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Sean Gaffney

Manga the Week of 6/1/22

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SEAN: The beginning of June! (Or, OK, the end of May if you go by most of these release dates.) What do we get?

Airship has new volumes. Berserk of Gluttony 6 and The Most Heretical Last Boss Queen: From Villainess to Savior 2.

And digitally we see early releases for Failure Frame: I Became the Strongest and Annihilated Everything With Low-Level Spells 4 and A Tale of the Secret Saint 3.

Cross Infinite World has another one-shot, Rapunzel of the Magic Item Shop (Mahou Douguten no Rapunzel), a one-shot shoujo light novel. A young sorcerer finds herself locked up for ten years simply for knowing magic. She’s rescued and brought to a household where she ends up treated with respect… but there’s also lots of secrets.

ASH: One-shot shoujo light novel, you say?

SEAN: Dark Horse has Blade of the Immortal Deluxe Edition 6.

ASH: Steadily upgrading my collection of this series to this new edition. The tomes are massive, but they look great.

SEAN: It is often difficult to put Denpa titles on here, as their website frequently updates release dates after the fact, and Amazon… well, Amazon is usually wrong. That said, it certainly looks like we get Baby Bear’s Bakery (Koguma no Keiki-ya-san) next week. This Monthly Shōnen Sunday title is about a baby bear who’s a terrific baker but not good at other things, like running a business.

ANNA: Ok, I’m curious about this.

ASH: It looks genuinely delightful.

SEAN: From Ghost Ship, we have the debut of I’m Not a Succubus! (Succubus ja nai mon!), which runs in Young Unreal Jingai, a magazine I have absolutely never heard of. A girl is attending a monster girl academy, but she’s not one… that is, until she pretends to be a succubus! Unfortunately, she forgot this is not only a Ghost Ship title but also a yuri title!

ASH: Oh, myyyyyy!

SEAN: They also have JK Haru is a Sex Worker in Another World 3 and Sundome!! Milky Way 4.

J-Novel Club has a new debut, VTuber Legend: How I Went Viral After Forgetting to Turn Off My Stream (VTuber Nandaga Haishin Kiri Wasuretara Densetsu ni Natteta). As with a lot of LNs these days, the title is the plot.

They also debut a new manga, Doll-Kara. This series from Manga Life Win has an MMA fighter, imprisoned for years, finally getting out… and getting hit by a truck. He wakes in the body of a comatose schoolgirl. What happens next? If you guessed “MMA”, you’re probably right.

ASH: The mention of MMA definitely caught my attention.

SEAN: We also get the manga debuts of two light novel series from J-NC. Fushi no Kami: Rebuilding Civilization Starts With a Village (Fushi no Kami ~Henkyou kara Hajimeru Bunmei Saiseiki~) runs in Overlap’s Comic Gardo, and Housekeeping Mage from Another World: Making Your Adventures Feel Like Home! (Kasei Madoushi no Isekai Seikatsu: Boukenchuu no Kasei Fugyou Uketamawarimasu!) is in Comic Zero-Sum.

ASH: Housekeeping Mage from Another World seems like it could be fun!

SEAN: Also from J-Novel Club: Der Werwolf: The Annals of Veight -Origins- 7, The Great Cleric 8, The Greatest Magicmaster’s Retirement Plan 13, I Shall Survive Using Potions!’s 9th manga volume, Magic Knight of the Old Ways 2, Monster Tamer 9, My Instant Death Ability is So Overpowered, No One in This Other World Stands a Chance Against Me! —AΩ— 4 (manga), Reincarnated as the Piggy Duke: This Time I’m Gonna Tell Her How I Feel! 6, and Seirei Gensouki: Spirit Chronicles 19.

MICHELLE: I sometimes feel bad that none of this stuff interests me, but that’s the way of things.

ANNA: I’m amazed by the word salad sometimes.

SEAN: No print for Kodansha. Their digital debut is The Rokudo Rounds (Rokudou Tousou-ki), a post-apocalyptic tragedy that runs in good! Afternoon.

Also digital: Anyway, I’m Falling in Love with You 3, Falling Drowning 2, My Pink Is Overflowing 6 (the final volume, I assume she finally called the plumber), Quality Assurance in Another World 5, and Those Snow White Notes 9.

MICHELLE: Both Anyway, I’m Falling in Love with You and Falling Drowning were pretty good, so I am looking forward to continuing with them. Also, snerk re: plumber.

ASH: Indeed!

SEAN: Seven Seas debuts The Duke of Death and His Maid (Shinigami Bocchan to Kuro Maid), which runs in the awkwardly titled Sunday Web Every. A boy is cursed to kill anyone he touches, so lives alone in his mansion with only his attractive childhood friend (who is also his maid) as companion. This sounds like Pushing Daisies, honestly. It also got an anime.

ASH: I mean, I did like Pushing Daisies…

SEAN: Also from Seven Seas: Hitomi-chan Is Shy with Strangers 4, Machimaho: I Messed Up and Made the Wrong Person Into a Magical Girl! 10, MARS RED 3 (the final volume), Monster Guild: The Dark Lord’s (No-Good) Comeback! 3, The NPCs in this Village Sim Game Must Be Real! 3, Servamp 16, Slow Life In Another World (I Wish!) 3, Succubus and Hitman 2, Syrup: A Yuri Anthology 4, and Uzaki-chan Wants to Hang Out! 7.

Udon Entertainment has a big release: the first three volumes of Summertime Rendering (Summer Time Render). This Shonen Jump + series has an anime currently running, and starts with a young man at the funeral of his foster father hearing that it may have been a murder. This has big time fans.

MICHELLE: Potentially interesting.

ANNA: Hmmmmm.

ASH: Count me curious.

SEAN: Yen On has The Irregular at Magic High School 19.

