Manga Bookshelf

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Sean Gaffney

Manga the Week of 12/9/20

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SEAN: Two manga enter! One manga leaves! Who will prevail?

J-Novel Club has two debuts, both manga. One is Mapping, the long title of which I will not quote here, and an adaptation of the light novel.

The other one is I Love Yuri and Got Bodyswapped with a Fujoshi (Ore ga Fujoshi de Aitsu ga Yuriota de), whose title is also its plot. It’s by the author of Failed Princesses, ran in Comic Flapper, and can be described as “yuri adjacent”.

Also out next week: Demon Lord Retry’s 4th manga volume; Infinite Dendrogram 13; Lazy Dungeon Master 13; Tearmoon Empire 3, and The Unwanted Undead Adventurer 7. Of those, Tearmoon is my clear pick.

ASH: I’ve heard really good things about Tearmoon Empire. (And not just from you!)

SEAN: Time for Kodansha, where I carefully double check the site before posting and STILL end up wrong as they shift release dates at the last second. Debuting this week in print is Life Lessons with Uramichi-Omiisan. It’s a black comedy that runs in Ichijinsha’ Comic Pool about a children’s TV show host who is… not a fun guy.

MICHELLE: I’m not sure I’ll like this, but the premise is interesting enough that I will at least check it out.

MJ: Hm, yeah, maybe.

SEAN: Also in print: Heaven’s Design Team 2, Perfect World 4, Rent-a-Girlfriend 4, Something’s Wrong with Us 4, To Your Eternity 13, and The Witch and the Beast 3.

ASH: I’m actually reading quite a few of these, but most of my attention is going to To Your Eternity.

SEAN: Two digital debuts. Shangri-La Frontier just debuted in Weekly Shonen Magazine, and is from the artist who does Attack on Titan: Lost Girls and Fairy Gone. That said, it’s an MMORPG manga based on a webnovel, so you know what you’re getting here.

The other is The Story of Our Unlikely Love (Kimi ga Kirai na Koi no Hanashi), a quick 2-volume shoujo series from Betsufure. He was a bad boy. She was a good girl. Can I make it anymore obvious?

ANNA: I seem to have a short attention span for digital shoujo, but 2 volumes might be just right.

MICHELLE: Yeah, I probably will end up reading this, too.

MJ: I haven’t really been reading anything digital at all lately, but this might be the right length for it.

SEAN: We also get All-Out!! 17 (the final volume), Peach Boy Riverside 2, Practice Makes Perfect 3, Seven Shakespeares 14, Shaman King: Flowers 5, Space Brothers 38, and We Must Never Fall in Love! 4.

MICHELLE: I had been waiting for that final volume of All-Out!! to hit so I could marathon the whole series in one chunk. That sounds like a nice project for my holiday break.

SEAN: One Peace has The New Gate 4.

Manly Appetites: Minegishi Loves Otsu (Minegishi-san wa Outsu-kun ni Tabesasetai) is one of Seven Seas’s debuts next week. It combines BL and food, and looks to be quite amusing.

MICHELLE: I’m very excited about this!

ASH: Same!

MJ: Always here for this combo.

SEAN: The other Seven Seas debut is the manga version of The Saint’s Magic Power Is Omnipotent.

Digitally we also get a light novel debut: Failure Frame: I Became the Strongest and Annihilated Everything With Low-Level Spells. Class transported. Our hero has no powers. Left for dead. Powers are actually really cool. We’ve read this before.

We also get: Cube Arts 2, The Hidden Dungeon Only I Can Enter novel 2 (print), The Ideal Sponger Life 7, Nurse Hitomi’s Monster Infirmary 11, PENGUINDRUM 2 (novel), Peter Grill and the Philosopher’s Time 3, Plus-Sized Elf 6, and Uzaki-chan Wants to Hang Out! 4.

ASH: Every time Penguindrum is mentioned I remember that I still need to catch up with Penguindrum in many of its forms.

SEAN: Square Enix debuts the manga version of the acclaimed novel series The Apothecary Diaries (Kusuriya no Hitorigoto). It runs in Big Gangan, and is about a servant in training who finds herself in the midst of palace politics. It’s apparently VERY good.

ANNA: Huh, sounds interesting. This wasn’t on my radar before.

MICHELLE: Same! I might check it out.

ASH: I’m really looking forward to this one!

MJ: Well, wow. Sounds great!

SEAN: They also have the 2nd volume of the Wandering Witch manga.

SuBLime has Caste Heaven 4 and Punch-Up! 6.

Tokyopop has The God and the Flightless Messenger (Kamisama to Tobenai Tsukai), a one-and-done BL manga from Printemps Shuppan’s Canna. As you might guess by the title, it’s a fantasy.

Vertical gives us Bakemonogatari manga 6 (yes, I know I said this last week) and a digital release of Katanagatari 4 (yes, I know I said this two weeks ago).

Viz has no debuts, unless you count Super Mario Manga Mania, whose audience I suspect is adjacent to the normal Manga Bookshelf one.

ASH: That being said, I do know at least a few people who will be interested in this release!

SEAN: They do have How Do We Relationship? 2, Komi Can’t Communicate 10, and Pokemon Adventures Collector’s Edition 5.

MICHELLE: I’ve fallen a bit behind with Komi, but I’m in the mood now to get caught up.

SEAN: Yen Press has one debut: Slasher Maidens (Kaijin Reijoh), a Gangan Joker series that manages to combine horror manga and horny teen boys. It’s from the creator of Akame Ga KILL!.

Also out: As Miss Beelzebub Likes 11, Durarara: Re; Dollars 6, Happy Sugar Life 7, the 13th and final Hatsu*Haru, Restaurant to Another World 3, and Toilet-Bound Hanako-kun 6.

ASH: I’m reading the more recent Toilet-Bound Hanako-kun in preparation for this one as we speak.

SEAN: So, which manga won?

