Manga Bookshelf

Discussion, Resources, Roundtables, & Reviews

Sean Gaffney

Sword Art Online, Vol. 25: Unital Ring IV

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By Reki Kawahara and abec. Released in Japan by Dengeki Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Stephen Paul.

The basic premise of Unital Ring is that something has mashed up all the MMORPGs out there, meaning that SAO, ALO, GOO, etc. are all in the same world. This even includes American games where you choose to star as a bug (the spiders side is far more popular than the centipede side, and I don’t really blame them, though I do admit to a bit of surprise that the game is popular in the West at all.) But, as we have also discovered, Unital Ring is not just about uniting the various games our cast has played in, it’s about uniting the various arcs of the series. The first non-web novel arc Kawahara takes on sticks together all of his previous books, plus real life, plus the Underworld, which it turns out is a lot more relevant to the main plot than we’d thought. That said, the series no longer moves as fast as its first volume did, meaning that any chance of the Underworld side meeting up with the Unital Ring side is going to have to wait a bit.

The book is divided into two chunks, with a real world interlude between them. The first takes place in Unital Ring, as Kirito and company try to figure out a way to stop Mutasina and her blackmailed players from destroying the new town that’s been raised around their log cabin. This, as you can imagine, involves a lot of fighting, game stats, etc., and should be very familiar to the SAO reader. It’s hard to coordinate, though, meaning that Asuna can’t get a chance to meet up with the mysterious new transfer student who’s been trying to talk with her. As for Underworld, well, we still don’t know if Eolyne is Eugeo reborn, or a clone, or a descendant, or what, but there’s enough to make Kirito and Alice very suspicious. That said, they have a bigger issue to take care of: reuniting Alice with her sister, who has been in cryosleep.

Sword Art Online has generally never been a mystery series, nor has it relied on surprises or last minute swerves. This is good, because at this point I will be a lot more surprised if Kamura, the new transfer student, ISN’T Mutasina. Kawahara can be very straightforward. That said, this is a perfectly fine volume of Sword Art Online, though it’s suffering from being the 4th book in what is probably another 9-book arc. There are hints that Unital Ring’s plot and the Underworld plot will connect in the future, but hints are all they are now, so it does suffer a bit from having to, about 2/3 of the way through the book, shift gears and remind us to start caring about what seems like a completely different story. It will probably read better when the whole arc is out, but for now it feels a bit thin.

Still, the next book is out in Japan, and we should see it in the spring sometime. Till then, enjoy Kirito cutting things with his sword and also acting like a dumb teenage boy.

Pick of the Week: Dinos, Soccer and Rohan Kishibe

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SEAN: Nothing leaps out at me as obvious this week, so I’ll take a flyer on Dinosaur Sanctuary, if only as the cover art makes it look pretty cute!

KATE: I, on the other hand, was positively gleeful at the sight of Dinosaur Sanctuary; my inner seven-year-old cannot wait to see which dinos are featured in the first volume. Bring on the brontosaurus, I say!

MICHELLE: Nothing really sticks out for me, either, so I’ll pick DAYS, as the prospect of a sports manga binge is always something to look forward to.

ASH: Dinosaur Sanctuary looks like it could be a delight and dinosaurs are very popular in my household right now, but the debut that I’ll likely be reading first is Thus Spoke Rohan Kishibe.

Reincarnated as the Piggy Duke: This Time I’m Gonna Tell Her How I Feel!, Vol. 7

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By Rhythm Aida and nauribon. Released in Japan as “Buta Koushaku ni Tensei shita kara, Kondo wa Kimi ni Suki to Iitai” by Fujimi Fantasia Bunko. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Zihan Gao.

The Piggy Duke series has always had a tendency, much like its title character, of avoiding difficult confrontations. We’ve seen in the last few books Slowe trying to work up the courage to confess to Charlotte and failing miserably, and the revelations about Charlotte’s past and how much everyone knows about it, while they have been coming out, are almost inevitably interrupted by some crisis needing attention, and by the time it’s over the moment has passed. Well, those who have been waiting seven books for Slowe to get off his ass and say something will be pleased to see that it finally happens here, as a stupid series of “high school drama” events manage to force his hand. The confession scene is excellent. As for the aftermath? Oh, sorry, it’s crisis time. The aftermath will have to wait. Sadly, Charlotte gets little to do in this volume, despite her heritage being one of the reasons for the crisis.

The title once again is a lie, as, in order to get rid of the stress he’s been dealing with recently, Slowe has taken to working out by lifting weights all over campus – something that the student body actually finds a bit terrifying. That said, he’s slimmed down again, so is attracting looks, and his “commoner” friend Tina tries to get him to branch out by actually interacting with other women besides her, Charlotte and Alicia – something that sadly proves disastrous for his reputation. Fortunately, a distraction comes along. The Witch, fresh off the last book, has gone to attack the Queen, and the fallout from that means that the Queen, her Guardian Knight, the Princess, and the Royal Knights are ALL now at the school, trying to bait the Witch. Unfortunately, this is also a family argument between mother and daughter… who do NOT get along.

