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Invaders of the Rokujouma!?, Vol. 39

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By Takehaya and Poco. Released in Japan as “Rokujouma no Shinryakusha!?” by HJ Bunko. Released in North America digitally by J-Novel Club. Translated by Warnis.

The Rokujouma landscape post-Volume 29 has thrown a lot more obstacles in the way of our heroes, but it is not frankly in a huge rush to deal with them. This has become a series that has no real plans to stop, so things will get resolved when they get resolved. This also applies to the romance, where we see that Koutarou is still uncomfortable with the idea that all the other girls have already come to accept, which is to say that he’s going to be in a polycule. Physical affection is also a work in progress, as we see in this volume when he’s forced to share a giant robot cockpit with Kiriha. But at least we’ve resolved all the potential love interests and aren’t adding anyone new, right? …right? Well, OK there’s been an asterisk next to that since Vol. 29, but for the most part we’ve ignored it as Nalfa has barely been in these recent volumes. That changes here, and you get the feeling she will be added to said polycule. If she survives.

After the big battle last volume, most of the enemy have fled, likely to regroup around Forthorthe. But the Grey Knight has hung around, trying to figure out why Koutarou’s magical sword is “incomplete”. In the meantime, it’s the start of a new school semester, and there’s going to be a huge influx of alien students. Nalfa has to give the welcoming speech, and it’s making her a bit panicky. That said, everyone else is on edge, suspecting that the Grey Knight is going to be attacking the ceremony. Fortunately, it goes off without a hitch. Unfortunately, the Grey Knight finally clues in and realizes what it is that he is looking for: Nalfa. She’s got some power he needs to draw out. He tries attempting to kill her – this doesn’t work. Then he tries attempting to kill Koutarou – that works. Can our heroes save her with the power of Sanae x 3?

Sanae, Sanae and Sanae fighting against the grey Knight is easily the action highlight of the book, and also gets in a few good one-liners (is it the power of friendship when you’re all the same person?). As for the Grey Knight, well, he may be from a different timeline but he’s still hella powerful and dangerous, and it’s going to take a lot more than Sanaes to get rid of him. As for the romance side of things, if nothing else I think we see here that Nalfa may be the only other addition to the polycule. She’s very blunt about her love for Koutarou, just like the other girls – and not like Kotori, who holds Koutarou on a pedestal compared to her “cheating” brother, but doesn’t see him as a love interest. That said, this is somewhat irrelevant, as any further romantic progress, if it happens at all, will be at the very end of the series.

We’re back to Forthorthe for the foreseeable future in the next book, with a few additions – Kenji, Kotori and Nalfa need to come along so that they’re not used as hostages. (This will kill Kenji’s love life, but he’s comic relief anyway.) Vol. 40 just came out in Japan two days ago, though, so it may be another few months for us.

Dahlia in Bloom: Crafting a Fresh Start with Magical Tools, Vol. 3

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By Hisaya Amagishi and Kei. Released in Japan as “Madougushi Dahliya wa Utsumukanai” by MF Books. Released in North America by J-Novel Heart. Translated by Nikolas Stirling.

I mentioned this in my review of the second volume, but it bears repeating: These two are a wonderful couple who absolutely should not get together at this point. Even the rest of the cast agrees with me. No one dares bring it up with Dahlia, who is still being treated with kid gloves, frankly (then again, it has only been a month since she was dumped by her fiance the day before her wedding), but everyone is planning for her business to be SO successful that she gets made a baroness, which would solve most of the issues with her marrying Volf. Not that she really has clued in to her own feelings yet. Volf has clued in to his own feelings, but his solution to the problem of class differences is terrible, as is fortunately pointed out to him by his older brother. Really, for the moment, they’re best as they are seen here: inventing new things, creating hilariously bad and terrifying magical swords, and eating and drinking a lot. A whole lot.

