Manga Bookshelf

Discussion, Resources, Roundtables, & Reviews

Sean Gaffney

Magical Explorer: Reborn as a Side Character in a Fantasy Dating Sim, Vol. 1

by

By Iris and Noboru Kannatuki. Released in Japan as “Magical Explorer – Eroge no Yuujin Kyara ni Tensei Shita Kedo, Game Chishiki Tsukatte Jiyuu ni Ikiru” by Kadokawa Sneaker Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by David Musto.

I will admit that I am not nearly as familiar with the ‘eroge’ genre as our protagonist is in this book. Certainly I’d thought that they all tended to be the same as most visual novels: you pick a route, you make choices, you get a girl, coitus ensues. Magical Explorer tells me that this genre is far broader than I expected. The game that our protagonist suddenly finds himself in (it’s never explained how, and he seems to have no desire to return to Japan) is a fantasy dungeon crawling game, with party balancing, learning new spells and skills, and the like. AND a lot of hot girls that the hero gets it on with. Honestly, given that at one point we’re told that in order to get all the route extras you have to buy five copies of the same game from different stores, I feel happy to be ignorant. That said, what about this book in particular?

Our nameless protagonist suddenly finds himself in the body of Kousuke Takioto, who is… NOT the hero of the dating sim world he finds himself in. He’s the “best friend” side character who is loud, flashy and crass to contrast with the hero’s dull, “insert reader here” qualities. As the hero amasses more and more girls, most players don’t bother to keep Kousuke in their party – why would they? This is an eroge! So he’s in the body of someone doomed to be left behind and ignored? Or… more importantly… he’s in a world where he can use magic powers! Yes, friends, let’s not pretend guys are only interested in sex. Cool powers are also high on the list. After moving in with the headmaster of his new school due to a tragic backstory (which he was entirely unaware of, being it never came up in the game), he decides to get his magic more powerful, explore dungeons, and leave the game plot behind. But will it leave him behind?

Given that our hero’s first thought on being in a porn game is “I wonder how I can level up my magic”, I assume he must have seen the School Days anime and knows the dangers of trying the more obvious “I will bed all the girls” choice. And there is a certain amount of cool magical and fighting content here… that I suspect no one is really reading the book for. No, they’re reading the book for scenes that you’d normally get special CG art for, and we get quite a few of those. Our hero accidentally falls and grabs tits and asses. He walks in on girls getting out of the shower. He manages to level up his magic to the point where he can see through steam and blindfolds to ogle women. And the final scene in the book runs on porn logic, and so is so stupid I hesitate to even bring it up. It’s all here.

This wasn’t bad, per se. It’s very good at giving its readers exactly what they want. If you decided to buy this, you’ll likely enjoy it. If you thought “ew, no”, you’re probably not even reading this review anyway. I think I’m done here, though.

Goodbye Otherworld, See You Tomorrow: The Traveling Paintbrush and the Hefty Backpack

by

By Kazamidori and Nimoshi. Released in Japan as “Sayonara Isekai, Mata Kite Ashita” by Fujimi Fantasia Bunko. Released in North America digitally by J-Novel Club. Translated by MPT.

We tend to see, with isekai novels, a hero summoned to a world that’s in peril, usually by the royal family. Sometimes the summons goes wrong, or they summon some other person they didn’t want. We’ve even seen a few where the hero was summoned AFTER the big bad has been defeated, leaving them with nothing to do. We’ve seen heroes fail, and usually they go back in time to try to get it right this time or they’re reincarnated long into the future. But this one in particular is a bit much – by the time our hero, who is living in the woods after running away from his family, stumbles across another world, the world has lost almost everyone in it, turned to crystals by a sudden explosion of mana. All our hero can do, really, is drive around, try to get supplies and possibly find the dark man who gave him advice when he first arrived, and find a reason to go on. The last proves the hardest.

Keisuke does not have much, just his watch and phone (which don’t get more reception from Japan here) and a big truck that he doesn’t really know how to drive that well. Then the truck breaks down when he gets to an abandoned train station. Fortunately, he runs into a half-elf named Nito, who is a painter by trade and reluctantly starts to open up to him seeing as her means of transport is also busted. Together they get their respective vehicles repaired thanks to the last mechanic in the world who responds to distress flares, and set out on a journey – him to find the dark man I mentioned earlier, and her to see if her mother was telling her the truth when she talked about the Golden Sea in a book of paintings that are Nito’s most treasured possession.

So, spoiling something important right here and now: no one commits suicide in this book. This is important to note because we have no less than four different suicidal people at some point i this book, either genuinely trying and failing to take their life or having given up all hope on living. The fact that they do live, and that the See You Tomorrow in the title is meant to be uplifting and affirming, is probably the best thing about the book. The other big plus is the evocative prose – there’s a sense of Kino’s Journey to this series, but it doesn’t have an anti-war agenda like that does, and the disaster that wiped out nearly everyone remains a mystery by the end of the book. Instead we get a series of scenes where we see people who want to end their life finding reason to go on by communicating with others. I love that. It’s a series of passing meetings, but each one has impact.

I’d heard this was the most anticipated of the four J-Novel Club licenses that came out at the same time, and I can see why. It’s just a treat to read, though again I warn there are suicidal thoughts and suicide attempts in this. If you want a different sort of isekai, this is the one for you.

Pick of the Week: Danmei At Last!

by , , , and Leave a Comment

SEAN: Um, it’s the three Danmei books. I believe Heaven Official’s Blessing has the most buzz? It’s certainly the longest of the three. In any case, these three novels sort of dwarf everything else on the list.

