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Secrets of the Silent Witch, Vol. 2

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By Matsuri Isora and Nanna Fujimi. Released in Japan as “Silent Witch” by Kadokawa Books. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Alice Prowse.

Technically this book has a real plot. We even see it here! There’s an assassination attempt against the second Prince. It is, in fact, the climax of the book. And Monica stops it, which is why she’s at the school. That said… I highly doubt anyone reading this series is on tenterhooks to find out who’s behind all this. We’re here for the adventures of Monica at school, being bullied and feeling panicked but nevertheless persevering. If I’m going to be honest, the highlight of the story was not that big climactic scene near the end, with math magic and Monica exhausting all her magic. It was in the middle of the book, where a bullying attempt on Monica goes horribly wrong and consequences are slowly but surely dripped out against the perpetrators. I’d argue this was more of a tense atmosphere because Monica has minimal to no regard for herself, and if the book were about someone trying to assassinate HER, this series would be much shorter and probably more depressing.

Despite all her best efforts, Monica is managing to gain friends and slowly adapt socially to the academy. Even if she’s sometimes not good at spotting tsundere friends. We also get a couple of new cast members in Glenn, a loud and somewhat obnoxious mage who was probably added to the cast because it lacked someone of that type; Casey, a tomboyish young lady fro0m the sticks who quickly takes a shine to Monica; and Claudia, who has clearly been watching the Netflix series Wednesday and taking it a bit too much to heart. Someone IS definitely trying to kill the second prince, that’s for sure, but most of this book is about Monica’s school life, as she learns the joys of chess, the horrors of ballroom dancing, and just who she can trust.

Isabelle is on the cover of the second book, and has a major role in the middle, which pleases me, as I thought she was merely going to be a one-shot gag. She *is* a gag, yes, but the gag is that she’s not an actual petty teenage bitch, but a “villainess”, which means that she has the nobility and knowledge of who to protect that regular petty teens do not. When she goes up against the girl who poisoned Monica (even if it wasn’t MEANT to be attempted murder, it still was), it’s quite a sight to see. I also liked seeing her bond with Felix over the Silent Witch. That said, I am a bit worried about Felix, who proves to be a bit of an obsessive fanboy about Monica’s alter ego. I fear that when the secret gets out their relationship is going to change, and not in a way that Monica will like.

This is not that long a series – I believe there are only four volumes, plus an “After” volume, so my worries may be answered in the next book. That said, I love reading Silent Witch because it’s FUN, and Monica is a fantastic lead character. Get this one.

So I’m a Spider, So What?, Vol. 15

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By Okina Baba and Tsukasa Kiryu. Released in Japan as “Kumo Desu ga, Nani ka?” by Kadokawa Books. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Jenny McKeon.

We now know that the series will be ending with the 16th volume. We know this because in Japan, the 15th and 16th volume came out one month apart, because the author and editor thought that the 15th book was all setup and no payoff. Unfortunately for English-speaking readers (but perhaps fortunately for the translator), Yen On decided not to do this. The final volume of Spider is currently scheduled for June 2023. As such, well, we get this book, where there’s one fight, and it’s 4/5 of the way through the book. Instead, what we get is functionally a class meeting to discuss their circumstances. That part was OK, I didn’t mind it. It was boring, but… I like the human part of this book more than most fans. With one exception. That exception is unfortunately back as well, and since Potimas is finally dead, there’s a new character riding to the “most hated” list. Hi, Sue. Please stop trying to screw your brother.

After the events of the previous couple of books, the elf village has seen better days. White and her crew now have a) a demon lord who’s used up most of her life, b) a giant pile of corpses littering the landscape, and c) a bunch of prisoners-of-war, aka the students who got reincarnated here from Japan. Explanations would be good, but unfortunately, White is terrible at speaking, and Sophia is terrible at caring about her fellow classmates, so things go badly. Then suddenly the endgame starts. White must now battle “Black”, aka Guliedistodiaz. The Demon Lord has to rush to the place where the series began, the Labyrinth, to try to save Sariel. The leader of the Church is trying to get humanity to reject Sariel so that they can be saved. And all of this is being watched over and influenced by a very amused D.

