Manga Bookshelf

Discussion, Resources, Roundtables, & Reviews

Sean Gaffney

Nia Liston: The Merciless Maiden, Vol. 1

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By Umikaze Minamino and Kochimo. Released in Japan as “Kyōran Reijō Nia Liston: Byōjaku Reijō ni Tenseishita Kami-goroshi no Bujin no Kareinaru Musō Roku” by HJ Bunko. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by okaykei.

I appreciate a book that can subvert expectations right off the bat. The cover of this book features the titular heroine sitting on a throne, with blood spilled at her feet. The subtitle is “The Merciless Maiden”. The narrative explicitly says she’ll grow up to be absolutely terrifying. And the start of the book shows us her origin: in order to save his own skin, a disreputable mage, hired to save the life of a sickly young noble girl (who has, in fact, already died), transplants the soul of a fierce warrior who lives only for battle and desires a glorious death. Throughout the start of this book you get Nia Liston casually mentioning how strong she really is. But we very, very rarely see this. This book is, until near the end, the definition of a slow burn. Instead, what we get are Nia Liston’s adventures in livestreaming. And honestly, if it were “Nia Liston: The Impassive Presenter of a TV Show”, I might not have picked it up.

After being reincarnated into Nia’s 5-year-old body, the nameless warrior (who cannot remember much of anything about their past life aside from battle lust) has to spend much of her time making it so that the body does not immediately die. Fortunately, there’s chi and cultivation and all that stuff that I am thankful we don’t go into too much detail about, and eventually Nia gets healthy again, to the delight of her parents and older brother. She then proceeds to try to learn about the world she’s living in, as subtly as possible (i.e., not very) asking her maid about who the Liston family are and what they control. The answer, for the most part, is “magivision”, which is, of course, magic television. In order to show off their daughter’s miraculous recovery, they decide to have her host a show of her own. But… will she ever get to be merciless?

Yes, it does eventually happen, though I was going to wonder if it would be subverted. Nia goes on so much at the start about how much damage she could do to people with just her pinky finger that I thought the gag would be that she was a mere 5-year-old girl in reality. But no, when she spots her co-star (she ends up acting in a teleplay near the end) being accosted by thugs, we see her gleefully getting in a bit of the old ultraviolence. Nia is not training to do anything but make her body healthier – the martial arts skills are all innate, advanced, and extremely powerful. So, of course, the main reason to get this is to see other people’s reactions to a 5-year-old girl beating up over a hundred mafia goons, which range from terrified (the goons) to intrigued (the co-star, who asks “can I watch?”), to over the moon (her maid, a former adventurer, who basically says “PLEASE TRAIN ME”).

The next volume has Nia head off to boarding school, and I assume will focus more on the fighting than the livestreaming, though I could be wrong. In any case, if you want to know how to do slow burn plotting properly, this is a good example.

Loner Life in Another World, Vol. 8

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By Shoji Goji and Saku Enomaru. Released in Japan as “Hitoribocchi no Isekai Kouryaku” by Overlap Bunko. Released in North America by Airship. Translated by Eric Margolis. Adapted by Lorin Christie.

It feels odd to call a book that is 100 pages longer than the previous books a breather volume but that’s exactly what this is. After all of the plot going on in the last three volumes, Loner Life is returning to its roots, which means get ready for a whole lot of dungeon crawling. As always, you not only need to translate this book to English (and the translation is fine, I hasten to add – a) even Japanese fans say this is incoherent, and b) Haruka is meant to sound like this), but you also need to translate subtext into text. As such, the fact that we’ve moved from “let’s clear out all the 50-floor dungeons” and have now become “hey, all these dungeons are now about 90 floors” is a cause for great concern, and even small, supposedly random things like “Haruka is asked to make sanitary pads for the girls” delves into a critique on isekai stories in general as well as a dark examination of why Angelica and Nefertiri are only concubines. There is meat on these bones, under all that narrative bullshit.

The cover has Vice Rep B, but she’s no more prominent here than any of the other classmates not named Class Rep; the artist clearly gave her a cover shot to show off her assets, so to speak. After the civil war of the last two books, everyone is back in Omui, and there’s now a passel of orphan children with them. Most of the spare time is spent dungeon crawling, partly to get spellstones so they can afford any of the many things Haruka is making, but also partly to see what the dungeons are like after they’ve already been cleared once before. The answer is that the monsters are not QUITE as strong, but they’re still very strong, and more worryingly, the dungeons are deeper now. Haruka implies that any dungeon with 100 floors is a Very Bad Thing. Meanwhile, the rest of the class is getting stronger and stronger… but they still can’t hold a candle to Haruka, Angelica, Nefertiri or even the Slime Emperor. How can they possibly protect him?

There’s another reason Haruka’s doing all this dungeon exploration: he’s reached the limit of where he can go with just skills. Even though it’s very, very hard for him to accomplish, he’s going to have to start getting stronger and leveling up. Which means having to fight using actual COMMON SENSE, rather than fighting the chaotic Haruka way. It’s actually a bit heartwarming seeing him sparring with Angelica normally – though it leads the girls to assume, now that they can understand his moves, that they can defeat him. Hardly. Speaking of the girls, I’d mentioned the sanitary pads before (and Haruka observing that all the isekai books out there never bother to go into this sort of thing in their pre-industrial fantasy worlds), but it also brings up a melancholy subplot: Angelica and Nefertiri may look human and gorgeous now, and they’re both starting to communicate a lot better, but they’re still, at the end of the day, monsters. They don’t have periods, and they can’t get pregnant. This means that they want the girls to be Haruka’s wives while they remain his concubines… because the girls CAN get pregnant.