Two debuts for Yen Press. The Holy Grail of Eris (Eris no Seihai) is the manga version of the light novel Yen released a few weeks ago. It runs in Manga Up!.

Also from Manga Up! is Re:ZERO -Starting Life in Another World-, The Frozen Bond (Re:Zero Kara Hajimeru Isekai Seikatsu: Hyouketsu no Kizuna). This adapts the anime-original OAV story about Emilia.

Yen also has The Abandoned Empress 2, Black Butler 31, The Hero Is Overpowered But Overly Cautious 4, I’m the Catlords’ Manservant 3, Magia Record: Puella Magi Madoka Magica Side Story 4, Reign of the Seven Spellblades 3, So I’m a Spider, So What? The Daily Lives of the Kumoko Sisters 3, and Yowamushi Pedal 20.

MICHELLE: Black Butler is another series that I forget is still going. I need to catch up on YowaPeda!

ANNA: Got to order YowaPeda, my kids like it.

ASH: I’ve really been enjoying Yowamushi Pedal. And somehow also didn’t realize Black Butler was still ongoing.

SEAN: Manga! Light novels! So much! You? Buy?

Adachi and Shimamura, Vol. 9

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By Hitoma Iruma and Non. Released in Japan by Dengeki Bunko. Released in North America by Seven Seas. Translated by Molly Lee.

The self-improvement of Shimamura continues in this volume, following up from the last one. We see Shimamura reflecting on her past self and her tendency to deliberately forget about everyone around her, o the point where it’s an active choice. But now she has Adachi in her life and as her girlfriend. The trouble is, as Adachi points out to her here, she’s very hard to read. Shimamura tends to have one mode, which is “whatever”, and when you are a stressed and insecure young lesbian like Adachi, that just makes you think that the relationship is entirely one-sided. And credit to Shimamura, she really tries hard here, even using the word love to show Adachi how serious she is. Admittedly their relationship has not really progressed beyond holding hands, but given the two participants and their emotional ages that’s not only unsurprising but likely a good thing. I hope future books will show us Adachi’s self-improvement as well. As for Yashiro… she is perpetually the same.

After Shimamura tells a curious Yashiro about her junior high years of rebellion (which consisted of skipping class and not much else), we get the meat of the first half of the book, which is telling us a bit about Hino and Nagafuji’s childhood. This comes up because Hino’s father, who is not the best at communicating, tells her she isn’t important to the family legacy. Hino, who is thirteen in this flashback, does not really take this well (though, as is fairly typical with this author’s works, a lot of the emotional turmoil is left for the reader to fill in themselves) and decides to run away from home. After getting permission. And also taking her maid. And Nagafuji. The second half of the book is Christmas, and shows us an adorable date between our lead couple, Adachi breaking out the Chinese-style dress again, and Christmas dinner at the Shimamuras with a surprise guest, which may carry over into the next book.

This is the final volume with illustrations by Non, who I believe had been ill, and the illustrations are mostly ones used from other promotional materials – there are no interior ones. Which is a shame, but also allows us to see the pasts of most of the main cast without having to see them attempted as “3 years younger”. The Hino and Nagafuji stuff was good, though Hino’s narration works far better (and is far longer) than Nagafuji’s. It’s also implied that her parents have a marriage of convenience and that her mother and head maid are childhood friends with benefits. It’s heavily implied this is what Hino could have with Nagafuji too, though the idea of Nagafuji as a maid is horrifying. The other interesting part of the book is the relationship between the two moms. Mrs. Adachi reads very much like her daughter only cynical and bitter, and Shimamura likewise has her daughter’s “well, whatever” mood only extroverted to the nth degree. It’s kind of fun.

This wasn’t terrific, but is at least solid, even if it read a bit like a short story collection at times. The best parts were Shimamura’s forwardness. We’ll see if she can keep that up.

Bookshelf Briefs 5/25/22

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In which Sean solos yet again.

HIRAETH -The End of the Journey-, Vol. 1 | By Yuhki Kamatani | Kodansha Manga (digital only) – This does not end up being quite as depressing as the warning at the start might indicate, but the warning is appreciated, as this book starts with a young woman trying to kill herself, and her suicidal thoughts are present throughout the volume. She meets a god who is dying, and is taking a tour of Japan (and being a bit of a brat about it), as well as a man who CAN’T die, and on their journey we get a lot of different perspectives. That said, as always with this author, if you’re only here to look at the lush, gorgeous art, you will not be disappointed either—even the panel composition is amazing. It’s absolutely not for everyone, but if you liked Our Dreams at Dusk this is a must-read. – Sean Gaffney

The 100 Girlfriends Who Really, Really, Really, Really, REALLY Love You, Vol. 2 | By Rikito Nakamura and Yukiko Nozawa | Ghost Ship We add two more girls in this volume, and really the impressive thing about it is not how he keeps managing to convince each girl to go along with this, but the fact that they really do almost all get along. Hell, some of them may get along a little too well—if for some reason he can’t actually marry 100 girls, and they don’t all die, Hakari and Karane may be able to make things work. As for the new girlfriends, we have the stoic and intellectual one, and the mad scientist who mostly looks like a child one, which is hilarious even if it toes the line of offensiveness. That said, that’s one nasty cliffhanger. – Sean Gaffney

My Next Life As a Villainess Side Story: Girls Patch | By Various Artists | Seven Seas – This anthology asks the question: don’t you wish Bakarina was a yuri series? (There was an equivalent for the guys, but don’t expect Seven Seas to license that anytime soon.) A lot of the Western audience for the series was more into Mary, Sophia and Maria than any of the actual love interests—and indeed have abandoned the series for the most part after realizing it’s veering too het. That said, while this doesn’t have any weddings or alternate universes where Katarina suddenly gets it, it has lots of sweet scenes between the quartet, as well as a brief one with Anne, which is not really shown as romantic so it’s fine. It’s an anthology, so variable, but is mostly perfectly pleasant. – Sean Gaffney

