Manga Bookshelf

Discussion, Resources, Roundtables, & Reviews

Sean Gaffney

Der Werwolf: The Annals of Veight, Vol. 11

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By Hyougetsu and Nishi(E)da. Released in Japan by Earth Star Novels. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Ningen.

The last couple of books have been trying to explain why Veight is as successful and beloved as he is, and that it’s not simply “he is an incredibly strong and powerful werewolf”. As Veight notes in this volume, he could immediately solve the problem in the kingdom of Kuwol if he simply killed Zagar. He’d be justified in doing so. Zagar killed the king and framed Veight for it. But doing that would plunge the country into chaos, which is absolutely not what Veight wants. Zagar is certainly strong, and can kill anyone who is suddenly no longer useful to him. But all he wants is combat, which means he’ll never be satisfied. Veight, on the other hand, has spent the last ten books making the kingdom safe for both humans and other races, and all he wants to do is settle down with his wife and child. He investigates thoroughly. He takes the opinions of commoners into advisement, but also thinks of the nobles and their pride. He’s just really good at this.

No, don’t worry, that’s not Veight’s unborn child on the cover, but the late king’s, who it turned out had a favorite consort. This volume picks up where the last left off, as Veight tries to figure out how best to unite the nobles, stop Zagar, and not have everything explore into war. He’s helped by the return of Parker, who may have gone missing but was never really in danger, and who is perhaps at his least silly in this book. With the help of a mountain tribe and a cleverly placed fake… as well as, admittedly, the power of modern laser guns… Veight is able to win the day. This allows him to hurry home, as he’s gotten an unfortunate prophecy about Airia, who it turns out needs to have a cesarean section (completely unknown in this world) or else the touch of death may strike her and their child. Can Veight and company save the day? And will the prophecy come true anyway?

This is not the final book in the series – J-Novel Club has licensed at least through Vol. 13, and the rights to the novels were just sold to Square Enix, who will be releasing more. But it’s the end of the “main story”, and the author says that the rest of the books are essentially going to be side stories. (They’re even changing the illustrator to reflect the books “lighter feel” starting next time.) Certainly this seems like the “end of one age, stat of a new one” sort of book, especially with the last few pages of the main story showing off Veight and Airia’s child as well as the return (sort of) of a very old friend. This is why Veight is not Zagar. Zagar cannot be satisfied unless he’s fighting an enemy. Veight, though, once he’s managed to protect what he wants to, and helped others to thrive as a nation… he’s ready to relax and be a husband and father. In fact, he looks forward to it. Well, and a simple vice-commander, of course. He’ll always be that.

I have perhaps enjoyed this series a bit more than it really deserves (it might be the medium – J-NC has licensed the manga and I find it near unreadable), but I do think it rewards readers who like this kind of thing. I look forward to a more relaxed tale going forward.

Manga the Week of 4/28/21

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SEAN: The end of April and there’s still so much going on.

Airship has two digital-early debuts. I Have a Secret (Kakushigoto) is the latest one-shot by the author of I Want to Eat Your Pancreas, and is not related to the manga and anime series Kakushigoto. It’s all about unspoken feelings in high school.

MICHELLE: Ooh. This sounds my speed.

ASH: I’ve enjoyed the manga adaptations of this author’s works; I really need to make a point to read some of the originals.

SEAN: The Strange Adventure of a Broke Mercenary (Kuitsume Youhei no Gensou Kitan) is a fantasy series about a man, the sole survivor of a battle that killed off all those important to him, who hires himself out as a merc. Sadly, most people just want to use him. Can he find an ally? This is a long-running LN series in Japan, with 15 volumes to date.

We also get the last of the deluge of Alice in the Country of digital editions, the light novel Alice in the Country of Diamonds: Bet On My Heart. Lastly, there’s a 3rd volume of Roll Over and Die out early digitally.

Denpa Books’ website says they have the debut of Shino Can’t Say Her Name (Shino-chan wa Jibun no Namae ga Ienai), a one-shot from the creator of Flowers of Evil, Happiness, etc. that promises to be a bit lighter in tone than those titles. It ran in Ohta Shuppan’s Pocopoco, and is about a girl with severe social anxiety. This seems to take a less comedic take than Komi Can’t Communicate.

MICHELLE: I will likely check this one out.

ASH: Same!

SEAN: Ghost Ship has Destiny Lovers 6, Parallel Paradise 5, World’s End Harem 10, and Yokai Girls 13.

J-Novel Club has a quartet of titles, as we get Invaders of the Rokujouma!? 36, Record of Wortenia War 10, Seirei Gensouki: Spirit Chronicles 14, and Sorcerous Stabber Orphen: The Reckless Journey 3 (manga).

Debuting in print for Kodansha is Chasing After Aoi Koshiba (Kyou, Koshiba Aoi ni Aetara), a yuri manga from Ichijinsha’s Comic REX. It’s got the writer of Masamune-kun’s Revenge (ehh…) and the artist of Bottom-Tier Character Tomozaki (yay!). A girl hopes to meet up with her first love at a reunion. (Yes. Yes, I know. It got bumped at the last minute.)

ASH: I thought that sounded familiar!

SEAN: They’ve also got the 8th Bakemonogatari manga and the 8th Kino’s Journey manga, which is also the final volume in the adaptation.

The digital debut is And Yet, You Are So Sweet (Na no ni, Chigira-kun ga Amasugiru), a Dessert title about a girl who just got rejected and the popular guy who hears about this and offers to help with her problem. But will she fall for him?

MICHELLE: Sounds a bit like Say I Love You., but I’m totally down for it.

ANNA: Me too, if only it wasn’t a digital only title because I will likely forget that it exists.

SEAN: We also get The Dawn of the Witch 2, DAYS 23, Harem Marriage 4, Those Snow White Notes 3, What I Love About You 5, and When We’re in Love 7.

