Manga Bookshelf

Discussion, Resources, Roundtables, & Reviews

Sean Gaffney

Manga the Week of 9/30/20

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SEAN: Try to remember the kind of September when manga was slow and discussion was mellow. Ready? Then follow.

MJ: (Follow, follow, follow, follow, follow, follow, follow, follow…)

SEAN: Going by their website, Denpa Books finally has the 2nd omnibus of Gambling Apocalypse Kaiji.

ASH: Happy to see this series get back on track!

SEAN: Seven Seas’ ero label Ghost Ship has FOUR titles out, including a debut. Welcome to Succubus High! (Succubus Gakuen No Inu!!) is a Takeshobo title from Web Comic Gamma Plus. An average boy is transferred to an all-girls school full of succubuses to teach them about men. Naturally, he does NOT want to have sex with any of them, because this is a Ghost Ship title and not a Fakku title. The line may be far away, but it’s there.

Other Ghost Ship titles out are Creature Girls 4, Yokai Girls 11, and Yuuna and the Haunted Hot Springs 10.

J-Novel Club has a trio of titles. The Combat Baker and Automaton Waitress 8, Cooking with Wild Game 9, and A Wild Last Boss Appeared! 2.

Kodansha, again, has no print titles. Digitally, we have a debut: My Best (♀) Butler (Ore no Shitsuji (♀) ga Iketeiru), a Dessert title that I could describe the plot of but instead I’ll just note it’s another “poor girl is toyed with by rich boys” series and go with that.

MICHELLE: Pretty much.

MJ: Ugh.

SEAN: I’ve made a decision to stop reporting Kodansha’s “early digital” series as they simply change the date at the very last minute too often. So, in digital-only land, we have Heaven’s Design Team 5, Lovesick Ellie 11, the 16th and final volume of My Boy in Blue, Princess Resurrection Nightmare 6, and Seven Shakespeares 13. As you can see, this week is devoted to “new volumes of titles we’ve caught up to Japan on”.

MICHELLE: I’m glad for more Lovesick Ellie!

SEAN: One Peace Books has The Reprise of the Spear Hero 2.

Seven Seas has three debuts. The Ancient Magus’ Bride: Wizard’s Blue (Mahou Tsukai no Yome Shihen.108 – Majutsushi no Ao) is another spinoff of the popular fantasy manga, it runs in Mag Garden’s Manga Door, and has been described as a genderswapped version of the parent series.

We Swore to Meet in the Next Life and That’s When Things Got Weird! (Raise o Chikatte Tensei Shitara Taihen na Koto ni natta) is from ichijinsha’s Zero-Sum Online. Two lovers vow to meet again in their next life. They do! Except she’s a 39-year-old OL, and he’s still in high school! This sounds… uncomfortable but cute if you ignore the premise.

MICHELLE: I will probably check out both of these, albeit with a certain degree of trepidation.

MJ: I. Hm.

ASH: Things did indeed get weird there.

SEAN: The digital-first light novel is Muscles Are Better Than Magic! (Mahou? Sonna Koto yori Kinniku da!), a fantasy comedy about a guy who’s trained forever and the elf girl who needs his help.

Also out next week: Didn’t I Say to Make My Abilities Average?! 10 (print), How to Build a Dungeon 6, The Invincible Shovel 2 (print), Mushoku Tensei light novel 8 (digital first), and Servamp 14.

Vertical has two titles. On the manga end, we get the 2nd Blood on the Tracks.

Pretty Boy Detective Club (Bishounen Tanteidan) is a novel written by NISIOISIN, but it’s a far cry from the Monogatari or Zaregoto series – it’s a reverse harem! A young woman trying to find a star that appears only once every ten years ends up being helped by, well, the title club.

MICHELLE: I cannot resist this.

MJ: Okay, maybe need this.

SEAN: Yen also has some runoff from last week. Yen On gives us a 4th Our Last Crusade or the Rise of a New World.

Yen Press debuts Yoshi no Zuikara: The Frog in the Well Does Not Know the Ocean, a Gangan title from the creator of Barakamon, about a fantasy manga artist trying desperately to draw realistic manga.

MICHELLE: Huh. The Yoshino series was not on my radar.

ASH: Oooh, I am intrigued!

SEAN: Lastly, we get Éclair Rouge, the latest in this yuri anthology series.

More to discuss than I thought. Fantastick. What are you getting?

Banished from the Hero’s Party, I Decided to Live a Quiet Life in the Countryside, Vol. 1

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By Zappon and Yasumo. Released in Japan as “Shin no Nakama ja Nai to Yuusha no Party wo Oidasaretanode, Henkyou de Slow Life Surukoto ni Shimashita” by Kadokawa Sneaker Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Dale DeLucia.

I probably should not have read this only a few weeks after Roll Over and Die, as the first thought that came to mind is that when the woman is leaving the party she’s branded, sold into slavery, and left for dead, but when it’s the guy he just moves to the country, opens a shop, and gets a girlfriend almost instantaneously. That said, the whole “you are a disgrace to the party, go!” plot is apparently also a big thing in Japanese webnovels now, though so far it’s been less “the party” and more “that one asshole guy in the party”. In any case, our hero starting up his apothecary and hooking up with his former ally is only part of the story here, as we also flash back to the party in action, get a few glimpses of life as the hero, and, perhaps most importantly, talk endlessly about the magical systems in place in this world.

