Manga Bookshelf

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Sean Gaffney

Manga the Week of 2/7/24

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SEAN: February is here, and it’s even longer this year. Fortunately, there is manga.

ASH: Always!

SEAN: Viz debuts a new shoujo title, In the Name of the Mermaid Princess (Mio no Na no Moto ni). This runs in Ribon, and is about a princess who is betrothed to a prince she’s never met, and is worried about her own secret… she’s a mermaid! Um, naming the series that gives away the secret. But hey.

ASH: I’m still curious, even after the spoiler.

ANNA: Mermaid Princesses! How can she be engaged to someone who doesn’t know that she’s a mermaid? Is there a royal paranormal matchmaker that goes around arranging marriages between mermaids and human royalty? I have so many questions!

SEAN: Also from Viz: Chainsaw Man 14, Dragon Ball Super 20, The Elusive Samurai 10, My Special One 5, Natsume’s Book of Friends 29, Prince Freya 10, and Rainbow Days 8. Mmmm, that’s some good shoujo next week.

ASH: It really is! I’ve got some catching up to do.

ANNA: As always, I do too.

SEAN: Udon Entertainment gives us the 4th and final volume of Persona 4 Arena Ultimax.

Tokyopop has two debuts. The Prince Is in the Villainess’ Way! (Akuyaku Reijou no Okiniiri Ouji…… Jama) is based on an as yet unlicensed novel, and runs in Comic PASH!. A cool, stoic princess recalls her past memories… which are not from Japan, apparently, but show that she was once the princess from a neighboring kingdom! Who’s… about to be killed. Better get on that, I guess.

Since I Could Die Tomorrow (Ashita Shinu ni wa) is a josei biographical series that ran in Ohta Web Comic. A woman in her early 40s starts to get palpitations and feeling cold. Is she starting to go through menopause? This has gotten some award nominations.

MICHELLE: I’m glad manga like this exists.

ASH: Same! Although I’m still giving Tokyopop the side eye.

ANNA: Ugh, me too.

SEAN: Steamship has a third and final volume of I’ll Never Be Your Crown Princess!, but there is a sequel they’ve also licensed.

Square Enix Manga debuts The Angel Next Door Spoils Me Rotten (Otonari no Tenshi-sama ni Itsunomanika Dame Ningen ni Sareteita Ken), a manga based on the light novel series Yen is releasing. It runs in Manga Up!.

And they also have The Ice Guy and the Cool Girl 3.

ASH: I’ve enjoyed what I’ve read of the series, so far.

ANNA: Yes, such a nice, low stakes manga.

SEAN: Seven Seas has a horror manga debut, The Tree of Death: Yomotsuhegui (Yomotsuhegui – Shisha no Kuni no Kajitsu). The author of this series is popular in Europe, but I think this is their first title here. It’s from Monthly Young Magazine. An ex-cop who’s been in prison for getting revenge on the killers of his wife and daughter is now out, but society shuns him. Time to… go back for more revenge!

ASH: Oh! Horror and revenge? Seems like something I should take a look at.

SEAN: We also see Classroom of the Elite 9, Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation: Mo Dao Zu Shi The Comic 5, Soara and the House of Monsters 2, A Tale of the Secret Saint 5, and There’s No Freaking Way I’ll be Your Lover! Unless… 4.

One Peace Books has a 12th volume of The New Gate manga.

Debuting in print for Kodansha Manga is Gazing at the Star Next Door (Tonari no Stella), a Betsufure series from the creator of Ran the Peerless Beauty. A girl realizes, to her horror, that she’s a “Childhood friend romance”, and her crush is starting to become a famous actor! Can she confess before she becomes a well-worn trope?

MICHELLE: Well, not wild about the premise but Ran the Peerless Beauty was good!

ANNA: Hmmmmmm.

SEAN: We also get a massive 700-page hardcover re-release, Vinland Saga Deluxe. This has the first three volumes, bonus content, all the bells and whistles.

ASH: I’m debating whether or not to double-dip and splurge on the new edition. It does look very nice, though, and I do love Vinland Saga… so I’ll probably eventually give in.

SEAN: Also in print: Magic Knight Rayearth 2, The Moon on a Rainy Night 3, and Virgin Love 2.

For digital we get Abe-kun’s Got Me Now! 12, Chihayafuru 42, He’s Expecting 2 (the final volume), Life 12, Sayabito: Swords of Destiny 2, Those Snow White Notes 14, Watari-kun’s ****** Is about to Collapse 15, and The World is Dancing 4.

MICHELLE: Getting close to the end of Chihayafuru!

ANNA: Amazing!

SEAN: We get FIVE debuts from J-Novel Club. Duchess in the Attic (Yane Urabeya no Koushaku Fujin) is a new manga based on an as-yet-unlicensed light novel. The manga runs in Flos Comic, and is a “terrible things happen to our noble lady over and over, until she finally starts her comeback” sort of title.

The Exiled Noble Rises as the Holy King: Befriending Fluffy Beasts and a Holy Maiden with My Ultimate Cheat Skill! (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) is one of THOSE titles. It’s basically the guy version of Duchess in the Attic.

ASH: Ha!

SEAN: Nia Liston: The Merciless Maiden (Kyōran Reijō Nia Liston: Byōjaku Reijō ni Tenseishita Kami-goroshi no Bujin no Kareinaru Musō Roku) is one of those “Powerful warrior dies and is reincarnated” sort of titles. But our powerful warrior has been reincarnated as a sickly five-year-old. But that’s not going to stop her thirsting for battle.

ASH: Having met many five-year-olds in my time, I am not at all surprised by this.

SEAN: RVing My Way into Exile with My Beloved Cat: This Villainess Is Trippin’ (Akuyaku Reijō wa Camping Car de Tabi ni Deru: Aibyō to Mankitsu Suru Self Kokugai Tsuihō) is a title I’ve been waiting for ever since it was announced in Japan. Our villainess is, of course, exiled. But that’s fine! She’s got a camper van! AND a cat. What more would a young woman want?

ASH: Okay, that sounds like some pretty great life choices.