KATE: Anytime there’s a new volume of Kageki Shojo!! is a cause for celebration, so volume three is my pick o’ the week.

ANNA: Seems like a Danmei week to me!

MICHELLE: I’m ridiculously excited about the Danmei. I hope these books are a spectacular success for Seven Seas and prompt them to license even more. ‘Cos when is a geek never not grateful on one hand and greedy on the other? :)

ASH: I’d be remiss if I failed to mention Vinland Saga, which is still one of my favorite series even with the releases now being so far apart. But, I’ll also have to admit this is a Danmei sort of week for me; I’m particularly looking forward to Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation.

Reset! The Imprisoned Princess Dreams of Another Chance!, Vol. 2

by

By Kei Misawa and poporucha. Released in Japan as “Torawareta Ōjo wa Nido, Shiawasena Yume o Miru” on the Shōsetsuka ni Narō website. Released in North America by Cross Infinite World. Translated by Evie Lund.

This author is very good at making the reader feel tension because something has not happened. For the most part, through about three-quarters of this book, Reset feels like the 2nd book in a two-part series. Annabel is invited to the country where Prince Daniel, her husband from her past life, is from. But… he seems fine? If a little wary. There’s also Princess Karina, the woman who destroyed Annabel’s life and had her thrown in prison. But… she’s sweet and nice? Something screwy’s going on here, and it likely has to do with the sullen, taciturn mage that Karina drags around with her. But it’s OK, because everything gets resolved in the end… well, sort of. The resolution feels rather off. And wait, there’s still how many pages of book left? And then we reach the final chapter, and you realize no, this is going to be a three-parter, and everything goes to hell in a handbasket.

The intriguing plot does help to cover up the author’s weakness, with is character. As I said in my review of the first book, Annabel is an interesting character to read because, if you’ll pardon the expression, she’s not like those other reincarnated villainess girls. Annabel is not a villainess, of course. She’s not trying every hour of every day to avoid her fate – months go by between chapters with not much happening. She isn’t even oblivious to the affection of everyone around her – this is very much a one-couple romance. We the reader figure out what’s actually happening before she does, which works, as it’s fun to watch her slowly realize that the Princess Karina that she knows is no longer herself. That said… she’s a bit generic? As is her boyfriend Ed, who also feels fairly standard.

Then we get the interesting bits, which are interesting because they grate against the reader’s sensibilities. The actual villain of the piece gets a backstory that talks about how she was taken from her people and forced to be a mage, and that her people later completely vanished. The response from the royalty of the kingdom seems to be “Hrm, well, not entirely accurate but yes, somewhat accurate, we’ll try to do something about it”, and we learn that she has essentially been abused her entire life. This makes her fate rather tragic… except the way it happens is so open-ended that the reader just goes, “And? AND?!?!” It’s like waiting for the other shoe to drop, only it takes sixty years. There’s a happily ever after! Annabel and Ed marry and have kids! Annabel dies at a ripe old age! And then we find out what the villain ACTUALLY did, and man, I want to read Book 3 now.

Alas, I will have to wait a few months. Still, Reset is a very good combination of typical characters and not so typical plot, and I hope Annabel can muddle her way through into finding happiness. Again.

Private Tutor to the Duke’s Daughter: Starting Magic Lessons with a Few Modest Tricks

by

By Riku Nanano and cura. Released in Japan as “Koujo Denka no Kateikyoushi” by Fujimi Fantasia Bunko. Released in North America digitally by J-Novel Club. Translated by William Varteresian.

Yes, I know, I’m surprised too. Given that I have occasionally muttered that I need to cut down on my light novel intake, it’s a bit of a shock that I picked up a series whose title and cover make it sound like it was introduced by Gilbert Gottfried on USA Up All Night. That said, the book itself is… well, exactly what you’d expect with a title and cover like that. A lot of focus on 13-year-old girls trying to seduce their 17-year-old instructor. Said instructor turns out to be ludicrously good at magic and also has at least three girls in love with him by the end of the book, with the promise of more. There’s a lot of “you are hugging my daughter and are therefore a creeper who must be murdered” schtick. Oh, and there’s a red-headed angry tsundere who flits around the plot, finally showing up at the end. Despite that, I finished it, and I want to read the next in the series. It works despite everything about it.

Our hero is Allen, who has just failed his exams when we meet him, for reasons that we never actually hear until the very end of this volume. This despite being one of the school’s two prodigies (the other being Lydia, the aforementioned redhead). He doesn’t even have the money to return home, so takes a job in a northern dukedom to train the daughter of the family in magic. Tina is smart as a whip and great at everything… except magic. She clearly has a ton of mana, but can’t cast any spells. Allen’s job is to either train her and her best friend/maid/rival Ellie so that they can pass the Royal Academy exams… or else convince Tina, who’s being stubborn about it, that it’s hopeless. That said, Allen has dealt with this sort of thing four years ago, so has a few ideas in mind. Hopefully ones that will not destroy the dukedom…

I always find something to latch on to in these sorts of books, and in this case it’s Allen. He spends the entire book trying to play himself off as a dull, boring, unskilled potato of a protagonist, which might trick the reader at first, but goes out the window whenever he meets anyone and they say “So I see you’re just as big a freak as the rumors say.” I actually wonder if he’s something of a parody, and I’m certain that his constant head-patting, hugging and general close contact with his two charges is tolerable only because he has all the sexual drive of a nerf ball. His world is loaded with little sister figures, with the exception of Lydia, who essentially refuses to let him peg her like that, so he calls her an ‘albatross’ – as in around his neck – instead. Honestly, the book’s big flaw is that we don’t get the story of him and Lydia from four years ago, which honestly sounds better than this one.

