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Knight of the Ice, Vol 7

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Knight of the Ice Volume 7 by Yayoi Ogawa

We don’t get a ton of josei series translated, so I do cherish the ones that come out in print like Knight of the Ice which has a winning combination of figure skating drama combined with Ogawa’s quirky sense of humor. While many of the plot points of the series center around Kokoro’s difficulties training and winning competitions, this volume opens with Chitose dealing with her heart condition. Kokoro’s hard-nosed manager Moriyama visits Chitose in the hospital, and it is great to see how much she cares even though she goes to great lengths to hide her emotions. Chitose doesn’t want to derail Kokoro’s concentration by having him worry about her, so she decides to both postpone having surgery and wants to keep her condition a secret.

Knight of the Ice 7

For the rest of the volume, Kokoro is vaguely uneasy as he trains for his latest competitions, as he can tell that Chitose is hiding something but he isn’t sure what it is. He’s dealing with his ongoing issues of pushing his technical abilities but sometimes struggling to be artistic and expressive enough in his skating. “Yayoi Ogawa” shows up to dash off a sketch for an inspiring new costume. Ogawa’s dynamic and expressive art makes the skating competitions compelling, as all the skaters are dealing with their own struggles. Kokoro has some triumphs and setbacks, and has still not yet reached his full potential. I’m enjoying seeing the story in Knight of the Ice unfold.

Ascendance of a Bookworm: I’ll Do Anything to Become a Librarian!, Part 4: Founder of the Royal Academy’s So-Called Library Committee, Vol. 3

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

Ominous-looking cover, isn’t it? I feel like being the grandfather in The Princess Bride, reassuring the son that no one is eaten by any aquatic creatures. That said, each arc of Ascendance of a Bookworm is practically its own separate series, and Rozemyne has been moving farther and farther away from the childhood she had long ago. She’s a noble now, and her main concerns have to be a noble’s concerns – even though she also has to be the champion of the commoners, because really if you leave that to the other nobles bad things will happen. She has a lot on her plate, basically. And so the instance in this book where she’s told point-blank that her old coping strategies are going to be unavailable going forward is somewhat devastating to her, and to the reader. Let’s face it, I think a lot of readers would be quite happy if Myne had stayed in the commoner town making books. But that’s not what this series is anymore.

Despite doing her absolute best to try to talk and think like a noble, it’s rapidly becoming clear that Rozemyne in social settings like like a ticking timebomb. As such, certain precautions have to be taken in this volume. Justus is made her main attendant (even if this will involve him cross-dressing), and gets a first-hand look at how Rozemyne is 90% correct and 10% HIDEOUSLY WRONG. More importantly, she is of an age where arranged marriages need to be set up, if only for political reasons. Even Angelica is now engaged, though she seems to regard romance as something that’s about 7th on her list after swords, swords, and more swords. And so it’s fine to engage Rozemyne to another noble… even if this means that some meetings that she had in the temple previously will now have to be ended.

The narrative is quick to point out that Rozemyne will keep seeing Benno, Lutz and Tulli on occasion. But going into the hidden room, hugging Lutz, and acting as a commoner girl like Myne did… that’s dead and gone. It’s brought home in a beautifully tragic nightmare she has about all her old family and friends getting farther and farther away while she can’t keep up. The rest of the book consists of fun Academy scenes, though it has a very serious ending as one of Rosemyne’s attendants is being abused and she has to figure out what to do about it without overstepping her bounds. She’s also engaged. The engagement partner makes sense and works politically and socially, and I (and most readers) have no doubt whatsoever it’s never gonna happen. But given she still looks about 8 years old, I’m fine with kicking this can down the road.

Life is only getting harder for Rozemyne from now on, and not even endless furniture metaphors can protect her. Fortunately, we can read about her tribulations, and this is another excellent volume.