The scenes with Sue and Shun are awful, especially since they come after we’re reminded that she a) killed her father, seemingly under mind control but she doesn’t seem to care at all, and b) sided with evil so that she could get into Shun’s pants. She’s AWFUL. Things are not helped by a tug-of-war with her, Yuri (who is no longer evil but still not right in the head) and Katia (who the author, having resolved her plotline in Book 4, seems to no longer care about). This isn’t the only thing wrong with the book, of course. Hugo/Natsume’s “sorry I was evil, better now” shtick made me roll my eyes, as did everyone’s non-reaction to it. And while I like the students, hearing them argue about who had the harder life in their reincarnated world was, frankly, boring. As for White… well, she’s the bad guy. The funny parts of the book are her justifying that in the usual manic narration she has, but she’s essentially the Final Boss – as she says herself.

I wouldn’t have liked this even if Book 16 did come a month later, but as it is I’m left with very little desire to read on. I will read Book 16, as it’s the last, but this spider has worn out her welcome.

Pick of the Week: Rainbows and Boats

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MICHELLE: I usually like manga from Margaret and its spinoffs, so I’ll go with Rainbow Days this week despite knowing absolutely nothing about it.

KATE: I second Michelle’s recommendation, and raise it one artbook: I’ll be adding Studio Ghibli: The Complete Works to my cart this week as well. I’m still under the spell of Shuna’s Journey…

SEAN: This is the final volume of Hello Melancholic, so I’ll make that my pick. Best to read it while listening to J. J. Johnson.

ASH: Sean’s called it with Boat Life—as a fan of alternative manga and manga history, it’s easily my pick this week. In addition to the manga itself, I’m also really looking forward to reading Ryan Holmberg’s accompanying essay.

Re: ZERO ~Starting Life in Another World~, Vol. 20

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By Tappei Nagatsuki and Shinichirou Otsuka. Released in Japan by MF Bunko J. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Dale DeLucia.

We have now reached the end of the 5th arc! That said, as the author notes, this is less of a resolution and more of a change of scenery. In terms of achievements, our heroes do not make out very well this time around. They do succeed in stopping the destruction of the city, and they capture one of the archbishops. But before this arc there were five “camps” for the Who Wants to Rule The Country?” sweepstakes, and two of them are decimated after it finishes. Even the fights here are bittersweet rather than satisfying, with the exception of Garfiel, who gets to unleash his inner shonen protagonist. Reinhard gets to finally tell his wife what he never managed to say, but it’s hard to call that happy or heartwarming. Al doesn’t win but merely survives. Otto is grievously injured. Crusch is still not healed. That said, I think the Anastasia Camp wins the prize for “Bad Things”. Oof.

The bulk of the book is fighting, as we basically get the fights that were happening while Subaru and Emilia were busy with the previous book. Garfiel is fighting (and losing, most of the time) to the eight-armed legend, but his fights run on pure shonen, as I said, so he’s good. We get a double dose of Gluttony, which goes very badly for many soldiers who get their names stolen, though Otto manages to figure out something about how their powers work. Wilhelm is forced to realize – again – that this is a fantasy world, and therefore hard work hardly works. Fortunately, Reinhard is there to finish off his grandmother. Unfortunately, their relationship is not magically healed. Al is fighting Lust, which mostly involves a lot of banter and a truly excessive amount of property damage. And then there’s Julius and Anastasia… let’s save that for the next paragraph.

This is one of those series I do tend to spoil myself on, given we’re still so far behind Japan (and also you never know when a short story volume may be relevant to the main series, cough), so I was aware something was going to happen with Anastasia. It’s not nearly as bad as Subaru or the reader feared, though that reveal is a killer. And at least this was done with Anastasia’s consent. But it’s still depressing, as I liked her, and I fear it will be a while before we see her again. Julius is a pure gutpunch, though, and meant to be the truly devastating consequence of this arc. At least he has Subaru, who (like Rem) can remember who he is. And , unlike Rem, he can at least walk and talk. In any case, we’re all now going to consult with the Great Sage to see how to solve everyone’s problems. I’m sure it will go fine.