ANNA: I’m a little jealous.

SEAN: Sword Saint Adel’s Second Chance (Ken Seijo Adel no Yarinaoshi: Kako ni Modotta Saikyō Kensei, Hime o Sukuu Tame ni Seijo to Naru) is – stop me if you’ve heard this one before, possibly two entries up – about a warrior who regrets being unable to save the woman who showed him kindness… so now he’s back in time, as a woman this time, to try to save her properly.

ASH: But as a woman… I will admit to liking that twist.

SEAN: Also from J-Novel Club: The 3rd manga volume of The Conqueror from a Dying Kingdom, DUNGEON DIVE: Aim for the Deepest Level 6, I’m Capped at Level 1?! Thus Begins My Journey to Become the World’s Strongest Badass! 3, The Invincible Little Lady 5, Only I Know That This World Is a Game 3, Peddler in Another World: I Can Go Back to My World Whenever I Want! 6, and Seventh 6.

Debuting from Ghost Ship next week is Becoming a Princess Knight and Working at a Yuri Brothel (Kukkorose no Himekishi to nari, Yuri Shoukan de Hataraku koto ni Narimashita), which runs in Kissca. A salaryman in Japan is killed in a car accident. His soul is then isekai’d to another world… in the body of a Princess who’s about to be captured when her kingdom falls. Now our hero has to deal with a) being in a woman’s body, b) being in a fantasy isekai, and c) having to do sex work in a lesbian brothel.

ASH: That’s a lot to adjust to.

ANNA: Life does get complicated sometimes.

SEAN: Speaking of lesbian brothels, we also get the 4th volume of Asumi-chan is Interested in Lesbian Brothels!, and the 6th volume of PULSE.

And Airship has, in print, Berserk of Gluttony 8 (the final volume) and Sword of the Demon Hunter: Kijin Gentōshō 4.

While in early digital we see Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear 17 and Loner Life in Another World 8.

What manga are you reading outside your camper van?

My Daughter Left the Nest and Returned an S-Rank Adventurer, Vol. 11

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By MOJIKAKIYA and toi8. Released in Japan as “Boukensha ni Naritai to Miyako ni Deteitta Musume ga S-Rank ni Natteta” by Earth Star Novels. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Roy Nukia.

Last time I said that Book 10 felt like an epilogue, and technically this one should as well. The first 3/4 of it or so is basically everyone being chill. Ange and the others in her party are in the city, but they’re coming to visit in the fall at last, after trying several times. Meanwhile, Belgrieve has settled down with Satie and is busy trying to learn how to start a new dungeon and become a guildmaster, leaving the caring of his many adopted children to Charlotte and Byaku, the oldest of said children. There’s lots of loving descriptions of the seasons, or people watching, or reflecting on the passing of time, which we’re used to. There is one slight issue. Ishmael shows up again to greet Angeline, and unfortunately the reader is the only one who knows who he really is. So really this entire volume is being a little frustrated at all the chill and wanting to shout “hey, he’s the bad guy!” at the characters.

So yeah, Angeline is fine until she meets Ishmael, who is carrying around, for some reason, a small part of a branch from an apple tree. Touching this starts to give Ange terrible nightmares which she can’t remember afterward, but which we see some of: they’re showing how awful life was for Percival, Kasim and Satie after their party broke up, and also the occasional flashback to the same scene we’ve seen since the start of the series, a demon eating Belgrieve’s leg and destroying his adventuring career. All these nightmares are causing Ange to be exhausted when awake, and her skills are suffering. So, at the suggestion of not-at-all-secretly-evil Ishmael, they all pile in and head off to Turnera for the fall festival. Unfortunately, when there, Ishmael throws off his (very good) Scooby Doo disguise to reveal he’s Schwartz, and that all this is part of his master plan, which requires Ange to be completely, 100% broken.

Despite begging from some folks, I’m not going to reveal the big twist in this book which made me swear on Twitter. I will note that it’s not Bunny Drop, it’s a normal twist that fits in well with the book as a whole, and Ange and Bel remain daddy-daughter in the good way. But I like how it made sense. We know Ange is a demonic creation, as does she and the rest of her party, but since she’s human presenting and also a really good kid, no one really stops to think when she begins to be sick, get depressed or have nightmares “hhhrrrm, I wonder if this is due to our missing bad guy?”. And why should they? Last volume was an epilogue with a wedding! But it makes the surprise hit harder, and gives Ange and Bel an even stronger connection – for good and ill, obviously. As for the actual end of the series, it’s pretty open-ended, and we could see more if sales permit, but finally ALL the main plot points are wrapped up, so ending here is just fine.

In the end, this is a very enjoyable, fun series with a bit of dark drama in the middle and end to keep things interesting, and I also appreciate that it gives us a series with an adopted daughter being raised by her father figure that STAYS that way. Fantasy fans, or anyone who liked the anime, should read this.

I Shall Survive Using Potions!, Vol. 9

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By FUNA and Sukima. Released in Japan as “Potion-danomi de Ikinobimasu!” by K Lanove Books. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Hiroya Watanabe.

Again, I am trying to figure out the ideal audience for this series. First and foremost, it needs to be someone who is there for overpowered girls doing whatever the hell they want however the hell they want it, with money and powers being no problem. This is the core of all three FUNA light novel series. Secondly, you need to be really tolerant of underaged girls being cute. There’s no real fanservice in these books (which there has been in MMAA), mostly as the art style is so cartooney and abstract, but but it’s pretty clear we’re meant to go “aaaaaw, cute girls” for 200 pages. And, of course, the core audience has to enjoy seeing men get completely humiliated. This is especially true of Potions, where entire arcs consist of nothing but “completely destroy that guy who did me wrong until he cries and passes out”. If you are all three of these… well, you should also be reading Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear, but yes, Potion Girl is right up your alley.

