Manga Bookshelf

Discussion, Resources, Roundtables, & Reviews

Sean Gaffney

Reign of the Seven Spellblades, Vol. 5

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By Bokuto Uno and Miyuki Ruria. Released in Japan as “Nanatsu no Maken ga Shihai suru” by Dengeki Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Andrew Cunningham.

It’s been several books since we’ve had to deal with the revelation that we got at the end of Book One, which is to say it’s been a while since Oliver and his allies have tried to murder a teacher. Good news! We get that here, as the academy’s resident mad scientist is next on the chopping block. More good news is that we also get a lot more explanations and backstory for exactly what is going on. Being Seven Spellblades, of course, it’s complex, and its discussion of Gnostics and Gnostic Hunters is very reminiscent of the battle for the “true face” of Christianity around the time of the Apostle Paul. There’s more suggestions that by the time this series is over Oliver will be dead or evil, but honestly, that’s not really a surprise anymore. Revenge is sometimes more important than… well, everything else. That said, boy, this revenge was costly. If the body count goes up with each dead teacher, the academy may be empty by the final book.

The book opens to a flashback showing us Chloe Two-Blade, the legendary Gnostic Hunter, and her fight against the Lovecraftian wyrms that have devastated her comrades. Hold that thought, because we then move back to the present, as our heroes try to tame griffins the hard way, learn about astronomy (which honestly seems more like history than anything else), and worry about Nanao, who has unfortunately Been Noticed – not only by Chela’s father but also by the headmistress of the academy, and you really don’t want to get noticed by her. Also, Professor Forggieri takes Pete on a tour of his mad scientist lab, with Oliver and Nanao tagging along. Still, there’s a sense of unease and tension throughout the book… which lets out in the second half, which is one big battle to kill said mad scientist.

Our main cast are probably safe, at least until the second to last book where one of them will tragically sacrifice themselves (my money’s on Chela), but the book is here to remind you that anyone else can die, as we’re introduced to more students who seem fun, powerful, and who are in the end sacrifices to help Oliver get his revenge. Even aside from Oliver, Guy and Katie meet a student who cheerfully says he’ll die soon due to experimentation, and try not to be like him. this is a super dangerous place, and even after graduation there’s no guarantee you won’t die fighting monsters from beyond our ken… or end up being brutally tortured and murdered by your allies. I really enjoy the religious subtext at the back of this series, and how it’s trying to show you that kindness is not a virtue here – something that may prove Oliver’s undoing, as little hints here and there suggest that we’re building up to a final battle between him and Nanao.

Fans of this series should be quite happy, as long as they don’t get too attached to anyone, and are familiar with 2nd-century religious persecution.

Rascal Does Not Dream of His First Love

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By Hajime Kamoshida and Keji Mizoguchi. Released in Japan as “Seishun Buta Yarou wa Hatsukoi Shoujo no Yume wo Minai” by Dengeki Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Andrew Cunningham.

One of the things I like best about this series, which sets it apart from many of its contemporaries, is its use of short, quick sentences. The book reads fast, with dense paragraphs kept to a bare minimum and most of its page count being dialogue or inner monologue of some sort. However, this does not mean that it sacrifices any emotional impact – in fact, in many ways it’s heightened. The start of this book was always going to be a killer, and the prose makes it even more so. The sheer despair that Sakuta is feeling, the grief and rage that Mai’s mother and Nodoka have as they blame him for her death and cry out as to why it happened, it’s absolutely visceral and raw. Even knowing that this is not going to be permanent, that Mai will not remain dead (a series does not kill off its main draw), this is still a painful read. It gets better. But at some cost.

When we last left our heroes, Mai had just been hit by a truck. Sadly, she is not reincarnated in a fantasy world, but is simply dead. This shatters Sakuta, and things are not helped by the fact that a superstar actress died in order to save the life of her ordinary boyfriend – most of Japanese media is out to get him. refusing to accept Mai’s death, he returns once more to the beachfront we’ve seen in most other books in this series, and finds the older Shouko there once more. She reminds him of what almost everyone has experienced so far – Adolescence Syndrome – and that this might actually be a future we don’t want to see, rather than the present. But can Sakuta return to his “present” even though he’s already there? Will anyone notice him? And even if he can stop Mai from getting killed, who’s to stop HIM from dying?

I do wonder if there’s a fanfic out there showing what happened in that bad future if Sakuta couldn’t fix it, because the implication is there is no way the media would allow him to survive. Sakuta’s grief infuses over half of this volume, making it by far the least funny of the books to date, but that’s fine, you don’t want laughs here. When they come later, they’re as much a relief for Sakuta as they are for the reader. It’s also nice to see Mai reminding us that she is quite a sweet and loving partner, to the point where Sakuta has to actually find ways to upset her in order to have her be cool and menacing towards him (his professed fetish). And then there’s Shouko, whose life and death also rides on this book. The ending may be a bit sappy and unrealistic, but given the nature of the series, realism is not what I want. That said, it’s VERY abrupt – you’re waiting for another epilogue.

It’ll be interesting to see where we go from here, with the main backstory plotlines pretty much resolved. The next volume promises a return to Kaede’s attempts to go to school. Till then, please enjoy this cry of grief from the heart, and be thankful it all ended well.

