Manga Bookshelf

Discussion, Resources, Roundtables, & Reviews

Sean Gaffney

Defeating the Demon Lord’s a Cinch (If You’ve Got a Ringer), Vol. 2

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By Tsukikage and bob. Released in Japan as “Darenidemo Dekiru Kage kara Tasukeru Maou Toubatsu” by Famitsu Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Caleb DeMarais.

The good news here is that everything is just a bit more toned down than the first volume. Sure, Ares spends much of the book frustrated and gritting his teeth, insulting the hero and companions at every turn, but he never runs into them, so it’s more tolerable. Toudou and company likewise are a lot more likeable than the first book (knowing Toudou’s secret helps), and I like their resolve even in the case of crippling fear and dealing with insane priests. And no, I don’t mean Ares, though he’s clearly not all there either – in fact, given Amelia also seems to exhibit some eccentricities this volume, I’m wondering if being in the Church means that sanity is an optional extra. But no, instead the second volume is spiced up by the arrival of Gregorio, a smiling nightmare of a crusader who seems ready to restart the inquisition. For once Ares seems to genuinely have something to be frustrated about.

We start where we left off, with our heroes trying to level up in an area known for tombs and undead. Sadly, two of the three in the hero’s party are terrified of the undead – including the hero. Area and Amelia try to help them out by finding an apprentice priest to join their ranks. Sadly, there isn’t one available, so Amelia grabs the cutest orphan she can find at the church and Ares forcibly has her killing (restrained) undead till she’s at least Level 10. That said, mostly what Spica does in this book is sit back and marvel at what is going on around her. Particularly once Gregorio arrives. He’s very devout, to a manic extent, very sure of his faith, and very ready to kill anyone who is not faithful enough. Which, given “faith” to him means “strength”, is not good news for Toudou, who’s still dealing with being rather low-level. Can Ares manage to intervene before Gregorio decides to purge them all?

The high point of the book is Spica, who is a fascinating study in what happens when you take an orphan girl with little to no power and then put her in situations where power is needed and she constantly feels useless and pathetic. You expect her to break, and arguably she does a bit, but once again Demon Lord Ringer has a last-minute reveal that’s so good I don’t want to spoil it. It absolutely makes sense for the character, though. As for everyone else, the hero’s team is a lot more likeable this time around, and we get a lot more from their perspective. This allows the narrative to not hammer on Ares’ asshole qualities quite as much, to an extent that I can almost start to feel sympathy for him. Almost. Also, Amelia, I think you’re going to have to throw him onto a bed and straddle him in order for him to get a clue about your feelings.

It’s a good second volume, and I’m liking this series a little more now. It keeps surprising me. If you can tolerate Ares, as well as endless discussion of levels and buffs, it’s a good read.

So I’m a Spider, So What?, Vol. 4

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By Okina Baba and Tsukasa Kiryu. Released in Japan as “Kumo Desu ga, Nani ka?” by Fujimi Shobo. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Jenny McKeon.

I’m still not quite sure about where out spider girl stands in terms of the current timeline (my current guess is that she’s the “white” girl rather than the demon lord, despite personality differences), but the two timelines are definitely starting to converge a bit. Or at least the spider is out of her dungeon… mostly… and starting to see the world. More to the point, much as I like seeing the spider’s adventures fighting things, I’ve become far more interested in the rest of the reincarnated kids, who are (mostly) all reunited at the Elf Village this volume. It’s a shame that the Demon Lord is about to annihilate all the elves. And also that the kids at the elf village feel rather strongly that they’re being used by their teacher. Which… may be true? Certainly Ms. Oka is not the pillar of goodness and light that, say, the teacher from Arifureta is.

On the spider side of things, she gets to the top of the dungeon, but the battle between both her mother and a higher spider that her mother calls in to help means that most of the time she’s shuffling back and forth between the dungeon and outside, fighting a mostly losing battle against various enemies. With a character as overpowered as our spider girl, there has to be a balance to show that she has it tough as well, and we certainly see it here – she’s decapitated twice, and is constantly at death’s door… and this is AFTER gaining the power of immortality, which she rightly assumes is not quite as great as it sounds. We also see one of her rare overconfident decisions, as she goes to fight the final battle against her mother with just better stats, not realizing that her mother is even craftier at traps.

Still, spider battles are not as interesting to me as the adventures of Shun, Katia and company, still trying to deal with the fact that Hugo has mind controlled the kingdom into making them public enemies. They go to the elf village to regroup, but that requires going through the dungeon to get there, which means running into some of our spider girl’s leftover selves. It’s not really clear how she pulls this off, but given it’s about 18 years later it wouldn’t surprise me if she’s just that powerful. In any case, there’s no battle with the heroes, but her mere presence – and announcement that she’s a reincarnation – is enough to stun everyone. Things don’t get better when Ms. Oka explains the mechanics behind this world and what the elves are doing to ensure that the gods/administrators don’t win. Honestly, their plans just sound mean. You can see why the other kids are sort of angry about being told to farm and never get strong. I don’t blame them.

We end with a bit of a cliffhanger, and I have a sneaking suspicion that I won’t have to worry about remembering most of these kids for much longer. Meanwhile, our spider has finally met another reincarnation… and she’s a vampire! Will the two plots finally converge? Well, now that we’re out of the dungeon, we can hope things move a bit faster. And hey, not NEARLY as many stats in this book! Excellent news!

Ne Ne Ne

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By Shizuku Totono and Daisuke Hagiwara. Released in Japan by Square Enix, serialized in the magazine Shonen Gangan. Released in North America by Yen Press. Translated by Taylor Engel.

The artist here may be familiar – the same one also draws Horimiya. The author is relatively unknown, however, and this did not take off the way Horimiya did – it’s just one volume total. But to be honest, that seems about right. Not that I didn’t enjoy this series, it was very cute and had some great humor. But you get the sense when reading it that future volumes would have been much the same – it’s the sort of series that only resolves when the main couple gets together, and has no plot except “will they finally get together”, so ongoing volumes would have felt a bit like it’s dragging it out. Of course, Ne Ne Ne has a bit of a head start on those other cute romantic comedies, in that our heroine starts the book off married to the hero. Why aren’t they involved physically? Well, it’s an arranged marriage, and she’s a bit too young. He’s also awkward, and inexperienced himself. Basically, they’re both naive blushing cuties.

