Manga Bookshelf

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Sean Gaffney

Hell Mode ~ The Hardcore Gamer Dominates in Another World with Garbage Balancing, Vol. 2

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By Hamuo and Mo. Released in Japan as “Hell Mode – Yarikomi Suki no Gamer wa Hai Settei no Isekai de Musō Suru” by Earth Star Novels. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Taishi.

Having now circled back to read the 2nd book in this series, which came out about a year ago, I find that I will be struggling to write a review of it, because so many of the strengths and weaknesses in the book are the same as the previous volume. In general, whenever Allen is NOT using his summons to fight things, I am reasonably entertained. It’s an interesting reincarnation fantasy where we’re learning about the world at the same time as the main character is, and the climax of the book is action that is actually exciting and cool. Unfortunately, the weakness of this book is that it’s still written for game heads, and I do not give a rat’s ass about how many summons it takes to screw in an orc’s lightbulb this time around. Plus, this is a one-man series still. Cecil plays slightly more of a role here than Krena did in the first, but sadly most of that role is to run away or get kidnapped.

After the events of the first book, Allen is now at a Baron’s house, serving as the servant to the young lady of the house, Cecil. Of course, we don’t really see much of his servant duties. Instead, we see him leaving the city to go out and hunt monsters, experimenting with different types of birds, beasts, stone creatures, and even fish that can buff you. He also starts taking out goblins, then moves up to orcs, which gains him the attention of the local soldiers, who see that he is clearly not Talentless but turn a blind eye. Things change when (it’s implied because pf Allen’s activities) the local dragon moves to the other side of his mountain, meaning that the poor city will soon be able to be rich again. Unfortunately, there are evil nobles who want to change that reality.

The last quarter of the book really is the best part. Allen and Cecil’s escape from what amounts to a dirigible is exciting and also ludicrous (break both legs? Use a leaf and heal myself instantly!). You’d think someone who was a 2-level magic user might try to contribute a bit, but I’ll put it down to Cecil being sheltered. We also get a much better look at the world itself, as after saving his daughter the baron tells Allen the real secrets about this world… and how it ties into his Japanese self selecting “hell Mode” in the first place. Of course, what this ends up meaning is that we’re going to be going to a different locale for the third book in a row, though at least Cecil will be coming along (and I suspect we’ll see Krena again too). I really enjoy the plot, and wish that I didn’t have to wade through 150 pages of experimentation to get to it.

The series is out up to Book 5, but I’m taking a break here so I can read in increments another book people have been demanding I try. In any case, recommended for those who enjoy books with lots of gaming talk in them, as well as books where the hero is not immediately OP but has to work to be OP.

Reign of the Seven Spellblades, Vol. 7

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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.

This is not, in general, a light and fluffy series in the least. However, with the exception of the start and final pages of this volume, this is definitely one that is on the lighter side. For one thing, our main group of six are now in their third year, and we’re long past their finding out how this school works – they know it well by now. Everyone (except Chela, who is sadly ignored for almost this entire volume, and who I hope gets some nice plot bits in 8 to make up for it) gets a chance to show off, especially Pete, Guy and Katie, who each get a nice bit at the start that allows them to be the elder student advising the newbies. This is especially welcome for Guy, who has honestly the least character development of the six. As for Oliver and Nanao, well, they get the bulk of the book to themselves, as always. Everyone is a protagonist, but some are more protagonist than others.

This book is the start of what amounts to a Tournament Arc, as there’s a Combat League competition coming up, and since there’s so no real stand-out winner in the election yet, it’s going to be a factional battle. Fortunately, the initial stages are grouped by year, meaning Oliver and company don’t have to fight Seventh-Years. That said, he and Nanao will need a third, as Chela’s dad clearly designed this year’s complicated rules, so she wants to keep a low profile. Fortunately, they have everyone’s favorite ball of sunshine, Yuri, to be on their team. (Guy, Katie and Pete also form a team, and get a chunk of the book to show off as well.) Their team will be up against three others that they’re unfamiliar with, which is a pain. Oh yes, and a seventh-year student is stealing other student’s bones.

That last bit is what forms the serious part of this book, and it is quite creepy, though it remains unclear how much permanent damage it actually does… or what the end goal is. It does show off Yuri’s worrying tendency to go after mysteries the way that the Scooby Doo gang do, and Oliver has to be the voice of reason multiple times throughout trying to keep him from haring off and getting himself killed. Other than that, this book is mostly here to show off everyone’s cool magic fighting. It does a very good job, and there are lots of interesting applications, but Oliver and Nanao are leagues above everyone else in their year, and that fact does not change with anything that we see in this volume. We also get to see the 4th/5th year and 6th/7th year fights, the latter of which is most interesting as it shows off Vanessa Aldiss, who loves to fight and who clearly is not above killing people if there aren’t rules in place. It’s clearly meant to show readers that the next Oliver v. teacher battle will be even harder and more vicious.

So yes, good volume. Needs More Chela. Not much to say.

In the Land of Leadale, Vol. 7

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By Ceez and Tenmaso. Released in Japan as “Leadale no Daichi nite” by Famitsu Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Jessica Lange.

One of the main reasons to read the Leadale series is to see the dissonance between Cayna as a centuries-old high elf who has great-grandchildren and can casually wipe out a continent with Cayna, who is a teenager who spent almost her entire life in a hospital bed and is still learning how to act like a normal person while also having the aforementioned massive power. That dissonance is felt keenly in this volume. At least twice in the book, Cayna overreacts to a situation so much that she causes terror in those around her. She claims that Opus is the dangerous loose cannon, but he (and the reader) know the actual truth. Watching the anime recently helped remind me of this, as there were a lot of viewers who could not get past Cayna’s “comedic violence” towards people, and the violence is no longer quite as comedic. She needs to get a handle on herself, especially now that she knows the true nature of where she is.