This is not a “game world” per se, but the plot hinges on a common game element: Gideon, the banished guy, was born at Level 30, and is the very definition of “the strong guy who joins your party early in the game to help you level up”. Unfortunately, when the party grows strong enough, this type of character usually leaves, and Gideon doesn’t do that – mostly as the Hero is his little sister. So when one of the party with a hate on for Gideon and a crush on the hero tells him he’s useless now, Gideon quietly accepts it, leaves the party, changes his name to Red, moves to a backwater sleepy town, and opens an apothecary. Luckily he’s helped in this by Rit, an adventurer and princess whose kingdom the hero’s party saved earlier. Rit has had a not-so-secret crush on Red since that time, and essentially invites herself into his shop, his home, and his bedroom. Together the two grow closer and have a nice quiet life. But what of the hero?

I’ll start off with the negatives: Red/Gideon is not the most magnetic hero. He fits the stock “boring adventurer guy” a little too well, and it feels ridiculous that he’s just quietly listen and leave the party without, y’know, asking anyone else in the party about it. There’s also a heaping helping of explanations about “blessings”, which are essentially the powers that people have, as well as the weak points that come with them. (Gideon, for example, cannot go past the Level 30 he was born with.) It’s interesting in regards to the ongoing story, but also tends to go on a bit too much. On the bright side, Rit is genuinely likeable. We get a large number of flashbacks showing her being a giant tsundere towards Gideon and everyone else, but now that she’s grown up and accepted her feelings, she’s quite fun and cheerful, and their romance is very sweet. Most importantly, though, are the last few pages. We learned very little about the little sister hero throughout the book except that she had something of a brother complex and was relatively emotionless. Towards the end we see the emotionlessness is a result of the many, many blessings she has, and that it has not been good for her mental health. I am definitely hoping to see more of her later on.

Overall, this does a good job trying to balance the “slow life” that its audience likely bought it for with actually having a plot and future character development. I do hope it has Red become a little less of the stock light novel hero in future books, though. But I’ll be reading more.

Yona of the Dawn, Vol. 25

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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.

Yona of the Dawn fits into a lot of genres. First, obviously, there’s shoujo manga, and the tropes of a young woman surrounded by good-looking men. There’s trying to save the kingdom fantasy stuff, with a bit of revenge fantasy mixed in, although as we see in this volume, revenge doesn’t really play into it as much as disappointment. Lately we’ve had military fantasy, with the entire plot of the last few books being “can we stop the inevitable war?”. But the last couple of chapters of this volume also bring home another genre that this series falls under: Yona is walking around with a bunch of superheroes, each of whom are using their powers to protect her and help other people. They don’t wear capes, but it otherwise checks out, and really gets hammered home in the last few pages of this book, where Yona’s “can’t we talk this out” plea is met by a bunch of arrows… that fail to hit her. Which, good, because Yona of the Dead is not a genre I want to see.

Yona’s talk with Su-won goes about how you’d expect, though I was very pleased to see Riri step in to defend her and remind everyone around them what Yona has been doing the last few years. (I admit I’ve lost track of the timeline, how long as Yona been on the run now?) The main problem here are the religious fanatics, who, as with almost all religious fanatics in manga/anime, turn out to be power-hungry villains. Killing off Kouren’s allies one by one, their goal is war by any means necessary. Fortunately, though they’re still grievously injured, the dragon warriors are able to step in and help to drive them back, even at the cost of their remaining stamina. And, as always with this series, we see whether idealism like Yona’s or Tao’s – even Tao finds herself wavering after seeing what the priests have been doing – can hold up under pressure.

There are some wonderful scenes interspersed throughout this volume, but my favorite may be Kouren pointing out, as I did, that Yona is running around with a bunch of superheroes at her command – why isn’t she simply taking out Su-Won by brute strength? Yona responds that “they aren’t tools to satisfy my personal grudges”, which is a great moment (though it also amuses me, as I’m pretty sure by now all of them would be very happy to help Yona do exactly that). As for the encounter with Su-Won, once again it’s not quite as earth-shattering as their past would expect, but she does learn that his pragmatism and her idealism are still at loggerheads, and that reconciliation is not happening anytime soon. As I said earlier, Yona could easily slide into revenge fantasy, but Yona doesn’t hate Su-Won enough for that to work.

As for the next volume, well, Yona isn’t full of arrows, so that’s good. We’ll see if she can stop the war, though. In the meantime, this is a shoujo manga, but it’s also so many other things.

How a Realist Hero Rebuilt the Kingdom, Vol. 12

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By Dojyomaru and Fuyuyuki. Released in Japan by Overlap Bunko. Released in North America digitally by J-Novel Club. Translated by Sean McCann.

Sadly, my begging to the author did not help, as Machiavelli is cited again in this volume. It was originally written in the webnovel version interspersed with Vol. 11, but they decided to split it up for book publication. Which is fine, but it does mean this book is very short. And what’s worse, it still needs side stories to make up the length… and has to start Book 13, to the point where the chapter numbering actually resets. Basically, in terms of bang for your buck, this is pretty slight. Fortunately, it does a little better when it comes to actual plot, introducing us at last to the Zem mercenaries and finding that they are not QUITE as villainous as the book has painted them to date. More importantly, though, we meet the late Duke Carmine’s daughter Mio, who is determined to get to the bottom of why her father did what he did. Souma had been planning to try to clear Georg’s name anyway, so this works out, but there are some other things to consider.