Reign of the Seven Spellblades, Vol. 1

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

This was one of the two “big names” licensed a while back, and it had a huge amount of buzz to live up to. It not only lived up to the hype, it sailed over any other hurdles. This book is good. Really, hard-to-put-down good. This is all the more surprising given that it runs on some very common fantasy novel themes. Our heroes are first-years who are arriving at a prestigious magic school in not-Britain. Most of the characters will be a recognizable type, but this doesn’t make them annoying or boring, rather it makes it easier to identify and sympathize with them. The exceptions are our two lead protagonists, both of whom clearly have a lot more to their backstories than our first meeting would initially suggest. They go to school, learn magic, learn swords (more on that in a bit), and end up in trouble about every 30-40 pages or so. That said… this is surprisingly dark.

Our group of first years are: Oliver, the main protagonist, a serious young man with a talent for intricate spells; Nanao, the other main protagonist, a foreign student who knows nothing in the world except fighting to the death; Katie, the daughter of demi-human rights activists who shares their activism; Guy, a goofy everyman sort; Pete, who comes from a nonmagical family and is here to study and prove himself; and Michela, the noble girl with princess curls who, for once, turns out to be the nicest person in the book. They get into adventures right off the bat when a troll goes berserk at the run-up to the opening ceremony, and can’t seem to stop stuff happening to them after that, from getting trapped in the labyrinthine hallways after school to fighting a duel that goes horribly awry to finding that most of their upperclassmen are completely, 100% bonkers.

As I said, this book is darker than you’d expect. It’s made very clear at the start by the headmaster that a lot of the students die. We also see several fourth and fifth years who are happy to torture, battle, or experiment on anyone that catches their fancy. It’s also a school that combines swordsmanship with magic, after a magical duel in the past ended in death because the mage was no good at up-close fighting. The “spellblades” in the title are legendary blades that are essentially “one hit kill” blades, and there are not many on the world at all. It’s not hard to guess who’s going to be spellblading by the end of this book, but that’s OK. Plus there’s a lovely twist at the end that throws a lot of what we were assuming about one of the characters out the window, and makes me wonder if this cute romance I was hoping for is going to end at all well.

There’s more I could talk about. Nanao is, as I said, trained only for battle, but she’s surprisingly innocent and goofy otherwise. There’s a nasty rival character who appears to be set up to just be a constant antagonist, but then is dealt with and starts becoming a better person. There’s everything about Chela, who may be my favorite character in the book, despite essentially being Rin Tohsaka with Luvia’s hair. (There are a lot of characters who you could say are “essentially __________”, and you will note I have avoided mentioning a certain series that will come to mind.) Most importantly, the book is gripping and makes you want to read fast and immerse yourself in the world, despite being pretty lengthy (it’s over 280 pages). This is absolutely worth the hype.

Yona of the Dawn, Vol. 26

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By Mizuho Kusanagi. Released in Japan as “Akatsuki no Yona” by Hakusensha, serialization ongoing in the magazine Hana to Yume. Released in North America by Viz Media. Translated by JN Productions, Adapted by Ysabet Reinhardt MacFarlane.

It can be hard to find the perfect cliffhanger o end a manga volume. Of course, with most ongoing series there is a cliffhanger of sorts, particularly in action series such as Yona of the Dawn. There are several obvious examples in this volume alone, each of which could probably have served perfectly well as the cliffhanger, particularly the second to last chapter in the volume. But there’s something so deliciously satisfying about this one, the sort of ending that gives the reader what they have wanted all along but not ENOUGH of it. Yona of the Dawn is usually a pitch perfect blend of political intrigue, action adventure, and a dash of romantic tension, and for most of Vol, 26, the focus is definitely on the first two. Even when we get to the romantic tension, it looks like the usual “misunderstandings abound!”. So we are both cheering and also laughing hysterically at how said misunderstandings are cleared up. You DESPERATELY want to read more.

As for the politics, not to spoil too much, but there is one less death than I was expecting when I finished Vol. 25. As it turns out, things can mostly be resolved with negotiation, though it takes a few more sacrifices and also everyone ganging up on the evil priest. This actually leads to the other great moment in the book, one that relies very much on Su-Won and how he is choosing to rule. The priest (whose name I keep forgetting, mostly as I tend to call him Wormtongue in my head) points out that Kouren captured and imprisoned the Legendary Dragon Warriors, to which he gets a “so what?” response. The priest is stunned that he does not want to use their magical cool powers to strengthen his position. (Technically this is what Yona is doing, but she is not doing it in the way the priest wants it to happen. The priest’s stunned face as Su-Won cuts all his arguments off at the knees is hysterical.

Other things to mention: Riri is here and awesome, though not as awesome as her retainers, who manage to gang up on Kouren and make sure she can’t tragically die leaning against a building or some other samurai thing. The other guys spend most of the book unable to move, alas, though they’re on the road to recovery by the end. It also helps sell that this is a problem that CAN be resolved with discussion and negotiation, rather than “I have a guy with a big hand, medusa eyes, a big kick, and Zeno.” Although it led to Yona’s misunderstanding, I really liked Hak’s chatter among his Wind tribe friends – she’s right, he acts like a totally different person around them, and while I don’t think it’s entirely her fault she’s never seen it, it does show off why they’re still not quite ready to get any closer than they are.

OR ARE THEY? Cannot wait till the next volume, which thanks to my backlog is already out. There’s always so much to talk about and love with Yona of the Dawn.