Pick of the Week: Lovers, Gamers, and More Villainesses

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SEAN: As always, I’m a sucker for Villainess novels, so my pick this week is Modern Villainess: It’s Not Easy Building a Corporate Empire Before the Crash. It will be nice to read about a villainess using capitalism rather than magic to achieve her goals, as well as a rare villainess story that takes place in Japan.

KATE: I’m torn between two titles this week: the final volume of Apple Children of Aeon, which is quiet, lovely, and haunting, and the first volume Cat + Gamer, which is heartwarming and adorable, if a little predictable: who knew cats were mischievous? (My cats are both staring at me, so I had to tone down my word choice, lest I upset my Overlords.) If I had to pick one, though, my vote would go to Apple Children, as there is a positive glut of cat manga at the moment.

MICHELLE: I’m most intrigued by Mizuno and Chayama, though I admit I’m not exactly excited about “corporations versus the government.” Also, why did the cover of This Vampire Won’t Give Up! have to be kind of cute? I know it’ll be smutty fluff but now it looks potentially like fun smutty fluff.

ASH: Mizuno and Chayama is the debut that I’m most curious about this week, though Cat + Gamer is a series I’m interested in, too. I’ll admit, I’m actually not sure which one I’ll end up getting around to reading first!

ANNA: Are there vampires around? I’m sure the manga that my fellow reviewers are picking are much better than This Vampire Won’t Give Up!, but I’m going to pick it anyway perhaps because of the exclamation point in the title.

The Executioner and Her Way of Life: Crimson Nightmare

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By Mato Sato and nilitsu. Released in Japan as “Shokei Shoujo no Virgin Road” by GA Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Jenny McKeon.

For the most part this fourth volume of The Executioner and Her Way of Life is a bit of a breather volume. There’s pretty much zero gore, which is nice. Akari and Momo prove to be highly amusing together as they pettily snipe at each other, and both are more interesting away from Menou. And the running gag of various enemy agents being forced to admit they’re sex pests to avoid giving away their cover runs long enough to be funny and just that long. Plus we get the addition of several old villains, and they’re almost pleasant. All this and hot springs. The whole thing would be lovely if it were not for the fact that Akari is still a ticky ticky timebomb… or is she? As Menou slowly figures out… or is straight up told… various parts of the plot, she rapidly realizes that killing Akari to save the world might not be what’s actually going on. Unfortunately for her, her Master has come to take over.

Akari and Momo, reluctant allies – very reluctant – take a train to a nearby hot spring town in the mountains. Neither one wants to be around the other, but they both have one thing in common, which is that they want to save Menou’s life. Unfortunately for them, Menou managed to go after them much faster than expected due to the obvious solution of “ask Ashuna for money and a ride”. Good news for Ashuna (and the reader), this involves Menou dressing in a butler uniform. And, as it turns out, EVERYONE is arriving at this little mountain town, including Pandaemonium, who lacks power but is still dangerous, Manon, who is resurrected with a new body, and one other surprise guest. Things do not build to a furious climax, alas, but peter out, as Akari ends up spirited away by the one person whose presence has suffused this whole series.

The best parts of this book were the parts with Akari and Momo. Their constant insults and angry bitching is funny, yes, but as the book goes on we get to see how both of them are generally a lot kinder than they’d like to let on, and Akari in particular feels less upset by Momo’s attitude after she realizes that Menou is pretty much all Momo has. We also get a lot of stuff explained to us here, such as the nature of Conjurations, why Akari has to be killed, and what really happened in the past. This even ties in with Japoan, not only because the hot springs mountain town is the closest we’ve seen to Japanese culture in this world, but also because there may be a way to get Akari back after all. If she wants to go. And if she can put up with mass murder. And of course Flare, near the end of the book, shows us, unsurprisingly, that she’s not going to arrive to save the day.

This series has a cast that are interesting and fun to read about but are all, except maybe for Menou, various shades of unpleasant. It makes for an intriguing read.

Ishura: The New Demon King War

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By Keiso and Kureta. Released in Japan by Dengeki no Shin Bungei. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by David Musto.

I almost didn’t get this. It ticked off quite a few boxes in terms of “things I’m not interested in”, was very long, and looked like it would consist of one big fight. Most of those things are true, but I will admit that the book definitely picks up as it goes along, especially in the second half. It suffers from having a sprawling cast, each of which have to get their own introductory chapter to show off why they’re here and why they’re really pretty strong. Unfortunately, this means that it feels like we’re reading 16 prologues at times. In the back half things get much better, the fights are indeed very cool, and there are some surprisingly touching moments. I enjoyed reading it, in the end. That said, I’m pretty sure that this will be the only volume I read because, no matter how well it tries to hide it, this series is going to come down to two genres that I really cannot stand. It’s both a tournament arc AND a survival game.

This world we’re introduced to seems to have everything. There’s wyverns AND dragons. There’s various kinds of magic. There’s walking skeletons and walking mandrakes, both super powerful. And there’s isekai’d Japanese folks, though for once they’re just part of the cast pile – we learn nothing about who they were or why they ended up here. The first half of the book sets up for a war between the main city Aureatia, which is run pretty much by humans – called “mitia” here – and Lithia, a city that has split off, with its ruler declaring herself the new Demon Lord. That title is a bit taboo these days, especially after the appearance of the True Demon Lord. In the second half of the book, the war begins and we see who lives, who dies, and who gets tragic backstory and THEN dies.

