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Pick of the Week: Cats, Brats and Flowers

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SEAN: I’m not sure I’ll be able to keep up with it, given it’s over 20 volumes in Japan, but this week the appeal of Cheeky Brat really hits home to me. Hoping for something along the lines of Power!! or Girl Got Game. Wait, those were the same manga. Anyway, cheeky brats are my pick this week.

MICHELLE: I admit there is something appealing about Cheeky Brat, but I’ve gotta go with josei cat manga I Am a Cat Barista. I’m not sure if it’ll be quite my thing, but I want to experience at least one volume.

KATE: Given how gregarious our male cat is, I can easily picture Buster pouring drinks and listening to patrons’ sob stories. Count me in for I Am a Cat Barista.

ANNA: I Am a Cat Barista sounds pretty adorable, it is my pick too.

ASH: As much as I’m looking forward to giving I Am a Cat Barista a try, my pick this week simply has to be Red Flowers. My brief doesn’t really do it justice, but both the volume and its series are excellent. Some of the stories collected leave quite an impression.

My Daughter Left the Nest and Returned an S-Rank Adventurer, Vol. 2

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By MOJIKAKIYA and toi8. Released in Japan as “Boukensha ni Naritai to Miyako ni Deteitta Musume ga S-Rank ni Natteta” by Earth Star Novels. Released in North America digitally by J-Novel Club. Translated by Roy Nukia.

After a first volume that seemed to take 200 pages to finally get to its point, we finally have a bit of meat to its sequel. There’s a lot going on here, both in terms of more action, more ongoing backstory and plot development, and more of a daughter who loves her father perhaps a bit too much. Note, as I said last volume, that isn’t the way you think it is. Unlike seemingly every other daddy-adopted daughter series out there the past few years, there are no romantic or sexual feelings here at all. But it is true that when Angeline is around her father, she tends to regress several years and act like a spoiled kid. Not to mention that she puts her dad on a massive pedestal. Of course, he does actually seem to deserve some of that. By now the reader realizes that his description of himself as just some guy with a sword is absolute crap. But then, he is living in Backwater Town, USA.

The start of this book is indeed the promised vacation, with Angeline and her two companions staying for a while and enjoying Belgrieve’s hospitality. That said, things can’t stay slow life forever. There’s a young albino girl and her stoic companion who are proselytizing in the big city, and seem to be secretly evil. And when Belgrieve and his daughter’s party arrive in the Bordeaux capital, they find that roads to their remote town are not as easy as they’d like as the local lord is kicking up a fuss. Indeed, the local noble, Count Malta, is actually allying himself with the religious duo, and his goal is simple: kill Helvetica off so that things can go back to how they should be, with nobles having all the power and abusing the common people. Can Angeline and the others save the royals?

Two points to make. First of all, we are getting a harem here, it’s just not the usual one we see in fantasy light novels. Belgrieve isn’t attracting lovers, he’s attracting girls who want a father figure. With the exception of Helvetica (who still really wants to marry him, and has annoyed Angeline by being obvious about it), the girls in this series are the kind who want a pat on the head or a shoulder carry. Even Charlotte, the Ilyasviel von Einzbern clone we meet in this new volume, seems to suddenly realize revenge is wrong after just a brief moment of being treated like a daughter would. Secondly, this book gets quite dark in places, and it works very well. The evil noble is exactly the stereotype you’d expect, but it’s Helvetica’s character who does the heavy lifting here, as she realizes what it truly means to lead for the good of the people and makes some hard, bloody choices. Hope to see more of her.

Angeline returns to the capital at the end of the book, so I assume the third one will be in two different places. Till then, though, this volume improves on the first, and is a great one if you love dads being great dads – to everyone.

Slayers: Delusion in Crimson

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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.

It can be somewhat annoying to come at the Slayers novels from someone who grew up with the anime and realize how a huge chunk of them are Lina, Gourry, and one-off characters. Zelgadis and Amelia stuck around for a bit, as did Xellos, but they’re gone now. We’ve had Luke and Mileena come in with an attempt to add a new supporting duo to the cast, but they’re more of the ‘we keep running into each other’ sort than actual party members. They’re also not in this particular book either. We do get a villain from two books ago… but she doesn’t appear, she’s just an offscreen catalyst. It can be rather disheartening. Where’s the wacky fun times? Where’s Lina accidentally destroying things? Where’s Gourry being rock stupid? But this isn’t the anime, these are the light novels. And because of that we get something here which the anime almost never tried to do unless it was a huge world-shattering crisis: we get a straight up tragedy.