Bookshelf Briefs 12/1/20

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Cutie and the Beast, Vol. 1 | By Yuhi Azumi| Seven Seas – This looked cute, and gave off a very My Love Story!! vibe, but I was wary of the fact that one of the leads is in his late twenties and the other is a senior in high school. That said, unlike a lot of other romance titles from Japan that adore this sort of couple, the manga makes their age difference the main conflict. He’s a famous pro wrestler, and getting involved with a girl her age, even if she is eighteen, would be career-killing. On the other hand… these two have fallen hard for each other almost at first sight, and can’t stop texting, calling, meeting up, etc. Now, how this will play out I’m not sure. Pretty sure they’ll get together, but I bet his career does take a big hit. Nice to see the manga address it, though. – Sean Gaffney

How Do We Relationship?, Vol. 1 | By Tamifull | Viz Media – “Opposites attract” is a common enough trope, but it is utilized to great effect and with notable complexity in How Do We Relationship?. The manga follows two young women in college as they begin dating each other—the somewhat shy and innocent Miwa and the much more boisterous and experienced Saeko. Navigating a new relationship is rarely easy and a romance between two women has additional sets of challenges, as Saeko in particular is very aware. While Miwa and Saeko’s deepening feelings are obviously core to the story, their relationships with friends and classmates play critical roles as well. One of the things that impressed me the most about the first volume of How Do We Relationship? was just how believable and realistic all of these different relationships were. The characterization of the leads is wonderfully nuanced, too. I’m really looking forward to reading more of the series. – Ash Brown

Komi Can’t Communicate, Vol. 9 | By Tomohito Oda | Viz Media – Most of this Komi volume revolves around Valentine’s Day, which as always presents the author with a conundrum: how do I make them give chocolates and be the cutest couple ever without actually making them a couple or having them confess? Rest assured, though, fans of Komi and Tadano will find endless scenes to love here. My favorite may be Tadano’s sister trying to get him to admit his feelings, then being rather annoyed when he actually comes close to doing so. Fortunately, as the title suggests, Komi is not very good at communicating, so things stay the same for now. Still, I suspect we need something to shake things up. Perhaps a new love interest could magically arrive soon? – Sean Gaffney

My Hero Academia, Vol. 25 | By Kohei Horikoshi | Viz Media – Shigaraki’s backstory is as terrifying and traumatic as you might imagine—let’s just say the hands he wears aren’t just for show. So it’s back to our heroes, who are practicing how to do hero interviews (Midoriya’s goes as badly as you’d expect) and also preparing for the next round of internships. Oh yes, and celebrating Christmas, which is adorable and also has Eri Santa. As for internships, Nighteye is dead and his agency is too busy to take him in, and Best Jeanist is missing, so Bakugou’s in limbo as well. Todoroki suggests an obvious idea: all three of them could intern with the best dad ever. All of this is clearly setting up a huge battle in the upcoming books, but it’s fun to see. – Sean Gaffney

Ossan Idol!, Vol. 1 | By Ichika Kino and Mochiko Mochida | TOKYOPOP – Adapted from a light novel, Ossan Idol! is the story of Miroku Osaki, a virginal, pure of heart, and unemployed 36-year-old who has spent the last decade as a shut-in. He’s always been overweight, but once he discovers a love of dance, he starts training at a gym with Yoichi Kisaragi, who was once overweight himself. Soon, Miroku is buff, handsome, and charming and the karaoke video he accidentally uploads to the internet becomes a viral sensation. The volume concludes with a famous producer declaring he’ll turn Miroku into an idol, and not just him but Yoichi (41) and dancer pal Shiju (40), too. All in all, this is a pleasing bit of fluff that I don’t have a lot to say about either positively or negatively. I will probably check out volume two, at least, to see where the story goes. – Michelle Smith

Sadako at the End of the World | By Koma Natsumi and Koji Suzuki | Yen Press – The premise of this one-volume manga—What if the girl from The Ring ended up in a post-apocalyptic world?—made me wonder if it would be horror or melancholic like Girls’ Last Tour. It’s pretty much both. Sadako, particularly once the artist gives her a tablet to communicate with, is not as scary here, and the girls she’s with are an innocent delight. But as they meet the few remaining people in this world along the way, there’s a definite sense she’s also going back and doing what she does best to each of them. The ending tries for sort of a fourth-wall-breaking thing but I think it was simply there as the author wasn’t sure how to end it after the cast was gone. A good read overall, though. – Sean Gaffney

Sleepy Princess in the Demon Castle, Vol. 13 | By Kagiji Kumanomata | Viz Media After reading my brief of the last volume, I feel a need to eat my words. The combination of this new volume and the currently running anime have made me realize: yes, there is real character development here. Syalis at the start of the series was a gag character who would murder at the drop of a hat. Here, while she’s still extremely flaky, she’s doing her best to unite humans and demons, even if this means completing all the Demon Lord’s paperwork—in ONE DAY. Even better, when the Cleric waffles on about his feelings for her and the reason he ran away from the castle, Syalis points out something: who she likes is her own decision. Our Sleepy Princess is all grown up! – Sean Gaffney

Sweat and Soap, Vol. 4 | By Kintetsu Yamada | Kodansha Comics – There’s a chapter of sex here, in case you were looking for that, but for the most part this series would rather deal with the sweet tensions of a young couple in love trying to negotiate how to do that and still be attentive to the other partner’s needs. Their couple-ness is now generally known to the office, though we have not quite told the parents yet—I suspect that will be next book. More importantly, they are talking about moving in together, something that requires charts and sticky notes, because these two are organized and also adorable. And they are also still very much desiring each other as well—the sex here is hot. One of the best romance mangas to come out in 2020. – Sean Gaffney

What the Font?! – A Manga Guide to Western Typeface | By Kuniichi Ashiya| Seven Seas – This is pretty much exactly what you’d expect. A young woman is told to layout a presentation, but has never done this before. While studying Western fonts, she falls asleep… and meets personifications of many of them, both Serif and Sans. Each font has a personality, they talk about themselves and their history, and then we move on. If you’re expecting Hetalia antics, look elsewhere—there’s no plot to speak of, and the fonts are not the most riveting characters. If you do want to learn about the differences between Western typefaces, though, this is a good enough guide for you, though I suspect it works even better in Japanese. – Sean Gaffney

Whisper Me a Love Song, Vol. 1 | By Eku Takeshima | Kodansha Comics – The cover of this volume is quite striking, and it led me to believe that this would be somehow different from your standard “high school girls in love” story. Unfortunately, it really isn’t. Yori Asanagi is a talented singer who fills in with the light music club band for a performance at the entrance ceremony Himari Kino is attending. Himari promptly informs Yori she’s fallen for her at first sight and Yori believes she means it romantically (instead of merely as a fan), and instantly falls in love herself. Characterizations here are shallow, particularly for Yori’s would-be bandmates, and there’s just not much going on that’s especially interesting. The one exception is that Himari’s enthusiastic appreciation for Yori’s singing is seemingly helping her to overcome some confidence issues. I’ll give this one more volume, I think, to see how it develops. – Michelle Smith

