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Management of a Novice Alchemist, Vol. 6

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By Mizuho Itsuki and fuumi. Released in Japan as “Shinmai Renkinjutsushi no Tenpo Keiei” by Fujimi Fantasia Bunko. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Sean McCann.

So, a brief word of warning: if you were not fond of Sarasa’s cavalier and lethal attitude towards bandits in earlier books of this series, you’ll want to give this book a wide berth. Thanks to events in the last book, banditry is now prolific in her area, and when it comes to affect those close to her, she is going to be a little pissed off. There’s less actual brutal death than usual, but there’s a lot of violent beatings, and the two wannabe rapists get a somewhat apropos punishment that I will not go into here. She’s a holy terror. That said, for those of you who enjoy “Sarasa is amazingly overpowered at everything she does and also an asexual lesbian”, there’s plenty of that here as well. (OK, Sarasa pushes back when described as homosexual in the book, but she’s clearly now fine with not only Iris as her wife, but Kate as her “mistress”. Sorry, Lorea, you’ve been familyzoned.) There’s a lot of Sarasa being a lot.

Sarasa is headed off to the capital to pay her taxes. While there, she reconnects with her master Ophelia and Ophelia’s… partner, Maria (Sarasa is not sure if they’re married, but does give a toast to their eternal love), and also runs into her underclassman at alchemist school, Misty. Misty is there to become Sarasa’s new apprentice, and will not take no for an answer. What’s more, Sarasa also meets up with the workers at her parents’ old business, which is still going strong, and they want to help her in any way they can. So she heads back home with a new cast member and a new company to work with. Maybe two companies, as Misty is the heir to the Hudson’s Bay Company… erm, a shipping firm… though she’d really rather not be. Oh yes, and the prince appoints Sarasa as a knight and gives her rule over her small domain around the village and city. Provided she stop the bandit problem.

The last third of this book is so filled with revenge that it tends to distract from the goofy first two-thirds. Misty is a great addition to the cast, as she’s able to keep up with Sarasa’s alchemical miracles while also having common sense, and is not as pathetic as Maris is. (She also does not appear to have any designs on Sarasa romance-wise… if anything, she’s a rival to Lorea as the little sister figure.) The running gag of Sarasa not understanding how famous she is, not understanding how powerful she is, or just underreacting to everything in the book is always going to be funny. And I will admit, I don’t mind Sarasa getting really, really mad and going after bandits with bad intentions in mind. They killed her parents, after all. This is not like other LNs where our newly isekai’d hero is just like “oh, bad guy, stab”. She has motive!

There’s a cliffhanger into the next book, which the author put in in order to advertise the anime that was coming out. So we’ll see you next time to see how Sarasa punches out plague.

In Another World with Household Spells, Vol. 2

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By Rika and HIROKAZU. Released in Japan as “Isekai ni Kita kedo, Seikatsu Mahou shika Tsukaemasen” by Mag Garden Novels. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by sachi salehi.

I try to give authors the benefit of the doubt, but sometimes it’s a little easier to tell that their hot new series is not “I have a brilliant idea for a story that just won’t go away” and more “what’s hot and trending that I can whip up fast?”. The first volume of this already had a noble girl at a magical academy where she’s more OP than most everyone around her, but was mostly content to stay in that lane. While this second volume also hangs around in that genre, there are signs that it wants to branch out. The moment that Patience asked who those people were and was told they were from The Adventurer’s Guild, I groaned a bit. Then there was monster hunting. Did you know monster meat is delicious, milady? Would you like me to pass it to you? That said, while that may impact future volumes, here we’re just content to do genre-related things like inventing sea salt and pound cake.

Patience is spending a large chunk of her summer with Princess Margaret and the royal family, mostly as the Queen has figured out that Patience is the only one who can actually motivate Princess Margaret. She gets to see the sea, and as I noted before, she and Prince Richard come up with ways to get sea salt, which will stop the kingdom being so dependent on rock salt. After this it’s back to school, and coming up with more songs that she has “written” for everyone to play, as well as fending off Albert, who is not into 11-year-olds but wants her creativity around him his whole life. She’s also trying to figure out what happened with her father losing his job, and near the end of the book, we finally get that answer, and it proves to be the best part of the book as well.