There’s a supernatural element to the series as well, but it feels very tacked on. I’ve talked before with some isekai series how the “brought to another world” aspect feels halfhearted and tacked on, and to be honest the yokai stuff in Ne Ne Ne feels much the same. It seems to be an excuse to have Shin, the male lead, wear a mask all the time to make him a bit less nebbish. We never really get a good explanation as to why – he says it’s to make him less easy to possess, and you get the sense that if the series had gone on this is the direction the authors may have taken it in. As it is, though, the supernatural is not the reason to read the book. They treat a wounded fairy, he points out dragons flying in the sky that normal people can’t see, etc. The real meat of the story is in the embarrassed romantic flirting.

Shin is told by Koyuki’s overprotective father that he’s not to try anything with his wife till she’s twenty, but we’re never quite sure how much younger than that she is. At least a few years, I’d expect – she seems pretty young, and has a bit of a complex about getting older as quickly as possible. Like many newlyweds in Japanese ‘arranged marriage’ stories, there’s also a frisson of ‘Do you even like me at all?’ to the proceedings, though that’s entirely on the part of the characters – the reader knows immediately that they’re perfect for each other, though I agree with the dad that they should wait for now. There’s humor in seeing the local villagers mistake Koyuki for Shin’s maid (and then, when he corrects them, becoming the big gossip of the day) and Koyuki pouting when Shin says something unthinkingly. But they actually communicate pretty well, and there are no difficult problems to get past.

Ne Ne Ne may be only one volume because of that. This is a story of two people who are married and really like each other. And they all lived happily ever after.

Manga the Week of 12/19/18

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SEAN: It’s the last big push before Christmas. What’s out next week for last-minute gifts?

Denpa has two new titles. Futurelog is a Renge Murata artbook, and looks AMAZING. (I saw it at AnimeNYC). It’s the character designer behind Last Exile and Blue Submarine No. 6, among other things.

And for those who like more ‘artsy’ manga, there is Invitation from a Crab, a one-volume collection of stories that ran in Hakusensha’s Rakuen Le Paradis.

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

SEAN: Ghost Ship gives us an 8th To-Love-Ru Darkness.

MICHELLE: For the antithesis of ‘artsy.’

SEAN: Haikasoru has the 8th volume of Legend of the Galactic Heroes, which I believe will be the opposite of a laugh riot.

J-Novel Club has the 3rd Archdemon’s Dilemma: How to Love Your Elf Bride, the 12th Grimgar of Fantasy and Ash, and the 8th The Magic in This Other World Is Too Far Behind!, the last of which is now caught up to Japan, I believe.

ASH: So not too far behind, then.

SEAN: Kodansha has, I believe, the Battle Angel Alita box set and Mars Chronicle 5, unless they’ve been pushed back again.

Digitally there’s no debuts, but there is a plethora of ongoing series. Back Street Girls 6, Black Panther and Sweet 16 9, Chihayafuru 13 (watches Manga Bookshelf briefly perk up), DAYS 11, Elegant Yokai Apartment Life 9, Giant Killing 15 (OK, now it’s just Michelle paying attention), Space Brothers 33 and Tokyo Revengers 2.

MICHELLE: *snerk* Yep, there are three titles there that I’m following avidly, plus Elegant Yokai Apartment Life, which I intend to read sometime soon. I started the anime and it’s quite charming.

ANNA: Yay for Chihayafuru!

SEAN: One Peace gives us a lucky 13th volume of The Rising of the Shield Hero.

Seven Seas has a 4th volume of Arifureta’s novel in print. There’s also the 16th Haganai: I Don’t Have Many Friends, a 14th Monster Musume, an 8th Mushoku Tensei manga, and the 14th My Monster Secret 14.

Vertical has its 2nd After the Rain volume.

MICHELLE: Woot. This is also on my short list.

SEAN: Viz debuts Abara in one complete deluxe edition. This is by the creator of BLAME! and Knights of Sidonia, and ran in Viz’s Ultra Jump. Expect sci-fi weirdness.

MICHELLE: Ooh! This wasn’t on my radar at all.

ASH: The previews I’ve seen look very nice.

ANNA: Woah, what??????

SEAN: Viz also gives us the 2nd volume of the 20th Century Boys Perfect Edition and the 8th Tokyo Ghoul: re.

Lastly, Yen On has a bunch of light novels that didn’t come out this week for some reason. Coming to a close, we have the 8th and final volume of Kagerou Daze (though the story continues in the manga… and then the anime… trust me, it makes sense in context) and the 3rd and possibly final volume of Reborn as a Vending Machine, I Now Wander the Dungeon. There’s also Accel World 16, Baccano! 9, The Irregular at Magic High School 10, and Sword Art Online 15.

Is Osamu Tezuka in your chimney? I hope not. That would be weird. What are you getting?

ASH: … that would be weird.

Durarara!!, Vol. 11

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By Ryohgo Narita and Suzuhito Yasuda. Released in Japan by ASCII Mediaworks. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Stephen Paul.

If you enjoy scenes where one character tears down the motivations of another character, you’ll love this volume of DRRR!!, because that’s almost all it is. Yes, by the end of the book the plot guns are finally going off (or in some cases blowing up – nice cameo, Vorona), but most of this book is still buildup and dialogue. Izaya confronts Anri about her own nature, how she “uses” Saika, and her aggressive passiveness (yes, Anri can be very aggressive about not doing anything), to the point where she almost has a nervous breakdown. Izaya also confronts Mikado about what he’s trying to do with the Dollars – turns out Mikado is not ready for life entirely on the dark side either, and in order to maintain the excitement he craves, he needs to remain balanced on the edge between safety and danger. And Masaomi is forced, once again, to confront his past and the past of his gang, which looks to resolve itself in a series of beatings.