Lina and Gourry arrive at a city that is telling any and all sorcerers to report to the local sorcerer’s council at once. Doesn’t say why, and does not appear to be from the government. Lina, who has just been through sorcerers trying to take over a city a book or so ago, thinks we’re seeing much the same thing here, and she’s mostly correct. She teams up with Aria, a young woman who is trying to rescue her sister from the lord who killed her fiancee and forcibly married her, and Dilarr, a passing adventurer who just seems to like Aria, though he does find Lina somewhat terrifying, to her displeasure – her reputation is now that death and disaster show up whenever she arrives. Sadly, this book does not really change that reputation. Once they arrive at the city where Aria and her sister Bell live, we get a Chthulhian nightmare featuring lots of monstrosities and lots of death.

Despite the fact that these books frequently seem as if they’re written without an outline by the author simply going to the typewriter and typing till he stops, there is some decent character work here, particularly in regards to Aria’s sister Bell. Set up as the unwilling victim through most of the book, the reality is far darker than we’d expect. The second ‘series’ of light novels were never adapted to the anime, and this one shows why – the sister who is forcibly married after her fiancee is killed sends her little sister off to safety because she loves her, but also has hatred in her heart, as her sister is safe and can be happy while Bell is trapped. It’s a very real look at family dynamics that can stem from a family member being abused. Unfortunately, Slayers is still a fantasy, not a realistic look at power dynamics and coping mechanisms, so we get a massive bloodbath.

As Lina and Gourry walk away at the end, both are subdued and disturbed, and the reader has to agree. This is on the darker side of the Slayers novels, a series which is already much darker than its anime equivalent. I hope the next book has a bit more jollity.

Manga the Week of 12/1/21

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SEAN: If there’s turkey hog dogs and turkey burgers, is there turkey manga?

ASH: I have no doubt.

SEAN: Airship, in print, has Grimgar of Fantasy and Ash 16.

And for early digital we get Drugstore in Another World: The Slow Life of a Cheat Pharmacist 4 and My Status as an Assassin Obviously Exceeds the Hero’s 3.

Cross Infinite World has Since I Was Abandoned After Reincarnating, I Will Cook With My Fluffy Friends: The Figurehead Queen Is Strongest At Her Own Pace 3.

ASH: That is quite the title.

SEAN: This is already out and I missed it (it’s hard when the publisher only does a manga every few months), but Drawn and Quarterly has Red Flowers, from the legendary Yoshiharu Tsuge. Some of this was translated way back in the 1980s (remember Raw Magazine?), but this is a brand new version and looks excellent.

ASH: I got my hands on an early copy! It is indeed excellent.

SEAN: Ghost Ship has Do You Like Big Girls? 2 and Shiori’s Diary 2.

J-Novel Club has a digital light novel debut. Full Clearing Another World Under a Goddess with Zero Believers (Shinja Zero no Megami-sama to Hajimeru Isekai Kouryaku). Isekai. Weakest but actually the strongest. You know the drill.

Also out digitally: Arifureta Zero 5, The Master of Ragnarok & Blesser of Einherjar 18, The Unwanted Undead Adventurer 9, and Villainess: Reloaded! Blowing Away Bad Ends with Modern Weapons 3.

Kodansha, in print, has Blue Period 5 and Noragami: Stray God 23.

ASH: It’s been a while since I’ve read any Noragami; I should pick it back up again.

SEAN: The digital debut, which just had a Fall 2022 print release announced at Anime NYC, is The Iceblade Sorcerer Shall Rule the World (Hyouken no Majutsushi ga Sekai o Suberu – Sekai Saikyou no Majutsushi de Aru Shounen wa, Majutsu Gakuin ga Nyuugaku Suru), a Magazine Pocket series about a magical academy and the one commoner among aristocrats. But it turns out, despite not being a noble… he’s super powerful? Who’da thunk?

Also in digital only titles: ONIMAI: I’m Now Your Sister! 3 and Stellar Witch LIP☆S 4.

One Peace Books has the 6th manga volume of The Reprise of the Spear Hero.

Three debuts for Seven Seas. I Am a Cat Barista (Wagahai wa Neko de Aru, Shokugyou wa Barista) comes from Overlap’s josei magazine Comic Qurie. It’s a bartender helps people with problems sort of title… but the bartender is, of course, a cat.

MICHELLE: This made me think of Neko Ramen for the first time in years.

ANNA: It sounds cute.

ASH: It does!

SEAN: Magaimono: Super Magic Action Entertainment (Magaimono) comes from Young Magazine the 3rd, and is about a girl who searches for odd things suddenly finding herself in the middle of a VAST CONSPIRACY!

And A Tale of the Secret Saint (Tensei shita Daiseijo wa, Seijo de aru koto wo Hitakakusu) is the manga version of the light novel that Seven Seas has already released. It runs in Comic Earth Star.