I find it amusing that while the series frames Patience’s dad as being the one noble willing to stand up for the common man, even to the point of sacrificing nearly everything, in reality he’s kind of weedy and pathetic, and you get the sense that a lot of his arguments with his sisters are less “they are horrible and overbearing” and more about him being non-confrontational to a ridiculous degree. Now, they are confrontational and overbearing, but mostly for Patience that proves to be a good thing. She also proves to be a fantastic teacher, as when blackmailed into teaching her cousin, who has many issues with studying, she’s able to find ways to get him interested, identify the problem, and set him up for future success. No wonder everyone wants her, Right now she’s still a lady’s maid, but in future…

She’s off to “college” in the next volume, and I expect, given the foreshadowing, this series to branch out a bit. Hopefully no dungeon diving. This remains “pretty good”.

Pick of the Week: Miss Ruki

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SEAN: I didn’t even know it existed till two weeks ago, but Miss Ruki is absolutely my pick this week. It’s wonderful to see titles like this come out over here.

ANNA: I agree, I was similarly unaware, but have preordered this and am looking forward to reading it!

MICHELLE: I agree 100%.

KATE: Add me to the Miss Ruki fan club—I just ordered myself a copy!

ASH: I actually did know about Miss Ruki—mostly because New York Review Comics releases some really interesting things, so I make a point to keep an eye out for them—but there’s no way I’m going to miss out on 1980s josei regardless of the publisher.

The Hero and the Sage, Reincarnated and Engaged, Vol. 5

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By Washiro Fujiki and Heiro. Released in Japan as “Eiyū to Kenja no Tensei Kon: Katsute no Kōtekishu to Konyaku Shite Saikyō Fūfu ni Narimashita” by HJ Bunko. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Joey Antonio.

All I ask is for this book to be relaxing good fun, and this volume delivers in spades. It helps that we get a heaping helping of Millis, who I adore. She manages to be a ditz, a tsukkomi, and a savant all at the same time. Here we discover that her inscribing skills are self-taught, and that with proper training she could be legendary. We discover that, in the alternate universe that our cast go to in order to beat up the bad guys, her making friends with alternate-universe Eluria may have saved the world. And we also discover that she apparently has negative abilities when it comes to sensing her own love life, as even when the answer is handed to her about who her alternate self marries she still doesn’t figure it out. She’s goofy in the best ways, and I hope we get more of her in the next volume.

Raid and Eluria are now ready to go to the other world in order to take care of the Emperor whose fault this all is, Raid’s old boss. They’re taking Millis, Wisel and Alma, but that’s it – this is not an invasion, but a small force. Which is fine, because honestly Raid and Eluria are pretty much good enough to beat anything on its own. That said, the other world is on its last legs, poisoned by the mana left by Eluria’s alternate self, who was feeling really disillusioned. Fortunately, there’s a haven in the middle of this, called Paradise, which turns out to be Millis’ hometown. Her alternate self befriended the demon lord, and now years and years later her descendants help to keep this little slice of normal land active. Honestly, they’re better than the current regime. Why not switch the two?

There’s some attention paid to motivations here which I liked. One of the heroes in the alternate world is the daughter of the guy who betrayed and killed Eluria, and she’s trying to make up for being a family of traitors. That said, when talking with Eluria, it’s pointed out that defending your family honor is not going to mean much if the world ends, while betraying her superior AGAIN would actually be the better moral decision. Especially because this series is not really big on moral greyness. Most everyone in it is either good, or following the orders of a very bad guy of pain of death. Raid and Eluria are trying their damnedest NOT to have a lot of casualties – apart from the emperor, of course, who is scum. And for those who worried there would not be a lot of flirting in this book, fear not, these two are still adorable, in love, and planning to have seven kids. Which appalls the innocent Millis.

I suspect the next book may be the last, but who knows? I do feel we’re not getting back to magical academy days anytime soon, though. This is fun.

The Apothecary Diaries, Vol. 15

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By Natsu Hyuuga and Touko Shino. Released in Japan as “Kusuriya no Hitorigoto” by Hero Bunko. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Kevin Steinbach.