Run on Your New Legs, Vol. 1 | By Wataru Midori| Yen Press – For the most part this is a very good story about a former star athlete who lost a leg finding that he can still compete with the help of prosthetics, even if it’s not soccer (his former sport). That said, I could not help but spend much of the first half of this book feeling a bit creeped out by the way he was sort of stalked and manipulated by the guy who is designing said prosthetics, who turns out to basically be a start-up trying to drum up work. Consent is given, but it doesn’t feel earned, if you know what I mean. Other than that, this is a strong sports manga with lots of past trauma to overcome, a guy who is being forced to reopen his world to other people, and some nifty art. – Sean Gaffney

Teasing Master Takagi-san, Vol. 14 | By Soichiro Yamamoto | Yen Press – The question on my mind as I read this volume of Takagi-san is essentially: what is the difference between this and a normal couple who go on dates? Honestly, the answer may actually be “normal couples aren’t together quite as much as these two.” Here we see Nishikata challenging Takagi to guess the number of steps to a shrine, not realizing the shrine is a famous couples’ shrine, so everyone but him knows already. They eat lunch together, and she offers to feed him. They coincidentally do a New Year’s shrine visit together. And, in the best chapter, we see Takagi, briefly jealous after Nishikata helps another girl, actually picking on him. She does apologize. He can’t see the difference. – Sean Gaffney

Suppose a Kid from the Last Dungeon Boonies Moved to a Starter Town, Vol. 9

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By Toshio Satou and Nao Watanuki. Released in Japan as “Tatoeba Last Dungeon Mae no Mura no Shonen ga Joban no Machi de Kurasu Youna Monogatari” by GA Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Andrew Cunningham.

Last time I mentioned that the series had an actual plot in among all the comedy, and we still see some of that here as well. But its never going to get in the way of the comedy itself, and honestly is likely never going to be the main part of the book unless the series finally comes to an end. As for the actual plot of this book… why, it’s a school festival with a maid cafe, of course. Honestly, I feel that a lot of these books can be summed up by the author flicking through TV channels, landing on some random anime, going “A ha, that’s it!” and moving back to the computer. The fact that the book even tries to justify it only makes it funnier. Add to this a master thief who has reckoned without our dumbass heroes and a king who can’t convince anyone he’s been kidnapped, and there’s no worries on the laugh front.

So yes, a maid cafe. Well, theoretically a maid/butler cafe, but the butler uniforms are stolen for no real reason other than to stick Lloyd and Allan in maid outfits. The idea is mostly Riho’s, thinking she can get some cash for once (which is true, but don’t expect it to stick). The king, meanwhile, wants to put out a huge statue that supposedly grants good fortune to couples who stand next to it. There’s just one problem: the statue’s creator really really does not want it to be shown off, and will happily steal the whole thing to prevent that happening. Oh yes, and there’s a master thief around, though whether he is connected to the missing statue is neither here nor there. What this all amounts to is a lot of school festival schtick and a lot of Lloyd going on not-dates with his two most aggressive girls.

In the two volumes before this, we saw Lloyd get actual character development that stuck, as he has started to realize, if not that he is stronger than everyone else in the world, art least that he IS strong. What’s more, he’s finally showing off that strength in front of people who are NOT the main cast, which means that credit for saving the day, for once, does not go to Allan. Who, frankly, has enough to deal with, given his wife ends up returning and working for the military. Lloyd, meanwhile, is starting to think about his future, not realizing that everyone else already has it planned out for him: military PR, military intelligence, military security, or hell, just marry into royalty. (Marie’s not in the book much at all, but still tends to be top girl by default whenever she’s around, and at least the King now knows who she’s crushing on.)

This is deeply sill, but in a good way, and I look forward to the plot of the next book, which will no doubt be inspired by a refrigerator magnet the author saw the other day.

Baccano!: 1935-B Dr. Feelgreed

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By Ryohgo Narita and Katsumi Enami. Released in Japan by Dengeki Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Taylor Engel.

One of the main themes in Baccano!, and indeed in most of Narita’s work, is that everyone is connected to everyone else, and the connections can be closer than we think. The 1935 arc seems to be this writ large, as we get a lot of reunions of various characters and other characters thinking “wait, they know each other?”. Even the new connections are things I would not have expected. Melvi may have hired Claire to be his bodyguard, but it’s clear there’s no love lost between the two. After meeting Chane’s father last volume, Claire ends up meeting her mother in this book, though I’m not sure that meeting will go quite as well, given Renee is broken and also evil. Mostly, though, these two books take one of the most minor villains from the earliest parts of the series, gives him a backstory and real character development, and then pairs him off with the closest the series has to an innocent sweetie pie. The connections are startling, but they work.

If you thought we were going to get a lot of casino shenanigans in this book, I’m sorry to say we’re still in the ‘set up the dominoes’ part. Melvi is making his presence known everywhere, and no one likes him, including the reader. (Then again, Baccano! fans do love the bad guys…) He’s clearly not got the Runorata Family’s agenda in mind so much as his own, and his own agenda definitely involves making Firo miserable. Meanwhile, in the doctor’s clinic (which is staffed by, among others, Fermet, who I would not trust to give me a sugar pill), the other half of the cast gathers together. This includes Nader, who is still trying to deal with being dragged back into chaos; Roy, who has cleaned up after the events of Book 4; and Isaac and Miria, dressed up as doctors and nurses, because they can. Add Ladd and Graham, Victor’s boys, and so many Lamia we can’t even be bothered to name them, and you have the usual ruckus.