If you are the sort to complain about a light novel hero, don’t even start this one. Walk away and never look back. It will melt your eyes. If you don’t take it too seriously, it’s actually pretty fun, and I will read more to see what happens next and if there are any girls in it not in love with Allen.

Reign of the Seven Spellblades, Vol. 4

by

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.

First of all, the big news regarding this 4th volume in the series is that it actually manages to come to a logical conclusion that feels like the end of a volume, as opposed to the last two volumes, where the ending was just “finish the page you’re writing now and we’ll send a courier to pick it up”. That said, the events of the first three books are not forgotten, and have great impact on the 4th, as our heroes start their second year at Kimberly. Everyone is also growing up; our second years are sixteen, and there is a lot of discussion of sex here, why and how it should happen, and who to watch out for. It’s considered as a rite of passage rather than a shameful act. That said, events from the previous book also leave Oliver a bit… pent-up, shall we say. Fortunately, one of his friends notices this and helps him out in a scene that is actually really well written and well characterized. Further, deponent sayeth not.

Aside from talk of sex and relief from sex-based spells, there’s a lot of magical academy stuff going on here as well. We get new teachers, including one with the improbable name of Ted Williams, who stuns the entire cast by being a reasonable, normal instructor. Nanao excels in her broom-riding sport, so much so that she’s promoted to the upper-year senior league… where she finds, for once, someone she can’t blow her way past with natural talent. The kids all go out to the local town, something that takes up the back half of the book, where they get into fights with rival schools, experience the terror of British food, and deal with a mysterious man who keeps assaulting magicians. With all this going on, will Oliver finally find time to get around to why he’s actually there?

On Twitter I posted a poll asking how everyone thought the books would end: with the main cast in a polycule, or with the main cast all dead? Unsurprisingly, the poll was almost dead even, because really both options seem likely. Leaving aside Oliver and Nanao’s deep chemistry, and Nanao’s desire to want to fight him to the death (I’m hoping for redefining death in a future book), it’s pretty clear that Chela also likes Oliver a lot. Pete, of course, is also falling for Oliver. Guy and Katie have that vague R*n and H*rmoine vibe, but honestly that feels like one of the least likely, at least until Guy gets his act together. As for the death part, well, come on, look at the school. If nothing else, I’m fairly certain Oliver’s plan is not going to go swimmingly all the way to the end. Especially since his next target has taken a special interest in Pete…

I haven’t even mentioned half the things going on here – these books are very dense, and there’s a lot going on. If you enjoy magical academy stories and don’t mind them being darker and more adult than the typical light novel fare, this is still a must read.

Manga the Week of 12/15/21

by , , and Leave a Comment

SEAN: If you buy these manga, they should still arrive by Christmas!

Denpa Books has Gambling Apocalypse: KAIJI 3.

ASH: Looking forward to this one coming out after all the delays!

SEAN: Ghost Ship has a debut, Who Wants to Marry a Billionaire? (Tamarowa), a Comic Days title about a game show where debt-ridden women try to show a rich guy why they’d be a great wife. Most of it seems to involve their, um, technique, shall we say.

No debuts for J-Novel Club, but lots of ongoing digital light novels and manga. We see Cooking with Wild Game 15, Culinary Chronicles of the Court Flower 4, Dahlia in Bloom: Crafting a Fresh Start with Magical Tools 2, Dragon Daddy Diaries: A Girl Grows to Greatness 2, The Emperor’s Lady-in-Waiting Is Wanted as a Bride 3, the 7th Faraway Paladin manga, Fushi no Kami: Rebuilding Civilization Starts With a Village 5, and Her Majesty’s Swarm 4.

Kaiten Books has Gacha Girls Corps 3 digitally.

No debuts from Kodansha either, but we get some finales. In print, we see Ajin: Demi-Human 17 (the final volume), Gleipnir 10, Magus of the Library 5, Sachi’s Monstrous Appetite 5, A School Frozen in Time 4 (the final volume), That Time I got Reincarnated as a Slime 18, and Vinland Saga 12.

MICHELLE: The first volume of A School Frozen in Time was fun. I look forward to seeing how it wraps up.

ANNA: I’ve had Vinland Saga pre-ordered forever.

ASH: Same! I love that series so much. Glad to have more of Magus of the Library to read, too.

SEAN: The digital debut is SHAMAN KING & a garden, a spinoff of the main series focusing on the women in the cast. It runs in Nakayoshi, so is definitely for shoujo readers.

There’s also Are You Lost? 8, Cells at Work and Friends! 6 (the final volume), Giant Killing 28, Peach Boy Riverside 9, Police in a Pod 7, A Sign of Affection 5, Vampire Dormitory 7, and Yamaguchi-kun Isn’t So Bad 5.

MICHELLE: I need to have a Giant Killing marathon and soon.

SEAN: One Peace Books gives us Higehiro: After Being Rejected, I Shaved and Took in a High School Runaway 2 and The New Gate 7.

Seven Seas has no light novels, print or digital, out this week. Because they’re devoting all their energy to the debut of three Chinese Danmei novels, which are SUPER SUPER POPULAR. Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation: Mo Dao Zu Shi, Heaven Official’s Blessing: Tian Guan Ci Fu, and The Scum Villain’s Self-Saving System: Ren Zha Fanpai Zijiu Xitong are all out next week. I’ll be giving the last of those a try, since it’s a reincarnated villain(ess) book.

MICHELLE: I am very, very excited about these.

ANNA: I expect even more (is it possible?) Danmei fever.