Pick of the Week: Scary Classmates and King’s Beasts

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SEAN: A lot of Viz, as usual for the first week of the month, and my eye is drawn to the My Hero Academia: Ultra Analysis book, because I am a nerd. But I think I will go with No Matter What You Say, Furi-san Is Scary!, which is a genre (misunderstood girl everyone thinks is scary but isn’t) I really like.

MICHELLE: There’s not really one particular title screaming out to me this week. Moreso, it’s the prospect of catching up on some Shojo Beat series I’ve fallen woefully behind on. For the sake of choosing something, I’ll go with volume four of The King’s Beast. I really enjoyed Dawn of the Arcana and The Water Dragon’s Bride by this mangaka, and I have no doubt that trend will continue.

KATE: Not much caught my eye this week, so I’m going off-list to remind everyone that there’s a new installment of Evan Dorkin and Jill Thompson’s awesome Beasts of Burden series arriving in stores this week. If you ever thought that Stranger Things would be more entertaining if its protagonists were house pets, this is the series for you! It’s funny, unnerving, and proof that talking animals aren’t just for kids.

ASH: This week I’m going to join Sean in picking No Matter What You Say, Furi-san Is Scary! since it’s the debut that I’m most interested in. But as for ongoing manga, the new edition of Blade of the Immortal is probably the best way to experience the series.

ANNA: I’m with Michelle this week, I think The King’s Beast is the most intriguing thing coming out this week.

MJ: I’m not enormously drawn to anything this week, but if I must make a choice, I’ll go along with Sean and Ash. I think No Matter What You Say, Furi-san Is Scary! sounds potentially fun, and sometimes that’s enough!

Reincarnated as the Piggy Duke: This Time I’m Gonna Tell Her How I Feel!, Vol. 3

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By Rhythm Aida and nauribon. Released in Japan as “Buta Koushaku ni Tensei shita kara, Kondo wa Kimi ni Suki to Iitai” by Fujimi Fantasia Bunko. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Zihan Gao.

One argument that I’ve gotten into a few times is whether it’s a good thing to always tell the truth 100% of the time or not. I’d say no, myself, as I’ve seen the truth used as a very cruel weapon at times. That said, I can see the opposing view, and the idea comes up a lot in this book. Charlotte has been hiding her identity as the lost Princess for years now, and the impact on her has been great. Not only is she getting somewhat crushed with worry and doubt about lying to Slowe, as well as worrying that if she does reveal herself it will start a war, but there’s also the fact that the spirits who inhabit this world are angry with her for lying and won’t help her with magic. Combine this with the PTSD she still has around monsters, and this really is not a great book for Charlotte’s psyche. Fortunately, we have a dragon.

There’s a new dungeon right near the academy, and the students are all preparing to go into it and get some loot… erm, kill some monsters. Meanwhile, Princess Carina has arrived at the academy as well, supposedly to see if the dungeon can produce a legendary dragon to protect her, much the same way Charlotte’s old country USED to have. Slowe is charged with being her guide around the campus… and comes to find that the polite and affable princess presented to the public is a front for a girl who would rather lie around in her underwear and eat snacks. Frankly, it’s exhausting. Unfortunately, that also means that he’s quite far from campus when the worst case scenario happens – a monster clears the dungeon before the humans do, gains the core, and becomes super powerful. And is the dragon of Huzak really gone?

The book balances itself almost precisely between a funny first half and a far more serious second half. Princess Carina is a lot of fun, essentially being an introvert forced by circumstance to present herself as an extrovert, and getting so much attention all the time (especially towards her chest) is exhausting. Slowe, of course, is perfect at dealing with her because, while he is not immune to her physical charms, for the most part he’s not going to be swayed by her trying to whine her way out of things. The second half, on the other hand, is far more harrowing, as the entire school essentially experiences a siege. The terror of the students is portrayed very well, including those who manage to fight anyway. Charlotte also seems to find her resolve, and she and Slowe at last are honest with each other. (I think. There’s some vagueness at the climax that makes me suspicious.)

The books have been improving with each one, and I’m definitely looking forward to the fourth one. A good read for those who like fantasy with an engaging protagonist.