I’ve talked about this before, and it’s even more annoying that it’s happening again; Ennis deserves more than to just be a damsel to make Firo do things. She’s not even *in* this book and she gets kidnapped; it’s really irritating given how much ass she’s kicked in the past. Chane wasn’t in this volume either, so there is a bit of a macho streak to it, to be honest. We do get to see Claire be Claire again, after a long break where he’s barely appeared. That said, he works best in small doses. As does Renee, though I fear we may get more of her than I’d like. Just because she has Felix the Cat drawn on her artificial eye does not make her more likeable, especially when she keeps talking about Huey giving her one of their daughters, presumably for science. Oh yes, worst of all, you can’t just tease the Dormentaire ship and not have Lucrezia turn up! That’s just mean!

In any case, I suspect the next 1935 book will have the chaos actually begin. That said… we have one more detour to make, to the last of the “written for the DVD releases” stories expanded into a novel. It dares to ask the question: can we really add even more to that freaking train journey than we already have?

Pick of the Week: Lose Yourself in London

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SEAN: The me that knows I should be interested in worthy, intellectual manga that’s won awards knows that I should be picking Lost Lad London, even as the me that also loves reading complete and utter trash gravitates towards the second volume of Loner Life in Another World.

MICHELLE: Real mystery manga is in pretty short supply, so I am fairly enthusiastic about trying Lost Lad London. The chaotic fluff seemingly offered by Phantom of the Idol deserves an honorable mention, as well.

KATE: After getting burned last week by Crazy Food Truck (seriously, Food Truck is Manga Hall of Shame Material), I’m going to listen to my inner manga critic and choose something more high-minded: Lost Lad London.

ASH: Lost Lad London is one of my top picks this week, too. But I’m also very curious about Let’s Go Karaoke! and am happy to finally see the publication of the collector’s edition of A Silent Voice after it was delayed. It should be an excellent release of an excellent series.

ANNA: I’m not going to deny it, I’ve been swept away by the excitement for Lost Lad London, so that’s my pick as well.

No Game No Life, Vol. 11

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By Yuu Kamiya. Released in Japan by MF Bunko J. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Richard Tobin.

The general rule of thumb when reading a volume of No Game No Life is to ignore anything that is not directly related to the plot or character development. and yes, this means you are ignoring about 85% of each book. This volume in particular is filled with pointless fanservice, cringey cliches, and more situations and art that remind you why this series got Amazon banned (though, again, this new volume is still there). When you get past all that, you’re essentially left with two things. First of all, the fact that [ ] actually lose for the first time in the series… and they’re not too sure how it happened yet. The result, though, is near catastrophic, though I guess it’s very good news if you’re Chlammy. The second thing is that Sora and Shiro, adopted siblings, are forced to confront their feelings for each other for real… and Shiro especially is almost broken by them. This is a rare reminder that she’s still eleven years old. And while there’s a reset at the end, I think both of them have moved forward a bit.

We open with Sora, Shiro, Steph, Jibril and Emir-Eins waking up to find they’re now trapped in a death game, to Sora’s horror. He hates the very idea of death games, and knows that the only reason that he and the others would ever have agreed to it is if [ ] had lost. Their host is Foeniculum a fairy who is streaming all of this on the fairy version of YouTube. The five of them are in a room where there’s an exit door… but only those who say they’re a couple can go through it. Needless to say, everyone is horrified at this… especially as there’s five of them, so someone will lose. Also, four of them are women. You can buy a key to get out… but the price is exorbitant, and depends entirely on getting donations from viewers. As a result… Sora and company need to be interesting enough to make money!

A lot of this, especially in the first half, is pure stupidity, with the usual antics. Sora has low self-esteem, Steph whines, Jibril and Emir-Eins fight, etc. Things change once the fairy viewers force Sora to tell Shiro that he finds her attractive… something Shiro, theoretically, has been waiting eleven books to hear. But theory and practice are two different things, and it turns out Sora seeing her sexually terrifies her… and indeed Sora, after being released from the fairy geas, is appalled he said it as well. The incest subtext has always been uncomfortable in this series, and it’s shoved in our faces here, but the outcome in the end is good; Shiro doesn’t really need Sora as a lover or a boyfriend, she just needs Sora there next to her all the time. As for [ ] losing, we’re still not sure how it happened either, but it’s setting up for a big battle against the elves next time.

I didn’t mention Steph, but her role is the same as always: be degraded and humiliated 95% of the book, then remind the cast she’s the emotional heart of the story, and far more sensible than any of them. NGNL fans will definitely have a ball with this. Hope we don’t wait so long for the 12th book.

86 –Eighty-Six–, Vol. 10: Fragmental Neoteny

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By Asato Asato and Shirabii. Released in Japan by Dengeki Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Roman Lempert.

First of all: yes, it’s a short story collection. And, for the most part, it’s entirely about Shin, so if you’re looking for the others, well, you’ll only get them as we get closer to the end of the book. These stories are meant to fill in a bit of the gap between Shin being sent off t war and where we joined his story in the first volume. Now, I know what you’re thinking. “Isn’t this just an excuse to write a bunch of grimdark stuff where people are nice to Shin and then die horribly?” And hey, that’s just rude. There are also people that are mean and nasty to Shin who die horribly. That said, I was pleased that not EVERY story in this volume ended with the entire cast dead except for Shin… but most of them do. That said, it’s an excellent look into Shin’s mind, and into how he got to be the person he is today, even though everything but the final story and a few interludes takes place just after the events of the first volume.

The stories show us a freshly recruited Shin, already going far too hard into everything he can, being worried after by his commanding officer Alice; Shin being used as a scapegoat to attract the hatred of the rest of the unit so that it doesn’t spread to others; Shin getting the help of the mechanics to save a scavenger he found that seems to have a mind of its own; Shin discussing the nature of the afterlife with his comrades, as well as coming up with the handle of Undertaker; The Spearhead Squadron’s daily life just before they got Lena as their handler; and Shin, Raiden, Theo, Kurena and Anju marching off to their deaths, only to find that there is still life worth living out there, however dangerous and difficult.