ASH: I am duly intrigued!

SEAN: Also out: Alice & Zoroku 9, Arpeggio of Blue Steel 19, Citrus+ 3, Didn’t I Say to Make My Abilities Average in the Next Life?! Everyday Misadventures! 3, Muscles are Better Than Magic! 3, and My Senpai is Annoying 6.

Yen On has two debuts. The Girl I Saved on the Train Turned Out to Be My Childhood Friend (Chikan Saresou ni Natteiru S-kyuu Bishoujo wo Tasuketara Tonari no Seki no Osananajimi datta) is by the author of Hazure Skill and Drugstore in Another World, but the genre seems to be more along the lines of something the artist, fly, would do. Childhood friends who’ve grown apart get closer because of… well, the plot.

The Otherworlder, Exploring the Dungeon (Ihoujin, Dungeon ni Moguru) is about a guy who is hired to join a team of experts and take on a dungeon in another world. The trouble is, after the transport, he’s the only one there. Can he find allies?

ASH: Seems to be a slightly different twist than usual.

SEAN: Also from Yen On: The Executioner and Her Way of Life 3, Goblin Slayer 13, and Rascal Does Not Dream of a Dreaming Girl (the 6th and saddest in the series).

Yen Press debuts Cheeky Brat (Namaikizakari), whose cover may remind you a bit of old Tokyopop shoujo manga. This is a long running Hana to Yume series (22 volumes so far) about a girl who hates a guy but has to deal with him anyway because he’s on the basketball team and she’s the manager.

MICHELLE: Oh man it really does remind me of old TOKYOPOP shoujo! It kind of looks bad but I feel this compulsion to read it anyway. That’s also like old TOKYOPOP shoujo.

ANNA: I might be here for this.

ASH: Same, if I am to be honest.

SEAN: And we also see Can’t Stop Cursing You 2, The Devil Is a Part-Timer! 17, Goblin Slayer Side Story II: Dai Katana 2, Golden Japanesque: A Splendid Yokohama Romance 3, I’m the Villainess, So I’m Taming the Final Boss 2, Lust Geass 4, and Reborn as a Polar Bear 6.

What manga are you reading with cranberry sauce?

The Executioner and Her Way of Life: The Cage of Iron Sand

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By Mato Sato and nilitsu. Released in Japan as “Shokei Shoujo no Virgin Road” by GA Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Jenny McKeon.

This series continues to go back and forth between things I quite enjoy and things that kind of irritate me, and in this book they’re about fifty-fifty, meaning it gets a reluctant recommendation. There’s far less Akari in here than I’d like, though her scene with Momo was the highlight of the book, and promises good things for the book after this. We also get an amusing new addition to the cast, a colleague of Menou’s who seems to be a airheaded flirt, though it’s implied throughout that this personality is a front. Which is a shame, as I liked it better than the personality that showed up later. There’s lots of cool fights, all of which seem to point to the value of “being pretty good at everything because of working really hard” rather than “has an innate natural gift”. Which I’d appreciate more if it was not undercut by the implication that the supposedly hardworking woman is in reality Very Special Indeed.

Menou and Akari are making their way through the desert, which turns out to be another area that was completely devastated because of a Japanese isekai gone horribly wrong. Things start off badly as Akari has already been kidnapped as the book begins, and Menou has to infiltrate a criminal organization to rescue them. There she runs into an old colleague from the orphanage, Sahara, and the three of them proceed to a nearby oasis city, with Menou now having to suffer the attention of *twp* bokes. Arriving at the city, she and Momo get the help of Princess Ashuna, who is essentially in this book to be cool and not much else. Unfortunately, she and Menou have to fight off a dangerous crime lord, so Menou sensibly leaves Akari back at the hotel. Which ends up being the biggest mistake she makes in the book.

The problem I have with Sahara is likely down to the character skewing away from my tastes. I really like the ‘sleepy ditzy flirt’ sort of character, and when Sahara is revealed to in fact be a ball of jealousy and envy, I wonder what the point was in having her be likeable for 3/4 of the book at all except to annoy me. Then again, when the reverse happens – i.e. when Akari gets her suppressed memories back – I actually tend to like her more, so hey. And yes, everyone is angry at Menou for being ‘the chosen one’, and Menou keeps insisting that she’s not all that great and is just a fairly normal person, which is fine except it’s pretty clear that she’s also got a past that’s been completely suppressed. Which just makes me more annoyed.

Basically, it’s hard to like anyone in this series because they could turn into something completely different down the road. I know that “change is a process” is the theme of the books, but there’s a bit TOO much change. Right now, Momo is my favorite character because she’s at least consistent. That said, sure, I’ll read more.