We’d met the lazy princess before, but the narrative is a lot more sympathetic towards her this time, putting her behavior in much-needed context. Her behavior also ties into Charlotte’s past, which (of course) is not nearly as secret as Slowe would like, and I really enjoyed that this was part of the bargain made. That said, most of this book, as with the other books in the series, relies on you finding Slowe’s behavior amusingly annoying rather than just annoying. Again, I really wish we had more of Charlotte’s POV in this series, as she’s still technically Slowe’s retainer, and is having to deal with him being the talk of the school – again – and also some incredibly nasty rumors about him – again. If you add in his accidental confession to her, you can see why she spends the last quarter of the book unconscious. I’m sure we’ll find out what she thinks of Slowe’s confession of love in the next book… maybe.

I have been accused before of caring more about the romance in a book than the plot, and that’s probably true, but a lot of the plot in Piggy Duke is the romance, so I think I have the right to be a bit annoyed. Still, the Princess made this book worth reading, and I hope we see more of her in the future.

Manga the Week of 9/28/22

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SEAN: Oh no, I’m awake, September must be ending!

Yen On is taking the week off, but we have some Yen Press manga. Dead Mount Death Play 8, Laid-Back Camp 12, Play It Cool, Guys 4, and Re:ZERO -Starting Life in Another World-, The Frozen Bond 2.

From Viz Media we debut a JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure spinoff, Thus Spoke Rohan Kishibe (Kishibe Rohan wa Ugokanai). This features a series of short stories starring the eccentric guy from Diamond Is Unbreakable, and is coming out in deluxe hardcover, same as the JJBA volumes.

ASH: I’m looking forward to this one; Rohan is an interesting and popular character. (And he was also my introduction to JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure as a whole.)

ANNA: Yep!

SEAN: We also see Fist of the North Star 6 and Fullmetal Alchemist: The Ties That Bind (another reissue of an FMA light novel).

ASH: Still very happy to see Fist of the North Star coming out!

SEAN: Tokyopop debuts On or Off, a BL manwha webtoon about the dangers of falling for your boss.

They also have the 2nd volume of supernatural BL series Fangs.

After a number of minimal weeks from Seven Seas, they got everything back from the printers this time around. We start with 7th Time Loop: The Villainess Enjoys a Carefree Life Married to Her Worst Enemy! (Loop 7-kaime no Akuyaku Reijou wa, Moto Tekikoku de Juukimama na Hanayome Seikatsu o Mankitsu Suru), a manga adaptation of the light novel series Seven Seas also released. It comes from Comic Gardo.

Cats and Sugar Bowls (Neko to Sugar Pot) is a collection of yuri-themed short stories by the same author, and is a single volume.

ASH: That sounds like it could be promising.

SEAN: A Chinese Fantasy: The Dragon King’s Daughter (Chuugoku Gensousen) runs in Futabasha’s Web Action, and is a series of classic Chinese folktales adopted into manga form.

ASH: Count me curious, for sure!

SEAN: Crossplay Love: Otaku x Punk (Josou Shite Mendokusai Koto ni Natteru Nekura to Yankee no Ryou Kataomoi), an LGBT comedy about two guys who want to visit a maid cafe, but only feel comfortable doing so dressed as girls. It’s from Mag Garden’s MAGXIV.

ASH: I am intrigued.

SEAN: Dinosaur Sanctuary (Dinosan) is from Shinchosha’s Comic Bunch, and asks what happens, after the events of “A Certain Movie”, to the other Dinosaur-themed zoos around the world?

ASH: That’s a fun premise.

SEAN: Lazy Dungeon Master (Zettai ni Hatarakitakunai Dungeon Master ga Damin wo Musaboru made) has had the novel coming out from J-Novel Club for a while now. Here’s the manga version, which runs in Comic Gardo.

Love is an Illusion! is a manwha webtoon that delves into the story of a guy who spends his whole life thinking he’s an alpha… till he runs into a real alpha who sees he’s just an omega deep down. BL, as you likely guessed.

Seven Seas also has The Case Files of Jeweler Richard 3, GIGANT 9, Hitomi-chan is Shy With Strangers 5, I’m in Love with the Villainess 3, Kiruru Kill Me 3, The Legend of Dororo and Hyakkimaru 5, Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation 15, No Matter What You Say, Furi-san is Scary! 4, and Skeleton Knight in Another World 9.

One Peace Books debuts The Death Mage (Yondome wa Iyana Shi Zokusei Majutsushi), a light novel about a young man who is tired of getting reincarnated and then dying all over again, and resolves to use his powers from previous lives to put a stop to that.

ASH: I can understand that feeling.

SEAN: From Kodansha Manga we get the debut of Miss Miyazen Would Love to Get Closer to You (Ochikadzuki ni Naritai Miyazen-san). This Gangan Joker series has a girl trying to get to know the school’s delinquent, despite him being terrible at, well, communication. We know this genre by now.

ANNA: OK, I know the genre but I also enjoy people falling in love with delinquents.

SEAN: Also in print: EDENS ZERO 18.

Digitally we see Altair: A Record of Battles 25, Burn the House Down 4, A Couple of Cuckoos 9, DAYS 31, My Tentative Name 3, My Wonderful World 3, Oh, Those Hanazono Twins 5, The Prince’s Romance Gambit 11, SHAMAN KING & a garden 3, Tesla Note 6, and That’s My Atypical Girl 6, which definitely won’t be getting the Feature Image this week.

MICHELLE: Okay, finally some stuff for me. I am really curious about Burn the House Down and desperately need to get caught up on DAYS.

