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Combatants Will Be Dispatched!, Vol. 7

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By Natsume Akimoto and Kakao Lanthanum. Released in Japan as “Sentouin, Hakenshimasu!” by Kadokawa Sneaker Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Noboru Akimoto.

It’s been over two years since the last volume of this series came out in English, but honestly this one doesn’t take too long to get back into the swing of things. There’s rarely a lot you have to remember with Combatants Will Be Dispatched! except for the one maxim “everyone is horrible”. If you remember that, you’re good. So we have Six saying that he needs to sexually harass a woman just in case doesn’t know what sexual harassment is when bad men do it, Alice and Six gleefully sending their “colleagues” all around the world and not bothering to bring them back, and a new nation where a new princess competes to see if she can have as black a heart as Tillis seems to. Oh yes, and as the cover might tell you, we also have Belial, one of Six’s three bosses, whose idea of how to solve a problem is “punch it”, but whose backstory comes as a big surprise to both Alice and the reader.

After the events of the last book, Six and company are enjoying a bit of downtime while they work on building their new city. This downtime is occasionally interrupted by Little Bashin, who is a native tribe girl who can’t speak the language… supposedly (we may have another chuuni here) and a large dragon which is too much for everyone to handle, except maybe Belial, who is asked to to come over to help out Six. She then proceeds to make her way across all the nations, cowing them into submission with sheer firepower and blackmail, and unites most everyone under the Kisaragi banner. Which… makes you wonder about the competency of Six and Alice. Was brute force the answer all along? That said, they have one problem that can’t quite be solved by punching it: Tiger Man has kidnapped a nation’s princess. Who is a little girl. And it’s Tiger Man. Uh oh.

So yes, the usual word of warning for this series, pedophilia is used as a joke for “hilarious” laughs, though the little princess is not in any danger herself and in fact asked to be kidnapped. That said, everyone being a terrible person is the vibe here, and if you enjoy that there’s a lot to like. Six is a terrible person, but he’s smarter than Kazuma, and Alice is smarter than both of them. The Belial focus is appreciated, as is her backstory, where it reveals she was a yamato nadesico sort who Lilith’s enhancements “accidentally” brainwashed/mindwiped, though it’s fairly clear by the end of the book that she remembers who she was but is not particularly inclined to return to that. The main question is what happens now, as Belial has pretty much finished 95% of their “to do” list.

Expect another long wait before we find out, as the eighth book is not out in Japan yet. If you like KonoSuba but wish everyone was scuzzier, this is still your go-to series.

Formerly, the Fallen Daughter of the Duke, Vol. 4

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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.

Last time I said that this series remained OK, and that I hoped the fourth book was the final one. And it certainly FEELS like a final book. All the plotlines are wrapped up. The bad guys are taken care of. Our heroine is ready to marry her love once they are of age. And yet in the afterword we’re told that the author hopes to write more adventures of Claire and Vik after the wedding. So, I will admit, I do appreciate the fact that a romance book does not have to end with a marriage or end just because the characters may have aged past the series’ market. That said, I admit my reaction to seeing this news was “oh hell no”. There’s nothing hideously wrong with this book aside from an odd disconnect I’ll get to. But there are too many fallen duke’s daughters out there for me to care about this one, who is pleasant but oh so dull.

Things are going well for Claire, aside from a few hiccups. Charlotte is still missing after the events of the last book, and seems to have completely vanished from the entire country. Moreover, the magical tornado that forced her to time loop is still on its way, and she wants to make sure her magic is strong enough that she won’t exhaust it and trigger the same thing happening. She’s even, with Vik’s help, able to get her old dream job back of being Isabella’s governess. Unfortunately, she gets an invitation from Prince Gilbert, who is prince of a neighboring country, to come visit. Just her. Not her fiance. Suspicious. She goes, with Lui at her side as her bodyguard/attendant, and finds that Prince Gilbert is nothing whatsoever like what everyone thought of him. She also finds something even more annoying – Charlotte.

Getting the really obvious spoiler out of the way (I feel no shame, the author doesn’t try to hide it), Gilbert ALSO is a Japanese isekai. He’s not a gamer, but his sister was, and drilled into him her favorite route. Unfortunately, her favorite route is Claire’s. Even more unfortunately, all the other routes seem to lead to everyone in his kingdom being killed. This actually DID catch my interest, and could have led to some interesting things going on. Unfortunately, Chaire’s somewhat… unique relationship with the source (her memories of Japan are muddled and mostly come in dreams) and her desire to not tell her dear friends they’re fictional mean that resolving this by just saying “stop treating me like an NPC” isn’t happening. Meaning we get a lot of tedious “comedy” as Gilbert tries to woo Claire by hitting game flags only to fail over and over.