Also, naming the new character in your desert-themed book Sahara is kind of like naming your dog Spot.

Otherside Picnic, Vol. 6

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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.

After starting the series off showing us a terrifying, lethal, transforming Otherside, it is somewhat amusing to see that the parts of this book that actually do take place in the Otherside are the most relaxed. Essentially, Sorawo and Toriko decide to settle in and do some dry-walling, and they have a great deal of fun. They don’t have any terrifying experiences there because the real world, and the space between the real world and the Otherside, is scary enough as it is. Starting the book off with a Sorawo who seems to be a normal, non-urban legend loving college student, the book takes off running as our heroes battle T-san, a man dressed like a monk whose features seem to invite unreliable narration. Akari gets involved as well, and before we know it we’re dealing with someone who is perfectly happy to walk into their psychiatric hospital/prison and wreak havoc. This is Otherside Picnic: the Movie, kids, so buckle up for a roller coaster ride of thrills.

As you may have guessed, this book is one long story, involving a young (?) man (?) who is tall (?) and wears monk’s robes (?) and is currently in Sorawo’s college seminar. As I noted above, at the start of the book Sorawo has amnesia, her “Otherside” eye is not working, and she’s rather startled by these other two girls who seem to know her. That thankfully gets resolved quickly, and we’re back to our normal Sorawo who insists that she doesn’t really care about other people even if her actions belie this quite a bit. T-san the Templeborn is another urban legend, though the author, who I already suspect is making up all of their ‘cited sources’, admits this one is probably more fictional than the others. Instead of the Otherside, T-san is threatening the real world, erasing the connections between people and that universe with a shouted “HAH!”. Can they stop him in time? And are they going to need the help of an old enemy to do so?

Gotta admit, my favorite parts of this book are the parts with Runa Urumi, who is (possibly?) trying her best to be the Hannibal Lecter to Sorawo’s Clarice. She’s awake once more, bored out of her gourd locked up in DS Research, and promises to be a good girl if they just let her surf the internet a bit. Needless to say they are very distrustful of her, especially as remorse does not seem to be happening anytime soon, but a later scene where she ends up, somewhat reluctantly, helping the other inmates when T-san visits the facility makes me suspect this plotline is not going to be dropped anytime soon. As for Sorawo and Toriko’s relationship, it’s notable here mostly for Toriko’s jealousy when it comes to Akari, which is so obvious this time around that even Sorawo, never the brightest bulb when it comes to social cues, has to reassure her that she does not like Akari in that way. I also don’t see this plot going away anytime soon, though.

Oddly, for something that was supposed to be a grand movie version of the series, this was rather sedate, with only a bit of action in the final parts, and very little shooting of guns. This is, of course, because most of it took place in reality, and I suspect that the link between the two worlds will continue to fluctuate in future. But yeah, good book, go get it.

Pick of the Week: Niiiiii-cola! Niiiii-cola!

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MICHELLE: There are several BL/LGBT titles out this week, which is great! Although I definitely look forward to reading I Think Our Son Is Gay, I just love the cover of Restart After Coming Back Home so much, I’ve gotta pick that one.

ASH: Both of those titles interest me, for sure, but since this will be the last time that I can pick Nicola Traveling Around the Demons’ World, I’m going to have to go with that. It’s been such a lovely and charming series; I’m looking forward to reading the final volume, but am a little sad to see it end, too.

ANNA: I’ve been stockpiling Nicola Traveling Around the Demons’ World, but haven’t read it yet. It is still my pick, I’m looking forward to it!

SEAN: Yeah, Nicola Traveling Around the Demons’ World has been a surprise hit, and four volumes is just about the right length. I’ll pick that as well.

KATE: I heartily agree with all the folks praising Nicola Traveling Around the Demons’ World: it’s an imaginative, beautifully illustrated series that never condescends to younger readers even as it imparts lessons about kindness, generosity, and courage. Equally important, the heroine’s can-do spirit and occasional setbacks prevent the story from becoming too saccharine or predictable. Highly recommended!

Anime NYC 2021, Day Three

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Ah, Day 3, the day when I realized that I am simply not equipped to be able to sit on a floor waiting for a panel for 5-6 hours per day. By the end of the day I was reduced to begging for a chair from staff (who were very helpful). Fortunately, I only had two panels for the day (apologies to Azuki, who I wanted to see, but I know Kodansha would be a huge line because of the Attack on Titan teaser, and also to Inside the Manga Industry, because somehow Yen managed to get scheduled against ITSELF), so there was not quite as much waiting, but I admit I am rather bone weary today.

