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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

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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.

Pick of the Week: Manga for Halloween

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MICHELLE: Despite not one but two volumes of kitty manga coming out next week, I am most intrigued by Boy Meets Maria. LGBT, “powerful,” “dark,” and done in one volume? Yes, please!

ANNA: There’s not a ton coming out that really appeals to me this week, but I’m most interested in Never Open It: The Taboo Trilogy, just because we don’t get a ton of short story collections of manga.

KATE: Against my better judgment, I’m going to pick The Walking Cat, partly on the strength of the cover art, and partly for it cats vs. zombies premise. Who knows? Maybe this done-in-one omnibus will have something new and interesting to contribute to the undead genre.

SEAN: It’s been a bit stressful lately, and I could use a good laugh, so I will go with a known comedy favorite, Gabriel Dropout.

ASH: I’m interested in everything that’s been mentioned thus far, but find myself echoing Anna for my pick this week: I pre-ordered Never Open It as soon as I discovered that Ken Niimura was going to have a new book out—one of his previous works, Henshin, is a particular favorite of mine.

Didn’t I Say to Make My Abilities Average in the Next Life?!: Lily’s Miracle

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By Kousuke Akai and Itsuki Akata, based on the novels by FUNA. Released in Japan as “Watashi, Nouryoku wa Heikinchi de tte Itta yo ne!: Lily no Kiseki” by Earth Star Novels. Released in North America by Seven Seas. Translated by Diana Taylor. Adapted by Maggie Cooper.

Like a lot of readers who first saw this spinoff announced, I was a bit confused. I thought it would be about one of the many side characters we’ve seen along Mile’s journey, and indeed thought it was about the young princess who needed a balanced diet in order to not die (her name is similar to Lily’s). But no, it’s nothing like that.l Instead we have a (mostly) new cast, in the same world that we know of. The Crimson Vow briefly show up at the start, and Mile jump-starts the plot, but otherwise they are entirely absent. Which is fine, really, as it allows us to truly focus on Lily. As with Mile, she’s a former noble with a lack of common sense due to circumstances. Also as with Mile, she has a truly ludicrous amount of magical power on hand. Unlike the childish Mile, though, Lily is a literal child.

Lily Lockwood is the oldest daughter of the local margrave. Unfortunately, she was born deaf, and so has been hidden by her family and quietly ignored. Then one day bandits arrive and attack the family, who vanish… with the exception of Lily, who is hidden in a cupboard by a kindly (?) maid. After emerging, she’s pretty much starving to death when the Crimson Vow come upon her. The girls give her food and water. Then Mile sneaks back in the night to cure her hearing… by giving her a bunch of nanos. Readers of the previous books likely know where this is gonna go. Now Lily is trying to make her way in the world, find allies and money to put food on the table, and also perhaps find her missing family. And all she has going for her is magic that is so strong it can destroy the local landscape.

This side story is not by FUNA, and it shows. Not that this is a bad thing – it’s quite a strong story, and I very much enjoyed it. But with a few exceptions, stupid comedy is mostly absent from this book, and it takes Lily seriously. I was impressed that Mile’s curing of Lily’s deafness did not magically allow her to suddenly hear and understand conversation properly or speak, though she does eventually get past that. Some of Lily’s feats, such as creating 30 fireballs that are almost the literal sun, show us that this author has been doing their homework in terms of the chaos Mile + nanos can bring. But Lily’s 9-year-old POV makes it both more innocent and also multitudes more terrifying, as she’s never been taught magic so does not know how to use only a tiny bit… or turn it off. There’s also a great supporting character in Lafine, the classic “cynic with a heart of gold” who winds up, as the cover might suggest, getting dragged around by her young charge.

I’m not sure if Lily will get another side story, but we may see her show up in the main series. That would be fun. Till then, this is an action-filled, somewhat emotional entry in the Make My Abilities Average series, with a spunky and likeable heroine.

Adachi and Shimamura, Vol. 7

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By Hitoma Iruma and Non. Released in Japan by Dengeki Bunko. Released in North America by Seven Seas. Translated by Molly Lee.

I have spent several volumes of this series fascinated by the thought process of Shimamura, and this is the volume that really drove home that perhaps I should have been paying more attention to Adachi, who is starting to worry me. Overexcitable angsty gay has worked for her so far, and has ranged from amusing (we see that in the first quarter or so of this volume) to seriously concerning (the rest of this volume). Indeed, Shimamura has benefited far more from getting a girlfriend, and makes stabs towards almost being normal in this book, in a detached introspective way. She’s saying and doing the right things. Adachi is not, and her lack of any other social group other than her crush/girlfriend is starting to tell in a bad way. Shimamura is allowed to have friends. It can’t just be the two of them in a bubble of their own. Given that I doubt the author is going to do a breakup arc anytime soon, I can only hope Adachi matures soon, as Christ, she’s annoying right now.

