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Our Party Nearly Wiped and Then Everything Went Downhill, Vol. 1

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By Ameria and kodamazon. Released in Japan as “Zenmetsu End wo Shi ni Monogurui de Kaihishita. Party ga Yanda” by Enterbrain. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Leah Sargent.

Our main character, Walker, remembers his past life from Japan, and also that he’s in a grimdark manga that begins with an adventuring party getting murdered (him) and raped and murdered (the rest of his party) by a monster almost no one has defeated called Grim Reaper. He remembers all this just in time to figure out a way to defeat it. He does not remember this in time to avoid losing an eye and a leg to it. Now he’s recuperating in the Church and trying to combine his stoic, overly serious in-world memories with his somewhat current personality, as well as try to work out if he can ever use a sword again. Because boy, does Walker love swords. He’s invented a new sword style this world doesn’t know. Which is probably why he was able to survive. As for the rest of his party… well, they’re a bit traumatized and guilt-ridden. He really should do something about that too.

Things that annoyed me about this book:

• Lisellarte, the girl with the giant witch hat on the cover, is a supposedly hundred year old magic user who acts like a 7-year-old child most of the time, even before the tragic event that starts things off. She feels like she was added to fulfill the “loli” quotient.

• Euritia, a 13-year-old swordswoman who has a problem with men constantly trying to pick her up, has decided that the best way to deal with her grief is to kill everyone who even comes close to being against Walker.

• Atri, the obligatory Amazon girl, has been told by her grandmother that when she finds the one she loves she needs to “Accept his seed”, but of course every time she tries to he assumes she’s trying to fight him because he is dense.

• Walker himself started off (in the fantasy world) as a stoic blank slate dedicated to his sword fighting and his party. Adding the memories of his past life mostly makes him more annoying than anything else, and the book could easily have happened without any of that.

• Anze, the holy woman who knows their party, gets the fanservice jokes. I’m mostly annoyed at this as otherwise the book is relatively free of a leering fanservice gaze. There are rape mentions throughout, as that’s what originally happened to the party in the “manga”, but Walker doesn’t see the girls as anything but family.

• This is far more serious than I expected it to be, and that works to its detriment. I had assumed, based on the premise, we’d be in for some yandere stuff, and that’s true, but it’s really mild and not funny. Honestly, I wish there was more yandere stuff, it might lighten up the book.

• Most importantly, though, is that the author’s barely disguised fetish in this book isn’t yanderes or lolis or large-breasted nuns. It’s the girls all crying brokenly and feeling guilt-ridden and sad. They say in the afterword this is true, I’m not reading into it. And that makes this a different kind of book. It’s not about this group having to overcome a severe setback and tragedy, about Walker overcoming his disability, and about the girls regaining their confidence. We won’t see the girls regaining their confidence because the sad crying guilt-ridden monologues are the point. This is about the reader going “awwww” while seeing them castigate themselves.

And you know what that is? It’s torture porn. Bye-bye. You weren’t enjoyed.

Imperial Reincarnation: I Came, I Saw, I Survived, Vol. 5

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By Masekinokatasa and Kaito Shinobu. Released in Japan as “Tenseishitara Koutei deshita: Umarenagara no Koutei wa Konosaki Ikinokoreru ka?” by TO Books. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Gwendolyn Warner.

Of all the series to be reminded of while reading this isekai military fantasy, I was not expecting it to be The Executioner and Her Way of Life. But with this volume, it’s unavoidable. Executioner has at its core the premise that being isekaid’s to another world can be bad, especially if you’re not the only one. Catastrophic world ending things happen because Formerly Japanese folks get magical power and abilities and go slightly mad. And while that’s not happening here, it is very clear that this world has the potential for also wiping out civilizations because of their interdimensional travelers. Not only is Carmine not the only reincarnator, but there are absolute piles of them out there, some of whom are on his side but some of whom are working for the enemy… and easily manipulable. And they’re also having children, who sometimes have to suffer for the sins of their parents. Carmine will have a rough ride ahead.

