Manga Bookshelf

Discussion, Resources, Roundtables, & Reviews

Sean Gaffney

Housekeeping Mage from Another World: Making Your Adventures Feel Like Home!, Vol. 4

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By You Fuguruma and Nama. Released in Japan as “Kasei Madoushi no Isekai Seikatsu: Boukenchuu no Kasei Fugyou Uketamawarimasu!” by Ichijinsha Bunko Iris NEO. Released in North America by J-Novel Heart. Translated by Hengtee Lim.

This series remains ongoing in Japan – both as a light novel series, which has 7 volumes to date, and as a webnovel, last updated 2 weeks ago – which makes it odd that the series really feels like it’s going to be ending in the next book. Most of the drama in this volume involves other people – first there’s the wrap-up of the Annelie and Dennis arc, and then there’s an arc that points out the somewhat rocky relationship between other adventurers and knights. It’s definitely building more of the world that Alec and Shiori are living in. That said, Alec and Shiori are still in a “honeymoon” stage of their relationship, with almost every moment between them being cute and romantic. The only exceptions are when Alec worries about Shiori’s past and sudden appearance in their country, or when Shiori worries that Alec is actually royalty. Both of those things need to be resolved before they can marry… and it’s being dragged out.

We pick up where we left off, with our merry band having resolved Annelie and Dennis’ love life… well, at least their feelings for each other… and now it’s time to head back. On the way they find the annoying nobles from the Empire have opened the massive door that screamed “do not open”, and now the worst of them is dead, and the other two are ill. Fortunately for them, our heroes are all nice, so they drag them back home, despite the dangers on the way back, including mythical beasts. Once home, Annelie and Dennis have Mrs. Tragic Backstory arrive to explain what ACTUALLY happened in Dennis’ past, and why their family has not spoken with the adventurer’s guild in ten years. Finally, in a side story, Alec, Shiori, Zack and Linus are called to a village with an infestation of monster bugs and find the knights and the village folks are not getting on.

This is one of those books where the reader has to be careful not to be disappointed by the story that isn’t being told. Everything about the past of Dennis’ father and what turns out to be his MALE partner reads like it’s going to say everyone lied to cover up a gay relationship. That’s not what happens here, and the explanation of Dennis’ grandfather, the actual villain of the piece, is far less interesting. I wonder if this may have been changed for the light novel – everything about the death is framed as “they were lovers”, even the final image of their dead bodies holding hands. It’s weird. As for Alec and Shiori, now that she’s more relaxed around everyone she’s letting more things slip, and Alec and the others are starting to realize that she’s probably not from “the Eastern lands” at all. Unfortunately, she and Alec are still too afraid of ruining their burgeoning love to confess their backstories to each other.

This is well-written enough, and I’ll definitely keep going, but I found this book a bit more frustrating than the previous ones, and hope the next book takes a few definitive steps forward.

Pick of the Week: Atomic Devastation

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KATE: Though this is a lighter week than usual, I found two titles on the list that piqued my interest. The first is Maiden’s Bookshelf: The Moon Over the Mountain, which has a swoon-worthy cover, and draws from the same well of inspiration as Hell in a Bottle. I’m also interested in reading the new edition of Keiji Nakazawa’s I Saw It: A Survivor’s True Story of the Atomic Bombing of Hiroshima, which Last Gasp is releasing this week. It’s not clear from the packaging if this version is a reprint of the old Educomics edition, or is a fresh translation; nonetheless, it’s good to see this title available again, as it’s a simple but powerful way to help young readers appreciate the horrors of nuclear warfare.

SEAN: I’m picking the final volume of Mixed Bathing in Another Dimension. Its last volume came out in late 2019. I have forgotten everything about what happened in it. But I know I will miss this harem guy, his passel of bathing girls, and the importance of consent before he washes them.

ANNA: I’m going to join Kate in picking I Saw It: A Survivor’s True Story of the Atomic Bombing of Hiroshima, it is good that important stories like this are kept in print and accessible to readers.

MICHELLE: I agree that it’s good for I Saw It to remain in print, but personally I just can’t take something so devastating this week. Instead, I’ll pick volume six of Cherry Magic!, a cute series that I look forward to catching up on.

ASH: I’m not sure how I overlooked that it was being released this week (maybe because I’ve had it preordered for what seems like ages…), so I’m glad that Kate made mention of The Moon Over the Mountain. I’m a big fan of Atsushi Nakajima’s work and the first volume of Maiden’s Bookshelf was beautifully done, so I’m particularly looking forward to this next installment.

Formerly, the Fallen Daughter of the Duke, Vol. 3

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By Ichibu Saki, Nemusuke, and Ushio Shirotori. Released in Japan as “Moto, Ochikobore Koushaku Reijou desu” by Mag Garden Novels. Released in North America by J-Novel Heart. Translated by Andrew Schubauer.

When an author has a favorite character to write for, and you love that character, it’s always a treat whenever they show up. Unfortunately, when they are NOT your favorite character, it cam prove excruciating. This book’s antagonist, Charlotte, has been difficult to read since the start of the series. Clearly she’s also reincarnated from Japan, but we get no details about that except her utter rage at the fact that the route is not going her way. Worst of all, this book features a lot more Charlotte than the first two, and her scenes are a lot harder to simply try to skip over. That said, I will admit the payoff to this is really, really good – more on that later. Alas, a cliffhanger shows that we’ll get more Charlotte in the fourth book. Which admittedly may be because without her around, there’s no real conflict or problems – it’s just Claire having a wonderful time with her fiance. Nice, but dull.