Cayna and Opus spend a lot of the start of the book looking around for the magic projector that will allow them to livestream the upcoming fighting tournament, which results in a sort of mini-tour of all the previous towers and shows off the eccentricities of the people who own them. This includes moving the giant turtle so it looks slightly less like it’s about to destroy the nearby city… as well as running into another relative, an elf queen who is rather enthusiastic about meeting Cayna. Unfortunately, now that Opus and Cayna are walking around together, her kids are starting to notice that Opus sounds exactly like who she said their dad was, which requires some last-second lying to avoid the topic. And then we get the tourney itself, which Cayna sits out but even so manages to accidentally ruin.

The world in general seems to treat Cayna as a natural disaster, and honestly the world isn’t wrong. She doesn’t react to things the way anyone would expect, mostly as she’s a teenager who never had a normal life being forced to deal with things that worry, upset, or embarrass her. She also looks like a cute l’il elf girl, so can occasionally be underestimated, though any of the players actually in this world who are able to see (or more accurately not see) her stats will be running away fast. She’s smart enough to know not to enter the tourney, but she then goes and gives Shining Saber one of her ludicrous monster swords, which results in the entire arena getting destroyed as he fights his opponent so hard that no one can continue. The reason I harp on this is because, unfortunately, I don’t think we’re going to see a lot of development with Cayna maturing. The series realizes that her overreactions are funny. So I will attempt to not take it too seriously. There are many funny bits here, which helps.

Leadale is never going to be great, but it’s always entertaining, and it’s a good read if you like fun fantasy with OP girls.

Manga the Week of 1/4/23

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SEAN: 2023! What’s new and exciting?

No debuts for Viz Media, but we do get Blue Box 2, Dr. STONE 24, The Elusive Samurai 4, Kubo Won’t Let Me Be Invisible 5, Moriarty the Patriot 10, My Love Mix-Up! 6, Prince Freya 8, Queen’s Quality 16, and Romantic Killer 2.

MICHELLE: I’m looking forward to more Blue Box and My Love Mix-Up!.

ASH: Same! And throwing Queen’s Quality into the mix, since I’ve been enjoying (but still falling behind with) that one, too.

ANNA: Lots of things I need to get caught up on, maybe that will be my New Year’s resolution.

SEAN: Seven Seas debuts three titles. I’m Kinda Chubby and I’m Your Hero (Saenai Boku wa Kimi no Hero) is a BL title from Comic Qurie. An aspiring young actor worries that his weight is getting in the way of his career… but finds he has a fanboy in a young baker!

MICHELLE: This looks fun. I hope it is.

ASH: Me, too; looking forward to giving it a try!

SEAN: Seven Seas continues to put out cat manga. We see the debut of My Sister, The Cat (Imouto wa Neko), a MAGXiv title about a young man whose mother passed away, so another family adopts him… except they’re human-sized cats.

ASH: There does seem to be a renaissance of cat manga.

SEAN: And a third debut, with no cats. No Longer Allowed In Another World (Isekai Shikkaku) runs in Shogakukan’s Yawaraka Spirits, and asks the important question “what if the protagonist of the No Longer Human novel wound up in an isekai with cute girls and awesome powers?”. The answer: he’s not happy.

ASH: Wait, what? That is a question I never thought to ask!

SEAN: Also from Seven Seas: Dragon Goes House-Hunting 8, How NOT to Summon a Demon Lord 15, Lazy Dungeon Master 2, My Senpai is Annoying 9, Night of the Living Cat 2, PULSE 2, Succubus and Hitman 3, and The Titan’s Bride 2.

MICHELLE: I forgot Dragon Goes House-Hunting exists.

SEAN: Kodansha’s release calendar is back, hooray! In print we see the debut of Am I Actually the Strongest?, whose ebook came out in 2020. There’s also The Iceblade Sorcerer Shall Rule the World 3.

Digitally there may be a last minute announcement, but it ain’t here yet, so we get Kounodori: Dr. Stork 31, The God-Tier Guardian and the Love of Six Princesses 3, Matcha Made in Heaven 3, Raised by the Demon Kings! 4, Shangri-La Frontier 9, and The Shape-Shifting Witch’s Kiss 2.

ASH: Matcha Made in Heaven is still a delightful title.

ANNA: I read the first volume and really liked it, as usual I am behind.

SEAN: And Kodansha Books reminds us they exist with the debut of Am I Actually the Strongest? (Jitsu wa Ore, Saikyou deshita?), not to be confused with the print debut of the manga also coming out next week. Thought to be weak but actually strong, abusive parents, etc. Kodansha knows what’s popular these days.

Two debuts for J-Novel Club, and they’re both manga. Lady Rose Just Wants to Be a Commoner! (Lady Rose wa Heimin ni Naritai) is from Kadokawa’s Flos Comic, and features our heroine reincarnated as the villainess of an otome game… AFTER the bad end. Oops.

ASH: Oops, indeed.

SEAN: The Coppersmith’s Bride (Cuprum no Hanayome) runs in Harta (yay!) and features a college student who is happy to be dating a guy who’s nuts about smithing. But when he proposes to her, she has a bit of a freak out.

ASH: But will there be forging fun facts?

SEAN: Also from J-Novel Club: DUNGEON DIVE: Aim for the Deepest Level 2, Marginal Operation 16 (the final volume), Slayers 17, Tearmoon Empire 9, and To Another World… with Land Mines! 5. Slayers 17 isn’t the “final” volume per se, but it’s the last one published to date.