When we last left Carmine, he was finding that his legendary victory was not without a cost, that being everyone suddenly deciding that now is the time to turn and wipe him out. Fortunately, (military things) and he is able to return to the palace, where plans are afoot for him to marry Rosaria… at least in two years, once he’s fifteen, the age of adulthood in this world. He also is urged by Rosaria to take Nadine and Vera-Sylvia as his concubines, which he pushes back against at first but is reminded that this world runs on politics rather than love and caves in… that said, he clearly also likes them, and they love him. After this he goes on a campaign to take Teyanave… which ends up going very badly indeed because (military things). He is barely able to make it back in time for his wedding.

As you may have guessed by reading the above, I am the wrong audience for this series, even though I enjoy it a great deal. I really do not have any interest in the battles, the strategies, and how we get from point A to point B while losing as few men as possible. This series, and this book, really do love that. Expect more of me eliding in future reviews. For now, let me focus on my favorite part, which is Carmine and his wives. He is a classic case of “does not realize what a smooth player he is”, and it’s very amusing seeing him say bluntly to Rosaria, who lives in a world where everything is couched in subtle metaphor, how gorgeous she is and how much he owes to her. Other than that, the most interesting thing in the book was the introduction of Mei Hatsume… erm, Lady Valenriehl, the daughter of a reincarnator with a grudge against the Church but a fantastic mind for taking apart magic things. I like her. Carmine is very wary of her.

If you like military history you will eat this up. If you don’t, you are me, and I still liked the smaller parts of the book that were not that.

Pick of the Week: Doggos and Goddos

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MICHELLE: Honestly, I’m not entirely sold on Merit and the Egyptian God, but I do like grumpy love interests and it’s from Hana to Yume, so those things convince me to give it a shot!

SEAN: I just can’t resist the look and the idea behind DOGGO, so I’m picking that this week.

ANNA: I’m generally intrigued by Hana to Yume titles, so I’m going to join with Michelle in picking Merit and the Egyptian God.

ASH: And just to even things out, I’m going to make DOGGO my pick. I’m in the mood for something ridiculous and/or absurd; it seems as though this series should fit the bill.

KATE: Sign me up for a taking yakuza pug! DOGGO is my pick as well.

Lady Bumpkin and Her Lord Villain, Vol. 7

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By Ageha Sakura and Kurodeko. Released in Japan as “Imokusa Reijou desu ga Akuyaku Reisoku wo Tasuketara Kiniiraremashita” by Overlap Novels f. Released in North America by J-Novel Heart. Translated by Vasileios Mousikidis.

I had forgotten last volume, when we were dealing with Robin, the horrible villain from the start of the series, that there were of course other terrible people at the start as well. There’s Princess Mia, who has been exiled to Conveniently Close Prisoner Island. She gets a brief cameo here, though unfortunately she and Agnes don’t get to see each other again. And then there’s a family I had completely forgotten about. I’m so used to Kelly being the unflappable supermaid that she is in this series that I forgot how we were introduced to her, and it comes back to haunt her here, as her family, long used to treating her as a combination slave and object, demand she return to get married to an old guy twice her age. Even unflappable Kelly is flapping a bit here. Fortunately, Agnes is not going to take this lying down. Also fortunately, her family are so comically evil that it takes no effort to absolutely destroy them.

Kelly’s impending arranged marriage is not the only thing going on in this book. It turns out that the second prince of Myzahn has more abilities than he’d let on, and he’s gone back to his country with something extra that will make invading other countries a lot easier. Agnes’ son has magic powers that are far more active at his age them most people, and she has to stop him from constantly running away. She and Nazelbart are finally going back to the capital (sans child) to talk to the King and Queen, helped out quite a bit by the Purge finally having taken place, meaning Agnes is surrounded by people who at least don’t hate her. Unfortunately, all this pales in comparison to the second half of the book – Polypstan is being invaded, and the war is going badly thanks to a certain prince. Can Desnim help without getting too involved?