SEAN: Two debuts from J-Novel Club. Re:RE — Reincarnator Executioner (Re:RE -Ri: Āruī- Tenseisha o Korosu Mono) is a dark fantasy about a father trying to get back his daughter, whose body has been possessed by the evil Reincarnators.

Our other debut is a one-shot from the author of How a Realist Hero Rebuilt the Kingdom. Yashiro-kun’s Guide to Going Solo (Yashiro-kun no Ohitorisama Kōza) is a reversal of books like Bottom-Tier Character Tomozaki – a trendy girl is asking the lone wolf how she can be more like him!

J-Novel Club also has Did I Seriously Just Get Reincarnated as My Gag Character?!’s 2nd manga volume, The Ideal Sponger Life 8, Record of Wortenia War’s 8th manga volume, and Welcome to Japan, Ms. Elf!’s 6th manga volume.

Ghost Ship gives us Booty Royale: Never Go Down Without a Fight! 7-8 and Desire Pandora 3.

Dark Horse Comics has the 10th omnibus of GANTZ.

ASH: That’s a series I’ve not thought about in a long while.

SEAN: Cross Infinite World has Surviving in Another World as a Villainess Fox Girl! (Scenario Nante Iranai! Rival Chara no Kitsunekko). This book has not one but TWO “reincarnated into an otome game” characters, each with different motivations to save their favorite character. Unfortunately, their plans don’t match up.

Airship debuts a new “beautifully depressing” novel from the creator of I Want to Eat Your Pancreas. I Will Forget This Feeling Someday (Kono Kimochi mo Itsuka Wasureru) is about a couple trying their hardest to BE a couple despite being from different dimensions.

ASH: I often enjoy novels of that type, though I’m not sure I’m feeling up to it at the moment.

SEAN: We also get early digital volumes of Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation 19 and Though I Am an Inept Villainess: Tale of the Butterfly-Rat Body Swap in the Maiden Court 2.

There’s a ton of stuff here, after the September of Barely Any Manga. What are you getting?

The Saint’s Belated Happiness: Newly Single, Now Living with the Demon Prince

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By Hari Garasumachi and Yotsuba Hanada. Released in Japan as “Iki Okure Seijo no Shiawase – Konyaku Hakisareta to Omottara Mazoku no Ouji-sama ni Dekiaisaretemasu!” by M Novels f. Released in North America by Cross Infinite World. Translated by Kai Sadler.

This is another book that falls into the category of “not a villainess, but villainess things happen to her” books. You know, dumped by her fiancee, exiled from the royal palace, etc. Generally speaking, most of the stories in this genre tend to go for the aware, savvy sort of heroine. This is not one of those stories. Honestly, the heroine of this book, Marialite, may be more on the Katarina Claes end of the spectrum – in terms of outward personality they’re not that similar, but they both have “empathy” turned all the way up to ten while “intellectual” is at about a two. Marialite is not an airhead per se… she’s just the sort of character I refer to as the “ara ara” woman. You know, Kasumi Tendo from Ranma. Every situation, no matter what it is, is met with a hand to the cheek, a tilted head, and an “ara, ara”. That’s what we’re dealing with here.

Marialite has had a pretty rough life, though if you asked her about it I doubt she’d say the same thing. Her parents are dead. When she was discovered to be the Saint, her fiancee (who was already cheating on her) was dumped and replaced with the Crown Prince. She then spend the next several years saving the kingdom with her plant-based powers. Now the kingdom has “magic tools” that will do the same thing. And she’s twenty-seven years old. So the Prince dumps her, planning to get a younger wife. Going back to her abandoned childhood home, Marialite finds a young boy hiding inside. Sorry to spoil the surprise (it’s not much of one), but he’s the Demon King of the title, and he gets much bigger very fast. He’s also over the moon for Marialite… who seems to not really realize what love is.

This book is, to be honest, highly variable. The sections with the Crown Prince are amusing if you like to see asshole misogynists get wrecked (and I do), but he’s so one-note it’s hard to really be happy. The best part of the book involves Cornelia, the daughter of a rival dukedom to the Demon King, who is a) an obnoxious ojou-sama, b) with fire magic, c) with cat ears, and d) secretly weak to characters like Marialite, who she can’t intimidate. Everything about her is great, though I wasn’t that wild about the “now she’s a maid” subplot. As for Marialite herself, her naivete about love is presented as the fault of her past relationships, both of which were terrible, but she also admits she doesn’t think she was in love with them either, so there’s little to no hurt feelings or devastation about them. This makes her something of a blank slate, to be honest. I suppose if we can have harem protagonists who are potato boys, we can have the same with shoujo romance protagonists. I just wish she had more personality.

This book does not really have a definite ending, and there may be more coming, but if so it’s not immediately obvious. Till then, if you like “dumped by the asshole prince and finds a better life” stories, or cat-eared red-headed girls who yell a lot, this is worth your time.

