nervous breakdown is spending a long period *not* being able to be a maid. Nina is in a world with magic, but is merely an incredibly accomplished maid, due to her ludicrous training. If anything, being thought of as a maid who can do anything makes things much worse for her in this book. And she also has PTSD, in this case from the sheer identity crisis of the fact that she doesn’t know how to be anything but a maid. She has no sense of self. Melody DOES have a sense of self, it’s just that self is Maid.

Nina and her friends are headed to the capital, where the Council of the Sages is about to begin. Taking place every 10-20 years, this brings together five of the movers and shakers of this world to solve major problems. The trouble is, none of them get along, and usually the council breaks off after a couple of days as one storms out. Tuyledo, the leader of the council, who is the elf that loved Nina’s tea and general maidetry in the first book, has asked her to essentially be there as a maid, thinking that she will magically see the issues around the council and solve them. Which, to be fair, she does to an extent, usually with help from the others. An ancient sage wants female companionship, but not just any woman. A vampire woman has dietary issues that make the food unappealing. The pope is overeating sweets and can’t stay awake. And the magic master is just kinda weird and rude. As for Nina? She has anxiety.

I really appreciated that not every problem can be solved here, and that the main one (how to get people to travel through a dangerous desert) is solved not by Nina but by the geniuses Nina now travels with. The pope’s subplot, in particular, fizzles out, and I think that’s on purpose – he can’t really have the experience or talent that the other four do, and likely never will, so the solution is just to be less annoying and eat more healthy. Nina’s issues are not resolved either, at least in terms of her psyche, but she is at least allowed to leave the capital and travel again with her party, and it’s implied the next book will give us even more information on her drill sergeant maid teacher, who we meet near the end of this book. This is a light novel, but it has a foot in reality. Poverty is still a problem with no good solutions. Nobles can do bad things and not care. And maids can’t magically solve everything by being really good at being a maid.

Unless they’re Melody, but that’s a review for a different series. This is an underrated gem. Also, thinking more and more that most of these girls are gay.

Pick of the Week: Movies and Baseball

by , , , and Leave a Comment

KATE: As an official member of Gen X, I feel morally obligated to choose The Credits Roll Into the Sea. Any story about a middle-aged person bravely deciding to buck convention has my full support!

MICHELLE: BL baseball manga is thoroughly my thing, so it’s Blue Summer Haze for me.

ASH: I’m certainly not going to say no to Blue Summer Haze, but this week I’m all for The Credits Roll into the Sea. I’ve been looking forward to this release ever since it was first announced!

ANNA: I’m won over by the enthusiasm for The Credits Roll into the Sea too!

SEAN: Ditto – The Credits Roll Into the Sea looks fantastic, has great buzz, and is apparently getting a movie. I can’t wait.

An Archdemon’s Dilemma: How to Love Your Elf Bride, Vol. 21

by

By Fuminori Teshima and COMTA. Released in Japan as “Maou no Ore ga Dorei Elf wo Yome ni Shitanda ga, Dou Medereba Ii?” by HJ Bunko. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Hikoki.

How much you like this volume probably depends on how much you like escalating shonen magic battles. About half of this book consists of a magic battle between Asmodeus and Phenex on one side, and Marchosias… erm (checks names), Glasya–Labolas, and Eligor on the other. This is entirely variations on “I will simply use the magic that always kills everything!” “Well, I’ve countered with the magic that ensures I never get killed!” over and over, with attempts to be ironic given that the battle has one combatant who can foresee their own death and another who has been desperately trying to die since before this world began. If you like this, you’re golden. If not, there is at least the rest of the book, where everyone watches videos of the long-lost tragic backstory of half the cast. I am begging the author to get back to cute romantic shenanigans. And so is Zagan.

Aside from Asmodeus’ glorious last stand against Marchosias, what else do we have here? Zagan’s still dead, but his soul at least shows up, and gets to see the story of Solomon, his grandfather, and Azazel, the seraph. Which should be very familiar to him, as they are basically him and Nephy, except unlike him and Nephy they do actually have sex. Alshiera and Marchosias are also there, as well as Azrael, who reminds me a lot of Chastille (well, competent Chastille… actually, it’s been a few volumes since crybaby Chastille, too. Oh, for the Archdemon’s Dilemmas of yesteryear…). Meanwhile, Alshiera and Asura are also watching memory videos of how everything went so badly. In the present, they’re all trying to rescue Kuroka, and Barbatos is trying to rescue Vepar… well, once he remembers to actually do it. Everyone’s fighting everyone else, in other words.

Death has always been fairly fluid in this series, with some folks genuinely being dead but a lot of the folks on the good guy’s side (though Zagan will, of course, insist archdemons are not good people) have been almost dying but not quite, or getting brought back from death. Here that’s directly addressed, as while Asmodeus would dearly love to bring back her departed loved ones from the dead, she knows that you cannot go back, only forward. Marchosias, meanwhile, presumably gestures at the previous volumes of this book as a response. Again, this isn’t badly written, though once again I wish it came with a bigger cast list than the small one it has at the back. It’s just this is not really why I started reading Archdemon’s Dilemma in the first place, and I desperately want everything to resolve soon so he and Nephy can moon over each other again. Unfortunately, it appears when this battle ends, the series may as well.

If you’ve been reading this series, there’s nothing here to make you stop. But man, please get out of Weekly Shonen Jump, Zagan.