Claire is not quite at the point where she has to do anything from the last timeline yet. The magical tornado is still in the future, and they’re working hard to make sure that when she goes back home for the event that destroyed her last time, she’ll have better magical protection. Fortunately, several clues fall into her lap: her mother’s bracelet turns out to be a powerful magical tool provided they figure out how to activate it. And a series of fairy stories, shown to them by Claire’s former charge from her previous life, Isabella, tell you exactly what to do to activate it. What’s more, Nicola is now in Claire’s domain and is doing quite well for herself… though she seems to spend most of the time exasperated at Claire’s former fiance, Asgard. Everything is perfect… till Charlotte steals the bracelet.

There is one scene that made me cheer in this book, which unfortunately is balanced out by the scenes that made me rub my temples. As noted above, almost everything that drives the plot forward in this book occurs due to either a happy coincidence (the bracelet stuff) or brain-boggling stupidity (Claire leaving the bracelet in an easy place for Charlotte to steal it). Even the cliffhanger ending, which introduces a new antagonist, feels tacked on for the sake of a cliffhanger ending. HOWEVER, this is all offset by the villainess scene. After 87 million books where our heroine, as the villainess or a noble girl, is disgraced and shunned in public in a way that makes us sympathize with her, it’s a delight to see the same thing happen to Charlotte, who deserves every minute of it. I cheered.

Sadly, this is still something I would call a very “mid” series. If you’re still reading it, you can probably get the fourth volume, which I hope is the final one. But it’s not remotely essential.

Private Tutor to the Duke’s Daughter: The Lady of the Sword’s Lament and the War in the South

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By Riku Nanano and cura. Released in Japan as “Koujo Denka no Kateikyoushi” by Fujimi Fantasia Bunko. Released in North America digitally by J-Novel Club. Translated by William Varteresian.

As the author has noted in previous books, Lydia has by far the biggest advantage among the other girls who are in love with Allen, and judging by comments I’ve seen on the original webnovel site (the webnovel is still ongoing, by the way), fans seem to prefer Lydia as well. Our author said that he’d try writing Lydia out of the plot for a bit, but that didn’t even last one book. Now we have this solution, which is to make the reader feel that having Allen and Lydia end up together would be bad for her. The front half of this book has Lydia and her family being told that he’s presumed dead, and she completely falls to bits. It’s almost comical, as everyone writes her off as being useless without Allen. By the last quarter of the book she’s recovered, cut her hair, and is ready to join in the battle… and becomes so terrifying that by the end of the book no one dares go near her for fear of accidentally being murdered.

This volume can be divided into thirds. The first third has Tina, Ellie and Stella back home, dealing with an invasion from the North in addition to the noble’s rebellion. The last third has the Leinsters dealing with an invasion from the South in addition to the noble’s rebellion. And in the middle portion we get a flashback showing Allen’s “final” moments, as well as the reaction of Caren and his parents to this. We get introduced to the “Hero”, Alice, who has a past with Allen and Lydia, and who seems to suspect that Lydia is going to snap and have to be assassinated before she turns evil. And we discover that it’s not just Lydia, all the Leinsters are absolute monsters who will destroy you if you get in their way. We also get more tantalizing hints of backstory about Allen and Lydia’s time at the academy… but no flashbacks, dammit.

So yes, of course Lydia doesn’t actually kill the opposing Army, it’s made very clear that they’re all burned but alive. Still, the implication is that this is Not Okay, and Lydia knows this but can’t help herself. The feelings of despair have to go SOMEWHERE. Meanwhile, it’s pretty hilarious that Allen is *still* doing the “I can’t believe you’ve heard of me” given that he’s clearly known to everyone in the Kingdom as a legend and the most important man to kill when the rebellion starts. Certainly Richard tells him point blank, “Look, either marry Lydia or have us take you into the family anyway”. Everyone desperately wants Allen to be credited for SOMETHING, and his last stand in this war may be the answer. He is, of course, not dead, and appears to be trapped in the evil magic dungeon of bad things. I expect, since Book 6 had lots of Lydia, that the 7th book will shift towards Tina, but no doubt we’ll also see Allen do amazing things that he insists are just things that anyone can do.

As you all have no doubt noted, I’m on Team Lydia as well, mostly because of a reason that is very important to me: she’s not 13 years old. This continues to be a much better series than it has any right to be, and the battle scenes were excellent.

I Swear I Won’t Bother You Again!, Vol. 3

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By Reina Soratani and Haru Harukawa. Released in Japan as “Kondo wa Zettai ni Jama Shimasen!” by Gentosha Comics. Released in North America by Seven Seas. Translated by Molly Lee. Adapted by T. Anne.

I remember when I read the first volume of this series, I was impressed at its ability to take a stock plot, “villainess goes back in time to try to avoid her fate”, and seriously examine what traumas they might actually carry back by doing so. In the second volume, I was impressed (but also a bit wary, as it’s clearly the end pairing) at showing how disturbing and obsessive Yulan’s love for Violette is, and also at how the series shows that even if you do have a “safe haven” at school, and make new friends, there’s still the abusive family at home. And now we have the third volume, and by the end of it I am reduced to begging the author to please make it stop. This is still an excellent, compelling read, provided you can get past, well, the entire plot. But let’s face it, at this point we’ve switched genres. It’s not a villainess book. It’s a horror novel.

In the first two-thirds of this book, things are looking relatively good for Violette. She manages to apologize to Claudia for her previous behavior, closing the book on that chapter in her life. She’s managed to make a good friend in Rosette, another noble who hides her true self behind a facade. Sure, Yulan tells her that he can’t study with her this round of exams because he has to study with Maryjune, but that’s… she can deal with that. She may not like it, but she can deal with it. Heck, she’s even having Marin come up with new hairstyles for her, which is a big, big change, because her hair is one of her triggers from her childhood abuse by her mother. Then even more good news: her abusive father is called away to her grandfather’s place for the week! Now mealtime will be peaceful… OR WILL IT?