ASH: That’s an important distinction to make.

SEAN: Ghost Ship has Parallel Paradise 12 and Who Wants to Marry a Billionaire? 4.

Digital Manga Publishing, who I tend to forget exists, has a debut with Pure Love’s Sexy Time (Ero Ki), a BL series that was part of the DMG digital group. I’ve haerd this is for BL fans who like dumbasses.

MICHELLE: I’m glad DMP is still releasing stuff!

ASH: I’ll admit to being conflicted, but I do like a fair number of the publisher’s books.

SEAN: DMP also has Twittering Birds Never Fly 7.

Denpa Books gives us Rakuda Laughs! (Rakuda ga Warau), a Comic Ryu title about a yakuza triggerman’s chaotic life.

ASH: I’ve been waiting for this one; Katsuya Terada has had very few works released in English.

SEAN: Dark Horse gives us an 11th omnibus of GANTZ.

Airship has the print debut of The World’s Fastest Level Up, and also print volumes for Irina: The Vampire Cosmonaut 3 and The Weakest Tamer Began a Journey to Pick Up Trash 2.

In early digital, we get Raven of the Inner Palace (Koukyuu no Karasu), which just had an anime recently. A mysterious concubine, who may be old, may be young, but definitely uses magic, is called before the Emperor.

ASH: This one seems promising to me.

SEAN: And we also see Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear 13.

Is this 2023 enough for you? Do you want 2022 back?

MICHELLE: Absolutely not.

ASH: Nah, that’s okay.

ANNA: No thank you.

Bookshelf Briefs 12/29/22

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Catch These Hands!, Vol. 3 | By murata | Yen Press – This volume takes us back to Takebe’s initial thought process: all her former gang friends have gotten married and had kids, so she feels the need to change herself and stop being a grumpy thug. The problem is that she clearly doesn’t actually want to do this, she just feels that she needs to do it—and this ends up causing the first serious argument between her and Soramori. Honestly, the main reason we enjoy this series so much is seeing Takebe as a grumpy cuss, as well as seeing these two talk the only way they really know how—by beating the crap out of each other. We get that here, let’s hope it leads to less violent ways to resolve conflict… though honestly, it probably won’t. An underrated yuri series. – Sean Gaffney

The Gay Who Turned Kaiju | By Kazuki Minamoto | Yen Press – Takashi Arashiro moved to Tokyo for high school, full of dreams of the person he could become there. Instead, he ends up bullied and, after he overhears the beloved teacher who was his only source of hope expressing disgust for gay people, he desperately wishes to be something other than gay and is instantly transformed into a kaiju. For the most part this is a story about acceptance, and though the message can be a little heavy-handed at times, it’s still satisfying to see Arashiro serve some harsh truths to the oblivious Kuroda-sensei. I also really appreciated that the story did not end the way I had anticipated. However, I am troubled that both Arashiro and another gay character end up groping straight guys without their consent, with the former saying, “If you put up a fight I’ll bite your head off.” I don’t know why that was necessary. – Michelle Smith

Murcielago, Vol. 20 | By Yoshimurakana | Yen Press – As this series has gone on it’s focused far less on Kuroko and her attempts to molest every woman she meets (though she does try that here), and more about enveloping the reader in horror stories. It’s basically an anthology now, and this volume’s story involves an And Then There Were None-style plotline where Kuroko and company end up stranded at a hot springs resort with a family that keeps getting killed off in various ways that have something to do with a girl named Ayako who was indirectly killed by them a while back. There’s not much detecting going on in this one, to be honest—the suspects keep dying too fast. For fans of gore. – Sean Gaffney

Touring After the Apocalypse, Vol. 1 | By Sakae Saito | Yen Press – For those who enjoyed Kino’s Journey and Girls’ Last Tour, this is another in a line of series that can be described as “post-apocalyptic travelogue.” Youko may be the last human on Earth, as she was in a shelter when some unnamed disaster hit. She’s accompanied by Airi, an android who seems to be half companion, half bodyguard. Together they’re motorbiking around Japan, trying to find the places that Youko’s sister took instagram photos of and seeing what they look like now. As you’d expect, a highlight of this series is the artwork, showing off decay and destruction, but it doesn’t feel as bleak and depressing as the other two series I mentioned. We’ll see where it leads us. – Sean Gaffney

Tsubaki-chou Lonely Planet, Vol. 1 | By Mika Yamamori | Yen Press – In many ways, Tsubaki-chou Lonely Planet is a fairly generic shoujo manga. Fumi Ohno, a plucky and practical heroine with domestic skills aplenty, ends up homeless after her father’s debts cause them to be evicted. She becomes a live-in housekeeper for a young and handsome novelist who seems rude at first, but soon exhibits a kinder side. He protects her from a panty thief. She thinks, literally, “Just what…. is this feeling?” Another potential love interest is introduced in the form of a transfer student and it’s someone Fumi met once in the past. Though the story beats were extremely familiar, I still enjoyed this a good bit. Perhaps it’s the Margaret factor. The expressive art also helps, as does the fact that the transfer student (at this stage, at least) is holding a pretty ridiculous grudge against Fumi. I look forward to seeing how this develops. – Michelle Smith

Witch Hat Atelier, Vol. 10 | By Kamome Shirahama | Kodansha Comics – Witch Hat Atelier started with Coco, and she’s still the primary protagonist, but it’s nice to see that the other girls in the group are also getting their own plotlines. Unfortunately, those plotlines are starting to look as dark as Coco’s is. She’s busy trying to save Custas from a turn to evil, but we also see Agott struggling with trying to come up with something extraordinary to show everyone who abandoned her, and Tetia is meeting royalty and I fear soon will discover that bubbly optimism tends to smash up against cold, hard reality. Which we also see in this volume, as a relationship is destroyed due to Custas’ rampage. I don’t think this series will get very dark, but it does get somewhat dark. – Sean Gaffney