Bookshelf Briefs 9/20/22

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Don’t Toy with Me, Miss Nagatoro, Vol. 11 | By Nanashi | Kodansha Manga – I haven’t actually briefed this for a long time. Since I did, in fact, it had an anime, which was somewhat polarizing but is getting a second season. The premise has evolved now that Senpai is a senior, and that means there’s an actual new recruit to the art club. What’s more, Nagatoro has joined the judo club, trying to get back the competitive mojo she lost long ago when a more talented girl blew right past her. As a result, we may have some genuine change here, as the two of them can’t hang out endlessly in the art room anymore. Senpai knows this, which is why he actually struggles to try to ask Nagatoro to… y’know… hang out. Not a date. Nagatoro has mellowed, and so has this series. – Sean Gaffney

GAME: Between the Suits, Vol. 1 | By Mai Nishikata | Steamship – Oooof. It’s always dangerous doing a series about someone whose life is in a rut, who is going through the motions, who is burying herself in her work in order to avoid thinking too much. The danger is that the manga can be as boring as the protagonist’s life has become, and that’s exactly what happens here. Theoretically I should be annoyed at the male lead, who is the classic josei “smug jerk who will make the girl fall in love with him by being smug at her until she surrenders,” but I can’t be bothered, because the layout and the pacing are just too damn dull. This is supposed to be arousing! It’s a Steamship title! I should not be checking to see how many pages are left. Try one of their other titles. – Sean Gaffney

No Longer Heroine, Vol. 1 | By Momoko Koda | Yen Press – Hatori Matsuzaki has had a crush on Rita Terasaka for years. Believing that their status as childhood friends guarantees her the role of “heroine” in his love story, she is unthreatened by his string of casual girlfriends. That is, until he shows signs of actually getting serious about Adachi-san—an unlikely match in terms of looks but a sincerely good person—and Hatori is forced to consider the possibility that maybe she’s not the leading lady after all. Her obnoxious behavior in the wake of this revelation made me question whether I wanted to continue reading this series. Thankfully, she is quickly ashamed of herself, and though I cannot root for her to break up Rita and Adachi, I do root for her to move on and find a love of her own. – Michelle Smith

Teasing Master Takagi-san, Vol. 15 | By Soichiro Yamamoto | Yen Press – Now that ‘teasing the guy she likes’ has become a genre, we’ve seen several titles that deal with an inherent difficulty, which is that these sorts of series traditionally star a pretty, vivacious, charismatic girl and a much less charismatic boy. The question will always arise: “what does she see in him?” Fortunately, Takagi-san answers this question better than most other titles. Nishikata may struggle in his desire to “win” over Takagi, and he frequently shows off his immaturity (the series is about junior high schoolers, but sometimes you have to remind yourself of that), but he’s really a nice, decent person who always tries to do the right thing, and we see that here. That’s what she loves. – Sean Gaffney

World End Solte, Vol. 1 | By Satoshi Mizukami | Seven Seas – This author has managed to amaze me twice, first with Lucifer and the Biscuit Hammer, then with Spirit Circle. Both of those titles had one foot in the real world of Japan, however. This new series is 100% fantasy… even though our heroine’s powers have more than a little bit of magical girl to them. She’s dealing with a lot, as her parents are dead and she’s been sold by the beloved village head into slavery (yeah, I know, it doesn’t stick). Teaming up with a girly-looking boy trying to find a way to die, an obnoxiously perky fairy, and Mole Macarony from the Pogo books only with less Republicanism, and they’re off on an adventure… provided they survive the journey. This is hella fun, and I trust this author. – Sean Gaffney

Reborn to Master the Blade: From Hero-King to Extraordinary Squire, Vol. 6

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By Hayaken and Nagu. Released in Japan as “Eiyu-oh, Bu wo Kiwameru tame Tensei su. Soshite, Sekai Saikyou no Minarai Kisi ♀” by HJ Bunko. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Mike Langwiser.

Several characters over the course of this series have noted an odd disconnect between Inglis and, well, everything she says or does. We, the reader, know the reason for this, i.e. she’s a reincarnation of an ancient King. Of course, that’s not entirely the explanation, because the previous King was honestly nothing like Inglis – this seems to be that King unfiltered, with “fight fight fight eat eat eat” as their main theme song. Sometimes, though, this disconnect ends up happening to the reader as well, because some of the events in this volume feel like straight up horror, or tragedy, but they’re not written that way at all. They’re written the Inglis way. Which is to say “Aw, shame that happened, anyway, next battle plz”. And the effect can be jarring. I already have tremendous trouble with remembering anyone in this series who is not Inglis or Rafinha, I need my books to be uncomplicated. And what happens here… is, but that’s the problem.

To sum up this entire volume: “what if Smaug was a woobie?”. Inglis and the others have found an ancient sleeping dragon, but it’s hard to wake him up, so they decide instead to cut off his tail and use it to feel the starving people of that area (well, and feed Inglis and Rafinha, who gets first shot). The tail grows back, so no issues there. Finally the dragon does wake up, and he’s really, really pissed off at Inglis. Sadly for him, Inglis not only really wants a good fight, but is good enough to back up her talk. What follows is almost bullying, and it’s only resolved when the dragon finally decides “why am I bothering?” and stops rising to her taunts. That said, Inglis may have a bigger problem… the folks in the town they’re staying in want to execute Pullum for her brother’s crimes.

As I said, I liked the dragon. He was clearly being led by the nose by Inglis, and his solution to the problem was funny. Even the cast thinks that her plan was “become friends with the dragon”. That’s why the sudden ending of that plotline left such a bad taste in my mouth. It feels like it should be terrifying, sad and awful, but this author cannot really seem to do convey that mood, so it comes out, as most things in this series do, as “OK, so that happened”. Similarly, Ian’s story, which is similar to what happens to the dragon’s, comes to a sudden fatal end here, but there’s no real time for any emotions or grieving because we’ve already moved on to the next crisis. I get that they’re at war, but it’s not letting the reader connect with any of this either, and the result is that we don’t care.

