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Slayers: Hatred in Selentia

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By Hajime Kanzaka and Rui Araizumi. Released in Japan by Fujimi Fantasia Bunko. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Elizabeth Ellis.

At last, I have something to talk about. That is not a good thing. The Slayers novels are fast-paced, action-packed, have some interesting fantasy plotting, and Lina and Gourry are fun, but let’s face it, the reason this series is beloved is that the anime took the characters and fleshed them out, made them human. Character development and deep emotional pain is not something that Kanzaka specializes in or is good at. And that’s going to be a problem with this book, whose second half relies entirely on the death of a beloved character and said death driving another character to an extended murder spree, one that I suspect may continue in the next book. There’s just one problem. The emotional impact is taken as read. The author assumes we will be devastated when this character dies, but mostly we’re merely surprised at how fast and pointlessly it happened. And the roaring rampage of revenge is more of a mildly simmering rampage of revenge. Slayers runs on snark and fighting. When there isn’t either of those, it gets into trouble.

Lina and Gourry come to Selentia, a city where religion is the biggest mover and shaker. There’s a high priest as well as four other slightly lower priests. Unfortunately, the high priest has just burned to death in an “accident” that no one thinks is an accident. Lina and Gourry are hired by the Sorcerer’s Guild to investigate, and find that there’s a lot of motive but not a lot of evidence. That is until we get more killings happening. What’s more, Luke and Mileena are here again, being hired bodyguards for one of the priests. Can Lina and Gourry figure out what’s happening and stop it before the entire city turns into a blood-soaked canvas? Answer: no.

Kanzaka apologizes to readers in the afterword for Amelia and Zelgadis not being in this, but for the wrong reason. He states that if they’d been there, they could have healed the fatal wound and thus avoided everything that came after. That said, I think the bigger problem is: this should have been Zel and Amelia, not Luke and Mileena. After being introduced in Book 9, the two of them have had “replacement scrappy” written all over then, despite occasional attempts at depth. Frankly, if Kanzaka had simply used Amelia and Zel in Book 9-14, and had Amelia killed off and Zel go on a rampage, the impact would have been much greater because we actually care about them. And, see, I say that, but I can’t bring myself to believe that either. Because Mileena’s death is so fast, so lame, and so emotionally void that it took me a while to realize it had happened. Kanzaka cannot write depth. And that means this book winds up suffering terribly, because it’s where depth is needed the most.

This second “arc” in the S;layers series will end in the next volume, and I suspect will wrap up Luke’s plot as well. I hope it’s filled with cool action sequences and magical battles. Because really, why else would you read this?

Manga the Week of 6/29/22

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SEAN: As June winds to an end, manga companies are watching closely, because July means the start of a new fiscal year. What manga will balance their books?

ASH: So many calendars to keep track of!

SEAN: Airship has some new print volumes. We see Adachi and Shimamura 9, Classroom of the Elite 11.5, Failure Frame: I Became the Strongest and Annihilated Everything With Low-Level Spells 4, and Trapped in a Dating Sim: The World of Otome Games is Tough for Mobs 6.

Digitally, we see an early debut for The Case Files of Jeweler Richard (Housekishou Richard-shi no Nazo Kantei), a mystery light novel series for women that has already gotten an anime. It is another of those series I say is “not BL, but BL-adjacent”.

MICHELLE: I was rather disappointed by the manga. Perhaps the light novel will be better.

ASH: I haven’t had the chance to read the manga adaptation yet, but I have hopes for the original novels.

SEAN: There’s also early digital for The Strange Adventure of a Broke Mercenary 5.

Cross Infinite World debuts Onmyoji and Tengu Eyes: The Spirit Hunters of Tomoe (Onmyouji to Tengugan: Tomoe Shiyakusho Mononoke Trouble Gakari), a title which asks “what if Felix Unger and Oscar Madison were both gorgeous men and fought the supernatural”?

ASH: I am intrigued.

SEAN: There’s also Since I Was Abandoned After Reincarnating, I Will Cook With My Fluffy Friends: The Figurehead Queen Is Strongest At Her Own Pace 4.

Ghost Ship gives us I’m Not Meat (Boku wa Oniku Janai), which ran in Shogakukan’s Big Comic Spirits. A man who works as a copywriter is terrified of women, seeing them as predators. Unfortunately, for his new ad campaign he really needs to understand dating. Can he overcome his instincts? This is very much a sex comedy in the old 80s use of the word.