I’ve left out two stories which are the best of this group. The story of Fido, told in several parts, is deeply heartwarming and tearjerking at the same time, and also gives us a much closer look at shin’s family before everything went to hell. Fido’s backstory is a revelation that will put a smile on most people’s faces, I think. The other interesting story is the final one, which appears to be a shared dream between Annette and Shin showing us what life would have been like if they really had managed to find unmanned units to fight the war for the Republic, and Shin and the others could have a normal life. It’s deeply bittersweet, and requires remembering what everyone looks like to get the most out of it (the main cast appears, but dream Shin doesn’t know who they re, so we only see their description), but it also shows us a Shin who regrets a lot of things but is ready to move forward. It’s a Shin prepared for the end of the series, which the author assures us is coming soon.

to sum up: this is how you do a short story volume. We get a lot more about Shin here, some backstory that wouldn’t really fit elsewhere, and yes, a lot of dead people. Come on, it’s still 86.

My Daughter Left the Nest and Returned an S-Rank Adventurer, Vol. 4

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By MOJIKAKIYA and toi8. Released in Japan as “Boukensha ni Naritai to Miyako ni Deteitta Musume ga S-Rank ni Natteta” by Earth Star Novels. Released in North America digitally by J-Novel Club. Translated by Roy Nukia.

Easily the best in the series to date, despite the fact that we’re now at the second round of “I have gotten everything planned out to see my dad again but something comes along to screw it up at the last minute”. Angeline is still a big-time Daddy’s Girl, but she’s put into a situation where that’s mostly irrelevant, and when it is relevant she actually manages to use it as a force for good. Belgrieve is finally forced to admit to himself that he may actually be as good at fighting as Angeline says he is, after going toe-to-toe with a top-ranked adventurer and … not winning, but lasting far longer than a 40-year-old with one leg should really be lasting. And the overall plot is finally coming into focus, giving us more ongoing bad guys, as well as an idea of what they’re going to do. Which I suspect is “kill Belgrieve and then watch Angeline destroy the world”. Best to stop that.

Angeline and company are ready to take Charlotte and Byaku back to her hometown. Unfortunately, the nobles have finally gotten around to noticing her, and have called her to the capital to come get an award… which means she’ll get back too late to make the trip before winter sets in. She is… unhappy. Meanwhile, Belgrieve has settled in with his new mini-family back in Turnera, but some of them are leaving as well, mostly as they have the adventure lust in their blood. It’s also reminding him of his past, which we get brief glimpses of here, and we see how even as a younger man he was cautious and careful. As for Angeline, when she arrives at the capital she not only finds a pile of nobles but also a mysterious guy in a dungeon… who may be more connected to her than she thinks.

This is not really a big fighting volume. Belgrieve gets into a couple of spars, but that’s not the same thing. As for Angeline, as I noted above, the best part of the book is the fight she doesn’t get into, especially as it’s supposed to be used as the excuse for a coup. It’s actually the second time she avoids this, the first being in the middle of her awards ceremony, where a noble attempts to taunt her into fighting and she responds by pointing out exactly what battling monsters and demons should be for, and it’s not “to show off my strength against some noble jackasses”. That said, they aren’t all bad here, and I really liked the young spunky noble girl, who I hope we see again. Plus Angeline gets her reward at the end – her dad came to see her rather than the other way around, and he’ll be there all winter.

Despite once again keeping its two leads separated most of the book, this time it did it in exactly the right way. This is a solid fantasy series.

The Apothecary Diaries, Vol. 5

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y Natsu Hyuuga and Touko Shino. Released in Japan as “Kusuriya no Hitorigoto” by Hero Bunko. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Kevin Steinbach.

For the most part, this is something of a transitional volume of The Apothecary Diaries, at least until the end. While Maomao is no longer at the palace, she’s still very much involved in everyday life, and now she has a little boy to look after (who proves to be quite an artist). There are several interlinking plots, one of which is likely to stick around – there’s a potential famine on the way, which was figured out by the fact that there are more grasshoppers than locusts around, something I absolutely did not know, so kudos there. Maomao even finds time to attend the theater, where we see a magic act that looks pretty impressive, but which is fairly easily explained by a combination of tricks and drugging the audience. The second half of the book, though, is more interesting, as Maomao is taken by Jinshi to a banquet in the western part of the country, and all hell breaks loose, both figuratively and literally.

Let’s leave Maomao and Jinshi for later and talk about the other parts of this book. I really enjoyed seeing Maomao back in her hometown and fitting in very well… she even takes on an apprentice, who has a very good memory, something required in an apothecary. The apprentice will no doubt be necessary soon, as there’s no way Maomao stays here long. Indeed, the second half of the book is a big field trip, first where she goes to the quack doctor’s hometown and meets his family (who she refuses to name, continuing this book’s longest running gag). I must admit Maomao challenging a bunch of assholes to a drinking contest may be the best part of the book, especially when she worries she’ll lose not by getting too drunk but by having to pee. I also really liked her relationship with Lishu, who is a trembling bird of a woman who turns out to be bullied at home and at the palace. That said, maybe she’s found a guy… which is more than can be said for Maomao.

The final scene should technically be romantic, but is instead deeply uncomfortable to me. I have never seen someone so blatantly determined not to fall in love as Maomao is in this series. The Emperor is pushing Jinshi to get married, and things are not going well, mostly as Jinshi only wants Maomao. For once there isn’t really a class or status problem here – *if* Maomao were to admit to her birth parentage, which she really really does not want to do. She desperately wants Jinshi to marry anyone else mostly to try to get rid of the undeniable tension between them. The final scene features Jinshi, in a bit of a rage at Maomao’s attempts to brush him off, literally almost choke her to death, and it’s horrifying. As is Maomao’s response to this, which amounts to “gotta do this, I guess”. It’s a good thing that this series is a large number of volumes, as if Jinshi and Maomao got together now as they both are, bad things would happen.