I did like the epilogue showing us Charlotte’s final fate. Assuming it is her final fate. Certainly, I’m perfectly happy leaving the Formerly Fallen Daughter here, even if there are later adventures.

Pick of the Week: Cats, Thats, and Witch Hats

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MICHELLE: 1000% My Cat Is Such a Weirdo. I mean, how could I not?

SEAN: Still can’t resist a heroine called Princess That, so I’m going with Third Loop: The Nameless Princess and the Cruel Emperor for my pick.

ANNA: My pick is Witch Hat Atelier Kitchen it sounds so amazingly random.

ASH: I’m with Anna this week! As soon as I was reminded that Witch Hat Atelier Kitchen existed, I made sure that I had a pre-order in place.

Bookshelf Briefs 10/30/23

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A Bride’s Story, Vol. 14 | By Kaoru Mori | Yen Press – Actual main couple at last! And Karluk is thirteen, so is presumably getting closer to being able to consummate his marriage, though I fear for now cuddling naked against the cold is the best the two can do. The highlight of this book is trying to unite the village tribes and nomad tribes so they can both fight the Russians, which will (of course) involve marriages. But to get those, we need a giant, near deadly horse race in order to make sure that the men are good enough for their brides. The brides themselves come in three varieties: proud and stoic, divorced and scarred, and “bundle of fun,” but all three seem quite happy with their husbands… one of whom is Amir’s brother. Probably another year till volume fifteen, and I hope the series does not end with everyone being killed. – Sean Gaffney

It Takes Two Tomorrow, Too, Vol. 1 | By Suzuyuki | One Peace Books – Yuya and Rio move in together after dating for a little over a year, It Takes Two Tomorrow, Too beginning soon after this significant evolution in their relationship. As one might expect, it takes a bit of time to get used to sharing a home with someone else. There are certainly misunderstandings and makeups, but instead of presenting opportunities for melodrama, Suzuyuki portrays their lives in realistic, natural ways. Rio and Yuya are a wonderful couple, the care and consideration they show for each other is heartwarming and refreshing. The supporting cast is likewise endearing, whether it be their coworkers, friends, or family. It Takes Two Tomorrow, Too is a genuinely sweet and funny series, never becoming overly saccharine or relying on meanness as a source of humor. It’s the sort of series that soothes the soul and sometimes that’s just what one needs; I look forward to reading more. – Ash Brown

Kubo Won’t Let Me Be Invisible, Vol. 9 | By Nene Yukimori | Viz Media – I enjoy the Kubo manga, but it is not exactly the most original title in the world, nor is it trying to be. It’s in the “teasing the boy she likes” genre, but it’s also a fairly standard school not-yet-romance. As such we get a lot of beats that seem familiar, like going out for her birthday/agonizing over a gift, or the summer festival and getting separated right before the fireworks. The good thing about this title is it can tie things into Shiraishi’s past, as getting lost for him was super traumatic as no one ever sees him. The moment in this volume, then, when Kubo does find him after all, is so triumphant you can almost hear the swelling music behind the panel. These are cute kids, I hope they confess soon. – Sean Gaffney

Medalist, Vol. 8 | By Tsurumaikada | Kodansha Comics (digital only) – There are other skaters in this volume aside from Inori and Hikaru, and they get some very good artwork showing off their stellar skating. So it feels bad to talk about how Hikaru completely blew all of them away with her routine, reminding everyone that she is the only rival worth paying attention to, and getting a score so high no one could possibly beat it. Inori had originally been sent off and told not to watch the other routines, as she was looking anxious. But she came back to see Hikaru’s skating as it means that much to her, and it did not depress her or make her feel like it was an insurmountable performance. It fired her up. The book ends with Inori about to go out on the ice, and I cannot wait to see it. – Sean Gaffney