That said, I suspect fans who came to the Kodansha panel just for the Attack on Titan stuff came away a little disappointed, as most of it was just normal manga announcements. They pointed out the manga gallery on display at Anime NYC, which looked quite impressive as I walked quickly by it. (Look, Attack on Titan and I are exes and we don’t get along, OK?) They’re also encouraging people to tweet about the series with the #thanksattackontitan tag, which I’m sure will be SAFE AND FUN. And there were two other announcements: The Best of Attack on Titan in Color, which has an assortment of the best chapters in the series… well, in color. And also a box set for Part 1 of “The Final Season”.

The rest of the panel was blissfully Attack on Titan free. We got the December digital debuts, which makes me the that types up Manga the Week of posts very happy. My Master Has No Tail (Uchi no Shishou wa Shippo ga nai) runs in good! Afternoon, and is basically a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup of a manga, containing not only tanuki but also rakugo masters! Shaman King: & a Garden is a spinoff series focusing on the women in the series, and it runs in shoujo magazine Nakayoshi. My Darling the Company President (Darling wa Shachou-kun) is a 6-volume josei series from Ane Friend, where an office lady finds the new company president is a boy that she used to tutor, but now… He Is All Grown Up. And Her Majesty’s Swarm (Joou Heika no Isekai Senryaku) is the manga adaptation of the novels J-NC have been doing, and runs in Suiyoubi no Sirius.

They then had a bunch of print announcements for the Fall of 2022. Which makes sense given how hard it’s been to get things printed these days. Wistoria: Wand & Sword is a new series by the writer of Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon?, running in Bessatsu Shonen Magazine. Boy has no magic powers, but he does have a cool sword. Go Go Loser Ranger (Sentai Daishikkaku) is the newest series from Quintessential Quintuplets creator Negi Haruba, a Weekly Shonen Magazine series parodying the stock tropes of sentai shows, and starring a villain who is tired of being the “Villain of the week” sort. Run Away with Me, Girl (Kakeochi Girl) is a josei yuri series that ran in Hane Kiss. Two girls who dated in high school haven’t seen each other in ten years. Will things rekindle when they meet each other?

Shonen Note: Boy Soprano is from Morning Two, and is by the creator of Our Dreams at Dusk, which means it automatically should go to the top of everyone’s list. It actually came out before that series in Japan, though. The story of a boy with a lovely soprano voice, and what happens when puberty starts to change that. As a Reincarnated Aristocrat, I’ll Use My Appraisal Skill to Rise in the World (Tensei Kizoku Kantei Sukiru de Nariagaru – Jakushou Ryouchi o Uketsuidanode, Yuushuuna Jinzai o Fuyashite Itara, Saikyou Ryouchi ni Natteta) is a Magazine Pocket series about… aw hell, you know what it’s about. Miss Miyazen Would Love to Get Close to You (Ochikadzuki ni Naritai Miyazen-san) is a cute romcom from… Gangan Joker? Story there, I bet. In any case, delinquent boy, proper girl, love blooms.

Avant-Garde Yumeko is a one-volume series from Shuzo Oshimi, acclaimed creator of Flowers of Evil, Blood on the Tracks, etc. This one… doesn’t have quite the same feel. Yumeko is a girl obsessed with the male organ, and she has decided that art class is the best way to see it. This is only one volume, and… gotta say “Oshimi raunchy sex comedy” is not really what I was expecting, but hey. I have heard others say it “has the subtlety of a truck”. An Older Guy’s VR First Love (VR Ojisan no Hatsukoi) is also one volume, and ran in Ichijinsha’s Zero-Sum Online. 40-ish guy plays in the VR world as a female character, and grows closer to another female in the game. But will real life get in the way? I heard this is quite serious.

Kodansha also announced print versions of a lot of series we’ve seen digitally already, including The Iceblade Sorceror Shall Rule the World (starring former Frank Zappa singer and guitar player Ray White), In the Clear Moonlit Dusk, Shangri-La Frontier, I Was Reincarnated as the 7th Prince so I Can Take My Time Perfecting My Magical Ability, and horror favorite PTSD Radio. We’re also getting box sets! Sweat & Soap, Wotakoi, and Rent-a-Girlfriend for those. And omnibuses! Noragami, Fire Force, Ghost in the Shell, and No. 6. Ghost in the Shell is supposed to have all sorts of bells and whistles (no, don’t ask about the missing pages, the answer is still no). Noise from Tsutomi Nihei will be getting a print release. No Longer Human and Dissolving Classroom will be getting Complete Editions. And, to the annoyance of many fans in the audience, Don’t Toy with Me, Miss Nagatoro is also getting a box set.