This remains one of the best light novel series out there, an absolutely riveting read. If you’re reading it for the romance, though, I’m so sorry. Also, I forgot to mention the lion. There is a lion.

Manga the Week of 5/25/22

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SEAN: It’s only the end of May but the heat here is making it feel like mid-July. What about the manga? Well…

The debut from Yen On is Warlords of Sigrdrifa Rusalka, a light novel based on the popular anime series. As with a lot of other anime series, humanity is under siege and only badass but also very attractive women can save us.

ASH: I mean, I do like badass women…

SEAN: Also from Yen On: The Girl I Saved on the Train Turned Out to Be My Childhood Friend 2, High School DxD 7, High School Prodigies Have It Easy Even in Another World! 6, I’ve Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years and Maxed Out My Level 12, Magical Girl Raising Project 13, The Saga of Tanya the Evil 10, and A Sister’s All You Need 12.

Yen Press had a lot of its print releases which had been delayed due to the ongoing problem with getting print books done come out next week, so we have SEVEN debuts. Let’s break them down.

I Got a Cheat Skill in Another World and Became Unrivaled in The Real World, Too (Isekai de Cheat Skill o Te ni Shita Ore wa, Genjitsu Sekai o mo Musou Suru – Level Up wa Jinsei o Kaeta) had its light novel mentioned in last week’s Manga the Week of, so I can’t even make the same sad snarky jokes. It runs in Dengeki Comic Regulus.

In the Land of Leadale (Leadale no Daichi nite) runs in the horribly titled Dengeki Playstation, and is, of course, based on the light novels Yen is also releasing.

Let’s Go Karaoke! (Karaoke Iko!) is a one-shot manga from Comic Beam. A boy from the school choir ends up with a scary job… he’s giving voice lessons to a yakuza! This is apparently not BL but is BL-adjacent.

MICHELLE: Hm. This is the first on the list to interest me even moderately.

ANNA: I mean, I enjoy singing, BL-adjacent manga, and yakuza.

ASH: Same, same!

MJ: Okay, what, I think I need this. Like. Delivered directly to my brain.

SEAN: Lost Lad London is also from Comic Beam, and is a mystery about a detective and a college student trying to track down a murderer. This is award winning AND Comic Beam, so even more of a must-read than usual.

MICHELLE: Okay, now this is up my street.

ANNA: Also curious about this!

ASH: Me, too!

MJ: Oooooooh.

SEAN: The Magical Revolution of the Reincarnated Princess and the Genius Young Lady (Tensei Oujo to Tensai Reijou no Mahou Kakumei) is based on a light novel I really enjoyed. I wonder how the manga compares? It runs in Dengeki Maoh. Lotsa Dengeki this week.

MonsTABOO is a Big Gangan series about a girl who recklessly tries to find monsters – reckless ever since her mother was killed by one. That makes it all the more weird when she comes across one, she asks to date the monster instead.

ASH: I am at least vaguely curious.

SEAN: The Wolf Never Sleeps (Ookami wa Nemuranai) is from Young Ace Up!, and it’s an isekai, but at least he’s a grizzled veteran and swordsman who already fights monsters, and not random Japanese dude.

Yen Press also has Cheeky Brat 3, Cirque Du Freak: The Manga Omnibus 6, The Dark History of the Reincarnated Villainess 5, The Devil Is a Part-Timer! 18, Final Fantasy Lost Stranger 7, Karneval 13, Mieruko-chan 5, Murciélago 19, Play It Cool, Guys 3, Smokin’ Parade 10 (the final volume), and Trinity Seven 25.

Viz has some titles out this week, likely due to those same printing issues. We see Fullmetal Alchemist: Fullmetal Edition 17, JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Part 5–Golden Wind 4, Star Wars: The High Republic: Edge of Balance 2, and Urusei Yatsura 14. And, digitally, WITCH WATCH 2, which I continue to shill for.

ASH: Still need to give that series a try (and catch up on a few of these others, too.)

SEAN: Tokyopop has a new BL one-shot, this one from Gush. Tomorrow, Make Me Yours (Ashita Kimi no Mono ni Shite) is about an average boy who loves the cool, confident kid in his class. Sadly, a girl has a crush on said cool kid, so he tries to distance himself. But when he does confess, the other guy does as well!

Seven Seas debuts The Weakest Contestant of All Space and Time (Zenjikuu Senbatsu Saijaku Saiteihen Ketteisen), a survival manga that runs in Comic Earth Star. There are other interesting points about it, but survival manga, so meh.

ASH: I can sometimes go for an intriguing survival manga.

SEAN: Seven Seas also has Headhunted to Another World: From Salaryman to Big Four! 3, The Masterful Cat Is Depressed Again Today 4, and Seaside Stranger 3.

MICHELLE: I really need to read Seaside Stranger.

ASH: Likewise.

SEAN: One Peace Books gives us Hinamatsuri 15.

The print debut for Kodansha Manga is Phantom of the Idol (Kami Kuzu ☆ Idol), a Zero-Sum Online title about a lazy, surly idol and his meeting with a peppy, happy, and dead girl.

MICHELLE: Well, I am sold by this description.

ANNA: This sounds amazing.

MJ: Oh, hello.

SEAN: We also get the first volume of A Silent Voice Complete Collector’s Edition, which collects the first half of the series in a large hardcover which also has drafts, interviews, and other bonus content.

ASH: I’m really looking forward to this release and the extra content; the series is so good.

