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Pick of the Week: Bible Studies

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SEAN: No question, my pick this week is The Manga Bible, the new nonfiction coffeetable book by Helen McCarthy. It looks terrific, and is no doubt a treasure trove of lore.

MICHELLE: I agree; it looks amazing.

ANNA: Absolutely the release to highlight this week!

KATE: I’m excited to pick up a copy of The Manga Bible, but I’ll also make a pitch for Rock Is a Lady’s Modesty, a manga that doesn’t break all the rules, but recognizes that even demure young women like REALLY LOUD MUSIC. As a late-in-life metal fan, that’s a message I can get behind.

ASH: I can get behind that message, too! And also The Manga Bible, which should be excellent. (Although, I personally would have gone with a different title for the work, to avoid being conflated with the various other manga bibles out there…)

The Villainess Speaks Not: The Awoken Genius and the Once-Lost Pawn

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By Kei Yose and Ruria Miyuki. Released in Japan as “Akuyaku Reijou wa Shaberimasen” by Overlap Bunko. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Adam.

I always find it very interesting when J-Novel Club puts a villainess title in their “main” imprint rather than in the romance-oriented J-Novel Heart line. The implication is that the romance is not the point in this series, and that’s certainly true in this first volume, where our pre-teen villainess does her best to try to avoid becoming the official fiancee to the crown prince. But more to the point, this is one of those villainess series that runs entirely on politics and intrigue, and that places it squarely in the main line of books. Liliana has assassins try to kill her over and over again in this book, and she’s only six years old for most of it. The kingdom is being torn apart and a coup may be imminent. There’s an aggressive mage running around simply starting chaos on behalf of someone unseen. Then again, give the sheer OP capabilities of Liliana, maybe everyone is right to worry.

I need you to bear with me while I write the next sentence, because I promise this book was really good. Liliana Clarke wakes up from a week-long fever to find that she now remembers her past life from Japan, and also that this is the world of an otome game where she is the villainess. (You can’t be too surprised, given the title and the genre.) She also finds that she can’t speak anymore, due to the illness… or due to a curse. This is not good news, because magic here requires spoken incantations. She can’t even call for help in case assassins attack her. Which, given that her dad is one of the biggest power brokers in the country, is a problem. Fortunately Liliana already knows that most magic is not “ironclad rules” put “power of imagination” Which means she has no need for speaking. Also, she can do literally almost anything.

It’s a rare villainess book that has almost no humor at all. What’s more, while her life is truly terrible, Liliana does have allies in her corner (including the crown prince – she may want to break off their engagement, but not if he has anything to say about it). This is important, because danger lurks around every corner here. Possibly the most chilling moment in the book is when, after a monster stampede that destroyed a town and killed dozens, which she managed to stop but passed out from mana loss, her father happens to be passing my in the aftermath and murmurs “what, still alive?”. Fortunately, Liliana really is OP, and her allies are fun, especially mage Petra (who may treat Liliana too casually but knows her stuff) and mercenaries Gildo and Olga (whho marvel at the fact that she’s not like those other nobles). By the end of the book she’s regained her voice but decides to hide it to fool her enemies. It’s a good plan, especially as the apple-eating bad guy who doesn’t have a name but certainly has a mission to wipe her out continues to hang around.

The webnovel has finished for this, and there are five volumes so far in Japan, so we’ve barely gotten started. What’s more, this was 380 pages, so it’s a beefy book. I felt rewarded, though. Thrilling stuff.

Repeated Vice: I Refuse to Be Important Enough to Die, Vol. 2

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By Kuroakawa Hitsugi and Kushiro Kuki. Released in Japan as “Repeat Vice: Akuyaku Kizoku wa Shinitakunai node Shitennou ni Naru no wo Yamemashita” by HJ Bunko. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by piyo.