War is tough, after all, and though Georg did his best to try to keep casualties to a minimum, there are still soldiers who were killed in a battle that turns out to have been part of a massive con game, and their families won’t be happy with that. More importantly, of course, is the presence of Kagetora, the tiger-masked bodyguard who is absolutely not secretly Georg Carmine, no way, uh uh. Mio’s seriousness and general anger is something that Souma tries to curtail by the shortest route, and he does so by having Kagetora and Mio face each other in battle, something that manages to clue her in – and only her – as to what’s going on. (Less successful is Mio after this cathartic moment, when she becomes more comedic and starts throwing herself at Finance Minister Colbert… the author really does want to pair up absolutely EVERYONE, huh?)

The other big event in this book, aside from the cliffhanger that leads into Book 13 (which I’ll just discuss when that comes out) is the first in-person meeting of King Souma and Empress Maria. He needs the Empire’s help with their upcoming war, and knows that such a conversation can’t happen over video conference call. I liked that this showed off Maria being exceedingly clever, seeing what Souma is actually planning immediately, and also showcasing Jeanne’s frustration at being unable to catch up to her genius sister. That said, Maria’s (unheard by the reader) request of Souma is worrying, as it certainly sounds along the lines of “when I die, do this”. And here I was thinking they were going to work out a way to add her to Souma’s wives… oh yes, and the mad scientist group discusses the need to add drills to everything, which I still maintain is just a big Maria-sama Ga Miteru joke.

So, despite its slightness, this book succeeds at what it wants to do, although (like many, many light novel authors) the attempts at humor are not all that funny here. In any case, next time we get mermaids and dragons, and see another clever plan of Souma’s upended by a heroine inserting herself into the narrative.

Pick of the Week: Farmers, Brides and Villainesses

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MJ: In a stunning turn of events, I’ll begin this week’s column. I have only one cry to let out into the world, and that would be… “SILVER SPOOOOOOOOOOOON.” What I’m saying is that my pick is Silver Spoon.

SEAN: Technically I know I should be picking the final Silver Spoon, or the new A Bride’s Story, or a new Baccano!, or any other number of Yen Press stuff. But after seeing Erica’s review of the first volume of I’m in Love with the Villainess!, that’s gone to the top of my “books I want to know more about”. Despite 2020 being the year of villainess stories, this is still apparently a cut above.

MICHELLE: For the longest time, I wasn’t especially tempted by light novels, but lately there have been a few to catch my eye. And after reading Erica’s review, I immediately went to Amazon and pre-ordered the digital edition of I’m in Love with the Villainess!. The prospect of genuine character growth and development within a fantasy isekai (plus yuri!) is really calling to me.

KATE: Oof–this is a lot to take in! I’m going to join MJin reminding everyone to buy the final volume of Silver Spoon, which has been a consistently great series from beginning to end, with vivid characters, real-life drama, and just enough poop jokes to prevent the whole thing from being too heavy, but I’m also going to shamelessly plug the newest installment of A Bride’s Story. Kaoru Mori costume drama = win.

ASH: As I anticipate being able to declare A Bride’s Story my pick in the future, and to grant that honor to I’m in Love with the Villainess! when it’s released in print (yes, I have it preordered), and that this is the last time I’ll be able to choose Silver Spoon, that’s the series I will go with this week! It’s such a great manga for all the reasons Kate has already described, plus it makes me oddly nostalgic for the area of the United States I grew up in. If you haven’t given Silver Spoon a try yet, this is the time.

Monster Tamer, Vol. 1

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By Minto Higure and Napo. Released in Japan as “Monster no Goshujinsama” by Monster Bunko. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Hikoki.

I will admit that the sole reason I gave this series a try was the Japanese light novel label it came from. A series from Monster Bunko! Titled Monster Tamer! Would there be… monsters? Rest assured, this book from the monster publisher with monster in the title has monsters in it. You may have guessed from the cover… possibly. Turns out the cute girl in the uniform is actually a monster as well. That said, what this genre really ends up being is the grim and gritty “abandoned by my classmates, I must soldier on, brooding and filled with hate, and monsters are the only ones that understand me” genre. Arifureta fans will find this very familiar. That said, Arifureta also has a heaping helping of humor that this book lacks. It wants to be taken seriously. Which is fine, but I must admit that emo teen’s emo narration made me rub my forehead a bit. There’s only so many times you can talk about how much you hate humanity, y’know?

Our hero (not on the cover as he’s a standard dull light novel protagonist guy) and his entire school are transported to another world one day. Some have cool, strong powers… and some do not. Very soon everyone starts to try to kill each other. Majima is essentially run over by a stampede of fleeing classmates and left for dead. He crawls to a cave and starts to get eaten by a slime… but then discovers he DOES have a power, as the slime is now his servant. His “monster party” ends up being the slime (who eats the corpse of fellow student Miho, which is why she looks like that on the cover), a ‘puppet’ monster that basically looks like a ball-jointed doll (helpfully, she makes armor with ‘breasts’ so we know she’s also female), and a non-monster, Mana, Miho’s underclassman and friend who they rescued from sexual assault by other classmates. Together they try to leave this forest and find other, non-murdering classmates… and avoid monsters that Majima can’t control.

As you can see, this book is the very definition of a high school kid wearing black so that he can be “edgy”. Majima does not let a chapter go by without telling us either a) he’s lost faith in humanity and hates them now, or b) how he has thrown aside his morals and become a terrible person. Certainly he does kill a few people, but as you’d expect with a Japanese light novel by now, they’re all rapists and bastards. Somewhat to my relief, the relationship between him and his monster servants is framed as more familial than romantic, at least on his end. The third monster we meet comes near the end of the book, and is… well, exactly what you’d expect given her monster type, but I assume we’ll develop her more in the 2nd book. I also appreciated that our hero’s power does not in fact mean he can fight at ALL – all the fights are his monster girls fighting to protect him.