The cover implies hot Saika-on-Saika-on-Saika action, and to be fair, that is what we get, though the action is somewhat limited. Having been released from her “guard Celty’s head” duty, Haruna is free to try to find her true love, the creepy high school teacher, and also confront Anri, who dared to be loved and rejected by him. Midway through this battle, Kujiragi shows up, seemingly to try to get Anri to “sell” her Saika to her, but in reality we know why she’s really there – she’s angry they scared off the cats. Kujiragi’s stoic love of cat stuff (and later, as we discover, cosplay) is a charm point, but like so many, many others in Narita’s universes, she’s a villain who knows it and is content to be villainous even as she tries to escape. Anri, to be honest, spends most of this confrontation staring in confusion – she’s already mentally exhausted from Izaya tearing her apart, and how she has Kujiragi saying she’s far too nice to be wielding someone like Saika – which is true, but just taking Saika and leaving Anri normal won’t solve her issues. Anri doesn’t even get to go home and have a nice sleep, as Masaomi’s girlfriend is lying in wait outside her apartment.

Anri is the “main character” of this volume, but there’s other things going on, not least of which is Celty’s head being used to set everything in motion. Izaya is delighted and somewhat appalled by this turn of events. Meanwhile, Shizuo is out of prison, but after seeing Vorona stealing the head, he thinks she’s working for Izaya, and finally seems to be snapping. Unlike the anime, Shizuo and Izaya have rarely personally confronted each other in the novels – they just want to never see each other. I suspect, though, that the climax of these books will finally feature what fans want to see. No, not that. What non-BL fans want to see – Izaya getting the shit beaten out of him. As for Celty, she, like Anri, is having trouble coping with everything around her at the moment, and the cliffhanger ending (there’s about four cliffhangers at the end of the book) shows her about to snap as well. Is everyone going to get angry and snap at the start of the next book? And will Erika get Kujiragi to cosplay for her?

Fans may be familiar with these events from the anime, but I still urge them to get the books as well, as the examination of everyone’s psyches works better in prose format than spoken aloud.

The Promised Neverland, Vol. 7

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By Kaiu Shirai and Posuka Demizu. Released in Japan as “Yakusoku no Neverland” by Shueisha, serialization ongoing in the magazine Weekly Shonen Jump. Released in North America by Viz Media. Translated by Satsuki Yamashita.

A lot of this volume has our heroes dealing with a grumpy adult guy who’s hiding out in the shelter they’ve come to, and is trying to kick them out. He is, of course, the last remains of a different group that tried to escape years ago. I like this, as it reminds readers that Ray and Emma aren’t trying to reinvent the wheel here. Kids have escaped from the field houses before, and likely will again. That said, things are still exactly the same. How will Emma and Ray genuinely change things? They’ll need help. Moreover, they’ll need help from this grumpy guy, still nameless, who has essentially given up on the world. Fortunately, the kids are all smart bordering on geniuses, which gives them advantages others might not have. They can make bargains, use threats. And when all else fails, and Emma is about to be killed, there’s always a punch to the nads. Works every time.

The cover reminds us that the cast of important kids is expanding, even if it’s still the Emma and Ray show much of the time. That said, aside from Don and Gilda, I still have trouble remembering their names. Indeed, so does grumpy guy, who resorts to giving them all nicknames rather than bother to learn actual names. (And Emma’s ahoge, the traditional Japanese sign for someone with ‘airhead’ qualities to some degree, is of course what her nickname revolves around. I also feel bad for Anna, who is nicknamed ‘nanny’ just because she happens to look like the standard kind anime mom type despite being all of nine years old.) Grumpy guy mentions they’re a good family, and he’s right. They work well together, they trust each other. They can quickly incapacitate an enemy if need be. And they have Ray and Emma, who ARE the leaders. Emma in particular once again belies the “she’s the idiot shonen hero” argument, cheerfully telling grumpy guy that if he doesn’t help him they’ll blow up the shelter.

The volume ends with grumpy guy leading Ray and Emma to the next map point left for them by the mysterious William Minerva, though he’s also supposedly looking for a way to get rid of them. I say supposedly because, as Emma spots immediately, he doesn’t actually have the nerve to directly kill them. You get the sense that grumpy guy is a broken former protagonist rather than a villain, and I suspect he will eventually give in, learn to trust the kids, and probably be killed off in a few books’ time for drama. He also has good analysis of Ray and Emma themselves and their leadership qualities, which reminded me a bit of Kirk and Spock in Star Trek (though arguably Norman was the Kirk and Emma the McCoy before Norman left to go get his brain eaten). That said, they’re still kids. When Emma is faced with a slavering monster trying to eat her head, she freezes. Which is a shame, as there’s a lot more coming, and grumpy guy seems to be perfectly fine with indirectly killing them.

This was a volume for plot and character development, which is good as I suspect the next book will feature lots of action. The Promised Neverland still names compulsive reading.

Bookshelf Briefs 12/11/18

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Akashic Records of Bastard Magica Instructor, Vol. 5 | By Hitsuji Tarou, Tsunemi Aosa and Kurone Mishima | Seven Seas – I had forgotten to review the last volume of this, which likely says a lot. That said, it’s still all right, it’s just its character beats are predictable. Re=L has joined Glenn and the others, and slowly starts to integrate with the class, so naturally something comes along that makes her turns traitor. Rumia’s identity is now a bit more well known, which means she’s stuck playing damsel again. Still, if you like action this is decent enough, and the villains are fun provided you don’t mind that they sneer and cackle. This is not really top-drawer manga, but it’s decent enough if you’re already a fan of the characters. – Sean Gaffney

Anne Happy, Vol. 8 | By Cotoji | Yen Press – Over a year has passed since I last reviewed Anne Happy, and I will admit I had forgotten who some of the girls are. It came back easily enough, though, and the majority of this volume is devoted to wrapping up the school’s athletics festival, whose end result was something of a surprise to me, though they at least do try to give some justification for it. The rest of the book has little chapters that coast along cutely while the author prepares for the endgame, which I believe is coming soon. We see why Ren is so beloved, watch the class pick out library books for each other, and get a glimpse into Anne and Hibari’s home lives—Anne, for once, is better off. This continues to be mildly cute and funny, and will appeal to fans of the same. – Sean Gaffney