ASH: I am likewise very excited for these! Having greatly enjoyed watching The Untamed, I’m looking forward to reading the source material and then some.

SEAN: Seven Seas also have some manga debuts. semelparous runs in Comic Yuri Hime, and asks what Attack on Titan would be like if it were a yuri series.

ASH: Huh.

SEAN: The Two Lions (Futari no Lion) is a one-shot BL series that ran in Gentosha’s Rutile. A guy trying to change his reputation goes to a distant university. Unfortunately, the only one there who befriends him is a classmate from his high school!

ASH: I’m intrigued.

SEAN: There is also Dai Dark 3, Dungeon Builder: The Demon King’s Labyrinth is a Modern City! 5, Failure Frame: I Became the Strongest and Annihilated Everything With Low-Level Spells 3, Headhunted to Another World: From Salaryman to Big Four! 2, Kageki Shojo!! 3, Magical Angel Creamy Mami and the Spoiled Princess 3, Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid 11, Reborn as a Space Mercenary: I Woke Up Piloting the Strongest Starship! 2, ROLL OVER AND DIE: I Will Fight for an Ordinary Life with My Love and Cursed Sword! 2, She Professed Herself Pupil of the Wise Man 3, Superwomen in Love! Honey Trap and Rapid Rabbit 3, and Uzaki-chan Wants to Hang Out! 6.

ASH: That’s quite a bit! Dai Dark is the one that has most of my attention, though.

SEAN: Square Enix has Suppose a Kid from the Last Dungeon Boonies Moved to a Starter Town 5.

SuBLime debuts Therapy Game Restart. First there was Secret XXX, then Therapy Game, and now its sequel, Therapy Game Restart. Also running in Dear +, the main couple try to avoid Moonlighting Syndrome.

MICHELLE: I’ve heard good things about Therapy Game so should probably check this out at some point.

SEAN: Also from SuBLime is the 2nd volume of Black or White.

ASH: Which reminds me that I still need to read the first…

SEAN: Tokyopop has the 2nd and final volume of Springtime by the Window.

Viz, for some reason, did not have Natsume’s Book of Friends 26 on their website (they still don’t), so I missed it was out this week. Pretend I didn’t! It’s totally on last week’s Manga the Week of!

ASH: Such a good series, whenever it’s released.

SEAN: Viz Media gives us Call of the Night 5, Fullmetal Alchemist: The Land of Sand (a light novel), Kirby Manga Mania 3, Komi Can’t Communicate 16, Pokémon: Sword & Shield 2, and Sleepy Princess in the Demon Castle 16.

Yen On debuts Magical Explorer: Reborn as a Side Character in a Fantasy Dating Sim (Magical Explorer – Eroge no Yuujin Kyara ni Tensei Shita Kedo, Game Chishiki Tsukatte Jiyuu ni Ikiru), where a young man is reincarnated into an 18+ dating sim with gorgeous girls who all sleep with the hero!… except he’s not the hero. He’s the goofy best friend. Who gets no girls. Well, THAT will change.

We also see the 11th and final volume of Do You Love Your Mom and Her Two-Hit Multi-Target Attacks?, and In the Land of Leadale 4.

Two debuts for Yen Press. The Detective Is Already Dead (Tantei wa Mou, Shinde Iru) is a Comic Alive title that adapts the light novel of the same name.

The Splendid Work of a Monster Maid (Kaibutsu Maid no Kareinaru Oshigoto) is a Comic Newtype series. A phantom girl hunting for her master ends up in a foreign world inhabited by demons, where she must… become a maid?

Also out from Yen: Hazure Skill: The Guild Member with a Worthless Skill Is Actually a Legendary Assassin 3, I’ve Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years and Maxed Out My Level 7, Teasing Master Takagi-san 12, and That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime: The Ways of the Monster Nation 5.

Which of these looks like a great Christmas gift?

The Angel Next Door Spoils Me Rotten, Vol. 3

by

By Saekisan and Hanekoto. Released in Japan as “Otonari no Tenshi-sama ni Itsu no Ma ni ka Dame Ningen ni Sareteita Ken” by GA Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Nicole Wilder.

Tempting as it is to simply cut and paste my review of the 2nd volume here and call it a day, I will try to find new things to discuss. This series runs on sweet but slow burn, and there are very few surprises. On the downside, that makes it somewhat boring. On the good side, you know exactly what you’re getting and you get a lot of it. The main difference in the third volume is that Mahiru tries to come on to Amane a lot stronger to get past his impenetrable shell of self-hatred. She fails, but it’s the effort that counts. She is starting to get a bit sick of his attitude, though – as is the rest of the cast, including his new friend Yuuta, the “class prince”, who sees a kindred spirit in Amane and is rather startled that the feeling isn’t mutual. By the end of the book, everyone is dragging him constantly to feel better about himself. Will it help? Possibly?

Usually the 2nd paragraph of my reviews is where I summarize the plot, but the plot can essentially be summarized in three words: Mahiru Tries Harder. As such we get a lap pillow, and more spontaneous touching. We get Amane seeing another guy ask Mahiru out, and see just how difficult it can be for her to reject them, especially when they refuse to accept it. We see Mahiru managing to actually join Amane for lunch and get away with it. Most importantly we get Golden Week, where Mahiru asks Amane on a date. Of course, it’s not a romantic date to him – not at all, after all, how on earth would she ever have feelings for him? It’s just going out to a cat cafe, a mall (where much trying on of clothes is done) and an arcade (where there is winning of stuffed animals) but as Just Friends. That said, a return to school shows some folks spotted her on the date, so something may break next time.