A somewhat sexist POV to have, but then this is a book that now uses sex like a comma (how in God’s name are the PG-rated manga and forthcoming anime going to handle this?). It remains not for everyone, but I still find nuggets of gold here. And I apologize for not mentioning the water park. Or the summer festival. Next time it looks like we start a new arc, as a (maybe?) good religious faction shows up near the end. Just… not 528 pages next time? Please?

Pick of the Week: Valentine Manga

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MICHELLE: There are several interesting releases this week about boys in love. I honestly kind of wish I could pick Case File Compendium: Bing An Ben, because a “modern dark SF take” on danmei sounds intriguing, but it had the misfortune to be up against the third volume of Therapy Game Restart, to whom my heart steadfastly belongs.

SEAN: I feel like a nice romcom, so my pick this week will be I Have a Crush at Work, which wins out over I Want to End This Love Game by being about adults.

ASH: If I Have a Crush at Work ever ends up being released in print, I definitely want to give it a try; it looks delightful. In the meantime, I’ll still pick a Kodansha offering and go with The White and Blue Between Us. (As Michelle already pointed out, there’s more than one promising BL title this week!)

ANNA: I guess I’m going to go with Sleepy Princess in the Demon Castle in the hopes that one day I will get caught up on it!

KATE: I only have eyes for one title this week: Akane-banashi, a manga that proves the Shonen Jump formula can be applied to *any* human endeavor from cooking to inline skating to rakugo.

Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear, Vol. 17

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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.

We all have things we’d like to read in our favorite series. Usually they’re things that aren’t going to happen until near the end, such as a romantic couple getting together. It could also be the climax of a series of subplots that is building far too slowly and meticulously. And I have these desires about Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear, only I suspect that I’m never going to get what I want. I want to meet Yuna’s parents. I want to flash back to her life in Japan before this one. I know that her parents are going to be absolutely the worst – they are, after all, the ones who, after Yuna offered them a ton of money to get out of her life, took the money and got out of her life. But they’ve still clearly affected Yuna deeply, and I think a lot of her current attitude towards almost everyone in Crimonia and other areas is due to this. It can’t all be “LOL, she’s a NEET”, after all. Parental neglect is important too.

Still in the dwarf village, Yuna decides to go watch the trials and (naturally) ends up taking the trial herself, as she accidentally arrived about 8-9 hours too early. Unfortunately for the dwarves, the trials basically are designed to match the level of the person taking them, which means Yuna’s is insanely difficult – and also mentally wearing, as she’s forced into combat situations that are poor matches for her, then forced to face herself (see the cover art), and finally forced to rescue Fina from a deathtrap, something which causes her to flip out a bit. After doing this and getting the pots and pans she came there for, she returns to Crimonia – with Lilyka, who’s basically being told to stop being tsundere and go get her man, something she finds easier said than done. The rest of the book is basically “Yuna does cute things”, at least till the end, when she’s on the floating island and sees a remote ship. Are we finally getting to fantasy Japan?

As always, the most interesting scenes in the book are the ones where Yuna is thrown off her game. Facing a version of herself is less interesting, though I was amused at her realization that it’s annoying to fight someone who does this. More interesting was the last battle. I suspected that it wasn’t the real Fina (somethng which is later confirmed), but Yuna doesn’t know that, and seeing her caught in the old “water slowly filling a tank” trap causes her to completely panic – which is, of course, the point of the trials, which remind the person taking them that remaining cool in battle is what you need to do, even if your loved ones are in danger. Yuna here basically admits she sees Fina as her younger sister, which is fine by me, as Fina’s still ten. I do wish Yuna would stop insisting she’s not gay every volume, but that’s a separate issue, and it’s not unique to this author.

If you enjoy picking through “cute bears doing overpowered things” series to find the nugget or two of depth, this sure is that.

RVing My Way into Exile with My Beloved Cat: This Villainess Is Trippin’, Vol. 1

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By Punichan and Canarinu. Released in Japan as “Akuyaku Reijō wa Camping Car de Tabi ni Deru: Aibyō to Mankitsu Suru Self Kokugai Tsuihō ” by DRE Novels. Released in North America by J-Novel Heart. Translated by sachi salehi.

Sometimes you can tell that a story is not written by a first-time writer. One of the best ways is when a story has a totally ridiculous premise (such as this one), but knows that it cannot merely coast on just that premise for the entire book. There’s some good thought given to the world building. There’s ‘level ups’, but they’re minimal, and mostly just serve to show us where things are in the vehicle. There’s bad people, but they’re just selfish idiots, not puppy-kickers. Sure enough, this author has a few (unlicensed) series under their belt, and seems to specialize in Villainess titles. That said, the villainess part is not really the reason to read this – our heroine’s exile happens in record time. No, this is for fans of Slow Life books, because our heroine loves outdoor camping, and now that she is freed from this awful otome game, she is going to CAMP SO HARD.