We pick up where we left off, with KKR trying to organize the downfall of that one scummy merchant guy. Which they proceed to do, and then they go after someone else who Kyoko hired to manage her store while she was away but who turned out to be sneaking a peek at her stock to try to replicate it. And then they go after the guy who hired the guy to do that. And then they go after the guy who employs THAT guy. It is a TAD ridiculous. More annoyingly, at least for the KR part of KKR, Kaoru disguises herself as the new girl she’s trying to make into a holy saint, does ludicrously impossible things while saying “I’m not suspicious”, and then assumes no one will say anything. This is said to be because of her soft nature, and fair (she was upset an innocent guard had his tendons cut), but overkill. Which, admittedly, is what the plot of this book is.

Pardon me if I get back onto a high horse I have gotten on before, but the orphans in this book drive me ding dong up the wall. It’s possible that they’re meant to be a parody of this trope – Potion Girl is so bonkers most of the time it’s hard to tell what it wants us to take vaguely seriously – But man, I hate the way this series, and FUNA’s other series, and, yes, Kuma Bear, treat orphans as “yay, child workforce!”. The implication is that with wages and benefits, they’re much better off than they were before. But the side story here shows the kids genuinely traumatized by the very idea of not working every hour of every day for their “savior”, and going so far as to frame work activities as “playtime” to slip through a loophole in Kaoru’s rules. This is meant to be amusing, but all I could think is: these kids need a therapist.

No FUNA series goes quite as hard as Potion Girl in terms of making you grab your head and shake back and forth. Recommended for those who know.

Pick of the Week: Off the Radar

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KATE: This week’s list is uninspiring, to say the least. My recommendation? Go pick up the first volume of Tokyo These Days and be reminded why Taiyō Matsumoto is one of the best artists working in comics, well… these days.

MICHELLE: Yeah, I am admittedly at a loss here. I’m just not the target demographic for a lot of this stuff.

ASH: Not much new is really calling to me this week, either, so maybe I’ll take the opportunity to catch up on some long overdue reading. Next up for me is probably Kafka, a collection of Nishioka Kyodai’s manga which was released by Pushkin Press back in October.

ANNA: You know what’s a good manga? Swan by Kyoko Ariyoshi. That’s my pick!

SEAN: I feel as if I owe it to the poor list of this week’s titles, beaten down by everyone else, to choose something from it. So I’ll avoid a hairy problem (sorry) by choosing the newest Cocoon Entwined.

Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon?, Vol. 18

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By Fujino Omori and Suzuhito Yasuda. Released in Japan as “Dungeon ni Deai o Motomeru no wa Machigatte Iru Darou ka?” by GA Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Dale DeLucia.

There’s no getting around it, this book is punishingly long. Not just because it’s 500 pages, though that is absolutely the case. It’s because it operates on the usual way that Omori writes giant action set pieces, which is to say “always darkest just before the dawn”, where the first part is the darkness, and the second part is the dawn. And because this is about 500 pages, it means we get about 175 pages of “darkest” in this book, which is a whole lot of time spent watching every likable character in the entire series getting the shit beaten out of them by Freya Familia. After a while I was tempted to do a search of the digital text I was reading for “Lyu”, because, not to spoil too much, but she is noticeably absent from the first half of this book. Which… is for the best, as apparently there was a whole Lyu side-story in this book originally, but it would have made it 650 pages, so the publisher said no.

It’s a battle royale between Freya Familiar and Hestia Familia. Unfortunately, Loki’s team has been forbidden from participating, and Ais has been forbidden from even SEEING Bell till this is over. As a result, once again, no one wants to team up with Hestia except her immediate friends and allies, even though the entire city is furious at Freya Familia for the events of the previous book but none of them are furious enough to be part of what is obviously a losing battle. The guild has basically said “this will end with Freya taking Bell, deal with it”. The battle itself is “hide and seek”, where all the involved Gods are wearing flowers and hiding, and the opposing team has to find them and remove the flowers. Of course, Freya Familia being who they are, they figure out a way to turn it into “beat the shit out of everyone” anyway.

Of course, the payoff is worth it. There are so many “punch the air triumphantly” moments in the back half of the book it’s impossible to list them all, with my favorite probably being the complete participation of the waitress staff at Fertility. We’ve been slowly getting everyone’s backstory over the last few books, so it’s wonderful to see it pay off, but the main reason that it works is because of Freya. Or rather, Syr. The issue here is not so much dissociative identity disorder but rather a milder version of what Sayo did in Umineko, and the resolution is that Freya has to accept that she and Syr are in fact both part of the same individual. No one wants to save Freya, frankly, except the misguided ones in her family. But there’s a TON of people who want to save Syr. The best moment in the book is the last scene, featuring a callback I had honestly forgotten about (I mean, it’s been 17 months since the last book) and a giant ball of heartwarming.

The idea that this is going to have a school arc fills me with dread, but at least it should be shorter. Till then, we’re done with this epic arc, and Freya is gone. Sort of. In a good way.

The Princess of Convenient Plot Devices, Vol. 4

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By Mamecyoro and Mitsuya Fuji. Released in Japan as “Watashi wa Gotsugou Shugi na Kaiketsu Tantou no Oujo de aru” by B’s-LOG Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Sarah Moon.

The plot of this book can basically be summarized as “fallout from the previous book”. Octavia wakes up to find herself back in her room at the castle, which is good… but she’s not allowed to leave the room, which is bad. What’s worse, Klifford is also being confined, and not “in his room”. Not only was Octavia wounded while he was guarding her, which is something that normally leads to being punished, but there’s a conspiracy to attack the royal family, and Octavia’s brother Sirius is convinced that Klifford is part of it. There is, to be fair, some evidence, but for the most part the main reason is just “I hate him”. Now Octavia has to talk herself out of her room, talk Klifford out of the dungeons, and go on the city tour that she was supposed to do before the party from the last book went all pear-shaped. And, oh yes, the King has revealed she discovered the True Crown.

This gives us a much closer look at Sirius and what his deal is… is what I’d like to say, but because so much of this is from Octavia’s POV, and she’s still having trouble figuring him out, it’s less than I’d like. This is not helped by the fact that she’s still trying to lay over the characters she knows from the BL series and the actual people that she has met as Octavia. One example is Hugh, Sirius’ guard, who in the series was one of Octavia’s allies in her support for her brother and Sil’s hot romance, but here is a lot more mysterious figure. In fact, he could stand to be a bit less mysterious. There’s a mystery culprit in this book that we don’t find out about, except it’s super obvious. In fact, probably deliberately obvious, given brain teaser questions like “what if your master gives you two opposing orders, which one do you follow”?