Konosuba: God’s Blessing on This Wonderful World!: Cult Syndrome

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By Natsume Akatsuki and Kurone Mishima. Released in Japan as “Kono Subarashii Sekai ni Shukufuku o!” by Kadokawa Sneaker Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Kevin Steinbach.

Sometimes, as a writer, you get a great idea. It’s terrific, it works well as a character piece, and it’s also hilarious. There’s just one slight problem – it’s only about 45-50 pages long, and you’re writing a novel. So you put the idea in the middle of the book and hope for the best. That’s basically what we get with this 15th volume of KonoSuba. The scenes with Kazuma under Serena’s control are possibly some of the most hilarious in the entire series, Especially if you enjoy watching Kazuma behave like an utter asshole. Which I assume you do, as you’re reading a review of Vol. 15 of this series. The rest of the book is okay, but it feels just not quite as spectacular. It doesn’t help that it’s trying to set up a serious arc for the series’ least serious character, which means that we’re supposed to care about how she’s feeling at the same time as we admire her total uselessness. But then, that’s what KonoSuba does.

The Demon King’s army is not what it once was, and so Serena, one of its last demon generals, is trying to make a deal with Kazuma to just relax and take it easy and not attack the Demon King, something Kazuma is pretty much fine with. Unfortunately, Serena can’t resist not only turning the adventurers into the town into her loyal puppets, but also smugly lording it over Kazuma, gloating about the fact that he’s not as uncaring as he’s said. So he decides to take back his deal, and starts working to do what he does best – humiliate her till she gives in. Unfortunately, the reason this is happening is because the Demon Lord’s army really is making its move and attacking the capital – they’ve even asked the Crimson Magic Clan to help! (No, not you, Megumin.) That said, what may be the most important takeaway we see here is that with Aqua being down here, there’s no one who can be sly enough to trick dead Japanese boys to reincarnating here… which is bad news for the heroes’ strength.

So yes, the chapter with Kazuma under Serena’s control is marvelous, and you’re just unsure enough about whether he’s faking it or not that it keeps you guessing. It’s a very tiny difference between Kazuma being scum and being total scum, and Serena has been just enough of a jerkass herself that we are amused at everything that happens to her. As for Aqua, it’s not a secret that she’s not my favorite, though I do like the fact that she’s not a romantic interest for Kazuma. I do think the idea that the world is failing precisely because Aqua is here rather than up in heaven being a shyster is an excellent one, and I wonder if that might be part of her gloom. The book has a scene near the end where she asks if Kazuma regrets reincarnating here, and it’s almost heartwarming. It almost makes me wonder if the next book will be more serious.

I doubt it, because this is KonoSuba. Still, we’ve only two more to go after this one. If it’s going to trick its readers with drama, now’s the time. Till then, enjoy Kazuma being the worst puppet slave ever.

Reincarnated As the Last of My Kind, Vol. 3

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By Kiri Komori and Yamigo. Released in Japan as “Tensei Shitara Zetsumetsu Sunzen no Kishou Shuzokudeshita” on the Shōsetsuka ni Narō website. Released in North America by Cross Infinite World. Translated by Roman Lempert.

(Some spoilers in here for important events in the book, so be warned, in case anyone doesn’t know how much I normally spoil everything anyway.)

This is a fairly straightforward volume in the series, which unfortunately makes it a bit hard to write about. It’s the third of a supposed five, which means it’s the very definition of a transitional volume. Tina wants to be able to live the slow life with her family and friends, but now that we know that she is the chosen one (and indeed is called the Saint many times in this book, much to her annoyance) we know that the scope of things is only going to get larger. And of course she’s far too nice to blow off saving the world because she doesn’t want to, especially when she thinks about everyone she’s grown so close to. Fortunately, her ability to cleanse the zombie monsters is proving to be a big help. Unfortunately, we’re going to have to deal with one of Western fandom’s least favorite things before we go: the book is setting up romance between Tina and Renge, the nigh-immortal who rescued her.