One of the things that comes up both in this latest light novel volume and in the recent anime season is that this is one of those “sort of ancient China emperor, inner court with consorts” series. There are more of them than you’d expect. And a subplot in a lot of them is that, if someone does something that attacks the country or the Emperor, not only are they killed, but everyone in their family, and their servants, and everyone even remotely connected to them is also killed. This seems a bit excessive to some people. Someone asked what happened to all Loulan’s servants after Jinshi interrogated them, and well, sorry, they were all killed by the state. This is because the Emperor is not merely a head of state in this genre, he is a divine being of sorts. He is not meant to be human like everyone else, and trying to make him human is a hideous crime. Even if, say, that crime involves trying to save his life.

Maomao is one of several physicians given a medical exam to show how good they are at their job, with the winners being assigned to various seemingly unrelated places. Maomao is assigned to help with testing out a new drug, meant to deal with intestinal disorders. They also have to research better and safer ways to give anesthesia, which requires Maomao to go to Ah-Duo’s residence and talk with a dead woman who is, of course, not so dead – Suirei. All of this turns out to be for a very good reason – it’s the Emperor who has the intestinal disease, and it may kill him. What’s even more annoying, there’s no guarantee it’s that – it could also be appendicitis, which would be better… unless it bursts. Basically, surgery needs to be done. Unfortunately, Luomen serves as an example of what happens to doctors who do surgery on imperial family, and everyone worries the reward will be execution even if they do succeed.

For those concerned that JinMao is not a factor in this book, fear not. Even though Jinshi doesn’t appear till about halfway through, the crux of the book is still the fact that he’s in love with Maomao. (And she with him, though that’s so understated one could argue it’s nonexistent… which has led to arguments on social media.) There’s a lot of people who would rather have Jinshi be Emperor after the current Emperor dies. But that would mean he’d have to have consorts, and visit them. And that brand he gave himself back in Book 8 (which dwells on Maomao’s mind constantly in this volume, which should reassure folks who saw my earlier statement that understated is NOT nonexistent) is vital to showing how much he does NOT want the job. If he gets it, he would rather give Maomao up forever than order her to be his consort, which she would have to acquiesce to. This gets back to discussions the series had back at the very start about the relationship between Maomao and Jinshi, and its evolution is important to them both. (Fortunately, the success of the surgery means this can be put off a while.)

All this plus Tianyu at his most irritating. Who could ask for anything more?

A Tale of the Secret Saint ZERO, Vol. 3

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By Touya and chibi. Released in Japan as “Tensei Sita Daiseijyo ha, Seijyo Dearuko Towohitakakusu ZERO” by Earth Star Novels. Released in North America by Airship. Translated by Sarah Burch. Adapted by Melanie Kardas.

I should be used to this by now from this series, as well as its parent. Both have a very bad habit of only being half a book and then padding it out with side stories. This volume is 244 pages digitally, but only 141 of them are the main storyline. And that’s not even getting into the fact that the main storyline is also a bit of a short story collection that’s interconnected somewhat. It makes it hard to review, as the side stories after the main content tend to be of the “free when you buy at this bookstore” variety, i.e. not all that impactful. This volume also has a character poll, and the results should not surprise anyone. (It’s a poll of both this and the main series.) Serafina/Fia may be the star, but this is a series written for women, and as such the handsome men are going to grab most of the votes. Which means they get stories from their POV. Which take up more pages.

Serafina and her knights are ready to return from their seaside adventure, but ideally they’d like to fix the climate problem that have plagued the region… unless, as it turns out, Serafina has fixed the problem by accidentally befriending the spirit whose grief was causing the problem in the first place. On their return, Serafina’s father is delighted to see her, but we’re reminded of her general reputation… as well as her knights’… when we meet her older three brothers, all of whom seem to despise and belittle her. Indeed, other knight brigades fight it out with Serafina’s, as no one knows the extent of her powers except a scant few. She then goes with her knight Mirach to his village, which turns out to grow its own medicinal herbs… and does not trust saints, which is why it’s likely good that she’s incognito. Well, as incognito as Serafina ever gets.