MICHELLE: Yay for more DAYS! Also, how am I this far behind on Those Snow White Notes already?!

ASH: It does seem to be on a quick release schedule!

SEAN: One Peace Books has The Rising of the Shield Hero 19.

Seven Seas’ debut is Dai Dark, the latest series from the creator of Dorohedoro. It runs in Shogakukan’s Monthly Shonen Sunday, and should appeal to all fans of her previous work, and likely will be just as violent as her previous work.

ASH: I am so looking forward to this one!

SEAN: Also out: Alice & Zoroku 8, The Ancient Magus’ Bride 14, The Demon Girl Next Door 2, The Legend of Dororo and Hyakkimaru 3, Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid: Kanna’s Daily Life 8, My Room Is a Dungeon Rest Stop 4, and Syrup: A Yuri Anthology 3.

MICHELLE: I look forward to getting caught up on The Ancient Magus’ Bride!

ASH: I’ve some catching up to do, too, but I really do enjoy the series.

SEAN: Square Enix has the 6th Hi Score Girl.

Yen On’s debut next week is a two-fer light novel adaptation of a Makoto Shinkai work: 5 Centimeters per Second + Children Who Chase Lost Voices. Now you can be depressed but also moved in prose!

ASH: I somehow missed that there were two 5 Centimeters per Second novels – Vertical released another one a couple years ago, too.

SEAN: Also out: Accel World 24, The Alchemist Who Survived Now Dreams of a Quiet City Life 6, Baccano! 16, The Eminence in Shadow 3, The Genius Prince’s Guide to Raising a Nation Out of Debt (Hey, How About Treason?) 6, High School DxD 3, The Irregular at Magic High School 16, King of the Labyrinth 2, Torture Princess 7, Wolf and Parchment: New Theory Spice & Wolf 5, Woof Woof Story 6, The World’s Finest Assassin Gets Reincarnated in Another World as an Aristocrat 2, and You Call That Service? 3. Some long awaited titles there: Irregular at Magic High School and You Call That Service haven’t had a volume out in over a year.


Four Yen Press debuts. After School Hanako-kun (Houkago Shounen Hanako-kun) is a comedy spinoff of Toilet-Bound Hanako-kun. It runs in PFantasy, which I can only assume is like a spinoff of Shonen Panpan? No, that just sounds like a dirty Japanese schoolboy. Anyway, it’s probably an online spinoff of the main magazine.

ASH: I like the main series, so will likely give this one a try, too.

SEAN: I Was a Bottom-Tier Bureaucrat for 1,500 Years, and the Demon King Made Me a Minister (Hira Yakunin Yatte 1500-nen, Maou no Chikara de Daijin ni Sare Chaimashita) is the manga adaptation of the light novel we saw last month. It ran in Gangan Online.

I’m the Catlords’ Manservant (Boku wa Oneko-sama no Geboku desu) is about, as many manga are, a child having to pay off their parents’ massive debt. This one does so by serving shapeshifting cats. This runs in GFantasy, which means it’ll interest MJ, probably.

ANNA: I am just amused by the description of this manga.

ASH: New cat manga!

MJ: I HAVE BEEN SUMMONED. Also, yes. Yes. BRING IT TO ME.

SEAN: Your Turn to Die: Majority Vote Death Game (Kimi ga Shine -Tasuuketsu Death Game-) reminds us that death game manga are still apparently a thing. It’s based on a game, runs in Shonen Ace, and… well, it’s a death game manga. Come on.

Also coming out next week: Golden Japanesque: A Splendid Yokohama Romance 2.

MICHELLE: Yay!

ANNA: I was slightly underwhelmed by the first volume but maybe the second volume will sell me on the series.

SEAN: That ended up being quite a bit. Anything you’re picking up?

Slayers: Gaav’s Challenge

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By Hajime Kanzaka and Rui Araizumi. Released in Japan by Fujimi Fantasia Bunko. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Elizabeth Ellis.

Slayers is Lina Inverse’s series, and that goes doubly for the original novels. The story is told from her first-person perspective, and while we’ve had a supporting cast around her for most of the books, I’d argue only Gourry is the one that can’t be replaced… as we’ll find out in a couple book’s time. Thus, it should not particularly be a surprise to find that this one sorcerer is actually on the mind of almost all the demons in the world, being it wanting to kill her as part of some as yet unknown plan, wanting to kill her because the plan is unknown, wanting to kill her because she killed some of their friends earlier, etc., Lina’s got a lot on her plate right now, to the point where “find out why everyone is trying to kill me” is number one on her bucket list. And yet, I’ve got to say, it’s STILL a shocking moment when an elder dragon casually asks Lina if she’s a fragment of the Biggest of Bads in the series, even Lina is shocked. (Note we never find out if this is the truth.)

This may be the most hilariously inappropriate cover art ever. First of all, Slayers does not have a lot of romance in it. Second, almost all the romance it DOES have, including any crushes Amelia might have on Zelgadis, stem from the anime – the author has stated he avoids romance as he’s bad at it. Thirdly, Amelia is actually pretty badass in this book, punching a demon till it explodes, so I’m not sure why we get the “fair maiden” shot here. (Any Amelia fans who were always grumpy about how she was overused for comedy in the anime should definitely check out the novels.) Likewise, Zelgadis does occasionally get angry in this book, particularly when he discovers Xellos’ actual identity and the fact that Lina knew about it, but I can’t see him making this face in the novels ever – like Amelia, he’s simply far more sedate and put together.

The Slayers novels are not exactly what I would call fluffy, but this one in particular is pretty grim, with the city Lina and company are in getting devastated. Early on Lina is hunting down rumors and meets a little thief kid, who lays out some bits of plot for her. He even gets interior art, and I was wondering how he’d show up later on. Then, while fleeing the burning city, she comes across the boy’s body – he’s dead. It’s the sort of thing you rarely see this blatantly in Slayers, but it helps to show off one of the book’s main points – in a battle between demons, humans are irrelevant. When an elder dragon protects Lina from being killed, the demons trying to do it are stunned that he would bother, as humans are there to be meat shields, allies or no. This is a very dangerous world to live in – particularly if you’re Lina.