Rem is, by the way, still in a coma and no one remembers her. We’ve now had far more books with Rem than without Rem. I fear the fans may have forgotten her. In any case, this is well-written, but intentionally leaves a sour taste in your mouth.

Strike the Blood, Vol. 22

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By Gakuto Mikumo and Manyako. Released in Japan by Dengeki Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Jeremiah Bourque.

Strike the Blood remains, to the end, a very good action series and a really lousy harem series. Kojou, despite the bloody nose indicating arousal, is one of the most asexual harem leads I’ve ever read about, and frankly I have no idea how he’s going to sire the two future children that we know about. The scenes towards the end where he does some sort of weird vampire mojo thing and makes all the girls have an orgasm (not explicitly stated, but implied) made me roll my eyes. But when it’s being a Shonen Jump style series, or when it treats his cast as an extended family, it’s much, much better. This pretty much wraps up all the outstanding plotlines with the exception of “who does he end up with”, which is left vague but implied to be twelve wives. Only one of whom bothers to say the words “I love you” directly to him in this book, so nice job, Asagi, you’re the winner in my eyes.

Yeah, for those hoping the final volume would have the entire cast on the cover, or at least more than one girl, I don’t know what you were expecting. In any case, the terrorists who have been driving the final arc’s plot are here, and they want Itogami Island. Kojou, who now has vampiric blood vassals again, is the logical choice to negotiate with them, though it’s worth noting that the obvious solution as to how to stop the terrorists is in fact “destroy the island”, not good. Meanwhile, Avrova is attending an upside-down high school in the sky… which makes no sense until halfway through the book or so… and then there’s Japan, who of course have several agents working for the government on the island, who saw what I said two sentences ago and agree with me.

Without question, the best scene in the book is halfway through it, when Natsuki, Yukina and her mentor, and Koyomi head down to the keystone holding the island together to destroy it. They can evacuate everyone in time, and with no island, the terrorists lose. The trouble with this idea is that literally everyone else hates it and regards it as giving up on Kojou, so the rest of the cast go to war against them. (This includes Sayaka, who is mind controlled into fighting, but it’s implied she would have agreed.) Seeing Yukina’s anguish and frustration as she ends up fighting half of Kojou’s love interests at once could almost sum up the series. As for the rest, yes, we get the “no, sempai, this is our fight!” line, so we’re good. The Nod stuff was a bit less interesting, with apologies to Those Two Girls And Their Dragon. It also comes with an almost literal Deus Ex Machina, as the daughters from the future help to do a spell that essentially makes everyone forget who Kojou is again. Well, except his love interests, of course.

The author says this series went on much longer than expected, and I can’t say it was entirely deserved. Still, in the end, Strike the Blood was exactly what it wanted to be, an action adventure series with vampires, girls kicking ass, and the occasional “whoops I walked in on you in your underwear” harem bullshit. Who could ask for anything more?

The Asterisk War: The Golden Bough Conflagration

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By Yuu Miyazaki and okiura. Released in Japan as “Gakusen Toshi Asterisk” by MF Bunko J. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Haydn Trowell.

OK, this took about a year longer than I was expecting it to when I wrote the review of Vol. 15 in February 2021. Part of the reason is that this took a long time to come out in Japan. The complete lack of interior illustrations may tell you why – the artist was ill, and the writer really did not want to change to a different artist. Still, we get a cover! Sylvia is on it! That said, you know what Asterisk War cover appearances are like. Fans of Sylvia will probably be unhappy with this book. The book itself tries to balance its three genres – harem romcom, tournament fighting, and counterterrorism thriller – but, to no one’s surprise, the last of those is going to get the attention in this penultimate book. We get set up to most of the big fights, with the help of our main cast, as well as Minato Wakamiya! You remember Minato. From the spinoff series? That never got licensed? Yeah. (She was briefly in Book 13-14.)