There’s no sugarcoating this, the last third of this volume is straight up terrifying. We haven’t really seen much at all of Lady Elfa, Violette’s stepmother, in this book, and given how absolutely terrible Violette’s father was, and how innocently terrible her sister is, I wasn’t sure we needed another terrible person. Sadly, I proved to be incorrect. (Indeed, the author states that the head chef, named in this volume, is literally the only non-terrible adult in the series.) Elfa feels like a horror parody of all the smiling, “ara ara” moms that you see in anime, and her words and actions towards Violette come uncomfortably close to a line I really really do not want this series to cross. That said, the most terrifying parts of the book involve Marin, Violette’s maid. She’s not the heroine, so does not have plot immunity, and I am very, very worried that she will not live to the end of the series.

I can’t recommend this series for everyone anymore, as it’s just become far too harrowing. If you don’t care for emotional torment as a plot device, Tearmoon Empire would be a better “villainess goes back in time” book. But for those who love a good soap opera that’s not afraid to get dark as pitch, this is a nightmarish yet thrilling ride.

Manga the Week of 2/1/23

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SEAN: It’s February 1st, but as readers of Manga the Week of know, that really means January.

ASH: That it does.

SEAN: It also means no Yen Press, and no Viz Media. Instead we start with Tokyopop, which has Her Royal Highness Seems to be Angry 4 and Yuri Espoir 3.

Square Enix Manga gives us Cherry Magic! Thirty Years of Virginity Can Make You a Wizard?! 6 and My Dress-Up Darling 7.

MICHELLE: I really liked the first volume of Cherry Magic!. Hopefully this’ll be the release where I get caught up.

ASH: I’ve really enjoyed what I’ve read so far, too, but am likewise a bit behind.

SEAN: No debuts for Seven Seas. But we do see The Evil Secret Society of Cats 2, Happy Kanako’s Killer Life 6, How Heavy Are the Dumbbells You Lift? 10, I Swear I Won’t Bother You Again! 3, I’m in Love with the Villainess 4, and Yakuza Fiancé: Raise wa Tanin ga Ii 2.

ASH: I’d kind of forgotten about How Heavy Are the Dumbbells You Lift?, but at least the earlier volumes had some legitimate fitness advice.

SEAN: Last Gasp has I Saw It: A Survivor’s True Story of the Atomic Bombing of Hiroshima (Ore wa Mita), a one-volume title from the creator of Barefoot Gen. This actually came out in English in 1982, but I believe this is a new edition. As you can imagine, the subject matter is gripping and horrible.

ASH: I’m glad to see this staying in print, but it is definitely not light reading.

ANNA: Agreed.

SEAN: Kodansha, in print, has Fire Force Omnibus 2 and Sayonara, Football 15 (which, glory be, is actually on their website calendar for once).

The digital debut is Boss Bride Days (Gokutsuma Days ~Gokudou Sankyoudai ni Semaretemasu~), a Palcy title based on a webcomic. A shut-in otaku girl rescues an old man… who’s actually a yakuza leader! Now he orders his three sons to woo her, as whoever wins her hand takes over the clan!

Also digital: The Great Cleric 9, Guilty 11, My Unique Skill Makes Me OP even at Level 1 9, Saint Cecilia and Pastor Lawrence 10, SHAMAN KING & a garden 4 (the final volume), Vampire Dormitory 10, Wandance 4, Watari-kun’s ****** Is about to Collapse 12, and Wistoria: Wand and Sword 2.

MICHELLE: Wandance is another series where I really liked volume one and promptly fell behind.

ANNA: Oh, yeah, I meant to check this out.

SEAN: And there’s also Kodansha Books. The debut is As a Reincarnated Aristocrat, I’ll Use My Appraisal Skill to Rise in the World (Tensei Kizoku Kantei Sukiru de Nariagaru – Jakushou Ryouchi o Uketsuidanode, Yuushuuna Jinzai o Fuyashite Itara, Saikyou Ryouchi ni Natteta), whose manga Kodansha already releases, and whose title is the plot.

And they have the new Maiden’s Bookshelf: The Moon Over the Mountain, based on the short story by Atsushi Nakajima.

And there’s also the 2nd The Dawn of the Witch.

J-Novel Club debuts another Sol Press rescue, I Surrendered My Sword for a New Life as a Mage (Moto Saikyou no Kenshi wa, Isekai Mahou ni Akogareru). A boy really wants to learn magic… but has no talents there. He does have amazing talents as the reincarnation of a master swordsman, but still… he wants to learn magic!

Also out next week: Full Metal Panic Short Stories 4, Fushi no Kami: Rebuilding Civilization Starts With a Village 7 (the final volume), the third Fushi no Kami: Rebuilding Civilization Starts With a Village manga volume, The Greatest Magicmaster’s Retirement Plan 15, Holmes of Kyoto 13, The Ideal Sponger Life 10, and, at long, long LONG last, the 7th and final volume of Mixed Bathing in Another Dimension.

Ghost Ship gives us a 2nd volume of I’m Not a Succubus!.

Denpa Books gives us Heavenly Delusion 5.

ASH: Another series I need to catch up on!

SEAN: Dark Horse has gotten very bad at actually labeling manga manga on their Upcoming Manga calendar. Neon Genesis Evangelion: The Shinji Ikari Raising Project Omnibus 6 is already out.

ASH: That… sounds about right for Dark Horse.