You Are My Princess | By Hiroto Kujirada | Futekiya (digital only) – Itsumi Tachibana is a scary-looking guy who secretly loves kitties. He’s surprised when the princely student council president, Seima Takajo, confesses romantic feelings for him, and suspects he’s being made fun of. After spending more time with Takajo, however, and realizing he’s the only one Takajo allows himself to be unguarded around, Itsumi’s feelings change. Plot-wise, You Are My Princess isn’t terribly unique. The guys get together, they have sex in the final chapter, the end. What makes it special, though, is Kujirada-sensei’s clean and expressive artwork, the nonverbal storytelling, and the little moments in which Takajo drops the facade and reveals real vulnerability. And also kitties. In the end, I enjoyed this cute story and look forward to more by this creator! – Michelle Smith

Pick of the Week: Yona and Friends

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MICHELLE: There are a few things coming out this week that appeal to me a great deal, not least of which is the latest Yona of the Dawn, but this week I’ll highlight a pair of digital-only Kodansha josei series that I’ve been enjoying a lot: Chihayafuru (now volume 23) and Ex-Enthusiasts: MotoKar Mania (now volume 5). I will never not be grateful that Kodansha is reliably churning out josei material on a monthly basis. Ten years ago we had a dearth of great josei and now we have a respectable amount of options!

SEAN: I’m also interested in Yona, as well as Reign of the Seven Spellblades, but my pick this week is Eniale & Dewiela, because honestly Kamome Shirahama could do a manga of the phone book and it would be gorgeous and awesome. I’m also interested in seeing how the creator of Witch Hat Atelier creator does comedy.

ANNA: There’s a lot of intriguing manga coming out this week, but I’m going to pick Yona of the Dawn, which is consistently great.

ASH: Like Sean, my top pick this week is Eniale & Dewiela, but I’m also curious about How Many Light-Years to Babylon since I enjoyed the creator’s odd sort of humor in The Voynich Hotel and have had good luck reading other Seiun Award winners in the past.

The Asterisk War: Struggle for Supremacy

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By Yuu Miyazaki and okiura. Released in Japan by MF Bunko J. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Haydn Trowell.

Ooof. We are deep into “tournament arc” here, folks, which means that a) the books are really not doing anything aside from showing off some cool fights, which means I have very little to write about, and b) it is fairly easy to guess who is going to be winning each of those fights. Ayato and Julis are not going to be losing at this point in time. Heck, even the “trying to figure out what the bad guys are doing” plot takes a back seat here, though it does lead to one of the funnier not-really-a-gag moments in the book when Orphelia straight up tells the other villains “oh yeah, I told Julis our plan six months ago.” After basically being absent from the last book, Julis gets more to do here, including what ends up being the best fight, but I suspect she is going to continue to be very unhappy for the next few volumes. Fortunately, the book has a secret weapon: Saya, aka Best Girl.

Claudia is on the cover, but barely in the book itself at all. Though she fares better than Kirin, who is totally absent. We get a series of fights, after briefly seeing Julis win her Round Four battle. First we see Ayato take on Rodolfo Zoppo, an arrogant ass who we dearly want to see get the shit beaten out of. Sadly, all of Ayato’s fights in this series have involved him barely winning, and that’s what happens here. Lester fights the Black Knight, and wins, but unfortunately is too injured to continue, so Julis gets a bye in Round 6. Speaking of Julis, as stated, she gets the best fight, taking on Xiaohui, who has returned from his Vision Quest and gotten stronger thanks to an old man on a mountain who doesn’t train him but lets him watch his everyday life. It’s a good reminder that Asterisk War runs on cliches. Saya takes on a girl who’s too amusing to take seriously. We get Robot vs. Robot, and the more evil robot wins. Silvia wins her match, which amounts to song vs. dance. And Orphelia manages to not only take out Hilda, but Hilda may in fact be permanently removed from the stage – her ending is ominous.

Apologies for the spoilers, but again, none of this is a surprise. You knew most of these people were going to win. Aside from Julis, as I noted, Saya gets the best moments, as she has the 2nd best fight, but more importantly is there to deliver a pep talk to Claudia and Rimcy, who are both feeling depressed and useless. Saya points out that she is an Unlucky Childhood Friend who spends every day handing around a hot tsundere princess and a meek sword prodigy, and also has to deal with the world’s top idol singer. They are all probably better fighters than her. They are all more likely to get Ayato’s love than her. But, as Saya wonderfully puts it, “so what?”. She refuses to simply stop trying. It’s not quite the end of the book, but it makes for a great emotional climax.

Unfortunately, it’s not enough to make up for 170 pages or so of fight after fight after fight. And I suspect we’ll get more of the same next time, though the cliffhanger does at least promise some emotional torture of Julis as well. Good times!

Adachi and Shimamura, Vol. 4

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

Since my last review, the anime has been running, and it’s due to adapt up to this volume if it keeps at the pace it’s been using. The anime has helped me come to terms with Shimamura’s monologues somewhat – it cuts out the boring bits, which is to say 80% of them, and leaves us with what is essentially a teenage girl who is constantly doubting that she is even a functional human being. Given the evidence of this book, she is correct to worry. Not that Adachi is any better, as the start of second year shows, to her horror, that despite the “I want to be BEST friends!” of previous books, just a mere class change can mean Shimamura will be happy to drift away from her without another thought. So Adachi is ready to take the initiative. Confess? A ha ha ha no. But she’s ready to ask if they can eat lunch together, and later even ask if they can have a weekend sleepover. Baby steps, really.