We begin with the fight between Saya and Orphelia, which… goes about how you’d expect, but Saya gets crucial information and also doesn’t die, so I’ll call that a moral victory. So now we know why Julis is pushing all her friends away, and also what the villains hope to achieve… though the villains are not really working together because they like each other. As such, while Julis prepares for her fight against Orphelia, which will no doubt be the centerpiece of the next volume, the others go to take out all the villains they can. Ayato, Saya and Kirin face off against Madiath Mesa… as well as his mind-controlled underling. Meanwhile, Claudia and Sylvia are fighting Varda-Vaos, bringing along Minato because they believe she will prove useful, and possibly also as her personality is basically “I’m gonna do my best!” with a massive anime hammer.

This series really works best when writing fights, and they are well-written, so I appreciate that. As for the villains, I feel it acknowledges that they’re a bit meh, though two of the three fights are still to come. And then there’s Dirk, who pretty much behaves exactly as you’d expect Dirk to behave. I’d say he’s a problematic fave, except this series has no fans anymore, so who really likes him enough to call him a fave? The fights basically exist to have the supporting cast do really cool things, but then end up unable to go on any further. Kirin wins but is unconscious, Sylvia… well, we hope she’s back to normal, and Claudia seems to have sacrificed the rest of her life in order to win. She’s probably the one I worry most about. As for Julis and Ayato (and Saya, but you know she’ll be written out fast), wait for the next book.

Which is the final book in the series. Hopefully it won’t take a year and a half to come out here, but given this is not one of Yen On’s top sellers who knows? The Japanese volume came out in June, and had the reaction you’d expect for a harem romcom with fans that get Very Angry Indeed. For those who enjoy this series (it’s pretty much just me, isn’t it?), this was a solid book. Which it had pictures, but oh well.

Manga the Week of 12/7/22

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SEAN: It’s the most wonderful time of the year! What manga is giving us good cheer?

We start with Viz Media. Rainbow Days (Nijiiro Days) is a new Shojo Beat title from Betsuma. The timing on this seems off, as the anime aired in 2016. And it’s a 16-volume series, so get ready to invest. It’s about four boys, all with different ideas about romance.

MICHELLE: Huh. Somehow this one had totally escaped my notice.

ASH: I’d missed it, too!

SEAN: Also from Viz: Black Clover 31, Dragon Ball Super 17, Ghost Reaper Girl 3, Ima Koi: Now I’m in Love 4, Kaguya-sama: Love Is War 24, One Piece 101, and Snow White with the Red Hair 22.

ASH: I really ought to catch up with Snow White with the Red Hair.

SEAN: Tokyopop debuts Love Circus, a single volume BL title from Canna. A man who has tried to help a sex worker, and only ended up in debt, tries to kill himself… and wakes up at a sex establishment that caters to gay men.

Tokyopop also has the 2nd manga of Formerly, the Fallen Daughter of the Duke.

(Yes, yes. They were bumped.)

Titan debuts Kamen Rider Kuuga, a new manga updating the classic title to the 21st century. It runs in Shogakukan’s HEROS.

ASH: Titan doesn’t license that many manga, so it’s interesting what’s released.

SEAN: Steamship has a 2nd volume of GAME: Between the Suits.

Seven Seas got its books back from the printers again. Our Torsos Align: Human x Monster Love (Toruso no Bokura) is from Libre’s Kurofune Zero, which seems to be its “shoujo but not quite BL” magazine. These are romance stories starring “monsters” – birdmen, mermaids, aliens, etc.

ASH: Seems to be a burgeoning sub-genre these days.

SEAN: Thunderbolt Fantasy is an omnibus of Vol. 1-2, and originally ran in Weekly Morning. Based on a wuxia show, it features a woman trying to protect a sword from evil men, and the strangers who help her.

ASH: The show was fantastic. I’m looking forward to giving the manga a try.

SEAN: Yakuza Fiancé: Raise wa Tanin ga Ii runs in Afternoon. A yakuza daughter with a resting bitch face is married off to a rival leader’s son to preserve the peace… but his son is a sadist! Now she has to give as good as she gets.