Much of this volume is spent with Dahlia trying to find a way to make the portable stove even smaller, so that it can be easily carried by knights when they go on their missions. We get into the nitty gritty of materials needed, cost, and how much to change – this book does not skimp on the business insights. That said, Dahlia is still showing off some painful naivete in this book. She’s trying to deal with the gossip about her and Volf, but it’s not something that you can just smile and hope it goes away. More concerning is the fact that she has so little self-worth that she gives away valuable creations at the drop of a hat, not realizing that she needs to convey a better idea of what she is as a proprietor rather than as a friend. As for Volf, well, his biggest concern is a monster that creates an illusion of a loved one – something Volf has never really had to deal with until now.

We already pretty much knew that Dahlia was having trouble dealing with the death of her father, and here we see that she’s also still having trouble dealing with her previous life in Japan, where she had a still living mother when she overworked herself to death. Honestly, she may have a similar fate here unless events conspire to get her and Volf together, as we see her lose track of the entire day working on another invention. She also says she plans to never get married, which is fine right now given that she and Volf are already acting like – and are mistaken for – a married couple. You can absolutely see where the rumors come from. The scene where they buy the matching glasses and amphora in order to have even better alcohol is really great, and shows that when they do manage to get past their own personal demons, they will be an amazing power couple.

But that’s for future Dahlia volumes. For now there is outside barbecue, a strong cider, and Dahlia’s vague feeling that she wants Volf to be by her side forever. Huh. Wonder what that’s about?

Manga the Week of 4/6/22

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SEAN: April, the most important month of the year! What manga could be coming out?

MICHELLE: In which two particular manga reviewers just happened to be born!

SEAN: Airship, in print, has I Am Blue, in Pain, and Fragile, which we discussed last week, as well as Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation 16.

ASH: I much more likely to read I Am Blue, in Pain, and Fragile now that it’ll be in print. (That was a pretty quick turnaround!)

SEAN: For early digital editions, they have Berserk of Gluttony 6 and Classroom of the Elite 11.

From Ghost Ship we have a new debut. DARLING in the FRANXX ran in Shonen Jump + and is coming out here in two-volume omnibuses. Post-apocalypse children pilot giant robots. It has an anime. And it’s by the artist of To-Love-Ru.

ASH: I’ll admit I wasn’t paying very close attention, but don’t think I realized this was a Ghost Ship title until now.

SEAN: We also get Into the Deepest, Most Unknowable Dungeon 2 and Who Wants to Marry a Billionaire? 2.

Some digital stuff from J-Novel Club. We see Black Summoner 8, the 7th manga volume of Campfire Cooking in Another World with My Absurd Skill, The Emperor’s Lady-in-Waiting Is Wanted as a Bride 4 (the final volume), Infinite Dendrogram 17, Min-Maxing My TRPG Build in Another World 3, Perry Rhodan NEO 7, The Reincarnated Princess Spends Another Day Skipping Story Routes 3, Slayers 13, A Wild Last Boss Appeared! 8, and The World’s Least Interesting Master Swordsman 8.

Lotsa print volumes for Kodansha. We see In/Spectre 15, Lovesick Ellie 3, Orient 8, Peach Boy Riverside 6, Penguin & House 2, Shaman King Omnibus 8, Shikimori’s Not Just a Cutie 9, Those Not-So-Sweet Boys 6, and Vampire Dormitory 4.

MICHELLE: Jeez, how did Those Not-So-Sweet Boys get up to volume 6 already!

ASH: Gotta love it when the print runs converge!

SEAN: There are two digital debuts. The Abandoned Reincarnation Sage (Suterareta Tensei Kenja – Mamono no Mori de Saikyou no Daima Teikoku o Tsukuriageru) is a sensibly shortened title, and also a manga that runs in Magazine Pocket. Powerful sage reincarnates… and is promptly abandoned, as a baby. Fortunately, he’s found by a nearby tribe… of goblins!

The Angel, the Devil, and Me (Otonari wa Tenshi to Akuma) is a single volume shoujo title from The Dessert. Girl meets her new neighbors… and of crap, they’re hot! Should she make a move on them… or should she SHIP them? This is from the creator of Boss Wife.