You Like Me, Not My Daughter?!, Vol. 1 | By Kota Nozomi and Tesshin Azuma | Seven Seas – We rarely get this sort of manga in English anymore, the type that I would characterize as “romantic sex comedy.” Based on a light novel, it stars Ayako, a 30-ish woman who works in publishing and raises her niece/adopted daughter Miu, who is turning fifteen. Ayako has had zero time to devote to romance, so is delighted to see that Miu’s childhood friend, Takumi, a college boy, looks like he might confess. As the title might suggest, Takumi likes her instead. This is exactly what it looks like, basically. If you like to see hot moms stress out over whether they should date guys over ten years younger than them, while also having lots of shower and bath scenes, there are worse titles. – Sean Gaffney

Rascal Does Not Dream of a Knapsack Kid

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

My favorite episode of Urusei Yatsura (the original, not the 2022 reboot) has Lum end up in various alternate universes and unable to get back to the correct one. We see one where everyone is the opposite gender, one where her father actually invaded and everyone hates her, etc. Towards the end, she finds a world where everything seems to be absolutely perfect… including an Ataru who actually looks to be as handsome as she sees him, saying that he loves her. The look on her face when she hears “I love you” and knows that it’s the wrong world again may be the most heartbreaking moment in the series, topped only by her little “bye bye” as she flees, trying again to get back to HER Ataru. If you’re wondering what all this has to do with Rascal Does Not Dream, then I urge you to read this volume, which may be Sakuta’s best to date.

Things are going reasonably well for Sakuta. He’s still studying hard so he can go to college with Mai, Kaede has decided to start high school at the remote learning place, and he and Mai remain lovey-dovey (or at least as lovey-dovey as Mai ever gets). There’s even more good news coming – Sakuta and Kaede’s mother is getting released from the hospital and being allowed to go home, and she wants to see Kaede. Sakuta is naturally worried about how things will go, and does his best to be a good big brother and strong grownup for his sister. And indeed, things go very well. The reunion is a big success! The only trouble is that Sakuta is still running into the little girl version of Mai. Oh, yes, and one other problem – no one can see him anymore.

The callback to the very first book (though Sakuta does not wear a bunny girl outfit, or even consider it, which makes me sad) is appropriate given that this book pretty much resolves all the major plot points that were outstanding in the series to date. Sakuta’s parents were a constant invisible pressure on the series, but we only saw his father rarely, and we never saw his mother till this book. The middle part of this book is hideously depressing, especially when (helped by the child Mai) he does get back to a world where people can see him… but it’s the wrong one, and just makes him feel inadequate. Fortunately, Rio and Mai are the same no matter what universe, and give him some support… but unfortunately, the solution is something Sakuta will have to work out on his own.

This is not the final book in the series, but it feels like it is, with Sakuta’s entire third year being skipped as we jump to his graduation. There is more to come, and indeed there are teases for future books in this one, including a new character from Sakuta’s past. For this book, though, it’s all Sakuta. He ma never get a cover picture because of the genre he’s in, but if he did, this would be the book. Also: “Other Sakuta: fix your shit” is hilarious.

The Magical Revolution of the Reincarnated Princess and the Genius Young Lady, Vol. 3

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By Piero Karasu and Yuri Kisaragi. Released in Japan as “Tensei Oujo to Tensai Reijou no Mahou Kakumei” by Fujimi Fantasia Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Haydn Trowell.

In my review of the 2nd volume I mentioned that it wrapped up the first arc in the series, to which I can only say: oops. That said, I am absolutely not complaining. This may not be the final book in the series (there’s at least two more out in Japan), but it’s definitely The Payoff. Following directly on from events in the last book, it has tons of conflict, but it’s all character-based and 100% understandable. It gets into worries about isekai/reincarnation journeys that I always love to see in those books, and also delves into the past of this kingdom and why trying to change it in the future is something that’s going to be very hard and yet absolutely necessary. Basically, this book is everything you wanted to see in this series wrapped up. Anisphia has come a long way from the Chaos Gremlin of the first book. (Not to worry, the anime starts next week, and from what I’ve seen, they’re hammering on that aspect.)

After the events of the last book, Algard has been sent off into exile, meaning that there’s only one really obvious candidate in line for the throne: Anisphia. She proceeds to put on a brave face, buckle down, and accept her fate in a way that devastates everyone around her, because they all know her far too well. This includes Euphyllia, who knows her better than anyone and refuses to accept Anisphia giving up her happiness and becoming a shell of her former self. To that end, she goes searching for a way to bypass Anisphia and find another heir to the throne… and finds there is another way, but it would involve a ton of sacrifice of her own. With both Anisphia and Euphyllia playing a weird game of chicken in trying to sacrifice their own love and joy for the sake of each other, who’s going to blink first?

As I mentioned above, my favorite part of the book was the look at Anisphia’s interiority, particularly something that she’s been half in denial about this entire time. She may have abdicated early in her life, but being a Princess is a very important part of her, and a reason that she’s constantly working herself to death. She also finally confesses to Euphyllia that she’s a reincarnation, and talks about her life back in her other world… as well as what that means to her current self. We’ve seen reincarnation isekai (particularly “villainess” titles) have our reincarnated heroine “overwrite” the original personality when they regain their memories, but here we see Anisphia’s horror at the very idea of doing that. And there’s also the fact that she was reincarnated as a royal that needs to use magic to rule but one who can’t use magic. That unfairness drives her, and also nearly breaks her. Spoiler: there’s a lot of crying in this.