This is still a good book if you like meathead girls who love to fight. But it’s very, very shallow.

Pick of the Week: Poe Clan Supremacy

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KATE: At the risk of being super-predictable, I cast my vote for the second volume of The Poe Clan. I mean… c’mon. It’s MOTO HAGIO for Pete’s sake, and Moto Hagio in peak form. Nobody brings the drama like Hagio, or makes looks being miserable look so beautiful. BRING. IT. ON.

SEAN: Yup. While I will admit Spy x Family is probably what I’ll read first, The Poe Clan is clearly the stellar release of the week.

ANNA: Poe Clan! – I’m glad the second volume is being released!

MICHELLE: Who am I to go against Moto Hagio? (Those tournament arcs, though…)

ASH: There are quite a few intriguing manga being released this week, but, yeah, The Poe Clan is absolutely my pick, too.

MELINDA: I mean. What Kate said.

Loner Life in Another World, Vol. 3

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By Shoji Goji and Saku Enomaru. Released in Japan as “Hitoribocchi no Isekai Kouryaku” by Overlap Bunko. Released in North America by Seven Seas. Translated by Eric Margolis. Adapted by Veles Svitlychny.

Increasingly reading Haruka’s narration in Loner Life is sort of like trying to solve a puzzle. Class Rep actually lays it out for us midway through the book: Haruka simply is incapable of seeing anyone’s actions except in the absolute worst way – and that includes his own. It’s especially true of him, in fact, because – with the exception of Angelica, who he has a very different kind of relationship with – he does not want to have anyone get too close to him or even like him all that much. For all that he complains about constantly getting lectured or having no money, it’s a situation he deliberately engineers himself. And I hate to break it to him, but the ship has definitely sailed with some of the girls – Class Rep, if no one else, certainly has feelings for him. But it gets to the point where even a spy sent to see what Haruka is like gets the absolute worst impression of him… at least till everything blows up.

After getting back from the Ultimate Dungeon, Angelica in tow, Haruka and his friends now have to go around trying to clear out all the other, lesser dungeons that lie around their town. Haruka’s casual, vicious approach to this makes everyone feel incredibly sorry for the monsters who just happened to be in his way. That said, he’s also casually doing things like saving the livelihoods of a dying hamlet by getting rid of the dungeon (and also giving them medicine and food, something he fails to mention in his tortured narration) or converting the general store in town into a 5-story department store with the latest fashions (also created by him, which prompts the girls to wonder when exactly he read so much about fashion). But when the “Stalker Girl”, aka spy, arrives from the noble city that financially cripples their town, it’s Haruka who sees the larger picture as to what’s going on.

It’s not quite as jaw-dropping as the speech from When Supernatural Battles Become Commonplace, but Haruka’s breakdown near the end of this book is startling in how (seemingly) out of character it is, as for once he briefly breaks his facade to try to convince the girls that they’re all in serious trouble here. The corrupt lord ruling the area is not above sending soldiers to wipe them out, and he’s also certainly going to kill the spy once she gets back and delivers her report. He spent the entire time he was dungeon crawling with the spy at his absolute trashiest and worst in order that she could go back and say that he’s not worth caring about, but when this didn’t work he finally snaps and has to fix things. Class Rep and the others get it, even if Haruka doesn’t want them to – she says he and Angelica “destroy tragedies”, and that’s as good a description as any.

One last thing: yes, this is the one with the vibration magic. Between that and Haruka’s “nighttime activities” with Angelica, the light novels are 200% hornier than the manga equivalent. The manga is still probably a safer bet, but the light novels remain a fascinating but flawed experience.

Formerly, the Fallen Daughter of the Duke, Vol. 1

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By Ichibu Saki, Nemusuke, and Ushio Shirotori. Released in Japan as “Moto, Ochikobore Koushaku Reijou desu” by Mag Garden Novels. Released in North America by J-Novel Heart. Translated by Andrew Schubauer.

The idea of the “twist ending” has gotten a bit of a bad rap in recent years. This can mostly be blamed on the films of M. Night Shyamalan, whose films got to the point where the real twist ending would be that there wasn’t a twist. There’s always the danger of alienating your audience as well – to quote Futurama, “it’s not ironic, it’s just mean!”. When done properly, though, a good twist ending can cause a person to immediately go back and look at the entire plot all over again. And, in a case like Formerly, the Fallen Daughter of the Duke, it can cause you to want to get the next book in the series. I won’t lie, this felt very much like a “villainess by numbers” storyline. Claire is more a rival than a villainess, but every single plot point in this book is predictable and right on the beat. At least, until everything turns out bad.

This book hits the ground running, picking up right as our protagonist, Claire, is rejected by her fiance, sister, and family. She quickly realizes that staying in her kingdom will do her no good at all, so resolves to escape to a nearby abbey. That said, it’s hard to escape when you’re the daughter of a duke and you have retainers that go with you everywhere. Then she runs into a young man and his group of friends, who help her ditch the retainers and offer to take her to their nearby country – which is much better off than the one she just came from. Oh, and said young man is really the prince of said country. Plus, the pitiful amount of magic she thought she had turns out to have been a massive trap. She’s really ludicrously powerful. So far so boring. But… why does she keep waking up in Japan? Is this a game? Is this a secret hidden route of the game?

