Manga Bookshelf

Discussion, Resources, Roundtables, & Reviews

Sean Gaffney

Chitose Is in the Ramune Bottle, Vol. 6

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By Hiromu and raemz. Released in Japan as “Chitose-kun wa Ramune Bin no Naka” by Gagaga Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Evie Lund.

It does sometimes occur to me that my reviews are, of course, telling you my own opinions, which frequently do not match up with the opinions of other light novel fans. So let’s get this out of the way fast: I really loved this book, and was on the edge of my seat reading it. This is despite the fact that I can easily see about ten different reasons why it would piss off most readers who are not me. First of all, it’s 406 pages of nothing but teenage angst. You had better be ready for people to be sobbing, hating themselves, and talking about how they can never get those cherished days back ever again, everything is RUINED FOREVER. The book consists almost entirely of conversations by high school kids all trying to sound adult, and would be excruciating animated. This is especially true of our cover girl, who is trying her best to be the Tsubasa Hanekawa of this series. As for Chitose, oh my God, you want to punch him. That last one, at least, is deliberate.

We all knew this would be “the Yua book”, and indeed it is, and that’s her on the cover. While everyone else stays with a devastated Yuuka, Yua goes to comfort a broken Chitose, going back to his apartment and making sure that he does things like eat, bathe, sleep, and all the other things he would not do on his own because he wants to wallow in self-hatred. As this happens, we flash back to the start of their first year of high school, when we meet a Yua who is very good at putting on a mask of “normal girl who does not get close to others”, which she rationalizes as not wanting to make trouble for her family. Unfortunately for her, Chitose sees through this immediately, and proceeds to needle her out of that mask every chance he gets. And boy, does she hate him.

Yua’s backstory is very good, and explains a lot about her, but the bulk of the good stuff is in the back half. Chitose gradually starts seeing all his friends (bar Yuuko and Kaito) one by one, and attempts to awkwardly get back to some sort of equilibrium. This is helped by it being summer break. But this isn’t going to work unless he can address the elephant in the room, and Yua (who is MVP here, but I fear is far too similar to Chitose to end up with him by the end of this series) manages to literally blackmail both Chitose and Yuuko to meet up and rip all the bandaids off. Chitose learns that he is not responsible for the romantic feelings of every girl who likes him. Yuuko learns that perhaps kicking everything apart just because she was still being treated like “the best girl” really *was* a dumb idea. And Yua herself is told to try to be a little selfish, and manages to, slightly , succeed.

The upshot of these 400 pages of howling teenage grief and angst is that we’re back to status quo, sort of, except Yuuko has, of course, still confessed. The author says this is the end of the first half of the series, so I assume we have 6 volumes to go…. after the inevitable short story collection, which is what’s coming next. In my top tier of romdrams, but YMMV.

Saving 80,000 Gold in Another World for My Retirement, Vol. 4

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By FUNA and Touzai. Released in Japan as “Rōgo ni Sonaete Isekai de 8-Man-Mai no Kinka o Tamemasu” by K Lanove Books. Released in North America by Kodansha Books. Translated by Luke Hutton.

(A reminder that the English Vol. 4 is the equivalent of the Japanese Vol. 5.)

Folks, I’m gonna talk about it again. Just as I did with the last Potions volume. And MMAA as well. And, honestly, Kuma Bear, which is not by the same author but does the same thing and appeals to the same audience. What the hell is with all the child labor love in these books? Every series seems to bring a tragic tale of orphans who are suffering terribly until our heroine comes along to offer them a job where they can earn cold hard cash to live on, and the kids subsequently develop a messianic devotion. Not to the heroine, though yes, for her as well. To work. They will work all the overtime. They will work weekends and holidays. It’s ridiculous. You could argue it’s a good way to get a small army of cute moe kids for this series for moe kid lovers, but… there are other moe kids in this series who are not child labor! It drives me NUTS.

Mitsuha quickly decides that she does not want to do any more of her diplomacy tour, and so she takes the kids and simply runs away back to her kingdom, with a few stops in Japan to set up a new business and make sure all her tax documents are in working order. (Mitsuha is very, very dedicated to making sure she does not screw up her Japanese taxes, even as she exploits less developed countries for labor and real estate.) She also takes two mercs, who are upset they were sick for the dragon battle, to fight some monsters, and quickly realizes that actual monster hunting is not Safe And Fun. In the second half of the book, she heads to the country that had sent that warship to do reconnaissance… which in practice just means doing the same stuff she did in the first country, only with more money and more mistakes.

I can probably answer all my questions about this author by observing the monster hunting scene. Mitsuha actually has to try to find a place with real monsters, as they don’t hang around the capital. Then, when she goes with two mercs and the captain, her noble family friends insist on coming along as well… because they know monsters are freaking dangerous, and bullets, as it turns out, can’t stop them. Swords can, though. Mitsuha ends up teleporting everyone back, flees to Japan with her two girls, and is super depressed… for a page. She then gets over it. This is even lampshaded. I think the author does not want the reader to overanalyze things too much, this series is for fun. Unfortunately for the author, I have a word count to make up, so here I am. I did enjoy Mitsuha make a couple of really dumb “I assume I am mature and know everything, but am actually a naive little baby” mistakes, especially when she starts handing out priceless jewels like candy.