The author knows Amane’s big flaw can be annoying to the reader, but instead of trying to disguise this it is shoved in our faces – and his. We do finally get his own tragic backstory here, which amounts to “I grew up rich and naive and then met typical middle-school two-faced jerks”, but it’s left him bitter, mistrusting and thinking he’s the absolute worst. This even plays into the title, as he regards everything Mahiru is trying to do in order to get her feelings across to him as “spoiling him”, so he automatically pushes back. Multiple times in this book she, Itsuki and Yuuta all tell Amane to man up, have confidence, and actually try to show Mahiru how he feels about her. The end of the book implies we may see this in the next volume, but for now, this is painful.

Still, the sweet and cute romance outweighs wanting to strangle the lead man, so I’m still invested in it. Imagine how sweet it will get once these two actually confess. Like eating Pixy Stix.

Arifureta Zero, Vol. 5

by

By Ryo Shirakome and Takaya-ki. Released in Japan as “Arifureta Shokugyou de Sekai Saikyou Rei” by Overlap Bunko. Released in North America digitally by J-Novel Club. Translated by Ningen.

It’s been a good sixteen months since I last read Arifureta Zero… and come to think of it, eleven months since the last Arifureta in the main series. This is the danger of catching up with the Japanese release, and I knew this meant that a lot of my time was going to be spent trying to remember who everyone apart from the main characters were. Little did I realize that that was going to be ALL of my time. This is the 2nd to last book in the series, and as such it has to gather everyone in the cast together for the big battle in the finale. And I do mean everyone – every single ally we’ve seen in the books to date pops up again, along with new characters we haven’t seen before, and they’re all written as if we remember who they are and are nostalgic to see them again. It’s exhausting. Fortunately, there’s BIT more going on than just setup.

A month after the end of the previous book, Miledi is still in a coma, which has everyone stressed out, especially Oscar, whose fighting abilities are actually being affected by his worry. Fortunately, she wakes up soon after the book begins. Unfortunately, she’s… a bit different. Yes, it’s We Want Our Jerk Back, the light novel. The largest chunk of the book is spent getting Laus, their newest ally, to the rest of them, as he’s being hunted by the entire church… including two of his own sons. (This is framed as a big reveal, but it’s telegraphed so badly I feel no remorse revealing it here.) Once he’s arrived, and Miledi puts everyone through RIGOROUS TRAINING, it’s discovered that three of their allies are going to be put to death publicly by the Church. So Miledi decides now is the time. the Big Battle. (In Book 6.)

The author apologizes for this book being so long, and he should. It’s too long, and a lot of this wasn’t needed. The “checking in with everyone who the Liberators ever met in prior books” section is a lifeless slog. Better were the scenes with Miledi waking from her coma, but she’s missing her annoying. Without it, she’s a cute adorable teenage girl in love with Oscar and not ashamed to say it. This is mined for much comedy, and for once it actually works quite well, especially her reaction once she returns to normal. Speaking of love, Miledi and Oscar don’t confess here, but that’s because they want to wait till after the battle – their feelings are known to each other. Oh yes, and there’s an incredibly annoying bunny girl in this as well, who seems to combine all the worst parts of Shea and none of the good points. The author loves to write “incredibly annoying but secretly goodhearted and awesome” people – indeed, the lesson of this book is that all of the Liberators are eccentrics – but sometimes I feel they overdue it.

So next up is the finale, and it’s not a spoiler to say that Everybody Dies – this is a prequel, after all. But it’s not the journey, it’s the destination, and so we’ll see how it all happens and how many times our heart can be broken. If you like Arifureta, you should read this, but be aware – it’s long and has boring bits.

Pick of the Week: Foodies, Weddings, and Robots

by , , , and Leave a Comment

KATE: I’m gonna need a bigger boat for this week’s haul! I’m excited for several of Wednesday’s big debuts, including Akira Toriyama’s Manga Theater, Kaiju No. 8, and Robo Sapiens: Tales of Tomorrow. If I had to pick just one title, however, it would be Emma Dreams of Stars, which Vertical Comics promises will give readers a “rare glimpse into the inner workings of The Michelin Guide, and the grueling yet rewarding life of an undercover professional foodie!” Three stars for Emma!

MICHELLE: There are some nifty oneshots coming out this week, and a new volume of Yona of the Dawn is always something to celebrate, but I simply must pick the final volume of Takane & Hana. I have enjoyed the series immensely and will miss it when it’s over, but still look forward to these two having their happily ever after.

SEAN: Must agree. Whether you get the regular (him holding her) or special edition (her holding him), Takane & Hana Vol. 18 is a must-read for shoujo comedy fans.

ASH: There really is a bunch of interesting releases this week! While I’m particularly fond of food manga, robot stories are another weakness of mine, so my pick this week is the award-winning Robo Sapiens: Tales of Tomorrow. I’m really looking forward to giving the omnibus collection a try.

ANNA: There’s a lot of great manga coming out this week! I’m always lured by new series though, so I’m going to make reverse harem vampire manga my pick and go with Rosen Blood.

Rascal Does Not Dream of a Dreaming Girl

by

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

In my review of the last volume in this series, I mentioned I wasn’t aware of what happened in the next two books beyond it being sad. I’ll admit: I was lying. Generally these days, if you are following a series in any capacity on the internet, and the anime has already come out, there is no real way to avoid being spoiled. I didn’t have the main story beats of this book spoiled to me, but I knew what the last five pages would be, and so they are. That said, let’s not talk about those, let’s instead discuss the previous 250 or so pages, in which we find that Sakuta’s own adolescence syndrome has a very different cause from what he (and the reader) thought, learn exactly what’s going on with Shouko, and discover that it’s still hard to say you’re different from Bakemonogatari or Oregairu when you decide the best way for the hero to fix things is to sacrifice himself to save the girl.