Monthly Girls’ Nozaki-kun, Vol. 14 | By Sorata Akiduki | Yen Press – I did ask in my last review of Nozaki-kun… from August 2022… (this series being caught up with Japan hurts my soul) for a couple to hook up, and I… almost get my wish? One person communicates his feelings, and the other party actually understands them. Now, a) it’s not clear if this will lead to anything just yet, and b) given it’s Ryousuke and Miyako, I worry that this will end in tanukis somehow. But it’s a start! And honestly, Hori and Kashima are getting there as well, as we are slowly trying to get the both of them to think… which is tough. Especially Hori, as he’s not a traditional baka like Kashima can be. As for Chiyo… she’s terrifying. Her love is pure, but it’s pure like a stalker’s love kind of pure. Hilarious as always. – Sean Gaffney

The Moon on a Rainy Night, Vol. 1 | By Kuzushiro | Kodansha Manga – There have been quite a few stellar manga series—A Sign of Affection, A Silent Voice—featuring characters who are deaf. This is along those lines, but Kanon is not deaf, just hard-of-hearing. This gives her a very different vibe from the other heroines that we’ve seen with hearing issues, and in a way makes her harder to approach—she has not bothered to learn sign language, for instance. That said, this is also a yuri manga, so we’re also going to meet the bright, somewhat pushy girl who worms her way into her heart via the power of Kanon’s mother’s brutal piano lessons. We even get the standard older girl “first yuri crush” who announces that she’s getting married to a guy. The combination of these elements is well handled, and I want to read more. – Sean Gaffney

Though I Am an Inept Villainess: Tale of the Butterfly-Rat Body Swap in the Maiden Court, Vol. 5

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By Satsuki Nakamura and Kana Yuki. Released in Japan as “Futsutsuka na Akujo dewa Gozaimasu ga: Suuguu Chouso Torikae Den” by Ichijinsha Novels. Released in North America by Airship. Translated by Tara Quinn.

In the last volume we saw that discovering the wonders of living inside a healthy and hale body broke down Reirin’s emotional reserve, to the point that when she was confronted with a horrible tragedy she broke down in tears. In this volume we see that the experience of having a friend who doesn’t spoil her and treat her like she’s made of fragile glass has broken her reserves even more without her knowing it. Unfortunately, this friend is also the sort of person to have every single emotion, no matter what it is, come out as “anger”. And this is very unfortunate, because for once in her life, Reirin is completely unable to cope. As for said friend, Keigetsu, well, she’s throwing wild tantrums and raving that she’ll never, ever apologize, but that’s far less surprising. Unfortunately, the timing on this is really awful, as the maidens are having a competition for the Top Spot, and the knives are coming out.

Three months have passed since the events of the last book, and it’s now time for Rite of Reverence, where the five maidens all compete to see who can show the most devotion to the Emperor. This is a hotly contested battle, with the respective house fortunes rising and falling depending on the placement of said maidens. As such, Keigetsu is even more stressed out than usual. And she’s not the only one, as we get a good look at the other three maidens in the series. Seika is trying to do this in an honorable way, but is cowed by her consort’s power and threats. Houshun is discovering that her cutely incompetent act is starting to show its cracks, and her own consort can see them. And Kasui is on a detective mission, desperately trying to find out what happened years ago that led to the death of her sister and the mere mention of her name being forbidden in the inner court. As for Reirin? She’s fiiiiiiiiine.

This is an amazing book in an amazing series, frankly, and I am desperate to read the next one because, of course, it ends on a cliffhanger. Reirin and Keigetsu get into a huge fight, and you can absolutely sympathize with both of them. After four books of finding Keigetsu’s tantrums cute and funny, Reirin is finally hurt by them, and finds her powers of observation and judgment severely curtailed. Of course, that may also be the fact that she’s getting progressively more ill after getting her foot burned in a murder attempt and diving into an icy lake to try to save Keigetsu’s poetry. I think everyone else in the cast was too stunned at seeing the supposedly deathly ill Reirin doing these things to bother to be angry at her. Keigetsu, though, expresses all her emotions through rage. Including worry, and concern, and guilt. Not great. Especially when Reirin genuinely screws up in a conversation with Kasui and ends up beaten up and dying at the bottom of a well.

That said, the cliffhanger is not “will Reirin be found before she dies?”, because the author is aware we know she will. Also, this is a book where the main premise is bodyswapping. So the cliffhanger is, instead, how are we going to stop Reirin’s Roaring Rampage of Revenge this time? Everyone, I beg you, read this.