The main plot, such as it is, is the two girls trying to get used to their new relationship upgrade. Shimamura has to be a bit more proactive about everything, going along with making lunches for each other and things like that, while also still groping in her own mind towards how she feels about Adachi. I think she clearly loves her – she talks offhandedly about wanting to spend the rest of her life with Adachi – but it’s not connecting with anything other than her default “well, whatever” emotional setting. And there’s also old childhood friends to deal with… or rather, to avoid. As for Adachi, you’d think she’d be over the moon, and she is, but her anxiety and stress is simply making things worse most of the time. You know things are bad when she’s asking Nagafuji for date advice – if you thought we’d end up with boomerang throwing again, you’re right.

The main plot is bookended by several interludes showing alternate universes where Adachi and Shimamura meet or interact in different way. Sometimes this can be a mistake – the universe where Adachi stayed cool and aloof made me think “Oh my God, I wish we had this one instead” – but for the most part they show us that no matter what, the two girls will always somehow find their way to each other, which is sweet. There’s also the usual brief interaction with Yashiro, and I must admit I respect the author for not simply using her less and less as our heroines figure everything out but insisting she barge into the narrative anyway. She’s still not quite human, but she’s not quite 100% abnormal either. She’s almost a mentor to Shimamura and her sister, and has even taken to showing up in Shimamura’s dreams. It’s… weird, but not bad, sort of like eating a food with an unusual filling you didn’t expect in it.

The next volume promises a school trip, which should be fun. Till then, Adachi needs to chill more, Shimamura needs to chill less, and Nagafuji needs to find a different children’s toy.

My Next Life As a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom!, Vol. 10

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By Satoru Yamaguchi and Nami Hidaka. Released in Japan as “Otome Game no Hametsu Flag Shika Nai Akuyaku Reijou ni Tensei Shite Shimatta…” by Ichijinsha Bunko Iris. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Marco Godano.

As this series goes from a quick two-volume story to a double digit franchise, it’s perhaps a very good time to take a look at exactly who Katarina Claes is now. I still tend to call the series Bakarina out of habit, and certainly when it comes to not picking up romantic clues there’s still no one who can touch her, but the earlier books showed off how difficult it was to imagine Katarina as an adult out in the world. That’s not really the case anymore, and it almost sneaks up on you. While she can’t read the room in regards to anyone’s love for her (and her offhand “love, maybe I’ll try that one day” really will delight the ‘Katarina is asexual/aromantic’ faction), her empathy and desire to help others is off the charts, and, when told to start learning black magic, she develops a power that is literally cleansing the evil out. With a magic wand.

Back at the Ministry after the events of the last book, Katarina has discovered that the books that she and Maria are trying to decipher also turn out to be very user-specific – Maria can’t teach anything that she learns from her book, and Katarina would no doubt be the same. But Maria is a light magic expert. So, much as she worries it will lead to her doom, Katarina is told to learn dark magic. Still, she also has time to go with Cyrus and Maria (and everyone else in the cast, because this is a Bakarina novel) to an orphanage, where she learns what she can and can’t do with little kids and tries to help a particularly stubborn orphan. Unfortunately, we also see the return of a villain who hasn’t been seen since Book Four – Sarah is back, and still trying to find troubled folks she can do dark magic experiments on. Can even she be helped by our all-loving heroine?

I’ve talked before about how I think this series is LGBT “by accident” – that is to say it’s because the premise has everyone fall for Katarina, not because of any desire by the author to have the girls end up with other girls. That said, particularly in the case of Maria Campbell, it’s becoming hard to try to drag things back to the normal romance novel mode. Cyrus has amazed us by being one of those rare main characters not in love with Katarina Claes, and she spends much of this book trying to get the awkward lug to get closer to Maria – and failing, because of course Maria is over the moon for Katarina herself. Even the bonding activities that they’re doing with his teaching her martial arts comes down to her desire to protect Katarina rather than needing to be the one who is protected. If Cyrus does end up being a love interest for Maria in future books, we’ve got a LONG way to go. Then again, the same could be said about Katarina and Jeord.

From what I hear, the next volume may do something about that. Till then, enjoy this series and its all-loving heroine, who may be impulsive but is also a very good person. And now she has a magic wand.