Sakuta’s apartment is getting a bit crowded. Kaede is back, though with her “original” personality, and is struggling to catch up with the two years she’s lost. College-age Shouko is there, being very mysterious and Kasumi Tendo-ish. And Mai stays over once as well, because frankly the situation screams “my boyfriend is cheating on me with an older woman who’s also a middle-school student”, and who among us hasn’t felt agitated when that happened to them? The drama starts then Sakuta discovers that Shouko is back in the hospital – and getting worse. She has an old elementary school assignment about dreams for the future she never completed, as “die” would upset the teachers. Now it’s mysteriously being filled out… and the details seem to match up with college-age Shouko very well. Sakuta is concerned about the “get married’ part, though…

One of the more interesting things about this series is that it has all the wacky misunderstandings that harem anime usually has, but without any of the actual misunderstandings themselves. Mai and Sakuta are simply too sympatico with each other to really believe that there’s cheating or lying going on. Indeed, the fact that they’re so in tune with each other is what leads up to the tragedy in the final pages. Other than that, the most affecting part of the book for me may not have been the ending but everything leading up to it, as Sakuta drifts through school looking like a man who’s about to die. When even Kamisato is deeply concerned with him, in her own “drop dead” way, you know things are bad. And Rio and Mai’s scenes are even worse. Everyone seems to know what’s going to happen, but they also know that talking Sakuta out of this is next to impossible. As indeed it proves to be.

So what’s next? Well, if this were the movie, we’d only be halfway done. But it’s a book, so we’ve got to wait a few months. Rest assured I doubt it will kill off a main character, but I’m not as optimistic about its dreaming girl. Till then, enjoy an emotional gut-wrencher.

Since I Was Abandoned After Reincarnating, I Will Cook With My Fluffy Friends: The Figurehead Queen Is Strongest At Her Own Pace, Vol. 3

by

By Yu Sakurai and Kasumi Nagi. Released in Japan as “Tenseisaki de Suterareta no de, Mofumofu-tachi to Oryouri Shimasu: Okazari Ouhi wa My Pace ni Saikyou desu” by M Novels F. Released in North America by Cross Infinite World. Translated by Emma Schumacker.

Generally with any slow life series you have to find the right about of balance between “nothing is happening because this is meant to be a slow life series” and “there are things happening because this is a narrative people will want to actually read”. It can be tricky, as many authors find. A lot of slow life books tend to lean towards the second of those two, where life is not really all that slow at all. This one doesn’t do that, but it needs to find the right time to dole out its plot. As an example, one of the main mysteries of the book is “when will Laetitia realize that her king and her wolf are in fact the same?”. Wait too little and there’s no tension, wait too long and you risk making Laetitia look dim. This book waits just the right amount, though what happens next is left open.

We get a couple of new additions to the cast here. Lelena is the daughter of former maid Krona, who is a bit busy being in jail to attend to her sibling, so goes to live with Laetitia, bringing along a cat and a guilt complex a mile wide. Also introduced is Liddeus, who is an incredibly stereotyped science nerd, only this is an otome game-style romance, so he’s a very handsome stereotypical MAGIC nerd. You get the sense he might actually be a love rival if he could for one moment get his mind off of spells, which he cannot. And there is, of course, all the politics – Laetitia arranges a tea party between the two queen candidates she’s already won over, and the other two who clearly scream “I am fodder for a later book’s plot”. This is pissing off the anti-beast person faction in the country, of course, and so they decide to take stronger measures to express their displeasure. Can Laetitia negotiate all this and still make delicious treats?

Well, I mean, of course. Have you seen the title? Laetitia has two main weapons, her food and her animals, and she uses them both here. Indeed, she gains another furry friend, named Tweety, though if you’re expecting the Looney Tunes bird you may be disappointed – possibly the Hyde and Go Tweet version. Admittedly yes, she is also monstrously overpowered in her magic, which literally breaks the device they use to measure it. This is clearly more due to her reincarnation than to her innate powers (though we do get more “amusing” stories of her and her butler being abused as children by her siblings in the name of magic training. They look back on those days and laugh, so I suppose we must as well). And yes, by the end of the book Laetitia finally realizes – after the king gives it away – that King Glenreed and Lord Aroo are one and the same. She seems devastated this means no more fluffy petting. I am 100% positive she is mistaken.

I do wonder if we’re heading towards a war, and if so how this book would handle it. Bit hard to cook for your fluffy friends in a trench. Still, so far the book does quite a good job of walking the tightrope. I look forward to the next volume.

Manga the Week of 12/8/21

by , , , and 1 Comment

SEAN: Busy busy busy! Almost forgot to type this up this week! What do we see?

ASH: Oh, do I know the feeling!

SEAN: Yen On has the 3rd volume of The Angel Next Door Spoils Me Rotten as well as Reign of the Seven Spellblades 4.

Yen Press debuts an artbook: AidaIro Illustrations: Toilet-bound Hanako-kun. This does exactly what it says on the tin.

ASH: I quite like the art in Toilet-bound Hanako-kun, so I’m looking forward to this collection.

Also out from Yen’s manga imprint: Bofuri: I Don’t Want to Get Hurt, so I’ll Max Out My Defense 2, The Eminence in Shadow 2, Final Fantasy: Lost Stranger 6, For the Kid I Saw in My Dreams 7, and The Saga of Tanya the Evil 15.

MICHELLE: As with much else, I do mean to get around to reading For the Kid I Saw in My Dreams someday.