As you’d expect with a book like this, some character arcs work better than others. My favorite was Kia, a young, seemingly blase elf girl with the power to control absolutely anything with her words. At first she almost comes across as a bargain-basement tsundere, but as the book goes on and she learns about how the world works – and what her powers can do – she suddenly gains morals and ethics, much to the horror of her teacher, an assassin named Elea who is trying to murder anyone who discovers Kia’s secret. I also enjoyed the touching relationship between Regnejee, a battle-hardened wyvern who is a little battle-hungry, and Curte, a blind woman who lives in a tower and marvels at everything Regnejee says… or at least that’s how it looks at first.

I could go on, I’m sure. There’s something for everyone here, and I liked the use of names and titles, which reminded me quite a bit of Katanagatari. As a fantasy series with a high body count, it’s a real winner. It’s just not my thing.

Sword Art Online, Vol. 24: Unital Ring III

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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.

Given that this series has now been running for twenty-four volumes, it’s no surprise that the current arc is seeing a lot more discussion of what has come before. This is especially true now that Kawahara has caught up with himself and no longer has to quietly edit the crappy things he wrote when he was 20 years younger. There’s a lot of interesting stuff that never really got developed in the past that can now be looked into at more leisure. This is the concept behind the Progressive series – which these books pretty much make clear have sort of usurped the original first volume as being canonical – as well as the movie, which also gets referenced here. The line between canon versions of Sword Art Online is blurring. And given that, it’s no surprise that, despite the current death game-esque plot of Unital Ring, complete with a Death Collar of sorts for Kirito, we’re still heading back to the Underworld, which may be 200 or so years into the future but still manages to ask the important question: is *he* REALLY dead?

(Man, covers always spoil, huh? So much for my trying to be ambiguous…)

Kirito is having a bit of a rough time at the moment, though honestly compared to “I am in a coma” it’s going pretty well. In Unital Ring everyone seems to be trying to kill his party. Someone has apparently dived into the Underworld without authorization, which means there needs to be an investigation. And, most importantly, it’s Asuna’s birthday and he has to get just the right present. Frankly, he’s pretty much a dumbass about that, and it’s a good thing that Argo is back in his life to give him enough hints that he can do the right thing. Argo and Alice get to spend time with Kirito in Unital Ring this volume, as Argo has finally given in and ported her character in. Good thing too, as it turns out that it’s not just SAO, or ALO, or GGO, it’s lots of other virtual reality games. Meaning we also get GIANT INSECT BATTLES!

I suspect there may be some fans who are a bit grumpy about the supposed reveal towards the end of this book. That said, “Nobody dies in Bleach” is the phrase, not “nobody dies in SAO”. There have been important characters killed off. So I think we’re allowed to give the author a bit of rope here, especially as there’s no confirmation that it *is* who Kirito thinks it is. That said, I cannot help but be reminded of the separation of Alice Zuberg and Alice Synthesis Thirty and go “Hrrrm”. Aside from that, I continue to be amused, given his reputation as the all-powerful light novel hero, how much of this book shows Kirito being mocked or screwing up. I mean, yes, he does some cool things, but that’s mostly because his human strategy guide is back. Of course, he fares better than Asuna, who has an incredibly cool battle… recapped for us as it’s offscreen. Bleah.

This arc is settling in to be another long one, but at least it has the entire cast this time, so fans should be a bit more happy than Underworld. Till next time: d’awwww. sugar maple tree.

When Supernatural Battles Became Commonplace, Vol. 2

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By Kota Nozomi and 029. Released in Japan as “Inou Battle wa Nichijoukei no Nakade” by GA Bunko. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Tristan K. Hill.

So this was a nice improvement on the first volume, though I will continue to say that I hate it whenever this book has a real plot that it wants is to care about. It’s at its best when it’s just shooting the shit and riffing on Japanese media cliches. Unfortunately, when we run into Chuuni and the Chuutones towards the end, I groaned and wished that Hatoko would simply vanish and reappear back at school. Fortunately, this is precisely what happened. I suppose I’ll have to deal with them more later, but I seriously do not care, whereas I do care about the main cast. Even Andou – I can’t tell if he was far less annoying in this book or if I just got used to his antics, but he worked far better in this book, especially when we get to the relationship between him and Hatoko. Because yes, THIS is the book with “that scene”, and it’s pretty damn epic. Worth the read, definitely, especially given the stress buildup we see all book.

Stop me if you’ve heard this one before, but this is a book of two halves. In the front half we feature once again Kudou, the student council president and vague antagonist from the previous book, who has taken a letter of challenge as a love letter thanks to Andou’s over the top verbiage. Needless to say, she’s the sort to immediately go over the top herself, and Andou has to struggle to find a way to break things to her gently before he breaks her. That said, the confession comes as a shock to the rest of the club, especially two girls who we know have feelings for him. Given her presence on the cover, and the fact that most of the chapters begin with her narration before switching to Andou’s, you can assume Hatoko is especially confused by all this. But, whatever. She wouldn’t understand it anyway.