That last bit might turn off other edgy teens who subscribe to the “I want my hero to win all the battles and bed all the women” school of thought. And honestly, given this is 16+ volumes and counting in Japan, I feel no need to read more. For those who enjoy this sort of “revenge/found family” story with a dark-ish tinge, this book will serve those needs quite nicely.

Didn’t I Say to Make My Abilities Average in the Next Life?!, Vol. 10

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By FUNA and Itsuki Akata. Released in Japan as “Watashi, Nouryoku wa Heikinchi de tte Itta yo ne!” by Earth Star Novels. Released in North America by Seven Seas. Translated by Diana Taylor. Adapted by Maggie Cooper.

I sort of shot myself in the foot in my last review by talking about how the author has been making Mavis more and more the co-star of these books along with Mile, and that’s a shame because it’s even more true in this book. I was expecting that she’d feature in the start, given the last book ended with a cliffhanger featuring her, but she also has a big role in the middle of the book. More to the point, while the author does say that Reina and Pauline’s magic is better than most, and we see that to a degree, Mavis is the one heading deep into Mile-only territory here. Sometimes this isn’t a good thing – we’ve given up on chiding her for her abuse of magical steroids – but sometimes it can also combine moments of tragic horror with utter silliness, such as when Mavis has her left arm completely destroyed by an elder dragon… and becomes, as Mile pastiches, the Six Million Dollar Woman.

We pick up where we left off, with Mavis making a Last Stand against the evil nobles trying to kill the princess… erm, the noble lady who is not a princess at all, ha ha ha. Naturally, despite Mavis thinking she did this on her own, the rest of the Crimson Vow are not far behind, and things are quickly settled, though not before a few more “a girl is crushing on me and this makes me uncomfortable” jokes. After that, as noted, they get challenged by three elder dragons, because their new leader is a young punk who wants to make a name for themselves. Naturally, the three dragons are taken out by the Crimson Vow, though not before Mavis loses her left arm defending Pauline, something that briefly causes Pauline to be devastated before it’s revealed Mile is a walking plot device. Finally, they meet up with the team that fought them for their academy exams, and for once get along with everyone, which is good as they have to face ANOTHER dragon.

Make no mistake about it, FUNA knows what we are here for, and it’s not drama or character development – possibly why Mavis’ addition to magical steroids is dropped here. The high point of this book, sorry to spoil, is everything about Mavis’ new bionic arm, which Mile whips up in an emergency so that she can continue to fight, and then leaves on because Mavis thinks that it’s cooler than regrowing her old, ordinary arm (which Mile can do as well). Again, this beggars belief were it not for the previous nine volumes of this series, and reminds you that there are other isekai OP protagonists, there is a big gap, and then there is Mile. That said, even Mile is not perfect, and I liked the end story showing that her “sure, let’s let the kids from the village trail along quietly” attitude can be deadly. Fortunately, well, Mavis has a bionic arm now.

As I said, this has, to an extent, come at the expense of Reina and Pauline, and I do hear that Vol. 11 focuses on the latter more. That said, this time around please enjoy the fact that, when they’re on the same wavelength, Mavis and Mile can be utterly bonkers and also complete powerhouses.

Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear, Vol. 3

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

Last time I noted that Yuna didn’t really seem to have a purpose after coming to this world beyond wandering around. She seems to find one in this book, but it’s not what you’d think: her purpose is to make sure that people DON’T start talking about how strong and awesome and wonderful she is. Yuna values her anonymity, bear suit aside, and wants to have a “slow life” that becoming a famous adventurer would absolutely not give her. The trouble is that she also can’t seem to stop getting into trouble and/or having to save people, and she really is a nightmarish OP powerhouse. We gradually, by the end of the book, see her gravitating towards the traditional slow life job – she’s going to open a store – and yet there’s no doubt that the store is not going to be what we, the reader, will be seeing as the books go on. We will be seeing Yuna continue to acquire a fanclub of little girls. No, a literal fanclub.

The majority of this book takes place in the capital, which Yuna and Fina do indeed head towards as promised. On the way she captures a gang of bandits (who have been kidnapping and raping women, thus keeping to this series’ “one tonally awful event per book” quota), she meets Noa’s older sister, an academy student who is far stronger than most of her classmates, and thus Yuna is used to take her down a peg or two; manages to convince everyone that potatoes are not poisonous when prepared properly, and the same goes for cheese; draws an adorable picture book for the princess which is basically a childish retelling of her meeting Fina; and, oh yes, defeats ten THOUSAND goblins, orcs, wolves, wyverns, and one giant wyrm. By herself. On the bright side, this does actually get her to drain her magic a bit, though it’s still not enough to actually injure or trouble her.

This probably reads like a short story book, and to an extent that’s what the books are; Yuna does adventures, about 3/4 of which are warm fuzzy things, and 1/4 of which is fantasy game violence. Yuna remains rather emotionless at the best of times, but her heart is still in the right place, as the reason she kills all those monsters is that Noa was worried about her dad getting killed by them. By the end of the book, she’s returning to Crimonia, but I get the sense that the book will take us wherever Yuna can meet more guys who judge her by her appearance and thus have to be beat up, and young girls who are in awe of her. Noa has fan club cards made at the end of this book, as I noted, and I suspect numbers will go up fast. Which is probably a good thing; Yuna functions best when around others, and by herself can get somewhat callous and mean.