The Holy Grail of Eris, Vol. 4

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By Kujira Tokiwa and Yu-nagi. Released in Japan as “Eris no Seihai” by GA Novels. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Winifred Bird.

A few days ago I reviewed the 4th volume of The Sorcerer’s Receptionist, a series that ended naturally at three volumes and got a fourth anyway, and lamented the fact that sometimes authors and publishers just can’t let something end naturally. That said… there are exceptions. Because here I am reading The Holy Grail of Eris, a series that ended naturally at three volumes and got a fourth anyway, and am absolutely delighted that I got to spend more time seeing these characters get into wacky hijinks again. I guess it simply comes down to the main character. TSR has a tsundere who is constantly in denial, and the fourth book, despite a love epiphany, doubles down on that. Connie, by contrast, is very confident in the love she and Randolph have for each other, and instead struggles with the fact that he’s married to his job rather than her, even when they go on vacation. That said, Connie can’t seem to go on vacation without thrilling adventure following behind her, so she’s not one to talk.

The Kingdom of Adelbide is asked to check in on Ulysses, the young Faris royal with a tendency towards being in peril. He also wants to see his “dear friend” Lucia, who he bonded with in the last book when they were in mortal peril together. So a contingent, including Connie, Randolph, and Scarlett, is sent to the island of El Sol – and Connie has another errand from Adolphus – take Scarlett’s mother’s ashes back to where she grew up. Of course, once they get there chaos begins to unfold. The local noble, Antonio, dislikes Connie on sight; Connie ends up getting dragged into a series of petty lawsuits that need an arbiter who can insult everyone till they surrender (fortunately, she can get possessed and let Scarlett do it for her), and most importantly, the terrorists form the first three books are still around, and they’re after a shipment of fireworks that were being sent for the Summer Carnival festival. Is Connie going to have any time at all for a vacation with her fiance?

Well, no, of course not. That’s not why we read Holy Grail of Eris. We read it for the intrigue, and for the thrills, and for the still hilarious otome game biographies that come after every chapter. Connie may still need Scarlett to possess her when a debate is needed, but she’s perfectly fine on her own when it comes to things like high-speed boat chases… well, it’s a rowboat, so medium-speed boat chases. There’s also a sense that she’s going to end up being one of the many Women In Power in this series, whether she likes it or not, and I honestly think that it will be good for her. Meanwhile Antonio is feeling like a third wheel in the relationship between Lucia and Ulysses (who gets kidnapped, again, but has gotten much better at handling it) and, well, he is, but it’s a toy ship, so we don’t need to worry about breaking anyone’s heart till they get older.

This genuinely seems like the end of the series, a bonus book for fans who wanted more. It was a delight.

A Tale of the Secret Saint, Vol. 5

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By Touya and chibi. Released in Japan as “Tensei Sita Daiseijyo ha, Seijyo Dearuko Towohitakakusu” by Earth Star Novels. Released in North America by Airship. Translated by Kevin Ishizaka. Adapted by Matthew Birkenhauer.

I have to be honest, I should not enjoy this series as much as I do. It really does a lot of things wrong. At its core is broad humor involving a heroine who misunderstands almost everything everyone says to her, and that’s fine. In fact, it’s almost a genre in itself. And she’s really, really good at not getting it. But it also manages to bring up her very real PTSD that comes from her actual death and everything leading up to her death, to the point where she’s actively repressing the worst memories of it. This is also quite well written and handled with care, but the two plotlines really should not co-exist next to each other as well as they do. In addition, this volume once again is 2/3 of an actual book, followed by endless extra side stories that either tell other character’s POV of what Fia narrated for us, or Fia’s wacky adventures as Serafina in the past. Where we find she was also a giant ditz.

After the events of the previous two books, Fia is now officially a knight, but before she can get down to the business of protecting the royal family, she’s given some time off. She uses this to go north to visit her older sister, aka the one sibling that did not treat her like hot garbage growing up, and also check in with Zavilia, who is no longer a tiny little dragon familiar but has become King of the Mountain – literally. He even has his own dragon cult, though there’s some implication that this is mostly due to pure terrifying force of will. Unfortunately, when she gets back to her home, she’s also met by Guy Osbern, who used to “tease” her as a kid by calling himself a legendary demon. Sadly, he had no real way of knowing the very real trauma that she had in the past from demons, and seeing him again brings it all back.