They also debut Wicked Trapper: Hunter of Heroes (Magatsu Wanashi no Yuusha kari), an isekai about a game designer known for traps and sadistic games who arrives at a dungeon world… and the heroes are threatening him. What else to do but side with the villain and get revenge? This runs in Ultra Jump. Those with long memories may remember the author’s Tokyo Cycle Girls on the JManga site.

ASH: Oh, JManga is not a site I’ve thought about in a long while!

MJ: Oh, wow, same. Also… still sad about that.

SEAN: They’ve also got Into the Deepest, Most Unknowable Dungeon 3.

J-Novel Club has a digital debut. The Misfit of Demon King Academy (Maō Gakuin no Futekigōsha ~Shijō Saikyō no Maō no Shiso, Tensei Shite Shison-tachi no Gakkō e Kayou~) already has an anime out, and is one of the genre of “demon king wakes up after thousands of years and goes to magic school” books we’ve seen so much of lately.

Also out: Culinary Chronicles of the Court Flower 6, Full Clearing Another World under a Goddess with Zero Believers‘ 3rd manga volume, Fushi no Kami: Rebuilding Civilization Starts With a Village 6, The Tales of Marielle Clarac 9, and The Unwanted Undead Adventurer’s 8th manga volume.

Kodansha, in print, debuts Wandance, which runs in Kodansha’s Afternoon. A young man has fallen in love with a woman, and for her he will do anything… even learn to dance! This combines romance and sports, and is more freestyle dancing compared to ballroom dancing.

MICHELLE: This looks fun to me!

ANNA: Nice!

ASH: Looks like it could be fun to me, too!

MJ: Agreed!

SEAN: Also in print: APOSIMZ 9, Blue Period 7, A Sign of Affection 5, That Time I got Reincarnated as a Slime 19, and Welcome Back Alice 2. Oh yes, and Sayonara, Football 11, still not mentioned on their website.

The digital debut is Burn the House Down (Mitarai-ke, Enjou suru), a josei series from Kiss. A young housekeeper starts work at the house of a middle-aged housewife. But she has an ulterior motive, which is to investigate a past tragedy that ties them both together.

MICHELLE: Ooh, interesting!

ANNA: This does sound interesting.

MJ: Maybe, maybe…

SEAN: We also see Back When You Called Us Devils 14 (I’ve called this a final volume three times now, we’ll see if it sticks this time), Harem Marriage 18, Koigakubo-kun Stole My First Time 2, My Darling Next Door 5 (also a final volume), Tesla Note 5, That’s My Atypical Girl 5, and WIND BREAKER 3.

No debuts for Seven Seas this week (they’re all on their other imprints), but we do get Classmates 5, Doughnuts Under a Crescent Moon 3, Drugstore in Another World: The Slow Life of a Cheat Pharmacist 5, The Idaten Deities Know Only Peace 2, Otaku Elf 4, Precarious Woman Executive Miss Black General 8, and The Tale of the Outcasts 5.

MICHELLE: I should really read Classmates.

ASH: I’m a few volumes behind and need to catch up, but I do live the creator’s work.

SEAN: Seven Seas also debuts a new imprint: Steamship! This seems to be “Ghost Ship for Women”, i.e. a smuttier kind of shoujo/josei. Outbride: Beauty and the Beasts (Out Bride – Ikei Konin) is from Hakusensha’s Manga Park, and has a young woman who dies in a car accident isekai’d to another world… where she’s the only human woman! Now four gods all vie for the right to have her bear their child!

ANNA: OK!

ASH: Happy to see this imprint launch.

SEAN: SuBLime has a 4th volume of Black or White.

Tokyopop has the 4th volume of Double.

They also have the digital debut of Aria The Masterpiece – all 7 volumes will be out digitally next week.

Viz has Fist of the North Star 5, Fullmetal Alchemist: Under the Faraway Sky (another re-release of a novel they put out in 2007), and Maison Ikkoku Collector’s Edition 8.

ASH: Still thrilled we’re getting all of Fist of the North Star!

MJ: I am, too!

SEAN: There’s a pile of Yen On light novels. Bungo Stray Dogs 8, Date a Live 6, Demon Lord 2099 2, The Demon Sword Master of Excalibur Academy 6, Our Last Crusade or the Rise of a New World 9, Overlord 14, Unnamed Memory 5, Yokohama Station SF National, and You Call That Service? 6.