Beasts of Abigaile, Vol. 4 | By Spica Aoki| Seven Seas – I was unaware this ended with volume four, and sure enough, the ending is super abrupt. Still, it justifies most of what was going on, and the core of the series—Nina’s plucky stubbornness and caring, and her relationship with Roy—is still there. We also get to know the villainess of the series, and how she too once had Nina’s ideals but was unable to succeed, and in the end is destroyed. It’s a shame it ended so fast, as there were a lot of characters who I felt were going to get more focus in future volumes that mostly just ended up getting a few shots in for the ending. Still, overall I’d call this series a success, and I’d like to see more from the author—fortunately, Yen Press has her new series starting next year. – Sean Gaffney

Durarara!! re: Dollars Arc, Vol. 3 | By Ryohgo Narita, Suzuhito Yasuda, and Aogiri | Yen Press – This volume adapts some of my favorite parts of both the novels and anime, and though it still comes in third, it’s a little better than the previous volume in that regard. We get Mikado and his pen, the return of Vorona and her bonding with Shizuo, Akane joining the dojo and also bonding with Shizuo, and Akibayashi’s backstory, as well as the reintroduction of … um … well, I can’t remember her name, and Izaya can’t remember her at all, to the point where we need a flashback to realize she’s the girl he did the “suicide club” thing with back in the first volume. Honestly, though, she’s there to jump start Izaya, who I’m sure will be making everything worse soon. Recommended for those who don’t read prose or watch anime. – Sean Gaffney

Erased, Vol. 5 | By Kei Sanbe | Yen Press – After the completion of Erased, Sanbe created four additional stories which take place during the events of the series proper. Released as a ninth volume of Erased in Japan, the collection makes up the fifth volume in the English-language edition of the manga. The volume generally (but not exclusively) addresses the time period during which the series’ main protagonist and point-of-view character Satoru Fujinuma is in a coma. The four vignettes follow the people who arguably play the most important roles in Satoru’s life, allowing crucial moments of Erased to be seen from their own perspectives rather than his—Kayo Hinazuki, the girl he was intent on saving; Kenya Kobayashi, his close friend and confidant; Sachiko Fujinuma, his beloved mother (my personal favorite); and Airi Katagiri, the young woman who would come to mean so much to him as an adult. The stories are all an interesting addition to Erased. – Ash Brown

Fruits Basket Another, Vol. 2 | By Natsuki Takaya| Yen Press – It’s been revealed that this manga will end with the third volume, which seems about right. This is not quite as rage-inducing as the first book, despite still having the flaw of viewing the original Furuba cast through their children, rather than viewing the children as their own characters. It does throw a few welcome bones to longtime readers—the creepiest implied ship of the original series does not in fact happen, as Hanajima marries some Italian guy. Oh, and Momiji is back in his sister’s life, and we see her (we can’t see the original cast). There’s still examination of abusive parents, but because we can’t make the original cast do that (they’re more smothering), it’s foisted on the new heroine. For diehards. – Sean Gaffney

Good Dog, Cerberus! | By Moha Arimura | Kodansha Comics (digital only) – Good Dog, Cerberus! is a full-color, four-panel comic about Cerberus, the easily bribed guardian of the gates to the underworld, and Lord Hades, who is publicly stern and heartless but a total pushover when it comes to his ill-behaved dog. It’s not even 100 pages long, so it’ll be no surprise that there’s not much to this, really. Cerberus does typical dog things like get dirty and chase pigeons (well, harpies in this case) and try to carry big sticks through doorframes horizontally. There are a few cameos by other mythological figures, like the ferryman of the River Styx, and I learned that Medusa actually had two sisters. That said, it’s neither funny enough nor cute enough nor narratively propelled enough that I can really recommend it. Briefly diverting, at best. – Michelle Smith

Kimi ni Todoke: From Me to You, Vol. 30 | By Karuho Shiina | Viz Media – We have an ending to a great series. Much to my surprise, the two purest kids in all of shoujo manga (well, if you don’t count My Love Story!!) end up actually consummating their relationship in this final volume, though it’s handled very tastefully. Everyone is moving away to college, getting new apartments, or (in the case of Chizuru) running the shop and waiting for her man to come home. Pin has all new students, and hopefully won’t have any fall for him the way Ayano did. I also really liked the ‘flashforward’ for Ayano being that people warm to her and think she’s nice. Honestly, she was my favorite character. That said, Sawako was also amazing, and this series is hers in the end. I’ll miss it, and consider it essential. – Sean Gaffney

Kimi ni Todoke: From Me to You, Vol. 30 | By Karuho Shiina | VIZ Media – It seems that a lot of series are coming to a close this month, but I’ve been reading Kimi ni Todoke longer than any of the others. Saying goodbye to it gives me a pang, but at least it’s a good ending, filled with teary scenes during which characters bid farewell to the way things used to be while looking forward to the new life that awaits. Some standout moments involve Kurumi realizing that her crush on Kazehaya led her to the best friend she’s ever had and Sawako being able to greet a new classmate naturally and with a lovely smile on her face. Everyone has changed for the better, including the relationship of our central couple, which has matured and strengthened of late. And did I sniffle quite a lot when they finally called each other by their first names? Reader, I did. – Michelle Smith

Otherworldly Izakaya Nobu, Vol. 2 | By Natsuya Semikawa and Virginia Nitouhei | Udon Entertainment – In case you hadn’t guessed by the cover, we get a new regular in this book. She starts off as a thief, but she’s the cute “stealing for my younger siblings” sort of thief, and quickly becomes a dishwasher and general helper thanks to the kindhearted staff. We also get more of what we saw in the first volume, which is to say fantasy/isekai “types” dropping in and having classic izakaya meals. There’s a few reminders that this is a more medieval world—the girl from the previous volume is now married, much to Shinobu’s surprise, as she was like fourteen. We also get a chapter showing us the other side of the story, as Effa (the little girl) breaks out and gets a tour of modern Japan. Cute foodie manga. – Sean Gaffney