So yeah, (checks author) this series is still not good, or bad. It’s FUNA. That’s what it is.

Pick of the Week: Mimosa, Ramune and Blood

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ASH: There are some interesting releases this week, for sure, but I’m more inclined to nab newer volumes of ongoing series rather than any of the debuts. That being said, my pick this actually does go to the debut of The Mimosa Confessions. Granted, I’ll be waiting for it to come out in print before I actually read it…

MICHELLE: The Mimosa Confessions gets my pick as well, but there *is* some Yumi Tamura on the schedule, so that can never go without happy commentary.

ANNA: Yumi Tamura for meeeeeeeeeeeee!

SEAN: The last volume ended with everyone sobbing their eyes out (except the one girl who played the saxophone), and I desperately want to know what happens next, so the 6th Chitose Is in the Ramune Bottle is my pick!

KATE: I had a love-hate relationship with Shuzo Oshimi’s Blood on the Tracks, but the penultimate volume is coming to stores this week and I’m feeling an itch to read it. I want to find out what happens to Seiichi, even though my Spidey sense is telling me that this is story with an unhappy (and probably squick-inducing) ending.

Safe & Sound in the Arms of an Elite Knight, Vol. 3

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By Fuyu Aoki and Minori Aritani. Released in Japan as “Doinaka no Hakugai Reijо̄ wa О̄to Elite Kishi ni Dekiai Sareru” by DRE Novels. Released in North America by J-Novel Heart. Translated by Dawson Chen.

Yes, as you can see from the cover art showing a wedding, this is the final volume in the series. (The imprint has yet to let a light novel series go beyond Book 3, so that’s also not a surprise.) Actually, lack of surprise is a feature of this entire book. Every single plot point in this book can be seen coming from at least ten pages away. That said, this is perfectly fine. You really don’t want big surprises from this series. You want adorable romantic moments between two very pure people, getting past horribly abusive and traumatic pasts with the help of good communication, and yes, OK, you want our heroine to knock her evil mother unconscious and tie her up. You don’t read this for plot, you read it for emotional grandeur, and it has this in spades. When the long-lost one good maid from Chloe’s past shows up, I did not roll my eyes, I said “oh good, they can apologize to each other for pages on end.” Which they do.

Last time we saw Chloe and Lloyd confess to each other, but as you can imagine, that hardly solves anything. In fact, it actually makes their lives worse for a week or two – neither one have much experience with this feeling, and so they’re on eggshells around each other, and getting distracted. It takes several heartfelt talks to get it through their heads that repressing everything is a bad thing, particularly with Chloe, who has the self-confidence of an asthmatic whelk. After doing so, marriage seems an obvious step – even though they only confessed a week earlier, they’ve basically been behaving like an old married couple for a while. That said, there is the small matter of Lloyd’s tragic past he still hasn’t talked about, and, oh yes, Chloe’s mother, who is coming to visit, and she’s brought her knife.

As with the previous book, Chloe’s family is beyond evil. Her mother is horrified to find out that Lily’s action might have consequences for her, appalled to hear that this is actually going to a trial with a judge who will (gasp!) follow the law, and quickly decides that the best solution is to kill every single witness, starting with Chloe. (I feel bad for the terrorized household help back home, but honestly, they may feel relief to be out of a job.) The great thing is that the attack comes at a time when Lloyd can’t come to her rescue, so Chloe has to overcome her mother on her own, and has the realization that she’s younger, stronger, and smarter, so why is she so terrified? It’s a great empowering moment. As for Lloyd’s tragic past, we don’t see it, he just relates it to Chloe has guilt, so there’s not as much impact. But he gets to cry in her arms, which is also nice.

As with the previous two volumes, if you like to see abused young women recover and thrive after escaping from their situation, this is a great little romance series.

I’m the Villainess, So I’m Taming the Final Boss, Vol. 8

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By Sarasa Nagase and Mai Murasaki. Released in Japan as “Akuyaku Reijo Nanode Rasubosu o Katte Mimashita” by Kadokawa Beans Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Taylor Engel.

Despite the fact that there are still three volumes to go after this, according to the author, this is the end of the main series. And it’s a real corker of an ending, giving us one last crisis for the road, where Aileen is not under threat of execution (it’s hard to do that now that she’s the Empress), but the world is still in danger, and more importantly, her family is in danger. This is when Aileen “rampages”, as Claude puts it, and she certainly does so here, kicking people in the face, doing all sorts of Holy Sword tricks, and otherwise being the badassest badass to ever badass. What’s more, the series continues to hammer on its themes: fate is something to rebel against, no one is irredeemable, and your love can indeed save the world. Indeed, it had better. Aileen literally says at the climax that saving Claude is her only goal. If she saves the world too, that’s just a bonus.

Covers always spoil, huh? So yes, everything is peachy keen with our heroes, although Aileen is worried about whether she’ll be able to bear children for Claude. Suddenly a mysterious but incredibly powerful teenage boy arrives, who looks like Claude. With an eyepatch and an emo streak a mile wide. He immediately puts the entire nation (almost) to sleep, puts a barrier over it, and heads over to Ashmael, where Roxane is about to give birth. He’s not the only mysterious stranger to arrive, however, as a young woman follows, who seems to know who this mysterious teen is… and also looks an awful lot like Baal. If you guessed this was a “kids from the future” plot, you get no prize, as it’s obvious. But the kids aren’t the threat.