This series has one big selling point that makes it a lot better than most of the “reincarnated as some dude who dies” series I’ve been reading lately. Lofus starts this book angry, goes through the book angry, and ends the book angry. He is a perpetually frowning, bitching twelve-year-old, even when he’s rescuing slaves, helping to extend the life of dying wyverns, or helping one of the heroines escape from his family’s deadly crypt. Why does he have to do all this? Why can’t people just leave him alone to get on with escaping his pointless fate? An escape that seems like it might be harder than it sounds, as when the main bad guy of the series shows up to invite Lofus to join his Council of Evil, Lofus really has to struggle to say no. The narrative wants what it wants. Well, mostly. SOMEONE besides Lofus is able to twist the narrative to serve their own devices. I wonder who?

We pick up where we left off last time, as Lofus and his bodyguard Yusurika find themselves teleported to where the slaves are being sent. They find Norn, Faltiana’s friend, almost too quickly, though she’s been raped and tortured by her abusive owner. He also finds Warm, who is another “character” who was part of the Council of Evil (not its real name) and who is, at the moment, just some guy who loves his wyverns – though Lofus feels a need to fight him anyway, as in the previous world he was intensely jealous of Warm. Finally returning home, he’s immediately sent by his dad (another of those “I think he’s horrible but the reader sees he’s just awkward” dads) to investigate a break-in of the family crypt… and finds another “heroine” like Faltiana, who has triggered a trap and is now surrounded by monsters, as this crypt is basically a dungeon.

Setting aside the part that annoyed me first – I accept the author did not want this to be a series that realistically covered the aftermath of a rape and abuse victim, especially if she’s not going to show up much going forward, but “I was told to get over myself” is not really how I wanted her to recover either. Honestly, this series is a bit too quick to have rape as a threat to begin with, because it’s trying to show a tonally dark setting. On the bright side, the new love interest, Lilka, is an absolute hoot, being one of those “bright, talkative, has no sense of personal space or noble customs” girls. The funniest part of the book is where he realizes she must also have knowledge of the game, and tests her… but no, she has no idea what the hell he’s talking about. She *is* different from the game, but not, as far as we can tell, because she’s from Japan.

The book ends with a cliffhanger, but I’ve no doubt that Lofus is going to save the day, have ludicrous amounts of cool magic tricks, and be very, very grumpy. I’m here for it.

Re: ZERO -Starting Life in Another World – Ex, Vol. 6

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By Tappei Nagatsuki and Shinichirou Otsuka. Released in Japan as “Re: Zero Kara Hajimeru Isekai Seikatsu Ex”by Media Factory. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Kevin Steinbach.

I know a lot of this review might sound like I’m complaining about the dead dove I found in the bag labeled Dead Dove: Do Not Eat. But it’s been harder lately to forget just how incredibly, punishingly bleak Re: Zero can get when it’s firing on all cylinders. The middle third of this volume is just getting punched in the face by the author over and over again, and I’ll be honest, I did not enjoy it at all. Part of it is that I don’t really enjoy seeing characters suffer – that was the me of thirty years ago – but I think a lot of it is that this is still a side story that talks a lot about how awesome Theresia is and then proceeds to not really show us any of that. Most of this book Theresia is unable to fight for one reason or another, and even though the author lampshades it a bit it’s still annoying. I hate damseling.

After a few volumes that examine other side characters, we’re back to the backstory of Wilhelm, who is now happily married to Theresia. Unfortunately, there’s a problem, which is that Stride and Eight-Arms Kurgan are still at large, and are not likely to simply go back to the Empire empty-handed. As it turns out, Stride has an absolutely epic plan that revolves around the fact that, despite being a country that the dragon will supposedly protect in times of peril, the dragon never appeared during the ten years of their civil war. Was this because it didn’t involve other countries? Or is the dragon thing a lie? To find out, Stride decides to kidnap, murder, and turn into mind-controlled puppets a good part of the cast, and it’s up to Wilhelm, his best friend Grimm, and Roswaal J. Mathers (note the middle initial) to try to save the day.