The next volume wraps up the first major arc in this series, and should be a lot of fun, as our crew tries to defeat Gaav – who I didn’t even mention in my review, despite his being in the title. Plus we’re almost at the books that never came out in English before!

The Ideal Sponger Life, Vol. 2

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By Tsunehiko Watanabe and Jyuu Ayakura. Released in Japan as “Risou no Himo Seikatsu” by Hero Bunko. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by MPT.

I get the sense that the author is well aware that his core audience may not yet be here for the politics. Sure, in a volume or two the readers will be into that, but here in the second volume there’s still a lot of horny guys taken in by the premise and the title. What’s worse, Aura is pregnant throughout most of this book, so we can’t even write in her and Zenjirou making love. As a result, there are, frankly, a heck of a lot of descriptions of Aura’s large breasts, to the point where it gets to be vaguely annoying. Indeed, it’s almost a plot point – to the typical reader of this series, Aura’s tall, red-haired muscular and stacked body is exactly what they like, but in her own country, she’s not considered attractive compared to the more willowy and mild women that Zenjirou gets introduced to here. Even her own trusted aide is amazed how much Zenjirou is attracted to her. It’s hard being the Queen.

Still, while the audience may not be here for the politics, that is what they are going to get. Aura’s position is still very precarious. Zenjirou begins to emerge into actual public appearances, and the moment he does various factions try to manipulate him so they can gain power and influence. Usually this involves offering him women to be his concubine, something which is not only common here but actually expected, which leads to friction in many ways. Zenjirou is not comfortable with taking on another lover, Aura knows it’s necessary but isn’t happy with it, and then there’s the fact that he likely has the blood of two different kingdoms in him, which means their child might also have two different kinds of magic powers – a big deal in this world. Get ready for negotiation madness!

Zenjirou is far more adept and clever at this than he likes to admit to himself, but he does find it exhausting, and I don’t blame him. He’s offered a military bow, which naturally he can’t use, and is able to finagle himself out of it but comes off looking weak. Then there’s all the concubine business, which is off the table for now due to the multiple magics problem, which is ALSO solved by making him look weak and pitiful. Aura is unhappy with this, as she has rapidly come to fall in love with Zenjirou for real, but sadly, politics. that’s almost the motto for this volume, honestly. Fortunately, Zenjirou does have a few aces up his sleeve. Glass marbles, which he brought from Earth, are considered immensely valuable here (though learning how to make glass proves a bit more difficult), and his abilities at contract negotiation help when the Queen has to negotiate with another country regarding the life of their child and how they will be brought up going forward.

Fortunately, at the end of the book the child is born, healthy and hearty. I’m not sure where we go from here, but I will continue to read the light novel series with the biggest dissonance between its title and what actually happens.

Since I Was Abandoned After Reincarnating, I Will Cook With My Fluffy Friends: The Figurehead Queen Is Strongest At Her Own Pace, Vol. 1

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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.

I always appreciate it when a series takes the effort to do convincing setup… well, convincing enough. This is still a reincarnated as an otome game villainess series, so I’m not asking for 100% realism, or even a thing I haven’t seen before. But you want the book to be interesting enough that you will say “yes, I will add this to my stack of villainess novels to follow”, and that’s where Fluffy Friends delivers. (If you think I’m typing out that full title again, you’re crazy.) It’s definitely a series in things for the long haul – we don’t even get to cooking with the fluffy friends till halfway through the book, and by the end of the book she still doesn’t know her husband’s big secret. But it sets out its worldbuilding, it explains why Laetitia is the way she is and why everyone thought she was evil, and her life does not magically get super easy after the memories come back.

When we first meet Laetitia,. she’s been shoved into a fountain by her fiancee, and things don’t get better from there. Despite making perfectly rational explanations for her behavior, everyone seems to be hating her and loving the other girl who’s accusing her of bullying. And so our heroine decides to simply retreat, and her father (who is 100% in her corner) arranges for her to marry the king of a nearby area, who has a reputation for hating women but needs a figurehead queen to fend off fiancees. That’s fine with Laetitia, who, now that she can recall her past life, wants to start doing what she did while in Japan: cook! That said, the cooking may also get her in trouble, as her new home not only is home to a combination of humans and beastkin, but they are at political loggerheads with each other, and even a chiffon cake can be a lethal weapon.

First off, I said “otome game villainess” was the arc, but there’s no game involved here – this isn’t a thing the heroine played in Japan or anything. That said, the way that her memories of her former life and her current life mesh together is possibly the smoothest we’ve ever seen it in these sorts of books. Laetitia does not suddenly have a different personality, nor does she have to deal with confusing new customs. Instead, it’s as if her Japanese life was unconsciously with her all along, and now she can access it. She’s also pretty overpowered for a book like this – she lacks the ability to automatically make everyone fall in love with her that a lot of these type of heroines do, but that’s OK, as she’s smart, powerful at magic, and very good at political mindgames. And, of course, there’s the relationship with her new husband, which is still mostly hypothetical here, but it’s clear that he’s going to be falling for her first.

This is mostly a serious minded slow-life romance, with the one bit of great humor coming when Laetitia’s father has to explain to her how she, like he, has a complete inability to fake a smile and just looks evil. Still, Laetitia is a terrific character, and there are a few others I found more interesting than I expected, such as Natalie, one of the king’s four marriage candidates. I realize that the pile of villainess titles to read is getting pretty high, but you should be adding this one to the stack.