Tina is thirteen, as the chapter titles don’t hesitate to remind us. Of course, she isn’t really – the word ‘reincarnated’ is in the title, and we are occasionally reminded of the Japanese woman who ended up becoming Tina in this world. But she’s still about, say, her mid-40s in terms of actual age. And Renge, of course, is well-nigh immortal. He’s also well-nigh all-powerful as well, as we see towards the end of the book when he gets mildly annoyed and proceeds to destroy an entire army by himself in about ten seconds. And so the fact that the book appears to be shipping them discomfits me in a “Tale of Genji is not my jam” sort of way. To be fair, the book went out of its way to NOT have Renge be the parental figure in Tina’s life, but there’s still a power imbalance here that is going to have to be dealt with in the next two books. Hopefully Tina will continue to be awesome.

This book was good, and I’m not dropping the series or anything, but there were one or two things in it that just rubbed me the wrong way. In addition to Tina’s mild crush on Renge, we also get her meeting her predecessor, the previous savior of the world Akari – also implied to be a reincarnation – and I was hoping they’d have a cute and sweet scene. It’s sweet enough on Akari’s end, but Tina’s jealousy just made me grump. Also, given how much attention was paid to Marcus’ loss of his arm and how he’s managed to life his best life still without it, Tina’s healing of it here also sat wrong with me. It also sat wrong with Marcus, who spends most of the book, like me, wishing he could still be running an inn with his cute, non-savior daughter and, like me, finding that he can’t really stop the progress. Ah well.

There is still the occasional cute scene of recipe/potion making, and a very funny “this is why I hate elves” gag, but for the most part this is the book you read between the second and fourth books. It’s necessary, but it won’t be your favorite.

Bookshelf Briefs 10/28/21

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BL Metamorphosis, Vol. 5 | By Kaori Tsurutani | Seven Seas – The bonds that Urara made with Ichinoi don’t have to end here, but they are going to be a bit stretched, as Ichinoi comes to the realization that living alone at her age in a house like hers is just not a smart thing to do. It helps that she and her daughter are more on the same page now. So she’s off to America, leaving Urara behind. That said, they can still text or email each other, Urara is still able to go to her old house and send things (manga) to her, and they still enjoy the series that first introduced them to each other. I also like that we saw the doujinshi that they sold at the Comiket at the end of this volume. It felt very real. As for Urara herself, she got into the college she wanted, and that’s a big plus. This was great. – Sean Gaffney

Bloom into You Anthology, Vol. 1 | By Various Artists | Seven Seas – An anthology series is always going to be hard to review, as it’s basically just a bunch of vignettes. There were a few here I quite liked. My favorite for the sheer mood of it was probably “Fleeting Cherry Blossoms,” which is by the Cocoon Entwined author and seemed to show off their ongoing obsession with hair. Some of the stories here take place after the end of the series, but for the most part they’re during its run. “Bitter Coffee Time” was also a very good story, showing the relationship between Riko and Miyako, showing the balance between cute teasing and pointed jabs. I think this is a good buy for anyone who enjoyed the original series, but there’s nothing here that’s truly essential. – Sean Gaffney

Haikyu!!, Vol. 45 | By Haruichi Furudate | VIZ Media – This is the final volume of Haikyu!! and I cried, like, four times. Furudate-sensei is so good at showing the significance of things, and in this volume that takes the form of acknowledging the importance of high school volleyball and trusted teammates in all of the characters’ lives, even those who didn’t pursue volleyball after graduation. And what a smart decision it was not to end the series with a spring tournament victory, because in addition to getting to see how Hinata has become undeniably great, the best possible happy ending for Kageyama and Hinata is to keep playing lots of volleyball together, whether that be as opponents or occasional teammates. Even as we look away, these guys will never quit striving. I’ll miss this series so much. – Michelle Smith