I’ve talked before about how the way these come out in Japan and here is screwed up, because Yen started late and can’t release this book with Vol. 39 of the main series, as it did in Japan. So there’s some subtext here that will no doubt make sense when we do get that book in 2029 or so. On the other hand, sometimes it does match up with other volumes accidentally quite well. This book comes out here right after Short Stories 4, a book with a large amount of Carol and Grimm, who are old but still powerful folks in the main series and are young powerful folks in this side story. Carol really goes through the wringer, and I am grateful that the “you were mind controlled but you still killed all those people including my dad” plotline is absolutely ignored. This was bad enough without that. And we also say a fond farewell to the Roswaal Mathers of the past, who if nothing else I liked a lot more than the Roswaal Mathers of the present.

This had good fights, and lots of interesting lore. But, like a few other Re: Zero books I’ve read lately, I can sum it up thusly: A Slog.

Manga the Week of 3/25/26

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SEAN: The end of March is nearing, and will it be a lion or a lamb?

ASH: Seems pretty lion-ish of late.

SEAN: Yen On has two spinoff debuts. Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End -Prelude- (Shusetsu Sousou no Frieren ‑Zensou‑) is a short story collection that, despite the word prelude, does cover folks from the present day. The author is best known for The Mimosa Confessions, though I’ve no doubt the Frieren author supervised.

So I’m a Spider, So What? Ex (Kumo Desu ga, Nani ka? Ex) is the long-delayed companion volume to the light novel series that ended here in 2023. It has short stories, character profiles, some artwork, etc.

ASH: That’ll be nice for fans to finally have.

SEAN: Yen Press has the bulk of its March titles out this week. Bad Girl is a Manga Time Kirara Carat series, so you know there’s a limit to how bad she can be. Our bad girl heroine is only being bad as she has a crush on the public morals club president, and this way she can see her all the time! The trouble is her attempts at being bad are… cute. This got an anime recently.

ASH: I am actually delighted by this premise.

SEAN: Battlefront of the Great Powers (Rekkyo Sensen) is a sci-fi action series from Comic Zenon. It’s a battle royale-style manga, where if you lose a tournament arc not only do you die, but so does everyone you care about! Needless to say, not a comedy.

ASH: I have been known to enjoy tournament arcs from time to time.

SEAN: How to Love a Loser (Dame Ningen no Aishikata) is a Web Comic Apanda title that was originally a doujinshi. Our hero is a complete loser, but he has a wonderful girlfriend who loves him. Why does she love someone like him? He resolves to find out. I think this will go badly for him, but hey. I was told this is “for masochists”.

ANNA: No thank you!!!!

SEAN: A Pen, Handcuffs, and a Common-Law Marriage (Pen to Wappa to Jijitsu-kon) is a seinen manga from Young Animal. A detective finds that his witness on a case can’t speak, but she can draw, which is good enough for him. Wait, she wants to marry him?

MICHELLE: I was intrigued by the pen and the detective, but now I think I’ll pass.

SEAN: Soulless: The Complete Omnibus is an OEL steampunk manga with vampires and werewolves, which should come as no surprise once you saw the “OEL”.

ASH: Nice to see this staying in print for a bit longer.

ANNA: I enjoyed the books!

SEAN: Also from Yen Press: Agents of the Four Seasons: Dance of Spring 4, The Anemone Feels the Heat 3, Apocalypse Bringer Mynoghra 5, Be My Worst Nightmare! 4, Blend-S 4, Common-Sense Monster 2, Death March to the Parallel World Rhapsody 18, The Demons Are Planning Something Good! 2, Elden Ring: The Road to the Erdtree 8, Excellent Property, Rejects for Residents 5 (the final volume), The Fiancee Chosen by the Ring 7, Gals Can’t Be Kind to Otaku?! 2, Game of Familia 8, Hollow Regalia 2, If It’s You, I Might Try Falling in Love 3, In the Heavenly Prison, the Devil Enchants Me 3, It’s All Your Fault 3, I’ll Become a Villainess Who Goes Down in History 4, Kunon the Sorcerer Can See 2, Lycoris Recoil Official Comic Anthology: Reload 2, Me and My Beast Boss 4, mono 4, My Dear, Curse-Casting Vampiress 7, My Mate Is a Feline Gentleman 4, No Game No Life Chapter 2: Eastern Union Arc 3, Re:ZERO -Starting Life in Another World-, Chapter 4: The Sanctuary and the Witch of Greed 10, Reincarnation Coliseum 3, Rock Is a Lady’s Modesty 2, Sacrificial Princess and the King of Beasts Heir 3, Secrets of the Silent Witch 5, Spy Classroom 3rd Period: Forgetter 2, Stray Cat & Wolf 4, A Terrified Teacher at Ghoul School! 17, The White Cat’s Revenge as Plotted from the Dragon King’s Lap 5, and With You, Our Love Will Make It Through 4.