SEAN: Cross Infinite World debuts The Abandoned Heiress Gets Rich with Alchemy and Scores an Enemy General! (Suterare Reijō wa Renkinjutsu-shi ni Narimashita. Kaseida Okane de moto Tekikoku no Shō o Kōnyū Shimasu), another in the latest trend of noble girls jilted publicly and shamed for it. Now she’s an alchemist, she buys a bodyguard who used to be… well, read the title.

Cross Infinite World also has Even Dogs Go to Other Worlds: Life in Another World with My Beloved Hound 3 and Expedition Cooking with the Enoch Royal Knights 2.

And Airship, in print, has Loner Life in Another World 4 and Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation 20.

Airship, digitally, has The Most Heretical Last Boss Queen: From Villainess to Savior 4.

Short! To the point!

Bride of the Barrier Master, Vol. 1

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By Kureha and Bodax. Released in Japan as “Kekkaishi no Ichirinka” by Kadokawa Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Linda Liu.

Sometimes you get the feeling that you’re reading something in the wrong medium. Bride of the Barrier Master is a shoujo manga. Everything about it screams shoujo manga, and the personalities of the two leads are designed so that we can watch the expressions on their faces as they react to each other. Unfortunately, while there *is* a manga adaptation of this light novel, this isn’t it. I mean, I get it. Sometimes the written word is all a creator has. It’s fine. The problem here is that without visuals, everything just feels a bit too harsh. We’re supposed to admire the perseverance of the heroine and laugh at her biting cynicism, but I found her a bit too mean. Likewise, the main guy has a bit of that “I can be an asshole to you because I’m hot” vibe that really doesn’t work when you can’t see him being hot, so it just makes him seem controlling. This isn’t a bad book, it’s perfectly readable. It just feels off.

We are, for once, in modern Japan, but it is a supernatural-tinged Japan in danger of being overrun by Shades. To combat this, five huge pillars are set up as a barrier, each pillar controlled by one of five families – who are very rich and powerful as a result. A family in the biggest clan has twins, Hana and Hazuki. They’re delighted with both of them… till Hazuki shows off impressive supernatural power, and Hana shows off bupkus. Hana is immediately shunned by her parents, who don’t physically abuse her but certainly there’s plenty of mental and emotional abuse. Over the years even her sister, sympathetic at first, grows to look down on her. Then, when she turns 15, Hana suddenly comes into a huge amount of power. Sadly, she’s far too worldwise and cynical at this point, and does not desire any sycophants saying they always knew she was wonderful, so she hides it. But can she hide it from the head of the family, who is looking for a bride?

This is something like the 4th title in a few days I’ve read featuring an abusive family and their daughter, and that might be tainting my viewpoint a bit. Hana’s bitter wit can occasionally be amusing, and I do like the genuinely loving relationship she has with the three shikigami she has created. You certainly sympathize with her desire to simply forget about the supernatural altogether and become an OL. As for Saku, well, we’ve seen his type in shoujo manga before. He’s attractive, powerful, and smart. Women throw themselves at him, and he’s totally uninterested in them. Hana, on the other hand, is rude and dismissive towards him. It’s almost love at first sight. That said, I’m nev3er fond of the “I will manipulate you into loving me by this written contract” as a plot device, and I don’t like it here. He’d be better off being sincere… except I’m not sure Hana can even accept sincerity at this point in her life.

Again, this isn’t bad, it just feels a bit sour and fatalistic. I’m sure if the manga is licensed (only one volume is out in Japan to date), it will be more pleasant to read.

Bookshelf Briefs 1/25/23

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A Certain Scientific Railgun, Vol. 17 | By Kazuma Kamachi and Motoi Fuyukawa | Seven Seas – After briefly wrapping up the previous arc (and, sure enough, glossing over the fact that Uiharu developed story-breaking powers), we end up flashing back to Mikoto’s first year in middle school. She’s just turned Level 5, and lacks the confidence she’ll gain later. We also see Misaki, who has the same problems (though now that Junko’s spinoff has finished, we can officially see her kicking ass in Railgun proper). As for the plot, well, it’s a turf war between the school’s three cliques, who are being manipulated by some unknown factor. Meaning this is basically now a delinquent manga with middle school girls. To be fair, that’s par for the course with this franchise. – Sean Gaffney

Hell in a Bottle | By Kyusaku Yumeno and Towoji Honojiro | Kodansha – The first work included as part of the Maiden’s Bookshelf, a series of classic short stories re-released in beautifully illustrated hardcover editions, “Hell in a Bottle” was originally published in 1928. The translation by Angela Yiu used for this volume was previously released in the anthology Three-Dimensional Reading (which, tangentially, is a great collection of stories for readers interested in modernist, Taishō era short fiction). “Hell in a Bottle” is an epistolary tale about a brother and sister shipwrecked on a deserted island as children, a tragedy fully revealed in reverse chronological order through a sequence of letters placed in glass beer bottles and thrown out to sea. The overall design and presentation of Hell in a Bottle, from the use of color and lettering to Honojiro’s beautiful and evocative artwork, greatly enhances the reading experience of Yumeno’s story. I am definitely looking forward to future volumes of the Maiden’s Bookshelf. – Ash Brown

Honey Lemon Soda, Vol. 1 | By Mayu Murata | Yen Press – Uka Ishimori was bullied in middle school for her stony mien, and chose a laidback high school with the goal of changing herself. Alas, some of her bullies have enrolled there too, but with the help of blond bishounen Kai Miura, she finds the courage to start making progress. As this is another series about a socially awkward girl who catches the attention of a popular guy who then helps her to make friends, it took a little while for me to warm to it. However, Ishimori eventually won me over with how endearing she can be in certain moments—I adored her spontaneously asking a classmate whether they can be friends and being stunned at the “Aren’t we friends already?” reply she receives. This may be reminiscent of several different series I have read, but I still enjoyed it and will be back for more. – Michelle Smith