This is a prequel to the main series, and I’m not sure how much you’re meant to compare the characters in the past with the ones from the main series, except for the ones who are obvious reincarnations. Most of the knight herd tend to be a bit similar to the knight captains Fia knows, but that’s less because of potential reincarnation and mostly because they’re all soldiers, and thus tend to act the same way. It is interesting comparing Serafina here to the Fia in the main series. In the main series proper, Fia is definitely written as an “airhead” character, unthinking, reacting on instinct a lot, and missing connections a lot while also picking out connections others don’t catch. Serafina in this series is the same, but it’s not written as “airhead” but as “I am six years old”. As such, those who find Fia a but, shall we say, dumb as a bag of hammers might be better off just reading the prequel, which otherwise offers the same amount of fun.

If you don’t mind the fact that you’re only getting half a book’s worth of plot every book, this series remains a lot of fun.

Manga the Week of 9/17/25

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SEAN: It’s Earth Wind & Fire Week, sort of. Let’s see what manga we have coming.

Yen On has three light novels: The Demon Sword Master of Excalibur Academy 12, Hollow Regalia 6, and Spy Classroom Short Story Collection 4.

While Yen Press just has Excellent Property, Rejects for Residents 4.

No debuts for Viz, but we do get Disney Twisted-Wonderland: The Manga – Book of Heartslabyul Complete Box Set, which is just what it says, and comes with a mini-poster.

Also from Viz: #DRCL midnight children 5, After God 6, Dogsred 3, Fool Night 6, Haikyu! 3-in-1 6, Heart Gear 6, Mobile Suit Gundam Thunderbolt 24, Trillion Game 7, and Undead Unluck 21.

ASH: I really need to get around to reading #DRCL midnight children before I get too far behind. I can confirm that Dogsred has been a lot of fun, though!

ANNA: I enjoyed the first volume of Dogsred!

SEAN: Tokyopop has two titles. I Was Reincarnated as the Heroine on the Verge of a Bad Ending, and I’m Determined to Fall in Love! 5, and The Unwanted Bride Loves the Crown Prince With All Her Heart 2.

Titan Manga debut Saint Seiya: Dark Wing (Saint Seiya: Meiou Iden – Dark Wing), a Champion RED title that’s a sequel to the classic manga.

Steamship has a fourth volume of A Suitable Fetish.

Square Enix has Always a Catch!: How I Punched My Way into Marrying a Prince 4 and On and Off: Work-Life Imbalance 2.

Two debuts for Seven Seas. The Handsome Catboy Wants to be His Pet (Ikemen Oneko wa Haruta ni Kawaretai) is a one-shot shoujo title from Zero-Zum Online. A sad sack with bad luck ends up attracting a cat… who is also a handsome man! This is apparently “non-BL with two male leads”.

ASH: And also somehow a cat manga?

ANNA: I’m confused by both the genre and the plot summary!

SEAN: Roses and Champagne is a BL webtoon based on a Korean novel. A lawyer, who is half-Korean and half-Russian, runs afoul of the Russian mob! Can the handsome stranger he’s been avoiding help? Or is the stranger the problem?

ASH: Objection! One does not necessarily preclude the other.

SEAN: Also from Seven Seas: Home Sweet Home 3 (the final volume), I Get the Feeling That Nobukuni-san Likes Me 7 (the final volume), Last Game 10, My Kitten is a Picky Eater 5, Reincarnated as a Sword 15, Servamp 22, and vs. LOVE 2 (the final volume).

And for danmei, we get Joyful Reunion 2.

One Peace Books has a release that is not manga, but is of interest: Retrograde is a collection of three short stories by Osamu Dazai, featuring the title story, Das Gemeine, and Blossom-Leaves and the Spirit Whistle. Expect tortured but gorgeous writing.

ASH: Oh, very nice! I’ve enjoyed One Peace Books’ other Japanese literature offerings and Osamu Dazai’s work always catches my attention.

SEAN: New York Review Comics have Miss Ruki, a 1980s josei one-shot title that ran in a weekly women’s magazine called Hanako. A young woman decides to spurn the fast-paced, consumer-centric life of 80s Japan for a stress-free laid-back life! Fortunately she has a pragmatic friend for balance. Read about this landmark title here.

ASH: I am very much looking forward to this release.