ANNA: Ok, this sounds amusing.

SEAN: Also digital: Chihayafuru 31, The Decagon House Murders 4, I Was Reincarnated as the 7th Prince so I Can Take My Time Perfecting My Magical Ability 5, Kounodori: Dr. Stork 22, My Darling, the Company President 5, and My Idol Sits the Next Desk Over! 4.

MICHELLE: I need to have a Chihayafuru marathon.

ANNA: Me too. I regard it as an indication that I’m a failure as a person.

SEAN: One Peace has the 9th volume of The New Gate.

Debuting from Seven Seas is The Most Heretical Last Boss Queen: From Villainess to Savior (Higeki no Genkyou to naru Saikyou Gedou Rasubosu Joou wa Min no tame ni Tsukushimasu), the manga version of the light novel which Seven Seas also puts out. It runs in Comic Zero-Sum.

Seven Seas also has Failed Princesses 5, Berserk of Gluttony 5, Even Though We’re Adults 4, Haganai: I Don’t Have Many Friends 20 (the final volume), Machimaho: I Messed Up and Made the Wrong Person Into a Magical Girl! 9, and Rozi in the Labyrinth 3 (also the final volume).

ASH: I really need to read more of Even Though We’re Adults.

SEAN: Viz has a debut next week, coming from Shonen Jump. It’s Sakamoto Days, the story of a legendary assassin who fell in love, got married, got older, and put on weight. But does he still have the old skills? Signs point to yes.

ANNA: I will usually read at least one volume of an assassination manga.

ASH: Same, really.

SEAN: Also from Viz: Chainsaw Man 10, Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba: The Official Coloring Book, Jujutsu Kaisen 15, Kaguya-sama: Love Is War 22, Kaiju No. 8 2, Moriarty the Patriot 7, My Hero Academia: Vigilantes 12, My Love Mix-Up! 3, Queen’s Quality 14, Skip Beat! 46, Snow White with the Red Hair 18, Spy x Family 7, and Yona of the Dawn 35. Wow. I am getting a LOT of that.

MICHELLE: Holy cow, that’s a ton of great stuff. My heart, as ever, belongs to Skip Beat!, though.

ANNA: Me too! A new volume of Skip Beat! is always cause for celebration.

ASH: A very good Viz week!

SEAN: Plenty of light novels from Yen On. We see Date a Live 5, Death March to the Parallel World Rhapsody 16, The Detective Is Already Dead 3, I Kept Pressing the 100-Million-Year Button and Came Out on Top 2, The Otherworlder, Exploring the Dungeon 2, Solo Leveling 4, and That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime 13. Strangely, given my usual reading, I am getting none of these.

ASH: I’ve been meaning to give one version or another of Solo Leveling a try, but I simply haven’t got around to it yet.

SEAN: As for Yen Press, the debut is Banished from the Hero’s Party, I Decided to Live a Quiet Life in the Countryside (Shin no Nakama Janai to Yuusha no Party o Oidasareta node, Henkyou de Slow Life Suru Koto ni Shimashita). We’ve had the light novel, we’ve had the anime, now let’s have the manga. It runs in Comic Walker.

And we also get the 4th and final volume of Little Miss P.

Come on, come on. Decide! Pick a favorite!

ANNA: SKIP BEAT!

Tearmoon Empire, Vol. 7

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By Nozomu Mochitsuki and Gilse. Released in Japan as “Tearmoon Teikoku Monogatari” by TO Books. Released in North America digitally by J-Novel Club. Translated by David Teng.

The narrative voice is one of the most well-known parts of this series, but we do occasionally see inside Mia’s own thoughts as well, and when we do we can sort of get what the narrator is talking about. There are several points in this book where Mia is essentially being a petty, selfish and gluttonous princess – we see how she thinks. In those cases, yes, the fact that everyone misinterprets her can be ridiculous. That said, we also see many times in this volume Mia’s sharp instincts to avoid the guillotine, and those are top-tier. When Mia doesn’t think but simply reacts, be it to a death flag or when she sees one of her friends is unhappy, she shines. And heck, even her selfish pettiness doesn’t last long – her desire to see a money-grubbing merchant suffer is thrown out the window when she sees him legitimately suffering the aftereffects of a heart attack. In this book we really do see that if she does become Empress, she might just do OK.