MICHELLE: Somehow, I missed that a sequel (?) to Sacrificial Princess and the King of Beasts was coming out.

SEAN: Viz Media would like to remind you that only one author has ever written horror manga in Japan ever. Or at least make it seem that way. Statues: Junji Ito Story Collection is stuff from the early 90s, and ran in Monthly Halloween, a shoujo magazine.

ASH: I mean, I do like Junji Ito’s work, but it’s good to mix it up sometimes, too.

SEAN: Viz also has JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Part 7–Steel Ball Run 6.

ASH: I’ve got some catching up to do!

SEAN: Tokyopop gives us The Margrave’s Daughter & the Enemy Prince 7 and Wild Beast Forest House 3.

Steamship has the 4th volume of Sweet Heat Before Falling in Love: The CEO and His Fated Omega.

Square Enix Manga has Always a Catch! 6, Dragon Quest: The Mark of Erdrick 3, Just Like Mona Lisa 8, and On and Off: Work-Life Imbalance 3.

Seven Seas has, in danmei, the 11th and final volume of The Husky and His White Cat Shizun, which also has a Special Edition filled with postcards and such.

ASH: Nice.

SEAN: And there’s a 4th deluxe hardcover of Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation: Mo Dao Zu Shi.

ASH: Also nice.

SEAN: The first manga debut is Fluffy Café in Another World (Isekai Mofumofu Cafe), a josei series from B’s-Comic Log which has a light novel also coming out soon from SS. A man dies saving a cat, who turns out to be a god. The god gives him the powerful tamer skill in his next life, which he uses to… open an animal cafe?

ASH: It pays to be nice to cats.

ANNA: I strive for this daily.

SEAN: And we get His Little Amber, a BL manga from the magazine Nuude. What if a yakuza found a leopard cub that turned into a hot young man?

ASH: What if, indeed!

SEAN: Also from Seven Seas: The Barbarian’s Bride 6, HOOL!GAN’S 2 (the final volume), I Think I Turned My Childhood Friend Into a Girl 10, It Takes More Than a Pretty Face to Fall in Love 5, The Legend of Dororo and Hyakkimaru 11, Skeleton Knight in Another World 14, and Time Stop Hero 14.

Prestel, an imprint of Penguin Random House, publishes The Manga Bible, which is a history of the genre by the legendary Helen McCarthy. If you wanted a new coffee table manga book, this is for you.

ASH: This should be excellent! Helen McCarthy’s work is great.

ANNA: Nice, this sounds great.

SEAN: No debuts for Kodansha Manga. For print we have Anyway, I’m Falling in Love with You 10, Blue Lock 28, A Condition Called Love 17, Kei X Yaku: Bound By Law 11, Nezumi’s First Love 3, Tune In to the Midnight Heart 6, and Versus 5.

MICHELLE: Someday, I will read more Blue Lock.

SEAN: And digitally we get Even Given the Worthless “Appraiser” Class, I’m Actually the Strongest 16 (the final volume) and Shangri-La Frontier 24.

No debuts for J-Novel Club. On the light novel end, we get From Two-Bit Baddie to Total Heartthrob 5, The Goddess Says, “Kill the Tsundere Witch!” 3, Goodbye, Overtime! This Reincarnated Villainess Is Living for Her New Big Brother 7, Now I’m a Demon Lord! Happily Ever After with Monster Girls in My Dungeon 15, The Poison King 7, and Scooped Up by an S-Rank Adventurer! 3.