There is, of course, also the romance part of this book. We get occasional stabs at Octavia trying to find a “fake boyfriend” to save herself from a terrible life, but her lack of awareness about Klifford and his feelings is starting to seem very familiar to those readers who dread “oblivious” protagonists. I mean, they’re even sharing each other’s dreams! This actually leads to one of the scarier parts of the book, as Octavia dreams of Klifford being beaten nearly to death and then literally tossed in the water in a sack to drown, and it’s harrowing (she wakes up and can’t even hide from her maids the fact that she had a terrible nightmare). As for Klifford, he sees a young Octavia stare at this world’s equivalent of a Sakura tree – except it’s not the Sakura tree she knows, it blooms in autumn. He is despairing seeing her mourn the family that she has lost forever, even though he’s not sure why.

So yeah, still good, and the next book might wrap up this arc? Maybe?

Banished from the Hero’s Party, I Decided to Live a Quiet Life in the Countryside, Vol. 10

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

This is one of those books where the color pages spoil… except, of course, they don’t. Anyone reading this series has been waiting for Red to propose to Rit since the first book, and the fact that it’s now happening gets a “finally!” rather that annoyance at the plot being given away. More importantly, that’s not really the focus of the book, it’s more of an epilogue. The focus of the book is wrapping up the Van plotline and going into those Elf ruins one more time. There *is* a big spoiler for that, so I’ll wait till after the cover art to discuss it. I will note that, unfortunately, the author and his Japanese audience are once again at odds with the English speakers I’ve seen. Ruti being a brocon does not interest us. We want Ruti to give up and get married to Tisse. Sadly, that won’t be happening. Expect more incest subtext in future books.

In the aftermath of the battle with Van, he’s at a loss for what to do next. And Red and company also want to investigate those Elven ruins again, though Ruti and Tisse are not allowed to come along given that last time they went there Ruti tried to kill everyone. So instead we get a team of eight: Red, Rit, Yarandrala and Danan as Party A, and Van, Lavender, Esta, and Albert as Party B. Together they will try to figure out what the hell is actually going on in those ruins, what it’s meant to do for the hero, and once again try to figure out exactly who benefits from a war between humanity and demons, and what the Blessings are supposed to do. Unfortunately, in order to do that, they may have to fight God.

Which I was expecting, honestly, but not this soon. Honestly, light novels that have the Church or God as the villains are as common as muck, and this series has not shied away from the concept. That said, there is a bit more nuance here, at least in regards to the Church and those in it. (The God of this book can go jump in a lake. He sucks.) We see a push and pull throughout the book of trying to work with your blessing even if it means going against what you believe, and that there has to be a balance in order to have someone be happy. Van isn’t sure what that will be, which is why he heads off at the end of this book to find out what being a hero is for him. Red and Rit’s is getting married, with children being brought up several times as the next step after that. And then there’s those who get a blessing like “Cardinal” or “Priest”. Are they required to side with God and oppose folks like Red and Ruti?

We may find that out next volume (hi, cliffhanger!). Will we get a wedding next time? Probably not. But I suspect it will be a BIT more of the “Quiet Life”.

Manga the Week of 1/31/24

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SEAN: The end of January and the start of The Worst Month ™.

ASH: And an extra long one at that!

SEAN: We start with Airship, which in print gives us Irina: The Vampire Cosmonaut 7 (the final volume) and She Professed Herself Pupil of the Wise Man 9.

And in early digital we get Modern Villainess: It’s Not Easy Building a Corporate Empire Before the Crash 4 and Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation 26 (the final volume).

No debuts for Cross Infinite World, but several ongoing series: The Abandoned Heiress Gets Rich with Alchemy and Scores an Enemy General! 2, Fluffy Paradise 3, and Making Jam in the Woods: My Relaxing Life Starts in Another World 2.

ASH: If I were to read an isekai, one dealing with food and spirits is a more likely choice than a lot of other things.

ANNA: I do like the idea of making jam in the woods.

ASH: Right??

SEAN: Hanashi Media has two light novel debuts. The Dark Guild Master’s Smile Would Fit Best (Yami Guild no Master wa Kyō mo Hohoemu) stars a normal, peace-loving guy… who happens to run the biggest Dark Guild out there, because his subordinates have decided he needs to RULE THE WORLD. This sounds interesting.

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 sounds less interesting.

ASH: I’m going to have to agree with these assessments.

ANNA: No thank you!

SEAN: Hanashi Media also has the 8th volume of The Fruit of Evolution: Before I Knew It, My Life Had It Made!.

Debuts are thin on the ground for J-Novel Club. But we see Fake It to Break It! I Faked Amnesia to Break Off My Engagement and Now He’s All Lovey-Dovey?! 2 (the final volume), Invaders of the Rokujouma!? 43, Karate Master Isekai 4, Min-Maxing My TRPG Build in Another World 8, My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom! 12, the 4th Peddler in Another World: I Can Go Back to My World Whenever I Want manga volume, the 6th Tearmoon Empire manga volume, This Art Club Has a Problem! 2, The Wind That Reaches the Ends of the World 2, and You Like Me, Not My Daughter?! 4.

Kaiten Books has a 7th volume of The Yakuza’s Guide to Babysitting.

We continue the debutless life with Kodansha Manga. In print, they have As a Reincarnated Aristocrat, I’ll Use My Appraisal Skill to Rise in the World 9, Cells at Work! Omnibus 2 (the final volume), Sailor Moon Naoko Takeuchi Collection 6, Seraph of the End: Guren Ichinose: Catastrophe at Sixteen 3, and Whisper Me a Love Song 7.

ASH: I really enjoyed the original Cells at Work!, so I’m glad to see it sticking around in print.

SEAN: Digitally we see A Couple of Cuckoos 15, Chihiro-kun Only Has Eyes for Me 9, Drops of God: Mariage 5, Getting Closer to You 6, The Great Cleric 12, and Yozakura Quartet 31.