The first fifth of the book wraps up the third “arc” we’ve been reading, with Mia returning home for the weeklong festival to celebrate her birthday, as we are reminded that her father is, not to put too fine a point on it, a freak. That said, it’s the colors Mia wears to her party that make the impression. After this we move into a new arc which features Mia, having set up an excellent program to combat famine, trying hard to keep it from collapsing. Chaos Serpents are still trying to sow discord, but we also have to deal with those who realize that a famine can be a great way to make a pile of cash if you’re the one delivering the food. Now Mia and Ludwig have to face off against an antagonist who Mia remembers from her past life… when things ended in disaster. Can she turn things around with the help of a commoner studying medicine and the power of wheat?

This is usually the point of every review where I get annoyed at the narrator for harping on Mia being chubby, and yeah, it’s here as well. That said, we also see Mia chiding herself for a different kind of flab. A couple of times in this book she makes the mistake of being complacent, and that’s when disaster pricks at her intuition. Given that there is a secret society whose goal is to destroy her and her kingdom, Mia simply can’t stop and just relax. I think, in time, this will become second nature to her – she just needs to have her thoughts map to her instincts more. She also has help. Ludwig is hilarious here, taking on the brunt of “misunderstand Mia in a positive way” and realizing that if you truly want to change everything about the Empire, might as well also let people like him be Chancellor. As for Shalloak, the “evil” merchant, his story actually ends up being heartwarming and tragic at the same time – the benefits of people dreaming of their past lives in another world.

Add to this one of the best side stories in the entire series, where a search for cake will make you cry, and you have a fantastic volume. Each one of these is a treasure.

Strike the Blood, Vol. 20

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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.

I’d like to welcome you all and thank you for coming to another one of my attempts to review the latest volume of Strike the Blood. If you’re reading this, I assume that either you are a hardcore fan of the series (and have therefore, no doubt, seen the anime that has already adapted this volume) or you just enjoy reading about me trying and failing to get 500 words out of a series whose main plot is “cool action sequences for 279 pages”. It’s always felt like a novelization more than a novel, but here in English, where we’re reading the novels after the equivalent anime, it’s even more apparent. This is, essentially, the final arc, Part 2 of 4. It will therefore not surprise you that it ends with a bit of a downer, though honestly not as much as previous books. That said, fans will feel relieved to hear that Kojou says “my fight” and Yukina corrects him with “No, senpai, this is OUR fight”, so all is present and correct.

As noted, for the most part this is the second part of what we saw last time, so there’s still a lot of Itogami Island being divided into factions that are fighting for supremacy. We do, however, get the reason that this is happening: Avrora is alive again, and that means Kojou does NOT have all 12 beast vassals… meaning he’s essentially about to spiral out of control. There’s two main ways to solve this: kill everyone on the island by removing their memories and reason (bad), or kill Avrora (kind of what they’ve been trying not to do for the last several books). This therefore sets up most of the book, which is a lot of plotting, counterplotting, and friends turning against each other for the greater good and then feeling like absolute crap about it afterwards. That said, Kojou’s actual solution SEEMED like a good idea at the time, but…

The end of the book, i.e. Kojou’s fate, is honestly something I thought we’d have gotten about a dozen novels before now, so I’m relieved to see it here right before everyone gathers for the big finale. It’s still a powerful moment, mostly because it’s so quiet, just him and Yukina sitting watching the horizon after completely failing to stop the end of the world. Also a surprising scene, and showing that the author is perhaps getting a handle on light-hearted stuff at last, is Kojou in the shower, struggling against his vampiric instincts, and then Kanon, Shizuri AND Yukina all offering him their bodies. Separately. Which means it briefly turns into a British farce. That’s not the surprising thing, the surprising thing is that Kojou doesn’t get beaten up for it. Perhaps we have graduated from the Rumiko Takahashi school of slapstick.