Most of the secondary cast play a smaller role in this volume, but there’s one big exception to that, and of course it’s Lilia. We had to somehow do something with her before the end of the series, as she’s the only one who is deliberately trying not to grow and change. That finally ends here, however. Yes, there are not one but *two* new otome games that came out in Japan that this book is based on (Aileen died right after the 5th came out), but Aileen has broken the plot of the previous games so much that they don’t mesh anymore. I think that, more than her fiance Cedric, might be what causes Lilia to stop being a “player” and become a true heroine. I mean, don’t get me wrong, she’s still a massive asshole to everyone around her, but at least she’s no longer wishing for chaos to descend. Hell, she even hints in the final chapter that she, by “removing the all ages rating” (i.e., consummating with Cedric), allows Aileen to get pregnant. Aileen is the badass, but Lilia is still my favorite.

So we’re done! Good end! That said, as I noted, there’s more books coming. The next one is an after story, apparently. As always, in the top 5 villainess series out there.

High School DxD: Issei SOS

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By Ichiei Ishibumi and Miyama-Zero. Released in Japan by Fujimi Fantasia Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Haydn Trowell.

Humor is always subjective, and what is funny to one person won’t be funny to someone else. So, as you can imagine, this review is even more my personal opinion than most of them are. This isn’t helped by this volume being the second short story volume, meaning that it almost by necessity consists of funny stories, as any drama needs to be saved for the main series. I I will note that my enjoyment of these stories was in inverse to how much Issue was screaming like a tsukkomi in them. Issei can be a great character in the shonen hero mode, and he can also be fun when he’s being a pervert. But being a straight man shouting in disbelief just doesn’t suit him well, at least in the “humor” mode. The first two short stories have, as their main source of humor, Issei essentially saying “Are you kidding me?”, in variations, over and over again. It makes him more annoying than he usually is. Which is amazing, given Issei can be pretty annoying.

There’s no interconnecting plot, so the stories are: 1) Demon King Leviathan is making a movie with herself as a magical girl, and wants Issei, Asia, Gaspar and Xenovia to play the villains; 2) the title story, where Kiyome (the tennis club captain) asks Issei to pretend to be her boyfriend, which ends up meaning he has to fight a monster tamer battle; 3) Issei gets a combination of a demon cold and a dragon cold that puts him in hospital, and the cast nurse him back to health; 4) Ravel comes to Rias’ peerage and asks them to help her brother Riser, who has become a shut-in after his loss to Issei; 5) The angels, fallen angels and demons all have a three-way athletic competition, which is very heavily based on the standard Japanese high school sports festival; and 6) in the one original for the volume story, Rias’ nephew Millicas comes to visit the group so that he can experience human life… and maybe get in a good fight or two.

As I’ve observed in prior volumes, it’s become pretty clear that there is not going to be a “best girl” in this series, at least not in the sense that there will be a loser. Issei is going to have his harem. As such, it’s not too much of a surprise that he might be thinking more about that future, and about being a parent. This takes place in the final story, which is also the best one (though I was also amused at the nurse competition to make Issei well, which was hitting all the essential cliches but also gives us… drumroll please… sex-changed Kiba!). As I said, Issei doesn’t make a good tsukkomi, but there are things he is very good at, and being a mentor/big brother figure is one of them. This presumably will also translate into being a good dad, and certainly Akeno is ready and willing to start right away, though sex, as you’d expect, continues to not happen. But we’re closer.

So this is a short story collection that starts weak and gets stronger as it goes along, which is better than the alternative. Next volume I hear… Irina gets to do something? Nah, can’t be right.

Sabikui Bisco, Vol. 7

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By Shinji Cobkubo and K Akagishi. Released in Japan by Dengeki Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Jake Humphrey.

I had wondered in previous reviews why Sabikui Bisco wasn’t simply in Shonen Jump, given its sensibilities, its dialogue, and its homoeroticism, but I think after this volume I’ve figured it out. Jump is a title where, if the author said “hey, I’ve decided that for the next 26 weeks I want this series to be a samurai drama starring a bunch of cats”, editorial would say, “No, you will not be doing that”. But this isn’t a Jump manga, it’s a light novel series, and the sky’s the limit. So we not only get a samurai drama starring cats, but it is as ridiculously overblown as everything else in Bisco. That said, fear not, because despite the samurai cats, this absolutely feels like a Sabikui Bisco title, it has some hilarious and fantastic dialogue, and its homoeroticism is higher than ever, despite, as always, a strong finish for heteronormativity. The two will simply have to exist. It’s a good thing they’re related.

Bisco is not having a good time at the start of this book. He’s dragged away from a rakugo performance he was enjoying by Pawoo, who did not appreciate that the performance was in fact attacking her. Despite being, supposedly, in wedded bliss, he’s feeling bored and full of wanderlust. And, oh yes, everyone suddenly starts growing cat ears and tails and behaving like cats. Including, of course, Pawoo ad Tirol. The answer lies in the underground nation of Byoma, which is inhabited by intelligent cats, who were affected by the disaster that led to the world of Sabikui Bisco just like everyone else. Their world and Bisco’s are now connected thanks to that reality-bending arrow he and Milo used last time, so they’ve got to go fix it… assuming that they can avoid becoming cats themselves!