Kageki Shojo!!, Vol. 7 | By Kumiko Saiki | Seven Seas – This entire volume is an exquisitely written kick in the teeth. After a first half where we deal with Sugimoto having to face up to the fact that Sarasa has a bit more “oomph” than she does (which is why Sarasa was cast as Tybalt), we then get a family crisis meaning that Sarasa can’t do the role anyway. I’m glad that it all worked out OK, but the frustration in that she didn’t get to perform and everyone turned out to be fine is hellacious—I worry that this will affect her getting roles in the future, if she’s going to be thought of as unreliable. Being a Takarazuka idol is hard, and this volume shows why in the best ways. Oh yes, we also write out one of the semi-regulars for a brutally realistic reason—even the side stories are harsh. – Sean Gaffney

Lost Lad London, Vol. 3 | By Shima Shinya | Yen Press – I really wish this series had been longer, with the opportunity to introduce more possible culprits. Because, to my mind, there was only one likely prospect and, indeed, I was right. This rendered a lot of the action of this final volume somewhat anticlimactic and, combined with the social criticism that I once admired getting a little more blatant and heavy-handed, I was starting to feel a little disappointed. However, the final scene between Ellis and Al redeemed it all for me, because the mystery of who killed the mayor was never really the point of Lost Lad London. It was about these two loners relying on each other and learning not to let something negative from their past dictate their whole lives. The series ends on a note of new beginnings, symbolized by one dinky little houseplant. Highly recommended. – Michelle Smith

Snow White with the Red Hair, Vol. 22 | By Sorata Akiduki | Viz Media – We do indeed go on the road this volume, but last time I asked for less of Hisame/Kiki (they’re both here) and also suspected there would be less romance. Instead Shirayuki is once again the center of attention, and once again cannot simply come out and say “I’m dating Zen”, so things get awkward. That said, she and her group are also being manipulated, which makes her rather angry. I actually really love seeing Shirayuki in fury mode, if only as it’s a very mild, gentle fury rather than exploding rage. As for those who are hoping for more evidence of a Shirayuki/Zen/Obi OT3, well, you won’t be disappointed here either. That said, it does look like getting the cure spread will be hard.-Sean Gaffney

Tatsuki Fujimoto Before Chainsaw Man: 17-21 | By Tatsuki Fujimoto | VIZ Media Given the critical reception for Look Back and Goodbye, Eri and the strong sales for Chainsaw Man, it’s no surprise that VIZ decided to license Tatsuki Fujimoto Before Chainsaw Man. The first installment of this anthology series, 17-21, focuses on Fujimoto’s earliest published work. As you might imagine, volume one is a mixed bag, filled with ambitious stories that sacrifice character development in favor of show-stopping plot twists and detailed layouts. The exception is “Love Is Blind,” in which a lovelorn teen’s awkward, earnest outburst saves the world from annihilation. Fujimoto does a great job of subverting sci-fi and romance tropes with bold, imaginative artwork that honors the intensity of the hero’s feelings while acknowledging how solipsistic they are–a level of nuance that’s missing from the other stories. Here’s hoping 22-26 is more satisfying. – Katherine Dacey

Sasaki and Peeps: Psychic Battles, Magical Girls, and Death Games Can’t Contend with Otherworldly Fantasy ~Or So I Thought, but Now a Storm Is Brewing~

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By Buncololi and Kantoku. Released in Japan as “Sasaki to Pi-chan” by Media Factory. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Alice Prowse.

It’s getting better. There are still a few times where I wince while reading the series, mainly whenever the neighbor girl is trying to manipulate Sasaki into sexually assaulting her (he doesn’t), but for the most part the series is doing what it does best: mashing up genre after genre and watching our deadpan salaryman crush all of them as he flies past. Sasaki may be a bit of a stoic sad sack, but the series wouldn’t work at all if the protagonist were, say, Kazuma from KonoSuba. It not only requires his experience as a Japanese salaryman to drive a lot of the plot, but also his reserve helps the reader glide through the plot without taking anything too seriously. Which is good, because this series is still mostly a comedy, but also bad, because there are a lot of things I think could do with being taken more seriously, such as getting the neighbor girl some therapy.

Sasaki continues to juggle the various light novel plots he finds himself in. In the fantasy world, the count’s daughter Elsa is being taken as a “concubine” by an evil Duke, so Sasaki agrees to help fake Elsa’s death and take her with him to Japan, where she can hide out in a hotel. In the “psychic” world, he continues to investigate mysterious happenings (most of which have to do with one of the other genres he’s in) while trying to get enough blackmail material on his suspicious boss. In the “magical girl” part of the book, he finds her trying to murder another psychic. Sadly, before that gets anywhere, he’s dragged into the “angels vs. demons death game” genre we started to see last time, and finally discovers what the neighbor girl has been up to. Unfortunately, everything completely is blown to hell and back due to one fatal mistake: he lets Peeps get drunk.

I do suspect a lot of the salaryman humor in this lands better in Japan than it does here – he’s constantly apologizing to the girls around him, and thanking them for their support of him, in a way that is meant to evoke the office even as it happens while they’re watching demons blow teenage girls’ heads off. The best part of the book was seeing the neighbor finally get drawn into the main plotline as opposed to being a very uncomfortable side story. She’s still very uncomfortable – I hate using the word yandere, but it does apply here, and her rape/suicide fantasies are deliberately disturbing – but now that she’s involved with everyone else, hopefully she can get a little help? Maybe? The book ends in a four-way Mexican standoff between all of the various underage girls Sasaki has pulled into his orbit – none of whom he’s remotely romantically interested in, but I see what you’re doing there. And that doesn’t even count the traditional “looks nine but is decades older” girl. Which, again, light novel trope.