But there’s kissing as well, and I was amused at the book dancing around the fact that the obvious solution is joint rule, but that would involve the country acknowledging their relationship, and I don’t think we’re quite there yet. That said, this was the best in the series by far. I don’t know if I want to see it adapted in the anime – if it is, the anime will have been quite rushed – but it’s a must-read for yuri fans.

The Invincible Little Lady, Vol. 1

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By Chatsufusa and fuumi. Released in Japan as “Dōyara Watashi no Karada wa Kanzen Muteki no Yō Desu ne” by GC Novels. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Roman Lempert.

I’ve talked before about the fact that I think avoiding cliches is an overrated issue. There have been several fantastic light novels and manga out there that use the same old thing: reincarnated in another world, noble’s daughter publicly shamed, let’s start a new high school club, etc. But as long as they keep the audience’s interest and have a good story to tell using those same old hoary elements, that’s fine. That said… I have my limits. I like to think that the artist read a bunch of popular webnovels and thought to themselves “now here’s MY spin on this idea!”. Sometimes, though, I don’t get that impression. I get the impression that the writer really has no goal or desire beyond “get clicks, get published”. And unfortunately that’s the impression I got with The Invincible Little Lady, a novel that doesn’t really put a foot wrong when it comes to fun characters and amusing scenes, but which feels like it lacks a soul.

Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: a Japanese person lives their life weak and sickly, never leaving the hospital. As they finally pass on, they desperately wish for a strong body that will never lose to anything. Amazingly, God then announces that their wish is granted. Now she’s Mary Regalia, a duke’s daughter and the apple of her father’s eye, in a fantasy land of magic, monsters and swords. As she grows older, she starts to realize that God did the job a little too well. She’s immortal, can’t be harmed, and her strength is off the charts. Same with magic. She needs a maid to cater to her every whim… because if she puts on her own clothes, she tears them, and teacups shatter in her hands if she’s not careful. These are the stats of a great hero! But all she wants to do is life a quiet, peaceful life!

So yeah, if you thought of In the Land of Leadale, or Didn’t I Say to Make My Abilities Average?, you aren’t alone. The author said in the afterword that they had read a bunch of webnovels and just sat down and started banging out one of their own, so it’s not surprising. And to be fair, it’s much better than it should be. The book for the most part avoids sexual assault, slavery, or the other isekai pitfalls. There’s not much fanservice aside from (sigh) Mary bemoaning her small chest and commenting on the chest size of others. It even attempts to have an in-world explanation for why she’s so ludicrously strong – she comes from a family that has ludicrous strength in it already, so no one is surprised. It ticks all the right boxes. But… why should I read more? What is the purpose of the series? I can’t find an answer after the first volume, and that’s a big flaw.

So yes, Sean vs. GC Novels has led to another loss for Sean. This is a well-written book that should appeal to those who want something to read on a plane or the beach. But I want more.

Pick of the Year: Small Publishers and Big Genres

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SEAN: It’s the end of the year, and as always I’ve forgotten 90% of what I read back in March and April. I will thus make my pick a collective pick, as this year had so many new Villainess Novels. Be it reincarnated in an otome game, a duke’s daughter who is publicly shamed, or just a depressed young woman who’s trying to quietly live through her teenage years so she can enter a convent, the Villainess genre has proven surprisingly wide, and I’ll be delighted to read even more of it in 2023.

MICHELLE: I didn’t read as much as I wanted to this year—blast that infernal “life crap” that always seems to intrude—but of what I did read, my favorite was Lost Lad London. Getting a real mystery in manga form is rare enough, and one that acknowledges racism and sexism is unheard-of. I am both looking forward to and lamenting the third and final volume, due out in a few weeks.

ASH: I likewise haven’t had as much time to devote to manga this past year as I would have liked. However, despite some sub-genres seeming to have flooded the market, I’ve been impressed (and pleased!) to see the wide variety manga being released these days. In particular, or in general, I’d like to make small, niche, manga publishers my pick of the year. Specifically, Glacier Bay Books continues to produce highly engaging releases and Star Fruit Books has brought Hideshi Hino back in English as part of a steadily developing catalogue of interesting print manga.

KATE: I want to echo what Ash is saying about small presses such as Glacier Bay Books and Star Fruit: they’re bringing all kind of cool, off-beat titles to the American market that otherwise wouldn’t be translated. In a market that’s so thoroughly saturated in isekai titles and formulaic high school romances, it’s great to have some meaningful alternatives, so I’m making these two presses my “manga of the year.”

Haibara’s Teenage New Game+, Vol. 1

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By Kazuki Amamiya and Gin. Released in Japan as “Haibara-kun no Tsuyokute Seishun New Game” by HJ Bunko. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Esther Sun.

I think, like most people, I have no desire to go back in time and try to do things differently. Not because I’m reasonably content with all my life choices, but simply because I know that if I ever did I would be resolutely terrible at it, and probably locked away within the first week. I suppose with Haibara it helps that he’s not all that far removed from his past, but still: there’s too many ways for everything to go wrong. As indeed we find in this book, where we discover that the only thing worse than screwing up, is NOT screwing up. Fortunately, it turns out that Haibara’s old past was mostly self-inflicted, and that he’s hanging out with a nice gang of popular kids. Chitose Is in the Ramune Bottle might argue this is a bit unrealistic, but it’s not meant to be. Everyone knows what they’re getting with this teenage fantasy. And to its credit, it’s written pretty well.