Mizarie Kraphtia, who has the best Obvious Villainess name since Yumiella Dolkness, is publicly shamed and has her engagement broken by her fiance the Prince within the first two paragraphs. This comes as a complete relief to her – her entire life she’s been abused for having a “dark” magic element and black hair, and even getting her family to feed her has been tough. She avoided the heroine of the game she was isekai’d into, but ended up getting railroaded into the plot regardless. So now that she has the opportunity to flee, she does so, using the secret skill she’s been hiding from everyone since she first discovered it. She summons… a camper van, which allows her to drive the hell out of the country and away from the startled Prince (who was already preparing to reduce her exile to “do all my work for me”) and finally live a real life. It’s time to start fires, cook chicken, and discover new kingdoms that won’t abuse her.

This book revels in its genre, but also revels in pointing out the flaws inherent in it. Mizarie is hated and abused for her dark magic and hair… but is still engaged to the Prince, for some reason. But as I said, the book drives away from its villainess origins at 200 MPH, preferring to dig into the nitty gritty of what it would be like to explore a fantasy world with what amounts to an all-terrain vehicle that’s also a camper van. (The title says “RV” in English and “Camping Car” in Japanese, but I call the series “Camper Van Villainess” in honor of the classic alternative band Camper Van Beethoven, author of Take the Skinheads Bowling and other light classics.) Eventually we do get to more traditional isekai tropes, like the guy left for dead by his selfish party, the adventurer’s guild handing out F-ranked missions, and a monster that prove almost too much for our heroine… at least until she uses the camper van to hit it off a cliff.

This isn’t deep, nor should it be. It’s fun, and relaxing, and its heroine is also fun and relaxing. The second volume is due out in Japan this month, so I hope we’ll see it before too long.

The Exiled Noble Rises as the Holy King: Befriending Fluffy Beasts and a Holy Maiden with My Ultimate Cheat Skill!, Vol. 1

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By Yu Okano and TAPIOCA. Released in Japan as “Tsuihō Kizoku wa Saikyō Skill “Seiō” de Henkyō kara Nariagaru: Haikyōsha ni Nintei Sareta Ore da kedo Cheat Skill de Mofumofu mo Seijo mo Nakama ni Shichaimashita” by Earth Star Novels. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Alex Honton.

Every once in a while I dip my toe back into the giant pool that is “light novels that don’t really sound interesting to me”, just in case I end up passing on a real winner. Sometimes I find myself completely, 100% wrong and it’s garbage. But far more often, it’s just frustrating, as the writer clearly has some ideas that might be good, or at least lead to interesting character development, but either they or the editor and publisher can never let go of “this has to be the same as every other title just like it”. I simply do not get why all these fantasy books star the same guy. He looks the same, he acts the same, he’s a “nice guy”, etc. It’s not like there aren’t great examples of light novels that succeed with far more interesting protagonists. Look at Kazuma. Or Subaru. You don’t need to have everyone be Player One.

The very first words of the book are our main character’s name, Noah Oliphage. The next words are him being exiled, just as the title says. Sounds pretty villainess-ey, yes. Noah has been found to have the Root Skill “Holy King”, and the Church – and the supposed actual Holy King – are frowning heavily on this. Noah, not wanting the church to wipe out his family, accepts exile with only a minor fuss… but ends up in the middle of the Purgatory Forest, filled with dangerous monsters. Fortunately, Noah… does NOT have awesome sword skills or powerful magic. Not good. He can form contracts with those who want his protection and who he wants to protect, though, and does so, first with a small kitten monster (that it is hinted will grow tiger sized), and then a small group of kobolds. Unfortunately, the Church wants to make sure Noah is dead, so send their biggest zealot to find and kill him.

Again, every good idea here is undercut by the need to make this book like so many other books of its kind. I was intrigued by the idea of someone getting a skill that’s basically “Jesus” but the start of the book drowns us, as usual, in stats, stats, stats. Japanese RPGs have so much to answer for. Noah is about as interesting as a sheet of white paper – actually, grey paper. The most interesting character is Aht, the aforementioned zealot. There’s a fantastic scene where we see everything about her previous few years be overwritten just by SEEING Noah and knowing he really is the messiah – it’s actually understated too, which I appreciated – but an interesting discussion about how mind-controlled she is by Noah’s contract (and, for that matter, how mind controlled she was by the Church before this) gets quietly brushed aside by her with a “I promise you it’s OK”, and she leaves at the end of the book – I suspect Book 2 will feature a different woman in the lead, this feels like that kind of series.

I may look at the 2nd volume, to see if it does anything with the concepts it’s got at the back of everything. But man, this is frontloaded with “potato-kun” fantasy stuff. He may not be isekai’d, but he might as well be. Recommended if you enjoy religious conversion or cute dogs and cats fighting monsters.

Manga the Week of 2/14/24

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SEAN: Manga readers, will you be our valentine?

We start with Airship, which has Reincarnated as a Dragon Hatchling 6 in early digital.

Amazon lists Denpa Books having the 5th and final volume of The Girl with the Sanpaku Eyes out next week.

No actual Ghost Ship titles this week, but we get a Mature danmei debut, Case File Compendium: Bing An Ben. This is a modern dark SF take on the genre, and features an unstable young man who returns home to win the heart of the girl he loves and resolve things with the man he’s obsessed with. It’s a danmei title, so I would not worry about the girl too much.