If you want a nice combination of slow life, ludicrously overpowered hero, cute girls beating up sexist jerks, and bears, this is your ideal series. If those things aren’t for you, your mileage may vary.

Do You Love Your Mom and Her Two-Hit Multi-Target Attacks?, Vol. 6

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By Dachima Inaka and Iida Pochi. Released in Japan as “Tsujo Kogeki ga Zentai Kogeki de Ni-kai Kogeki no Okasan wa Suki desu ka?” by Fujimi Fantasia Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Andrew Cunningham.

Just as the grandfather in The Princess Bride has to reassure us that “she does not get eaten by the sharks at this time” (or eels, I was always more a book person), I feel a need to reassure those people seeing the cover and emitting screeches of rage and horror that “he does not marry his mother at this time”. This is not to say there isn’t teasing to that effect – remember what series you’re reading. But it always walks up to the line but never crosses it, and that’s the case here as well. What this volume is is a short story collection, with several stories written for Dragon Magazine as well as a larger story written for this book. As with most short story volumes where this is the case, the original content is much better than the magazine imports. That said, the short story nature of the book does also add a new interesting wrinkle: Mamako really doesn’t do much in this book.

The first story takes place prior to Medhi joining the group (with a “let’s have a flashback” section so awkward I winced) and is mostly about goblins, which leads to an amusing pun that is also very Japanese. The second story is the worst, taking us back to the classroom full of NPCs, this time with Mamako as the teacher. This is a story for you if you love fanservice and Masato at his most immature. The main story is a two-parter, the first of which involves our party helping a mother whose daughter is a little TOO spoiled… and it turns out that’s the only thing stopping her from destroying the world. After that we meet the character designer for the game, along with her mother (of course), who has entered the game as she’s in love with the Prince that she created and wants to marry him. This is treated more seriously than I expected.

As always, the book rises and falls depending on how tolerable Masato is. When he’s showing he’s learned from his prior experiences and is actually being a normal teenage boy, the book is quite entertaining. When he’s doing nothing but whining and moaning, I once again ask myself why the hell I am reading this. Fortunately, most of the bad stuff is front loaded. Mone, the girl who needs to be spoiled, is a type that we didn’t quite have in the series yet – a love interest for Masato who actually admits she likes him. This does not sit well with our two reluctant mages. The most interesting part was at the end (it’s also the most amusing part – I won’t spoil why, but it involves Medhi and embarrassment, and it’s possibly the funniest the book has ever been) when Rika, the character designer, has to defend falling in love with a character in a game. There’s discussion of the fact that, since games are THIS interactive now, it’s not the same as, say, marrying a body pillow, as well as discussion of when to let your child go (something Mamako struggles with, obviously).

There’s also a bit more plot tease – by now it’s very obvious Porta’s mother is being held back till near the end of the series (assuming this ever ends) and we once again see a fantastic opportunity for Mamako to mention her husband… which she does not do at ALL. This is not Do You Love Your Dad?, and – more to the point – Mamako is the heroine, and the author knows Japanese readers won’t want to see her obviously paired up with anyone. (She’s both virgin AND mother!) In any case, after a rough start, this was a decent book, provided of course that you’ve gotten over the basic premise.

Manga the Week of 9/23/20

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SEAN: Manga is here and nothing can stop it!

Except perhaps fire. Pacific Northwest-based Dark Horse has two manga releases currently scheduled for next week, but has already said the wildfires might delay releases. But we will note them anyway: Danganronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls 2 and Ms. Koizumi Loves Ramen Noodles 2.

ASH: Yikes, that is a completely understandable reason for possible delays.

SEAN: J-Novel Club once again has two debuts, one which I care about and one which I do not. The “do not” is My Instant Death Ability is So Overpowered, No One in This Other World Stands a Chance Against Me! (Sokushi Cheat ga Saikyou Sugite, Isekai no Yatsura ga Marude Aite ni Naranai n Desu ga). Leaving aside the fact that no light novel with the word ‘Cheat’ in the title should ever be licensed, this is by the author of My Big Sister Lives in a Fantasy World, and apparently ties into that story, but I’m still not interested enough to look at it. But it should appeal to those who like this sort of thing.

Far more to my taste is The Sorcerer’s Receptionist (Mahousekai no Uketsukejou ni Naritaidesu), a J-Novel Heart series about a commoner woman whose goal is to become a guild receptionist, and the duke’s son who she keeps running into while she achieves this.

ASH: That one’s more to my taste as well.

SEAN: Also coming out next week: I Refuse to Be Your Enemy! 3, Lazy Dungeon Master 12, My Next Life As a Villainess! 7, and Sorcerous Stabber Orphen 8.

Kodansha has a very light week next week. No print books, and the digital side is light as well. The debut there is Maid in Honey, a Dessert title whose synopsis and cover art makes me cringe, but I know there’s a big audience for series like these.

MICHELLE: Yeah, this is another of the “girl with a service job” titles I mentioned last week. The style of the cover looked familiar so I did a search on the mangaka and, yep, she’s the one who did Beauty Bunny also. I think I’ll be passing on this one.

SEAN: We also see Abe-kun’s Got Me Now! 4, Altair: A Record of Battles 22, DAYS 20, and the 20th and final Elegant Yokai Apartment Life, which I’m not sure if it completed or if it was simply cancelled.

MICHELLE: I’m hoping for the former! I have been meaning to read it for ages.

SEAN: KUMA has a print release of Canis: Dear Mr. Rain (which I thought we’d had before, but…)

MICHELLE: I am pretty sure it was supposed to come out earlier but got pushed back.