It appears we’re adding aliens to the stack of plots if the cliffhanger is to be believed, though if I were Sasaki I’d worry more about calming down his not-harem first. This series is absolutely not for everyone, but if you have drenched yourself in light novel plots over the years, it can be a lot of fun.

Suppose a Kid from the Last Dungeon Boonies Moved to a Starter Town, Vol. 11

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By Toshio Satou and Nao Watanuki. Released in Japan as “Tatoeba Last Dungeon Mae no Mura no Shonen ga Joban no Machi de Kurasu Youna Monogatari” by GA Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Andrew Cunningham.

While I would not say that the cast of Last Dungeon Kid are as bad as Seinfeld, a series where the creators had as one of their series rules “no hugging, no learning”, it is certainly true that any time one of the characters almost reaches a point where they will come to their senses and mature as a person, they immediately backslide horribly for comedic effect. Usually that person has been Marie, and it’s Marie here as well. She’s reaping what she’s sown, as Lloyd is now convinced that Marie is the LAST person that could possibly be the kingdom’s princess, mostly thanks to what a giant disaster she is. A sensible person might think that they should shape themselves up so that Lloyd might be able to see them as royalty. Marie, instead, realizes that her being a disaster means Lloyd is too attached to her to fall in love with anybody, so she doubles down on being terrible. It’s… well, they’re comedy types, Harold.

As the country prepares for possible war, our core military cast are going around to various guilds to make sure that they’ll be on the right side when the fighting starts. This includes the adventurer’s guild whose mysterious leader has been absent for years but who returns the moment Lloyd shows up. It also includes the maritime guild, whose head has been fighting with the King for years and years, apparently due to the disappearance of the Queen. The King is trying to move things forward by having a big party where he’ll reveal the return of Princess Maria, and Marie has even agreed to it, in a desperate effort to get Lloyd to believe her. Sadly, when informed that the princess loves Lloyd, he becomes desperate to find the REAL princess… so he can reject her!

I wasn’t kidding when I said that stuff happens immediately after Lloyd gets involved. When he walks in, the plot moves forward. And yes, there is still a plot. Indeed, we get an extended prologue that shows us Alka’s past from before this world’s transformation, and get closer to figuring out who was behind it and what they actually want. We also see the return of the mystery woman who Lloyd met in the “bathroom” he found several books ago. As it happens, she’s deeply tied to both the Kingdom and Alka’s past… but of course she’s also a bit of a disaster, because there really are no 100% serious characters in this book. It reminds me of reading Urusei Yatsura or Ranma 1/2. You keep wanting things to be taken more seriously, for drama, for a bit of romantic resolution. But you can get that in other series that are far less funny than this. This series is here to give us laughs, and though they may be rueful laughs most of the time, they’re still there.

That said, we have to wait another three months while this series’ narrator goes off to do his other job as narrator of Tearmoon Empire. Till then, this is always a fun read, especially if you’ve just read two awful books in a row (like I had).

Pick of the Week: Finding Gems

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SEAN: There’s no new manga titles that really call out to me, and while I am interested in These Legs Don’t Lie!, that borderline H cover makes me wary. So I’m going to pick Ascendance of a Bookworm, because it’s always fantastic.

KATE: I’m in the same boat as Sean; this week’s list is long but not very enticing. If I had to choose a title, though, I’d pick the new edition of Polar Bear Cafe, if only because the premise sounds like a nice bit of escapism. (The artwork looks pretty darn cute, too.)

MICHELLE: The blurb for Happy of the End includes the line ” Chihiro may not have a place to call home currently and Keito may not be a good person by any means, but maybe the two of them could be happy together.” Depending on how bad Keito actually turns out to be, this could be dreadful or right up my street. Either way, I’ll take a chance and pick this one this week!

ASH: While there are a few debuts that vaguely interest me this week, I think I should probably make up for being delinquent in my reading of Wave, Listen to Me! and take some time to get caught up with that series, so that’ll be my pick.

ANNA: I’m also not seeing a ton out there that is a must buy for me, but I am curious about A Condition Called Love.

Yuri Tama: From Third Wheel to Trifecta, Vol. 2

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By Toshizou and Kuro Shina. Released in Japan as “Yuri no Ma ni Hasamareta Watashi ga, Ikioi de Futamata Shite Shimatta” by Overlap Bunko. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Tristan K. Hill.

“Sean,” my readers say to me. “I’m happy that we’ve gotten a lot more yuri titles in the last few years, but what about fans of incest? Is there a book out there that looks closely at younger sisters who love their older sister and tries hard to do a deep analysis about whether it’s OK or not?”. OK, no. My readers never say that to me. That said, if that’s what you want, I have good news, the second volume of Yuri Tama is all about said feelings, and whether Yotsuba will decide to dump her new girlfriends for her sisters, or just have all of them in a giant polycule, or what. So yeah, good news for fans of that. If, on the other hand, you read the above and said “what the actual fuck?”, then you are like me and stared at this volume with dull horror. The author can certainly write. It’s just what they write that’s the problem.

Yotsuba has managed to pass all but one of her exams, despite possessing the worst self-loathing of any light novel protagonist ever. This means she has most of her summer break free, and she plans to spend it dating her two girlfriends (separately). Unfortunately, each date is seen by one of her younger sisters, and now they’re both furious. Yotsuba is sure they’re upset that she’s “two-timing” the girls she’s dating, or they’re upset that she didn’t tell them she was dating at all. They’re not. They’re upset because they’ve been in love with Yotsuba since they were little children, and the idea that two other hussies have snatched her away is appalling. Can a family trip to a hot spring allow Yotsuba to explain? Or will it just make things worse?