This is a particularly hilarious volume, with a lot of choice lines I don’t want to spoil, and features a lot of cat-related puns and cool action scenes. But it does have a serious core at its heart, one that ties the cat samurai stuff in with Bisco’s ongoing plot. The world of Byoma is suffering because, years ago, a samurai and his true love could not separate love and duty, and everything went to hell as a result. Now she is back, ready to destroy the world and remake it in her own image (well, in the image of monster mushrooms, because this is Sabikui Bisco, and everything is mushrooms, let’s face it). But this conflict, and also seeing it literally from the villainess’ point of view (which leads to the funniest line in the book) allows Bisco to resolve his own angst. He’s been trying to be understanding to Pawoo, who is governor and has a lot of responsibility. That’s why he’s not wandering around with Milo being slightly gay. Only… are those his only two choices?

It remains to be seen whether this series, which is very fond of literally hurling Pawoo away from the book for the majority of the pages, will feature her heavily in the next volume. Till then, this was a hell of a lot of fun.

Manga the Week of 4/24/24

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SEAN: April is lurching towards its conclusion. What can we find?

ASH: Hopefully my mind; try as I might, it’s convinced that March comes next.

SEAN: There’s a lot of print Airship titles, as we see Free Life Fantasy Online: Immortal Princess 6, The Most Heretical Last Boss Queen: From Villainess to Savior 6, She Professed Herself Pupil of the Wise Man 10, and The Weakest Tamer Began a Journey to Pick Up Trash 6.

In early digital we see The Mimosa Confessions (Mimosa no Kokuhaku), an LGBT novel from the creator of The Tunnel to Summer, the Exit of Goodbyes. A young man gradually drifts away from his more popular guy friend. In high school, he meets a cute girl, and falls for her. However, when he walks home one night, he sees his old friend… in a girls’ uniform and crying?

MICHELLE: Ooh.

ASH: Curiosity piqued!

ANNA: Hmm!

SEAN: And there is also the third volume of Yes, No, or Maybe?.

Ghost Ship has Into the Deepest, Most Unknowable Dungeon 8 and World’s End Harem 17.

And in mature non-GS titles, we get The Husky and His White Cat Shizun: Erha He Ta De Bai Mao Shizun 5 and Killing Stalking: Deluxe Edition 6.

ASH: I really do need to give Killing Stalking a try before I get too much further behind.

SEAN: J-Novel Club has two debuts. A Livid Lady’s Guide to Getting Even: How I Crushed My Homeland with My Mighty Grimoires (Buchigire Reijō wa Hōfuku wo Chikaimashita. Madōsho no Chikara de Sokoku wo Tataki Tsubushimasu) is another “our heroine is publicly shamed and dumped” books. Oh, and she’s thrown in prison. This causes her to snap and get revenge. That said, I wonder how revengey this will be – I’ve seen this sort of thing before.

ASH: Bonus points for the use of “grimoires” in the title.

ANNA: I appreciate grimoires as well!

SEAN: Zilbagias the Demon Prince: How the Seventh Prince Brought Down the Kingdom (Dainana Maōji Zilbagias no Maō Keikokuki) has a hero and his party get ready for the final battle against the demon king… and they’re all killed. Oops. Then he’s reincarnated… as the demon king’s son!

ASH: Awkward!

ANNA: What if he was reincarnated as the demon king’s son’s cat??

SEAN: Also from J-Novel Club: the 15th Black Summoner manga volume, the 4th Dragon Daddy Diaries: A Girl Grows to Greatness manga volume, The Exiled Noble Rises as the Holy King: Befriending Fluffy Beasts and a Holy Maiden with My Ultimate Cheat Skill! 2, Haibara’s Teenage New Game+ 6, Infinite Dendrogram 21, Jeanette the Genius: Defying My Evil Stepmother by Starting a Business with My Ride-or-Die Fiancé! 2, the 3rd The Magician Who Rose From Failure manga volume, Tearmoon Empire 12, and This Art Club Has a Problem! 3.

Kodansha Books has the 4th (really the 5th) volume of Saving 80,000 Gold in Another World for my Retirement.

Kodansha Manga debuts in print A Brief Moment of Ichika, a shoujo title from Palcy. A 16-year-old girl who was given two years left to live three years ago has made her peace with it… till she meets her teacher who vanished a while ago. Expect tears with this one.

ASH: Hmmm.

ANNA: I don’t know about this.

SEAN: Also in print: Blood on the Tracks 16, Ogami-san Can’t Keep It In 4, Phantom of the Idol 7, Vinland Saga Deluxe 2, Witch Hat Atelier Kitchen 3, and Yuri is My Job! 12.

MICHELLE: Shamefully, I had forgotten Phantom of the Idol existed.

ANNA: I forgot Witch Hat Atelier Kitchen existed.

SEAN: Digitally we see And Yet, You Are So Sweet 9, The Café Terrace and its Goddesses 12, Drops of God: Mariage 6, EDENS ZERO 28, Gamaran: Shura 19, The Iceblade Sorcerer Shall Rule the World 9, My Home Hero 15, and That’s My Atypical Girl 12 (the final volume).

One Peace Books has a print version of Parallel World Pharmacy 4.