Sacrificial Princess and the King of Beasts, Vol. 3 | By Yu Tomofuji | Yen Press – Ah, the childhood friend who was always in love with the heroine even though she didn’t realize it. A classic trope, but it’s handled well here, as he also hates beastmen with a passion—which is not a surprise given the flashback to his youth, where a beastman eats his little sister like she was a tater tot. So he’s come to kick ass and take Sariphi back, and of course is not taking no for an answer, even if that means ignoring her own will and feelings. As for Leonhart, well, he’s not used to jealousy, but he cares deeply for Sariphi, so comes off very well here. I continue to enjoy the way this series is handling a common theme, and am pleased that it’s still ongoing in Japan, allowing for more character depth. – Sean Gaffney

Sword Art Online: Progressive, Vol. 7 | By Kiseki Himura and Reki Kawahara | Yen Press – Technically the series “ends” here, though we’re told that it will continue on with a different artist in Japan. For the moment, the cover shows us the reason we’ve wanted to read this manga—Kirito and Asuna as back to back badasses, and Argo staring out at the reader reminding us she’s the real star of the show. Well, OK, Asuna and Kizmel are the stars of this volume—for once, Kirito’s fight comes off second-best, as the teamwork between the two women is simply stunning (indeed, Argo, serving as the Greek chorus, gets some great stunned expressions here). As I said last time, a rare light novel adaptation that expands and enriches the source enough that it deserves reading on its own. – Sean Gaffney

Takane & Hana, Vol. 6 | By Yuki Shiwasu | VIZ Media – After a Christmas interlude during which Hana realizes that maybe she really does like Takane and a chapter about chastising Nicola for his thoughtlessly flirtatious treatment of innocent Mizuki, a rather interesting plot development occurs. Worried that Takane’s confidence is “rooted in the things that were handed to [him],” his grandfather freezes all his accounts, demotes him at work, and moves him into a shabby apartment. Ashamed, Takane distances himself from Hana and makes her leave when she eventually discovers his whereabouts. This part is somewhat frustrating, since he should know by now that his wealth was never something she cared about, but it does at least provide an opportunity for her to make that abundantly clear (and for Okamon to give her a cute pep talk). I only wish she’d actually said, “All along, I’ve only ever seen you, Takane” out loud. Probably too soon for that, though. – Michelle Smith

Outbreak Company, Vol. 6

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

It can sometimes be a bit striking how blase this series is about the government of Japan wanting Shinichi to be murdered because he ruined their grand plans. The Japanese side of things are simply one of the villainous factions in the books, and this time around they put into place a new plan: give Shinichi an assistant who turns out to be better than him at everything and watch him slowly lose confidence and break. Or at least, that would be an excellent plan if that was their actual intent. Because in that respect it works out quite well, and it’s only the heartfelt feelings of Myucel that manage to win him back from depressed land. No, instead Japan and the new character seem to be dedicated to destroying the country through commerce one way or another, and while they don’t succeed, things do get a bit dicey. Fortunately, as always, Shinichi is here to win the day with a really irritating otaku speech that grates on my nerves.

On the cover is Hikaru, who is the new Japanese “assistant” to Shinichi who is there to shake things up. Honestly, she should share the cover with Shinichi, but I know a lot of light novels refuse to have the main character on the covers, possibly as they still tend to think in terms of “faceless unseen protagonist” from ero games. Speaking of ero games, Hikaru is willing to do anything to get profits for the Japanese side, even if that means importing trading cards (the rare ones immediately get traded for massive amounts of money) and, yes, erotic games, which is causing the kids of Shinichi’s school to turn into, well, puberty-infested boys who refuse to leave their game. (The fact that the ultimate solution for this issue is to give them body pillows instead of games shows us where the issue ultimately lies.) Unfortunately, turning a bunch of the nobles’ kids into addicts is not what Shinichi had in mind. What’s worse, in the games you can create your own girl to moon over… and some are creating girls that look a lot like the Queen.

There’s a lot of discussion in this volume about the ‘otaku’, and how they’re viewed in Japan. Hikaru seemingly hates them with a passion, and regards them as the root of all evil. Some of this is related to Hikaru’s past, but there is a certain amount of truth to the idea of “let’s find a game/anime we can blame this tragedy on” to both Japan and North America. That said, ‘gaming addiction’ is clearly the motif here, and I really liked the fact that Shinichi accepted that it was ultimately his responsibility for what happened, and he thus sets out to correct things. A kidnapping helps to add a bit of excitement to things (the kidnapping, it turns out, is unrelated to the game issue), but for the most part this volume turns on Shinichi vs. Hikaru, and how they both view this world and the people in it. Shinichi is an empathic guy, as we’ve seen time and time again, and this is why he’s trusted by the Eldian people, despite his goody @D speeches.

Next volume we take a break for short stories, but I’m sure that there’s more political machinations to come. In the meantime, this was a pretty good volume of Outbreak Company. Plus this is past where the anime ended, I believe.

Pick of the Week: Take a Guess

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SEAN: There are a pile of things out this week I’m interested in. The final After Hours, new volumes of Horimiya, Silver Spoon and Yowapeda. But I’m sorry, I cannot resist a croc in a top hat. Especially when it’s secretly a foodie manga. Crocodile Baron is my pick this week.

MICHELLE: And I can’t resist sports manga, so it’s totally Yowapeda for me!

ASH: I’m definitely looking forward to the most recent (and far too infrequent) release of Yowamushi Pedal, but my pick this week goes to The Golden Yarn. I’m curious to see if The Ancient Magus’ Bride holds the same sort of dark charm in prose as it does in manga.

ANNA: I almost have to pick Crocodile Baron just for the cover, but I am nothing but steadfast in my championing of romance, so I’m going to go with Ne Ne Ne as my pick.