Lastly, to show that Kodansha’s troll game is still A+, they announced an exciting release for Nisioisin fans! No, not Monogatari Off Season. No, not Zaregoto 4 & 5. Instead, we get Katanagatari, which had prevoiusly been released in hardcover omnibuses, as paperback omnibuses. See? Much better than Sodachi Fiasco. (Please put away those knives).

After this, I decided to check out the panel introducing Yen Audio! This had marketer Mark and editor Ivan, and also a special guest… Bryce Papenbrook! The voice of Kirito was there himself, so the usual Kiroto hate from fans was pretty much absent. We listened to a clip from the first Sword Art Online book, and he discussed the differences in acting for anime vs. acting for audio books – this was his first audiobook, something he has in common with the other actors we heard today. He loved it being first person, and also talked about having a bit more freedom with his delivery as he did not have to match the lip flaps of the animation. The second Sword Art Online audiobook has Cherami Leigh as Asuna being the narrator, but Bryce also comes back to do the Kirito stuff there.

He then left to go back to his autograph panel, and we got the rest of the audio hype. We heard clips from books already released, including Overlord, Solo Leveling, and The Saga of Tanya the Evil. And we got three new announcements! There are no narrators set just yet (though I would assume calls have been put in to J. Michael Tatum and Brianna Knickerbocker), but we got to hear that we’re getting Spice & Wolf, So I’m a Spider, So What?, and Rascal Does Not Dream of Bunny Girl Senpai. The last of those has never had an English dub, so it will be definitely interesting to see who they get.

And after this I took my leave, heading to the train to collapse and try not to fall asleep. Anime NYC 2021 was a con with lines both inside and out, but it was also a lot of fun, and attendance hit 50K despite COVID restrictions. They’ve already announced 2022, so (my feeble body permitting, I am utterly exhausted today) I will see them again.

Endo and Kobayashi Live! The Latest on Tsundere Villainess Lieselotte: Disc 1

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By Suzu Enoshima and Eihi. Released in Japan as “Tsundere Akuyaku Reijou Liselotte to Jikkyou no Endo-kun to Kaisetsu no Kobayashi-san” by Kadokawa Books. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Mikey N.

It’s interesting to come across a series where the villainess ends up being one of the less interesting parts of it. Don’t get me wrong, it’s fine; it was highly enjoyable seeing Lieselotte stubbornly embarrass her way towards happiness. But once you get her schtick, as the “gods” Endo and Kobayashi point out, there’s not much more still to say, at least not in this volume (the last chapter of the book is another story, and tells me she may play more of a role next time). But I was more interested in the ways that this ordinary villainess story is also somewhat broken. From a heroine who feels like she belongs in Hatoful Boyfriend to a game that seems to be encroaching in the real world. And then there’s Endo and Kobayashi themselves, who manage to also bring an achingly sweet school romcom vibe to the book. This series has a lot of balls in the air, and it’s fascinating for that reason.

You know the drill. There’s this girl. Rich, haughty, princess hair. Badmouths the heroine at every turn. Doomed to be possessed and killed towards the end of the game. Even her fiancé is tired of her… until he hears the “voice of the gods”, explicitly pointing out that everything she’s doing is a classic tsundere move to cover her embarrassment. Suddenly he starts to realize how cute she is. As for the gods themselves, Endo is a high school kid whose athletics injury has left him rudderless, and Kobayashi is the upbeat broadcasting club girl who turned his life around. She’s obsessed with the game that features Lieselotte, and has gotten Endo to play it as well. However… the game seems to have taken on a life of its own. The prince can now hear their spoken commentary on the game. And they’re worried that if they screw up, bad ends will result.

As I said, Fiene is probably the character I enjoyed most in this. In the normal, non-broken game she’s a standard otome game heroine, who gradually gets stronger as the routes go on. Here she’s a broken powerhouse of a girl who can easily beat up terrifying monsters in order to gorge herself, as monsters = food. And once she too figures out Lieselotte’s deal, the two of them are cutie patooties. Meanwhile, Endo and Kobayashi, who have wandered in from another genre, are just as fascinating as their otome game counterparts, and their burgeoning romance, which neither of them dares call attention to, is adorable. That said, running into what appears to be a character from the game in real life puts a damper on their first date, and you get the sense that things are about to get even more bizarre. I suspect that the Witch trying to possess Lieselotte and the God (actual God, not high school teens gods) wandering around their world will up the stakes a bit.

This is not the sort of premise that you can extend out to multiple books, so it’s a good thing that the series is only two volumes long. It’s a good one to read even if you’re not really an otome game villainess fan.