Again, for the most part this is hilarious. Before she sets off on her journey she runs into “Green” and “Blue”, the royals from the neighboring kingdom who are still just random adventurers to her, and she takes them with her on her journey. Literally everyone except Fia can see they’re Very Important People, but she does not care. She also has a nice dose of accidentally using her saint powers and having to pretend that it’s for some random reason, though fortunately she doesn’t have to restore any severed arms here. Amidst all this, we do get actual plot, if only a bit. The past history of the kingdoms does not quite match up with Fia’s memory of her past from 300 years ago, and Kurtis knows why but does not want to upset Mia too much. What’s more, it turns out that they may not have defeated the real demon lord – and “the demon lord’s underling” is the one part of Fia’s memories that she’s still running away from in terror.

So: this is hilarious You will laugh. But there’s an odd current of deep tragedy also rolling through it, and the resulting taste should not work but does.

Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russian, Vol. 4

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By Sunsunsun and Momoco. Released in Japan as “Tokidoki Bosotto Russia-go de Dereru Tonari no Alya-san” by Kadokawa Sneaker Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Matthew Rutsohn.

There’s a short story volume due out next, but quite honestly, this one also feels a bit like a short story volume, detailing the wacky adventures of the cast on their summer break. There’s no real through line of plot except Masachika’s crippling self-hatred, and the cliffhanger is one I had sort of guessed, so for the most part this feels a bit disconnected. It is also the horniest book in the series, and this comes from a series that is already pretty horny. That said, it does have one of my least favorite things about light novels, which is the idea, held by both boys and girls, that a man having sexual thoughts is the same as the man doing sexual deeds. There are a whole lot of wacky harem manga situations in this book, and a lot of them lead to Masachika having an erection he’s trying to hide. And that’s OK. He’s a teenage boy. But it’s not OK for him, and he continues to consider himself the worst person in the world. It’s annoying.

The student council is going on a summer vacation to a beach house, but before that we have a few plots involving Masachika and Yuki being themselves. This involves a great deal of sex talk, a fair bit of sibling violence, and an amusement park visit where their secret identities end up getting exposed to Sayaka (who is shocked) and Nonoa (who’d already guessed). Oh yes, and Alya keeps coming over to Masachika’s house when everyone out to do homework, and so far… they’ve done homework. Which annoys her. At the beach house, we get bikinis, swimming, bathing, room switching, and a festival with fireworks, all of which are reasonably cute. Unfortunately, Masachika keeps assuming that he’s screwing everything up, and overcompensates to try to fix it, and ends up hating himself even more by the end of it. He ends up going back to the playground where he played with the foreign kid… who turns out to be someone he knows.

As is pretty typical in the genre, the reader ends up sympathizing with Alya heavily here, despite her accidentally getting groped when Masachika tries to save her from falling onto jagged rocks. (She even trots out the “take responsibility and marry me” chestnut, which I haven’t seen in quite some time.) There’s a whole lot of muttered Russian in this book, which Masachika understands but has to pretend he can’t, but really, she could not be more obvious. Even he gets it at the end of the book. But, as with so many other books in this genre, only one thing is stopping the two from being a couple, and it’s the man’s idea that he’s not good enough for her. To be fair, he has the trauma to back it up, and the scenes we get from his childhood in this book are as depressing as you’d expect. But it’s like eating a marshmallow sandwich where the bread is misery.

Next volume… won’t resolve this cliffhanger. Short story volume. Till then, if you like self-loathing and boobs, this is the perfect title for you.

Manga the Week of 11/1/23

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SEAN: This is that odd “is it October or November?” part of the manga calendar, so expect weirdness.

ASH: I always do.

SEAN: To start, Airship has no early digital releases announced… so far… and the only print title is Reincarnated as a Dragon Hatchling 5.

EDIT: Surprise, they put them up at the very last moment! Early digital for Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear 16 and There’s No Freaking Way I’ll be Your Lover! Unless… 3.

Cross Infinite World debuts three Volume 1s in their light novel line. I Guess This Dragon Who Lost Her Egg to Disaster Is My Mom Now (Saigai de Tamago o Ushinatta Dragon ga Nazeka Ore o Sodate Hajimeta) is a rather bizarre not-quite-reincarnation story, where an adventurer on the verge of death after (sigh) being betrayed by his own party ends up in the nest of a dragon who lost her egg… and suddenly he turns into a young girl to be her new daughter.