ASH: Yokohama Station SF National has most of my attention here.

SEAN: Yen Press’ debut is Why Raeliana Ended Up at the Duke’s Mansion (Kanojo ga Koushakutei ni Itta Riyuu), a reincarnated villainess story that’s actually a Korean webtoon. Yen is adapting it for print. As for the plot… I mean, it’s a reincarnated villainess story.

And we also see Catch These Hands! 2, Goblin Slayer Side Story II: Dai Katana 3, and The Maid I Hired Recently Is Mysterious 3.

Hi, I’m Sean Gaffney, and I’ll teach you how to BUY.MANGA.FAST.

Ascendance of a Bookworm: I’ll Do Anything to Become a Librarian!, Part 4: Founder of the Royal Academy’s So-Called Library Committee, Vol. 7

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By Miya Kazuki and You Shiina. Released in Japan as “Honzuki no Gekokujou: Shisho ni Naru Tame ni wa Shudan wo Erandeiraremasen” by TO Books. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by quof.

Each of the parts of this series expands and builds on the one before it. We begin with Myne pretty much confined to her tiny home and the immediate area around it, and this expands when she starts doing her paper thing and meets Benno. Then we expand into the temple environment, where we see our first exposure to the religion of this world, Myne’s role in it, and noble society, where there is a chasm so great that Myne has to die and Rozemyne has to be born in order for the plot to move forward. The third arc gives us all we want to know about nobles and their infighting, and ends with Rozemyne in a two-year coma. In the fourth arc, we move to the Royal Academy and begin to see Rozemyne seriously influencing people beyond her duchy, up to and including the royal family. We’ve still got two more books after this, but after this one I think we all know where things are headed. Civil war.

Rozemyne may spend the first half of the book away from the Academy, but that does not mean that this is a laid back and relaxed sort of book. Things get serious right away when she reads the Bible, trying to find the bits of the Book of Exodus describing how to build an altar (this world, alas, does not seem to have that), and finds that she can suddenly see a magic circle hovering over her Bible. Ferdinand is so unnerved by this that he urges her to never mention it to anyone or even remember she saw it… but then she has to give testimony about all the cool things she did in the previous book, and admit that she learned dark spells form the Bible she has… which is not the same as the Bible other duchies have. This almost sparks a holy war, and I’m pretty sure we aren’t done with it. But I suspect that the terrorist attack we get at graduation time will distract people from it just a tad.

There are many funny moments in this book, not least of which is the introduction of the perfect partner for Hartmut, a woman who is just as obsessed with Rozemyne as he is AND able to threaten to kill him with a knife. Every man’s dream. That said, it’s hard not to focus on the more serious parts. The attack is harrowing, and has a body count… though the body count is not from Ehrenfest, which sadly, given the way nobles think in this world, means they’re actually under suspicion. We also get a prologue showing us how much stress Hannelore is under merely by being in Rozemyne’s orbit, and an epilogue showing us the tragic past of Eglantine is even more tragic than we had previously been told. I have a sneaking suspicion that Eglantine’s pacifism is going to tie into future books, and I’m not sure if that’s a good or a bad thing.

If you’re reading this series and wondering if you should pick up Book 19, you don’t need my review. But I’ll tell you anyway: yes, you should pick up Book 19. This remains a top-tier light novel series.

Forget Being the Villainess, I Want to Be an Adventurer!, Vol. 3

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By Hiro Oda and Tobi. Released in Japan as “Tensei Reijou wa Boukensha wo Kokorozasu” by Kadokawa Books. Released in North America digitally by J-Novel Heart. Translated by Kim Louise Davis.

One of the gimmicks in My Next Life As a Villainess is that every reader laughs at Katarina continuing to prepare for her own doom, as they know that if she’d just relax and enjoy life with her harem, everything would be fine. Of course, later volumes show that’s not actually true. One of the things we’ve seen about villainess novels is that the narrative does not like being flouted, and will do its very best to make sure our villainess dies as she’s supposed to do. And few series have quite gone as hard about it as Forget Being the Villainess, I Want to Be an Adventurer!. Even though last book ended with Serephione safely ensconced in another kingdom, and with a fiance who adores her, there’s still the “heroine” to deal with. And this heroine may be the nastiest, most evil one we’ve seen to date. actually, that may be the book’s one big flaw: Maribelle gets no tragic backstory she’s just The Adversary.