Pick of the Week: Hana-chan and the Picks of the Week

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SEAN: There are a lot of debuts, any one of which I should be picking here. That said, the title I’m likely most interested in is the third and final volume of Bleach: Can’t Fear Your Own World, where the author of Baccano! and Durarara!! attempts to take Bleach’s ludicrously large supporting cast and do something interesting with them, and while he may not quite succeed, the attempt is certainly better than Tite Kubo’s was.

MICHELLE: I’m intrigued by Superwomen in Love! and am quite sure I will like Blue Giant, but I will pick Blue Flag this time. I really, really loved the first two volumes and it’s high time I got caught up!

ASH: There are so many great manga being released this week! In addition to the ones already mentioned, I’m also looking forward to getting my hands on the latest Junji Ito title, Lovesickness, as well as Shotaro Ishinomori’s SUPER SENTAI: Himitsu Sentai Gorenger. My official pick this week goes to Hana-chan and the Shape of the World, though.

ANNA: There’s a lot that’s intriguing this week, but I’m with Michelle, I’m most enthusiastic about more Blue Flag.

MJ: There are a number of things I’m interested in this week, including all the aforementioned manga plus Our Not-So-Lonely Planet Travel Guide, but I’m with Ash this week. My pick has to be Hana-chan and the Shape of the World. It sounds just lovely.

Banner of the Stars: Thunder of the Empire

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By Hiroyuki Morioka and Toshihiro Ono. Released in Japan by Hayakawa Bunko. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Giuseppe di Martino.

And so we finally catch up with Banner of the Stars, a series whose last three volumes have come out over the course of the last twenty years, so I’m not sure when the next one in the series will be. This book takes place ten years after the last one, though honestly it took the author telling me that to actually make me understand it. The Abh are long-lived and don’t really age, so there’s a certain stasis to their lives, and it makes it hard to get a real sense of time. As for this book in particular, it’s very good news for those who love long, detailed descriptions of space battles, though as always these are somewhat remote, vaguely realistic space battles taken on by dry, sarcastic space elves, so don’t expect dramatic pew pew laser fights and heroes screaming out as they are killed. What we get instead is the Abh slowly trying to take back what they lost, and to regain contact with the other half of their split Empire, which is also trying its best.

Unlike the last book, Lafier gets quite a bit to do, as she’s promoted from training the new troops (which she’s been doing since the end of the previous book) to having a fleet of her own, whose job it is to retake the capital!… wait, no, that’s not its job, much to Lafier’s irritation. Instead they’re going after a different strategic site, trying to gauge the strength of the enemy, take out the enemy, force the enemy’s leaders to surrender, and seize the day. This is not quite as easy as it sounds… but it mostly is, with the Abh winning fairly one-sidedly. The drama comes from, as I said, Lafier not being a very happy camper. She’s still inexperienced for an Abh, and knows she would not have her own fleet if she weren’t Crown Princess. She has a minder on board, with orders to relieve her of duty if she screws up. And Jint, who is still by her side, is, well, starting to look older than her.

While talking about this book on Twitter, I noted that folks who started the series reading about the adventures of Jint and Lafier, who were hoping for more scenes of them together like we saw in Crest, are probably very disappointed by now, as it’s clear that’s not remotely what the author wants to write about at the moment. It was also pointed out to me that I don’t think like an Abh, and by their standards Jint and Lafier are sickening sweethearts, which is also true, I suppose. (We do see some good shots of Sporr and Cfadiss, which is the only other relationship we see in this series anything like the one Jint and Lafier have, and I appreciated it.) That said, Lafier does think about the fact that, as the years go on, Jint is going to look older and older and she isn’t. I’m not sure that makes her happy, but not much she can do about it. Still, any furthering of the romance will likely have to wait for the end of the war.

When will that end? Well, we’re not sure, as the next book isn’t out in Japan yet. This came out in 2018. I am hoping the gap between books will be more like the 5 year gap between 5 and 6, rather than the 9-year-gap between 4 and 5. till then, this is recommended for science fiction readers who like reading about military tactics.

The Matchmaking of Marielle Clarac

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By Haruka Momo and Maro. Released in Japan as “Marielle Clarac no Kyuuai” by Ichijinsha Bunko Iris NEO. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Philip Reuben.

The author describes this book as a “calm and gentle” story, and I suppose, given that the previous book involved Marielle getting involved with pirates and her wedding had her kidnapped, falling into a river, etc. that that is correct. In reality, all it means is that all the action and danger to our heroine is packed into the last quarter of the book. Heck, even the main storyline in the book has Julianne, Marielle’s friend and BL reader, accused of attempting to poison the royal family. When you are the light novel equivalent of Murder, She Wrote, calm and gentle seems like a long time ago. That said, this novel also serves as a reminder that the only thing worse than the attitude of nobles towards commoners is the attitude of greater nobles towards lesser nobles. Marielle had to deal with this as well, of course, but at least Simeon was only an Earl. When the Prince of the Realm is head over heels in love with you, and your parents are social climbers, it can be quite the headache…

Marielle is happy as a clam as the book starts, but inevitably gets dragged into this mess. After all, Simeon and the Prince are friends, and she and Julianne are friends. She’s the reason the two even met in the first place. And the Prince is now doing his best to not act like a pathetic drip. Mostly. So it’s time to meet the parents, who are worried that a girl from a lesser barony winning over their son means she has intentions other than love. This is not helped by Julianne herself, who is firmly convinced that their classes are too far apart, and is in general far too practical to simply leap into something like this. The answer, of course, is to have Marielle around, as she is both very much a part of the royal world now and also frequently the opposite of practical. Can she get Julianne to admit her own feelings, get the King and Queen to learn what type of person she is, and not get stabbed preventing an assassination attempt? Note: the answer to the last question is no.