Well, of course not. For one thing, this is a light novel series with a bit of action in every book. For another, the Queen is from Polypstan, and is not going to sit back while her homeland gets wiped out. That said, if you like tense battles where you’re not sure who will come out on top… this isn’t that. It’s laughably easy once Agnes forcibly invites herself along. Actually, the bigger issue may be the number of people who find out about other secret powers. The Myzahn Prince has multiple abilities, including a copying ability. The King’s teleportation ability is also a storage ability, something he’s tried to hide to avoid being used… well, like he’s used here. And of course more people find out that Agnes’ cool power is really a SUPER cool power, which is unavoidable when you accidentally cure a lethal poison. Agnes, honey, you need to try harder not to be the next saint, y’know?

Fortunately, Agnes will have other things to worry about next time: she’s pregnant again, and I suspect the next book will deal with that child. Till then, please don’t treat your daughter like a slave just because she’s a competent girl.

Zero Damage Sword Saint: I Enrolled in a Magic School and Wound Up in a Contract with the Demon Queen, Vol. 3

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By Isle Osaki and kodamazon. Released in Japan as “Kougekiryoku Zero kara Hajimeru Kenseitan: Osananajimi no Oujo ni Suterare Mahou Gakuen ni Nyuugakushitara, Maou to Keiyakusuru Koto ni Natta ” by Overlap Bunko. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Stephanie Liu.

The light novels are still ongoing in Japan, but the webnovel this is based on finished last month. The author gave their feelings about all the characters, and for Eugene they wrote, essentially, that they felt a little guilty, given that he was an incredibly cool swordsman who has a loving family and good friends who believe in him, as well as multiple beautiful lovers. The author has a point, this once again falls into the category of “if you like your protagonists to struggle, reading this must feel like acid in your veins”. But I dunno, it’s so unassuming I actually enjoy it more with every book I read. There’s a lack of surprise so far, but that fits – this isn’t slow life, but it’s almost the OP equivalent, and so we see Eugene go home to meet the folks with his new lover, make up with his childhood sweetheart (eventually), and save the world. As a treat.

Eugene is off to his home city, taking along Sumire, who is delighted she gets to ride an airship. Sara is trapped in the land of demon paperwork and will have to arrive later. Erinyes is, of course, still sealed in her “prison”. Sumire has an even easier time than expected, as it turns out Eugene’s dad is from not-Japan, and therefore his favorite foods are things like sukiyaki and bento boxes. Eugene’s father takes him to visit the palace, where he’s made a baron, and he also sees his ex Airi, who keeps trying to speak with him but gets prevented from doing so for some reason. He also goes to visit… no, not his mother’s grave, but a church, where he makes a very startling discovery about his origin and why he has his white healing magic. It’s also a good thing he’s there, as one of the legendary sealed beasts of the kingdom is becoming unsealed, and it’s up to everyone to do something. Even if that means sleeping with more girlfriends.

Like a lot of light novels these days, this has a lot of sex in it without actually being all that sexually explicit. We cut away before the deed is done. That said, the sex is a combination of “we both are really hot for you and have decided that this isn’t happening unless we both do this at the same time” and “sex will help our magic power up and save the world!”. In other words, patently ridiculous, but likely why a lot of folks are reading this. As for Airi, unsurprisingly she’s still in love with Eugene, never dumped him at all (the girl who made the catty remarks ends up getting mojo’d by Eugene to be his spy, in one of the more uncomfortable scenes in the book. Don’t do that), by the end of the book she wants to be one of the lovers as well, but circumstances will likely prevent that for a bit. Other than that… good sword battle, he’s a real sweetie, lookit all the babes.

We’re back to school/dungeon crawling next book, and I do wonder if the polycule (I’ll call it that as Sara and Sumire at least now seem to get along pretty well) adds anyone else or if this is it. If you like male fantasy … fantasy novels, this gives you what you want.