ASH: Yup, I think that’s the case. I’ll probably check it out at some point now that it’ll be available.

SEAN: Seven Seas has two debuts, one print and one early digital, but both yuri. The print is Our Teachers Are Dating! (Hayama-sensei to Terano-sensei wa Tsukiatte iru), a Comic Yuri Hime title about a gym teacher and nurse who are in a relationship… and the school is rooting for them! This looks cute, though future covers suggest it will also be ecchi.

ASH: I’m more in the mood for cute than ecchi at the moment, but I’ll admit to being curious.

SEAN: The digital debut, from GL Novels (you can guess what GL stands for), is I’m in Love with the Villainess! (Watashi no Oshi wa Akuyaku Reijou). As with many light novels recently, an OL dies and is reincarnated in an otome game. However, she’s the heroine. But she’s not interested in the guys… This looks fun, and I’ve been reliably informed is very well written.

Also out next week: Cosmo Familia 2, Gal Gohan 4, the 7th print volume of How a Realist Hero Rebuilds the Kingdom, the 2nd print volume of Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear, My Androgynous Boyfriend 2, My Senpai Is Annoying! 2, Peter Grill and the Philosopher’s Time 2, the 6th print volume of Reincarnated As a Sword, and the 8th and final volume of Tomo-chan Is a Girl!, which I have really loved from day one.

MICHELLE: Hooray for more My Androgynous Boyfriend!

ASH: I’m looking forward to reading more of that series, too!

SEAN: Tokyopop has a 2nd volume of Koimonogatari: Love Stories.

Vertical has the 1st volume of Weathering with You in print. Which I know I said 3 weeks ago, but this year has just been VERY BAD for release dates slipping.

There are a LOT of light novels from Yen due out next week. Including one debut, Banished from the Hero’s Party, I Decided to Live a Quiet Life in the Countryside (Shin no Nakama ja Nai to Yuusha no Party wo Oidasareta node, Henkyou de Slow Life suru Koto ni Shimashita). “Slow Life” in Japanese loan word has become “Quiet Life” in English for these sorts of books, but the intent is the same: the heroes shun him, so he goes off to do basic boring tasks. I’ve heard good things about this.

Technically there is another debut, but it’s a sequel to a spinoff. Konosuba: An Explosion on This Wonderful World! Bonus Story moves the timeline forward a bit, but still has the premise of “Megumin and Yunyun have side adventures”, this time with Princess Iris along for the ride.

Other light novels: The Alchemist Who Survived Now Dreams of a Quiet City Life 4, Baccano! 14, Combatants Will Be Dispatched! 4, The Devil Is a Part-Timer! 17, The Genius Prince’s Guide to Raising a Nation Out of Debt (Hey, How About Treason?) 4, A Mysterious Job Called Oda Nobunaga 2, Re: Zero EX 4, Suppose a Kid From the Last Dungeon Boonies Moved to a Starter Town 3, and Torture Princess 5.

ASH: Wow, it really is a full week for the Yen ON imprint!

SEAN: Yen Press has three manga debuts. If Witch, Then Witch? (Majo Raba Majo Reba) is a Shonen Gangan title about a boy whose life is saved by a girl donating her blood. He wants to repay her anyway he can… and finds to do this, he has to dress as a witch and help her pass the magic exams. My expectations are low but not zero.

ASH: Hmmm.

SEAN: The second debut is King of Eden, a Korean horror manga that got a limited release a few years ago but is now out in a two-in one omnibus (it’s 4 volumes total, so the 2nd should finish it). Given it’s horror, it’s not my thing, but… Ash?

ASH: Well, now that it’s made its way to print, I may very well take a look!

SEAN: Lastly, we see the manga version of Last Round Arthurs, which I have described as “King Arthur meets Haruhi Suzumiya”.

We also see A Bride’s Story 12, The Elder Sister-Like One 4, Kakegurui Twin 7, My Youth Romantic Comedy Is Wrong As I Expected 14 (manga version), Plunderer 5, The Saga of Tanya the Evil 11 (manga version), the 15th and final volume of Silver Spoon, Trinity Seven 21, and Yowamushi Pedal 15.

MICHELLE: Hooray for more YowaPeda!

ASH: Oh yes, and A Bride’s Story, too! And of course, Silver Spoon. Yen manga is where it’s at for me this week.

SEAN: Leaving aside MJ(SILVER SPOOOOOOOOOOOOON!), what are you all getting next week?

ANNA: I’m going to use this week as a breather to catch up on all my unread manga!

MJ: Hey, I think I missed my cue. SILVER SPOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOON!

Sword Art Online, Vol. 20: Moon Cradle

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By Reki Kawahara and abec. Released in Japan by Dengeki Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Stephen Paul.

I’m not quite sure where the break is, but there was a big gap in time between Reki Kawahara starting the Moon Cradle arc in his webnovel version of Sword Art Online and his finishing it. The reason for the gap, of course, was that he was busy taking SAO and Accel World and making them actual published books. And I have to say, this book does feature a more mature style than I’m used to with this series, more in line with what he’d been doing with Progressive. There’s some wonderful prose descriptions of the Underworld here, and aside from a sneering villain (who even uses the word ‘confound’, a word only villains use), there’s not as much of the author’s usual bad habits. This book almost feels at times like it’s meant to be spinning off Ronie and Tiese into their own book series, serving as sort of a distaff Kirito and Eugeo for the next generation. But of course the issue there is that Kirito and Asuna are still around, and why call up Blue Beetle and Booster Gold when you can get Superman and The Flash?