No debuts for Seven Seas, but we see The Ancient Magus’ Bride: Wizard’s Blue 8, The Dangers in My Heart 8, Don’t Call it Mystery 7-8, Made in Abyss 12, My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom! 9, and Reincarnated as a Sword 12.

MICHELLE: Yumi Tamura FTW!

ASH: Always!

ANNA: AIEE, I am already far behind!

SEAN: Square Enix has Otherside Picnic 9 and Soul Eater: The Perfect Edition 14.

Viz gives us Jujutsu Kaisen: The Official Character Guide, a guidebook to the popular Jump manga.

They’ve also got Pokémon: The Complete Pokémon Pocket Guide, the first of a two-parter. And given this volume is 560 pages, that’s a lot of Pokedexing.

ASH: Gonna need a big pocket for that!

SEAN: And for more sinister Jump manga, there is Boy’s Abyss 5.

Yen On has some runoff from last week, including a debut. Riviere and the Land of Prayer (Inori no Kuni no Riviere) is a title from the creator of Wandering Witch. On an island where magic is sealed into items, Riverie is there to ensure those items don’t cause trouble. I hear the Wandering Witch shows up in this one herself, which means I will not be reading it.

Yen On also has Chitose Is in the Ramune Bottle 6, Our Last Crusade or the Rise of a New World: Secret File 2, and (sigh) Wandering Witch: The Journey of Elaina 13.

And from Yen Press we see The Do-Over Damsel Conquers the Dragon Emperor 3.

Still a lot of April. Does anything interest you?

Bookshelf Briefs 4/18/24

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Blue Box, Vol. 9 | By Kouji Miura | Viz Media – This is still a sports-lite volume of the series, which is good news for the reader but very bad news for Hina, who desperately insists she does not need an answer to her confession but she’s gonna get one anyway. Blue Box is, at nine volumes, assured of being a Jump success story, so you’d expect the author to start extending plotlines. As such, I really appreciate it’s not done here. Taiki knows that he’s starting to see Hina as a girl rather than a friend, and her confession is just making him stress. So he has to be fair to Chinatsu and reject her, because Chinatsu is the girl that he loves. Which we also see here, and the manga helpfully underlines that they already look like an old married couple. To my surprise, the next volume promises more melodrama. Where’s the sports? – Sean Gaffney

D-Frag!, Vol. 17 | By Tomoya Haruno | Seven Seas – It’s been a year and a half, and that’s a problem given that this is already a series that likely reads better when read month to month rather than in volume format. There’s just too much tsukkomi humor packed in here, and I honestly think if you put it by your bed and read a chapter a month you’d like it more. It doesn’t help that the “annoying group of adults” that follow Kazuma around are even more annoying than usual. The plot (such as it is) involves Chitose saying she wants to be an exorcist after graduation, which ties into an old childhood fear that it turns out Roka and Kazuma were also involved in causing/helping. I was amused at the brief suggestion that this will end with a polyamorous living arrangement (it won’t), but again, mostly exhausting. – Sean Gaffney

Delicious in Dungeon, Vol. 13 | By Ryoko Kui| Yen Press – Well, good news and bad news. The good news is that they managed to trick the Lion/Marcille into letting go of her as lord of the dungeon, and (so far) she is not being arrested and executed. The bad news is that they did this by having Laios become lord of the dungeon. Now, honestly, we’ve all been expecting this almost from Chapter One, but it still allows for a whole lot of evil and terrifying artwork, as all of Laios’ plans to make sure he does not get possessed and turn evil are for naught. Well, except for that last plan. That was pretty good, actually. Unfortunately, he’s cursed by the Lion by the cliffhanger ending of the book, and worries now that he’ll never be able to bring Falin back. Those who know Laios well will see that won’t be an issue. Fantastic. – Sean Gaffney

God Bless the Mistaken, Vol. 1 | By Nakatani Nio | Yen Press – This is from the creator of Bloom Into You, but while it has the same sort of vibe it isn’t yuri, sorry about that. This features more of a mentor relationship (I hope it does not turn romantic, but am prepared to be bitterly disappointed again) between Kon, a 14-year-old schoolboy, and Kasane, his landlord and a researcher into bugs, as in computer bugs, only these bugs affect reality, so that one day plant life grows over the entire city, and the next day that’s gone but everyone can walk on air, etc. She’s unaffected by any bug, which is handy but also a bit bittersweet. If you enjoyed Bloom Into You‘s tendency towards characters smiling wryly at each other, this is much the same, but the plot and characters were quite enjoyable to me. I’ll read more. – Sean Gaffney

Murciélago, Vol. 23 | By Yoshimurakana | Yen Press – For the second book in a row the explicit lesbian sex scene goes to someone other than Kuroko, who is sadly far too busy investigating our latest villain. But this is a series that runs on vibe, not plot, so as long as it has great fistfights (check), really hot muscley women (check), traumatized teens (check), incredible car chases (check), ludicrous parkour from Hinako (check), Kuroko doing feats so ludicrous that even comic books would say “this is too much” (check), and the aforementioned sex scene, we can put up with the fact that the plot is irrelevant and I’ve forgotten the role of a lot of the cast. It’s a shame that this has far too much explicit sex and violence to get an anime, as it would absolutely soar if it was made (with a proper budget). – Sean Gaffney