MICHELLE: Yeahhhh. Probably not.

ANNA: I’m surprised there is even a girl!

ASH: Right?

SEAN: And there’s a mature webtoon BL title debuting as well, Punch Drunk Love. A man is eyeing the new manager at work, wondering if he’s gay… and can give him some dominant love.

Love is an Illusion! 5 is also “not Ghost Ship but mature”.

ASH: There are a fair number of those.

SEAN: Hanashi Media gives us My Pet Is a Saintess (Ore no Pet wa Seijo-sama) is the story of a young man who is devastated when his pet bird dies, then is isekai’d to a world where his pet bird is now a cute young girl, and he needs to be her fiance! This got bumped, which is why it sounds familiar.

ASH: Among other reasons, I’m sure.

SEAN: J-Novel Club – again – has FIVE debuts, four of them manga series. Butareba -The Story of a Man Turned into a Pig- (Buta no Liver wa Kanetsu Shiro) is based on the light novel also being released by J-Novel Club, and runs in Dengeki Maoh.

A Livid Lady’s Guide to Getting Even: How I Crushed My Homeland with My Mighty Grimoires (Buchigire Reijou wa Houfuku wo Chikaimashita. ~Madousho no Chikara de Sokoku wo Tataki Tsubushimasu~) is based on a light novel that is not yet out from J-Novel Club, but is on the way. This time the noblewoman who has her engagement broken and is framed for crimes she didn’t commit decides to get revenge. It runs in Comic Fire.

ASH: I can appreciate a good revenge story.

SEAN: The Oblivious Saint Can’t Contain Her Power: Forget My Sister! Turns Out I Was the Real Saint All Along! (Mujikaku Seijo wa Kyō mo Muishiki ni Chikara o Tare Nagasu: Imadai no Seijo wa Anede wa Naku, Imōto no Watashi Datta Mitai Desu) is the one light novel debut. A young woman who’s been considered the lesser compared to her sister is married off to another country, and suddenly discovers her latent powers.

Through the Viewport: Child of a Ruined World (Shuumatsu Sekai no Hakoirimusume) is, believe it or not, not based on a light novel. A Mag Garden series, it’s the story of a girl and her giant robot in a post-apocalyptic world.

ASH: Count me intrigued.

SEAN: The Water Magician (Mizu Zokusei no Mahoutsukai @COMIC) is, as you might have guessed from that Japanese title, the manga adaptation of The Water Magician light novel, coming from J-NC next month. It’s in Comic Corona, and features an isekai’d boy who’s just trying to learn how to use his newfound water magic, but sadly finds this world is not Slow Life.

Kodansha Books has the 5th The Dawn of the Witch light novel.

Kodansha Manga debuts in print The White and Blue Between Us (Bokura wo Hedateru Ao to Shiro), a BL title that ran in Honey Milk. After a confession gone wrong, a boy left the island he grew up with. Now he’s back for a class reunion, and the man he confessed to wants to make amends. This is complete in one volume.

MICHELLE: Sounds potentially good!

ANNA: OK!

ASH: I’m in, too.

SEAN: Also in print: Fairy Tail Omnibus 2, Fire Force Omnibus 8, Pass the Monster Meat, Milady! 2, Saving 80,000 Gold in Another World for My Retirement 5, The Seven Deadly Sins: Four Knights of the Apocalypse 11, Tying the Knot with an Amagami Sister 3, and WIND BREAKER 4.

The digital debut is I Have a Crush at Work (Kono Kaisha ni Suki na Hito ga Imasu), a seinen manga from Weekly Morning. Two coworkers are now lovers, and need to keep this a secret at work. But it’s hard to not be a cutesy couple.

Also out digitally: Gang King 14, Giant Killing 41, Medaka Kuroiwa is Impervious to My Charms 10, and Our Bodies, Entwining, Entwined 7.

MICHELLE: Getting close to the end of Giant Killing too!

SEAN: One Peace Books gives us The Death Mage 4.

Seven Seas has a quiet week (it all went into the Ghost Ship section), with just 365 Days to the Wedding 2, CANDY AND CIGARETTES 7, and The Villainess Who Has Been Killed 108 Times: She Remembers Everything! 2.

ASH: Will there be 365 and 108 volumes of those, respectively?

SEAN: Square Enix has The Girl I Like Forgot Her Glasses 8 and My Isekai Life: I Gained a Second Character Class and Became the Strongest Sage in the World! 11.

SuBLime gives is the 2nd and final volume of Love Nest and a 3rd Therapy Game Restart.

MICHELLE: !!! I had no idea a third Therapy Game Restart was coming out soon. I love this series very much!

SEAN: Viz debuts I Want to End This Love Game (Aishiteru Game wo Owarasetai), a Web Every Sunday series (i.e. Shonen Sunday but online) whose plot is a bit familiar: two childhood friends have been playing a “love game” since they were kids, and want to win. The one who gets embarrassed first loses.

Also from Viz: Akane-banashi 4, Hayate the Combat Butler 43, Sakura, Saku 2, and Sleepy Princess in the Demon Castle 23.

ASH: Hooray for sleepy shenanigans!