Red Flowers | By Yoshiharu Tsuge | Drawn & Quarterly – Red Flowers is the second volume in Drawn & Quarterly’s series collecting the complete mature work of Yoshiharu Tsuge. The volume compiles twelve short manga originally released between 1967 and 1968, all but one previously published in the prominent avant-garde anthology magazine Garo. Accompanying these stories is an essay co-authored by Mitsuhiro Asakawa and the series’ translator Ryan Holmberg which examines the historical context of Tsuge’s work as well as the influences of both literature and life experiences on his manga, including his connections to Shigeru Mizuki. (As a fan of Mizuki’s work, this essay and volume were therefore doubly interesting to me.) Many of the manga collected in Red Flowers are travelogues, although the people are just as important as the places in the stories as Tsuge explores humanity’s compassion as well as its darkness. Only two volumes in and it’s easy to declare that this series, and Tsuge’s work, is fantastic. – Ash Brown

Snow White with the Red Hair, Vol. 15 | By Sorata Akiduki | Viz Media – Last time I mentioned that I appreciated the attention this series pays to medical research. This volume ends up being almost entirely medical research, and a lot of trial and error. It remains a great series to give a young kid who wants to get into the sciences. That said, there is SOME romance here, and I was amused at the rest of the cast pondering the possibility that Zen and Shirayuki might actually have done something in the bedroom together. (They slept—this series is very pure.) But really, it’s about trying to come up with a way to make better things, which mostly involves making bad things and things that are broken until you figure it out. It’s a very refreshing shoujo series, a change of pace from the typical. – Sean Gaffney

Spy x Family, Vol. 6 | By Tatsuya Endo | Viz Media – I did appreciate the fact that we saw that Loid and Fiona work very well together and are totally sympatico—as spies. That does not necessarily apply to being a fake wife, especially given Fiona has a massive crush on Loid to begin with. Best to leave it to someone like Yor, who worries a lot about whether she’s doing a good job as a spouse and parent and also has the strength to literally cut a tennis ball to shreds with her racket. That’s a bit terrifying, and I can see why Fiona ran off to undergo more training. I’m sure she’ll be back. As for the main mission, it may actually be coming together faster than planned, as we see Loid meeting his target. That said, this is too insanely popular to end just yet—and with good reason. – Sean Gaffney

Sunshine Sketch, Vol. 10 | By Ume Aoki | Yen Press – It’s been three years since the last volume, and you get the sense the author is trying to avoid bringing the manga to a close. I’m not sure why—it can’t be the money; they did character designs for Madoka Magica; they must have gotten something for that. In any case, this is more of Yuno and Miyako’s senior year. There’s some art advice, as the girls are still learning—yes, even Miyako gets some advice, despite being a ‘natural.’ There’s a school festival, which involves Sae and Hiro coming back, possibly as no one would really want to read this series without its iconic “are they gay or not?” couple. Still, while it’s still cute and fun, I do think it’s about time to let these two graduate and put a lid on it. – Sean Gaffney

Sweat and Soap, Vol. 9 | By Kintetsu Yamada | Kodansha Comics – I knew we would not be able to get to the end of the series without SOME conflict. For the most part, any arguments these two had have been brief, and we’ve focused more on the sweet end of things. But we now get a reminder of where the series began—even as Asako is pondering motherhood (and thus marriage), an old schoolmate of hers comes along and presses all her “you sweat too much and stink” buttons. The scene is very hard to read, but also quite realistic—her other friend doesn’t really do anything to stop this torrent of nastiness, nor does Asako; it’s just a beatdown, even if it’s “unintentional.” Hopefully Kotaro will be able to get through to her again soon. – Sean Gaffney