We’re back in Centoria again after Kirito and Ronie’s adventures in the dark lands, but the threat of a civil war is still ongoing, and the investigation is proving frustrating, mostly as it would seem to involve people who can easily bypass the Taboo Index and also have tons of power. You would think it might be the Emperors and high nobles, but we’re shown a quick flashback at the start of the book that helpfully tells us they’ve all been killed off by our heroes. Fortunately, as it turns out, Tiese’s inability to let go of Eugeo sees her and Ronie visiting a mansion rumored to be haunted, and finding that it’s actually home to the very conspiracy they’re looking for. Can they stop the big bad by themselves? Well, no, it’s Kirito’s series still. But they do most of it. And their dragons are very cute.

The writing, as I noted at the start of this review, may be more mature, but the plotting still leaves something to be desired. He even admits in the afterword that most everything he sets up in these two books is left open-ended (including Ronie’s own love for Kirito, which Asuna muses on but never actually sits down with her to discuss), and it gives the whole volume a feeling of a series that got cancelled by Shonen Jump before it could really tell its story. There’s also a chapter with Ronie’s baby dragon going to get help, which involves befriending a rat and has a very Incredible Journey feel to it, but is also 100% pointless. I did really enjoy the scene with Kirito and Asuna getting ready for bed, which shows a relaxed ease to them as a couple (though honestly, Kirito still behaves like a kid a great deal of the time). Notably, they sleep in the same bed with pajamas on – after the first SAO book, any suggestion they’re a sexually active couple has been thoroughly absent.

So the prose is good here, but it leaves a reader dissatisfied if they were hoping for things to be tied up in a neat bow. But fear not, lovers of Kirito everywhere (there are some, right?), we’re getting a brand new arc next time that is not from a webnovel. Unital Ring brings us back to real-world future Japan, introduces a new game to confound everyone, and may bring back a few surprises from the past. But it won’t have Ronie or Tiese.

Wataru!!! The Hot-Blooded Teen and His Epic Adventures in a Fantasy World After Stopping a Truck with His Bare Hands!, Vol. 1

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By Simotti and RELUCY. Released in Japan as “Truck Uketome Isekai Tensei! Nekketsu Butouha Koukousei Wataru!!!” by Overlap. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Adam Seacord.

There are times when you want a light novel that delves into the depths of the psychological consequences of being sent to another world, or what it means to have modern-day culture impinge itself on a medieval fantasy world. Perhaps you want to delve deep into what the power structures of a demon lord’s minions would really be like, and immerse yourself in gripping fights where you’re not even sure the hero will win. If this is what you crave… there are other light novels elsewhere, I’m sure. If, on the other hand, you love exclamation marks, shouting, and most everyone being as stupid as they can possibly be, including the author, then Wataru!!! is right up your street. This series is here to be dumb and loud and have a ton of fun, and nothing else. It can be a bit exhausting… indeed, I worry that future volumes may wear out the welcome… but it succeeds in what it wants to do. Which is mock isekais with everything it has.

The book begins with the subtitle, as our hero is suddenly accosted by a truck, and does indeed stop it, but then realizes that this would kill the driver, so lets himself be hit, and ends up… in another world! There he meets Aria, a standard heroine with a nagging tendency to get bloody head injuries (but don’t worry, she knows healing magic). She tells him that her parents have been kidnapped by the Demon Lord, who’s super strong. One of these facts seems to matter more to Wataru than the others, and so he sets off to defeat the demon lord to prove who’s stronger. In the interim, he gains another companion in enemy-turned-neutral friend Résistance, has a rap battle, has a battle of the bands, has a literary critique contest, and yes, also has quite a few fistfights. Throughout, though, he stays as hot-blooded as possible.

Gonna be honest, I enjoyed this book but I suspect its core audience is going to be small. Everything is shouting. An audiobook would be amazing but also the worst thing ever. Wataru is more nuanced than you’d think, being kind at heart, and also not the rock-headed muscle guy that you’d normally expect. (My favorite part of the book is the fact that he speaks his own sound effects, which are abbreviations of what he’s doing. He stops the truck while shouting “TRK!!!!!”.) Aria is a rather flakey heroine by design, and when she’s not getting devastating head injuries or cheering Wataru on, she also shows off her passion for Beyblade… erm, sorry, Payblade toys. (The book doesn’t have WcDonald’s, but we do get Tot Hopic, which also made me laugh.) Résistance is the closest to a normal character in the book, but even she has a soft spot for really tacky jewelry, which Wataru convinces her is not a character flaw.

So yes, there is more here than just shouting and silliness… but not much. I’m not sure it can carry a series. But for a single novel, it’s recommended. Read with earplugs.

Pick of the Week: La Belle Maison

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SEAN: Despite my thinking that this series is a good example of why you shouldn’t use comedic sociopaths in a serious manga, the pick clearly has to be Maison Ikkoku anyway. It’s iconic, beloved, and Kyoko vies with Madoka from KOR as the most beloved anime heroine by men of a certain age. I’m quite happy Viz is bringing it back.

MICHELLE: Yep, it’s Maison Ikkoku for me, too, but honorable mentions for Ping Pong and The Way of the Househusband!

KATE: I’m voting a straight VIZ ticket, too, Michelle! Maison Ikkoku, Ping Pong, and The Way of the Househusband are all on my short list for this week.

ASH: VIZ has an incredibly strong showing this week! The second half of Ping Pong is most likely the first volume that I’ll be reaching for, but I’ll definitely be reading everything that’s been mentioned so far!