Presumably next time we will be headed to the big island in the sky to have yet more exciting battles that are very hard to review. Till then, please enjoy another Strike the Blood. It is what it is.

Pick of the Week: Journeys and Windows

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SEAN: While I realize it may be too bleak for me to actually read, I can’t help but make HIRAETH -The End of the Journey- my pick this week. If nothing else, I’m sure its depression will be GORGEOUS.

MICHELLE: I’ve just learned that the tenth and final volume of The Night Beyond the Tricornered Window came out last Tuesday so obviously I must make that my pick this week. I love BL with lots of non-romantic plot and boy, does this qualify. In fact, there hasn’t really been any romance at all. I’d be surprised if that changes, as this final volume will presumably be fraught with curses and cult leaders.

KATE: I think Anna said it best when she described HIRAETH -The End of the Journey as “the type of critically acclaimed work that I think I will read but don’t get around to because I’m not in the mood for despair right now.” That sounds about right–I certainly want to support the author of Our Dreams at Dusk, but I’m not sure if I handle anything more serious than The Way of the Househusband at the moment.

ASH: HIRAETH is definitely something I’ll be keeping an eye out for if it ends up being released in print. Meanwhile, I’ll make Josee, the Tiger and the Fish my pick this week, though it sounds like another volume that you might need to be in the right mood to read.

ANNA: My pick for this week is my stack of unread manga!

The World’s Strongest Rearguard: Labyrinth Country’s Novice Seeker, Vol. 6

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By Tôwa and Huuka Kazabana. Released in Japan as “Sekai Saikyou no Kouei: Meikyuukoku no Shinjin Tansakusha” by Kadokawa Books. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Alexandra McCullough-Garcia.

One of the strengths of this mostly ridiculous series is that I get the sense the author does not take it seriously. Now, I’m not saying it’s meant to be a comedy – the battles are clearly meant to be dangerous and deadly action sequences, and this volume in particular ends on a big downer of a cliffhanger. What I mean is that it doesn’t take the tropes seriously. It’s a harem genre with a passel of women all in love with our oblivious hero, but there’s no infighting or even any real anger about it – hell, the closest they get to being upset is when Misaki almost spills the beans on what they have to do every night after Arihito goes to sleep. There’s also the reality-bending power of fiction, where our heroes end up being the ones who always fight the strongest monsters, even when they’re told not to. But even then, after they win, they’re told “sorry, you really are that powerful, please have a special title.” It’s just… funny.

We pick up where we left off last time, with our party in a trap laid for them by Shirone, who unfortunately also appears to be trying to do a “suicide by dungeon”. This trap includes monsters that raise your karma if you attack them, and a named monster (of course) that can not only inflict pain on our heroes but also guilt of their past actions and present fears. And while they do end up escaping this and defeating the monster, it’s clear that Elitia is still feeling the aftereffects of this. Things aren’t really helped when they are asked to go to the 5th Level to help to subjugate a swarm of scorpion monsters… the 5th Level being where they were aiming for to try to rescue Elitia’s friend. The scorpion monsters and their leader prove to be fairly easy to take down. But the Simian Lord whose dungeon holds Rury proves, for once, to be too much for Arihito, and he pays dearly.

Despite that cliffhanger, this is possibly the most Rearguard volume of Rearguard ever. We get our heroes taking on THREE named monsters and defeating two of them, something that is almost becoming old hat. Everyone theoretically gets cool things to do, though I will admit that a lot of it is the narrative spewing game stats at us and then trying to figure out what they actually do in terms of visuals. More to the point, Arihito is the star of this series, and it’s made very clear that the narrative of this world knows it. There are other parties who were jealous of how fast he’s risen… then they see how he deals with The Calamity and they fall over themselves to apologize and grant him an even cooler title. As I’ve said before about this series, if you are a fan of light novels who takes them Very Seriously Indeed this must make your skin catch fire. It does not give two hoots.