Natsuki Haibara is a college student who regrets his past. He tried to reinvent himself in high school, and it was such a failure that it cost him any friends he once had. He spent the rest of his time in a self-described grey existence. And so he makes a wish to God to get a do-over… and wakes up back in his parents’ home, 7 years earlier. He’s just graduated middle school, meaning he’s still overweight, wearing glasses, and fashion ignorant. He can’t do much about the last, but he can fix the first two, and goes on a month-long binge to get himself to the point where he can have a rainbow-colored high school debut… this time with the experience of knowing exactly where he went wrong. But that experience can cut both ways, and it turns out that just because you’ve gained 7 years worth of talents it does not make you less oblivious about other people’s feelings.

I appreciated that the main conflict in this first volume is not directly about Haibara and a series of girls who kind of like him (though that is of course here as well, as that’s the genre we’re in), but about trying to reconnect with one of the few friends in high school who supported him until he finally screwed up too much, Tatsuya. Initially Haibara is really wary of Tatsuya, and it shows, but he asks his friend Reita (who is the standard “cool hot boy” in these stories) to let him work it out himself. Then, he can’t take his own advice as he’s unable to realize that, thanks to years of extra experience, he’s now TOO perfect, to the point where he makes others jealous of him. And now he doesn’t realize that the answer is mostly “let Tatsuya work it out himself”. Luckily, everything turns out OK.

This can be hard to read at times, especially if you have no desire to relive the horrors of high school interrelations, but it’s solid and avoids most of the pitfalls I was hoping it would avoid. It’s decent romcom, with a minimum of rom at the moment, though I expect that to change.

The Princess of Convenient Plot Devices, Vol. 1

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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 Henshaw.

When you’re talking about a genre, it’s never quite just the same thing. No, not even isekai series starring Potato-kun protagonists. There’s mix and match, there’s variations, there’s ways to make this different enough that we don’t get sued. And some genres cross over with others. For example, one genre I quite like is “everyone thinks that the protagonist is being ridiculously clever and crafty, when they’re really just improvising and winging it”. Tearmoon Empire is probably the best current example, but we’ve seen a few others. And, of course, there are BL fantasy novels, where true love is found even if you have to rewrite reality so that the kingdom is predominately gay. And, of course, there are villainess books, where our heroine ends up being accused of things she either never did, or only did in the source material. Put them all together and you’ve got this series, which asks: how would a kingdom run on BL really work out?

Maki was a girl who loved BL novels, particularly a series called The Noble King. It features a kingdom where the king is married to another man, and his son the prince is also in love with a man. In the novels, the prince’s younger sister, Octavia, was a big supporter of theirs, a perfect side character for a BL series. But now Mari has died and is reincarnated *as* Octavia, and has to deal with how the writer manages to have a working dynasty with all the nobility being gay: she will be married off (possibly to a not-gay man, possibly as a beard), produce a child, and then give him to her older brother and have him raise the child as his own. Needless to say, this does not delight Octavia AT ALL. She’s going to find a man of her own! There’s just one slight problem… everyone else thinks she has designs to take over the throne. And is possibly evil.

Octavia, in this first volume, is not an airhead like Katarina Claes. She sees her problem and takes actions to solve it. But she’s also not a clever genius like a lot of other Villainess heroines. Most of her action taking is spur of the moment and improvised, and sometimes quickly regretted. She is, in other words, a normal person reacting the way a normal person would to being in a novel that she’s very familiar with… to a point. (She died after Book 5, so has missed some later stuff.) Unfortunately, to a noble family who are used to everyone acting like they were born into nobility and set in very defined roles… she’s incredibly hard to read, and her actions frequently make no sense. Such as hiring as her new bodyguard a man who is likely an assassin. Or being ambivalent about her older brother’s relationship. Or… in political terms, she’s a bomb that hasn’t gone off yet. This provides terrific tension, which is offset by her narrative voice, which is very “chatty teen girl”.

Basically, this is excellent. It also moves a lot slower than I expected, as we only cover about three days in this first book. We don’t even get a ball where Octavia can be publicly shamed! Possibly next time?

Qualia the Purple

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By Hisamitsu Ueo and Shirou Tsunashima. Released in Japan as “Murasakiiro no Qualia” by Dengeki Bunko. Released in North America by Airship. Translated by Daniel Komen. Adapted by Carly Smith.

I actually had to double check the dates after finishing this volume, to see which came first: Qualia the Purple or Puella Magi Madoka Magica. The answer is Qualia came first, by about two years. Still, folks who are familiar with the main plot of PMMM are going to find certain similarities to the main plot of Qualia, even if the two are handled quite differently. Qualia the Purple doesn’t involve Magical Girls, but it is a hard SF series about trying to save someone over and over again and being unable to fix things no matter how many tries are made, as well as the dangers of grief and obsession. The first third is a short story that won an award, the last two thirds are the expansion for the light novel. The last two thirds are the reason to read the book, but I would not blame readers who stop after Page 30 or so. The start of this book is deadly boring, and while the plot twist explains why, it’s still boring.

The girl on the cover, and the center of the book, is Yukari, a young “genius” middle school girl who sees everything as robots. When she’s looking at someone else, she sees them as a robot. This has led to difficulties. The narrator, and the actual protagonist of the series, is Manabu, aka “Gaku-chan”, an athletic girl in Yukari’s class who is her best friend and is, at least initially, the “normal” girl in the story. That begins to change when Yukari is drawn into the search for a serial killer. It changes even more when there’s a new transfer student in the second chunk of the book, Alice, who is determined to befriend Yukari and have her join an organization for geniuses. And everything completely falls apart when Yukari is killed, and the REAL plot kicks in.