As Serephione settles into her new kingdom, various parties try to bring her back to the old one. Her family is OK with her being there as long as she’s safe, though they want to actually see her again. But when the first prince comes himself to beg her to side with him, and her grandmother is cursed and nearly dies, it becomes apparent that there’s no real way of getting out of this throne war. Especialyl when the king is a drugged puppet, the queen is getting revenge on everyone, Schneider is still trying to destroy the book series he hated when he was back in Japan, and Maribelle… well, Maribelle remains a bit of an evil in the shadows until she’s finally forced to come out. When she does, it’s time for a magical duel, which normally Serephione would have no problems with, but Maribelle has the power of a different god on her side.

I get the sense that the writer of this book wanted to go for the tragic ending but the publisher made them stop. The ending, with Serephione resolving to be reincarnated as a warm breeze to always follow her beloved (and woe, that’s an absolutely wonderful moment) feels a lot more valid than what we actually get, which is “remember that scene where you wished on a star? No? Well, we’re cashing it in.” I was also annoyed that Erza came back, as I wanted her to, only to essentially be written out of the book due to Maribelle’s curse. That said, as I mentioned above, the biggest flaw in this book is that Maribelle is a one-note antagonist, whining and screaming when things don’t go her way. She gets the “love interests” on her side due to the power of the narrative, but I would have appreciated at least a little better idea as to what drove her to this.

So, in the end, a flaws series, but I was happy to read it. Three volumes seems just about right. Recommended for villainess fans.

You Like Me, Don’t You? So, Wanna Go Out with Me?

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By Kota Nozomi and Azuri Hyuga. Released in Japan as “Kimitte Watashi no Koto Suki Nandeshou?” by GA Bunko. Released in North America by Tentai Books. Translated by Noor Hamdan.

After getting a very old series licensed by J-Novel Club (When Supernatural Battles Become Commonplace), Kota Nozomi now has a more recent series out over here, one tying in to the current trend of “relaxed, sweet and syrupy teen romances”. The artist may also be familiar to readers, having done illustrations for Our Crappy Social Game Club Is Gonna Make the Most Epic Game. And the plot is, of course, very familiar, as the whole point of this genre is to give the single teenage male a book to read that will make him sit up and think “yeah, that could be me! Maybe! If the hottest girl in the school decided to do all the heavy lifting!”. This is not a series to read if you want unique plot or characterization. But if you enjoy the genre, and are thinking “is there just enough here to entertain me and make me want to pick up the second (and so far, last) volume? Yes. Just barely.

The book opens with the title and then backtracks to review how we got here. Our sad sack protagonist is Kouichi, one of two members of the “Literature Circle”, which is to say a literature club that lost its members and became unofficial. He has a dark past that we will eventually find out about. The other member of the Literature Circle is Kasumi, his sempai at school and one of the school’s “Four Heavenly Beauties”. She is known for her mature attitude and looks (and yes, she has large breasts,. which are mentioned frequently – it’s that genre, after all). And, after about a year of being in the same club, reading books, and getting shamelessly teased by Kasumi, she asks him if he likes her. He does, so she asks if he wants to start “trial dating”, i.e. dating the way we do it in the United States, rather than Japan’s “confess and die” approach. He suspects a trap, but goes along with it.

This book had to have its protagonist clear one low bar in order for me to want to read more of it, and it did – just. We gradually get to hear about Kouichi’s tragic past – it doesn’t involve death or past romance, but it does involve being taken advantage of by someone in authority, and it’s pretty much broken him. Unsurprisingly, it’s Kasumi’s enthusiasm and optimism that makes him decide that he wants to try again. The good thing is that, to get help, he turns to a third, more experienced person who he trusts a great deal. I was hoping that this would not merely be a two-person book, with literally any positive thing he did caused by his love for the hot girl who likes him. Instead, he’s making progress without her input. That’s good. As for Kasumi, we do occasionally get her viewpoint, and it helps us see she’s not nearly as put together and perfect as Kouichi thinks, but she’s definitely taking more leaps than he is here.

So this falls under the heading of “okay”. If it were as long as When Supernatural Battles Become Commonplace, I’d pass. Since it seems to be only one more volume, I might get it.

Pick of the Week: Keep Smiling

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SEAN: If Kodansha thinks they can trick me into picking them every week just by putting out some really interesting josei titles… well, they’re probably right. The most interesting thing to me this week is A Nico-Colored Canvas. Again, great cover art.