Yakuza Lover, Vol. 2 | By Nozomi Mino | Viz Media – This volume opens with an intense debate between Yuri and Oya about sexual stamina and it gets a little weirder from there. I do find this type of series intrinsically entertaining because of how over-the-top it is. The main focus of this volume is Yuri’s kidnapping by a rival mob boss named Semilio, who seems more than a little deranged as well as obsessed with Oya. Yuri manages to endure her captivity, and her rescue by Oya isn’t a surprise, although his method of exacting his vengeance is a bit prolonged. Post-kidnapping, the couple has to deal with the aftermath of all their emotions. Fortunately they always have sex as the tool to make everything better, although I wonder if most psychologists would agree with this method of therapy. Will the next volume involve drug addiction or amnesia? Is Yuri actually going to attend any of her college classes or is she a full-time mob girlfriend now? These are the questions that kept me diverted for at least five minutes after finishing this volume. – Anna N

Yotsuba&!, Vol. 15 | By Kiyohiko Azuma | Yen Press – For all that this series now comes out about three times a decade, it is slowly moving forward, and the last part of this volume suggests that it’s moving forward faster than Yotsuba’s dad would really like. Buying a school backpack, even though school is not for several months yet, shows that Yotsuba is going to grow up, and causes her father to reflect on how much he really DOES feel like a father now, as opposed to “hey, here’s this abandoned kid I found” feelings he had to start with. It was also nice to see Fuuka again, and be reminded that she’s easily the smartest and most together of the cast while at the same time mocking her mercilessly. This series will always be a joy. – Sean Gaffney

Manga the Week of 11/3/21

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SEAN: November is approaching, and the manga are falling like leaves.

Airship has three debuts in print. There’s I’m the Evil Lord of an intergalactic Empire!, Planet of the Orcs, and A Tale of the Secret Saint.

Also out in print is Berserk of Gluttony 4.

Digitally we see an early release of Vol. 2 of Reborn as a Space Mercenary: I Woke Up Piloting the Strongest Starship!.

Dark Horse has a 4th Blade of the Immortal Deluxe Edition.

ASH: I’m very happily upgrading my collection of the series to these beautiful volumes.

SEAN: Ghost Ship debuts Ero Ninja Scrolls (Ara Kusa Ninpo Cho), a Hakusensha title from their magazine Harem. (Yes, that is a real magazine by the same company that publishes Hana to Yume.) It’s ninjas and smut.

ASH: That doesn’t seem to be too uncommon of a combination.

SEAN: They also have a 2nd volume of Does a Hot Elf Girl Live Next Door to You? and a 2nd volume of Sundome!! Milky Way.

J-Novel Club has some digital releases. We see Altina the Sword Princess 11, Can Someone Please Explain What’s Going On?! 7, The Great Cleric 5, Marginal Operation’s 10th manga volume, My Instant Death Ability Is So Overpowered, No One in This Other World Stands a Chance Against Me! 7, and Perry Rhodan NEO 4.

Some print for Kodansha. We see the 6th Attack on Titan Colossal Edition and the 5th and final box set of Fairy Tail. There’s also Battle Angel Alita 3, Peach Boy Riverside 3 and Shikimori’s Not Just a Cutie 6.

ASH: I’m still vaguely interested in Peach Boy Riverside, but haven’t actually gotten around to reading it…

SEAN: Digitally we get a new Cells At Work spinoff, Neo Bacteria! This is from the same author as the main Bacteria spinoff, and also ran in Nakayoshi. It’s done in one, and features the cells trying to help a girl confess to the one she likes. What even is this franchise anymore?

Also digitally, we get Fate/Grand Order -Epic of Remnant- Pseudo-Singularity III: The Stage of Carnage, Shimousa – Seven Duels of Swordmasters 4, Girlfriend, Girlfriend 6, Love After World Domination 2, My Dearest Self with Malice Aforethought 10, and With the Sheikh in His Harem 7.

KUMA has a new BL title, You Are My Happiness (Kimiarite Kouhuku), a Comic Marginal title about a food stall vendor and his tailed, winged customer.

MJ: Maybe interesting?

SEAN: Seven Seas has three debuts. No Matter What You Say, Furi-san Is Scary! (Tonari no Furi-san ga Tonikaku Kowai) is an Ichijinsha title from the awkwardly named magazine Manga 4-koma Kings Palette. Girl looks and sounds like a delinquent… but she’s really a cute innocent girl in love with our hero.