Yeah, as noted, this book leaves all its thriller aspects for the last quarter, and spends most of the time in mystery and romance mode. The King and Queen are both very likeable people – indeed, the whole royal family is pretty great – and the moral of the first 3/4 of the book might just be “don’t assume everyone loves dogs”. But there has always been the threat of war and politics lurking at the edge of this series, if not directly involved with it, and there is a definite anti-monarchist faction, which decides to take more decisive action. It is rather startling to see Marielle, who I have previously described as a flibbertigibbet sustain a serious injury in this book, though in best action heroine style this does not stop her from sticking around till everything is resolved before passing out. Heck, she even does the “I can’t run in this dress” clothing rip!

So yes, another strong volume, and fans of Marielle who notice that she doesn’t fangirl QUITE as much in this book will, I suspect, get more of what they want to balance it in Book 7. Will the nation go to war? And can Marielle find a way to write romance novel about it?

Bookshelf Briefs 4/16/21

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Dead Dead Demon’s Dededede Destruction, Vol. 9 | By Inio Asano | Viz Media – By the ninth volume of Dead Dead Demon, any hope that this series was a “lighter, softer” version of Inio Asano’s usual manga has long since left town—this is the bleakest, most depressing volume in the series to date, with even the Doraemon parody going into the “you will die old and alone” bin for its “comedy.” Last time I said that I could not see the current situation ending in any way but tragedy, and that’s absolutely the case, as Kadode essentially turns this series into a new volume of Death Note, to the point where it takes Oran beating her up in sheer horror to make her… well, let’s just say we know why Oran hopped universes. As for the universe they’re in now? Not optimistic. Brilliant, but ugh. – Sean Gaffney

I Was Reincarnated as the Villainess in an Otome Game but the Boys Love Me Anyway!, Vol. 1 | By Sou Inaida and Atakai | TOKYOPOP – Another villainess otome that can best be described as “Bakarina only taking itself seriously,” this volume does not really make any major mistakes but also suffers from not really doing much to stand out. The heroine is trying to avoid her death flags, but doing it in perfectly sensible ways, and the fact that the boys fall for her anyway baffles her. Again, I like the message, which is that being good rewards you with good things happening to you, but I keep waiting for the deconstruction or the zany antics. If you really love otome game villainess stories, read this, but if you want a serious Bakarina, read Accomplishments of the Duke’s Daughter instead. – Sean Gaffney

I’m in Love with the Villainess, Vol. 1 (manga) | By Inori and Aonoshimo | Seven Seas – This early digital version is out a good four months before the print release, but I’ll still take it, as I adore this series. This being the first volume, and thus concerned with setting the table, it’s filled with light and goofy comedy, as Rae is very, very concerned with getting Claire to make angry faces at her, which are the poses she loves to see. There is a bit of foreshadowing of future events here, which the manga should be getting into soon, but for the most part, this is breezy fun, and I especially love how Rae explains that Claire’s bullying is much better than the garden variety sort—she does it herself, she makes sure there’s no permanent damage, etc. Rae sees the beauty of Claire, and soon we will too. – Sean Gaffney

Oresama Teacher, Vol. 28 | By Izumi Tsubaki | Viz Media – As the series begins to come to a close, it’s definitely getting around to wrapping up the main problems that the final arc has left our cast with. Maki learns that sometimes your actual memories can be papered over by other things, such as grudges and hatred, and you have to remove those to see what’s underneath. Toko learns not only that when it comes to madcap, zany schemes she has nothing on this school’s students, but also that she can’t win against her older brother… who also cares about her far more than she imagined. And then there’s Mafuyu, who manages to be cool and awesome in about five different ways even when in her Natsuo persona. Not as popular as Nozaki-kun, but I will miss it. – Sean Gaffney

Rainbow and Black, Vol. 1 | By Eri Takenashi | Seven Seas – I have a soft spot for weird, peculiar manga, so the bizarre creature on the the cover of Rainbow and Black immediately piqued my interest in the series. What sold me on the first volume, however, was the lead character punching out a man within the first few pages. (Unfortunately, this does lead to her losing her waitressing job, but the ill-behaved customer absolutely deserved what he got after groping her.) Shirahoshi Kuroe is a college student who likes things to be very clear-cut; life, of course, has a tendency to be anything but. And so when circumstances lead to Kuro taking in an abandoned “happy mouse”—an animal that defies being neatly categorized—she finds herself having to start thinking about things a little differently. In part, Rainbow and Black is a cute story about (incredibly strange) pet ownership, but it’s also about Kuro’s charming growth as a person. -Ash Brown

A School Frozen in Time, Vol. 1 | By Naoshi Arakawa and Mizuki Tsujimura | Kodansha Comics – On an especially snowy day, eight students of an elite prep school find they are the only people to have shown up to class. Not only that, once they’re inside the building, they can’t leave. Soon, all watches and clocks stop at the exact time that a suicide occurred two months ago during the school festival, resulting in the death of a classmate that none of them can remember. And what’s more, that classmate’s spirit might actually be among them right now! I enjoyed this first volume a good bit. The creepy vibe is well done, and though I at first found the characterization a bit shallow, it improves as it goes along. It seems we might focus on one kid at a time as they finally remember who it was who died and are then eliminated from the scenario in bloody yet ambiguous fashion. Okay, I’m hooked. – Michelle Smith

Skip Beat!, Vol. 45 | By Yoshiki Nakamura | VIZ Media –I have been reading Skip Beat! for thirteen years now. THIRTEEN. And for the majority of that time, I’ve been anticipating something that finally, finally, finally happens at the end of this volume. The build-up is suitably epic, as Kyoko begins the volume believing Ren is in a sordid relationship with a porn star, but after he explains the embarrassing truth to her (in Bo costume), she’s back to believing it’s manipulative Morizumi that he loves. Still, she wants Ren to be happy more than anything, and right now the girl he loves thinks he’s a creep, so Bo convinces him to confess his real feelings. Cue Ren spotting Kyoko in the lobby, a two-page sprint scene, a dramatic elevator entry, and Ren finally clearing away all the Morizumi mess until Kyoko believes him: it’s been her all along. Sniff. Can’t wait for volume 46! – Michelle Smith

Manga the Week of 4/21/21

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SEAN: The end of April, and the daffodils are blooming. What manga do we have?