Anime NYC 2021, Day Two

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If the first day was defined by the lines outside, the 2nd day was defined by the lines INSIDE. My schedule for the day had to be adjusted a bit as it became clear that if you wanted to go to a panel, you’d better line up early. The afternoon was filled with staffers screaming “The Fate panel is full!”. Despite this, I was able to attend four excellent panels, and will regale you all with my experiences.

We start off with Yen Press, who had quite a few announcements, which I suspect are May and June 2022-ish. The Geek Ex-Hitman is a Shonen Ace Plus title about a sinister hitman who sees a cute anime figurine and decides to just abandon his entire life and move to Japan to get more. It was described as along the lines of The Way of the Househusband. The Other World’s Economy Depends on the Bean Counter (Isekai no Sata wa Shachiku Shidai) is from Enterbrain’s B’s Log Comic, and combines Isekai with BL. Nights with a Cat (Yoru wa Neko to Issho) is a Comic Walker title that is exactly what it sounds – cat manga. These are the sort of sketchy biographical titles you used to see at the back of seinen magazines but you know they’d never get licensed. Now they are.

After some giveaways, we got the manga version of Chitose-kun Is in the Ramune Bottle (Chitose-kun wa Ramune Bin no Naka), whose light novel has been announced by Yen On already (and will have a digital release as well, I checked). It runs in Square enix’s Manga Up!. Hi, I’m a Witch and My Crush Wants Me to Make a Love Potion (Doumo, Suki na Hito ni Horegusuri o Irai Sareta Majo desu) comes from Kadokawa’s Flos Comic and will be familiar to Cross Infinite World fans, as they’ve been putting out the novels. See You Tomorrow at the Food Court (Food Court de, Mata Ashita) is a 1-volume title from Comic Newtype about two unlikely friends who meet up every day to eat. This one interested me the most of the manga announced. And because its spinoffs are almost as endless as Cells at Work, we get Magia Record: Puella Magi Madoka☆Magica Gaiden: Another Story. It’s a spinoff.

Light novels! There were… well, let’s call it 2 1/2 announcements. The Bride of Demise (Shuuen no Hanayome) is a dark fantasy from the creator of Torture Princess, a series I find compelling if depressing. Sasaki and Pi-chan (Sasaki to Pi-chan: Isekai de Slow Life o Tanoshi Mou Toshitara, Gendai de Inou Battle ni Makikomareta Ken – Mahou Shoujo Up o Hajimeta You Desu) has a subtitle from hell but looks quite interesting, about a pet bird who turns out to be from another world and the business of selling isekai’d stuff with the salaryman who owns him. An the reason I said 2 1/2 announcements is the third is that No Game No Life 11 will be coming out over here in chapter installments! The prologue hits digitally November 25th.

The next panel was Dark Horse Comics. They didn’t have any new manga announcements, but did have a fun panel where they reminded everyone how old the company is and how far manga has come since the late 1980s. I remember buying some of those 32-page floppy manga comics, and wish You’re Under Arrest could come back out, despite the bad art at the start. They also mentioned the fact that Japan, of course, imports Western Comics and translates them to Japanese. Adam Warren’s versions of Bubblegum Crisis and Dirty Pair can be seen in stores there translated. They also talked about artists who are well known for Western comics but are clearly manga-inspired, like Wendy Pini with Elfquest.

Speaking of the blend of east and west, Shigeru Mizuki was a huge fan of Hellboy, and wrote blurbs for its Japanese release. And of course Monkey Punch’s Lupin III is famously influenced by the Mad Magazine work of Mort Drucker and Sergio Aragones. And the creator of Panty and Stocking with Garterbelt does doujinshi for Umbrella Academy, which sounds hella cool, not gonna lie. There were a few announcements that were at least new to me. Yoshitaka Amano has two new artbooks that recently came out, and this also led to a discussion of the Vampire Hinter D omnibuses also being released. Good for fans of that author. They are also quite happy with Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken!, and the third volume is out next month.

After that I was supposed to meet up with Erica Friedman for a late lunch, but Zack Davisson got to her first, so instead I went to the Localization panel, which also had Carl Horn, Mari Moromoto, and Lynzee Loveridge. In other words, an all-star lineup. It was a very good panel, and the audience actually managed to be engaged and polite about it, which if nothing else shows you the panel did not happen on Twitter. Indeed, Twitter harassment of translators was mentioned at the panel, with Caleb Cook’s being a particularly painful example. The panel had a lot to talk about, but I think what came up most often is that a lot of “correct/wrong” answers depend on the material, the publisher, and the editor. Sometimes end notes are frowned upon, sometimes they’re beloved.