ANNA: I agree, this is a great week for Viz. I’m excited about many of the titles that have already been mentioned, but I do especially enjoy that classic manga is getting released, so I’m going to go with Maison Ikkoku.

MEINDA: I want to care about other things, but this week, my heart belongs to Maison Ikkoku.

Rascal Does Not Dream of Petite Devil Kohai

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

This book had several hills to climb in order to win me over, to be honest. I enjoyed the romance in the first volume, and was not fond of it being torpedoed right off the bat in the cliffhanger. The heroine of this book, Tomoe, did not make all that good an impression on me in the first one. Time loop stories make me vaguely uncomfortable, hitting a certain level of “I get embarrassed reading this” in me. And fake dating stories also rub me the wrong way in actual books, though oddly I’m fine with it in fanfiction, mostly as it almost always leads to real dating. That said, it’s a testament to the writing skill of the author that I was able to enjoy the book regardless, and most of my objections stated above were put to rest fairly easily. (The one heroine per book thing is something I fear I will have to get used to.)

The time loop is helped by it only being relevant at the start and end of the book. Sakuta is caught in a loop of the same day… for three days, and then, when it breaks, he’s basically in the worst possible situation. This is due to the heroine of this book, Tomoe, who is not a literal devil but is a stand in for “Laplace’s Demon”. We saw her in book one kicking Sakuta’s butt (and getting kicked in the butt in return, something that Sakuta, being who he is, brings up over and over again in this book), and now she has a problem, one that she tried to get Sakuta to help with once the time loop breaks. In order to fend off the attention of another guy, they have to pretend to date for the rest of the semester. Of course, Sakuta is in love with Mai, which makes things just a bit difficult. And that’s not even getting into Tomoe hitting the “fanfiction” part of the trope and wanting to turn her fake dating real.

As with the first book, the main reason to read the series is Sakuta, who is both a very nice , upstanding guy and a completely terrible lech who just has no filter at all. This book provides a different heroine to react to this, and while Mai was basically doing her best Senjogahara impersonation, Tomoe is the sort of blush, stomp her feet and say “Geez!” at his antics. Tomoe is far more likeable in this book when she gets the entire novel to sell herself, and I really enjoyed her backstory, which also tied into the reason why Sakuta, who is still trying to tell Mai he loves her, agrees to do this at all. There are hints of future plot developments – the third book seems to feature Rio, and there’s some setup for that here, namely her not-so-hidden crush on her friend Yuuma, and there’s another shocking cliffhanger ending that will no doubt play out in future books somehow. And there’s a lot of fun humor, mostly because Sakuta exists.

To sum up, I was wary of this book, but it ended up being a lot of fun. I am definitely getting the next in the series.

Bottom-Tier Character Tomozaki, Vol. 4

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By Yuki Yaku and Fly. Released in Japan as “Jaku Chara Tomozaki-kun” by Shogakukan. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Winifred Bird.

We have reached the point in this series where Tomozaki is starting to get good at playing Hinami’s “game” of life, and for the most part he sails through her directives in this book. In fact, the first two thirds of this book are a great deal of relaxing fun, especially after the confrontation between our two leads in the last volume. Most of this chunk of the book revolves around the sports festival, where the boys and girls in the class will be competing. The role of girls’ captain is somewhat thankless, and is at first foisted off on one of the quiet wallflowers in the class, then by Izumi. The true stumbling block, though, is Erika Konno, the Queen Bee of the class, who does not want to try hard or care unless she has to. So Tomozaki’s task is to get Konno interested in the sports festival. And now that he’s become something of a social animal, he can even ask others for help as well.

Izumi gets a lot to do in this book, as she’s involved in every single plot and subplot. She and Nakamura make their relationship clearer, and they’re now going out. She’s also the one who’s most invested in another issue – due to Nakamura and his mother fighting, he’s not coming to school, and it’s taking a worryingly long time for them to make up. This was probably the funniest part of the book, as Hinami is very reluctant to get involved in this – until Atafami is brought up as the reason for the fight, when she suddenly changes her tune. As with previous books, Hinami is at her best as a character when we see her mask cracking, which it does several times here. The sports festival also goes well, and provides Tomozaki a chance to bond with the other boys in the class AND have a laughable anti-sports manga moment. Everything’s great, and the game is fun. What could go wrong?

…well, life is not a game you can stop playing when it ceases to be fun is the lesson we learn in the last third of the book, when Erika Konno moves from apathetic Queen Bee to nasty bully, picking on the shy girl in the class because, well, for the same reason that bullies always pick on the quiet kid. The book then gets really good again (the author is excellent at making the last fifth of so of each book really sing) when Tama-chan gets involved. She hasn’t been a big part of the series so far, and most of what we know about her is that she’s very serious and straightforward. That ends up being both a strength and a weakness when she confronts Konno, and we get an excellent look at how this sort of bullying can affect the mood of a classroom, and why the sympathy of a group is rarely with the bullied. We also see the previous crack in Hinami’s armor get larger – just as she was willing to get involved when Atafami was being dissed, here she’s ready to go to bat for her friend. That said, Tomozaki is not the only one growing and learning in this series.

The book ends with the problem unresolved, and given Tama-chan is on the next cover, I expect we’ll get a lot more of it. It’s a good way to end a great book in the series, one willing to deal with problems both small and large, and with an excellent view of classroom dynamics and mood. Forget “read this if you find Oregairu too depressing”, just read this, period.