And on the manga end they have The Brilliant Healer’s New Life in the Shadows 5, The Eternal Fool’s Words of Wisdom 8, A Livid Lady’s Guide to Getting Even 7, and The Water Magician 6.

Inklore has a 6th volume of My Love Story with Yamada-kun at Lv999.

Ghost Ship has Becoming a Princess Knight and Working at a Yuri Brothel 5 (the final volume).

Dark Horse Manga has Lone Wolf and Cub Deluxe Edition 2.

ASH: I am so tempted.

SEAN: Airship’s print debut is My Girlfriend Cheated on Me, and Now My Flirty Underclassman Won’t Leave Me Alone (Kanojo ni Uwakisareteita Ore ga, Koakuma na Kouhai ni Natsukareteimasu), whose title is the plot.

ASH: At least you know what you’re getting?

SEAN: Also in print: Reincarnated as a Dragon Hatchling 13.

And in early digital we get Loner Life in Another World 14 and Witch and Mercenary 6 (part 1).

That seems like a lot, but I think that’s mostly Yen Press’s fault. What interests you?

To Sir, Without Love: I’m Divorcing You, Vol. 1, Part 2

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By Kori Hisakawa and Airumu. Released in Japan as “Haikei Mishiranu Danna-sama, Rikonshite Itadakimasu” by Media Works Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Carley Radford.

I had not realized when reading and writing the review of the first book that it’s literally half a book – the books were released in Japan as Part 1 and Part 2, and that’s what we’re getting here as well. As such, it’s not really a surprise that the book concentrates more on the political climate going on around our main couple, which is not only getting dangerous but also might implicate them personally. This is not nearly as lethal as The Trials and Tribulations of My Next Life As a Noblewoman, but I was thinking of that series while reading this, and believe fans of one might like the other. Byletta is a young woman trying to run her own life and have as much freedom as possible, despite this being a world where noble wives are expected to look pretty and give birth. Arnald is someone who finds he’s fallen in love, and simply does not have the communications toolkit to deal with it. Basically, they need to talk but don’t.

Byletta, frankly, has a bit too much on her plate at the moment. She has to rush back to the flood control project because outbreaks of violence are breaking out and the nobles who own the hot springs hotels nearby claim the project is taking their water. The city where she lives is under constant threat of a military coup, with destruction, bombs, and many injuries, and the supposed person behind this coup is said to be her husband. And then there’s her own marriage, as she still struggles to understand Arnald, who usually seems cool and uncaring but occasionally shows a more comforting side. Worst of all, he’s still insisting on acting like her husband in bed at night, and it turns out that, after the horrible first time she had, he’s actually an amazing lover. Is she going to be able to get her divorce after all?

Arnald’s mindset is comparatively easy to understand, and once he realizes what he’s doing wrong, very easy to change. Byletta is a much harder nut to crack, frankly. She’s haunted by the fact that everyone sees her mother in her, she’s desperate to be her own woman, be that by learning to use a sword or start a revolutionary fashion industry, all because she does not want to be trapped by marriage. It’s astonishing how many times she refers to herself as Arnald’s whore or prostitute throughout this book – and it’s using the terms because she means them to be derogatory, she has to think of herself as that, because otherwise she would have to accept that she really is falling in love with Arnald, and in her eyes, that means giving up. She’s a fantastic character, and I appreciate that Arnald realizes the only way to keep the one he loves is to essentially give her everything she asks for. All the freedom she wants, just stay married to him. It’s sweet.

This volume ends definitively, as we see a flashforward to them living a happy life with their two children. Nevertheless, there are seven more books in Japan. We’ll see if we get more, but if we do, I’m happy to read it, even though I suspect it won’t just be post-marital fluff.

86 –Eighty-Six– Alter. Vol. 2: Fight, Magical Girl Reina ☆ Lena! Go, Starship San Magnolia!

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By Asato Asato and Shirabii. Released in Japan by Dengeki Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Roman Lempert.