MICHELLE: Who knew that we’d be really excited to see the sort of stuff people have been asking for for decades? 100% A Nico-Colored Canvas for me.

KATE: Add me to the chorus of folks who are excited about A Nico-Covered Canvas; there is always room for more josei on my shelf! I’m also curious about Yashahime: Demon Half-Princess, even though the anime was a hot mess. (I gave up after four episodes.) Here’s hoping the manga does more than just recreate each episode beat by beat.

ASH: I’m definitely interested in A Nico-Covered Canvas, but my pick this week goes to To Strip the Flesh. Transmasculine characters are such a rarity in comics, I can’t help but be intrigued. I’ve heard great things about this particular manga, so I’m going in with pretty high hopes and expectations.

ANNA: I’m likewise intrigued by A Nico-Covered Canvas, it sounds great. I’m also very excited to be getting the next volume of Witch Hat Atelier, which will rocket to the top of my stack of to-read manga. However, due to print sports manga being almost as rare as josei, I’m going to go ahead and highlight soccer manga Blue Lock as my pick.

Sword Art Online: Progressive, Vol. 8

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By Reki Kawahara and abec. Released in Japan by Dengeki Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Stephen Paul.

(This review spoils the end of the book, but I’ll wait till after the cover art and summary to do so.)

For the most part, Sword Art Online is a cash cow. What this means, especially now that Kawahara is no longer relying on rewriting his webnovel, is that he is free to do what he wants and take all the time he needs without real fear of being cancelled. Now, this can be dangerous, and the series risks becoming a bit TOO meandering. But it also means that he’s happy to set up a bunch of stuff, lead us towards resolving it… and then kick it up to the next floor/book, knowing that he has time to look into it in greater detail then. This is what happens here with the ongoing Dark Elves plot. We get a few more hints about what’s going on, there’s some tantalizing angst as they worry about putting the main casino plot ahead of Kizmel’s (she assures them it’s fine.) And then the confrontation… isn’t. See you in Book 9.

Kirito frequently runs on his instincts, which usually serve him well but also get him in a pile of trouble, as they do here where he essentially decides to rescue the monster dog from where it’s being slowly tortured to death for the casino games. Which is fine, but… that means they’ve got a lot that now needs to happen, including getting Nirrnir to inspect the enemy camp’s monster stables. Unfortunately, that leads to Very Bad Things, so now Kirito and Asuna are in a race against time to try to a) beat the cheating casino, b) beat the floor boss, and c) help Kizmel get un-disgraced. Fortunately, they have each other, they have Argo, and they have the power of delicious Greek food, so it won’t be TOO hard… maybe.

So yeah, I have to admit, I was not particularly surprised at the fact that Nirrnir was a vampire, as all the signs were there in the previous book. It would have been more odd if she WASN’T. No, the surprise was that I expected our heroes to win and be able to cure her poisoning at the last minute. I wasn’t even that surprised at Kirito telling Nirrnir to drink his blood in order to stay alive – this is a classic trope of vampire stories. I was pretty surprised that this caused Kirito to become a vampire himself. And I was VERY VERY surprised that this was not resolved by the end of the book, meaning he’s going to have to take on the next floor only in the evening, as he now has all the traditional vampire weaknesses. It fits with the story in this 2-book arc, but honestly, I hope “Kirito the Vampire” is resolved sooner rather than later in Book 9. And honestly, I kind of want the dark elf plot resolved as well. I love Kizmel, but ell… sometimes Progressive *is* too meandering.

We’re caught up with Japan again, and I’m not sure when Book 9 will come out. In the meantime, please enjoy a Kirito who is probably going to be staring at Asuna’s neck even more than he normally does.

Otherside Picnic, Vol. 7

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By Iori Miyazawa and shirakaba. Released in Japan as “Urasekai Picnic” by Hayakawa Bunko JA. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Sean McCann.

If Otherside Picnic is a series about ghost stories and legends, and going to another world to explore and confront them, then the series had to, at some point, deal with its own self-made ghost. Satsuki Uruma has been a part of this series from the very beginning, but we’ve never quite met her. Her presence has been felt, though, both from the impact her life and death had on Toriko and Kozakura and also because the Otherside has used her presence and likeness to hunt and destroy Sorawo. In this new volume, Sorawo finally meets Satsuki and has a conversation with her, and it helps to clear up a great many things. 1) the Satsuki they’re dealing with is not a human being, and b) Sorawo wants to murder her. Of course, this is Kozakura’s friend and Toriko’s former teacher/crush, so Sorawo will have to obfuscate her real motives… but not by much. Call it a funeral or an exorcism or what you will, it’s a final battle, and all it needs is a shootout.