Seven Seas has a debut! It’s Easygoing Territory Defense by the Optimistic Lord: Production Magic Turns a Nameless Village into the Strongest Fortified City (Okiraku Ryōshu no Tanoshii Ryōchi Bōei: Seisan-kei Majutsu de Na mo Nakimura o Saikyō no Jōsai Toshi ni), which is another one of those “reincarnated with a useless skill that’s really super awesome” books. And also had the light novel come out three weeks prior. It runs in Comic Gardo.

Also from Seven Seas: Didn’t I Say to Make My Abilities Average in the Next Life?! Everyday Misadventures! 4 (the final volume), The Hidden Dungeon Only I Can Enter 10, The Ideal Sponger Life 15, Magical Angel Creamy Mami and the Spoiled Princess 6, My Cute Little Kitten 2, My Senpai is Annoying 11, Pandora in the Crimson Shell: Ghost Urn 17, and Tokyo Revengers 17-18.

Lastly (yep – 5th week of the month, don’tcha know) we have Yen’s runoff from last week. Yen On has The Angel Next Door Spoils Me Rotten 6, Goblin Slayer Side Story II: Dai Katana 3 (the final volume), I May Be a Guild Receptionist, but I’ll Solo Any Boss to Clock Out on Time 2, and Looks Are All You Need 2. And they have Hell Mode: The Hardcore Gamer Dominates in Another World with Garbage Balancing 3 in the “J-Novel Club print” imprint.

While Yen Press has Cocoon Entwined 5, Goblin Slayer Side Story: Year One 10, The Princess of Convenient Plot Devices 4, The Red Thread 2, and Unnamed Memory 4.

MICHELLE: Nice to see another volume of Cocoon Entwined!

ASH: Yes, indeed!

SEAN: Small but tasty! Any titles catch your eye?

Reign of the Seven Spellblades, Vol. 10

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

Longer than usual content warning here: with this volume, the rating for these novels rises from Teen to Older Teen, and the content bears that out. There’s sexual references, discussion of a horrific sexual assault, discussion of a graphic and horrific torture and murder, a graphic amputation scene, use of a swear word that is far less problematic in the UK than in the US, and, worst of all, I’m going to have to discuss that series about the boy at the wizarding school with the scar again. Reader discretion is highly advised.

When I was about halfway through this volume, I pretty much knew what I was going to be talking about. There would still be a content warning, of course. After all, there’s not only a relatively explicit sex scene between Oliver and Nanao here, but also Leoncio is in this, so there’s a lot of talk of big dicks here. Oh yes, and Miligan is called a cunt. To be fair, she absolutely deserves that one, especially because I’m sure it’s in the British English sense. But yeah, the front half was filled with things to talk about. The “polycule” that our heroes have become, and how much I love it. Katie’s backstory was jaw-dropping, and really deserved me talking about it, as well as the fact that almost everyone has written her off as next to snap. The fights were all awesome, the election results were terrific. Teresa is growing up, and she hates it. That was great. . And I saw that the last half of the book was ALL battle against one of Oliver’s targets. Meh. A lot of fighting. Won’t have much to say.

Kee-rist.

I do appreciate that the series does give a real backstory and sympathy to some of its antagonists. We get Demetrio Aristedes’ backstory here, and like a lot of this series, it involves idealistic attempts to make things better turning into something horrific and tragic. That said, his backstory is dwarfed by what we finally get in this book: Oliver’s life to date. We get some adorable and heartwarming scenes with him and his parents, because gut punches don’t work if everything has been bad from the start. We get the brutal, graphic death of his mother, and see how she was betrayed by one of her closest friends (and oh boy, that’s a can of worms I can’t even get into in this review, it will have to wait.) We get his adoption by the Sherwoods, which unfortunately is because their patriarch sees him as an experiment rather than as a person. We see that, on the cover with Oliver and Demetrio, is Shannon Sherwood, and possibly wonder why she’s give n such an important placing. And then we find out why. Of all the horrific scenes in this volume, the flashback of Oliver being drugged and mind controlled to rape and impregnate Shannon is the worst, and it really throws their relationship into sharp relief. Oh yes, and there is, of course, Yuri. Whose story ends here, but at least the way he goes out is one of the few triumphant moments in this pummeling book.

Sigh. So OK, let’s talk Harry Potter. This series has been compared to those books from the very start, but we’re now ten volumes in, and “oh gee Guy and Katie sort of have a Ron and Hermione vibe” is not only the least of the comparisons, but also mostly wrong. It’s at its most obvious in this book in the flashback to the torture scene, when Darius, Oliver’s first victim from Book One, takes point to be the first to torture Chloe to death, and he revels in it in a way that HAS to remind people of Severus Snape. There’s also a definite James and Lily vibe to Edgar and Chloe, though (because this series glories in subverting Potter as much as it pastiches it) what the two of them do for Oliver is far darker and more interesting. I’m not sure where this series if going to end up, but there is absolutely no way it’s ending up with the next generation of the cast going off to school 15 years later.

As with Eighty-Six I am very concerned, and half convinced, this will end with nearly the entire cast dead. Hell, a lot of them will deserve it. With Eighty-Six I’m hoping that the main couple will make it out OK, but Seven Spellblades has a much higher bar to clear. I’ve joked before about the main six being a polycule, but it’s made explicit here. They’re family. They’re probably all going to be lovers soon (Oliver and Nanao are mostly there, only held back by his past trauma). They have a bond that deserves to live on. I desperately want them all to survive and make the worst a nice place. A swell place. A place where magic kids can play stickball in the street with their athames without fear of being consumed by anything. It’s not going to happen, I am aware. But God, it’s a great dream. Let these kids stop suffering.

Bibliophile Princess, Vol. 7

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By Yui and Satsuki Sheena. Released in Japan as “Mushikaburi-hime” by Ichijinsha Bunko Iris NEO. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Tara Quinn.