As you can possibly see from the cover art, Shimamura has stopped dyeing her hair and let it settle back into her natural ‘slightly lighter than Adachi’ brown. They’re in second year now, and Hino and Nagafuji are now in another class. (Not to worry, the two get their own little subplot, though I continue to wonder whether the author is also making them a couple or just having them be goofy.) Adachi is still in her class… but is still suffering from Adachiness. As a result, when three other girls ask if Shimamura can join them for lunch, she says sure. What’s more, her old childhood friend, Tarumi, has called up again after their disastrous February date, and really, really wants to try again. They hang out. They get matching bear bookbag charms! And Tarumi, as with Adachi, runs up against the massive wall that is Shimamura’s blithe indifference to almost anything.

I mentioned the subplot with Hino and Nagafuji, and there’s one with Yashiro as well. Indeed, it has been brought to my attention that almost every single character in the book who is not a regular – a fortune teller Adachi meets who gives her courage, another seeming alien girl that Nagafuji meets at Hino’s estate – is from one of Iruma’s other books. Hell, even Yashiro straight up says here she’s not the same Yashiro as the one from Denpa Onna. This is almost entirely lost on English-speaking readers (I had to have it all explained to me), but it does show off how these books are filled with “treats for the fans”, sometimes to the detriment of the actual plot. I also left out the start of the book, which is probably the best part of it, in which we realize that something important happened much earlier than we expected. It is a sign of how much this book is obsessed with the transient nature of teenage relationships that nobody remembers this.

That said, the biggest takeaway for me from this book is: man, everyone is trying their hardest to indirectly shout “I love you!” at Shimamura, but indirectness just is not cutting it. It does make me wonder how much longer, or how many more crossover cameos, this series can do before it begins to wear on the reader. Someone needs to tear down Shimamura’s wall.

Sword Art Online Alternative: Gun Gale Online: 4th Squad Jam: Start

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By Keiichi Sigsawa and Kouhaku Kuroboshi, based on the series created by Reki Kawahara. Released in Japan by Dengeki Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Stephen Paul.

This book was always going to have a tough time living up to the previous one, and let’s face it: it does not. It’s a pretty good book, especially in the back half once the game starts, but it does show off the big flaw with this series as opposed to its parent: Sigsawa is not as good at writing Karen, Elza, etc. as he is at writing Llenn and Pitohui. He’s here for the gun battles, and all else is secondary (leaving aside the last book, which feels like an aberration at this point). As a result, when we see something that is a huge threat to Karen in this book, it doesn’t really come off as well, because we’re far more familiar with the fast pink blur whose ideal man is her gun (no, literally, she says that here) than the tall awkward rich girl. Things are not helped either by the presence of one of my least favorite Kawahara traits, now borrowed by this author as well: the smug villain who wants the girl to submit to him.

As noted, Karen is at an event her dad is attending, trying to be a wallflower, when she meets a short, fat man who tries to commiserate with her about height. They converse, he leaves, all is good. Then she gets a marriage proposal, which her dad suggests she accept. While this is going on, there’s a new Squad Jam starting. Four people is a bit small, so this time around Pitohui grabs Clarence and Shirley to fill their ranks – though Shirley wants no part of this, really. There are two big problems with this Squad Jam, at least in this first book. The first is that we have added zombie monsters, who are attracted when one of their number is killed by gunfire. The second is that Karen’s wannabe fiancee has shown up in the game – his avatar is just as wish fulfilling for him as hers is for her – and, using her real name, demands that if he beats her she has to go out with him.

So yeah, another smug guy who wants to control the woman he desires in a Sword Art Online book, yay. He doesn’t show up in the back half, fortunately, so I will put off my grumpiness till later. As I said, the back half of the story is better, and I always enjoy seeing how different the teams in the game are to their real-life personalities – Llenn’s team gets waylaid by literal suicide bombers in the Jam, who pose quite a problem, but seeing what they’re really like made it more amusing than anything else. Our team shows off good teamwork as well – minus Shirley, who cannot let go of her grudge towards Pitohui (who, to be fair, fuels it) and Clarence, who is a big goofball and not much else, frankly. And then there’s Llenn’s constant effort to finally have a showdown with SHINC, which – no surprises – gets derailed by the cliffhanger, showing, I suppose, that money can’t buy happiness, but it comes close.

So it’s a setup book where I’m not that fond of the setup. Still, Sigsawa knows how to write his gun battles. And this one is a 3-book arc, so I’d better settle in.

The Intuition of Haruhi Suzumiya

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By Nagaru Tanigawa and Noizi Ito. Released in Japan as “Suzumiya Haruhi no Chokkan” by Dengeki Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Andrew Cunningham.

Been a long time, hasn’t it? In fact, this is my first time reviewing one of the novels, despite my Haruhi Suzumiya tag being filled with manga, 4-koma, and alternate universes. Not that this is a novel either. The first book to come out since 2011 is a collection of three short stories; one short, one medium, and one long. In terms of writing style and narrative voice, it’s a welcome return to form. Kyon sounds exactly like he always does, making arcane references to obscure topics in his metaphors while also professing to be the dumb one in the group. That said, I will note that anyone who is reading this wanting to see what happens after the Sasaki books, i.e. actual plot or character development, is going to find this quite lacking. There is a token mention of those books at the end of the final story, but for the most part that is not what Tanigawa is here to do. What is he here to do, you may ask? Tell us about Ellery Queen and John Dickson Carr.

The first short, Random Numbers, features the SOS Brigade visiting shrines, and has the only Kyon/Haruhi ship tease in the book. It’s cute. The second short story, Seven Wonders Overtime, is the weakest. The Mystery Club brings news that the school has no “seven mysteries”, aka Toilet Hanako, piano that plays by itself, etc. The Brigade tries to think of interesting but explainable mysteries before Haruhi can create more dangerous ones. The final story is the longest, taking up over 2/3 of the book. Tsuruya’s Challenge is, as I noted before, a love letter to the early 20th century mystery writers who loved to create mysteries that were essentially puzzle boxes, and Koizumi and T (a new character, member of the mystery club and owner of a very short nickname) spend ages extolling their virtues to the point that readers may grow tired. After this, though, they get a number of emails from Tsuruya which tell anecdotes from her trips with her rich father and also have a secret inside them.