Manga the Week of 4/29/26

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SEAN: Buckle up, kids, the end of the month is stacked.

ASH: Are we there yet?

SEAN: Airship has four print volumes. We get Loner Life in Another World 14, Too Many Losing Heroines! 7, The Weakest Tamer Began a Journey to Pick Up Trash 12, and Witch and Mercenary 6 Part 1.

And for early digital we get Magical Buffs: The Support Caster is Stronger Than He Realized! 2 and Reborn as a Space Mercenary: I Woke Up Piloting the Strongest Starship! 15.

No debuts for Cross Infinite World, but they do have Apocalypse Bringer Mynoghra 8, Fluffy Paradise 8, and How I Became King by Eating Monsters 5.

Dark Horse Manga has the 2nd and final omnibus volume of Gunsmith Cats: Burst.

ASH: I feel like this is a series that I should be reading, for some reason.

SEAN: Ghost Ship gives us Into the Deepest, Most Unknowable Dungeon 13 and Tamamori’s Fantasies Never Stop! 4.

Hanashi Media has a debut. A Journey Through Another World: Raising Kids While Adventuring (Isekai Yururi Kikou: Kosodateshinagara Boukensha Shimasu) has a guy accidentally killed by a god isekai’d into a deadly monster forest, where he meets adorable twins who know kung fu. As one does.

ASH: While I’m a little worn out by the sheer amount of isekai titles being released these days, I do appreciate the parenting angle.

SEAN: Also from Hanashi Media: The New Gate 3, An Observation Log of My Wife Who Calls Herself a Villainess 3, Re:Monster 3, and Tsukimichi: Moonlit Fantasy 15.

J-Novel Club has print debuts for two of its contest winners. ATLAS: Her, the Combatant, and Him, the Hero is a futuristic dystopia that lives and dies on its main characters.

ASH: I will admit to being intrigued by the JNC Original Light Novel Contest.

SEAN: The Adorable Dungeon Master is exactly what it sounds like. She’s reincarnated and she wants cute.

They also have My Instant Death Ability Is So Overpowered, No One in This Other World Stands a Chance Against Me! ―AO― 10 in print.

J-Novel Club has one debut, a manga in their J-Novel Knight line. All Eyes on Nekoyashiki-kun! Notice Me, Not My Characters (Kabesaa Doujin Sakka no Nekoyashiki-kun wa Shounin Yokkyuu wo Kojirasete iru) is a BL manga from Comic Ryu. An indie artist who draws gay manga is startled to find that his childhood friend, an idol, is back in his orbit.

ASH: Lucky him!

SEAN: Digital light novels from JNC: The Bladesmith’s Enchanted Weapons 4, The Canon Fodder’s Ascension from Pawn to World Unifier 2, Earl and Fairy 12, Holmes of Kyoto 0 (a prequel short-story volume), Rebuild World 8 Part 1, and Worthless at Home, Whiz to the World 4.

Other digital manga from JNC: Fired? But I Maintain All the Software! 3, Hell Mode 10, Rebuild World 14, and The Skull Dragon’s Precious Daughter 6.

Kodama have the 15th and 16th Baki the Grappler volumes, as well as MAGICA 2 and Smile! 3.

ASH: Pretty sure I should be reading all of these, too.

SEAN: Kodansha Manga debuts Kirio Fan Club, a comedy manga from Comic Ruelle. This just got an anime. Two girls are obsessed with the boy they like in class. Let’s put it this way, the first bit is about the smell of his farts. We’re talking COM, not Romcom.

MICHELLE: Yeesh.

ASH: Huh.