So, let’s tick off the things I didn’t hate. 1) The author is somewhat self-aware that they are writing ridiculous shit, and it gets lampshaded a few times. 2) There is an attempt at discussing the differences between sexual attraction, familial love, and close friendship. It’s an attempt that is somewhat steamrollered by the plot, but the attempt is made. OK, I’m done with good things. Yotsuba remains the most annoying narrator ever, not being able to go more than three paragraphs without reminding us how awful and pathetic she is. Her sisters are, not to put too fine a point on it, creepy, and Yotsuba seriously considering loving both of them sexually boggles the mind. And unfortunately, because of this plot, Rinka and Yuna are sidelined. The dates may be the best part of the book, both because they’re not incestuous and also because Yotsuba shows an odd confidence that she doesn’t seem to be aware of herself. I want to explore that, not whether incest is OK.

I wish I could say that the series ended here, but a third volume of this came out last month in Japan. If you are really really desperate for yuri… please read something else anyway. Also, please use the word “two-timing” correctly! It’s consensual! They both know! Explain that!

Sabikui Bisco, Vol. 4

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

This review really cannot happen without spoiling the end of the book, so beware if you do not want to be spoiled, though I will try not to exactly spoil. Throughout most of this volume, this has the feel of a “makework” volume in the series, as events happen but it lacks the striking imagery of previous books, which was one of the major reasons we read it. It also is not as gay, which is the other reason we read it, mostly as Bisco and Milo spend most of the book separated from each other, and there’s only one or two moments, such as brief princess carry, or Milo staring in what is clearly jealousy at one point, that makes you realize the writer knows what they’re doing. But it’s all right. It’s got some really cool fight scenes, Bisco is funny at times, we have a new waif who needs to be guided/rescued, and we get a little more development of the post-apocalyptic works with a slave race. OK, that last part is questionable.

We open with a teenager escaping from what appears to be a maximum security prison, only to be caught almost immediately, and their rescue/medical treatment by Bisco and Milo, and we then backtrack to see why they’re in a prison in the first place. They arrive at what is supposed to be a mushroom keeper’s village only to find it nearly deserted, covered in sakura flowers. The tribe have been arrested and thrown into a maximum security prison by the warden, who is very big on justice in a “Shonen Cop Gone Bad” sort of way. Shishi is part of a tribe called the Benibishi, an artificially engineered plant-based species designed as slaves. All the Benibishi are ALSO in the prison, and Shishi’s father, their King, is due to be executed. Now Bisco and Milo have to get into the prison and try to resolve things… except that they’re promptly arrested and thrown in there anyway.

Starting off with the one really great part of the book. The third volume ended, to the surprise of most readers, with Pawoo marrying Bisco, and she’s come along in this book as well. Then, a third of the way through the book, the prison warden grabs her and simply throws her out of the book and back to her home town. We never see her again. It’s jaw-droppingly funny given the novels’ BL tendencies. Well, that’s the good out of the way. Shishi is briefly presented as trans, but it’s unclear if that’s gender-based or just has to do with the idea of “prince”, and the book uses female pronouns for Shishi throughout. The Benibishi all are jailed because there is a worry that they will go mad with revenge and try to kill those who wronged them. Their plant nature means they run the risk of getting caught up in murderous rage, and the King warns Bisco and Milo about it, so they help his daughter calm down and not choose violence.

And then comes the ending, which is like the author giving you a nice warm hug and then stabbing you in the back. Now, I will grant you there’s certainly a plot for Book 5 now, and I wonder if the only reason this happened is the author ran out of things to do in this series. But man, Shishi’s actions in the last three pages or so leave SUCH a bad taste in my mouth that I can’t really recommend this anymore. A merely okay volume of the series till the ending brings it down to bad.

High School DxD: Lionheart of the Academy Festival

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

Generally speaking, harem series rarely have to ask the question “why is the guy not understanding that all these girls who are literally naked in his bed saying “take me now, big boy!” kinda like him?”. The reason for that is that in most of these stories the answer is the same. It’s a variation on “don’t be silly, no girl will ever like me.” Harem protagonist never comes without a heaping helping of self-loathing, it would seem. Fortunately for High School DxD, it can actually give Issei a real reason for all that self-loathing beyond “because the plot requires it”. His first girlfriend, the one who he finally thought would be the girl that did not see him as a creepy pervert loser (which, sorry Issei, he is) rejected him bluntly multiple times. Oh yes, and turned out to be evil, tried to kill him, and was murdered in front of him. So when you ask “why does he not understand why Rias is so mad in this volume”, the answer can be, frankly, “trauma”.

We’ve had the sports festival and the school trip, so clearly it’s time for the culture festival. Maid cafe? Haunted house? Why not do both? As the Occult Research Club prepares to pull out all the stops, they also have a fresh new Rating Game, against an up and coming team whose leader, Sairaorg, has no demonic powers, but has to get by with his charisma and his brute strength. He is, frankly, a perfect opponent for Issei, and the fight takes up the entire second half of the book. Unfortunately, there’s trouble in paradise: After being as subtle as a truck and failing to get her feelings across to Issei, Rias spends most of the book miserable and thinking that he doesn’t actually love her. He’s not helping things by not understanding why calling her “Prez” feels like distance. Can they make up in time to win the match?