My Hero Academia, Vol. 37 | By Kohei Horikoshi | Viz Media – As with all long-running insanely popular Jump titles, as this series has gone along it’s had more and more fans saying that they hate it now and that everything is terrible. Normally I tune this sort of thing out, but honestly? With this particular volume, I kind of see their point. It’s a combination of “the villains are winning and everything will be lost, feel sad, feel fear!”—which is exhausting and irritating—with “I never got around to this in the main series before now, but I have to include it even though it feels shoehorned in and pointless.” The fact that in rural areas those with mutant quirks are persecuted has been lightly touched upon before, but not enough to have this dramatic scene that gives Koda and Shoji something to do for the first time in the entire series. Sigh. – Sean Gaffney

Teasing Master Takagi-san, Vol. 18 | By Soichiro Yamamoto | Yen Press – I had not realized that it’s been about ten months since the last volume of this came out over here, and in that time the series finished in Japan. So we’ve only got two more volumes after this one, which… well, feels much the same, but you can tell the author and publisher have planned the ending and know when it’s coming. Not only do we get another flash-forward to their marriage and child (which is an ad for the unlicensed Teasing Master (Former) Takagi-san manga that is still ongoing), but everything’s a lot milder. Nishikata is not hung up on winning to rub it in her face anymore, he wants to win so that he can be around her all the time. She also seems to realize this, and is very content to wait for him to get it. Still heartwarming. – Sean Gaffney

Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou, Vol. 4 | By Hitoshi Ashinano | Seven Seas – As with the previous omnibus, time passing and humanity declining is the subject of this volume. Alpha’s cafe repairs amount to making it more of an outdoor cafeshe— simply doesn’t have the resources. Takahiro is preparing to leave, so it’s probably for the best that Alpha’s “you’re like a little brother to me” hopefully puts paid to his crush. As for Maruko, she gets the incredibly dumb idea of taking Kokone to Alpha’s cafe and trying to pretend that she and Kokone are really close. The trouble with this is that once they’re together, Alpha and Kokone can’t even take their eyes off each other a little bit. It’s honestly hysterical. I believe the next volume is the last, and while I doubt it will kill any of the cast off, we have been seeing the older folks less and less… – Sean Gaffney

Bofuri: I Don’t Want to Get Hurt, So I’ll Max Out My Defense, Vol. 12

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By Yuumikan and KOIN. Released in Japan as “Itai no wa Iya nano de Bōgyoryoku ni Kyokufuri Shitai to Omoimasu” by Kadokawa Books. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Andrew Cunningham.

I’ve said before that I think the Bofuri series works best when it’s just Maple and Sally taking on a fresh new challenge, and the author agrees. Actually, the author may be starting to agree a bit TOO much. This is the 3rd book in a row that’s been about 75% Maple and Sally, 25% rest of the cast. I joked on social media that the extended scene with Kanade was inserted at the request of the editor, as the author had forgotten who Kanade was. (Actually, Kanade gets more to do here than he has since he got his clone, mostly as a lot of the challenges involve translating ancient runes.) Likewise, Kasumi and Iz get one scene to show off, Mai and Yui get one scene to show off, and Chrome exists. Sorry, Chrome. That said, if you ARE here to read this series for Maple and Sally, you should have a lot of fun with this book, which has them both doing what they do best… for now.

Velvet is on the cover, possibly to draw in Fate fans who think there’s a Saber crossover, but she only really appears near the end, to help set up the next volume. Most of this book deals with the 8th level, which is set mostly underwater. Fortunately for non-swimmers like Maple, Mai and Yui, there are diving suits with oxygen tanks, and the more materials you find the better you can upgrade the suits so you can go deeper. It’s the sort of level that works best in small groups, so naturally Maple and Sally team up, rarely having problems with monsters due to their insane builds, but sometimes having trouble working out exactly what it is the game wants them to do. On the bright side, both Maple *and* Sally get new transformations, sort of. And then there’s the 9th level, which may make Sally’s dream come true.

We see Kaede and Risa for only about three pages, but they’re very important pages. I’m not sure if the author has an end to this series in mind (from what I understand, the webnovel is huge, and Vol. 17 came out in Japan last month), but time *is* passing in the real world, and the 12th book takes place about 18 months after the first book. This means that Kaede and Risa have started their second year of high school… which means soon studying will take precedence over games. Kaede’s grades are good, Risa’s are… okay… but it’s clear that Risa’s mother, at least, is not going to let her game her third year away. That’s why the next couple books may be very important, as they’re a PvP event where players can choose one of two sides. We know that Sally’s big wish is to fight Maple one-on-one, but she’s been putting it off, mostly as fighting a friend is just not Maple’s thing. But this might be a way to achieve it.

And, of course, there’s also the other guilds. Will they stick together? I realize that I just made this volume seem like a brief downtime while we wait for the next really exciting floor, but it was very good. And Maple and Sally held hands a lot.

Secrets of the Silent Witch, Vol. 4 ~after~

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By Matsuri Isora and Nanna Fujimi. Released in Japan as “Silent Witch” by Kadokawa Books. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Alice Prowse.