SEAN: In print they have Ashita no Joe: Fighting for Tomorrow 5, Blue Lock Omnibus 2, Cells at Work! Lady 2, The Great Cleric 13, I Want to Love You Till Your Dying Day 8, Killing Line 2, Nina the Starry Bride 15, Pupposites Attract 4, Rent-A-Girlfriend 36, Tokyo Tarareba Girls Returns 2 2, Toppu GP 14, and You Must Be This Tall to Propose! 2.

MICHELLE: Hooray for more Tokyo Tarareba Girls in print!

ASH: Indeed! And Ashita no Joe, too!

SEAN: Digitally we get Am I Actually the Strongest? 17, And Yet, You Are So Sweet 13, Anyway, I’m Falling in Love with You 12, Drops of God: Mariage 15, and I Left my A-Rank Party to Help My Former Students Reach the Dungeon Depths! 6.

One Peace Books has a 16th manga volume of The New Gate.

Seven Seas time, which means we start with danmei. There’s Dinghai Fusheng Records 4, Legend of Exorcism: Tianbao Fuyao Lu 5, and The White Cat’s Divine Scratching Post 2.

ASH: That it does. I’m delighted.

SEAN: There’s only one manga debut, and it is DOGGO (INNU). This Young Magazine title stars a down-on-his-luck pug who gets picked up by a cute high school girl. Little does she know… he can talk. And fight! And is hiding from the yakuza. Little does he know… she’s the daughter of a yakuza boss. This looks very silly.

Also from Seven Seas: Backstabbed in a Backwater Dungeon 11, Cat Companions Maruru and Hachi 6, Failure Frame 12, The Fed-Up Office Lady Wants to Serve the Villainess 3, The Ideal Sponger Life 21, Mii-chan Wants to Be Kept 4 (the final volume), Monster Musume: I Heart Monster Girls 6, My Girlfriend is 8 Meters Tall 3, My Girlfriend’s Child 10 (the final volume), My Lovey-Dovey Wife is a Stone Cold Killer 8, My New Life as a Cat 13, Painter of the Night 3, Romelia War Chronicle 2, Servamp 23, There’s No Freaking Way I’ll be Your Lover! Unless… 8, Yakuza Reincarnation 15, Yonoi Tsukihiko’s Happy Hell 5, and Young Ladies Don’t Play Fighting Games 9.

Steamship has a 6th volume of A Suitable Fetish.

Titan Manga debuts Grendizer U: The Inception, based off the giant robot manga. It runs in Hero’s.

Tokyopop debuts Bride of Ignat (Ignat no Hanayome). It’s in from RED, so no worries, this is BL despite the title. A survivor of an epidemic is seen as cursed, so is “volunteered” to be the sacrifice to the dragon. We know how that will go.

ASH: I must say, it does have a very pretty cover.

SEAN: Also from Tokyopop: I’ll Never Fall In Love With Amano! 3 (the final volume), If My Favorite Pop Idol Made It to the Budokan, I Would Die 11, The Prince Is in the Villainess’ Way! 6, and Wandervogel 2.

MICHELLE: I need to read Wandervogel!

SEAN: Viz Media has one spinoff debut. JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Purple Smoke Distortion (Hajishirazu no Purple Haze: JoJo no Kimyou na Bouken yori), a one-volume light novel about what happened to Pannacotta Fugo.

ASH: Unsurprisingly, I’m interested.

SEAN: Make that two spinoff debuts, as we also get Splatoon: Squid Kids Comedy Show. You know what this will be like. It’s for your 8-year-old.

Also from Viz: Boy’s Abyss 13.

Yen On has only one title, and it’s a debut. Our Party Nearly Wiped and Then Everything Went Downhill (Zenmetsu End wo Shi ni Monogurui de Kaihishita. Party ga Yanda) stars a man who wakes up in his favorite grimdark manga, in the body of the schmuck who dies to set the series’ tone. He somehow manages to not die, though he’s gravely wounded. Only now… why are all these women so obsessed with him?

ASH: Why, indeed.