ASH: Huh.

SEAN: Making Jam in the Woods: My Relaxing Life Starts in Another World (Mori no Hotori de Jam wo Niru: Isekai de Hajimeru Slow Life) is a slow life isekai, as the Japanese title suggests. Margaret dies and is reincarnated in a new world, where she’s rescued by an elderly noblewoman. Sure, she has a destiny… but she’d much rather just eat.

ANNA: I’m not usually into isekai but I find the idea of a manga devoted to making jam in the woods amusing.

ASH: Same!

SEAN: Third Loop: The Nameless Princess and the Cruel Emperor (Nanashi no Ōjo to Reikoku Kōtei: Shītagerareta Yōjo, Konse de wa Ryū to Mofumofu ni Dekiai Sarete Imasu) stars a girl so abused she doesn’t even has a name – she’s “Princess That”. She also loops back in time and suffers the same abuse again. But this time… suddenly people seem to love her!

Ghost Ship debuts Inside the Tentacle Cave (Inbi na Doukutsu no Sono Oku de). This runs in Comic Vamp, and is about an evolving monster that develops a taste for sexual assault. Whee.

MICHELLE: Um.

ANNA: No thank you.

ASH: Oh, my!

SEAN: They also have the 12th and final volume of SUPER HXEROS and the third and final volume of World’s End Harem: Fantasia Academy.

It’s a very quiet week for J-Novel Club, who have Record of Wortenia War 21 and The Troubles of Miss Nicola the Exorcist 2.

ASH: For a moment there, I inexplicably conflated The Troubles of Miss Nicola the Exorcist with Nicola Traveling Around the Demons’ World, but I’m pretty sure the two are unrelated.

SEAN: Kodansha Books gives us As a Reincarnated Aristocrat, I’ll Use My Appraisal Skill to Rise in the World 3.

Kodansha Manga has the print version of Ogami-san Can’t Keep It In, meaning once again I assumed something was a digital exclusive and was wrong. These lists, man, I dunno, I’m getting depressed. Anyway, see last week for details.

ASH: Boo, for bad metadata! Hooray, for print! (At least in general, I don’t actually know much about this particular series.)

SEAN: Also debuting in print is Witch Hat Atelier Kitchen (Tongari Boushi no Kitchen), a Morning Two series for everyone who wanted the hot guys in WHA to cook things.

ANNA: Really???? This sounds amazing.

ASH: Aaah!! I had somehow totally forgotten about this!

SEAN: Also in print: As a Reincarnated Aristocrat, I’ll Use My Appraisal Skill to Rise in the World 7, I Was Reincarnated as the 7th Prince so I Can Take My Time Perfecting My Magical Ability 8, Quality Assurance in Another World 4, Saving 80,000 Gold in Another World for My Retirement 3, and The Iceblade Sorcerer Shall Rule the World 7.

Digitally (at least, it looks exclusively digital), we debut Rocopon. Running in Young Magazine Web, this comedy tells the story of an alien hired by Earth as an assassin who’s getting a bit too blase and half-assed, so he’s getting a partner.

Also digital: Having an Idol-Loving Boyfriend is the Best! 4, Hozuki’s Coolheadedness 16, SHAMAN KING: THE SUPER STAR 7, and Saint Cecilia and Pastor Lawrence 12.

Seven Seas says it’s been at least 3 or 4 weeks since they last debuted a cat book, so we get My Cat is Such a Weirdo (Uchi no Neko ga Mata Hen na Koto Shiteru). This biographical series runs in Comic Essay Gekijou, so is technically josei, but, I mean, it’s ‘cat’. The genre is ‘cat’. It’s in full color, and is about how cats are weird.

MICHELLE: Looks cute!

ASH: Gotta love a good cat manga.

SEAN: Seven Seas also has The Ancient Magus’ Bride: Wizard’s Blue 7, Bite Maker: The King’s Omega 9, CANDY AND CIGARETTES 6, Crossplay Love: Otaku x Punk 6, The Great Snake’s Bride 2, His Majesty the Demon King’s Housekeeper 5, Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear 7, Re:Monster 7, Sheeply Horned Witch Romi 2, and Yokai Cats 6.

ASH: Speaking of cats. And yokai! (At least I’m always speaking of yokai.)

SEAN: Square Enix has the 10th volume of My Dress-Up Darling.