I suppose this was inevitable. Bibliophile Princess is coming off its strongest arc, one that had lots of action, drama, tragedy (that wasn’t actually tragedy, but let’s leave that aside for now), and romance. It came to a thrilling conclusion last time… and now we get the comedown the next day. Elianna has been overworking herself for the last couple of months, and tries to do so again to help Chris after she returns, and it all just catches up with her and she collapses. Unfortunately, this means that a good 3/4 of this volume is told from the POV of people other than Elianna, and that’s not really what I’m here for. I don’t really object to it, and we get some decent short stories here. But that’s what this feels like, a short story volume, interspersed with dollops of plot. Fortunately, unlike the third volume, this doesn’t feel like something we’ve read over and over again. Well, except for one thing, which I’ll get to below.

After the events of the last three books, Chris has a lot on his plate. What’s worse, the person behind all of this was the Queen’s brother, meaning she’s basically going to have to retire to avoid further trouble. As such, he needs to get married to Elianna even faster than he’d planned… and she’s been taken away to the Bernstein estates by her father and brother, who (of course) blame Chris for her being in this state at all. Fortunately, proposing to Elianna properly is the ONLY thing that goes well for him in this book. Elsewhere, we get a flashback where we learn Alan’s past as a plucky young orphan, Elianna catches up with family and reads a ton of books while her friend Anna reminds us of the romance she was plotted into a few books back. Oh yes, and there’s a library ghost (no, not Elianna) and a Halloween candy contest.

So I am starting to grow a bit weary of the Bernstein’s overprotectiveness towards their pride and joy. I mean, I absolutely get it. Elianna almost died several times in the last few books, all of it stemming from her position as Chris’ betrothed. And she did indeed desperately need to rest as she was nearing the verge of collapse. That said, this isn’t really framed as that. The writing still kind of frames it like “we’ll never let you marry our little girl!”, which feels more like a hoary old cliche, especially as it does not take Elianna’s own feelings into account. I hope she tells them what for at some point. As for the rest of the book that is not fluff, there’s Alan’s subplot, which… well, it very cliched, right down to the three people who secretly run the town, and the “I want to rape you because you are an androgynous hot teenage boy” threat. It wasn’t bad. I missed Elianna.

So this tides me over, yes, but I really hope we get a good, meaty plot again soon. Or a wedding. One of those.

Pick of the Week: Last Chances and Old Friends

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SEAN: Sometimes I’m surprised how much I enjoy a series, and that’s certainly been the case with the My Daughter Left the Nest and Returned an S-Rank Adventurer light novels. The 11th book is the final one, so that’s my pick this week. Enjoy a daddy & daughter series that was (for once) wholesome!

MICHELLE: There’s not a whole lot that appeals to me this week, but I really enjoy what I’ve read of Usotoki Rhetoric so far and look forward to catching up on the series.

KATE: Party like it’s 1990! The second volume of Tokyo Bablyon arrives in stores with a new minimalist cover but the same old story that Tokyopop and Dark Horse have offered North American readers before. I have a feeling this series hasn’t aged well, but I may still buy a copy out of sheer nostalgia: Tokyo Babylon was one of the first manga I ever read.

ASH: None of the debut releases this week have managed to capture my attention, but if My Daughter Left the Nest and Returned an S-Rank Adventurer managed to remain wholesome to the end, I really might need to give it a look!

ANNA: Not much appeals to me either, I’m going to take a moment of silence for the ending of X/1999 that no one will ever see.

The Apothecary Diaries, Vol. 10

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By Natsu Hyuuga and Touko Shino. Released in Japan as “Kusuriya no Hitorigoto” by Hero Bunko. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Kevin Steinbach.

It’s a very odd feeling reading this volume at the same time as the anime is adapting the second one. The setting of the first eight books (OK, minus Book 5) is entirely absent, as we’re still doing Maomao and Jinshi’s Excellent Adventure. This is not to say that there is not political wheeling and dealing – in fact, the climax of this volume depends on that fact. But this book is ten volumes in, and we’re not concerned with the ways of courtesans and court ladies anymore, but with potatoes, crops and insects. It would be the perfect book for a certain insect-loving court lady to make her triumphant return, but alas (Maomao does think of her, at least). And while we do get a bit of Maomao’s standard detective schtick, for the most part this book is a race against time against an all-powerful enemy… one that arrives near the end of the book and wipes out nearly everything. This is what Jinshi and Maomao have spent a while trying to avoid.

We’re still out in the West, where Maomao, Tianyu, and the quack doctor are theoretically there to maintain the Moon Prince’s health (because, lest we forget, he gave himself a horrific wound to show off the depth of his love), but in reality they’re there to try to figure out how to stop the impending famine. Arriving at a local village (and joined by Lahan’s older brother, who, since the quack doctor got a name in the last volume, becomes the new running gag), they find that the villagers don’t really care about the crops that much, as whether they’re good or bad the Governor will subsidize them. (Does this sound familiar?) There is one old man who is doing all the right things… because of a tragic backstory, of course. A tragic backstory that becomes very important as Maomao and company realize that the Biblical plague of locusts is coming towards them NOW.

The book is excellent, with a fantastic climax, and a nice twist showing that for all his supposed status Jinshi can still be used by others who are better at dirty politics. But you’ll pardon me if I talk about the romance in this one. For the most part, the romances in this series tend to be either “toxic but also the main draw” (Maomao/Jinshi), or are established couples. But we did see a hint of something purer in Book 6, which sadly could not really develop because Book 6 was a giant nightmare for them. Yes, Lishu is back, and she’s raising ducks in the West. And taking to them like… well, like a duck to water. Frankly, she looks far happier here than she ever was as a Consort. Her reunion with Basen, though it does not lead to an actual commitment (she claims to still be too weak for that, and she has a point), is so sugary it will give you diabetes, but that actually tastes really good next to the toxicity that is Maomao and her Moon Prince.

That said, the character I really want to see after this book is Gyoku-ou, who is being set up to be the next big antagonist. Cannot wait for Book 11.

Oh yes, and Chue is still practically perfect in every way. But you knew that, of course.