That said… erm, hope Theresia is OK? Fortunately, we don’t have a year to wait for the next volume in the series as we did last time. Unfortunately, from what I’ve heard, the arc may go on even longer than that next volume. Still, I’ll be reading and enjoying.

Durarara!!SH, Vol. 3

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By Ryohgo Narita and Suzuhito Yasuda. Released in Japan by Dengeki Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Stephen Paul.

Ryohgo Narita has always struck me as someone who pays closer attention to his fandom than most other authors. His books all interlink in ways that fans love, of course, but here we delve even more deeply into fandom culture. Sometimes you’re so into something that you lose all reason, and sometimes you hate the idea of something so much that you… well, lose all reason. Not so much two sides of the same coin as opposite edges of the same side. And then there’s our new main cast. Deliberately introducing three new high school students who fit very much into the exact same slots that Mikado, Masaomi and Anri did in the previous books, Narita shows us that Kuon has a long way to go in trying to be the next Izaya, mostly as he doesn’t understand how much of what Izaya did was off the cuff, dangerous, and unplanned. As for Yahiro, after praising him for being a nice guy in the previous book, I may have to walk that back a bit.

Remember the slasher plotline at the start of this series? It’s back, sort of, only with hammers. Someone is going around dressed as a character from popular franchise Owl of the Peeping Dead (not based on any real-life series, the author assures us) and hitting people with hammers. No one’s dying, but they’re getting hospitalized. Several people would like to see this stopped. Erika and Walker, who are offended that someone is destroying the reputation of a beloved series. Shizuo, who doesn’t really care until the attacker hits Tom, and then cares A WHOLE LOT. And Ran Izumii, who also hits guys he hates with a hammer, and is upset that someone is stealing his shtick. Hunting down this attacker… or, as it turns out, attackers… are Celty, as always, Yahiro, who’s nice and strong and also weird as hell, and Horada, who is comic relief.

So if Kuon is not Izaya, is he Masaomi? That fits him a little better, to be honest, especially the desire to have people hit him after they realize how involved he is in everything. Still, if you’re trying to be an expy of another character, perhaps don’t pick the only one of the trio so uninteresting he’s been written out? As for Yahiro, he overlays with Shizuo, of course. Certainly better than he does with Mikado, as Mikado is his polar opposite. That said, the last section of the book made me realize that Yahiro reminds me more than a little of Elmer from Baccano!. That’s that vague sense of ‘what the actual fuck?’ that comes across whenever you have to deal with Yahiro for a lengthy period, though it doesn’t help that Kuon’s actions are so contradictory to begin with. He’s certainly the most interesting of the new characters, especially since Himeka pretty much sits this book out.

Next volume promises the return of at least two of the original trio.. But till then let’s enjoy the chaos, and be relieved that DRRR!! can still inspire laughter and badass fighting.

Bookshelf Briefs 3/25/22

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Anyway, I’m Falling in Love with You, Vol. 2 | By Haruka Mitsui | Kodansha Comics (digital only) – For the most part Anyway, I’m Falling in Love with You is your standard shoujo romance manga. Somewhat derpy protagonist is surrounded by several male childhood friends who have all grown into bishounen, and two of them have feelings for her. She, of course, is clueless in the way of love. What makes this series slightly different, though, is that it’s set in 2020 and the characters are affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly the cancelation of school events they’d really been looking forward to. (I note, though, that nobody wears a mask or socially distances at any point.) Another unusual aspect is that we’ve now glimpsed a couple of the characters ten years in the future, which is pretty neat. I will likely continue with this one, though I hope it’s a short series as that would probably work best. – Michelle Smith