ASH: I really need to catch up with this series; I greatly enjoyed the earlier volumes I read.

SEAN: Udon Entertainment theoretically has Robotics;Notes debuting, though don’t be surprised if, like Denpa titles, the release date on Amazon is wrong. This is from the creators of Chaos;Head, Steins;Gate, and other punctuational franchises. It ran in Mag Garden, and is about a girl who loves robots and a boy who loves video games.

Viz Media has one release: Fullmetal Alchemist 20th Anniversary Book. This hardcover contains the author’s companion manga she drew as she did the series, and the thoughts of everyone involved in the franchise.

ASH: Oh! It’ll be nice for the companion manga to be collected in one place.

SEAN: Yen On has a light novel debut: A Misanthrope Teaches a Class for Demi-Humans (Jingai Kyoushitsu no Ningengirai Kyoushi). A young man traumatized by his past just wants a quiet life teaching in the mountains… but his students are all mermaids, werewolf, and rabbit girls. The copy goes out of the way to say this is NOT a fantasy or an isekai. I’m hoping it’s a bit like Interviews with Monster Girls.

ASH: I’m impressed that it’s become important enough to explicitly note something isn’t isekai.

SEAN: Yen Press debuts I May Be a Guild Receptionist, but I’ll Solo Any Boss to Clock Out on Time (Guild no Uketsukejou desu ga, Zangyou wa Iya na node Boss wo Solo Tobatsu shiyou to Omoimasu). The light novel came out from Yen last month, and proved too difficult for Amazon’s algorithms. Guild girl wants to avoid overtime, so clears all the dungeons herself. The manga runs in Dengeki Daioh.

And they’ve also got Me and My Beast Boss 2 and The Villainess Stans the Heroes: Playing the Antagonist to Support Her Faves! 2.

For a 5th week of the month this was a lot. Anything for you?

Death’s Daughter and the Ebony Blade, Vol. 6

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

Generally speaking, if you’re trying not to spoil yourself when reading a light novel, there are several things you need to do. Avoiding covers is almost impossible, but you can certainly avoid the color inserts, which tend to spoil. Don’t read the author’s afterword till you’ve finished the book, of course, as it often asks readers what they thought of the plot twist. And, of course, try not to read the table of contents, because chapter titles frequently spoil. And so (spoiling here, sorry), when I saw that the last chapter before the epilogue in this book was called “The Girl Defeated”, I knew what was going to happen. It wasn’t a big surprise, the series ends with the next book, so there had to be SOME point where Olivia loses a fight, just so she’s not all-powerful. That said, I was surprised anyway. The Girl Defeated is an accurate chapter title, but the chapter itself ends very happily. It’s the Epilogue that kills you.

We’re finally at the big battle between Olivia and Felix… well, OK, there are a few other big battles before that that don’t involve our heroes, but honestly, most of them feel like they’re padding out the book, and resolving a romance by having a superior officer say “hey, clueless guy, get married to the girl who has an obvious crush on you” is possibly the most pathetic thing I’ve seen in this series. The important bit, though, is that Olivia’s army is finally losing badly, mostly as the other side are simply better, more experienced soldiers. So she decides to gamble it all on a one-on-one fight with Felix, sending Ashton back to base and taking Claudia and a few others to forge a path to Felix. Their battle is cool, well-balanced, and a fair fight. Alas, this world is currently being taken over by an evil Dark God, and he interrupts things to gloat at Felix and generally be evil.

I have grown used to the fact that this series is very good at writing instant gratification, with scenes that work well as you read them but fall apart the moment you try to think more deeply about the subject. This is not a bad thing – popcorn entertainment is perfectly valid. But it can be hard to review. I did appreciate that (spoilers again, sorry) after spending the entire series searching for him, Olivia is finally reunited with Z right as she’s about to die – I get the sense that he wanted to let her grow at her own pace till he had to intervene. The whole “now I will teach you the ultimate final move” ending is pure shonen, but honestly it’s a delight seeing Olivia’s face as she’s finally reunited with her “father”. Less delightful is that pesky epilogue – I don’t expect a permanent death, as this series is not that dark despite its title, but it certainly ends the book on a sour note.

So great stuff, provided you don’t look too deeply, and provided you let your eyes glaze over whenever a male captain and his female adjutant have a conversation with each other. Tune in next time for the final book.