ASH: I’m intrigued! This sounds like it could be fun.

MJ: It does.

ANNA: I enjoy delinquent manga.

SEAN: Reborn As a Barrier Master (Kekkaishi e no Tensei) comes from Gentosha’s Denshi Birz, and features a recently isekai’s salaryman who’s in the body of a 6-year-old. Almost sold into slavery, almost killed, he’s actually taken in by a local lord. Time to train his awesome power!

Young Ladies Don’t Play Fighting Games (Tai Ari Deshita. ~Ojou-sama wa Kakutou Game Nante Shinai~) is a yuri-ish title from Media Factory’s Comic Flapper. Imagine Maria-sama Ga Miteru if Sachiko were a hardcore gamer and you come close to what this is.

Seven Seas also has CALL TO ADVENTURE! Defeating Dungeons with a Skill Board 2, A Centaur’s Life 20, Chronicles of an Aristocrat Reborn in Another World 2, Dance in the Vampire Bund: Age of Scarlet Order 4, Machimaho: I Messed Up and Made the Wrong Person Into a Magical Girl! 8, Made in Abyss Official Anthology – Layer 3: White Whistle Melancholy, Nurse Hitomi’s Monster Infirmary 13, and Pompo: The Cinéphile 2.

Tentai Books has a new light novel out digitally, with print to follow. Turning the Tables on the Seatmate Killer (Tonari no Seki ni Natta Bishoujo ga Horesaseyou to Karakattekuru ga Itsunomanika Kaeriuchi ni Shiteita), a high school romcom about a nebbish guy who ends up next to the seemingly untouchable girl.

No debuts for Viz, but we do see My Hero Academia: Ultra Analysis—The Official Character Guide, nearly 300 pages of facts, trivia, hero analysis, and interviews.

We also get Black Clover 27, Dr. STONE 19, JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Part 5–Golden Wind 2, Love Me Love Me Not 11, Mashle: Magic & Muscles 3, My Hero Academia: Vigilantes 11, Snow White with the Red Hair 16, The King’s Beast 4, and Undead Unluck 4.

MICHELLE: I vow to get caught up with these three Shojo Beat titles! And MHA: Vigilantes, as well.

ASH: Shojo Beat’s on my radar, too! As is the latest JoJo.

ANNA: I need to get caught up too!

SEAN: Yen On has two titles, as we get High School DxD 5 and Spice & Wolf 22.

Lastly, Yen Press has Bestia 3 and Uncle from Another World 3.

Stay gold, manga lovers. What are you picking up?

A Late-Start Tamer’s Laid-Back Life, Vol. 1

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By Yuu Tanaka and Nardack. Released in Japan as “Deokure Tamer no Sono Higurashi” by GC Novels. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Yuko C. Shimomoto.

The author of this series is the same one who writes Reincarnated As a Sword, and I was therefore inclined to give it a little more rope, given that I bounced hard off that title after an extremely slow start. This one has an extremely slow start as well, and while I’m tempted to say that it has a slow middle and a slow end as well, that’s not quite true. Stuff does happen. But this book is not kidding about the laid-back part, as you will watch our hero plant a garden, wash dishes, pick up trash, and weed for a good long time. And, of course, because it’s one of those light novels, there is constant stat-talking. At least in this case it’s justified because this is an actual game, rather than a game-like fantasy world or a trapped scenario. That said, for all my whining, there is a certain charm to this title. If Maple from Bofuri were actually a seasoned gamer, it feels like this is the sort of thing she would do.