ANNA: I was utterly unaware of this but now I too am very much looking forward to it!

SEAN: Nakama Press has Infini-T Force 4.

Kodansha has one debut, In Love’s Key, Reprised (Kurikaeshi Ai no Oto), a BL one-shot from ihr HertZ. A grumpy conductor known for being cold and remote meets a cheerful grocer.

ASH: Vaguely music-related BL? I’m in.

ANNA: Sounds cute!

SEAN: Also in print: Am I Actually the Strongest? 11, Blue Lock 22, The Ghost in the Shell: The Human Algorithm 6, Kei X Yaku: Bound By Law 8, Ninja Vs. Gokudo 9, Tower Dungeon 2, and Whisper Me a Love Song 9.

And digitally we see My Home Hero 22 and You’re My Cutie! 10.

J-Novel Club has three debuts, all light novels. Blade Skill Online: Crushing the Competition with My Abysmal Stats, Useless Class, and Garbage Weapon! (Blade Skill Online: Gomi Shokugyou de Saijaku Buki de Kuso Status no Ore, Itsunomanika “Last Boss” ni Nariagarimasu!) features a guy who’s ready to play the hot new game… only he’s tricked into picking the worst classes, and his avatar is a girl! Ah well, time to show everyone who’s boss anyway, as this is a light novel.

Flung into a New World? Time to Lift the 200-Year Curse! (Isekai ni Otosareta… Jouka wa Kihon!) is the light novel that JNC’s already licensed manga is based on. Normal dude gets truck-kun’d, ends up in a fantasy forest where he befriends vicious wolves and tries to lift a curse of “black mist of evil”.

Worthless at Home, Whiz to the World (Ie de Munou to Iwaretsuzuketa Ore desu ga, Sekai Teki ni wa Chou Yuunou Datta You desu) stars a young boy who sets out to prove to his family he’s not worthless after all! Then we discover his family are the strongest people in the world… and he’s right up there with them, even though they think he’s a newbie.

Also out from JNC in light novels: From Two-Bit Baddie to Total Heartthrob 4, The Frontier Lord Begins with Zero Subjects 10, In Another World with Household Spells 2, Lady Bumpkin and Her Lord Villain 5, Management of a Novice Alchemist 6, and The Mythical Hero’s Otherworld Chronicles 12.

And for manga we get Ascendance of a Bookworm Arc Four 5, The Banished Former Hero Lives As He Pleases 8, Demon Lord Retry R 8, Flung into a New World 3, and A Late-Start Tamer’s Laid-Back Life 7.

Ghost Ship debuts Rebel Hero: I Will Use My Skills to Control the Scheming Princess’s Heart and Body (Hangyaku no Yuusha – Skill wo Tsukatte Haraguro Oujo no Kokoro to Karada wo Shouakuseyo) runs in Comic Ride Advance. Based on an unlikely to ever be licensed light novel, it stars a summoned hero who discovers that the princess hides evil cunning and uses heroes like pawns! How will he manage to best her? (It’s a Ghost Ship title, we know how.)

ASH: Yeah, it probably won’t be too surprising, that.

SEAN: Their other debut is a digital-first light novel, so maybe I was wrong about unlikely licenses. This is a different title, though. Virgin Knight: I Became the Frontier Lord in a World Ruled by Women (Teisou Gyakuten Sekai no Doutei Henkyou Ryoushu Kishi) features a world where sexual norms between men and women are reversed, and women are dominant! Into this comes our reincarnated hero, and he’s not standing for that! I deeply hope this is less misogynist than it sounds.

Also from Ghost Ship: Creature Girls 13 and The Cursed Sword Master’s Harem Life 4.

Aloha Comics has an artbook for us. The Art of Heaven Official’s Blessing is what it sounds like. 450-page hardcover.

ASH: It looks so pretty!

SEAN: Airship has, in print, Reincarnated Into a Game as the Hero’s Friend 5.

And for early digital we see Sword of the Demon Hunter: Kijin Gentōshō 11 and The Villainess and the Demon Knight 4.

And to think, this is a slow week! What are you getting?