SEAN: And here comes Yen Press. Debuts first. Merit and the Egyptian God (Merit Aikyuu God) is a shoujo title from Hana to Yume. (When I was much younger, I typed those words multiple times a month.) A girl winds up trapped in the underworld, and has to talk a grump God into bringing her home.

MICHELLE: Possibly fun!

SEAN: My Lover Is Just Too Innocent to Handle (Koibito ga Ubusugite Komaru) is a BL title which ran as a web manga. A gloomy, introverted guy is confessed to by a hot, outgoing guy. How to get to know each other? Exchange diaries!

MICHELLE: Also possibly fun!

ASH: Sounds cute, for sure.

SEAN: My Super-Cute Black Mage! (Uchi no Kuro Madoushi ga Kawaisugiru!) is (gasp!) another shoujo title from Hana to Yume. At a magic school, our heroine avoids the scary-looking black mage. Then when she accidentally gets close to him, she can hear his thoughts… and they’re kinda cute?

MICHELLE: Hm. Less sold on this, but Hana to Yume!

ASH: But cute is even in the title, this time!

SEAN: You Can’t Escape from Mizudako-chan! (Mizudako-chan kara wa Nigerarenai!) is a romantic comedy from Comic Fuz. An average high school guy finds a very strange girl transferred into his class… who is half-octopus!

MICHELLE: That sounds handy. (Smirk.)

ASH: Lol.

SEAN: Also from Yen Press: Ako and Bambi 7, Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russian 3, Banished from the Hero’s Party, I Decided to Live a Quiet Life in the Countryside 12, Chitose Is in the Ramune Bottle 8 (the final volume), The Dark History of the Reincarnated Villainess 14, Days with My Stepsister 5, The Do-Over Damsel Conquers the Dragon Emperor 7, The Eminence in Shadow 14, From Old Country Bumpkin to Master Swordsman 5, Hell Is Dark with No Flowers 4, Hirano and Kagiura 5, Honey Lemon Soda 11, I Want to Be a Receptionist in This Magical World 8, If the Villainess and Villain Met and Fell in Love 5, Interspecies Reviewers 11, Kindergarten Wars 4, Land 2, Lycoris Recoil Official Comic Anthology: Repeat 2, Mieruko-chan 12, Oshi no Ko 13, The Princess of Convenient Plot Devices 6, The Reformation of the World as Overseen by a Realist Demon King 8, A Returner’s Magic Should Be Special 6, So I’m a Spider, So What? 15, Stomp, Kick, Love 4, The Summer Hikaru Died 7, To Sir, Without Love: I’m Divorcing You 3, and Touring After the Apocalypse 7.

MICHELLE: I’m definitely intrigued by The Summer Hikaru Died.

ASH: As you should be!

SEAN: That’s a lot! Anything jump out at you?

A Tale of the Secret Saint, Vol. 10

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By Touya and chibi. Released in Japan as “Tensei Sita Daiseijyo ha, Seijyo Dearuko Towohitakakusu” by Earth Star Novels. Released in North America by Airship. Translated by Kevin Ishizaka. Adapted by Michelle McGuinness.

I’ve talked before about the series’ biggest draw, which is that Fia is a complete airhead who runs on instinct and misapprehension of everything. The big reveal over the course of these ten books is that it’s not due to her having the memories of someone who lived 300 years ago, but that 300 years ago she was exactly the same – no common sense, head empty. But it’s important to remember the other half of this, because when you have one of those ditzy, strong women protagonists, invariably they amaze everyone around them with their goodness and niceness, and that’s been the case here as well. We meet several new saints, most of whom are either doing the saint gig because they have been forced to, or are trying to use the saint gig to get a good husband. And then they run into Fia, and they’re reminded no, wait. I forgot what I felt when I first gained powers. I forgot that healing people and making them happy is wonderful. That’s Fia’s greatest strength.