The book threatens to be drowned out by Hatoko’s rant, which is beautiful, but it also highlights the gulf between them. That said, we see in the flashbacks that this is not for want of trying from Andou – he was attempting for years to get her to understand his way of thinking. But sometimes people just don’t vibe the same way, and the best part of the book is when both of them are told that, in fact, they don’t HAVE to understand each other deeply – they can just be friends because they are friends. The other highlight of the book is the short story competition, which is absolutely hilarious – Hatoko’s grimdark romance, Chifuyu’s incoherent foreign mess, Andou’s summary and character descriptions with no actual text, and Sayumi simply dragging Andou out behind the shed and shooting him in the head. Glorious.

Again, there’s a plot here somewhere, but I plan to ignore it, just as I ignore Andou’s friend Sagami, who is the absolute worst in a way that is clearly deliberate but also I don’t care that it is. Recommended if you use the word “weeb” as a term of honor.

Manga the Week of 5/11/22

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SEAN: The week of Mother’s Day, and what manga will moms be reading?

Yen On has a 5th volume of Bofuri: I Don’t Want to Get Hurt, so I’ll Max Out My Defense.

The Yen Press debut is Mizuno and Chayama, a Comic Beam title that is done in one 2-volume omnibus. It’s Romeo and Juliet, only they’re both teenage girls, and the setting is corporations vs. the government.

MICHELLE: Hm. Potentially interesting!

ANNA: This does sound interesting.

ASH: I agree!

MJ: What everyone else said!

SEAN: Also being released: Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? II 2, The Saga of Tanya the Evil 16, Solo Leveling 4, and Star Wars Leia, Princess of Alderaan 2.

Viz Media has Death Note Short Stories, which is exactly what it says.

ASH: It’s been quite a while since I’ve thought about Death Note; the series is among the earliest manga I read.

MJ: Wow, what could this possibly be? I’m actually a little curious.

SEAN: We also see Dragon Quest: The Adventure of Dai 2, Fly Me to the Moon 11, Mao 5, Pokémon Adventures: X•Y 2, and Requiem of the Rose King 15.

MICHELLE: I’m quite far behind on Requiem of the Rose King now!

ANNA: Alas, me too.

ASH: I’ve been saving up volumes to read all at once.

MJ: I am also behind, but omg!

SEAN: Tentai Books sees a print release for From Toxic Classmate to Girlfriend Goals 1, I Kissed my Girlfriend’s Little Sister?! 1, and There’s No Way a Side Character Like Me Could Be Popular Right? 3.

SEAN: Three new titles from SuBLime: Change World 2 (the final volume), Finder Deluxe Edition 11, and His Favorite 12.

ASH: Oh, somehow I didn’t realize His Favorite was still ongoing!

Square Enix manga has the 5th volume of My Dress-Up Darling.

ASH: Another series that I’m behind on, but I really enjoyed the early volumes.

MJ: I’ve heard good things about this, and I feel like I need to get into it!

SEAN: From Seven Seas we get The Ancient Magus’ Bride: Wizard’s Blue 4, the 14th and final volume of Magical Girl Spec-Ops Asuka, Mushoku Tensei: Roxy Gets Serious 7, and Wonder Cat Kyuu-chan 5.

ASH: I’ve mainly focused on the main series, so far; I need to catch up on the spinoffs of The Ancient Magus’ Bride.

SEAN: Kodansha has a print debut, coming from the ever popular Shuzo Oshimi. Devil Ecstasy is an early Young Magazine title about a brothel filled with women who may be killing men with their sexy skills. It’s also a two-volume omnibus.

ASH: Oshimi’s work is frequently disconcerting, but generally worth taking a look.

MJ: I’ll let Ash be the one to take a look, haha.

SEAN: Also in print: Battle Angel Alita 6, Ciguatera 2, My Boy 9 (the final volume), The Seven Deadly Sins: Four Knights of the Apocalypse 3, and The Seven Deadly Sins Omnibus 4.

Digitally our debut is This Vampire Won’t Give Up! (Vampire-sama ga Akiramenai!), another josei title from Comic Tint. Our heroine has to work with a handsome but rude man, but then finds out he’s also the author of her favorite childhood book about vampires. What’s his secret? (Take a guess.)

MICHELLE: Snerk.

ANNA: I don’t know what the secret is, I might have to read it and find out.

ASH: Ha!

MJ: The title is kind of hilarious, right? It’s the exclamation point…

SEAN: There’s also Ace of the Diamond 37, Apple Children of Aeon 3 (the final volume), The Fable 2, A Kiss with a Cat 3, Our Bodies, Entwining, Entwined 3, Police in a Pod 12, and Ya Boy Kongming! 7.

ASH: Ya Boy Kongming! is now more fully on my radar since I’ve been hearing good things about the anime.

SEAN: From J-Novel Club we see The Apothecary Diaries 5, Black Summoner’s 6th manga volume, Campfire Cooking in Another World with My Absurd Skill 11, My Daughter Left the Nest and Returned an S-Rank Adventurer 4, and Sorcerous Stabber Orphen: The Wayward Journey 17.

Ghost Ship debuts It’s Just Not My Night! – Tale of a Fallen Vampire Queen (Yo ga Yorunara!), a Magazine Pocket series, shows us a hard-luck vampire queen forced to find part-time work – some of which is very sketchy!