I had been referring to this as Silent Witch 4.5, which some retailers are using, likely to better differentiate it from the 4th volume. But the author states in the afterword that they did not want to have it be a .5, and I get that. Generally speaking it’s hard enough when you realize that the next volume is going to be a short story volume, and when the volume number ends in .5 it can be even more highly variable. You never know if you’re getting stuff that was too goofy or too pornographic for the main series, or if you’re getting a bunch of titles that were written for various DVDs, Blu-Rays, and store giveaways piled into one book for completists. Fortunately, this new volume of Silent Witch has none of those problems. The book could easily read as Book 5, except there’s less conflict than usual. The stories all tie together, and all influence each other, so that the climax ends up tying everything together. Which makes sense, because this time we get Monica the Detective.

We begin with a prologue, showing Louis kidnapping… erm, leading Monica and Ray to a decaying library that is filled with magic books that are starting to leak mana, which they have to rebind and reseal. We then get four short stories taking place directly after the 4th volume, in the two weeks after the festival. In the first, Monica has to deal with Nero and Ryn getting addicted to mystery novels, and Felix trying desperately to read a book (well, essay) by the Silent Witch that is in the library’s second floor. She then joins Cyril in trying to prove who stole meat from the kitchens – Glenn insists it wasn’t him, despite a lot of circumstantial evidence. After this we get Benjamin, who always falls in love with women in love with someone else, falling for Claudia – you can imagine how well that goes. Finally, there’s a “charm” going around that apparently will get your true love, meaning all the girls are now gunning for Felix. But is it a charm?

This volume continues the previous one’s evidence that Monica is slowly but surely gaining social skills and confidence. Sure, she barely knows how to sew, but she actually picks it up fast. Her sentences may be slow and awkward, but there’s a lot less stuttering and biting her tongue. She also continues to bond with the rest of the cast, especially the student council (minus Bridget, who no doubt is a final boss in a future volume, the lack of attention the books have paid to her so far is deeply suspicious). That said, Felix’s obsession with Monica Everett is very worrying. The book is written as if it will end, if it does, with a Felix/Monica pairing, but at the moment that would be very unhealthy and has high potential to go wrong. I’ve heard fans tend to prefer Monica/Cyril, and I can see why (for one thing, you get Claudia as an in-law). Felix needs to drop the hero worship. Fast.

The next volume isn’t scheduled here yet, but I assume we will get back to serious assassination attempts and Monica’s identity being at risk. Till then, enjoy an excellent example of how to craft a short story volume in a LN series.

Pick of the Week: My Gemini

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SEAN: For my pick this week I think I’ll go for My Gemini. Licenses from Asuka are pretty rare to begin with, and this dark twin mystery sounds pretty good. It’s also complete in one volume.

MICHELLE: Me, too, and for all the same reasons!

ASH: I’ll join you in picking My Gemini as the debut release I’m most interested in this week. But I’ll also admit to being rather curious about I Want You To Make Me Beautiful!, too.

ANNA: I’m not going to go against this emerging consensus!

Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear, Vol. 18

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By Kumanano and 029. Released in Japan by PASH! Books. Released in North America by Airship. Translated by Jan Cash & Vincent Castaneda. Adapted by Lorin Christie.

Well, I got my wish. Sort of. Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear, like My Next Life As a Villainess, has a problem. It has cultivated a large yuri audience it absolutely does not want, but it cannot afford to piss that audience off too much as they’re one of the big reasons that it’s a success. It doesn’t help that Yuna has accumulated a “harem” of underage girls, which yes is the main draw of the series (the moe aesthetic, I mean), but also makes the yuri a bit creepy. Still, here at least we do have Yuna straight up saying that she isn’t interested in men. Unfortunately, she says it to a girl her own age who has expressed attraction to her, and Yuna’s response is “just because I’m not interested in men doesn’t mean I’m interested in you”. Honestly, as with many other series of this type, Yuna seems to be fairly asexual in general. But hey, a bone thrown to the fans. Now back to beating people up with magic bear powers.

As everyone predicted, Yuna’s discovery from the cliffhanger to 17 ends up being the Land of Wa that the author has threatened us with for so long. She heads over there on her bears, and finds it pretty much is just Japan in a vaguely fantasy setting. And I do mean vaguely. She can buy tatami mats, stay at a hotel with futons and a hot spring, and get artisanal candy shaped like animals (the bears have sold out, for some reason). Then she goes to the adventurer’s guild, there’s a quest to take out a dangerous predator that no one wants to take except her… and a very suspicious ninja girl named (try to contain your shock) Shinobu, who insists on accompanying her. Is there some secret plot going on? And does it involve trying desperately to break Yuna out of her shell of “whatever, I don’t care, I’m headed back”?

I was reminded the other day of a series I dropped .like a hot potato a while back, Wandering Witch. It has quite a bit in common with Kuma Bear, in that it stars talented people who try not to get involved in things but end up doing so anyway, and who have a large element of selfishness to their personality. For Yuna, though, this is mostly a front. When she finds out what’s happening to the country, and that it’s been predicted by the country’s prophet, she’s still fairly apathetic. But when she finds the prophet is a 10-year-old girl whose parents have died… naturally, she decides to help. Yuna rarely thinks about her parents much anymore, but there is a definite subtext of “kids need to be allowed to be kids, even when they are orphans and have to grow up fast, no one deserves the childhood I had”. She is a surrogate big sister to every girl she meets, and she will move heaven and earth for them. And then deny she did anything special.

This is a multi-part arc, so I assume next time will have lots of fighting. Till then, enjoy another review where I overanalyze a title that really doesn’t deserve it.