Airship gives us a print version of the 10th Mushoku Tensei novel and digital versions of The Hidden Dungeon Only I Can Enter 4 and PENGUINDRUM 3 (the final volume).

ASH: I still need to read PENGUINDRUM.

SEAN: J-Novel Club has new digital volumes, as we get Full Metal Panic! 11, The Great Cleric 2, The Master of Ragnarok & Blesser of Einherjar 15, and My Friend’s Little Sister Has It In for Me 2.

In print… theoretically… Kodansha Manga has the 7th volume of My Boy, a former Vertical title. It’s nowhere on their website, but all the major outlets list it.

The digital debut is The Honey-blood Beauty & Her Vampire (Mitsugetsuhime to Vampire), a shoujo title from Palcy about a vampire and his charge, a girl whose blood tastes amazing. This comes with the usual “lead guy is pervert and sadist” warning that a lot of these shoujo titles do. I’m sure he will get better, it’s only 4 volumes.

MICHELLE: I’ll be passing on this one.

ANNA: Me too.

MJ: Ugh.

SEAN: There’s also Blue Lock 2, Dr. Ramune -Mysterious Disease Specialist- 4, A Girl & Her Guard Dog 3, Orient 11, We’re New at This 5, and Will It Be the World or Her? 4.

The big debut for Seven Seas is SUPER SENTAI: Himitsu Sentai Gorenger. This manga ran in Weekly Shonen Sunday in the mid-1970s, and almost every sentai series since owes a debt to it. You may recognize the author from Cyborg 009 or Kamen Rider. It’s in one big deluxe hardcover, containing the whole manga.

ANNA: Sounds cool, I’m glad that we’re getting more retro manga!

ASH: I really enjoyed what we got of Cyborg 009, and I’m likewise excited to see older titles being licensed!

MJ: Same here!

SEAN: The other debut also involves heroics, but in a more yuri way. Superwomen in Love! Honey Trap and Rapid Rabbit (Hero-san to Moto Onna Kanbu-san) is a Yuri Hime title about a villainess who can’t defeat her arch-nemesis… as she finally sees her face and is in love! Cast out of her villain society, she ends up moving in with the hero. I’ve heard very good things about this.

ASH: I’m not particularly interested in superheroics, but my curiosity is piqued.

MJ: I’m intrigued!

SEAN: Digitally we get Alice in the Country of Joker: The Nightmare Trilogy, which as you might guess is three volumes.

There’s also the 4th Arifureta Zero manga, Blue Giant Omnibus 3-4, Magika Swordsman and Summoner 14, PENGUINDRUM 4 (the manga this time), and Tamamo-chan’s a Fox! 2.

ANNA: I still have the fist volume of Blue Giant sitting on my bookshelf unread but I’m looking forward to reading it!

ASH: I actually have read the first omnibus and am definitely looking forward to reading more of Blue Giant.

SEAN: Tokyopop has three debuts. I Was Reincarnated as the Villainess in an Otome Game but the Boys Love Me Anyway! (Akuyaku Reijou Desu ga, Kouyaku Taishou no Yousu ga Ijou Sugiru) is from TO Books’ Corona Comics, is based on a light novel, and the plot you can probably guess. That said, it’s surprisingly serious-minded.

Laughing Under the Clouds (Donten ni Warau) is a new shoujo series from Mag Garden’s Comic Avarus. This historical tragedy has spawned many sequels, and deals with three brothers hired to bring criminals to a prison.

The last debut is Our Not-So-Lonely Planet Travel Guide (Bokura no Chikyuu no Arukikata), another Mag Garden title about two men taking a vacation around the world before they marry each other. The vacation is the point of the manga.

MICHELLE: Huh. That might be interesting.

MJ: This does sound interesting.

SEAN: The debut for Viz is a new Junji Ito story collection, this one called Lovesickness. it’s a 400-page hardcover of more of the author’s scariest works.

ASH: I’m always here for Junji Ito manga.

MJ: Count me in!

SEAN: Also coming out: Asadora 2, the 3rd and final novel for Bleach: Can’t Fear Your Own World, Blue Flag 7, Golden Kamuy 21, and Ultraman 15.

ANNA: I need to get caught up on Blue Flag.

ASH: I just recently caught up on it myself; it’s good!

SEAN: Yen On has reprints of Haruhi Suzumiya 7 & 8, the third and final volume of A Mysterious Job Called Oda Nobunaga, and Our Last Crusade or the Rise of a New World 6.

Yen Press debuts Hana and the Shape of the World (Hana-chan to, Sekai no Katachi), a one-shot collection revolving around a young girl exploring her town. This ran in Comic Beam.

ASH: I’m expecting this one to be good – it was one of the jury selections from last year’s Japan Media Arts Festival.

MJ: This sounds lovely.

SEAN: There’s also a 2nd Cirque du Freak omnibus, The Dark History of the Reincarnated Villainess 2, Mint Chocolate 2, Plunderer 7, RaW Hero 4, Sasaki and Miyano 2, So I’m a Spider, So What? 9, and Yowamushi Pedal 17.

Vampires? Sentai? Villainesses? Vacationing gay men? What holds your interest the most?

Fushi no Kami: Rebuilding Civilization Starts with a Village, Vol. 3

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By Mizuumi Amakawa and Mai Okuma. Released in Japan as “Fushi no Kami: Henkyou kara Hajimeru Bunmei Saiseiki” by Overlap. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Maurice Alesch.