They’ve also got SUPER HXEROS 7.

Already out from Denpa, who just put it on their website, is Black Tights: WIDE, an artbook featuring, well, girls in tights. It features “some of the best artists in Japan” and also a lot of good-looking gams.

Dark Horse Comics debuts Cat + Gamer (Neko Gurashi Gamer-san), from Shonen Sunday S. the gamer is Riko, an office lady who doesn’t have time for socializing when there’s games to be played. Then she picks up a stray cat. Can games help her figure out how to deal with a pet?

ASH: This is supposed to be pretty good.

MJ: I mean, it has a cat, so it automatically wins.

SEAN: Dark Horse also has Gantz’s 9th omnibus.

Lastly, Airship has, in print, Classroom of the Elite 11 and How a Realist Hero Rebuilt the Kingdom 14.

The digital-first debut is Modern Villainess: It’s Not Easy Building a Corporate Empire Before the Crash (Gendai Shakai de Otome Game no Akuyaku Reijou wo Suru no wa Chotto Taihen), whose gimmick is that our reincarnated villainess is not in a world of nobles and princes, but in Japan at the height of the economic boom! Can she use her future knowledge to avoid her fate and avoid the upcoming bursting of the bubble economy?

ASH: Too soon?

SEAN: And also in early digital: Classroom of the Elite 11.5 and The Haunted Bookstore – Gateway to a Parallel Universe 4.

What are you getting mom? Devil Ecstasy? Tales of a Fallen Vampire Queen? Or perhaps something more wholesome?

My Stepmom’s Daughter Is My Ex: “Even If We Aren’t Dating…”

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By Kyosuke Kamishiro and TakayaKi. Released in Japan as “Mamahaha no Tsurego ga Motokano datta” by Kadokawa Sneaker Bunko. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Gierrlon Dunn.

This is very much a book of two halves. The first half is essentially more of the same stuff that we saw in the initial volume, with our two leads bitterly grousing at each other while also showing that eventually, when they get their heads out of their asses, they will once more be a terrific couple. The second half introduces a new girl to the mix, set up to be a rival love interest. That said, the author knows what the genre is. This is not the old school genre of “guy and the 100 girls who really, really etc. love him”, it’s part of the more recent “we are cute couples who flirt adorably” genre, with the twist that they aren’t a couple anymore and their flirting is bickering. As such, sympathy in the book stays solely with Yume, though the new girl is very nice and sweet, which is a plus, and possibly makes up for the fact that Akatsuki is still in this.

Mizuto and Yume continue to stubbornly not get along, despite the fact that their entire life is a series of light novel romcom moments (as is literally pointed out later). There’s seat changes in class, which brings back awkward memories; a Mother’s Day event which brings back sad awkward memories; a sleepover with their mutual friends which turns hideously awkward when it turns out that said friends live next door to each other; and a battle over best grades in the school that goes beyond awkward and into painful. We are then introduced to Isana Hagashira, who hangs out in the library, loves light novels, is socially inept, and has really large breasts (something she will point out, as she regards it as one of her few interesting features). She and Mizuto bond immediately, leaving Yume forced to confront her own repressed feelings.

Isana reminded me not a little of Kotomi Ichinose from Clannad, and the smile she gives on the cover art doesn’t really match her in this book, where she’s mostly rather expressionless, as part of her social difficulties. She’s really sweet, and I enjoyed seeing Akatsuki and Yume slowly force her to realize that she’s fallen in love with Mizuto. Unfortunately, framing her character as having crippling self-esteem issues and then having to have her forcibly rejected due to… well, due to the plot of the series… seems a bit mean. That said, it’s not nearly as mean as forcing us to spend time around Kagure and Akatsuki, who are there to remind us what a really toxic couple are like. Not that they’re dating, but this certainly is not the “if we just admitted we still love each other everything would be solved” of our two leads, there’s some real hatred here. I fear we will learn more about it later.

So yeah, this series still works best when it’s about the main couple. Fortunately, they’re the stars of the book. Recommended with reservations.

Bookshelf Briefs 5/4/22

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Minami Nanami Wants to Shine, Vol. 1 | By Bana Yoshida and Yuki Yaku | Yen Press – For most of the volume, this feels like a typical side-story spin-off from Bottom-Tier Character Tomozaki, focusing on perpetual second-best Minami, and her frustration with being the perpetual second-best. The plot involves her mother, who works at a modeling agency, suggesting that her daughter model for them. Minami is a bit taken aback by this, partly as I don’t think she really sees herself as pretty, but also because it’s not anything she had thought about before. The surprise comes when she chooses NOT to run against Aoi for student council—as in the books—and goes for the modeling instead. Will she succeed? Will she start to like herself? Can’t wait to find out. – Sean Gaffney

My Love Mix-Up! Vol. 3 | By Wataru Hinekure and Aruko | Viz Media – This series has settled into a groove of being a heartwarming romantic farce and I am here for it. Aoki and Hashimoto deal with a survival-style ski instructor on a school trip and manage to get a little closer to their respective crushes. Aoki in particular manages to experience the heights of romantic hope and crushing despair as he pursues the perpetually stoic yet still sympathetic Ida. The illustrations easily capture Aoki’s ugly crying, joy, and the time when he feels so depressed he metaphorically turns into a slime. Highly recommended for anyone enjoying romance hijinks. – Anna N