While discussing Kozakura’s decision to take the wayward Otherside child Kasumi in (reasoning that she’s human because she’s not trying to look human), Sorawo and Toriko get into a fight because it turned out Toriko missed Sorawo’s birthday, which Sorawo doesn’t care about but Toriko certainly does. A few days later it’s not a fight but it’s not NOT a fight, so Sorawo, after her anthropology class, decides to return to the building where she first entered the Otherside and met Toriko. There she finds her doppelganger… and also Satsuki, who has a terrifying conversation with our heroine. After this, Sorawo is determined to do away with her, to the point where her romantic anniversary dinner with Toriko is somewhat waylaid by that fact. But how do you kill what Satsuki has become?

I brushed past the anthropology class, but it was a terrific part of the book, with Sorawo (who is no longer amnesiac, so is returning to her original topic) laying out the anthropological details behind ghost stories and the like. The class are doubtful but not mocking her, and the professor is quite supportive… especially when they do find evidence of T-san’s former presence. The other highlight of the book (aside from Sorawo really coming into her own as a leader and driver of the action) is, once again, Runa Urumi. Her interaction with Sorawo is fantastic, and I enjoyed seeing her assume that the only reason that Sorawo is allowed to walk around Japan with her eye that can drive people crazy is that she has friends in high places. Unfortunately, the final scene (which is both terrifying and vindicating, and makes you want to punch the air in victory) puts Runa away again” for a bit, but I now really look forward to seeing her again.

This is not the end of the series, but it’s very much the end of one of the major story arcs, and that makes it easier to wait for the 8th volume, which is not out in Japan yet. Till it comes out, this may be the best volume of the series to date.

How a Realist Hero Rebuilt the Kingdom, Vol. 16

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By Dojyomaru and Fuyuyuki. Released in Japan as “Genjitsu Shugi Yuusha no Oukoku Saikenki” by Overlap Bunko. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Sean McCann.

The Realist Hero series has occasionally shown us glimpses of the Gran Chaos Empire, but we’ve never really been inside it. And while we’ve seen Maria and Jeanne, for the most part they’ve been minor supporting characters in a series that, especially lately, has been far more concerned with Fuuga’s desire to be Genghis Khan and Souma’s reaction to this. That said, when we have seen Maria several things have become clear: she is very good at what she does, and she hates doing it. Sometimes just because you’re a born leader does not mean that leadership is the thing you actually desire. And lately, especially with the expansion of the other two major territories, her advisors are growing restless, tired of her “wait and see” approach. There has definitely been a sense that when the three powers clashed, the Empire would be the one to fall. That said, I don’t think we quite appreciated just how close to breaking Maria really was till the events of this book, which features what is for all intents and purposes a suicide attempt.

There’s a two-year timeskip near the start of this volume, which I point out only because the book itself is so blase about it you might forget. We also see Kuu’s marriage. After that, though, it’s all business. Fuuga will not be content till he’s conquered the world, and that means he has to take on either Maria or Souma… and frankly Maria is the more obvious choice. He and his people do a good job. They make the right feints. They coerce Maria’s allies into betraying her. They make it worth Souma’s while to stay out of things, even to the point of marrying him off to Yuriga (who is now 18, and yes, that’s probably the main reason for the timeskip). Fuuga even offers Souma the chance to actually rule the world after he conquers it – he has no interest in what comes after “I beat everyone”. That said, Maria is not without a cunning plan or two of her own.

I mention the suicide attempt mostly as it’s in the color pages, which are for once at the front of the volume (J-Novel Club started to put them at the back due to Amazon’s policies about art in the ‘ebook previews’), boldly feature it. It startles the hell out of absolutely everyone, including Souma, who almost panics and ruins their well-crafted plan (which, to be fair, did not have Maria jumping to her death) and Fuuga, for whom this would be the worst possible outcome. He doesn’t need the so-called Saint to be a martyr. As it happens, Maria’s not really sure why she did it either, at least until afterwards back in Souma’s castle when she essentially has a complete emotional breakdown and you realize that she’s been holding everything in for YEARS. Fortunately, thanks to the support of everyone (as well as marrying the man she loves – yes, Souma gets TWO new wives this volume), she can recover and go on to do what she’s really wanted to do all this time – philanthropy. AGGRESSIVE philanthropy.