SEAN: Lastly, Yen Press has two stragglers. Phantom Tales of the Night 12 (the final volume) and Play It Cool, Guys 5.

Do you love any of these titles?

MICHELLE: One, without reservation!

ANNA: Not really!

My Next Life As a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom!, Vol. 12

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By Satoru Yamaguchi and Nami Hidaka. Released in Japan as “Otome Game no Hametsu Flag Shika Nai Akuyaku Reijou ni Tensei Shite Shimatta…” by Ichijinsha Bunko Iris. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Joshua Douglass-Molloy.

I get the sense that this was the first book written not only after the 2nd series of the anime had aired, but after the author had noticed fan opinion of that series. There’s a combination of things that worked really well in that season combined with an effort to move the plot along to its inevitable conclusion even more than it was in the previous volume. That said, that inevitable conclusion is becoming more and more a single route. My hope was that we might, at least, get an open ending with no romantic resolution, but the plot twists introduced here, while not technically resolving anything, very much say that Katarina is going to end this series married to Jeord and we are all going to have to lump it. Even Sophia and Maria get very little to do, though at least Mary gets an opening scene where she can pretend she and Katarina had a kid. That said, have faith, yuri fans, there is one bone thrown to you here.

The focus of this volume is on Frey Randall, Katarina’s underclassman and currently on the Student Council at the academy. The fact that none of the princes have married is starting to be a THING, and Frey’s father, Marquis “I am 100% evil” Randall, is starting to throw rumors around that Prince Jeord has abandoned Katarina (the weak link of the fiancees) and is going to marry Frey. This is, of course bullshit, and Frey would surely say so, except she was called back home and has not appeared since, clearly held hostage. Katarina immediately… does NOT spring into action, instead realizing that rushing off to save Frey would be counterproductive without help. So instead she gathers all her powerful allies, with the exception of Jeord (who can’t make a move because politics) and, most importantly, Larna, who, of course, has a secret of her own.

If your favorite episode of the 2nd season of Bakarina was Episode 8, this book is like catnip. Starting off with a chapter devoted to showing off what Frey used to be like before she came to school and how she changed thanks to Katarina, it also references the talk she had with Nicol (which he owes her a great debt for), and also shows that she and Ginger are, shall we say, VERY close – like Katarina and Maria, they’re planning to work at the ministry together, and unlike Katarina, they don’t have men in their life. The author almost confirms the yuri in the afterword. The other big success in this book is Katarina herself, who, after a chapter that tries to get all the “I am unobservant” out of the way at once, shows she can, in fact, be VERY observant when it matters. She’s maturing, if not in terms of romance, then in terms of life skills, and her harem are all more surprised than they really should be.

The author does sometimes still tend to slide into “comfort zones” a bit too much to make this a lights out volume (it ends with the standard “Jeord tries to get a moment alone with his fiancee but everyone else interrupts), but after two years I was very glad to see our baka back in action and really achieving things. Hopefully it won’t be another two years before 13…

Invaders of the Rokujouma!?, Vol. 43

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By Takehaya and Poco. Released in Japan as “Rokujouma no Shinryakusha!?” by HJ Bunko. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Warnis.

(This talks about the book’s surprise ending, but after the picture.)

If you’re still following a series 45 novels in (counting the two .5 volumes, as always), you’d better have some pretty damn good reasons. Especially given that they’re light novels, which, even with a smaller page count than a lot of other series, simply are not going to be read as fast as a manga would be. And there’s lots of places this story could have ended already. Where the anime did. Right before the arrival of Clan. The 29th volume, which even had a “final volume” style cover. But it’s still ongoing, and I still really enjoy every volume of it, because the writer does things I enjoy well. There’s a ton of likeable, distinct characters, who I mostly don’t have to look at a wiki to remember who they are. (Sorry, Darkness Rainbow, I still only know half of you by name.) There’s some good romance. There’s fantastic action sequences, which take up the 2nd half of this volume. And, yes, still the occasional shocking twist.

We pick up right where we left off. Ralgwin is being held prisoner in a hospital while he heals up from his near-fatal injuries. Fasta is still determined to rescue him, and while everyone sympathizes with her, they actually have to try to stop her doing that. More worryingly, Grevanas and the Gray Knight also are thinking of rescuing him – Grevanas so he can use Ralgwin’s body to resurrect Maxfern, and the Gray Knight for his usual “I’m not evil Koutarou from an alternate universe, I promise” reasons. Every single ally is gathered to help move Ralgwin to a more secure prison to await trials. Heck, even Fasta has brought along allies to help her, allies we really had not expected. Our heroes are stronger now, they can surely take on anything that the bad guys can dish out. Right?

Here’s where those spoilers are. I don’t think the Rokujouma?! series has ever ended an arc quite as viciously as this. This is a full on “the bad guys win” ending, I was surprised, as while I saw that Ralgwin had been captured by the enemy, I was expecting it to swing into another search and rescue arc. But honestly, we had a huge battle in this book, and following it up with one in the next book might risk repeating. (The author has straight up said to expect a short story volume next time, so that will be fun.) But we’ve spent so many volumes humanizing our villains. Hell, we were rooting hard for Fasta to succeed. We brought back Elexis and Maya after like 15 volumes for a surprise visit, and they’re more likeable as well. The villains have their own sensible motivations, and they can also fall in love. So to see the cartoon villain get his wish and parade around a resurrected Maxfern (who is a bit less of a cartoon villain, but only just) really, really feels like the book is punching you in the face.