SEAN: Also in print: Cardcaptor Sakura: Clear Card 11 and The Seven Deadly Sins: Four Knights of the Apocalypse 3.

MICHELLE: I legitimately did not realize that Clear Card was still going.

ANNA: Me too, I’m just going to sit here in a corner and lament never getting an ending to X/1999.

MICHELLE: FOR REAL.

ASH: Right??

MJ: *heavy sigh*

SEAN: Two digital debuts. Koigakubo-kun Stole My First Time (Koigakubo-kun ni wa Hajimete wo Ubawaremashita), a Palcy shoujo series about a gamer girl who is rather annoyed that all her gamer friends are getting married and having kids. Is her hot new work colleague the answer? This is by the author of With the Sheikh in His Harem.

Our Fake Marriage: Rosé (Usokon Rosé) is, of course, a spinoff of Our Fake Marriage, and runs in Ane Friend. Our heroine is determined to reject her family’s attempts to set her up with this guy… but…

Also digital: Back When You Called Us Devils 13 (OK, *this* is the final volume), DAYS 29, Harem Marriage 17, Nighttime for Just Us Two 2, Otherworldly Munchkin: Let’s Speedrun the Dungeon with Only 1 HP! 5, Saint Young Men 18, Shojo Fight 18 (we seem to have caught up, given this is 11 months after 17), What I Love About You 9 (the final volume), and WIND BREAKER 2.

MICHELLE: How did Harem Marriage get up to volume seventeen already?!

SEAN: Kaiten Books gives us the 6th manga volume of Loner Life in Another World.

Lotsa print from J-Novel Club. We get An Archdemon’s Dilemma: How to Love Your Elf Bride 12, Ascendance of a Bookworm 12, both Vol. 2 and 3 of The Faraway Paladin’s novel, How NOT to Summon a Demon Lord 14, I Shall Survive Using Potions’s 7th manga volume, Infinite Dendrogram 15, My Friend’s Little Sister Has It In For Me! 4, Tearmoon Empire 5, and The Unwanted Undead Adventurer’s 5th manga volume.

ASH: I feel like just got my hands on the first volume of Faraway Paladin!

SEAN: As for digital, we get Altina the Sword Princess 14 (not the final volume, but the series has not had a new book in years), Chillin’ in Another World with Level 2 Super Cheat Powers 5, I’ll Never Set Foot in That House Again! 4, Lazy Dungeon Master 16, Perry Rhodan NEO 8, Prison Life is Easy for a Villainess 2 (the final volume), and Private Tutor to the Duke’s Daughter 3.

Ghost Ship gives us Manga Diary of a Male Porn Star 2 and The Witches of Adamas 2.

And we get Airship, which has, in print, Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear 10.

And digitally we get Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear 11 and Loner Life in Another World 2.

Oooof. A double dose of Loner Life. That’ll be fun. What else are we having?

The Genius Prince’s Guide to Raising a Nation Out of Debt (Hey, How About Treason?), Vol. 9

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By Toru Taba and Falmaro. Released in Japan as “Tensai Ouji no Akaji Kokka Saisei Jutsu ~Sou da, Baikoku Shiyou~” by GA Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Jessica Lange.

As we’ve now gone through about nine volumes of this series, it’s good to remember that the initial premise was that Wein was trying various ways to abdicate his responsibilities, and failing for the most part because a) he’s too good at his job, and b) he won’t do it if it means the people of Natra suffer. For the last few books, that’s mostly been forgotten, to the point where the title almost seems archaic. But this book reminds us that yes, Wein really does not want to be running his country, and he is still trying to take steps to avoid being the ruler. Fortunately for Wein, he has an adorable little sister with even more charisma than he has who sucks up knowledge like a sponge. The most interesting scenes in the book are when he asks Falanya is he really is “good” to the Flahm, and if so, how? Getting her to stop hero-worshipping him is a good first step.

Wein and Ninym are on their way to Ulbeth, a nation divided into four regions: Muldu, Altie, Roynock, and Facrita. In theory they all are distinct areas with their own distinct rulers but united as an alliance. In practice, they all hate each other. Wein has been invited by Muldu’s representative, Agata, a Holy Elite who wants Wein’s help to undermine the other nations. Of course, Wein is not about to do this out of the goodness of its heart, but (as with most books in the series) complications suddenly turn up. Who’s going to win this mini-throne war? Can everything be solved by simply marrying as many couples as possible? And, most importantly, if something happens to Ninym, has Wein matured enough as a person not to simply kill every single person in the nation?

Slavery, as a concept, is so prevalent in light novels that it has become one of the worst cliches, and Genius Prince has been no exception. The Flahm have been presented in the story to date as an oppressed and hated group, and even in Natra, which supports them to an extent, Wein and Ninym have to merely be content to be ruler and aide and nothing more. The backstory of the Flahm has been teased in previous books, but here we get (secondhand) most of the story. I’ll be honest, it’s handled a bit better than other stories of its ilk, but still makes me a bit uncomfortable. On the up side, spoiling the previous paragraph a bit, we’re now seeing Wein be big enough to have someone kidnap Ninym and NOT destroy them completely. Alas, poor Ninym for once is the damsel in distress – her pulling a Wein and bewailing it at the end is hilarious.

I have a sneaking suspicion this series will end with Falanya on the throne and Wein and Ninym running off somewhere together, but we’re not there yet. Till then, this is a solid volume.