New Game!, Vol. 12 | By Shotaro Tokuno | Seven Seas – This is the penultimate volume, and you know what that means: it means we’re going out with some drama. The team finds out that their game has lost its funding and they need to either find a new company to bankroll them or give up entirely. The obvious answer is Catherine’s company, even if that means groveling a bit. But the carrot comes with a stick, and this means that, once AGAIN, Aoba will not be the lead character designer. As this is about the third time this has happened, I suspect the final volume is probably going to have her questioning her ongoing life choices—she’s a perpetual “not good enough” designer. With all this drama, will we ever find out if Kou and Rin are a canon couple? – Sean Gaffney

Skip Beat!, Vol. 46 | By Yoshiki Nakamura | Viz Media – Skip Beat! is still nowhere near finished, and so the fact that Ren has confessed to Kyoko does not mean that things are wrapping up in a neat bow. Kyoko is stressed about anyone loving her—still—and also has not told him that she is Bo—still. Fortunately, the author knows the other reason that we’re reading this, which is the acting, and the next volume promises to focus more on that. Unfortunately, there are still many parts of Ren’s past that have yet to come to light, and they also promise to show up in the next volume. With all this going on, can Kyoko still find time to go on a date to an amusement park with her real true love, Moko? This was shorter than most volumes, but still worth the wait. – Sean Gaffney

Snow White with the Red Hair, Vol. 18 | By Sorata Akiduki | Viz Media – It’s really a rare shoujo series that makes me wonder “OK, maybe they *are* going for a threesome ending?”, but Snow White with the Red Hair comes close. The romance between Zen and Shirayuki gets some more focus here, as they get to reunite in a big romantic scene. That said, Obi is not only intertwined damn near permanently with Shirayuki, but also with Zen, and it doesn’t help that the end of this volume has the author teasing about the two of them sleeping in the same bed. This series has a whole lot of Teasing Creator to it when it comes to the romance, and while I doubt Obi will be an official partner with Shirayuki—or indeed Zen—he’s still one of the best reasons to read this. – Sean Gaffney

Spy x Family, Vol. 7 | By Tatsuya Endo | Viz Media – I feel like a bit of a bad fan for saying this, but I will admit that I love Spy x Family better when it’s focusing on the antics of Loid and Yor than when it’s Anya’s Adventures at the Academy, and that’s what the majority of this volume is. That said, it does give some much-needed depth to Damian (and also a cover shot), as we see how much his insecurities stem from a desperate need to please and be noticed by his uncaring father. Elsewhere, Bond helps Loid to survive a mission, and we see that Yuri, while dedicated to stamping out subversives, is not without a heart. Most importantly, we kick off the next arc, at last focusing on Yor, who must protect rather than kill. Keep reading this great and extremely popular series. – Sean Gaffney

The Walking Cat: A Cat’s Eye View of the Apocalypse | By Tomo Kitaoka | Seven Seas – Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: a virus ravages humanity, turning millions of people into zombies and leaving small, scrappy bands of survivors to fend for themselves. That’s the basic premise of The Walking Cat: A Cat’s Eye View of the Apocalypse, a middling horror story by newcomer Tomo Hideoka. The idea of depicting a zombie plague from an animal’s perspective sounds promising, but in practice, Yuki feels more like a gimmick than a thoughtful vehicle for exploring how a human pandemic might effect other species. Yuki is barely a character; he functions mostly as a plot device, providing continuity between the series’ three main storylines and chasing the occasional butterfly. The humans aren’t very compelling either, as their stories are too rushed—and cliché—for the reader to feel much investment in their fate. Personally, I’m rooting for the zombies. – Katherine Dacey

Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear, Vol. 10

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By Kumanano and 029. Released in Japan by PASH! Books. Released in North America by Seven Seas. Translated by Jan Cash & Vincent Castaneda. Adapted by M.B. Hare.

This is a lighter volume of Kuma Bear, despite the threat of the destruction of an ancient sacred tree. You know Yuna’s got this, though the fight is difficult enough that she has to switch from black bear onesie to white bear onesie, and she ends up fairly exhausted. Speaking of that switch… Kuma Bear is, I think, mostly written for a male audience, but I also think we’re supposed to go “aww” at the antics more than “Cor!”. Yuna has to strip to change her costume, and there’s a shot of her in her underwear. But it’s not particularly sexy, and the narrative is far more concerned with Yuna’s childish bear panties and her reaction to anyone who finds out about them. Yuna has an image that she wants to keep up of her as a cool lone wolf (or rather lone bear) sort, but it’s constantly undone by the reality of her being the big sister to 11 million kids and also having older than she looks issues. Is embarrassment fanservice?

Arriving at the elf village allows the author to bring out a whole mess of fantasy novel elf tropes to make fun of, from their supposed perfect hidden tracking skills (which Yuna spots immediately) to the fact that even “grandfather” looks, at most, about 40 years old. The barrier nis weakening, however, and it turns out the problem is that the elves’ sacred tree has been infested by a parasite, who is slowly killing it and weakening said barrier. So it’s up to the elves to fix things… along with Yuna, who can enter the protective ward that no one but elves can, because, you know, OP bear. There’s also other dangerous monsters to fight, some of which might actually kill off an elf or two… but probably not, as this is not one of the dark Kuma Bear books. The worst we’ll see is Yuna worrying about her secrets.