Also from Seven Seas: Arifureta: From Commonplace to World’s Strongest 9, The Case Files of Jeweler Richard 4, Citrus+ 4, The Dangers in My Heart 5, Hello, Melancholic! 3 (the final volume), His Majesty the Demon King’s Housekeeper 2, I’m a Wolf, but My Boss is a Sheep! 2, Reborn as a Space Mercenary: I Woke Up Piloting the Strongest Starship! 4, Seaside Stranger 5, and SPRIGGAN: Deluxe Edition 2.

MICHELLE: Looking forward to more Hello, Melancholic!.

SEAN: One Peace has the 6th volume of Higehiro: After Being Rejected, I Shaved and Took in a High School Runaway.

Kodansha’s calendar is still broken, so let’s go hunting. In print, the debut is Studio Ghibli: The Complete Works, an artbook/reference book that looks at all 26 of the studio’s films.

ASH: Oh! That should be nice.

SEAN: In addition, we see The Quintessential Quintuplets Part 2 Box Set (which has Vols. 8-14, the rest of the series), The Seven Deadly Sins Omnibus 7, Vampire Dormitory 8, and Whisper Me a Love Song 6.

Kodansha has a digital debut. The Shape-Shifting Witch’s Kiss (Toshi to Mahou wa Kiss Shidai) is a shonen title from Magazine Pocket, and involves a boy who seems to have been taken straight from Kubo Won’t Let Me Be Invisible, a witch, and daily kisses.

We also see The Abandoned Reincarnation Sage 8 (the final volume), Changes of Heart 8, Chihayafuru 35, The God-Tier Guardian and the Love of Six Princesses 4, Kounodori: Dr. Stork 30, Matcha Made in Heaven 2, My Master Has No Tail 8, and Raised by the Demon Kings! 3.

MICHELLE: I will never not be glad to see Chihayafuru continuing to plug along.

SEAN: Kaiten Books has a print edition of the 6th Loner Life in Another World manga.

J-Novel Club Has three debuts, including one title that they just announced last week! BLADE & BASTARD: Warm ash, Dusky dungeon is based on the Wizardry RPG game, is by the writer of Goblin Slayer, is by the illustrator of Overlord, and is coming out the same day as the Japanese release. Impressive!

ASH: That’s a quick turnaround!

SEAN: An Introvert’s Hookup Hiccups: This Gyaru Is Head Over Heels for Me! (Inkya no Boku ni Batsu Game ni Kokuhaku Shitekita Hazu no Gyaru ga, Doumitemo Boku ni Betahore Desu) is another in the “super sweet love story” genre.

Peddler in Another World: I Can Go Back to My World Whenever I Want! (Itsudemo Jitaku ni Kaereru Ore wa, Isekai de Gyoushounin wo Hajimemashita) is another in the “slow life by selling Japanese things in isekai land” genre.

We also see Der Werwolf: The Annals of Veight -Origins- 8, My Daughter Left the Nest and Returned an S-Rank Adventurer 6, Record of Wortenia War 17, Reincarnated as the Piggy Duke: This Time I’m Gonna Tell Her How I Feel! 8, and the 9th manga volume for The Unwanted Undead Adventurer.

From HarperVia comes The Tatami Galaxy, possibly the most famous of Tomihiko Morimi’s novels, and now finally available in English! Starring a loser college student (I know, in a Morimi novel, contain your shock), it’s actually about parallel universes.

ASH: I’ve been waiting for this one.

SEAN: Ghost Ship has DARLING in the FRANXX 7-8 (the final volume) and SUPER HXEROS 9.

Floating World Comics gives us Boat Life (Fune ni Sumu), a loose autobiography from the creator of Trash Market and Slum Wolf. This series screams “READ MEEEEEE!” to Ash.

ASH: Sean, you know me so well! This is absolutely on my to-read list.

SEAN: From Denpa Books we see Guyabano Holiday, the new travelogue title by the author of Invitation from a Crab.

ASH: It feels like it’s been a long time coming; glad to see it finally released!

SEAN: They also have Inside Mari 9 (the final volume) and Vampeerz 2.

Airship, in print, debuts Free Life Fantasy Online: Immortal Princess. We discussed this when the digital came out. ZOMBIE GAMER.