Let’s start with that last part, because after a number of books where the “villainess” dies in every route, it’s refreshing to see this is the one bad route for Claire in the game. The player character, Charlotte, has a normal amount of routes and friends, and is helped by her older sister and NPC Claire, who is set to marry the prince. But if you play the secret hidden route, where you do something truly nasty to destroy Claire’s life in many ways, you get the chance to win the heart of the prince for yourself. That fits with the portrayal of Charlotte in this volume – she’s astonishingly stupid and petty, as befits a side route that was only added later for extra content, and where not as much thought was required. And then there’s the ending, which made me wonder what in God’s name the series was really going to be about. Nicely done.

That said, you’ll have to plow through a lot of “pleasant but predictable and a bit boring” to get to the good bits. it’s worth it, though.

Manga the Week of 9/21/22

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SEAN: OK, now it’s the first week of Autumn, and there’s even rain! A good week to read some manga!

ASH: Truly!

SEAN: Airship starts us off with print titles. The 2nd volume of Classroom of the Elite: Year 2, Monster Girl Doctor 9, and The Strange Adventure of a Broke Mercenary 5.

And their early digital titles are Reborn as a Space Mercenary: I Woke Up Piloting the Strongest Starship! 5 and The Strange Adventure of a Broke Mercenary 6.

ASH: A mercenary sort of week, it seems.

SEAN: After a 3-year wait, Fantagraphics finally gives us the 2nd and final omnibus of The Poe Clan.

MICHELLE: Just in time for spooky season.

ANNA: I still need to read the first volume of The Poe Clan, but I own it. Maybe I’ll do a Poe Clan binge for spooky season.

ASH: So glad to see this coming out!

MELINDA: Yes!

SEAN: Ghost Ship gives us DARLING in the FRANXX 5-6.

There’s two new J-Novel Club light novel series. The Conqueror from a Dying Kingdom (Horobi no Kuni no Seifukusha – Maou wa Sekai wo Seifuku suru you desu). A man dies and is reincarnated in another world. He has a loving family, a promising future, etc. But… he knows that eventually bad things are going to happen. Now he has to figure out how to fix it.

DUNGEON DIVE: Aim for the Deepest Level (Isekai Meikyuu no Saishinbu o Mezasou) is our other debut. For once our kid who wakes up in a fantasy dungeon is desperate to get back home… because he has an ailing sister in Japan to care for. His only chance is to reach the very bottom, where the rumor is any wish can be granted.

ASH: Both of those may have potentially interesting twists on the genre.

SEAN: Also coming out: Black Summoner 10, The Master of Ragnarok & Blesser of Einherjar 21, The Misfit of Demon King Academy 2, Record of Wortenia War 16, and Reincarnated as the Piggy Duke: This Time I’m Gonna Tell Her How I Feel! 7.

Kodansha Comics has precisely one print volume, and it is Blue Period 9.

The digital debut is Gamaran, a Weekly Shonen Magazine title from about 12 years ago that ran for 22 volumes, followed by an ongoing sequel. It’s a martial arts series, so any plot description will be secondary to TOURNAMENT ARCS!.

MICHELLE: Man, I am weak against tournament arcs!

MELINDA: Honestly, so am I…

SEAN: Also out next week: The Abandoned Reincarnation Sage 5, Anyway, I’m Falling in Love With You 4, Blue Lock 15, Chihiro-kun Only Has Eyes for Me 7, The Dawn of the Witch 5, Golden Gold 4, Hella Chill Monsters 3 (the final volume), Hozuki’s Coolheadedness 10, Mr. Bride 6, A Serenade for Pretend Lovers 4, Shaman King Marcos 4, She, Her Camera, and Her Seasons 2, The Untouchable Midori-kun 2, and We’re New at This 11.

MICHELLE: I am a recent and enthusiastic convert to Blue Lock, so I’m happy I now have thirteen volumes to marathon digitally.

ANNA: Woo!

SEAN: Seven Seas debuts Anti-Romance, a BL title from Gentosha’s Rutile about two young men who’ve lived together for six years but are not quite more than friends. This is from the creator of Blue Morning. Seven Seas’s edition has extra material.

MICHELLE: Blue Morning was great, so I’m looking forward to this.

ASH: Same! I’ve enjoyed every Shoko Hidaka manga that I’ve read so far.

MELINDA: So here for this.

SEAN: His Majesty the Demon King’s Housekeeper (Maou Heika no Osoji Gakari) is from Akita Shoten’s Princess, a magazine I am very happy to see licenses from again. A girl with cleaning magic is transported to another world under an anti-cleaning curse! This sure sounds like shoujo, all right. Hopefully we’ll see more than just housekeeping.

ANNA: I enjoy shoujo and demons!

ASH: It’s frequently a good combination.

SEAN: And then there’s more BL, as we also get Monotone Blue, a one-shot from Be x Boy GOLD. This is from the creator of The Girl from the Other Side, and is a high school romance between a cat and a lizard. Well, OK, a catboy and a lizardboy.

MICHELLE: Huh.

ANNA: OK, tentatively here for this.

ASH: I do tend to like Nagabe’s manga, so I plan on picking it up.

MELINDA: Um. Yes.