Yuna has, for the most part, remained quiet on her origins and the basis of her awesome powers, not even telling Fina, the one person she’s closest to. I had wondered briefly if she might open up a bit to the elves here, given that they sign a contract that tortures them with unstoppable laughter if they reveal her secret, but no, it turns out she’s just telling them about her bear gates so she can set one up here, and her bear phone so that the village can communicate with Sanya and Yuna when they want to. It doesn’t feel like she’s revealing much here, but I get it. Yuna hates making ties with other people, but does it anyway, and she also hates it when people praise her because she doesn’t think of any of it as HER. The Bear Suit is the OP heroine. She’s just the girl inside it. Which is an interesting psychological trauma to dig into, but I doubt we’re going there soon.

If you read Kuma Bear, you’ll enjoy this. If you don’t, we;ll, cute but OP bear girl slice-of-life again.

Saint? No! I’m Just a Passing Beast Tamer!: The Invincible Saint and the Quest for Fluff, Vol. 2

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By Inumajin and Falmaro. Released in Japan as “Seijo-sama? Iie, Toorisugari no Mamono Tsukai desu! – Zettai Muteki no Seijo wa Mofumofu to Tabi wo suru” by Kadokawa Books. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Meteora.

As with the last volume, the main thing you notice about this book is that it’s a comedy. That said,, things are actually pretty dark when Kanata’s not on the scene. The church is evil and is taking the money for themselves. The church is also brainwashing local ogres into having their minions attack small villages. Bitter blacksmiths are tricking their rival’s daughter into paying fake debt. And yet… when Kanata IS on the page, everyone turns into the broadest comedy. The hypercompetent adventurer Melissa turns into the ultimate whiny office lady. The evil Saint causing all this is far more annoyed that Kanata doesn’t even bother to see her as an enemy. And the massive wolf-spirit imprisoned by the Church finds that he can get far more laughs if he’s a cute puffball. The key to Kanata saving the world is not her ludicrous power to do anything, or her vague kindness that mostly revolves around fluff. It’s that she’s funny.

We pick up where we left off, with Kanata and her demon lord turned pussycat companion Zaggy trying to track down more fluff for Kanata to pet. They run into a small dog puffball, who Kanata nicknames Fen-Fen, who is of course the aforementioned Wolf Spirit. He’s spent decades waiting for the Saint that he’s supposed to dedicate himself to, only to be locked up by Marianne, the girl who actually does have the Saint title but has none of the Saint morality. She’s actually being led by the goddess we saw last time, who has one piece of advice for her: if you see Kanata, run away. Sadly, Marianne does not take this advice, and now has to deal with a girl who will get more fluff By Any Means Necessary, even if it means doing endless amounts of tiny, cheap good deeds.

The joke about Kanata, of course, is that she *is* the Saint, but accidentally. She’s not particularly saving lives, helping find lost pets, or taking down the evil church that’s controlling everything because it’s the right thing to do. Indeed, you could argue that she doesn’t notice what she’s doing at all. She does it because it will get her fluff. Hell, the evil Saint, Marianne, is seemingly killed by her patron goddess, only for Kanata to resurrect her… because her hair is a 10 points on the fluffy scale. No other reason. We do occasionally see flashes of her actually comprehending what’s going on… in the side story she clearly sees the cheating going on and decides to help by having Zaggy cheat on the other side… But for the most part, she’s not good or bad. She’s fluff. And since no one in this world knows what that means, it becomes an all-purpose thing to strive for, be it strength, good deeds, whatever. Fluff is what you want it to be.

Of course, Kanata wants it to be fluff she can snuggle. She may have to wait a bit, the third volume is not out in Japan yet. Till then, this is silly but… no, it’s just silly.

Pick of the Week: Witchy Picks

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MICHELLE: Because I have enjoyed two previous series by Rei Toma, and specifically because Anna said it’s “a bit too sad,” now I’m really interested in getting caught up on The King’s Beast, so I’ll make that my pick this week.

KATE: Against my better judgment, I’m picking Daisuke Igarashi’s Witches, an anthology of “tales of witches and dark magic set around the globe and in outer space.” Don’t get me wrong: I love Igarashi’s artwork–it’s gorgeous!–but he can’t end a series worth a damn. Here’s hoping that his storytelling skills are better suited to the short story format.

ANNA: I’m going to go with Changes of Heart (Honnou Switch). I’m always up for new josei, and this looks interesting.

SEAN: I’m going to pick the debut of Kubo Won’t Let Me Be Invisible, which combines the genres of “girl teases the guy she likes” and “girl makes introvert dudebro have actual social skills”, so sort of Takagi Meets Tomozaki.

ASH: The release I’m most looking forward to this week is undoubtedly Witches. Along with Kate, I’m confident that the illustrations should be magnificent, if nothing else. Daisuke Igarashi’s Children of the Sea started out so strongly, and parts of that series have stuck with me, so I’m curious to see what this collection will have to offer.