I haven’t mentioned breasts at all yet in this review, so I want to sadly reassure fans of the series that they’re still ridiculously essential to the plot, with the funniest fight in the book revolving around a woman taking off her panties before her bra, something that absolutely infuriates Issei. As for he and Rias, frankly, the two are more similar than you’d expect, and of course are the main couple of this series. And yes, finally we can say “couple”, given that we get an incredibly overdramatic and public confession (it’s High School DxD, where everything happens in front of the biggest crowd imaginable) which, more importantly, is followed by a quieter but just as firm confession when it’s just the two of them. It doesn’t take a genius to realize that this is a “marry everyone” kind of series, but it has to start with Rias, and now it has.

That said, haven’t things gone a bit too well for our heroes lately? (Well, except Akeno, who got annihilated in about ten seconds. Sorry, Akeno.) Gosh, I hope nothing absolutely tragic happens in the next book…

Manga the Week of 1/25/23

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SEAN: The heavy part of January has passed us by, but there’s still lots of titles still to go.

ASH: Woohoo!

SEAN: No print for Airship this week, but we do see a 4th volume of Survival in Another World with My Mistress! in early digital.

Ghost Ship has Into the Deepest, Most Unknowable Dungeon 5.

J-Novel Club has a debut. These Legs Don’t Lie! Harumi’s Legacy as the Strongest Mimic (Bikyaku Mimic, Harumi-san: Tensei Monster Isekai Nariagari Densetsu) stars a young woman who seems to have been reincarnated as… a mimic? One of those treasure chests that’s really a trap? Fortunately, she’s essentially Fantasy Betty Grable.

ASH: Wait, do mimics even have legs?

SEAN: Also from J-Novel Club: Ascendance of a Bookworm 23, Full Clearing Another World under a Goddess with Zero Believers 6, Housekeeping Mage from Another World: Making Your Adventures Feel Like Home! 4, A Late-Start Tamer’s Laid-Back Life 5, and VTuber Legend: How I Went Viral after Forgetting to Turn Off My Stream 3.

ASH: Bookworm!

SEAN: Kaiten Books has a digital volume of Gacha Girls Corps 4.

Kodansha has another print debut of a former digital only title: A Condition Called Love (Hananoi-kun to Koi no Yamai). It’s a Dessert title, about a girl who ends up going out with a popular guy after his messy breakup with someone else. But is she just a rebound, or something more?

MICHELLE: I started this digitally but didn’t get far, so I look forward to the opportunity to pick up with the print edition. This is by Megumi Morino, who also did Wake Up, Sleeping Beauty.

ASH: Oh! I did enjoy what I read of that series.

ANNA: I’m curious!

SEAN: Also in print: Blue Period 12, Noragami Omnibus 3 (Vol. 7-9), Wave, Listen to Me! 9, and the final 27th and 28th volumes of Yamada-kun and the Seven Witches, a series that shows you exactly what happens when the publisher forces an artist to write more and more after it should have ended.

MICHELLE: I’ve really gotta get caught up with Wave, Listen to Me!.

ASH: I’m a couple volumes behind, but look forward to reading them. As for Yamada-kun… I’m going to have to agree with Sean’s assessment. Which is a shame since the earlier part of the series was so good.

SEAN: Digitally we get Burn the House Down 8 (the final volume), A Couple of Cuckoos 9, DAYS 33, The Food Diary of Miss Maid 3, Gamaran: Shura 4, Getting Closer to You 4, Saving Sweets for After-Hours 3, and Tying the Knot with an Amagami Sister 6.

MICHELLE: Burn the House Down looks intriguing. I shall soon undertake a binge!

SEAN: KUMA has a debut: Happy of the End, a BL series from Qpa. A man wakes up lying on garbage with another man hovering over him. Then the memories return… weren’t they in a punch-up fight the day before?

MICHELLE: This one has a very pretty cover!

ASH: I am intrigued!

ANNA: Hmmm….

SEAN: Seven Seas has some debuts. My Secret Affection (Kimi no Koto ga Suki de Ienai) is a shoujo title from Dessert. After a meteorite fall 30 years earlier, everyone now only falls in love with the same sex. Except our heroine! Can she hide the fact that she’s cishet from her childhood friend and crush?

MICHELLE: Definitely going to wait for others’ reviews on this one.

ASH: Hmmm. I could see this premise being handled really well or really, really poorly.

ANNA: Same, I guess it certainly has a unique premise?

SEAN: Sword of the Demon Hunter: Kijin Gentōshō is a supernatural title from Monthly Action and is based on the light novels Seven Seas is also releasing.

ASH: I might have time to read the manga before I have a chance to read the novel!

SEAN: In addition, Polar Bear Café: Collector’s Edition is a re-release of the popular series with additional color pages.

ASH: Nice!

SEAN: On the danmei novel side, we get The Husky and His White Cat Shizun: Erha He Ta De Bai Mao Shizun 2.

ASH: Speaking of novels I haven’t had a chance to read yet…

On the manga side, we see The Dragon Knight’s Beloved 4, DUNGEON DIVE: Aim for the Deepest Level 4, I Got Caught Up In a Hero Summons, but the Other World was at Peace! 5, Let’s Buy the Land and Cultivate It in a Different World 2, MoMo -the blood taker- 3, Thunderbolt Fantasy Omnibus II (the final volume), and Yokai Cats 2.

Square Enix Manga has Beauty and the Feast 6, The Strongest Sage with the Weakest Crest 10, and Suppose a Kid from the Last Dungeon Boonies Moved to a Starter Town 7.

Titan Books gives us Kamen Rider Kuuga 2.

ASH: Good to see Titan Books on the list!

SEAN: Lastly, from Viz Media we get How Do We Relationship? 8 and My Hero Academia: School Briefs 6.

ASH: A small showing from Viz this week, but I’ve really enjoyed what I’ve read of How Do We Relationship? so far.

SEAN: Something for everyone! Something for you? Are you everyone?