This ended up being a bit of a headache for me. I didn’t mind the parody. Look at that subtitle, I was expecting a lot of goofball antics. The trouble is that it’s also trying to tell a serious story in there, albeit less serious than the main 86 story. I didn’t mind when everyone was talking about using the star grapheme when shouting the name of their colossal killer weapon, but it feels a bit off when it’s in the middle of a dramatic reunion between family, one of whom is the enemy. Which, I note, happens twice in this book. That said, for the most part this Alter is a bit different than the first one, which was essentially a short story collection. This is basically telling one big alternate universe story that combines magical girls and Macross-style space battles, where men and women get to have cute nicknames, and the 86 get to be cute l’il fairy companions. Will everyone live happily ever after? They certainly have a better shot here.

It’s 86… in… SPAAAAAACCCCEEE! Our heroes have been fighting a hundred year war against the Legion, most of whom are, as the main series indicates, the rampaging grudges of dead wartime soldiers. They’ve got huge battleships, and can use huge beam cannons. However, they also fight in person, in space, in magical girl armor. No, the guys get to wear pants, but they do have to have the ridiculous names and poses. The first chunk of the story shows us Lena and Annette as they fight their magical girl battles with the help of the 86, cute fairies that used to be soldiers. Including her new fairy Shin. In the second part, Shin is now the 86 for Frederica, who is part of the plan to end the war once and for all, despite her young age, immature ideals, and tendency to lake the star grapheme. The third story gives Vika and his family something to do, and can easily be skipped unless you love Vika and Lerche.

As noted, this is far more serious in places than I was expecting, in that it’s not a 100% parody. The basic concept is ridiculous, but it takes its worldview seriously, and when the 86 “die”, which they do (though note the quote marks), people get upset about it. That said, overall, this is very much a yay, happy ending sort of book in the end. Most of the named cast we care about are brought back in some way, shape or form, even a couple of the Legion, and the war is over. Certainly that’s wishful thinking for the cast of the main series. And while I found the tonal dissonance jarring, some of the humor was pretty funny. I liked the fourth-wall breaking noting how little we’d actually seen Vika’s family, and that one of them only appeared in an online only story. LOL.

There aren’t any more Alter novels out in Japan, but the good news is that the 14th volume of the main series came out last fall. Expect less cute magical girl names.

My Happy Marriage, Vol. 9

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By Akumi Agitogi and Tsukiho Tsukioka. Released in Japan as “Watashi no Shiawase na Kekkon” by Fujimi L Bunko. Released in North America Yen On. Translated by David Musto.

It’s been over a year, but we finally have a new volume of My Happy Marriage. (And it’s likely going to be another year till the next one – Vol. 10 just came out in Japan earlier this month.) We’ve now resolved most of the difficulties between Miyo and Kiyoka, and the title is no longer ironic. They’re married and happy. Which means, of course, that normally you would end the series. But the anime of this did quite well. As a result, it’s time to continue, and since you don’t really want to mess up the lovely couple – yet – we need to concentrate on the other part of the plot. As such, this volume returns us to the Earth Spider that is such an important part of Kiyoka and Godou’s backstories. It also introduces new enemies, this time from abroad, who basically want to kidnap Miyo for her powers. But most of all it reminds you that extended family is still family, and it’s really hard to get away from toxic relatives.

Now that Miyo and Kiyoka have dealt with the issues of his own family, as well as Miyo’s horrible former family, we are told that the Kudous are actually a splinter family from the main one, the Miyakoujis. As such, they have to go to the old capital to introduce Miyo to them and try to get their blessing. Miyo is nervous, Kiyoka just seems disgruntled. The head of the family is a very nice guy. The women in the family, fortunately, turn out to be great, and they quickly take Miyo under their wing. The men of the family, sadly, turn out to be horrible arrogant drunks, who are easily manipulated, especially if a passing English “shaman” is trying to stir up trouble for his own benefit. Kiyoka is also distracted because the Earth Spider has escaped from the seal that was put on it years ago, and no one knows where it is.