ASH: I read the first few volumes and have the next few on hand, though I haven’t actually gotten around to reading them yet.

SEAN: Three debuts from Viz. Akira Toriyama’s Manga Theater is a massive, 625-page hardcover featuring a ton of short stories from the legendary Dr. Slump and Dragon Ball creator.

ANNA: That sounds like a great holiday present!

MICHELLE: I didn’t love Dr. Slump but really adored Toriyama’s COWA! oneshot, so might check this out.

ASH: Wow, that’s a lot of manga packed into one volume! Should hopefully be pretty good.

MJ: This is pretty cool!

SEAN: Kaiju No. 8 is a Shonen Jump + release that already is getting simulpubbed, and has HUGE buzz. A man who works on cleaning up after Japanese Godzilla monsters suddenly finds himself with new powers. Can he now achieve his dream of fighting them?

ANNA: Also intriguing.

ASH: Indeed! I’ve heard good things.

MJ: Okay, I’m ready.

SEAN: Rosen Blood is from Akita Shoten’s Princess, and if I said reverse harem vampire story would that get your attention?

ANNA: This fully has my attention, surprising no one.

We also get the final volume of Takane & Hana, the 18th, which is out in both a regular edition and a special edition which has a variant cover and an extra chapter. I’ll miss these goofballs.

ANNA: I’m behind on this series, but I am fond of it!

MICHELLE: I will miss them too!

SEAN: There’s also Chainsaw Man 8, Fullmetal Alchemist: Fullmetal Edition 15, Jujutsu Kaisen 13, Kaguya-sama: Love Is War 21, One Piece 98, Queen’s Quality 13, We Never Learn 19, Yakuza Lover 3, and Yona of the Dawn 33.

ANNA: Stoked for the excellence of Yona of the Dawn and the insanity of Yakuza Lover.

ASH: Always glad to see Yona on the list. I’ve been enjoying Queen’s Quality, too.

SEAN: Tokyopop has a 5th volume of Laughing Under the Clouds.

Square Enix has the 8th Hi Score Girl.

Seven Seas debuts Robo Sapiens: Tales of Tomorrow (Robo Sapiens Zenshi), a done-in-one omnibus from Kodansha’s Morning Two. This is a multi-award winning manga about robots and humans, and how far apart and close to each other they are.

MICHELLE: Sounds intriguing.

ASH: I’m here for it!

MJ: Same!

SEAN: Also from Seven Seas: CALL TO ADVENTURE! Defeating Dungeons with a Skill Board 3, DUNGEON DIVE: Aim for the Deepest Level 2, Hitomi-chan is Shy With Strangers 2, and Young Ladies Don’t Play Fighting Games 2.

Kodansha’s first print debut screams “this is actually Vertical”: Emma Dreams of Stars (Emma wa Hoshi no Yume wo Miru). A one-shot from Kodansha’s Morning, but it was originally published in France, and is about the first woman Michelin Guide Inspector.

ANNA: Ooh!

MICHELLE: I second that “Ooh!”

ASH: And thirded!

MJ: And I’ll just repeat, “Ooh!”

SEAN: Also debuting is Hitorijime Boyfriend, a one-shot from Ichijinsha’s Gateau and prequel to Hitorijime My Hero.

Kodansha also has a lot of print titles whose ebooks came out a week or two (or more) ago. We see Bakemonogatari 11, Blood on the Tracks 7, Don’t Toy With Me, Miss Nagatoro 9, Orient 6, Shaman King Omnibus 6, Shikimori’s Not Just a Cutie 7, UQ Holder 24, and When Will Ayumu Make His Move? 2.

Digitally our debut is My Master Has No Tail (Uchi no Shishou wa Shippo ga nai), a good! Afternoon series that has the unlikely teamup of a tanuki and a rakugo master.

ASH: Sounds like my kind of team!

SEAN: And there’s Chihayafuru 29, Kounodori: Dr. Stork 18, Love After World Domination 3, My Dearest Self With Malice Aforethought 11 (the final volume), Saint Young Men 14, Smile Down the Runway 21, With the Sheikh in His Harem 8 (also a final volume), and Ya Boy Kongming! 6.

MICHELLE: Insert obligatory Chihayafuru rejoicing.

SEAN: J-Novel Club has a few series in print which, well, are mostly already out, but Amazon lists them as next week, so… anyway, it’s Ascendance of a Bookworm 10, I Shall Survive Using Potions! (manga) 5, Infinite Dendrogram 14, A Lily Blooms in Another World, My Friend’s Little Sister Has It in for Me! 1, Tearmoon Empire 2, and The Unwanted Undead Adventurer (manga) 2.

ASH: I am so far behind on my light novel reading, but there are some good ones here.

SEAN: Digitally we have two light novels debuting. Goodbye Otherworld, See You Tomorrow (Sayonara Isekai, Mata Kite Ashita), a post-apocalyptic journey series that looks a bit more serious than most recent isekai titles.

There’s also Private Tutor to the Duke’s Daughter (Koujo Denka no Kateikyoushi), the story of a commoner who was trying to become a court magician… but failed. Now his only recourse to avoid debt is a suspicious tutoring job.

We also see Lazy Dungeon Master 15 and the 7th Unwanted Undead Adventurer (manga version).

Ghost Ship has Call Girl in Another World 3 and Yuuna and the Haunted Hot Springs 16.

Denpa Books gives us The Girl with the Sanpaku Eyes 3.

And Dark Horse has the 3rd volume of Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken!.

Cross Infinite World gives us Reset! The Imprisoned Princess Dreams of Another Chance! 2 digitally.