Also in print: 7th Time Loop: The Villainess Enjoys a Carefree Life Married to Her Worst Enemy! 2, The Case Files of Jeweler Richard 2, The Saint’s Magic Power is Omnipotent 7, Trapped in a Dating Sim: The World of Otome Games is Tough for Mobs 7, and Vivy Prototype 2.

Happy manga holidays! There’s at least two more festive Manga the Week ofs coming.

The Manga Review, 12/3/2022

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If you’re interested in writing about comics for a website that already has a sizable readership, there are a number of great outlets looking for contributors. Nola Pfau, Editor-in-Chief of Women Write About Comics (WWAC), took to Twitter earlier this week to encourage writers submit pitches. WWAC has won three Eisner Awards for Best Comics-Related Periodical/Journalism, and welcomes “pitches from anyone along the marginalized gender spectrum—women, NB, agender, trans men.” You don’t need experience to submit an idea; WWAC prides itself on publishing new voices, and has “a proven track record of training new voices in comics journalism and helping them achieve success at other outlets.” Interested? Take the first step by visiting WWAC’s Pitch Us! page.

Also looking for writers is The Fandom Post, which is in need of an Anime/Manga Reviewer, and Anime Feminist, which is always receptive to pitches.

NEWS AND VIEWS

If you’re curious about Glacier Bay Books’ latest project, click over to The Comics Journal, which has just posted an excerpt from PANDORA, a collection of short stories by Hagiwara Rei. The stories, which are rendered in delicate watercolors, “simultaneously reflect on current events as well as the 10th anniversary of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster.” [The Comics Journal]

Tony Yao reflects on the Cool Japan Fund‘s flawed efforts to promote Japanese pop culture here in the US. [Drop-In to Manga]

Journalist Madeline Blondeau posts a thoughtful reflection on transfeminine desire in Eguchi Hisashi’s Stop!! Hibari-kun. [Anime Feminist]

Get your holiday off to a good start by entering The Manga Test Drive’s Annual Holiday Review Giveaway! The winner will receive a $25 Right Stuf gift certificate. [The Manga Test Drive]

ICYMI: Justin shares his thoughts about “the good, the mixed, and the bad” at Anime NYC 2022. [The OASG]

The latest episode of Shojo & Tell focuses on Wotakoi: Love Is Hard for Otaku. [Shojo & Tell]

The Reverse Thieves name Rumiko Takahashi’s Urusei Yatsura their Manga of the Month. “For better or for worse Rumiko Takahashi’s later series always have a much tighter theme and flow,” Alain notes. “You have a fairly good idea what your going to get in any chapter of Inuyasha or Maison Ikkoku. But Urusei Yatsura feels much more like jazz in its freeform nature. One chapter could be a sexy comedy about aliens, the next is nothing more than a giant set up for a pun with folk creatures, and the next chapter a touching romantic interlude. The only main theme is that the Urusei Yatsura cast are horrible people who are very amusing when they are horrible to each other.” [Reverse Thieves]

REVIEWS

This week’s must-read review is Sarah’s take on The Gay Who Turned Kaiju, a collection of short stories about a teenager struggling to come to terms with his sexual orientation. “Some manga are so compulsive a read that you just have to keep feverishly turning the pages until you get to the end. The Gay Who Turned Kaiju is one of those special titles: well-written and aptly drawn,” she observes. “Even though several of the protagonists are far from sympathetic, especially in the way they treat Takashi, nevertheless they resonate as believable, complex individuals.”

 

86 –Eighty-Six–, Vol. 11: Dies Passionis

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By Asato Asato and Shirabii. Released in Japan by Dengeki Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Roman Lempert.

And so we go back to the beginning of the series, and back to the Republic. Honestly, I’m sure many fans would have been perfectly happy to never have to see the republic again. That said, the 86 series is not about giving fans what they want, as the opening epigraph certainly shows. It’s about the horrors of war, what war can do to people as individuals and as a group, and the depths to which people are willing to sink to justify their moral righteousness and cowardice. This book is very well-written, delivering a series of emotional gut-punches. That said, holy Christ, it’s depressing. At the end of this book the entire cast is left wondering what the point of the previous ten books was, and if they’ve really achieved anything whatsoever. It’s a question that I’m asking myself as well. What do I want out of 86? It’s well-written, but is this going to be a “this will go full tragedy and everyone will die” series, or will their be a glimmer of future hope? Signs point to no right now.