There’s also a little subplot about Miyo trying hard, now that she knows how powerful she is, to not use her dream powers that much. Naturally, we come across several situations where she has to use her dream powers, one of which helps a young girl (good) but also uncovers a history of family abuse dating back centuries (bad, though getting it out in the open may be good). The My Happy Marriage title and concentration on Miyo’s depression and growing love for her husband has made this feel like a romance most of the time, but the supernatural element is still very much present. Miyo is a hot commodity, and now that the series is willing to go outside Japan, I suspect it’s only a matter of time before she’s kidnapped, like most incredibly powerful people who are also introverted. Still, for the moment, she’s happy and back home.

I’m sometimes wary when a series that reached a natural stopping point keeps going, but this was a really solid volume. Fans should be pleased.

Pick of the Week: Shut-Ins, Witches, and Villainesses

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MICHELLE: Admittedly, there isn’t a ton coming out this week that appeals to me, but the debut volume of Omori intrigues me the most, so I”ll go with that, this week.

SEAN: We all know I can’t resist villainess books, and while they’re usually very talkative folks, I can get behind the alternative, so I will pick The Villainess Speaks Not this week.

ASH: Omori is the title I’ll be making sure to take a look at this week! If I look hard enough, I’m pretty sure I can find a few mini-comics from Omocat in my collection, so I’m interested in seeing this more formally published work.

ANNA: Realistically, what I’m going to run out and read is the latest volume of Witch Hat Atelier so that’s my pick!

The Otome Heroine’s Fight for Survival, Vol. 6

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By Harunori Biyori and Hitaki Yuu. Released in Japan as “Otome Game no Heroine de Saikyō Survival” by TO Books. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Camilla L.

When I started this series, I had thought it was going to run about six volumes, and here we are at the sixth volume. That said, we’re nowhere near done, and in Japan the tenth volume just came out, and it doesn’t look like the final one either. This series is stretching itself, and I don’t think it’s just because of the long, lovingly detailed fight scenes. There are more of those than ever, of course, though blissfully we have a few less stat screens than usual this time around. One thing I did notice is that now that Alia is in a grim desert town, most of her opponents tend to be about her level, with the exception of her one big showcase fight, where she takes out two hundred mooks and five strong fighters without too much difficulty. There is, rest assured, actual plot in this book, but I need to tell you, this series is here to have fights and do otome game stuff, and it’s more interested in fights.

Alia and Elena are now in the middle of the desert, halfway between the demon lands they were meant to be teleported to and the Kingdom of Claydale. They find their way to a town that’s divided into four factions: merchants, dwarves, beastmen, and yakuza, and they have to negotiate their way around them while also trying to find a way to, if not get Elena back home, at least get word to Claydale that she’s not dead. Because trust me, back home if she’s gone more than three months they will move on. Speaking of back home, Alicia is continuing to be the most irritating girl in the world; Clara once again tries to achieve something and accidentally makes everything much worse; and Karla gets religion… and promptly butchers it. Karla remains my favorite part of this series. She’s awful. I love her.

It is rather interesting noticing the development of each of the female leads of this “otome game”. Elena, originally a villainess, has started to grow and realize what a ruler needs to actually do… and that she wants to do it. Clara is determined to get the prince she loves to love her back, and if this happens to destroy everything, oh well. Sadly, employing assassins who failed to kill Alia is not the answer. Karla is an immoral nightmare, but to be fair the people she murders here are literally torturing children in the name of God, so she gets a handwave. Alicia not only is ignoring the evil voice in her head telling her she’s being too evil, but actually gets a major power up in this book, which is terrible. And then there’s Alia, who is gradually starting to realize that she has friends that she likes and cares for, and not only wants them to live, but wants to live with them. Alia and Elena get the most development, and it’s no surprise that they’re the two I expect to live till the end of the series.

The volume ends with the “rescue Elena” team arriving and being told to attack if they see dark elves or Kal’faan royals, right as Elena arrives in the city with a dark elf and a Kal’faan royal as her bodyguards. That’ll go well. We will have to wait, however, as Vol. 7 hasn’t started yet on JNC, so it may be a while. For fans of beautiful girls covered in blood.