The book works best if you’re a fan of Tsuruya, adding a lot of background to her character while also keeping it essentially the same. (No, we don’t learn her first name.) I was also fond of T, who is a great new character, and her calling Kyon “Kyam” makes me smile. Given the nature of the final story involves both the cast and the reader figuring things out, I will not go into too much detail, except to say that there is a LOT of Koizumi and Haruhi theorizes for pages and pages. One of the two afterwords in the book is a tribute to the Kyoto Animation creators for the Haruhi anime who perished in the fire. I suspect that (plus possibly Endless Eight) has led Tanigawa to write a story that would be very, very difficult to film in a way that a) makes things interesting, and b) does not give away its secrets. Kudos to Andrew Cunningham, by the way – this must have been an absolute bear to translate.

This is a hefty Haruhi book (not counting the 10-11 omnibus, only Book 7 is longer), so readers are getting good value for money. Whether they appreciate that value is another matter. As for me, I’m just happy to see the author writing again. The series is left open, so I hope it is not another nine years before the next in the series.

The World’s Strongest Rearguard: Labyrinth Country’s Novice Seeker, Vol. 4

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By Tôwa and Huuka Kazabana. Released in Japan as “Sekai Saikyou no Kouei: Meikyuukoku no Shinjin Tansakusha” by Kadokawa Books. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Jordan Taylor.

Once again, I found this volume to be easy, peaceful reading, and once again I am at a loss to explain why as every time I try to describe it it sounds terrible. The same issues that plague previous books crop up here. The first half of the book features nothing happening. The main character has the personality of a herring, and yet has every single character in the series fawning over him. The battles are exciting, provided your idea of exciting is ‘reading other people’s transcripts of MMORPG fights”. Picking the proper stat is serious business. And, of course, everyone is horny on main for our hero but have generally agreed among themselves not to do anything (which is why when the married lady flirts with him they all team up to get upset). But again, there’s also nothing that immediately grates on me, nothing that says “OK, that did it, I now have an excuse to drop this”. It is serviceable wish-fulfillment of the highest order.

Arihito and company are still on the seventh floor, but have been making a bigger and bigger name for themselves. They’re still having trouble as the larger group on the floor, Beyond Liberty, are taking over the main hunting grounds and blocking others from going there. Oh yes, and they have a man whose skill is almost literally “pick up artist” who is a clear traitor. Something has to be done… after opening another cool treasure chest, choosing new skills, upgrading weapons, and getting a snazzy wool suit – and a gun, in case this wasn’t bad enough. They also need Beyond Liberty to go too far, which it does, and introduces yet another named Monster who is incredibly dangerous and who the main forces cannot remotely defeat. It’s up to our heroes, with the special guest Seraphina (again), to get the job done.

I know that we’d seen kids in this world before – indeed, Melissa is explicitly said to be the child of a human and demi-human – but I was still startled to see Daniella, a very pregnant adventurer, fighting on the front lines. Of course, it turns out that Beyond Liberty, like Elitia, has their own reasons for wanting to advance as fast as possible, but it does remind you that adventuring is the big thing here, and you either keep doing it constantly or you stagnate… which much of this floor has already decided to do. Ads for Arihito’s party, while everyone keeps praising him almost to the point of making one ill, the fact that his position is “rearguard” does mean that it’s the women in the party who get to do the really cool things. We are seeing some character development in Suzuna and Misaki, and they are very much becoming a family, albeit one that feels “warm” whenever their patriarch sleeps behind them.

So yeah, still not great. But it delivers what readers probably want, and if it tried to do something new and different it would likely be a disaster. Next time we see then going on a vacation, which means we should see even LESS happening. Fun times.

Manga the Week of 12/2/20

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SEAN: It’s the last month of the year… what are we seeing, manga and light novel-wise?

Bookwalker has the 13th volume of The Ryuo’s Work Is Never Done!.

Dark Horse debuts Mob Psycho 100: Reigen, a one-volume spinoff of the original that ran in Ura Sunday.

ASH: I’m curious about this one.

SEAN: In print, J-Novel Club has two debuts: an omnibus version of the Infinite Dendrogram manga, and an omnibus of the Otherside Picnic light novels! Both contain the first two volumes. There’s also I Shall Survive Using Potions! 3 and In Another World with My Smartphone 13.

Digitally, J-Novel Club gives us Banner of the Stars 4, How NOT to Summon a Demon Lord 13, and Invaders of the Rokujouma!? 34.

They’ve also got manga digitally, including the manga debut of Bibliophile Princess, featuring one of my favorite fluffball heroines. There’s also the debut of Record of Wortenia War’s manga, and A Very Fairy Apartment 5.

Kodansha’s print debut is Mashima HERO’S, a crossover between three of the author’s biggest series: Rave Master, Fairy Tail and Eden’s Zero.

ASH: Somehow missed hearing about this one until now.

SEAN: Also in print: the 41st and final volume of The Seven Deadly Sins.

ASH: That was quite a run.

SEAN: There are two digital debuts. One is a Shaman King spinoff, The Super Star. It takes place after Flowers, and is still ongoing in Shonen Magazine Edge.

The other debut is The Invincible Reincarnated Ponkotsu (Ponkotsu ga Tensei Shitara Zongai Saikyou), a reincarnation isekai whose summary is so stupid I may actually give it a try. It runs in Suiyoubi no Sirius, and is probably glorious trash.

ASH: I have been convinced to read things for similar reasons in the past.

SEAN: Also out digitally: Altair: A Record of Battles 23, Cells at Work: Bacteria! 6, Chihayafuru 23, Ex-Enthusiasts: MotoKare Mania 5, Otherworldly Munchkin: Let’s Speedrun the Dungeon with Only 1 HP! 2, and Smile Down the Runway 16.

ANNA: I’m so far behind with Chihayafuru but I continue to be glad it is being released.

MICHELLE: I share your gratitude. Also, Ex-Enthusiasts: MotoKare Mania is a fun josei series that I’ve enjoyed so far.

SEAN: Seven Seas has two debuts. The Kingdoms of Ruin (Hametsu no Oukoku) runs in Mag Garden’s Comic Blade, but honestly it sort of lost me when I saw the words “revenge fantasy”.