We pick up where we left off, with the Evil Queen Hyacinthe being told that Fia will be entering the next Saint Competition. Hyacinthe is against this, but Cerulean is determined to have Fia put Hyacinthe in her place. He does this without bothering to ask Fia, who keeps insisting she’s a knight, and has very good reasons why she does not want to be recognized as the next great saint. (Her backstory of her first death, mentioned in the first book and then quietly dropped, is alluded to here, mostly as to why she’s still viscerally afraid of meeting another demon.) Plus for some reason Fia still can’t really think of Hyacinthe as evil, even after we get backstory of Colette, who is of course sweet as pie and tragically ill. As for the Saint Competition itself… well, that’s where we get back to the funny part of the series.

It is a sign of how desperate everyone is in regards to Colette that they decide the answer is simply to let Fia do her Saint stuff and just tell her to be careful, which is sort of like pulling the pin off a grenade and telling it not to explode. They give Fia a veil to hide herself… except her red hair is immediately recognizable, and in any case she takes it off almost immediately. She realizes that some folks may regard her as Fia the knight, so she decides to skip instead of walk. During the saint ceremony. In front of everyone. She skips. I laughed till I cried. She explains that she’s dropping out as she doesn’t have a lot of mana, but she heals people almost instantly and never feels tired. The only time I was surprised is when she met the guy who lost both legs and didn’t magic them back, and I then realized the only reason she didn’t do that is it’s probably being saved for Book 11. She is an adorable, sweet, all-loving menace to society.

Unfortunately for Fia, I think she is going to attract attention, and that demons will show up again. That said, this is the slowest light novel series out there in terms of dribbling out its plot, so it could be Book 20 by the time that happens. In any case, this is fun.

I Saved Myself with a Potion!: Life in Another World, Vol. 1

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By Akira Iwafune and Sunaho Tobe. Released in Japan as “Potion, Waga Mi o Tasukeru” by Hero Bunko. Released in North America by Hanashi Media. Translated by Harris Hayes.

I sometimes feel guilty that I don’t read more Hanashi Media. Aside from Observation Records of My Fiancee/Wife (now with an anime!), most of their output has basically looked like things I wouldn’t touch with a ten foot pole. They had a recent round of licenses, though, and a couple of them jumped out at me, including this one. Slow life! Cute female protagonist! Struggling to get by in a world she knows nothing about! And sure enough, all those things are here. It’s mostly a cute book. It’s content to coast along, and Kaede is something of a female Potato-kun, but it’s nice enough. That said, when I started it I read the table of contents and said “uh oh”. Sure enough, this ends up being another in a long line of “welp, guess I gotta buy a slave” books. Yes, I’m sure she and Kaede will become bestest friends. Yes, Kaede treats her wonderfully. Don’t really care. Stop with the slavery shit.

Kaede wakes up, not on her way to high school as she had been, but in an alley of a fantasy world. She has it easier than some – she can speak and read the language – but she has no money, no food, and no idea how this world works. But she finds a book in her backpack – it tells her how to make potions, and the easiest uses just grass and water. Gradually, using the potions she makes, she gets food, a room and a guild card that gives her ID. She could theoretically make stronger potions, but the ingredients are much harder to find. Then she runs into a party of dragon hunters, who tell her – try to contain your shock – her normal potions work MUCH better than others. What’s more, the way she makes them is unheard of. If she can just survive the massive dragon that landed right in front of her, maybe she’ll become someone really special!

As I said, for the most part this is earnest slow-life stuff. Kaede makes potions, buys things, makes more potions, meets adventurers, takes out a dragon with a one-shot crystal she just powered up that day… you know, the usual. By the end of the book she’s moved to the capital, has made friends with a woman so terrifyingly powerful everyone rushes to obey her (she thinks Kaede is really cute – Kaede suffers from “I’m 17 but look 12” syndrome), she’s got a great cabin in the middle of nowhere, and she’s befriended a fairy. Unfortunately, “make a ton of money selling potions then walk back alone to my remote cabin where I live alone as a young woman” carries dangers that you can probably guess. And guards are expensive and also won’t be live-in guards. Hence: welp, guess I gotta buy a slave. Kaede feels uncomfortable, but is shown that you don’t HAVE to abuse your slave, so treats the 6’5″ gorgeous wolfgirl she buys well. I’m sure they’ll be besties. Nevertheless.