These books are never going to be quality literature. But, like some of the more famous series out there, the quality of the writing is not as important as the resonance. Realist Hero resonates with its readers really well, which is why we’re still invested in it even after all these volumes. And all these wives.

The Manga Review, 6/17/22

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Big news from Yen Press: the publisher is launching IZE Press, a new imprint dedicated to Korean webnovels and webtoons. The imprint will debut this fall with three series created by HYBE and global pop stars BTS, as well as six additional titles: Tomb Raider King, The World After the Fall, The Boxer, My Gently Raised Beast, The Remarried Empress, and Villains Are Destined to Die. Explains JuYoun Lee, the Deputy Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of Yen Press, “we couldn’t be more excited to get a chance to really open up the doors to put these beautiful books in the hands of English-language readers.” I’m still a little salty that the original manhwa boom went bust–remember Dokebi Bride or Goong?–but optimistic that the current market will be more receptive to Korean comics.

NEWS

Are you looking for a job in the publishing field? Yen Press is currently advertising a range of editorial, marketing, and accounting positions. [Yen Press]

The May NPD Bookscan numbers are in, and manga made a strong showing on the Top 20 Author Graphic Novels chart , with volumes of Solo Leveling occupying four of six top slots. Spy x Family continues to dominate the Top 20 Manga chart, though Death Note Short Stories and Toilet-Bound Hanako-kun also posted strong sales. [ICv2]

Justin Lin–best known for his work on the Fast & Furious franchise–has been hired to direct a live-action adaptation of One-Punch Man. [Deadline]

FEATURES, INTERVIEWS, AND PODCASTS

In honor of Pride Month, Latonya Pennington has posted a thoughtful exploration of the last 100 years of queer representation in manga. “A hundred years after the debut of the first yuri novel and twenty years after the publication of Wandering Son, LGBTQ+ manga has greatly matured in terms of their creators, content, and its subgenres,” she notes. “When it comes to manga with transgender characters and themes, there are more options than ever before… On the yuri and yaoi side of manga, both subgenres have moved beyond the teenaged schoolyard romances that were present at the genre’s inception. There are not only gay and lesbian manga featuring adult main characters, but also manga in different fictional genres.” [Popverse]

What LBGTQ+ manga would you like to see adapted into an anime? [Anime Feminist]

And speaking of queer manga, Kory, Helen, and Apryll discuss the merits of two recent titles: BL Fans LOVE My Brother?!, a done-in-one story from Tokyopop, and Even Though We’re Adults, an ongoing yuri series published by Seven Seas. [The Taiiku Podcast]

The latest Manga Machinations episode looks at 10 Dance, Classmates, and Ruri Dragon. [Manga Machinations]

Ashley and Asher investigate Flower in a Storm, a short romantic comedy about a super-rich boy and a headstrong girl. [Shojo & Tell]

The gang at Honey’s Anime compile a list of manga that they didn’t see through to the end. [Honey’s Anime]

Brigid Alverson interviews Seven Seas’ Lianne Sentar and Lissa Pattillo about the challenges and rewards of bringing Asian webtoons to the US market. “I think a huge factor is the convenience of the format,” they note. “Do you have a smartphone and an Internet connection? Here: endless comics to scroll through (discreetly!) during your lunch break, wherever you are. If you look at Asian markets like Japan and Korea, there’s a huge audience of people reading comics on their phones while commuting in public transit like trains. I think newer generations in particular are adding comic reading to the many other leisure activities they do on their phone, and in North America, the boom in Middle Grade comics over the last 5-10 years has seeded millions of new readers who are comfortable reading long-form, sequential comics the way they would ingest other media (prose, TV, etc.).” [ICv2]

REVIEWS

Over at Anime UK News, Sarah posts a glowing review of Gengoroh Tagame’s Our Colors, while No Flying No Tights declares Junji Ito’s Deserter a mixed bag. “That’s not to say this is a bad collection, but Ito has such wonderfully scary other pieces that many in this volume fell flat for me,” Kris notes. The latest Reader’s Corner is up at Beneath the Tangles, with brief reviews of Alice in Borderland, Golden Gold, and To Strip the Flesh.