SEAN: In continuing volumes, we get She Professed Herself Pupil of the Wise Man 6.

Tokyopop finally updated its website, so I can tell you that we see the third volume of Mame Coordinate.

Viz debuts the print edition of Look Back, from the creator of Chainsaw Man. When this came out digitally, everyone I know read it and loved it. It’s about drawing manga, but be warned: the word “poignant” applies here.

ANNA: Poignant and from the creator of Chainsaw Man sounds like quite the combination.

SEAN: Also from Viz: Alice in Borderland 3, BEASTARS 20, Crazy Food Truck 2, Golden Kamuy 27, Hayate the Combat Butler 40, Maison Ikkoku: Collector’s Edition 9, Seraph of the End 25, and Spy x Family 8.

MICHELLE: Gotta get caught up with Spy x Family.

ANNA: Me too. My household loves the anime.

ASH: So far, I’ve really been enjoying that series.

MELINDA: Same here!

SEAN: Three titles from Yen On: Hazure Skill: The Guild Member with a Worthless Skill Is Actually a Legendary Assassin 4, The Vexations of a Shut-In Vampire Princess 2, and Sword Art Online 25.

Lastly, there’s Yen Press. The debut is Josee, the Tiger and the Fish, the manga adaptation of the novel (and movie). This is complete in one omnibus.

Also coming out: the 11th and final volume of Shibuya Goldfish, Solo Leveling 5, Tales of Wedding Rings 11, and The Wolf Never Sleeps 2.

This seems more like a normal week of manga. What are you getting?

Death’s Daughter and the Ebony Blade, Vol. 1

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By Maito Ayamine and Cierra. Released in Japan as “Shinigami ni Sodaterareta Shoujo wa Shikkoku no Tsurugi wo Mune ni Idaku” by Overlap Bunko. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Sylvia Gallagher.

It has become very common in novels these days, be they Japanese or no, to have something that is basically “I want to write my kind of book, but it won’t sell unless I give it the current popular gimmick”. So we get isekai economic policy books, and isekai military history books, and villainess fantasy magic battle books. Death’s Daughter and the Ebony Blade sort of falls into that category, though the genre it’s using – generally referred to as “raised by wolves” – isn’t hugely popular. The idea is that you have a protagonist who was raised by something so outside of normal humanity that they grow up to be very weird. Technically Faraway Paladin should have been this, if he hadn’t basically grown up to be Superman. But Olivia in Death’s Daughter definitely qualifies. She is described more than once as lacking in manners and common sense. But boy, she can kill people really, really well.

Three shinigami discover a baby outside of an abandoned temple, and rather than eat the baby’s delicious soul, one of them decides to try raising them as a child. Olivia gets fifteen years of combat practice, history lessons, and not much else. Then one day her mentor simply vanishes without a trace, and she goes off to look for him. Meanwhile, the Empire is battling the Kingdom, and the Empire is winning. For some reason, while searching for her shinigami dad, she decides to join the Kingdom as a soldier, something she does by going to the nearest Empire stronghold, decapitating everyone, and presenting their heads to the general. This is good enough for them, and now we watch Olivia tear her way through enemies, befriend nerdy guys who have a good eye for tactics, and try to learn what it’s like to be human.

To be honest, that last part doesn’t happen very much. The biggest flaw in this book is that Olivia does not really develop all that much as a character. Sure, she’s introduced to the wonders of soft bread and cakes, but she still does not understand how humans think, and mostly does not bother to try. I did appreciate that her aide (and oh boy, there’s an OT3 there I’d love to see but will not) is able to get her to dress up and perform basic award etiquette, but that’s about all we get. (Also, be warned, there’s a “the chest is too tight/the hips are too loose” gag here. I thought those were banned by the Geneva Convention?) The bulk of the book, though, it military combat, with the Empire gradually realizing that the tide is now turning against them, thanks entirely to the presence of Olivia cutting down most of their important generals.

This is the sort of series where I know development will be slow in coming, so I’m willing to give it more time. Olivia is fun, and I also liked Ashton and Claudia. Recommended only if you like military histories and don’t mind a lot of battle carnage, though.

Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon?, Vol. 17

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By Fujino Omori and Suzuhito Yasuda. Released in Japan as “Dungeon ni Deai o Motomeru no wa Machigatte Iru Darou ka?” by GA Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Dale DeLucia.

The term ‘gaslighting’ has gotten so overused lately that I hesitate these days to mention it in a review. But, I mean, the definition of gaslighting is ‘manipulate (someone) by psychological means into questioning their own sanity’, and that’s exactly what’s happening for most of this 17th volume of DanMachi, so… there we are. I expected this volume to be really dark, and indeed it was, with the first half of the book in particular being nothing but punches to the gut over and over again. But that’s something this author specializes in, and for once we don’t have to worry about the turnaround and hope spots coming in the next volume. No, this is not the end of the arc, but at least this book is allowed to come to a definite emotional conclusion, as Freya plays her last desperate card and ends up losing. Now it’s just a question of what’s going to happen to her… assuming that her Familia don’t just murder everyone.