Death’s Daughter and the Ebony Blade, Vol. 7: Exordium

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By Maito Ayamine and Cierra. Released in Japan as “Shinigami ni Sodaterareta Shoujo wa Shikkoku no Tsurugi wo Mune ni Idaku” by Overlap Bunko. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Sylvia Gallagher.

Always lovely when I have to eat my words. You may remember at the end of the last review I did, where I said that Ashton’s death likely wasn’t permanent, as this was not that kind of series. Well. Um. Guess it is now? I feel a bit guilty, given I recently dropped a series (The Mythical Hero’s Otherworld Chronicles) for getting too dark and cynical, but in this volume Death’s Daughter also doubles down on the dark. The good news is that it’s not nearly as cynical, and gives us some hope that the series will not end with everyone slaughtered (the flashforwards to how various dead commanders will be remembered helps). the bad news is that Ashton’s death does not seem to be the sort that can be undone by magical means, and also lots of other regulars die here as well. The very bad news is that the author couldn’t cram all the plot into this book, so the 2nd part of Vol. 7 is still to come.

The final battle between the Asvelt Empire and the Kingdom of Fernest ends up being completely upended by the arrival of ghouls controlled by the new emperor, who is not remotely evil at all, of course. This has always been a “war is bad” series, but the ghouls also help to remind you that even though war is bad, there are still ways that it should be fought, and these corpses do not do any of that. This is also bad news for the United City States of Sutherland, who get a “become my vassals or be destroyed” message from the empire, with one of the states serving as an example of what will happen. Even the Holy Land of Mekia can’t deal with this, and the Seraph finds that the ghouls are not a product of mage tactics. As for Fernest, well, let’s just say a lot of the cast who’ve been around since Book 1 gets one last battle. And, um… where’s Olivia, anyway?

The reason I spoil that Ashton is found dead in this volume is that it happens right at the start of this book. We then spend almost the ENTIRE book waiting for Claudia and Olivia to find out about it. We don’t even see Claudia till 4/5 of the way through the novel, and Olivia, after a brief scene showing her happily training with Z, is also absent for the bulk of it. There’s two reasons for this. First, I get the sense that if Olivia and Claudia were actually present throughout this volume, there’s no way that the series couldn’t avoid killing them off too, which would make the end a bit bleaker than I think even the author wants. The other reason is, of course, to show their devastated reactions at the book’s climax, because otherwise this would feel a bit too much like “the book was just cut in half arbitrarily”. The counterattack needs to start next time, even if the romantic resolution isn’t going to happen anymore.

So what’s next? There’s certainly a lot more cast we can kill off, but I suspect the last book will have a bit less of that. Till then, oof. This was a punch to the gut.

Manga the Week of 1/24/24

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SEAN: After waiting for Yen Press to show up this year, we are finally here.

ASH: Hold on tight, folks!

SEAN: No debuts for Yen On, but we do see Banished from the Hero’s Party, I Decided to Live a Quiet Life in the Countryside 10, Hazure Skill: The Guild Member with a Worthless Skill Is Actually a Legendary Assassin 7, The Irregular at Magic High School 21 (a mere 15 months after Vol. 20), Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? 18 (a mere 16 months after Vol. 17), Kunon the Sorcerer Can See 2, The Princess of Convenient Plot Devices 4, Reign of the Seven Spellblades 10, and Sentenced to Be a Hero 2.

ASH: You know, if the titles were shorter, the list wouldn’t seem nearly as long.

SEAN: Three debuts for Yen Press, but one is sort of a “next arc” debut. Bride of the Barrier Master (Kekkaishi no Ichirinka) is the manga adaptation of the light novel Yen is also releasing, and it runs in B’s-Log Comic. A young woman in the shadow of her more powerful sister finally comes into her own power, but hides it so as to avoid making waves. Good luck with that.

Higurashi When They Cry: MEGURI (Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Meguri) is the manga version of the new anime’s Answer Arc, and runs in Young Ace Up. If you love Rika and Satoko, read this. If you love Keiichi, Rena and Mion… there are other arcs.

Witch Life in a Micro Room (Rokujou Hitoma no Majo Life) is a shonen manga from Gangan Joker about two young witches living together in a small apartment, and their attempts to get more important jobs to do.

Also from Yen Press: Apparently, Disillusioned Adventurers Will Save the World 4, Bocchi the Rock! 2, Bofuri: I Don’t Want to Get Hurt, so I’ll Max Out My Defense 7, Chained Soldier 6, Cheeky Brat 9, Chitose Is in the Ramune Bottle 5, CLAMP Premium Collection Tokyo Babylon 2, Daughter of the Emperor 6, Dead Mount Death Play 11, The Deer King 2, The Executioner and Her Way of Life 4, The Girl I Saved on the Train Turned Out to Be My Childhood Friend 5, Hakumei and Mikochi: Tiny Little Life in the Woods 11, Handyman Saitou in Another World 3, The Holy Grail of Eris 6, I Don’t Know Which Is Love 2, I’m a Behemoth, an S-Ranked Monster, but Mistaken for a Cat, I Live as an Elf Girl’s Pet 8, In the Land of Leadale 5, Maiden of the Needle 2, My Dear, Curse-Casting Vampiress 3, No Longer Heroine 5, Please Put Them On, Takamine-san 7, A Reincarnated Witch Spells Doom 3, Stray Cat & Wolf 2, Sword Art Online Progressive Scherzo of Deep Night 3 (the final volume), and Words Bubble Up Like Soda Pop 3 (also a final volume).

MICHELLE: I should probably check back in with No Longer Heroine at some point.

ASH: So. Many. Things. No wonder I forgot that a new edition of Tokyo Babylon was being released.

ANNA: With each rerelease of previously published CLAMP material, my anger and sadness about X/1999 never getting a conclusion grows exponentially!

ASH: Saaaaaame.

SEAN: Viz Media gives us Boy’s Abyss 4, How Do We Relationship? 10, and JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Part 6–Stone Ocean 2.

ASH: I ought to catch up with How Do We Relationship?; I really liked the earlier volumes I read.

SEAN: Udon Entertainment has a 2nd volume of Team Phoenix.