Bookshelf Briefs 9/11/25

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The Fed-Up Office Lady Wants to Serve the Villainess, Vol. 1 | By Nekotarou | Seven Seas – I’ll be honest, these days when a yuri series is licensed I expect it to be a lot less subtle than this one. You might even think it was just pure shoujo. After getting laid off from her job, our protagonist is briefly depressed, before she is suddenly transported to the world of her favorite otome game. The villainess, Lapis, has summoned someone, and it turns out to be her. Now she has to pretend to be a familiar who can make predictions by using her game knowledge. Lapis apparently despises commoners, but I have a feeling there’s more behind that. This was fun, and made me imagine My Next Life As a Villainess if the main character had been reincarnated as Anne rather than Katarina. As for the yuri, right now I think the heroine is more into girls than the villainess. For genre fans, whatever that genre is. – Sean Gaffney

I Don’t Know Which Is Love, Vol. 3 | By Tamamushi Oku | Yen Press – I was not prepared for there to be a year-and-a-half wait between volumes, so as you’d expect I’ve forgotten who everyone is. Though Mei is the important one. She’s still bouncing from girl to girl, and in this book she ends up making out with each of them, including French kissing, which (as her love interests note) she’s pretty good at. She also may be good at acting, as she has to identify with the rejected love from her past to get into the head of a character. That said, the series’ most notable trait is just how absolutely horny everyone in the cast is. This is not an old-school yuri where things end by holding hands. The girls all desperately want to screw Mei, and when staring at her teacher’s revealing outfit Mei thinks “Holy tits!” For connoisseurs. – Sean Gaffney

Monthly Girls’ Nozaki-kun, Vol. 16 | By Sorata Akiduki | Yen Press – I’m going to be honest, the most exciting part of the volume may be the final chapter, where we see a Nozaki who is half-asleep talk about the fact that speaking (over the phone) to Sakura is exciting. This is a series that tends to live and die on its facial reactions, and hers is something else. Another highlight was the “you can act in a play” event, which showed us Sakura’s devotion to Nozaki at peak levels, to the point where, when Hori imitates Nozaki (badly) performing, she can spot exactly what he’s doing. Best of all is Sakura’s iguana pose, which defies description, so I won’t even try. There’s no forward plot development in a series like this, but Sakura is definitely the winner when it comes to laughs this time around. – Sean Gaffney

The 100 Girlfriends Who Really, Really, Really, Really, REALLY Love You, Vol. 15 | By Rikito Nakamura and Yukiko Nozawa | Ghost Ship – There’s another new girlfriend, whose gimmick “obsessed with numbers” is merely OK when she’s bouncing off Rentaro himself, who has to work harder to gain her affection as she’s literally uninterested in any thing that is not a number. (For all that diagnosing characters as autistic is overdone, if you’re going to pick one of this cast to diagnose, new girl is the one.) But it gets better when she meets the rest of the girls, and I enjoyed her bonding with Ahko, whose relaxed but sincere attitude helps draw her in. There’s still plenty of horny here, but I also really love the series when it focuses on how everyone tries their best to think of their partner and what their wants and needs are. Great stuff. – Sean Gaffney

Reincarnated in a Mafia Dating Sim: A Yakuza Heiress Becomes the Top-Ranked Villain’s Romantic Target!, Volume 1 | By Sora Goto and Touko Amekawa | LoveLove – Based only on the first volume, I’m not yet convinced that the conceit of being reborn in a video game contributes much to Reincarnated in a Mafia Dating Sim beyond added amusement, but the manga adaptation is nevertheless a fun and enjoyable read. This is in large part due to how incredibly likeable and competent the lead heroine is—a young woman who wants nothing more than to lead a “normal” life, something that proves to be difficult when your family is yakuza. After dying, she is reincarnated as Francesca Calvino, the protagonist of a dating sim that was popular at her school. She’s familiar with the plot of the game so theoretically knows all of the actions she needs to take to finally leave the underworld behind, but the personal characteristics that allow her to do this also make the role of mafia daughter a perfect fit for her. – Ash Brown