After Syr is rejected by Bell at the end of the last book, Freya finally snaps. Hestia’s family is taken out in approximately two seconds, and Freya basically tells Hestia “give me Bell”. Hestia refuses, and Hermes reminds Freya of a rule that shows off to the reader the ludicrous timescale of this entire series. As a result, Freya decides to go all out and brainwash ALL OF ORARIO, including the Gods, into thinking Bell has always been with Freya Familia. The exceptions to this are a) Freya herself, b) Bell, who rapidly loses his mind when everyone seems to recognize him as someone else, c) Hestia, who fired off all her divine power at once to avoid this, and d) Asfi and Lyu, who were able to escape the city in time. Now Hestia has to figure out a way to stop this before bell finally breaks and accepts that he’s under a memory “curse”.

I joked on Twitter that Books 1-10 supposedly starred Hestia, but really starred Aiz, and that Books 11-20 were the same but with Lyu. Hestia has been Bell’s goddess, but as a character she’s always played a supporting role in the series, and sometimes barely shows up. Thus it’s nice to see her actually managing to save the day, and her entrance at the end is appropriately awesome. That said, once again the thing that saved Bell from cracking and giving in is not Hestia, or any of the other women in love with him, but Aiz. All of the women with strong attachments to Bell are less affected by Freya’s mind control (and bravo to Eina, who gets a great scene of defiance before she’s beaten down by EVEN MORE MIND CONTROL), but it’s seeing that Aiz is able to remember a different past with Bell, one where she trained him, that gives him hope and strength. All the other female leads are still chasing after her.

And so we’re ready for another War Game, with Freya Familiia vs… well, possibly everyone else, though I suspect the rules will winnow down the opposing team a bit. Still it, should be great fun to read whenever it comes out. It’s still not out in Japan. But this was an excellent psychological torture volume with a pump your fist ending.

Pick of the Week: Heroine Addiction

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SEAN: Despite the fact that I suspect this will be one of THOSE types of shoujo stories (see also: Hot Gimmick and its ilk), I cannot resist those big eyes staring at me… well, eye… and so I will make No Longer Heroine my pick this week.

MICHELLE: I am less lured in by No Longer Heroine itself than by the fact that it ran in a Margaret spinoff and I typically like Margaret shoujo. So, I’ll pick it too and we shall see!

KATE: There isn’t much on this week’s manga list that says, “Buy me!”, so I’m choosing another new arrival as my Pick of the Week: Jordi Lafebre’s Always Never, which chronicles a forty-year love story… in reverse. The artwork looks lovely, and the characters are my age (at least at the start of the book), which is a refreshing change of pace from high school angst and office lady romance.

ASH: Oh, that looks good, Kate! And like Sean and Michelle, I’m at least vaguely curious about No Longer Heroine. But since this is probably the last time we’ll see a final release for A Silent Voice, I’m making the second volume of the collector’s edition my pick. The series isn’t always an easy read due to the weight of it’s subject matter, but it is a consistently compelling and excellent one.

ANNA: I’m going to join with the general curiosity for No Longer Heroine!

Culinary Chronicles of the Court Flower, Vol. 7

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By Miri Mikawa and Kasumi Nagi. Released in Japan as “Ikka Kōkyū Ryōrichō” by Kadokawa Beans Bunko. Released in North America digitally by J-Novel Club. Translated by Hunter Prigg.

I’m starting to get the feeling that the consummation that keeps getting put off between Rimi and Shohi is never actually going to happen. Leaving aside the fact that Rimi still thinks of herself as a mom more than a lover to him, there’s also the fact that the Chancellor exists. There are other aides in this book as well, and some of them like Rimi and some of them dislike Rimi, but they all seem to see Rimi as, well, as a real human being. The Chancellor, on the other hand, regards Rimi as this sort of otherworldly poisonous creature whose mere presence destroys the Emperor and everyone around him. Leaving aside the fact that there’s a name for that and it’s called “being the protagonist”, it does mean that Rimi is going to find becoming Empress very hard to do. We already knew that, of course, but it’s getting even harder, especially with the arrival of an even bigger rival than the Four Consorts: a better political marriage match.

Rimi is delighted to hear that the court will be seeing the return of Shar, ambassador from Saisakoku. Things get less delightful when the delegation also has an extra person, Princess Aisha. The princess is gorgeous, and is clearly there to deepen ties between the two countries. What’s more, the best way to do this would be to move Rimi quietly to the side and let Aisha be impress. It’s the sensible thing to do. That said, Shohi is reluctant, not just because he loves Rimi, but also because the young princess is a little hellraiser, running around the court like a bull in a china shop and taking very badly to any attempt to criticize her. When things finally blow up to the point that the princess runs away, Rimi and company need all the allies they can get to find her. Even if that means seeing Shusei again.

This series is mostly a romantic thriller, but I do appreciate that in every book there’s always one scene which is hysterically funny, and here it’s right in the center, with Princess Aisha showing off to the four consorts in a way that is both jaw-dropping and also makes you want to find a ball to see if she can balance it on her nose. The best part of the book is Rimi and Aisha’s relationship, as, even though she knows that Aisha is there to destroy everything Rimi has done up till now, she can’t help but try to make things better because she’s that sort of person. (She does, this, of course, with a meal, in case you’d forgotten what book you’re reading.) Shohi too continues to develop and grow into his Emperor title. If it weren’t for the Chancellor, there would be very little getting in the way of their union.

Sadly, there is the Chancellor, and another vicious cliffhanger. We’ll have to wait till next time to resolve it, but I remain addicted to this series… so much so that I look forward to Sugar Apple Fairy Tale in a few weeks from Yen On, by the same author.