The Case Files of Jeweler Richard, Vol. 1 | By Mika Akatsuki, Nanako Tsujimura, and Utako Yukihiro | Seven Seas – I didn’t know much about The Case Files of Jeweler Richard going in, but I’d seen it described as a mystery, so that plus the title plus what looked to be a somewhat eccentric protagonist with an earnest helper lead me to expect something Sherlockian. I thought somehow that Richard and Seigi would be solving murders. That is not the case, however. In the first half of this volume, Richard helps Seigi track down the woman from whom his grandmother stole a pink sapphire ring 50 years ago. In the second half, a client’s request for a valuation of a ruby leads only to some resolution in her romantic life. Is… is that it? Is that all this series is? I did learn some stuff about gemstones, but I must admit I’m disappointed. I’ll give it another volume in case this one’s just a warmup. – Michelle Smith

Hello, Melancholic!, Vol. 1 | By Yayoi Ohsawa | Seven Seas There have been quite a few band club manga out there, and I dare say one or two yuri band club manga. But the trombone taking a starring role is a new one to me. Minato is huge, plays a huge instrument, and is a bundle of introverted, cringing nerves, having had a traumatic experience in her past that has left her trying to fit in in high school… and failing, just like everyone else who has to try to fit in rather than just doing it. Fortunately, she meets Hibiki, who is a positive, excitable bundle of energy, and wants Minato in her band no matter what. But that will mean getting past Minato’s walls… something that might be helped a bit by Minato clearly crushing on her sempai! This was cute and fun, and Minato’s introversion is well-handled. – Sean Gaffney

I’m a Wolf, But My Boss Is a Sheep, Vol. 1 | By Shino Shimizu | Seven Seas – For the most part, this reads like a pretty standard office romance between two very awkward people, but it’s the animal characteristics and instincts that make it unique. Oogami is new to the department, which consists almost entirely of sheep… and he’s a wolf, which means they already think he’s going to go after them. He certainly does have the instincts to, but does an admirable job of holding back. As for Mitsuji, she has similar issues—in a board room filled with carnivores, she struggles not to be held back by her fear instinct. The two of them are clearly perfect for each other, but this is not the sort of series that wants to get them together right away, especially as we meet two possible “past romances” for both of them. Cute—Beastars but fluffier. – Sean Gaffney

Kageki Shojo!!, Vol. 4 | By Kumiko Saiki | Seven Seas – In this volume Sarasa runs into a problem that many actors have a tremendous problem with, which is what to do when you’re told to act it “as yourself.” She’s running in the relay race for the sports festival, unheard of for a first-year student, and the pressure gets to her till she realizes that the audience is not there to watch athletes race, it is there for a performance. After that, everything comes together. Meanwhile, Ai is forced to face up to the fact that not only does she now have friends, but she’s actually happy with that fact, something that blows her mind. We’re a long way away from the Ai of the first volume. There’s also a long side story showing what happens when a student longing to be a musumeyaku suddenly grows too tall… dreams are dashed. Very very good. – Sean Gaffney

Kase-san and Yamada, Vol. 2 | By Hiromi Takashima | Seven Seas – It’s been two years since the last volume, but I was able to pick up right where these two left off—still trying to be in a long-distance relationship and finding out it works best if you still see each other a lot of the time. So we have Kase taking a day off from practice to go to the festival and see fireworks with Yamada, and Yamada going to the beach lodge where Kase and her team are working to stay there as well. This actually leads to a scene where they are intimate with each other, which surprised me as I’d thought that when the series rebooted itself it was going to walk that back—nice to see the continuity is the same. As for Kase and Yamada, they’re an adorably sweet couple, as you’d expect—the readers would not want anything less. – Sean Gaffney

Rosen Blood, Vol. 2 | Kachiru Ishizue | Viz Media – In the second volume of this series I remain confused about the methods of vampirific human consumption, which involves a mysterious crystallization process, but this volume does deliver on providing even more gothic vibes as Stella needs to enter Levi’s brain for various reasons and is able to discover more about his past in a surreal dream sequence. Levi’s companions are revealed to be even more evil, and there’s plenty of dark seduction to go around. This series is best for readers who aren’t picky about plot details but enjoy pretty brooding vampires. – Anna N