There is Lullaby of the Dawn 2, Sengoku Youko 5, and UNDEAD: Finding Love in the Zombie Apocalypse 2 from Tokyopop.

Steamship debuts a done-in-one omnibus, My Boss is a Giant: He Manages My Every Need With Enormous Skill (Kowamote Joushi no XL Size ga Hairimasen!), a josei manga from LoveParfait. The copy tries to sell it as “he’s a big guy, she’s a tiny girl”, but the titles will clue you in as to what he really has that’s enormous.

MICHELLE: I have cleverly deduced what that might be!

ASH: Oh, myyyyyy.

ANNA: I’m assuming like, elbows or ears?

SEAN: Square Enix has a 13rd volume of Soul Eater: The Perfect Edition.

Debuting from Seven Seas is Modern Dungeon Capture Starting with Broken Skills (Koware Skill de Hajimeru Gendai Dungeon Kouryaku), the manga adaptation of the light novels Seven Seas also releases. It runs in Comic Gardo.

They’ve also got Does it Count if You Lose Your Virginity to an Android? 3, Even Dogs Go to Other Worlds: Life in Another World with My Beloved Hound 3, Failure Frame: I Became the Strongest and Annihilated Everything With Low-Level Spells 7, My Stepmother and Stepsisters Aren’t Wicked 3, The Summer You Were There 4, Trapped in a Dating Sim: The World of Otome Games is Tough for Mobs 9, and Who Made Me a Princess 4.

One Peace Books has a 5th volume of Usotoki Rhetoric.

MICHELLE: Oh! I really need to catch up on this!

ASH: Same! I’ve enjoyed what I’ve read.

SEAN: Kodansha Manga has no debuts, but we get print volumes for A Condition Called Love 6, The Darwin Incident 3, The Ghost in the Shell: The Human Algorithm 4, The Great Cleric 7, I’m Giving the Disgraced Noble Lady I Rescued a Crash Course in Naughtiness 3, and The Iceblade Sorcerer Shall Rule the World 8.

While digitally we see Boss Bride Days 13, DAYS 39, Gamaran: Shura 16, Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug & Cat Noir 3, My Home Hero 12, Space Brothers 43, Teppu 5, and You’re My Cutie 7.

Again, no debuts for J-Novel Club. But we get new volumes: Ascendance of a Bookworm Arc 2 Volume 8 (the manga), Back to the Battlefield: The Veteran Heroes Return to the Fray! 3, D-Genesis: Three Years after the Dungeons Appeared 5, Doll-Kara 7, the 5th Endo and Kobayashi Live! The Latest on Tsundere Villainess Lieselotte manga volume, Gushing Over Magical Girls 9, I Shall Survive Using Potions! 9, I Surrendered My Sword for a New Life as a Mage 5, Isekai Tensei: Recruited to Another World 6, La Ragazza: Living with Francesca 3 (the final volume), and My Daughter Left the Nest and Returned an S-Rank Adventurer 11 (the final volume).

Ghost Ship has the 9th volume of Creature Girls: A Hands-On Field Journal in Another World.

Dark Horse gives us a 13th volume of Mob Psycho 100.

ASH: Yet another series I’ve been meaning to read but have fallen behind on.

SEAN: From Airship, in print, we see The Haunted Bookstore – Gateway to a Parallel Universe 7 (the final volume) and I’m the Evil Lord of an Intergalactic Empire! 6.

And there is an early digital release of Reincarnated as a Sword 14.

Not too bad. What’s on your list?

ANNA: Maybe I’ll just start to reread X/1999 and sob in a corner.

ASH: I might just join you.

Raven of the Inner Palace, Vol. 5

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By Kouko Shirakawa and Ayuko. Released in Japan as “Kōkyū no Karasu” by Shueisha Orange Bunko. Released in North America by Airship. Translated by Amelia Mason.

This series, while telling the story of Jusetsu and her attempts to broaden her world, find out more about the Raven Consort in general, and escape, began as an anthology series to a large degree, which each chapter featuring a ghost story of the week for her to solve. That still happens at the start of the fifth book, with a court lady whose makeup box is upsetting people in the living quarters by being haunted by a ghost. But as this book goes on we realize that we’re past the halfway point of the series, and we can’t really focus that much on Jusetsu solving ghost crimes anymore. Or rather, the ghost crimes she’s solving are ones that affect her specifically. Because we’re getting to the bottom of what the Raven Consort position really is, and what happens to those who have been Raven Consorts, and let me tell you, it might be scarier than most of the stories we’ve read in this series to date.

Jusetsu is not the only one trying to figure out how to break the barrier stopping her from leaving and free the raven, the Emperor is as well. This is despite the fact that he (consciously) and Jusetsu (unconsciously) are in love with each other, and leaving the palace will mean never being able to return. The Emperor, towards that end, has now buckled down to the position of siring an heir – two of the consorts are now pregnant. He’s even inviting back old retainers who had previously been exiled for being on the wrong side of past conflicts, mostly as he finds it a lot more preferable to have any seeds of rebellion close to him rather than far away where he can’t do much. Meanwhile, Jusetsu gets the shamans needed to help her destroy the barrier, and even knows where she should probably go, thanks to several old folk tales about an underwater volcano. Unfortunately, that pesky God is still around…

Jusetsu was told, at the start of this series, that she had to be alone, not take retainers or bodyguards, and hold herself aloof. This from the previous Raven Consort. She has not remotely done that, and for the most part the consequences have been pretty good – close friendships, respect, people who like spending time with her. Unfortunately, we’re now seeing the pendulum swing the other way. Solving the problem of the makeup box, for example, even though it saved a life, just makes people think that she was the cause of the accident. And I suspect the cliffhanger at the climax of this volume is going to make leaving the palace more of a “fleeing for her life” sort of deal. That said, anything’s better than suffering the fate of all the Raven Consorts before her, whose souls are frozen in a sort of massive grudge to prevent exactly what Jusetsu has been doing. It’s a bit scary.

There are, I believe, two more volumes in the series, and I suspect we’re not going to have too many “let’s solve a mystery” chapters anymore. Where we will go remains intriguing.