MJ: SILVER SPOON! SILVER SPOON! SILVER SPOON!

KATE: At the risk of sounding like a broken record, I’m throwing my weight behind Silver Spoon again, if only to remind everyone that it’s REALLY good, and they should be reading it.

Yona of the Dawn, Vol. 15

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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. Translated by JN Productions, Adapted by Ysabet Reinhardt MacFarlane.

So much of this volume is magical that it’s a bit difficult to know where to begin. There are at least five or six moments that feel like they’d be voted in a “top 10 Yona of the Dawn moments” list. Even leaving Yona herself aside (and trust me, I’ll get to her in a bit), there’s so much going on here involving Riri, as we see her becoming politically active and arguing with her father that politics are all very well and good but not when it means letting your people die and kill each other just to avoid political turmoil. And she’s joined by Su-Won, undercover and wandering the world again, to the exasperation of his bodyguards, who decides to help out this righteous and well-meaning but very naive girl. Especially since everyone in the city keeps questioning every woman they find, looking for the one with the red hair.

Riri is at the beginning of a journey down a path that Yona has long trod, and she knows it too – their parting is very emotional, and there’s a reason that they’re the couple on the cover. (I’ll leave the yuri reading to others, but I will note that Ayura and Tetra are absolutely a couple.) Yona is a leader, and her resolve is what drives everyone around her. A lot of shoujo series make you wonder sometimes why there are five to six guys all in love with the heroine. Yona does not have this problem. Everyone reading it is in love with the heroine. The first thirty pages alone are stunning – Yona attempting to recover from her wounds, her desire to question the villain suddenly overcome by her desire to CUT HIM IN THE FACE when he tries to draw a blade, and her attempts at getting Hak (who is feeling upset, of course) to stop brooding by talking about how it was her choices that led to this. “These are MY injuries” is one of the most powerful lines in the volume.

Aside from the plot and characters, I’ve also grown very fond of the way that Kusanagi crafts the manga itself. Once Su-Won arrives on the scene we know that he and Yona are going to run into each other again, but the moment is put off a number of times as they keep missing each other, or Su-Won runs into Jaeha (who doesn’t know who he is), etc. This lends the moment when they finally do meet extra emphasis. And, much as this is a serious-minded volume for the most part, there is some wonderful art-derived humor involving Riri’s father, who is a parody of the “always remain calm and drink tea” sort of character, not getting upset at all when Riri is screaming out about drugs destroying their country, but when she steals his golden seal (the symbol of the clan’s authority)… well, his face is worth the price of the book in itself.

Every volume of Yona of the Dawn makes me think I’ve reached the high water mark of the series, and then it tops itself. A must read. Again.

ECHO

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By Akira and Oguchi, based on the Vocaloid song by Crusher-P. Released in Japan by PHP Institute. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Kevin Chen.

There is a certain subgenre of novels that are based on Vocaloid songs. We’ve seen a few of them over here, Kagerou Daze being the most obvious. But Kagerou Daze has sort of morphed into a franchise of which the original songs are but a part. ECHO, on the other hand, is a stand-alone novel based on the video of the same name, and after reading it it really doesn’t feel like you can separate the two works. In fact, I’d recommend tracking down the video on Youtube and watching it before reading this book – it doesn’t really spoil much beyond the girl who’s already on the cover, and it helps to make sense of some of the surreal events happening in the middle and end of the book, which quote most of the song outright. As for the book itself, in addition to fans of the original work, I’d recommend it to fans of dark horror with a mystery tinge. As for me, it was well-written, but it didn’t grab me as much as I’d have liked.

Our heroine, much as she spends much of the book denying it, is Hitomi, a teenage girl who helps her family run an electronics store. (Her last name is an aggravation to her but also a character point, so I’ll avoid it for now.) While watching the store one afternoon, she suddenly finds herself flipping through various places as if she were a TV program, finally ending up falling from quite a height into a bizarre amusement park. Fortunately, she doesn’t go splat, and runs into a few other people in the park – her childhood friend, who she’s somewhat estranged from now; the daughter of the richest family in their (very rural) town; a tall introverted girl who seems to be connected to the rich girl in some way; and an adult actor who says he was just passing through town and somehow wound up here, and seems suspicious right from the get-go. Where are they? Why can’t they remember how they got there? And what’s with the girl with six arms and a TV for a head?

The novel is written by a seasoned pro at the genre, and it shows, there’s no awkward “webnovel” prose that you’d see in some works these days. There is some striking imagery, starting with the prologue, which features a horrific sight sure to get rid of any readers who don’t like horror at all. That said, I wish I’d had more time to get to know the characters before events caught up with them. There’s also the presence of Hitomi, which doesn’t really match any of the others, and whose explanation is far from satisfying – clearly she was there because the narrator needed to be an “everygirl” and audience surrogate. She insists she’s not the sort of person to be a protagonist, which may be true of shoujo manga, but if you turn towards Japanese novels for young adults, she absolutely is. The most interesting part of the book to me was probably the real world perspective of the mother of one of the characters, who ends up being tied into the plot far more than expected.

In the end, this is a good book that does what it set out to do – craft a novel around a piece of music. Fans of the song will enjoy it. (Also, wow, what a depressing “this is what happens after you die” this novel has. Pass on that.)

We Never Learn, Vol. 1

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By Taishi Tsutsui. Released in Japan as “Bokutachi wa Benkyou ga Dekinai” by Shueisha, serialization ongoing in the magazine Weekly Shonen Jump. Released in North America by Viz Media. Translated by Camellia Nieh.

It always feels reassuring to have a romantic comedy coming out in Shonen Jump in amongst all the friendship, training and victory. Especially coming out in North America, where Jump romantic comedies have not always had the best track record. Nisekoi was a recent hit, but it’s an outlier – To-Love-Ru and its sequel were farmed out to a different company, and does anyone remember Strawberry 100%? That said, like Nisekoi, We Never Learn seems to be falling more on the side of “romantic comedy with strong character development” rather than “romantic comedy with lots of panty shots and sexual suggestiveness”. Like, well, those other two series. As a result, it’s far more my type of series. The main characters are all types, but they’re enjoyably written and aren’t aggravating. Nisekoi fans may find Fumino a bit familiar to Onodera, but that’s no surprise, given the author wrote Nisekoi’s magical girl spinoff.