Lastly, Airship has two digital-early titles: The Most Notorious “Talker” Runs the World’s Greatest Clan 2 and Reborn as a Space Mercenary: I Woke Up Piloting the Strongest Starship! 3.

Too much, too marvelous, too marvelous for words. What titles make you dance?

The Girl I Saved on the Train Turned Out to Be My Childhood Friend, Vol. 1

by

By Kennoji and Fly. Released in Japan as “Chikan Saresou ni Natteiru S-kyuu Bishoujo wo Tasuketara Tonari no Seki no Osananajimi datta” by GA Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Sergio Avila.

I have not read the two other series that this author has out in English. Hazure Skill and Drugstore in Another World are both in genres that I’m gradually trying to read less of. But ‘syrupy sweet high school romance’ is still a relatively new genre in English-translated light novels. Honestly, the marketplace changes a lot these days, and yesterday’s down and outs are today’s up and comers. Remember 15 years ago when we all said sports manga was impossible to license? Even just five years ago I was saying that you couldn’t get a LN title licensed unless it had some sort of fantasy or supernatural plotline in it. But now here we are. That said, to be honest I picked this up because of the artist. Fly is best known here for Bottom-Tier Character Tomozaki, and this is in the same basic genre. That said, the two books are doing different things. Tomozaki is a deconstruction. This book is what it deconstructs.

Ryou is a typical light novel romance protagonist: nondescript, doesn’t have many friends, school skipper, thinks of himself in terrible ways. One day on the train he sees a girl being groped by a salaryman, and decides to make a scene and get the guy caught. Later, in school, it turns out that he’s sitting next to said girl in class… and that it’s Hina, his childhood friend. They had been inseparable in grade school, but in middle school she got super gorgeous and popular, and he got more self-conscious and so they drifted apart. But while he may have mostly forgotten about her, she certainly hasn’t forgotten about him. As the book goes on, Ryou starts to notice that Hina is asking to walk home with him, and making him food, and asking him out on dates. Does this mean… she has feelings for him? Nah, let’s not overthink this.

As always with this genre, whether you can tolerate it or not depends how much you like ‘oblivious’ teenage boys. I’d say it was unrealistic except I was also a teenage boy, and no, it really is this bad. That said, at least the series gets a confession out of the way by the end of the first book, even if it leads to “I’m not sure how I feel about you”. Hina is cute, and the reader is meant to understand her frustration with Ryou and sympathize, and it works pretty well. I also loved Ryou’s younger sister Mana, who does not have a shred of the standard “younger sister of the protagonist” character to her and is quite happy wingmanning for her brother, though buying condoms for him turns out to be a mistake. (There’s no sex in this book, sorry to disappoint. Everyone’s very pure.) And the love rival role is handled pretty well, as she’s good at analyzing Ryou and Hina and knows that’s why she doesn’t really have a chance.

There’s nothing outstanding about this book, and it doesn’t have a good gimmick like Tomozaki. But it’s decently written, and there are no terrible people in it yet. If you like the genre of “pretty girl tries to get guy to admit that someone might actually like him and it’s her”, this is a good one to try.

Villainess: Reloaded! Blowing Away Bad Ends with Modern Weapons, Vol. 3

by

By 616th Special Information Battalion and Wuhuo. Released in Japan as “Doushitemo Hametsushitakunai Akuyaku Reijou ga Gendai Heiki wo Te ni Shita Kekka ga Kore desu” by K Lanove Books. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Shaun Cook.

This is, as of my writing of this review, the latest volume in the series, and it’s been about a year and a half since it came out in Japan. I know that fans here in the English-speaking world tend to dislike those sorts of books, wondering why publishers would license it when it grinds to an unfinished halt. (The answer is almost always “because it was still ongoing when they licensed it”, in case you were wondering.) But yes, nothing is really resolved in this volume either – we’ve gotten up to the point where the “game” part of this would start, where the heroine is about to arrive at Astrid’s school. That said, I’m not exactly crying if this is all we’re going to get. The author loves writing morally bankrupt heroines, and even in a villainess light novel, a genre I’m particularly soft on, I think I’m starting to reach my limit with Astrid’s evil antics.

Astrid is still trying to figure out ways to avoid her fate (but not realizing that everyone loves her – it’s that sort of genre). She’s socking money away in a separate non-family bank account in case she has to go on the run. She’s getting familiars who are far more powerful than mere fairies. She’s conducting experiments on other students to see if they will murder small animals just because she tells them to. There’s a beach episode! You know, the usual stuff. Even as she tries her hardest to learn better magic/get more firepower, the world edges closer to the actual war that will likely trigger these events. And even her grades aren’t assured anymore, as she’s reaching the limits of what her previous life can achieve and realizing that science in another world is hard.

There are some cool set pieces in this. Astrid’s battle with the fenrir is pretty cool, and he seems to be a cool wolf familiar, albeit one that doesn’t really care if she’s got no soul. It is occasionally amusing seeing Iris having to deal with her friend’s crushes, and trying to help them along by drugging the crush to get a result… but not TOO much. Astrid’s mother, again, seems to know exactly what her daughter is doing despite Astrid’s best efforts to conceal it, and I wish we’d see her more than once a book. But yeah, I think I have reached my limit on watching “what if the villainess reincarnated decides to be more villainous” as a plotline. It doesn’t help that there are other areas of the book also starting to annoy me – Iris’ former bullies are now stealing her used underwear, because nothing says teenage lesbian crush like making it creepy.

This author pretty much does this type of character, regardless of the genre, and if you enjoy Her Majesty’s Swarm you’ll probably like this as well. If you like Villainess books, though, feel free to stop, as I’m going to.