The other debut, and done in one, is How Many Light-Years to Babylon? (Babylon Made wa Nan-kounen?), a comedy sci-fi story from the creator of The Voynich Hotel. This one I’m far more optimistic about, especially as it won the Seiun Award, the Japanese equivalent of the Hugo.

ASH: Oh! This sounds like one I should definitely check out.

SEAN: There’s also a 10th Akashic Records of Bastard Magical Instructor, A Certain Scientific Accelerator 11, the 11th Didn’t I Say to Make My Abilities Average?! (digitally), and Skeleton Knight in Another World’s 5th volume (manga) and 7th volume (light novel).

Vertical has the 6th Bakemonogatari manga, with a lovely snek on the cover.

No debuts from Viz, but some quality titles. We see Chainsaw Man 2, Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba 19, Dragon Ball Super 11, Jujutsu Kaisen 7, One Piece 95, Queen’s Quality 10, Skip Beat! 3-in-1 14, Spy x Family 3, Twin Star Exorcists 20, Vampire Knight: Memories 5, We Never Learn 13, and Yona of the Dawn 27.

ANNA: Always happy for more Yona of the Dawn, Spy x Family, and Queen’s Quality.

MICHELLE: Indeed, several favorites for me among that lot. I’m especially keen to read the next volume of Yona, as the last ended on quite a pivotal moment.

ASH: Those three series are at the top of my list, too. I also plan on reading more Chainsaw Man.

MJ: I’m behind, but I have been a fan of Queen’s Quality, so I really should pick that up!

SEAN: Yen On debuts Reign of the Seven Spellblades (Nanatsu no Maken ga Shihai Suru), which is yet another magical academy series but also comes highly recommended.

Also from Yen On: Bottom-Tier Character Tomozaki 5, Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? 15, and My Youth Romantic Comedy Is Wrong As I Expected 10. The last of which has been delayed several times. As I expected.

Two debuts for Yen, though one is not really: Kingdom Hearts III, the manga has its first volume.

The other is Eniale & Dewiela. If you ever wondered what the creator of Witch Hat Atelier would do if she was told to make something akin to Panty and Stocking with Garterbelt, then this is the title for you. It’s 3 volumes total, and ran in Enterbrain’s Fellows! and Harta, two magazines which always earn an automatic purchase from me.

ASH: I’ll definitely be on the lookout for a copy of this!

MJ: Interesting!

SEAN: And there is IM: Great Priest Imhotep 6, Kakegurui Twin 8, Murcielago 16, Phantom Tales of the Night 6, and Puella Magi Madoka Magica: The Different Story: The Complete Omnibus Edition.

ASH: I’m a couple volumes behind on Phantom Tales of the Night, but I have been enjoying it.

SEAN: Anything here catch your eye?

Bleach: Can’t Fear Your Own World, Vol. 2

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By Ryohgo Narita and Tite Kubo. Released in Japan by Shueisha. Released in North America by Viz Media. Translated by Jan Mitsuko Cash.

There was a lot in the first volume of Can’t Fear Your Own World, Ryohgo Narita’s sequel to Bleach, which made me nostalgic for the good old days of the popular Bleach franchise. This second volume, on the other hand, kind of makes me nostalgic for the bad old days of the Bleach franchise. That’s not to say this book is not well written – it’s quite good at what it does. But there’s a very, very large chunk of the middle of the book that can be summed up as “some guys fight, and some more guys show up to interrupt the fight, then different guys fight while the first fighters watch, and then new people show up to interrupt THIS fight”, etc etc., until there are about 25 or so people all standing around watching a very small boy on top of a very large monster get excited. And, gotta admit, this is also the Bleach experience. Love it or hate it, Bleach would not be Bleach without epic fights that take forever with no real purpose.

The book can essentially be divided into two parts. Back in Karakura Town, Hisagi is interviewing Urahara for his ongoing news report about the events of the last few months, and also sort of trying to get some information out of him. Sadly, they are interrupted by Aura, a Fullbringer who seems to be connected to the Big Bad of this volume, and whose powers are not really like the other Fullbringers we’ve seen before. (Did you know Orihime was a Fullbringer? No? Never heard it mentioned before this book.) She’s taking advantage of the main cast of Bleach being out of town (they are rescuing Karin and Yuzu from some unnamed issue) to do what Tokinada wants. Back in Soul Society, as I noted before, everyone wants to fight everyone else. This ends up dragging together Soul Society captains (Shinji, Kenpachi, Shunsui), Arrancar (Tia, Nel, Grimmjow), Quincy (I can’t remember any of them), and Fullbringers (Tsukishima, Ginjo, etc.), and they all team up to go try to stop the Big Bad, if only as he’s unlikely to let them fight each other.

As you can see, a lot of this book relies on you remembering what happened in the Thousand Year Blood War arc, which I am not. I cannot tell any of these goombaws who Mayuri has resurrected and essentially made into his gofers from another, and honestly even if I did, the text would not read much differently. In Baccano and Durarara!!, Narita just barely manages to make his huge cast memorable – sadly, here he’s working from Kubo’s prior failure at it. On the bright side, every page or two has an amusing fun bit that will make you smile and keep you reading. Hiyori shows up, and is exactly as you’d expect her to be – she’d kick the reader in the shins if she could. Urahara manages to be very in character, and uses the same stupid written in blood message AGAIN (as I said, very in character). And take a shot every time someone wishes Ichigo were there, except no, do not do that.

This book is HUGE, twice the size of the first one, and absolutely did not need to be that long. But, well, if you’re writing something true to the Bleach experience, go big or go home. I expect next volume will mostly consist of one giant fight over the course of 290 pages. I also expect Grimmjow will STILL not get to fight Ichigo.

Pick of the Week: Overture, Curtain, Lights!

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SEAN: Seven Seas has most of my attention this week, as I’m torn between the relaxing yuri feel of Days of Love at Seagull Villa and the less yuri but more drama majorey Kageki Shojo!! The Curtain Rises. I think I’ll go with the latter, if only in hopes that we might get the sequel. Plus, I always love Takarazuka stuff.