Intellectually, I think this book is excellent… once you get past Manabu explaining Yukari to the reader in cute ways over the dire first 30 pages. The climax to the “short story” part of the book was well handled and surprising, and the hard SF gobbledygook that infests the second part (and there is an awful lot of that, be aware) is at least vaguely understandable. Manabu’s growing desperation and the lengths she will go to in order to try to save Yukari are jaw-dropping, and I can appreciate the writing quality and the thought that went into the plot itself. Emotionally, I sort of hated this. Mostly as I really, really started to hate Manabu. She does not skimp on telling us the things she does and the people she manipulates in order to do what she is doing, and some of it (particularly Alice’s subplot) are frankly loathsome. It’s on purpose, of course, but that doesn’t mean I want to read it. There’s also the problem, which Yukari herself brings up, that everything is being done for her sake but she’s not allowed to make the choice herself. Yukari ends up being a goal rather than a character in the last half of the book.

Of course, I’m supposed to feel all this. That’s the point. I do recommend this book, which is like a puzzle in many ways, and the way that Manabu’s narration changes as she does, sometimes from line to line, is amazing. Just… it’s not a feel good book.

Culinary Chronicles of the Court Flower, Vol. 8

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By Miri Mikawa and Kasumi Nagi. Released in Japan as “Ikka Kōkyū Ryōrichō” by Kadokawa Beans Bunko. Released in North America digitally by J-Novel Club. Translated by Hunter Prigg.

I hope people don’t read all my reviews of this series in order, because I inevitably end up repeating the same thing over and over again: this is a series about food. It’s there in the title, where it says these are Rimi’s CULINARY chronicles, not her rise to power or her romantic adventures. Likewise, you know that eventually in these books there’s going to be a big crisis, and it’s going to be resolved by a meal. OK, in this particular volume it’s not actually resolved, but it’s at least defused, which is good enough. Rimi spends a majority of this book in hiding, which means that she can’t say her name, and her identity is constantly called into question, given that she’s very bad at hiding it. Who is she? The future empress? The court flower? A poison that will destroy the entire country? None of those, really. She’s a cook. Food – and not just any food, but the RIGHT food – is how she interacts with others.

We pick up where we left off last time, with Rimi kidnapped by the Chancellor, who locks her in an old building on a far away estate, where he will quietly kill her once he makes arrangements. Fortunately, before he can do that, she’s rescued by a passing hottie (which feels ludicrously unrealistic even by the standards of this series, but hey). What’s more, the hottie is the very same person who’s being recommended to be the new Minister of Works. Now we have The Emperor desperately trying to find Rimi, Shusei desperately trying to find Rimi, the Chancellor, once he discovers she’s gone, desperately trying to find Rimi, and her mysterious benefactor being understandably unwilling to let her go because Rimi refuses to say who she is. In other words, situation normal for the Court Flower books.

Much as I would like it to be kicked slightly to the side, there’s only one OTP in this series, and it’s Rimi and Shusei. They reunite here, and Rimi opens up and admits that she’s still in love with him, but it’s hard to get past sheer male stubbornness, especially when said male thinks that he’s really being political. Frustration levels are high. On the bright side, the new character, Ryo Renka, is wonderful, an excellent addition to the cast who I hope we see more of. Ryo is also deeply tied into the past of the previous generation, which also includes Shusei’s father and the Chancellor, and it’s that past that provides the clue to help Rimi escape her deadly fate. I enjoyed the fact that this tim around the food has to be made in a rush and sloppily – because that’s how it was made originally by the amateurs who cooked it. It’s all about the vibe.

This has three volumes to go, and I expect civil war before the end. But it will be civil war with cooking, no doubt. Still greatly enjoying this, one of the strongest volumes in the series.

Manga the Week of 12/28/22

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SEAN: It’s the last Manga the Week of for 2022. Let’s make it a good one.

ASH: Yes, let’s!

SEAN: Airship has a bunch of print titles. We see Accomplishments of the Duke’s Daughter 7, Reincarnated as a Sword 11, She Professed Herself Pupil of the Wise Man 5, and A Tale of the Secret Saint 4.

While we get early digital for Classroom of the Elite: Year 2 4 and Trapped in a Dating Sim: The World of Otome Games is Tough for Mobs 8.

Bookwalker has She’s Adopted a High School Boy! 13 (the final volume – if you’re wondering about the previous 12 volumes, this seems to have been exclusive to Bookwalker, so I kept missing it).

ASH: I don’t know that anyone can keep up with all of the digital manga that are legitimately available these days!

SEAN: Cross Infinite World has a 2nd volume of The Dragon’s Soulmate is a Mushroom Princess!.

Ghost Ship has Survival in Another World with My Mistress! 3 and Yuuna and the Haunted Hot Springs 22.

The debut from J-Novel Club is a manga this time around. Young Lady Albert Is Courting Disaster (Albert-ke no Reijou wa Botsuraku wo Goshomou desu) is a reincarnated villainess story based on a light novel that isn’t licensed. This one flips the script a bit – on hearing that she’s the villainess in an otome game, Mary Albert goes ALL IN in trying to be as evil as can be! Why… why doesn’t the heroine think she’s evil? It runs in B’s-LOG COMIC.

ASH: That could be a fun variation.

SEAN: We also see Grimgar of Fantasy and Ash 19, Lazy Dungeon Master 17, My Quiet Blacksmith Life in Another World 5, and the 3rd Tearmoon Empire manga volume.

Kodansha’s print titles: Blood on the Tracks 12, EDENS ZERO 20, I Was Reincarnated as the 7th Prince so I Can Take My Time Perfecting My Magical Ability 3, Shangri-La Frontier 3, and What Did You Eat Yesterday? 19.