Nariyuki is a serious young man from a poor family who needs a recommendation to get into a good school. He’s an excellent student, not through innate ability but hard study. He is, sadly, not the best in his class in science and literature, thanks to two geniuses who effortlessly get the best grades. Now he is being told to tutor these two, as they each have goals that clash with their specialty – literature genius Fumino wants to study astronomy but is wretched at science, and Rizu wants to go into the arts despite being seemingly awful at understanding feelings and emotions. Things get off to a rocky start, but Nariyuki is not one to give up easily, To make matters more chaotic, Naruyuki’s friend Uruka needs to study in order to stay on the swimming team, but she’s bad at EVERYTHING. Can he get these girls to bone up on the right things and achieve their dreams? And, more importantly, fall in love with one of them?

Well, I say that, but at this point in the series love is not all that high on the agenda, which is content to introduce the main cast and have them bond as friends. The plot is very sedate with few surprises – the girls meet Naruyuki’s family, the girls each reveals secret asides to themselves, etc. One of the interesting things about the title I noticed is that there’s no “first girl” here – both main female protagonists are introduced at once, so you don’t get a sense of who the author favors. (Sorry, Uruka, you arrive three chapters late.) I suspect that Western readers will gravitate to Rizu – let’s face it, Fumino is the classic “nice girl who always comes in second” sort (see also Nisekoi) – but it’s going to be more of a surprise than these titles usually pull off. The author also has a good flair for art and facial expressions – there’s just a lot of amusing faces here, and I found myself laughing at them as much as the characters and situation.

So overall a pretty strong debut, and I can see why it was licensed. I look forward to seeing these girls make painfully slow progress in their efforts to learn outside their specialties.

Toradora!, Vol. 3

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By Yuyuko Takemiya and Yasu. Released in Japan by Dengeki Bunko. Released in North America by Seven Seas. Translated by Jan Cash & Vincent Castaneda. Adapted by Lora Gray.

In many ways this feels like a filler volume in the series, but I think it’s actually focusing more on the main cast and how Ryuuji is able to understand them – or not, as the case may be. Ryuuji is a nice, kind person but he’s not all that good at getting “what women want”, so to speak. That applies to Taiga, who spends much of this book intensely frustrated and upset – even for her. It also applies to Ami, who has been given her depth in the last book and so is free to backslide and be the ‘evil transfer student’ everyone was fearing – or is she merely trying to aggressively flirt? And then there’s Minori, who is theoretically Ryuuji’s crush, but who he seems to try to understand the least, letting her walk through the novel being Taiga’s goofy best friend without pondering why she acts the way she does. It’s not just “I am weird”, Ryuuji. By the end of the book he hasn’t figured much out either, but the stage is at least set for the next part of the series.

The book takes place immediately after the previous one, where Ami put Ryuuji in a compromising position and is now gleefully watching the fireworks. Taiga, of course, insists she is not angry, and we know what that means. Worse, swimming classes are up next, and Taiga has to wear a swimsuit (thus showing off her childlike figure) and also swim (which she can’t). Things come to a head when Ami invites Ryuuji to her summer home over the break, so they could get to know each other better. Taiga snaps, and we’re set up for a swimming challenge – the winner essentially gets Ryuuji. You could argue Ryuuji’s biggest mistake in this book is not shutting this down before it starts, but instead, he does his best to teach Taiga to swim and try to figure out why she’s so upset – which isn’t quite the reason he thinks.

This book came out about twelve years ago in Japan, and so a lot of the things that might feel obvious to the reader were a lot fresher then. If the big drawback in this volume is that there’s very little forward movement, the plus is this allows us to see a lot of silly and/or heartwarming scenes that we might not otherwise have gotten. The cold opening at the hospital, where we worry that Ryuuji’s mother may have died but then realize the far more amusing truth, is an absolutely perfect scene. Ami too is a horrible delight, and the humiliation she goes through near the end once again feels especially deserved. But as always the main reason to love this is Taiga, who is a bundle of issues and all the more readable because of them. Her “solution” to the challenge was fantastic, if also appalling.

If I recall correctly from the manga, the next volume should be especially strong. This one isn’t a world beater, but it’s fun, especially if you like seeing Taiga blow up.

Manga the Week of 12/12/18

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SEAN: Merry Christmas! Why this early? Well, Yen Press is releasing most of its December lineup in one go next week. But first…

Dark Horse debuts Dangan Ronpa 2, the adaptation of the 2nd visual novel murder game. The 2nd is apparently more popular than the first, so I’m interested to see what it’s like.

J-Novel Club has three ongoing series: How NOT to Summon a Demon Lord 6, I Saved Too Many Girls And Caused the Apocalypse 11, and Lazy Dungeon Master 3. To show I don’t read EVERY light novel, I’m only following one of those three.

Kodansha’s print this month is pretty light, but there are a few volumes. Again!! 6, Noragami: Stray God 19 (wow, remember Noragami? This is what happens when you catch up…), and To Your Eternity 8.

ASH: Oh! Some good choices there!

SEAN: Digitally we debut, gloriously, CROCODILE BARON! It has a crocodile in a top hat on its cover, and therefore is required reading. It’s from Weekly Morning, and despite its top-hatted crocs, seems to be a foodie manga.

Seven Seas has only two, and they’re both light novels. The Ancient Magus’ Bride: The Golden Yarn is a light novel based on the popular manga series. And there’s also the 5th volume (digitally, print will come later) of Didn’t I Say to Make My Abilities Average in My Next Life?!.

MICHELLE: Huh. I may have to read a light novel!

ASH: I’m looking forward to giving the light novels a try, too.

SEAN: SuBLime has two titles as well, with the 2nd Escape Journey and the 6th volume of Manga Bookshelf anti-favorite Ten Count.