MICHELLE: These two are also vying for my top pick this week, and since Sean picked the latter, I’m going with the former. The premise of a lonely person being accepted (presumably) into a family makes me think of Our Dining Table, another Seven Seas title that I loved immensely. Thus, I am very here for this!

ASH: Perhaps unsurprisingly, these are the two manga being released this week that also have most of my attention! Of the two, Kageki Shojo!! The Curtain Rises sits the highest on my ever-growing mountain of to-be-read books, so that gets my official pick. But I’m looking forward to reading the debut of Days of Love at Seagull Villa, too.

KATE: If only the rest of the American electorate was as unified as we are! I’m in total agreement with the rest of the MB gang’s picks.

ANNA: I agree, I’m looking forward to Kageki Shojo!! The Curtain Rises as well!

MJ: Probably this is obvious, but it’s Kageki Shojo!! The Curtain Rises for me! I’m so on board for this!

Unnamed Memory, Vol. 1

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By Kuji Furumiya and Chibi. Released in Japan by Dengeki Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Sarah Tangney.

It has become increasingly rare in the Japanese light novel world to find a straightforward novel that can be called “fantasy”. Oh, the light novel market is riddled with fantasy novels, to the point where, 3-4 years ago, having anything licensed with non-supernatural content was a huge surprise. But they’re not the sort of fantasy I mean. Either they’re all based around game mechanics, or they’re literally trapped in a game-style worlds. And then there’s the Infinite Isekais, be it reincarnated souls or just “I was in my classroom and now I have a sword and three hot young girls” sorts. But there is something to be said for simply having a normal fantasy. Magic has rules, yes, but they aren’t the rules of Casting from MP. Our hero has a curse, but it’s not draining his HP bar. And that’s what we’re getting with Unnamed Memory, the story of a prince with a curse and the witch who’s trying to break it, and also the story of how the two of them are made for each other, even if she’s not admitting it yet.

Prince Oscar is our hero, and he has a curse: a witch cursed his family when he was a boy so that any woman who had his child would die. Now 20 years old and one of the strongest in his kingdom, he goes to another witch, rumored to grant any wish to those who can climb to the top of her tower, and ask her to break the curse. That said, once he meets the witch, Tinasha, he has a better idea: she can marry him, as witches are strong enough to break this curse. She refuses to do that, but she does agree to spend the next year with him at the castle, at first as the “witch’s apprentice” and then, once her cover is blown, out in the open. Over the course of the book they solve mysteries, defeat ancient evils, fend off threats from other countries, and banter. The banter is the reason to read the book.

First up, I will say I wish that we’d had a bit more depth to Oscar at first. We get to know him a bit better as the book goes on, but at first I trusted him about as much as Tinasha does, and it’s easy to see why she brushes off his constant attempts to get her to marry him. Tinasha fares slightly better, although her past is also mostly suggested in this first book. There’s also a couple of unpleasant scenes, one being a dream – brought on by the drug of another witch – which leads to him having to strangle Tinasha, a rather ugly solution I thought could be handled differently, as well as one attempted assault on her when Oscar gets jealous. I mention these as the things I didn’t enjoy, mostly because the rest of the book is otherwise excellent. A very good supporting cast, some cool battle scenes, and the interplay between the main cast is very well done indeed. The book reads smoothly and makes you want more.

So I wasn’t over the moon with it, and I think I need another book or two to like Oscar as much as the author wants me to, but otherwise I can see why this was one of the most anticipated LNs of the year. Especially recommended for those tired of the usual game stats light novels – this has none of that.

Outbreak Company, Vol. 15

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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.

Last time, I said that I was tired of ending each volume of Outbreak Company wondering when it would come to an end. I guess they heard me, because this is definitely the start of the endgame. For one thing, leaving aside his horny dream fantasies (which seem to be written to give the artist an excuse to draw the girls naked in an otherwise relatively serious story), Shinichi seems to be taking a bit more seriously the fact that he has three different girls in love with him. Unsurprisingly, most of his thoughts on this involve Myusel, the obvious front runner. If they do become a couple, can they go back to Japan? She is half-elf and not a citizen, after all, and while the Japanese government is happy to help Shinichi while he works for them, he suspects that this help would dry up if not turn against him. That said, given they overheat merely holding hands at the moment, baby making is still something only in dreams for now.

The main plot involves Elvia’s kingdom of Bahairam suddenly turning into a disaster area, with constant earthquakes and buildings turning into pillars of fire. The reason seems to be whatever is in the “Dragon’s Den”, a secret facility, but those who know of it aren’t talking. Even worse, Myusel’s mother is delivering supplies to the Kingdom and ends up getting trapped in the devastation. She asks Clara and Amatena to immediately go and get Shinichi, who is the one person who might be able to fix this. How? We’re not sure, and neither is he. But now the rest of the cast (sans Petralka, who is unable to get away from the basic need to rule her kingdom) head out to find out what the heck is causing this and if there is any way of stopping it. And things get even more confusing when they meet an android replica of Theresa Bigelow, a North American army officer.

There have been hints of the big reveal planted throughout the series, and they’re especially blatant here, as the first chapter opens with Shinichi showing his class a copyright-altered Planet of the Apes to demonstrate to them the idea of those “kinds of endings”. It does make things a lot more interesting, and is handled very well. There’s also some cool action scenes, though again the author’s habit of throwing in constant nudity whenever he can is a bit irritating, especially when our heroes are being surrounded by “the nekkids”, as Minori calls them. Speakoing of which, this volume changes viewpoints quite a bit, and it’s nice to hear from people other than Shinichi’s POV, though I admit it’s not always that easy to see who’s narrating at first. And, fantasizing aside, Shinichi and Myusel are very cute here. Again, I still think if this ends with a choice at all it will be Myusel.

So a very good book in general, and should lead nicely to the next one to end the arc. The series ends with 18, though there’s a short story volume after that that I’m unsure will be licensed. If you’ve been reading this series all along, there’s no reason to stop now. Also,l I’m fairly certain you cannot gain a handle on military strategy just by reading Legend of Galactic Heroes, Petralka.