Can Someone Please Explain What’s Going On?! ~The Contract Couple’s Happily Ever After~, Vol. 9

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By Tsuredurebana and Rin Hagiwara. Released in Japan as “Dareka Kono Joukyou wo Setsumei Shite Kudasai! ~Keiyaku Kara Hajimaru Wedding~” by ArianRose. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Tara Quinn.

And so we finally get to the end of this series, with six main volumes and three After Story volumes. This is the last of the After Stories and has the least amount happening, as there’s not even a crisis to solve this time, like the mystery from the previous book. This volume has two main plotlines: 1) finish telling Lettie the story of how she was born, which this time does actually involve her birth, and 2) celebrate the kingdom’s founding day, which sounds remarkably like Christmas but is done at the height of cherry blossom season. Mostly what this volume shows off is how comfortable and happy everyone is now, and that all of the conflict and drama from earlier books has been dealt with. The only remaining issue is Viola’s constant self-image issues, which I know the author thinks of as a cute running gag but never fails to irritate me – and everyone else in the household too, judging by their reaction to her worry that Lettie will inherit her looks.

As noted, the first half of the book shows the days leading up to Viola giving birth and the weeks after it. This includes some false labor brought on by insisting on weeding while nearly due to give birth, and also a relatively quick and easy labor – much to Viola’s surprise, as from her perspective she thought it took forever. Lettie is surrounded by adoring family and servants, so the question is how is she not going to grow up spoiled, really. Viola will help there, I expect. The second chunk of the book has the mansion preparing for Flur Day, the aforementioned Christmas equivalent. A strong windstorm may put paid to some of the festivities, but otherwise there’s a relative lack of anything going on here – the main drama stems from everyone trying to get out of hearing the King’s speech again so that they can get to the truly important thing a week later – Lettie’s first birthday.

There is still the occasional reminder that there is ever present danger in this world – Viola is given a number of mazes to memorize and complete, and only after she’s done so does she realize that they’re a layout of the mansion and the royal palace, complete with secret passages and hidey-holes, if she ever needs to escape like she has in previous books. But for the most part this is a victory lap, and it even ends the way a lot of these books do – with Viola discovering she is pregnant with her second child. As I’ve noted before, this continues to be a surprise to me as Viola has not, through all nine volumes, ever really shown any sexual desire towards her husband. Even when given an obvious opportunity, such as coming in to “get warm” after a nighttime cherry blossom viewing, all they do is have cocoa. It’s very pure.

So yes, this book is also a bit boring, but I’ll take that over the classist nonsense some of the main series did. In the end, this was a flawed but fun series, and I really hope one day it hits Viola that she’s gorgeous.

In the Land of Leadale, Vol. 5

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By Ceez and Tenmaso. Released in Japan as “Leadale no Daichi nite” by Famitsu Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Jessica Lange.

We’ve introduced most of the main cast at this point, but there’s one other major player (and indeed Major Player) whose absence from this has felt like a plot point: Opus, Cayna’s rival and partner in crime. She knows he’s there, as the presence of L’il Fairy has demonstrated, but he has not really shown up in front of her and we haven’t gotten a good sense of his character. Well, despite the fact that he only appears in the last few pages of this volume, we have a much better idea now. He’s a troll. A massive troll. And while Cayna, who is also incredibly eccentric in her own right, proved to be OK with that when she was helping him do the trolling, being on the receiving end of it for once pushes her to a righteous fury we haven’t really seen from her that much. For all that Cayna tends to use fists to solve arguments, she’s a relatively mellow person. Well, OK, she’s not. But her own “persona” pretends she is.

Cayna is still going around being a force of nature, but she can’t be everywhere, particularly if something needs to be solved the hard way rather than the Cayna way. So Exis and Quolkeh team up with another ex-player to take on a massive Guardian Tower that is a mobile turtle… heading for the royal palace. (This is solved by a typical Japanese quiz game.) As for Cayna, she suddenly finds that L’il Fairy needs a name, So she goes with Kuu, because it sounds like Kee, because Cayna is still pretty childish most of the time. She then goes on to do what she does best: There Is No Kill Like Overkill, as she takes on a huge pile of monsters led by a goblin master who is somewhat stunned to see how easily she carves them up. She then takes Cloffe and Clofia (remember them? The anime cut them?) on a dungeon crawl to find Opus. A very annoying dungeon crawl.

Since our last review the anime ran, and it seems to be a case where fans of the light novels enjoyed it (despite the cuts) but those who had not read the books were deeply turned off by Cayna’s temper and the series’ lack of a plot. To be honest, they’re good points. The author really enjoys showing Cayna lose it and hit people with her fists or big-ass weapons, usually whether they deserve it or not. Fortunately, in this case, Opus definitely does deserve it. As for the lack of anything happening… that’s true as well. This is at heart a slow life series, it’s just Cayna doesn’t run a drugstore or a library, she goes around trying to discover the secrets of this post-game world. It’s a hard vibe to get into, and I don’t think the anime got far along enough to show it off.

Still, this volume is pleasant enough, and thankfully had less of the body horror of Book 4. Now that Opus is here, will he help shed some light on things? Or will he just be a dick? We’ll find out soon.