Erica mentioned that the ideal localization for her should be a seamless reading experience. The goal is not to see the mechanics of translation under the hood. There’s also slang – Zack avoids it, but it’s usually there in the Japanese, and Mari uses it. It can date a title, but it also means that the words don’t just lie flat on the page. Naturally, Squid Game also came up, and the kerfuffle over what turned out to be closed-captioning titles. Sometimes it’s not even something the translators can help, as they get overruled by editors, Japanese creators, etc. (I remember how ADV, way back in the day, had to fight tooth and nail to not make Ryo “Joe” Saeba in the City Hunter anime.)

We also got a reminder that Japan can see things differently than we do here. When Scarlet Johannsen was cast in Ghost in the Shell, there was a lot of pushback here. Meanwhile, Japan was like “OMG TOP HOLLYWOOD STAR!!!”. They’re far less stressed in Japan about things that we here in North America freak out over. Mostly as fans still tend to prefer titles be translated as “literally” as possible, usually meaning “I Like ‘Em Big and Stilted” (with apologies to Julie Brown). It was an excellent panel that I am happy I attended, and afterwards I was about to pass out, so I had a very late lunch and then decompressed for an hour or two. This con has 50K people, and even extroverts can get overwhelmed by it.

The last panel I did before I gave in and went back to the hotel (sorry, Manga Magazines panel, I am not 23 anymore) was J-Novel Club, with Sam Pinansky and Kristi Fernandez giving us 10 new titles – all light novels. We started off with Housekeeping Mage from Another World: Making Your Adventures Feel Like Home (Kasei Madoushi no Isekai Seikatsu: Boukenchuu no Kasei Fugyou Uketamawarimasu!), a J-Novel Heart title about an isekai’d woman (though that rapidly becomes unimportant, a with a lot of isekai titles where they clearly want to write fantasy but know what sells) and the adventurer who loves her.

Fantasy Inbound is a title that may have a lot of hardcore fans saying “but what about Campione!?, as it’s by the same author. It’s a story where the isekai comes to OUR world… and things do not go well. After the apocalypse, can a student survivor and an elf girl try to salvage something? Prison Life Is Easy for a Villainess (Konyaku Haki kara Hajimaru Akuyaku Reijou no Kangoku Slow Life) is a short two-volume series where the villainess happily accepts her ex throwing her in prison… because she STILL has all the power. I’ve actually recommended this as a license request, it’s supposed to be hilarious.

To Another World… with Land Mines! (Isekai Teni, Jirai Tsuki) has a class transported to another world and all getting cool powers, but our hero seems to be one of the few people taking it seriously as a real-life (and possible death) matter. Forget Being the Villainess, I Want to Be an Adventurer! (Tensei Reijou wa Boukensha wo Kokorozasu) is what it sounds like a villainess title where the heroine tries to avoid her fate by doing something else. My Stepmom’s Daughter Is My Ex: Why Can’t We Move On? (Mamahaha no Tsurego ga Motokano datta) is a high school romance… well, ex-romance about a middle-school couple who broke up but are now siblings.

Magic Knight of the Old Ways (Furuki Okite No Mahou Kishi) is similar to Fantasy Unbound, as fans will say “But what about Akashic Records of Bastard Magical Instructor?”. Indeed, they may be doubly annoyed as this seems to have a similar premise of magic knights teaches a group of students. Saint? No, I’m Just a Passing Beast Tamer! (Seijo-sama? Iie, Toorisugari no Mamonotsukai desu!) is a series about a chosen one who decides she’d much rather pet furry animals, from the creator of Woof Woof Story: I Told You to Turn Me Into a Pampered Pooch, Not Fenrir!.

My Quiet Blacksmith Life in Another World (Kajiya de Hajimeru Isekai Slow Life) is a slowlife isekai about a guy who (no surprise) finds out he’s super powerful, and also that the cat he asked for is a catgirl. Like most slow life titles, the goal is to keep having it and not get dragged back in. The most surprising announcement (well, almost) came next, with When Supernatural Battles Became Commonplace (Inou-Battle wa Nichijou-kei no Naka de), an older LN series from the writer of Are You Okay With a Slightly Older Girlfriend? and the artist for The Devil Is a Part-Timer!. What if you got super-awesome powers to help save the world… and nothing happened and you’re still going to school like normal?

Finally, the surprise announcement came via a very familiar voice. We’re getting Slayers in audiobook form, read by the legendary Lisa Ortiz herself! I’m interested in seeing how this goes, as I think Lina in the anime and Lina in the light novel are two very different beasts. In any case, it was a very fun panel but I was wiped, so I went back to the hotel to… well, type this all up. But I am going to go get a late supper now, I promise! And there’s still SUNDAY, SUNDAY, SUNDAY! Though give the lines from today, I think I will limit myself to two panels.