Our hero is a nameless salaryman who takes a two-week vacation in order to devote himself to a brand new virtual reality game. Naming his character Yuto, he quickly spends a LOT of money customizing things just right… but is rather shocked to find that in fact his choice of class and options didn’t really work out for fighting much of anything. He does have a tamed monster, a gnome named Olto, but their specialty is in the soil, not in battle. Should he give up and create a new character? Heck no. He’ll just have to deal and figure out what he CAN do. As it turns out, he can do quite a lot, as he manages to rack up impressive titles, unlock areas no one has ever gone before, win incredibly rare items, and gain two more tamed creatures. He doesn’t seem to think he’s doing anything special, really, and his narration certainly makes that clear.

This is from GC Novels, and like most titles from that publisher it’s a bit of a brick, coming in at 357 pages on my digital edition. As such, you will need to get used to Yuto’s narrative style and general attitude, which is along the lines of “I am just a potato protagonist, I don’t know why anyone would be interested in the normal things I do”. Of course, most of these normal things lead to amazing events, because he’s the protagonists. The rest of the cast is fun, though none of the tamed creatures actually speak beyond grunts and sounds, so Yuto spends most of the book talking to himself. I do love the tamed squirrel he gets near the end of the book, which is named Rick, and who I will be calling Rocky the Flying Squirrel from now on. Also, unlike Bofuri, there actually ARE bad gamers in this world – they may not be able to PK you, but we see Yuto dealing with harassment, which is funny and also disturbing.

If you like reading game logs, this is a must buy. For everyone else, it depends on your tolerance of “aw, shucks” protagonists who have everything good happen to them. I’ll at least be reading the 2nd volume.

How a Realist Hero Rebuilt the Kingdom, Vol. 14

by

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

Given that he’s clearly being set up to be the main antagonist, it’s not particularly surprising that we now get an entire book devoted to what Fuuga Haan is up to. Souma and company are certainly in the book, but they feel more like supporting players. Instead, we watch as Fuuga continues to be a cross between Genghis Khan and Romance of the Three Kingdoms, removing his enemies and then, as an encore, removing anyone who’s staying neutral as well. This does allow us to see how the inevitable battle between Fuuga and Souma is going to go, though, and Souma is not enjoying it at all, as it turns out Fuuga does in fact listen to advice, even when the advice given is, dare I say it, Machiavellian. This is due to the Chima family, who turn out to mostly be varying degrees of clever and too clever by half. Souma really lucked out getting the youngest son as an ally, though he may be getting more before this is all done.

On the cover we see Mutsumi, who unfortunately is not nearly as much of an action heroine as it implies. That said, she is very much devoted to her husband, and she to him, and I hope that we do not see her killed off in order to give him grief and vengeance down the road. The plot kicks off when her younger brother, who knows his father is plotting against Fuuga and is confident in his sniping skills, takes it on himself to try to assassinate Fuuga. This goes badly, and forces Mathew, the patriarch, to kickstart his plan into action. What follows are a series of tactical battles, lots of fighting and bloodshed, and Fuuga winning the day, mostly because the eldest Chiba decides to betray his father and advise Fuuga instead. Meanwhile, things look bad for Julius and Tia, as their tiny kingdom is very strategically placed, and Fuuga has it in his sights…

I’ve talked before about my dislike of how much Machiavelli is hammered on in this series, but I’m clearly not going to get anywhere with that, so I will admit that it is interesting comparing and contrasting Souma with Hashim. Souma talks about Machiavelli a lot, but for the most part the only time we’ve really seen him behaving like the modern-day adjectival use of the word is when he slaughtered all those nobles – something he recalls in this book. Hashim does the same thing here, planting a bomb at a meeting of neutral nations, but is far more clearly villainous, and you get the sense that, unlike Souma, he would absolutely do it again and again if it suited him. He’s also happy to tear his family apart, which is a shame, but it does mean that we get a few more Chimas in the allied countries. It will be interesting to see what happens going forward, especially as the Empire and Maria have been very noticeably absent recently.

All this plus MORE BABIES! Yes, who knew when everyone got married in Book 1o0 it would lead to pregnancies? In any case, provided you don’t mind that Fuuga Haan is the focus, this is a decent volume of Realist Hero.