Skip and Loafer, Vol. 11 | By Misaki Takamatsu | Seven Seas – Most of this book is devoted to the class trip. The most touching scene in the volume doesn’t involve Shima, but Yuzuki, who admits to the others that she’s thinking of going to college in Hokkaido, and reminds them (and the reader, who is likely seeing their YuzuMako hopes die a bit) that high school cannot last forever. Also great is the ongoing interaction between the bright and shiny Mitsumi and the deeply cynical (but smart) Yasaka, who simply cannot get over Mitsumi’s overthinking going out with Shima, or the fact that because she rejected him, that’s it forever. Yasaka is not likeable, but she’s a great foil, and I love it when she shows up And then there’s poor Shima, who may idolize Mitsumi more than want to date her. Terrific. – Sean Gaffney

Suzuki-kun’s Mindful Life, Vol. 1 | By Yuhki Fujimoto | Yen Press – There’s a mini-genre of “I’m not a bad person, I just have resting bitch face” in Japan, and it applies equally to guys and girls. Suzuki-kun looks like he’s glaring and ready to kill you, but that’s just how he looks—in reality he loves to bake and is devoted to being a great big brother. His middle school life was terrible, and high school appears to be going the same way, till he meets Haruna, a pretty boy who is very outgoing and positive, and their friendship means Suzuki is dragged slowly towards everyone getting “oh, that’s not what he’s like after all.” I am less impressed with Suzuki’s crush on his sister’s teacher, though at least the series is not playing it up too much, and she also fits the theme of “I am not what I look like” as well. For fans of manga with sweet guys. – Sean Gaffney

Tamon’s B-Side, Vol. 8 | By Yuki Shiwasu | Viz Media – I’m still enjoying this series, but I get the sense that its popularity, and the upcoming anime, has meant that plots that were going to be resolved relatively quickly are now not all that resolved. Basically, if you’re expecting any romance between Tamon and Utage, keep waiting. The bulk of this book continues to deal with Rintaro’s home life, and the real reason for his quitting the band. We’re also introduced to his younger sister, who is acting up in the best younger sister tradition. Utage, for all her fangirl insanity, is one of the few people in this title with a sensible head on her shoulders, and as with Tamon, most of what she does in it amounts to emotional counseling. Recommended for readers who enjoy being a parent rather than a love interest. – Sean Gaffney

365 Days to the Wedding, Vol. 8 | By Tamiki Wakaki | Seven Seas – As it turns out, Takuya is not ready to bring up what his dad asks about to Rika, and the fallout from that leads both of them into a spiral of “I’m doing something wrong.” This leads Rika, after they get back, to immediately go back to see Takuya’s parents—by herself, she asks he not contact her. There she learns a bit more about what life in the country is like. As for Takuya, he gets waylaid by Rika’s mother, who is ludicrously over-controlling but makes it sound like good advice. I am not a fan of Takuya’s new look at all, and I blame her for this. Still, I don’t think she was prepared for her self-help advice to work too well, as she doesn’t get a chance to reject him as a partner for her daughter before she gets caught up in his going to find Rika. This was chaotic, but still good. – Sean Gaffney

Adachi and Shimamura, Vol. 12

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By Hitoma Iruma and raemz. Released in Japan by Dengeki Bunko. Released in North America by Seven Seas. Translated by Molly Lee.

It should not be a surprise to the reader that, despite saying this is a 12th volume rather than a short story collection or whatever “Volume 99.9” was, this is essentially the same as the previous few books. There has been a running theme of Yashiro trying to unite all Adachis with all Shimamuras to save the universe, and that reaches its culmination here, allowing us to get back to the main story at last. Not that there’s much to the main story, except Shimamura starting to think seriously about what her life will be like going forward, and that it will probably be with Adachi. As for Adachi herself, well, she’s gotten better, but the poster child for “vibrating ball of gay” is still exactly what’s on the tin. If there’s an issue here it’s with the author. As this arc has gone on, we had three volumes of My First Love’s Kiss, in the same universe, come out, and that poisoned me so much against the author that I can’t give them the benefit of the doubt with questionable scenarios anymore.