It’s rare that you suspect that an author feels that his series has too many readers, but that seems to be the case with Fushi no Kami, which is really going to be pushing the limits of reader tolerance here in just how much the cast can praise every single thing Ash does. It really is ridiculous, and that’s not even counting Maika and Arthur, who are in love with Ash, or the maid that he gains in this book, who clearly is also falling in love with Ash. Now, to be fair, in their eyes Ash is this weird combination of Thomas Edison, Abraham Lincoln, and God, so I suppose it is perfectly reasonable in some ways. Adn yes, Ash is trying to bring back many of the ancient civilization’s conveniences, as well as ruthlessly fending off assassination attempts. Still, I would love it if in future books he gets a complete failure or two under his belt.

We start off with Ash finding a new outlet for his creativity, and this time he isn’t alone. Fellow study group friend Hermes turns out to have an obsession with planes, and has built a model that is being made fun of by the local bullies. Naturally, Ash is over the moon about this, and decides to help him build, if not a full-sized passenger plane, at least a working model. Ash is also getting rewarded, as he gets a medal for taking out the demon monster in the previous book… which promptly gets stolen, leading a vengeful Maika to do some investigating. In the most serious story in the book, some spies have been snooping around from the capital city, and they are looking for a girl. Given this is happening at the same time as Ash’s class is doing survival training, he has to protect said girl while also drawing away the spies turned assassins who have been ordered to kill her. Which… sounds like a fairly sedate book for Ash, given the previous two.

Frustratingly, we still don’t quite get all of Arthur’s backstory here, but we get enough to know why they have to unfortunately return to the capital, though I’m sure we’ll be seeing them again in the future. Much is made near the end of their rivalry with Maika, and I agree they share wonderful moments of closeness, but let’s face it, Maika is going to be married to Ash eventually, he just doesn’t know it yet. I would not necessarily call her a yandere, as she doesn’t really fit the criteria, but she’s certainly obsessed with Ash to the point where it’s almost disturbing, and moves heaven and earth to make sure that he stays by her side for future books. The book’s chapter titles all deal with planes, which makes it a bit frustrating that we only get proper plane building in the first section – I hope they return to this again. More to the point, the cast have now graduated and are essentially adults… how much more can Ash actually pull off now?

As noted, these books require a lot of patience in terms of the cast calling Ash the greatest thing since sliced bread. There’s also what amounts to a torture scene about 3/4 through the book, and the fact that Ash does not realize what he’s doing does not really make it any less (deliberately) creepy. That said, Fushi no Kami remains resolutely readable, which is one of the best qualities in a book.

Outbreak Company, Vol. 17

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By Ichiro Sakaki and Yuugen. Released in Japan by Kodansha Light Novels. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Kevin Steinbach.

One thing that has always remained reliably on brand about this series is how all in it goes on its otaku evangelism. The author is clearly just as bad if not worse than his lead character, and it shows, as the books are littered with references to anime, manga, books, films, games, etc. And what’s more, this is shown in a (mostly) very positive light, with people who would otherwise be indifferent to if not hate each other bonding over their shared obsessions. This particular volume seems to really lay the references on thick – it trusts that readers will not only know what Area 88 is, but also buy into the extended Star Wars riff that comes at the climax of the book. It even affects the plot, as the Americans who show up in Eldant towards the end are somewhat stunned to see the princess swearing at them, as she’s quoting the cliched stock American from Japanese media. That said, the guys who show up in Eldant very much DO feel like stock characters – Outbreak Company is not only a huge fan of cliches, it’s also a client.

We pick up where the last book left off, after a brief prologue from the POV of Shinichi’s family showing how things are going back in Japan. Not well. The hyperspace tunnel is starting to really go to pieces, which is leading to lots of natural disasters. As such, Japan has decided to punt, and tells Shinichi and company they’re pulling out of Eldant in five days. Needless to say, the cast are varying levels of upset by this – Minori is pretty cool with just going back, Hikaru suddenly realizes his own feelings for someone else in the cast, and of course Shinichi is still waffling about what love really is and if he’s in it with anyone. If he stays behind, lacking any ability to either import or create anime and manga, isn’t he just useless? If he takes a girl back with him to Japan, won’t they just be captured and experimented on? And then suddenly the USS Nimitz appears on top of a forest in rival nation Bahairam, and everything gets blown to hell.

As is typical of this series, Shinichi can be thick or clever when the situation demands it, as with his being unable to understand why Petralka seems to be OK with him leaving forever, missing the subtleties of her response as well as her own true feelings. We’ve still got one volume to go, and it’s possible that he won’t pick anyone, but I’d still lay odds on Myusel, who also has a bit of a love revelation in this book. As for the subplot, it’s basically pure action movie – the book makes many references to the 1980 movie The Final Countdown, as our heroes have to infiltrate Bahairam – again – and try to stop the war breaking out between their country, already upset about losing the Dragons Den, and some very jumpy naval officers. Can Shinichi talk everyone down? Can they figure out how to return a battle carrier to its proper place in the world? And can we actually get anyone to confess their love at all without being under the influence?

The next volume is the last, though there’s also a short story collection that I’m not sure is licensed. Fans of the series should enjoy it, though I suspect, like me, they’re happy it’s finally drawing to a close.

Tearmoon Empire, Vol. 4

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By Nozomu Mochitsuki and Gilse. Released in Japan as “Tearmoon Teikoku Monogatari” by TO Books. Released in North America digitally by J-Novel Club. Translated by David Teng.

We’ve now had three books filled with Princess Mia doing something for either selfish or silly reasons (or, increasingly, because she is a very nice person) that ends up misinterpreted by everyone around her as pure brilliance, and we get plenty of that here as well. But we’re starting to also see the rest of the cast accomplish things away from Mia and have their own subplots. No, alas, I don’t mean Miabel, who’s still pretty much the mascot character of the series, and gets left behind for the second half of the book while the rest of the cast have a cruise. Instead, it’s Ludwig, thinking of some offhand remarks of Mia’s as well as what he thinks she would be doing in his place, that leads him to uncover a web of political intrigue that could end up crippling the Empire if things do end up happening the way that Mia predicts they will. His investigation and detective work is a refreshingly sedate part of this book. That said, rest assured there’s still a lot of Mia vs. reality here to love.