Even the “Corona Convention” is downbeat this time around. An excellent volume of the series, but it hurts.

Pick of the Week: We Know What We Like

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SEAN: There’s a lot going on this week. Lots of great shoujo, some josei from Tokyopop (Stu’s left, it’s OK to buy them again), but I am who I am, so my pick is absolutely RVing My Way into Exile with My Beloved Cat: This Villainess Is Trippin’, which combines the trend in villainess stories with the trend in camping isekais, and I’m all for it.

MICHELLE: I am also who I am, which happens to be a woman on the cusp of turning 50, so Since I Could Die Tomorrow gets my vote!

ASH: Well, if we’re going with the manga one might most likely expect us to choose, The Tree of Death: Yomotsuhegui is a good candidate for my pick this week. Revenge, supernatural horror, and immortality are all story elements that regularly capture my attention.

ANNA: I will go along with this trend and make In the Name of the Mermaid Princess my pick, because I think you can’t get much more shoujo than mermaid princesses.

KATE: I hate the title but like the concept, so my pick goes to Since I Could Die Tomorrow, an honest look at menopause and middle age.

Making Jam in the Woods: My Relaxing Life Starts in Another World, Vol. 2

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By Kosuzu Kobato and Yuichi Murakami. Released in Japan as “Mori no Hotori de Jam wo Niru: Isekai de Hajimeru Slow Life” by Kadokawa Books. Released in North America by Cross Infinite World. Translated by Jade Willis.

(Slight spoilers for the last part of this book are in the third paragraph, FYI.)

I have some good news for those who were concerned about the content of the first volume: there is a lot more actual making of jam in this book. Mostly that’s because everyone in the local town has embraced Margaret as one of the best things that’s ever happened to them, so she keeps getting presents of fruit that will go bad unless she does something about it. Or when she’s picking berries with Rachel, who of course comes back to visit as soon as humanly possible, and said berries also have to be eaten fairly quickly. The lack of really long-term fridges and freezers in this world means you can’t dilly dally about these things. That said, for those who require a bit more plot than just cooking and preserving, there’s some of that as well, including some sweet romance and a very surprising revelation about Margaret’s being called to this world.

Margaret is still living with Adelaide, making delicious food, helping out in town with the kids, and trying to heal up from her injuries… though her leg unfortunately seems to have plateaued. There are important new discoveries, though: when she bonks heads with a small toddler, the toddler can hear her thoughts! It turns out that she can also do this with others, though with adults it has to be people she’s very close to. Meanwhile, she’s still not really well enough to go to the Royal Capital and visit the Spirit, but Walter is being called to the Spirit instead, and while there he ends up learning something that will possibly stun Margaret and her friends. Oh yes, and, most importantly, Mark basically proposes to Margaret… though there’s a bit of “huh, I was unaware this custom of receiving an expensive hairpins from the man I want to spend my life with is a thing” to it.

So yes, the big news here is that Margaret’s calling was premature and also not intended, which is one big reason why her leg isn’t going to heal and she’s still mute. I’ve seen the “we didn’t mean to isekai you to our world” plotline before, but it’s honestly usually pretty malevolent, involving “so therefore we will either try to kill you or toss you out with nothing but your clothing”, so seeing something like this where everyone is desperately worried about Margaret is nice. Fortunately for all involved, Margaret is a big sweetie, and is even more grateful she’s hear at all and living with such wonderful people. She’s making jam, she has a fiancee (possibly… she really isn’t quite comfortable with saying that out loud just yet), and she’s even writing children’s books based on old fairy tales from back in her previous life. The fact that she’s not the Chosen One is honestly a relief.

I think the next volume may be the last one, but am not sure. In any case, this remains a very fun, if not terribly action-packed, slow life romance series.

The Abandoned Heiress Gets Rich with Alchemy and Scores an Enemy General!, Vol. 2

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By Miyako Tsukahara and Satsuki Sheena. Released in Japan as “Suterare Reijō wa Renkinjutsu-shi ni Narimashita. Kaseida Okane de moto Tekikoku no Shō o Kōnyū Shimasu” by PASH! Books. Released in North America by Cross Infinite World. Translated by piyo.

It feels a bit odd to be saying that the theme of this second volume is the “well, that escalated quickly” meme. After all, the first volume was not exactly a Slow Life sort of book, featuring dead parents, demonic possession, forced slavery, etc. And yet this second volume definitely feels like it’s upping the ante, as we get all those things again, with an added dose of “creepy eugenics experiments on flora and fauna”, and the inevitable “wanted for a crime against the state and hunted down like a dog”. Fortunately, it’s a different state – though I get the sense that this will be happening to Chloe and Julius with every country they go to. Fortunately, now that they’re admitting their feelings for each other, the relationship between the two has become a highlight, and Chloe’s annoying habit of praising herself has become both a beloved running gag and a necessary evil. It’s how she copes.