The book starts off with bad news right from the get go, as the Legion starts dropping satellites from orbit onto the Federation and its allied countries. Devastation follows, and everyone is forced to retreat from the gains they’d made over the last several books. Oddly, there is one country that did not get bombed from above: the Republic. And now the 86 have perhaps their least appetizing assignment of all: go to the Republic and evacuate everyone. And yes, they’re aware that it’s likely a trap, but what other choice do they have? Needless to say, back in the Republic we are reminded of why we hate the Republic so much, though we also get glimmers of good people just trying their best. Unfortunately, we are also reminded that a lot of Legion soldiers are made up of Former 86. And they REALLY hate the Republic.

The last third of this book should probably have a content warning, as there is mass death and slaughter, with innocents napalmed, butchered, and otherwise murdered in a variety of ways. And this doesn’t even get into the fact that our heroes are there to escort some very reluctant Republican citizens to another country, and grateful is not part of their vocabulary, to the point where Lena has to essentially make herself an even bigger source of hatred to motivate them to not just sit down and die whimpering. By the end of the book, we’re as exhausted as the cast. This is the sort of book where the only thing that will make it feel better is to read the next book in the series. And that’s not out yet in Japan, so expect about a year till we hear from them again.

I don’t want to downplay how this is a very good book. The action is well-written, the emotions are powerful, and the heartbreak is real. It’s just… as with real war, it’s hard not to come out of it wondering why you’re here at all.

Sword Art Online Alternative: Gun Gale Online: 5th Squad Jam: Start

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By Keiichi Sigsawa and Kouhaku Kuroboshi, based on the series created by Reki Kawahara. Released in Japan by Dengeki Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Stephen Paul.

It’s been about a year since the last volume of this series, and many might be forgiven for thinking that it ended. Including the author, who admits it was supposed to end about here. I mean, in terms of plot threads to resolve, there aren’t many left. Karen is no longer being forced to get married, though the denouement for that may not appeal to her. Elsa’s issues are, for the moment, somewhat resolved. The real world has never really been a big part of this series, but even so, I would not blame the author for wanting to move on and write a few more Kino’s Journey books. But here we are anyway, with another Squad Jam, and the sense that Dengeki Bunko is asking the author to please keep the series going because it’s selling well and Llenn merch is cute. As a result, we get this new volume, the first of a two-part (?) story which seems to have one purpose: mock the author mercilessly.

OK, technically every single volume of this series has done that, but this one really makes the effort to get nastier. There’s a new squad jam, and the teams are the same (meaning Clarence and Shirley are still part of the squad). There’s complicated new rules which basically amount to “one team member gets to carry alternate gear for another team member”. Oh yes, and there’s one brand-new rule that is sent to everyone BUT one player. Yes, after essentially being the poster child for every single Squad Jam since the start, Llenn has gotten TOO famous, so now the added rule is that she has a bounty on her head, and whoever kills her in this game will get a pile of REAL money. Now she not only has to try to survive, but she has to find the rest of her team – they were all separated as the event began, and there’s mist everywhere!

For all that everyone in the book hates the author for not just letting them fight, this is a fairly clever setup that allows for what people REALLY want to see in each Squad Jam, which is something different. Separating everyone in particular is a great idea, as it allows us to get interaction we would not normally see, as Llenn forms a reluctant alliance with Vivi, the leader of the machine gunner’s squad. Speaking of which, this is just a game, unlike the original SAO, but there’s still a fair amount of violent death or near death. Vivi’s fate towards the end of this book is horrifying, and would likely have to be edited from the anime if one ever gets to this point. There’s a small attempt at plot, showing Vivi and Fuka are rivals in another game, but that just sets up a cliffhanger more than anything else. It’s pretty much pure action scenes and small characterization.

So yeah, as a book it’s light as air, and you’ll be hungry again right after reading it, but it serves its purpose. Maybe wrap it up soon, please, though?