MICHELLE: Unfortunately, Escape Journey is problematic, too.

MJ: I feel like we could build a fort out of problematic BL manga, and it would stand up unfortunately well against the elements. That thing would be solid.

SEAN: Udon has an 8th volume of Persona 3. (How long are these spinoff manga anyway?)

ASH: I’ll admit I tired of the Persona 3 adaptation pretty quickly, but I have been largely enjoying the Persona 4 manga.

Vertical has the 4th volume of not-Nichijou-but-close manga CITY.

Viz debuts Dragon Quest Illustrations, a sweet-looking artbook with illustrations from… well, I’ll let that be a surprise for the reader.

We also get the third and final volume of After Hours, Magi 33, Sleepy Princess in the Demon Castle 4, and Splatoon 5.

ASH: I’d forgotten that After Hours was so short.

SEAN: That just leaves Yen, but we’re not done here. Digitally we see the 20th Corpse Princess and the 10th IM: Great Priest Imhotep.

Yen has delayed about half its light novels to the week after next, but that still leaves several for this list. The Asterisk War 8, The Devil Is a Part-Timer! 12, I’ve Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years 3, KonoSuba 7, Rokka: Braves of the Six Flowers 6, and That Time I Got Reincarnated As a Slime 4 all are novels out next week.

On the manga side, there are four debuts, two of which are side-story tie-ins and two of which we’ve seen already in single-chapter digital releases. Dead Mount Death Play is a manga series we’ve seen released in chapter format but now we get a volume. It’s from Ryohgo Narita, the creator of Baccano! and DRRR!!, but seems darker than both those series. And NE NE NE (complete in one volume) is a sweet romantic comedy that ran in Shonen Gangan.

MICHELLE: NE NE NE looks cute!

ANNA: That does sound cute.

ASH: I’m glad it’s getting a print release! I’ve been wanting to read it.

SEAN: Goblin Slayer Side Story: Year One is a manga adaptation of the Goblin Story: Year One side story light novels, and your name Another Side: Earthbound is also a manga adaptation of a light novel side story. It’s almost Inception-esque.

Not based on light novels: As Miss Beelzebub Likes 4, Bungo Stray Dogs 9, Girls’ Last Tour 5, Hakumei & Mikochi 3, Hatsu*Haru 4, Horimiya 12, One Week Friends 5, A Polar Bear in Love 4, School of Horns 2, Silver Spoon 6, The Strange Creature at Kuroyuri Apartments 2, A Terrified Teacher at Ghoul School 5, and Yowamushi Pedal 10. In case Manga Bookshelf folks are skimming that long list, ‘Silver Spoon’ and ‘Yowapeda’ are what you want to stop on.

MICHELLE: Aww, yiss. I could use some Yowamushi Pedal about now.

ANNA: Nice!

ASH: Yup, Silver Spoon and Yowamushi Pedal definitely have most of my attention out of that bunch, though there are a few other series I’m reading, too.

MJ: Did someone say Silver Spoon?

SEAN: On the ‘based on light novels’ side, we see Accel World 8, The Boy and the Beast 4 (which is the final volume), The Honor Student at Magic High School 9. The Isolator 4, Kagerou Daze 11, My Youth Romantic Comedy Is Wrong As I Expected 9, and Sword Art Online: Progressive 7 (which marks the final volume by the current artist, but I think it’s being rebooted with a new one).

It’s another giant pile. What are you getting? Could it be crocodiles in top hats? Or something else?

A Bride’s Story, Vol. 10

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By Kaoru Mori. Released in Japan as “Otoyomegatari” by Enterbrain, serialization ongoing in the magazine Harta. Released in North America by Yen Press. Translated by William Flanagan.

After two volumes of focus on Pariya, returning to our home base couple feels very peaceful and reassuring, even if they’re not together a lot of the time. As with the previous volumes, Amir and Karluk’s story is about waiting for Karluk to get older and more mature, and the fact that they love each other regardless. Karluk is a typical teenage boy, even on the Silk Road, and therefore constantly worries that he’s not manly enough and that Amir is somehow unhappy. This is fairly ridiculous, not only because Karluk is nice and sweet and doing his best, but also because Amir is a saint who can do no wrong. (I’ve come to really love A Bride’s Story, but Amir still needs a few more flaws.) But Karkuk doesn’t see this, and so there’s only one thing for a boy on the verge of manhood to do… hunt wild animals! Good thing too, as in this day and in this place, hunting animals for food is a life or death situation.

This also allows Karluk to bond with his brother-in-law, and realize that Amir’s tribe is really in dire straits… they are poor and have very little future available to them. This is presented very matter of factly, and Karluk (and the reader) can’t really do much about it except stare into the middle distance. But at least they’re training Karluk as a hunter, and we get some gorgeous shots of the landscape and foxes, antelope, etc. that roam wild and free but also provide food and clothing for our heroes. Amir shows up every once in a while as well, though Karluk tries to make the visits less frequent, because he’s hoping this will make them long for each other even more. (Amir doesn’t quite get this, of course, because she’s fully accepted her feelings for Karluk already.) He’s a good kid, and I wonder how long it will be before they take that next step.

After their story, we are back to Mr. Smith and his guide, who are finally making their way to Ankara, where he meets up with a good friend he knew from school (and I think his name is Henry? God knows, everyone keeps calling him Smith regardless). That’s not all that follows him, however… Talas, the girl he had the not-quite-romance with several volumes ago, has gotten married but still longs for her true love, and so her husband (whose sainthood here rivals Amir) takes her to Ankara to find Mr. Smith, because he wants her to be happy. I’m not really sure I enjoyed this part as much as the author wanted me to. The story of Smith and Talas was a nice bittersweet tale of a love that wasn’t meant to be, and seeing it revived here feels a bit like a cop out. I suspect their story will take up much of the next volume.

A Bride’s Story has a few weaknesses that my head just can’t get away from, but that doesn’t mean I don’t enjoy the series and its characters. And its art, which is fantastic. Still recommended.