There are four short stories here, along with two mini-short stories. In the first, Adachi is a school teacher in her early 20s who is teaching 6-year-old Shimamura, who wants them to get married. In the second, Adachi is a best-selling author and Shimamura is the lead actress in the movie adaptation of her book. These are both part of the “Yashiro searches for Shimamuras” plot. In the third story, she rescues Shimamura for almost getting hit by a car, only to realize that by doing so she messed up Shimamura meeting Adachi, and now the world is ending. Only donuts can solve this. In the final story, we’re back to the “main” timeline, and the present day (i.e. high school), as Adachi asks Shimamura on a date to the beach. (The two micro stories are Hino and Nagafuji fluff and Adachi and Shimamura’s mothers fluff.)

As I said, My First Love’s Kiss was a toxic series that featured multiple characters preying on children. As such, the first short story, which is written as if we’re supposed to go “awwww”, gave me the creeps. Adachi tries to think of reasons not to marry a six-year-old, and the only one that she can think of that stops her is she’d be arrested. There’s soulmates and then there’s ick. Fortunately that’s the only ick in the book. The other AU was genuinely cute, mostly as they were both adults. I also like seeing the ongoing repair of Adachi’s relationship with her mother, no matter what timeline. The third story is basically an excuse to write the “canon” Adachi and Shimamura meeting in a different way. The final story really does feel like a continuation of the series, and is filled with adorable yuri moments. It feels very much like the anime.

This was supposed to be the final volume, though the author hasn’t had afterwords lately. But there’s a Short Stories 2 due out in a couple of months, so this cash cow continues onward. If it keeps the author away from creepy shit, I’m OK with more of it.

Earl and Fairy: The Future Bride in a Labyrinth of Roses

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By Mizue Tani and Asako Takaboshi. Released in Japan as “Hakushaku to Yōsei” by Shueisha Cobalt Bunko. Released in North America by J-Novel Heart. Translated by Alexandra Owen-Burns.

Generally speaking, I try not to frame a character’s decision in a novel by “well, it’s just terrible writing”. For one thing, it’s lazy reviewing to do that. There are all sorts of reasons why a young woman who was not only raised as a commoner and is now engaged to an Earl but was raised as a commoner with a connection to fairies and thus grew up with basically no friends or peers, would, when sent off to a supposed friend’s household to learn about etiquette, then told she’s the new maid, given a room in an attic, and relentlessly bullied and physically abused, would not say “hey, I wonder if something is wrong here?”. But Lydia thinking “oh hey, this must just be some sort of nobility training I haven’t figured out yet, so I will endure it and not say anything” is, without a doubt, the stupidest she has ever been. The book gets much better in the back half. But I almost dropped this because of that plot point.

After the events of the last arc, Lydia and Edgar are finally engaged. She’s doing her best to try to trust that he loves her and not assume that he is romancing every woman in London. Unfortunately Lucinda, a young noble girl arrives at Edgar’s place and talks about how they’re engaged, mentioning a series of secret letters. She’s honestly so deluded hat even Lydia doesn’t really buy this, but Lydia is also dealing with a serious case of “I am but a lowly plain commoner”, so it really doesn’t help her mood. Edgar, meanwhile, is trying his best not to hit on any woman that looks his way. But it’s hard! It’s less hard with Lucinda, who is, not to put too fine a point on it, a brat. He also worries that Lydia accepted his proposal without any romantic feelings for him at all. This is a much more likely worry.

As with most Earl and Fairy books, things improve greatly once we’re dealing with fairies and not Lydia and Edgar acting exactly like the circa-2007 shoujo romantic leads they are. There are some nice reveals, and we can see why a series of annoying coincidences led to Lydia getting into the awful position she spends most of the book. It is somewhat darkly humorous that she’s at possibly her lowest ebb in the series, collapsing from starvation and fatigue, not from a fairy plot or from Edgar’s enemies, but from noble servants just being terrible people. When Lydia gets out of her head, she proves to be not only a capable Fairy Doctor, but also quite adept at actually handling noble society. The problem is that we spend a large bulk of the book in her head, as does she’ Sometimes reading self-loathing can be grueling. It is here.

I double checked to see when the inevitable shoujo “we’re in wedding outfits!” cover art is, and it’s Book 18, so I worry that each book before them will introduce a new girl to make everyone in the cast slightly unhappy. Recommended for those who loved Black Bird and Hot Gimmick when they came out from Viz.