I was sort of hoping to add this to my list of “cute girl does OP things”. It’s 11+ volumes in Japan, so looks popular. But I really try to avoid “welp, guess I gotta buy a slave” books these days, no matter how nice and non-harem the relationship is.

Reign of the Seven Spellblades, Vol. 14

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By Bokuto Uno and Miyuki Ruria. Released in Japan as “Nanatsu no Maken ga Shihai suru” by Dengeki Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Andrew Cunningham.

The previous books have been packed with stuff, so many plots that it was hard to remember them all. What’s more, we were leisurely strolling through the years at school. Those days are gone now. Not only are Oliver and Company now 5th years (yes, it’s graduation for Tim Linton, though don’t worry, he’ll be around), but there is no leisurely strolling in this book – it’s war. Even worse, the war looks to continue into the next book. This means that the book is almost entirely battle scenes, with some no-names dying, some people we know getting grievously injured, and our heroes all getting the chance to show off both how cool and powerful they are and also that they are the biggest weirdos and freaks in the school. But that’s fine – it’s Kimberly, so everyone’s used to that. The trouble is that most of the powerhouse teachers were suckered away from the school, and the school itself is lacking powerhouse teachers as SOMEONE keeps killing them off.

It’s time for the war against the Gnostics, but fear not – everything has been foretold, and the teachers have gone to the most likely incursion spots. Unfortunately, the foretellers were compromised, and the Gnostics’ true plan becomes clear – attack and wipe out Kimberly. That means the students have to battle it out, led by student council president Vera Miligan, who is staying behind for an unheard of eighth year just so that she can whine about why this is happening to her. Katie and Nanao are sent to the front lines, while the other four (well, OK, other three, Pete is barely in this except for the cliffhanger setup) stay behind to battle the soldier/mages that will inevitably get through. All our old familiar friends and enemies chip in – even Teresa’s group, who find themselves in the midst of an attack from within. Can everyone show off why they’re awesome?

Of course they can, that’s the whole point of this book. Oliver, for once, is merely normally amazing, having lightning fast reflexes taught to him by a supposed traitor, and he does well enough but it’s not jaw-dropping. Same with Chela. Nanao gets the best action set piece, with what can only be described as “death from above”, and I liked the tie-back to Ashbury’s broom arts. But let’s face it, the best scene in the book, and one of the best scenes in the series, is Katie forcing an enemy general to explain why they’re fighting, and then trying to see how she could improve on it. Katie is regarded as a walking time bomb even by her friends, and we know that she’s got demi-human rights on the brain, but I have to tell you that when I saw “I just thought it’ll be my turn next“, I both shuddered and howled with laughter. Chela, Pete, your goal of a six-person harem living happily ever after is severely hampered by the other four.

As I said, cliffhanger, so we’ll have to see who lives and who dies next time. Thrilling stuff.

Pick of the Week: Mahjong Manga? Mahjong Manga!

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SEAN: Ringing out the old and ringing in the new, I’m going to cheat this week. My pick of the week is the final volume of My Dress-Up Darling, one of the most obvious licenses ever, AND Reform with No Wasted Draws: The Legend of Koizumi, one of the least obvious.

MICHELLE: There are some intriguing debuts this week, but I’ve gotta go with a new volume of Wave, Listen to Me!. I look forward to getting caught up on it!

ASH: Despite all hope, I never thought we’d see Reform with No Wasted Draws: The Legend of Koizumi released in English, let alone the emergence of an imprint specifically devoted to mahjong manga, so that’s absolutely something I will be reading this week.

ANNA: I’m with Ash this week, bring on the mahjong manga!