An Archdemon’s Dilemma: How to Love Your Elf Bride, Vol. 13

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

This is a long book. I’m not sure if it’s the longest in the series, but it has to be pretty close. Which is good, as the whole book is basically one giant battle scene, and length gives me more things to attempt to talk about other than “mmm, fight good”. It helps that we see pretty much the entire cast here, heroes, villains, and the morally grey area in between that is the majority of the group. Shere Khan finally gets a chance to try to be the Big Bad, but in the end he still manages to be upstaged by Bifrons. You know it’s bad when the villain is looking back at the one good deed they did once. We also finally – finally – get the explanation for Zagan’s past, and who his parents are. That said, in the end we learn the real reason for all of this, the reason Zagan fought back so harshly – and it’s hilarious.

Things are not in a good place at the start of the book. Nephteros is possessed AND dying, the worst combination. Richard is in a coma, Stella is in a coma, and it’s gotten to the point where they even have to abandon the castle, or at least hide it in an alternate dimension. Gremory is missing and possibly dead, and there is also the slight problem of all the resurrected heroes who are on Shere Khan’s side. To fight back they’re going to need absolutely everyone… though possibly not Chastille, who they are trying to prevent finding out about Nephteros in case it triggers her crybabay side. (They really should know better). Can they save Nephteros? Can they save Aristella? Can they deal with all these people coming back from the dead with close connections to the entire cast? And will they be able to celebrate another birthday?

There are a large number of cool scenes, as you’d expect from a book like this. Everyone gets a chance to do awesome things, either by being powerful (Foll, Kimaris) or by being “the heart” (Nephy, Chastille). If there’s a downside to the book, it’s that Shere Khan, by his very nature, can’t really do much once Zagan reaches him except die. The entire book is about trying to stop Zagan getting to him, and once he does, the book is basically over. The biggest surprise, though, may be Bifrons. He was so busy being evil and sneering that I forgot that he was also a sorcerer trying to do something that no other sorcerer had ever done, and if that means he ends up being the man who saves the day and makes everything better, trust me, that’s just a side effect. Good for you, Bifrons. Now please stay dead.

This very much has a feeling of “this is the final book in the series”, but there’s more on the way. We’ll see what it can do next – isn’t Alshiera still dying? In any case, fans of the series should be very satisfied with this one.

Accomplishments of the Duke’s Daughter, Vol. 5

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By Reia and Haduki Futaba. Released in Japan as “Koushaku Reijou no Tashinami” by Kadokawa Books. Released in North America by Seven Seas. Translated by Andria Cheng.

Now, I know what you’re thinking, isn’t this series eight volumes in total? And yes, it definitely is. That said, this fifth book is the final one of the main series, resolving most of the plot points and wrapping up the love affair between Iris and Dean. Gonna be honest, it feels a bit rushed. This is very odd, as this comes from a webnovel, so by definition should not have to worry about “the book isn’t selling so well, wrap it up next volume” woes. That said, it still feels rushed. Leticia’s subplot is not exactly out of nowhere, but I wish we had another book to develop it more. Alfred’s fate is handled as dramatically as possible, and certainly devastates Iris, but the reader is just sighing and going “uh huh”, and I’m pretty sure the author knows this, so the impact is lessened. It’s a decent book, it just is not quite as good as previous ones.

Tasmeria is going to war, which means Iris has to return to her domain to prepare. Good thing, too, as her port is one of the first to be attacked… by a completely different country. Is this related to the proposal she got last volume? There’s also the problem of Alfred also having to go to war, as when you’re the recent victor of a throne war you don’t sit back in the palace and let others fight for you. Unfortunately, this turns tragic when Iris hears the news that he was killed by an archer’s arrow. Devastated, she loses herself in grief for a bit before managing to pull herself together in time for the rest of the war to wrap up smoothly… thanks in great part to her mother’s secret identity as the most feared warrior in the land. (Secret to Iris, at least.) That said… is Alfred/Dean really dead?

The best scenes in the book are probably a) the ones with Iris’ mother Merellis, who is sort of what happened if the “ohohohohohoho!” ojou could also kick your ass and stab you, and b) the subplot with Edward and Yuri. By this final volume Iris’ past life in Japan is not even mentioned once, and the villainess part has long been thrown out the window. It briefly comes back here, though, as Iris and Yuri have a final confrontation and Iris states bluntly that the fact that Yuri is afraid to trust anyone is what led to her downfall. If Yuri had confided in any of her love interests, particularly Edward, things may have been different. Edward and Yuri’s story also impacts Leticia, who is essentially taking over the entire country this book, and for the most part doing it regally and stoically – though the cracks do show on occasion. I wish we’d seen more of her.

I also wish we’d seen more of Marellis’ past, but that’s being taken care of, as the next volume will tell us her story. Till then, this is the end of Iris’ story, and she’s happy, but I’d give the book only a ‘satisfactory’ as a grade.

Pick of the Week: Authors Old and New

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MICHELLE: I never did manage to read Mushishi and am excited by the prospect of following a Yuki Urushibara series from the beginning. I don’t know how I feel about the “stuck in the body of a twelve-year-old” part and I kind of doubt there will actually be any kitties, but When a Cat Faces West is still my top choice this week.

SEAN: Ever since I first read Short Cuts years ago, I’ve always loved Usamaru Furuya’s strange, dark works, and therefore I’m definitely making my pick this week The Music of Marie.

KATE: I whole-heartedly second Michelle and Sean’s picks, but I freely admit that my less responsible self thinks that Crazy Food Truck looks like a lot of fun–a kind of mash-up of Mad Max: Fury Road and The Great Food Truck Race. Paging George Miller!

ASH: These all sound intriguing for different reasons, but this week I’m throwing my lot in with Sean and The Music of Marie. More than a decade ago (I can’t believe I just typed that), I was the host of the Usamaru Furuya Manga Moveable Feast, so perhaps this is an obvious pick for me. I never thought we’d get to see more of Furuya’s work in English, though!

ANNA: There are many intriguing titles coming out this week, but the one I see myself reaching for first is The Untouchable Midori-kun. I’m always curious about josei manga and idol singers!