MICHELLE: I need to get caught up on What Did You Eat Yesterday?!

ASH: Still so very happy we’re getting this series.

SEAN: Digitally we see Beauty and the Beast of Paradise Lost 5 (the final volume), Burn the House Down 7, Even Given the Worthless “Appraiser” Class, I’m Actually the Strongest 6, The Food Diary of Miss Maid 2, The Full-Time Wife Escapist 10 (!!!), A Galaxy Next Door 4, Gamaran: Shura 3, and The Rokudo Rounds 4.

MICHELLE: !!!! This is twice in recent memory when a series that had been advertised as over—and yes, I checked the “final volume” blurbs for both Fruits Basket Another and Full-Time Wife Escapist—has returned from the dead.

ASH: Oh, ho!

SEAN: Two debuts for Seven Seas. Backstabbed in a Backwater Dungeon: My Party Tried to Kill Me, But Thanks to an Infinite Gacha I Got LVL 9999 Friends and Am Out For Revenge (Shinjiteita Nakama-tachi ni Dungeon Okuchi de Korosarekaketa ga Gift “Mugen Gacha” de Level 9999 no Nakama-tachi wo Te ni Irete Moto Party Member to Sekai ni Fukushuu & “Zamaa!” Shimasu!) is an adaptation of the light novel J-Novel Club is putting out, and the manga runs in Magazine Pocket. That’s all I have to say about it. Moving on.

ASH: The title already says most of it.

SEAN: Entangled with You: The Garden of 100 Grasses (Hyakusou no Uraniwa) is a one-shot BL title from Printemps Shuppan that’s a fantasy about a boy who makes a promise with a horned man to save his sister. Will that promise lead to death… or friendship?

MICHELLE: I like the fairy tale look and feel of this cover!

ASH: Same! I’m curious about this one, for sure.

SEAN: Also from Seven Seas: Berserk of Gluttony 7, The Country Without Humans 3, Dance in the Vampire Bund: Age of Scarlet Order 7, GIGANT 10 (the final volume), Magical Angel Creamy Mami and the Spoiled Princess 4, Reborn as a Barrier Master 3, She Professed Herself Pupil of the Wise Man 7, Sorry For My Familiar 10, Toradora! 10, and The Two of Them Are Pretty Much Like This 2. By the way, the first manga volume of Toradora! came out in North America OVER 10 YEARS AGO. This is a slow-moving series in Japan.

Square Enix has a 3rd volume of the Otherside Picnic manga.

From Viz Media we get Fist of the North Star 7, Jujutsu Kaisen: Summer of Ashes, Autumn of Dust (a light novel), Maison Ikkoku Collector’s Edition 10 (the final volume), and Thus Spoke Rohan Kishibe 2.

ASH: It’s a good Viz week for me, at least!

SEAN: And that’s it! Should auld manga be forgot and never brought to mind?

MICHELLE: My auld manga gathers dust.

BLADE & BASTARD: Warm ash, Dusky dungeon, Vol. 1

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By Kumo Kagyu and so-bin. Released in Japan as “Blade & Bastard: Hai wa Atatakaku, Meikyū wa Honogurai” by Dre Novels. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Sean McCann.

One of the highlights of J-Novel Club’s appearance at Anime NYC this year was the announcement of a partnership with Drecom, a video game company that has recently been expanding into other media markets. There are several novels they could have chosen to start off this new partnership, and I for one was hoping for “I’m a Pharmacist Witch and a Part-Time Divorce Attorney”, but I can see why they chose to go with BLADE & BASTARD. First of all, it hadn’t come out in Japan yet – this book got a release in North America on the same date it came out in Japan. Secondly, it has a strong pedigree: the author is better known for Goblin Slayer, and the artist for Overlord. And the novels themselves take place in the world of Wizardry, the popular RPG series. With all that said, how does it hold up as a light novel if you don’t game and don’t really care for Goblin Slayer *or* Overlord? You’ve come to the right person to ask.

A town named Scale has a massive and dangerous dungeon. It’s filled with monsters and treasure, both of which also bring easy death. Our supposed protagonist is Iarumas, a highly competent but loathed man who wanders the dungeons collecting corpses, taking their stuff, and bringing them back to be revived by temple nun Aine. He has no memory of his past, and tries to go deeper and deeper in order to reconnect to it. Over the course of the book, he’s joined by Garbage, a feral girl who speaks only in barks and woofs but is excellent with a sword, and Raraja, a young put-upon thief who is probably the ACTUAL protagonist here. They explore the dungeon, trying to gain experience and also see what’s actually going on with Garbage, who – like Iarumas – has an obscure but important past.

If you’re looking for dark fantasy, this is a solid choice, as you’d expect from this author. The first volume also has 100% less sexual assault and fanservice than Goblin Slayer, which I count as another big plus. Iarumas is a bit too much of a brooding cipher for me to really latch on to, but Raraja’s journey from starving and easily tricked young boy to a solid adventurer in his own right is one of the two highlights of the book. The other highlight is Aine, a nun who uses religion to justify a mercenary streak and really, really loves swords and killing things with swords. (The narrative chooses to tell us – over and over again, it’s weird – that elves like Aine have normal human lifespans in this world.) The problematic part of the book is Garbage, who acts throughout like a dog – her only dialogue is barking, whining, and howling. The bit of backstory we get of her helps explain this a bit, but it’s near the end of the book, and you’d be forgiven for thinking she’s there for a bizarre kind of reader fetish before this. Perhaps future books will help her grow more human.

So yes, despite the constant death, this is less grim than I’d expected, and has a lively cast. A must-read for fans of the author, and not bad for fans of dark game tie-in fantasy.