As with a couple of other Tearmoon books, the main plot is divided into two large chunks. The first picks up where the previous book left off: the school Mia had planned to start up is floundering, as ,most of the teachers and the headmaster have left. The answer is sadly obvious: Mia may be a very atypical noble now, but most nobles are far more like what Mia was in her previous “life”, and they are not having which this school where horrible farmers will be taught. To solve this, Ludwig suggests bringing in his former mentor, an eccentric old man whose grumpy tendencies and dislike of most nobles play right into Mia’s hands. After this, she is invited on a sea cruise to a tropical island by fellow noble Esmeralda, who IS like most nobles are – you will expect her maid to stab her in the face before the book finishes. Accompanied by Sion, Abel and Keithwood, all of whom supposedly go to “guard” Mia, they sadly run into a typhoon, leaving them stranded on an island that no longer looks as fun.

To get a big negative out of the way first, there is a subplot here about Mia getting a swimsuit for the cruise and realizing that she has tummy bulge, which unfortunately leads to a bunch of fat jokes, though Mia does end up losing most of the weight before the cruise itself. It’s not welcome. The rest of the book is filled with Tearmoon shenanigans, as most of the cast are content to listen to what she says and then make the most amazingly wrong conclusion imaginable, usually to the benefit of everyone involved. The semi-exception here is Keithwood, who knows Mia can be a flake, and is irritated with her mushroom obsession (especially as most of them are poisonous), but still regards her as a force for good. Which, honestly, she is. The narrative may frame Mia’s actions much of the time as self-interest or cowardice, but more and more we’re seeing Mia just be really nice to everyone – and get irritated when other nobles are not, as her anger towards Esmeralda’s treatment of her servant shows. Mia may be no Great Sage, but if things continue to go like this, she may make a very good leader.

The books are getting quite popular in Japan – the author talks about a stage play being made, and a 2nd one is due out this year – and it’s not hard to see why. Mia is fun, the books are exciting, there’s some good politics, and each book is long enough that you get a lot of bang for your buck. Hopefully fewer fat jokes next time, but otherwise still essential.

Holmes of Kyoto, Vol. 4

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By Mai Mochizuki and Shizu Yamauchi. Released in Japan by Futabasha. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Minna Lin.

Rarely have I had to eat my words quite so much as I have in the gap between my review of the third volume and this one, and I urge readers to absolutely not go back and read it. Still, it does mean we have to confront the elephant in the room, though admittedly the book is doing it as well. This series features a man just out of college in love with a girl still in high school, and Japan sure has no issues with this whatsoever given the sheer number of titles out lately featuring age-gap romances, but Western readers tend to dig in their heels a lot more. Now, let’s not kid ourselves, things are not going anywhere anytime soon. Indeed, I will be very surprised if anything happens before Aoi turns 18. Mostly as Aoi continues to delude herself about Holmes’s feelings towards her, which are not only obvious to the reader but are starting to be obvious to everyone else as well. Fortunately by the end of the book, Aoi has at least come to a different realization.

As with other books in this series, we get a short story and three longer ones. The short story is simply Holmes taking Aoi on a date, though she doesn’t actually realize that’s what it is. We then get to meet Holmes’ grandmother, who has a bisque doll that strangely is the distaff counterpart to one they have in the antique shop… and one which might be haunted! After that, despite the author’s assurances in previous afterwords, we get what amounts to a murder mystery, albeit one where the victim survived, and Holmes is forced to deal with a case whose only artwork is the books of an author. Lastly, we meet the owner’s stepson Rikyu, who idolizes Holmes and who clearly is NOT loving Aoi at all. Will she be able to win him over by being a quasi-appraiser at an event thrown by Rikyu’s grandfather to determine who gets his inheritance?

As noted, the second case, while quite well done, feels a bit different to the other “cases” we’ve read, even though we’ve dealt with death and attempted assault in previous books. Possibly for this reason, it also feels a bit overdone, with Holmes’ talents not feeling as natural as they do when he’s looking at antiques. The third story was the best, as Rikyu is a fun addition to the cast, basically being a sullen teen who’s unhappy that his favorite relative is being taken away from him by another woman. I will admit that Aoi’s preternatural progress in learning about artwork and antiques is almost as unrealistic as Holmes turning into Hercule Poirot, but the moment is set up really well and you feel so happy for her I’ll grant it. And we do get an awful lot about Holmes clear feelings for Aoi and mistrust of other men (he’s right, she is awfully naive) as well as Aoi’s tendency towards self-loathing cropping up, thinking that Holmes is “far beyond her”… but at least, right at the end, she can admit to herself she’s fallen in love with him.

So yes, last time I said this wasn’t one for romance fans, and I will have to take that back, but I do think that mystery fans will get more out of this. We’ll see what happens in the next volume, this is a long-running series.

Pick of the Week: Brides, Princesses, and Vampires

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MICHELLE: There are new volumes of several series I enjoy coming out, and I’ll definitely be picking those up, but what grabs my attention the most is a josei debut. Nina the Starry Bride doesn’t have the most original-sounding plot, it seems, but a) it’s josei and b) I can’t help it—that cover is just really neat! I look forward to checking it out.

SEAN: I love josei manga, and will certainly check out Nina. But my pick(s) are the one-two punch of Shonen Sunday titles, as Komi Can’t Communicate and Sleepy Princess in the Demon Castle are two of my top favorites right now.

ANNA: I’m interested in Nina the Starry Bride but I’m also curious about Call of the Night because I generally like Shonen Sunday titles and vampires!

ASH: Since it’ll be the last time that I can choose it, I Hear the Sunspot: Limit gets my official pick this week. I’ve been greatly enjoying the series and its predecessors from the beginning, so I don’t expect that to change with the ending.