After a few brief scenes at Chloe’s shop, which include making an artificial hand for the very apologetic King Cyril, Chloe and Julius are off to the Kingdom of Rasheed. There they not only might be able to find a dragon to mate with Julius’ beloved Helios, but they also may have a Seal Master who can do something about Julius’ slave marker. Unfortunately, there are a few signs that this is not going to go as smoothly as possible. Eliza, one of the antagonists of the first book, has escaped from prison and fled the country, and it doesn’t take a crystal ball for the reader to guess where she’ll be. More to the point, Rasheed has its own little “a demon has possessed someone and is working to cause chaos and destruction” issue, only this time with the full support of the royal family… well, part of the royal family. What’s more, the angels and demons have a far closer tie to Chloe than expected.

Chloe is a lot easier to take in this book than the first one, and her “beautiful young maiden” mantra is used even more than before. You could argue that she could also say that she’s a complete angel, but after the events of this book, that might hit a bit too close to home. I enjoy that Chloe and Julius have a nice, realistic falling in love relationship, which lacks the sudden realization of other stories in the genre but simply develops naturally and calmly, as Chloe realizes and accepts her feelings. There’s also a few hints dropped here about Julius’ own past, and I get the sense that may be the next arc. That is, once we finish off this arc. The book ends mid-battle with a big cliffhanger,

I enjoyed this a great deal. It’s got some nice romance bits, a plucky young heroine who does badass things and can hold her own with the hero, and some good action and drama. I wonder when Book 3 will hit…

Looks Are All You Need: Tatsuki’s Breakbeats

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By Ghost Mikawa and necomi. Released in Japan as “Kao Sae Yokereba Ii Kyōshitsu” by Fujimi Fantasia Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Evie Lund.

One thing that I’m really enjoying about this series is how it’s not really any of the two types of books we see these days. Generally speaking the largest category of light novel can be categorized as “fantasy” in some way or another, be it isekai, reincarnation, military books with magic, etc. There’s some sort of supernatural thing or power involved. The other genre is “romance” in some way, shape or form, with the romance of the lead character being one of the main plots. But Looks Are All You Need isn’t either of those. Shiika’s talents are partly due (we’re told) to her synesthesia, but that is a genuine condition, not a made up cool power. Same with Erio and her huge range. Here we meet dance prodigy Tatsuki, and we learn that it’s really just hard work and a desire to change something that drive her. It may be told in an overdramatic, shonen-esque manner, but the most unrealistic part of the series is probably Gakuto’s ability to beat people up. As for the romance, there may be a few crushes here and there, but it’s not remotely the focus of the book. Fame is the focus of the book.

We’re up to the next major goal for our brother-sister team and their friends. It’s time for the final exam, which is done in groups with the points being allotted as the group sees fit. The music department has to post a video of a performance. Easy enough. But it has to combine music AND DANCE, and Shiika’s got the stamina and athletic ability of a sloth. That’s a big problem. Fortunately, one of the hottest first-years in the dance department, Tatsuki, is delighted to help them out – provided she gets a song from one of the group’s fantastic composers in return. There are just a couple of issues. First of all, is a really good song and dance going to be enough? And secondly, Tatsuki has her own issues, which are causing her to put up a facade when she really should be speaking out…

The core of the second book, and of Tatsuki’s issues, is hip-hop culture in Japan. Hip-hop as a genre tends to get defined as just “what rap was in the 70s and 80s” by some folks, but there’s a lot more to it than that, including dancing, beatboxing, graffiti, etc. It’s also, as the book notes, a scene that is not what it used to be. At its core, though, this explores a fairly familiar story from earnest school books like this – how to stop a friend from going to the bad side and becoming a delinquent. Which is hard when everyone has spent your whole life thinking YOU’RE the delinquent. I also really enjoy Gakuto, who is somewhat self-aware that he’s in a light novel but he doesn’t let it drive what he does. I love his stunned shock at the reminder that – gasp! – if you want to be successful you have to actually network and make good contacts. The solution to the fashion problem was also very clever, and reminds us that competitions in real life are about winning by working around the rules but not breaking them.

This remains really enjoyable to me, though to be fair I come from a drama background. Unfortunately, it’s a brand new series, and I think we’re caught up to Japan. Time to wait.

Bookshelf Briefs 2/2/24

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Bakemonogatari, Vol. 20 | By NISIOISIN and Oh!Great | Kodansha Manga – This continues to take all the remaining arcs that Oh!Great wasn’t going to have time to get to and throwing them ALL into Tsubasa Cat. So we get the bulk of Shinobu Mail here, And we also get a great deal of Tsubasa Tiger. The mangaka and writer are clearly working quite closely on this, and NISIOISIN is taking the opportunity to clean up and improve some stuff. The scene between Senjougahara and Hanekawa in Tsubasa Tiger the book is great, but here it’s great and makes much more sense. (And also gives us the shower scene as much as it can—NISIOISIN and Oh!Great both love their fanservice.) The manga version may be ending in two books’ time, but it’s going out with a bang. Highly recommended for fans of the franchise. – Sean Gaffney