Sex Ed 120%, Vol. 3 | By Kikiki Tataki and Hotomura | Yen Press – Last time I described the two teachers in this series as lesbians, but it turns out they’re both bi, and we do get discussion of the difficulties that bi folks face from others. As for Tsuji and Nakazawa, well, Nakazawa is only just coming to terms with her feelings, and Tsuji doesn’t want to ruin the friendship they have, so things are slow going. As for the Sex Ed part of the book, it’s still top notch, with excellent discussions of abortion and pregnancy, transgender people, and a deeper look into how LGBT culture works, particularly in Japan. I think they’d be great books to assign to high schoolers, though you might run into a few issues. The characters remain fun if slight, and I was rooting for the teachers in the end. This is the final volume, and the series in recommended. – Sean Gaffney

Skip and Loafer, Vol. 3 | By Misaki Takamatsu |Seven Seas – Mitsumi is starting to actually do things right, and her core circle of friends no longer has to be amazed at her newbie-ness. Honestly, her character journey may be done, which is good, as Shima still has a long way to go. He has A PAST, capital letters, and it’s getting in the way of his present, and also probably impacting the fact that he’s clearly falling for Mitsumi. That said, I’m not too sure that the plot matters too much to me, as this is a series that I enjoy reading for the vibe more than anything else. I also love Nao, Mitsumi’s aunt, who has clearly read other “wacky” manga before and makes sure that Mitsumi reminds her friends that Nao is biologically male in case of unfortunate assumptions. She’s also there to give good advice. – Sean Gaffney

Altina the Sword Princess, Vol. 13

by

By Yukiya Murasaki and himesuz. Released in Japan as “Haken no Kouki Altina” by Famitsu Bunko. Released in North America digitally by J-Novel Club. Translated by Roy Nukia.

A lot of Japanese fantasy novels tend to take place in “Europe with the serial numbers filed off”, and Altina the Sword Princess is no exception. That said, in terms of the haves versus the have-nots, one look at the map provided at the front of the book will show that the country belonging to our heroes is head and shoulders above the others. Sure, the battle against Britannia was rough, and Hispania seems to be doing the same sort of piracy that Spain was said to be doing back in the days when massive Empires controlled Europe. But Belgaria, the equivalent of France, is not really hurting either. Especially with its new King on the throne, who is not a dissolute reprobate. Unfortunately, what the new King is is someone who will only want eternal war. As a result, the new head of the army Altina and her strategist are headed down south to try to stop the equivalent of Italy from taking several highly prized cities.

Several surprises await Regis and Altina in this book. First of all, Britannia has finally decided to overthrow its current Queen after that disaster of a campaign and is looking for the next in line… who happens to be traveling incognito with our heroes. Secondly, the generals that have made up the fighting force in the south so far seem… slightly off. The Sixth Army is to be praised for having few casualties… but that’s mostly as it keeps retreating. The Eighth Army is at least more gung ho… indeed, their own general seems a little TOO gung ho. And what’s more annoying, the land and cities that are being lost are some of the most fruitful areas in Belgaria in terms of vegetables and wheat… meaning princes are going up due to shortages. The piracy is not really helping. Given all this, it’s no wonder that stopping Elenore from hitting on Regis is low on Altina’s priority list.

With every volume in this book the stakes have gotten higher, and I appreciate the book calling this out. First of all, we get real dead soldiers here, as Regis has to force the other armies’ hands with his own strategy, while at the same time fighting the Etrurian Army. He can’t rely on tricks and schemes to win the battle anymore… he has to find a way to get peace. Which means that he and Altina have got to do something about Latrielle, because the moment they achieve results here they’re told to invade Hispania. Latrielle will not be happy unless he’s fighting someone, the antithesis of what Altina wants. Something has to give soon, and it’s likely going to mean civil war. We also get some good discussion here on ways to fail but not get removed from your post… unfortunately, with Regis in charge, that changes swiftly. Both southern Generals are a different variety of infuriating, so this is for the best.

So, will the next volume be in not-Spain? Or will the gears of war start turning inward? If you like military fantasy, this continues to be a must buy.