An Introvert’s Hookup Hiccups: This Gyaru Is Head Over Heels for Me!, Vol. 6

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By Yuishi and Kagachisaku. Released in Japan as “Inkya no Boku ni Batsu Game de Kokuhaku Shitekita Hazu no Gal ga, Dō Mitemo Boku ni Beta Bore Des” by HJ Bunko. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Satoko Kakihara.

I’ve talked before about how a lot of these sugary sweet high school romance books tend to be written as a handbook for the awkward teenager reading them, who no doubt does not have a hot big-breasted gyaru girlfriend but would like to know the best way to get one. This really becomes apparent in a scene where Yoshin in checking with his online friends because Nanami is, frankly, coming on really strong to him. He’s a horny teenager, so of course he’s interested, but he wants to make sure that he’s a good boy and doesn’t push. Of course, as is patiently explained to him, if Nanami is pressing to go further and he keeps pushing back, that’s ALSO not listening to her own needs. As for Nanami, she’s getting sex ed from the school nurse… who is giving perhaps more sex ed than anyone really expected. Basically, this volume is even hornier than previous ones.

Yoshin and Nanami are still trying to figure out who left that note in her locker asking about the dare. They even confide in her parents and best friends, but they have no idea who it could be. Unfortunately, Yoshin can’t afford to get too distracted – exams are coming up, and if he manages to do well in every class, Nanami has a special reward for him… that she hasn’t quite thought through fully, but that’s Nanami for you. After this, it’s summer vacation, which means festival time! Nanami in a yukata! A yukata that falls open at a really inconvenient moment! You can tell which anime this author was watching in their teenage years. Unfortunately, their one lead on who wrote the note (which would also have tied in nicely with a previous book) turns out to be wrong. Could it be the new character we’re only introduced to this book?

First off, I agree with Yoshin. The old “I skipped a line and so all my answers are one line off so I fail” thing really does read like a bad manga, and it’s annoying that it shows up here. That said, while this is definitely a hornier volume than usual, I’m pretty sure “have a bath with me” (the winning prize) was absolutely going to lead to places that editorial does not want this relatively wholesome high school romance to go. This is despite the fact that he’s bought condoms, and that the school nurse is pretty much assuming they’re already having sex. Honestly, everyone around them assumes that they’re the closest most loving couple in the world. But for now, we get kisses (mostly on the cheek), lots of discussion of Nanami’s breasts and how big they are, and the one erotic piece in the book, where Nanami straddles him on the bed and you wonder if things might actually go farther. Sadly, there’s a knock at the door.

So I assume that next volume will wrap up the note subplot. Till then, this is a decent volume in a series that wants to push the envelope without opening it. Also, that afterword deserved to be about 8 pages shorter.

A Young Lady Finds Her True Calling Living with the Enemy, Vol. 2

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By Syuu and Fujigasaki. Released in Japan as “Oguni no Kōshaku Reijō wa Tekikoku nite Kakusei Suru” by PASH! Books. Released in North America by Cross Infinite World. Translated by Kashi Kamitoma.

The thing I think I enjoyed best about this short series (it ends with this second volume) is that it is 100% dedicated to its title. This is not about a young lady finding romance living with the enemy, though the book does end with her marriage. That’s not as important, though, and the confession almost seems like an afterthought. What’s important here is Bertine coming alive in this new country, deciding that she’s going to introduce new cuisines, spices, and finally start up a hotel in order to gain financial independence and make herself happy. More to the point, her determination enables others to achieve the same thing, with one boy seemingly deciding to change the world just because he fell in love with her at first sight (this is not quite true – like Bertine, the love is actually secondary, but it is there). Oh yes, and we also overthrow a terrible royal family, for those who read light novels for the overthrow of terrible royal families. Like me.

Bertine is not only trying to do great things for herself, but for others as well. Her old friend Diana is the Emperor’s concubine, and she is apparently getting passively abused by courtiers because of it. She wants to gift her an amazing necklace to wear to cheer her up. This also allows her to meet Diana’s son Claudio, a twelve-year-old boy who is second in line for the throne but dealing with his father being distant, his half-brother avoiding him, and his mother being unhappy, so he’s not having a good time. Seeing Bertine galvanises him. Meanwhile, Bertine goes to Cecelio’s hometown, meets his parents, and discovers a ton of seafood and spices that the locals think are boring standard stuff, but to people not on the shore is utterly amazing. It’s time to charge rich nobles to eat some more. Then we get a slightly more serious plot: how about a revolution?

I appreciate that, in terms of the revolutio9n itself, Bertine serves as a passive influence on others rather than a direct part (though she is there). For Claudio, she is a reminder that he does not have to passively stand and accept bad things just because of his birth, but can seek his own fortune. This aligns with the Empire, who want to get rid of the lousy San Luenne royal family and now have a much easier way to do so. In addition, the fact that she and her former fiances (who had to break up with her because of politics) are still close allows them to navigate treacherous waters with ease. Everything is about making good contacts and being a good businesswoman. Until the end, when Cecilio says “by the way, marry me”, that’s her relationship with him as well. Partnership comes first.

That said, I’m glad this wrapped up fast. Two volumes seems just about right, especially give that Bertine accomplished so much in so little time. I look forward to the Soup Forest book, just licensed by CIW, from the same author.