Doomsday Cleaning | By zaki | Star Fruit Books – This charming short story may remind you a little—OK, a lot—of Wall-E, as its main protagonist is a robot tasked with cleaning up trash on a seemingly uninhabited planet. When the robot crosses paths with an animated pig, however, the robot gets swept up in an unexpected quest to retrieve a piece of junk that holds special meaning for its new porcine companion. Their journey to the bottom of an enormous trash pit is both suspenseful and surprisingly touching, while a third-act twist adds a dash of humor that pushes the story in a new, delightful direction that invites the reader to view the robot’s mission in a new light. Crisp artwork is the icing on the cupcake. – Katherine Dacey

I Married My Female Friend, Vol. 1 | By Shio Usui | Seven Seas – I was surprised how much I enjoyed this, given what I was expecting. The basic plot is that two best friends promise, if they’re still single in five years, they’ll marry each other. Well, it’s five years later, and gay marriage is now legal, so they’re now married, and one of them is writing about the experience for a column. Of course, the twist is that one of the two actually IS romantically attracted… or at least, I certainly seem to think so. What makes this so much fun is that the other half of the partnership is not framed as clueless or thick for missing this, it really is hard to pick up. Still, they grow closer anyway, and things come to a head with a hospital visit. This is from the Doughnuts Under a Crescent Moon artist, and is just as good. I really like Kurumi especially. – Sean Gaffney

Kaguya-sama: Love Is War, Vol. 27 | By Aka Akasaka | Viz Media – We start the epilogue to this series with this volume. The main crisis is “resolved,” but that doesn’t mean everything’s hunky-dory. For one thing, Shirogane is off to Stanford, and Kaguya oversleeps and misses telling him goodbye, which leads to one of the funniest gags in the entire series. Elsewhere, Shirogane is also told what kind of man he’ll have to become in order to protect someone like Kaguya—he’s got to get much better with money, for one—and Kaguya decides what she wants to do for her career, but runs into a slight problem in trying to put it into motion, a problem not helped by Ishigami’s presence. All this plus the final (?) chapter in the Chika Fujiwara, Ramen Master side story. This is still great fun. – Sean Gaffney

Pass the Monster Meat, Milady!, Vol. 1 | By Kanata Hoshi and Chika Mizube | Kodansha Manga – Based on an as-yet-unlicensed light novel, this is another villainess story—but instead of an “Akuyaku Reijou,” we get an “Akujiki Reijou,” because our heroine absolutely terrifies people. Melfiera has been told, after several years of failure, to get a husband or she’ll be sent to a convent. The trouble is… she loves to eat the meat from monsters, which, while normally poisonous, is tasty when properly prepared. Shunned by most, she then runs into her soulmate, Duke Galbraith, the “Mad Duke,” who glories in killing monsters. He falls for her immediately, she falls almost as hard. And they’re honestly made for each other. This is fun, with two eccentric people complementing each other’s foibles. – Sean Gaffney

The Angel Next Door Spoils Me Rotten, Vol. 6

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By Saekisan and Hanekoto. Released in Japan as “Otonari no Tenshi-sama ni Itsu no Ma ni ka Dame Ningen ni Sareteita Ken” by GA Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Nicole Wilder.

Sometimes all it takes is a little validation. For this entire series we’ve been watching Amane struggle to imagine anyone thinking of him in any positive way whatsoever, and we also got little flashes back to his past to show what happened to make him think this way. But now Mahiru is his girlfriend, and the two of them are a lovey-dovey couple, and all of a sudden he’s become a really amazing boyfriend, to an almost jaw-dropping degree. His tendency towards logically thinking things out and never being impulsive now allows him to, both consciously and unconsciously, seduce Mahiru completely. And frankly, thank God, because it was my main complaint with this series (and many others – a lot of these ‘sweet couple’ series have self-loathing as the guy’s main flaw). That said, that’s still one side of the equation. Mahiru’s past, of course, is arguably even worse, but – despite the last chapter in this particular volume – we have a ways to go before those demons are banished.

The first half of this book continues Amane and Mahiru’s visit to stay with his parents over summer break, and it’s basically a cavalcade of sweet moments, including looking at cute childhood moments, going shopping and buying cute outfits… and also settling things with one of his old best friends, who ended up abandoning him when everything went town in Amane’s past. (Amane’s response is, frankly, a bit logical and cold, but also very in character.) They then go back home and have summer homework… which everyone has done but Chitose, so it’s mostly an excuse to watch her suffer for humor purposes. And then it’s off to a festival, which is mostly there to have everyone realize that Amane is fully invested in Boyfriend Mode, and it can be terrifying. That said, family matters crop up at the end, as Mahiru’s father wants to meet… with Amane.

We do get suggestions of the ongoing plot with this series’ secondary couple, though the series is assuming you read the short story volume that came out right before this. It feels appropriate given this is a sweet love story between couples in high school that a lot of the conflict arises from parents, be it mild (too much teasing from Amane’s mother) to serious (everything about Mahiru’s childhood). Chitose’s issue falls somewhere in between the two, and is also easily the most relatable. She’s in love with her boyfriend and wants to make a life with him, but his father thinks she’s not good enough for him. I expect we may see more of that later on. As for Mahiru’s dad, there’s a lot of “I’m trying, but it’s a bit too late and I know it will make no difference” to this. Which, um, also feels very, very real to me. I wonder if the next major arc will involve Mahiru managing to come to terms with things?

There’s a whole lot of syrupy sweetness I just skipped over, because why review that? But trust me, it’s there. For those who enjoy “I got the perfect girlfriend” series.